The Best Dance Ever

Hey there.  Like kids across America, ours started school about 2 or 3 weeks ago.  Because the girls go to school close to where I work, I drop the girls off before heading to work.  It's been interesting, to say the least.  I chat it up with the girls during the car ride and we listen to the Kevin & Bean show together.  We'll laugh over some stuff and it's pretty much a good bonding experience for us.  Especially when little episodes like this happen.

About a week or so ago, we are on our morning commute to school.  Kevin & Bean had an interview with some woman that I had no interest hearing so I started to change the radio station.  I stumbled across some song that my young one instantly recognized.  "Leave it there, Dad!"  I hear that a lot when she's in the car.  lmao  She recognizes all the "hit" songs and she's only 5!  Anyways, it was some song with lyrics that go something like, "dance, dance, dance like it's the last night of your life."

Their pre-robot ritual

After hearing the girls sing the phrase for what seemed like the 20th time, I decided to have some fun with the girls.  I turned to look at them (during a red light, of course), start doing the robot and say, "They must be doing the robot if they're dancing like it's the last dance of their life.  I mean, it's only the best dance move EVER!"  At this point the girls laugh and the young one starts doing the robot from her seat.  lol  I love it when she does the robot.  When the older one stops laughing she looks at me with a serious look and say, "That is true."  lmao!  Oh man...  Classic!  Later!

Charter’s Back-to-School Campaign is Giving Away 50 Laptops

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Charter. All opinions are 100% mine.



Hey there friends.  Charter Communications have been on fire with their widely successful give-a-way campaigns.  They've managed to give away XBOX 360's, a hybrid car, a Camaro, laptops, and HD TV's all for their growing customer base.  They have decided to carry on the give-a-way campaigns but have decided to switch it up a bit.  Not only are they giving away laptops to customers, but will be giving away 50 laptops to two lucky schools.

As part of Charter's laptop-a-day giveaway they are offering the chance to nominate a school of your choice to win 50 laptops for students.  You click on the above link and register for a chance to win your own laptop and then nominate a school.  It really is that simple.  The laptops are Lenovo G555's with a 15.6" screen, 160GB drive and 3GB ram (with a Targus bag) which is a pretty impressive machine will be more than enough to help out lucky students in getting ahead in their education.

Schools will need to be nominated by August 12th and 50 finalists will be selected by August 16th so there is still time to nominate your school.  Once the 50 finalists are announced, the voting will begin so have your friends and family vote for your school to win!  The two winning schools will then be announced on Sept. 27th.

 

Ordering services from Charter will not increase your chances to win, however, they will offer an automatic entry for a laptop and up to $300 cash back.  You can register online without ordering so feel free to check out the registration page here and sign up yourself and your school!

Make sure to check out Charter on Facebook to make sure you're on top of all things Charter.  With great promotions and give-a-ways like this, how do you not want to follow Charter.  Best of luck to you and your school!  Later!

Affordable Family Friendly Education at Ashworh College

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Ashworth College. All opinions are 100% mine.

Hey there friends. I have many blogging friends that are stay at home moms. Which I think is great! There is nothing better than to be able to stay at home and spend more quality time with the kids. I wish I could do that... but I'm at work. Nevertheless, being a stay at home doesn't mean that mom's don't work. Besides the sack lunches, tending to injuries, being referee, and bringing down the law (of the household at least), a stay at home parent needs to find time to be themselves before they were mom or dad. Whether that be taking up an old hobby or getting back into school and getting that degree.

Getting back to school must be the most single thing most parents claim that they simply do not have the time for. Which may be true, if you are still speaking of school in the traditional sense. Now with many online schools, any parent, or working adult, can find the time to log online and attend school and work on improving your education. Because it's flexible and self-paced, so you can study whenever and wherever you like. Now that is ideal for any stay at home parent or working class citizen.

"But I can't afford school, Metallman. It costs too much money!" Not so, my friends. At Ashworth College, you can earn that Online degree and pay approx. 50% less than the average accredited online school and unlike other programs, you are guaranteed to graduate without student loan debt. Let me translate that for you... NO STUDENT LOAN to worry about AFTER you've graduated! And with over 100+ degrees to choose from, you will find the one that you have been wanting to achieve.

