School

From the first half of my first day of "real school" ever, I can already tell this: speech is going to kick my butt and I'm going to have problems with my math teacher.

Speech is going to be so hard, even though I have a cool teacher, because 1) I'm not a good public speaker, 2) I'm not very good at acting natural when I'm nervous as all get-out, 3) I'm not very good at thinking on my feet. Mr. Maguire is cool, he seems like a really nice guy. He's fairly strict and he's fair about it. This class is going to be hard for me. Heh. And I thought I put the easier class first.

Also I made a horrible first impression with Mr. Maguire - I was late this morning. I had planned on leaving the house 30 minutes before my first class - speech - so that I could find where all my classes were and be early and make a good impression. I left my house about 10 minutes late (no big deal - school's 5 minutes away and I'm fairly good with finding my way around buildings) and I was thinking I'd be fine. Then I came upon the traffic. I hit the traffic at 7:47 (I was expecting to be at school 5 minutes from then) and didn't make it to school until 8:05, 5 minutes after I was supposed to be in class. I had called my Mom while waiting in traffic to see if she could find out where my classes were supposed to be. Luckily, she knew. I wrote them down on my hand so I wouldn't forget them - I was in the car and couldn't grab the paper out of my backpack. So that's how my first day of school started.

After speech, I went 5 doors down to my biology class. Mrs. Decker is my teacher and from what other students (and her syllabus) were saying, she's a difficult teacher. On the exams, we cover at least 7 chapters each. This class should prove to be interesting.

What I can't wait for is biology lab. We'll get to disect all sorts of different things: a frog, a brain, a liver, and other fun nasty stuff like that. I think I'll like my lab class because I learn better by doing - plus it sticks in my head longer that way. My teacher seems ok, for the few minutes I saw her.

I went to the lab class because Mrs. Decker made it sound like we were all supposed to go today even though our lab was on a different day (mine's on Wednesday). I get in there and find out that I didn't need to be there - that was embarrassing. It's all good though. I wasn't too embarrassed.

I have english class at 2. I decided to go home for lunch since I didn't have any homework or anything like that to keep me occupied for 3 hours.

Oh, I ran into Heather Smith and Kayti Edwards today. I talked with Heather a little bit and I only said hi to Kayti in passing (she said hi first - I didn't recognize her). It was really great to see people I knew. I was starting to feel lonely and then Heather came up to me.

Well, I'd better go now. I'll update more later, tell you how my english class went. Tschüss!

New Car

So I have a new car now, thanks to my beloved boyfriend. I now own his old car (he got a new one obviously), a 1997 Chrysler Concord. It's a beautiful car, lots of fun to drive, although the only place I've driven it is from his house to mine - the very first time to drive it. It's such a nice car, very well taken care of and such good things like that. So yeah, that's my big news. Bonus - since I'm paying for it, it's MY car. Not the family's, not the "kid's," it's MINE. The only reason my parent's names are on the insurance card is because they have the insurance.

I'm starting to become financially independant now. I'm paying for my own cell phone bill, I'm making car payments, I'm paying for insurance (at least the difference of what my parents were paying and what they're paying now), I'm buying my own gas, I'm buying my own clothes and supplies like shampoo and deodorant, I'm paying for whenever I go out to eat, I'm saving money, AND I've payed for almost all of my tuition for the fall semester at school (I could have payed all of it by myself but my parents were able to help me out a little). Being financially independant and making it work is tough. It's a good experience and I'm learning from it. It's hard yet rewarding, as most things in life are.

*sigh* I have to work in the morning, so I'd better let you go. Just wanted to tell you all my exciting news about my new-to-me car!!! YAY!!! He he he.

Tschüss!

p.s.
someday I hope to speak fluent German. just wish I had a teacher...

Mini Update

We got the phone working, so that's good. I really like it - I think it's a good buy. As always there are things I don't like, but they're minor and nothing to complain about.

Today after work I'm going to Josh's parent's house and riding with them to Austin to see Josh and his presentation. I'm so excited to see what he's been working on all summer, but what I'm looking forward to most is seeing him. I can't wait to see him and give him a giant hug. You don't want to hear about it, so I won't tell you.

Water's boiling for my breakfast, so I'd better scoot. Talk to you all when I get back! Tschüss!

Happenings

I switched my cell service to Cingular yesterday and got a new phone to boot! It's a flip phone, has a camera, voice to text dialing and text messaging, and all sorts of fun stuff. It's black and shiny and feels like liquid in my hands. It's got such a cool feel to it!

The only problem is, I'm not getting any calls to it. It should have worked by now. We called Cingular and they tried to fix it, sent several test calls, and they said that cell phones can't quite connect yet because the process hasn't completely registered yet. They said wait for an hour or two and try it again and if it doesn't work, then we should call them back and they'll try something else. I'm sure the problem will be resolved soon enough. I have faith in them.

