My Life...as of right now...

Hello Everyone!

Hope everyone is enjoying this heat; I have only had the pleasure of enjoying it a few days cause then it’s really the hottest I am sleeping. (I work midnights…remember…) Well, let me see, since my last post, I really need to start updating this weekly, or monthly, I don’t know I mean does anyone really read these blogs anyways…maybe mine is just boring, I am not sure.

        So lets see, Gary’s health has gotten better than the last post, he recovered well, but he is unable to work anywhere still, (he has been fighting to get on disability for awhile now) he has like all these doctors saying he is disabled but the good people of the state of Missouri won’t approve it because of some stupid reasoning. This is why I really do not like Missouri. I think too many people have ruined disability and state aid help for others because people who do actually need it cant get it but the people who don’t need it get away with it. I think it’s about whom you know who works for the state to get help. But anyways he is getting unemployment right now so that is helping us out a lot. That won’t last forever though…

        Well since the last post about me questioning my faith, I kept feeling something or someone calling me back to church. So Gary and I decided to start going to St. Stanislaus Kostka Church. We just absolutely love it there. We love the congregation and the pastor, Fr. Marek. A lot of people when I tell them where I attend church; they are like “isn’t that the church that is fighting with the archdiocese of St. Louis?” and I am like “and…?” Yes they are fighting over issues because like usual the archdiocese isn’t getting what they want. But last time I checked when does it matter where you practice your faith these days? I love my church and I am proud to say I attend there! Been going since January and I just love it there, everyone is so welcoming and accepting of Gary and I.

        So speaking about the church Gary and I started back in April doing some of the caretaker duties because the current caretaker was not keeping up with the property and making sure it was cleaned up and looking good. I mean when you come to mass on Sundays and you see parishioners and the pastor outside cleaning the walkways and the weeds and such, when there is a caretaker living there but no where to be located at. So Gary and I talked to the pastor and the board of directors and decided why we don’t take over the cleaning of the church and the caretaker duties of the property. So since April of this year we have been on a “trial” run of this job to see how it goes and how we handle doing the job. Well back in July 2012 we had a second interview with the board of directors and they have decided to hire us to be the full time caretakers. These means (yes I know) we will be moving again. This time to North Saint Louis City, I have never lived in the city. So this will be a brand new experience for me. Gary has lived in the City of St. Louis before so of course he knows the “city driving” rules and such. I have never really spent time in the city though. So basically since the beginning of the month we have been driving back and fourth from the apartment in south county to the caretaker home. It was a mess, the carpets were old and needed to be replaced, the walls needed painted badly, I mean I don’t think I could handle a bright orange kitchen and bright yellow dining room. So it is our job to take over this project. By the end of July we have gotten the kitchen, dining room, office, hallway all painted to the colors we wanted them to be. The kitchen color is a fresh guacamole, almost like a light pale green. I still want to do my John Deere theme cause I am not sure why but I just love John Deere stuff. So that is the closet color we could decide on that was not a bright yellow and bright green. Next the dining room is a neutral tan 

color, the hallway white, and the office is like a sky blue but maybe a shade or two darker. The living room is a dark red which is a nice color for me. Oh, I guess I should tell you about the house…silly me. If you see the photo of the church on here the house on the left of it is the caretaker house. It was built sometime in the 1800s, so it’s an old city style home. I think it use to be the old convent a long time ago for the church. It’s a 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms home, two story, we are having flooring put in as well its looks so pretty that should be done this week. But it’s got an upstairs master bedroom then two room’s one which is big enough like the whole front side of the house that is our TV room/Guest bedroom. It’s pretty big, plus it has a yard for Gabby, which she isn't sure about because she has never had a yard to run and sniff around in. I will try and get some photos on here soon or at least on my Facebook. I think we are signing our paperwork sometime in the next week to be “official employees of St. Stanislaus. We are both excited we should be “hopefully” all moved in by the end of August. I am excited to be doing this. I honestly think this is what God was calling me to be doing to come back to church and good things will happen. I think also the caretaker position is an added bonus too. Since we have been going to church, Gary has been baptized into the catholic faith, this one done at the Easter Vigil mass in April. I am so happy for him; this was something he decided to do himself. We have become quite active in the church now; I am usually up there serving at mass on Saturdays and sometimes on Sundays. Also I am doing the Eucharistic Minister duties too. Check out the Facebook page of St Stanislaus, and you will more than likely see us on the photos and such!

        About a week ago I went to look at this Vet-Tech Institute in St. Louis and toured the school and I must say the facility is very nice, newer and very well kept clean. The reason why I went and looked at it was because I have been toying with the idea of going back to school to get my degree to be a vet tech again. I know I screwed up the first time with Jefferson College but I think I am ready to take on the challenge again. There is one problem this time, my job; the classes are every Mon – Fri 8is til 4pm(ish). But I work overnights until 7:30am so I am not sure if I will be able to do it or not. I just want to find another job where I truly enjoy working. I mean don’t get me wrong I like my current job at the juvenile center, but I am getting burnt out quickly, I have been doing this job for five years. (The longest I have ever had) I think its time for a change maybe. I have been applying for jobs all over the place and I keep getting the same old reply “I am sorry we are unable to hire you at this time, due to not enough experience” Well shit, why the hell do you think I am applying for these jobs, to GAIN experience, how is one suppose to gain experience if they are not willing to get someone a chance on a new career path. So see that is why I am wondering if I could go back to school and do the vet tech thing again. I mean this time I would bust my ass to make sure I did well and graduate and pass all my tests. I know I can do it, I have trust and faith that I can do it, but I just have to see if I can afford to work part time somewhere for about 18 months. I will keep everyone posted on this.

