Engaged!

As of Saturday evening, I became the future Mrs. Madsen. I must say, it feels wonderful!

Saturday morning I woke up sick. We'll just say I had the flu, the Moscato flu. Oh, about 7:30 AM I attempted to get up and around but shortly after my head was pounding and my stomach turning. It wasn't long until I decided to take a pill for nausea, drink a little water, eat a bite, and lay back down. I passed out until 5 PM!!! And I only got up then because I HAD to. I had to get up and around for one of my best friend's baby showers. After the baby shower I met my parents, grandparents, and Zeb for dinner at Red Onion. I was finally feeling a little better; I had an appetite at least. After dinner I was feeling a lot better, my stomach had finally settled and I had a little energy. Since I was feeling better we decided to meet our friend's at Wasabi then head to Magoo's to meet up with some other friends.

Once we pulled into the parking lot at Wasabi he pulled out a leather bound notebook and handed it to me. On the front page it said "I made this list a long time ago. Last summer I knew one day I would marry you. I began compiling a list of all the things I loved about you. I may have missed some obvious ones, but I think I got most of them. I guess you're just really loveable!!! There's room at the back of this notebook for more entries and maybe one day, wedding vows. The deal is, you have to make it all the way through this notebook without crying or the accompanying gift will disappear. I love you. Zeb." Then page by page he listed off a different reason why he loved me. I'll spare you the details because most of them are things that people other than us wouldn't understand. On the last page he wrote "See, that wasn't too corny or sappy, right? You know what's gonna happen next…. I'm always going to love you. Forever, for always, no matter what." When I looked up he was holding the box in his hand and before he could even ask I found myself saying yes, over and over again.

Come to find out Zeb had met with my parents and grandparents before dinner to ask their permission. That explains all the weird looks my mom and grandma kept shooting Zeb and each other toward the end of dinner. When I talked to them the next day they said they were just waiting and waiting for him to do it there in front of them.

If You Act That Way in Public I Can Only Imagine How You Act at Home…

Working at a casino I see and interact with a variety of people on a daily basis. For the most part I'm not too surprised by the things people do, say, and/or the way they act. But at least once a day I am completely taken aback by something someone says or does.

For one, we have this old guy who comes in pretty regularly, at least once a week, and instead of asking for ashtray, or grabbing one of the ten ashtrays in a ten foot radius he just ashes on the floor. Really, you're just going to use the floor? You think that's acceptable? I can only imagine what your house looks like.

We also have the guy who has psoriasis, and picks at his skin at the table, leaves flakes of skin all over the table, not to mention he touches the cards and his chips before, during, and after picking at his skin. Keep in mind he and I aren't the only people who have to touch those cards, but also every other player and dealer in the casino. C'mon now, there is a time and place for that, like in your bathroom in the privacy of your own home.

Of course I can't forget the mention the countless people, who cough, sneeze, and pick their nose, then touch their cards and chips. Oh, and even better, the guy who would reach down his pants and scratch then touch his cards and chips. I think it's pretty safe to assume that no one wants to touch any cards or chips he's had his hands on.

As awful as all that sounds, that's the stuff that happens daily, without fail, not once, not twice, but pretty much at every table. This is the stuff that no longer fazes me. Apparently common courtesy is not something that most Americans have not learned let alone practice. But what still can't get over are the things people say and the way they act. Not just the things they say to me, but what they say to each other and the way they act.

How about the young kid who has yelled at numerous players, including an 80-some-year old woman for not hitting her 12 against my face card. We're not talking made he made a statement or suggestion, we're talking he YELLED at her. Or the one who threw his chips across the casino when he lost a hand, knocked over his chair leaving the table, and then punched another one on his way out of the casino. Classy. Oh, I can't forget the old guy who called me a f***ing b**** a couple weeks ago. For what, you ask? Oh you know, just doing my job, flipping the cards over.

I am completely amazed at what people say and the way people act out in public. I am embarrassed for them and their families. It makes me wonder, if they have no qualms about acting that way out in public, in front of people who don't know them, I can only imagine how they act at home…

Humane Societies

Up until today I hadn't realized the worth of humane societies. The importance of humane societies is often overlooked or taken for granted. Until you're in a situation where you find yourself relying on the services of a humane society it is all too easy to take for granted what they do for not only pets but also families. This is where I found myself today….

