Happy New Year.

Yes, I know it is not for a few days. Still, one should prepare for these things. I plan on taking tomorrow off of work, sleeping in, and then driving to WI for my cousin's wedding (the 30th). The gift opening is the 31st, and I have no idea how I'll count down the seconds to a new day.

I do desire to do the Polar Bear Plunge this year. I know, I'm crazy. Trevor said he would too, though, and it's the first time I'll have someone to be crazy with me.

Happy B-day

I thought I'd be better at posting if I revamped the website. Then holiday season happened and I've been behind on that too!

So, just a quick post to say Happy Birthday to Trevor. That is all. I'll get better after the new year. I'll make a resolution!

Bummed.

I hate it when I think something will happen, and then it doesn't, and then I'm disappointed. Even when the something wasn't concrete. Now I'm all depressed and I can't figure out if I have the right to be cranky or not. Maybe I was supposed to so something else, but should I have had to? I don't know. After all, there was nothing concrete. It's like being depressed and cranky cause the weatherman said it might snow and then it doesn't.

I need to learn not to get my hopes up. I need to remember my mantra of, don't expect it to happen and you won't be disappointed. Be happy when it does happen, but don't count on it.

I'm going to go back to working...lot to do today, and try to force myself to be in a better frame of mind. Maybe if I just forget it and think positive thoughts I'll go back to being in a good mood?

I'm hungry.

Still Here

I am still among the living. I redid this nice site, and I promised to post more, and I will. It's just that I've become distracted by a few new toys. I'll update soon, and maybe have a new toy to share, promise.

New Look

I got bored with the old look of this blog. I thought a new look might help me renew my posting consistancy.

Also, I think I'm fighting an infection. So far today I have drank 1.5 gallons of water, and my goal is 2 gallons before I leave work in less than 2 hrs. I'm hoping that if I drown said infection, I'll not get sick(er), and will not have to take antibiotics. I do not want to be sick for the Holiday, I have not been sick now in a very long time, and I'm liking this. Thus, I'll continue to drown my body in water. Of course, this has necessitate many, many, many trips to the ladies today. One every 15 minutes is not really an exageration. I try to stretch that to once/30 mintues, but...eep. Such is the cost of staying healthy, I guess.

1000+ miles in one weekend.

I can’t believe how tired I am today. Yet here I sit, taking my lunch break. I have been plugging away at work, though I got in a little later than I usually do. I have tonight’s plans all squared away, dinner, a couple of TV shows (House and Jericho from last week, recorded), and the book I’m going to pick up at the library tonight. I know the meal and recreation plan for tomorrow, and have a general idea about Wednesday. Thursday is Thanksgiving, my favorite holiday of the year. I have a 4 day weekend, and am able to sleep in on Thursday!!! I can’t wait.

This weekend I drove. Let me restate that, this weekend I rode along with Trevor as he drove to MO and we dropped his sister and niece off at their home. We left Saturday morning at 10:30 AM, drove the 500ish miles, spent the night, woke up Sunday and went to a few wineries and then drove the 500ish miles back to the cities. When we returned, we hung out with some of Trevor’s friends and I got to bed at midnightish.

This morning it was back to work. It was extremely hard to drag myself out of my warm, dark bed and into the harsh, cold light of dawn as I drove to work, but I did. I have the fact that this is a 3 days week to motivate me. I’ll be into work even earlier Tuesday, and at an insane hour on Wednesday so I can leave and go enjoy the 60 degree day. Golf or the Zoo, not sure which I’ll do, but I’m sure I’m going to have fun.

Happy Thanksgiving, and see some of you in GB

Turkeys on the Horizon

It's been a while since I blogged. It can't be helped. In all honesty it could have, but I spend enough time in front of the computer at work that I don't usually feel like blogging when I come home. That is part of the reason. Another part of the reason for not blogging is: I'll feel this great urge to blog, sit down at the computer, and...nothing. It's like the keyboard has become a sieve and my creativity and thoughts drain away. I don't want to write whats happened. A lot has. Most of it mundane. Some of it crazy, some scary, some wonderful. Most of you probably know most of it. Some of it is so personal I'm not sharing (even with myself sometimes, which is scarier yet). Some of it, the rest of it, is that stuff that I want to write about and then sit here and nothing happens. Again, here I go. An entire paragraph on nothing but my inability to write down anything interesting to read.

I'm not going to try to sum up the entire last month of my life here in this one entry. Suffice it to say, I'm alive, I'm mostly happy, and I'm about this " " close to moving out of my apartment in disgust. My downstairs neighbor seemed pretty cool when he moved in back at the beginning of the year. Yeah, he smoked, but he promised to do so only outside. The first day FIRST DAY he moved in, he smoked inside. I called him on it, and he apologized in what I felt was a sincere manner, saying he thought that if he snuck a smoke in the bathroom, noone would be the wiser. I told him, no, his fan vents to our bathroom and really, I am hypersensitive to smoke, I can tell when someone is smoking within 100 yards of me. The second and third – 100 times were mostly coming from outside though open windows, or whatever, I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve smelled smoke in the apartment, in the hallway, outside his door, in the basement, etc. Still, he’s a nice guy. Then his son moved in. He plays his guitar, the same riff, over and over and over and over and over – or used to. Really, annoying but not such a huge problem and it was never loud. He’s a nice guy too. Now his daughter and her kid(s??) and possibly her boyfriend/husband?? are living there too. The daughter and some male scream at each other practically every day. The “F you!’ ‘F-you!” slaming door kind of domestic dispute. I had finally told the landlord, and he talked to them; hopefully that gets better. The smoking in the house seems to be getting worse, though. Maybe I’m psycho, maybe their burning babyt food, but in the few hours I’ve been working at home and now working on this post, I’ve smelled it for an hour, and now my eyes are burning and itchy and I’ve got some hives. Each time it happens it makes me want to move. I’m beginning to think it’s not cigarettes they are smoking….

I’ve started looking at houses. I’ve found a few I really like. I’m waiting on them though, I really need two or three more months’ salary before I’ll feel comfortable with the amount I’m going to put down and the amount I’ll have in savings. Still, if the right house at the right price comes along, I’m going to jump on it. I told my landlord I’d be here until Spring, early summer, but I’m not sure now. I’d hate a winter move, and I’d like to stay here though at least February, but each bloody time I have to deal with this it makes me want a place of my own that much more.

Next week is the annual eat to much and watch football all afternoon holiday. My favorite of the year, holiday wise. It's all about food and family, and hasn't been taken over by Comercial America as much as some of the others. I'll try to be better at posting, maybe even once a week :P I'll try to stop bitching about things I don't have much control over - other than to 'tattle' to my landlord (which I did earlier today), and I'll try to love all creatures, even the mice...(who by the way have not yet moved back into their winter hotel, as far as I can tell. Maybe the smoking is keeping them away? I sure wouldn't want to winter over in a carbon monoxide and poison infested environment.)

Dream Adventures

Last night I spent time doing something I haven’t done in a while; chillin with Katie, waching InuYasha, drinking spiked hot cocoa, and relaxing. One, it’s cold out now, so a hot cocoa treat now and again is so very nice. Two, it’s been a while since I had the time to sit and watch anime. I need to organize myself better (or maybe my life, as biologically my fingers and toes are all exactly where they are supposed to be). Three, I needed a night off. I should have been cleaning up my messes in the house, cleaning the bathroom, dusting, and preparing a load of laundry to have clean stuff for my trip this weekend. I didn’t want to do any of that. I rested, relaxed, gossiped and watched, and then I went to bed early.

This morning my brain tricked me into sleeping in. It’s not my fault. I woke up, looked at the clock and my brain whispered, “you have work you should do at home, so you are not distracted by things in the office.” I thought back at it, “ok, that sounds like a good plan, I’ll sleep a little longer, get up, make tea, and work.” And back to sleep I went. I dreamed.

I dreamt that in downtown Minneapolis there was a narrow, tall door covered with Egyptian Hieroglyphs. It was painted bright red, and in a wall of dark grey stone. Not everyone could see it, or if they could, they paid it no mind – it was like they thought it was a decorative part of the wall rather than a door. I knew however, that it opened, and there were stairs that went down into the catacombs. I knew the way to open the door was to look at it and imagine it as not being there. Imagine, like the Road Runner in all the Warner Brothers cartoons, that I could go through the door even though it was solid. So with that thought in mind, I went to the seam, and pushed. The doors opened, and down I went. Down the stairs was a large room, lit by lights from the ceiling that I couldn’t see – natural light perhaps? It was bright, warm, yellow light. Through the walls by the stairs and through parts of the upper walls I saw flexible piping (like that which connects the back of one’s dryer to the outside) and copper piping, as though the city’s sewer and piping systems ran though the catacombs. I commented on them to those I was with – suddenly Erin and Katie had appeared. We walked further into the room, wondering how no one knew this place was there. I turned to the wall directly to the left of the bottom of the stairs, and there was the English Language Alphabet laid out on tiles that moved up and down. Some tiles had one letter, some two. I briefly wondered how the English letters ended up in a catacomb full of hieroglyphs, but knew that they were the key to opening the next door, which was down a few more stairs and on my left as I faced the letters. I knew the letters had to be moved in the order of the alphabet, and if there were two letters on a tile, it had to be moved twice, in order. So an A-B tile would go up, then down, but an A-D tile should not be touched. I also knew (somehow) that there was a ratio between the two move tiles and the one move tiles. I began the puzzle (there were a lot of tiles to choose from, and in no particular order) to make the alphabet so I could open the door and go to the next room. Erin was helping me, we were on K, L, M and she was moving them, when I began to wake up. I had just determined the solution for the rest of the tiles when I was snatched from sleep.