        Well I think that might be it for now, I will post again soon; hopefully get myself into a routine here soon.

Always,

Trav

         

Health & Holidays!

Alright…let’s see, where to begin, since the last time I wrote you all on here. Well Christmas and New Year’s have pasted, finally, sorry just haven’t been in the mood this year for any sort of holiday cheer or happiness. I am/was being a grinch, scrooge, whatever you want to call it this year; I didn’t even put up a Christmas tree. The only holiday decoration we put up were two stockings that Gary wanted to put up…it had to put them up with me knowing cause I would have been like no, I don’t want them up.

Speaking of Gary, well he has been going thru a rough time. Last time I wrote he has a cardiac monitor put into his chest to see if they could figure out what was causing the passing out spells. Still unsure of what is causing them, but now they took that out of his chest because they think it gave him an infection. On Monday overnight December 19-20, he woke me up at like 2am and of course I was like whoa? What? Umm…? He was complaining of his right side of his abdomen hurting and he was running 100º + fever, so I was like hmm this doesn’t seem right he was in so much pain he was crying and whimpering at me that he kept saying “something is not right…” so we then got up and heading for the hospital, we went to Missouri Baptist Medical Center. Then after being there all night long they took a scan of his abdomen and we thought oh maybe it’s his appendix or something since I had the similar complications like he was having. Well they came back and said that his right kidney was enlarged and they were unsure why so they were going to admit him into the hospital to find out what was going on. So then I needed to get off work because I was due to work at the kennel that day. Luckily a coworker came in to cover my shift, so that worked out well. So then I headed back home to get Gabby and take her to our friend’s house for them to watch her for us because I did not know how long Gary was going to be in there. While I was heading back the hospital, he called me to tell me that they had determined he has a blockage in his right kidney and that he had developed and infection called MRSA, that is a type of Staph infection that is resistant to all antibiotics except one, Vancomycin, which contains snake venom, interesting huh? Then they decided they needed to put a UretericStent into his kidney to make sure it could drain the infection out. So not only does he have this infection but now he has a stent in placed, and so they decided that his cardiac monitor needed to come out because the dr said his heart was not causing his black outs, but that he is having seizures. Talk about more bad news, right? So he was in the hospital from Dec 20 – Dec 24, they thought he would have to stay in until after Christmas. But they let him go home on Christmas Eve, which was nice. I was ready to go home, I had spent the night every night with him there, and the staffs were very nice to us and helped us out as well. Some friends and family came up to see him which I know made his day. It also meant a lot for them to come and see him. He liked getting visitors but he also hated being in the hospital.

We had plans to go and see Beautyand the Beast at the Fabulous Fox Theatre, but he could not attend due to being in the hospital so then I took my cousin Cindy and we had a great time. I felt bad though having a good time without him being able to go. So anyways, he came home Christmas Eve and I went out to do my family thing at my parents house, had a nice meal, and then opened presents and also go to see my brother and sister in law, I haven’t seen them in almost a year! I like it when they come into town. My parents got me a nice Nikon Digital Camera; I needed a new one since my shot craps! It’s so nice and takes awesome photos! I will have to post some to here soon! Gary, me and two of our friends were going to go to “midnight mass” at 10pm that night at our church (St. Stanislaus) but my family Christmas ran late and I was unable to attend. L I really wanted to go, but things ran over at my parent’s house and I didn’t make it there until the end of mass. There will be next year; I hope…I think I will definitely make sure I attend next year. So then Gary and I went home and relaxed, well he tried too, I forgot to mention he could not go to the relieve he bladder himself so they had to put a urinary catheter in him, which to most men is very painful and very uncomfortable. If you have had one in, then you definitely know what I am talking about they are no fun at all. Well he couldn’t express his bladder so they put this one in and he has to keep in until he thinks he will be able to go on his own. I hope he does that soon! Well since I mentioned this, the day after Christmas he was in the bathroom at home and I was working overnight and he said that his catheter has come out and he was bleeding out of his…stuff…so then I was like well I can not leave because at my work its very hard to get someone to come in for you, especially on a midnight shift. So since I could not get off he ended up driving himself to the ER, and of course they admitted him again for 24 hour observation. So here we went for round two at Missouri Baptist.  This time we had a private room because of his infection he had to be in an isolation room, which this room was bigger and had a shower in the bathroom that would have been completely handy to have while I was there for a week. Oh well, but he was back in and then released the next evening.

Oh, also forgot to mention, during his first visit he had a Picc line put into his arm because he is on IV antibiotics every 12 hours for four weeks. So he gets home care and I have to help him with his IV meds and such, good thing I love him J He is such a trooper thru all this ordeal, I know he is in pain and wants it all to be gone, but he is scared because he did not know anything was wrong with his kidneys, I think some of the tests suggested that he might have to have a kidney removed and was in kidney failure. When can he catch a break he has been thru so much already…I am also scared some because I do not want anything to happen to him, he is only 30 years and does not need to be going thru this shit!

