Back at work full time, starting today. Yay for work!
Finished my First Year Project Paper last night at about 7pm. Also finished my stats final, and ran the exams I need to grade through the scantron machine. Double yay for being done!
Played more lotr online... not sure if I like it or not, but I can't stop playing. :-)
Fixin to start playing in a d20 future campaign. Have almost zero workable character ideas. If you have any ideas of dynamic female hero-type people I can model after, by all means let me know. Out of the running already: Lara Croft (already done), Tank Girl, and Ameila Peabody (couldn't seem to figure out how to port her from 1900's to the 2100's), and Grace Hopper (because, alas, computer scientists aren't heroes). I am severly lacking in inspiration.
Someone asked me on Friday if I could live anywhere, where would I live? I shocked an entire table of people by saying I'd live in north central Mississippi. Apparently, this is weird, as no one actually wants to live in Mississippi.
I miss Abner's chicken, and lots of otehr back home food, but I'll be back in the south somewhere around the 25th of this month... in Memphis for a couple of days, Maybe Thursday evening through Sunday morningish, then in Huntsville part of Sunday, all of Monday, and maybe part/all of Tuesday. Yay for travelling!
Who ever sinvented Peach & Mango Salsa should be sainted. Or granted god-hood. Or something. I would write the Vatican and suggest this (the sainting, I don't think they handle bestowing god-hood), but I'm not catholic. So in leiu of that, I hope they make a million bucks.
Who ever invented finals should be stabbed in the eye with a really hot french fry.
I might finally regain my sanity... after May 7th. But don't count on it or anything.
My hair is long anough to manage braided pigtails again... but I'm thinking about cutting it off again, too. Decisions, decisions.
A couple more weeks of Iron Yoga & pilates, and I'll have the most awesome abs eVar. Seriously.
Lord of the Rings online is terribly addictive. As is ice cream, and caffiene, and the aforementioned peach & mango salsa.
Once I know who I'm not then I'll know who I am Life... is exceedingly busy. Not bad, just really busy. I feel like I'm running behind, too (although I'm not completely sure that I'm actually behind in the real world. Maybe just in my head).
But yeah. Having a four day weekend last weekend totally rocked. I did lots of stuff. Including unpacking some of the large number of boxes that we still have laying around from the last (several) time(s) we moved.
Less than two weeks of classes left, then I'm working fulltime for the summer. Yay for summer! I know I've already planned more stuff than I can possibly do in like, three months. But it'll be fun to try and get it all done.
Slow dancing in a burning room... So school and work (but mostly school) have kind of been ruling my life lately. Which is to say, I have had no life, as I'm still dog tired from whatever it is I'm getting over.
But. Today I finished my Stats midterm. Yay! Now all I have to do this weekend (school wise) is write a presentation, write some part of my first year project paper, write a paper proposal for linguistics, and write a results section for stats. And something else, I'm sure, but I can't remember it.
Also, in the realm of annoying, it looks like I may end up spending my birthday giving make-up exams. How lovely.
And... you may have notice the I implemented the labels feature... it's really more for my benefit than yours, so I can find stuff kinda quickly. I'm trying to figure out if I can make the labels less prominant, but don't hold your breath as I don't have much time to devote to it. And it may take me a while (read: possibly years) to get all of my archives tagged... there are like, 1060 some-odd entries. Seriously.
being sick sucks (in case you wondered) Actually, that's about all I have to say. I'm at school now, but I'm still sick... grad students don't get sick days. and I techinically took one yesterday. Blah.
Belief is a beautiful armor / But makes for the heaviest sword I survived my midterm. And today started both March, and Spring Break, as I have no classes tomorrow. Sometime this weekend, I'm am headed out for destinations unknown... Vegas, I think, but for a while it was looking like Grand Canyon or possibly Boulder.
Hopefully we'll figure it out before we leave ;-) Brian is coming with, which will be cool.
And I should probably clean the house, instead of blogging. But Chad's gone to karate, and I'm not terribly motivated to clean by myself.
There's more that rises in the morning than the sun today... was an ok day.
I have a voice scheduled for Thursday. Yay! Then I can start running subjects (right after spring break). And I'm mostly done studying for my midterm. Which is good, since it's tomorrow. Now I'm just tired. So I'll probably go to bed when Chad gets home (in like, 30 minutes).
After tomorrow's midterm, I've just got one more assignment due before the break. Yay! and some papers to grade, but that should be fairly short work.
I never was much of a martyr before / and i ain't 'bout to start nothing new I am so tired of putting everything I have into something, only to have it come crashing down around me. And part of me is like, But look, I invested all this time, and I worked so hard, yada yada... and the rest of me is like, Shut up and deal with it, no one likes a martyr anyway. Obviously, you didn't put *everything* into it, or it would have worked out.
Warring factions in my brain. Gives me a stupid headache... which then makes it difficult to work on my current soul-consuming project (my midterms and first year project).
Thoughts... I probably think too much. Check that... I definately think too much. And generally not about whatever I should be paying attention to.
All of my female friendships seem to have a 6 month expiration date. Which probably says more about me than I'd really care to deal with.
I got called a tramp at kroger today. By someone I don't even know. No idea what the deal was.
I have a midterm on Wednesday, and I need to do well. I've started studying, but it's one of those tasks that seems like I'll never finish. No idea how the rest of the class is doing... I wasn't invited to any study sessions, so I'm assuming there aren't any.
I'm still working on getting the stupid voices for my first year project... no idea when that'll come through. I'm just short one male voice at the moment.
Spring break is coming up. And I need it really bad this year... I don't know... I'm like a fish out of water or something. I just don't seem to fit in my skin anymore, and its showing in my attitudes towards school, too.
Anyway. Enough randomness. Must get back to the studying.
Accomplishment. I have accomplished a bunch of stuff today.
I made an eye appointment.
I faxed paperwork to my lawyer.
I sent in life insurance paperwork and the homestead exemption paperwork for our house.
I sent in the renewal for my Dr. Dobbs subscription.
I did the longest stats homework to be assigned this semester (which actually is due tomorrow).
I finished the experiment design for my (5 subject) pilot.
But somehow, I still have an amazing amount of stuff to do. And I feel kinda apathetic about it. Like I would rather go home and go to bed. Maybe if I sleep for like, 2 weeks, the world will sort itself out while I'm asleep and I won't have to deal with any of it.
But I can't. I have a dinner in like, 30 minutes. At least the school is paying for ir...
I wake up and tear drops they fall down like rain... Blah. Been having kinda a blah week, really. I think I'm coming down with something (when am I not?), I've been waaaay stressed out at school (having your ass handed to you on a platter by the departmental progress committee will do that), the realization that New Orleans is never going to fully recover has finally hit me, and it's just been kinda blah.
But this past weekend was awesome. I enjoyed New Orleans Mardis Gras to it's fullest (and by that, I mean the drunken part but not the orgy part. Contrary to popular opinion, I do have a few limits). I caught beads (lots of beads), ate decent New Orleans food (port of call was really busy, so no hamburgers for us), watched parades, walked down Bourbon Street, and drank a drink that was literally more than half as tall as I am. In case you wanted to know, I cannot in fact hold my liquor like He-Man, everything is funnier when you're drunk, my drunken vocabulary mostly consists of the words "totally" and "awesome", and fire is the most totally awesome thing ever to be in a parade. Oh yeah, and I'm never (ever) allowed to drink that much Hurricane again.
But yeah. Back to the humdrum (but not boring, no never boring) life of a grad student. I've finished tonight's homework, and now I'm trying to decide whether to read Eugene Field while taking a bath, or to play Elebits (the greatest Wii game evar).
Oh yeah... all my pictures are broken. I'm working on that, it's annoying, I hsould have it fixed sometime this week (moaybe tomorrow).
How much longer will I try before I realize / I’m desperate in the situation that I’m in again? Blah.
I should be doing something productive, but I have neither the brainpower nor the motivation. I just turned in my Stats homework, and it was kind of a crappy attempt, but I couldn't seem to wrap my brain around it. I know it'll be simple, and I'll figure it out over the weekend (have to take the prof's comments and revise over the weekend).
