Today Michael Jackson the “King of Pop” un-expectantly passed away of a heart failure. While this is a sad day for many, it is also a day to celebrate his death by remembering the glory of his musical talent. Michael lived a long road full of musical history, legal battles and financial problems, but no matter what we will always remember Michael for his musical talents.

Michael had been preparing for a series of comeback performances in London, England.   It was announced that he had been working long hard hours as he was preparing to give his fans the best musical entertainment in history. Many people talk stink about Michael and his legal troubles, but when the tickets for his upcoming concerts went on sale they were sold out in minutes.  Why…because he brought something to us…the uniting of black and white music.

Michael will now be a legend pop star to me and many others from the Jackson Five era, to the hits of the 80’s, 90’s and millennium. When we were growing up we listen to Michael in awe of his music and dance moves. Some guy friends of mine walked around with white gloves as children imitating Michael’s moves. He was an idol to many of us and I will never forget the wonderful music he brought into my life.

As I watch the news and listen to people around me talk about Michael and his passing it amazes me how many people loved Michael. People were crying on the radio station as the shared their memories of Michael. The news showed people all around the world lighting candles, posting pictures and flowers near as they mourned the loss of Michael. While certain people talk of the scandals Michael was accused of there are so many more who loved him for his true talents.

Some people are questioning his death and was it fake. They feel that maybe Michael got tired of all the negative talks of him and financial problems and decided to fake his death. I do not really believe that…I feel if he was going to do something like that he would have at least waited until after his 50 upcoming concert events that were sold out. Who knows really?

This is the first person of fame in my lifetime I have lost. I have never lost someone that has been there through my upbringing as a child and continued into my adult years. I compare this to what my parents went through with Elvis. He was an Icon “The King”.

“Thank you MJ for sharing all your talents with people all around the world and thank you for your love for music as it showed deeply.” Love and Peace

I always like utilizing my breaks to the fullest…This break I am going to take a mini break and head down to the Florida Keys. To many the Keys are known for great snorkeling and scuba, but to me it is filled with many great memories from my childhood. The Keys is also a place my father loved and enjoy thoroughly while he was alive.

To fill you in…I lost my father back in October of 2007. He passed due to heart complications and was at the ripe old age of 63. My dad was a joker so he would get a kick from the statement.  The truth of the matter is 63 is very young. And we were very unfortunate to lose him this early. However he lived a wonderful life as he fought for his country, raised a family of 4 kids, loved and laugh always.

At the time of my father’s passing we had a Memorial Service at a nearby family church and then my father was cremated. I have had his ashes in my possession since because I did not have the strength to release him properly.  I have reached a point where I feel I have enough strength and now’s the time to scatter my father’s ashes.  Each of the children will have a small urn to keep some of dad’s ashes and then the rest will be scatter throughout the Keys. This was what my dad always requested I do if he were to pass. And while at the time I told him he was crazy and I was going to bury him I could not do that now. It is much different when someone is gone…you want to do things as they wished and give them the respect they deserve. So I am granting my father wish and I am going to spread him about in the Keys were he enjoyed life the most; near the Ocean.

I will also have a nice little ceremony and have some flowered lays with pictures attached. I will send them out to sea and say a prayer for my father and his life he led. This is going to be good for the both of us. I need this closure for myself and my siblings.  I miss my father very much and still have days filled with anger and tears because he left me. I believe this will be something I will continue to have for some time to come, but I think scattering him and having some closure will help a lot.  

In Loving Memory of Rodney Reed – Love you dad!

Just 2 weeks left of spring classes and then spring break is here. And I cannot wait! This semester has been challenging, but yet eventful. I have learned great things in my Excel class and even in Business Ethics.  When the end of the semester is near things get really crazy because it is important to make sure you have all your homework assignments from past weeks. This is also a good time to review your grades on past projects and see if you can fix what you got wrong (this usually only works if it is an ongoing project throughout the course).

Reflecting…My professors were excellent this semester as they helped me through all of my challenges. Some more helpful than others, but that is a given considering each professor has their own way of teaching. I defiantly struggled through these classes towards the end of the semester; of course as we got further along in the semester the difficulty level got greater. I especially learned a lot in Excel and I really feel I benefited from the class. In the business world Excel is utilized for many things and formulas being the biggest use. That was one area I was always challenged in, but now the simple formulas are nothing for me. I also learned how to utilize the Analysis function which is helpful in both business and personal uses.

I also got to utilize the Mentor Center for the first time ever during this semester and that was a huge help because these last few weeks were very challenging for me, so thanks to everyone in the Mentor enter. I will continue to utilize it as I continue on with my degree. The library is a helpful tool also as I needed to find articles to research and write about. All the tools are right online to help the students get through the courses. Great resources and tools!

And as I was working my way through these difficult weeks of class; I also watched the season finales of Grey’s Anatomy and American Idol. Now that is challenging…Thank goodness for DVR (records the shows). While online school is great because you can set your own schedule; I still need every other evening to do homework which meant I could not watch my shows when they were on, but I recorded them to watched them after I finished school work. Now of course I have no favorites on TV so I will spend my break at the pool.  Fun and relaxing in the Sun!!

Well…I finally used the Mentor Center for one of my classes and all I have to say is “Great Job Rasmussen”! I logged in and went to the calendar to see a list of tutoring classes and who was going to be teaching each class. Once I found the Excel class, I clicked and saw my Professor was teaching the session so I notified her to let her know I will be attending the Excel tutoring class. It was that easy…

Wanting to make sure I could utilize the Wimba system, I logged in early to make sure I had everything set up and ready to go. I was worried about it not being able to work because I do not have a microphone. Well…no need to worry because if you do not have a microphone you can type comments or even better…you can call into a session (they give you the number and pin). The initial sign-in walked you through setting up your computer and downloading the Wimba software which took a total of 5 minutes.

The only thing I did have a problem with is in the calendar it doesn’t state which time zone the classes are listed as and I just assumed it was under Eastern, but it was not. Luckily my teacher told me that it was Central at the last minute which eliminated me from freaking out. That is something that can be fixed easily though. Once I started working with the professor, I told her I had to call in because I did not have a microphone so she called in too and then we were able to communicate back and forth. I just put my ear piece in and was able to work hands free. She wanted to see my screen so after a few attempts she managed to log into my screen. I guess that has some kinks that they are still trying to work out because she stated sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. It took her about 15 minutes to get logged into my computer, but once she was in it was great!

The Professor worked with me for 2 hours well minus the setup time. She assisted me in figuring out some challenges with Excel and calculating some difficult formulas.  It was as if I was right there in the same room with her and she was instructing me on what to do. Technology has come a long way and is really making the online education system stronger. So if you are a student and haven’t used Wimba in the Mentor Center yet, I highly suggest if you are having any difficulties or challenges in your classes, utilize Wimba.