Good News at the 'Nasium!

Don't worry. For those of you awaiting quippy comments about my previous week painting the town red while Daniel was here I will still probably make some more comments, but I wanted to share some other really good news. As you can see from the picture it's always EXCITING times at the Mathnasium where I work. Doesn't little Avrami look excited? He did that on purpose because he knew we were taking pictures. Anyway as most of you know I work part-time at the Mathnasium using the Mathnasium Method to help children learn mathematics. I have to admit that I love this job and the only problem I've ever had with it, is that it isn't full time.

The other day I was riding in the car with my friend and I was telling him that I was thinking of taking some ECE classes at the local college to help broaden my horizons academically since I haven't actually taken any classes that deal directly with educating children. He asked if I was thinking of leaving the Mathnasium and I was like, NO! Actually what I want is to work for the Mathnasium full time with benefits making good money doing what I like to do. That's what I want.

I walked into work and my director Mark said he wanted to talk to me. I got nervous wondering what I had done wrong. But it turns out I was being offered a full time position as director of a Mathnasium that the company is opening up 6 minutes away from my house. Imagine my shock and surprise. Of course I said yes after about 3 minutes of consideration. I started director training today which was interesting. I've been working with the company for a little over a year now so I actually know quite a lot about it all ready. At least the teaching aspects of the job. But I'm still learning the business aspect of the job.

The center I'll be the director of is mainly focusing on children who will attend as a result of the No Child Left Behind gov't grants. Most children attend the Mathnsium because their parents can afford to pay for it, but in reality there are a lot of children who need the same service and can't afford it and that's what No Child Left Behind is about. I think it will be an interesting challenge and I look forward to working closely with one of the companies founders who helped the Mathnasium get the accreditation for gov't approval to use NCLB money.



The only sad part is that I'm leaving the 'nasium where I've been working the past year and I'm really going to miss the children I've been working with. Just look at Francesca...who wouldn't miss a precious angel like this?

Anyway that's all I have to say about that. As always have a good day and enjoy.

News Flash!!!

...beepbeepbeepbeepbeeeeep.....beepbeepbeepbeepbeeeep...dadadadaaaaa....Just wanted to let you guys know (for those who know them) my good friend Lisa went into labor today and is currently on the cusp of having the baby probably within the next few hours. Will post again with more updates. Or rather will update this post.

Update:
Lisa had baby Tyler last night at 7pm pacific time. He weighed in at 8 lbs. even. They are both doing well. Will update when more news occurs.

Update2:
Lisa and baby Tyler James came home this afternoon. They are both doing very well and the other kids are all very interested in the new baby. Dawson spent the afternoon lying on the bed staring at him. Katie pretty much continued as usual and will kept going back and forth looking at him and playing.

Tasting Los Angeles...(Chapter 1 of 3)

As some of you know this past week one of my good friends Daniel came to visit me in "sunny" SoCal. As I said I wasn't sure if LA was ready for him. And in all truth more crazy, funny, and interesting things have happened in or around LA this past week than they have in months. That boy comes over here and the next thing you know everything gets turned on it's head.

It started off with his real reasons for coming to visit LA. I'm sure that had something to do with the chain of events he set in motion by his arrival to the city. I'm sure he didn't come to visit me or his brother and he definitely didn't come to take in the sites. He came for all the good food LA has. What tipped me off was that we spent more time eating at a hole-in-the-wall Oaxacan restaurant than we did at all the LA tourist attractions combined.

We went on to eat at a multitude of restaurants that are difficult to find on the east coast. We had Ethiopian, Persian, Indonesian, and he had Korean BBQ. I didn't realize all the good places there were to eat in this city that I just take for granted are available everywhere. I leave it to Daniel to post what he liked best as well as any pictures he would like to show about his trip out here. If he doesn't well then something is wrong with that boy.

I think the point where I realized that we did have a surfeit of foods from around the world was when I asked if he wanted to get some Armenian fast food. Only in LA will you find Armenian fast food, when you can't even find an Armenian restaurant anywhere else. (exceptions being Lebanon, Armenia, etc)

Anyway I look forward to sharing all the other "juicy" details of Daniels trip to LA and all our adventures, but I'm actually feeling a little under the weather and will "post"pone further details until my next entry.

