Morbid Romantic

bringing you quality randomness since 1981

1. When did you last use the edge of a coin (or a knife blade) as a screwdriver?

I can’t remember the last time I ever had to do anything like that with a coin. I’m not exactly the sort of person to fix something; if something breaks, I find someone else to fix it. I have, though, used the tip of a knife blade to screw things in. If I don’t feel like going to the tool drawer to get a screwdriver and there is a knife handy, I’d choose that and just be very, very careful. I can’t recall the last thing I screwed in with a knife. It was probably something like my eyeglasses.

2. When did you last use a wire coat-hanger to break into a car?

Never! I wouldn’t even know how to go about that. But recently there was a keys locked in the car incident and the janitor guy of the hotel we were in tried to get the lock open with a wire coat-hanger… and effectively scratched the paint all around the car door. It was so annoying.

3. When did you last use food or drink as medication?

Every night! When I am sad or depressed, which I am a lot, chocolate makes me feel normal. It doesn’t make me feel any better, but I feel good during the moment I am actually eating the stuff.

4. When did you last use your cellular telephone as a flashlight?

Two nights ago! I needed to read something and I didn’t feel like getting up to turn on the light for something to small. It was to read the words on my earphones. Not something worth getting out of a comfy bed. So, I just reached for my phone and used that. It was ample light for me to see which plug was R and which plug is L.

5. When did you last use a paper clip for any purpose other than to clip paper?

I can’t remember. I have a high respect for office supplies and their functions.

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Have you ever wandered around those stock image sites to find a good image to use in your blog, hindered by the fact that you often have to pay an insane amount of money for a single image? Or have you ever used a search engine like Google to find images? If you have, you know for every keyword you type in, you’ll get about 10,000 matches that have nothing at all to do with what you’re looking for.

Acobox is a website designed to make it easy for bloggers to post blog pictures to their website(s). The process is simple enough for anyone to do. I know this because I signed up and tested it out for myself. If you want to use Acobox, first, you sign up for an account. Once you have your account activated and ready to go, you log in and start browsing the galleries for an image you would like to use. This is the image I chose:

What are the perks of Acobox? Well, first and foremost, all of the pictures are licensed and protected by copyright. What does this mean for you? That you won’t be taking someone’s pictures without permission and using them. Using Acobox is also a lot simpler than those stock image sites or search engines. Acobox hosts all of the images in their galleries, so all you have to do is select your image, choose the size you want, and copy and paste the code to your blog. No need for you to crop, resize or upload. Acobox is the package all in one.

If you are a photographer, you can sign up for an account and submit your images for other bloggers to use, too!

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Even if you are a die-hard fan of the public library system, I’m betting you have at least ONE permanent resident of your bookshelves in your house. I’m betting that no real book-lover can go through life without owning at least one book. So … why that one? What made you buy the books that you actually own, even though your usual preference is to borrow and return them?

If you usually buy your books, tell me why. Why buy instead of borrow? Why shell out your hard-earned dollars for something you could get for free?

I buy books because I want them. It makes me proud to see a shelf full of my favorite books. I love the way that book shelves look, colorfully lined in alphabetical or size order. It’s like chaos and order all rolled up into one. I can’t imagine living in a home without a book shelf and without ample books to read when bored.

True, I could save a lot of money by going to the library, but then the books wouldn’t be mine. I want hard, owned copies of my favorite books so that I can pick them up and read them whenever the whim hits. Sometimes I sit in bed and think to myself, “I’d love to read that chapter again.” If I have the book, it’s a simple matter of getting up, pulling the book out and flipping to the correct page. If I don’t have the book because I’ve returned it to the library, all I can do is long and go without. There’s something really special and comforting about an old favorite, a book you’ve had for years, with a broken spine and dog-eared pages. When you look at a book like that, you know you’ve had a lot of good late nights together with many more to come.

Another reason to buy books is to support the author. If it’s a favorite, give back to the person who wrote it by purchasing it. I want good authors to get proper credit for the excellent things that they write.

