Shemp, you might not want to read this as it might offend you but isn't intended to. I know you're not among the masses.

( Rant about Christianity )

My dad called me early this morning with some rather shocking news. It seems my cousin, who works at Academy had a traumatic experience yesterday. She sells hunting and fishing gear at the store, which includes all the guns. Apparently, a customer came in the other day to purchase a gun and she had been helping him. I don't know all the details, but he had to leave to get some kind of paperwork or permit or whatever, and when he came back another sales associate completed the sell. The gentlemen was escorted out with the purchase of his new weapon, and promptly shot himself in the head in the parking lot. Now, thankfully the guy took his own life and not innocent people in the process, but since my cousin had been assisting him, the police made her identify the body RIGHT THERE IN THE PARKING LOT! Good job, coppers...way to traumatize someone. ::eye roll:: The craptastic thing is that Academy hasn't offered my cousin any kind of grief counseling or anything. I think she should file worker's compensation for psychological duress. Totally sucks. :(

Some more news on Dr. Dougherty's case. This just came out to the Associated Press this morning. We're waiting to get the Empire Tribune for the rest of the details, but Trina found this on the Dallas Morning News website...

A former Tarleton State University professor has been indicted on three charges of possession of child pornography, according to the state attorney general's office. Thomas M. Dougherty, 42, of Stephenville turned himself in to the Erath County sheriff’s department on Thursday. The Tarleton State University Police Department began investigating Mr. Dougherty in December when a student discovered a suspicious computer folder. The student reported it to the campus police, who then referred the case to the Texas attorney general's cyber crimes unit.

The attorney general's office said investigators allegedly found several images and videos of child pornography on Mr. Dougherty's office computer.

Mr. Dougherty was a tenured professor in the university’s psychology department, who specialized in learning disabilities, child and infant cognitive development, and child sexual abuse, the attorney general's office said.

"We are grateful to the Tarleton State University Police Department -- and to a very alert college student -- for their assistance with this case," Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said in a statement.

By VICTORIA SMITHEE / The Dallas Morning News

Unbelievable... I still can't comprehend this, even though I found out about this back in December. It's just so hard to believe for me. I really want to find out the details, but he's definitely facing up to 10 years. I wonder if his wife is going to still stay with him and what's going to happen with his kids...What a mess. :( I feel so sorry for his boys to have to go through this.

Just wanted to give a special shout out to Shemp for the birthday package I received in the mail today. Cute box covered in stickers containing a M*A*S*H DVD set, some adorable frog stickers and a cute orange and green plushie frog that actually ribbets. I've decided to name the frog Ryuuzaki. :-D He's adorable and I don't have one like him, so he will join the band of the "Frogs of a Different Color" in my menagerie. Thank you for thinking of me, you're one of two people who gave me something this year (the other being Lara who made a Thom/Greg vid). So, gracias to you guys and kudos for being the ones to make this year a good one!

Cos-play is kewl. Me as Light Yagami.

Ugg... I just finished one of the major program requirements for my degree: a case transcription. 45 minutes of counseling turned into 2 days of transcribing every "um", "uh", sneeze, cough, laugh....It was unbelievably obnoxious and I'm soooo glad to be done with that. What's even more impressive though, we weren't really even supposed to start taping our sessions until the end of March or transcribing until April, so I'm waaaaay ahead. Totally rocks. I've never done that before. I literally have two papers left to write for the whole semester and I'll be done. Wild. This semester has been so lax. I loooove it.

On a different note (and no pun intended)...I loooove Death Note. I got two of the comics and then ended up buying the first 3 DVDs. I'm hooked. I ended up buying the complete DVD box set on ebay for 50 bucks because I can't wait to finish watching it. I love both Light and L. They totally rock. I've been watching it in Japanese with English subtitles because L's American voice is just...crap. What the hell were they thinking? It's funny how you don't even realize that you're listening to it in a different language after a while.

That's about it though. Ready for tomorrow to come so I can sleep in. Yay spring break.

You know, other than Pokemon and Sailor Moon there's not been much Anime that I've gotten into, but I've discovered Death Note and have really gotten into it. I'm going by Hastings tonight to see if they have any of the comics (which I've never read ANY comic before) and I just bid on the cutest little figurine on ebay.



Isn't he the cutest? I want to get the figurine's of another character too, but I'm only going to bid if the seller will combine shipping costs. We'll see.

I'm starting to feel kind of blah again. Don't know what it is,but I'm getting light headed and queasy. I haaaaaaaaaaaate feeling sick. It's the worst thing in the world. Yuck.

I should be working, but I'm doing a picture post instead... Thom and Greg at a party yesterday. :)

Yay!