My head hurts. These stupid migraines are getting worse, and I don't know what to do about them. The combination of Amerge and Aleve has brought it down to a dull roar, but I still can't concentrate (plus, my reflexes are now like, zero). Maybe I should suck it up and call a real neurologist. Or something. I mean, I seem to be collecting doctors these days. What's one more?
Another consequence of my head hurting: I seem unable to say anything intelligent. I feel like a freakin' cave man. Stringing words together in real time is annoyingly difficult, and trying to decipher what other people are saying... yeah. So. I have to meet with my langauge professor in like, 30 minutes. And she's going to think I'm an idiot. Which, right now, I probably am.
Edit: The meeting wasn't so bad. She might not think I'm a total idiot. So now I'm gonna take some time and try to come up with a paper topic for that class (need to have a topic by midterm, I think).
Colorless green ideas sleep furiously I *knew* that someday my class on formal languages and automata would come in handy... This week's study in linguistics is on Chomsy's theories of grammar... which is all formals languages are, really.
Yay for cross disciplinary knowledge... I actually have a clue what's going on for once. Now if only I can find something intelligent to say about it.
Blah. So... I'm not going to post that much since 1) my head and back still hurt, but I'm tired of whining about it. and 2) I haven't done anything of interest this week (see 1).
I did, however, apparently go through some weird rite of initiation or somehting yesterday. I was enrolled for a class... that was supposed to meet at 1pm. I went and sat in the class.... no one showed. no one. So I went to the secretary, and asked her to look it up... right time, right class, right room, 10 people are registered... called the professor who was supposed to be teaching it. She had no idea. Called the former department chair. She said it only meets sometimes, not every week, and someone should be in contact with me. Went to see my advisor, who was like "oh really? That's news to me...". Go figure. Out of 10 students, I was the only one who showed up. I am, however, not the only 1st year who's enrolled. yeah.
Anyway. I have an appointment with a regular doctor on Monday afternoon, to hopefully address this back/headache issue. Hopefuly, something will come of it. Meanwhile, I'm still seeing the chiropractor like, three times a week (five times a day? Who has time for that?).
And the house is still a mess. Unfortunately, it doesn't clean itself.
More whining Had X-rays done today (will find out what they mean tomorrow). Then came to school, to try and catch my professor in his office. (he hasn't been in, yet, since I've been here). My back hurts. And I'm whiney.
I may go home here in about 30 minutes, if I can't track down anyone I need to talk to. Meanwhile, I need to price docking stations and other ergonomic solutions for my office at school, since I will be spending waaaaay to much time here aver the next, say, five years or so.
Blah. Do you ever have one of those day where you feel totally useless? I mean... like a total waste of space and resources.
Yeah, that was yesterday afternoon/evening. In the morning, I ran lots of errands (that is to say, 1.5 errands, really), and got some stuff done, and even dragged a friend along to help ensure that I didn't do anything stupid. But... befre I left, I picked up the dog for some reason (no idea why)... and while we were at Sam's, I picked up like, 20 lbs of cat food. Because I'm dumb.
So then I came home, and i was hurting, but I thought... you know, it would be awesome to like, have people over to play games and stuff tonight. But my house is a wreck still. So... I emptied the dishwasher, I picked up trash, I moved a bunch of (little, or at least not heavy) things out to the garage and some other things upstairs... and yeah, after an hour or so of that, I could barely walk. Chad came home, bringing me motrin, and ordering me to take it easy. But yeah, by the time he got home, I wasn't fit to do much of anything but whine and cry and bitch about my back. So we ate sammiches, and watched Family Guy. And poker. And then I went to bed.
And the house is still a wreck. I had intended t have everything back in shape by the time school starts (tomorrow), but that's totally not going to happen.
Today, I'm supposed to drive out to work and put in four or five hours.... but my back hurts, and the whole prospect is kind of annoying. On the other hand, if I stay here, I won't get anything accomplished, either. I hate this shit.
X-rays tomorrow, and go back to the chiropractor on Tuesday to get them read.
Yay! Done with Stats. Finally. Used my way awesome new printer to print all 174 pages of the final (in like, 5 minutes... it was awesome).
Now, I must clean house, do laundry, and figure out how we're going to fit all the chrimma stuff and two dogs and a cat into the truck (and still have room for us). So why am I blogging? (Because I'm addicted, or something) :-)
School, Christmas, and Life in general. So I'm alsmot done with my last assignment for the semester... I have two problems left on my stats final, and I've done about half of each of them. It's due at 5pm tomorrow, so I should be in ok shape to finish it on time and stuff.
Santa visited my house last night... he left me a printer (not just any printer, mind you, a Dell 5110cn laser printer). Oh yeah. prints really fast, duplexes, and weighs like, 95 pounds (hence the reason it didn't get dragged to Memphis). Sanata rbought Chad a Banjo, which he says he really likes ;-)
Life in general... not so bad, today. Although I'm probably going to freak out tomorrow, trying to get everything ready to leave. *sigh*. I don't know... going home this year seems different for some reason. Probably because we live so far away, and don't get to go home as often. Who knows.
Who can decide what they dream? / And dream I do... Blah. Stayed in bed until like, 2pm today, with the exception of getting up around 8:15ish to take a shower... still don't really feel like I slept. I feel more like I wasted like, 5 hours that I could have been doing something productive.
Work is becomeing a wild and crazy game of politics that I would really rather not play, but am somehow stuck in. But at least I don't have to deal with it (in person) until January 3rd... I'm working remotely from now until i get back from Memphis/Huntsville.
And speaking of the Hammon's Great American Christmas Tour 2006... We'll be in Memphis at some point (late) on the 21st, leaving (early) on the 26th for Huntsville, leaving Huntsvile for Memphis (early) on the 31st, and leaving Memphis to come back to Houston on the 2nd. So yeah, if you want to see us sometime in there, call me, or e-mail me, or something. We'll work it out.
Back to the doing productive things. I htink I'm oging to go arange icons and work on Stats stuff, whilst blasting my eardrums out with some combination of Eve6, Evanesence, and Indigo Girls (and maybe some other stuff thrown in there somewhere).
Pardon me sir can I use your eraser / To remove my brain of unconventional nature It is December 16th. It is like, 80 degrees outside. Running the air conditioning in my house is not terribly condusive to having Christmas Spirit. Just in case you wondered.
In other news, I've now lost like, 25 lbs on the "Mt. Dew Diet" (my own invention, I guess). I'm htinking now that I should market this to Movie Stars and women's magazines. Bought new jeans today, since my other ones are getting a mite too loose.
And now I will go back to wat I hsould be doing instead of blogging... working on my Stats final. I hate stats. But at least it's almost over... oh wait, I have another stats class next semester. Great.
I know, I know... I finally fixed the corset pic. (as an interesting note, check out the little imp who snuck into the picture with me... I really should send that to Manda).
Now I have to kill 45 minutes, and go take a final. Yay for finals?
Oh Chrimma tree... Oh chrimma tree... So yesterday I:
Went Christmas shopping (for real this time).
Finally bought Chad's big present. Yay!
Ironically, hid Chad's presents in the same closet where he was hiding mine. Managed to do this (somehow) without seeing my presents, and to figure this out before he went in there and saw his presents. They are now safe in one of the other mostly unused closets in our house.
Dragged Chad to the departmental Christmas party. Suddenly, he understands what I've been talking about for like, an entire semester. All in all, it wasn't too bad, but I realized (more than ever) that I have very little in common with my classmates. Except, you know, shcool.
Finally, finally, finally decorated the tree. But I think somehow we're short a couple of ornaments... I'm not sure where they got off to. They might be in the same box as the creche for my nativity set (which is also hiding).
Slept for a glorious 10 or 11 hours... straight. Which is awesome. Now all i want to do s curl up and read a book... all day. But I have to go to work for a ocuple of hours, and get some studying and stuff done, so I don't have to skip karate on Tuesday night.
So yeah. Productive day, I suppose. I only have a little more shopping to do, and a whole lot of wrapping. *sigh*.
Brrrr! Um, yeah. So I heard a rumor that it doesn't get cold in Texas, except in like, Febraury.
They were wrong.