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Did anyone else read this article from the New York Times: A School Chief Takes On Tenure, Stirring a Fight?

On one hand, I think it’s great. On the other hand, not so great.

As an accredited Social Studies teacher looking for a job, I know the frustration of there simply being no work available. The thing with Social Studies and a lot of other disciplines is that teachers get in, secure their job and die still holding their place because of tenure. It’s not until someone dies or retires that slots are open for new teachers to come in. At the school I student taught in, the head of the department told me with longing that he wishes he could hire me because they needed someone like me. But, unfortunately, there were no positions and the Social Studies teachers there have tenure and can’t just be ousted.

What tenure does is effectively keep out new, young teachers who have the latest training in education, the latest methods and a fresh outlook on teaching. A lot of old teachers get burned out and that harms students. How well can a child learn from a teacher with little enthusiasm, a teacher only there for the benefits and job security? A lot of old teachers also teach the ‘old’ way, paying little or no attention to the latest developments in brain research and teaching/learning methods. Despite being a profession that declares to support team work and unity, teachers are often very threatened by each other and hostile to suggestion. They take it as a personal attack on their intelligence and their abilities and shut down completely to help.

What good are outdated teachers who won’t update their methods to students? Research in education has already proven that some of the ‘old’ ways are ineffective, yet teachers continue to use them.

Yet, you can’t just throw people out of a profession like that without giving them a chance. Maybe this is my loyalty to fellow teachers talking, but I don’t like the idea of someone committing themselves to teaching, going through all the classes and taking all the tests, only to be told that they’re not good enough and have to go. Teachers should be given a few years. Most teachers don’t enter the field excellent teachers. They become excellent teachers through professional growth, team work and observation. Good teachers learn from their mistakes and continuously try new things to help their students.

What I think is this: teachers should be given temporary tenure after so many years and after an assessment of their abilities. If a teacher has been observed and documented as being a good educator, they should receive a temporary tenure status. After a few years, they will come up for status again and have to go through the same observation and assessment. If they pass again, they get their next few years of status. If not, they are required to take courses (paid for by the school system) in method and instruction. If they fail the course or opt out of it in the middle, they are to pay the full cost of it back to the school. AND, they won’t retain their job. If they pass, they come up for assessment again in a few months to show evidence of growth.

That’s my very rough, very problematic solution.

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Did you know that Kmart has more than 25,000 gifts $25 and under? With that many items to choose from, including name brand items such as Craftsman® and Martha Stewart Everyday, there’s sure to be something for everyone on your list. These economic times are hard, but we all deserve a good holiday. Nothing makes the Christmas season more fulfilling than gift giving. I know how happy it makes me to see the people I love open a present from me. That moment of happiness doesn’t have to be sacrificed with Kmart’s low priced gift ideas. You can still afford a Christmas and not go totally broke to do it!

I went through the Kmart website and picked out a few items that I think my family would like to get this Christmas.

For my mother, I chose this:

You see, she already collects the set. She has the pitcher, the plates, the cups, the salt and pepper shaker, the teapot, the butter holder, the gravy boat… but she doesn’t have these canisters! I bet she’d really love to get this addition to the set.

For my sister, I selected to gift her this:

When it comes to my sister, clothes are always the safest bet. She’s the one out of the two of us who has a closet packed with clothes. In fact, she gives me things from her closet that still have tags on them! Now, my sister is by no means a big spender or a shopaholic, she just buys clothes, loves clothes and frequently tires of them.

Finally, for my adorable nephew, this:

My nephew loves phones. Show a phone to him and he will want to press buttons or breathe into it. He has been like that for, well, since he was born and aware of phones. I let him play with mine and he frequently likes to grab and hide the house phone. Maybe this will deter him!

So, you see? I just shopped for three family members for less than $100. Not bad at all.

