Oh where, oh where have I been. Obviously not posting any new co-worker creations. Haven't really had the time or drive to do any photo editing. Things are really starting to come together in the world of non-profits and group home development. I recieved confirmation of my registration for the crisis management training in San Diego in February. Now I must decide what to do about accomodations in the area, not exactly my idea of a good time, but I guess you can say I am taking one for the team this time. Spoke with the IRS this week, no I am not being audited, we are awaiting our 501c3 determination from them. The specialist has closed our file and forwarded it to his supervisor for approval. Hopefully we will get our determination in the mail in the next two weeks. We are wating for licensing to contact us to schedule our interview which should also happen here shortly.

Returned to work this week. I went to the county office and registered with them on the 18th of December and recieved my temporary credential while I am awaiting a responce from the state. It actually feels good to have my actual credential now and not have to worry each year what is going to happen with No Child Left Behind and whether my emergency credential will be renewed.

I feel terrible for everyone whose life was disrupted by the tsunami. It is a tragic event that has ended the lives of a lot of people. However, I do have a problem with a few things surrounding this tragedy. First of all, and this not only applies to the tsunami but also to the war in Iraq. Quit giving us the death toll every five minutes. I understand that people lost their lives but I don't need to hear every day how it keeps rising. We know hundreds of thousands people may have lost their lives. Let's finish the clean up and then if you want to give us a number then fine, but death should not be comparable to web counters or odometers, and that is what it has turned into. The media feels inclined to give us a new number every time it changes. They do the same thing with Iraq, we are at War, unfortunately people die at war, however it is not necessary to report every single death. "One more dead today in Iraq," " Three dead today in Iraq," honestly, I am getting tired of hearing it. I would love to see media coverage of World War I and World War II to see if the media was as obsessed with numbers as they are today. Why don't they try and report on positive things for a change. The next thing I have a problem with is famous people attempting to turn donations into personal publicity. I, as an average Joe did not decide to base my donations to relief efforts on the miles I drove on a given day or the students I saw on a given day, I do not know why Kobe Bryant and other NBA players felt like it was necessary to base their donations on the points they scored on a given day. At last check with 3 minutes left in the game, Kobe had 27 points which means he should donate somewhere in the neighborhood of $27,000 dollars. Is that all that this multimillionaire can afford for such a nobel cause? Why did he waste our time? All for the publicity, and that is probalbly all he actually could afford since he is constantly buying his wife kiss up gifts, preparing to pay the alleged victim an undisclosed sum of money and no longer marketable. I found it humerous that Kobe has almost fallen out of the top 100 in jersey sales. Michael Schumacher, a race car driver has donated $10 million and Kobe wasted our time with his little self-promotion, see I am not really a bad guy stunt.