It is so cold... so cold it almost made Chad swear! Which would have been funny. Anyway... My missions for the day: Survive the next hour an a half at work without killing anyone, or screaming out loud. Go home, find pictures of the mostest awesome haircut eVar. Take said pictures to the hair dresser, and get a hair cut that (hopefully) resembles the pictures. Maybe watch a movie. Stay warm. Work on term paper... due Monday. Yay!
Tests are the bane of my existance ... At least at the moment.
So yeah. Studying for a test. Which could be easier, I guess, except (return of the 6-point entry!):
I have no idea what this teacher expects. And it's only 5 questions. I mean really, that's a lot of room to screw up, you know?
I have recently lost my vocabulary. Seriously, I am reduced to having conversations about "the things with the stuff and the people"... which doesn't fly at Rice, suprisingly.
I hate tests. Why can't I just write a paper instead? (oh... right, the vocab thing. dammit.).
I have to make a good grade on this. Good grade = 87 or better to pull me to a B in the class. I'd settle for anything above, like, an 82 though.
This stuff shouldn't be that hard! I have no idea why it is! it's not technical or anyhthing, I guess I just don't get it or something. Stupid names and dates and studies. Can someone give me an algorithm, please? Or an equation? that would be awesome.
If I *weren't* studying for a test, I could be doing lots of way awesomer stuff. Like hanging out with people, or going to Karate, or sleeping. Sleep... now there's a thought...
Yeah, so I'm sure I'm not as bad as I sound, and really... I'll be doing a whole lot better about noon or so tomorrow. Assuming, you know, enough Mt. Dew exists in the world to keep me alive that long. :-)
At least I don't have to drive to school tomorrow. Yay for carpooling! :-)
Isn't it Ironic? Wrote a semi-interesting paper theorizing about how people process ironic communication... that is, I thought the topic was interesting. The paper is... well, a page and a half of crap, basically. So yeah. This means I have no idea what my grade will be. When I write what I think is interesting, I get low grades. When I turn in papers that are crap, I get high grades. Go figure.
That's not ironic... that just a bunch of fucked up shit that happens to people. ~William (I think?)
Sickness, school, car, archives, and other ranodm stuff. Blah. Still sick. Sitting in my office at school, freezing, wearing a shirt, a sweater that is like, 11 sizes to big for me, and eating Chicken & Stars soup. And I'm fixin to take more Tussin.
But at least I'm at school today, which is better than yesterday. And I'll be in school tomorrow, and at work, barring any weird relapse thingy.
My neck hurts. Like, it hurts to hold my head erect while moving. Or in a car. Or on the train. Or sitting in class. Didn't dawn on me until I was in the car this morning that it was probably whiplash. blah.
My archives are no longer broken. just in case you wondered.
And I have absolutely no concentration left to work on stuff today... So I'm basically killing time in between seminars. Which is, you know, great.
Newsish type stuff. It is good to have friends who, you know, live in the same town as you. Just in case you wondered.
So yeah. Life is... life, I guess. Plodding along through school... got an awesome project for my First year project... now I just have to survive my classes. I honestly don't know how people work and go to school at the same time... it's killing me.
But weekends have been awesome lately, since we've been hanging out with people who 1) have the same interests as we do, 2) like to watch movies and play board games, and 3) are strangly very much like me and Chad.
It's kind of odd though... I'm trying to think of the last time I had a friend who wasn't a guy that I could call up any time and hang out or whatever... and I'm thinking that it was pretty close to freshman or sophmore year... yeah, probably when Elisa and I were still close friends (before we, you know, roomed together for waaaay to long).
Anyway. Just a short deviation from the 6 point entry. Maybe I'll post a 6-pointer later today, just so you don't think I'm breaking stride or somehting. :-)
Life, the Universe and Everything So I have a great deal of extra time today. at work. (Not that I haven't done work... I just finished a task that I originally told my boss would have to wait until September when I come back). I hate killing time at work.
I finish up here Friday, August 18th. And I have Orientation starting Wednesday, August 23rd. Classes start Monday, August 28th. And we close on the house September 1st. And I come back here part time somewhere around September 12th.
So between now and when I finish up here, I have a few (mostly superficial) loose ends, project wise, to tie up. Between now and orientation I need to buy a backpack (the laptop carryin' kind), buy other misc school supplies, buy some more shoes, get my hair cut (trimmed), and maybe get my nails done. Between now and when the house closes, Chad and I need to pack like mad. Between when the house closes and when I start work I have to finish as much moving as possible while still attending clases and putting in the required number of research hours. And between now and when I start work, I need to retrain myself to sleep less, get up at 6am, and put in 12-13 hour days.
Seriously, this working part time thing... I honestly don't know how people manage to work and go to school at the same time. I mean, my brother does it, and other people I know do it, and most of them manage to keep good grades and stuff... but I'm just not sure where the time comes from, y'know? I drafted my work/school schedule, tenatively based on the classes I want to take. It involves me leaving the hosue at 7am, and getting home between 6:30 and 7:30 (unless I have a doctor's appointment, or these's too much traffic, in which case I'll have to put in some extra time somewhere...). So basically, I'm going to have around 3 1/2 to 4 hours every night to 1)Do homework, 2) cook and eat dinner, and 3) do any other activity that I would normally accomplish on the weekends (spend time with my husband, go to karate, play DDO). Yeah.
oh yeah, pictures of the house, without carpet (it has carpet now, but we don't have pictures of it).
Back to School :-) So I got a call this weekend... from Rice University. Not only did they accept me, but they granted me a fellowship and some other assistance... all my tution is paid for, for four years!
Baylor called today and wanted to offer me a job. I had to turn them down... on account of going to school in August.
Little Kitty got out the other day... she spent 7 or 8 hours in the wide world of suburbia... and then came home. She's been dying to go back out since then, but we need to get her fixed (!) before then (the last thing we need is a house full of little kitties).
The battle with the dentists continues... crazyness all around.
Done! I'm done. I finished my last project report. As soon as my other team member gets here and we turn this stuff in, I'll have no other academic requirements to meet.
I went and picked up my cap and gown this morning. It's all weird... Master's robes are so different. It's got long hangy-down sleeves, and the weird hoodie thing. I think it's funny.
So this whole graduating thing. It's kinda scary. Like... I don't know. Everyone has been asking me for months if I'm excited to be graduating and moving to Texas. And I have been like, well, I guess... it's just something you do. You finish with what you're doing in one place, and then you move. We're done in Starkville, guess it's time to go somewhere else. But now... I guess it really hit me this week. I'm not a college student. I'm a grown-up. Or at least... I'm supposed to be? When did I get issued my grown-up card? Who exactly checked my credentials for grown-up-ness? I'm not even old enough to rent a car... who thought it was a good idea to give me a Masters degree and let me move like, a quarter of the way across the country?
I guess I've just gotten really comfortable here. I mean, Starkville has been more "home" than Huntsville for a long time now... as much as I complain about it while I'm here, it's a little scary to leave. I'll be far enough from home, that I'll have to plan way ahead to make it home for important events like Mandie's graduation... I'm sure my parents will *never* make it out to Texas (until I provide them a grandchild as incentive, anyway). It's kind of odd.
Not that I'm not looking forward to it. Living in a "real" city with malls and restraunts and museums is going to be awesome. And unlike the last time I lived in a huge metro area (St. Louis), we will not be in the ghetto. Far from it, actually. Houston has so many advantages... I'm looking forward to doing things I never get to do here while I'm in school...
I don't know. I've moved prety often all my life... so the moving thing is ok. I guess it's the not-being-here-after-I-move thing that bothers me :-)
Almost there... Yes. I am almost there. Counting the days, in fact. Nine days, counting today, and I'll have a Masters Degree.
Between then, all I have to do is finish two projects and corresponding project reports, finish two class notebooks, and take a final. And clean my house so that a) my parents are way impressed with my housekeeping skills (if they actually make it down here), and b) the movers can actually move our stuff in some organized fashion when the time comes.
But... I got Immortal Cities: Children of the Nile in the mail the other day (not being cool enough to buy it when it came out, I had to eBay it)... and I stole some time a couple of days ago and played it for an hour... and it is so cool! like, amazingly so. I like it. Ha. So.... I am bribing myself to work on my projects for a little while (like a couple hours), and then I'll play my game for a little while. Yay!