I've been working an awful lot lately. I'm not so engh about it as I thought I'd be. I thought I'd be more tired, whiny, complaining, grumpy, but I'm not. That's a good thing, too! I'm actually not minding going back to work. Tomorrow is my only kenneling day for the entire month (hooray!!!) and I work all day, which means I will most likely miss church. I can't go out after that because I have to work all day Monday too, so that stinks. I missed the last two Bible studies and now I'm missing church - these people will think I'm a pagan! Lol. Anyhoo, work has been going really well. I got rather frustrated with one of the doctors today, but otherwise all is well.

I bought some new clothes with the Target gift cards I got for graduation. I needed new jeans for school, so I thought, "Hey, we'll see what Target has!" It turns out, I really like these jeans and may go back for another pair! He he he. These jeans make me feel so good.

I'm counting the days until I travel with Josh's parents to go see him on Wednesday evening and his presentation on Thursday morning. I can't wait for the trip there, I'm sure I'll talk with his parents the entire way. I can't wait to get there, to see Josh again, to give him lots of hugs and kisses. I can't wait to go to the presentation, to see the project that Josh has built the past few months while interning. I can't wait to see Nana and Paw again - they're so kind and generous. I can't wait to ride home with Josh, talking to him and singing with him and laughing with (and at) him.

I have to go to dinner now. I'll talk to you all later. Thanks for the comments!!! Tschüss!

It's Funny

Something that's been on my mind lately, why is it that when you need your friends, mostly the ones that tell you they're always there for you, they aren't there? I seriously needed some companionship, someone to talk to Sunday night and no one was there. One wanted to play volleyball, one wanted to eat, the other just didn't care to hang around. I don't know why, but it always seems to be that way. Even though I was surrounded by people on Sunday, I was alone. I did manage to be cheered up by the last person I ever thought could do that; and all he did was talk to me about random stuff. It was an off and on conversation at that! Funny how life works, isn't it? So a question for all of you: What do you do if someone comes up to you with a tear-stained face and asks for a hug? What do you do after they tell you what's wrong?

The Weekend

Oh, this weekend was great! Friday night after work I went shopping for chips and cookies for Saturday's lunch and to kill time before Josh got home. I went and picked up some orange Lilies for him and took them to his house when he got home and surprised him with them. I hung out there for an hour or two, then I went home.

Saturday I picked Josh up, then went to Lara's house to pick up her and John. Then we went to McDonald's for breakfast and WalMart for a sandwich to pack. We got the sandwich and headed South to Hawaiian Falls. We got there just as it opened, claimed our spot and went on almost every ride. We ate lunch, swam in the "wave pool" (it didn't have many waves) and layed out to dry off. It was so hot we left at 1:30. I dropped Lara and John off at her apartment and Josh and I went back to his house. His Mom had gone to run errands and Austin and Lindsey weren't at home and Josh forgot his keys. We sat at the house in the truck for a while, then we went to CompUSA and ran into a friend of Josh's who worked there. We talked to him for a bit, he helped us look for laptop backpacks, then we left and went back to Josh's. His Mom was home, so we went upstairs and watched The Count of Monte Cristo, a fantastic movie. After the movie, we went to Chili's for dinner and had excellent steak, then we went back to his house so I could go home for the night.

Sunday I went to the 9 o'clock service with Josh, then met him at his house. We went to Mazatlan for lunch, then to Grapevine Mills to watch The March of the Penguins. After that we went back to his house so he could grab his stuff, then we said goodbye. His Mom was kicking him out of the house and I was trying to get him to stay - it was interesting. We went outside so his Mom was happy and we could take our time saying goodbye. We said goodbye and he left. I cried all the way from his house to the Farney's, where the end of summer pool party was going on, and still sat there for about 10 minutes crying. I told my friends what was wrong, but I guess none of them cared enough because they didn't hang out with me and give me the company I was longing for. So after showing my laptop to Chris, I decided to write how I was feeling in essay form. It helped me feel a little better and I managed to cheer myself up until I left. I had Josh's shirt with me all the time, except for when I was in the hot tub, and that helped too.

Work has been great. I'm not scheduled for kennels at all this month and that makes me overjoyed! Thank you God for solving my problem! Can you say, answer to prayer??? My schedule was made to fit around my school schedule, even though I don't start school until the 27th.

