Category: Mount Vernon

I’m an “A” Student!!!

December 17th, 2007 · · Illinois, Mount Vernon, School, Technology 4 comments - Tags: , , , , , ,

It’s semi-official, I’m an A student.  I checked the RLC website, and my grades are posted. I did get one B, but the other grades pull it up to an A as well. Now I can breathe a sigh of relief.

All of my core courses are out of the way. The rest of my classes are IT-specific, so they are more what I am at ease with now. Psychology, Speech, Rhetoric and Composition, etc. were fine and I did well enough, but I’m much happier in my geek classes.

Cisco has given me my letters and certificates for CCNA 1 & 2. Now success is a matter of completing the rest and taking their certification exams. Maybe I’ll take the A+ exam this summer and get it out of the way.

I don’t know if any of my instructors read this, but thank you all.

The Lights are up again

November 26th, 2007 · · Illinois, Jaycees, Mount Vernon One comment - Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Well, Sunday went better than expected. Aside from being extremely tired, we managed to get the street decorations up across the city with the help of volunteers and the Parks department.

We started an hour earlier this year, and it did help avoid traffic for the most part. I was almost creamed by a gentleman in a Geo Metro. There were cones across the street and I was wearing a reflective vest. There was a solid 2 blocks of clear visibility between him and my position, but he still came halfway through the intersection. Once he stopped, he looked at me kind of confused, and made the turn to the cross street.

I was actually out of the way once he was bearing-down on me within 1/2 of a block. I sure wasn’t going to try to stop him, though one could argue anyone can stop those little tin cans. 🙂

35 degrees and all, it seemed to go faster than the previous years.

Christmas Lights Go Up in the Morning

November 24th, 2007 · · Illinois, Jaycees, Mount Vernon No comments - Tags: , , , , , , ,

It’s the Sunday after Thanksgiving, and that means we Jaycees will be out at 5AM with volunteers from Charter and Tri-County Electric putting up the street decorations all across the city. This year we actually had good communication with the Parks Department here in the city. That helped move things along in a positive direction.

This year I hope it doesn’t rain and is above 40. Getting soaked, honked at, cursed, and freezing kinda dampens the cheery mood (pun intended). Still, it’s worth it to drive through town and be able to tell my kids that I helped put up the decorations. Also, I’m sure someone enjoys them other than just us.

Ever since the city has been maintaining the lights, they haven’t been kept up too well, and we’ve heard the grumblings of the public. Unfortunately, there isn’t much we can do as a civic organization since the DDC, county, city, and Chamber of Commerce refuse to contribute. The maintenance has been up to the Parks Department, and they just don’t have the time or staff to keep the lights up to par.

Perhaps our good communication this year will lead to these civic entities committing some resources again. Maybe not.

I miss Thanksgiving

November 21st, 2007 · · Mount Vernon 3 comments - Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Yes, I know it’s tomorrow. I don’t mean the day, I mean family getting together over at the patriarch’s house, more food than you can eat in a day, movies, board games, football on TV, and naps on that wonderful shag carpet.

Unfortunately, family has split and fragmented. No one actually cooks anymore. Ever since the grandmas passed, it just hasn’t been the same. Some tried to keep the tradition going for a few years, but it still faded like my memories.

Maybe it’s because we all have too busy lives. Maybe we’re happier apart. Maybe it’s because we don’t have a house large enough to have the “gatherings” at anymore.

Personally, I wish I had a house big enough to have everyone over and provide the room to spread out and socialize. Someday I will have that house. The big-enough one for the whole family. The kitchen so that we can cook the massive meal and not have to worry about running over each other as we scurry about baking pies and glazing the turkey.

Someday I’ll have it, and we’ll all have the Thanksgiving I remember. For now, I wish everyone a happy holiday, and hopefully I’ll get to see you in person!

Welcome to the great Illinois November Holiday!

November 16th, 2007 · · Illinois, Mount Vernon, School No comments - Tags: , , ,

No, not Thanksgiving silly. That’s nationwide. I’m talking about that ritual that began preparation last month – Deer Shotgun-season.

Last month I was listening to the guys here talk about deer tracking, rubs, and techniques. I thought the season was already underway. I was wrong. These guys were just preparing for that yearly feat.

In high school the first day of the season was always marked by extreme absences. Back then I thought it was just another reason for the guys to miss school.

Today was the opening of the first shotgun-season.  Again, I notice high absenteeism, but this is a real job, not just high school. Grown men are using their vacation and/or sick time to go sit in a tree, in the wee hours of the morning, in the cold, motionless, just to possibly see a deer and gun it down.

Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against hunting. It just isn’t for me. Being cold, tired, and cramped doesn’t appeal to me a whole lot. Kudos to the guys who do it, they are very dedicated.

I wish all you guys the best. Be safe and get a big buck for me.