Another note, recently our friends Brandon and Adrienne had come up to check out our apartments and to decide of they wanted to move up to St. Louis from Cape Girardeau, MO, so they came up and check them out the Monday before this who ordeal with Gary had happened. We made a fun night of it, we went to Goodwill and looked for items, and then went to a new restaurant called Noodles & Company, we might have went out after he was out of the hospital I do not remember, but still we had a great time and I really enjoy hanging out with them and can not wait until they are my neighbors! Its going to be fun, we are already talking about making a certain night dinner and hang out night! Going to be so much fun, I know have a decent amount of friends in St. Louis but I hardly hear or see any of them.

Well I think that is all the updating for now, Gary is still going thru his thing with his health its going to be a long few weeks but I am right there with him thru is all. I will update more on his status thru my Facebook and on here…

Have a good one y’all!

Trav

Updates, Updates, Updates, Let's See...

Hello Everyone,


*Hope everyone is doing well and having a great holiday/fall season. So far this holiday season is a bore to me, I do not know why but I cannot seem to get into the holiday spirit, like I would totally be OK with just waking up tomorrow and it being mid January, is that a bad thing? The past three years my holiday spirit is just been going downhill and this year its like its completely gone. I try to listen to holiday music, no help, try going thru decorations, nothing, I made a Christmas card list this year, but I almost don't even wanna mail anything out! That would be the first time in like 10+ years whenever I started mailing out cards. See what I mean I just don't have the want or feel the need to. Some people have already asked me if I put up my Christmas tree, I say no, I honestly do not even want to put up one this year. I guess its because I am going thru some major depression problems, lack of money to do things with, always working on the holidays and working mid-nights. So who the hell knows what is causing it. I just simply am drained, tired, run down whatever you want to call it. I have like no idea why my life has turned out this way, I mean I do love everyone in my life and love my partner Gary very much, but its just like I am at a job where there is no advancing, been there five years now. And frankly I am getting tired of it and bored with it, but I hate to leave here because I have so much time and effort put into it and like my co workers. 
Speaking of jobs, I took on a 2nd job working at a dog kennel called Country Acres, Inc. I love being around the dogs again, I forgot thought how much work it is to clean kennels and such, but who is going to do that...the dogs? It's just like at home taking care of Gabby except there are like 40+ dogs! They make me smile and when I am cleaning or walking a dog they just sit and come up to me and nudge me to pet them its just makes me smile and realize how much I love those animals. So yes, I am working overnights still and working the kennel on one of my days off, so I am pretty much sleeping and working. I think also working on overnights makes one kind of depressed because you feel like the entire world is awake and your the only one sleeping, when clearly there are tons of people who work overnights. Its just I am a people person too, I don't need to be wasting my time sleeping it off. I do like working my jobs though., just wish I could work a day job Monday thru Friday and off weekends and holidays (like a normal person should have). 


*Another thing that has been going on and why I took a 2nd job is because Gary's health is not doing so good, he had been having some passing out spells while at work and even driving, so he went to a heart specialist and they put him on a heart monitor for 24 hours and that showed them that he has an irregular heartbeat and its causing him to pass out and such, almost like mini heart attacks, maybe even strokes. So then the doctors decided they want to put into his chest a Insertable Cardiac Monitor which will monitor his heart and make sure and see why it is doing what its doing, well within a few days his doctors says that when he sleeps he has irregular heart beats, meaning he could have a possible heart attack at any time. Now that fucking scares me because I am working overnights and if had a heart attack while I was at work no one would be there with him and I do not want to come home to him being dead! So that has gotten me depressed a little because he can no longer work and has to claim disability now. He hates not working he likes to stay busy, but he can not risk the change of passing out again while driving or at work, so he can not drive anymore, it has gotten him really depressed lately too. So now we are only living on my income, which if I ever got layed off or lost my job we would totally be screwed. They are now telling him he will probably have to have a pace maker placed into his chest because of his heart condition. I feel so sad and bad for him because he feels like he can not do anything. He hates that I have to work all the time, and work sometimes on very very little sleep. Yes, I am exhausted pretty much everyday, but I have to do what I need to do to make sure we have income. 


*On November 25th I lost a coworker/friend whom I have had the pleasure of knowing for 5 years. Her name was Betty and she was a truly great kind hearted person. She had a heart attack back in September and then had a quad bypass heart surgery and then was getting better and in rehab and on the road to recovery then she had a massive stroke while there and then never woke up. :( she entered into rest in the early morning of November 25, 2011 at 3am. She will be greatly missed, she was like a mother figure for me at work and we had had plenty of heart to heart talks and she would always let me spill my life story to her and she was always so accepting of me and welcoming and everything. I will miss her dearly. Her funeral arrangements have not been made yet, but I will find them out soon. My coworker I work with every night just about is taking it really hard, she was really close to Betty, she was a great friend/coworker/mother/grandmother/wife. She will be missed, I know I will miss her coming into work in the am to work. 


