So my coworker and I are preparing to do this AWESOME presentation for 6th and 8th graders on Friday... I've decided to do an anti-tobacco rap, but all the ones we have suck... So I rewrote "Yeah" (by Usher, feat. Lil' Jon & Ludacris)! Here are my new lyrics:
"No!”
(feat. Mb & JB)
[Mb:]
Peace up! C-wood!
[JB:]
No, no! No way!
(JB! Mb! JB! Mb!)
[Mb:]
Let’s go!
[JB:]
No, no, no… no, no, no, no…
[Mb(Verse 1):]
Up getting’ lunch with my homies, tryin’ to get a lil’ pizza,
but it looks really greasy,
‘cause you know how it is.
I saw a cutie checkin’ up on me, from the way he was smilin’ my way,
you would think that he knew me,
So we decided to chill…
He asked me to smoke with him,
He had me feelin’ like I’m ready to puke!
(Watch out! Oh! Watch out!)
He’s saying, “Smoke with me! Smoke with me,”
So I got up and l let him watch me go,
He said, “Please just try one!”
Then I told him, I said,
No, no, no….
[Mb/JB(Chorus):]
No (no) Smoker hacked phlegm balls and said, “Smoke with me”
No (no) I got so grossed out I forgot he told me
No (no) His mom got emphysema and cancer
No (no) Next thing I knew he was all up on me, coughing
No, no, no…
[JB(Verse 2):]
So he’s all up in my grill now,
Got me thinking that it might be stupid to smoke like him,
‘Cause he’s ready to hurl (ready to hurl)
But I gotta keep it real now,
‘Cause he’s in my math class in the seat next to me,
And that’ d be awkward.
Because I don’t know
If I take that chance
Just where it’s gonna lead,
But what I do know
Is the way he smells
Makes cutie real gross to me.
The way he’s (so broke!)
I’m like, NO, just wanna save my money.
He asked if I had a light,
I said, “Yeah right!”
Why on earth is he smokin’ that stuff?
And I said….
[Mb/JB(Chorus):]
No (no) Smoker hacked phlegm balls and said, “Smoke with me”
No (no) I got so grossed out I forgot he told me
No (no) His mom got emphysema and cancer
No (no) Next thing I knew he was all up on me, coughing
No, no, no…
[Mb:]
Hey, JB!
[Mb(Verse 3):]
Watch out!
Tobacco’s ridiculous,
In the mags, looking so obnoxious.
And wow, these companies are tryin’ ‘to hook,
Young kids ‘cause they think they like the look…
Forget about the game, I'm a spit the truth,
They won’t stop ‘til they get you in a funeral suit,
So give ‘em your money and it’ll be gone with your lives,
All so this stupid industry can survive…
I left the cigs and I took my health,
Now I’m the one who will keep all of my wealth,
How you like me now,
When smokers spend over one hundred thousand…
That’s just for a pack a day
Of smokes and not much more, for realz
They get ya hooked now and leave you dead,
They want people who don’t think and use their head…
[Chorus]
[Mb/JB(Bridge):]
Take that and rewind it back, JB got the skillz to make ya wanna say NO
Take that and rewind it back, Mb got the facts to make ya wanna say NO
Take that and rewind it back, JB got the help to make ya wanna say NO
Take that and rewind it back, Mb got the ways to make ya wanna say NO
Monday, March 31, 2008
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Lame, lame,lame...
So there goes me job... It's not "for sure" yet, but my boss said she really doesn't think my position will stay after our HUGE budget cut. :(
Other services of ours that are being cut as of July 1, 2008:
-ALL cessation classes (including my work with the teenagers!!)
-ALL prevention past 8th grade (meaning we will no longer do classes in high schools)
-ALL community events (like health fairs)
... SuckY!!! :( Silly mis-managing of $$. I deem this whole thing lame. (By "lame," of course, I mean ridiculous, unfounded, and stupid.)
Grrr...
