Blue and Green

Did you hold your breath? Did you? Well then you are dead now, or at least turning blue like a choking actor in a 1970's public service video on the Heimlich Maneuver.

Take a deep breath and come back to us please.

I moved again. Yeah, I think I'm a wandering gypsy at heart, but this time I just moved to a cheaper place closer to school. The parrot and I are settled in, but I'm still learning to deal with the roommate's cat. I do not understand cat.

MEOW MEWW MEOWW MEWW what do you want, animal!!?!?

I'm gardening at the church. Oh yeah, I kind of joined a church. Don't worry, I'm still probably going to hell, since it is a Unitarian Universalist church. Fun times with liberals and other unsavory sorts! I'm happy to have found a community. The garden should do well to nourish us at the shared luncheon, plus donate to the local food pantry, sharing center, or Food Not Bombs.

Speaking of, this happened in nearby Orlando:

My only thought is that the well off don't want to see the poor, hungry, homeless in the park. Don't feed the animals. Don't encourage the unwashed to gather. Compassion is dead, I tell you.

*checks couch cushions*

In just two short (short) months I have to graduate from college, say goodbye to several people I have grown quite attached to, move my entire self (plus parrot) from Texas to Florida, find a place to live, get my textbooks, and start graduate school.

Oh, and also find the money to do it all.

Maybe there is a giant jar of cash hidden in my closet. Perhaps I have an aging distant relative, wealthy and wistful about the value of higher education (also hiding among my twenty ten gallon totes).

Ok, fine. I'll just sell all my stuff.

It isn't worth much?

Oh. Well. Damn.

Dead Week

Today I rode downtown for the first time in a few months. I had to get my fingerprints done for my upcoming name change (bet you thought I was done talking about that), and on the way back to the school I lunched at Mr. T's Deli (yum!). On the way from school, I made a side trip for water. Then I made two trips to the coffee shop. So my legs are a bit sore. Ow. Dead Week is not nearly dead enough, given that I still have homework. There is something sad about studying at the coffee shop until they close...almost every night.

I have the choice next semester of 13 or 16 hours. I've had trouble deciding whether to add an extra physics course to everything else I have to take in the spring. It is a 4000 level course, it isn't required, it will cost me an extra $400 in tuition, taught by Not My Favorite Professor, and VA won't cover the extra hours.

I decided to write my English professor to ask about how much writing/time the editing course would take up. I almost hoped she would say "Lots! Don't even think about taking 16 hours!!!"

Instead she said:
You actually won't be doing any writing at all. You will read 2
chapters each week and have a short editing assignment each time (1-2
pages to edit). At the end you will have a longer (10-20 page) editing
job for a client. So I don't really expect it to be that time-consuming.

Yay. Damn. Yay!

Thankfuls

Isn't this just wonderful? I have a 5 page paper due tomorrow at 8am, and I forgot to get the draft off the school computer. I am a moron. There are two tests tomorrow, one of which I am completely unprepared for. Completely.

Is it the last week of November already? Time to step back? Time to take stock of the things I am thankful for? Time to work off the 3 cups of coffee I've had tonight so I can wake up at 5am to type a paper? Yes.

A year ago I took a step in the right direction. It was painful, and frightening, and I failed. A year ago this week, I gave in to the fear and returned to a bad marriage. So I am thankful that this year I found the strength to do what was ultimately best for me. I knew it would pay off in the long term, but what I did not realize at the time was how good it was for me in the short term. Money might not be the root of all evil, but it is the fear of not having it that ties us to things and people who do us no good.

My first Thankful leads to my second. I allowed myself to be fooled into believing that permanent unity with one person would make me happy. Instead, I was shoved into a lonely little corner. Today, I am thankful for my friends: old and new, near and far. You keep me connected to the world. You keep me laughing. You don't keep me sane (I don't expect the impossible), but its hard to tell when I'm surrounded by such a wacky bunch of people.

Finally, as much as this semester has stressed me out, burnt me out, and turned me inside-out, I value the privilege which allows me to pursue higher education. I am thankful that I have the ability and the means to study physics. I have to keep reminding myself, in the thick of homework and papers and marathon study weekends blurring together, that I am doing this because I want to. I am living a long-held dream come true.

Which, occasionally, twists into a rather inconvenient nightmare....