So I took my camera on my Thankgiving trip, with the idea that somewhere in there, someone would take a picture of me and I could post it here... But somehow, the only picture of me ended up on my brother's camera, and he hasn't sent it to me yet. Maybe I'll get chad to take a picture of my hair this weekend.
Anyway.... I should get back to the working and the projects.
Fall Break! Yay! Fall break officially starts now! errr... actually, when I get the dishes done so we can actually leave the house. And I don't guess it's really a break, as I have to complete a take-home test and do homework and stuff over the weekend.
But at least I'm done grading. And I won't have anything to grade all of next week. Yay!
I'm tired. But life is pretty good right now... guess it evens out.
So Chad's taking the job in Houston (in case there's like, anyone left who hasn't heard). We move to Houston officially in January (right after the new year). Yay! Having a job means we'll have money ... not that we're going to buy a bunch of stuff with it, in theory. it'll just be nice to know we aren't broke, and be able to actually start some kind of retirement or something. Or buy me a new Shelby Mustang. Or something like that. ;-)
So yeah. We'll have insurance, too. Yay!
Not sure what I'm going to do when we get out there. My choices look something like htis at the moment: go back to school for a PhD in CS; go back to school for a MS/PhD in Psychology; get a job teaching; get a job programming; or take up watching soap operas and eating bonbons.
We get to go out to Houston and look for a house at some point... I think in October. not sure if we're buying or renting yet... so many decisions.
Alanis is awesome. Just in case you wondered.
School is great this semester, although I have a huge amount of work to do. I htink graduating should be less work than the rest of school, but it's not. I still have to schedule my comps and stuff, so they'll give me my dimploma. *sigh*
Anyway. I might be called to go and socialize here in a few minutes... when the vampires are done vampiring. although my socializing will probably be cut short, as everyone here will be drinking, and I don't know enough people in the group to really feel like drinking. That, and I'm dead tired. one drink would put me out like a light ;-)
Hopefully, this will publish, and I'll be able to post again soon.
Internet is on in the new apaprtment... I guess that means we're officially moved in (although you wouldn't believe that if you saw the place at the moment... boxes and bags everywhere). Fun stuff.
School started today, but not really for me. I start tomorrow.
And that is all the interesting news. Starkville is incredibly dead during the summer.
Grade came in (finally).... I got my 4.0!! Yay! *dances around* That leaves me with something like a 3.8... which is the highest GPA I've like, ever had.
I'm digging this whole grad school thing. Maybe 3 or 4 more years wouldn't be that bad...
So, we're in the middle of all this legal stuff, pressing charges against Butthead Neighbor Person, and looking for apartments, and lots of crap. Which is not really all that much fun... but it looks like there's a good possibility that the justice system will actualy work for us, which is unusual, but very good.
William is leaving for The Coast today... working a temp job at SAIC... luckily, both of our phones are free inside Mississippi, so we can still call and discuss life and the universe (and everything else, I suppose). But no more 1pm lunches in the Union :-(
In other news... I have lost 5 lbs in 2 weeks on this diet thingy. Which isn't too bad... if it keeps up, I should be back to "normal" (where I was last July) by like, the middle of August. I think I can handle it that long.
I finished all my finals... waiting for the grades to come in... crossing my fingers for the ever elusive 4.0 semester. I got an A in the class I was worried about, so I might have done it... no telling. It would be nice though... pull my graduate gpa up to something like a 3.8, make the president's list for the first time ever, feel warm and fuzzy...
Actually talked to my sister on the phone today. Which was cool, but a little strange... She's so not a phone person. But, she was in a good mood today... I guess? :-)
Finally finished my take home test. Or at least, the part I've been given so far. Should get the rest tomorrow... will probably finish it about midnight Wednesday night, because it's spring and I am extremely unmotivated. I also found out that the paper that I thought was due like, the beginning of May is actually due like, two weeks from today. And I have to make a presentation on it. *rolls eyes and flops face first into pillow* Why am I staying in school? I don't know!
I now officially hate triangles. And eHarmony commercials are annoying. Just thought I'd let you know.
Anyway. I need to find something cold to drink. And figure out when Chad will be home. And go to bed.
look. I am a computer science major. not a marketing major. not a communications major. not a business major. I chose a major where I wouldn't have to fake enthusiasm, or deal with people. Thus, I have no cause to paste a dumb expression on my face in an attempt to make people think I am having a good day when I'm really not. I hate doing that.
I'm not having a good day. My head hurts. It's hurt for most of three days. I broke my project this morning... and I'm supposed to demo to my boss this afternoon. Chad's car is in the shop (which will be free), and mine is acting up (which will at least cost me whatever a bottle of fuel cleaner costs, and maybe more). I haven't had enough sleep, and the vending machines in Butler... nevermind.
I have smiled several times today. I smiled when I called and woke Chad up this morning (he's funny when he's mostly asleep)... Joe said something stupid and made me smile... Dr. Bridges butchered the tale of Hansel and Gretel, and that was funny... William got an onsite interview ing Huntsville, which was worth smiling for. But having someone shout over IM or over the phone that I need to smile... no. That realy won't make me smile. Sorry. But I really don't see the point. And I know I've said that more than once.
the list is getting shorter: one take home assignment (due tomorrow), one project (due wednesday), on final (wednesday), and one presentation (Thursday). I might not die between now and then...
There's nothing like turning in a project report 4 hours late and only half done to make your day... especially if you're turning it in to your major professor. *sigh* But he was understanding, I guess... the full report isn't due till Monday now.
And I have a meeting for work today... with little tangible progress to show (I have made a couple of breakthroughs, but mostly it involves correcting stupid mistakes I had made, or misconceptions about how Java and OpenSees work together). Yeah. No deliverables. I'm so gonna have to work my butt off next week.
But... I have 2 projects left to turn in, one assignment, a test and a presentation. And then I'm done for the break. Yay for me. And I definately have my required 3.0 gpa... looking at somewhere between 3.6 and 4.0 (don't hold your breathe for the 4.0, it involves making pretty high grades on the final and project in SEII).
Speaking of SEII... omg. That class is so the bane of my existance at the moment. I have walked, talked, eaten and dreamed this stupid reservation system for like, two weeks (dude... maybe that's why I didn't get any real work done...). I took it home with me over break. I have put blood sweat and tears into this stupid project... and it doesn't work. Not only that... One person from the other teams has offered to help us integrate (besides the e-mail dude who thinks I'm stupid). One person. Out of 8. Nice. Since, you know, integration is only the responsibility of the interface people. Because that's how the syllabus has it divided.... NOT. This is so supposed to be everyone's thing. But no. It belongs to the Yellow Darts (that's us). *sigh* I hate group projects.
On the upside of group projects though... there is a small possibility that one of my group projects might get published... though I won't know anything probably until after the break. Interesting to note, though.
Yeah. I will resurface sometime after the 9th, when my final assignment (the presentation) is done. Until then, I'll be working on stuff.
Apparently, my body has decided that we cannot survive on less than like, 12 hours of sleep a night. Which is annoying, not to mention impossible to maintain.
And MySQL is giving me fits. Says I can't login as root, or set up an anonymous account, even after I've reinstalled it a million times. So I downloaded the other installer... or, am trying to download, I guess. For some reason, my super spiffy business class line... is only supporting 1KB down at the moment. Weird.
Not a whole lot to say though. Stuff happened this weekened... Chad got a car (SUV) to replace the dying Intrepid... Some crackho/stupid kid stole my gameboy... we played games with friends and family in the Memphis area (when we weren't car shopping)... we did lots of stuff. but for some reason, I don't feel like saying much.
I need to go write papers and stuff. Because lots of it is due this week. And more of it is due next week. And I will be gone most of the weekend enjoying the sights of North Carolina while Chad enjoys the sights of the end of the World (the White Wolf world, of course. Don't worry... it restarts in January. As if you were worried. Ha). I will have my computer... but I'm not sure how much internet access I will have, as I refuse to pay some outrageous per hour fee for wireless like the last couple of hotels I have stayed in charged. Maybe ours will be more reasonable. Or maybe I'll have to find the library, or an internet cafe or something.
