Saturday (Where Mark Saves the Day - SEVERAL Times)

So we had this Relief Society meeting after church planned for Sunday so we could do a little extra training for all the girls who have callings in the RS. On Sat I was supposed to go to Costco with one of the councilors so we could get some little sandwiches and stuff  (we have church from 2-5 so by the end we are all a little hungry). Anyway, I text the girl I was supposed to go with around 3:30 to see if we are still on. She calls me at 4:30 and is like "I kinda forgot and I am in NE Portland - but I can be at your house by 5:30." Well I really didn't think that with Costco closing at 6 on Saturdays we would have time so I told her I had another person who I thought would take me and not to worry. So I ask my friend Mark if he is busy and he says no and I ask if he would go with me and he says sure. (Mark saves the day #1).

By then it is about 5 so we decide to just meet at the Costco over on 158th in Beaverton. We get there and get the stuff and as we are over in the deli area he sees the Rotisserie chickens and suggests that we got one and call Jasmine and do dinner. I agree, we get a hold of Jasmine and decide to go ahead with things - Jasmine has gotten off work and will meet us at Mark's place. We then look around for potato salad and can't find any (I don't go to Costco often and he really doesn't either) so we call Jasmine and see if she can pick some up at a different store. She is a bit annoyed because she will have to backtrack a bit, but says okay. We pay and leave. I take forever to get out of the parking lot and so Mark is ahead of me by quite a bit. I am driving north on 158th and there is a guy who is headed south on 158th, turning left onto Walker road. I have a green light and he has a yellow flasher and I guess for some reason he doesn't see me or he thinks I am turning or something and decides he has enough time to go - but he does not. I see it coming and try to swerve and I hit the brakes and he cuts the corner more than he normally would, but neither thing really helps at all and I pretty much t-bone the crap out of him. He then continues on and side-swipes a van that is waiting at the light on Walker. My airbag deploys and there is smoke/crappy stuff everywhere. I am all discombobulated and in the middle of the intersection and I can't breathe so I turn on my flashers (I am so responsible) and get out of the car. A couple in a van pull over and ask if I need them to call 911 but it looks like the guy who was driving the other vehicle (a Honda Fit) is on the phone with the police already so I say I think we are okay and tell them thanks. I kinda get my bearings and start to think that 'oh my gosh - did I just run a red and hit that guy?' and I don't think that's what happened but I go over to the Fit and ask if they are okay. The guys says that one of the kids seems pretty hurt and I think he hit a pedestrian or something and I realize that no one can go anywhere because I am in the middle of the freaking road. I go back to my car (which was still running by the way - albeit leaking fluid all over the place). I get in, roll the window down (still can't breathe from the airbag) and then pull the thing off to the side of the road. It has a hard time turning but I am thinking it was because the fender is rubbing against the tire. Anyway, I get out and go back over to the guy on the phone and I hear him say that he had 2 15 year-old passengers with him and think "oh good, he didn't hit pedestrians". They seem okay - one has a bloody nose and the other is complaining about his hip but he didn't look broken or anything so I decide I should call Mark and let him know what happened so he isn't shocked when I  don't get to his place. I call him and say "I got in a bit of a wreck". At this point I am on the verge of tears but kinda holding it in. He says "do you need me to come back?" I (being kinda dumb and not wanting to freak him out) say "you can if you want, but you don't have to" (how I thought I would go anywhere is beyond me!) He says "yeah, I think I will come back" so I tell him where it was and we hang up. (Mark saves the day #2)

I then call Jasmine so I can tell her the sitch so she isn't sitting waiting for us. I say "I hit someone" and she says "A person?" and I go "no, a car." I guess that is a bit of a confusing statement. Anyway, I told her I called Mark and he is coming back and she says "he needs to come get me first because my car won't start." And I am like "What? Where are you?" and she says Safeway, but then Mark is calling her so we hang up and she can talk to him. (Mark saves the day #3)

Next the couple who pulled over in the first place are back and I am a bit confused. They come up to me and say that they saw the whole thing and wanted to come back and make sure that I had their name and number and all that. They said I definitely had the green and it wasn't my fault. I say thanks so much and do they mind waiting while I go get a pen and paper to write their info down. They say sure and come to my car with me. I am rummaging around in my purse and I start kinda sobbing for about 10 seconds (I kinda cried when I was on the phone with Mark and again with Jas, but not really) and the old man puts his hand kinda awkward on my shoulder and says "there there, that's why they are called accidents. It's okay" I apologize for blubbering and then I stop doing so and finish finding the pen and paper. He writes down their info and I repeat it back to them so that I can make sure I can read it. As I am talking to them the fire truck shows up and they check out the kids and start cleaning the street. Also the police show up and an officer comes over towards us. I am rummaging again for my insurance card and license and the couple approach him and say that they saw it all and tell him what happened. He asks them to write their info down officially on this paper thing and they say sure and he ushers them over to his car and tells me he will be back for my license, insurance, registration in a few.

Anyway, I grabbed the things I need and I head back towards the firetruck. They give me a paper to fill out all my info (but they give me nothing hard to write on) and I kneel on the ground and start writing it all down. The police take my cards and stuff and put all the info in their computer or whatever. I mention that my hand hurts like the dickens to the fire guys and he looks at it and tells me it doesn't look too bad but I should go get it checked out somewhere anyway. The police gives me my cards back and I hear them asking the other guy if he needs a tow. I quickly say I need one because my fluid is leaking all over the place and I can't really turn and the police kinda looks confused because he hadn't really looked at my car and didn't think it was bad. He goes and checks it out and decides I am right and calls for the tow. I finish my paperwork and give it to them and they go and start to put it in their computer or whatever. The mother of one of the 15 year old boys shows up and I ask if he is okay. At first she didn't realize who I was but just says "yeah, he's fine, just a bit shaken. It is just so scary you know?" and then I am like "yeah, I know, I am the person who hit them" and she just says "oh! are you okay?" and I assure her I am. She was so sweet. I sobbed a few times then as well just looking at the stupid Fit sitting right in front of us all crinkly and crunchy. The firemen and police officers are impressed with how well it held up. I see Jasmine and Mark kitty-corner to where I am standing and wave across to them - they are waiting for the walk signal so they can come over. From their side they can just see the Honda Fit (which looks fine on that side) and the van that was side-swiped and my car (which also looks fine from there) and a suburban and they don't really realize how bad it is (by this point I think the firetruck was gone).

Anyway, they get over to our side and see the Fit and are like "oh ... it is worse than we thought" and I kinda re-hash things for them. I try to take a pic of the Fit with my phone but it is a pos so doesn't work so well. Mark lends his phone because it has a flash. I take a few good ones and then I think about taking pics of my car and the tow guy shows up and says it will be safer to take the pics of my car once we get to the lot since then we won't be in the road. We get it all hooked up and get over there and I took pics of my car too (which doesn't look terrible, but so much fluid came out - good thing I parked it right over a drain on the side of the road). Then we went to eat since we were all starving. After the eating and then sitting around for while to kinda give me a chance to calm down (oh and I called my mom when we were on the way from the site to the place they took the car so don't worry, I didn't neglect her).

Then we had to go and figure out Jasmine's car at the Safeway. We got there and she tried it and it started right up, so we just assume it was low on gas. We get gas and it wasn't super low so Mark follows her home to make sure she gets there, and because Mark wants to check the oil pan since her car has been leaking lots of oil lately. We get there and he messes around with things a bit. Car starts fine in the garage and he thinks it might be a battery problem (which has happened in that car before) and wants to clean the posts but swe are all tired and she says she will do it in the am. So Jasmine decides to back it up and put fresh cardboard under it so we can better see whats dripping, and Mark is going to take me home, so we start to back up and she goes to start it again and it doesn't start. So then Mark is really convinced it is the battery and she still says she will find the cleany thing in the morning. The car still didn't start the next day and Mark ended up picking her up and taking her to work in the morning. (Mark saves the day #4 - except it is a new day I guess so he saves the next day #1? I don't know)

That is the story of my crazy Saturday. I am going to post pics here from the accident site. I am only putting up a couple but I have more. I took the ones of my car while it was still up on the tow truck so that's what the straps and stuff are.

 

The real kicker is that it hasn't even been a whole year since I got rear-ended. That time wasn't my fault either. But that time it took them a long freaking time to fix my car!Of course I now know that they have to total the darn thing out and I really will have nothing to show for it. I will let you know more details once I get things a bit more straightened out, but for now I am going to bed.

Updates on Project Statii

Statii is the plural of status, right? Oh well, moving on.

I have been super busy trying to work on crafting. I am trying to knit this thing for my brother's girlfriend for Christmas and so I keep making sure I work on that - it is slow coming. I started it and almost made the whole thing last year but I didn't have a pattern and I was just kinda smashing a bunch of patterns together and I didn't check gauge (I never ever do) and it was HUGE. So recently I found a pattern that is almost perfect (it needs a bit of tweaking, but it is way closer than the other one I had) so I started it and it is going really well so far. I did the whole back panel before I finally broke down and actually ripped the first version out. It hurts me to rip out knitting that I worked so long and hard on, but since I have what looks like a suitable replacement it made it easier. Also, I needed the yarn. Lol. I hope it turns out okay. Especially since it is a vest and so it needs to fit her, and it is hard to fit something to someone you haven't seen in a year and a half (and now I hope she doesn't read my blog or she will know what she is getting for Christmas ... oh well I guess) Luckily this pattern is ribbed so it will still fit decent on a variety of body sizes. At least that is the hope.

