More than a feeling...

Happy Birthday to Doug - he's 24 today!

I've had meetings-galore today and it's not over yet.

To Do:

*Find Res Life video
*Res Life calendar
*Pack
*Research tech writing
*Flying home May 10th - 14th to get my kitty cat
*Track down rest of inventory
*Set summer lab schedule
*Oil change
*UB meeting (last week of school)

It's a little bit funny...

This feeling inside....

Errrr....
I have this odd desire to watch Moulin Rouge.

*ponder*

I'm done with everything... School-wise... Class-wise... Just work left from now until the end of the semester - and that's being interrupted by a 4-day trip home. Odd feeling.

Subbing 5.0

Oofda.

They wore me out.

I had a "Room Grandma" in the morning, with two para's - and in the afternoon I had the actual teacher popping in and out and two para's.... And STILL they wore me out. 25 five year olds that never ran out of energy.

Subbing 4.0

Yesterday morning @ Lincoln, 4th grade. The class had a student teacher in his last week of teaching, so he taught and I wandered around helping kids.

Yesterday afternoon was Career Day at the Middle School, where I spoke to two groups of about 20 kids (each) about my career: Teacher. It was actually really fun. They had lots of questions for me and I was able to answer all of them! Other careers that were represented: Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Chiropractor, Foreign Language Teacher, Dirt Bike Racer, Police, Sheriff, Fireman, Child Care, Horse Riding, Small Business, etc. There were a lot more people there, but I didn't get a chance to see what they all did... mostly the uniforms of the service guys and the law enforcement stood out. It's an awesome opportunity for these kids, who can start taking classes related to careers in High School and it seems like they really enjoyed it.

Last night Aya, D, his friend, and I went to see Spiderman 3. Uhm.... pretty much awesome! I was not disappointed.

This weekend is all about finishing stuff for my online class - since I am leaving town on Thursday.

Monday is a full-day sub of Kindergarten! at HM. I'm soooooo excited. They'll probably come up to my knees! LOL! I better get lots of rest the night before so I can run around with them :)

Winding down sure is hectic...

Yup... I've got a lot going on this time of year (as most College students and teachers do).

*Res Life end-of-the-year video
*Res Life calendar
*Burn dvds
*1/2 day Sub at Lincoln on Friday
*Middle School Career Day (tomorrow)
*Sub Kindergarten (cute!) on Monday
*Flying home May 10th - 14th to get my kitty cat
*Finish everything for my online class before I leave next weekend
*Track down rest of inventory
*Find workers for the lab for fall
*Set summer lab schedule
*Laundry
*Oil change
*Bank
*Pay bills
*Concordia training RSVP
*UB meeting (last week of school)
*Last dept mtg next Wednesday

It's a relief to be done with my f2f class, but also a bit sad. I enjoyed the class and the people. Hopefully I'll see most of them again next fall.

Foxy...

I heard they were making a movie about His Dark Materials/The Golden Compass... apparently it's coming out in December... guess I should finish reading the books.

Happy Happy Joy Joy

I got a letter from my landlords today that made me VERY happy :)

Know what else makes me happy?
This movie:


Which Princess Bride Character are You?
this quiz was made by mysti

Think I'll go home and watch it this evening!

Subbing 3.0

Yup.

EBD at the High School.

Went well.

And again, my landlords freaking rock :)

Saturday...

My first Pow-Wow.
My fourth Festival of Nations.
My third henna.

A good day.

Subbing 2.0

Finally got my first full-day sub. Subbed for an AP English teacher at the HS. Kids were really good and I was done by 1:30.

Tonight was the Hall of Fame dinner/induction for the Ed Dept. Nummy dinner, good friends, inspiring stories...

Plus Aya found out she's been rehired as Hall Director - permanently. She has a "career" now!

So... all-in-all... A good day.

Photos... as promised

Mom and me at the Viking statue in Gimli, MB (Canada)



And a picture of Winnipeg's White Buffalo. They're very rare and are sacred in many Native American cultures. His name is Blizzard: "A male named Blizzard was born in March 2006 on the farm of an anonymous rancher, who arranged to have the calf transported to Assiniboine Park Zoo in Winnipeg, Manitoba in recognition of his spiritual significance to aboriginal people" - From Wikipedia.

Catching Up

So....

Mom and I had a wonderful time in Canada - met some lovely people - learned how to make needle-felted teddy bears - got a little lost in downtown Winnipeg - and went to the Winnipeg Zoo. We're both hoping we can go back to the retreat next year, as all the people there were asking us to come back and we had a fantastic time.

I have a couple of pictures I'll be posting, but I'm at work at the moment.

In addition to our Canada adventure, my mom met most of the people I work with and many of my friends, she went to my Web Writing class, shopped downtown Walker, and relaxed. We saw lots of dear, a woodchuck, osprey, other assorted birds, and a porcupine.

Coming back to work = lots of catching up and everybody wanting me RIGHT NOW... well not everybody... just a few... but it kind of felt like everybody. I think/hope I'm caught up with work now.

Time to work on stuff for my online class... last chapter response is due tonight.

Also... I saved the best for last...
I've been stressing horribly about what will happen in December - I'll be done with my degree and without a job. Well... I spoke to the Dept Chair (my boss) and I told him about the new Electronic Writing Certificate being offered by our English Dept. I've taken all but one course for the Certificate, so (on recommendation of the Chair) I'll be taking that one course this fall and transferring my thesis credits to the spring. This means I'll have my GA (job) through May. I won't be out on my ear in December! VERY, VERY, UNBELIEVABLY, GOOD NEWS!

My stress level just decreased majorly. Plus I get to stay up here for another year - and I LOVE it here!

/happy

Road trippin'

Momma is here!

She got here Wednesday - met a bunch of my friends and co-workers. Thursday she went to class with me and met more friends and co-workers and had dinner with friends.

Now we're off to Canada for a Fibre Retreat. Wahooo! Spinning, knitting, crochet, needle felting, and so much more crafty goodness!

/bounce

More betterer

I'm all better now. Nasty icky flu-y thing. BAH! Wasted almost a week on sleep!
Ah well...
It was worth it as I'm now 100% and ready for Momma!

Playing catch-up with my online class and for Web Writing. I'm sure I'll have plenty of stuff to do when I go to work tomorrow too...

I need to finish catching up on homework, clean the apt, do laundry, and vacuum out my car before Mom gets here.

Oofda.

Germs bad

I left work at noon yesterday and missed class and work today - that's something I never do... but I feel "like death warmed over" (as my mom is fond of saying).

I hate being sick :P

Peer pressure...

Yeah that's it... Everyone at work has been sick lately and they made me join them... yeah...

/sigh

Buy it?

Bleh... I've got a sore throat and a snuffly nose and my mom's coming next week. I have to be healthy!

/sigh

Stupid, annoying, germy germs.

Time to post...

Lessee... What have I been up to since I last posted?

Lots of insomnia...

Saturday - Easter lunch with Aya, her mom and D... went to look at new house her mom is buying and got an Easter basket from her mom :) YAY Chocolate Bunny.

Sunday - Easter lunch and basket/egg hunt with D's family... His mom made us baskets and hid them and eggs throughout her house. We were all running around, digging through drawers, looking under things, trying to find all the eggs.

Lots of homework...