But yeah. If I'm quiet, that's why.
Oh yeah... a key fell off of my keyboard today. One day. After. I was in a town with a Best Buy where they could fix it. Stupid thing will have to wait until Christmas break. Grr.
I really am going to go do more work now (my first paper of the night, due tomorrow, is about 75 words from being finished. Then I have to write a bunch of software engineering stuff, and an abstract for a paper on user interfaces... and something else that I can't remeber right now).
Yeah. That about sums it up today. Not enough sleep last night. And apparently, I scared Chad out of his mind last night by screaming bloody murder because I was dreaming about spiders (I remember very little of this, but he swears it's true).
So I need to pick a concentration. Torn between AI and Software Engineering.
AI: awesome topic, would have no problem coming up with a thesis and/or project, very excited about it... but not so marketable on the Masters level. Most jobs in AI are research, and require a PhD.
Software Engineering: Boring topic. I like the testing and the documentation and stuff, but the project management aspect is killing me. No idea for any kind of thesis/project topic... but very very marketable.
I'm really leaning towards AI, with a certificate in SE... but I'm trying to figure out where I want to go with it. If I want to chase a PhD, I really need to do so before Chad and I decide to have kids... ie, while Chad is still in school.
I don't know... but I can't pick a major professor until I pick a concentration (works like that for some reason).
So I'm sitting in this class, and it's boring. I mean. Really. I think this teacher (I won't post her name, just in case) is the only perosn in the world who could make this stuff sooooo comfusing and soooo boring.
And the one class I really want to take next semester... she teaches. At 8am.
Only my love for AI will get me up for that class...
Eh. Another early morning spent in Butler Hall. Waiting for class to start. It's five minutes till, and no one else has bothered to show up... I wonder if I missed an e-mail from the instructor? Something along the lines of, "I don't feel like getting up this morning, so we're not having class."
On a happier note, I finished my take-home test last night, so it's ready to turn in today. And, yesterday, a teacher changed a due date for a paper so that instead of being due next week, it was due last week... but because I had done the paper early, I turned it in right when she changed the due date, and didn't get any points counted off. Yay for me.
So... Today I have added two pages to my (supposed to be) 10 page paper, thus bringing me up to 5 pages total... I have written another 2 page paper... I have written 2 typed pages of information (including the references page) for a take home test... and I have done random bioinformatics research to find enough information to fill said 2 pages of take home test... and attended all three of my classes.
ok... So I feel compelled to share this, as it is frustrating me. These are the CS department formatting rules for page numbers on papers and other such assignments:
Use page numbers as required for theses, dissertations, and directed project reports. Specifically:
Do not put a page number on the cover pages.
Number the first page of an abstract or summary page number 1. Place the page number in the center at the bottom of the page. Set the bottom margin for the text at 1.25 inches and set the bottom margin for the footer at 1.0 inch so that there will be a margin of 1.0 inch below the page number.
On each subsequent page of text, place the page number in the right top corner of the page, one inch from the top of the page. This can be accomplished by defining a header in which the page number is right justified, the margin for the header is 1.0 inch, and the margin for the text is 1.25 inches.
Place the page number in the center of the bottom of the page for the first page of the reference list. Leave a margin of 1.0 inch below the page number. If the reference list requires more than one page, place the page number for subsequent pages in the top right corner of each page with a margin of 1.0 inch above it.
I'm sorry... that's just too confusing.
Now I have to go figure out how to make MS Word (or open office, I'm not picky) actually *do* that... Or I could go to bed. Tempting...
Today is a bad day. Capital BAD. Capital DAY. Everyone from the Coast is stressed out about Ivan. The brochure that I am (was) supposed to do for the church isn't going so well (the printer says it got messed up between the Macs on campus and her Mac... go figure). On the way to get my paycheck, my car stopped working (as I was in the ERC parking lot, this wasn't as catastophic as it could have been). And they don't have my paycheck, even though I've worked for a month and they haven't paid me yet... somehow, they lost my paperwork or something. So... I'm now at school (not at work, where I should be)... sans working car, sans paycheck (aka, money to fix car). Hopefully, Chad and I can get it working tonight... (I think it's the starter).
And Dr. Bridges said she's going ot take points off of my paper because I didn't follow all the formatting rules (i.e., I single spaced where she took off points for double spaceing last time).
So I have an 8am class Tuesdays and Thursdays... which is not so good for my sleep schedule, but I can deal with it, you know? But, now that I am a day commuter student, I have to find a place to park (preferably without walking from say, the Wesley). So... I have to get here before 7:30. Because there are only 6 day commuter student parking places near my building. If I arrive at 7:30 exactly, I have to park on the other side of Chad's old dorm, and walk here, meaning I get to my classroom at about 7:45. If I get here at 7:45, there are no parking space there, and I have to park behind my old dorm (which is now condemned). And I get to class at 7:55 (if I walk fast).
There should be married student dorms. Or apartments like, right in the middle of campus.
But I guess they'll have to solve the current housing problem first (we're down three dorms this semester... and the next new one isn't slated to be finished until August or December 2005).
Chad makes good fried chicken. Just in case you wondered.
Also. Learned an important lesson today. Never do any homework before it's actually due. I did homework like, four or five days before it was due, and the prof changed the assignment. So now I have to redo it. According to the new assignment. We love professors.
Thought of the day: Do football coaches really wear $28 underwear?
p.s. posting from class during lecture is eVil. but fun. :-)
Survived the first day of class... discovered that one of my classes is going to require 4 10-page papers and a project. *sigh* So much for free time...
School starts a week from today... Yay! I am so looking forward to all of my classes... and I'm going to spend less than $100 on books this year, for like, the first time ever. Graduate student = fewer classes = few books. Yay for me! I think I'm gonna go buy my books and price Chad's this afternoon. other than that, I'm mostly out of errands to run... nothing left ot do but program and write thank-you notes from now until school starts ;-)
Anyway... My sleep schedule is (slowly) trying to return to normal, due to the fact that Chad's in band camp and has to be asleep by a semi-reasonable hour every night... hopefully all will be good when school starts.
Back in Starkville, for a day or two. Back for good Saturday, as Band Camp starts Sunday, and Chad needs to be here for that. I am so looking forward to classes this semester... I have an awesome schedule, I like all of my professors, and I have a class with William (and as of yesterday, he's in my lab, too). The fact that my schedule is the complete opposite of Chad's schedule is a little bit of a downer... but typical.
On a side note here... I hate spam. Not SPAM, the canned meat stuff, which I kind of like sometimes with egg on a sammich... but spam. The annoying e-mail crap you get constantly, that keeps you from paying attention to the real (like, important) e-mail you have gotten. Like this morning... 216 spam messages. 0 real messages. but I had to look at everything im my spam folder, as I am expecting a couple of e-mails from professors, that occasionally look like spam. Grrr.
Somehow, the fact that this is the last set of undergrad finals I'm ever going to have to take isn't so encouraging...
Pray for Nick (or light a candle, or keep him in your thoughts, or send him positive energy, or whatever it is that you people do)... there's never a good time for a sudden death in the family... but two days before finals start has to be one of the worst.
Yay for the rediscovery of information on old hard drives :-)
Not yay for people who change White Wolf schedules at the last possible minute, thereby throwing chaos into any plans people might have made on the weird assumption that these things were somewhat static.
Yay for sleep. I don't often get much of it, but I've slept for basically three or four days now, and I think it might be kind of addictive. I dunno... maybe I should break the habit before it gets worse :-)
Not yay for doctor's appointments. Because they suck.
Yay for good grades, and a good class schedule (tenatively) for next semester.
Not yay for having to deal with stupid people. That has to be like, my biggest pet peeve ever... stupid people really really get to me. I don't think I can stress this one enough...
Ok. All I can think of for the moment.
Thinking about going to sleep. Somewhat hyper, but not the fun kind of hyper that makes you jump around and do things... more the edgy kind of hyper you get from lack of sleep... or too much sleep, I guess. That's prolly it. I've slept too much. I should boycott sleep tonight... heh heh heh.