Being a stay at home parent is great, but have a backup plan ready for the when the little ones are more independent. With classes being attended online, there is no need to travel to a school when you can sit in the comfort of your own home and attend class. You've been helping your kids with homework through out elementary and middle school, with an online degree from Ashworth College, you can assure that you can continue to help them for years to come.

Using Cappex for College Reviews

Hey there. My wife and I have been meaning to go back to school. But it's tough to find the time when you have a family to take care of. I'm not saying it's impossible, though. With some strategic time management, both my wife and I could be back in school before we know it. A good tool to help out has been Cappex.com It's free to join and helps match your student profile to a college that best suits your needs. Now, it's an up and coming site so instead of 1000s of colleges, you're more to see 100s but the database is growing everyday and considering that it's free, why not take a look to check it out. Check out the review of the cappex site by eduinreview.com. Later

John C. Fremont High School Being Shut Down

Hey there.  A few weeks back, I received word that my high school in Los Angeles is being taken over by the state.  Yeah, it's that bad friends.  It's right in the middle of South Central Los Angeles and it's in a pretty bad neighborhood.  That's my school, folks.  lol  Well, it turns out that the city got tired of the low test scores and high drop out rate so they've decided to start from scratch.  They are firing the whole staff and new hires will be brought in.  From what I hear, teachers working there now will have to re-apply.  It kinda sucks, since a class mate of mine is a part of the music staff at Fremont. 

Fremont has always been bad.  I remember that when I first started going there, an older cousin of mine would tell me to not linger around the school and to hurry home to avoid any gang violence or thug altercations.   From the picture that he was painting in my head, this was the school from hell.  Stabbings, shootings, theft... it was all there, according to him.  And I must say, it wasn't always the case.

I was a band geek, so I was part of the marching band.  The band had long rehearsals that usually ended well after school was over and on Wednesday, we would be at school until 8 PM.  Now, I don't remember experiencing MUCH of the violence and what not.  I used to stay after school and what not and I can honestly say that I've run into trouble of that nature once or twice but nothing in the scale of what was said.  We did have lock downs from time to time.  Which occurred during school, and usually during class.  For those of you not familiar with the term, it's when NO ONE is allowed to leave their classroom until the "disturbance" has been taken care of.  Usually, police would be involved.  It wasn't uncommon to go through an armed policeman before entering the school. 

I remember, after graduation, hearing the news that Fremont was deteriorating.  More armed policeman were patrolling the quad, a fence was built around the school to keep students inside (or the "bad" people out), and the student body just didn't seem to care about their academics.  So now, the Los Angeles Unified School District, LAUSD, has stepped in to take control of the school.  It's tough to say what's going to happen to the school.  What I do know is that this year will play out and then once the year is over, who knows.  Just my luck too.  2010 would be my 10 year high school reunion.  lol  For all the negativity that can be said about Fremont, I think it sucks that it's fallen so low.  I can never wash away the memories and friendships that came with my high school experience.  So here's to you, friends.  Whether our school is still "functioning" or not, I say we take care of business and do our reunion anyways.  Just gonna be a lot harder to get everyone together.  We'll see what transpires, but all I got to say is, "Find a Path, or Make One."  Later!

The Artistic Side of Metallman

Hey there.  Last night, I heard from a good friend of mine that I have not heard from since forever.  As we chatted about how life's been treating us, she asked whether or not I continued my drawing.  Now, this was back in elementary and JR high school where I would draw all the time.  Well, I would draw during my down time from video games.  lmao  And even then, a good chunk of my drawing were of video game characters.  Whether it be Mega Man or Ridley from Super Metroid, I would draw away on those 3 X 5 index cards that we always seem to have in abundance at home. 

Anyways, I told my friend that I haven't really drawn anything since JR high.  I picked up guitar in my first year of high school and that was pretty much that for my drawing career.  I spent too much time trying to learn Metallica songs than to focus on my drawing.  Well, she then mentioned that she has stuff from high school in a special box at home and said that she has a drawing of mine in there somewhere.  I was like, no way!  I asked that she send to me.  I must see what I drew back then.  This morning, I received the drawing.  Check it out.

