Heya!

[Smaus]

Hey guys! I was here and other avatar websites years ago but lost access to the email and don't remember my username or password. Ugh! Anyway! Some of you may remember me. I'm Shamus! Also known as Shamrock Shamus on some sites.
I was born in Dublin, Ireland but moved to Boston as a young child, then moved to Ohio. Three years ago, I moved to Portland, Maine. I used to teach Chinese in a private school, but now I am a student at the University of Southern Maine. I am majoring in Linguistics with a discipline in Spanish and am minoring in Deaf Studies.
I have a boat load of children. Some being adults and the youngest being in elementary school. I have two children on the spectrum and I have also been diagnosed with Autism and ADHD.
I have a cat named Kimchi who I adore.
I look forward to engaging with people who I remember, as well as new people! Feel free to talk to me!

[Lemon Cheesecake]

Welcome back Shamus!

I was wondering if we would hear from you again, I love when the community gets back together!

Maybe this will help you recall what you used when you joined in 2018 :
memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=1383&tab=statistics

I'd hate for you to lose the items you had collected!

I hope everything is going well for you!

[Shamrock Shamus]

Aye! The hero saves the day! Thanks so much!
It’s been…a rollercoaster but getting better. How are you?

[Gingerale]

Oh nice! You figured it out!!

Now you can have an extra avatar for the events! Should be one coming up for Halloween season.

Sorry things have been a roller coaster but glad to hear they are getting better! Having an "up" in the roller coaster ride of life or a positive, helps us get through those difficult times.
Someone always reminds me there are brighter days ahead, just hang in there.

[Shamrock Shamus]

Heck ya! : 3 I love Halloween!
For sure! It reminds me of how lucky I actually am. My kids keep me grounded. My daughter says the most hilarious things and whenever I’m in a bad mood, I ask for her wisdom. It’s usually some pigeon facts tho lol. Her special interest is pigeons.

How are you?

[Lemon Cheesecake]

woah, yay! see ... that rare member back ground could have been lost forever!

Humor has a way of lightening a situation ... unless of course it is dark humor and them<meh> maybe not so.

I had a boss that would kind of snap a retort & we'd look at him oddly & he would burst out laughing which defused any issues (usually). I think sometimes we all need to take a quick step back & deflect some of the stuff that comes at us. But got to love the stuff that sometimes comes out of the mouths of children. Some of their characters are so darn cute!

Does your daughter raise her own pigeons?

[galled]

Hey Shamrock Shamus! Welcome back!!

So glad you got everything sorted.

Roller coasters reminds me of the Chinese curse "may you live in interesting times." I admire how you have your priorities in order and your great attitude about it all.

I've always found pigeons interesting after I moved from the city. The "wild" pigeons while I was there were called flying rats by everyone (kind of dirty and nasty, but then again so are many of the people in the city). But after learning how they can be trained (homing and magic come to mind) and when they're cared for, they seem like they'd be great pets.

I've got the same question as Lemon, does she have her own?

[Shamrock Shamus]

She does not raise her own pigeons. I have a cat, who we're afraid would be hunting them. Plus I don't know if we're allowed to have pigeons in our building. I would have to ask, and I haven't yet. I don't know where the heck my apartment manager has been. His office is in the building, but I just haven't seen him for so long that I'm not sure he even works there anymore. I should send him an email!
They are such misunderstood creatures, and I didn't realize how great of creatures they are until Diana showed me how great they are.

I'm at work and it's slow today, but I have an essay to write as well as an email to a required penpal for Spanish class. We have to video chat someone from Mexico. I'm nervous because I'm not confident in my Spanish speaking skills.

[galled]

Is Diana your daughter's name? (It's a great name!) There may be a pigeon club near you guys.

A "manager mystery!" (Sorry, been watching a lot of Brit murder mystery shows lately.)

On video, you'd be surprised how much communication is accomplished with body language, facial expressions, and hand gestures. Good luck!

[Lemon Cheesecake]

Good luck on the essay!

I am terrible at speaking Spanish, any language actually. You are fortunate you have other language abilities. Maybe you can type some of the chat? I had a Spanish teacher who tested us orally, I hated those tests. I always did better on the written. When I went to Mexico once I would write down what I was trying to ask or find it in the book to point to. Now there are translators on phones which I have some people use at work & that makes it much easier to understand them - probably lazier I guess but I am all for technology that improves communication.

Some apartment buildings have allowed pigeons on the roof but not sure if that is still a thing as the liability issues these days. I guess visits to the park with your daughter? Even that though there are signs not to feed the wildlife.

I hope your apartment manager is ok! I would hope a notice would go out to the tenants if the manager was changing so you would know who to contact if a problem arises.

[Shamrock Shamus]

Galled: Yes, Diana is my daughter's name. Pigeon club? Hmm. I do take her to Congress Square Park, in which a lot of pigeons roost because you can feed them there. She has autism and is quite defiant, so when she has a good week at school without any disciplinary problems, I take her there on saturday afternoons so we can see the pigeons and she loves it! I'll have to check for pigeon clubs though.

Lemon: Thanks! I finally got it done and was halfway done my other one when I realized that's not due until october. So I'm gonna take an essay writing break lol.
I don't even know who I am supposed to be talking to for my tandem conference. I haven't gotten a single email about it and we were supposed to by now? I'm hoping mine hasn't flaked on me.

Oh you went to Mexico? That's rad! My ex wife is from Mexico and our two children go every now and then to see family. But, without being overly political, they haven't because their mother is afraid of not being able to regain entry to the united states.
I hope Cody (the building manager) is okay too. I wonder where tf he is? It's a little worriesome

[Lemon Cheesecake]

Like any country there are areas that ae nice & areas that are not so nice. I really wasn't a fan of Mexico itself & have no desire to go back again but it probably would be different if I had friends to visit.

Can you speak to anyone in Mexico to pass the test? Can you arrange for your ex-in laws to do it for you? I would reach out to whoever runs the course because you don't want to fail that part of it. Did you check your SPAM or junk mail folders?

Your children should have passports so shouldn't have issues getting back into their home country. If they have dual citizenship then they can get passports in both parents home countries I believe. But if they are too young to travel on their own then yes, I get your wife being hesitant to leave & get back, even with a residency card. Thankfully there is facetime.

By the sounds of it, lot's going on in your life right now.