So now I'm hunting for jobs. The Department of Defense has a sweet education program that I'm thinking about... You'd teach abroad on a U.S. military base... As a matter of fact, I'm gonna start applying for that now... Peace!
Other services of ours that are being cut as of July 1, 2008:
-ALL cessation classes (including my work with the teenagers!!)
-ALL prevention past 8th grade (meaning we will no longer do classes in high schools)
-ALL community events (like health fairs)
... SuckY!!! :( Silly mis-managing of $$. I deem this whole thing lame. (By "lame," of course, I mean ridiculous, unfounded, and stupid.)
Grrr...
So now I'm hunting for jobs. The Department of Defense has a sweet education program that I'm thinking about... You'd teach abroad on a U.S. military base... As a matter of fact, I'm gonna start applying for that now... Peace!
Friday, March 21, 2008
Injustice
So there's been a LOT of crap going down here at the County Health Department lately... I'll give you a brief summary, so you can be as outraged as I am.
1.) A few weeks ago, there was a big "scandal" because of some pamphlets people in different programs were distributing. The pamphlets provided legal advice/info for immigrants. Since the brochure was in Spanish, I'm assuming it was geared towards Mexican immigrants, which is a large demographic in Arizona. Anyway, the pamphlets stated something to the effect of waiting to have a lawyer before talking to ANYTHING pertaining to legal status/law. (This would mean one's residency status was in question.) Apparently, this was HUGE, and several people almost lost their jobs for providing this information.
2.) 2 weeks ago, we hosted a successful event in the area called "Teen Maze." It was awesome. Here are a few pictures from the tobacco booth (which I was in charge of), as well as an overhead view of the entire set-up:
Anyway, at this event, one of the "stations" was about STDs and safe sex. The gal we had doing it is PHENOMENAL at it, and she got rave reviews from the kids, the teachers, and from us (of course). There is NO question that the kids here (and everywhere, really) need this information!! There are far too many STDs and teen pregnancies going around, and these issues absolutely need to be addressed to the population at large.
Unfortunately, not everyone feels the way we (the health department) do about this. :( Several irate parents called us, as well as a few nervous school administrators, after the event to complain.
LONG story short, because of a handful of complaints (6, I think, was the total number), the girl lost her job. Done. She officially resigned yesterday. (She was given the option to resign or be fired.) We were all PISSED!!! A health educator lost her job over DOING her job!! What the hell!? Things here are very somber today, as we mourn the loss of one of our finest employees.
3.) We just found out yesterday that the State is cutting our tobacco budget significantly. Other counties have seen cuts of 40% and 60% (!!!) of their tobacco budgets, and we'll find out our fate on Monday. We know for certain, though, that ALL tobacco cessation efforts will be cut with the exception of a 1-800 number people can call. That means that ALL the work I've been doing with adults and teenagers will be cut. Gone. Kaput. Also, they're definitely cutting our efforts with high-schoolers. No more tobacco education past grade 8. NOT cool. So we're also super pissed about that. Finally, because of the cut, I may be out of a job as of July 1st. (That's when our grant would be cut.) Sucky!! Just when I was really getting the hang of this whole thing... I would be the first to go, since I haven't been here as long as everyone else. Sigh.
So, faithful readers, this is a sad day (and week, really) in our little corner of the world. I'm considering alternate plans for my future, and here are some of my best options:
1.) Go back to teaching.
2.) Go back to school (I'm still seriously considering ASU's program, but I'd have to do it sooner than anticipated).
3.) Teach abroad!! (We have a coworker and her husband leaving next month to teach English in South Korea for a year, and it's sounding pretty darn tempting to do something similar.)
4.) Go into an entirely different field of employment.
We'll see. So as of this moment, I don't know what I'll be doing in July. Happy weekend, everyone.