I'm excited about school starting. It'll be the first time I've ever done the whole school thing. I need to get supplies, but I'm not quite sure what to buy though. I have pens, a couple of notebooks and a calculator at home, but I'm not sure if that's all I'll need. I'll get my book list the first day of class, so I don't have to worry about that until then. I have to have the entire semester's payment to NCTC by the 16th, so that's a bit of a pressure, but I have more than half of it and my Mom thinks they'll be able to cover the rest of it. I sure hope so, or else I'll have to pull a loan. My Mom made it sound like that's what we were going to do anyway and when I mentioned it a few weeks ago, she was all shocked at the idea and was so against it it wasn't even funny. Anyhoo, I'm rambling. Cost of classes is pretty much taken care of - I think.

I'm going to Austin from the 17-19 to watch Josh's presentation for work. He's been working on a project all this time and he'll present his finished work on the 18th. I'm going down with his parents and driving back with him - the first time I've gone to Austin accompanied - it'll be great. I can't wait to see what he's been working on!

Well I'd better go. I've got lunch for the boys and I in the microwave and it just beeped. Oh, one more thing. I'm switching to Cingular so that I can have mobile-to-mobile with Josh because I'm talking to him more than I am anyone else and we don't have enough minutes with T-Mobile to cover it. I'll be paying for it, so that'll be an adventure. Yeah, so, just thought I'd let you know that...don't know why. Lol. Tschüss!

Long Awaited Update

My apologies for not getting to this sooner, I was having troubles with the internet connection to my laptop and truth be told, blogging was the last thing on my mind.

I took the Compass test (the same test as the THEA only on the computer) on the 29th. That was a great day. I took the Compass, did orientation, met with an advisor and registered for my classes all in three and a half hours. Heh. That was fun. I made a 38 on the math section (I needed a 39 to pass) so I have to take a developmental math class, but other than that, I passed the reading and writing sections with a 97 in each and got a 6 (a passing grade) on the first essay that I have ever written in my entire life! I was very proud of that essay, I wish I could have had a copy of it.

My laptop arrived Thursday sometime, I got it after I got home from work. After much complication, we finally have internet to the laptop through a wireless router and an external wireless card. It took a while, but I'm glad we finally got it done.

Saturday I got mauled by a cat at work. This cat flipped out the instant I touched her and she put up a nasty fight, but I won at last and now realize one of the main reasons why I prefer dogs over cats. She left multiple skin abrasions on my hands, arms and wrists, and a hefty slash in the muscle just under my thumb. Yesterday the gash started looking infected so I scrubbed it with Betadine and rinsed it off with hydrogen peroxide (I was at work) and it looks a little better. I'm not sure if it would better help get rid of the infection to leave the wound alone and let it scab over or to keep the wound open and clean. Anyhoo, the wounds are healing and I'll live, although I'll never look at this cat the same way again.

Josh is coming down this weekend and he, Lara, John (Lara's boyfriend) and I are going to Hawaiian Falls for a double-date. I'm so pumped about it - it's going to be so much fun!

I'm trying to think of anything else...oh! Work is going well. Dr. Roberts is back from Iraq and his first day back in the office was Monday. I was his VA yesterday. He had three appointments all day, and the first one was at 6:10pm. Heh. We sat around almost all day - everyone was slow. Dr. Hunsberger had only a few appointment, Dr. Strauch had a few appointments in the morning, then surgery, then he left. Dr. McCullough only worked from 9-1 and left an hour early because he didn't have anymore appointments. To make a long story boring, we weren't very busy yesterday, so things were easy.

Stephen, the new kennel guy, just happened to be scheduled by himself yestreday evening, and I was the one elected to help him finish. That, and someone had to stay because he didn't have a passcode for the alarm system yet. It wasn't that bad, I clocked out at 9:10 last night.

Well, I suppose I'll that's all I have to say. I'll talk to you all later!

Tschüss!

Mini Update

Good news! I got an e-mail Tuesday night that said my laptop had been shipped and that it would be here in two business days. It should be here sometime today. I'm so excited about it coming!

I'm thinking of taking another job. I'm going in for an interview today, although I don't think I'll take the job. It's weird. Whenever I'm at work (specifically kennels) I want to quit. Whenever I'm not at work, I want to stay. I don't know which side of me to believe. When I'm VAing, I'm fine. It's the kennels that get me. There's a whole long list of things that I'm not happy with. I actually made a pros and cons list and there are more cons than pros. I'm not sure what to do. I've prayed about it a little bit (I need to pray more) and I would appreciate it if you could send up a prayer if you think of me this week. I won't go into detail now, but if you think of me, it'd be nice.

A plus though, yesterday I got my scrub allowance (money my boss gives me in the form of a gift certificate so I can buy new scrubs at a particular store) and got new scrubs on my lunch break and I had lunch with my co-worker, Esther, who is in limbo, as I am, on staying or leaving the practice. I haven't had lunch with a co-worker since I started. It was nice. She brought something up over lunch...if we both left, there wouldn't be anyone experienced in kennels anymore. It's the two of us and two newbies. If we left, it would leave the enexperienced to do it and that would not be good. I need a break from all this. Maybe it'll calm down when I start school.