At work now... Yup... there ya go... highlights of the last four days.

Also have a pool tournament scheduled tonight for hall council.

I have this theory...

That in the future, someone will develop a computer, linked to our brains, with an off switch...

So when you wake up at 4am and can't get back to sleep you can just hit this "off switch" - go back to sleep - and the computer will wake you at your normal time.

Sounds kind of creepy? Well on 4.5 hours of sleep it sounds pretty darn good to me :P

You reap what you sew...

Isn't that the old saying?

Soooo... my neighbors, the ones that I had to call the cops on at 2am (because they were blaring their music) back in January... well they've taken to parking in my spot on an almost daily basis. I find it very annoying, but I wasn't going to say anything. Pick your battles... Just now, the owners of the building were out plowing and I asked him if he needed me to move my car. He asked me if I knew who was parked in my spot and I said I didn't know for sure. I also told him it had been happening a lot lately. He didn't like that... he said he'd find out who it was and talk to them and that if anything like that happens I should let him know and he would take care of it. I believe him. He and his wife are really sweet, but I wouldn't want to cross them.

What goes around comes around...

Mwahahaha...

Ceramics

So... I've been at this University for 6 years now, since the Fall of 2001. In that time I've considered taking ceramics, decided I REALLY wanted to take ceramics, and had to pass up ceramics multiple times because:

a) I couldn't get into it
b) I needed other classes to graduate
c) I didn't need/couldn't afford any extra credits as a Graduate student

Now, when I only have a 3 credit load for the Fall 2007 semester...
Now, when I get first dibs on registering as a graduate student...
NOW, I am FINALLY registered for ceramics.

And the budget meeting, which will determine whether the Arts program gets cut, is tomorrow.

Aside from my own ceramics greed, I really hope they don't cut the Arts program. I'm a big supporter/believer in the Arts. I think it's really sad that it's always one of the first things schools look at cutting: elementary schools, middle schools, high schools, and universities. I know they've made some cuts already in that dept and I realize it's not a cheap program, BUT... it's important. In this town that supports the arts, where the community vote yearly on artwork to be displayed downtown... At the university where art is displayed around every corner...

New friends..

I had some new friends over last night. I was actually nervous before they came over, thinking "I hope they have fun."

Well they stayed from 6pm-11pm talking, listening to music, and playing games. And then we went to Perkins for an hour and a half.

So I think they had fun... Which makes me happy, because that means new friends and they're all quite fun.

You're never too old...

Never.

Ever.

Give me something to blog about...

How about a worker/friend who every time he sends me an email about work, he has a sentence or two alerting me to something that happened in the lab. Then another paragraph of randomness... when he needed me to figure something out for example:

"the challenge has been made, the gauntlet has been thrown down, the target is set, the harvest date has come, the sun has set, the moon has risen, the trout are swimming upstream, the birds are flying south, the light has turned green, the whistle has been blown, the gun has gone off, the feature film has started, the test has begun, the applications are due, the registration has begun, the fire alarm is sounding, the judges hammer has fallen, the power ranges have morphed, the transformers have maximized, the fat lady has begun to sing, the dice are rolling, the world is turning, the phone is ringing will you answer it?"

Why does he do this? Because it makes me laugh :)

The ones I wanted...

Yay :)

Both the Danny & the Sandy that I wanted won!

Up, Down & All Around

That pretty much describes my day.

It got better.

It got a lot worse.

It got better again - thanks to some good friends.

Angry Aspen

Apparently I get this really scary/evil/angry face when I'm really upset about something. Today I got REALLY upset - while at work. NOT GOOD. Everybody was asking me if I was ok, if I was mad at them... NOT GOOD.

After I left I called my mom and fumed for at least 10 minutes, took a drive in the country, chatted up some horses I saw along the way, listened to the chirping birds and a woodpecker beating the crud out of a tree.

I feel better now.

I just sent apology emails to three people who saw me really upset and thought I was mad at something they did.

*sigh*

NOT GOOD.

Next...

So apparently people in the Ed. Dept. thought I was done at the end of the summer. Uhm... nope... I'm here through December. After I made this abundantly clear to my supervisor and the dept. secretary I had several people come up to me and say how happy they are that I'm here through December. This makes me feel all warm and tingly. And then they ask what's next for me... after December.

Then feel like I've had my brains smashed out by a slice of lemon wrapped round a large gold brick.

I'm going with the flow.
I'm going with the flow.
I'm going with the flow.
I'm going with the flow.
I'm going with the flow...

NZ Knitter

Found this site - Just Jussi - from an article in the NZ Herald. Gorgeous stuff. Maybe one day I'll be able to knit like that :)

Oh... and I thought animal rights activists wanted to SAVE animals... not let them die...

Emo?!? Me?!?

LOL

My friends were giving me a hard time because I dyed my hair... and now it's kind of... black-ish... well... really dark brown. I took Aya's word on it and she said it wasn't too dark and it would look great... *grin* Yeah. Well she still says it looks good... but I miss my normal hair color.

Oh, and if you're not familiar with "Emo" here's what the Urban Dictionary has to say:

"Genre of softcore punk music that integrates unenthusiastic melodramatic 17 year olds who dont smile, high pitched overwrought lyrics and inaudible guitar rifts with tight wool sweaters, tighter jeans, itchy scarfs (even in the summer), ripped chucks with favorite bands signature, black square rimmed glasses, and ebony greasy unwashed hair that is required to cover at least 3/5 ths of the face at an angle."

Hmm... not 17, smile all the time, no wool (too hot and too itchy), don't wear tight anything, soft scarves only when it's COLD, no chucks, my glasses are purple and catty, I wash my hair and I don't hide behind it anymore... so no... I'm not emo. Though I do listen to some music that's classified as emo...

Oh, and I really liked this definition:
"Like a Goth, only much less dark and much more Harry Potter."

Black Sheep

I laughed so hard I cried... and then I snorted... snorting and crying... just from the preview.

I've GOT to see that movie...

Do you realize how much trouble NZ would be in if that happened (cuz it's SOOO possible)... the sheep outnumber the humans by 10 to 1.

*edit* indeed! 10 to 1 not 4 to 1... silly me :)

hehehehe
*snort*

hehehehehehe
/sigh

Pirates 3.0

Well.... I was super-excited for the first and second one... but the second one let me down :(

Now the preview for the third one - Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End is out.

Subbing 1.0

2 hours....
Standing outside in the freezing cold, watching kids K - 5 play.

More to come :)

Never seen the original...

But I really want to see the new: Hairspray.

Now... do I watch the old one first or wait for July, watch the new one, then watch the old one.

*ponder*

And yeah.... can't sleep.

New Playlist

I changed my playlist... this is a collection of rockish songs...
Abba, Matchbox Twenty, BNL, Bowling for Soup, ELO, Kiss, Kansas, Twisted Sister, Weezer...

I dunno some old and some new. Whatever tickled my fancy at the moment :)

Not this time...

We got about ten minutes north of here when the roads started getting slippery and it was snowing so much that every time an 18-wheeler passed I couldn't see the road... So we turned around and came home.

Nobody was THAT desperate to get to D's parent's house...

We spent all afternoon working on wedding stuff: invitations and decorating the little bubble containers :)

Dinner with several friends and then back to their apt to finish up decorating... Also, we watched Robin Hood: Men in Tights and Dracula: Dead & Loving It.

