‘Star Wars: The Cestus Deception, A Clone Wars Novel’ – Chapter 23 (Part 6)

Well, it’s Tuesday and the middle of the week.  It’s hard to believe that I’ve made it to the middle of the week this week with relative little ease.  I got up this morning and I will openly admit that I am a little groggy and a little grumpy even though I got some extra sleep last night.  Not sure why, just the mood I’m in.  I got up this morning and got the kids going for the day today and they seemed to be in a bit of a grumpy mood themselves.  I don’t know if it was because I was or if they were naturally on their own anyway.

I got the kids ready for school and had to argue with Tara a little bit about her ensemble she decided she was wearing to school, but that eventually got worked out and the kid was on her way.  The babysitter showed up on time and I was off to work while the kids were off to school.  Today I taught keyboard to my eighth graders, recorder to my sixth graders and my seventh grade class did their behavior modification sheets.  I think it did the trick because they complained, but by the end of the period they were united and they all agreed that they had misbehaved in class yesterday and agreed that it created a chaotic environment to learn in.  We’ll see if their attitude is adjusted tomorrow.

I got done with school today and found out our faculty meeting was cancelled, which was nice because then I got to go straight home for the day.  It’s not often I get to come straight home, so I was excited to be able to do that.  I was able to greet the kids at the door and tell them about my day and ask them about theirs.  I helped Austin with some problems he was having with trumpet (miraculously, the solution was using the metronome.  I wish more teachers taught their students to actually use the metronome).  I helped Ruth with some Science homework and then I went downstairs and went online for a while and caught up on some things.

Heather called me upstairs for dinner and we ate together as a family.  After dinner I went downstairs and played “Call of Duty 4″ for an hour or so and Heather left with the girls to go to Girl Scouts.  At about eight o’clock or so, I had to pick up the girls from Girl Scouts, which was okay with me as “Knight Rider” was on tonight.  I got home with the girls just in time for Heather to have joined me from the Ash Wednesday service (she want to the service because the choir was singing).  We then went downstairs and watched our usual Wednesday night shows “American Idol” and “Law and Order:Special Victims Unit”.  I have to say I was really dissapointed in “American Idol” tonight as I think all the contestants picked poor songs for their song choices this week and therefore we had a very bad week as far as performances.  After watching some T.V., we went to bed.

Okay, so let’s talk about Part 6 of Chapter 23 of “Star Wars:  The Cestus Deception, A Clone Wars Novel” by Steven Barnes…..

‘Star Wars: The Cestus Deception, A Clone Wars Novel’ – Chapter 23 (Part 5)

Well, it’s Tuesday and I have to say that I can’t believe that it’s Tuesday already!  Ironically, I wasn’t all the tired this morning, and I felt like I was ready to hit the day running.  I got up this morning and got myself together for work and got the kids going for the day for school.  They were in just as good of a mood as I was and it was a nice start to the day.  I kept getting text messages this morning from students from SMASH because they kept asking who was texting them from last night.  Guess I should have put my name on the text.  All well, lesson learned.  I got myself some breakfast and so did the kids.  Our babysitter showed up on time and I was off to work while the kids were off to school.

I got to school and got things going for my classroom today.  Most of my lesson plans went off without a hitch today except for the lesson plan with my seventh graders.  I hate to say it, but they are really getting on my nerves and testing my patience.  I’ll be honest, they threw a grenade into what has always been a solid lesson plan.  So, I’ve decided that tomorrow I need to do a behavior modification packet with them to get them to understand that I am in control of the classroom, not them.  Teachers have to do this every once in a while.  It’s not like we get any pleasure out of it, we just have to define the leader in the classroom and sometimes that’s not a popular business.

I got done with my school day and then went to a meeting today that was scheduled that initially could not make, but now I could because of SMASH being cancelled.  I went to the meeting and it was okay.  I felt like I didn’t learn anything new there, but then again, it was about MYP and I feel as though I’ve done a lot along this subject in school, so I often feel a little ahead of the ball when it comes to MYP.  Just enough to stay ahead of the rest of the staff.