Pardon me, while I whine.

I had a test yesterday, so I was up studying, but not too late.

I woke up sore and tired, and was really sore after riding my bike to school. Between classes, I bought coffee...oops, where's my debit card? Oh well, I have change... After the test, I started feeling faint and feverish while standing and doing a lab. When I rode home, I was completely zoned out and cranky. One glass of wine later, I was bundled up in bed, and my muscles finally relaxed enough so I could sleep for a few hours and sweat it out. That's my usual routine when I'm feverish.

I woke up because I got a call from an old coworker friend who asked if I had lost my ID's. What? Fuck! Some nice person turned them in to the police, and they called the base which oddly still had my old work number on file. I'm lucky they got ahold of someone who knew my cell, because I would not have even known my stack of cards were missing. They fell out of my back pocket while I was riding to school that morning. The 3 ID's were found, but they are stuck in the police evidence locker until Monday. The debit card is still missing.

My bank account didn't have any new transactions on it, and I was going to drive my route and see if the card fell out at a different place from the others. First, I thought I'd do the responsible thing and call my bank, to double check that there were no new transactions, that the "nice" person who turned in my ID's wasn't out giving his buddies free gas on my dime. Before I could get a word in edgewise, my card was canceled (NOTE TO BANK GUY: LAY OFF THE CAFFEINE AND BREATHE A MINUTE!!!)!

Now I have no way to access my monies, until I can get my cards out of jail. *pouts*

I was going to bake this weekend: Pumpkin Cheesecake, Chocolate Chunk Cappuccino Almond Cookies, and Macadamia and White Chocolate Cookies. *pouts*

Ok, I'm done pouting. I guess I can use the time this weekend to clean my house without re-dirtying it the same day, and studying for my Modern test.

Hi, its me.

It occurred to me that its been ages since I posted an actual blog, not some link or photo thing.

HI! I bet you missed me. Right....

College is kicking my ass, but I'm fighting back. I'm continuing to ride my bike everywhere, which at this point consists of the 4 miles to school and back and the mile or less to the coffee shop nearly every day. I'm healthy, save for a filling that might be chipped and a nagging need to sneeze alot. Who knows why. Money was/is tight, but it will be better now that MGIB went up again this last month. I'm happy to not be in a position to lose a mortgage or anything right now, and this rental apartment is pretty stable. I even had enough (uh...hopefully...) to buy some new clothes last week. I have zero love life, feel free to decide for yourself if that goes on the plus or minus column right now, because I think I could care less.

Rigel is spunky and sweet mostly. As always, I wish I could spend more time with him. I spent the weekend in Big Spring, TX with Janae and her family/friends; it was a nice change of pace to get out of Turd Burp and meet new peoples.

I'm looking forward to Halloween and Thanksgiving, because I haven't baked anything from scratch in nearly forever.

I think that really is it. Exciting, huh?

I'm hungry....*wanders off*

This is the Title field...

Fun was had. Not wild party fun, but spending time with my friends and family, doing generally unboring stuff.

Things were photographed. Lots. Maybe I'll upload them later.

Money was spendeded. Way way more than I intended. See, it all started with a sqeaky belt...

Driving was droved. And then more. And then not, until the car was fixed. And then some more driving. And I will never drive again, I hate cars so much. Mom and I got to San Angelo at about 10pm, but loading the birdie and then unloading him and all the accumulated junk from the car took us until 11. I never knew selling the car would be so damn complicated, stupid Texass rules or someshit. I'll just be glad to be rid of it. I'll worry about it later. Actually, I'm worrying about it now, but will deal with it when I'm more awake. Mom has to go back early tomorrow morning, unfortunately, so no fun hanging out. I have a busy day of banking and cleaning and paying tuition ahead of me as well.

Class starts Tuesday...

Strange

I paid my bill for the Spring term today and swung by the bookstore to get the lab manual. The only 'book' I have to buy for the term. Sold Out. Frick!

Here's an annoying notice i got today: i have to clean my bedroom closet and my washroom and move my dryer out from the wall so they can clean all the lint traps...and they'll come tomorrow to do it. Good thing I don't have a life.

