A sum up...
Lots of stuff to chatter on, but I'm not sure how much time i really feel like spending at the moment, so I think I'll do a few quick sum ups...
Tuesday: went to the rec center and worked out, first time in about two weeks now. So, I feel proud for doing that. Only prob is when I was on the treadmill, my side started hurting, so I got off after only doing a massive five minutes of walking. Dunno what the problem was, but hey, I tried. Went over to the weight machine afterwards and did a bunch of them. My "usual" weight on the machine didn't seem to do much for me, so I added about ten pounds on several of them. For the most part, I don't do the "five or ten lifts of the most weight I can handle then quit" type routine I see a lot fo guy doing. Instead, I try to keep it to a modest amount and do two reps of twenty or something.
It was kind fo weird... I saw this little girl with a basketball after I got off my treadmill, and I said to her, "Hey, you skipping school?" And she's like, "No, I don't go to school!" and I said, "You don't?"
"No, I home school!"
"Oh," I said, "That must be nice. I sometimes wished I had homeschool when I was younger." (Especailly during Junior High, I thought.)
So, I started walking, intending to just say a little bit and then keep going, but the little tyke starts following me. I sat down on a mat to rest a bit (side still hurting) and she sits down next to me. I'm like, "Well, listen, I gotta rest for a bit, my stomach's hurting. So, you take care, okay?"
But she stays with me and keeps chatting with me. I tried to send her on her way, saying, "Listen, I don't mind talking to you, it's just I'm worried what people will think, I mean, me, an adult, talking to some little girl I don't know."
She's like, "Oh, that's okay, I talk to people her all the time! My daddy's a teacher."
So, she continues chattering away. It was a rather...interesting conversation. I'm not sure how much of what she told me was true or not. I don't think she was lying to me, mind you, she was a very intelligent young girl, but I think she was getting a lot of details mixed up. At one point she told me 42 aunts and 20 cousins (then she said, "I said, ants!" maybe she meant she had an ant farm, I don't know.) She also said that one of her cousins was a witch ("But he's a good witch!" she assured me.) And that her sister used to not be popular but now she's got 42 friends (that number again, wonder if this little girl reads a lot of Douglas Adams books.)
At one point she like, "Hey, let's go play basketball!" and then the next, "You need to meet my dad!"
I said, "Well, I think I'm going to go work out for a bit."
"Oh, where you going."
"Over there," I said, pointing to the workout room. "Oh," she said, "Daddy lets me go in there! I can go anywhere, but he won't let me use the machine yet."
I get this feeling that had I gotten up right now and started walking over there she would have followed me and stayed by my side as I worked out.
Now, I have to admit, part of me was a bit concerned about this. I mean, I like kids, got six nieces and nephews, but I couldn't help but feel concerned at how rapidly she seemed to trust me after just speaking with me for less than a minute. Most kids I don't know they usually shy away from me when I say, "Hi" to them and sometimes hide behind mom or dad (get that a lot when I talk to customers at Toys R Us.) But this little girl...
Gosh, suppose I wasn't a nice person? Would I have been able lure her to a more secluded part of the center (or, even worse) outside with a promise of candy or something? I shudder to think about it.
And, even more so, I was still feeling anxious about talking to her. Despite her reassurance, I'd gotten in trouble last semester for talking to a young boy in the lockerroom. (Well, wasn't trouble, but they had THREE security guys come up to me at start asking question, took down my name and number and all that.) But that's another story...
Anyway, so, I'm just sitting there, didn't want too forceful and tell the girl it was time for her to move on. Started to think maybe I'd have to follow her to her dad and say, "Hey, you lost this." and then run off. But then a fellow came up and said, "Is she talking your ear off?"
It's was an older guy (about mid-thirties, I say) atheletic looking despite his age. I said, "Oh, hello, you must be daddy."
"Yeah, that's me."
"She's told me a lot about you."
"Ahh, well, don't believe everything she's tell you, she likes to make up stuff."
The girls all like, "Oh, hi daddy! This is Mike!"
"You're not bothering this man, are you honey!"
"Oh, no, we're friends!"
