The Last Day

Today was my last day at my job.  I'm pretty darn depressed about it right now; I really love this job.

I love the people I work with, the work I do, and the work environment.  It's hard to find something that good, and it's very hard to leave something that good.  My coworkers took me out to lunch today, and even got me a graduation/going away present--they got me a Longs Peak bench mark paperweight.  It's symbolic because I have graduated, and hence hit a "peak" in my life worthy of noting and measuring future accomplishment against.  I believe I will return to get my PhD and become a researcher; I feel that I belong with these people.  Onward to the next big thing, the next bench mark, as it were.

In answer to Fuzzy's question, I've been sick.  For the last month.  I was sick all of last week, but worked anyways in a desperate attempt to finish up all of the work I had left before leaving my job.  I failed, but it's okay because it's all ongoing type work that I can continue to contribute to (blah blah blah "but you're not getting paid" and whatever else--it's called pride in workmanship, people; my name is going on it, and I will be satisfied before I call it done, paid or not).  Then, I forced myself to take a camping vacation last weekend, where I unintentionally hiked a nearly 3 mile trail with a runny nose, cough, and not as much water as I would have preferred.  I complained the whole way, which probably wasn't much fun for the others on the hike, but I didn't die, which was a plus.

All in all, I am expecting to have a low week.  I am crawling into a hole to reflect and figure out what I'm going to do with myself now.

Alula

Accomplishing too much

Since getting out of school, I have done the following:

-bought a few new games for my PSP, which I am new playing.  One of them is called Class of Heroes; it's kind of Harry Potter meets classic D&D.  A group of students attends a school for adventurers and goes on dungeon raids where turn-taking fights ensue.  I bought it used and on sale through GameStop along with two other games for 1/4 the cost of a new pair of shoes!  

-I am now rewriting Redemption in the 3rd person and with a more generous narrative.  Anyone who wants in on this editing project, contact me.

-I am attempting to beat all of the campaigns in Zoo Tycoon 2.  I am halfway there.

-My MIL the Librarian got me a wok for Xmas, which I now cook with daily, and all the chicken breast and veggie stir fry is part of my campaign to lose weight.  (Anyone who would like to adjust their resolutions for this year, please email me--I did well this year except for my weight, which is now higher than ever since the fast food binge I went on while Mr. Borealis was sick the first half of the year.)

-I finally talked myself into treating myself to some new skins from Decal Girl.  I have never had a skin from this company before, but the reviews are very good.  I'm getting one for my Barnes & Noble Nook and another for my new phone.

-Speaking of new phone--I wanted to get an LG Ally, but it turns out this phone has been discontinued (LG, I feel this is a bad move, as the slide out keyboard is a very functional feature that does not usurp screen space to use).  Instead, I am getting the LG Vortex.  I should have it in hand by the end of this week--review to follow.

-My husband got me Hermione Granger's Time Turner for Christmas.  I was very impressed by this present, because I never directly told him I wanted it, but I really love it.  

-I've made it through a few more rounds towards the library position I am applying for, which I still dearly hope I get.

-We went to Oklahoma between Xmas and New Years.  We drove with my family.  At the last minute, my brother decided to come, bringing two of his kids along (7 & almost 5).  My husband and I got to drive in the car with my dad and the 7-year-old; she traveled very well.  However, my mom and my sister shop WAY too much, and we had too much luggage (for TWO cars, mind you) on the way home, resulting in airline-like seating conditions.  Once again, Mr. B and I have vowed that we will never again drive with family out to Oklahoma--we will take our own car.  The gas money is worth it to have the leg room, stop when we want, listen to what we want, and not have to mind our language.

-I have fully organized my basement using the shelves Mr. B got for me for our anniversary.  The room is now functional.

-I read The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins on the way back from Oklahoma.  Actually, I started reading it in a Barnes & Noble in Tulsa using the "read for free" feature on the Nook while using my Nook coupon for a free raspberry smoothie.  The smoothie was awesome, and the first chapter of The Hunger Games was so good that I felt $5 was worth it to get the whole book.  The storyline follows Katniss, a teenage girl who finds herself entered into the morbid Hunger Games that are orchestrated by the Capitol--twenty-four children are picked ever year to fight to the death in these games for the Capitol's amusement, and the winner takes home food and glory to their District.  (I can lend this book from my Nook, so let me know if you're interested.  Also, check out the free e-reader screensavers Barnes & Noble are offering here.)