I got done with the meeting and came home and got home around five o’clock or so.  I ate dinner with Heather and the kids and we had a nice discussion about school and work today. Heather told me they asked her to come to work on her day off tomorrow to work.  I can see that they value her work ethic and will continue to give her more hours as they continue to value her ethic at work.  It’s good for us as it means more hours for her and more money in our pocket for work on the house.  We got done with dinner and I headed downstairs to play “Call of Duty 4″ for about an hour or so and then I went to watching T.V. while working on some projects that I have going on, on the Inernet.  At eight o’clock I stopped working and kind of watched T.V.  I had it on in the background, and that was the Presidential Address.  I watched “Biggest Loser” with y wife for about an hour and then watched the Presidential Address.

I will say this, I have never seen a President who is supposedly in such a crisis, but has enought time to address the people this much, hold this many press conferences, and has also taken a vacation with the family already!  If we really are in a crisis, you would think that people would be asking him how he has time to do all of these things.  I would think that the crisis would be taking up all of  his time.  Just a thought, and you can all disagree, but no President should have this kind of time on his hands.  I was not impressed with the speech at all.  He seems to be all talk and no action and quite honestly every time he talks and spends another trillion dollars, he convinces me just how little anyone should trust him.  Inexperience, that is this President’s problem and will continue to be his problem and will plague him over the next four years.  Of course I said this to all of my friends over a year ago, but here we are dealing with inexperience.

Okay, enough about politics, let’s talk about Part 5 of Chapter 23 of “Star Wars:  The Cestus Deception, A Clone Wars Novel” by Steven Barnes…..

‘Star Wars: The Cestus Deception, A Clone Wars Novel’ – Chapter 23 (Part 4)

Well, it’s Monday and it’s the day after break.  What a Monday it was too!  I got up this morning and really was dragging because when Heather got up this morning, she managed to wake me up too, somehow.  So, in reality, I was up at about 5:30 this morning.   This happens every once in a while and it sucks when this happens.  So, I got the kids going for the day and I was soon ready for my day.  Our babysitter showed up on time this morning and I was off to work, while the kids were off to school.

I got to work a little later than I wanted to, but that was okay with me.  I got things set up for the day and was running behind a little, but got myself caught up rather quickly throughout the morning.  I got through my first period and I was impressed with how much information my students remembered when we reviewed our information.  My work day wasn’t bad at all, in all honesty.  My one class of seventh graders was out of control, however and I hope they are able to get it back together tomorrow, because my patience with them is starting to run thin.  What makes me upset is that I have a bunch of students that are smart in there, but they are often too busy socializing to learn in a proper way.

I got done with my work day and I came home and crashed for a little bit.  I had to take a nap just to be able to make it through the Blue and Gold dinner that we were going to tonight.  So, I went downstairs and Heather joined me as I took a nap.  Afterwards, we ate a little snack just because we knew we weren’t going to make it the two hours until dinner and hung out for a while, while I played “Call of Duty 4″ online and then we left for the Blue and Gold Dinner.  I was proud of my son and the fact that he is going to be a Boy Scout now, instead of a Cub Scout.  I have to say that Austin is truly becoming a young man now.  It makes me proud to see him move up.  I was so proud of him, that I have decided to get more involved in Scouts and I have decided to become an Assistant Scout Master with his Boy Scout troop.  The Scout Master was excited to get me involved and can’t wait till next Monday when I can get the info from them and get started.  Heather and I also decided to make a donation to the Boy Scouts and become a “Friend of Scouting” to support the program.

We got done with the Blue and Gold Dinner and came home.  We were home by eight o’clock or so and Heather and I headed downstairs and watched “Big Bang Theory”, “How I Met Your Mother”, and “Heroes”.  We taped “24″ and I went to watch it at ten o’clock, but the tape was a crap tape and I didn’t get a chance to watch “24″.  AHHHH!!!!  So, I tried to find it at hulu.com, but it wasn’t on there yet, so I bit torrented it.  In the meantime, I recorded the very first segment of a new Star Wars podcast that will be coming out soon.  Ian and I will be doing it instead of “The Jedi Council Speaks” and I can’t wait for the first show to be aired.  I think everyone will like it!  I got done recording and joined Heather in bed, when I realized that I hadn’t contacted the SMASH students to let them know that there would be no SMASH this week.  So, I texted everyone at once and then went to bed.