Upon looking at the clock, my brain reminded me that I couldn’t work from home because my computer for work was at work, and I had really better get a move on to make it to work. The only thing I can think of to relate this dream to what happened yesterday is seeing a hieroglyph from Egypt showing a pictograph of a man with a withered leg. I was in a microorganism lecture, and the instructor was discussing polio, it’s long history, and how people related to it even when they didn’t know about micro-organisms and their functions. My hours of InuYasha may have added the adventure element to the dream. I was grumpy when I woke up though, I wanted to see what was in that next room. Perhaps tonight.

Restless

I'm restless. I sit down, five minutes later I get back up. I try to concentrate on a book or my knitting. I can't. I don't know what it is, but something is nagging on me. I can feel it, deep in my brain. It manifests in my back - it's all knotted up, in my stomach - it's been upset or full of butterflies (and sometimes both) all day, in my head - I can't keep my thoughts from running at a million miles an hour and I have a slight headache, and in my feet - they have the restless feet syndrome. I was going to climb when I finished work today, but I feel ill, so I went to the grocery and came home. I decided to try baking, sometimes that works. I made a pan of chocolate - chocolate chip cookie bars and a pan of peanut butter rice krispie treats. Still restless. (And no, I don't intend to eat them all myself, they are for a meeting at work tomorrow.)

I don't think it's my job, I'm doing well now that I understand what is expected of me, and I'm enjoying the challenges. I don't think it's the Packers or the Twins, though the Twins could have won a game during the less to day s to make me less anxious. I don't think it's my 'home' life either. I'm caught up on bills, I do have laundry to do, but laundry has never before placed me in such a state. Right now I'm to a point where my tummy feels OK again, so I think I'm going to get my running things on and stretch quick and then head out for a 30 min jog. Even typing this didn't help bring to the surface the root of my restlessness, so maybe running will. If that doesn't help, maybe simply the fresh air of the gorgeous day we're having will do the trick. I have to figure something out though, it's driving me nuts!

Cleaning - Completed

I feel so accomplished. I finished my huge list of cleaning and also managed to finish a scarf I was knitting. It is green and longerish. I know, really descriptive, but it looks nice and I like it. Also, it's just in time because I think next week is the final hurrah for the warm weather. It is supposed to be almost 80 here on Monday, and then they are predicting the major storms. As long as it doesn't tornado my house down, I'm Ok.

My parents are going to be here for the weekend. They just called to tell me they made it to their hotel ok, and tell me their room number. I have a swimming suit and towel contraption all packed ready to soak in the hot tub tonight! I am going to need it too. I worked out hard this week. Lots of squats and lunges and running - on a treadmill instead of the elliptical. I feel pretty ok right now, some sore back and legs, but Wednesday I was so sore. I would look at the flight of stairs I have to climb to get to my desk at work, and they would do the dreamscape become a mile long thing in my mind. I had to pysch myself up to go up (and down) them. I really planned my trips for a two days. That was from Tuesday's workout. Thursday I worked out as well, and that whole theory on the 'hair of the dog that bit you' really does work.

Tomorrow is Karate, so any lingering soreness may go away then. Sunday is supposed to be so nice, I'll probably play softball in the park and go to the batting cages once my parent's leave. It will be a fun weekend having them here! Hm, speaking of... I should really go pick up Trevor from the airport and then go pick up food and meet my parents at the hotel for the aforementioned hot tub.

Crazy Cleaning Frenzy

I told myself that today was a cleaning day. I could sleep in, but not past noon, and then I had to begin the cleaning on my list. It has been six hours, and I haven't accomplished as much as I wished I had, but I have attacked a lot. I have dusted the house and cleaned the bathroom. I have organized the garbage and recycling to go out tonight. I have organized the pantry, kitchen, and linen closet. Left on my list, you ask?

• put away summer clothes and take out winter ones
• make bags of clothes not worn this summer to take to goodwill
• repack the closet (part of the above two, but also some minor maintenence of boxes contained within
• organize bookshelves (have decided I require a third bookshelf. May head out to purchase tonight, but more likely will go on list of things to do tomorrow

The big thing that goes on that list is to organize the back porch and basement storage areas, including the storage I have under my bed. I plan on buying a house sometime next year, probably before August, and I don't want to take shit with me that I dont' need. I think I can start the process of culling now. Then, if I don't use it between then and now, it goes when I move. Harsh, but true. I'm a bit sentimental when it comes to my material things. "Oh, this is the ticket to the concert that I went to with so and so..." I could keep it, but unless I get good at scrap booking sometime soon, why? No one gets to see it, it's packed in a box creating a space and fire hazard. I must get through these things while I am still in the apathetic, throw things away, stage. If I hit the boxes in a sentimental mood, we're doomed. I'm trying to decide how much energy I have left tonight. I'd like to get the clothes switched yet tonight. I think I'll leave the boxes and storage and organizing for the nights I have this week.

The problem with the 'leave it' theory? Tuesday I think I may go golfing. Wednesday perhaps to the Twins game. Thursday is happy hour, and Friday my parent's are coming to visit. That leaves the rest of today and perhaps tomorrow night. I think I'm going to go find a small snack and then attack my room.

Birthday Fun

Last night, a bunch of people went out to help me celebrate my birthday. We went to the Wild Onion, which if you have not been there for birthdays, you are missing out! If it is the day of your birthday, they give you a free t-shirt, a pound of chicken wings, free alcohol in a huge mug (until 9PM), and balloons. I forgot the balloons at the restaurant, but they would have been a pain to drive home with anyway. (No, I was not driving. That would have been silly considering the size of the mug and the fact I drank 3 of them.) After the Wild Onion, most people came to my place to eat ice cream cake and chill for a bit. I was quite squiffy by the end of the night, but had a great time.

Jenni is in town for the long weekend, and tonight we are going to go climbing, and tomorrow I may go climbing, I think others are going to the Ren Fest. Saturday night we might go dancing, and the Sunday is sleep and football. In that order :P

A pictoral history of Labor Day



First stop, the packer game. Even though my Packers were trounced, it was still a great time. Plus, our beer man rocked! He made a special trip to get me and mine some Mike's Hard Lemonade, even though they usually make you go get it yourself. Beer man, you rock.

Second stop, Door County. First Karin, Trevor, and I made a really large pile of wood w/ my dad. Dad and Mom had started the pile the week before. Then, we burned it. This is after the fire had been going for a while. The pile was quite a big, so big infact we started our reserve pile (on the left, the chiken looking fire) on fire too. Oops.

No, I didn't really start Dad's tractor on fire, but it did take a fun picture.

Sunday Trevor and I went to the corn maze. We didn't get lost, and managed to find all 18 little stamps. We decided it would be great fun to go back in w/ the map in our pocket, get ourselves lost for 30 minutes and then try to get back out (without map of course).

From the bridge of the corn maze (the picture above is the map on that bridge) one can see a cow excreting an ice cream cone. That's how fresh the ice cream was at this place. No doubt.

We also went to some wineries, and cave point, and mini putting. Lots of fun packed into one weekend! Whee.

Quick Post

I'm going to work, then off to Green Bay to watch the Packers play at Lambeau Friday afternoon. Then it's up to Door County for a bonfire and fun. A weekend away from the State Fair, yay!

Nic e Suprise

Have I mentioned how much I dislike the fair? At least, I dislike living by it. I do like it. I enjoy the all you can drink milk, for example. Oh, and the baby animal barn. But living by the fair, that can suck. You get people parking in your lot (ie the two twits down there now), you get people littering on your lawn, you get to listen to the music - whether you want to or not, and it's dirty.

Still, there are good things. Fireworks everynight, seen from the balcony. The grandstand does have good shows. I went to one last Thursday. Great show - The Magic Numbers (who only got to play two songs because it monsooned adn their equipment was drenched), Sonic Youth, and the Flaming Lips. I would have enjoyed the show more, however, had I not lost my ID and bankcard right before the show. They fell out of my pocket while I was running through said monsoon. I thought they were gone forever, but I had a nice suprise.

I wonderful Minnesotan, or perhaps just a wonderful person, found my idea floating down the river/street, picked it up, and brought it to the gate. They contacted me, and I have it back. That is the extremely short version of the story, but hits the main point...someone brought it back. How great is that? I have to get a new bankcard, because the company put a hold on this one as I'd reported it had gone missing, but that is a minor inconvienence. Whee.