*Today was "black friday", I am sorry I tried getting into this one year when I wanted to get a laptop and I swear black Friday people are NUTS! You couldn't pay me enough to sit in a line that is a like 10 miles long for something that is most likely going to be on sale again before Christmas. I do not need, or want anything that bad enough. Yeah there might be some good deals but most of the time places only carry a very selected few of the sale items. Also I do not have money to buy expensive things. I mean don't get me wrong I love a good sale and to shop but standing there for hours on end "hoping" you get the item on sale...come on now. I am so anti black Friday it isn't even funny.


Well I think this is about all I have for now, I need to sign off here and go get some things accomplished! (yeah right, I will probably stay online and browse the net) such a procrastinator I am! 


Love To All!,
Travis

Change...Good or Bad?

Hello Everyone,

 

Hope everyone is staying warm with the cool temperatures in St. Louis! I think it’s already fall...WOW! This year has pretty much flown by...it's almost October and like three month until Christmas. Man that has caught up quick! 

I am doing alright just got back to work; I was on medical leave for three weeks due to having a . I was not planning on having it done, but I went to an ENT Specialist and he took one look at my tonsils and was like "Yep, they need to come out, they are inflamed". So I went to Missouri Baptist Medical Center in St. Louis and had my operation. It went well and I recovered well, I could not eat anything hard or crunchy so needless to say I lived on Jell-O, Pudding, and Popsicles for three weeks! Everyone was telling me to eat lots of ice cream but actually the coldness made it feel worse, strange huh? I also was on liquid pain medications which made me sleep a lot. I liked being off work for three weeks (although it went by pretty damn fast) but it was nice waking up in the am and having the whole day. I got to actually sleep at night like a normal person should. I did not anything though, mostly laid on the couch, bed, couch, bed, with my Gabby by my side "trying" to take care of me...I love that little girl! Gary also helped me out a lot, whether it was multiple trips to the store to get me more pudding, Popsicle, and jello! I am doing well now as I type this I still cannot eat crunchy and/or hard foods and usually all the food I eat has to be small portions and stuff, my doctor said that is takes a FULL six weeks to completely heal...

Next thing, lately I have been dealing with my faith and returning to the church. I know that some catholic people believe that being homosexual is wrong and that we are going to hell, well I truly believe that God has his own special plan for me. I also believe that there are churches out there that accept gay people into their parishes. Gary does a website for a parish that is very inviting of gay people and I really do like the parishioners, they have always been so welcoming to us whenever we go up there. I haven’t been to their masses yet, but I am planning on going. Now I am sure some of you have heard of the church, it’s called St. Stanislaus Kostka Church. So I am not sure or not what will happen but I know that God is trying to get to come back to my faith and have him more in my life than I have been. I have just had to find the right time and calling, I mean when I was in a youth group back in high school I really enjoyed it and liked going to the Steubenville Retreats they had every year. I always felt very comfortable there and God was so happy I was there worshiping him and singing of his word. I just think about those retreats a lot and truly had a great time. I know a lot of people question their faith a lot because they are just unsure of what they want to believe or are not trying to come out more in me lately. What do you think? What are your ideas and thoughts?

Gary and I have been talking about moving again (when our lease is up), yes I know I move a lot but that is joys of renting. We just really haven’t found a place we can call home and like it there. I mean, yes I grew up in St. Louis and these are my “roots” but I am just totally burnt out of this city and state. I want to start almost completely over on a brand new location, maybe a new job, new everything…we were talking about moving to Arizona. I wanted to move there because I want the heat and I have a few friends out there that want us to move out there. The only problem is the moving expenses. I never knew it cost so much to out of state, or a long distance move so to say. So I am not sure if we are going to move there or not now. It’s still in our minds and such, but financially I do not know if we can afford it, plus the cost of the apartment deposit and rent and such. I mean we were looking at the Phoenix area and I did some research on it and I really like what the city has to offer. Plus I almost think the West Coast is for me. (I think everyone thinks that) but one of the issues I have with moving out there is my family, I have all my family in St. Louis and I am just not sure if I can be away from them, my parents, plus my two nieces are liking having me around more too.

So here lately we have been helping Gary’s grandma move to another city in Illinois, she is moving to Summerfield, IL which is about an hour maybe outside of St. Louis. But man is it QUIET!!!! See that is another part of me that loves something, I love the country setting I love being in the middle of nowhere, where no one can bother us or anything. I would ultimately LOVE to have a little 5 acre mini farm with some chickens, and maybe a goat. Plus Gary can get is St. Bernard that he has been wanting for like ever!!! I told him if he got a St. Bernard then I am getting about 5-7 Dachshunds. So we will see if that will ever happen in our lives! Anyhow, so Gary asked me what I would think about living in Illinois. I told him I would do some research on some of the cities over there. Some that I really liked and looked into are, Summerfield, Trenton, Aviston, Breese, New Baden, those are the “out of town, country type cities” and if we wanted to go into actual cities that are semi big and growing it would be: Fairview Heights, or O’Fallon areas, but the cheaper rent places are the country type cities. So we have a good variety and such to look into, I would actually like to do a Rent To Own option if we move over into IL, that way that can sort of be our last move and be settled and such. Moving over there though means I would have to leave my job at the Juvenile Center, but if the rent is a little cheaper and I could find another job over in IL with their juvenile center then maybe that will work out. I just actually like the smaller towns, villages, whatever they are called. We found a new restaurant that we love out in Trenton called Dairy King, it’s like all made to order food and pretty much their only major big place to eat in the town! One think I also liked about those towns is they are not far from Interstate 64/40, and that goes right into St. Louis, so I would not really be that far from my family and such. So that is a plus to moving there as well. What are your opinions on this? Advice? Thoughts?