Okay, so let’s talk about Part 4 of Chapter 23 of “Star Wars:  The Cestus Deception, A Clone Wars Novel” by Steven Barnes…..

‘Star Wars: The Cestus Deception, A Clone Wars Novel’ – Chapter 23 (Part 3)

Well, it’s Sunday and he last day of my vacation officially.  It’s hard to believe that I have to be back to work tomorrow.  I think I may have forgotten how to teach!  (just kidding!)  We got up this morning and got ready for what was a really busy day.  I got up around 7:30 or so this morning and manged to coax my wife out of bed around eight o’clock herself.  I got my shower and had the kids get ready.  I told them that today was a special day at our new church because we were about to become official members at this church.  So, we got dressed and ate a quick breakfast and Heather did the girls’ hair while I helped Austin with a tie.  We got all dressed up and were on our way.

We had a wonderful service for church today.  Heather sang with the choir and we all went up front and got accepted into the church.  What we werent’ preparred for was what happened after the church service.  We had to greet with everyone that was at church this morning, so we talked to quite a few people and talked and shook hands with quite a few people.  After the greeting line, the kids went to Sunday School and Heather and I went home and got some quick things done.  We then went back to church and had a new member luncheon.  It was more like a dinner with salad, bisquits, and then a chicken and bisquits dinner with some cake to follow.  We received some little trinkets from the church and it was a nice time to get to know everyone.  We are really starting to become well known and accepted by everyone at the church.  It makes us feel accepted!

We got done with the luncheon and came home.  Heather and I took a nap while the kids worked on cleaning up their rooms.  I got woken up by my son “freaking out” because his trumpet had a dent in it.   I explained to him it was not the end of the world and that it would affect the instruments ability to play.  The kids practiced their instruments throughout the afternoon while Heather and I worked on other things.  I worked on organizing the information on both laptops and the desktop computers and Heather worked on jackets.  By about four o’clock, I watched the last episode of “American Idol” I’ll need to watch for a little while before I need to make more sheets.  I then watched the Nascar Race with Austin (or at least the beginning of it).

He ate dinner with me and then went to bed.  I stayed up and watched “Amazing Race”, “Big Love” and a rerun of “Law and Order: Criminal Intent” before going to bed.

Okay, let’s talk about Part 3 of Chapter 23 of “Star Wars:  The Cestus Deception, A Clone Wars Novel” by Steven Barnes…..

‘Star Wars: The Cestus Deception, A Clone Wars Novel’ – Chapter 23 (Part 2)

Well, it was Saturday and the day of the big Pinewood Derby Race.  I will admit that I actually slept in a little this morning only because I was up so late last night.  I was able to get up in time this morning to get things going for the day and I had enough time to put two coats of lacquer on the Pinewood Derby Car before we had to leave for the race this morning.  We had time for a quick breakfast and for Heather and I to get a shower and leave.

We were told to be at the race by 10:45 and that Austin’s group would be racing at 11.  We got there at 10:30 and the rae didn’t start until 11, which means Ausitn’s group was last.  I was concerned that we would be waiting a long time, but the time went quickly and Austin helped as a Boy Scout as well as racing as a Webelos II.  On Monday night he will be officially crossing over and becoming a Boy Scout.  So, we all stayed around for the race and his car did fairly well.   He had the fifth fastest car acrossed the whole troop, and Austin’s cars were never competitive, so he didn’t do a bad job.  We got home and Heather and I were exhausted!  So, we all ate some lunch and Heather and I took a nap.  We got up after about an hour-long nap and we both went downstairs.

I worked more on my American Idol sheets and watched the show and put the sheets together.  By about four o’clock or so, I then decided to take a break and I started playing “Call of Duty 4″ for a little while.  Heather called us all up for dinner and we had a broccolli casserole.  After dinner, Heather cut my hair and Austin’s hair.  We both took showers after our hair cut, and after that, Ian came over.  We talked about the future of “The Jedi Council Speaks” and I will openly say on here, that the last episode of TJCS was the LAST episode of the show.  There is a good reason and pay attention to this blog as to the future of this show, but it will not continue down the same path it has been going.  It will be going down a different path now, and it will be something positive, and don’t worry, Ian and I are not going anywhere as podcasters.  He and I recorded for a little bit to test some of the new equipment and then Ian left.