Today started out normal enough. I drug myself out of bed about 6 AM, stumbled to the back door to let the dogs out to do their business then proceeded to get ready and leave for work. It happens the same way every day of the work week; I let the dogs out when I get up and Zeb lets them back in the house in time to eat and drink before he leaves for work. However something went wrong today. I got a frantic voicemail from Zeb about 8:35 saying that when he went to let the dogs back in this morning the gate was open and they were nowhere to be found. He had already driven all around the neighborhood looking for them with no luck.

Once I got the voicemail I tried calling the Joplin Humane Society but their phone was disconnected because they are moving into their new facility tomorrow. Since I was unable to reach anyone I decided to leave work early to go look for our boys. Once I got home I searched the neighborhood with no luck and then decided to take a ride down to the humane society to have a look for myself just as their website suggests. Our dogs had not been brought in but I took the necessary precautions and filled out lost animal reports so they could be identified if they were brought in. Once I got home I began posting ads on Facebook, Myspace, CraigsList, and even an ad in the Joplin Globe. Luckily the humane society called a couple of hours later saying that they were just brought in by animal control and that I was able to come pick them up anytime. We were very lucky that they stuck together and that they made it back home with no problems other than being very sleepy from their big adventure. We were also very lucky that there are establishments out there like humane societies.

The mission of humane societies as outlined by the Humane Society of Missouri is to provide second chances. Humane societies do this by providing a safe place for abused, neglected, abandoned, and in our case runaway animals providing them with food, shelter, and veterinary care, obedience, and behavior classes. They also seek to find loving homes for these animals through adoption. At the Joplin Humane Society all of the animals are available for adoption for a fee of 60 dollars. This fee covers their shots and spay/neuter. Up until this day I really hadn't given a second thought to the value of Humane Societies. But I now plan on helping them as they helped me. There are a number of ways you can do this, by becoming a member, volunteering, or making a donation.

HP TouchSmart 300-1017

So Sunday night as I'm finishing up some last minute homework on my boyfriend's laptop, it died out of nowhere. Flashback to Friday night, we were laying in bed watching The Boondock Saints on Netflix (which is amazing by the way), and out of the corner of my eye I see a blue flashing light. Apparently our two boys, Jax and Buddy, decided that the power cord for the laptop was their new favorite chew toy. I'd like to say that this was the first time something along these lines had happened but they had already chewed through the power cord for my laptop and the replacement power cord.

    As a temporary fix Friday night Zeb took some electrical tape and taped it up. We hadn't realized that it would be that temporary of a fix. So after the laptop died we had to run to Best Buy in hopes of finding a replacement cord. Of course they didn't have the cord we needed, but had a generic one that was made to fit just about every computer. This cord was a little pricier than the one direct from the factory, but it was important that we had it that night and could not wait 2-3 weeks for the other one to arrive. Once we got it home we also realized that it had an adapter that would work with my laptop.

Prior to Zeb's laptop dying we had been considering getting a desktop computer. We are both online students and between the two of us we have 35 hours this semester, so we could definitely benefit from a quick, reliable computer with a lot of memory. So while we were at Best Buy buying a power cord we decided to look at desktop computers also. We had already been looking at buying the Gateway One, an all-in-one touch screen computer. My laptop is a Gateway notepad and I love it and prior to the power cord being eaten I had never had any problems with it. However, when we were browsing the selection at Best Buy we both fell in love with the HP TouchSmart, an all-in-one touch screen computer. We opted to wait and do a little research before we decided. Once we got home we researched and read reviews on the HP TouchSmart. We are now the proud owners of an HP TouchSmart 300-1017 PC. Our HP TouchSmart 300-1017 has a 20" diagonal screen, an AMD Athlon II 235e dual-core processor, 4GB RAM, 320GB hard drive, built in HDTV tuner, built in 6 slot card reader, built in webcam, Windows 7 Home Premium, Microsoft Office 2007 Home and Student, Adobe Photoshop, MacAfee Virus Protection for three years and so much more! Now if only it would hurry up and arrive!

thank you for NOT smoking

Having a smoking section in a restaurant is like having a peeing section in a pool. It just doesn’t make much sense. Although your level of exposure can be reduced dependent on where you’re at, there is still some level of exposure. According to Ezine Articles, the number one cause of death in the United States, premature death at that, is cigarette smoke. Not only is it the number one cause of death, but it is also the most preventable. We have known for quite some time now that cigarettes are hazardous to your health, but it’s not only your health that you have to take into consideration.

