Fried bananas!

So I brought some bananas the other day
but of course haven't finished eating them.
I am picky about eating banana, I only eat
them when they've just ripened. You know
when they turn from green to yellow?
Without any brown spots, yum yum. But
once they're really ripe I either make
banana bread or throw them out. Last
night however I googled "what to do
with ripe bananas?" and found a very
simple recipe for fried banana. Just throw
in some butter into a frying pan, sprinkle
cinnamon and brown sugar, then add
banana which I cut in 1/2 and then into
1/4 pieces. Fry em up and viola!
So tonight after class I came home
and decided to try it as a little treat
and boy oh boy, delicious! The recipe
also says to drizzle honey but I didn't
like the way it taste with honey, it
doesn't need it if you ask me.

And did it snow last night? Not a mere
3-5 inches but someone told me 19
inches was measured in Central Park
and I believe it!

I LOVE

Snow days!
My sinuses have knocked me off my feet
since last Friday and having the day off
today has been wonderful. I've alternated
with cleaning and watching the 1st
season of "Dexter." Its a Showtime
original series about a "good-hearted"
killer. I am HOOKed. What can I say I've
always been drawn to morbid stuff, when
I was a teenager I spent a lot of time
reading about real life serial killers.
One of my earliest majors was
Criminal Justice. I wanted to study
the minds of murders and what makes
them that way? What percentage is
due the environment (nurture) vs nature?
Somehow once I transferred to Gallaudet
and they didn't have a CJ program I
switch to Psychology instead. Makes me
wonder if they had had that major
how different my life would've been?
Nonetheless I am glad I didn't maintain
that direction, I think it would've been
extremely depressing. Our current
criminal justice system is obviously
not working. It seems neither harsh
punishment nor rehabilitation has
been effective in reducing crime.
I don't know what the answer is but
I am glad its not a part of my
professional career.

So snow, snow away. Give me more
hours to study for my 1st quiz!
Help me memorize the body cavities
and their organs. Along with all the
anatomical terms and sectional planes.

Lastly as I write Baba and Jack are
"a-hunting" (imitates elmur fudd) for
an used car for me. Jack sent me a
bunch of links with car possibilities
over the last 24 hours. While I really
want a ford mustang its not in the
price range. It looks like at this
present time a choice between a
Jetta or an Eclipse. See see....

A worthwhile day

I spent the day doing lessons for both of the
schools I teach at. Got 2 week's worth done.
This makes me very happy not to have to
worry about what I will teach for the next
2 weeks. Even though it wasn't long ago
that I wasn't in the mood to go back
to work. But I am glad I still enjoy teaching
a lot. I really care on the ability to make my
class stimulating as we'll as effective
instructions. I still need to research different
teaching styles. In a way it is good being
a student again, I see my teachers
in a much different light than before. I
still don't like the new online Blackboards
though. And I hate having to set up new
templates every semester :( blah!

In other news, Netflix is painfully but slowly
getting on board with online viewing options
in terms of subtitles. And under the option of
instant viewing, Starz has a good
share of subtitled movies to chose from. Its a
hit or miss. You have to check each movie
to see if under streaming it even has
SUBTITLES? If yes, you're good
to go. So far I haven't been able to watch
any tv shows. My guess is they rely
heavily on CC than subtitles. This
means Netflix hasn't gotten the codec
for CC yet. As to why? I don't know.

I did some reviewing on A&P tonight
and right now what I have left to
cover and learn is the body's
main cavities and sub cavities.
Specifically what organs they
contain? Memory has never been
my forte. I think I actually need to use
a concrete, tactile model than
relying on the illustrations from
the text book. A 3-D concept
would help me a lot. I have a
quiz this coming Thursday and I
really want to do well.

Alrighty, good-night to everyone
in cyberland :}

Movie Reviews

Over the holiday break, I watched a lot of movies and now I feel like playing film critic

SALT starring Angelina Jolie about a KGB sleeper was pretty good to watch. A lot of action and fast paced scenes. Not heavily invested in a complicated story line and superficially touches the feelings from the Cold War era. I did like that the end leaves open to the possibility of a sequel. Overall if you're not in the mood to think a lot and want lots of excitement, then watch this.




SHREK-FOREVER AFTER was a blast to watch with Mom. The storyline of this Shrek edition deals with the possibilities of what Shrek's and Princess Fiona had never met and fell in love? It was a scream to watch. Mr. Pussboots and Donkey as usual keep you in stiches and I thou
ght Princess Fiona's alternative life was terrifically done. It was great fun to watch. I recommend this for when you need a laugh and enjoy letting the film do all the work.