I'm so excited about next weekend. Josh is coming up here and him, Lara, John, and I are going to Hawaiian Falls and to go see Madagascar for a double-date. Lara's all squealy-excited about it and the rest of us are unbelievably excited. I can't wait...it's going to be so much fun!

Sarah's gotten into this kick where if he's out of his cage, he has to be in the same room with me. He'll scream until I'm in the room and if I don't come, he'll fly to where I am and sit there and be quiet. I don't have to interact with him, he just has to be with me. Sometimes I'll be in the same room and my Dad will have him or something and he'll do nothing but look like he's going to fly to me. Sometimes he'll call for me, but most of the time he just flies off of Dad's shoulder and comes to me. *shakes head* He's a weird bird.

I'm going to go clean my room a little before my interview. I'll let you know what I decide about the job later. Have a great day. Tschüss!

My Own Creation

Something I created when I had two hours to kill at work (we got done early):

YOU MIGHT BE A VET TECH
...if you start cleaning your own house with KennelSol.
...if you start taking Glycoflex (an arthritis medicine) because it really helped your old dog.
...if you can know how much and when to feed your animal to get it to lose weight but can't seem to stick to your own diet.
...if you can go to a dog park and name every breed, including the mixes.
And, you might be a vet tech if "hushpuppies" is no longer a fried food but an everday saying.

Hope this made you laugh! Tschüss!

Why???

Wanna know something stupid? Susan, my boss, had a new kennel person, on his very first day, cover for someone else for their shift. *shakes head* That's unheard of. I guess there's a first time for everything.

It was cool though. I walked into work this morning, not especially happy to be there, and as I'm walking past Susan's office to go to the kennels, she stops me and says, "This is Steven. He's on a working interview. Show him around back there, show him what you do and stuff." So basically, I got to train the new guy! He's one of only four males in the practice and the only male working in kennels. I'm pretty pumped about it. It'll be good to have another person in kennels. We need them. If any of you need a job, come apply to work in kennels. It's really not as bad as they all make it out to be! *wink, wink, nudge, nudge*

Wow. I was hungry. I just ate an entire can of tuna and want more food.

I've worked up my schedule for school. That's kind of cool. Gives me something to look forward to. Work's going to suck once I start school, but you win some, you lose some, I suppose.

I take the Compass on Friday. Don't know what to study for, so no studying will be done.

Josh and I are doing surprisingly well. I didn't think we'd manage to get closer to each other without actually seeing each other. Phone calls do a lot more than I thought. Visits mean more too. By that I mean actually physically being right next to him, holding his hand or looking at him. It's almost weird in a way that I couldn't even begin to describe to you.

Well, I guess I'd better go. It was nice talking to you all again! Tschüss!

Ack!!!

Got home from the Music Camp performance at church and there was a message on the answering machine for me...the Animal Hospital on Teasley Lane called wanting me to come in for an interview. Unless they pay $9/hr, I'm not taking it. It would be a whole lot closer, but I'm getting into a groove with Debra now that lines of communication have been opened (funny how things run better when people speak to each other...). Basically, things are going well, I'm starting to be accepted by everyone, I'm no longer (completely) the "new girl." Actually, I don't think I'll take the job if I can't VA. I really want to keep VAing. I like that.

The MC performance was awesome. It was so cute. William had a whole five words to say and still ended up making every person in the auditorium pay attention to him. He had confetti in a bucket and was supposed to throw it out on the ground. He started on one side of the stage and walked to the other, throwing out his confetti. He got to where the kids were sitting and looked at the ground off of the stage, looked at the kids, looked at the massive handful of confetti he held, then threw the entire contents of his hand onto the kids. He took a while to empty his bucket (of course he had to get every speck of it out) and the kids who had speaking parts after his confetti thing were getting confused about whether to go on - he wasn't done yet! It was funny, cute and embarrassing all at the same time.

Well, I have work in the morning, so I'm going to run. I'll talk to you all later. Tschüss!

Peace

Last night the extra stuff from my laptop order came (a laptop backpack, a travel mouse, and a security lock), so now I really can't wait to get my laptop!

I had the most awful day at work yesterday. If anything could have gone wrong, it did. We didn't have enough bowls for all the cats and dogs (well, we had enough, we just had to wash them before we gave them back to the animals), the ceiling was leaking from a/c condensation, we got locked out of the animal control part of the building, upon the starting of school we'll be shorthanded on kennel people which means more work when I'm supposed to do less on account of school, we just had one person quit and another is thinking of leaving, it's simple chaos. No one who works there thinks we get paid enough for what we do. Some of my co-workers are wondering that with the prices of our services so high, why is it that we don't get paid more or that the things we work with aren't the best quality? They say that the management is cheap but it doesn't come that way.