Another crafty thing I am working on is a jacket. You see, a few years ago I was 'Penelope' for Halloween (if you haven't seen this movie, you should, it is WAY cute). I was planning to make this jacket she wears so I bought fabric and a pattern, but then it got too close and I knew I wouldn't have time, so I didn't do it. I just recently found the fabric again (I forgot I had it!) but I had lost the pattern. Then two days ago, I found the pattern. Huzzah! I think I am going to make it. I was originally going to add red cording to it to make it similar to the original, but now I think I will leave that off. I might do some red buttons or something, but that is the extent of it. I am excited. I am not so good at using patterns, but my roommate is so she will be able to explain the stuff I don't get to me. It might turn out crappy though, so you will only get to see a pic if it turns out okay. :)

Other than that I am slowly working on NaNo. This is hard because when my roommate is doing her crafty things and watching a movie I can't write unless I go in the other room. So usually I will end up working on the other things I am doing because then I won't have to concentrate or ask her to turn it off and be bored and I don't have to be anti-social. Luckily I usually have a chunk of time between when I get off work and when she does, so I try to do it during that time. I haven't much, but I can catch up! Lol.

Well, I should go get back to my working on stuff. I have tomorrow off so I hopefully will make progress on a few of them - of course, I have a lot of shows on Hulu that I need to catch up on, so I might get NO crafting done. We will see. :D

Halloween Pics

So, Halloween was so fun. Jasmine and I dressed up as Minnie Mouse and Daisy Duck. It was great. This was my inspiration:

And this is what I ended up looking like:

And here we are together as Minnie Mouse and Daisy Duck:

We won cutest costume. Yay! It was such a blast.

I only have one more project to show you, and I am nowhere near having that done. And now it is November, which is NaNoWriMo which I might participate in (if I can think of a good idea soon enough). If that happens I will be doing even less knitting than I am currently (and that isn't much) so, like I said before, don't hold your breath for that. But, if you are lucky (and I do participate in NaNo) I will post excerpt(s). So yay ... maybe. Lol.

Project Update

So, I finished making my dress. I will show you some pictures. This first one is just the dress on the hangar in my closet. (sorry for the terrible quality, as I mentioned before my camera is now officially dead so I had to take these on my phone :-/)

 This one is a pic of me IN the dress. It was right after church so my hair is all did nice and I have my shoes on. I kinda wish my roommate had been home to take it for me. Oh well.

 And this is just me playing around taking a picture of myself. It isn't too often I make myself all pretty so I figured I should capture a picture as proof that at one time I looked somewhat decent. lol.

Well, that's all for now. I am pretty much done my Halloween costume but I am not going to post pics until after I wear it for the party - so you will have to wait until almost November for that. And the knitting - well that is going to take a LOOOOOONNNGGG time. Don't hold your breath.

Wow

So, I have gone almost a month without posting AGAIN! I suck. Actually, what I really need is a schtick. Something that I post about other than just my boring life - because when all I do is post about my boring life I go a long time between posts!! So I think for the next little while I am going to post about my projects that I work on. This has 2 purposes - one is so that I will post more often (hopefully) and the other is so I will actually work on my projects since I will know I need to post about them. I will start today off outlining what I am currently working on. (Pics will be hard to post of current projects because my camera is officially dead - but I can take crappy pics with my cell phone and upload those. Sorry.)

1) Halloween. I am making my costume. Last year our costumes were awesome and we won a costume contest (voted for by everyone who was at the party - closest I will ever come to winning a popularity contest!) 

So this year has to be good - we have to live up to quite a high standard now! But I think we have something good planned. I am done most of it, I just need my facial accessories and shoes.

2) Making a dress. My roommate has a sewing machine and I haven't found any clothes that I have liked in the stores lately so I am making a dress. It is looking a bit 50's-esque so far, but I like it. Also, I have no pattern and I am making up what I am doing as I go along, so we will see how it comes. But it is fun and it keeps me busy.

3) Knitting. I have many a knit projects going on currently - I am really good at starting something and being gung-ho about it for about 2 weeks and then my excitement fizzles out and I just kinda stop. But I plan on working on all those fizzled projects because, for one, I already have the materials purchased so it is cheap-as-free to do, and two is that I need to get them done!! I don't want them cluttering up my space anymore. I want to have room to put stuff for new projects! Also, knitting projects can make for good Christmas presents. Right now I am working on this thing for my bro's girlfriend. We were watching 'Be Cool' together many years ago and she mentioned she liked something that Uma Thurman's character was wearing and said I should make it for her. (You can't see it well in this pic, but it is this vest.)

 I bought yarn and tried to make a pattern (by mushing together a couple different patterns) and that didn't work. Recently I found a pattern that is almost perfect (I just need to add a hood and pockets which is way easy peasy!) so I am ripping out all the other stuff I have done and I am going to do that. I have a blanket I am making for another friend and I have a scarf I have been working on as well, not to mention a few other projects so I will keep you all updated on how these things come. Yay for projects!

One Month

That is how long it has been since my last update (almost) and I kinda feel bad about it, but I kinda don't because I feel like not a ton has happened and so if I had updated more then you guys would have just been bored. Or something like that. Although looking back at my last post I have to admit that at least one major thing has happened so ... I guess that excuse sucks.

That big thing is that I moved. My roommate (and landlord) got engaged so I had to find new accommodations. I found a place with a girl in the Ward that is a little more expensive than where I was living before, but not a lot, and it is with a super fun girl. It is actually the same complex that I lived in when I first moved to Oregon (not as an intern, but when I got my actual job) so that is nice because I know where everything is and stuff like that. Of course the management is different so things are a bit different, but in general things are pretty much the same. I am in a 2 bed/2 bath this time which is good. It is a super cute apt and the girl is super fun. We are a lot alike in a lot of ways so I feel very comfortable with her and I did almost immediately which is good. I have had that with a lot of the important people in my life and since it happened again I feel like she is going to be an important person in my life as well, which I am totally okay with :D

I have also started a 'Biggest Loser' and I am chronicling those adventures over at this blog. I am not going to say much about it here since I will try to keep that over there, but I do want to say that I feel pretty motivated and I really want to do this and keep going with things after the end of the competition. Let's hope that feeling continues!

Other than that I spend a lot of time working and hanging out with my awesome friends. Life is pretty good right now, I think I am working out problems and trying to find ways to be happy even if I don't get what I want.

Pics of San Fran!

Since Christy (Wheeler) asked so nicely here are some pics from our SF trip. If you want to see more go here.

This was the sign that was there when we got there. So cute of them to welcome us like that!

Us on the ferry from Oakland over to the city. Such a nice relaxing trip and beautiful weather.

Mmmm ... I don't usually like clam chowder but this was delicious! And in a yummy sourdough bread bowl to boot. Heaven!













Us with the cars at Pixar! So cool to take a tour there!










Us in front of the Golden Gate bridge. It was a bit foggy but it made for really cool pics.

San Fran!

So last week Jasmine and I went on vacation to San Francisco to visit some friends and enjoy some time off. This is going to be the quick version of the things we did on our trip to San Fran.

Tues - Leave at about 7am. On the way we took a small detour on the way to SF so we could stop in Yuba for Costa Vida :D It was so amazing! Then we got to SF around 730pm or so and basically said 'hi guys' and then chatted for a bit and then crashed - driving all day makes for a long day.

Wed - In the morning we went in to the actual city of SF on the ferry and hit up Piers 39 and 41, the Ghirardelli square, ate some clam chowder in a real sourdough bread bowl (mmm). Then we took the ferry back and went home and we were exhausted.

Thurs - We had a tour and lunch at Pixar because the man of the family we were staying with works there. That was pretty cool. Then we went to the Oakland temple which is beautiful. Then on the Jelly Belly Factory where we got free samples and I bought (too many) 'Belly Flops'. I am basically going to be eating jelly belly's forever. Good thing they have many flavours!

Friday -We went into SF again but this time we drove across the Bay Bridge, which is awesome. Then we went back to Pier 39 where we went to this store called 'Del Sol' that sells stuff that changes color in the sunlight. We would have gone on Wed but we didn't realize where it was. So we did that and then had some fish and chips on the pier (more mmm). We drove around for a while after that and went up, and then down Lombard street, and we went to the Full House park (which is actually called Alamo Square Park fyi), and then we went to see the Golden Gate Bridge - and then we crossed it. Then we went to dinner that night with our friends. That night we also made our own mozzarella string cheese. It was so cool!

Sat - In the morning we went to the California Academy of Sciences which also pretty neat. They had all sorts of cool exhibits about different countries and they had a really neat rainforest dome which was fun. Then we met the fam we stayed with at Muir beach for lunch and we messed around there for a while. It was their baby's first time on the beach which was so fun. Then we tried to go to Muir woods but it was so crowded we just ended up taking a long drive around the area and then we left. That night we got a log and had a fire in their fireplace - not because it was cold, but because it was fun.