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I can’t believe that I have TWO boxes to unpack and that’s it.  When I was packing, I thought I had too much junk.  Granted, a lot of my stuff ended up going to the Diabled Veterans Thrift Store, but I still had so much stuff packed away that I thought I was never going to have room for it.  Now that I have only two boxes left, I am feeling a good deal more comfortable with my situation and having a nice place to live.  I need to make a table sort of thing for some of my jewelry boxes, but I figure all I have to do is turn over a very sturdy box, cover it in a nice sheet or blanket and use that.  It’s a good, free temporary solution until I can buy something.  The current money situation won’t allow for such things, unfortunately.

Priority, though, is Alfred getting something for his clothes.  When I moved in, he gave me his dresser and his shelf… thing… to use.  As a result, he is left with nothing and little space for his things.  I feel bad but happy at the same time.  He really does do a lot to make me happy.  Sometimes I forget this and act like a spoiled brat.  I need to try to be better to him.

Speaking of money, I am a bit miffed that a certain pay to blog site is having errors that won’t allow me to get my $98.14…  I contacted support, yes, so I hope to have it resolved in time.  I just <b>want</b> it so that I can start building back up my savings account.  Christmas is coming!  If anything, I want to be able to get one thing for everyone.

I still have too much junk, but it’s a slow process getting rid of things that mean something to you.  There are plenty of things I don’t mind throwing away, but a lot of things I’ve kept this long because I’m sentimental and I <i>love</i> them.  It’s not going to be an overnight job, that’s for sure.  I’m going to have to think long and hard about what I don’t want or need anymore.

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It was hard for her to sacrifice happiness.  She had so little of it throughout her life that she almost felt entitled to it, like it was owed to her after so long of emotional struggle.  It made her feel selfish, but the thought of going back to that place was more miserable than she could bear.  As time went on, she tried to stop feeling this way, told herself that she had to mature and get past the immature emotions and the stifling anger that contributed its own ample, significant share of misery.

Sometimes, you have to sacrifice, she told herself.  Even then, though you’ve lost, you can be satisfied that you’ve given someone something else.  Her brain attempted to rearrange priority.  Each time she managed to push aside her selfish needs, she thought in her head, you’re doing what no one ever did for you.

That’s the way cycles are broken.

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I’m here with a GREAT holiday gift idea. Personally, I am always searching in vain for good gifts, never confident enough in my choices to be comfortable with them. Vistaprint offers a variety of custom printed products like Stationary, Magnets and Custom Calendars. Vistaprint products are great for the office or home, and great to give to people as gifts. If you know someone who would like a personal address stamp, you can buy a personalized one from Vistaprint. If you know someone who collects postcards, you can make your own and give them as a present. They offer so many things there, that you could easily get something different for everyone in your family and not run out of ideas or have to double buy.

I like the idea of a custom calendar. I know a lot of people in my family who would love one. I could take some of our really great family pictures and make a calendar to give to each family member as a present for Christmas. I think it would bring them a lot of happiness to have something like that hanging from the wall or on a desk; I know it would make me happy each and every time I caught a glimpse of it.

There are a variety of calendar styles to choose from. If desk calendars are more your thing, you can choose that. If you like small folded pocket/purse calendars, you can make one of those. If you want to make a specific calendar type for each family member, well, you can do that, too! Using Vistaprint isn’t complicated or arduous. You select your calendar type, select your design or add your own images and photos, and it’s just a matter of filling in some text boxes with information from there. Everything is pretty self-explanatory and as simple as you can get in a website that offers custom products. I went through the steps myself, creating a calendar, and it took me about a minute to get everything all set up and ready to order.

Give it a shot and see what you can make. Don’t forget how many days are left until Christmas!

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My job search is still on in full force, but I have some good leads. Since I can’t look for a teaching contract position right now (due to my plans to get a Master’s Degree), I have decided to apply to a few cities for a Substitute Badge. I hold a teaching license, so I am certainly qualified to sub… considering all you have to have to sub is a college education, no actual teaching skills required. I’ve heard from some people that getting into a lob-term Sub position is a great way to get a contract because you’ll get priority, which would be great if that was what I was trying to do.

