Blog by Ingrid Miranda

Being a lifeguard is definitely one of the easiest jobs. I get paid to sit out in the sun and tan. And of course, make sure no one drowns or any major accidents occur. That, being any lifeguard's number one priority. Luckily, the only people who attend this community pool are adults with their children, and not any hot guys around my age, so I'm distraction free. You truly get to people watch by sitting up in those stands.

However, some of the things I have witnessed, had to call out, or blow my whistle at while on duty have completely befuddled me. For instance, along with ensuring patron safety I have to make certain that the premises stay clean. To keep up with the cleanliness, the other lifeguards and myself check the bathrooms hourly. Usually, all that is necessary to maintain a clean environment is to clean up napkins from the floor and make sure there is toilet paper in every stall.

I was making my bathroom rounds one day when I made my way into the boy's bathroom (I made sure no one was in there first). I checked the urinals, and they looked fantastic! The bathroom itself didn't even smell bad! I was proud of these boys keeping the bathroom so clean. I popped my head into the first stall and it looked just as dandy as well. I walked into the second, much bigger stall. Everything looked fine. There was plenty of toilet paper in there and nothing was on the floor. The seat cover was down though. I walked over just to make sure that nothing was in the toilet that should have been flushed. I lifted the seat cover to be overwhelmed with a sickening smell. The smell of poop. I assumed whoever went number two clogged the toilet and was ashamed to let a lifeguard know. I held my nose and attempted to flush the toilet before I got one of the guys to come plunge the toilet. To my disbelief, it went down fine. I was disgusted as to what sick individual would leave their feces in toilet for another person to find.

I washed my hands while the same puzzling questions went through my head: "Why are people so gross? Are they this gross at home too? Or are they doing it to torment us?"

I shared my horrible experience with the other lifeguards to only find out that the day before someone tinkled in the sink and that prior to that a little girl decided it was okay to pee on the deck.

I was appalled. I didn't understand. Do people think it’s not necessary to be hygienic out in public?

Due to this incident, when I check the bathrooms and the seat covers are down I hold my breath only anticipating another mound of poop to be starting back at me.

http://www.a-to-z-of-manners-and-etiquette.com/toilet-etiquette.html

Trip to Austin, Texas by Carol Bolen

Dan and I took a trip to Austin/Dripping Springs, Texas to visit my sister, Miranda and her husband, Blake. Well on our way there we took kind of a detour. Not really, it was on the way towards our destination. All the way down 71 are theses huge billboards for this place called Joel’s BBQ. Daniel has been there before and said that we should stop there for a bite to eat and to rest a bit. We get there and it looks like this.

It’s practically a barn but on the inside it looks more like a cabin and the people that work there are really country, they wore whatever they wanted from camo shorts, cowboy hats, and overalls with a wife beater. I guess they owned the place but they put off a really creepy vibe, think of a rural town like something out of Texas Chainsaw Massacre. We got our beef jerky and got out of there fast, Daniel swore they had the best beef jerky and I admit it, it is pretty tasty.         

Two hours later we arrive to my sisters’ house in Dripping Springs. They had bought all of us tickets to go see a movie at the Drafthouse on 6th street. The Drafthouse is a theatre that serves food and drinks and sometimes has special guests such as directors, actors or actresses. We drop our stuff off at the house and get back on the road; I let my brother-in-law drive my car.  We are on the outskirts of Downtown Austin on some highway and we hear this popping noise and we all just think it’s the road. I get this really weird feeling and I make Blake pull my car over on an overpass. We all get out and my front passenger tire is blown out.  Never in my life have I ever had a flat and I’m so happy it wasn’t just with me in the car because I have no idea what to do. Luckily a cop sees that we are changing out a tire and he puts his lights on and lays cones around the shoulder. Getting a flat didn’t deter us from seeing a movie so now we're looking like scrubs rolling on 6th street to get to the Drafthouse. Just as we get to the theatre and walk into the auditorium and there was nowhere to sit. It was so packed; the only seats available were the very front row and we decided it wasn’t worth it so we headed to Pinballz.

