Saturday, January 31, 2009

I wish he was leaving for boot camp tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Friday, January 30, 2009

~writing papers~

~I've finished paper #1 - the one on the GLBT event. 6 more papers to go.

~I've started paper #2 - topic: Hospice Use among the Hispanic population. This is for the Death & Dying class.

~I've begun research for paper #3 - topic: Cravings & Alcohol Abuse (or something like that)...I thought this would be an interesting topic, however I'm finding more articles on Cravings and Cigarettes as opposed to Alcohol, so I'm getting a bit annoyed.

~I was able to make some progress on paper #2 while home with Ethan yesterday, so that was nice. He was playing and I was typing. Today I didn't get much done as we met mom for lunch. I'm trying to make a little progress on it now. I would like to get this one done during the week...wish me luck.

~The lawyer wanted to contact my former mgr to 'confirm' that I would likely still be employed there had all this crap not happened...he was supposed to call her on Thursday. It will be used as a 'bargaining chip' during negotiations. I haven't heard from him since Wednesday. I am not surprised.

~I have probably about 100 pages to read, so I better go now.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

~Progress!!~

~call from the lawyer today
~MP wants to settle
~Woohoo!!!
~Feeling happier!!

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

~crap~

~I got a parking ticket @ the university yesterday. I'm such a doofus...I was parked 1 level lower than I was supposed to be...it's a combo Staff & Student parking garage. I will say though that I don't think their signage is very good. This same thing happened to me in another one of the garages a couple years ago. I refuse to think it's "me". Needless to say, I wasn't too happy when I got to my car and saw the ticket there. Argh. At least it's only $24, but then I still feel like I don't have $24 to 'waste'

~Tonight I got to my car and there was a sticker on my window...I panicked for a minute thinking it was some other kind of ticket, but it was just some advertising crap. Phew!!

Saturday, January 24, 2009

~and yet Another 20 Questions~

Another 20 Questions, again courtesy of Dawn's blog and just because I'm having so much fun doing them.

1. What are three things that are on your desk that shouldn’t be?
nothing really that shouldn't be there.

2. My roommate and I once:
I've never had a roommate.

3. What was the last thing you bought online?
this AWESOME 5 Year Diary - I cannot wait 'til it arrives. I think it will be easy to write a few lines in each day and I can't wait to look back at it in 3, 4, 5 years.

4. Favorite color associated with Autumn:
Orange

5. What were you watching when the writers strike brought new tv show episodes to a halt?
I cannot remember *exactly* when that was (pre OR post Ethan) but regardless I know I was watching @ least Grey's Anatomy and ER.

6. How many times a week do you put gas in your car?
just once per week, normally on Saturdays and I usually only use 1/2 tank per week - yay!

7. What do you think of when I say sandwich?
turkey w/cheese - yum!!

8. What is the worst thing you’ve ever eaten?
sushi- blech!!

9. What is the correct order in which to wash your body and shampoo your hair while you’re taking a shower?
start with the face and work my way down, sort of. what a strange question.

10. What are you wearing?
black NIKE workout pants, athletic shoes, white longsleeve shirt

11. What were the last five things you did in the past few hours?
grocery shopping @ Walmart. a stop @ Target. Fed Ethan his lunch. balanced last 4 months of checking account. watched a SATC re-run on TBS.

12. What 3 things do you think of when I say “wedding anniversary”?
I am pleading the 5th on this one.

13. Were you named after a relative?
No. My middle name is after my mom's best friend, everything else is original.

14. The next person to ring my doorbell had better...
be leaving the mail or a package, otherwise really no one comes to the door.

15. How many paying jobs have you had?
12 is what I can remember and that includes babysitting

16. What food smell makes your mouth water?
lately it seems that ONLY cake does that for me. in the good 'ol days, it would simply be stepping foot into my grandma's house.

17. If you could be any age again for one week, what age would you be?
I would like to be 16 again. I recall it being a good year, got my license, my mom let me have her Firebird the day I turned 16 and high school wasn't traumatic for me, in fact I'd do it all over again if I could.