THAT made up for earlier disappointments. :)

Outta here...

I'm actually going somewhere for a couple of days... getting out of town... moving to the country :)

Later!

What's with the acorns?

I mean seriously....

Aspen -- [noun]: A person with a taste for acorns 'How will you be defined in the dictionary?' at QuizGalaxy.com

"Hail to the do-rag."

LOL

K... sorry... but THIS ONE really did make me laugh out loud.

:)

Translation please?

Even a blind hog finds an acorn once in a while.

Yesterdays fortune cookies... 2 out of 3 said this (I freaking love fortune cookies... nummy)

Intrigued, I alta-vista'd blind hog and this is what I got...

Apparently there's a book published in 1945 called: A Blind Hogs Acorn...

And then there was THIS (for lack of a better description)... They describe it as "an unusually good performance coming from an unexpected source."

The third fortune cookie: "Happiness is coming from an unexpected source."

And so, to you oh Fortune Cookie God... I say this: Bring it on.

Man oh man...

My head hurts...
I just spent the last hour looking around to see if teachers are needed in the states that I'm interested in living in... ugh I can't even make that sentence make sense now... hehe... k here's what I've come up with so far...

States I've been to and know I'd like to live in:
*Minnesota
*Wisconsin
*Colorado
*Wyoming
*Montana
*Texas

States that I haven't been to but I think I'd like to live in:
*Michigan (maybe - need to go there first)
*Washington
*Oregon
*Nevada (maybe Reno - cousin there)
*Alaska
*Northern California?

As for the number of teaching jobs available... well... yeah... *sigh*
I signed up for two different free sites to search for teaching jobs:
ABC Teaching Jobs
Education America

There are so many sites to look at... every state, school district...
It's going to be a lot of work, but I WILL find a job somewhere :) I think it helps that I'm willing to relocate.

I'm not the only one

Just in the Ed. Dept we had 4 people out sick yesterday... Some with stomach-issues and some with head-coldy issues like me.

Geeze....

Germs = suxor.

Flackity flack...

Well people are glad we made the trip safely, but they're informing me that I'm insane/stupid to have gone in the first place.

Let me just say I knew perfectly well we had NO business whatsoever going, but since the other two weren't about to drop it - and I wasn't sure they'd be able to say, "Ok, this is too much we need to stop" – and because if anything had happened to them I would have been devastated... I went. I drove and I did my darndest to make sure they got there and back safely... and I succeeded. And the Assoc. Director of Res. Life thanked me today for making sure we got there and back safely.

When we got to the hotel that first night it was interesting to see how each of us dealt with the day...

Amy kept herself busy calling people, ironing and organizing for the next day.

Aya got in her pj's and watched Resident Evil. She says all the stress and violence of the movie makes her feel like her problems aren't nearly as bad.

I called my mom to tell her where we were, popped on my iPod and lay down on the bed to relax. It made me feel better, but I still wasn't able to sleep. I think I got about 2 hours of sleep, off and on, that night. My mind was replaying the day’s events, thanking the Lord we were safe, and wondering what the next day was going to be like.

More...

It took us 16 hours (minus spending the night in a hotel) to get there and only 9 hours to get back.

I hardly slept the first few nights, which is probably why I have a cold. Started feeling icky Saturday morning and it's just gotten worse.

I got back home at 11pm last night and took two Nyquil. Woke up at noon today, made myself eat so I could take more medicine, went back to bed. Woke up at 4pm, made myself get up and stay up so I could sleep tonight.

Had a Hall Council Exec and a HC hall-wide meeting tonight. Both were VERY brief. It's good to be the president :)

I've got class and work tomorrow. Didn't make it through all of the site revisions for tomorrows class... maybe I can do a couple more tomorrow morning.

Time for more sleeeeeeep!

Home.... safe.... exhausted

G'night.

Thank you, thank you, thank you OMG thank you...

4:20am - Woke up
4:30am - Called Aya & Amy to see if we were REALLY going to do this
5:30am - Left town - roads were not-so-good just outside of town but got better as we went
8:00am - Stopped for breakfast
10:30am - Arrived in the cities
11:50am - Reached the other side of the cities - lots of snow and traffic at a stand-still in places

The afternoon drive through Wisconsin was spotty, but generally not that bad. We had snow, sleet, rain, hail... and variations of all the above.

5:00ish - We got almost to Wausau, WI (about 100 miles from our destination) and we hit blizzard-type weather... We stopped at an Applebee's so I could take a break from driving and we were hoping the weather would get better. Left Applebee's at 6:00pm and it took us over an hour to get 30 miles. I couldn't see the road for large periods of time, there were cars/trucks/vans in the ditch every 5 minutes... then I literally couldn't see anything because the road hadn't been plowed recently, the wind was blowing more snow across the road, we were headed into the driving snow, and an 18-wheeler that had JUST passed us was off the side of the road, jack-knifed and I declared "THAT'S IT! We're pulling off I can't see the freaking road and there's a sign for a hotel." And we did. Our guardian angels were DEFINITELY with us. I have never been so scared in my life. We made it to the hotel and I was shaking all over. We're in the room now making lots of phone calls to reschedule interviews, checking emails, checking weather and road conditions....

UGH!
I tried so hard to talk them out of this trip and I probably should have stayed at home, but I couldn't just drop out and make them go on their own... It sounds weird but if something had happened to them I would have felt so horrible.... and I knew I was risking my own neck... but for most of the trip it really wasn't that bad.... Just WI is freaking awful.

UGH! UGH! UGH!

Anywho... We're here. We're safe.
I am going to try and relax, take a hot shower and go to sleep. They'll both be running around the room but my adrenaline is starting to wear off and it has been a LONG freaking day.... Sleep is sounding so good right now.

We'll most likely be up at 4am tomorrow to check weather and road conditions. It could potentially take us up to 4 hours to get there.... but I'm seriously holding my ground if it's anything at all like it is now we're not going ANYWHERE. If they don't have jobs they can all come stay in my one-bedroom apt. At least we'll all be ALIVE.

That's what's important.

Running away....

Is a good way to avoid people, places and things.

Not that it ever solves anything...

/ponder

A bald eagle just flew over my apartment as I was walking to my door.

Too much snow?!?

Would I ever say such a thing?!?!
Could it be?!?!
Whatever would make me even THINK about saying such a thing?!?!?!

Well.....

8 to 10 inches or so over the last week = not so bad. Mostly plowed or melted off the roads.

Ok....

So now the forecast is calling for another 6 to 12 inches on Wednesday/Thursday and I'm supposed to be driving 9 hours to Wisconsin on Thursday.

*ponder*

Maaaaaaaybe.... I might possibly be thinking about-thinking about saying there might be a little, tiny bit too much snow in the forecast?

Maybe.

Furballs...

I miss this...

Oscar Party

So... as president of Birch Hall Council I am in charge of certain hall activities. Last night was our Oscar Party. We didn't have a huge turn-out, but I think the people that did come enjoyed themselves :)

And who didn't laugh out loud when Will & Jada's son Jaden went racing to the microphone, leaving Little Miss Sunshine's Abigail Breslin in the dust?! Even his dad busted out laughing. And when Jaden read ahead on the prompter but kept his cool, joking about it... hehe soooo cute!