Computer no longer in shop, but needs OS reinstall. It'll be the weekend before I have time to fool with it.
no longer going to Boston in the fall, staying here to get a master's degree and possibly teach labs or somehting (we are no longer "the Pirates who don't do anything", apparently we are "the pirates who go to grad school") Good and bad qualities to that one...
midterms are upon us... therefore, I am insanely busy, and thus also have recontracted my sinus infection (I think). But... after Thursday, it will be much (more) better(er). And I might have time to sleep. Or not.
Spring break is coming. This is what we are all holding out for. *sigh* A week of rest and relaxation and... wedding planning.
I think that's about it for the moment... life is generally ok... I'm looking forward to not having to drag all my stuff home over the summer break... books and stuff are a pain to move.
Hope to be online again soon... like I said, let me get past Thursday, and i can look at the computer.
No really... I just totally made up a lab report... culled down a list of sources to something manageable that I can actually work with when I go to the library tomorrow... checked and answered e-mail... and held several AIM conversations... all while in Statistics class.
But. Ethics class is not nearly as fun.
So I'll have to get off of the computer now. *sigh*
Anyone care to comment on the topics of technophobia, especially as it relates to automation? (If I could cite you as a source, that'd be even better *grin*)
PS... Because David will get a kick out of this... looks like I may be citing an article from MacWorld (in like, 1996) on technophobia as relating to sci-fi movies. Interestingly enough, the MSU ly-berry subscribes to both MacWorld and MacUser. Who'd have thought it?
So I survived the first week of school... and Elisa's wedding.
And I have decided that Chad and i are going to run away. Weddings are a pain in the butt.
Other than that... not much has happened lately. I've written and turned in two papers, done two seperate sets of homework problems, and turned in a cool security lab thingy. Other than that, mostly I've just gone to class. Blah.
Classes look good this semster, though... lots of fun stuff, lots of good instructors. Yay for me.
I should be researching for several Ethics papers and an Ethics presentation in the next couple of weeks, so expect some odd philosophical/ethical dilemma links and stuff. :-)
Anyway. Now I'm going to go to bed, because I've actually slept *counting...* 5 hours in the last two days? If I go to bed right now... I can get close to 7 hours tonight. Unless my roommate decides to watch The Ring at midnight again tonight. In which case I'll wake up like, every five minutes because I'm sure something crawled out of the TV to get me. The Ring isn't a particularly good movie to try to sleep through...
ok. So I took this graphics class this semester... which was fun, but stressfull, and i wasn't that good at it. I chose the final over the final project... and came out of the test thinking I had failed it.
so... That happened to be the last grade that came in... so I didn't check it. Like, I refused to log into banner and look at my grades. So I've been stressing over this grade for like, 2 or 3 weeks.
Finally bit the bullet and looked this morning...
I got a B.
Yep. Idiot is the word that comes to mind. If i had just looked like, three weeks ago, I could have saved myself at least that much stress...
Oh well.
So yeah. I made it through probably the worst semester I've had, and I didn't fail anything. And I only got one C. And like, 3 A's. Overall, I average out the semester with something a little higher than a B. Which is not that bad, really.
So I'm done with all my Christmas shopping... Except I should pick up some candy or something for my roommate. fyi: have new roommate since October... her name is Kristin, and she's from Noxapater, MS. She looks like Skipper. Other than that, all I have to do is wrapping. Which I would have gotten done today, except, I left my scissors at Chad's apartment. Doh.
I'm so jealous of Chad's present(s). At least I have the knowledge that eventually I will get to play with them too... Maybe. If he lets me. I'm having to fight really hard not to play with them now... :-)
Looking for cool toys for that special someone on you're list (like me?): Think Geek r0x0r5. Just thought you'd like to know :-)
Anyway... that's it for the moment.... I really should be like, doing homework or something. I don't have any class tomorrow... Yay!
So I patched the comments thing to work in Mozilla (since that's what I use...)...
And in the process lost all my comments. Bummer. Maybe Krys will figure out a way to get them all back. But then again, he's a busy person... so I'm not holding my breath.
So yeah. Here I am. Like, a week and a half from the end of the semester. Very very close to finishing. Very very ready to finish.
I got a really cool really fast new laptop! 2.4 gHz, 512 RAM, 30 gB hd... It's nice. Thanks to Chad, who's financing this endevor into technology. :-)
This means, though, that i may have more itme to blog, as I can plug in during class and stuff. Which is cool.
Anyway. That's it for hte present moment. I have blogged ;-)
So... Since I blogged last... I went home, and had peices of me removed... I came back here, and basically slept for a week... and I've been running ever since to make up for it. Note: Do not have surgery the week before all of your pre-midterm tests. It causes undue levels of stress, and lots of knots in your back.
But I think I'm *almost* caught up... except it's 9:10am, and I haven't started on the homework that's due at 11am... but I just finished the homework that's due at 12:30pm, so that's got to say something. :-) This weekend will help, a lot. I'm not sure exactly what I'm doing this weekend, besides homework... I'm tempted to go to the ballgame, as it's the one this semseter we're least likely to lose (braces for barrage of football jokes from David) :-) But I may just go tailgate, and then sit at Wesley and do homework. We'll see.
Ok. So some interesting life decisions are about to come my way. And I really don't know what to do with them. *sigh* So... what do y'all think about grad school? Here would be cool... I could study under Dr. T.J., or Dr. Dampier, or maybe (if I could coax him out of retirement) Dr. Mr. Boggess. Chad could ummmm... get his (PhD) degree here, or work or something... and I could finish my masters, and then work or something while chad got (finished) his degree here (or somewhere else). Or I could go somewhere else... Chad's thinking about MIT for his PhD... I don't know if I could handle MIT... or hell, even if I could get in. But it might be interesting... a degree from *ahhhhh* MIT. Or something. Or I could put the whole thing off, and just get a job like a normal person. There are CSC offices in Boston. Though none here...
I'm back at school. Yay. My car is broke again. Not yay.
ok. So here's my life at the moment, in a nutshell:
Daddy is done with chemo. We think. For now. But we don't know, because the insurance is making a fuss about paying for another PET scan to find out how the cancer responded. At some point, in the future, after they decide it really is cost effective to pay for it... then he'll have the test, and find out whether he needs more chemo and whether he needs stronger (read: worse) chemo.
I have buttloads of stuff to do in the next three weeks. This week, I have a 20 page lab report to compile... like, tonight, so i can show the draft to the group tomorrow. And turn it in on Friday. Next week, I have at least one test, several homework assignments due, and two major programs due. And I'm missing class one of those days. The week after that, I'm going to feel like crap, and I have another major program due, and more homework and crap.... it never gets any better. I'm going to be doing homework until I die.
The doc thinks he's figured out what's wrong with me... and hopefully, this will be the fix-all cure. No more sick Deedee. We hope. *sigh* I hate being sick. It sucks. A lot.
Chad's going to Tulane this weekend for the game. I'm not. I'm doing homework... and maybe watching some movies or something. We'll see.
Meanwhile... I will either get like, no blogging done in the next week or so, or I'll blog insessently (spelling, anyone?) to relieve stress. meanwhile... I must code, for I am supposed to be in class in like, 30 minutes.
P.S. hacking computers can get you in trouble. So. Hypothetically. If you were going to hack. Don't get caught. :-)
Interesting. Blogger looks much different than it did this morning... maybe it's cause I'm on a mac. but I doubt it. I think they changed something and didn't tell me. hmph.
Anyway. So.... About life since the blog went down.
I am still not entirely well... but, as of yet, the docotrs aren't going to do anything about it. I go see the surgeon on the 8th (Monday), but he probably won't do anything either. Meanwhile, I'm supposed to think good thoughts and concentrate on getting better, all while maintaining a decent gpa and getting 8-10 hours of sleep a night. Ha. Ha. Ha.
So I'm doing ok grade wise this semester... I'm a little behind, but catching up fast... I haven't missed a due date for anything yet *knocks on desk* And I got 100 on both my first quiz of the year, and my first programming assignment (the Python one)... which makes me very happy.
Having Chad in town is really nice... not that we see that much more of each other :-) His work schedule and my class schedule are at odds at the moment... but it's all good. It's interesting adjusting to having him back...