18. When you look out your window, what do you see?
out the back window is my backyard which is host to the grill, brown grass and a lot of weeds.

19. Of all the people you know, who is the best at getting to the heart of things in serious discussions?
I really don't know the answer to this one.

20. Quick! Off the top of your head list 4 words to describe you today, just as you are right now. comfortable, casual, slightly stressed, content

Friday, January 23, 2009

~20 More Questions~

Courtesy of Dawn's blog once again...

1. When I look down I see:
my keyboard. mouse. mousepad. my messy desk.

2. So, what 3 things do you think of when I say vinegar?
distilled.white.brown.

3. When is the last time you got lost and what happened?
i absolutely cannot recall the last time I got lost. I guess that's a good thing.

4. Pick out the most important item in your wallet/purse and tell why it's important to you.
after the itty bit of money I may have, I would have to say my iPod Touch, it's loaded with tons of info.

5. When was the last time you went to a playground and swung on the swings?
this past Summer, I took Ethan to the playground in our neighborhood, he loved the swings.

6. What would it take for you to reconcile with your greatest enemy?
I'm sticking with Dawn's answer here: an act of God, because that is about the only way this person could not be toxic.

7. What is something you swore you would never do in your youth that you are doing?
live in Tennessee, I declared this maybe not so much IN my youth, but about 10 yrs ago when my parents moved out here.

8. 5 of your least favorite ice cream flavors.
butter pecan. rocky road.pralines & cream.jamoca.jamoca almond fudge.

9. Does time heal all wounds?
probably not all wounds, but some.

10. If you could choose one song NEVER to hear ever again in your life, which song would it be?
All RAP music. I can't stand it. would like to never hear any of it again.

11. Someone has hung a sign around your neck, and you have to wear it all day long. What does it say?
do not feed (the animals).

12. If you had to be trapped in a TV show for an entire month, which show would you choose? Why?
Sex & The City...I want to be the 5th friend.

13. What were the last five songs you listened to?
"She Wouldn't Be Gone" by Blake Shelton - 5 times in a row because it's Ethan's new favorite song and keeps him from fussing in the carseat.

14. What 3 things come to mind when you hear the word pink?
Pink, the singer. baby girls.cotton candy.

15. If you could be invisible for one hour, where would you go and what would you do?
there are a lot of people i'd like to be with, but more as a 'fly on the wall' mission, you know, to discover once and for all that they are fake and/or liars. yep, that would give me great peace of mind.

16. You’ve just received the fantastic news that you and a guest have won an all-expenses-paid trip to Destination Unknown. The catch is: 1. You leave NOW. 2. You can only bring the clothes on your back. 3. You’ll find out where you are going when you get there. Are you going to go? What clothes will you be traveling in? And lastly, where do you secretly hope Destination Unknown is? Where do you hope it’s not?
Sure, I'd go, I love to travel. Unfortunately I am not in the best travel clothes though.I would hope it's a beach destination. I would hope it's not a cold weather location.

17. How do you eat your M&M’s?
sometimes a handful @ a time. sometimes just 1 at a time 'til it melts in my mouth.

18. Would you rather spend the night in an igloo in the freezing cold, or on a wooden raft in the middle of the ocean?
gonna have to take the wooden raft, although I'd be fearful of sharks and such. I once spent a very very very VERY cold night in a 'shack' in Guatemala. It was soooooooo cold. I had on every piece of clothing I had taken with me and could not get warm. It was the most miserable night of my life and for some reason it's been popping into my head a lot lately. Strange.

19. What three sounds do you love?
Ethan laughing.thunderstorms.

20. Describe the kitchen in the house in which you grew up.
It had a very squeaky floor and really was just your basic kitchen. Stove, Fridge, Counter, Table...interesting question. There's really not anything 'exciting' I can say about the kitchen.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

~20 Questions~

Had a little 'free time' and so I'm swiping this list of 20 questions from Dawn.

1. What are your five favorite kinds of candy?

Hershey's plain chocolate bars, Caramello, Ghiradelli w/caramel center, Kraft caramels, Twix...can you tell I like caramel?!?