I agree to a certain extent. I don't know about all that stuff, so I can't really say one way or another, but it sure does feel like my co-workers are right. For instance, it wasn't explained to us that when we work holidays, on the paycheck stub the hours for that day are doubled - it doesn't appear as a standard price. Several of us thought that we didn't get paid correctly. I sat down this morning to try and figure it out. Luckily, I did. In that aspect, work is difficult. Otherwise, it's going as well as can be expected.

Last night at Bible study we talked about peace. We were in Galatians 5:22-25, Philippians 4 (I can't remember the verses) and Mark 4 (I think). The part in Mark we talked about was the event where Jesus and the disciples are going across the Sea of Galilee to the other side. All of a sudden a squall (a phenomenally torrential storm that usually did massive damage to the boat and people) came upon them. The disciples freaked out and went to Jesus, who was sleeping on a cushion the entire time, and said to His face, "Don't you care that we're going to drown?" He told them, "How little faith you have," (there had to be some dissappointment on Jesus' part) walked out onto deck and "rebuked the storm saying, 'Quiet down.'" Immediately this violent storm ceased. Even then the disciples asked who this man was.

The disciples (from their point of view) were staring death in the face while Jesus was sleeping. What was said was the disciples lacked faith that when Jesus said, "Let's go to the other side" that's what He meant. They truly didn't believe that they would make it through the storm to get to the other side. Granted, you tend to lose your mind when you're life is threatened, but if they truly believed Him, they could have had peace about the situation, they would have been able to not freak out.

What it ultimately boils down to is where your focus is. If your focus is on yourself, you'll start to worry about things more, you'll stress out about things that aren't necessarily worth stressing out over, your anxiety level goes up causing patience and love levels to decrease and your irritation levels to rise. But if your focus is on God and your trust is in Him, you'll start to see the fruit of the spirit in your life, love, joy, PEACE.

That's one thing I really need to work on, where my focus is. I've been noticing myself being that way, but I'm not really sure how to let go of it all. I'm a control freak by nature and fighting my instinct isn't easy. I guess giving Him the reigns, giving Him ultimate control, scares me. There are certain things that I want in my life and I want to do everything I can to make those things happen...but I can't. Not on my own. I don't know how to walk in stride with Him, not doing all the work walking in front of Him and not making Him do all the work walking behind Him. Sometimes the simplest things can be the most difficult.

Another thing we touched on was that fruit in Galatians 5 is not plural, it's singular. You cannot have only one fruit of the spirit and not have any others. They're a package deal. Look at them. It's impossible to have one without the other. Just something I learned. It's amazing what you hear when you're willing to listen. Something Meredith said, "God will always be faithful whenever we let Him be faithful." We have to let Him? How awful are we?

Well, house duties call. Laundry and bedroom and bathroom cleaning await me. I need to get them done, hopefully I can do most of it before I go to work this afternoon. I'll talk to you all later. Tschüss!

p.s.
i didn't know this until last night, but Chex cheers me up! (thanks, Jenny!)

Laptop

After the long process of finding the right one, I finally ordered my laptop Monday. It should get here sometime late next week. It's a really great laptop - at least I think so - even the computer geeks that I'm in constant contact with (my Dad and Josh) say it's a great machine. Here are the specs if you want to know about it:
- HP Pavilion zd8000 Customizable NB
- Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition with SP2
- Intel Pentium 4 640 w/HT Technology, 3.2GHz
- 17.0" WXGA+ Wide Viewing (1440x900)
- 512MB DDR2 SDRAM, 400MHz (2x256MB)
- 80 GB 5400 RPM Hard Drive
- DVD/CD-RW Combo Drive
- 128MB ATI Mobility Radeon X600
- Integrated 56K Modem + 10/100 Ethernet LAN
- 12 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
- Microsoft Works/Money
I can't wait for it to get here. Can't wait to see it!

Friday, July 29 I'm scheduled to take the Compass test. It's the exact same test as the THEA (a college-level placement test) only it's on the computer, making it harder (no scratch paper built in). The results are instantaneous and will tell me what classes I'll be able to fit in with. We'll see what comes of it.

One more thing before I go, I thought it was funny how you guys commented on the puppy being sick and date movies and the correct lettering for computer graphics but when I get thrown into a wall and recieve the first concussion (although minor) in my entire life and you all say nothing. Lol. Just thought that was...odd.

Tschüss!

Ah, Amazing!