I did some work online on the new ideas for the show and I can say that you’ll all love where we’re heading with this concept.  After some time, I had to take a break, so I played “Call of Duty 4″ for about an hour or so before going to bed late.

Okay, so let’s all talk about Part 2 of Chapter 23 of “Star Wars:  The Cestus Deception, A Clone Wars Novel” by Steven Barnes……

‘Star Wars: The Cestus Deception, A Clone Wars Novel’ – Chapter 23 (Part 1)

Well, it’s Friday and the end of my official vacation.  Hard to believe!  I got up a little later this morning and only caught the end portion of the “Dr. Phil” show.  I wasn’t too interested in it because he was having Tyler Perry on and I’m not a big fan of his anyway, so missing some time with the show I was not interested in was no big deal for me.  I took a shower while watching the show (in between commercial breaks).  I then got to work on Austin’s Pinewood Derby Car with him.  Things were coming along pretty well on that front.  I went downstairs and checked my “cob job” on the furnace and I’m impressed with the fact that it’s held up this well until now.  There may be hope that we can fix this for a reasonable price with little interuption to our own lives. I guess I need to stop doubting my ability to fix things around my own house.  I guess it’s just because I feel that I just don’t understand how everything works.  I just go with my gut instinct.  It helps that I often have nothing to loose when I work on these things.  I worked downstairs until about lunch time on creating my “American Idol” sheets for my classroom.  In the meantime, I worked on Austin’s car in between coats. 

We all got together and ate lunch as a family.  Heather then went to work on some jackets downstairs and Austin and I went to work on his Pinewood Derby Car again.  I also started to work on the gun extension for my mando gun, when my son made a HUGE mistake on his Pinewood Derby Car.  I had outlined stripes I wanted him to paint in black (the main color of the car is yellow) and numpty-brain spilled the black paint all over the car!  Crap!!  So, We had to try and clean it up and I spent the rest of the afternoon painting the car yellow again (or at least attempting to), but it wasn’t working so well because it was snowing outside and the water was getting between the coats of spray paint while I was trying to get it to dry.  So, I was going to have to go to plan B.

But, before we could get to that point, we had dinner upstairs and I told Heather what Plan B was.  We were going to have to sand down the yellow paint, find an equal substitute in regular paint, sponge it on, and hope it matches.  So, after dinner I had Austin sanding down the car and Heather went to Lowes to get the paint to match the color.  She got home and we started to sponge on the paint.  In between doing that I continued to work on my gun extension, soldering the joints in place and then I went about trying to drill a hole in the end piece, but ruinded my drill bit, so Heather went back to Lowes and bought a new one just before they closed.

I worked till late in the evening on Austin’s Pinewood Derby Car.  We managed to sand the car down and then sponge on the new yellow paint and blend it together.  We got this done by midnight and I put on decals where Austin had asked for them over the evening and got to bed on Saturday morning at one o’clock in the morning.

Okay, so let’s talk about Part 1 of Chapter 23 of “Star Wars:  The Cestus Deception, A Clone Wars Novel” by Steven Barnes……

‘Star Wars: The Cestus Deception, A Clone Wars Novel’ – Chapter 22

Well, it’s Thursday and I have to say that I’m completely surprised that my vacation is going to be over so soon.  It actually depresses me a little bit.  I need a vacation from my vacation!  I know, I’m expecting too much to just be able to sit down for a day and really do nothing.  This is my life and I need to learn to just accept that.

I got up this morning around nine o’clock and watched “Dr. Phil”.  After I got done watching the show I did some work around the house and Austin and I got to work on his Pinewood Derby Car.  I showed him how to spray-paint the car and he got to work on that.  I told him to let at least an hour and a half between coats, but I hate to say it, but they didn’t seem to be drying between coats.  I think it’s simply because we are trying to rush the production of this car.  Heather came home around 11:30 or so and she insisted that we sit down and watch the movie “Fireproof” which I had just gotten from Netflix.  Well, we watched the movie and I have to say that if you are a married couple and have not seen this movie – SEE IT!!!  It will open your eyes about how you treat your spouse and how the Lord can work through his life in you.  We watched the movie while we ate lunch and into the early afternoon.  I got done watching the movie and a buddy of mine showed up out of the blue and we sat down and talked for a while and did some geeky things together till about six o’clock or so.  At that point I got some dinner and then Heather and I scrambled to get to the church.