Pinballz is an arcade with tons of novelty pinball machine and arcade games like driving, classic and new, shooting, also redemption ticket games like skeeball, darts, hoop fever, air hockey, and foosball tables. It’s great fun because there really aren’t too many people or kids that go there, it’s fairly new. You can bring your own alcohol, hang out and play as many games as you like. Unfortunately we all have short attention spans and decided we were going to go to a skating rink down the road. I haven’t skated since I was 7 or 8 years old and knowing that I would be a newbie at skating, I decided I’d try out the four wheel skates. The hardest physical workout I have had in my entire life, I was the only one out of us four that could not turn the corners. It was so embarrassing; there were toddlers who could skate better than I could.  After skating we headed back to the house and went to bed.

The next morning we got up early and traveled down to Lake Travis, the prettiest lake ever. We rented a pontoon boat and found a nice spot to settle. We swam, had some lunch, and hung out on the lake for the majority of the day. It started getting late in the afternoon and we headed back to the house to shower and have dinner. I couldn’t really relax on the lake because I was really concerned about how my car would do on the drive home with the donut replacing my passenger tire. I went ahead and just bought two new front tires, not too happy about that and Daniel and I headed back to Houston. I like going up to visit Miranda and Blake because they always find something new and fun to do and most of the time it’s pretty cheap.

http://www.pinballzarcade.com/

Your Personal Guide to Rewarding Pimple-Popping Sessions by Berschelle Hughes

Rate your pimple:

• It’s got to be big.  No dull blackheads.  (Although during a popping crave, they will suffice in the absence of a good pimple)
• Best results come from the bumps with white-ish, tightly stretched skin- they produce a satisfying pop sound similar to squishing bubble wrap.
• High content gunk is more likely in a pimple found on the nose, chin or forehead.
• It has to be sore.  A loud “Awwwuugh” adds to the satisfaction of getting rid of it.

Equipment needed:

• For high tech poppers, there’s a tool called a blackhead remover- good for the smaller ones on the side of the nose.
• Q-tips to wipe the first secretions away so you can see what’s left.  This allows you to continue the popping process.
• Strong fingernails- very necessary for stubborn pimples that are not quite ready, but you can’t wait for maximum gunk fill-up.
• Kleenex for the final clean up.
• Soap and warm water- prevents tell-tale signs of a pimple popping spree.

Suggestions for further research:

• Back pimples are for advanced poppers only, as pimples in this area can also produce gunky cysts that may require an actual incision.
• Scalp pimples, otherwise known as “sweat pimples.”  Very sad to have if you are bald.
• And- the pimple found on the dorsal side of the body in the gluteus region. These require a specially trained popper, since those pimples occur on spongy, unstable tissue, making it difficult to maintain an adequate popping surface. 

If this blog was helpful to you, please let us know!  If you have any tips or tricks to share, don’t be shy!

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/medical/IM02434

My Choice by Therese Shaath

I know that this topic might be on a bit of a somber note but, it is one I feel should be discussed. On March 2 of this year my husband and I were watching a program on PBS about assisted suicide, which sparked a heated debate between us. The question debated was, should I have the right to end my life with dignity if faced with a terminal debilitating disease like ALS, or better known as Lou Gehrigs disease? I am a firm believer in having complete and total control over things that affect the quality of my life. If I were diagnosed with one of these terrible diseases, that will surely take my life, I would want to be able to end it before my family and I suffered unnecessarily. Most of these diseases require extensive medical attention and life support to maintain bodily functioning, so the moral debate of playing God is no longer an issue for me. Isn’t medicine “playing God” when extraordinary measures are used in prolonging the life of the incurable?  Now don’t get me wrong I think the medical advances we have made are wonderful but I want the choice to use them or not.

Due to the disagreement between my husband and I, I made it a priority to put into effect a living will, letting known my wants and desires should something happen to me, rendering me incapable of making decisions for myself. I would never want my family to have to make that decision.

Before you make a judgment please take the time to follow the link provided and view the Suicide Tourist. Even if your beliefs do not allow you to do as Craig Ewert did maybe it will give insight into the souls of those who choose this path.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/suicidetourist/

The Move by Kiet-Calvin Nguyen

I was born in Long Beach, California on July 1st, 1992. I lived there for a little bit, and then moved to San Diego where most of my relatives resided. I started playing soccer when I was 8, and it came like a second nature. It turned out that I was really good at it, and I was the top player in the league. The whole league was almost full of people that went to my school. Because of that, I was well-known at school. School was like my second home. I had a lot of friends, and I actually liked doing the work. Every morning, I was eager to get dressed up and head to school. Teachers and students, knew who I was. At that time, life was great. I had a lot of friends, was with the people I loved; felt like I had everything I ever needed.