Well I think that might be all for now, I am going to try and update this thing more often, like maybe weekly if I can get into the groove of doing it again! Hope you all enjoyed reading about my life!

Always,

Trav

Well 2011 is going....

Well Hello Everyone who reads this blog! Let's see since my last post, I told you all about my car, Gabby, and well who knows what else...

NEW NEWS!

   

     Gary and I have moved to Saint Louis, MO. We both use to live here a long time ago, not sure on Gary, but I lived here until 2004. I lived in Jefferson County since. I know a lot of my friends from the STL and family are happy that I am back the Lou! We are renting an apartment right now from Covington Place Apts. We like them, I remember seeing them and driving thru them when I use to live in St. Louis back in 2002-2004. Some people say they are not the greatest place, and some reviews are not the greatest either but ya know what I hate reviews on things and how people judge shit but what someone else says, personally I feel you have to be the judge yourself, I mean how can you say you don't like something if you have tried/experienced it yourself? Interesting huh? Well I like where we are living they were willing to work with us and get us into a nice apartment. We are in the bottom part of our building, its a 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom, its a rehabbed apartment meaning its one of the apts they are testing out new looks to see if they like it, so it practically has everything brand new. So it works with our budget, and I think we are going to stay there until we decide to buy a house somewhere, not sure if we will stay in St. Louis or not, I am not really wanting to stay in Missouri, I keep looking at Arizona and Florida and now possibly Texas. Not sure yet.

 I am still workign Midnights at the Treatment Center in Hillsboro. I am currently trying to find something new though because I am kind of getting tired of the same old routine of things and not really happy with the way things are going at work. I really miss working the animal field and wish I could get into that. I would love to someday be like an Animal Cop (either in Houston or Phoenix) So yeah I am looking and if I find something better then I will resign from this current job.

     Another thing, I am not sure if I told everyone, you might already know if you keep up with me on Facebook. My Grandma Franklin (dad's mom) passed away on September 1, 2010, age 90. I am very sad that she is gone, she had congestive heart failure and just basically gave up on living, she got sick like in August and went in and out of the hospital several times and just wasn't getting better at all. She celebrated her 90th Birthday in July 2010. So she at least made it to her 90th birthday, we had a good party for her and everyone was there. The month of August was a crazy one for me, because I was constantly calling and checking with my dad (who was there everyday with her at her nursing home) to check on her status, the week before she passed away I went up there on Saturday and she was still in and out of it, then I went up on Monday and she wasn't talking but would shake her head to questions. She woke up and opened her eyes at me and was so happy to see me and was so excited I was there to see her, even though she didnt remember I was there all morning. She kept telling me she was trying to die, because she was tired and ready to go. I guess the higher power up there was not ready for her to come home yet. But hearing her say "I am just trying to die, I keep trying and trying and nothing happens..." hurts me more than anything to sit there and hear your grandmother say that to you. It broke my heart so much to see her like this, but she was refusing medications, treatments, food, etc. Hospice came in about a week before she passed away, and they said she was pretty much shutting down her body. They were all so very nice to my grandma. I didn't go up on Tuesday because dad said she was not any different and did not have any changes, so I went to work and did my usual check ups on her status. Then on Wednesday 9/1/10 I was going to go up to see her again before work and I decided not to go up (which I regret) I got to work and around 3:45pm my dad called me at work and told me grandma had passed. I started to cry at work which I did not really want to because I did not want anyone to see me in that state, but what can you do. I left work and heading to the nursing home (Delmar Gardens - South) and when I go there I walked into grandma's room (Rm 407) and saw her laying there (they had not come to pick her up yet) she looked so peaceful and finally at rest. I did loose it again, when I had a few moments to myself with her. I think about her everyday as well as my other grandparents I have lost, and friend I have lost (Willard and Frances Hausman, Faye Maloy, and  Harry and Louise Franklin). So now I have no grandparents left and that is sad to me really. I know though that they are all up there and happy and painfree life!

Always,

Trav

Kinda how I feel right now...

This is one of my favorite songs, it explains so much on my life.... (Simple Plan, "Untitled")













Another song that I relate to a lot... (Also by Simple Plan, "Perfect") 

Interesting...

Hello Everyone,

• I hope everyone had a great holiday season! Mine was not too bad, I got to see some of my family that I have not seen in awhile. I was just not ready nor in the mood for the holiday season for some reason, usually Christmas time is my favorite time of the year and this year I was just not ready for it! Maybe next year I will get in the mood. We shall see...