Many smokers believe that smoking falls in one of their unalienable rights, as outlined in the Declaration of Independence, the right to the pursuit of happiness. However, this does not apply here because the right to the pursuit of happiness states that a man is free to do anything that he pleases so long as it is legal and so long as it does not interfere with the rights of others. I completely understand if you choose to live your life by the cigarette and die by it, but numerous other people choose not to and should not have to suffer the consequences of your smoking.

The Surgeon General, Richard Carmona, released a report in June 2006, which announced that approximately 126 million non-smokers are exposed to the hazards of cigarette smoke every year. With this exposure comes an increased risk for development of coronary heart disease, which in turn may lead to heart attacks, asthma, COPD, pneumonia, and stroke. Not to mention that children under the age of five are the most susceptible to these risks, along with Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Second hand smoke can also hinder both physical and cognitive development in children.

The most serious risk that other non-smokers face is heart attack. Dr. David Meyers, professor of Cardiology and Preventive Medicine at the University of Kansas School of Medicine stated that “even breathing in low doses of cigarette smoke can increase one’s risk of heart attack.” As a matter of fact second hand smoke is nearly as detrimental to the heart as chronic active smoking and can increase the risk of heart attack in non-smokers by up to 30%. Studies show that bans on smoking can help to reduce the number of heart attacks by up to 26% a year, not to mention the numerous other health benefits that result from bans on smoking.

I work as a blackjack dealer in a local casino. And although I am not a smoker, I probably “smoke” about two packs of cigarettes a day. I made the decision not to smoke and do not think that it is fair that I have to suffer the consequences because of those who choose to smoke. I believe that smoking should be banned in all public places, both indoor and outdoor. I hope eventually smoking will also be banned in homes, even if only those with minors in them.

MIDS 100: A Waste of Life

As I was registering for my classes last semester I was informed that because I was a transfer student and did not transfer a certain amount of hours that I had to take MIDS 100, a freshman orientation class. Did it matter that I had already taken the equivalent of that course at NWMSU? That I had already completed over 80 credit hours, with 50+ from MSSU? Of course not. Why would anyone take those things into consideration? That makes sense.

As if students don’t have enough to focus on with their core classes universities are going to go ahead and FORCE them to take a freshman orientation class. I think the old proverb “you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink” applies here. You can force me take this class, and pass it, but you can’t force me to learn. In order to learn from this class there would have to be something to learn.

One of the main subjects this class attempts to “teach” is time management. I find it a little more than difficult to effectively manage my time when I have to spend so many hours a week reading, filling out journals, and doing critically thinking exercises about things such as something I do well and how I learned to do it. C’mon now that is time that could be better spent. On what? I don’t know, maybe studying and doing homework for your core and major classes. Just a thought. It’s also a little difficult to manage my time when I have anywhere from 3-5 pointless assignments in this class A WEEK. Once again, time that could be better spent.

Most of what they teach in these freshman orientation classes is common sense. And that which isn’t common sense has been force fed to us our whole lives. If you don’t know about the food pyramid, eating right and exercising, peer pressure and ways to say no to it, that binge drinking can have bad consequences, unprotected sex can lead to pregnancies and STDs, drunk driving is never a good idea, etc, then quite frankly I’m not sure how you made it to college.

I think if anything this class should be optional. I understand there are some people out there who probably could learn a thing or two from this class. Or people who perhaps love to talk about themselves and would really get a kick out of writing 3-5 papers a week about what they do well, what they had for lunch, etc. But I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that this does not apply to the vast majority of students.