Fun at the Arismendy's

Last Tuesday I came home from school and was greeted by my lovely husband who after a nice conversation stops and looks me in the eyes.
He says to me "I have some bad news but it is not all lost yet."
Ok at this point with Manolo I have no idea what to expect.
Then he says it, "I lost my wedding ring, outside, with the leaves, I think in the front yard, or in the bag of leaves."
HEHEHE
I will not get mad... I will not get mad...
It was Sunday by the time we both had time to go through the leaf bags. Luckily there was only two and they were relatively small compared the that of the North.



Here we are staring on Bag number one.
Doesn't that look fun...

Guess what, of course it is not in the first bag we combed through on our hands and knees. :(



Here we are going through bag number two.
WoooHooo...
Manolo found it and we look up at one another with so much happiness and smiling from ear to ear.



This really is a funny story but I am just off right now on my story telling.
You know when you have great things coming your way for a while then it just stops. Well I am at a stop.
I hope that it picks up soon because I am really getting tired of not having anything to say or anyway to get what is inside of me out.

Plucked from my influences

I was sitting pondering the other day about immigration and migration. We all know about immigration but what if you think about migration. Let me put it this way. You are a hard working single mom living in an over populated city that is offering you very little money, bad living conditions, and a terrible education system for you children. How much different are you from a migrant worker or immigrant living in the states?
To immigrate is to leave your home and head for a better life in an unknown land. Just as you could do if you move to a small town, thus migration. You may live a life with lower pay there because the jobs can’t offer as much but you will not have the worries of your child having a less then average education, sharing books with other students, or being shot at by gangs etc. We never know what other people are living even if it is in front of our face. We have to live their experiences to truly understand.
So next time you see that hardworking migrant or transplant, be a little sympathetic. You never know the hell they have lived. Have you ever had to make stew from a coffee pot because that is the oly thing close to a stove you have.

Have you ever sat in a room with other people, all each working on their own project and you become so committed to what you’re doing that by the time you feel tired and need some inspiration you look up to find yourself sitting in a empty room?
I am finally bringing my head up and I am finding myself in an empty room.
(My dear family and friends, please don’t misunderstand me)
There are things in everyone’s life that they can only do alone and for me dedicating myself to school is one of those things.
I know that no one can do it for me. It is my ability to schedule my time to make my life functional.
What I am getting to is that I am here for the next two years and I have already made some commitments that I can’t break.
I have never quit anything in my life that was good for me. I have quit some that were bad, but that is another story.
I have never given up all hope either. I have been lost and wanted to quit in bouts of desperation but the bottom line is that I (we all) must keep going.
People of the Baby Boomer Generation keep saying to me “Well when I was in school they thought us all about _______.” Well your generation messed it up for my generation by making the television our babysitter so please stop saying that you are so great and smart because if you were I would know what you already know, but at 16 not 61.
What I am alluding to is that I must learn to work through my hardship and figure out how to continue living my life to its most enjoyable aspects.

Home Sweet Home

I want to share something that I found on wizardacademy.com. I have been thinking of returning to my home town with my new family but the closer I get to home the more I see that I no longer fit in. I thought this was funny because I just so happen to come across this quote from John Steinbeck and found that even though times change and people change the issues are relatively the same.

I hope you enjoy.

"My town had grown and changed and my friend along with it. Now returning, as changed to my friend as my town was to me, I distorted his picture, muddied his memory. When I went away I had died, and so became fixed and unchangeable. My return caused only confusion and uneasiness. Although they could not say it, my old friends wanted me gone so that I could take my proper place in the pattern of remembrance - and I wanted to go for the same reason."- John Steinbeck in Travels With Charley

Epiphany in the shower

My sister-in-law and mother-in-law are here in the states from Columbia, South America and I am really glad to have them. My husband’s side of the family rarely talks to me in English so I rely on what little Spanish I can speak and work off body language for the rest. That has been working out well for the past 5 years but I know that I have to learn their language. Manolo’s sister and mother will be with us for the most part of three months and spending time with other family members in the area.
I am amazed at how well we all get along, you know how some families change their song and dance after the wedding and relationships sour. Well all is looking good on my side of the picket fence and I am hoping that it stays that way.
Anywho, Manolo and I have had the house for two years and have lived together for about four years; though we have had people come and stay with us I have forgotten what it sounds like to have people in our home. I mean when you’re growing up all you know is people stomping through the house and TV’s being on full blast all the time. But for me I have forgotten all the sounds of a living house. I have been in my own dwelling for eight years and it just blows me away as to how sound sensitive I have become.
For the past three days I have had two more people in my house walking around, watching TV, and cooking in my kitchen. It is nice to have a house full of people and I always enjoy having people here because both our families live so far away, but it hit me just this morning, in the shower. If I let the noise become an unbearable burden then this experience of sharing my home will become an emotional scare that I will carry with me forever. However, if I instead dance to the new rhythm of my wooden house it can be a great experience. All the tapping of shoes, the pings of pots and pans, the muffled sounds of phone conversations as my bass line, do you hear a Disney musical happening here?
All and all I am glad to have them here and can’t wait to really focus on learning the native tongue of my new family. When I really think about it is just great to have more women in my house, you know hanging with the girls on the couch and knitting.