2. Do you think that gift cards are suitable gifts to give? Do you find them to be impersonal?
Maybe a little, but if you have to ship a lot of gifts or don't know what a person would like, giftcards are perfect!

3. What is your blog about? How long have you been blogging? Why did you begin blogging? Is it the the same reason that you continue to blog today?
Usually full of my rants and complaining. Not sure why I began...I guess just to try it out as I heard it was becoming quite 'the thing' to do back then. Totally not the same reason I blog today, in fact, I feel myself losing interest in the whole blog thing...not sure if it's due to time constraints, emotional rollercoasters, nothing to post about, not many readers, but every now and then I come back here & try to scrape up a post about "something"

4. What is your favorite Hostess treat?
I USED to LOVE the Cherry Pies, but I had one recently and it was disgusting. I'll have to go with the white powdered donuts - too bad they're so messy though. Don't eat them when you're wearing black.

5. How much money is in your wallet right now?
About $50 - probably the most I've had in there in a LONG time.

6. How connected are you? Can you be reached by cellphone, internet, email, etc…. at all hours of the day? Do you ever (would you ever?) shut it all off, and how long could you go without technology?
I'm like Dawn - I don't like to NOT be connected. I have a cellphone, email and internet @ home and now I'm constantly on a PC @ work Mon-Wed. I have a iPod Touch so I can connect wirelessly from SBUX or my living room couch when Ethan would rather play out there than in the office/playroom. I'd have serious withdrawal without technology, even though nothing I ever receive is 'detrimental' or all that important - it's all 'play' stuff I suppose.

7. If your bologna had a first name, what would it be?
Blech!! I already have 1 "oscar" in my life and believe me, that's enough!

8. What celebrity are you tired of hearing about lately?
I'm always sick of hearing about Brad & Angelina. What is the big deal about them anyway?

9. Which are your favorite blog plug-ins and widgets?
I dunno

10. When I turn my head left:
there is my computer monitor and the door to my office.

11. If you had a crystal ball that could tell you the truth about any one thing you wished to know about yourself, life, the future or anything else, what would you want to know?
Where I'll be in 5 years would be good. It would likely provide me with added motivation to keep pushing ahead.

12. How do you know when you're in love?
I like Dawn's answer. I don't have an answer of my own, I think love sucks!

13. Do you order Girl Scout Cookies? What kind are your favorites?
I just ordered them Tuesday. 1 box of Tagalogs, Samoas & Thin Mints.

14. If you could teach one person a lesson in humility, who would you choose?
too many to count, I think.

15. What’s your favorite romantic song?
I am LOVING LeeAnn Womack's new song "Last Call" I think that'll be my position in a few years...

16. What is in your nightstand?
alarm clock. phone. lamp. tv remote. lotion. countless books that I no longer have time to read :(

17. If you had to pick a game to play from the following, which one would you pick: Chess, Backgammon, Scrabble, or Battleship?
Battleship hands down, especially the Electronic version! I loved that game!

18. If you could pair up any two single people you know, who would you pick?
I would never do something so awful to someone! Single is the way to go.

19. What websites are you willing to admit to visiting daily?
Bloglines, Gmail, Facebook and a few blogs here and there. I'm exploring Google Reader again...just can't really decide which I like better.

20. Someone says February and you think:
When I was young and stupid, it was Valentine's Day. In 1992, it became my cousin Adam's birthday. Now it's ALL about Ethan's Birthday.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

~hello~

~So I went to the GLBT church service on Sunday. I have ONE word only: INTERESTING. I'm almost done with my paper too!!

~I enjoyed my 'extra' day off of school this week....Mirra & Courtney came over to play with Ethan and I. Fun was had by all.

~As luck would have it, I attend the only university in the state that decided NOT to close today. Oh joy!! I ended up coming in a little late instead of risking my life on icy roads with a bunch of wackos who don't know how to drive on anything but dry roads.

~My Substance Abuse professor let us out early today so we could see the Inauguration. I watched some of it. Apparently I'm below average and not as excited as the 'average' person about all this. I'm really glad that I won't have to hear anymore talk about what designer Michele Obama will wear though. Geesh -that's important!!!