Busy busy

I thought when I finished school things would calm down. After all, I wasn't doing homework all night long, working as many hours as I could, and doing homework. Apparently not though. I seem to have less hours in the day, not more. Some of it is my fault. I need to designate days where I stay home and work on things there. I keep going out and having fun. I've picked up golf again with a vengence, and even bought new clubs this weekend. I've started climbing again, though grant it...I could do more. I'm doing moring aerobics/spin classes before work. This week is odd though as I have training Wed/Thurs all day on campus. Back to school. :)

After work is golfing, or canning foods with Karin (lately anyway), or any number of other random things. This week I went to Trevor's softball game last night, golfing tonight, wednesday I'm setting aside to clean, Thursday I am going to the Fair - and that's a post for a different day..., and Friday either happy hour or to makeovers or to some yet unannounced third thing. Or all three. I never get to read anymore :(

I've been working at my job for a month. It's starting to become easier. Not necessarily the material I do, but understanding what they want me to do. As I get into my routine, I'm sure hours will open up here or there. I miss chilling with all my friends whenever I want. It does suck when you get up at 5, because the nights all of a sudden are so much shorter. (Or they should be if you want to be somewhat aware of what is going on at work.)

I'm taking a personal holiday over Labor Day weekend to go to Door County. Hopefully that is nice and relaxing.

DONE!

I’m done! I finished Grad School! Yesterday, I defended my thesis, and passed my oral exam. Thus completes 7 years at university and two degrees. I feel…

I’m not sure what I feel. I know it hasn’t sunk in yet. I’m elated, and sad and happy and tired. Mostly tired. Drained I think would be a more accurate verb. I am scholarly drained. I have so much to do at home, and I look at the messes I have to clean up and think…tomorrow, or the next day, not now. I will get to the dishes, and to the messes. But right now I’m spent.

Part of me is thinking what next. I have my Bachelor’s and my Master’s. PhD? Maybe. Not yet. I need more time to learn things. Right now I have my job and I am VERY SLOWLY integrating into my work there. Very slowly learning all I need to learn, going through hours and hours of training. I have more days where I feel comfortable, but some still where I feel like I know nothing, I’m behind, and I’m lost. Those feelings will fade I think, or at least diminish into the background as I catch up to the others, but eep.

It will feel very strange not going to school after Labor Day. For 23 years I have gone to school every fall. This will be the first time I haven’t. Ever. I don’t know what I’m going to do on September 5. I may morn, I may jump for joy. I may plan a happy hour to celebrate. We’ll see.

Speaking of happy hour, that’s what I did last night with my coworkers. Go out and celebrate my ability to continue working my job (because it was contingent on finishing my degree in 6 months).

Now I just hope that the rain stays away long enough to go golfing tonight.

I have returned, I hope...

I really need to get back into blogging on a regular basis. I was doing so well before I started my job. Now I spend 9 hrs/day in front of my computer, so I really don’t even look at it at home. I guess that’s normal. Part of the problem stems from my doing training 8 hrs a day – internet based training. Really don’t want anything to do with the internet by the time I’m done for the day. Plus, I’ve been busy after work, and before work too.

I joined the fitness center at work, so I’ve been going to work for 5:45 to do fitness classes from 6 to 6:45 and then showering and going to work for 7:15ish. That’s Tuesday – Thursday. Mondays and Friday’s I’m going in at the normal times (for 7 or 7:30). The last few weeks I’ve gotten back into golf. Yes, I’m a yuppie. I golf. What’s more, I can golf at a Country Club should I desire. I admit it. However, I’ve always enjoyed golf. I know some people think golf courses are abomination, and perhaps they are…but I like walking around in the sun. Concentrating on hitting a wee ball from one place to another with the ultimate goal of getting it into a small hole keeps my attention and gives me respite from the rest of my worries. I don’t usually drive a cart, so I get my exercise. Also, it gives me 1-4 hours (depending on how much and how fast I play) of time to chat with whomever I’m playing with. So there! Anyway, I bought a new golf bag this weekend and I’m going to play 9 holes with a girl from work tonight to try it out. Friday’s I have been trying to get back into climbing. I’ll buy myself a membership again in September. Right now I’m paying by the time and Friday’s are half off for ladies. So, the only things athletic that I’m missing are my rollerblading, and running. I really do have to work on both. I’m not sure I’m going to skate the marathon this year. I’m just not sure I’ll be ready in a month to skate it. I certainly hope so, but eep. Maybe I’ll do the half marathon instead? Could be fun. Running is good for me, but I suck so badly at it that I just don’t do it.

After work I’ve been either golfing, or chillin with friends, or going places. I think life is going to settle down after this week though. This week I defend my Master’s Thesis – on Wednesday. After that I’ll be done (hopefully) with my requirements to graduate and I’ll be able to just concentrate on work and home and fun. This weekend was nice, it was the first weekend in a month or more that I got to relax. Sunday I slept in past 2PM. I haven’t done that in so many ages it’s not funny. I’m not going to make a habit of it, don’t get me wrong, but once in a blue moon it’s good to do. It rained all day here, which truly helped the sleeping. I woke up and had breakfast at 4PM, then made strawberry-rhubarb pie, and then watched movies.

Still this morning I was tired. Not sure how that happened. Oh well. I am slowly getting used to going to bed by 11 at the latest as I get up at 5 most mornings. I should get to bed by 10, but one step at a time, right?

Damn

I suck. I have been meaning to post, but have been stupid. So much has happened, I'll have to reread what I've read to figure out what I have to update. I can say that work is good. It's still crazy and I get overwhelmed occasionally. All my coworkers are great about helping me out when I have no idea if I'm coming or going. It's actually quite amazing how quickly I've figured out parts of my job. Did I really start only 3.5 weeks ago? Eep. The time is flying though. Soon I'll blink and I'll have been there 40 years, like the guy who's aniversary (to the company) party I attended this afternoon.

OK, would write more, and will - promise, but right now I'm hungry and need to not be on the computer anymore...

Oops

I've been so good lately about posting, and now I've waited 10 days again. Two weekends ago was a family reunion back home. It was a fun time, but very hot - 102 degrees. There was some shade to be had, but ich. Still, it was good to see people and meet some I didn't know. Before we headed over there, my cousin Jill and I went swimming for a few hours. She is 7 mo. pregnant, and the water feels nice, less weight on the body. I'll be headed back that way in two weeks for her baby shower.

This past week was my first week of actual work. There is a lot to learn, and I feel I'm not learning it quickly enough. I have a LOT of training to do...at least 40 - 50 hours, and that's without retention time added in. With that, and out of house trainings, and meetings, and etc. I'd say I have another month or so of hard learning. Still, it feels good to be challenged, and my supervisor is really understanding about it all. Monday of last week I met some people at Blarney's pub for 6 dollar pitchers, pool, darts, and karaoke. Katie and I rocked the house with "I Will Survive" and gave "Shoop" our best effort. It was cool to go celebrate, even if it was a weeknight :)

This weekend was uber busy as well. Friday night I went to a house party, Saturday I volunteered at the Raptor Center, which may become a semi-normal thing, the went shopping with Katie for pretties, and then went out dancing. I only made it til 1:15 out though, too hot and tired. Then yesterday I went outdoor climbing, climbed three routes all the way to the top (I've not been outdoor climbing in ages and ages!) , and bruised my toes really really badly. They are black and blue under my toe nails. Ouch. After that I came back here, had dinner out, and went for a walk. Poof! Weekend gone.

Now it's back to the grindstone. All weekend I was like, "shit! Have I done my homework? What am I forgetting??!" It's going to take a while to get used to the ole 9-5. Or, in my case either 7-4 or more likely 7:30 to 4:30...

Girls Night

Last night was girls night. Katie and I prepared dinner for Jenny, Erin, Karin, Cheyenne, ourselves and my roommate. Great food was eaten, wine was had, ice cream was had, and gossip was had. It was a great time. We'll definately have to do more of those.

Today was damned hot and it's only supposed to be warmer on the weekend. So happy I'll not be here. Speaking of, I should go pack...

Note to Self:

Self's body dislikes immensly the high fructose corn syrup.

I talked to a nutritionist at the end of the school year about eating healthy, etc. I mentioned my tummy ailments, and she mentioned that fructose can cause such things. Mostly when one is working out, if one has it, one gets tummy cramps. But for some people, like me, larger amounts of it when I'm not working out cause tummy cramps at night.

Why was this an issue last night? Because I was drinking Red Bull/vodkas. Red Bull has EXTREMELY high amounts of the fructose. I had almost two full cans of Red Bull, rather right before bedtime. So bedtime went from12AM to 1AM to 3AM to...I tried to sleep, got up and journaled. Tryed to sleep again, got up and got Maalox and a glass of water. Tried to sleep again, got up and moved to the couch where I slept fitfully for 4 hours or so. I felt better after 7 AM when I got up to use the bathroom and drink yet more water. Slept until 10 but then got up because, seriously, it's getting too hot in my room by then to be in the bed. It's damned hot in the Twin Cities this week, and will be nigh on 100 F by the end of th week. YUCK.

I'm heading to DC for a family reunion this weekend. It will reach 90 there, but should be nice lakeside. Hopefully I'll get to play in the lake this weekend. Swimming, sunbathing, cooler air; all would be nice . Still, 90 is better than 100 and where I'll be staying has A/C. Much happieness. Here there is only bags of frozen veggies, shopping, and the library to keep cool.