Annoying Factor

I am dealing with people all day just like everyone else in this world and I just can’t help but want to jab a pencil in some of their ears. I have to listen to all the whoos of your life and how it is hard to work and garden all in one week. You came to me to tell me how your day is hard and your tired. Well let me just roll out the red carpet for your tired old feet. Let me show you the way to the edge of the cliff where I can push you off so you can tumble to the rocky bottom bouncing all the way. You in the same breath tell me that if you sell you house you can live dept free where ever you want.
That is just great.
I love to complain about my life too but I do it here where no one cares.
I am all about being the shoulder to cry on but the more stress I take on the less coherent I become.
Just shut up and leave me alone.
O and I mean this in the nicest way.

One Year Down

This first year was tough for us but we made it through and we did it together. I just want to take this moment to tell you that I love you and I like you. I couldn’t do this without you.
Thank you to all our friends and family that take part in our lives.

New outlook

Well I have dropped. My rein of Google is over.

But there is always tomorrow.

More to come

I am working on a good post and I hope to have it up in a day or so.

Stay with me people, it will be worth it because if I can just get you to laugh my job will be done.

Google

The sky has opened and the sound of angels singing fills the air.

I have arrived.

If you type in rougholive today in Google my site will come up first.

I would like to thank the academy, my parents, and all the little people I had to step on in order to arrive to the top of the list.

To bad very few people are out there looking for Rough Olive and her quarky view on life.

Keeping the faith.

Have you ever sat in a room with other people, all each working on their own project and you become so committed to what you’re doing that by the time you feel tired and need some inspiration you look up to find yourself sitting in a empty room?
I am finally bringing my head up and I am finding myself in an empty room.
(My dear family and friends, please don’t misunderstand me)
There are things in everyone’s life that they can only do alone and for me dedicating myself to school is one of those things. I know that no one can do it for me. It is my ability to schedule my time to make my life functional.
What I am getting to is that I am here for the next two years and I have already made some commitments that I can’t break.
I have never quit anything in my life that was good for me. I have quit some that were bad, but that is another story.
I have never given up all hope either. I have been lost and wanted to quit in bouts of desperation but the bottom line is that I (we all) must keep going.
People of the Baby Boomer Generation keep saying to me “Well when I was in school they thought us all about _______.” Well your generation messed it up for my generation by making the television our babysitter so please stop saying that you are so great and smart because if you were I would know what you already know, but at 16 not 61.
What I am alluding to is that I must learn to work through my hardship and figure out how to continue living my life to its most enjoyable aspects.

Wizard (Click Here)

I really just want to change the mood this morning because the last two entries have been down.
So I am going to give myself some advice.

"It is perfectly okay to write garbage – as long as you edit brilliantly."
– C.J. Cherryh

Here is a quote from my favorite web site.
I like this because it made me giggle this morning.
I hope you enjoy it too.

Nothing Special

Today I did some shopping at Big Lots for cheap Halloween decorations then I came home and made some soup.
I totally spaced on Manolo and feel ready bad about it.
I don’t now where this drive to want to be perfect comes from. I hated people like me when I was young and I don’t like people like me now, so how did I become this person? Who really wants to be liked by everyone anyway?
I should not give two terds about what other people think of me.
More and more though I just want to stay home and not do anything social.
I had friends here in Tampa but for whatever reason I have pushed them all away or just blatantly ignored them. Not because I am tired of them but I just don’t feel like I can get out of the house.
I get up in the mornings and go to work always leaving the same time as Manolo so that I will not be in the house alone. Then I work, and then I go to school and finally I head home to be with Manolo. I don’t really want to do anything else. It is kind of sad but I think this town is starting to wear me out.
Or maybe I am just standing in the middle of my dark tunnel and can’t see light from either end so I am feeling hopeless and discouraged.
The past two weeks off of school really just give me enough time to get a taste of the “boring” life style that I so miss and yearn for.
Be here for another two years so I am sure you will be hearing more about this.
Sorry if it seems so down but I am just not feeling it this week.