1.) A few weeks ago, there was a big "scandal" because of some pamphlets people in different programs were distributing. The pamphlets provided legal advice/info for immigrants. Since the brochure was in Spanish, I'm assuming it was geared towards Mexican immigrants, which is a large demographic in Arizona. Anyway, the pamphlets stated something to the effect of waiting to have a lawyer before talking to ANYTHING pertaining to legal status/law. (This would mean one's residency status was in question.) Apparently, this was HUGE, and several people almost lost their jobs for providing this information.
2.) 2 weeks ago, we hosted a successful event in the area called "Teen Maze." It was awesome. Here are a few pictures from the tobacco booth (which I was in charge of), as well as an overhead view of the entire set-up:
Anyway, at this event, one of the "stations" was about STDs and safe sex. The gal we had doing it is PHENOMENAL at it, and she got rave reviews from the kids, the teachers, and from us (of course). There is NO question that the kids here (and everywhere, really) need this information!! There are far too many STDs and teen pregnancies going around, and these issues absolutely need to be addressed to the population at large.
Unfortunately, not everyone feels the way we (the health department) do about this. :( Several irate parents called us, as well as a few nervous school administrators, after the event to complain.
LONG story short, because of a handful of complaints (6, I think, was the total number), the girl lost her job. Done. She officially resigned yesterday. (She was given the option to resign or be fired.) We were all PISSED!!! A health educator lost her job over DOING her job!! What the hell!? Things here are very somber today, as we mourn the loss of one of our finest employees.
3.) We just found out yesterday that the State is cutting our tobacco budget significantly. Other counties have seen cuts of 40% and 60% (!!!) of their tobacco budgets, and we'll find out our fate on Monday. We know for certain, though, that ALL tobacco cessation efforts will be cut with the exception of a 1-800 number people can call. That means that ALL the work I've been doing with adults and teenagers will be cut. Gone. Kaput. Also, they're definitely cutting our efforts with high-schoolers. No more tobacco education past grade 8. NOT cool. So we're also super pissed about that. Finally, because of the cut, I may be out of a job as of July 1st. (That's when our grant would be cut.) Sucky!! Just when I was really getting the hang of this whole thing... I would be the first to go, since I haven't been here as long as everyone else. Sigh.
So, faithful readers, this is a sad day (and week, really) in our little corner of the world. I'm considering alternate plans for my future, and here are some of my best options:
1.) Go back to teaching.
2.) Go back to school (I'm still seriously considering ASU's program, but I'd have to do it sooner than anticipated).
3.) Teach abroad!! (We have a coworker and her husband leaving next month to teach English in South Korea for a year, and it's sounding pretty darn tempting to do something similar.)
4.) Go into an entirely different field of employment.
We'll see. So as of this moment, I don't know what I'll be doing in July. Happy weekend, everyone.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
A bit of ... everything?
Hokay, first: one of the bomb diggity-est anti-tobacco videos I've seen yet:
http://www.thetruth.com/videos/typo.cfm
AWESOME!!!
Next, a SCHWEET website with hilarious t-shirts:
http://www.bustedtees.com/
(I didn't embed the links because I wanted you to see the addresses easily.) :)
Finally, what is an olive??? Is it a fruit? A veggie? A legume? A nut?? What??!?! That was our debate at dinner last night.
P.S. The polygraph turned out A-OK. The woman who went after me, however, didn't pass!! I'm glad I went before her!!
P.P.S. Photo credit here.
http://www.thetruth.com/videos/typo.cfm
AWESOME!!!
Next, a SCHWEET website with hilarious t-shirts:
http://www.bustedtees.com/
(I didn't embed the links because I wanted you to see the addresses easily.) :)
Finally, what is an olive??? Is it a fruit? A veggie? A legume? A nut?? What??!?! That was our debate at dinner last night.
P.S. The polygraph turned out A-OK. The woman who went after me, however, didn't pass!! I'm glad I went before her!!
P.P.S. Photo credit here.
Monday, March 10, 2008
My polygraph!
So today I took my first (and hopefully last!) polygraph test!! Eeek!!