SWEET DREAMS a biopic movie about the life and death of Patsy Cline that I watched with Baba was really well done. I love Jessica Lange and seeing Ed Harris when he was younger and a lot cuter with hair was a nice plus. Ever since I watched the movie WALK THE LINE about Johnny and June Cash, I have become a sucker for country singers life stories. And along the way I stumble across a song or two that I add to my music collection. I thought they did a bang up job with this story and was sad to see her die at the end from the typical plane crash that claimed many singers' lives from the 50s & 60s.

YOU DON'T KNOW JACK first of all I thought the title of this movie was clever in itself. And who doesn't wanna see Al Pacino (has he ever made a bad movie?) It was again a terrific biopic movie and little did I know the history behind this man and how he became known as Dr. Death. I have always been a supporter of assisted suicide when it comes to alleviating the pain of a living death or to avoid the lost of identity of a person and their abilities to be cognitive. No one should suffer a long painful death, a person should be able to leave this world with their dignity and to spare their family more pain too. If we have the sense to put down an animal when its old and in pain, shouldn't a person who is old and in pain be allowed to leave the world in their own fashion? This was in my opinion a thought provoking and eye opening film.






Mary and Max a film inspired by the writer's real life pen pal who happened to be autistic and lived in NYC. It was a unique movie to watch and had sort of a weird vibe to it. As my Grandmother (Baba) said "It was a WEIRD movie to watch." I myself found it to be bittersweet and enjoyed that it touched on many somewhat taboo topics. This isn't the kind of movie kids would enjoy, only grown up kids like myself. I loved Max(well's) character because he reminds me of so many different people who I have met over the years. I think my Aunt Nancy should get this from Netflix, she and my Uncle David would like this movie. If you're in the mood for weird and at times sweet, then watch this.

HAPPINESS wow, I loved this movie. It is about a multi layered, dysfunctional family and dared to approach the issue of pedophlia. I found the depth of this movie and the common human themes found in all families very relatable. The annoyingly sister who has everything (a husband, kids and white picket fence) and the other sister, extremely successful, highly desired and a 3rd that everyone wonders will she ever get married are all the kinds of personalities we've encountered here and there. The father who liked young boys is an actor named Dylan Baker and he played the part so believably. I think he and William H Macy should play brothers in another movie. I was disappointed to read that the Sundance Festival refused to accept this movie, tsk tsk. If you're the kind of movie viewer who votes republican and has a large collection of Disney movies, this isn't the film for you. Otherwise enjoy.

ROBINHOOD starring Russell Crowe who as Jack stated "poor guy, he can't seem to find a movie to star in from this decade." but nonetheless, Crowe always seems to do well from period pieces and from what I understand, this version is the most "historically" accurate account of the Robinhood story. It takes place during the at the very end of the 1100s in England and as usual, lots of action packed scenes, blood and gore, men fighting men. The common Russell Crowe formula of the underdog becoming a leader. I found it at times to be a little long for me but was still glad I watched it.


INCEPTION a so called science fiction film (not really) but anyways it stars Leonardo DiCaprio and I at first had to force myself to watch it. Overall this movie did not keep me captivated and I only watched it because Jack was watching it. It was okay. I much prefer Leo's other movie SHUTTER ISLAND now that's a great mind twister of a movie which I have seen 2x in the past 6 months. I would recommend SHUTTER ISLAND over INCEPTION any day.

So there you have it, and this completes my movie reviews ;-)

Taking on the challenge

Last night was my 1st science class in years
and I left feeling so invigorated! I have always
shied away from science because historically
I've sucked at it.

I remember during my intake exam at my Deaf
high school (MSSD) that I was told as an
incoming freshmen my science skills were
of a 6th grade level. Everywhere else
academically I've always had a good
understanding or enough to get by with
a C or better. But science usually made me shudder.

Funny thing though, I've being a major astronomy
buff and physics fan all my life. But I still
view the area of Biology as the one area I
would never succeed at. And don't get me
started on Chemistry which is too much like
Trigonometry and Pre Calculus, all are
formula based and visualization of
spatial/abstracts required, that I don't
think even now I could master.

But let me tell you I am in LOVE! I was
eating up the anatomy terminology like
it was candy. Partly because I've always
paid detail attention to anatomy related
info during my college years. Plus ever
since I got my Masters in ASL and
studied linguistics and language
acquisition I not longer fear learning
other languages or a set of terminology
used in a particular field. I know what
to look for. I remember in middle
school and at MSSD, even in college
opening up the 1st page of a biology
book and instantly wanting to fall
asleep or was bored to death. I didn't
understand the words and I sure as
heck didn't have the patience to
learn them. Even if I could of
memorized terminology I don't think I
could have mastered the concepts
behind them. I think in some ways
this was due to my un-diagnosed ADD.
Already having a short attention span
and low frustration threshold didn't help.