I think I'll go see if laying in the hammock is any cooler than moving about the house.

WHEEEEEEE!

I am ecstatic, exuberent even! I have finished Draft Two of the Thesis. It took me longer than I had anticipated, but I added 10 pages of typing, and went from 17 to 35 pages. (I know the math doesn't work out, but I added a lot of formatting too, and more appendices). My corner of the room is hot, and humid, and I don't want to sit at this computer anymore for a while. I'm going to go get cleaned up at treat myself to lunch w/ a friend. I rock! I'm awesome! Wheeeeeeeeeeee!

Naughty, Naughty Self!

I'm a very naughty self. Here I am blogging when I said I would work on my Thesis. I have finished editing the first half, and added 3 more pages of type. The next part will be the hardest. I have the methods, results, and conclusions to finish. That part was only four pages in my first draft (the first part being 6, this of straight type, ignoring figures and tables). I added three pages to the first part and really should add 6 to the section I'm working on now. I want it to be a good 30 pages when I'm done. It has to be. (Yes, 9 + 10 does not equal 30. I'm saying 30 with the figures and tables and pictures and etc.) Writing this is so hard though, I learned to write in 'engineering school', where concise was good. Say what you have to say and be done with it. Let your figures, your bullet points, and you tables talk for you. Explain what they mean, don't restate what they are, etc. There is red all over my paper. Apparently in Public Health, a more flowy, less scientific voice is appreciated. Oh, still sound learned just do it in a friendly manner. Poo. I need more tea, that is the ticket. That is more classical music.

On a happier note, I have perservered and have triumphed over the leviathan that is the campus health service. All I asked was that they send a fax to my new place of employment stating that I may wear a respirator even though I have very mild asthma. Not hard, they could have hand written it on the note I give them and faxed it back. Takes 3 minutes tops. Or it takes 3 minutes for those of us regular type people. If we are from the health service it takes 2 weeks, 3 administrative assistants, all of the nurses, one doctor, one dictation expert, and 17 phone calls. Still, I finally got them to send the letter off to my employer's human resources division. Whee! I am proud of me.

Today so far I have accomplished the above defeat of the leviathan, the first have of my thesis, the dishes, a 2-3 mile run, sit-ups and stretches, getting clean again (hot out), and lunch. I guess I'm not a very naughty self after all. Still, I should stop stalling.

Fourth of July

The week before the Fourth and the Fourth weekend were great! Rachel was visiting from her new home in Ithaca and we had much fun. We went to see Body Worlds at the Science Museum Thursday. I highly, highly recommend it to everyone, even very littles. Great exhibit. We played Mini-put in the "Big Back Yard" there too. The theme was source to sink, talking about waterways and pollution, etc. Rachel had an interesting habit of launching her ball from Source to next mini put hole...I'm not sure water can do that, but it made for an interesting 9 holes :) Thursday evening we went climbing...first time in about 6 months for me, and I was SORE afterwards. Then after that we went dancing.

It was so very hot on Friday that we ended up mostly relaxing, watching "The Muppet Show" episodes, and putting frozen bags of vegetables on our heads. I had been at the Raptor Center all morning, after only getting 3 hours of sleep, and I think the combo of the heat there and the activities of the day before wiped me out, hence the staying home. My tummy was not a happy camper.

Saturday Karin, Rachel and I went to DC for the Fourth weekend, but didn't get going quite as planned. As Karin states, it's the bee that stung her in the AM's fault. The extremely summed up version of the story is that Rachel's car was towed because we couldn't remember the date, and her mom had to rescue her by convincing the police to give the car back. They weren't going to give it to us because her name isn't on the title (sister-car) and so we would have been stranded here. On the plus side, we got to watch both the start and end of the England/Portugal World Cup game. Still, after much haggling, the car was returned to us, and we set off for DC.

We got in late - 9:30 on Sat, so we didn't set up tents, but slept in the house instead. Sunday we had girls day, the three of us and my mom went to the olive oil bar, the winery, the market (dinner of brats very important to Fourth of July celebrations), and the the mini-put course. This mini put course contains hazards, water, rocks, rough...just like real course. Great fun. After brats we had a wonderful fire at the property, I drove papa's tractor (1940's ...much fun!), and gormet smores were eaten.

Monday morning Rachel headed for her parent's place, and Karin and I went to the lake to lay on the beach and possibly swim. When the water was seen, the swimming was right out. Lake Michigan had turned itself into a gigantic serving of pea soup. Damn algal blooms. So, walking the beach and avoiding the zebra muscle shells and tanning on lawn chairs w/ our books was the order of the day. We thought about the fireworks as we drove back from the lake and stopped at the candle place, but it decided to rain, so we played Cranium instead. We did get to see the finale to the fireworks from my aunt's driveway, and it was very pretty.

Tuesday the Fourth dawned bright and clear, and Karin and I raced the Hairpin Run 5K in Fish Creek. This was the first year that it has been chip timed. I got a little recipt with my time and average mile and place in my age and overall. Very cool. I sucked it up running though. The time was not terrible, but I felt aweful running. I forgot to use my inhaler before the race and felt it each and every step. Next year. Actually, I'm tempted to work so that by October's race up there I can run better and make myself feel good for the winter. We'll see.

So now I'm back in the Twin Cities, working on the next draft of my thesis and waiting to start my job. That's a whole different story that I'll tell at a later date.

Employment

I have employment! Whee. Well, almost whee. I passed the drug test (no suprise there), but I am waiting for them to finish the rest of their HR stuff. I did accept the offer. Tentative start date = July 10. I have until then to finish my thesis, and to enjoy myself sleeping in, doing nothing, etc. For after that date I'll be doing the 5 day work week with the rest of the 'real world'.

I also have to consolodate my loans today, and work on said thesis, and go over to the lab and pick up my equipment that I had stored there, etc.

Oh, and I have softball tonight. Hopefully the rain refrains from falling until at least 9pm.

Sitting on Houses

From today through next Wed. I'll be house/puppy sitting again. Oh and plant sitting since I have to water the garden and eat the radishes. This is a good thing. Their house has an A/C and it's supposed to be very warm here in the next week. I'm not minding this at all. Still, when I'm there for a week instead of the weekend I actually have to pack things to bring...so I'd better get on that. Reach me by cell phone rather than email should you want me.

Because I felt like it:

Anna of Cleves got the royal shaft. She came all the way to England to become the fourth wife of Henry VIII. Once married to Anna, he refused to consummate the marriage, and called her the "Flanders Mare". Talk about a burn, considering that by this time, Henry was the fattest man in England and had a rotting syphilis sore on his leg.

Anna was miffed, but she was too sensible to let it ruin her fun. She was given an annulment and a fat yearly allowance, and she threw extravagant parties and dined on delicacies for the rest of her life.

Which of Henry VIII's wives are you?
this quiz was made by Lori Fury

Stuff to do, and stuff done.

The job offer is a go, but I don't have it in the mail yet. I'm waiting for their HR people to finish up. Monday ended up taking my car in to get new brakes, a new muffler clip (so that it's not just banging around under the car threatening to fall off), and an oil change/tire rotation. Uber dinero spent, but now car is set to make it through the winter. I'd love to buy a new one this summer when all the end of model year sales happen, but what's the point? I have no garage - why put a new car out in the elements? My car works just fine, I just want a new one. The garage problem also limits me in terms of buying my motorcycle. I can't just store it in the grass here...I'll have to get serious about house hunting I guess. Something with a nice big garage.

In other news I have to consolidate my school loans. Anyone know anything about that? I have a few pamplets and a few places that have sent me offers...but, bleh. I know nothing of it. I should look into that today.

I should also finish cleaning today, and perhaps eat lunch. Not sure I feel like it though. It's hot and I'm still vaguely tired. Don't know what the tiredness is all about though. I think I've been getting enough sleep and I have not the stress level I used to. Hm, maybe I need stress? Nah. I think I'm just used to it.

Job

I probably have a job. I'm waiting on offers in the mail/fed ex/ups/etc. Crossing fingers and toes.

I'm also really tired. I think a nap may be in order, and I only woke up 45 minutes ago. Or rather, got ready for the day 45 minutes ago. Going for a walk and eating count as daily activities. So does taking the recycling out.

Then I'll get ready for my day, and go to Target and Cub and the Library and all those other errand places.

Naps are going to be few and far between once I start...working.

Vampiric movie reactions

I am silly. I am also the color of a slightly cooked lobster. This is my own fault. I know better than to go outside in really strong sun for many hours without screen of sun. Still, I don't usually burn. I didn't think I did today either. I got home tan. I ate supper tan. I watched a movie and somewhere during the movie I burned. It is the movie's fault. I shouldn't watch movies about vampires in the daylight after spending hours in the sun. Sympathy burn.

I also itch. Has nothing to do with my much blushier hue. Has all to do with allergies. Itching an area of slightly tender skin is a bad idea. Note to self. I'm going to take some benadryl for the itchies, but not until RIGHT before bed as it's better than any sleeping pill known to me.

Also I'm hot. Could have something to do with the more colorful me. More likely it is a direct result of it being 80 in my room right now. I am thirsty. This is one condition I can solve quickly with a large glass of water or juice. I think I'll work on that now, and describe the remainder of my week/end later.