• Let's see what is new with me...well recently at work I was promoted to Shift Supervisor for the midnight shifts. I know, I know, your probably thinking, Midnights? Are you crazy??? But I put a lot of factors into making the decision to do the change. One of them were I would get a raise in pay, which the only raise I have had from the county was when I went to Full Time. It was just not in their budget to give raises. Another reason was, I was thinking when I was doing evening shift, I would be up until about 3-4am just because I couldn't sleep. Then I would sleep til like 10am and such. So I figured why not work overnights and get paid for being awake and doing something. Well I have been working them since the 1st of the year, and it is not that bad at all. I do miss the busyness of the facility during the evenings and mornings, but it is a nice change, I have do some cleaning and basic things but for the most part I can get a lot of stuff done that I couldn't get done during the day or my other shift. Getting use to them was actually a smooth transition, that and the taste of Red Bull, and my new taste for coffee. I understand how and why people drink it to wake up! The strange part too is I use to not like coffee, but I am starting to drink it before work and when I wake up and I am usually good to go! Funny I never thought I would be a coffee drinker but hey it helps! It just feels strange a little to be driving at 10:30pm at night to go to work then driving home at 8am when the rest of the world is waking up or going to work! But I do like being the supervisor and such. Hopefully it will be a good transition for me.

• Last month (December) on the 4th, my little Gabby (aka Goober) turned four years old, that is like 30 something in dog years! She is getting so old already, her hair around her eyes use to be this dark red color now they are slowly starting to change color and become lighter. I am not sure what hell I would do if that dog would go on over the Rainbow Bridge...I honestly do not want to think about it. I am going to cherish and spend the best days ever with her! She is so special to me, well pretty much all dogs have a special spot in my heart! That WILL NEVER change as long I am breathing! 

• I am not sure if you all know but I did get a new present to myself back in October 1st, 2010 to be exact. I traded in my 1994 Jeep Cherokee and got a newer car. I got a 2005 Honda Accord. I do miss my Jeep sometimes though, I mean I had a lot of memories of that Jeep and such! It was  starting to get expensive to repair and it was going to cost more than what the car was worth to fix, so Gary and I just went out and checked out some car places, and then we went to McMahon Ford in St. Louis City. I was just looking and I told the sales guy that I would only have my Jeep as a trade in, so we where there like all day long and finally got a new car. They gave me a good chunk of change for my Jeep and I was surprised to get that amount for it! But I wasn't complaining. Its features (well some) are: 49,500 Miles, one owner, no accidents on file, leather seats, heated seats, sunroof, automatic windows, lock, remote key entry, that is just to name a few features! Its nice I love it! It was actually the first real adult major decision I made on my own without consulting my parents about!

• Well I think that is all the updating I am going to do for now, more to come! 

Always,

Trav

I know long hair now, this photo was taken October 2010

Just a Quick Note...

HAPPY HOLIDAYS  EVERYONE!!! HOPE EVERYONE HAS A SAFE AND HAPPY ONE! 

Hello Everyone!

Well I have been on Vacation since the 12 of this month, it's nice, I have ten days off.

I also turned 26 on the 14th of this month, I didn't have anything planned except for dinner with Gary and my neighbor Rose and her two granddaughters and their kids, but little did I know, Gary had something else planned....we originally were going to go to Texas Roadhouse and when we called a day before like the told us too, they claimed they could accommodate any party bigger than 6 (we had ten). So Gary was mad about that, and I kinda was too, but whenever he got ready to hang up, the manager said "we hope we get your business back!" Now I will probably go back, but why wouldn't a popular food place like that not be able to accommodate a big party on a holiday night??!?!?!? Oh well, it then changed to Applebee's I like that place too! So when I got there, I saw my cousins, their significant other, my aunt, uncle, cousin, my friend Angela and her daughter and Angela's Parents, my friends from college Joe and his girlfriend, then Brandon and Adrienne, my friend from high school Steff and her two kids! And my neighbor's granddaughters and their children! It was a freaking AWESOME time! I don't think Gary realized how many people he had invited, but it all worked out I got to see all of them! I love them all so much! It made my birthday feel really special!

Not too much else is going on this week, I have a lunch date with my friend Debbie on Friday, the dogs have a groomer appointment on Thursday at The Doggie Day Spa! (That is like the BEST place to get your dog groomed, we love taking Gabby and Chloe (my neighbor's dog there) Then Saturday I might have a lunch date with Sherrie, and then that night a dinner with a friend. Then Sunday Gary and I have tickets to see Mamma Mia at The Fabulous Fox Theater! I can't wait! Going to be so much fun, I think our seats are pretty close! I can't wait! I will post more about it when I get back from it! And let everyone know how the rest of my vacation went!

Updates later!
My Birthday Ice Cream Sundae!

Gary and Me at Applebee's on my birthday!

Days Off

Hello Everyone!

So I am just posting about my two days off, they were Saturday and Friday. I am so use to working on those two days, that it was nice to have off on Saturday!

Friday: night I didn't do much of anything really because it was snowing and crappy out so I just stayed in and played on Facebook and watched movies. The snow didn't amount to anything really just mostly about 2 inches (I think) at the most, so we didn't get as much as they claimed. They are saying tonight we are suppose to get 6 inches so we shall see, I really do hate driving in the snow! Oh well its life I guess.