Alula

Living Dangerously

I'm down in Colorado Springs visiting my husband at work for the weekend. I'm going out of town next week to give a presentation in DC at AAG. Last night, we met with our friends down here in the Springs (you all know them--the ones that own the publishing company...?).

Anyways, we were talking about hitting the metaphorical wall in life, and how I have yet to hit said wall. According to my friend, when you hit the wall, you drop everything and have a critical fail. She believes I'm in trouble of hitting said wall with all the crap that's happening in my life. But here's the thing: I don't ever think I will hit the wall. I keep piling on school and work and hobbies and family, and the wall never appears. I just keep going, and part of me wishes that I would hit the wall, just so I know my limit--like where "enough" is, because I have never found "enough." And it's like all of this stuff happens to me--I sign up for classes and then lose half a semester taking care of my extremely ill husband, and I'm still going to come out of it passing all my classes. And writing half of a novel in the process. And hardly missing 10 hours of work, and receiving offers from researchers who now want to work with me in the future.

I'm not looking a gift horse in the mouth, but does this seem normal? I feel like I've rolled in the crap heap of life over the last few months and I'm still coming out smelling (relatively) like roses. And it's not the first time it's happened, either...my first semester of grad school was probably worse what with the births, the deaths, the marriages, etc., and I still managed to get things done. I guess I'm feeling a little too powerful and sure of myself, and I want that wall: I want to know exactly where my limit is, because not knowing is scaring me.

How much crap can I take, exactly? I feel like I need to know, because once I do, it will be enough somehow--like getting full.

So, with regards to hitting this wall, and my seemingly destructive need to find my wall, my friend believes I have somehow channeled the "risk taking gene" that we hear about in various studies into doing the most seemingly productive tasks I can until they eat me alive. I'm like Eval Knieval, but because I'm physically fragile and have no physical addictions, I'm taking risks in loading up on academia. She thinks I'm zapping myself physically by trying to feed my need for risky behavior with as many productive activities as possible. Weirdly, this makes sense to me--it explains why I needed an MA, and then two MAs, and then working 30 hrs while getting those MAs, and now a PhD...Mr. Borealis has been telling me he's afraid I will double PhD, because it seems like something I would do.

It does seem like something I would do. Of course, my friend being a publisher, her solution is that I channel my risk taking by showing my writing to the world via her publishing company (who didn't see that one coming...?).

So anyways, I decided to see if any of you think this is plausible (that I'm secretly living out my need to live dangerously in the most geeky way possible), and to test the theory.

Today, Mr. B and I went horse back riding. I'm not supposed to do this because of my weak and easily dislocated joints. The last time I was on a horse was when I was like 16 (we won't count Santorini, because that was technically a donkey), and I fell off and hooked my left leg in the stirrup and got dragged for 20 feet, ripping up the knee surgery I had done 7 months earlier. After a 3 hour ride, my butt feels like it's been attacked by a crazed nun with a ruler the size of a two-by-four, and my body feels sore and weak all over, but I had a great time (pictures to come). My horse tripped and did a chest dive into the ground (and I got it on VIDEO!!!) and I didn't fall off (the horse and I were both fine). Aside from the horn on the saddle punching me in the stomach and the bruises on my hands from grabbing the saddle, it didn't even give me a rise. There was seriously no adrenaline. The event rattled the guide and my husband, and I didn't even get butterflies.

I am beginning to believe there's something to the theory that my ability to judge risky situations, or the way I respond to them, has become non-typical in the last few years. I'm wondering if I hit the wall, would I even feel it?

Alula

A Summary of Kansas

With my pictures uploaded, here is a visual summary of driving through Kansas:

So on my drive I played ABC's I Spy with Q (you take a picture, and it has to be alphabetic and pertinent to the trip: A is for Agriculture, driving through Kansas, B is for Bridge, a miniature overpass, C is for corn, as far as the eye can see...). I made it all the way to O, and as you can imagine, Q was rather annoyed with me that day, because let's face it, there isn't much in Kansas. Did I mention that my mother-in-law decided we all had to listen to some book on tape the whole way home? It was about an older woman married to a guy with heart problems. They had relations on a rug in front of a fire and got sweaty and jiggly. And I had to listen to it with my in-laws.

Whole Lotta Nothin'.

Farm equipment advertisement.

Do they really need to advertise this?

The Largest Prairie Dog in the World?? Who could miss that? (If you're really curious click here to see it--reviews aren't good so I have never stopped to see it.)

Alula hates books on tape.