So, I introduced myself to the guy. I told him I didn't mind chatting with his daughter, as I used to being kids with my nieces and nephews and all, but I was concerned about the situation.
He said, "Oh, no, everyone knows her. She'll chatter with just about anyone..."
"Well, come on honey, she gotta go."
And they started to walk off. I said, "Well, nice meeting you, sir."
"You too, Mike."
"Bye!" the little girl called.
And then they left.
I dunno... I'm not a parent, so it's not really my place to critique other's parenting styles, but I think if I were a dad, I wouldn't let me seven (and a half, she added) year old daughter roam around a public place like that one her own. Even if she couldn't exit without a pass...
But anyway, so that was that experience.
In other news, turns out my student insurance didn't pay the full amount for my hospital stays (the two sleep studies). So, I owe St Joseph $540 and some change.
Ow.
Well, suffice to say, I don't have that type of money off-hand, so I'm gonna have to call them and set up some kind of payment plan or something. Hope they're not expecting too much, as I also have to make monthly payments to repay the $2,000 I owe for a student loan. (Oh, wait, I think it's down to $1,950 now. Yoohoo!)
So, that was a little depressing, but I dunno.. I'll figure something out. My hours are increasing at Toys R Us, so that'll help a bit.
In other news, still job hunting. Need to get an internship for the summer, as well as I'm looking for something more in line with my interests. I went to the job fair at SIU Tuesday. Sadly, they didn't have too much I was a) intersted in or b) qualified for. I DID however, turn in my resume to two different places, so maybe something will come up from one of those.
As for today.. well, got the day off from work and class. I'm going to TRY and study for this test I'll have this Monday. It's for my once a week Monday class, which I think is REALLY boring. I've heard rumor the teacher's tests are real freaking tough. Among other things, it's usually all essay. (Fun, fun.)
Tried to get some hours for my phone call job, but they only had a 3-4 slot for this afternoon. So, in the meantime, going to try and put up some auctions on ebay. Got some shirts I bought in a previous auction, but I can't wear them. It's weird, for some reason my skin is sensitive to certain types of fabric of designs... So, I'm going to try and re-sell these shirts to make my money back. In additon got a box of VHS tapes I'm going to try and put up.
Tuesday: went to the rec center and worked out, first time in about two weeks now. So, I feel proud for doing that. Only prob is when I was on the treadmill, my side started hurting, so I got off after only doing a massive five minutes of walking. Dunno what the problem was, but hey, I tried. Went over to the weight machine afterwards and did a bunch of them. My "usual" weight on the machine didn't seem to do much for me, so I added about ten pounds on several of them. For the most part, I don't do the "five or ten lifts of the most weight I can handle then quit" type routine I see a lot fo guy doing. Instead, I try to keep it to a modest amount and do two reps of twenty or something.
It was kind fo weird... I saw this little girl with a basketball after I got off my treadmill, and I said to her, "Hey, you skipping school?" And she's like, "No, I don't go to school!" and I said, "You don't?"
"No, I home school!"
"Oh," I said, "That must be nice. I sometimes wished I had homeschool when I was younger." (Especailly during Junior High, I thought.)
So, I started walking, intending to just say a little bit and then keep going, but the little tyke starts following me. I sat down on a mat to rest a bit (side still hurting) and she sits down next to me. I'm like, "Well, listen, I gotta rest for a bit, my stomach's hurting. So, you take care, okay?"
But she stays with me and keeps chatting with me. I tried to send her on her way, saying, "Listen, I don't mind talking to you, it's just I'm worried what people will think, I mean, me, an adult, talking to some little girl I don't know."
She's like, "Oh, that's okay, I talk to people her all the time! My daddy's a teacher."
So, she continues chattering away. It was a rather...interesting conversation. I'm not sure how much of what she told me was true or not. I don't think she was lying to me, mind you, she was a very intelligent young girl, but I think she was getting a lot of details mixed up. At one point she told me 42 aunts and 20 cousins (then she said, "I said, ants!" maybe she meant she had an ant farm, I don't know.) She also said that one of her cousins was a witch ("But he's a good witch!" she assured me.) And that her sister used to not be popular but now she's got 42 friends (that number again, wonder if this little girl reads a lot of Douglas Adams books.)