Awesomeness!

Well Mother Nature Finally decided to snow... and she is SNOWING!
/dance
/party
/weeeeee!

Saturday it started showing...


Sunday, when I woke up to this...


I did a happy dance :)

Of course that's probably because all I had to do was uncover my car.... not plow the parking lot or driveway at my apartment. The owners were out there doing that.

And this morning... I got up and there's another 2+ inches on my car and it's still snowing.

Wooty woot woot!

Something new...

Loralee (aka: Looney Tunes) has this on her site and I really liked the idea.

All the songs in this playlist are songs that make me feel a certain way... Nostalgic I guess... they take me back to a certain time :)

My music taste is so eclectic I decided to go for a certain sound so as not to shock those who listen ;)

And HIYA Libby :) I miss you too....

Interview went really well... you're right it wasn't demanding. They're doing a background check and waiting for my references... but it looks like I'll start subbing in the next couple of weeks!

Wahooo!

Wikipedia... you've been shunned

Yepper...
Accourding to THIS article: "Vermont's Middlebury College has banned the use of the online encyclopedia Wikipedia as an acceptable source of academic information for students..."

Interesting...

So this weekend was crazy-cool-busy.
I worked on stuff for my online class on Saturday morning, then from noon-6 I helped Res. Life with their Carousel stuff... It was super-crazy, especially at the start when I didn't really know what I was doing. Once I figured out a system I spent the rest of the day playing catch-up, but it made Sunday much easier :)

Saturday night I had a few of my former RA pals come over... former RA's... not former pals... *ponder* Anywho...
Renata, Chris (and fiance), Doug, Steve and I all played games and watched a DVD of Jeff Dunham - a comedian/ventriloquist. I'm not usually one for stand-up but he was actually pretty funny.

Sunday night bowling - first 3 games went pretty well, even though I was exhausted. But then the Captain decided we should go ahead pre-bowl for next week, since most of us are unavailable. UGH. I bowled horrrrrribly. It was really bad. I was SO freaking tired and it showed in my scores. *hangs head in shame*

Ah well...

Monday evening I helped Aya with her Birch Hall Staff Murder-Mystery-Dinner... I prepared food, served and helped clean up. It was actually a lot of fun, listening to the story and watching the "characters." I've always wanted to do one... I think I might have one for my birthday this year!

Yesterday I got a call from the Subbing place saying that they might be hiring again and I've got an interview scheduled for Friday. Eeeeep! Keep your toes crossed that I get it... pretty please?

Scissor Happy!

I was getting tired of cutting my hair every 3-4 months because it grows so fast... so I decided to teach it a lesson! yeah... That's why I had the lady chop off 4.5 inches... which somehow turned out to be closer to 5 inches by the time she was done going back and forth chopping a little bit more off each time.

hehehehe

I'm bald!

Ah well... it does grow quite fast :)

In other news... I volunteered to help Res Life out with their Carousel process this weekend - they are screening 72 applicants for RA and PAA positions (for next year). 36 today and 36 tomorrow. Basically I'll be handing out name tags and then making sure all the paperwork gets into the right folders as they go to different places (interviews and group activities). I'm a "paper monkey" to put it nicely ;)

Sizzle?

*cough*

So yeah... uhm...

Hypothetically speaking...

If a person were to set up a computer that had been sitting in storage for several months - plug this computer in - turn this computer on and have the following happen:

1. Computer turns on and fan begins blowing
2. Computer begins to make a strange sizzling sound
3. Computer turns itself off but emits an odd smell
4. Computer refuses to turn back on

Would you think, hypothetically, that this computer may have fried something?

hehe

*sigh*

SO not my fault.

Hypothetically...

Life = Odd

So a lady at work took one of those Tickle IQ tests and wanted me to take it so we could compare. After spending the last 4 hours working on the same assignment for my online class I decided to take the IQ test. Anything would be fun at this point. According to "them" I scored a 136, like I'd pay to see my results if I scored a 2... like I'd pay to see them ever...

Anyway, I really had no idea what it meant to have a 136 IQ so I AltaVista'd it... and found the website of this guy: Eric Haller. I liked the look of his blog so I started looking around and then I found the two magic words: New Zealand. Apparently he was down there for a month (during 2004) - the same time I was down there.

Odd.

MEH

That's what our bowling shirts say on the front.
On the back: "It's a bowling thing..."
And on the sleeves our nick-names. Mine is: Mother Gutter

*grin*

Having trouble sleeping again. Dunno why this happens from time to time. Usually it has to do with stress, but I'm hardly stressed atm.

When I try counting sheep I start thinking about how much I miss this:

Ponderings...

Sometimes I find myself wondering "How on earth did I get this job?"

I have no formal training in computers. My only courses on computers are the typing class I took in High School and the Intro to Computers I took at the University of North Texas ("this is a computer, this is a mouse, this is how you turn the computer on").

How did I get this job? Well in the Fall of 2002 I was in a class called Pedagogy. We spent a class period in the Ed Lab and after the lady (who had my current job) was done explaining things people had questions. For some reason it just made sense to me and I helped the person to the right of me, then the person to the left, the person behind me... next thing I knew I was running around the lab helping most of the other students. The lady in charge of the lab asked me if I wanted a job in the Spring... I was like... a job? Working with computers? Seriously? I can do that.... And I did. I began working in the lab in the Spring of 2003 and worked through the end of Summer 2004 when I left to go Student Teaching.

I came back to work on my Masters in January of 2005 and asked her if she still had a spot in the lab for me and she said yes. I worked in the lab that Spring and in the middle of the summer when she left I found myself taking over for her.

*boggle*

85% of what I know about computers I learned on my own or from necessity to help someone else.

I've learned quite a bit in Dr. M's classes... a lot of that has been on rhetoric and web content and such...

And now I find myself helping fellow students and faculty members with a multitude of computer, printer, fax, copier, projector, software, email, chat, etc problems/questions. People with PhD's asking me how to do something. heh... It boggles the mind. Truly.

What I'm afraid of is: When/if I get hired for a teaching job and they see computers on my resume and they expect me to handle all the techy stuff for the school. I feel ok in saying I'm comfortable with various software, but by no means am I an expert on the hardware. There's always been other people that have done that.

/sigh

Maybe I'll go get another Masters or a PhD in Educational Technology.

Records

So here's the box I re-packed my parents record collection into (minus about 10 goodies that I kept out for my own enjoyment):


I found a few treasures amongst their collection....

Mama Cass :)


And this one I'm particularly excited about, Leonard Nimoy:


Why? you ask... was I so excited about a record of his?
Well... I'll show you:


*giggle*

And if you've never had the pleasure... allow me to introduce you:


Say what you will... I think it's genius. I laughed so hard I cried the fist time... honest.

July 21, 2007

It's about time! I know I'm not alone in my impatience... a large portion of the world is waiting to read what happens in the end....

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows!

100 Impressions in under 5 minutes

Found this while browsing throug You Tube with a friend:

Now THAT'S a title...

South African Hollywood hero swaps bombs for orphans

Certainly caught my attention.

In other news....

Bowling went well this past Sunday - I bowled way above my average on all three games and we won all three games and overall points (of course).

LOTS of meetings this week - one at 4:30-... today and I'm supposed to TA at 6pm for ASL. I missed ASL last week because I was training in a new worker. Anxious to start signing again!