This weekend was incredible! I went to visit Josh this weekend in Austin and had a blast! Friday night Josh, Nana, Paw, and I went to a place called P.F. Chang's China Bistro (china bistro???). The food wasn't the greatest. Their Sweet and Sour Chicken was really good and they have this spicy sauce that they make for you out of soy sauce, chili sauce and chinese mustard...mmm...it was so good.

Saturday was amazing! Josh and I went down south to Schlitterbahn in New Braunfels. It was so much fun! He had a blast (so did i), and that's what matters. If you see a red-orange band on my right wrist, now you know what it's from.

The best part was how I woke up that morning. Josh came into the room at 5:30 and sat next to me on the bed and told me "happy 14-month anniversary" and asked me if I wanted to watch the sunrise with him like we did 14 months ago. So we sat in front of the window and started watching. 5 minutes later his alarm clock goes off, playing Savage Garden's Truly, Madly, Deeply, Do (the "I wanna stand with you on a mountain" song). He told me how much he loved me and sang the song to me while we watched the sunrise in front of the window. It was so romantic I cried.

Sunday we slept in (I couldn't...my stomach wasn't happy with me - why does is always happen when I go down there?), then watched the Phantom of the Opera on DVD, he got me hooked on Guild Wars while he took a shower, then we ate pizza from Mr. Gatti's with Nana and Paw, then played Taboo with them too - that was a blast! Then I packed and went home. The drive was ok. It felt faster than the way up there, that's for sure.

Today I've been looking at laptops and have found the one I want to purchase. I'm so excited about it! I can't wait to order it! I'll talk to my parents some more about it when they get home tonight and we'll make a firm decision then. Talk to you all later! I gotta go eat breakfast.

Tschüss!

Funny Things Are Happening

Well, folks, Rock has himself a home now. His new owner came and picked him up this afternoon. Funny thing is, I cried. He's not even my puppy and I cried! Josh says it's just because I'm a caring person. I think there's something wrong with me because upon my arrival "home" I found myself missing his little yip when he hears me come into the bedroom. I miss his fluffy curls all over his little body. I miss his cute little face and his little orange triangle ears. I even miss how he'd sneak off with one of my flip flops for a chew toy. *sigh* I miss the little rascal.

Work today was interesting. This morning went by so slowly. I was in a bad mood on my lunch break because of the lack of pace this morning and a co-worker's insistance on being the way she is (heh, go figure). Sometimes I get along really well with Debra and sometimes she really burns me up. Sometimes she flat out pisses me off. I won't get into that though. You don't want to sit here all night reading about it, I'm sure.

Anyhoo, during lunch break I took Rock back to the house (he came to work with me to make it easier on his parents) to be picked up by his new owner, hurried over to Arby's to pick up lunch and rushed over to work - I barely made it back on time. The afternoon went by rather quickly, which is a good thing. I was ready for that day to be over. I got kind of frustrated towards the end of the night, but not near as much as earlier.

I didn't tell you my fun from yesterday, did I? Heh. Well, I went in for my regularly scheduled shift which started at 1:00. The first appointment was a Rhodesian Ridgeback (for those of you who don't know how big they are, think small Rottweiler, big Lab size). This dog was so scared to be in the vet's office. Debra, my nurse for the day, asked for my help as VA for her, to hold the dog while she got blood and a fecal. I'm holding this dog, after prying her away from the wall just enough to fit my body between her (the dog) and it, and just as Debra puts the turnicate on her leg, the dog tries to get me off of her and runs me into the decorative molding along the wall. No big deal, I'm ok. I get a better grip on the dog (for fear that my restraint wasn't good enough) and Debrah tries to get the blood from the dog. The owner, Debra and I are all sweet-talking the dog to try and calm her down. The dog tries to get me off again and slams me straight into the molding again, about three times as hard as the first time, making a very loud bang as my head hit the wall.

Everything went black, my eyes started to water, Debra started talking to me, I regained my vision, I realizeed what just happened to me, and from then on all my attention went strait to trying not to cry in front of the client (the owner of the dog). Debra had me go sit down and gave me an ice pack to put on the already growing knot on my head. I sat there, still in shock of what happened. My head started to hurt really badly, so I went and took an Ibuprofen for the pain and swelling. It never did help the pain, but the swelling stopped about an hour after the incident. I hit my head at 1:45. I started getting really sleepy about 2:30-3:00, about the same time the swelling died down.

My left leg from the knee down had been very sore in the muscles. I just blew it off as a weather thing since a few other co-workers were having the same intramuscular pain from the weather. Ever since I hit my head, the pain became gradually worse througout the day and had spread past my knee into my thigh and eventually into my hip. The pain was so bad that I was limping around the clinic not putting pressure on it (even though it still hurt like crazy).