(Especially ones that are trapped in the car with me and my in-laws and discuss having carnal knowledge of old people.)

Happy Thankgiving, All!

Well, here I am, in Oklahoma with Mr. B's family again. His grandparents (paternal side) gave us our own room, which was good. It's the only room in their home with a computer (hence, internet) which is bad.

Mr. B's younger early teens cousin has a friend with apparently no family to eat with on Thanksgiving, so he came over last night. I got to come back to our room, where unbeknownst to me the 2 teen boys were doing good knows what on the internet with the lights off. Next to my open suitcase, where my unspeakables were in plain view.

Good Grief, Charley Brown. The lack of consideration for privacy in this family is astounding.

I delayed going to bed last night by an hour so I wouldn't have to have the hey-you-get-the-BLEEP-out-of-my-room-I-need-to-undress conversation with the orphan boy.

Both of Mr. B's parents have iPod Touch's now, and I reeeeeallly want one. (They have Kindle for iPod Touch now too!)

My sister sent me this website, where you may take a quiz to see how likely it is your cat is trying to kill you (Count and Gretal scored a combined 91% -- the house sitter has been warned):

http://www.catswhothrowupgrass.com/kill.php

But on this holiday, whether you are cooking or not, I hope this day finds you all surrounded by friends, family, love, and good food.

Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!

Alula

Cars, Business, Wasps, Screaming, and Camping

Once again, I find myself in the situation that a lot has happened in my life and I'm behind on posting. I've written a summary in prose for those of you who don't want to read the novel:

Mr. B's Outback had just gotten fixed and gone to Pueblo,
It got into a fight with a hailstorm and to more fixing insurance said "no",
Went car shopping & tried to trade in the '93 trooper C4C,
Found it wasn't eligible due to procrastination by Mr. B,
Then went Rolla on a business dealing,
Mr. B found a wasps' nest in the kitchen ceiling,
Had to beg Q for assistance due to husband's vanity,
Q of course came through and saved my kitties and my sanity,
Mr. B freaked out and decided to clean basement,
Apparently got rid of my stuff with permission and still hasn't f-ing apologized,
Got off the plane just in time to fight with husband,
Packed my crap post haste and almost decided marriage was canned,
Briefly discussed if free education was prudent,
Got accused by Mr. B of being perpetual dirty-hippie student,
Went camping one hour later with Q, Munchkin, and spouses,
Banned fighting for the weekend even though all men are louses,
Had 6 hours to share alone with Mr. B on Sunday,
Then we both woke up and went our separate ways.

And the long version:

Well, in case I didn't say this already, Mr. B's Outback had just gotten fixed from the run in with the deer when he drove it down to Pueblo and got stuck in a hail storm. It didn't do any real damage, but apparantly it dinged every exterior portion of the shell of the car to the extent that insurance called it a total loss: cost of repair exceeds total value of car. So we took a settlement and now have a no-value dinged up car.

Realizing we were nowin possession of two cars in need of replacement, we decided to make a move on Cash for Clunkers because my trooper is 16 years old and gets 15 miles to the gallon. Well, thanks to the fact that my husband dragged his butt getting it registered (and had me driving it without registration for 3 months without knowing it), we have not technically "owned" this vehicle for 1 year so it does not qualify. And my husband's procrastination has finally screwed us over in the form of losing a $4,500 coupon for a new car.

I went to Rolla, MO for my first business trip last week; I feel I should note here that they took really good care of us because the flights and hotels were awesome. On Wednesday morning I get this phone call just as I walk through the door to my first meeting:

"Hello?"

"Hey."

"Oh, hey Mr. B--unless something serious is happening, can I call you back around lunch?"

"Oh, um, well...I woke up this morning and there's wasps inside the house?"

"Inside the house?"

"Yeah they're coming through a hole in the kitchen ceiling."

"Uh...okay."

"Can I take care of this when I get home tonight?"

I laugh. "Not unless you want to come home to a house full of wasps--they could swarm and kill our cats. You need to take care of this like now."



Said in irritated tone: "Well, Alula, what do I do?"

I sit there in stunned disbelief for a moment. Then I respond: "Well hon, I'm in Missouri right now, so you're going to have to take care of this one by yourself."

"By doing what?!"

"Call someone."

"Who?!"

And about this time, in my head, I'm going well, there are bugs in the house and you don't want them there...who the bleep do you think you call? I say: "I'm guessing anyone from your dad to 911 depending on how many there are and what they're doing. Jesus--just assess the situation and take care of it. Or keep calling responsible adults until you find one that can help you!"