Why, you might ask, would an upstanding citizen such as myself need to take such a test? Well, I'll tell you!
The short of it is that I'm trying to be a Court-Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for a child/children in the area. Since I'd be "working" for the Supreme Court, I am required to pass a polygraph. Crazy!!
Anyway, it was very interesting. The guy (who was very nice and who walked me through the whole thing) asked me 2 sets of questions, each set having 30 questions in it. We went over them together, and then I had to answer them again while hooked up to the machine. Crazy!
The apparatus, straight out of 1972, had 3 measuring implements:
1.) a blood-pressure cuff
2.) 2 electronode thingees to measure how much sweat I produced
3.) a phone-cord-like thing that went around my chest to measure my breathing
It was wild! Anyway... arg... Looks like it's time for me to go to job #2 (tutoring), then band, so I'll have to conclude this enthralling story later! Ciao!
Why, you might ask, would an upstanding citizen such as myself need to take such a test? Well, I'll tell you!
The short of it is that I'm trying to be a Court-Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for a child/children in the area. Since I'd be "working" for the Supreme Court, I am required to pass a polygraph. Crazy!!
Anyway, it was very interesting. The guy (who was very nice and who walked me through the whole thing) asked me 2 sets of questions, each set having 30 questions in it. We went over them together, and then I had to answer them again while hooked up to the machine. Crazy!
The apparatus, straight out of 1972, had 3 measuring implements:
1.) a blood-pressure cuff
2.) 2 electronode thingees to measure how much sweat I produced
3.) a phone-cord-like thing that went around my chest to measure my breathing
It was wild! Anyway... arg... Looks like it's time for me to go to job #2 (tutoring), then band, so I'll have to conclude this enthralling story later! Ciao!
Saturday, March 8, 2008
How I turned my frown upside down...
(Before you start reading: If my blog bores you, feel free to stop reading. I don't need to hear about your boredom; I write this for me, and I'm up for sharing my experiences with whatever audience wants to read them. So there!) :)
... So today started off ok... My 9:00 tutee cancelled, leaving me some coveted time to read and relax this morning. I was the only tutor at the college today (from 10am-2pm, which is the full time the tutoring center is open), so I was a bit apprehensive. It turned out mostly ok.
There was one woman I just wasn't able to help, though. I had *completely* forgotten how to do 2 of her problems, so I think I caused more inital confusion than good. (With the help of another tutor who was just "hanging out" there today, we got everything done, but it was still frustrating.) Eventually (after messing up a second time), I put my head down out of sheer exasperation with myself. I excused myself to the bathroom, where I actually cried!! Egads! When I'd composed myself a few minutes later, I returned to find that the kindly off-duty tutor had helped our hestitant math tutee. Thank goodness!
Aside from that, tutoring today was fine. When I was calming myself down, I promised myself a nice, long run when I got home, and that made me feel much better.
I got home, and shortly thereafter, my roommate and his parents came in. We all hung out for a bit, and then off for a run I went!
I was aiming for 55 or more minutes, which should put me right around 5 miles. Around minute 35, my right foot started KILLING me with a stupid blister I get from my running shoes. (To combat this, I usually double-up on socks or wear a bandaid, or both. Today, I had a bandaid.) I stopped at minute 36 to tighten the laces on my shoe, but the pain was still pretty bad. At minute 37, I stopped again and pulled the bandaid off. At minute 38, in sheer agonizing pain, I stopped completely, tears welling in my eyes.
Usually around 20-22 minutes, I get chest & shoulder cramps. Today was no exception, but I ran through them. I was feeling strong and capable after that. That's why it was SOOOOO maddening to have to stop becuase of my foot!! Usually the lungs are the things to hurt the most, but after running through that, the foot pain was unbearable. I cried (again!!) for a while, absolutely PISSED that I had to stop.
"What if this happens in the half-marathon?" I'd wondered. With this thought, tears ran down my face.