Sun - We left :( but we stopped at Costa Vida again which was yummy.

That was it. Now we are back and I am basically just spending my time trying to find a place to move, getting ready to move (my roommate got engaged!! Yay!) planning a bridal shower and also just trying to enjoy the rest of the summer. It has been busy. :D

Vending Machine

So, I am sitting at work, surfing the net (not that that is all I do at work, but it happened to be what I was doing at the beginning of this story) at about 1045am when suddenly, out of nowhere I see the word Skittles. In that second I thought "I want those right now!!!" And then I remembered that the vending machine down the hall has skittles. Yay!

So I dig out a dollar bill that I think the machine will accept and I trek down the the machine. I put the bill in and then the machine says '1.00, please make your selection'. Yes! I push 8D or whatever it is for the skittles and it says 'make another selection'.

What?

I try again. 'Make another selection'. I decide that if I can't have skittles then the next best choice is clearly M&M's (they are like chocolate skittles) and again it says 'make another selection'.

Why do you hate me vending machine? Why? All I want is skittles and/or chocolate. I don't care if you think it is too early in the day for these things, I WANT THEM!

Now I am sad. :(

The End of the Trip

So, after the last post I really didn't do any more fun things in Pittsburgh. The last 2 days was just filled with me making sure we got everything done before I left. Then Thursday morning I went to the airport and that was a bit of an adventure. They loaded us all on the plane and then taxied us out to the runway (which took forever - longest taxi ever!) and then we sat there. Doing nothing. Then they announced that there was something wrong with the plane that was probably fixable but we had to head back to the gate. We get back to the gate and they announce that there is something wrong with a charger for an emergency back-up battery or something like that (it didn't sound like anything huge, but regulations are regulations). They said that they hoped it would be something they could fix by switching some fuses around. No dice. After trying something for about 20 mins they said it wasn't working so we all had to get off the plane. A bit later they said they were getting the part from United and once they got that it would be a 10 min fix. 30 mins later they said that it was taking longer than they expected, but we were going to do a 'plane swap' which basically meant that we were going to take a plane that was just coming in that was headed to Orlando next, and they would have to wait for our plane. That way we didn't miss anyone's connections and neither did the next group - we would just all be inconvenienced. Lol. Anyway, 2 hours late we finally took off to go to Vegas. I was just glad that my layover was supposed to have been 3 hours in the Vegas airport so then I didn't miss my flight. I got on the flight to Utah when I was supposed to and that flight went smoothly. My Mom made it without any problems (which was practically a miracle as well) and was waiting to pick me up when I got to Utah. The first thing we did when we got there was go to Cafe Rio. Lol. It was soooooo good. :D

Then we went to my grandparents' house and visited my aunt and uncle for a while and then went to bed. It was still on Pitt time so the next morning I got up at 7:30 thinking I had slept in until 9:30. Haha - that will never happen again. We spent the day going around and visiting different family members and friends and basically relaxing. Also, a friend of mine had recently published a book and was having a book signing that night, so in support of them we went and got a book and got it signed (so far it is not the greatest thing I have ever read, but it isn't the worst either - gives me hope to publish lol). The next day we visited some more and then I went to the airport. I had a great time in Utah, that is for sure. I wish I had been able to see a few more of my family members but I guess that will have to wait until next time.

Overall I really enjoyed my two weeks away. I saw some new things, saw some familiar things (I was going to say I saw some old things but then I thought you would think I was calling my Mom old, lol) met some new people, caught up with people I know and love. I am glad I am home. My room is finally unpacked and everything is back how it should be. The problem is I liked it too much and now I want more. More. MORE! But this time I want it to be a REAL vacation. Not a work-cation. I just feel unsettled, but settled as well. Does that even make any sense at all? Probably not (even I am confused!) Sorry for the confusion, but I am glad to be back. :D

Pittsburgh!

So, I have been meaning to write an update for days now and I have just been enjoying myself soooo much taht I haven't done it yet. Lol. It is a bit weird to me that I can be enjoying working so much that I haven't posted. Of course, the enjoyment hasn't been had at work, it has been all the time not at work. I think I will start from the beginning. Monday was 'travel day' for me. My flight left for Las Vegas at noon, so I left for the airport at about 10am. I had to wait a couple of hours in Vegas before flying to Pitt so I called and chatted with my mom and I even had time to chat with my older brother for a bit, which is amazing since I almost never talk to him on the phone. Anyway, so as I was waiting in line for my turn to board the plane to Pitt from Vegas I noticed that the lady behind me in line looked familiar. I asked her if she just came from Portland and she said yes. I started chatting with her and she said she was from Pittsburgh. I mentioned that I had never been to Pitt before and asked if she had any suggestions about things that I should do while I was there. She said that there is a place that you can rent a kayak and go up and down the river. That was all she could think of at the time, and then we had to get on plane so I didn't see her again. I ended up not sitting by her and instead sat next to this cute couple from Pitt who were in Vegas for a niece's wedding. They were cute and told me that while I was in Pitt I had to make sure that I had a sandwich at the Primanti Bros and that I had to have a salad with french fries on it which is apparently something they do in Pitt. Anyway, I get off the plane and go to the baggage check and there is the woman that I met in line. She says "I am so glad to see you! We discussed it on the plane and we made a map for you of things to do while you are in town," and then she hands me a little map that she and her seat mates had drawn of Pittsburgh with numbers all over it, and a little key at the bottom with the names of things I should go. It was super sweet of them I thought.

Anyway, Judy was nice enough to let me sleep in on Tues since I was on west coast time. Still I was super tired when we got back home that evening because I had stayed up later than I meant to so Tues night I fell asleep about 6pm and slept until the next morning. It was glorious. :) So then on Wednesday I went for a little walk around the area that Judy lives over to squirrel hill area and that was super fun. It is a cute little area where they have all sorts of shops and a movie theatre and cool things like that. On Thursday I just stayed in and read a book and chillaxed around the house. Friday we went to Primanti Bros and then we went over the Incline (we went to the Duquesne Incline if anyone knows that there are more than one Incline) and that was super cool. You should look at the pics from it on my facebook if you get a chance - there was a great view of the city! Then we went and got frozen yogurt and that was yummy.

Saturday was busy. I slept in (yay!). Then I got to babysit some kittens outside for a while which was fun. They are super cute. Then I went down to the Phipps Conservatory and walked around there for a while which was really pretty. I took tons of pics there but I have been haven't uploaded them yet (don't worry I will!) and then I walked back from that and only got a little bit of a sunburn ;) (It has faded to a tan already!) Then a bunch of people from the lab came over to the house for dinner and that was fun. It was interesting to meet everyone's significant others. After everyone left from there we went to a concert that was being performed by a friend of Judy's ... or something. This country singer named Dallas Marks sang, and then he rappelled down from the top of a fire hall, which was daring but turned out okay (although his wife was pissed!) Today instead of going to church (I know, I am a bad girl lol) I slept in again, and then we went to the Cathedral of Learning and the Carnegie Natural History museum. After that we went to a taiwanese place for dinner which was awesome and then we went to see 'Inception' which I thought was pretty good (kinda Matrix-esque and mind blowing!).

Monday was good for work things. We ended up having a very successful day at work which was great, since I felt like we had sort of been treading water on the reason I came here until then. So that was good. Today we also had a good day at work and tomorrow will be good too (knock on wood!). And then that is it! That is my last day! My flight out is on Thurs morning at like 10ish (must remember to check in for flight 24 hours in advance!) and then I will be getting to Utah around 6pm on Thursday night (with a long and probably boring bout in Vegas in the middle - ugh). I am super excited to get to Utah because then I can see my family and enjoy a few non-work, non-boss days. Even the days off that I have had here have seemed a bit like work since the boss was still around. I am grateful that I get to stay in her house and that she has cooked for me and made sure I wasn't bored to tears while I was here, but I will be glad to not be with her all the time.

I am only going to be in Utah for almost exactly 48hours (give or take 10 minutes!) and I plan to make the most of it. I will be glad to see my mother who I haven't seen since she came to visit me at Easter and I will be glad to see my grandparents and other family members who I haven't seen in even longer than that. And then do you know what? I will be glad to go home! I miss my bed and my friends and my car and my office at work and my roommates and even my weather! Okay, that last bit might be pushing it, but you get the picture. I mean, if I was not working at all and this was a vacation it would be different, but since I am still doing work while I am here it is a bit stressful and it will be nice to get back to my un-stressful (heh - not exactly I guess) regular job. I don't mind training people but I will be glad when it is over. :D

So, that has been what I have been up to for the last little while. Hope you have enjoyed reading about it as much as I have enjoyed doing it!

Oops?

Heh, so much for being better at posting. Oh well. You guys have all lived so I think no harm done. A lot has been going on lately and I just haven't really wanted to sit and type it all out because that means that I have organize my thoughts into some kind of coherent manner and that is tough to do.