Saturday: Well today was good day I slept in until about 12noon, which I haven't done in forever! It was nice to sleep in. I was going to meet with my parents and my brother and my sister-in-law and my two nieces for dinner at Casa Gallardo. I love that place, there are only like 4 locations left in St. Louis I think, and like one if Illinois. So yeah, I wish they would build either Casa Gallardo or a Carlos O'Kelly's, they are like the two best Mexican restaurants around! Too bad Carlos O'Kelly's is only in St. Joseph MO and Springfield, MO so that is a bummer, there use to be one in Fairview Heights, IL. But any ways I met them all at Casa's and it was AMAZING! I just really love Mexican food! I got the Ramon's Platter, it was awesome! Somehow mom and dad told the waiter that it was my birthday, and my sister-in-laws birthday, so they came out and sang happy birthday to us both! It was a good night. Mom and Dad and I were suppose to go to Sam's Club to get some things for me, but they seems to close at like 8:30pm at night, who the hell closes on a Saturday at 8:30pm oh well though mom and I are going on Friday!

Well its time for me to head to work I will write more soon!

Laters
Trav

New Position and Other Things...

Hello There Everyone!

I hope everyone is having a good week, and if your getting snow, well I am too! I am so ready for the snow and cold weather to be gone, I want the hot, warm weather back here! I really should move somewhere warm! Florida? Arizona, Texas? Who knows...

Well I started my new position at work, I switched over to the treatment side of the building, my first day over there was Monday Feb. 1st. It actually went quite well for me, the time does go by faster over there for some reason, I guess its cause you don't have a million different things going on at once, you have a schedule you have to follow whether it be AA/NA Groups, Recreational Group, Life Skills, etc. It's all actually fun, the kids are not that bad, I am doing almost the same thing at Gary is doing. So we can share ideas for groups and stuff. I was a little hesitate on going over to that side (or as some call it at work "the dark side"), on Tuesday I did my first group on Risks pretty much all the kids were good and participated! The rest of the week went pretty well, I was really exhausted on Thurs night though, that was my 7th day in a row and when your use to working 5 days a week then two days off its hard to do it. I am also now off on Friday and Saturday, which is nice! I think the nights go by so much quicker on Treatment side. I look up and the time is like three or four hours later, its nice! I just hope I like it and can decide on what to do if I want to stay on Treatment on go back to the Detention Side.

On a different note...Gary was talking to me about what I thought about Springfield, MO? I was like I don't know I liked it when I went there to see him at Missouri State University. He seemed to really like living down there and asked me if we could do it possibly move to Springfield and he and I could attend MSU. So I have been thinking about it and getting information about the city and the school. They have some pretty good degrees down there...so I am considering possibly moving to Springfield and attending MSU. I think Gary really liked it down there and found a place he really liked. I kinda want to move out Missouri though, I am sick of this state and need a change, but maybe Springfield has potential for me there! I have been thinking about getting my bachelors but I am unsure on what to get it in, I was thinking Animal Science, Nursing, Pre-Vet, Psychology, Social Work, just some ideas there I guess, so we shall see. I think I am just getting bored with the same ol routine of things, so who knows....our lease is up in March here in De Soto, I think we are going to sign another year that way we can save up and make sure we have enough money to move.

We also went to a car show at the end of Jan. The St. Louis Auto Show 2010, we went with our friend Sherrie, she is a coworker that Gary works with, she is awesome, she is so much fun to be around! We took the Metrolink to the Convention Center and Edward Jones Dome for the car show, I got to see a lot of nice cars, Gary got to sit in some Trucks he liked, I really wish he could buy a truck for himself! I got to sit in the Ford Focus! Very nice! There was also this robot looking guy there named "Hank" he was awesome, he was giving Sherrie so much shit! She even called her boss cause the robot said so! We started the evening with having a late lunch at Lion's Choice, then to the show, then we went to Qdoba, that is like Gary's favorite place to eat. I had their Grilled Steak Quesadilla, they were fabulous!!! It was a fun evening, and I am so glad we all went!

Well I am off for my birthday! (Feb 14) Gary, my neighbor Rose and I are going to go to Texas Roadhouse! I love that place, I am usually not a steak person but those are so damn good! I got off and I am also on vacation that week too, well Feb 12 thru Feb 22, I think I am going to start taking off my birthday week every year!

Well that is all for now I think I will post more soon!

Laters Everyone!

~Travis~

A New Year...

Hello Everyone,
I hope everyone has had a safe and happy holiday season. I can't believe how fast it went! It was like wow its coming, its coming, then blink your eyes and its all gone! Strange huh? I guess we get so geared up for it, then its gone and then we all go back to oh old routines. Funny how that shit works!

This year shall be interesting, as most of you already know I work at the Jefferson County Juvenile Center in Hillsboro, Missouri. In February I will with the county for 3 years, WOW! T3 years! This is my longest job ever, sad isn't it! I work on the Secured "Lock Down" side and the other side is our Susan Nuckols Treatment Program, which is ran by Comtrea Inc. That side the residents are out and about all day, whereas my side the kids only come out for their programs, activities, etc. Well this past Friday my supervisor came over and asked me if I would interested in joining the Treatment Side of the Facility. (keep in mind I have told myself I would never go to that side for any reason) So I talked to him about it and the other supervisors were wanting to do some reorganization within the entire facility, and they are trying to get structure over on that side, so then my name came up right away. So I told my supervisor I would like to speak with the supervisor that is in charge over there because I have some questions to ask. So Monday came and I went and talked to him and pretty much they are impressed with my job over on the secure side, that they want me to see if I can help out with getting some structure over on the treatment side. So I agreed to do a Month Trial and see if I like it over there or not, but with the option if I don't like that side I can come back to Detention! Also my days off will be changing from Wed and Thurs to Fri and Sat. So that is a plus! I am a little nervous and excited to go and try something new. Although some people are giving me shit cause I am going to that side, but who knows maybe I am good at it and I will like it, I am going in with an open mind. I am always out for trying new things.