And I hung up and went to my meeting. I text him that he needs to call Orkin and then let it go. I call his father a little later to be sure he isn't suffering death by wasps alone in our home. Turns out Mr. B has gone to work.

The irony of the situation? I call Q later and she starts with "I got this frantic call from your husband earlier. He needed to know what to do to get wasps out of the house..."

The wasps really freaked him out. Orkin came the next day and gased the invaders and the nest, which was apparently inside our kitchen ceiling. We're still dealing with stragglers trying to rebuild.

Apparently Mr. B thought the basement was too dirty for Orkin to see (no kidding, that was his reasoning) so he "cleaned" it. By breaking a lot of my stuff and donating some of it without permission. I'm still not okay with it and much screaming ensued.

Then when I got home I saw the real damage and there was more screaming. And then I tried to talk to him about how my work is now offering to pay for me to get a PhD--literally pay for it. And pay me regular salary in addition and accomodate my scheduling needs for school. Mr. B said I can't do it because I was "going to become a permanent student" and blah blah blah. We were both pretty pissy and yelly and angry.

Then we took a fifteen mminute breather, started over, and just packed our crap and went out to the camp site where Q and Munchkin and spouses were waiting. We had a lovely weekend of geocaching, s'mores, and freezing our chicklets off. The tight sleeping arrangements of our tent allowed me the perfect excuse to get an albeit amature form of revenge on my husband by breaking gas while we were forced to spoon.

Then we got home, watched some TV, fought a little more, went to bed, and woke up. Now I'm back at work and he's back in Pueblo and we're getting along fine and missing each other terribly. I'm exhausted and I have to plan Movie Night for tomorrow and my family is not making things easy.

Ociffer and Snow were having a rough time of it with Post Partum Depression--she kicked him out and basically absconded with his child for a couple of weeks only allowing him visitation. According to my mom they're "doing better now". God bless him, I hate to see my brother going through these situations. My sister is having some sort of issue now too that she won't tell me about, and my cousin had her baby--another August baby--a healthy little girl. And my grandmother wants to spend more time with me, which I feel guilty about because she lives literally on my same block and I have like no time. I'm setting something up with her for later this week.

Alula

One Day at a Time

Alula all I can tell you is for you to take one day at a time. And Enjoy the good things that come your way. Above is a picture of my little garden my zucchini are taking over and my tomato plants (not in the picture) are getting really big. Lots of random things in this garden like some onions and strawberries even my lavender is growing. Now if Mr Man remembers to water the garden in my coming up absence from the house. Little man and I will be coming into your area next Saturday we will try to convince Mr Man to go to the Flea Market Sunday and then the big water Park on Monday. I just have to get little man watched on that Monday he's just too little to be going to such a big water park and I love my mom but I don't think she will be able to keep up with Little Man. So then Mr Man will be coming back home and to the garden, I will stay with my mom and leave for a family reunion in Florida on the 29Th Thu the 10Th. And then Mr Man will Have to come get us because he doesn't want to be without the car for that long. Who knows how much longer that truck is going to last. And if anyone wonders for this trip to Florida Mom will be on oxygen a cpap for the plane, Nessy the "Service Dog" will be going on the plane actually with us not in the baggage area, and Little Man is going as a lap Child for this very long flight. Please wish me luck that I don't completely loose my mind, not that I haven't lost it already. Well fun and games, one day at time.

fuzzy

Frontiers of Fortune

Ladies,

As you may know, I have been praying very hard for "real" jobs for all of us. Congratulations Alula on your "real" job.

Also I would like to congratulate Mr. Munchkin on his being hired into a Graphic Designer position at the largest vinyl printing company in the country. He will be making $14/hr + benefits. Now I can get off his back about getting a "real" job. I am so proud of him.

Finally... I would like to congratulate myself on getting hired on at the same company as my husband. I'll be making $12.50/hr + benefits. I am so excited at the idea of having some stability in our life finally. I am so fortunate for all the things that are happening in my life at the moment. I hope that Mr. Munchkin and I take that fortune along with us to Las Vegas, because we leave Sunday for our honeymoon.

Q, I know that you will soon have a job as well. One that will not make you miserable, and that will help give you and Mr. Q the stability you both need when he is back from the military.

I send my love to you all, and I'll see you in a week or so.

~Munchkin

Delays

Well, I was supposed to start my new job today.