First off one of my best friend's was diagnosed with what is called psuedo-tumor cerebri which basically means that she has many of the symptoms of a tumor but without an actual physical tumor. She had extra cerebral spinal fluid build up which was giving her headaches and all other sorts of nasty symptoms. Anyway, this diagnosis was then followed by getting a shunt placed in her brain so that the extra fluid would drain off and she wouldn't have the pressure anymore. The surgery went well, but then the next day her heart stopped and so she required another surgery to get a pacemaker put in. So there was about a week in there that I spent mostly at the hospital or at her house helping her out and just basically being there for her. Through it all I realized a couple of things.

One is that I have great friends. She was such a trooper the whole time. I know it is hard to maintain a positive outlook on things when you are facing so much, but she has been so good. I am continually amazed at what people can go through emotionally and physically and still manage to come out okay.

I also realized that I am like my Grandma in ways that I never really realized. My Grandma is a worrier. She has stayed up nights worrying about every single one of her children and grandchildren because she wants so much to help them out. Now, I don't stay up nights, but I worry. I am pretty good about keeping things internal and not letting it effect me too much, but I still worry about things. Sometimes even ridiculous things that I shouldn't worry about. Also, my Grandma is a fixer. I know that if she could just fix all her loved ones' problems she would. Of course this isn't possible, so that leads to the worrying. I also just want to fix things for people. If I could have been the one to have the surgeries for my friend I would. It really sucks when you just want to help someone and there is absolutely nothing you can do.

Other things that have been going on include that I had to get my status renewed so that I could continue to work in the US. I am on TN status and this requires that I go through a border crossing and apply for status every year. It has always been a pain because almost every time I have been missing some kind of paperwork (despite double and triple checking on my part) or something else has gone wrong. This time, thankfully, nothing went wrong. But it made me sick with worry the whole 2 or 3 weeks leading up to it. Add that to worry about my friend who's surgeries were the week before the planned trip and I was a little bit of a wreck.

Thankfully - status is approved for a year, so the worry about that is gone. Thankfully - surgeries are over and my friend is on the mend, so that worry is alleviating. Of course, new things to worry about always pop up. Now I have to take the previously mentioned trip to Pittsburgh for my job for 2 weeks and that is nerve-wracking for about a million different reasons that I don't want to go into because it will just make me freak out more. It will be good. And at the end of it I am going to Utah to visit my family for 2 days, which will be a good end to that adventure. I have been wanting to go to Utah for a while now and so even though it will be a short trip it will be very fulfilling I think. I hope!

Anyway, I will make sure I take pics in Pitt and keep everyone updated on how things go there. I leave on Monday and I am totally not ready to do so (ack!) but I still have 2 days ... that's enough time right? I better go do laundry.

Catching Crap

So, I have gotten a little flack lately from some of you (and from myself) about not posting anything in a long while. It has almost been 2 months! Where has the time gone? I am not really sure - I guess I have been working a lot and trying to keep busy when I am not working. And I am boring so I feel like I have nothing too exciting to post. Well ... that is not totally true. I have one thing.

So, let me start by saying that I have to go to Pittsburgh to help my boss train the crew there to do my job. To do this I have had to take about a million online trainings and I have to fill out a health questionnaire, get a TB test and a measles titer. Most of those things are easy to do ... but the stupid measles titer was a thorn in my side. I couldn't just get it from employee health, I had to go to my actual doctor to get a lab slip etc etc. The problem with that is I don't really like my old doctor (the one I went to about twice a couple years ago) so I had to find a new doctor just to get it done. So I went for a first time appointment last week so she could set me up with the lab slip. She was awesome. She asked if there was anything else that I wanted to talk about while I was there. I mentioned my lack of periods and she asked a few other questions and took some blood and determined that I have PCOS. This is what I study at work so I am not too shocked (I knew I had most of the symptoms). She prescribed me a few things (metformin to deal with the insulin insensitivity thing and an anti-androgen) that she thinks would help. This means I am on meds from now until eternity. Woo (note the sarcasm). The doctor assured me that many women who have PCOS can and do end up having children, but I know that there are people who can't. A lot. I know at least one friend whose blog I follow has infertility due to PCOS. A few girls I work with have the same issue. Not that I want kids right now since I am unmarried and not even dating, but, now that will always be in the back of my mind. Obviously it was there anyway - I knew I wasn't ovulating and if you don't ovulate then you can't conceive, but for some reason having an official diagnosis makes it more real. Bleargh.

On a lighter note - I got the stupid measles titer and found out that I am not immune to the measles! Or mumps or rubella. I did a little bit of searching online and found out that 95% of people who get the MMR shot one time end up being immune to all three things and 99% of people who get the MMR twice end up being immune. Guess how many times I got the stupid immunization when I was younger? That's right folks, twice. I am in that small 1% of people who don't become immune even after 2 freaking shots! I got the MMR again. Hopefully this time it takes!

I will try to be better about posting. Thanks for the kick in the butt!

Fame!

Posting twice in one day? What? It is just because I wanted to post this little tidbit from the Calgary news. Go Carmangay (my hometown). Click here.

Plan B?

So, I got the official rejection notice from KU yesterday. Oh well. On to plan b I guess. I just wish I actually had a plan b ... Any suggestions?

Okay, Finally

So, I got an email today telling me I didn't get in to FSU. I kinda figured as much, but I am glad to finally know. I am still waiting to hear from KU, but I kinda think I won't get in there either. Maybe a miracle will happen? Whatever.

Round 1, Down; Round 2, Here I Come!

I just got this email from KU saying I made it through round 1 of cuts! Yay! Of course, they do a second round of cuts, then they do interviews and then they do even more cuts, so I am nowhere near actual admission, but I am one step closer. I still haven't heard anything from FSU, but I decided to give them a week after their 'we make decisions on March 1st' deadline before I email them demanding a no (or yes, but chances are if they haven't emailed me by then it will be a no - lol). So they will be hearing from me on Monday. But ... I haven't been totally forgotten about. Yay!

Still Waiting ...

So they said that they were deciding on March 1st and I should hear shortly thereafter ... is March 3rd too early to email and badger them about it? Seriously, I am pretty sure it will be a 'no', I just want it to be an official 'no', you know? Gah! I think I have said this before, but, I HATE WAITING!!!!

Goals

So, I suck at posting things in a timely manner - not that anything exciting has happened since my last post - but I still suck. I have been trying to keep up with my goal to be more social and I think I have been doing pretty good. Let me tell you about it.

Monday - I already wrote about this, but I went to FHE. That was good. Go me.
Tuesday - Also already written about, but I took the day off because I was sick and I cleaned my kitchen. Yay for a clean kitchen. Go me again.
Wednesday - I went to work. Not that that is very surprising, but I went. I still felt sick so I wasn't the most productive, but I was there. Then that night I went visiting teaching. The girl we vt is a bit self-conscious about her house being messy so we picked her up and took her to DQ for some food and ice cream. It was good.
Thursday - I kinda forget what happened. Maybe it was nothing too exciting. Maybe I hung out with Jasmine and Mark. Leave me alone, I am sick. Jasmine and Mark and I went to Costco to get a Polish dog and some ice cream (love that stuff) and then we went to his place to watch his giant tv, but instead just sat around chatting for a while.
Friday - Went to IKEA with Jasmine and Mark. Then we went to Red Robin and ate some noms. Love their onion ring sauce (which, in my opinion, should just be called Fry Sauce, since that is what it is ... but we are in Oregon, so alas ...)
Saturday - Worked (boo). That night my co-worker Whitney had a belly-dance show in Portland at this wine car called Vino Vixens. I went with this girl at our work who is a vet. Afterwards we went to Pix Patisserie and spent way too much money on really delicious fattening noms. So worth it. :D
Sunday - After church I went to my friend Sandy's house for dinner with a bunch of other people. Also, celebrated that Canada won the men's gold medal in hockey. And celebrated that Canada won 14 gold medals in this Olympic games! So proud to be a Canadian. After that went to Jasmine's house to watch "The Time Traveller's Wife" which she rented a few days ago and had to return today. It was cute. Not awesome, but cute.
Today - Worked. So far that is it, but it is only 5:30 so far and I do plan to go to FHE, so that is still fulfilling my goal.

Other than that, I am still impatiently waiting to hear back about Grad Schools. I really think they will be sending me big fat NO's but I would like to know so I can at least then move on and figure out what to do next. I hate waiting. Have I mentioned that? Lol. Anyway, I guess I should go. I am going to do a little bit of reading before I head to FHE. I will try to post more updates before next Monday - but no promises.

Ugh ... Sickness

So, I make this great new goal to be better at life, and then ... I get sick. Bleurgh. I NEVER get sick, so this is totally weird. Yesterday I had the day off and so I spent the day being girly and fun with Jasmine - we got mani/pedi's and went shopping and stuff. Then I got all ready for FHE and we went to that. I didn't feel awesome - my throat was kinda sore all day and my tummy was a bit swirly (does that make sense?) feeling, so I didn't participate in the v-ball/b-ball fun they were having. Also, I did my vt and that was good. I like my companion and I like the girls I teach so that is always good. We are doing one of the other girls tomorrow night and the other one on Sunday (I think - not totally sure about that one). Anyway, I also spent some time chatting with some people that I don't usually chat with. I didn't meet anyone I didn't know, but in looking around the room I think there were only like 2 people there who I didn't know anyway, and then they were gone by the time I was done with the vt anyway. I will make a note to introduce myself next time.