Daily Event

My main squeeze and I are trying to make some extra money and clear some clutter from out itty-bitty house so we are selling some of my old textbooks from last quarter on eBay. Last night we headed out around 9pm to the postal office by the airport that is open 24 hours a day. Once we got there we head in the doors books in tow and look for something to put the books in for shipping. The store that has the big envelopes was closed but that didn’t deter my husband one bit. He walked over to the counter grabbed the cheapest mail service envelope and proceed to stuff the biggest hardcover textbook we had into it.
To no ones surprise it didn’t fit but again my husband is no quitter and pulled the book out, turned it around and pushed till it j u s t fit. Then he squeeze the top shut and even though the top of the book could still be seen he grabbed some tape and covered that envelop leaving just enough room to put an address on it.
As we head to the line, which really isn’t very long since it is 9:30 by now, and stand there waiting patiently till one guy behind the counter decides to open just for us. We approach and throw out packages on the counter. We start to joke with the guy about what we are shipping and that our 1 year anniversary is coming up. We are all standing there laughing it up and ordering stamps.
Then it happens he gives us a balance and we hand him a debit card. He runs the card and walks away as it is processing. My husband looks over the counter and sees that he has been declined, Woops! The bank closed that card because there were suspicious charges on it that my husband didn’t make. Well that is ok we have another one and we hand it to him, hehe woops that one doesn’t have any money in it either because we just paid all our bills with that account.
Here comes me “I will save the day” I hand over another debit card and by this time the guy behind the counter can’t stop laughing at how poor we are. I mean we were just joking with him about how our first year of marriage has been a poor one and that is why the first gift is paper. THAT IS ALL ANYONE CAN AFFORD! Anyway so I hand him my card and say don’t worry this one should have something in it. Do I have to go on any more? It was declined. Hehehehehehe it was the same card my husband handed him but with my number on it.
Ok at this point we are asking if we could work off the different at the post office. The guy behind the counter can’t stop laughing at us and my husband is starting to really get embarrassed. Finally I pull out my debit card and it has just enough to cove the charge and we pay for our stuff and walk out of the post office like nothing ever happened.
Always something going on over here.

I hope ya’ll enjoy that one there are more to come.

School is in

Last night after work I raced home so I could start dinner and clean the house a little. After getting dinner started my phone rings and it is Manolo but as I go to pick it up it quits ringing. At the same time I hear a little knock at my door. I assume that it is Manolo and he needs help carrying something in and that is why he was calling, so I could open the door. But as I approach my door there is a shotgun blast of knuckles that shoot across the door, then the door bell rings. I am a little worried at this point because Manolo doesn’t knock like a wild banchy. The closer I get to the door the louder I can hear little voices, little girl voices. I open the door and there are the three neighbor girls from up the street. I am greeted with three of the biggest smiles I have ever seen followed up with a “HI, would you like to buy some raffle ticket, there only a dollar and you could win 50,000 dollars”
It was really only 5,000 and that was the top prize but 50,000 is close enough.
“Sure, you know, I will buy two”
The little girl replies.
“I knew you would, when we started I said we should go to that girls house because she is nice and she always sits on her porch and waves when we go by”. The little girl next to her just smiled and said “Ya, Ya”.
I went to find the (two dollars) and they continued to talk to me as I walked through my house peppering me with questions like how old are you, do you live here alone, how long have you lived here, and so on.
I found the two dollars and as I was filling out the raffle while one little girl proceeded to tell me that I look 19 and that I must be cool because I have piercing and old people don’t have those. They also said they liked my house and that I kept it really clean (she caught me on a good day). The little girl next to her just smiled and said “Ya, Ya”.
The second girl yells out “My mom is old and already had her life crisis; she was going to but a car but instead she just lost weight”. I could not help but laugh at this a little.
I gave them my tickets and they told me I would be contacted by the school if I won and that they wouldn’t be the ones calling me. But before they stepped off my porch they where sure to thank me and said they would see me when I drive past their house.

Self Interview 10/01/06

I have grown and matured
I have spent the last 10 years of my life learning and accepting what has been taught to me
For as much as I have learned I have forgotten
Maybe I was a bad person in my youth but today I try my best to be the best that I can be
The point is
We are always learning and evolving into who we are at this time
But we will keep changing the more we learn
So don’t label yourself anything because chances are that it wont last.

Yesterday I was an artist
Today I am a scholar
Tomorrow maybe a spectator