My schedule looks INSANE! and I've got a 2-page to-do list.

I'm already closing the computer lab one hour a week because I don't have anyone to work and I just received a message from another worker who can't work one hour on Monday. I can't work it because *hopefully* I'll be subbing. So... time to beg other workers to take the hour.

No slacking this semester!

Oddly enough... compared to a week ago I'm not stressed at all.

It's all a matter of perspective.

I left my brain in Texas...

I feel like the Scarecrow... "If I only had a brain..."

I mean really....

If this is what happens when I take a month off from the real world, I really shouldn't do that anymore.

Today I forgot my work keys at home - which meant no getting into my office where my school books, notebook and pens were. Duh. So I borrowed a pen and notepad from the Ed Office and made do. Luckily we didn't take any notes :) Yay! for group work.

This is just the latest in a series of forgetfull-nesses... uhm...
Brain farts.

Ah well.

I'll get back into the swing of things soon (hopefully).

Also... *hangs head in shame* I caved today... I got a vanilla frappaccino... *frown* I could barely keep my eyes open this morning... I neeeeded a fix. Maybe the lack of caffeine led to my forgetting my keys... yes this seems plausible... so I need to drink coffee... but I shouldn't... I had 9 days coffee-free and now I'm back to 0. Apparently I can't quit cold-turkey.

House Party 2007

So yeah...

There's a prof in the Ed Dept - a friend of mine - and she has a House Concert every year.

I went 2 years ago when it was all family and friends performing. This year the performers were friends of hers from Kansas and at the end they did a 3rd set with lots of family and friend performers.

I didn't get home until after 2am (again - same as 2 years ago) but it was so worth it.

Sunday night was my first time back at bowling. It'd been 5 weeks and I was RUSTY! By the last game I was finally back to my average though.

Uhmm.... Again. Reallllly happy I survived yesterday. Though I totally spaced this morning - got a call at 8:15am asking me where I was... was sposed to be training in a new worker in the comp lab. I appologized profusely and he said not-to-worry, but yikes! I feel bad :(
Also ran out of the house this morning without several things I needed *sigh* ah well :)

"...and that's when he knew...

he was in the mouth of a shark."

I really don't know what to say about this Shark Attack...

Really lucky guy.

The Queen of Worry

(see previous post)

I was so freaking stressed about today and worried about whether I would have any/enough volunteers.... I hardly slept at all last night and my stomach was hurting and UGH.

I need to stop doing that.

I even called my mom at 7:20 this morning to hear her tell me it would all be ok. I needed to hear her say that. And she did, cuz she's an awesome Mommy and knows exactly what I need to hear.

I got there at 7:30am and was the first one. I waited around for 10 mins then went and set up my lab (Dr. M ROCKS!) and then came back to the Beaux Arts Ballroom to wait and see if any volunteers would show up. I wound up with close to 20 in the morning, another 15-20 mid-day and about 30 for the afternoon. A verrrry respectable turn-out.

With a little help from an experienced prof I figured out how to get each section of the day organized and I had a volunteer (I sort of knew from class) help organize things while I was doing my presentations. I had plenty of help in my presentations thanks to a prof/friend of mine and one of the volunteers who knew iMovie.

It all worked out extermely well!

I even had time to clean up Beau Arts while they were in their last sessions - so I was outta there by 2:30pm!

Rock on.

And I was so stressed.... *snort*

Why do I do that?

Cuz I'm the "Queen of Worry".

More to come later - on a House Concert I went to this past Saturday night!!!

"Big Eye - Overactive Brain - Worry - Stress"

Whatever you call it, that's what I've got.
I went to bed at 10:30 - fell asleep sometime after 12:30 - woke up at 4:30... don't have to be up until 7:30, but I can't get back to sleep.

Bah!

I'm stressing about this volunteer event Monday and about not having enough coverage in the Computer Lab.

I know I'll survive the volunteer thing (at least I think I will - positive attitude). I'm just nervous because it's something new and I have an important job - coordinating all the volunteers and I'm presenting a workshop.
But I will survive.

As for not having enough coverage in the lab.... it's only 2 hours on Tuesday and nobody is screaming at me - they understand. Whether the students understand or not... that is another question.

TO DO:

9am - 11am - Ed Dept Meeting
11am - 12pm - Home for lunch
12pm - 3pm? - Import video for iMovie workshop
Call rest of volunteers
Prepare for workshops
Print handout
House Concert Sat night!!!
Get books
Log-on to online class
Change all printed schedules (mine & lab)
Finish unpacking from trip
Straighten up apt (looks like a tornado's been through here)

On the plus side - it's good to be back in MN - and there is snow - Finally!
Oooh and I got this new cordless keyboard and mouse for Christmas and I got it hooked up last night. It's crazy-fancy - the keyboard has a lcd screen and all sorts of controls... I can check my email, change my music, chat, it shows in print on the screen when the caps lock is on/off, I can zoom/enlarge the text on the screen (so I can be across the room reading).... and I dunno what else. That's all I've had time to figure out so far :)

K.... gonna take a shower and get ready for this too-early day.

*mutter: definitely too early, just posted this to blogs & wiki daybook*
hehehe

For crying out loud!

I mean seriously!

10:47 pm - Land to hugs from Aya and D
11:15 pm - Enter apt
11:30 pm - Loud bass music from my neighbors
12:40 am - Call law enforcement about noise violation
1:20 am - Police arrive and speak to neighbor
1:30 am - Pass out
7:50 am - Dad calls to inform me I left a day too early - they have SNOW
9:00 am - Mom calls me to ask computer questions

11:00 am - I finally get out of bed

*grin*

Seriously though... I went over 4 times in 2 weeks before I left for Texas. I've been gone a month and come home to their blaring music. I'd had enough. I was exhausted from travelling and all I wanted to do was climb into my nice warm bed and pass out. Hopefully they got the point this time.

And as for Texas snow.... *grumble* Well check out THIS VIDEO. Keep in mind that this part of Texas rarely gets storms like this - and they had an ice storm this past weekend. There's still ice in lots of places and this snow is building on top of it. Not only is this very unusual for them, it's very dangerous because people aren't used to driving in this kind of condition.

But it is funny to compare people's reactions to weather like this depending on where they live.... I've seen it -60 with "Don't go outside or your skin will freeze" warnings and this MN University was still open. With TX, any small amount of frozen percipitation and EVERYTHING closes. I kind of miss those days!

MSP

So apparently the airline/airport/security people at DFW let the Army guys mom, dad, sister and brother come to the gate to say goodbye to him. I didn’t think they ever let non-passenger people come to the gate now-a-days…. maybe they were flying somewhere else? but the didn’t look like it.
In any case…. the Mom was squeezing the stuffing out of her son. The Dad was looking down at the ground while his wife hugged her son… It was really heart-wrenching.

Tall-blue-eyed guy did have an exit row seat :)

On the plane I sat next to (with an empty seat between us) a man named Godwin. Interesting guy. He’s a medical practitioner from Nigeria who spent the last month vacationing in America. He went to California, Washington, Oregon, Georgia and Texas. He was heading home, via MSP and then Amsterdam.

This lay-over is only an hour long, so not a lot of time to type. There’s snow here in MSP – though word on the street is there’s none back home.