Then today I took off as well. I had 2 days off this week and I wasn't really sure which days I was going to take, but then since I was feeling all sicky I decided today would be a good day for the second one. I almost took Thursday but then changed my mind. My roommate was supposed to get her bridals done on Saturday (I am going with her to be her assistant) but then the photographer called and said that something came up and can they please change the date? He said Thurs would work or some other Sat. She didn't want to do the next Saturday because her fiance is in town that weekend so she thought Thurs - and I was like sure I have another day off coming anyway, I will just make it Thurs. But then she was like, wait I don't want to take a day off to do this - esp on such short notice. So now she doesn't know which day she will be doing them, but it worked out for me because I could take today off and not have to worry about getting Thurs off as well.

I am really weird when I get sick-ish (not so sick I am throwing up or anything, but just not feeling so hot) in that I like to clean. It is very odd, I know. But today I decided to tackle our kitchen floor. It has been forever since it was last cleaned - and that is not all my roommate's fault, but I feel like I am the only one that does it so I was kinda hoping someone else would do it. Whatever, finally I got too sick of it to leave it. It looks better, but it is still pretty bad. Gah. I hate it when I clean something and it doesn't look that good - I feel like a custodial failure! Oh well I guess. At least it looks better than before. If no one says anything about it though I think I will be utterly disenchanted. Meh.

Okay ... that is it for updates. Not a lot about the goal, but overall I think I am doing better emotionally. I am still filled with an impending sense of doom about my job/grad school, but there is nothing I can do about that but wait. And be patient (as we learned about in FHE yesterday). I still hate waiting.

New Outlook

Okay, the thing is, I am sick of my attitude and mood as much as you guys are. And I just read the comments left to me after my last post, and I am turning over a new leaf. My friend Christina always somehow seems to know what to say that I need to hear, and her comment was what I needed to hear. First I just want to say that I didn't mean that I didn't think anyone else ever really felt like they will never get married, but sometimes people don't really mean it. And to those who have felt it and meant it ... I guess the older I get the more I think those feelings intensify. But, of course, like all things it gets stronger and weaker depending on the day and the mood I am in and all that jazz.

Secondly I want to talk about my new outlook. Christina is right, I can't expect some guy to just come sweep me off my feet. This is the 21st century. Not to mention I think men have just as many self-confidence issues as women. So I am going to make sure I get to know everyone in my sphere - of course, this mostly includes people in the Ward, but it also includes anyone in my realm of contact. It is something I feel like I should do anyway - I was talking to my visiting teachers the other day about how when I first went to a singles ward I was so scared and this girl came and sat by me and was super nice. I think that we don't realize sometimes how much it will mean to someone else just to say hi and sit by them. Also, I like getting to know new people. That was one of the reasons I usually didn't stay in the same ward more than one year in college. Since I can't just move 2 blocks and be in a different ward I guess I am going to have to get my fill of new people a different way. So I am going to try hard to make sure I know everyone.

And I am going to update my progress here. Every time I go somewhere fun or do something with a group of people (more people than just the same ones I see all the time) then I will post about it here and I will make sure I update everyone on my success at fulfilling my new outlook. Thanks for all your love and support everyone who reads this. I am glad you are in my life and that you don't let me stay in the dumps when you find me there!

My Boring Life

That is my life - not exciting. I ended up having to work on the 14th and 15th and that was super fun (note the sarcasm). And then I ended up working until that Tues and Wed too. Of course there was all kinds of work stress which just freaks me out even more about what is going to happen in the near future. I seriously have no idea what I am going to do if I don't get in to Grad School. I start to panic just thinking about it! Okay, not thinking about it, moving on. I did have a job interview on the hill the other day - but they aren't sure they are hiring and I am not sure I can even get status again, so ... I don't want to bank on that. Gah!

Moving on. Friday, I did a whole lot of nothing. I slept in late, watched a movie. Jasmine came over and we hung out watching some tv on DVD. Then I felt lazy like I had done nothing all day so I went for a walk. It was a good day. Of course then I couldn't get to sleep at a decent time because I slept in so much so getting up this morning for work sucked, but oh well I guess. Today I came to work, and then I went to a baby shower for this girl who used to be in the Ward and got married last May. She is super cute and it was cool to see her and a bunch of the other people who used to be in the Ward but have 'graduated' (so to speak) as well as a couple of girls who are about to 'graduate' from the Ward. It was tough to be surrounded by all the wedding and baby talk though. I feel like I am never going to get married. I know, I know - lots of girls feel like that. The two girls at the shower who are both engaged said that they felt that way before they got engaged. But I have a theory on that. You remember back when you were in school? You come out of a big final or something and everyone says - "I think I did terrible". Well, there are people who studied a lot and actually know they did okay, but they are just saying that. There are also people who didn't study all that much, but managed to wing it. There are also people who didn't study and really did do terrible. I think most girls who say "I think I am never going to get married" are in those first two categories. They know they will get married eventually, or somehow think they will wing it. I, on the other hand, think that I really won't get married. I am 26 years old and have never had a boyfriend. I haven't even had an almost boyfriend or anything like that. I got on maybe 1 date a year (I have actually gone on 2 dates in the last 3 years, so I am not even doing that good) and I have never had a second date with the same guy. Ever. So ... that makes me feel like I am the third category. And I think that even more because I know that I don't really make myself emotionally available to anyone. I don't like to get close to people because I don't want to get hurt. I guess I feel like I have been hurt a lot growing up by my brother and by men who I would foolishly fall for and then they would reject me, so I just don't let that happen. Even if I get a crush on someone these days it just seems to be short lived. It is enough to remind me I am a woman and still like guys, but it's like in the back of my mind I know that they wouldn't want me so I don't get too attached and at the first hint that he likes someone else I am like "okay, I am over it!" Wow. The thing is, I think part of me has come to accept this as the truth of how things are. I sometimes get sad about this, but lately it's like, I have accepted my terminal single-hood. For instance, when I write posts like this it is usually when I am in a sad mood and feeling depressed, but right now I don't feel that way. I just feel ... resigned. I am okay with that.

Part of me feels bad for people who are friends of mine anyway. I think that being close to me is a disadvantage. Let me explain. I mentioned that I am not very emotionally available - and that is in almost any respect. I will be happy for you, and have fun with you, and when it comes to anything tough I will be there for you. But a lot of times I don't want this in return. I don't NEED it usually. My emotions are usually on a pretty even keel. I told Jasmine the other day that I was feeling more depressed lately than I ever have and she said that I didn't seem that way at all - because I don't let it show. And that is okay, I don't really need it to show. And if you make me mad, I might not let that show either. I will let you walk on me. I hold A LOT in. And I like it that way. I like having other people's emotions be the ones that we will worry about. The reason that this is a detriment to my friends is because they come to think this is normal. And then they interact with people who aren't like this - and they get burned. It is like they are so shocked that any person might stand up for themselves that they get more hurt by other people's words than they would have if they were used to this happening. Sorry friends.

And sorry for the post that makes it sounds like I am unhappy - I am not. I think I am coming out of the being more depressed than I ever have before thing that I was telling Jasmine about because it is spring and beautiful outside. I have a job, I get paid, I have good friends, I have a great family - I am in a good spot (at least for this second!).

Responses

So, I got an email back from University of Florida (don't get too excited, keep reading) it said I was still under consideration and they are making final decisions on March 1, so I should hear more shortly thereafter. Poo. I hate waiting.

No News Is Good News ....?

So, I still haven't heard anything from Grad Schools - gah! It is so frustrating to just wait. I got the okay from 2 people today that I am not jumping the gun to email them and ask, so I did. Hopefully they respond with something positive. Keep your fingers crossed.

In other news, Florida as AWESOME! I love vacation. There were a few slight hiccups, but it was still a great time and I enjoyed myself immensely. We went to Animal Kingdom and Epcot twice and Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios thrice (there were a few of those days that Julie went elsewhere because she isn't a huge fan of Hollywood Studios). We also went to the Kennedy Space Center, which was really neat. The worst part about going on vacation for two weeks though is the getting back to real life. After being in Disney parks for that long work and real life are just so mundane. Bleargh. Anyway, I shared the pics that Jasmine posted on facebook (I would just post my own, but I would post all the same ones and that just seems redundant).

Oopsie Doodle

I am planning on applying to Grad School, which is why I took the GRE the last time I posted anything on here. So I got my statement all written and some documents scanned in that I was planning to send to FSU and I went to their online app page and I was blocked out. What the heck? So I did a little scouting and it turns out that even though the deadline for their Grad program is Jan 15, the deadline for the Neuro Grad program was actually Dec 15. That doesn't explain to me why I was able to access the site up until Jan 3rd or something like that, but anyway, I was pretty sad. So I emailed the office and asked if there was any way I could still submit my application. They wrote me back and said that re-opening the online portal is a huge pain so if I sent them my stuff via email she would evaluate if I would be 'competitive' as an applicant. Then, if she thinks so they will go through the process of re-opening the portal and letting me submit it officially. This is good and bad I think. Bad because they will probably judge me more harshly since I missed the deadline and no one else did. Also bad because I will be associated with that now. Good though because it means they will tell me if they think I have a chance before I ever have to pay the fee. Yes! Also, they will know who I am. Is it true that all press is good press, even when applying to Grad School? I got in an app to Kansas State as well. Those were the only two I went for in the end. I don't think I will get in (which might be a bad attitude, but I know how competitive it is - esp now - OHSU is interviewing like 23 people!). So I am still pondering a 'plan B'. Judy wants me to go to Pitt but I am pretty sure that I will not do that - but I don't know what I WILL do so I need to do more thinking and praying. I hate deciding what to do with my life! Oh well I guess.

