Beneath the Wraps

          As I mentioned in my last post, I am up to two classes again. In one accounting class I am required to used QuickBooks online.   The other feels like a refresher course - though I think I'd get more out of it if I had the same instructor that I had for 101 and 102.               My payroll instructor wasn't exactly monotone, but his voice did seem unenthusiastic for the most part - as though he'd rather be sitting in a dentist chair getting his teeth drilled than having to teach a class.   One instructor that I have is at the other extreme - trying to compensate for the less-than-exciting material by being "overly" enthusiastic.   I almost feels like I am taking a class taught by my brother-in-law.             The instructor I like listening   to the most is the one I have for QuickBooks. ...

          I still like the feel of a book in my hands rather than having to constantly refer to the screen and "turn" the page by pressing next or arrow.  When the library had the book sale back in October and November, I found an accounting book that was in great condition - but it was from 1979.  I picked it up anyway.            Thus far I have taken two accounting classes and am now on my third and so far my outdated book has been compatible to my first two courses.  I obviously hadn't taken payroll or taxes into account.  Guess what my accounting focus is on for this class?           The government laws are constantly changing.  This tax is taken out for this purpose, that tax for another.  We no longer have just FICA and SSN - now there is IRCA created in in 1986, FMLA created in 1993, PRWORA creat...

Jenna's school is made of several buildings.   The other day when we received our voter's "pamphlet" we also received a card for a separate measure - a district bond.   I had not known until then how old some of the buildings are. Her sixth-period class is in a building that was built in 1930.   Her 2nd and 5th-period classes are in a building that was built in 1935 with annex (that may be where she meets) built in 1948.   The main building was built in 1947 and the elementary school (not included in her schedule) was built in 1949.   The oldest building (not on her schedule either) was built in 1927.   It looks it. Roland made a fuss over why this bill or measure wasn't presented 30 or 40 years ago.   Maybe it was.   We weren't here so we don't know. Meanwhile, Jenna walks from building to building.   And you are seeing it accurately.   It is all uphill.   The colored broken lines represent Jenna's footprints througho...

          Jenna had once told me that she thought it would be fun to be in junior high.  I personally never believed that - especially while attending.  I think my brother, Corey, hated junior high even more than I did.  He has been a substitute teacher in both high school and elementary but has chosen not to deal with the misfits of junior high.  Too many bad memories.           I did not choose to share my feelings about junior high - or middle school as some districts call it.  She'd find out soon enough - or hopefully not at all.  I would just smile and say, "That's great honey." while thinking, "I really hope it works out for you."                       Before school started, Jenna was apprehensive about going.  Of course I understand.  I w...

            We all make decisions.   Each choice we make has consequences whether good or bad as mentioned in this post             When we were living in Utah, Jenna had the opportunity of learning Spanish through the dual immersion program.   While some parts of Oregon offer this same program, the particular county we live in doesn’t offer any foreign language until high school.   I really did not wish to pull her out of the program.   She’s no longer learning Spanish at school, but she does have other opportunities here that she did not have in Utah.             She would not have been enrolled in band while in the sixth grade.   We may not have been able to afford the instrument.   We have the opportunity to do so here.        ...

       Being in Oregon still feels so surreal to me – like at any given moment I will wake up and be in that cracker box house in West Valley.   Take this morning for instance.   It was definitely cooler than any day that we’ve been here since we had come out for spring break.         I had dropped by the middle school to ask a few more questions.   The front door was open, and there was a light on one of the offices.   I think I heard a vacuum cleaner in the distance. It was before 9:00 am and perhaps was too early and so I decided to return at a later time.         I drove to the pool which was still closed. I decided to sit on a bench and read until the instructor and lifeguards started filing in, and then walk down to do some water aerobic workouts.   I took a few pictures from my cell phone (as I had left my camera at home by the computer) befo...

I attended Ricks College for one year.  Rexburg was over 200 miles away from my home and so I lived in the dorms near the campus. Believe it or not, I really did have three roommates with the same or similar names – though each spelled differently.  Christy Ann Howardson, Christie Lee Hill and Kristaleigh Phelps.  The girls who lived in the same dorm as we did would see me coming and would say, “Hi Christi-“ in which I would respond, “No, I’m the other one” thus earning my new nickname, “the other one” We couldn’t refer to the Christie(y)s with just the last initial because they both started with the same letter.  And although Christie was willing to go by Christie Lee it was just too confusing for Kristaleigh.  And Christy refused to go by Christy Ann.  So sometimes I called her Howard – or Howardine – just to get a rile out of her. It was actually kind of fun. As roommates go, we all had our peculiarities, our strengths and our weaknesses, et...