Good Karma

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Breakfast at the hotel gave me and Bela a chance to send out some good karma.  When we got to the breakfast area, there was a lady putting a couple of plates together for family members who did not want to come downstairs.  As I fixed my own plate, the lady (Janice) and I started chatting.  Janice said her family members wanted waffles, but that was too bad since she wasn’t sure how to run the waffle iron.  I showed her, and she got her waffle.  By this time, Bela had emerged from our room and was in the process of fixing her own plate.

Bela and Janice started talking—Bela was “schooling” her about Comic Con and her costume.  Janice asked if Bela could help her carry plates to her room, and off they went.  Before Bela came back, another lady with her grandchild  (I’m guessing….) came for food.  Oddly enough, she wasn’t sure how to manage making waffles.  I smiled because Bela had to show me at another hotel years ago.

Janice wanted to see Bela’s Black Butler Undertaker costume, so they met up in the lobby before we left for the Mid-America Center.  Before we actually left, I spoke to one of the housekeepers who was getting ready to clean rooms.  I greeted her in English, then said, “Buenos dias?”  She answered in Spanish, so I explained in Spanish that we needed more towels and shampoo and the trash taken out.  I didn’t want the beds made or anything else done.  She said she would pass that along to her fellow housekeeper who was assigned our room.  The hotel clerk passed us in the hall while we were chatting and commented, “That is so cool.”  I was thrilled to be able to use my language skills.

Imagine my surprise when I was able to use ASL as well on this trip!  More about that later.

Black Butler Undertaker and Stiock the Vast (Ysabela and George)

Black Butler Undertaker and Stiock the Vast (Ysabela and George)

Comic Con Part 1

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Bela and I decided we made the right decision driving to Council Bluffs last night instead of leaving way early this morning to arrive for a long day weekend of cosplay fun.  We rolled out of bed at 7:30, ate breakfast, dressed and arrived at the Mid-America Center down the street from the hotel around 9 this morning.  I was signed up to volunteer from 12-4, but (to me) early is better.  Bela started out super, uber excited and ready for some cosplay action.  Just FYI, Bela found me at 2:30 and said, “I’m done.  My feet are killing me!”  I had to chuckle, but my feet were feeling rough, too.

Super happy!

Super happy!

People were able to enter close to noon, and I enjoyed watching the “show.”  I saw so many costumes that I (still) can’t identify.  I was able to figure out a few, but not as many as Bela.  You check the pics out and see how well you do.

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Stay tuned for more pictures.  🙂  So far, my favorite tables are the LARP people and the Steampunk couple.

Interesting Twist

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A nameless acquaintance told me he got his minister’s license, and it surprised me.  I was surprised for a couple of reasons—he didn’t seem the “type” to be interested in the ministry, and the process was super easy.  As far as ministers are concerned, I have a mental image of Jesus.  In all honesty, not many preachers resemble my idea of Jesus (physically), but rational thought tells me that ministers come in all shapes and sizes.  They have different personalities and characteristics that lend themselves to minister to all types of people in any congregation.

As far as the ease with which the license can be acquired, it shocked me because I thought most preachers went to school to learn the Bible and everything that goes along with it and its interpretation.  I pictured divinity, theology, seminary and Hebrew as classes that would be required.  Not true.

I can’t help but wonder how many churches got started by ministers with no formal training.  How many preachers are self taught?  Is that a bad thing?  I also wonder if an easily obtained license offends preachers who spent years going to school to understand the Bible.

I am now an ordained minister.  I can perform marriage ceremonies and funerals.  One benefit of having my license is that now I really want to spend more time studying the Bible.  I want to learn more about Hebrew, the Torah and how it relates to modern belief systems as well as other religions and how they compare to Christianity.  Can that really be a bad thing?

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Sights at Fire School

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This display was at fire school last weekend, and I had to get a picture or two.  Every time I see something like this memorial, I say a prayer for the families who lost a loved one.  That  shouldn’t be reserved for a special day—it’s an every day kind of prayer.

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Bela was a big fan of the motorcycle, so I got that as well.

 

The Reaper!

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Ysabela was beyond thrilled to receive her scythe today via FedEx.  Mike the Magnificent crafted the prop with loving care and amazing attention to detail.  The FedEx delivery gal said she and the other workers had speculated that one of the boxes contained a boomerang due to the shape!  Hope nobody placed a bet on that.

Ysabela opened the boxes very carefully, then we took the still-wrapped scythe into my room so she could remove the tape and get to the good stuff.  Mike the Magnificent had included a couple of surprises—the skull’s eyes actually light up!  He had also crafted a sword as an extra prop.  I’m surprised that Mike didn’t hear the “Ysabela shriek” all the way across the country when she finally got everything out.

The process of unveiling was nerve-racking to watch!

The process of unveiling was nerve-racking to watch!

Preliminary view....

Preliminary view….

Happy kid=happy mom

Happy kid=happy mom

The eyes light up!

The eyes light up!

She is loving the sword!

She is loving the sword!

We appreciate all of the work Mike put into Ysabela’s props for Comic Con.  If you need any props for role playing, you need to find Mike of Crypticus Designs.  He’s in North Carolina, but he can make anything.  Of that I am certain!

Winner, Winner

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While I was in class Saturday morning, I received a text informing me that I had won a door prize.  Ysabela had signed me up for everything while I was in class Friday.  I was excited because I had never won a prize at fire school.  On the first break we had, I went over to claim my prize.  Ysabela stayed at the hotel because I couldn’t wake her before Wes and I left for class, but I texted her to let her know I had won something.