I am grateful my professor last night
didn't start his class off with the
traditional route of cells and
membranes, ugh! Instead he dove
into anatomical terms and I really
liked it! I did still feel intimidated
but I have one thing I didn't have
before. Was it a brain? A heart?
Courage? Nope, I have Confidence!
That I will do whatever it takes to
succeed. And I am glad its a field I feel
passionate about.

So I didn't sleep much last night, too
excited. I even did the homework and
I am still not finish. This isn't one of
those 1 page worksheets done in 10
minutes. But a few hours and did I
mind? Hell no!?! And earlier this
evening when I came home and getting
dinner started I started sprouting
anatomical terminology to Jack while
pointing to my body to demonstrate
where the references were to?

And for the past few days, I've
also been very spoiled, having
access to a car to commute to work
and school. Its made me all the
more excited to move in March.
Its time I upgraded my surroundings.
I realize that while I pride myself as a
person who makes lemonade out of lemons.
Sometimes I forget to say, "this
is not enough. I deserve
more." For a long time and even
now I have seen myself as poor.
There has never been a major time
in my life where money was truly
a luxury. Don't get me wrong my
Grandparents did/do spoil me in
their own way. But I am not demanding
or ask for things I don't consider a
necessity. I would never want to take
away from someone else's quality of
life. I don't believe in bleeding someone
dry, just because you can. Anyways
I am learning to change my thinking
to the possibility I don't have to
struggle financially for the rest of
my life as I have. And for the next
few years, I am still gonna be really
poor as a student but that's fine. I've got
plenty of practice at it :]

The hudson at its finest!

A 2nd Masters on my horizon

Well folks, I stumbled across accidently
what will be my new major, Occupational
Therapy (OT)! Yep, I was looking in the job ads
for ASL related work when I came across
an ad for HKNC (Helen Keller National
Center) in LI. They were looking for an OT
and the pay was 75K! I remember one OT
from my old job at MD School for the Deaf
and decided to research it. When I did
the light bulb went off and I had the "aha!"
moment. This is what I should be doing!

There is a common misunderstanding
about what OT is exactly. The term
occupation can be misleading because
it isn't just used to describe what a
person does for a living but rather
what they do that occupies their time.
It could be work related or everyday
living or even recreationally. OT is very
broad field and isn't the same as PT
(physical therapy) which works primarily
on a person physically. OT works on
promoting the well being and abilities
of a person in any or all areas of their life.

OT work in schools, hospitals, community
organizations, senior citizens homes or
assisted living centers. They work with
people who may have a degenerative
disease or car accident victim. They may
work with a person in terms of mental
well-being or help them develop social
skills. There's much to choose from.

Tomorrow I have an appt with a school
admission dept to see if I can enroll in
some classes this spring. I will not be
able to start the MA program till I
complete the pre-requisitions. A lot of
science (anatomy and physiology stuff)
as well a medical administrative and
theory/philosophies. I need to get
started asap so I can hopefully start the
MA program in fall 2012. Lucky for me
my BS in pyschology will help cover
some of the pre-reqs but only a few.
I have about 10 to 12 classes I must take
in order to be accepted into the MA
program.

I am very excited because for the past
few years I've been mulling over whether
or not to go back for a 2nd MA. I do enjoy
teaching ASL but it was never my "passion."
As an OT I would still be teaching but in a
1 on 1 situation and I feel this will be a
much more rewarding career. Besides
I will have more work opportunity and
finally, finally make a decent living too!

In addition, now that most baby boomers
are approaching retirement age, this field
is one of the few that will keep growing
despite the economy's ebbs and flow.
This is the 1st time in a long time I
have felt excited about my future.
And about going back to school. And
while I will incur more debts it will be
worth it in the long run.

My biggest challenge will be science.
I have NEVER been good at it, esp
biology and more so chemistry.
Thank god this field is not dependent
on chemistry or I would be SOL! I've
already order copies of "dummies guide
to anatomy and physiology" to help
get me started. Plus if I review Latin
pre and suffixes this should help me
with the medical terms. And my aunt
is a doctor and she has given me
permission to pick at her brain if I have
questions and believe me I will!

Funny all these years I have always
admire my friends who are part of
the medical field. And I've been
fascinated with medical science
but never attempted to try to get a
degree in this because of my lack
of confidence. But I won't let that stop me
now that I've found a field that I feel I
can do well in and be passionate about.

So as they say "onwards and upwards!"

Welcome 2011!

ha ha!