~The high here today is 29. It's only 25 right now, so I don't see us getting to 29. My point is that I have a night class - it ends @ 9pm. Ugh! It will probably be 15 @ 9pm. My teacher is a safety-nut, literally!! I'm not exaggerating. She is part of the Public Policy Dept and teaches various Health & Safety courses. I have her for Death, Dying & Bereavement and she is big on being safe and living long. I think if she stands by her word, then she needs to either (1) cancel class or (2) let us go VERY early tonight.

~Stay warm!

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

~adjustment~

~We are all SLOWLY adjusting to this new schedule of me not being home with Ethan on Mon, Tues & Wed...it's been difficult getting home @ 9pm and especially sad when he's already asleep by then. He always stayed up later when I was home...must be because I'm so fun that he doesn't want to sleep yet. LOL!

~I have attended all of my (3) classes for the first time now. I have one on Monday night and two classes on Tuesday. In all, I have 7 papers to do, 4 tests to take and 1 video to make. Yes! I am stressed already. I'm trying to get the jump on two of the papers this week.

~For paper #1 I have to attend a 'cultural' event of a cultural/ethnic group that is not my own. Suggestions included GLBT events, religious service of a different faith, an organization meeting, spend the day with the homeless etc. Right now I've decided to attend a church service @ a church in the area that welcomes GLBT individuals. I think that should be quite interesting and considering that I know very little about all of that, well, maybe I'll learn something too. Don't get me wrong, I did consider just saying I went to a Catholic mass in Spanish and writing the paper on that, as I've attended many masses in Spanish, but I'm just not a good enough bullshitter to scrape up 5-6 pages on something that happened so long ago...so I'll go to the GLBT church service this Sunday. Hopefully I can bust out the paper in the same day, although that may be pushing it a bit.

~Paper #2 I will likely do on Alcohol Dependency, it's for the Substance Abuse class. My dad is basically a 'functioning alcoholic', hence my reason for further knowledge in this area. He basically HAS to have alcohol (Vodka is his poison) daily in order to function. He's also taken up smoking cigarettes since him and my mom divorced, he hides his smoking from me, which I think is hilarious, especially since he 'punished' me as a child for sneaking my cat into my room...isn't that the same thing? I was hiding the cat, he's hiding the cigarettes...thing is though, I was a child, he is a grown up. Eh - whatever! I still love him!

~Paper #3 - is sort of optional...I can choose to write an extra paper (included in the 7 count above) and get out of taking one of the 50-question multiple choice tests in my Death, Dying & Bereavement course. I'm seriously considering this. I think a paper is a lot less work for me than studying for a test and carrying the stress that I'll do ok on the test. I would get to choose which test to opt out of and would likely pick the last test of the term, to lighten my load at the end...what do you think? What would you do? The requirement for length on the paper is not stated, but I must use 8 journal sources...

~I have declared (to O) that Sunday is officially my study day and that he will be spending the day with Ethan -every Sunday. When he has his military crap to do, my mom will take E for me. Of course, I do need to study WAY more than 1 day/wk, but at least I can be guaranteed one solid day of peace. I will likely study @ B&N or other bookstore type location.

~The GA position is going well. Of course, I haven't seen any students yet but those appointments will probably start in a couple wks. I will be helping students create their resumes, begin job searches etc. I'm sort of their 1st stop and then they will meet @ a later date with my supervisor for additional help.

~Have you ever gone to http://www.blogger.com/www.43things.com? Well, basically you can put your goals on the site and ask to be reminded weeks, months, years later to see if you've reached that goal. I just rec'd 7 reminders today...sadly I have not met ANY of the goals, but am in process of reaching one which was "Obtain a Masters degree", so I guess that's not so bad huh?

~I'm excited to get out early today, will probably leave around 3:30pm today. I will hit my 20 hrs around 2pm but since the sitter is there 'til her son comes to pick her up, I figure I'll get a little extra time in here, but then still get home MUCH earlier than Monday or Tuesday.

~I guess that's it for now...I think that's enough.