Back

I am back from GB. I didn't get as much done there as I'd wanted. I had wanted to work on my thesis and have it in finished form when I returned. Not so much. I ended up only looking at it briefly. My papa had surgery, it went well, but I was acting nurse so I didn't have time to work on it....or the time I had was distracted. I did manage to clean out the stuff in my closet in my old room. I also managed to go have fun. I went to X3 with Jenni and Chad and to coldstone after. I went out by Shona and her horses two days. One day to just feed and pet and see the new setup (new place she's boarding), and the second day to work one, ride one, and give baths to two. (there are three that she owns, and a fourth she works) I had a great ride though I'm excessively sore today (second day after). I rode her 26 year old mare who still has the energy of a 5 yr old, but has the 'old nag' gaits. She really tries, and if you get her to collect she's still pretty smooth...but her pace feels...old. I don't know how else to describe it. She used to be smooth as water and she isn't anymore. Horseriders will know what I mean.

I also went and earned my motorcycle temps. Thus is born Team Fall Down Motorcycle Club. Myself and Karin as founding members and presidents for life. We have one honorary member other than us. I have to sign up to take the course tomorrow, and go shopping for a spiff helmet, jacket, and chaps (yes chaps...I want some). Then I went riding with Joe and my cousin Mark on seperate days. I think I like being the driver better than the rider, but riding is a good way to watch hawks.

Hm, other things happened too, but I want to drink my mohito (drink roommate made) and watch Buffy. ta.

Gone

I'm heading to GB now for a week. I've accomplished two job interviews, packing, etc today, so I'll be wiped when I get there. I'll be in uncertain contact during the week, best way to reach me is my phone, if you have the number. You could also try email. I'll be checking it every few days at the least.

Wish me luck with finishing my draft of my thesis. I'm going to need it. Talk to people more after Memorial Day weekend.

Where am I going?

I'm heading to my parent's place for a week or so. I'll leave tomorrow after my interviews (I have two, wish me luck.) and return after Memorial Day unless something crazy happens (like another interview).

I'm suddenly depressed. I can think of many root causes, and I'll not extrapolate here, but it's depressing. I dislike being depressed. I was great earlier today too. I woke up, watched Buffy and ate chocolate for breakfast, then turned on the loud music and began cleaning my room. Suddenly I started the downwards. It may have begun when I checked my grades. I got an A- in one of my classes, thus ruining my GPA of a 4.0. The LAST bloody class I had to make it through too. I've emailed the prof. to find out just how close I was to an A...but I don't expect him to change it. I know I was borderline. Also, my downstairs neighbor is either smoking in the house again, or is smoking in a place directly below my window. I can smell it, taste it, and it's interfering with my breathing. That just happened though, it's helping to turn the depression into anger as I type this. I'm not sure anger is better than depressed...but as I hate being in a funk - especially when I can't figure out the root cause and fix it, I'll take the anger.

Maybe I need a medicinal shower. Or more chocolate. Right now all I feel like is a nap with Eeyore to cuddle with. I can close my eyes and pretend he's hugging me back. As I slept until 11 today, I think a nap is unadvisable. I have too much to do, and want some time w/ the girls before I go away for the week. I'll have plenty of 'alone' me time when I'm in GB. I think I'm going to go take the test for my Motorcycle temps when I'm home. That will cheer me up. Not that I own a motorcycle...but one thing at a time.

Shower now, maybe a run first. I'll see.

Where'd I go?

I've been to Chicago for a conference. I presented the poster-of-many-a-bitching-blog. It went well. I met fun people, learned a bunch, and gave blood. You may wonder why this rates so high on the list of things I did.

Until just Wednesday, when said blood was donated, I did not know if I could. Every time, in the past, that I tried I would pass out. I decided after giving it a go three times, that my body only makes enough blood for itself and had not learned to share. Now, a few years later, my body has learned that age-old kindergarden lesson, and I gave a pint of the ole b-positive to the Red Cross.

After which I decided that I'd earned a pint...or 5. (oops...I believe the nice Red Cross volunteers gave me a sheet in which I was supposed to avoid alcohol and drink water for a while after. I think I ignored it. Really I think it was the nice people buying me alcohol in the first place that ignored it. I just played along. Yup.)

But anyway, back to the conference. The poster went over well, and I have many people interested in my poster and potential manuscript. I have to email them tomorrow. I went to some entertaining and informative sessions, and ignored the ones I felt wouldn't be. Actually, I didn't get to go to all the ones I wanted, but I tried. I missed a good portion of a committee meeting because I had a dinner meeting, but caught the end of it, and then went out after (said 5 pints, mentioned above) with the people from the meeting.

Thursday I relaxed, went to the Art Institute of Chicago to see the impressionist paintings, and did some shopping. Chocolate and smelly body stuff, very girly I know. Then I flew back to the TCs. Now I'm in the process of cleaning my room and deciding what clothes to put on to go dancing. I should really go dry my hairs before they end up in the 'poof' style.

Festivites?

Last week was the Festival of Nations. I ate great food from all over the world (too much of it), watched great dancing from all over the world, went shopping all over the world, and learned about world bazaars. Then we discovered the cutouts, you know, the boards where you stick your head in and become someone else. We had the damnedest time taking the picture below. Mary and I had NO idea what face the other one was making...honest. Barbara was laughing so hard at us, that we couldn't hold the faces we were making, so this picture took a while to take. We'd step out, giggle, pinch ourselves, get ourselves back into 'photo mode' and pose again. Barbara would get the camera lined up, and start giggling again. If she could have held it, we could have... Finally, on take about...15, (ok, it was probably 5, but it felt like forever), she got the picture in just before the giggling began again. Mary and I calmed down, went to look at it, and all three of us cracked up again. It was a great time. There are other pictures. Perhaps I'll post them later.

Lilacs

I woke up today when I was supposed to, but I had left the window open to the breeze last night and a lovely cool breeze scented with lilacs was floating into my room. I thought to myself, I'll just relax a bit longer, and I floated away into lilac scented dreams. This morning I could have related them to you, but now they are just a distant memory.

I went to MDH to get my equipment to do some field work tomorrow, and then came back home. As I stepped out of my car to go back into my home, I again scented lilacs. I wanted to cut some and bring them into the house to fill the inside with the wonderful smell of spring. Lilacs are my favorite flower, but they last so very short a time once cut from the bush. They are all in perfect bloom here, we're almost done with the season, but back home I bet it's just beginning. So at least when I go to GB for a week I'll get to smell the lilacs again. I wonder if there is a lilac-type bush out there that blooms longer, or multiple times? I'd buy it. When I own my own house, I'm going to create a property line of lilac bushes (and keep them trimmed so I can always reach the flowers to smell them).

Right now, my house smells like lunch, and looking around it I can smell the hint of cleaning fluids. Not that I've used them yet, but I have to. I think my senses are reminding me of the work I really should be getting done. First the lunch, then the work. At least I'll get to play outside this afternoon!

Finally, Finally!

Finally! Did I say that enough? I don't know. Maybe. Ok, one more time - FINALLY!

I finished my poster, sent it off to the printer, and he's made some tweaks. I'm waiting for his file to OK and then it will be done, printed, poof!

I took care of a whole bunch of other misc. graduation stuff today too. I now have a bit of free time (should be cleaning but don't wanna) until my supper is cooked (red potatoes w/ red peppers, onions, and green peppers - yum) and then it's off to my softball game. I may have to pitch tonight, but hopefully not...I've only thrown the ball a few times this year! And hitting, bah. I have no idea how that will go :P Still, if they need me to pitch, I will. It's like riding a bike, right? Once you learn you don't have to relearn? (Shhh, I know I have to practice, I am just pretending I won't suck so much.)

Wish us luck!

A better picture

I like this picture better.

New Hair

Ok, it's my old hair, but it has a new trick. It is many colored. I tried to capture the colors on camera, but I think I didn't do the greatest job. It's close, but...:)
Oh, and I had it straightened too!

Adventures in Poster Making

I have to make a poster for our national conference this year about my research. You know the type of poster I'm talking about, the 44 inches by 72 inches professionally printed looks cool kind? Yeah. That's what I've been working on for the last week. Last night, or this morning rather, at 1AM I sent off the verbage to my prof. to be edited and went to bed. My plan was to send all my graphics, tables, etc, my poster template (colors and style, etc), and my verbage to a professsional and have him put it together.

This morning I awoke with different plans. Last night in my sleep I drempt industrious dreams. In one I knitted an entire sweater (sans arms because I didn't know how to attach them), and in another I climbed a really hard climb with no rope because I had to get something from the top - don't remember what now. I awoke feeling tired, but motivated. I checked email, and found a few emails on said poster from a classmate who happens to be presenting a poster at the same conference. She had sent along some info she had gotten from the conference people on the poster, and what she had done so far. I thought, hey...maybe I can do that too! So I sat down and in the last few hours, pounded out a poster. it's not perfect, but the gentleman who is printing my poster will do 'make pretty' edits for free, and I'm waiting on content edits from my prof.