This is my first prize ever at fire school

This is my first prize ever at fire school.

I was really worn out at the end of class Saturday afternoon.  While waiting for Wes to get out of class, I was chatting with a guy that I had seen at fire school a year or two ago when I saw a Mexican guy pushing a cart.  At this point, you may be asking how I knew the guy was Mexican.  I really can’t explain it other than to say I have radar that rarely fails me.

There were familiar looking things hanging off of the side of the cart, so I excused myself and rushed to catch the fellow.  When I say “rushed,” I really mean that I was moving with the speed of a turtle stampeding through molasses and peanut butter.  (Did I mention that I was worn out?)  There was still a bit of distance between us, but I yelled, “Oye!”  It’s the Spanish equivalent of “hey!”  Anyway, he turned, I moved a tad faster and asked, “Que tiene?”  (What do you have there?)  Fortunately for my daughter, he was selling chicharrones like vendors sell in Mexico.  I knew it!  I happily put my purchase into my (already heavy and full) tote and went back to a bench to wait for Wes.  When people saw them at the top of the tote bag, I got some really odd looks.  They could not figure out 1) what exactly they were seeing and 2) where I got them.

It was amazing to use my Spanish at fire school, and Ysabela was thrilled because I bought two bags of snacks for $3.  Wes finally appeared, and we started out of the parking lot.  I opened a bag of chicharrones so he could try them.  He liked them!  Imagine my surprise!  We couldn’t find that little Mexican guy in the parking lot, but we did see another fellow with a cart selling them on the road out of town.  I pointed him out to Wes, and Wes pulled the truck into a random lot rather quickly.  I yelled for the fellow to wait, and we jogged (kind of) across the street to buy some snacks.  This guy tried to charge Wes $1.75 each, but I haggled with him, and Wes bought four bags for $6.  Somehow Ysabela ended up with one of those bags today.

Chicharrones!

Chicharrones!

I was thrilled to have been able to buy the chicharrones for Ysabela since she spent her money on a shirt for me Friday.  I love that shirt, by the way.

Bela chose a great shirt for me. :)

Bela chose a great shirt for me. 🙂

2015 Fire School—Dinosaurs and Sock Puppets?!

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I wait for fire school in Grand Island all year long.  No kidding.  This year was no exception.  I have a day and a half of class time done already, and we’ll finish up in the morning.  I made a new, funny friend in class this year…(hi, Sabrina!), and I hope she reads today’s blog post!  She has been more like a partner in crime.  🙂

My fire school adventure started earlier in the week since there were so many things I had to do before I could leave for fire school.  Thursday was a blur.  Between teaching Spanish classes and not eating lunch at lunch time, I took off the trash and delivered my pups to Koko’s Palace (for doggie day care).  Then I had to drop my little car off at the body shop in North Platte (75 miles away) and pick up a rental.  I had specifically asked for “a small car that’s good on gas.”  I got a double-cab Hemi.  Not exactly what I was expecting, but it does have some power.  I was bummed from the beginning about putting gas in the dang thing because that came out of my spending money for the weekend.  I had plans for that cash….

Wes drove a fire truck to Grand Island, and I followed so I wouldn’t get “misplaced.”  (He tried to ditch me, but I found him in Broken Bow!)  We arrived early enough to shop at the vendor booths.  Wes helped me find a booth where I could order my badge (the one I’ve been wanting for the last few years!) before we had to go to class.  It took the lady at the booth a little while to find a badge like Wes has, so I had to keep checking with her after Wes left for his class.

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I had learned (from the guys) that they all paid for their own badges, so I paid for mine out of my spending money.  Funny thing is, though, that all of the guys had neglected to mention that they had billed the badge to the department and then reimbursed the department.  I found that out after I had paid cash.  Hmmm.

In class after the badge business, one of the teachers put up a picture that made me and Sabrina laugh.  She said it looked like a dinosaur.  I agreed, but added it was similar to a sock puppet.  I took a picture, texted it to Sabrina, and we both posted it on our Facebook pages.  We even showed the teachers this morning.  After that, they watched for us to grab our phones when something funny was on the screen.  Joe and Chuck were kind enough to give us time to snap a pic.

This looks like a sock puppet dinosaur, but it's really about the parts of a fire.

This looks like a sock puppet dinosaur, but it’s really about the parts of a fire.

 

Sabrina and I roamed around after class to see what we could discover.

Sabrina and I roamed around after class to see what we could discover.

I had spent all of Friday and today griping about the extra gas money for the truck.  It cut into my shopping.  Wes finally told me about the badges being billed to the fire department, so I went back and got my cash so the very nice lady could bill the fire department like she had for the all of the other guys!  That made it possible for me to buy the shirt Wes had pointed out to me.

Stay tuned for more fire school news….

TAMALES!

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Our Spanish class was in for a treat tonight!  I had made arrangements to fix some Mexican hot chocolate called Abuelita.  It’s a mix of chocolate and cinnamon.  I adore it, and I can’t have it often enough.  I brought a tablet of it to share.  Marlis was in charge of bringing a hot plate and a can of condensed milk.  Carolyn was supposed to bring regular milk to add, but she went above and beyond to surprise us all with tamales—chicken and beef—from Milo and Max’s.  Chips and salsa made the fiesta complete.  WOW!

We all left class tonight with bellies full of great food and drink, but what’s more important, we all had a great learning experience.  The class ended tonight, and I’ll surely miss those awesome people.