Taken last night. Thom has lipstick on his cheek and is wearing a bow tie with skulls and crossbones. LOL

I am so sick right now. I have been throwing up for the past 9 hours. I went to the doctor this morning because of an infection in my toe and he ended up removing the majority of my nail. I ended up having to go back to work after that to scribe an exam and my boss gave me some kind of prescription pain killer. That was mistake number one...Mistake number two was taking it and attempting to drive home after I scribed that test. I made it about 2 minutes outside of Stephenville and had to pull off the road to get sick. I drove about 17 miles and ended up finally having to call someone to get me and take me home. It was horrible. Still is. I can't keep anything down and I'm running to the bathroom to hurl every 10 minutes. Overshare, I know... but ug... I hate this... Moral of the story: Never take any drugs that aren't specially prescribed to you.

In other news...New picture of Thom (still no sign of Greg). He is starting to get sooo gray. Unbelievable. He's got to stop working so hard.

For all the Ted and Barry lovers of the world...

Ted Allen, Barry Rice at the TRESemmé Project Runway Finale Party; Mar 05, 2008

So I'm posting because I have nothing better to do at the moment, but I'm not officially canceling my hiatus status. I will be sporadically on just checking up on stuff, but I've lost interest in AIM and yahoo and everything else for the time being so, don't expect to see me there often if ever.

I'm posting this one because ( I'm bothered by something the rest of the world finds insignificant. )

( And another thing... )

You may now return to your regularly scheduled lives.

I'm going on a Hiatus for a while. You won't see me on AIM or yahoo and I probably won't update this or my Myspace for a while. I will continue to answer emails, but otherwise consider me unavailable.

P.S. Naomi, if you're still interested in interviewing me, you can email me at anytime. I trust you still have my email, but if not you can comment me and I'll get back to you.

Mom's okay. Thanks to those who noticed my post and took the time to comment.

My mom got a disturbing call this morning. It seems as though the mammogram she had a couple of weeks ago didn't sit quite right with the radiologist and they want her to come in for more tests. They haven't come out and said they think it's breast cancer, but I think we all have the sinking feeling that that's what they're going to say.

I feel very angry with God right now. Less than 10 years ago my mom was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and we all had to endure watching her struggle with that. My mom is a very stubborn and determined woman and refused to let it stop her and this past year she was declared in remission. Now...this. Was it not enough of a trail for her to endure the MS, God? It took me several years to find meaning and accept what happened to her before, I'm not sure I can find meaning this time without completely losing my mind.

Keep you posted...

Here I am...at work...busy but bored to tears. I've been looking online this morning at licensure laws in NY for LPC's and understand about as much as I did before I started looking...ZIP! So now I'm trying to network with actual counselors in the state who might be able to help me figure out what I have to do since A.) I won't be licensed in Texas and B.) I won't be considered a resident of NY until I've lived their for a year. This might be time to pull in the connections at Colombia from my boss...

( Rant In Progress...You Were Warned... )

I swear I always get so freaking lethargic right around this time. It's barely 11:30 I'm already ready for a nap. Luckily the "busy" part of my day is done, and I'm just chilling until 2 when I have my internship "interview". Not much of an interview really. I'm just going to go and talk to the agency I've volunteered at to see what we can work out. I think, however, during the summer I may end up working for another counselor because I think I can get all the hours I need without any trouble. Then in the fall I'll go to Cross Timbers and finish out there...if I decide not to stay on with this other lady. I'm just trying to feel my way around it all right now. I'm doing my best not to worry too much because I know that it'll all come together the way it's supposed to. It's so hard to consider that after December I stiillllllll have 3000 hours of training before I get my license...Grr...Is this worth it?

I have nothing worthwhile to talk about, so I'm going to make a Thommy picture post just because I can.







And one of Jai-Rod...



And for the Ted fans...an oldie, but goodie...



And the Carson fans...



And the Kyan fans...sorry there's nothing new on him, but I don't control that.

Holy crap....That's all I can say. I have totally stressed myself out the last three days. I'm busy applying for my internships which start in the summer and there is soooo much paperwork that I'm freaking out. The professors pretty much wash their hands of you too, and expect you to be able to do all of this on your own, but no one really understands WTF is going on or what we have to do. In the last two days I have:

1.) Found an intern site
2.) Filled out my practicum application
3.) Joined the Texas Counseling Association
4.) Applied for liability insurance so that I don't get sued
5.) Started thinking about the exam committee that I have to create with 3 faculty members who will write my comprehensive exam.

Hoooooopefully I've done everything I'm supposed to, but holy hell I made myself sick with worry. I think the professors need to better prepare us for all this stuff because .... yeah, you end up with people like me who are going to need medical attention by the end of this. ::rolls eyes::

Okay, I finally got the before and after pictures of my paint project, but allow me to forewarn you all...They Suck. The quality is really not so bueno. The color looks really off, and I don't have furniture yet. But...here we go, in order of before, during and after...

The Alcove:

Long shot of the Main Room:


The Stripey Wall!


I know they aren't the greatest pictures, but they work. The color of the plum looks really really bright in them. It's actually really dark in the room, and you can't really tell that the silver is there, but meh...*shrug* I'll post more as it comes further along. :)

Just found out on Simon & Schuster (simonsays.com) that Thom Filicia's book IS definitely coming out this year. The publication date has been set for October 28, 2008!! Hooray! The title will be Thom Filicia Style so keep an eye out, kids!