I hope you have enjoyed all the links and cheesy quotation marks. Have a good day and as always enjoy.

Trapped in the Vestibule (Chapter 5 of 5)...The Finale?!?

..."must have lost the track of time, oh what was on my mind"..."from the club went to her home, didn't plan to stay there long"...sorry just thought I'd drop in a few lyrics from Trapped in the Closet by R. Kelly.

...so I'm waiting outside of his door. Scared to knock, but knowing that I needed some resolution one way or the other I gathered my courage and rapped my knuckles against the wood of his door. He yells from the inside for me to come in. I open the door and walk in. He's sitting on the couch watching t.v. I'm thinking a thousand thoughts, mostly "Aren't we supposed to talk? Why is the t.v. on?" He asked me if I had dinner I said yes. I was lying, I couldn't eat before we spoke. He asked if he could make me a drink. I thought I might need one so I said yes. I sit on the couch while he mixes up some drinks. I turn off the t.v. while he's in the kitchen when he comes back I say, "Well you invited me over here to talk so let's just get it over with."

Fast Forward->Basically the conversation went along the lines of him telling me how much he has appreciated my friendship, (WHAT?!?) how great it has been to know me (After all I've given him and done for him) and that it's time for him to move into a new "phase" in his life. He said he knew once his music career started looking up that it was going to mean the end of us anyway. Well if he knew that then why didn't he just break up with me months ago. Why protract the agony? I sat there listening to him continue to shovel it deeper and deeper and I finally realized how full of it he really was.

And you know what? For the first time I felt more than hurt and rejection at his treatment of me. I started to feel annoyed and a little bit angry. I mean why was I wasting my time on him. He was so incredibly self-centered. For the first time I realized that I didn't love him. I loved who I "thought" he was. And he wasn't that person and he never was going. I finally realized that I had to move on from this. He wasn't going to change and I didn't have the patience to waste my time trying. It wasn't until after I left that I realized that in the conversation the mysterious aforementioned "someone else" never even featured in the conversation. And I wondered if she even exited. We hung out for a little while after we finished talking. I told him it would probably be for the best if we didn't hang out anymore, but I still wanted to stay friends with him. (I know I know I should have vowed never to speak to him again) I didn't want to give him anymore power than he already had.

We went our separate ways and I honestly thought I'd never hear from him again, but I was wrong...last night he called. He just wanted to talk to me...then he hit me with a bombshell. I mean I had spent the past two weeks being thoroughly angry with myself and him for the waste of this past year so it's sufficient to say I didn't really want to hear what he had to say. He said he was getting ready to get on a plane back to Chicago (where he is from). Then I paused for a minute. I know it's a really bad stereotype to say that black people aren't much for flying, swimming, or boating, but seriously it was probably made up for him (although he is half Puerto Rican). So I knew something was serious for him to get on a plane. Then he told me...his father had a massive stroke and he was going home to be with him and his family. I was stunned. I didn't want to be pulled back in but after the trauma I went through with him I had a small clue what he was going through. He called me this morning to say "his eyes are open" and "I think he can hear me". I will keep him in my prayers because I know he is in a stressful situation. He said he would call me back later tonight and let me know how things are going and I know I'll pick up the phone...

O.k. although the story hasn't ended my sharing of it has come to an end. I hope that you were able to get something from it as I am and will continue to do. I will keep you posted on what happens with his father, but that's it for now.

As always have a good day and enjoy.

Good Things

Anyway this weekend Joe and I are getting down to some serious business working on my room. Here is a picture of the first phase of destruction...ooops I meant construction.

On another note... is someone else out there trying to give relationship tips...uh oh...on occasion I like to look at other blogs and see what others are saying. I ran across an interesting blog by the brother of a friend and found he too was delving into the wonderful world of male/female interaction. Maybe he and I should team up and have a relationship blog that caters to the relationship dysfunct that rests in all of us. (it's the through the eye of a needle post). This guy has some potential.

Well that's all for now. Next post I will finish up my trapped in the vestibule saga. Have a good day and as always enjoy.

Again with the Tanikaism(schisms)!

Ok another break from the story I would just like to share some funny tidbits from the last week and exciting news from the past week.

