Oh hi, This is a blog!

A request was put in about a week ago, for a blog post about my winter vacation. Seems I ought to get around to that, eh? First, an excuse: I'm suffering mightily from a sinus infection because someone likes to bathe in cologne. Feel free to send me comforting words and a cup of your best homemade soup. Please act as though I am suffering from some incurable malady more terrible than anything anyone has ever experienced. It'll make me feel better. A little. Ahem. hack cough wheeze die recover

I spent Xmas with The Whitehill's. The turkey was baked golden brown and then brutally devoured, as is right and just. I got a giant book of bird pictures. This book shall be used as a coffee table one day.

I had not planned to travel at all this vacation, but shit happens. Sometimes good shit happens, and I get to fly to Orlando and spend a spectacular New Years with Troy. You can see the pictures I posted already. There was more preparation shopping than I'd like to admit to. Scary shoes and eye catching dresses were purchased. Besides a couple very nice nights out, and a trip to the Kennedy Space Center, we mostly watched alot of television. There was the Nathan Fillion mini-marathon that became a short lived Kaytee Sackhoff mini-marathon. She was fun and purple-haired in White Noise 2 and we watched about 20 minutes of some terrible...horrible...well it was boring and then Troy got to see side-boob and then it was boring again. We watched alot of Star Trek, of course. I sat in on a meeting of the local SF club.

Well we did other stuff, but you would be bored with the details, I'm sure. Suffice to say, I had a really really great fun relaxing geeky time.

And then I came back to TXass on a plane, sitting behind a small bouncy child who threw her wet whipe at me. So I threw it back, and her daddy can just stick his damn eyes back in his head because I'm not sorry. That's just nasty.

So I've been sick, but I've still managed to visit the gym at the YMCA every day since I got back, and ran around getting tuition and books paid for, and helped Janae shop for some nice new work clothes, and read some more. Janae, Juan, and I watched a very strange movie about pot and ate fajitas and played Speed Scrabble last night.

All in all, I had a delightfully unproductive break.

YawnWave

Packing is officially done. Phone charger, camera, understuffs, hot dress, crazy tall scary shoes, book to read in the airport...all accounted for.

My house is fairly clean and Rigel is snug in his bed. I feel really bad leaving him for so long, but he will be in Janae's capable care.

I feel a little dumb for booking a flight that leaves so early, and a little afraid I will miss my alarm in the morning. I should go to sleep in the next hour or so.

My dear internet friends, I will let you all know how much awesome fun I'm having in Orlando.

*waves*...*yawns*...*zzzzz*

To Do Update

I've been at this "summer" thing for 20 days now. How is it going? Oh, its going allright...

1. Clean my house.
I keep cleaning the kitchen, only to turn around and cook dinner. I've tackled the living room, but that's about it.

2. Mega-Organizing.
Which means, of course, this is not even started. I guess the yard sale sort of counts, but not really.

3. Bird Training
videos and toys still have not arrived. Reducing the lighting from 7 hours to 5 hours has helped with the attitude and biting ALOT! Thank you internet people.

4. SCRAPBOOKING!!!!!!!
is daunting. I finally did two pages yesterday, but my printer is out of ink and all the extra stuff i bought is expired and dried out. Frick! Also, 3 billion cute pictures of my baby brother, where to start?!?!?

5. I plan to read this summer. Books. Novels. Space-Operas. The kind you read for fun, with no homework-related guilt. Lots of books.
nope.

6. I'll leave for the Great State of Misery probably on the 26th of June, or maybe the 20th...or something. I haven't really nailed it down yet. I'll be scrapbooking with my mom on the 29th and 30th at least, though.

To Do List: Summer

This past week, I joined my classmates in ritualistic self-torture. We shoved the knowledge of 4 months into our poor brains, and then yesterday we sat down and turned our heads, so that the knowledge would oooozzzeee out of our ears and onto the Sacred Final. Some of it ended up on the floor.

And then I slept for 14 hours.

The results are partially in, and I have a B in Calculus 3. Physics is still pending, but I woke up this morning with my right hand representing magnetic field, current, and force, and then I realized that I mentally had the field going out of the page on the final. Fucks.

I have plans, and half a summer to get around to them.

1. Clean my house.
For real, people, this place is a general pigsty, and I have no clean socks.

2. Mega-Organizing.
Now that the cleaning is done, I'm all into giving shit away and discovering stuff I've been looking for (like socks) and re-discovering sentimental items (like underwear). That box of cables and that pile of cables and that device over there, they need to find each other. The closets aren't exactly overflowing, but its not like I can find anything in there.

3. Bird Training
Since I'm out of school for a few months, it is time to give a certain unrestrained parrot a few lessons. He's got "be adorable" and "bite me" down already. I think we'll start with "stop shitting on me" and move up to "do not chew on the laptop power cord." We'll see.