I had a hankering for (Wait, hankering is a real word, like spell check is okay with that, but not with spellcheck? I never would have guessed.) ice cream tonight. Scratch that, I had a hankering (really? wow.) for raw oysters, but it passed so I went with ice cream instead. We ate last nights leftovers and went to the local coffee shop, which also has ice cream. I ordered the brownie fudge sundae, Hubby (spell check strikes again) got a banana split, and we both got a small coffee. After ordering, we realized that we should have just shared the banana split, because it was huge, even without the banana. Oh did I mention? They forgot the banana. On the banana split. Anyway, I decided to get a lid and save the rest of my sundae for later, and we split the split, once I got the banana. The guy offered to cut up the banana for me, but I thought it might be weird to carry a peeled and halved banana across the restaurant. So, at the table, I peeled it and sliced it with a spoon myself. It was totally not weird at all.

To Do + Ranting

-Get off my couch: Clean house, exercise, prep for the semester start...etc.

-Send in my absentee Voter Registration. I've already missed the 28 day window to register for the MO Primaries, but I can at least vote in November. If I get off my butt. (see above)

-Go Watch Juno (I already did this, this is a To Do for you)

-Pay my Spring bill. I don't have to buy books, because both my classes (Cal 3 and Phys 2) use the same books as last semester. Yay!

Okay, here's my little rant. I bought a car off the Kadena Lemon Lot in 2002 or so, and by "buy" I mean "it was free." Sweet Deal. I drove it for 3 years and had the option of giving/selling it or spending $300 to de-register it and send it to the junkyard. We needed something to drive until we left the island and out-processing was busy and stressful. I chose a common route, by signing a Specific Power of Attorney to another military member so they could do the paperwork of changing ownership after we left. You have to trust the other person to do their part before the 4 month POA expired. We trusted him. We had good reason. We left the car in the airport parking lot for the guy to pick up after we left. TRUST NO-ONE!

Two years later, late 2006, I get an email saying the car was found abandoned somewhere. I dug around until I found the name of the untrustworthy jerk (which today I can't remember) and the point of contact assured me he would take care of the issue through him. I heard nothing else again for over a year so I figured it was taken care of. Yesterday I got a bill from MCCS for the towing and disposal fees. I saw it was for $170 and I figured I was mad but it was worth it to make the issue go away. Then I saw the second page for $320...and Now I'm Pissed Off. I emailed the point of contact asking for clarification, but I have little hope that he is even the right person anymore, people always come and go. If I don't hear anything in a week, I guess I'll bite the bullet and send the $490.

Also, I accidentally dated my first check of the year with 3 Jan 2007. Every year, and always with the rent. Figures. I think that its an omen, I won't have a good year until I can stop not do that. That means, naturally, that I have to stop using checks, which means I have to stop being a renter.

Tablet Review (again)

My new tablet is pissing me off, so I already want a brand-new one. I'm willing to buy it as a replacement for my primary laptop. That is if I can also get a docking station or even just a laptop holder that would put it at a good slant for viewing while using the wireless keyboard. We'll still end up losing a good chunk of change over it though, and I doubt the Hubs will like the idea. I won't have to get used to a tiny screen like the one I have now (10.4'') if I get a 12.1'' and use Hubs' old monitor we have in the office when I need larger. I was dumb to get 10.4'' anyway, because the case is the same, just with a smaller screen area.

--Fan runs too loud and too often, without maxing out the processor, even when doing the most basic tasks and even when not warm. It does, however, get warm after awhile of doing next to nothing. It is nothing short of ridiculous. I'm willing to deal with the annoyance if it were only me, but I already get slightly annoyed looks from my classmates, and I'm not willing to be rude.

--I have an indoor display, which is supposedly best if you aren't using it in the brighter light outdoors. However the glare off the classroom lights means that I can't reliably see what I'm writing most of the time. Perhaps an Indoor/Outdoor display will be better, or perhaps this is just a bad example for an Indoor display?

--I can't get the pen calibrated in portrait mode, so I'm touching nowhere near where my pointer is actually hitting. This plus the bad display means that I can't hit the scrollbar for fresh paper in the middle of writing. Bad. Somehow landscape is better, but sometimes I need to write in portrait, period.