First I'm very excited. It's only one more week until my friend Daniel comes to visit L.A. and most specifically the gangsta streets of the CC. Is SoCal ready for this? I've been planning out exciting things for us to do while he is here and interesting food he could try that might be a little more difficult to get back east. If anyone has any suggestions about some things they think we should try feel free to comment.

Funny Quotes: This past week I've heard some funny quotes that I would like to share with you.

Dawson 4 years old:
Dawson:"I want a black hotdog."
Parent:"No those are for Tanika, that's the way she likes them."
Dawson:"Why...Because she's black?!?"

Joshua 5 years old:
Joshua:"I need to go to the store to see some eggplant"
Parent:"Why Joshua?"
Joshua:"Because I want to see where eggs come from."

Joshua:"I need to talk to Felicia (who works at Dominos Pizza)"
Parent: "Why Joshua?"
Joshua:"I want to ask her how that 5-5-5 deal is going?"

Timothy 8 years old:
Timothy: "Have you seen (insert rated R movie title here)?"
Me:"No Timothy I don't watch movies like that."
Timothy: "Why, is it because of the language, violence, drug use, or sexual content?"
Me: "TIMOTHY?!? Please I don't want to talk about this, let's do some math."

If you have any funny things people have said to you this week feel free to share. As always have a good day and enjoy.

Trapped in the Vestibule (Chapter 4 of 5)

For those of you who don't know I've been sharing a relationship story that is true in all it's consequences. So where did I leave off...

He had just told me that he is seeing someone else...in my mind I'm thinking, "WHAT?!?" The other thoughts that went through my mind are unprintable. I hung up the phone and thought about doing serious damage to him, this unknown woman, and his personal property. Rest assured I didn't go anything illegal, but trust me I really wanted to. But the anger faded...and I was left feeling cold and empty. And I couldn't understand why. If I searched inside myself I have to admit it's not like I was really shocked by what happened. I mean are you?

Of course the normal questions like: Who is she? How long has this been going on? Why didn't he just tell me in the beginning? and the ultimate question: WHY DOES THIS ALWAYS HAPPEN TO ME? This wasn't the first time someone I had been dating, did the relationship defection, treated my like I was nothing then flipped the script and told me they were "seeing someone else". I question myself. Is there something inherently wrong with me? Why can't I keep a decent man? Maybe I can't actually recognize a decent man. Am I destined to only have relationships that don't last, where I give and give and he only takes? Why can't I find happiness? Am I destined to stay single? Why do I keep making the same wrong decisions?

Do you want to hear something funny? The week after this happened he showed up at my place in the evening. He wanted to see how I was doing, make sure I was ok. And it felt like we were about to start this cycle all over again. But the thing was I didn't want to. I couldn't handle it again. I knew I still loved him, but I just couldn't do this again. But the truth is could I be strong enough if he started up with me again in earnest. I wanted to believe that he could change. That I was worth changing for. He left not much being said except that he wondered if I would be interested in hanging out with him.

STOP!! WAIT!!! This is the same guy who just last week said that I disgust him. Was I seriously having this conversation with him. Why hadn't I punched him in the jaw as soon as he came in the door. But I have to confess I was hoping he was coming to abjectly apologize and through the whole interview I was waiting for him to break down, confess his faults, beg my forgiveness. Maybe it's because we weren't alone. I went outside with him. Maybe he needed some privacy. But no he didn't. He didn't even refer to what he said before. He acted like nothing even happened or worse that I forced him to say those things he did to me so basically it was my fault if I'm hurt by anything he did.

He left me with an anticlimactic feeling and I waited and wondered what was next...in my own mind...in his actions. But when the phone rang the next Wednesday I knew the situation had finally come to a head. He was calling me asking if I would come over. He wanted to talk and he needed some privacy which we couldn't get at my place. So now I'm on my way over to see what it is he wants to say...to be continued.

Stay tuned for the conclusion in Chapter 5 of 5.

Questions: Is there anyway this can possibly end well? Haven't I debased myself enough for this man. I was at the end of my goodness, my virtue, my patience. I wanted to hurt him, like he hurt me? And the bigger question of how am I supposed to recover from this and move on to have a normal healthy relationship? Maybe when I can stop questioning myself. Anyway as usual have a good day and enjoy.