So what do you guys think?  Yes, it's the Lion King, as my wife pointed out.  lol  If I remember correctly, it had just come out that year, or maybe it was when the VHS movie came out.  I don't remember.  Honestly, I don't even remember drawing this.  lmao  But the writing near the top resembles my writing.  It looks like my writing stayed the same throughout the years. 

I'm looking at it and I'm thinking to myself, "not bad".  lol  Maybe I should have kept it up.  But if I did, would I be the bad ass guitar player that I am today?  lol  Yeah, I like to toot my own horn sometimes.  lol  Later!

Earn Your Master of Arts in Teaching Degree with the USC Rossier School of Education Program

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of USC. All opinions are 100% mine.

Hey there friends. The University of Southern California, it's name is synonymous with prestigious education, a top of line medical program, and of course the outstanding football program. A school of education which has been ranked #22 in the United States, and #9 among all private universities by US News and World Report, USC now introduces a ground breaking online institution. The USC Rossier School of Education’s MAT@USC program offers aspiring teachers and current teachers to not only join the Trojan family from their home states, but garner an opportunity to earn a Master of Arts in Teaching degree through a prestigious and well renown university. Learn in a virtual classroom from some of the best in the education field. And to make it a sweeter deal, it's an accelerated program so you can earn your degree in as little as a year. This is a no nonsense course, my friends. If you are serious in obtaining you Master of Arts in Teaching degree, then you need to get the program information and seriously consider enrolling in class.

Whether you're on campus or the virtual campus, once you are part of the USC family, you gain full USC student status & benefits. As a child, I was a part of USC's Med-Core program. I'd go to USC on a Saturday to learn math and medicine from some of the distinguished professors. I know that many of you are not in Southern California so this is a great opportunity to experience the essence that is USC. Later!

Our Oldest Daughter is Not Doing Homework

Hey there. Our oldest daughter is giving us issues and it's frustrating the hell out of me. Her teacher requires that my daughter returns a reading journal with our initials and a homework log signed by a parent. We have yet to see a reading log. Her excuse for that was that her teacher had not assigned any yet and the homework log disappeared after she took a week off while she was sick. Her excuse for that was that her teacher didn't assign homework for a week (which was hard to swallow but we believed her) and then she merely "forgot" the book in school for the following week. Now, my wife receives a call from her teacher stating that no homework has been turned in the past few weeks and the reading log has not been completed since who knows when. Needless to say, we are extremely upset and disappointed. ESPECIALLY, since just 2 days ago, she was awarded medals and a certificate for outstanding academic achievements. It sucks as a parent to come crashing down after such a high.

Now, we are upset and my daughter is at home. I haven't had a chance to discuss with my wife, since I'm at work. She conveyed this conversation to me via text messages. This isn't the first time that we've had issues with homework. We just don't know what kind of punishment would fit the crime. We've taken away TV and games, we've taken away her play privileges, and we've even sat her down at the kitchen table for a full week. Yet, we continue to have this issue with her and homework. Any suggestions to alternate forms of discipline? And the fact that she does well in school is what is frustrating the hell out of us. She gets the student of the month, author of the month, great leader, and other types of accolades from school, but what is it about homework that is just not registering with this one young. We'll figure it out... Until then, later.

It Was Just One of Those Days

Hey there. Anything that could go wrong, will go wrong. I've heard it many times before and usually you don't get the worst of things. Well, yesterday, it finally happened.

Monday morning started out rough. We got up late and after rushing the kids to get ready, we were out the house approx. 10 mins late. I go to the van to turn it on and it won't start... Are you kidding me?!?! Our new van, which we have not had for a month is not starting. I tell the kids to go back in the house while I tinker with the battery. After about 5 mins, I figure that I can't deal with it now and load up the family in our car, the 5 passenger Mazda. It was a tight fit for our family of 6, but we all squeezed in OK.

Things start to look up when I get a call from my aunt saying my little cousin, who has been in the hospital for over a month, is being released. She is throwing her a welcome home party at her place and wants us to be there. "Great!", I think. Then, a few hours later... The hospital is not releasing her. Are you kidding me?!?!?! They kept her admitted while they deal with her insurance so the welcome home was canceled.

