Soccer, Baseball, Tenure Track

Hey there all.....I see Cathi is in the middle of major repairs of her house...Looks like she will be qualified to become a general contractor soon. te he

Jamie and Andrew are in the midst of their soccer season. Jamie's team ended up in a tie this Saturday...Jamie scored one of the goals in his teams 3 all tie. Way to go Jamie. They both start up in baseball again soon. Andrew is still in T-ball and Jamie is in Machine Pitch. So it will be off to the baseball diamonds for the next 2 months. Fun to watch them play....as long as it is not too darn hot out. So far it has been a mild spring.

I guess all that has to happen now for me to be hired at the Asst Prof/ Tenure Track level is for the VP of the university to sign off on the transaction form. Hopefully he will do that soon.

Well I better get paying some bills here and get to bed. Happy blogging to all.

Easter Eggs, Easter Dinner, Ice Age 2

I am blogging again...wow....amazing!!! I had a nice Easter weekend....went over to Catherine's house on Sunday and watched J and A hunt for eggs in her front yard. They had fun and it was fun to watch them.
Catherine made a delicious Easter dinner which was enjoyed by all. It was nice of her to invite me over and include me in the festivities. It is good for Jamie and Andrew to see that their Mom and Dad get along well as friends. There was quite a crowd there...Rebecca and Stephen, Catherine's roommate Rhonda and her 2 sons and assorted cats and dogs.
We all then went to the movies...about half went to Ice Age 2...which was my choice and I agree with Cathi.....it was really funny.....I thought it was a hoot. The rest went to Scary Movie 4 which did not get rave reviews.....apparently all the funny parts could be seen on the commercials. Oh well...
It was a busy day today at school. Back to advising students for the next semester. Hard to believe this semester is coming to a crashing halt. But in short order, summer session will be upon us. And as I am teaching 2 courses, hopefully, I guess there is no rest for the wicked. Well TTFN and I will try to blog again soon.

Chuckee Cheese and Tenure Track

Well Jamie and Andrew had their annual chuckee cheese b-day blast. They each had a friend come along and had lots of fun playing games and eating pizza. Catherine and myself co-operatively took them there to celebrate. Stephen, Rebecca and a few others came along to celebrate as well. Fun was had by all.
Well I am another step closer to being hired on the good ol Tenure Track Asst. Professor routine. The paperwork has left the Dean's office and all that is left is for the VP of the university to sign off on it. Perhaps I should send him some lovely handmade pottery just to make sure he signs it...lol...j/k. I will be awaiting anxiously waiting at the mailbox for his letter.
I also sent off my taxes today....not tooooo much damage...only owed a couple of hundred dollars.....so I can survive that. When I teach my extra Continuing Education classes they do not take off any deductions....so that is where I am getting dinged. Oh well, better talk to payroll and get them to take off more deductions...hmmm...seems like I am going in the wrong direction there...oh well.
Good to read the blogs.....I realized I had not read them for awhile and had to catch up. Guess I should check more often...lol.
Well let me see if I can end this on a quote.....

Understanding
"But don’t you see that the whole trouble lies here. In words, words. Each one of us has within them a whole world of things, each man of us his own special world. And how can we ever come to an understanding if I put in the words I utter the sense and value of things as I see them; while you who listen to me must inevitably translate them according to the conception of things each one of you has within himself. We think we understand each other, but we never really do."

Luigi Pirandello, Six Characters in Search of an Author

Soccer, Birthdays, School, Art Stuff, Tenure Track

Hey all....well Jamie and Andrew are back playing soccer. Andrew seems to be getting the hang of the game this year...even running and kicking the ball in the right direction!!! Andrew just turned 7 on March 29th...Happy B-day...big boy!!! Hard to believe he is already 7....Jamie turns 10 on April 8th..sheesh...as they say time flies....

We just finished SOSU's Annual High School Curriculum Meet on Thursday and High School Art Workshops today. So we have had our fair share of interaction with HS students. I looked after the junior and senior drawing students on thursday and today I did Two Digital Photo Workshops for students and I think the students had fun and learned a bit about Photoshop's potential. All in all, I think it was a fun time for everyone involved, in the name of recruiting.

As far as my getting hired on a tenure track as an Assistant Professor. It seems like it is a done deal. I have been told that the hiring commitee has deemed me the most qualified applicant for the position. So it seems like it is just a matter of paperwork and of course the President of the university has to sign off on it as well....so it is not finished yet...but on the right track.

Well that is about all that is news around here...take care and I will blog again soon...

"If you think you are bound,
you remain bound;
you make your own bondage.

If you know that you are free,
you are free this moment.
Freedom is the goal of all nature."

-Swami Vivekananda-

Back to Work...breaks over!