Dad is doing his last (we hope) round of chemo this week... we'll know by the end of this week or next week whether its working, and what they want to do next.
Underworld comes out in a couple weeks... I'm psyched about that :-) Chad's happy because there's a movie I actually want to go see... I'm happy becase it's all about vampires and stuff... everybody's happy.
I think I'm going on an interesting outing this weekend... minus Chad, who will prolly go home to Memphis. I also have to go home sometime this weekend (like, saturday or Sunday) so I'm home for my appt. on Monday. This will also entail missing all of my classes Monday... but may allow me to vote in Tuesday's election, like, not by absentee. That would be fun. Unless they decide to cut me open or something, I should be back for class on Tuesday (I don't have class until 11)... which is good, because Dr. Clifford will hate me forever if I miss class. And we don't want our teachers to hate us.
anyway.... I must run and do homework. Some more. For like, forever. Or at least until 7 or so... then I get to go to Wesley. And after Wesley.... more homework. Yay.
Dude... I have missed so many good quotes by not having my blog up. you have no idea. *sigh* I'll have to see if I can catch up. Today's quote:
Oh well. I will go on Blogging as if the publish thing was working. I think Krys and Manda are down, as my Shout Outs aren't working, and I can't access Manda's Blog. On the other hand, they can't be totally down, as we are hosted through them.
So. Yay. I'm at work. And I have lots of work to do, but i can't do any of it, because the server is down. Until NASA decides we aren't too much of a security risk. Fun.
And I'm going ot have to pack like a mad woman for the next two days... then take Thursday off... then pack some more on Friday so I can go back to school. Packing, by the way, is not my idea of a fun thing to do with my evenings. On the other hand, I think i have almost everything I need to go to school. Yay for me! I just need to pull it all together. I have most of my food packed... so tonight I'll prolly start on packing my books and stuff. And my KitchenAid mixer. *grin*
Cleaning out my desk.... it's kind of odd, I have like, three summers worth of crap in here. But that's cool, too, in that a lot of it I had forgotten about. Some of it is even stuff that goes home with me... posters, lithos, the 508 notes that I got from Karen... it's interesting.
Ha ha ha ha ha... I know sbbn's real name... I know sbbn's real name... and I didn't ask or nothin'... I just found out. I am so awesome. ok, ok, so maybe I'm not that awesome... it was written at the top of his paper... but still. I know. And therefore I feel special.
In other news... this was my day today: Get up, go to Physics, take quiz, come home, go to sleep... oversleep, wake up to the phone ringing... Matt calling to use my printer... go downstairs to escort Matt up here, run out of printer ink... talk to Matt... talk to Matt... talk to people online... do pre-lab... go to lab... lab r0x0rs... come home, go to Wesley... sing... be annoyed... come home... go back to Wesley... proof read sbbn's paper... talk to sbbn.... talk to sbbn... talk to Will and Michael... talk to Matt... come home. And now I'm talking to Chad. Eventually, I plan to take a shower... and maybe even sleep.
Tomorrow I have class and class and lunch and class and class and bell dancing and choir and walmart... no plans other than that... although I might proof the rest of sbbn's paper.... or rather, the final draft. And some homework... I might do some of that.
Overall, today was pretty good... it had it's annoyances... but most of those were overridden by the fact that Strong Bad published :-) and it was about The Cheat :-) *sigh* I love The Cheat. The Cheat is so awesome.
No, I’m not dead… I’m home for break, which is close, I suppose. So here’s a rundown of what’s going on in my life:
Family wise, I guess everything is ok. My Granny is home from the hospital… but it looks like we’re going to have to hire someone to watch her… Aunt Dorinne can’t do it all the time, and Granny has no awareness of the fact that she can’t just get up and do things, like walk without a walker, or go downstairs. We’re still trying to figure out what we’re going to do for Christmas Eve at her house… I know we’re eating dinner, but I have a feeling it won’t be the 4-6 hours thing it usually is.
Personally… life is ok. I’m working, trying to juggle my work hours with my family life and Chad time (sounds suspiciously like the real world, huh?). Work is nice… I have a cushy government job, which means I’ve worked two and a half days this weeks so far, and two days of that were spent in meetings and Christmas parties. And now I’m blogging. Yay for me! Chad is coming to visit sometime Christmas day… not sure what time yet, but hopefully by 2 or so, to be in time for dinner. And Presents…. I got Chad the coolest thing… at least, I think it’s cool… I hope he does.
School… Well, school actually got a lot more interesting in the last few days. Weird, but interesting. So here’s how everything played out: I was really upset over this whole circuits thing… went to Nosser’s office, I bawled all over the place, nothing happened with my grade, he couldn’t do anything. So he calmed me down and reminded me that God is still in control… and told me to drop all my courses that depended on Circuits and sign up for half ECE and half CS courses for next semester. So I did. And I stressed a lot. But I looked more into CS, and learned what cool courses I can take if I go that route (AI, Computer Forensics, Software Engineering, stuff like that). I looked at taking 4+ semesters of straight hardware courses in a department that is known for failing students… or 3 semesters of programming courses in a department that is at least somewhat more cordial. And I decided that the CS route wouldn’t be that bad, I would enjoy it more, and I would get out on time.
Then I got a flood of e-mails from Hamaker saying that due to a misprint on the syllabus, I actually have a C in the course. Which means I could, with some schedule tweaking, still go engineering. But the question now becomes this: is the word engineer (it’s not even a title) worth 3+ semesters of hell in the ECE department, taking courses I don’t particularly like from professors that don’t want to be there? What does it mean to be and “engineer” as opposed to a “scientist”? Am I copping out by taking the CS route?
My life is suddenly more complicated. I hate complicated.
Chad said he would make my decisions if I made his…. So I told him he was coming to State *grin* But he didn’t make my decision yet…
Blah. Being sick sucks. Being sick and having loads of crap to do sucks even worse. Blah.
Myra says I have a bacterial infection... so she's keeping me on the inhaler, and giving me more nightmare antibiotics. Which should be ok, because I don't envision myself sleeping anytime soon anyway.
I have a few dead minutes now... then I have lab from 12-3, and make-up lab from 3-6, then I have to meet Jeremy in the Butler labs at 6... then finish my micro lab (that I didn't finish last night because I ended up talking to Mike for, like, two hours and something)... then study for my Linear test tomorrow... then study for my micro lab test tomorrow... and I have class at 9:30 am tomorrow. Which means that the most amount of sleep I could possibly get, if I forgo eating and showering (which I prolly won't.... I at least need to shower)... is something like 4 1/2 hours. Which is about how much sleep I got last night. And I'll get less sleep on Thursday. Because I have to stay up all night and finish my CSIII project... which is due on Monday. And then I have to study for a Cal test and a circuits test.... both Monday... and a micro test on tuesday. And I'm going home this weekend.
So yeah... I may be posting to fill in the last 15 minutes or so before class, but don't expect to hear too much out of me... unless school gets to me and I fee lthe need to rant. Which is very possible. Eh. We'll see. At least the semester is almost over... that helps.
I hate stupid, pointless assignments. That being said, I also hate stupid people. Especially ones that bug me when I'm having a bad day... and expect me to do their work for them. So there.
So, for the last two days, all I have done is homework (except for an hour or so last night when William came over and I hung out, and today when I grabbed a quick dinner at the Wesley). When I got to lab today at 3:30, I was not in the best of moods, having had two extremely long and, for the most part, unproductive. A heart-to-heart with my lab TA help my mood a little.... but then this guy, who has decided that I'm his lab partner, decided to bug the crap out of me. He wouldn't even read the frickin' lab, he kept asking me what he was supposed to do.... then he wouldn't think about how to solve the problem, and wanted to copy my code... and after the lab TA explicitly told him he couldn't just copy, he needed to work it out for himself, he still bugged me until the TA and I showed him how to modify his code to make it work.... But he was still an ass. And he still pissed me off. But *ha*ha*.... I almost finished my lab, and he didn't get halfway done. So there.