I honestly don't think I would have done so well making my poster had it not been for the email from a classmate with some directions, the 'how to' sent from the man who is printing my poster, and some good luck thrown in. I know the second I go to change ANYTHING - be it font size, or figure order...EVERYTHING will unformat, so I think I'll leave those changes up to the professional.

Hm, I think I'll eat some lunch, and do some cleaning...or maybe just reward myself with a good book.

Locked Up

Today, sometime between the 10:48 when I arrived at work and the 12:09 when I left, someone implemented a new policy regarding the visitor badges (which I wear) limiting the are in which they will open doors. Great idea, not giving visitors access to all parts of the building. Note to whomever did such a thing in the middle of the bloody day: "next time please turn off access when there aren't visitors in the building in areas where they can be locked in."

Yup, I got locked in the Scientific Corridor (area of building where the labs are). I had already been able to access the area, like I've done for the last three months, and was working just fine when I realized I'd forgotton something upstairs. When one leaves the bottom floor to go to the top floor (or vice versa) one must rescan one's keycard to get either back into the corridor or out into the office space. This is so delivery people can't go walking amuck in the labs or offices. This also serves to lock poor, unsuspecting student workers such as myself into the scientific elevator area when the badges were switched. I had to wait to be rescued. I thought perhaps the badge had been turned off (it's happened before), so I went to retrieve a new badge. I tested that one first. No dice.

Now I have to somehow find a way to do my research with either 1. a shadow employee who has a working badge, or 2. a different type of badge that will let me into my areas.

If it isn't one thing it's another. Poo. (On the upside, I'm finished with classes now until I decide to either take a refesher course or go for my PhD.)

Foot-candles

Yes. Foot-candles. It's my new favorite unit of measurement.

I've finished my interview, and I've finished one class worth of papers and presentations. I feel ready for my presentation tomorrow night. I'm excited to be done! Whee. I feel I can think straigh forwards again. Tomorrow I will work on my poster. I have emailed a person who puts these things together and hope he can help me. I have no idea how one does these things. I have to find the letter they sent me with the details (first order of business) and then I'll know what formats I need to use.

Hm, I wonder how many foot-candles are in my room right now? I think I'll ponder that while sipping my wine and finding the letter, and then I'll find myself a nice book to read.

A day off?

Everyone needs a day off now and again. Was today mine? I'm not certain. How do I not know? Well, I know it shouldn't have been. I should have been working on my poster, or practicing my presentation for tomorrow. Instead, I watched movies. I should be sticking to my new practice of eating right. Instead I had some ice cream and some potato chips. I should be prepping for my interview tomorrow. Instead I'm dinking around online.

Still, it doesn't feel like a day off. I'm slightly crabby, I have a slight headache, and I feel like going to bed. Hm. Why dont' I? Why dont' I go to bed 'early'? There's no good reason not too. I have some things to do but there is no reason I can't do them tomorrow. It's like I feel guily if I don't stay up until at least 11 or 11:30 working on 'stuff'. If I'm not productive at least 10-15 hours a day I dont' feel like I've accomplished enough or something. Or is that just the burn-out talking? I have no idea. Right now I can't even thing sideways, let alone straight. I think a low pressure system settled in my eardrums...or that could just be the allergies.

You know, screw this. I'm going to bed. I'm almost done with my tea, I'll clear off my bed - the right way - by putting things away rather than storing them on the floor, put on my pjs, brush my teeth and go bed. Maybe I'll feel better in the morning. ( I was going to write about the weekend but that will have to wait until tomorrow I think.)

DONE!

Done, done, done, done, done, done, done, done, done, done, done, done, done, done, done, done, done, done, done, done, done, done, done, done, done, done, done, DONE!
(at least with the paper that is due tomorrow, I still have two presentations to do and some edits to a final fact sheet, but I can't do the presentations until their scheduled days, Monday and Tuesday, and the fact sheet isn't due for a whole nother WEEK.)

OK, sorry, I just had to, somewhere, post that. Screaming it would be more helpful, but it's 11:10PM, my roommate is sleeping, and I think maybe some of my neighbors as well. So screaming my DONE state to the entirety of the hearing area would be a BAD THING right now. Instead, I scream at you blog readers. I scream in a happy, excited, jumping, turning circles, happy dance sort of way. The arms thrown up and head thrown back at doneness kind of scream.

Ok, yeah, I'm loopy. I've been working on this paper since 10Am this morning...with time off for lunch, and mentoring, and supper, and chatting with my roommate, and chatting online. But still, I bet I put 6 or so hours in on it today. So whee. I actually think it may have turned out to be what was required too, instead of the 'not required it was earlier'. Hmm, upon reread, that sentence doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me, even. I'll leave it there though, as a testiment to my crazy-mind-euphoria-doneness-state. Or it could be the tea.

In any case, it's now time for some serious sleeping. Tomorrow I have The Raptor Center in the AM, and then a meeting for one of the above mentioned presentations and the fact sheet, and then letting the pups out because I'm house sitting again, and then some confection eating with the roommate, and also Casanova. Then Jenni is coming for the weekend and I'm very excited! So, sleep now is required for there will be long days this weekend.

Countdown

Tomorrow is Friday. That means today is busy, otherwise known as Thursday. I have a 5-8 page single spaced (yes, single spacing is stupid to require because it's impossible to correct and no, I have no idea why it's required) paper due tomorrow that I started about an hour and 20 minutes ago. I technically already have 5 pages, though I'm almost certain the title page and reference page don't count. I have 2.25 pages of actual finished type, and another .25 pages of things I'll probably say, headings, etc. I'm thinking I won't have a problem reaching the 5 pages, but I'm not sure it will be what the assigment required. I have so far 2 pages of explaination, not critique. I figure I'll write it all and then go back and add some critique? Hm.

Yesterday I should have been working on said paper, but instead I cleaned up a bunch of loose ends, and then went rollerblading around the lake with Lee and Karin. What was going to be a "quick introduction back to outside skating" turned into 15 miles. After all that excecise and the loose bits out of the way I feel I can concentrate on the paper, and when it's done, finish up a few one other project. Tomorrow I will turn in said paper and go over a paper/presentation due Monday with a classmate. Then Tuesday I have to present another project and then POOF. Done. Whee!

I still have yet to start my Poster...eep. Oh, and Monday I have a job interview too. Can't forget that. I need lunch. Break time for me. Then it's back to the lovely computer in the corner of my room.

The home stretch

Or is it the seventh inning stretch? I don't' know. I can't, not yet. I have only two weeks left to finish all classwork and my poster for the conference. So in that way it is indeed the home stretch. I have a limited amount of time to finish things, things are coming down to the wire, etc. Still, I have to write my thesis before the end of the summer (sooner is preferable) and give my oral defense before I am awarded my degree. I also have to find a job. So in that way it is the seventh inning stretch. I'm close, oh so close to done, but the last two innings of my graduate school career may very well take 3 months. (Sounds more like a quiddich game than a baseball game.) I have only to climb small mountains, leap buildings in a single bound, fly around the world on the back of a flying pig in 80 days or less, and not catch any form of plague and I just might make it. Burn out, anyone? I'm close to the point that you could cook marshmallows off of my burnout.

Still, some small part of me is elated to be at this point. Soon I'll have finished all my schooling for the foreseeable future. Soon I'll be in the real world. Soon I'll have a job that is the direct result of my hard work and determination. Soon. But not yet. Right now I have to find the kind of discipline my school-workings have never had before. I have to not procrastinate. I have to find my thesisical muse (I do believe there is no muse for scholarly works, Clio coming closest to what I desire, but perhaps there needs to be a 10th muse? 10 is such a nice round number.) and not have writer's block. Yes, writer's block can happen to those writing scientific type papers. Especially when one is stressed. Even if one has all of ones methods, results, and discussion figured out.

In other news, tomorrow I'm going to go visit a Nutritionist. I am grumpy about the weight I've put on in the last year. I have decided to do something about it. I have been trying to "eat right" or "eat better" and "excercise more" but those vague concepts are not going to get me anywhere. I've started this week out so well, and I want to to continue. I skated the half marathon on saturday, yesterday I did some cleaning and took the day off, and today I went running. I want to lose weight in an approved fashion. I know about counting calories and the food pyramid, but I need some help. I'm not motivated enough to count calories I don't think. My hope is that there will be some things the nutritionist can suggest to help me. I want to be comforatble in a swimsuit by the middle of june. I want to feel good while running my 5K in July. I want to do a few more marathons on my skates. I want to be healthy. So, the nutritionist it is. Plus with my current insurance, trips to visit her are free. Preventative medicine is a good thing.

Today's Amusement:

They're taking the hobbits to Isengard!

I felt the need to share.

Around the Dome Quickly

Today's the day of the Rollerdome Inline Marathon. As Karin and I decided we didn't want to go cheerfully insane going in circles, we are only going to do the half marathon. That should only provide us with moderate loopiness. Our goal is to do it in 4 minute miles or less, putting us under 52 minutes. I have to finish getting ready for said race, then head to the library to pick up another book I had on reserve. (I know I don't have time for it this weekend...but I don't care :P )

Our start time is somewhere after 3:30 but before 3:35. If you want to cheer us on, parking is free and there will be a spectator area. Just remember to cheer for "Team Fall Down" as we go flying past. Our colors are black and blue.