4. SCRAPBOOKING!!!!!!!
I am very excited. This will be a scrapbook for my mom, sort of a Mother's Day/Birthday gift that she has to help me with. I got this pretty paisley paper (btw I HATE paisley and this stuff is gorgeous, so there you go) and punch-out set. I still need to find a book, but I'll place the pictures and leave room for Mom to do the journaling. FUN!!

5. Speaking of books.
I plan to read this summer. Books. Novels. Space-Operas. The kind you read for fun, with no homework-related guilt. Lots of books.

6. HOoooommmmeee Home on The Range...
I'll leave for the Great State of Misery probably on the 26th of June, and return to Big Texass on the 6th or 7th of July. Becky wants to go bowling in KC for her birthday, and after that the whole trip is up in the air. Mostly there will be food, coffee, alcohol, and blowing shit up. Probably in that order.

There goes half the summer....bye-bye fun...

7. Back to School
I registered for Technical Writing in the second summer term, and then it is back to school full-time in the Fall. Four courses, two with labs....no time for sleep.

I have returned...bleh...

So after a long vacation which consisted mostly of bonding with all my different friends over our various version of the same Issue, I have returned to Texass.

It snowed most of the time I was home, 10 inches in one day and then more through the week. Damn Missouri weather for making me appreciate Texass. Damn Texass.

My guys missed me, they've been very cuddly. I got a manicure/pedicure, and the birdie got a new bag of food.

I almost didn't come home from Killeen until tomorrow, but decided I wanted to fall asleep in my own bed. So on the night when the ENTIRE WORLD is at a party, I have nothing to do but drink leftover Boone's Farm and watch TV.

Yeah.

I'm going to bed.

Long Bridges Are Bad

You would think I would know better than to eat dinner at the Chinese buffet. It made me feel all lousy about eating too much food that wasn't really good for me, and now I'm starving again.

Also, today, there was the longest damn bridge ever. I thought it would never end and I was sooo scared. I hate bridges, and I hate driving. I thought I was gonna go flying off the side into the scary water! Eeek!

This hotel is nicer than the last one. It's got the same shower curtain rod, that curves out all neat. Now I want one. And the coffeemaker isn't in the bathroom. I get more channels. I hope the one tomorrow has Sci-fi, so I can catch SG1 and BSG.

A Bit Nutty

OK, I have a... i dunno what its called. Aversion? Anyway I cannot stand food being anywhere near the bathroom, or food and bathroom stuff being close together (like in a grocery bag).

So if a hotel room doesn't have a kitchenette, they usually put the coffeemaker on the bathroom counter. Then I come in, clean it, and move it to the nightstand, because that's just nasty. Think Austin Powers *a bit nutty*. Well this hotel has attached the power cable to the counter, so I can't move it. So no coffee for me.

Oh, and Letterman nailed Bill O'Reily on his show last night. It's been on the news all afternoon. Just too damn good to miss.

So sad, so true

Never start a road trip in the dark, to a place you've never been.
I got lost bad, and I really hadn't left town yet. Let's not dwell on that little tidbit. I'm driving around, and I'm lost because I can't see any of the damn signs. OK, I don't drive much, and hardly ever in the dark. I forgot to turn on the high-beams. This point didn't dawn on me until the sky was brightening with sunrise. Let's not dwell there either.

Dawn: So my first thought was 'Ohh look, pretty sunrise!' I then realized I would be driving East in the morning for the next 3 days. My next full thought was "My sunglasses are in Michael's car." Well shit. I've never been more grateful of cloud cover.

Eh, okay, so you know I'm not much of a driver. My arms hurt. I spent most of the morning with a death grip on my steering wheel. Yes I know this isn't the best way to drive, but mortal fear does that.

Oh damn! I got my directions from randmcnally.com, and somehow it showed 5.8 (short little jaunt) miles for one part, and it was really about 50 (five-zero, fifty, half a hundred) So I thought I was crazy lost around Austin, but I just kept going. TX-71E was my guiding light. I was so frustrated. I could have ended up anywhere.

I had the Firefly soundtrack playing in the background, because I focus better with songs that have no words. I forgot about all the SUDDEN LOUD SOUNDS and I was trying to find a turn. Scared the piddle outta me. Oh, and when I'm lost, the mournful music doesn't really help my outlook.

But anyways, I made it through today and plan on some rest...IF I manage to not spend all night online....yeah right.

OH hey also, my friend Sarah P., who I haven't talked to in years emailed me today. HI SARAH!

AND I love my Michael Jones, and I misses him so muches.

Leaving for Florida

Original: January 3, 2006 - Tuesday

In 1814 We Took a Little Trip...
I mean in 2006... lalalalaaaaa (I sing so purdy)

If I didn't get a chance to send you a wave before I leave, I'll talk to ya later. Hope the hotels have internet. I like internet.

Ohhh ... I should print the directions. I woulda been so humped. Thanks for reminding me.