Lets see, what else, oh I turn 26 next month on the 14th! (Should I be excited about it...YES) I am always excited about my birthday, I have requested off for the weekend of and that following week of my birthday so we shall see if I get it off!

Gary has been sick lately with pneumonia, he is finally doing better, still has his cough a little though. He gets sick so much, I wish he didn't! Thanks Everyone for sending your prayers his way! I know he appreciated it! I just wish he would stay un-sick for awhile.

Well I will update more, I have to go now!

~Trav~

Hello Again

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

Just a Little Note....

Merry Christmas

&

Happy New Years!!!!!

Vacation Time....Part 1....and well Part 2

Hey Everyone!

Vacation is HERE for me at least, well it's not a complete vacation, I do not have any plans, because I was actually unsure I was going to get the time off or not. But anyways, I got off work. I actually felt sort of bad because I was afraid I piss off people whenever I take time off. There were some staff who requested off and did not get it, I kinda feel bad that I got the whole week off. I mean should I feel bad? I don't know, I hate knowing people are mad at me, it just drives me nuts!!!!

Well on Monday, it was a great day! I woke up kinda early, from actually being up til almost 3am talking with the neighbor, Amy. We were just shooting the shit really. But Monday am got up around 9am and got ready and went to our favorite breakfast place, The Country Cafe. Gary, Me, Rose, Amy Justin all went out there, it was fun cause Amy and her son have never been there, so we had "newbies" as the waitresses called them! We are like regulars there, I mean you know when your a regular when you walk in and don't need menus and the waitress brings your drinks right to your table! It's Great! Everyone had a great time and pretty much got a great start to the what would soon be a great fun day! Then we all headed over to Walmart, I know I know I hate going there, but sometimes its good to go to get the shit I need or want! We walked around the whole store, then we headed over to The Home Depot, (we prefer Lowe's but still), then we headed over to Schnucks cause we had a gift card from there which was nice cause we love to shop there. While shopping we had the idea of well its not raining and we all have nothing planned so why don't we do a BBQ for dinner tonight, so everyone was game for it, so we bought some stuff for the BBQ. Then we headed home to get things ready for the BBQ, it was great we had like Pork and Beef Steaks, Cube Steaks, Hamburgers, Home made Deviled Eggs, Homemade Potato Salad, Homemade Pasta Salad, we had a freaking blast! Amy's Son Justin, did all the grilling so Gary and Amy were putting up Christmas Decorations, Rose and I were preparing the foods, then Amy's Mother came over to join us in the fun. Damn we all ate good, it was just so nice to just relax, not worry about work, and just plane have a great time with friends!
Then later on Amy and her mom asked Gary and I if we wanted to go to Harrah's Casino with them. Of course we said yes, we had some money (no don't worry not a lot, its was only $20). So we decided to head out there, but first had to stop at Amy's Mom's house for her to get some things, damn she has a nice house! So then after we got a tour of her house we got back in her car and headed to Harrah's! She has a new 2009 Ford Focus, damn that was a VERY nice smooth ride compared to my Jeep. I think I might have to look into that car whenever I start looking for a new car. It is very roomy, I have always really been against Fords but now since Gary has an Escape, Fords are not really that bad! So we got to Harrah's and I was like WOW! I haven't been there in YEARS! But it was still the thrill of being there that got me! I just love walking in and hearing the machines, its like a whole different world in there! So I played with $20 and left without my $20, but it was a great time what a great way to end the evening! So by the time Gary and I got back home it was like 11pm but damn I was so happy (probably the happiest I had been in a long time), I spent the day with great friends, ate great food! What more could I have asked for!

Tuesday Part 2 of Vacation...

Well Gary and I slept in, well I slept in more than him, but he gets up so darn early, but today we cleaned some of the house and then went to Walmart again for some things and also stopped by Goodwill, but they had nothing good to buy. I am getting more and more disappointed on how Goodwill is, because it seems their prices are just about the same as if you bought the item brand new! I don't get it, aren't they suppose to be less cause its all stuff that has been handed down? I mean I saw somethings that I could have bought at Target or Walmart for cheaper than what they were selling for. So that was a little disappointing, but I will still go to them! Then we headed over to my friend Steve's new house they just bought, its in Blackwell, MO which is about 10 miles south of De Soto. Its a nice house! they have about 5 1/2 acres, corner lot, its so nice, Gary and I keep seeing these houses and makes us wanna buy a house so bad! Damn credit scores, I think they should do away with that process and just let people buy whatever they want, I mean I can afford a house payment and would rather pay that then rent but getting the damn loan is the problem, damn economy! But anyways, we came back home after riding in their 2010 Toyota Prius! Now that was VERY nice, I might look into that car as well! Ahhh so many choices! Well its after midnight and I better get offline...
Later, Night, All!
~Trav~