Well as it seems, according to my sister-in-law Catherine...no one is blogging....well here ya go...I am blogging. It was nice to have Mom and Catherine visiting for the past week. It is good for Jamie and Andrew to have the chance to get to know them better.

I do apologize for the lack of heat at my house. And NO I have not acclimated to a cold house. My past 3 heating bills per month were 150, 300 and 200 respectively...these bills have doubled since last year and there has not been that terribly cold weather here to warrant that kind of increase...I am not sure what it costs for natural gas now up north...but I just can not afford to turn up the heat...sorry you found it cold. Too bad the weather was not warmer for your visit.

Well I am back at work teaching...and all is about the same there. Jamie and Andrew start soccer next week and I will keep ya'll posted as to their soccer exploits. I am doing clay demonstrations, probably handbuilding or throwing on the wheel, at Artplace Gallery in Denison, TX. Artplace is one of the galleries that represent my artwork. Here is a link to their gallery and my artwork, if you care to look: http://www.artplacegallery.com/gallery10_ousey.htm
Just FYI, the Red Fish painting sold recently for $500 american...that is about 10,000 cdn...lol...j/k

Well I better get off of here and do some work.....later.

Catherine, Mom, Jack and Mindy

Jamie taking a photo of the crew. Apparently the Yellow Crew!!! Mom and I obviously did not get the memo about the uniform requirements today. te he

Mom and Catherine Make it To OK!!!

After a slight delay in Denver....Mom and Catherine arrived at DFW airport about 9:30 pm Saturday evening. We picked them up and arrived back in Tishomingo right around Midnite. We have been having a relaxing and good visit. My friend Mindy, along with Catherine under Mother's directions made cabbage rolls and we had them for dinner. They were very good eating. We are now watching the kids play video ( no big surprise there) and watching TV. Later.

New Pic of Me and Me Mum

Here is a new pic of me and me mudder. It was taken by Margot. Pretty good shot I would say. She has quite the eye for taking pictures!

Andrew's New Doo!

Andrew's new haircut makes one realize how much he looks like a mini-Stephen. You certainly can tell that they are brothers. Handsome little lad he is!!

Nothing else much new on the Okie Ousey front. Just getting ready for classes which start next Wednesday. Boo Hoo! Oh well, gotta make a living. Actually love me job. No complaints.

Take care and TaTa for now...and Peace

Back in Okie Land

Well I made it back safe to Tishomingo. It was a long drive, 2 full days. It seemed even longer with plenty of time to reflect on the loss of my brother Dennis. It is hard to believe he is gone. I miss him so. I can't imagine the loss Catherine, Mom and Margot feel and will continue to feel. Healing is a long road. Thank goodness we have good memories of times shared as a family with Dennis. It is a comfort. His memory and spirit will live on in his family and friends.

Losing someone certainly reminds me to never to take anyone for granted. As Catherine said before I left Winnipeg, "Tell Jamie and Andrew that you love them often." I do and I always will.

Jamie and Andrew are doing well and are presently enjoying the spoils of Christmas. I have them here for 5 days, until New Years day. It is nice to have them here with me. They are a blessing and a joy.

A big thanks to Catherine for her hospitality during my stay in Winnipeg. Christmas dinner and all the other dinners for that matter were great as usual. It was good to see and be with family during this trying time.

Well as Dennis would say, Bye for now....Tata and Peace.

Love to all, Jack, Jamie and Andrew.

Hey Bro Dennis....Get Better Soon!!!!

Hey Bro Dennis ....Get Better Soon!!! And I hope you find out what the problem is soon as well. I am glad Catherine called to clue me into your conditions. I had not been checking the blogs lately and had no clue that you were having these problems. I myself am having another excruciatingly painful round of cellulitis in my leg. This time it is in my thigh....oh boy oh joy....this is my 2nd week with it....I did not go to work most of this week...it is painful to stand and painful to sit...lying down is about the only comfortable position to be in. When I first felt it coming on.....I went to the doc's and he gave me a shot of penicillin in the ass and a round of Amoxycillin....well that held it at bay over Thanksgiving but it was not clearing up....so he put me on cyprocillin and that seems to have started to make a difference...hopefully I am on the road to recovery. I tell ya...this is something I would not bless on anyone. Well anyway....enough of that....Jamie and Andrew are doing well as per usual. And all else here is ok. Blog again soon, Jack.

Better Late than never Halloween picsJamie, Andrew and Josie 

Jamie Poster Pic 

Andrew Poster Pic 

Andrew and Jamie School Pics for 2005 

Trick or Treat...fun had by all.