At the church, I had a sound tech meeting and we talked about some things that need to be taken care of.  In particular some ways that we could potentially improve the system and some things that may need to change in the future.  There will probably have to be some big changes there in the future and I foresee a summer of redoing the soundsystem with some help.  While we were talking about all of that, Heather had choir rehearsal and was really starting to feel better about herself as a singer.  She’s never felt the same since her times at Roberts because she felt like she’s lost sight of the idea of singing for the glory of God, which has always been her main intent.  We got done with rehearsals and meetings and Heather and I headed to Lowes to pick up some things, in particular, I got some parts to make my Nerf gun really look like a 50 caliber riftle.  If what I plan works, it’s going to look pretty sweet!

We got some extra dinner from Wendy’s and came home and ate while watching “Survivor” and then I went downstairs and watched some tapes and then played some “Call of Duty 4″ while Heather helped the kids out with Webkinz.com.  We then went to bed, and I’m concerned because Austin’s car is nowhere near being done and the race is a day away!  Wow, talk about pressure!

Okay, so let’s talk about Chapter 22 of “Star Wars:  The Cestus Deception A Clone Wars Novel” by Steven Barnes…..

‘Star Wars: The Cestus Deception, A Clone Wars Novel’ – Chapter 21 (Part 4)

Well, it was Wednesday and I had low expectations for the day and by the time my day was done, I suppose it was good that I had such low expectations.  I got up this morning around seven-thirty because Heather set an alarm because she needed to get up and get out to get some things done.  So, I decided to get up myself and get myself going early for the day as well figuring that since she was up, I might as well get up too.  I went downstairs and got some grading done for school as well as watching “American Idol” and creating the guiding sheets for my students to use in class over the course of the next ten weeks.  I then switched to “Dr. Phil” and watched him while I finished on the grades and updating some more files on my laptop.  I got that done right about the time “Dr. Phil” got done and Ruth’s friend was on her way over to the house.

By about ten a.m., Austin and I got on the road and headed out.  We decided to go out and get some things for his pinewood derby car.   So, we headed to Lowes and got some spray paint for the car and then we headed out to “Family Hobbies and Crafts” and picked up some decals for the car and some weights.  We came home and he went to work on spray painting the car.  We got done with all of that and we decided to eat some lunch before moving on with our day.  Heather and I were downstairs at around one o’clock or so when I told Heather that I had, yet again, noticed the furace in our house had not turned on in about an hour or more and the temperature was getting really low.  So, we went to the furnace to check it out and sure enough, one of the electrical cords had come loose from the control module.  CRAP!!! Not another problem with the furnace!!!! And what wonderful timing, right?!

So, we called “Auchinachie” and asked them to come out to the house to check out the furnace, figuring it was still under warranty.  Well, while we waited the kids were good sports about the heat and Ruth offered her friend a sweatshirt and they continued playing.  Luckily, the heat in the house didn’t get too low thanks to the insulation that we put in a few years back.  But, it did have a nip in the air.  Well, we waited and waited and waited.  Until about four o’clock or so (three hours after we initially called) and “Auchinachie” said they would now be sending someone out.  Well, that turned into a total disaster!

The guy from “Auchinachie” showed up and he tried to insist that they had not replaced the motor on the furnace, and ironically, it was the same guy who replaced it the first time!  I won’t name him here, because I don’t believe in slandering individuals, but I will slander the company!  He looked at the furnace and said the control module would need to be replaced and said he would get back to me in a minute.  Well, he told me, after a phone call, that it would cost him $500 to replace the control module.  I told him that sounded awfully high and the guy copped an attitude with me and basically said that maybe I should do it myself!  So, I said maybe I should.  He then asked me to sign a contract and that he would get the part and come back.  When I asked him what I was signing, he told me that it was a contract that stated that I would owe them $50 just for looking at my furnace.  The great irony is that I TOLD HIM WHAT WAS WRONG WITH THE FURNACE!!!  HE WANTED TO CHARGE ME TO TELL ME SOMETHING I ALREADY KNEW!!!!  WHAT AN IDIOT!!  So, I refused to sign the contract and said that they had messed up the module and had been back to my house every February (LITERALLY) since they installed the initial blower motor and control module.  Well, we got into a fight of words, I refused to pay and told the guy to call his manager out here and he refused and simply left.  So, for anyone that lives in the Binghamton, NY area:  PLEASE DON’T EVER, LET ME SAY EVER, USE AUCHINACHIE HEATING AND AIR CONDITIONING!!! THEIR CUSTOMER SERVICE SUCKS AND THEY ONLY WANT YOUR MONEY, THEY DON’T CARE ABOUT YOU!!!