--I'm torn on using it as a graphing calculator, because Duh! these and later professors probably won't let me use my tablet on tests, but there is a fair likelihood of using the TI-84 on tests. So I might as well get as much practice as possible using the TI-84, and just dream about all the cool stuff I could do with MathJournal on the tablet. :(

The only good thing I can say is that the battery life on my tablet is amazing, 7+ hours! Reboot only takes about 10 minutes off the remaining power.

Week 1 Update

Is the first week really only halfway through???!!! Oh well, its the tough half that's through, so I'll take it. Sorry this is kind of long and rambling. I should post more often.

The Bad

As a follow-up to the sneezing episode a few weeks ago, the skin around Rigel's eyes now has faint spots of pink. I called the vet, missed the return call from the Dr., and now I have to wait until tomorrow to talk to him. He'll probably call while I'm in class.

Nothing makes me fell more dumb and worthless than math, nay Calculus.
--Three of my 4 courses, and of course both labs, require Calculus.
--I couldn't do the review of Cal1 tonight. I mean I feel really dumb right now. I'll have to go to the Math Lab for tutoring tomorrow afternoon, but that won't protect me from turning in a pathetic homework assignment first. :(

My Schedule
--Monday was the first day for 2 classes, which means stress.
-- Tuesday was the first day for my other 2 classes and its also Chem Lab day, which is 4 more hours and equals more stress and a birdy all alone all day. This makes me sad.
-- Wednesday is Physics Lab day, 2nd longest day of the week. Lonely Bird but I come home for 2 hours for lunch. Theoretically.
--Thursday and Friday will be wonderfully relaxing after that, right? Please?

My Tablet PC is pissing me off so much that the description got too long. Tablet post to follow later for those of you who are interested.

My right shoulder is killing me, and its not even from carrying around a giant bag of books. It started before Monday. I think it has to do mostly with how I sit with my laptop, and partially with writing hunched over a desk.
--Yesterday I downed 3 Tylanol at once, put a Tiger Balm patch on it, and still no relief. --Then before bed I took 2 Aleve that helped a little, and kept the patch on all night.
--Of course it hurts again now, I only took 1 Aleve after school today.

The Good

My physics professor is great, and she's also my adviser. The other two females in class are pre-engineering or chemistry majors, I think. But hey, they're there so I don't feel surrounded! Alas, this class is the reason I had to get the graphing calculator, and I'm not at all comfortable with it. :( I should have splurged for one when I started Cal1 in spring, but I didn't want to buy it and realize I needed a nicer one for Physics. Oh well.

Thank the FSM for British Lit. I think that course is going to be a fun diversion from math torment. The professor is very energetic and chatty and really made the classroom comfortable for us to laugh and contribute to the conversation. I left class feeling very upbeat, and not just because the girl who sits in front of me is a Whovian. (yay!)

Monday is Labor Day!

Railing Against the Cool

I freely admit to watching Gotta Have It on Food Network. Its only because I was watching Ace of Cakes, and then I didn't change the channel or turn it off. I'm lazy.

Most, if not all, of the items on this show are for people with a lot of spare time and money oozing out of their anuses. They are wasteful consumer products, and that's something I hate. Even though at this very moment I am drooling over chocolate shot glasses. You can light the rum on fire and roast mini-marshmallows over it?? Then eat marshmallows dipped the melty chocolate cup? *droool*

Okay, back to holier-than-thou anti-consumerism. Actually no. I really wanted to talk about the KWC Waterstation. It is a round sink station for your kitchen (or outdoor grilling area I suppose) that comes with movable cutting boards, slots for strainers, and lower storage. I thought that was cool, until they said it comes in a shorter model. For short people. Like me. And now I am in love with a sink, and I want to be sickeningly rich just so I can have it.

4 days left in MO

I woke up this morning with a call from my brother's parole officer, saying I needed to come pick him up and bring him back to the parole office. I was confused. So she said I needed to pick him up from the parole office, take him to pack his stuff, and bring him back because he had done too much stuff since he's been on parole. I really thought they meant I had to drop him off at prison. I was freaked out. How on Earth did they expect me to keep him from running off? Don't they have cops or something for this stuff. I was still confused. I picked him up at the McDonald's, because I wasn't sure where the parole office was so he met me there. I was even more confused that they were letting him wander around, and I was a little worried that he had run off already. Turns out they are having him live at the parole house, not prison but he can only leave for 4 hours a day, to find work. It has been a stressful morning. Mom is understandably upset. At this point I'm not exactly tired, just weary and over-aware of why I haven't been home in 2 1/2 years. I love my family, but dealing with how they live their lives is tough. Its tough to know that throwing them every dollar I have will not solve their problems.