DFW

I’m writing this email while sitting in Dallas/Ft. Worth International Airport.

Airports are great places for people watching….

There’s an older lady to my right who’s right hand is shaking horribly as she holds her magazine…. Parkinsons?

There’s the guy I saw checking in before me with piercing blue eyes. I almost come to his shoulders and he’s toothpick-thin. *goggle* I’m 6’ 1”….. and I come to his shoulders…. almost. Hope he has an exit row seat.

The two flight attendants to my left are engaged in an animated discussion, but I have no idea what they’re saying. I’ve got my headphones on, listening to Regina Spektor.

There’s a young man in desert fatigues kissing (what looks to be) his younger brother on the forhead….

Ewww the guy digging for gold…. ugh…. must be really stuck up there…. *cringe*

3 out of 30 people around me on cell phones – I’m surprised the number’s so low. If you’ve flown anywhere in the last few years you’ve probably noticed (and may in fact be one of ) the people who whip out their cell phone and turn it on before the plane doors are even open. Often they’re telling someone that their plane has landed and they’ll see them soon…

I like to make up stories about people I see in airports. Who are they? Where are they going – or coming back from? There are always loads of business people and I like to guess at what they do for a living. It gives me something to do when stuck in an airport for hours at a time. In 2006 I flew 6 different times. Not a lot by some standards, but enough that I’m bored with flying – don’t get me wrong though, it definitely beats driving 22 hours! *UGH*

I wonder what other people think of me sitting here (looking like a total bum) in my most comfortable (comfort is key when traveling) long-sleeve shirt, jeans, laptop with headphones on – occasionally mouthing along to my music.

It’s still rather cool in Texas – mid 20’s to low 30’s. Cool enough that there is still ice all over the place, though thankfully the roads are clear. The locals are fully bundled with hats, scarves, gloves, jackets and such…. I’m walking around in a long-sleeve shirt. *chuckle* MN has spoiled me.

Hmmmm I’m a local…. but I’m not really.... but I may be again….

I’m having issues with my lack of future plans. I’m extremely lucky to have so many options and opportunities ahead of me. I’m very thankful for that, but in the sense that I’m a total-control-freak-who-needs-to-know-who-what-where-when-why-and-how…. yeah I’m having issues. I so need to take a chill pill.

Go with the flow.

Enjoy my last year in MN.

/sigh

It was easier when it was still “next year” but now it’s “this year” and it does change my perspective.

Almost boarding time. Gonna pack it up – maybe I’ll continue this totally random post in MSP….

It's herrrre!

The ice.
The forcast was for "three waves": Friday night, Saturday and Sunday night.
And this third wave (the one going on right now) is supposed to be the worst.
Church services all over the metroplex were cancelled this morning and most schools that weren't already scheduled to be closed tomorrow (due to the holiday) are now either opening late ore closing.

Hummmm.....

If it's still nasty tomorrow my parents will most likely close their shop and stay home.
Which means an extra day with them :) so yay for that.

Ice Storm

That's what they keep saying.
It was supposed to be really nasty last night - woke up and found it hadn't reached freezing temps so all was well.
Rainy day today.
Stuffs frozen now and the forcast says more freezing percipitation tomorrow and into Monday.

But what about Tuesday?
As in the day I'm scheduled to fly back to MN?

Guess we'll see come Tuesday.

For now, more pictures....
These realllllly old pictures aren't in very good condition, which is sad.
I'm related to all these people through my Dad's mom.







This one's my favourite. Real-live wagoneers :)

Old Polaroid Pictures

These are from a trip my Dad took a long time ago....

Yellowstone Lodge:


Mt. Rushmore:


Old Faithful:


My Dad's parents:

If I could turn back time...

So one of the neat things about going through all these boxes is finding old pictures. I found some yesterday and some today. Here are two I scanned yesterday...

Me... around age 4 or 5? With major 'tude. My grandparents were ALWAYS taking pictures of me and I remember this day. I was like "Enough with the pics already. I'm seeing spots!"


And in honor of my Dad's birthday (Wednesday - Jan 10th), a picture of him at 5 months:


Happy Birthday Dad!

It was the best of times... It was the worst of times...

I mean SERIOUSLY!

/sigh

My parents and I drove out to East Texas last night, stayed in Mt. Pleasant and then made it the rest of the way to Jefferson this morning. We filled up an entire moving truck and my mom's minivan with "stuff" that belonged to my grandfather. We had a quick lunch with MK and after we'd loaded the last of the "stuff" (read piles of boxes filled with god-knows-what) we drove the 3.5 hours back home. We have to unload it all tomorrow... who knows how long it will take us to go through all that stuff - and we're still working on all our stuff from the old house.

We did make it home in time to watch the Cowboy game....

If you're a Seahawks fan it was probably one of THE best games ever.

If you're a Cowboys fan it was most definitely one of the most PAINFUL games in memory.

I mean seriously.

*cringe*

*whimper*

I feel SO bad for Tony Romo.

Considering where they started at the beginning of this season - Romo taking over in mid-season... no one expected them to get into the play-offs. And they did. So kudos for that.

But ugh.

Romo looked like this horribly abused - lost - abandoned - self-hating puppy. I can't even imagine how he feels. He's had this perma-grin for most of the season. Been living his life's dream. And to end the season like that.... That's one they'll be talking about for YEARS and years....

Even my dad - a 100% Cowboy fan - who I expected to be severely pissed off - felt genuinely bad for Romo.

Ah well.

Next season is next season and hopefully the Cowboys learned a LOT from this season and will come back ready to crack open a serious can of whoop-arse!

I'm going to bed so I can get up tomorrow morning and plow through all those boxes....

Kodi & Sheba

These two crack me up.
Sheba (cat) was on Kodi's (dog) bed. Sheba is sassy and likes to steal the comfy seat.
These two play all the time.
Don't worry, no animals were harmed in the making of this video. Sheba was declawed before she came to live with us.

2007

Let's catch-up...

Got over my cold (after a miserable week).

Spent lots of time with the folks.

Seen most of my family that's still around here.

Managed to go through some boxes (not nearly enough) and some of the stuff that is still at the old house.

Going to East Texas this weekend to see MK and pick up the rest of my Grandfathers stuff.

I got a new digital camera for Christmas and have been using the critters as guinea pigs...

Our cuddly Kodi "bear":

My sweet kitty Sheba:

And all three kitties Lady (left), Luxor (center) and Sheba (right):

Happy Holidays 2006

Hope everybody had a very Merry Christmas.
I spent Christmas Eve with my parents and Christmas Day we had lunch at my Uncle and Aunt's house.

Got lotsa really awesome gifts. I musta been a reallllly good girl this year *grin*

I also got a cold :( which is way sucky.
But at least I can stay home all snuggly in my recliner with a puppy and a kitty to keep me company :)

No plans for New Years. I'm sure there'll be loads of parties and such, but I like to spend New Years Eve in the safety of my own home.

I wish everyone a Happy New Year!

86 degrees yesterday...

And while I know many people in B-town are turning green with envy, I was whimpering.

Got home late Saturday night. Spent Sunday shopping with my Mom. Today was spent helping Mom with book-keeping.

Finished reading Eldest this evening. Better than Eragon, but unfortunately it ends in as much of a cliffhanger as Eragon.
BAH!