**Update: Karin and I finished in about 53:46 sec and :48 seconds. You can click here to see the full results if you are interested. We thought there was this mixup with the lapcounter (IE we felt we did an extra lap or two) but I think it was us going moderately loopy. It's all right now. We finished 4th and 5th of the women in the half marathon. Too bad we couldn't make the top three. Oh well, next race. It was fun, and today (Sunday) my bottom is the muscles sore. I'll have to see if I can fit in a run or a walk later today to help with the soreness.

Ba ba ba baaa BAAAA bababa BAAAA baaa...

You know, without the music, you may not recognize that as the beginning of the theme to Star Wars, but take my word for it, that's how it would be written. Last night Katie, Karin, Lee, Barbara, and I went to see the One Man Star Wars Trilogy. I haven't laughed so hard in a LONG time! One man does all three episodes of the ORIGINAL Star Wars Trilogy in one hour, all the charecters. He uses no props or costumes, just hand gestures, body language, and voices. He's good too! He gets Luke's whining, Han's overconfidence, and Leia's smugness across to the audience so nicely. There is comedy thrown in; sometimes very subtle, sometimes very obvious. It was a good thing all of us knew Star Wars as well as we did, though. He jumped back and fourth from one role to another so fast that if one didn't know the plot of the movies, one would be really confused. Afterwards, since the show only did last one hour, we went to O'Donnovans pub for pints and chips.

Tonight I am going to see Franz Ferdinand and Death Cab for Cutie at Northrup on campus. I'm quite excited. Before I get to go though, I have to finish up my research (last day of sampling for my Thesis if all goes well...please, all go well!) Then I have to go home and clean up my place a bit, go mentoring, and do a few other things. The week is slightly less hectic today. Tomorrow I go to the Raptor Center in the morning and then I'm going go back to work to finish up my analytical stuff for today's samples. Over the weekend I have to write a 5-10 page paper...actually make that two, make a power point presentation, and edit some pictures for another power point presentation. Oh, and do all the reseach that goes with writing said papers. I haven't even begun the work involved yet. Bleah. Saturday I'm racing 13 miles in circles around the metrodome with Karin. Sunday I think I plan on sleeping in.

Today my key got stuck in the lock of the apartment door. I went to turn the key, and it would only turn a bit, then stuck. I tried to turn it back, and it worked a bit, then stuck some more. Then nothing. No turning to the right or left. I couldn't get the damned thing back out either. Since leaving my key in the door with the door unlocked seemed a bit too much like handing an open invitation to someone to come in and steal, I walked over to the landlord's business and asked for some silcone spray (becaue wd40 has water in it and can rust one's locks) and some help. A few minutes later I had successfully removed the key and lubricated my lock, and was finally ready to head to work. On the way to work, I blew threw the damned meters (why were they running at 10:00 AM anyway??!? ) with some city official type person watching me do it. Hopefully he can't call my license into the cops. My excuse, 1. the damned things are never on at that time of day. 2. his truck was parked not completely off the on ramp, so I was attempting to avoid that. And 3. it has ALMOST turned green. Plus, I felt very much like the white rabbit; I was late. So, just as I'm contemplating my bad self (And the car behind me whom I'm sure had not nearly the number of good excuses as I did for blowing through the meters in the same fashion as me), a large semi throws a boulder at my car. Maybe not a boulder, but a Very Large Rock. So large I could see it coming. So large I knew it would be bad. I heard the CRACK! as it hit my windshield, and i now have a quarter sized chuck/spiderweb/thing right in the middle of my two wiper blades when they are at rest. It's too big to be patched. I'm going to have to replace the whole damned windshield. Not just yet though. Right now it's just spiderwebbed, not cracked. I'm going to wait til it cracks to replace it. Ugh. Badish day. But it will get better tonight I hope.

Day 1 of Crazy Week

It's Monday at 3:15. I've been up since 6, had breakfast with some old family friends, driven 4.5ish hours from home 1 to home 2, finished an assignment for class that is due tonight (yeah, I procrastinated but my parents have little computer functionality), applied for 2 jobs, had lunch, packed my backpack, made a packed supper, put my rollerblading gear in order, and am now typing this. I have yet to: go to class, eat supper, go rollerblading at least 13 miles or until the dome closes (note to self, bring cash), come home, work on other class major presentation for tomorrow (just a draft thank goodness), finish other classes major paper, have a small snack or glass of wine, go to bed exhausted.

Tomorrow is more of the same. Gotta love the end of the semester. The weather isn't helping either, it's too damned nice to be stuck inside. It's days like this when I wish I had a laptop.

Favorite Seasons

It has been so unseasonably warm here lately, and I don't want it to end. I am loving the 70something days we have been having with their crisp clean nights. I love spring and fall. Summer is great with its sultry heat but there are bugs. Winter is wonderful with it's snowfalls and icicles but one has to always bundle, always take care not to get the frostbite. It's a tie between spring and fall as my favorites I think. I was born in fall, so that gives that season an advantage over spring perhaps. Do we imprint on our first season? I don't know, but I've always have a special place in my heart for the shortening days, the billowing clouds, the colorful leaves, and yes, even the death of plant life. It represents a cycle to me, and usually by the time my birth month, September, rolls around I'm ready to be done with bugs and hot, sticky, sweaty weather. I enjoy the first frost of the season (especially since it indicates an end of outdoor allergy season). I love to see the long V's of geese heading south for the winter.

Still, now it is spring, and spring at last. The snow has melted (but as it's Minnesota, we may still get one or two small snowstorms before it gives up til fall), and the tulips and daffodils are growing. I saw little purple flowers on the protected side of a campus building the other day and it made me smile. I was walking to class, grumpy about having to be inside on such a nice day, and I turned and saw them. I actually stopped on the path for a minute to admire them before continuing on to the basement torture chamber they call a classroom (no windows, the heat still on, bad ventilation, and cramped quarters). The grass is already green and there is no more ice on the lakes. Ice Out (that point in which all lakes in the TC area have no more ice) happened one week earlier than the average this year. This past week the weather has been 15 degrees above average. Instead of a chilly 50 to 55, we have a balmy 65-70...and even 80 on one day (though 80 was too hot for this time of year, my body needs time to adjust to that). The longer days, and flowers, and birds, and plants, and warmth have me smiling at nothing, and doing little skippy dances at work. My coworkers have labeled me 'eccentric' or just plain weird, but my skppy dances make them smile, and I think everyone has a better day for it. Oh, and the wee house finches have build a nest in our awning again, so soon I'll have baby finches to watch grow big and fly away. Yesterday I caught myself humming the 'raindrops keep falling on my head' song.

Don't get me wrong, my world isn't completely rose colored glasses. I was sick (I admit it) last week, and that was no fun at all. If I think too long about how much schoolwork I have to do from now until May 12th I will slide right back into stress. I still have to find a real job for when I finish my Master's and figure out how to live as an 'out of school adult'. Just now, as I type this though, life is good. It's 77 degrees outside, the sun is shining, and the mosquitos aren't yet hatched. I fully intend to finish this post and then go play outside for awhile before sunset. I have some errands to run in my car with the windows rolled down, and then I'm going to take a blanket out onto the lawn and do my reading for class where it's nice.

This weekend I'm going to GB for Easter, and then it's back here for a CRAZY week of next. Have a great weekend everyone. If it's not looking like it'll be great, call me and I'll try to infect you with some of my energy. Lord knows I don't need quite all of it.

Warmth

The sun is out, the ground is warm, I wore a tank top today, and sandles, and all is well. I believe that is a fragment. Oh well. Thursday was Chris's B-day, and though I still had only half a voice, some friends and he went to the circus. We had a great time dashing under raindrops all the way to the door. It was raining so hard that no matter if you sprinted or walked you were still going to be soaked. I compromised and splashed in puddles while running.

Friday I hung out with Lance and Erin at their new place, and Saturday I hung out w/ Cliff. I didn't get to the cleaning I'd planned to do until today, and still haven't organized or done homework. That's the plan for this evening. That, and picking up Katie from the airport as she returns from Ireland. It has been a nice relaxing weekend - I needed it after the week. I have to finish reading a rather lengthy document for my Monday class, and working on some things for my Tuesday class, and then it's off to bed. No worries, should be a rather relaxing week.

Voice, where did you go?

I woke and you had left. When will you return. I'm working o backup voice rightnow, but I'm running a bit low on that too.

But I'm not sick. Nope. Just took the day off for rest. Yes, that's it.

Wonderful

I am remaining determined to not get sick. So I decided that exercise makes me stronger and rollerbladed 10 miles with Karin on Monday. Today is so nice outside that I couldn't just go from work to class to home all inside and so I'm going to be late to school because I went for a 3 mile walk/run. Oh, and I'll be late because I'm blogging, but poo...I have to wait for the next bus anyway. Not late to class, though, just to the meeting before hand. So I'll hand over my 'it's too nice' excuse and smile, and hand over all the work I've done and hope it's enough.

Tomorrow is supposed to be 60. I was going to go swimming at the rec, but I think I'll have to see if the Rollerblading over by the lakes is free of dust, or go running/walking again outside. It's supposed to rain all day Thursday, I'll go swimming then (inside, not in the puddles...though I plan on splashing through every available puddle on the way there).