Speaking of asses.... I hate it when people assume the know things about my personal life. They find out Chad was here last weekend, and they asuume that all kind of crap went on, and they feel obligated to ask me about it and say stupid things like, Did you have *fun*? Did you get rugburn on your knees? Do you like to take it up the ass? etc, etc... ad nasuem. People assume that just because Chad and I are dating, certain things happen in our relationship.... and they also assume that our relationship is somehow their business. Ok, everyone, I know this may be a suprise to you... anything that happens between me and Chad stays just that.... between me and Chad. And our God. Not between you and me, or you and your deity, or you and your friends, or you and your imagination. Not that anyone that regularly reads my blog has been a problem.... but just in case the thought ever occured to you, don't ask. Grr.
But dinner at the Wesley was nice. Everyone is worried about my lung problems... everyone's being so nice. Hopefully, Myra (my nurse practitioner) will figure out something to do... this inhaler thingy isn't helping a lot. But i go back to her tomorrow. Damn bats.
And now I do more homework... and more homework... and tomorrow, I will do still more homework. And next semester, I will have buttloads of homework.... but only one lab (yay!!). Note: Never take three labs. You will die. Or wish you had.
I think I'm going to cut (guys read: trim) my hair this weekend. And maybe highlight it some more. We'll see. And I might buy Memento, if I can figure out if Chad has it or not... I dreamed about Guy Pierce last night.... it was odd.
grrr. I will never get to sleep. But, I'm not taking Linear this summer, which should help. let me explain... no, there is to much. Let me sum up. :-)
I wil never get any sleep becasue I am to dadgum busy for my own good. I have to leave the house at 7am every morning to get to work, which means getting up around 6am... And starting the 28th, I'll be in class until 9:45pm every night except Friday, which puts me home around 10:15pm, if I get out on time. Between those times I have to work 8+ hours, eat, do homework, and clean house... and of course, visit with my family (that's why I came home, right?). My weekends will mostly be spent traveling, or Chad will be in town, so I won't want to sleep the entire weekend away. And even when I don't have class, I have enough stuff to do for three people. Take, for instance, this weeks schedule.
Yesterday: Worked (or did random crap at work) from 8am-4pm. Went to leave, car stalled, had to get pushed back into the parking lot. *funny car/guy story* I tried to tell the guys that came to help me that the engine was turing over, but it wasn't getting gas. They were like, oh, yeah, whatever, you have no clue. So after 15 minutes of fiddling with the spark plugs, they were like, you know, I think the engine is turnging over, but it's not getting any gas. *Doh* (real problem: The emergancy cut-off for the fuel pump is flakey, something Daddy *forgot* to mention). *end of story* So, after getting my car fixed, I drove to church, my parents picked me up, we ate dinner, went to church, and got home around 9pm. But then I had to eat, and put dinner away, and get ready for bed, and talk to people, and.... I finally got in bed after 10pm, but couldn't sleep.
Today: Got up at 6am, browned hamburger meat, put stuff in crockpot for spagetti sauce. Talked to Mom for a minute, left 15 minutes late to go to work. I'm here until 4pm or so, then go home and cook spagetti and stuff to go with the sauce... and I will probably end up going out with Mom to Walmart or something.
Tomorrow: Work 7am-3pm (which means leaving the house by 6:30am). Get off Work, go help Aunt Dorinne With yardwork/housework at her house, eat with her, get home sometime around 9pm. Clean *my* house until I fall into bed exausted.
Saturday: Get up at 6am to go yard saleing with Mom... Yard sale until 1pm or so, then (if Henry has found the title to the bug) go meet Dad to get my car (an all-afternoon process). If Henry has not found the title, I might go swimming, but I think it may be to cold. If I go home, I'll end up doing housework. Oh yeah, I also need to go to Cingular and price a cellphone plan... sometime Saturday. And if I get my bug, I might try and find time to go to the VW parts shop and see about a floor pan. And mirrors.
If this is my life without class... how am I going to get everything done? I think I may spend a week between work and school recovering... from life! Oh well.... I'll get ever it. Plenty of time to sleep when I'm dead, right?
On a more interesting note, I get to go to a family reunion Sunday... My Dad's Father's family, or, more specificly, my Dad's Father's Mother's family :-) The Duncans. And they are all getting together at Anne's house (not sure if she's an Aunt or a cousin... never have figured that one out). So I get to go and see lots of people that share my blood, but I have no clue how or why or even who the hell they are. And lots of them will say things like, "I knew you when youe were *this* big", or "Are you Ray's Grandaughter? My you've grown up!", or "What's your major?", or "Are you dating/engaged/married?". But I've been promised good food... One can never pass up good food :-)
ok... I guess I'm better now. *sigh* After sulking all night Friday night, spending Saturday at a baseball game, and totally wasting yesterday on interesting things like church and walmart and pizza and anything that wasn't homework.... I have come to the conclusion that the only way to escape self-absorbed zealots is to live on a desert island. Just me and Chad. And an untraceable phone line. We could fly our friends in to visit every once in a while, if they promised never to say anything about religion... or somehting like that. And we would need some sort of internet connection... can't live without internet.
The nice thing about being online is that if you don't like what someone has to say, you can stop reading. And no one gets offended. And everyone is happy. *sigh* Oh well... I know it doesn't work like that in the real world... but it would be nice.
blah. Today is gross. It's raining.... but not hard enough to be fun, not a storm or anything (yet)... just a dreary sprinkly kind of rain. It's not cold... but it's not warm... the weather seems rather indecisive. And I feel gross. Not sick, but just.... blah. I think it has to do with the weather. And maybe the fact that I was woken up at 8am this morning by a telemarketer... and couldn't make it back to sleep... and two of my three classes were cancelled, so I've been sitting around all day. blah.
On a more interesting note, Amanda and I are highlighting our hair on Wednesday.... she's putting some blondish highlights in, because her hair is really light.... and I'm doing red *evil grin* maybe I'll post some pictures when I get done... it should be interesting, at least. And fun.
But tomorrow will be not fun. Because I have to go to the doctor. And I hate doctors. Even if Myra really is only a nurse practitioner. They always make me feel gross. But if I don't go, she won't refill my perscription... blah. Doctors are evil. But, every cloud has it silver lining, I only have one class and a lab tomorrow, since karate was cancelled, and my appointment will run into time for CS class... yeah for no classes :-)
I suppose I'll stop rambling and let you get back to whatever important things you are supposed to be doing...
I'm recovering from two days of intense partying... and thinking about how much I hate advisors.
Brian and I finished the annual two-day celebration of our birthdays yesterday.... Tuesday we had gone out to Oby;s for dinner, and I had to relate to Brian all the odd memories I have associated with that place :-) Then we came back to my room, exchanged presents and ate cake, but didnt have room for ice cream... So Wednesday after we worked out and ate lunch, we came back here for ice cream and stuff. :-)
I got to wear my birthday crown (a walmart dress-up crown) all day yesterday... except during Physics, when my teacher made me take it off :-(
Then last night Neil and Amanda threw me a party... they bought cupcakes and everything. Chris and Amanda gave me some beautiful sterling roses and a spiffy picture frame, and Neil got me some pretty red flowers (I dont know what they're called). And everyone gave me cool birthday cards. And I had a lot of fun :-)
But back to hating advisors.... Dr. Hardin is trying to tell me I can't take 18 hours next semester.... Now, I admit, 18 hours in the spring is a little much, even for me. But this is fall. I will be eager to take courses :-) And he thinks Computer Science III will be to hard for me... Hello, Mr. Advisor Person.... look at my grades. Isn't programming my best subject? Grr. Oh yeah, he wants to make me stay over next summer, too. Which will be difficult, at best. Where the crap am I going to find a job here? I already have a job at home! Grrr. Oh well.... it's not like I'm not going to do what I want to anyway :-)
My weeend should be pretty uneventful.... This afternoon I'm doing laundry... Friday I'm getting my hair cut (actually getting it professionally done, aren't you impressed?). Friday or Saturday Brian and I are going to a baseball game... oh yeah, I have a test tomorrow. Neil's mom might come down to visit, so I'll probly go out with them sometime. Other than that, nothing's happening. So maybe I'll get to sleep :-) Maybe.
This is my brain..... in part, at least.