"What if my shoes cause excruciating pain during a race and I have to stop?" The thoughts kept coming, and I felt indescribably angry and sad.
Luckily, my iPod was still crankin' away, so I walked briskly for 30 minutes to the tunes. Since I'd planned on taking a long run today, I went farther from my house than I normally do (today, about 3 miles out). That meant I had to limp back a LOOOONG way, the sun beating down on me, which made me even more upset!
While I was walking through the pain and self-defeat, another runner and I crossed paths. This made me feel even crappier!! :( He was truckin' away at a good pace, and gave a friendly smile & wave. I tried my best to look like I was in awful pain (which I was!), and I returned a half-hearted smile.
"What the hell else?!" I wondered, angrily, at God/the Universe/the powers that be/nature. "Are you gonna send people I know this way, so I can be super humiliated? Will I also twist an ankle? Will I get horribly sunburned??" Ugh!!
A few minutes later, I decided to change my attitude.
I told myself I was grateful for being able to walk, and that I'd be able to run again soon. I set up a course of action: rest up a day or two, and bandage up super well for the next run. Next weekend, when I'm in Phoenix, I'll get fitted for (and buy!) a pair of shoes that actually work for my foot! After that, I'll be golden!
The music really helped, too. I played some good "pissed-off" songs, and then gradually let the "powerful" songs play.
Then it happened: my second wind and determination!! It was just the right combination: the sun was diagonally behind me, the wind was refreshing, the right song was going, and there was a downhill grade ahead. I started walking faster, and before I knew it, I was jogging, then in a full-out run. Yes, the blister HURT like a biotch, but I pushed through it.
...And I kept going.
I finished up my run for a total of 57 running minutes and 35 walking. A super workout!!! Of course, my foot was SCREAMING in pain at the end, but I'd done it: I'd run more than 55 minutes!!
It was such an invigorating feeling that I just *had* to share!! :)
As an aside, I was planning this entry out as I walked/ran. When I first had to stop and walk, I was going to title this "Mb and the Horrible, Terrible, No Good, Very Bad Day." However, when I was able to run again, I decided on the present title. So there!
Thanks, faithful readers, and I'll catch you later on.
P.S. Photo credits are here for the runner and here for the iPod Nano. :)
... So today started off ok... My 9:00 tutee cancelled, leaving me some coveted time to read and relax this morning. I was the only tutor at the college today (from 10am-2pm, which is the full time the tutoring center is open), so I was a bit apprehensive. It turned out mostly ok.
There was one woman I just wasn't able to help, though. I had *completely* forgotten how to do 2 of her problems, so I think I caused more inital confusion than good. (With the help of another tutor who was just "hanging out" there today, we got everything done, but it was still frustrating.) Eventually (after messing up a second time), I put my head down out of sheer exasperation with myself. I excused myself to the bathroom, where I actually cried!! Egads! When I'd composed myself a few minutes later, I returned to find that the kindly off-duty tutor had helped our hestitant math tutee. Thank goodness!
Aside from that, tutoring today was fine. When I was calming myself down, I promised myself a nice, long run when I got home, and that made me feel much better.
I got home, and shortly thereafter, my roommate and his parents came in. We all hung out for a bit, and then off for a run I went!
I was aiming for 55 or more minutes, which should put me right around 5 miles. Around minute 35, my right foot started KILLING me with a stupid blister I get from my running shoes. (To combat this, I usually double-up on socks or wear a bandaid, or both. Today, I had a bandaid.) I stopped at minute 36 to tighten the laces on my shoe, but the pain was still pretty bad. At minute 37, I stopped again and pulled the bandaid off. At minute 38, in sheer agonizing pain, I stopped completely, tears welling in my eyes.
Usually around 20-22 minutes, I get chest & shoulder cramps. Today was no exception, but I ran through them. I was feeling strong and capable after that. That's why it was SOOOOO maddening to have to stop becuase of my foot!! Usually the lungs are the things to hurt the most, but after running through that, the foot pain was unbearable. I cried (again!!) for a while, absolutely PISSED that I had to stop.