Another evening of Trick or Treating has come and gone. Fun was had by all. Darth and Garth Vader (or as Andrew would say, Darth and Mini Darth) were accompanied by their friend Cool Surfer Dude (Cole Gardner). This is the 5th year that I have taken all 3 to trick or treat around Tish. We walked many, many blocks and they got scads of candy each. Certainly enough to develop some new cavities. I will post pics of them in costumes when I download them off the digicam. Other than that, work is still work and not much new in that area. I have a new gallery that is displaying my work, it is the Creative Arts Center in Bonham, Texas. I also have work at Artsplace in Denison, Texas, The Firehouse in Norman, OK, and at Sanibel Gallery in Florida. Not selling much anywhere....but still exhibiting....one can only try.
Anyway, better get back to painting...Have a Student/Faculty exhibit coming up at SOSU in January and a Faculty Exhibit coming up next June at the Goddard Center in Ardmore, OK.
Later Dudes and Dudettes.

Finally Moved In, Almost!!!

Hey all.....I finally have nearly finished moving in to my (new to me) house. Thank goodness I had a couple of extra days off last week or I would never have got most of my stuff moved. There was only myself and a good friend of mine moving all my stuff for the past number of weekends. I think it took about 92 trips back and forth. It is only about 4 blocks away from my old place....but you still have to go through all the same motions. Next weekend I will just have to go and clean-up the old rental place and hopefully get my damage deposit back. And then there are boxes and boxes and bags of stuff to be unpacked at my new place. Plenty to do for the next number of weeks, months, years...lol.
This move certainly has seemed like it has been going on forever. And yes, Dennis, things apparently do move slow in Tishomingo. By the way, I did mention to Mother on a number of occassions that I would not likely be able to make it to Winnipeg because of the move....and lack of funds. It is too bad, I would have liked to have been able to come and visit. It sounds like Gary, Carol et al are having a good visit in Winnipeg.
Jamie and Andrew like the new place and glad that I moved to a bigger house. They are both doing well in school and both look quite scholarly in their new glasses. Anyway I better get back to work. Glad to hear all is going well with everyone and glad to Dennis's cellulitis is clearing up...not fun, eh?? Bye for now.

Get Well Cathi, Bills, Bills, Bills and Kids' Glasses

Well I guess I should read the 'blogs' more often. Or perhaps some people should email more often. As I prefer the latter of the 2. I am sorry to hear about Catherine's Artery problem and also very glad her operation was a success and that she is home doing well and recuperating. My heartfelt well-wishes go out to her.

I still have not closed on the house yet...but apparently that will happen this Tuesday...we will see. Also someone ran into my car at the SOSU parking lot and crunched my right front fender. They did not bother to leave a note...so I am out my deductible, which is 500 dollars. The bills started to come in for my little episode in the hospital.....i owe about 800 or 900 on that so far. Oh ya...my dental bill for my broken tooth and bridge should be about 500 - 600 dollars. Add all that together with buying a house...and I am more than broke...whoopee.

Oh yes....Jamie and Andrew both needed glasses and are wearing them. They look like lil geniuses in them....oh ya....they are geniuses...lol. They both commented how wonderful it was to see things in the distance.

Well bye for now and a Happy belated Birthday to Cathi, as well.

Irregular Heartbeat, Broken tooth repairs and Gas is 3 bucks a gallon

Hey there....in response to Dennis's email about the vagus nerve and epilepsy.....Well according to my doctor....the vagus nerve...can and does cause erratic heartbeats. Sorry.....no epilepsy experienced here. Not to say that it can cause that in others. Anyway...the medication is working well and is keeping my heart ticking very regularly.

FYI...This all started when I noticed that I had a problem when I got up one morning last week around 6 am and my heart would not stop beating irregularlly. At first I did not think much about it...as I have...over the years experienced an irregular heartbeat from time to time....lasting only a few seconds and it straightened itself out. Well this time it did not straighten itself out. I went to the hospital, and was there all day....with meds it started to beat regularly. Apparently my heart was not pumping fluids out of my lungs. Congestive heart failure is what they called it. sounds much worse than it was. They gave me laisic to get fluiids out of my system. Pissed like a racehorse all day....lol.

Anyway....all is good here...now. Well except that I had my tooth with the broken root extracted and had a temporary bridge constructed this morning. Does not hurt tooooo bad now, except in my pocketbook...apparently will cost me about 500 dollars the insurance will pick up the rest of the tab, I hope. Not a fun morning. I think I am falling apart at the thought of turning 50....lol. Actually I feel pretty darn good now.

By the way, Gas is about 3 dollars a gallon around this part of the country. So it sucks here too, pricewise, big time.

New House Pics

Here is a 3/4 view picture of the house I put an offer on which was accepted. It has a fair size yard and the building in the back would make a great clay studio.