Labling my injury as a mild concussion, I took the necessary precautions. I had Josh call me 20 minutes after he told me to go to sleep to wake me up. He also (voluntarily) called me two or three times during the night, then again to wake me up in the morning. I left the back door unlocked overnight just in case and told my Mom that I would do so when she had come to rescue me (Seanathan abandoned me) from a dead battery after work.

I've had a mild headache all day long with off and on severe headaches. Sometimes it'll hurt very intensely for about 10 minutes, then it'll go away. My leg hasn't hurt since last night. Odd, huh?

After work tomorrow I'm helping Lara watch two kids that she's sitting. We're going to Hawaiian Falls. It'll be interesting, I'm sure, considering one kid is 10 and bringing a friend and the other is 2. Heh. I'm so lucky *said in the most sarcastic tone possible* I'm sure I'll have a good time. If not, I always have no work to look forward to on Sunday!

Well, this thing is long enough. That, and I want to go cross-stitch some more. I'll talk to you poppets later.

Tschüss!

You Know What?

It's really hot outside. I don't normally sweat and even I have beads along my dainty brow. Yuck!

Anyhoo, chores are done.

Yesterday at work I got everything left on my check-off sheet signed, I watched the last video, studied and took my test...and made a 96! That means that I am completely done with my check-off sheet and that means that if that was the only thing keeping me from being hired, I GET TO KEEP MY JOB!!! I'M ALL FINISHED!!! *Dances around room* Knowing my luck, when I meet with Susan on Tuesday, I'll be fired for some other reason. Heh. Ah well. At least I did what no one else has done, 1)finished the check-off sheet in 6 weeks (with two days to spare!) and 2) got a 100 on the hardest test of them all! I even got mentioned in the staff's monthly newsletter for it! I haven't celebrated yet, but I will sometime soon. Maybe I'll go have dinner with my parents some night this week (boy, do I love saying that!)

Rock is laying in my lap and when I looked down at him, his chin was resting on my arm and he was looking at me with his adorable puppy eyes. It was picturesque! He's so cute!

Yesterday Lara and her boyfriend John came over and swam for a half hour. Then we went to Taco Bell, then went to see War of the Worlds at AMC. If you asked me how the movie was last night, I would have said it was a very intense thriller, borderline scary. If you asked me now, I would still say a very intense thriller, but I wouldn't call it scary. It was a good movie, very well made. The ending sucked, but to find out why you'll just have to watch it. The graphics were amazing and the CA (computer animation) was the best I've seen yet as far as realism goes with humans being picked up and that sort of thing. The movie really gets you into it, even if you don't normally get into movies. I do get into movies and for a couple of hours, reality slipped completely from my mind.

This is a good date movie. The guys sit there and say to each other, "Heh. Cool graphics. Hey, look! Something just blew up and now that car's on fire!" and the girls cling to their boyfriend's arm the entire time, doing exactly what the guys were hoping they would do. I liked this movie and plan on seeing it with Josh when I go down there in a couple of weekends.

Christina and Angela are going to spend the night tomorrow night. That'll be fun. And don't worry, I already cleared it with Angi. We're going to swim and watch movies and laugh and play and sleep...it's going to be great! I'm going to make macaroni and cheese and cut open the watermelon and we'll have ice cream...speaking of which, I'm going to go get some right now!!!

Tschüss!!!

More Better

Ok, hopefully this post won't be near as depressing as the last one. I was in an emotional state (a bad one) when I wrote that. Feel free to ignore it.

Life at Angi's house is great. Aside from the fact that I don't have computer games or schoolwork to keep me company, everything's going great! The dogs are wonderful, aside from the occasional chewing of the plants by little Rock (the 14-week-old puppy). They play with each other and are very content with my presence. Rock took a nap with me the other day and the other night he slept contentedly by my side as I cross-stitched.

I don't know how that reminded me, but I just remebered that I have to do chores...get mail, water plants, brush pool...I'll be back in a bit.

Peeking Through the Window of Her Mind

I love my church. We have nice people, good, solid teaching, our Sunday School lessons come straight from the Bible and not some curriculum from Pennsylvania or Arkansas, the people there truly love the Lord and want to serve Him.

I've been struggling with my walk with God for about a year and a half now. I've gone to various people for help and they all gave me the same advice. I asked for help with the advice and they gave it again. I asked God for help when I started seeing myself slipping. I kept sliding down hill and moved further and further away from Him. Friends, family, deteriorating relationships that my friends or I were going through, trips, the little things in life, things kept coming and I knew I needed to trust Him. I thought I did. I got to the point where I was falling into a hole. Not knowing what it looked like, what it felt like to trust God only exacerbated the situation. I finally hit the bottom of the hole. Hurting, I struggled to find out a way to get out. I'd look up at the small hole of light, the only source of light, the opening to the hole I'd fallen into, and wish for a way out. Like a baby learns to stand, I'd grab onto the wall and barely pull myself up, sometimes to a standing position, give up, say it's too hard, and fall back down. I'd sit there, frustrated that I can't do the easiest things. I'd whine and complain to myself all the time about how bad my situation is.