In other news I went to the dentist today and I got three compliments on my teeth from actual trained professionals. It was odd. I have had that before - when I was younger my dental hygenist asked me on 2 or 3 separate occasions if I had ever had braces. Today they asked if I whitened (no) and the dentist himself told me I have really nice teeth. Which is a weird compliment. It made me feel good, but it is not like I did anything to make them that way. They grew in straight all on their own! I guess they are probably white because I don't smoke or drink coffee, but my brother had really white teeth after doing both those things too, so I think it is just genes. It is like when people (read:strangers) tell me I have really pretty eyes. I say 'thanks' but really, I didn't do anything so I feel weird taking credit for something I didn't do. I think it is good I am not beautiful because if people told me all the time it would be really weird for me. I mean, I can look good - but that is when I do something to take what I have and make it look its best. Does that even make sense? Whatever.

Anyway, I am done. I keep going on tangets (at least in my brain). I keep thinking about random things like Florida. In one week from today we will be landing in Florida! One week from tomorrow we will be going to some Disney park and having the time of our lives in balmy weather! (Don't worry, I checked - their cold snap will be over by the time we get there!) And I am thinking about boys. I was thinking about the guy that I went on a 'date' with before the holidays and that I wouldn't mind going again. Adrianna and I even devised a plan to let him know I wouldn't mind without it being awkward (which I think worked - thanks Adrianna!) So, because my thoughts are wandering, and because I need to pee, I am going to go. I will keep you updated on the whole Grad School/Plan B thing!

Day of Random Happenstance

Okay, so today was a little crazy. I was supposed to have this job interview this morning, but the people never talked to me about a time or a place, so I called last night and there was no response. I called again at like 8:30 this morning (which is a bit early for me to up on my day off!) and there was still no response. I finally got a call back from them around 10 o'clock saying today was going to be too busy for them and that they could do it Thurs afternoon or Fri. I told them that wasn't really possible. So we decided to reschedule for sometime in January.

With that out of the way I decided to get ready for my GRE. I was scheduled to take it at 1pm so I figured if I left around noon then I would be okay to get there in time. I got there took the test and did okay (I got 520 verbal, 660 quantitative - not as good as I was hoping, but still okay). I was super duper fun (that is sarcasm in case you didn't notice).

On the way home I was feeling pretty good about things, listening to Christmas music and happy that I had taken the test and got that out of the way. I came to a stop on I-5 just about to get on the I-405 because of traffic and I had been stopped for a minute or two when suddenly *BAM* I got rear ended. Look in my rear-view mirror and this old lady is behind me with her car all smashed in. I get out and see if she is okay - all the while shaking like crazy. She is fine - but we don't really know what to do because neither of has been in a wreck before. We give each other our insurance info and I am thinking about calling the police and then this guy pulls up to help and he has road flares. He was super nice and his name was Dave. Then about a minute later the police show up so Dave leaves. The police officer takes our stuff and starts filling out this paperwork. Then about two minutes later ODOT comes and the police officer leaves. We fill out some stuff. I get to leave because my car runs fine (hers won't start and they have to wait for a tow).














I get home and call everyone I know to tell them about it. Then randomly a guy that I kinda know but not very well that I used to have a HUGE crush on texts me "hey what's up?". So I am like, okay, whatever. We text chat a bit and then he says he is looking for a dinner partner and would I like to go. I am like heck yeah, I need something to make my day better. He finally realizes I wasn't kidding about the getting rear-ended thing (as if I would joke about that) and then comes on over to get me. We go to this Hot Cake House in Portland that is pretty tasty. Then we came home. It was fun.

Then Adrianna and I went to WinCo quickly so we could get a few things - I needed to get stuff to make more cookies (I had made some for FHE on Monday, and now I need more) for a work potluck tomorrow and she needed food because she was totally out.

All-in-all, it was a crazy day. I really need to go to sleep and then in the morning I need to call and report that accident to the insurance peeps. I have never done this before but I imagine it is going to be a HUGE pain in the arse. Wish me luck!

Boring-ness

So, my life are still pretty much the same as the last time I updated. I have no idea what to do with my life, I am not dating anyone, I live with some pretty good girls (even if they are a little quirky) and I work all the time. Tomorrow is this luncheon at work Christmas and that should be super duper fun. Mostly because it is free food and time I can spend at work not being too productive and not feeling guilty about it because no one else is going to be productive either! What I really need to do is work on grad school apps, but I am waiting to take the GRE which takes money to register for and I have none of that. Plus I need to figure out what to get people for Christmas that is personal and yet still cheap, because again, I am feeling very broke. I was going to make my brothers both sweaters but I won't have time to do that (I am going home in 17 days - there is def not time for that!) so maybe that will have to be next year's project or something. In the meantime I have no idea what to get them. Boys are hard to buy stuff for, especially when you live so far away from them you don't really know them as well as you would like. Maybe I should forget grad school and forget Oregon and move closer to home? That is a bad idea. I always get to thinking that when I am unsure of what to do with my life, but I think that spending Christmas vacation at home will remind me that I don't want to live there. Of course living there would be different than visiting there because I would hopefully get a job and make friends so I wouldn't be doing nothing all the time, and hopefully I would not live with my parents, which is what I do when I am home for the holidays. Not that I don't like my parents, but I am too old to be living with them for any prolonged period of time. Especially since they live in the middle of nowhere so living with them would help me to never make friends or get a job.

This whole post has been all stream-of-consciousness, and I apologize for that since the stream of my consciousness is not so fun to try to follow. That was just the quick update. Maybe if I did this more often (updated the blog that is) I wouldn't get so behind and then feel like I have nothing to talk about and just complain through the whole thing. Okay, I will try to update again sooner this time and hopefully it will be a blog post made of win!

MIA

I know I have been kinda MIA for a while, but I have a few excuses (I know, I know - that is all they are, excuses - I could have posted had I really wanted to). Anyway, I was in Utah this last week on vacation before the week from hell here at work. I was so shocked I actually got to take a week off and I didn't get any calls from work or anything. It was amazing! And I realized a few things. One is that I need something new. I spent time with some family (which was great and I didn't see enough of them) and I spent some time with some friends (ditto the above parenthetical comment) and I made some new friends. No one that I will be new best friends with, or anyone that I will date or anything like that, but just new friends. People I liked spending time with and felt comfortable around after only a few moments of meeting them - and that hasn't happened in a long time. I haven 't met anyone new in a long time that I just felt so comfortable with that it was like I could chill with them forever. And maybe that feeling would have gone away, but that isn't the point is it? The point is that I miss meeting people and feeling comfortable immediately. But the main reason that hasn't happened lately is because I don't meet new people all that often. So therein lies the problem. And the solution is for me to go out and meet new people. But that is scary (not to mention difficult) so we will see if it happens. I think as I think more and more about going to grad school or some other such place the more I will be able to actually get to know new people - esp if I ever interview anywhere! Wish me luck!

So

Well, it is Saturday and guess what I am busy doing? You got it, dear reading, working. What else do I ever do? Nothing it seems. But I have tomorrow off. And I have next Wed off as well. So that is something right?

Anyway, I don't really have much to say right now, other than I am a little bored at work. I know that I have stuff I should be doing, but I am feeling way too lazy to do any of that stuff. I have been feeling that way a lot lately about work - which is not good. I have this huge to-do list and so little motivation to do it. Gah.

Last week my uncle died. My dad's older brother. He was only 57 or so and they say that the official cause of death is a heart-attack but there was probably more to it than that since he was a heavy drinker his whole life, plus he had some sort of leg issue not too long ago. Anyway, regardless of the cause of death he is gone now. It is sad. My whole family went to the funeral - even Johnny went (and now I find myself wondering if he acted like he did at the wedding we went to in the summer - haha). I, of course, wasn't there because I was, of course, working. And it would have been very expensive to fly home for that and I have no dinero. Mom said it was a nice service. She said that Auntie Wendy spoke (that was Reb's wife) and she held herself together pretty good. She is an amazing woman. She just got through having a mastectomy because of breast cancer (I know it is odd I put that - why else would she have a mastectomy?) and now this happened. I don't know them all that well - we never visited them a lot when I was younger, and when we did I just wanted to go play and not hang out with the adults, but from what I do know she has great faith in God which I think helps her be so strong in the face of adversity. I hope I can be like that.

RIP Uncle Reb, you will be missed.

Seriously?

So, ever since ... who the crap knows when I have been doing most of my banking online. I would say that most people my age do this. I only actually go in a bank maybe twice a year and even then that might be pushing it. I only write about 1 cheque a month and that is for more personal things than bills - like tithing. Also, I have been trying to convince my mom this is the way to go. It cuts down on your cheque usage and time spent at the bank. Also, it is nice for her since she lives in the middle of nowhere so she won't have to travel anywhere to pay bills and whatnot. And she could do it at midnight if she wanted! But has she listened to me for the last 10 years? No. Why would she? I have no idea what I am talking about. Besides that crazy internet isn't safe to enter banking information into.