So, the technician left and the question was what we were going to do.  So, the guy took off and I went back downstairs and looked at the furnace myself.  I looked at the module and said to Heather that this was just an electrical job that needed to get fixed.  So, I decided to take the module out myelf and take a look at it.  Well, sure enough the module had failed, but because the connection between the module and the control node had come un-soldered.  So, I told Heather we had nothing to loose if I attempted to fix it myself.  So, I pulled the module apart and pulled out the one circuit board that the whole thing was hooked to and I soldered the joint back together and put it back into the furnace to test it, and sure enough, it worked!  So, we headed to Lowes and got materials to fix the furnace and for a little over six dollars.  So, I came home, set it up and it works fine now and we finally have heat in my house now.  I’ll admit it’s a cob-job for now, but it will do and keep us warm tonight till Heather and I can order the part tomorrow.

I got done installing the cob-jobbed module back into place and then we ate dinner.  Heather then talked to a friend we had that worked at “Petcosky and Sons” and he told us the part would cost somewhere between $75 to $125.  So, where “Auchinachie” got $500, I’m not sure, but I’m just glad to have heat in my house again.  I was so mad, I had to play “Call of Duty 4″ for an hour (killing people online is soothing for me) before I relaxed again.  I then caught up on my blog while I watched “Knight Rider” (and taped “American Idol”), “Criminal Minds”, and “C.S.I. NY” (and taped “Law and Order”).  We got tired after that and Heather and I headed to bed.  Tomorrow she had work and I had to try and get Austin’s pinewood derby car done ASAP!

Okay, let’s talk about Part 4 of Chapter 21 of “Star Wars:  The Cestus Deception, A Clone Wars Novel” by Steven Barnes…..

‘Star Wars: The Cestus Deception, A Clone Wars Novel’ – Chapter 21 (Part 3)

Well, it’s Tuesday of my vacation and Heather is home with me today and tomorrow.  That is when my real vacation begins because we actually get to be alone together for even just a little while.  It will be a nice change of pace.  I got up this morning around nine o’clock or so and watched “Dr. Phil” with Heather and then we decided to go our seperate ways to get things done.  She worked on the bedroom and painting in there while I went downstairs and worked on organizing the shop and my work room.  I knew I had to get this done because tonight she plans on organizing her own sewing room and some of the things in my room will need to be moved to her room tonight.

I spent most of my morning working on transferring my American Idol videotapes from tapes to DVD’s.  I hope my kids at school really do appreciate all the time I spend trying to transfer videos to DVD’s and getting rid of the commercials.  Anyway, that pretty much sucked up all the time this morning between ten and noon.  It takes a while to process and edit a video, so it take some serious time and some serious patience.  At lunch time, Heather made egg salad and we all had a nice lunch of egg salad along with other things.  After lunch, I worked with Austin on his Pinewood Derby car.  I totally forgot that I have a race for his car this Saturday (which we just found out about last week) and I have to scramble to get that car together.  I had hime draw on the car what he wanted the car to look like.  Then we headed to Lowe’s to get a coping saw to cut the car out with.

We got home and it was time for dinner.  We ate a dinner of a casserole that was a “Heather concoction” of meat, mashed potatoes, and tomato soup.  A sort of poor man (or family’s) shepards pie.  It actually wasn’t bad and Heather actually ran out.  After dinner, we cut out Austin’s pinewood derby car and came up with a plan with what we wanted to do with it, the problem is going to be getting it done by Saturday and to make sure the weight is perfect and dead on.  It may try my patience!  I got done with that and then I worked on the last part of “The Jedi Council Speaks”.  I thought it would only take an hour, maybe a little more, but I never thought it would take the amount of time that it did.

