Tiger's Eye

This is Tiger's Eye, the oldest cub, on his first day of high school. I asked Mr. Sapphire when I got so old. I'm turning 35 on September 8!!! Yikes! Where did the time go? I have a goal to get published before I'm 40, so I better get a move on!

My oldest son, the one who has been with me the longest, came home and asked where his handbook was for his high school. I told him that I told him to bring it in from the car the day we registered, but he insisted I did not. Okay. Why is the handbook so important, you ask? Because, it seems, there is a map of the campus. When there are buildings from A to S, this is very necessary. He sat his backpack on the bed, and the bed creaked. I asked him, "Why didn't you put some of that stuff in your locker?" to which the poor kid replied, "Because I have five minutes to get to the bus and I'm on the OTHER side of the campus!"

My sibling are getting a kick out of this. As Dad was transferred back here before the others graduated, they all went to the same high school as Tiger's Eye. I, of course, graduated out in Utah. I'm still shuddering about that one. Did I ever mention that my first day of school at Layton High was Halloween? And the next day, nothing changed? Freaky. Very, very freaky. So, his aunts, who are closer in age to him than they are to me, are just full of questions. Atchawee took him and one of his friends (I *really* like her, too) on a tour of the campus, because their first tour just didn't go over well. I believe the seniors told Miss Friend that she had no classes in the Q building, when actually she had two! Atchawee set them straight, though, and they were a little more prepared for it. Boo, Atchawee's twin, had question upon question in the conference IM last night, and it was so funny to see him interrogated. This is the same aunt who took him to the midnight view of "Pirates of the Caribbean - Dead Man's Chest" wearing full pirate regalia, pointing out to her peers that Tiger's Eye clearly has a mustache forming. To everyone! Poor kid. We are merciless. I have my IMs set up on the "falling hearts" skin and I love to buzz him. It makes this horrible smooching noise, but it really gets his attention.

We had the long talk about credits, and that he has to earn them to graduate. Tiger's Eye pretty much skated through school, not really applying himself at his full potential, a typical average student. You know, I have a knee-jerk problem with that. I never had trouble with school. It was a breeze, but then I crashed and burned after getting a full-ride tuition/board scholarship to Weber State. I mean, I just deflated. His father sets a good example. They both had similar philosphies to school, and Mr. Sapphire is the quintessential self-made man. This is a man who went from a janitor to assistant manager at Wal-Mart, and then taught himself everything there is to know about computers, getting all kinds of Microsoft certifications. Maybe my driven-to-be-the-best genes are not the best thing, after all. I love that about Mr. Sapphire. He's done everything in life at his own pace, and it's worked out really well. So, I guess what I'm trying to say is that maybe his choices are better for his son. I sailed through nursing school and am a darn good transcriptionist, self-made too, in a way, so maybe that's a better example. I don't know. I'm just musing. I still made the point that this is the 9th grade and everything counts, now, especially if he has a mind to go to college. He seemed to get it, and he is taking Spanish, which is just fine with me, because I could use a refresher, too. I guess he'll figure out all the swear words first, just like I did, and think he can get away with their usage, like I did, but....um, I know those words and he'll be very, very busted if he tries them!

This is the child who played Nintendo on an adult level when he was two. Seriously. I was pregnant with KitKat and very unable to do much of anything toward the end of the preggers, so we sat and played Donkey Kong. I'd beat a level, pass the controls to the cub, he'd beat a level and hand the controller back. I'm really looking forward to Final Fantasy XII's release. I *will* take a week off work. I *will* be in front of the TV and I *will* have Tiger's Eye research the cheats :) KitKat is really good at finding cheats, too, so it should be a pleasurable event for all. They *will not* be able to play without me, period. I refuse to miss a minute of the game. Final Fantasy has always been very big at my house. It was supposed to be released over the summer, though, so the timing is not good. I think it's now scheduled for an October release, which means maybe I'll be taking weekends off instead of during the week, since we have to deal with school stuff.

It is so quiet in here! I can hear myself think! I HATE it, LOL. And I won't be here when they get home, because I have to do the run today. Oh, well.