Tomorrow I've got at errand to run with Mom and then she's taking the rest of the day off to hang out. Not sure what we'll do, maybe something crafty.

Now I just need to figure out how to kidnap Dad for a day or so....
/ponder

I feel like yelling at someone right now....

and it's making it impossible to fall asleep.

Squirrel Invasion

Yesterday, walking from Tamarack to Birch Aya and I saw no less than 15 squirrels. It's like they knew the snow was coming back today and were doing their last-minute packing. There were probably more than 15, but they were bouncing all over the place and it was hard to count.

We had our first Hall Council sponsored activity in Birch Hall yesterday evening. Aya, 2 RA's and I went shopping for supplies first - hitting the grocery store and Franklin Ben *snicker* - so sayeth the Purchase Order.

The hall activity consisted of nummy-sugary snacks and music and painting decorations. We had clear and frosted glass balls and carved wooden shapes for people to paint. I'm happy with how it went. And it felt realllllly good to be involved in another Hall activity.

I need to make a few finishing touches to tomorrows presentation - meeting with my group on MSN at 6pm tonight. The presentation is tomorrow at 1pm and then I'm done with school commitments.

Weeeee!

The end of this semester snuck up on me.

Seriously.

*edit* hehe /bonk self on head
I posted to the Blogs & Wiki Daybook instead of here.... that's twice in the last few months

BtVS Season 8?

I may have to start reading Comics... or maybe I'd prefer the way *I* think it went after season 7....

I did just happen to notice a new comic book store when driving through downtown the other day....

/ponder

Mother Nature's got it right!

Wooty-woot-woot!

Starting last Friday we've had (at least) a bit of snow each day. We've got enough snow now that everything's white, the lake is frozen, the roads are a bit icky, there are big piles of snow where people have plowed.... And all is right in the land of 10,000 lakes :)

To me, snow = cold weather (love it), beauty, a calmness to nature, snuggly-goodness, hot chocolate.... I just love it!

I love snow!

Yesterday morning Sharon brought me a Christmas present in the form of a "snuggie," a lap-sized blanket she quilted. I tried it out last night and it rocked! Warm and snuggly!
/beam

Last night I helped the Birch Hall Council decorate the lobby/lounge area. We painted the huge windows, which face the lovely frozen lake and lots of snow. I put up the Christmas tree... and there are paper-snowflakes all over the place. It was fun.
Oh.... I'm the Birch Hall Council President. Don't think I mentioned that before :)

And ASL was last night... last class of the semester. But! I asked the teacher if I could come back next semester to help out/stay fresh and she said she'd be happy to have me! Wooooohoooooooooo!

I got ANOTHER job offer for next summer, that makes 4....

The Education Department had our Winter/Christmas Party today = FUN!

I came to work today to find this little guy on my doorknob:

My friend said it was just calling my name :)
How cute?!?!

A couple of weeks ago (for my birthday) this same lady gave me a lovely knitted bowl, filled with beads and a candle :)


I have the coolest, craftiest, most generous friends!

Oooh... and at the gift exchange for the Ed Dept today I got a $20 gift card to Target, my fave store!

Shopping inc!

*bounces around in the snow*

It's been a grrrrrreat week!

I think Mother Nature is Very confused...

I woke up this morning to a VERY light dusting of snow on everything and a lake that *finally* has a bit of ice on it.

My Texan parents woke up (after a night of thunderstorms) to ice and sleet and a Winter Storm advisory.

Sure we're colder in MN, but where's the precipitation?

Looking for a pet? Or know someone who is?

Thanks to Sharon for sharing this....

The St. Cloud animal shelter is closing. Over 50 cats and dogs may have to be euthanized.

If you are looking for a pet or know someon who is, please think of them!

I'm holding on for a hero...

If you haven't caught this show yet, you need to.
Tonight, 8pm Central
NBC

Heroes

I need a name....

He's a dwarf.... or maybe a gnome....
A Gnome Gnamed Gnorm?
Gimli?

What do you think?
I'll make a contest out of it.
What should I gname my gnome/dwarf man?
Prize to be determined :)





I'm really quite proud of the way he turned out. Not bad considering I'm a (very) beginning knitter!

Ironic

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.
I had a lovely day with Aya's family and lots of nummy food.

I also got a cold. I started feeling crummy on Thursday and now I'm full-on coldy.
The last time I was sick was back in March when I bowled my very first (and only) Turkey.... get it... turkey in bowling, turkey day... sick....

Ok maybe it's the left-over Nyquil talking.

*sniffle*

I hate being sick.

However, 8 months of not being sick was SWEET and a new record for me (since I moved up here).

Guess there's something to this living off campus after all.

*sigh
I need to go by juice and more drugs.
Later ya'll.

Unico!!!

Video came in.
Watched it last night.
Tape is in perfect condition.
It rOxOrs!
Finally got to see the ending!
/cheer
It's as good as I remembered. Beezle is a bit annoying with all that whining, but overall I loved it. Unico is so cute. And Katie :) And the little old woman! Awwww! I wanna watch it again and again!

I'm off to Aya's mom's for Thanksgiving, but first: some vigorous can-opening!
I'm in charge of bringing the fruit salad!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Get stuffed!

And that makes 3!

I now have three (3) professors for my committee!
I needed two additional profs (other than my advisor) for my committee and now I've got them.
Time to fill out form 3 and send it over to the Grad office.



..............


Eep!

An AWESOME Birthday!

It went a little something like this....

9am - Drive out to a gorgeous log home in the woods. Visit with a friend and her family. Share crafty-goodness: drop spindles, knitting, wreath-making... A lovely brunch with a cinnamon-roll cake (candles included). It was her nieces b-day too and we shared :) The moment I walk through the doors of her house I feel at-home. Her home is gorgeous and inviting and perfect and I feel so relaxed out there. By the time I headed back to town at 3pm I was totally relaxed and I had a permagrin.

4pm - Meet Aya and D at Target. Get a couple of things for my Christmas tree. Go back home, finish tidying up apt and decorate tree (while Aya baked me a delicious cake at her place).

5pm - Aya, D and Jer come over for games, spaghetti, cake and presents!

8pm - Meet up with some friends at Applebee's for lots of chatting and laughing and fun! And there was a fuzzy pink tiara... (see below)

10pm - Leave Applebee's to roam around Walmart with several friends who were waiting for 12am when they went to Game Stop to get their Wiis.

12:30am - Return home, play one level of Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy (gift from Aya & D!)

1:45am - Fall asleep all happy and contented.

Happy Birthday to me!

Headed out to the country to a friend's cabin for some crafty-goodness.
Then out to a restaurant tonight with more friends!
Had game night last night with Aya and D.

So far so good!

Mystery solved....

So I have this memory of watching an anime movie with a unicorn and a little girl who wishes she was a cat. They're by a cottage and/or a stream..... And the unicorn gets whisked away at some point. Random memory huh? It's been bugging me for years. It's something I watched at my after-school daycare one day when I was maybe 5 or 6? I think I was really into the movie and my parents picked me up early that day... It's bugged me for years. I had hunted on the internet for it and found nothing.

Yesterday I was chatting with Jer on MSN and we were talking about childhood tv shows and movies and I asked him if he had ever seen this movie. He didn't think he had but he started hunting too and found this: Unico.