At one point she like, "Hey, let's go play basketball!" and then the next, "You need to meet my dad!"
I said, "Well, I think I'm going to go work out for a bit."
"Oh, where you going."
"Over there," I said, pointing to the workout room. "Oh," she said, "Daddy lets me go in there! I can go anywhere, but he won't let me use the machine yet."
I get this feeling that had I gotten up right now and started walking over there she would have followed me and stayed by my side as I worked out.
Now, I have to admit, part of me was a bit concerned about this. I mean, I like kids, got six nieces and nephews, but I couldn't help but feel concerned at how rapidly she seemed to trust me after just speaking with me for less than a minute. Most kids I don't know they usually shy away from me when I say, "Hi" to them and sometimes hide behind mom or dad (get that a lot when I talk to customers at Toys R Us.) But this little girl...
Gosh, suppose I wasn't a nice person? Would I have been able lure her to a more secluded part of the center (or, even worse) outside with a promise of candy or something? I shudder to think about it.
And, even more so, I was still feeling anxious about talking to her. Despite her reassurance, I'd gotten in trouble last semester for talking to a young boy in the lockerroom. (Well, wasn't trouble, but they had THREE security guys come up to me at start asking question, took down my name and number and all that.) But that's another story...
Anyway, so, I'm just sitting there, didn't want too forceful and tell the girl it was time for her to move on. Started to think maybe I'd have to follow her to her dad and say, "Hey, you lost this." and then run off. But then a fellow came up and said, "Is she talking your ear off?"
It's was an older guy (about mid-thirties, I say) atheletic looking despite his age. I said, "Oh, hello, you must be daddy."
"Yeah, that's me."
"She's told me a lot about you."
"Ahh, well, don't believe everything she's tell you, she likes to make up stuff."
The girls all like, "Oh, hi daddy! This is Mike!"
"You're not bothering this man, are you honey!"
"Oh, no, we're friends!"
So, I introduced myself to the guy. I told him I didn't mind chatting with his daughter, as I used to being kids with my nieces and nephews and all, but I was concerned about the situation.
He said, "Oh, no, everyone knows her. She'll chatter with just about anyone..."
"Well, come on honey, she gotta go."
And they started to walk off. I said, "Well, nice meeting you, sir."
"You too, Mike."
"Bye!" the little girl called.
And then they left.
I dunno... I'm not a parent, so it's not really my place to critique other's parenting styles, but I think if I were a dad, I wouldn't let me seven (and a half, she added) year old daughter roam around a public place like that one her own. Even if she couldn't exit without a pass...
But anyway, so that was that experience.
In other news, turns out my student insurance didn't pay the full amount for my hospital stays (the two sleep studies). So, I owe St Joseph $540 and some change.
Ow.
Well, suffice to say, I don't have that type of money off-hand, so I'm gonna have to call them and set up some kind of payment plan or something. Hope they're not expecting too much, as I also have to make monthly payments to repay the $2,000 I owe for a student loan. (Oh, wait, I think it's down to $1,950 now. Yoohoo!)
So, that was a little depressing, but I dunno.. I'll figure something out. My hours are increasing at Toys R Us, so that'll help a bit.
In other news, still job hunting. Need to get an internship for the summer, as well as I'm looking for something more in line with my interests. I went to the job fair at SIU Tuesday. Sadly, they didn't have too much I was a) intersted in or b) qualified for. I DID however, turn in my resume to two different places, so maybe something will come up from one of those.
As for today.. well, got the day off from work and class. I'm going to TRY and study for this test I'll have this Monday. It's for my once a week Monday class, which I think is REALLY boring. I've heard rumor the teacher's tests are real freaking tough. Among other things, it's usually all essay. (Fun, fun.)
Tried to get some hours for my phone call job, but they only had a 3-4 slot for this afternoon. So, in the meantime, going to try and put up some auctions on ebay. Got some shirts I bought in a previous auction, but I can't wear them. It's weird, for some reason my skin is sensitive to certain types of fabric of designs... So, I'm going to try and re-sell these shirts to make my money back. In additon got a box of VHS tapes I'm going to try and put up.