Wednesday, January 07, 2009

-just an update-

A few changes this week:

I couldn't start the GA position because my supervisor didn't realize that they had to do a background check and I had to fill out a bunch of paperwork.

Ethan & I trekked to the school on Tuesday morning to fill out the paperwork.

The plan now is that I'll start on 1/12.

It seems that the world is still against me, Ethan had a massive blowout while we were there. It got all over his shirt and everything-not good.

From there we went home for a bit and then off to what will likely be our last playdate for awhile.

Today we hung out at home for the most part and I finished his birthday party invitations.

We are just having a small party here @ the house for him, it will be right on his birthday as it falls on a Sunday.

Tomorrow we are going to Mother Goose and then meeting my mom @ the mall for lunch & window shopping. Well, my mom will likely shop for real, but not me.

I haven't talked to the lawyer in quite awhile, the last I heard is that Manpower had the case moved from state court to federal court. Doesn't seem like that means much really but they did it right before the holiday probably just to buy themselves some more time.

I know I shouldn't but I often find myself sort of daydreaming about what I'll do with the lawsuit winnings (trying to be positive)...it will feel so good to pay off some bills and my car which would already be paid for if all this crap didn't happen.

Tuesday, January 06, 2009

~a day late, a dollar short~

~So now that I'm fully committed to the GA position and finishing Grad School, I received a call today for a 3 month Contract Recruiter position in Oak Ridge (same town I was working in before). You know, this just frosts my a**, it just figures-why couldn't it have come in the Summer (or sooner).

~I still want to finish school and I know I've made the right decision to do that in order to have better job security in my future, but it still frustrates me to no end 'cause dammit, I need the freakin' money and I'm tired of being broke all the damn time (and dependant upon someone else).

~Of course, it was a FT position so PT is not even an option. It's hard to really let go of that opportunity, but then when she told me which company it was for, well, that's a bit easier because turns out it's the same company that I was supposed to have that phone interview with a few months ago, remember?

~To make today even MORE fantastic that it already has been...I found out that I was denied for unemployment benefits...simply because I worked that 1 measly week @ the hospital here and then quit when I realized that working nights and being home w/E during the day just wasn't going to work. I never should have bothered w/that place, then I likely would have qualified considering that I lost the good job that I had through NO fault of my own. I'm going to appeal the decision, which won't be fun considering that the phone lines are so busy they can't even TAKE my call. A-holes!

~And yet there is more...O recently told me that the Guard won't schedule him for boot camp until the doctor releases him. The problem with that is that then he said ALL the slots for boot camp are full and they'll have to find him a slot once he is released. He needs to leave no later than May 16th because he has to go to boot camp within 2 yrs of signing up for the Guard and it'll be 2 yrs on May 16th. If he doesn't leave by 5/16, they will discharge him on a medical discharge. He will lose the $5k bonus he would have got upon returning from boot camp. He will also lose the OTHER $5k bonus he should get after being in the Guard for 3 yrs (May 2010)...so can you feel my MAJOR frustration over this whole thing? I REALLY need him to go to BC...I'm counting on 10 wks of peace and I may go insane if I don't get it.

~Another reason why I just love the Guard so much...they have yet to reimburse him the $300ish that he has spent towards his knee surgery. They told him that the only way he could get it back would be for him to go to the Recruiting station and 'work' there for a few days, making copies and such - and then they'd reimburse him...huh? That sure doesn't sound right to me...why should he have to give another minute of his time to be reimbursed for medical expenses from an injury that occured on THEIR time. Knowing him, he'll let it go and never get the money back.

~If his case wasn't so specific, I'd write to the newspaper to tell them how shitty the TN Nat'l Guard treats their soldiers. The odd thing is the Guard "bosses" absolutely love him when he goes there his one weekend per month, they put him in charge etc., yet they aren't doing anything to help him out with all this crap. Not sure why they'd want to lose him, if he's so damn fantastic there. More A-holes! (And I know he SHINES there, it is totally his forté...he should have enlisted in full time military years ago, but he was rebelling against his father, so he didn't).