And that's it!
That's the movie that has haunted me for 20+ years!
Awesomeness!

I also found it on Wikipedia: Unico

So as a birthday present to myself I ordered a copy (VHS) from Amazon.com!
Woot Jer! I hope it's as good as I remember... it'd suxor to be disappointed after 20+ years. But at least this time I'll get to see the ending!

It found me...

That dreaded insomnia.
Grrrrr...
I thought I'd chased it away for good, but apparently I was mistaken.
Ah well...

Lots on my brain.
I think that happens when birthdays come around... reflecting and expecting... wondering what comes next.

Lessee... what have I been up to lately....
Bowling last Sunday was fun. It was Aya, D and me. We were one person short on our team and we didn't bowl against anyone (there's an odd number of teams) so it was just the three of us and we were done in an hour.

I've been doing some crafty things - drop spindle and knitting.
Even picked up my guitar again yesterday.... been a long while.
I've been watching Buffy from the beginning :) wooty woot woot
And of course I've been hooked on Dancing with the Stars.
I don't know why everyone's so surprised that Emmitt Smith is doing so well. Didn't they ever watch him play football? Crazy-cool footwork. Discipline. Performs well under pressure. Feeds off the croud. Uhm... yeah of course he's kicking serious arse.
Though Mario deserves gold stars as well. I was Saved By the Bell and I'd be ok with him winning... but come on now. Emmitt's a Cowboy! Yeeeehaw!

I've been busy enough with school and work stuff, but I also have more free time than I've had in a reallllllly long time. I'm enjoying it! Can ya tell?

Not going home for Thanksgiving, but Aya's family has a spot for me.... as usual :) Least this way I won't get stuck in the Cities for 3 days thank-you-very-much-ice-storm.

Oh and Mom and I may or may not be going to a Spinner's Retreat in Canada in April.... Hopefully they have room for us! *keeps toes crossed*

I think we're all caught up now.

Gonna try and get some sleep now :)

Suddenly I have a lot to say...

Haven't been posting much lately and now three posts in a day... yeesh :)

Found this on the New Zealand Herald Website and wanted to share:

Texting abbreviations 'allowed for NCEA exams'

8.45am Thursday November 9, 2006

Students will be able to use text abbreviations in this year's exams, the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) has said.

Bali Haque, NZQA deputy chief executive of qualifications, said credit would be given in this year's NCEA (National Certificate of Educational Achievement) exams if the answer showed the required understanding, the Dominion Post reported today.

Abbreviations are widely used in mobile phone text messaging and include abbreviations such as "2moro" for tomorrow, "cul8r" for see you later and "gr8" for great.

However, Mr Haque said text abbreviations would be penalised in some exams, including English, where candidates were required to show good language use.

He said the NZQA still strongly discouraged students from using anything other than full English. Credit would, however, be given if the answer "clearly shows the required understanding", even if text abbreviations were used.

Students should aim to make their answers as clear as possible, Mr Haque said.

- NZPA

I Have:

(Everything that's bolded...)

01. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said "I love you" and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea - from the shore
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby's diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon - Absolutely amazing experience
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day - I so have to try that
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states - I'm working on it... at 36
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
42. Had amazing friends - Thank God.
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger's table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs - And DVDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Played touch football
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an "expert" - No, but my dad has
83. Got flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Kissed on the first date
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently well enough to have a decent conversation - Assuming ASL counts :)
95. Performed in Rocky Horror
96. Raised children
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn't stop when you knew someone was looking - Every-freaking day!
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn't have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Touched a stingray
110. Broken someone's heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol - All of the above
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse - Thus the broken bone :)
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours - Was very sick
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi - Not the raw-fish kind.... so prolly doesn't count
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Touched a cockroach - God No! Ewwwwwie!
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad
135. Selected one "important" author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating - See 132
137. Skipped all your school reunions - Just skipped my 10th
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone's life - Possibly... took the keys away from a drunk

Hmmm.... 62 out of 150... not bad for someone my age :)
Quite a few I need to work on though!

The Creeper

Have you ever been forced to sit and listen to someone talk? Someone whose words go against everything you think, believe and feel? So much so that you can feel your brain cells dying and you think to yourself: “I will never, ever, EVER get that time back… it’s gone."

I could feel my hair losing its pigment. I'm pretty sure if I counted I would find 6 new grey hairs.

*sigh*

*Mutter* Vultures....

And I'm one of them.

"winter" is here - according to the street signs which say no overnight parking on the streets from now til April. This means all the dorm residents are parking in the dorm parking lots again.... Wait.... How's that work? There's the same number of people per day that need to find parking spaces, either on the street or in the lot. If the people who were parking on the street are now in the lot, there *SHOULD* be some parking on the street.... right?
*brain pain
*sigh
I dunno.
All I know is I circled the parking lot and streets for over 20 mins this morning trying to find a spot. I did finally find one though...

Another runner in the night...

What's up with you, the reader?

I'm sitting in my office watching the last hour of my office hours drag by.
Tonight is Thursday Night = Girls Night! And I haven't hung out with my best friend in almost 2 weeks - thus the extreme impatience :) If all goes well we'll talk each other's ears off in the process of catching up. *grin*

Coming up:
*I want to see Inspector General - the campus producation
*I want to try out the local Spinners club meeting - this Saturday
*I need to finish some work for class
*I need to contact the local sub-ing office and get my name on the list asap

I got my plane tickets yesterday for December 16 - January 16, 2007.
Can we say *WOOOOOOT*!?! That's an entire month at home with the folks and friends and dog and kitties and-and-and *breath*
I'll have a lot to keep me busy. I hope to spend most of my time going through the rest of our belongings at the old house and the boxes and BOXES in the garage at the new house. My parents want to have a big estate-type sale, but there's a lot of sorting that needs to happen first.
*ponder* I bet I could bring the puppy with me to the old house to keep me company ;)
I guess if I'm feeling terribly inspired I can look into PhD possibilities at the local university in between sorting stuff and working on my master's paper. No, I should look at teaching positions... see how many openings they have in my hometown and work outwards....
*cringe*
Texas.
*sigh*
All my friends are here.
*sigh*
BAH!
Anywho....

Listening to: Blinded By The Light

Happy Late Halloween!

For some reason I was not terribly into the Spirit this year.

hehe sorry for the bad pun...

In any case, I didn't dress up yesterday - just some sparkley make-up.

BUT then - last night I was a tour guide for the Oak Haunted House - which was AWESOME! I had 2 criers, one little girl who left before we even got to the good part (their last chance to exit) and LOTS of screamers. My throat was a little soar from screaming, but I it did seem to freak people out ;) LOTS of fun. Lots.

Last year I helped with the set-up and the tear-down, but had class and wasn't able to participate in the haunted house.

This year I wasn't able to help with the set-up, but I guided and then I helped them tear-down. I was exhausted at the end of the night, but it was so worth it.

Uhmm... yep.

Oh... got my flu shot today. Bleh. Didn't hurt at all when she shot me up, but feeling a bit of a twinge now. But it's over and done with and HOPEFULLY I won't get the flu this year :)

2 Floors of Shopping

One of the stores we went into in downtown Minneapolis was a 2-story Target!
They even have special escalators for the carts. Something new for me :)


I *heart* Target! So this was pretty darn neat to see.