And now I've just read a glob from my husband saying he's going to go to Catholic Mass to get inspiration for a story he wants to write. I do NOT have it in me to deal with that, for crying out loud. *giant sigh*

Ok, lets get a bit more upbeat. Yesterday I played mini-golf at Cool Crest with Traci, her kids, Tammy and her man-thing. It was pretty fun. The course looks so much nicer than the last time I played there, of course that's probably been 5 years ago. I took a few pictures, which I'll post when I get home, promise. Then I had dinner at Cheddars with Lydia, Traci, Sarah and her muchkin, Tammy and her man-thing. I have missed Lydia and Sarah sooo much, and it was great to see them again. *big hugs* Then I went out with Traci, Tammy, Brynn, and Amanda, for a couple drinks. We had a good time together, although somehow we stayed on some depressing topics.

Is today Wednesday? I think so. Becky invited me to dinner at her house. Sounds good to me. Tomorrow should be Long Island Night, and Friday we're trying the Japanese steak/sushi place. MMMmm my favorite. Pirates3 on Saturday, leaving Sunday Afternoon. Oh! I need to order books. Can't go to class Tuesday without books. *Argh*

Obsession

Hey guess what? I've been married 4 years today. How weird is that?

So, there are 2 new birds at PetSmart. One is $1500 and totally out of the question. The other is a lot less and SPUNKY! But I need to research if he is good for apartments, no need to piss off the neighbors (or the spouse, I guess). I'm still torn about the pair of lineolated parakeets, but they are very expensive to buy the pair. Also, there is a pacific fancy parrotlet that is pretty cool, and in a comfortable price range. I've probably started to annoy my friends with the what-bird-will-i-get debate, which has been raging in my head for the last 4 months. I just want to be sure I can take care of them, love them, afford them, and not get kicked out of my apartment. So it goes on.

Random

Confessions of a Failed Mathlete
The first time I ever saw a math question about two trains approaching each other at different speeds, I drew a complete blank. In a white flash of panic I saw my brilliant academic future begin to slip away.
Do I ever know how that feels, we started Related Rates yesterday. Not going so well. Oh well, its not like its going worse than the rest of the term. Damn.

Quarantine
Yes, the government can still enforce quarantine & isolation.
Having a horrible and deadly disease will not get you enough pity for the rest of us to be okay with you giving it to everyone. Sorry.

Scientists have revealed details of the world's only known case of "semi-identical" twins.
They are the result of two sperm cells fertilising a single egg, which then divided to form two embryos - and each sperm contributed genes to each child.
Dude.

Morpho Towers--Two Standing Spirals
The body of the tower was made by a new technique called "ferrofluid sculpture" that enables artists to create dynamic sculptures with fluid materials. This technique uses one electromagnet, and its iron core is extended and sculpted.
You might remember the last ferrofluid image I posted about, a spikey black fluid. This is way way cooler, looks like a black spiral tree and it moves to music. There is video.

I was going to post more, but now I have to pee, and then go back to working on my bungled math work. I probably should've started my homework yesterday. I had a bad day, with a failed attempt at a seperations physical, getting my taxes done, and finding that the bird I've wanted to get has a hurt foot. So instead, I started reading Brother Odd at 4-ish. 8 hours later I was finished, and tired, and slightly happier.

I havn't been to the gym all week. I'm a bad bad girl. Ugh.

Sarah: I owe you an ice cream cake...please come over and eat the rest, before I do. Please.

Sure Can Smell the Rain

First, you must go watch 300 now. Go! I'll wait...

Okay. Awesome, right? Yup, me too, I loved it. I mean, damn. Every movie that has such excessive boobage should also include a minimum of 300 gleaming muscular men wearing nothing but capes and those underwear pants. King Leonidis also has very interesting teeth.

I'm still trying to remember the name of the very strange SF book I read many years ago, in which modern historians and scientists end up traveling back in time and helping the Spartans win at Thermopylae. It was strange.