        A couple days before my 13th birthday, I was given some news that would change my life forever. I was told that we were going to move to Texas. There was many times before this, where my parents had told me that we were moving but it never happened so when they told me this, I didn't believe them. It turned out that we indeed were planning to move. On my 13th birthday, we had a birthday party/going away party with family and close friends. With family and close friends surrounding me, I never soaked in what was really going on. It finally hit me that this was going to happen. The day I was dreading for finally arrived. That morning, we said our good-byes and were off. 23 hours later, we reached Houston, Texas. We pulled up to our new house, and proceeded to unpack. Everything was so new to me. New home, and new surroundings. From this moment on, I knew my life would drastically change.

        It's been 6 years, and I'm still living in Houston, Texas. Moving here, I had to adapt to everything. Everything about me changed. The way I feel about people, my attitude, and how I am not open to anything anymore. I was told that I have changed a lot by many people, but there's nothing I can do. Hate it or love it, that is just how I am now.

Link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Czb2E1q7xtc

(I had this song on repeat just to remind myself of some good times I had in California. Listening to this song helps soothe me down, when I'm feeling down or mad.)

The Pet Door by Nancy Ringo

Today I woke up to my dogs barking like crazy in the kitchen. I went to see what was happening and much to my dismay they had cornered a squirrrel in the corner of the laundry room, and were trying to play with it. I had to get a broom and sweep it or kind of push it out the pet door and hold my dogs back as it ran away. What can I say about the pet door? It is convienant because my dogs can go in and out as they please and I don't have to always be getting up and letting them out when they scratch on the door. I don't have to worry ever about accidents in the house because they can just go and relieve themselves as needed. Sometimes I walk them and they refuse to go to the bathroom and I really think its because they want the privacy of the backyard. Having the pet door helps with that situation. So the pet door would seem like it would be the perfect solution to that kind of problem doesn't it? And it seems as if the dogs would be happier. It allows alot of flexibility as to when I can walk them. All seems to be great with it right? Well it does come with additional problems.
The main problem is that it doesn't limit any other things that might like to come on in and enjoy my home. First there was the bird. I don't know how he got in. He must have been brought in by the dogs. A bird does not usually fly low on the ground where the pet door is. He was on my kitchen floor when I found him and he was dead. I don't have a clue how he died. The dogs were uninterested in him. He didn't have any marks on him like they had killed him. I think he must have been injured and just hobbled into the pet door looking for a place to die. But I was not happy that I had to figure out how to dispose of him properly and I felt sorry for the little guy.

Then was the squirrel. One of many maybe but I am not sure. I have a huge beautiful Oak tree in my backyard and the squirrels just love it. You can never look out there and see the tree without several squirrels running up and down the branches. So many people think they are cute. I don't think this to be the case at all. They are just rats with bushy tails. They scavenge for food anywhere they can. I could not believe one actually had the nerve to come into my house. This one was not even one bit scared of my dogs. It looked like it had tried to get my bread off the kitchen counter and run with it. I don't think this would have been the first time as I have often wondered where the bread went or who was eating so many sandwiches. And I blamed my dog for bringing an empty bread package and leaving it in the back yard. This squirrel knew exactly what it was doing! And he was not a welcomed guest.

Lastly was the day of the duck. It was this past fall when the geese were flying south for the winter that one became ill or injured and fell and landed in my backyard. My dogs decided this poor duck was a fun toy to play with. They didn't try to hurt him but they spent hours and hours chasing him around the backyard before I realized what they were doing. I guess when it got brave it ran straight through my pet door and through my kitchen and ended up on the front door hallway refusing to move. Did I mention that I have a severe fear of ducks and geese? I can't tell you why or where it came from but I am more scared of them than I ever would be of snakes! I was way too scared to pick up the duck and he also seemed to have a hurt wing so I didn't want to hurt him even more. So I called animal control to come and get him. Because I was so scared of him being in my house I spent a good 3 hours just frozen in fear until someone came to pick him up.

So this brings me to the point of the pet door being benificial. After all these incidents and there were many more. I just chose the ones that were the most impact on me, I have still decided that the pet door works for my home and my dogs. I just tend to keep it closed a little more often than I used to. Especially in the winter because I can surely do without the ducks.