Hurricane Ivan and sick friends

Hurricane season is alive and well. Hurricane Ivan is hurricane number 6 that is pounding Alabama , Florida and getting ready to head for Georgia and South Carolina where we live. As I write this several people have died due to hurricane strength winds and tornados that have been spawned by this storm. I can not wait for hurricane season to end. As I write this we have Hurricane Jeanne that is taking aim directly at the East Coast of the US where I live. We will probably have to contend with that storm sometime early next week.

My thoughts and prayers this morning go out to my friends and associates who are all battling some type of cancer. Please join me in praying for Charlie, Carol and my friend Kimberly's husband who has cancer. Actually, all three of these folks are very sick. I am going to go visit Carol this morning for the first time since she has gotten sick. I have been very selfish in not going to see her because I am afraid of seeing her in her weakening condition. I have called her several times over the last several months knowing that I need to go see her. Carol warned me that she has lost her hair and a lot of weight which I am sure has affected her alot. I guess that one reason I have not gone to see her is because it will bring back memories of watching our Jessica decline as the affects of chemo and radiation treatments along with the cancer took its toll on her body.
I also have two friends who constantly battle with depression. My thoughts and prayers go out to them as well.

Today, Katy and I will be going to a local clinic to try and get some much needed medical help. What we face is no where near as life threatening as my friends listed above but they are needing attention nevertheless. Katy is trying to get her Rostacia medicine renewed and I have hypertension issues that if left unattended could have ugly consequences. Hopefully I can get a prescription for blood pressure medicine tonight to help me with lowering my blood pressure. In the last two weeks I have been counting calories and watching what I eat very closely. Thanks to Life Clinic Website I have been able to track blood pressure readings and diet intake. I have been learning a LOT about hypertension and what is required to lower it. Life changes must happen for me and now. Thanks to my poor diet and lack of exercise I am now in a position where I have to take some drastic measures. Longevity of life is requiring that I make those life changes. I have to eat less and better and I have to exercise moderately until I can get some medication to lower my blood pressure. Left untreated hypertension can kill. That is why it is called the silent killer folks. Average blood pressure for an adult is 120/80 and mine is running anywhere from 138/87 to sometimes 155/100. That means that I am at risk for those two types of events in my life. I have REALLY been paying attention to this fact and I am trying to do SOMETHING, ANYTHING to reduce my risk. unfortunately when you can not afford medical care or insurance you are behind the eight ball with regards to getting needed treatment.

Last week I had two interviews with two local IT providers. Both of them told me emphatically that in todays current market that I MUST get my computer certifications and maybe even a degree in computer science to hope to gain a job in the IT industry. There are IT jobs available unfortunately there are more IT professionals to go around than there are jobs to fill. That means that employers are picking the cream of the crop (degreed and certified professionals over people like me) and they are able to pay minimal wages and get away with it. The supply and demand is way out of whack folks. As I look back into my past I continue to kick myself for NOT finishing RN school back when I was in my early 20's. Financially speaking I would be sitting in a much better situation. However who knows what could of or should of happened? If I had done that I might not have moved to Houston Texas and met Robbyn or Katy and my children today would not be a part of my life. Hindsight is 20/20 and even though I have regrets for not finishing my schooling and dropping out I have experienced some things in life that have enriched me greatly that I would not have experienced otherwise. I am constantly reminded that despite my plans or failures to execute and follow through successfully with some of the plans God is still in control. I have hope in that knowledge.

One employer has already hired someone (not me) and the other employer is apparently still interviewing folks. I should know something by the end of next week IF I am going to be picked. I am not holding my breath, that is for sure. LOL... On a brighter note my A+ ExamCram book has arrived and I can now begin to study for that certification. The WIA program here in SC is trying to obtain MCSE training materials for me through Specialized Solutions in Florida. I can get all the course work and study materials for MUCH less than trying to pay for it at Trident Tech. Its just a matter of me disciplining myself to sit down every day for 2 to 4 hours and study and apply myself. So, every day I will do just that. When I am working 3pm to 11 Pm 3 days per week down at the County Office building it will be easy for me to do that because I have tons of spare time in between rounds. The rest of the week will mean I have to find opportunities and places to go study. My goal is to be A+, Network + and MCSE certified by this time next year. That means I have a lot of studying to do and lots of tests to take. Once I accomplish this milestone I will be in a much better place to obtain gainful employment in a technology position.

My son Jeremy has settled into Wharton Junior College just outside of Sugarland Texas and will be there for the next year. In the mean time his step father and mother are soon to be snow birds. It is hard for me to imagine that Robbyn is going to move from her life time residence of Houston Texas area to move up north where it REALLY gets cold. We just think it gets cold during the winter here in the deep south but it is NOTHING like what it will be in Michigan during winter time. This will be a tough transition for Jeremy and his mom and step father. My thoughts and prayers go out to them as they make this huge life change.

I guess that is about it for now folks. I am going to try and stay dry and get ready to go visit my friend Carol this morning. Please pray for my sick friends that they will be at peace and receive spiritual, physical and emotional healing from our Father God who loves all of us.

God bless