Then, we had our kids' assembly at their school. They were being honored for scoring advanced on the California state tests. I tried to leave a few mins early, but of course, my boss detained me for a bit while I "debriefed" him on the day's work. I left the office later than I wanted too and barely made it in time for our son's assembly (I missed our daughter's). After sitting through the whole assembly, our son's name wasn't called. Are you kidding me?!?!?! We sat through the assembly and they didn't call our son up to receive his award and medal. After a few moments of confusion, the school got it right and acknowledged my son, along with some of his classmates, and awarded them their medals and certificates, BUT.... they did not allow pictures due to them being rushed on stage and then out. A huge bummer.

On our way home, I called some people that were selling a wireless guitar and wireless drum set for Guitar Hero World Tour. My brother broke my Rockband drum set and I need a replacement. This couple is selling their set for $45, which is a steal, so I called them up to let them know we're on our way to pick em up. We meet up with them and they still have the drums and guitar in the original box. Everything looks good. I go home and the Xbox 360 craps out on me... Oh man... 3 red rings of death. So I take the time to fix it and after some time, I finally get it working. I set up Guitar Hero Metallica and I start the game. I check the drums and everything seems OK... until I try the orange cymbal and it's not registering. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!?! I could not believe the day I was having... After check it out, it looks like the wire connecting the cymbal has been severed. Needless to say, I was upset... I sent a message to the couple to tell them it's busted and they offered a refund. I told them that I'll try to fix it, but if I'm not successful, I'll let them know and they agreed to give me a refund it doesn't work out for me.

I then fed our son, at close to midnight and after lying him down for bed, I realize that the van is not starting and I need to take care of that. I go and grab my light and head outside with my tools. I remove the battery from our car and van and place the car battery in the van. As soon as I hook it up, the back light in the van turns on. Oh man... The kids must have switched on the light and didn't turn off, causing the battery to drain. I turn it off, throw the battery in the van (to be charged later today) and go back inside for some sleep. Time? 2:00AM

Man... It was just one of those days... Later.

Knowledge Thrown Away

Hey there. I am a geek. There is no denying it. When I was in school, I had certain subjects that I love. I managed to get through high school without doing any homework, yet graduating with high honors and passed many AP courses. My problem with school is that I simply didn't want to attend. I studied the material on my own time and I pretty much showed up just to take the tests. Now, I don't condone that type of behavior but it's what worked for me. I'm more of the "give me a book and I will learn it" type.

I haven't been in school in a long time. I last attended Santa Monica College several years ago and told myself that once I have my priorities straightened out, I'll go back. Now, with a loving wife and wonderful kids, it's tough to find the time to get to school. Well, the educational gods were smiling on me yesterday.

When I got home from taking the kids to school, I noticed that the neighbor had several boxes to be thrown out. First thought, boxes should be in the recycle bin and not the trash bin. Second thought, my wife needed a box to put some stuff in and they look to be the perfect size. So I go to get a box and I see that the boxes ARE NOT EMPTY! Hmmm... It's in the trash bin, it's meant to be thrown out so it wouldn't hurt if I emptied the contents and kept the box, right?. Once I got the box open, I was thrilled to see that the box contained college courses. FREE TEXT BOOKS FOR COLLEGE COURSES!!! Oh man, I went back out there and grabbed more boxes to check em out. They had everything: College Algebra, Sociology, Anatomy, Chemistry, American History, Literature, Business, and many others. Check it out!
I should have known what the contents where once I realized that the side of the box says, "The College Network".
I looked up this College Network and found out that people have paid thousands for the materials that I found in the garbage. I could not believe it. Someone literally threw out thousands of dollars worth of stuff and the boxes were not even opened. The materials were still sealed. I couldn't be more ecstatic. Me, that I love to learn by the book, without someone holding my hand, could not believe that I came across several college courses that I plan on doing. I won't receive any college credit, i won't have a teacher, but you know what? I don't care. I have the opportunity to obtain a college level education for free. I can't wait to get started! I'm starting with Algebra. I love math so I'm looking forward to digging right in. I plan on starting on Monday. I'm up late as it is so I'll devote an hour or so of online work for my education. I'm giddy. lol Later!