Before I knew it, the final episode of “The Jedi Council Speaks” took up my entire night.  I worked for three hours on the project.  Evidently, Eric (the guy who runs “Star Wars Sensei”) recorded his recording in a different format than the 44100 Mhz that I have gotten used to.  This is also my fault becaue I never told him to set his recording settings to that, so this is why I can’t get mad at Eric, it’ MY fault not his.  So, I had to move the recordings from one version of Audacity to another and back again and try to convert the different segments of the show and then reformat the entire MP3 of the show.  I finally finished with the process by eleven o’clock or so, and then uploaded the final segment to the show tonight and it will come out on Friday.  Oi!  Who knew a podcast would be so life consuming?!!

Okay, with all of that said, let’s talk about Part 3 of Chapter 21 of “Star Wars:  The Cestus Deception, A Clone Wars Novel” by Steven Barnes…..

‘Star Wars: The Cestus Deception, A Clone Wars Novel’ – Chapter 21 (Part 2)

Well, it’s Monday and the first official day of my vacation.  You would think that I wouldn’t have big plans for my day today, but somehow my day got filled up pretty quick with things to get done.  I find it interesting that days that I don’t have anything planned for seem to go by slower with bigger incidents than days that I have things planned on.  I’ll admit, I slept in a little bit this morning and got up around nine o’clock or so and watched “Dr. Phil” as my first job for the day.  It actually wasn’t a bad show today about how a teenage girl looks at herself as needing to dress a certain way and in reality, it’s her parents that drive her to think that way.

I spent most of the rest of my morning this morning after “Dr. Phil” simply working on computer “stuff” around the house.  I still didn’t have everything moved over from the old laptop to the new one, so I spent countless hours today doing the same thing.  Then I started on the task of working in the video projects from last quarter for my eighth grade students.  I’ll admit those videos are so time consuming, but the end product looks so cool sometimes that I love the outcome of the project.  I felt a little bad for my seventh graders for this quarter because we had so little time left to the quarter that we never had a chance to finish their podcast projects, so I never had a chance to finish up the projects and come up with a final solution.  So, I worked on processing videos the entire morning long.

It got to lunchtime, and I went upstairs and ate lunch with the family.  We had some leftovers and the kids had tuna fish that Heather made especially for their first lunch.  We also continued to try and work on the “car situation” with the bank and our car loan company, Citi Financial.  We can never seem to get the guy who is running our account on the phone to talk to.  Figure, right?!  Of course, with it being “President’s Day”, it’s quite possible the guy is just not in the office and is on vacation.  I finished with lunch and came back downstairs and continued to process videos and in the time between processing, I would then play “Call of Duty 4″ online and I was starting to get really frustrated with doing that, so I gave up over time.  I then worked on the Havianas Projects for school and processed all the poems the kids had recorded with me.

It was suddenly time for dinner (which kind of caught me off guard), so I went upstairs and ate dinner with the family.  We got done with dinner (meatball subs) and I came back downstairs and finished the school videos and with the Havianas Projects and was able to process two of the videos so everyone could get an idea of what they will look like at school.  I then decided to play my game for a little longer when Allen called from the Binghamton FanForce and he told me they were trying to hook up for minis for the week.  I told him what days I was available and then went back to playing “Call of Duty 4″ online.  I’m impressed with the fact that I’m already up to level 20 of 55 in my re-pretige level.  It will be so cool when I finally get all the way to the top.

Around eight o’clock I finished playing the game, then I watched “Big Bang Theory”, and “How I Met Your Mother”.  I taped “24″ while I watched “Heroes” and at ten o’clock, I watched my tape of “24″.  After that I went to bed.  What a day!  I know it doesn’t seem like much, but I’m so glad to have the videos and Havianas Projects up to date for now.  I really got to find projects that don’t require so much work at home for projects for school next year.

Okay, so let’s talk about Part 2 of Chapter 21 of “Star Wars:  The Cestus Deception, A Clone Wars Novel” by Steven Barnes…..