Besides seeing the movie and the weather being great, Saturday kinda sucked. Michael's buddies threw him a little party because he's moving to another office. We played Trivial Pursuit Pop Culture. It dragged on forever. We quit. Un-fun. The thick juicy burgers I bought, burnt to charcoal by the grillmaster. I survived for 5 hours on ruffles and ranch dip before getting said coal-burger.

Today I made myself an egg-ina-hole for breakfast at noon. Drove over to the yardsale location and hung out for a few hours. Made $40. I have some paperwork to do tonight or I won't be able to quit my job. Also, a shadowbox for someone else in my shop. Glue gun + TJ = burn, so that should be fun. BSG is on tonight, I can't forget to watch that.

I'm hungry.

End.

My Mom called this morning to tell me about the fire and that everyone is okay. It was early the morning of Valentine's Day and they barely made it out. Family, friends, teachers and strangers are helping them with pretty much everything they need. The insurance will pay to rebuild the house. Sadly, they lost all their pets, and on top of that their horse had to be put down recently.

They're all pretty upset, but getting through it with my family's usual odd humor. May as well laugh to keep from crying.

Thanks to everyone who expressed their concern. There are some really great people in the world, and I'm glad to know every one of you.

Turns Out

Turns out, I didn't already post this, but my last post reminded me. Must fix.

I WANT A PARROT!

Also, turns out, I didn't file my state taxes for the last two years. No, not this year and last year, but also the year before. This may sound like a bad thing, but hear me out. Tax laws say I get all my state taxes back if I havn't set foot in the state for more than a month in a year. I havn't been in state for more than a week in the last 3 years. Wow. I should visit more often, but that's alot of $$$$$ to get back.

See how this solves so many problems? Primarily, I GET A PARROT! Really, are there any more important things that can be solved with money? I think not.

Here's a picture of the breed I want, Dusky Pionus Parrot:

Busy Bee, Lonely Me

Tomorrow is the big day for our yard sale. Today was real nice out, about 75 degrees. What will the weather be like tomorrow? Windy with a high of 50. That's gonna suck. I moved as much as I could from the house to my friend's house for the sale. They live on a main street with good visibility and have yardsales all the time. Since the house doesn't have electricity anymore, I had about 45 minutes to get things together. I'll have to wake up at 7am to get the rest moved and put prices on everything before people start showing up.

I never realized how much useless junk I had. I moved a carload tonight, and I still haven't looked at the kitchen or the lawn/garden junk. Michael (The Most Loved One) authorized me to sell his paintball gun and associated gadgetry. Sweet, however everything else we are selling is mine, and I am still horribly unprepared.

Things I want to sell, but don't want to haul the 10 blocks to the yardsale:
Old Old Old recliner.
Desk, put together wrong by the Most Loved One.
Desk, damaged slightly by movers.
Bookshelf, put together wrong by The Me.
Bed, bought at flea market, never used...by anyone I know. (sat in my garage for the last 16 months)

Jesse, I'm selling your bike. I'll send you the money I get from it.

Michael (My Sweet) is on a plane this very minute, flying from Dallas to Nashville to attend a friend's funeral. I miss The Cute One (Michael) already, and I don't wanna go to bed.

I Smell Bad

I just got back from running a bit, so I smell kinda funky.
Thought you should know.

Traci, I'll see you tomorrow probably around noon. Yay!

We put the deposit on a new apartment yesterday. It is very nice, and we move in next Saturday. Its going to be a busy few weeks. We decided to not transfer our land line, but to cancel it. We are going tonight to get cellphones. The cheapest phones I can get. I hate cellphones. Help me please.

First, after a quick shower, I'm off to the post office to send out my hair clippings and a box I really meant to send off a few months ago. Seriously, who puts me in charge of stuff, and what drugs are they on?

Speaking of being on drugs, I stopped taking the Vicadin and Ibuprophin they gave me for my gums. I think it was making me feel quesy, and my gums don't hurt that bad now. They did hurt a bit yesterday after he took the stitches out. Okay, alot of hurting, but I can take it. There are only a few pills left anyway, but I can take them if it starts hurting for some reason.

Oh, even though I ran today, it wasn't for my test. The only female who could measure my waist went home sick today, so I put off my leave 2 days for nothing. I have to test next Thursday, after I've been on leave (read: not exercising) for a week.

:( darn it all to heck :(