Well, she signed up for online banking the other day and she thinks it is the greatest thing ever - probably even better than sliced bread! All I have to say is, Mom, maybe next time I make a suggestion to you like this you will listen to me!

Hallelujah! It's Over!

One more summer over. To me this isn't a sad thing, but rather a joyous occasion as it also signifies the end of roundups. Thank the heavens. It means I can get back to a more workable schedule and life. No more 16 hour days (I hope). And more blog posts. (Lucky you!) The only sad part of this whole thing is that it isn't summer anymore - and I didn't really do anything fun the whole time! Oh also, I told myself that once roundups were over I would make a really good effort to exercise more. I have an idea of what I am going to be doing for this, it is just the finding of the motivation that will be the hard part, but I think I will try to follow my mom's lead on this one (she has been going swimming every day after work) and use that as motivation to do something. If she can do it, so can I, she is at least 2x my age! So I will be trying to do that. Keep an eye out for updates dear reader. About this and all other things in the life of yours truly. Until then, sleep well!

Okay Then Mom

Well, I just got a nice little comment from my mom about how a couple of days ago I said I was going to post tomorrow, but then I didn't. So now I am posting. I am waiting for the next big event at work and thought I would do a small update. About yesterday. So basically, I came to work as per usual, and I waiting for a phone call in my office around 10am and my boss comes in a says she is getting ready for tomorrow blah blah, and also, weirdness, but her right butt hurts. Kinda like a pulled muscle. So she took some ibuprophen and thought it would go away in a day or two. I then got the call I was waiting for so off I went to do what I needed to do and about an hour and a half later I get paged on the overhead pager. I NEVER usually get paged, so I though 'oh no, this can't be good'. I call the number and it is my boss saying she can now barely walk. She went to the bathroom and it took her 10 minutes just to get her pants back on! And once I am done with what I am doing can I take her to the ER? Sure. So, around noon we head up to OHSU main campus to the ER. By about 3 o'clock she comes out with a perscription for some pretty good stuff and asks me if I will drive her to her house and drop her off, then if I will go and pick up the scripts for her. I do. I get home around 4:30. Oh man, what a crazy day. Seriously. And now the whole next week is hanging in the balance since the drugs didn't really help all that much and she still can barely walk. Great.

Quickie

I really am going to post something real eventually, and not just junk, but I just wanted to put this on here because I found this video on youtube and I thought it was a pretty good version. I am usually not a fan of remakes of songs because they often get butchered, but I think Daughtry does great here.

I will not go into a big long diatribe about how much I suck at posting, yada yada, because any of you who might read this know that I have not updated in like 2 weeks and so you know I suck at updating. Anyway, yeah. I just feel like I have been neglecting everything lately - I haven't even updated my Facebook status that much! I know, gasp in shock, it is crazy! But now I think I feel cleansed of whatever was making me not post or update or anything and I should be back in full force on the internets for a while. Go me!

So, I didn't go back and read my last post, so I really have no idea what I talked about last, so I am just going to talk about what I feel like talking about and you can complain if I missed anything huge or important.

Most importantly, I am going on a vacation (of sorts) soon. I am flying home on Wednesday. I am way excited about that. I haven't been to see my fam in a while and I am excited for a few reasons - 1) I get to see my little nephew again, he is so cute! 2) I get to meet my little brother's girlfriend. He has been with her for a while now I think, but he was hesitant about the relationship at first because she has a kid already, so I haven't met her. Also, I haven't been near enough to meet her for the last however long. Oh well, that should be fun. 3) I get to see my Mom. I love that woman. She is amazing and I can't wait to give her a big hug!

So, we are going to be in Canada for a few days, then my mom and I are going to drive down to Utah (renewing my status along the way at the border, which is the main reason I was 'allowed' to go). Not sure when we are leaving exactly or what, but that should be good. I really won't get a chance to do much while I am there since I will only be there for about 10 minutes before I have to leave again since I need to be back in Portland on July 2nd for work stuff. Stupid Job! The more I think about it the more I get annoyed. So I will stop thinking about it. Anyway, I am way excited for that to start.

Another thing that is exciting is that my friend Emily is in town and it is super fun to hang out with her. She is a fun girl. She is totally quirky and weird, but in that awesome I wish I could be like that way. The thing I like most about her is that she isn't afraid to be herself and I kinda hope that hanging out with her will cause some of that stuff to rub off on me. Here's to hoping. :)

Well, that is about all that is exciting that is going on in my life. That and the interns are here so work is now super busy because I get to spend amazingly awesome amounts of time babysitting them. In their defense, they don't know what to do, and how will they learn if I don't show them, but still, it can be really frustrating when my list of things to do is a million miles long and then I can't do any of it because I have to take care of them. Oh well I guess. They are fun kids and it should be a good summer.

I have started reading this new series that my roommate is into right now, but I am not sure how I feel about it. It is the 'House of Night' series written by PJ and Kristen Cast (they are a mother/daughter duo). I think it was more the mother wrote it and the daughter did a lot of heavy editing to make it sound like it wasn't written by a 40 year old woman and then she added a bunch of pop-culture, which I think it a bad idea because it really dates it, but whatever. Anyway, my roommate really likes this series, but I am not to sure how I feel about it. I mean, I will probably read them all, but I can't say that I am enjoying them. I have many thoughts and ruminations about them, which I don't feel like going into right now, so I think I will just say that much now and I will write my thoughts out better when I have read more of this series (I only just finished the first book last night and there are like 6!)

Well, I should be off. I need to go do some actual work while I am here at work. Boo. I wish it was the weekend, but, oh wait, I have to work this weekend! Boo again! Good thing I have some time off coming up or I would be seriously annoyed.

It's Been A While

Since I posted on this blog.

Lol. Yes I was singing that song by Nickelback as I typed that. I am funny, I know. Whatever. But, it has been a long time since I posted - the last time being before my birthday - and I know all my faithful followers must be chomping at the bit to see how my life is going! So here I am to fill you in.

I will start with my birthday. I ended up helping Barlow move all the stuff out of his parents' house all day. I know, I know - you are sitting there thinking 'poor girl, had to move stuff all day on her birthday' but seriously, you shouldn't feel bad for me. I wanted to do it - he told me more than once that he wouldn't be offended if I left. But I got to see my friends all day, I got to do something useful, and I got to use my muscles (which I know there aren't a lot of, but it still felt good to use them). Afterwards we went to dinner with Barlow and Lexie and both my roomies and my other friend's Adam and Mark. It was good times. I had a really good birthday. :D

The interns got here which is exciting. It is weird, I felt like at this time last year I had so much ready for them, and now I feel like I still have so much to do to get ready for them to be here. I am prepared I guess, it just feels like it came sooner than usual. Which is pretty good I guess since that means that I didn't stress about it for a million years before they came. Yay for no stress. There are only four of them this year which is kinda nice since that is less people to deal with. Also, they seem like a fun group so this will be a good summer I think.

On Friday Jasmine, Julie, Adam, Mark and I all went out to Lexie and Barlow's house so we could have a bonfire and then go shooting on Sat morning. Well, it was kinda rainy and cold and Lex was feeling a bit sick, so we had a bonfire in their yard rather than on the beach (which is totally fine by me, walking in the sand in the dark is no fun!). Then the next morning (this morning!) we had a coming back deadline for Jasmine and Mark so we came back a little sooner after skipping out on shooting (the others all still went). It was good times.

My mom called and we chatted. I have to get my status renewed by June 30th and so we talked about that and how that was going to work out. I am planning on flying home to visit her and then I am going to drive with her down to Utah where she was planning to go for vacation anyway, and then fly back to Portland from there. It should be a good time if I can ever figure out which days are okay to go. Gah. It is kinda frustrating since I have to wait to hear back from someone that my boss was going to talk to and I haven't heard anything. Annoying. When I was talking to my mom she was babysitting my nephew and he is so cute (sounding anyway). He is getting very talkative and can say lots of words - I heard him saying 'spider' and 'cricket' as he was flipping through this book. Then I heard him say Grandma and Suzie (my brother's g/f) - he says her name super cute. Then mom said "do you want to say hi to auntie Mandi?" and he said "Mandi" Oh my gosh. So cute! He can say my name! He doesn't know what it means, but he can say it. I want to see him so much. I can't wait!!!!

Anyway, that is about all for now. I gotta go - not that I really have anything to do, I just can't type anymore since I am lying on my bed on my stomach and my laptop is in front of me and it is kinda hurting my back. So I am going. I hope this will satiate the masses for now. I will try not to take so long to post next time.

Free Stuff!

So, since it is my birthday tomorrow I thought I would check online to see if there is any cool stuff I can get free on my birthday and there is a ton! I found this website and they had a good list. But most of them are things you have to sign up for in advance so do it sooner rather than later! I only wish I lived near a Disney park so I could go there for my birthday since they let you in free too! Dang. Oh well, I am going to eat well tomorrow!