As I browsed the careers section of some local cities’ education department pages, I did feel a heart tug at the few open Social Studies positions I saw. I’m considering applying and seeing what happens. Part of me is telling me that I need to apply for them, too, just in case. It’s always good to have a back up plan, and extra good to get your name out there. With Alfred’s current tentative job situation, it’s really important that I get a job as soon as possible. The bills aren’t that many, but they exist and they have to be paid somehow. By someone. If that someone has to be me, I am going to do it! I do love my cell phone and my cable enough to do that.

If nothing else happens, I can always Sub. This is what I tell myself. Providing that there is work in the area, I can get a position every day and make about $100 to $150 a day. Even doing that three times a week will give me enough to pay our few monthly bills. We won’t be going to movies every weekend, but the stress of wondering how stuff is going to get paid will be off of our shoulders.

It’s really hard to have plans for the future when you have to worry so much about the immediate present. I want to take the GREs, honestly, but no one has the money to pay for it. Not me, not Alfred, not any family member. I’m sort of stuck in this place where I am full of hopes and desires, plans to make something better for me, but I can’t seem to make it happen. Instead of getting all depressed about it, I’m going to take it one step at a time and just… keep going.

I’m scared for the future, but I can’t let that get the best of me.

I wish someone could tell me the future so that I would know which decision is best and right. I don’t want to make a mistake with something so important.

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1.) When was your last visit to an emergency room? What happened?
The last time I went to the emergency room, it was a pretty minor thing. I had an animal bite on my arm that needed to be taken care of. I’d had it for a few days at that point and tried to keep it clean, but it was pretty deep. The animal I knew didn’t have any diseases, so that wasn’t an issue. I was just worried about infection or possible problems due to the fact that it was pretty deep into my arm muscle. We sat there for a good few hours at a small emergency facility rather than a hospital. It was terribly boring! I was in college at the time, so I brought one of my textbook… though I didn’t end up reading any of it.

2.) Who do you look more like: Mom, dad or another relative?
When I was young, I looked a lot like my father. That’s what everyone told me. I think it was the blue eyes and the light colored hair that made me resemble him to a greater extant than my mother. As I’ve gotten older, my hair has darkened and my face has fattened a bit, so I think I look a lot more like my mother now. Everyone who sees us tells me that it’s obvious I am my mother’s daughter.

3.) What sounds annoy you?
Oh, I am absolutely insane with noises. But, I think that I can break it down to ‘bass’ noises be it a TV in another room, music outside, or someone blaring music in their car. I can’t stand that low, vibrating thump, thump from bass. I hate it at night when I am trying to sleep because it keeps me awake and unable to relax.

4.) What are three movies could you(or have you) watch(ed) over and over and still love?
Definitely: Donnie Darko, Blue Spring and Taboo.

5.) Do you ever wish you were someone else?
All the time! I get really stressed out and jealous of what others have, even though I try to be rational and tell myself that everyone has problems. No one’s life is perfect. Just for a day, I wish that I could be someone with an easier life!

6.) What do you think of when you think of Paris?
I always think of the Eiffel tower. It’s what you see on television whenever they pan into Paris. So, in my mind, that’s what sort of… defines Paris. I’ve never been there, so I have no real concept of the landscape or what Paris is remotely like.

7.) What’​ s the last sport​ing event​ you watch​ed?
I don’t watch ANY sports. I watched some people play softball for about five minutes once before I got bored and cold.

8.) What do you think about sexual Role Playing?
I think it’s fine. If a couple wants to engage in role playing, right on. It just means that they like to have fun with each other and they’re not so shy that they’d be inhibited from doing it out of embarrassment or shame. Personally, I am too shy and too reserved to do it. I be caught up in embarrassing giggles to actually have any fun.

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