Rachel, where are you when I need you? We will have to play in our respective rainstorms and think of the other. I'll splash in the biggest puddle I can find just for you. (This is, of course, assuming that the weather people have it correct that we will get the nice rainstorm they are predicting...)

I refuse to get sick

They say it's mind over matter. They say that one's attitude can affect one's health. Well, they, I'm putting that to the test. I say I won't be sick for two more months. I say that I'm going to remain positive and upbeat about finishing my degree, my project, my poster for the conference, and my thesis. I say I'm going to find a job. All of this requires me to NOT BE SICK. So I'm not getting sick. I am no longer going to have chills, or a sore throat, or a dizzy head. I will not be mastered by fatigue. There will be no ear aches and no head aches. Note to self.

I had a great weekend, I went to see A Whisper in the Noise and Arab Strap play a beautiful and gratifyingly long show on Friday night. Saturday I accomplished most of my errands and went dancing until Daylight-Spring-Ahead-Time. I had such a great time out that I didn't return home until 5:30AM. Was up again by 10:30 or 11 because I couldn't sleep (why can't I sleep when I have the time, and want to sleep more when I don't???). I spent today cleaning and sort of studying and chillin w/ my roommate. Unfortunately the great weekend meant a minimum of sleep and I'm starting this week in a deficit.

Still, remain positive, eat my vitamins, drink plenty of tea, and chill. I'll not be sick. I can do this. I've done it before. Not become sick because I said so. I'm a fast healer too. Unless this is one hell of a bug (or allergies, I haven't found a successful way to completely beat THOSE. Nope, allergies kick my bum every year, all year...) I won't be taken down. This is me, standing with my back to the proverbial wall, in attack stance ready to fight.

Chicago Pictures...some of them anyway

The face artwork in the Millenium Park, real people from Chiago's faces on these big screen things.
Sears tower etc view from the stairs of the Field Museum.

The back of the face artwork and the other face artwork (face all glowy white because I managed to snap this while it was changing - crazy) Plus some buildings and such.

The MASS EXTINCTION wall bit which was just to the left and above the...

MASS EXTINCTION bit on the floor. Unfortunately, the massive amounds of red light around these didn't show up so much. But you still get the idea.

Picture Error and Skiing

I tried to post some pictures of the Chicago trip, but blogger's photo hoster is not playing well with others right now. I'll have to try again later.

I am very sore right now. I went skiing this weekend - Saturday, and ouch. Yes...I did go skiing at the end of March in Minnesota. I can't really believe it either. When I was younger I would not have thought twice about the skiing season extending this long, but the last few winters have been so piddly that I wasn't sure we'd see this much of a ski season. Still, for 3 canned goods and 5 dollars, one could obtain a lift ticket at Afton Alps on Saturday, so off we went. It was 40 degrees, the snow was more slush than anything else, but it was still fun. I skied from about 10 until about 6. Eight hours of skiing when you haven't gone since January is hard on the calf muscles. I'm not sore when I'm walking around, but earlier today I had 5 hours of class and had a hard time walking to the bus afterwards. I decided to take the day off today from working out, mostly because I had a lot of homework to finish. I'll workout some tomorrow hopefully, and then Wednesday I'll skate and perhaps climb on Thursday.

It was nice to get out on the snow one last time...now I'm ready for spring and Thunder-storms!

Spring Break

What a week. Last week was spring break. I spent Monday snowed in the house, and Tuesday doing homework and then going to Hamlet at the Guthrie Theater. Wednesday through Friday was a trip to Chicago with Karin, Friday night a party at Katie and Chris’s place, and then it was the weekend already.

Chicago was great! We drove down Wednesday morning, stopping in the Dells for lunch at the Moosejaw, and I bought some beer bread mix there. I just finished the last piece (made yesterday and consumed) and it was major yummy. After lunch we decided to drive to the Wollersheim Winery. We took the tour and sampled all the yummy wines (but not enough that we couldn’t keep driving, heh). So, after a much delayed – in a good way – start to the trip, we drove the rest of the way to Chicago. We paid the toll people with nickels, dimes and (once or twice) pennies, and made our way to our hotel downtown. We settled in, freshened up, and went hunting for cider. Let me tell you, cider hunting is not very fruitful that time of year. One would have though, being just about St. Patrick’s Day, that the Irish Hard Cider would be a bountiful drink. But, just like deer at deer hunting season, there was none to be found. We settled for finding fish and chips and having other drinks. By the time we finished walking around, eating, and unsuccessfully hunting, it was almost 11 and we were exhausted from driving and our other adventures, so we went to bed.

Thursday we woke up early so we could get to the Field Museum of Natural History to see the Pompeii exhibit and the just-opened Evolving Planet exhibit. We spent over 1.5 hours in each, and after those too, and of course Sue the T-rex, we were mentally spent. I was very impressed with the Pompeii exhibit. They did a really great job blending the history, tragedy, hope, lessons learned, etc together. The history of what happened was very interesting to read, we all hear of Pompeii, but there were other cities affected in the area. The tragedy of that many deaths, I can’t even imagine. And, it could happen again on an even larger scale. There are over three million people in the area directly below Vesuvius, and from what I gathered, no true evacuation plan other than the ‘it won’t happen to me’ attitude. There was hope in that exhibit too. People had grabbed their wealth. We know they were hoping for rescue; they expected to be able to start a new life with what they brought with them. They also grabbed art, things of sentimental value. This shows me the people then are like the people now, basically kind, and interesting in art and beauty. Nice to know we’re not so different. They also looked to their families, and we can hope, neighbors in the crisis. People were found huddled together in places of (they hoped) safety. It was all for naught with the gas clouds, but they were gaining hope from each other. The lesson learned is that it can happen again, will happen again, and that people must be ready. Unfortunately, even with all the monitoring of the mountain, it could just go. Then nothing people plan will help. Hopefully though, that will not be the case, and little earthquakes will tip people into moving out of the area for a while. The Evolving Planet exhibit is great if you are a science geek like me. I have some pictures I’ll post later on it. I have none of Vesuvius b/c cameras were not allowed, but the Field Museum’s website has some if you are interested. The evolving planet takes you through a fossil history of the planet from earliest known fossil to today. It shows the 6 MASS EXTINCTIONS (really, it needs to be capitalized. I’ll explain more when I post the pictures), including what caused them. And it includes things you can touch. Touching is good. Some of the touching had weird textures though. Eep.

After going to the museum we took the bus up Michigan to Marshall Field’s looking for the Lush Store. We went to the wrong Field’s so we walked up Michigan to the Water Tower one. On the way we passed a handbag store with a sale. I found a new purse, as did Karin, for a nice deal. Then we headed to the mall area where Field’s was, and found a Teavana store. Anyone who is as in love with tea as me needs to visit this store! I fell in love with the teapots, but the larger size was $160 or so. Cast iron or great quality, but unfortunately for me I can’t afford that right now. Some day. I bought a bunch of loose tea instead, and some little tea bags for making my own on the go tea. After that we went to Lush, and got wonderful bath products. Karin did most of the buying, but shared her goody bag with me because she rocks! It was getting time for dinner so we decided to walk back to the hotel, even though it was 1.5 to 2 miles.

On the way home, we passed the Disney Store and went in, yet another stop in my quest for a new Eeyore. (My old Eeyore had been with me for years, and slept with me faithfully every night, even going to GB with me for trips, or (depending) on longer trips too. Eeyore was not keen on airplanes, so generally didn’t fly, but most road trips he came along. Then one day this past summer, being older and not so stiff at the joints, he split open and dumped his stuffing onto my bed. It was a traumatic experience, and left me without a cuddle friend for bedtime. I have been hunting for a suitable new friend ever since. Not exactly the same, because that would have been painful, but something like.) Inside, we headed directly to the plush section, and to my delight I found the perfect Eeyore for me. Just the right size, squishiness, and softness. Plus, he was available for not so much dinero. I adopted him then and there, and he’s slept with me from that night till now, and from now to the foreseeable future!

Having procured an Eeyore, I was in great spirits and Karin too, for she had helped to end my quest. We were now on the quest for the holy sake cup. Actually, it was the quest for dinner. Dinner was procured at the Park Grill, and it was WONDERFUL. Yup, capital wonderful. I had lamb, Karin had Tuna and Fennel, and all three were superb. We also had a starter, and an appetizer, and a side and dessert, and wine and coffee. It all added up, but the prices were good for what we got, and we were quite content. We complemented our chef through our waiter, who went to get the chef so we could compliment him in person. We talked for 15 or so minutes about one thing or another, and then he gave us his card so we can get a table anytime we want…score! I know that place gets really busy in summer.

Friday it was back on the road. We drove to Madison to have lunch with my cousins, then back to the Winery to pick up the wine we liked (not wanting it to sit in the car over the last few days…) and finally got back on the road. We got back to the Cities about 7, had supper at Panera Bread, and then unpacked. Katie and Chris had a bit of a St. Patrick’s Day get together, so I stopped up there for a bit, and then I went to bed. Long post with lots of links...whee, I’ll post pictures soonish!