Sometimes people would call down the hole to me and ask me if I was ok. Certain people I would say yes to, just to be polite. Others I would desperately ask for help. Some ignored my request and walked away. Some sent down a rope, but it never came far enough for me to reach. One built a ladder that reached all the way down to the bottom of the hole. He told me to come when I'm ready, that He'll be waiting for me when I get there. Noticing the ladder is one thing, climbing it is another. I'm working on climbing the ladder. I know what I'm supposed to do, I know how to climb the ladder, that's not the issue. It's fitting it into everyday life that's hard.

If it weren't for the people at church, I wouldn't have even noticed the ladder. I would have been so focused on myself that I would have missed it completely. These people were like a flashing arrow pointing through the dark to the ladder, my way of escape from the dark and lonely hole. They are my encouragement, my motivation to perservere and be strong. They help me do what I should do alone, but can't find the strength to do it.

The past two weeks have been the best weeks of my spiritual walk in at least a year. I have grown in how I think and how I view things. I'm watching them through glass windows. I'm listening to what they say to each other, especially about God. I feel like I'm a recovering skeptic. I watched these people at church and saw the ones that were constantly talking about God and every other word out of their mouth was how God did this for them and God saved them in this situation and found myself not happy, but intstantly bitter and angry at His name and the way they used it. These people I dubbed "overly Christian" and found that my anger wasn't necessarily towards them, but at myself and my situation. I still find that people that are that way are annoying - I'm happy for them and all, but they can talk about other things. You can thank God for what he's done in your life and tell others about it without being so repetitive. I almost hate to say that, but it's the truth. Sorry, long rabbit trail. I'm working on it.

Now when I see these people, they help me realize my situation and while they don't tell me how to fix it (I haven't asked them), they do help me to do so by pointing to Him. I'm not really sure what's going to happen, but I know this: God has His plan for me. I am taken care of. Although I'm not where I'd like to be (who is?), I finally realize that it's ok. It's ok to go slowly. I don't have to be some super Christian. I can have problems. As long as I still acknowledge that God is the only cure and let Him be such, I'm ok.

That's what has been on my mind recently. I have to go get final details for tomorrow...I'm housesitting for a friend for two weeks. Have to go get Clifford inspected so I don't get a ticket for being so far out of inspection. I'll talk to you all later. I will have internet while I'm there and I'll try and blog as often as I can.

Tschüss!

100

I don't really feel like updating, but I have to tell you this...

I took another test at work on Tuesday (the 21st) and made a 100! Perfect score on the second hardest test! When I told my boss, not only was she encouraging (yes!!) but she said that she didn't have any records of anyone else making a 100 on that test. So not only did I ace it, but I'm the only one to ace it!!! Score! (no pun intended)

Tschüss!

Possibly the First Time In My Life

I PASSED MY TEST TODAY! I GOT A 94! Which means...I GOT AN A!!! That's probably the first time in my entire life to get an A on a test. I was so happy I was crying. Hooray!

I get home and Mom tells me on her way out the door to look at Oreo's leg and that I need to change the bandage. I take him in there and look at it and oh my goodness. It used to just be a surface sore, about 1/2 inch wide and 1 1/2 inches long, looking irritated and possibly infected. The surface sore part is healing and looks a lot better. The bad thing is, even though he has an Elizabethan collar on (a hard plastic cone that goes around his head) he's still trying to lick the sore. There's a gash in it now, shaped like a V, and bleeding. Not profusely, but bleeding nonetheless. When I bandaged his leg I noticed that there's more to it. Where the bottom of the V is, there's one edge that goes farther down, looking more like a lowercase Y - y. He needs to go to thet doctor. I'd call them and take him now, but we can't afford to take him in and pay for all the treatments. Sometimes being poor really sucks! If I could afford to pay for it, I would - out of my own money. I feel so bad for him. I wish there was something I can do.

Ok, in an attempt to make my mood lighter, I'll tell you my plans for this weekend. Josh, about 2 months ago, invited me to go to his family reunion with he and his family. This Saturday is the reunion and it's going to be a blast! I am so unbelievably excited about it! We're going to go swimming, eat food, see family members that we've never met before, all sorts of fun stuff like that! *grins and laughs* It's going to be a blast!

That's really all I had to blog about. Oh, and one more thing...

I PASSED MY TEST!!!

Tschüss!