May Long

That's what we would always call it when I was in high school. What are you doing for May Long? Want to go camping on May Long? We didn't even specify that we were referring to the weekend. I don't know if people do that in the states. I tried it a few times and just got weird looks. Oh well.

So this weekend was good. I did so very many things. Friday we went to my friend's wedding after we made the strawberries for it (which turned out awesome by the way!) and it was so good to see them so happy. They are a really cute couple. At the reception a bunch of people were talking and we decided we needed to do something, so one of our friends said 'meet at my house around 10 and we can do something.' So we went over and by maybe 11 everyone who was going to be there ended up there. We couldn't really decide what to do so some people suggested going to get some VooDoo Doughnuts (which is this really awesome place in downtown Portland - if you live in the area and have never been there you should go!) so we went. We ended up taking three vehicles because there were so many of us. Our vehicle got slightly lost and then we had to park a few streets away from the place, so by the time we got there everyone else had their goodies. I wanted one, even though Jasmine and Emily didn't, so I sat waiting in line forever (it was the Rose festival so the lines were long). Anyway, everyone else was getting impatient so some of them left (their ride didn't park but instead drove around waiting for them) and the other car stayed but this one guy mentioned how impatient he was getting. It was kinda annoying since we get dragged there and it wasn't like I was dawdling - the line was just long! Anyway, after I got my doughnut I came out and ate it and then the other people decided they were going to go back to the house we met at and watch a movie. We said goodbye, but we didn't really feel like leaving since we just freaking got there! So we wandered around for a bit. Nearby we saw these guys playing music on 5 gallon pail's and stuff like that and we stopped to listen for a while - they were pretty good. I was going to take a quick video of it but it was too dark to see anything on my phone camera. So anyway, as we were watching some girl walked by and gave us free tickets to a club. So we figured, what the heck, lets check it out. It was not very busy, so no wonder they were giving out free tix, but it was fun. We got there around midnight and stayed there dancing until the bar closed at 2am.

Saturday was our birthday party. We spent all day cleaning and picking up things we thought we would need and stuff like that. The party ended up being really good I thought. There weren't a million people there, but there were quite a few, and we just barbequed and then we ended up building a fire in this portable fire pit thing we were using and just sat around the fire chatting and roasting marshmallows and stuff. It was good times.

Sunday we went to church and then we left early (I know, we are sinners and going to hell! lol) and went swimming at my friends apt pool. He was out of town and said we could use the pool if we wanted and it was so nice we just had to take him up on it. That was fun. We laid out for a while and then went in the pool. After that we went home and chatted through a movie (we intended to watch it, but instead we just talked through the whole thing) and messed around online and stuff.

Monday I came in to work for a bit. I wanted to set up my new office and also had some other things to do. It is cool having an office. I still feel like I am sitting at Skyla's desk though and that she might come in at any minute and kick me off her computer. lol. It is a weird feeling. But yeah, anyway, then after that we had some friends who were having a BBQ, so we went over there to eat. That was fun times. I like sitting around just chatting with people. Then we went to FHE for a brief few minutes but then we left to go to the pool again. This other girl Melanie came with us as well. It was super fun times. We swam around for a while then we went in the hot tub and had some good girl talk.

That was my weekend. It was fun for the most part. There were definitely parts where I was getting annoyed at people, but that never lasts long for me anyway, so whatever. I know this post is all about the stuff I have done and I really don't go into anything else (it is kinda a fluff post if you will) but that is okay right? You have to have those every once in a while right? Whatev. I don't really want to start going into my thoughts and feelings because then it will get all boring. Blah. So I will leave it at this. Thanks for reading!

Can't think of a title

Okay, so I suck at posting. I did great for a while there but then I just kinda petered out on my posting. The real problem is that I got busy and/or lazy. I always feel like I have all this stuff to do and then I don't do it and instead I just sit around putting it off making it so I have even more to do and I never get anything accomplished. Like posting on my blog. Oh well. Nothing too exciting is going on anyway. Work is going great. I am going to write a paper. Well, let me rephrase ... I am going to help write parts of a paper and then it will be heavily edited and maybe three words that I originally wrote will end up in a journal somewhere. Lol. But that's cool. It will give me good experience and I like writing anyway (in case you hadn't noticed). Not to mention it will be good to put on a resume somewhere.

My roommate (the one who owns the house I live in) is going away for a week. She is leaving tomorrow and won't be back until the long weekend Monday. I am kinda excited. Not that I don't like having her around, because I do she is really fun (although sometimes odd, but aren't we all) but it will be different to have her gone for a while. And I like change. That is why I used to move all the time at BYU. It wasn't because I couldn't find a place I liked enough to stay longer, but rather it was just because I like moving and I like living somewhere new and having new people around etc etc. It is really hard on me that I have lived in this house for so long because I find myself itching to move. But instead of just moving down the street like I did at BYU I want to move across the country! Which I won't do, and I don't always want to do that, but still, I find that I have those 'cravings' once in a while.

The other thing that is good about my roommate leaving for a while is that it gives my other roommate and I a chance to get her birthday present together. You see, it is Jasmine's birthday on May 20, Julie's on May 24 and mine on May 30. Last year we had a fun party that turned not so fun but since Julie will be gone this year Jasmine and I decided to make her something good for her birthday. It is going to be awesome and I am way excited and it is perfect that she will be gone so we can leave it all over the place and not have her see it :D

On that note my planned projects for the next little while include:
1) write a few short stories that I can then submit to fiction journals
2) finish the knitting project I have been working on from the pattern I made up
3) edit my novel
4) write article parts for work
5) make b-day thing for Julie
6) figure out something for Jasmine's birthday
7) figure out something for my Mom's birthday (almost forgot about that - jk)
8) have a fun party
9) update blog more often

That is about all. Anyway, on that note I am going to go because my fingers are freezing and I have to sit on them while reading an article so I can get hints about how to write this thing for work (okay, I don't HAVE to sit on my hands, but I am going to). Have a good weekend kiddies and I will try to update more often (hence number 8 above).

Oh Man

So I went to see Star Trek on Friday. I was planning to blog my thoughts about it the night I saw it since I knew a couple of other people weren't going to see it until the next day and I wanted to rub it in their faces. Oh well, I got distracted. It turns out I had a busy weekend. Friday was the movie.
It was so stinking good. It was funny cause every time someone new came on screen everyone in the audience would murmur and you just knew they were saying "Oh, that's so-and-so, he looks just like him!" And they did a really good job casting (I think). Also, I didn't know until Friday morning that Simon Pegg was in the movie and I just have to say that I love him. He is so great in everything I have seen him in, so that was a real treat.

Then Saturday we (Jasmine and I) went up to Tillamook to go shooting and spend some time with Lexie and Barlow. That was super fun. They have the cutest little house up there and every I go there I just want to hang out longer than I have time for. Anyway, then we rushed back and cleaned up in time to go to our friend's BBQ birthday party that he does out at his family's house every year. That was a good time. Then we left that a bit early to go to our other friend's bridal shower/bachelorette party. That was super fun. One of the best bridal shower's I have ever been to (and I have been to a lot!) the bachelorette part was fun too. We went to downtown Portland and asked random strangers to take compromising pictures with Christy (the bride to be). When I say compromising I mean like them giving her a hug or pretending they are proposing. It was fun and most of the strangers we asked to help us out were super good sports about it (thanks random Portland guys!).

Sunday of course was church, and more importantly, mother's day. I love my mother. She is a good person. I really am glad that she is my mom becuase not only do I get to hang out with her and call her whenever I want, but that means I am going to turn out like her, which is awesome. And I am not just saying those things because I know she reads this blog, but rather, I am saying it because I mean it. I even called and chatted with my Grandma Reeder for a bit. She is a special lady as well and I really like her. I am lucky to have such a good family.

Since my family is not close enough I could go hang out with them, Jasmine was kind enough to invite me to have dinner with her family. It was great. They are a fun group of people - they are just really accepting and loving. I felt like one of the family even though I had never met most of them before then. After dinner Jasmine's cousin came to stay with us for the night she Jasmine could do her hair and then she could have company on the way to the hospital tomorrow since their grandpa is having surgery.

Now I am at work again. Boring boring me. There is one funny story from yesterday though. We went to Safeway so Jasmine could get some flowers for her mom and grandma and aunt's. So we are in the parking lot and I had my door open and Jasmine was getting her purse out of the back seat on the driver's side. I had got out and I was leaning back in to grab my phone and I had my hand on the car (stupid stupid girl!) and Jasmine closed the door right on my finger. I just said "Oh F*** open the door please please please please please." Jasmine was like "What? Are you serious?" She couldn't even tell that my finger was in there because there were no problems closing the door. So she opened it again and my finger survived. It was actually really funny. And my finger is only a little sore today - and there isn't even a bruise or anything (yet). I will leave you on that funny note until next time. :D

Inspiration

I was inspired the other day in the grocery store. I was in line behind this woman and her total came to about $45 or so. Then she handed this huge wad of coupons to the cashier and I saw the total go down down down ... until she ended up paying only about $4 for the entire cart full of stuff. It was amazing. It kinda made me want to coupon clip. We will see about that though. The problem with that is that it takes forethought and planning and usually I am too unmotivated to do either of those things. We'll see.