"What if this happens in the half-marathon?" I'd wondered. With this thought, tears ran down my face.
"What if my shoes cause excruciating pain during a race and I have to stop?" The thoughts kept coming, and I felt indescribably angry and sad.
Luckily, my iPod was still crankin' away, so I walked briskly for 30 minutes to the tunes. Since I'd planned on taking a long run today, I went farther from my house than I normally do (today, about 3 miles out). That meant I had to limp back a LOOOONG way, the sun beating down on me, which made me even more upset!
While I was walking through the pain and self-defeat, another runner and I crossed paths. This made me feel even crappier!! :( He was truckin' away at a good pace, and gave a friendly smile & wave. I tried my best to look like I was in awful pain (which I was!), and I returned a half-hearted smile.
"What the hell else?!" I wondered, angrily, at God/the Universe/the powers that be/nature. "Are you gonna send people I know this way, so I can be super humiliated? Will I also twist an ankle? Will I get horribly sunburned??" Ugh!!
A few minutes later, I decided to change my attitude.
I told myself I was grateful for being able to walk, and that I'd be able to run again soon. I set up a course of action: rest up a day or two, and bandage up super well for the next run. Next weekend, when I'm in Phoenix, I'll get fitted for (and buy!) a pair of shoes that actually work for my foot! After that, I'll be golden!
The music really helped, too. I played some good "pissed-off" songs, and then gradually let the "powerful" songs play.
Then it happened: my second wind and determination!! It was just the right combination: the sun was diagonally behind me, the wind was refreshing, the right song was going, and there was a downhill grade ahead. I started walking faster, and before I knew it, I was jogging, then in a full-out run. Yes, the blister HURT like a biotch, but I pushed through it.
...And I kept going.
I finished up my run for a total of 57 running minutes and 35 walking. A super workout!!! Of course, my foot was SCREAMING in pain at the end, but I'd done it: I'd run more than 55 minutes!!
It was such an invigorating feeling that I just *had* to share!! :)
As an aside, I was planning this entry out as I walked/ran. When I first had to stop and walk, I was going to title this "Mb and the Horrible, Terrible, No Good, Very Bad Day." However, when I was able to run again, I decided on the present title. So there!
Thanks, faithful readers, and I'll catch you later on.
P.S. Photo credits are here for the runner and here for the iPod Nano. :)
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Days left to live...
So my mom & sis have tried this online calculator thingee... it's pretty cool! It tells you how many days old you are first off. Then, you can go to a life expectancy calculator and see how old you're expected to be. It tells you about how many days you have left to live, based on the info you entered.
Here are my stats:
I am 8966 days old.
Chronologically, I'm 24 (and a half!) years old, but my virtual age is 11.4. (Ha! Ain't that the truth??)
Apparently, the average life expectancy (for Americans??? They never seemed to specify...) is 74. Mine is 86.6 years. I was hoping for more, but that's not too bad, if I'm in reasonably good health.
I seem to have about 22800 days left to live. Crazy!
Ok, that's all for now. I hope you check it out! There's a lot of other interesting stuff on the site, too, so check it out. Here is the link to the age in days thingee, and here is the life expectancy calculator! Enjoy! :)
P.S. Carpe diem, yo!
Here are my stats:
I am 8966 days old.
Chronologically, I'm 24 (and a half!) years old, but my virtual age is 11.4. (Ha! Ain't that the truth??)
Apparently, the average life expectancy (for Americans??? They never seemed to specify...) is 74. Mine is 86.6 years. I was hoping for more, but that's not too bad, if I'm in reasonably good health.
I seem to have about 22800 days left to live. Crazy!
Ok, that's all for now. I hope you check it out! There's a lot of other interesting stuff on the site, too, so check it out. Here is the link to the age in days thingee, and here is the life expectancy calculator! Enjoy! :)
P.S. Carpe diem, yo!
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