I have all of my affairs in order. The laundry and the dishes are done. I've cleaned the basement, as it is my intended home office. My mom took me out and bought me new cloths for work. I have taken to programming the coffee maker the night before in case I don't have time in the morning. I wrote a guide for my husband describing, with picture demonstrations, how to do things around the house like laundry, dishes, cooking, and grocery shopping. Summer term hasn't started yet, but my tuition is paid.

In short, I was ready to start my job. Unfortunately the paperwork wasn't, so the current plan is that my new start date is Tuesday next week (because Monday is Memorial Day).

So having done everything, what the heck am I supposed to do now? I'm washing the bed linens even though they don't need it. I'm reorganizing my closet. I've got the final paycheck from my last job to drop off at the bank (because I can squeeze blood from a stone, Q, lol). I'm going to scout our local thrift stores for an elliptical machine, dinette set, and closet organizer. I could go grocery shopping, I guess. Now what the heck am I going to do tomorrow?

All I can figure is that God and the universe have granted me this time to start our little business. We have everything set up, ladies--we have an eCrater store, an established Ebay account with excellent feedback, boxes for shipping, the stuff to sell...we're ready.

1, 2, 3, GO!

Alula

Week of the Sisterhood

It's finals again and I'm tired as all get out. Emotional, too.

This week I got to see all of you, which was a rare treat. If Fuzzy had been able to make the wedding, we all would have been together for the first time in who knows how long--even so, I'm still glad I got to see all of you.

DoHP, you need to move back, sweety. We all miss you more than you realize. You can stay in our front room cheap, and we'll find you a job. You can have your own bathroom if you're willing to deal with our OCD cleaning nueroses. I can't even tell you how much you were missed after you left--they way we all kept staring at the empty spot on the couch. This time around, the couches were full, and it was good. Plant those black eyed peas I sent you home with, because we need to break your black thumb curse. And thanks for not killing my orange trees.

Munchkin, congratulations on getting married. I can tell you it's the most frustrating and rewarding thing you'll ever do in life. Just remember--that first year is a doozy. Everyone thinks they will be different, but the first year is hard. It's like dating all over because suddenly you think he's going to change, and he will, but probably not the way you want him to. Just weather that first year, and as a subtle recommendation, don't add pregnancy hormones to the mix. One year either way won't make a difference at this point, and when you're screaming about dishes or trash removal or money, he won't be able to throw it in your face that your just hormonal.

Fuzzy, when did that boy get so big? Seems like just yesterday I was sleeping on a wooden hospital bench at 3am while you were sitting there in the worst pain of your life, trying to bring new life into the world. Remember when we were like 12 and we rode our bikes around the block? Remember when we read Animorphs? Remember when we used to get dropped off and picked up together in middle school? Kiddo, you need to move back too. I don't see enough of you anymore, and I really want to know your kid.

And Q, these last few weeks were really special. I'm sorry if I creeped you out with all the smiling--I just kept looking up and seeing you and Mr. Q, all cuddly and together again, and the two of you just look so happy. You're a different person when he's around; it really is like the two of you own a piece of each other, because I can tell when he's been away too long. You fake smile a lot and you're a little hallow when you talk. This past week you really smiled. You really laughed. And you looked really, really happy. I'm happy to have my old Q back, because when you shine, the rest of the world does too.

Alula

Woot!

So Mr. Munchkin and I are now married. That was the most excellent day of my entire life. I can't wait to ge the pictures so I can post a few for everyone to see. We started the day out with rain... supposed to be good luck right? I think so, but it didn't stop at the rain. After the rain we proceeded to hail and snow, I consider this to be a sign of the best luck possible. I mean who else honestly gets every type of precipitation on their wedding day? Before the ceremony began we had an uninvited guest named Tom, Tom Turkey. Yes folks I had a Wild Turkey (not the alcohol) at my wedding. Tom feasted on my environmentally friendly alternative to rice, wild bird seed, with gusto after many bags of it were thrown at Mr. Munchkin and myself.

The day was spectacular. DoHP helped avert crisis, and the best man arrived in time for the wedding. It snowed during the ceremony, one of the many reasons I cannot wait to post some pics. After the ceremony I did my bridal photos outside and the flakes were bigger and even more beautiful. I am sure we have some spectacular images. Anyway, I must get back to watching movies and enjoying my honeymoon. Thank you too all who made that day possible!

~Munchkin

I'll see all y'all tonight!

I'm so excited! Except my laptop is borked. But I'm excited anyways! *dances*

Anniversary!

Hey Ladies,
Mr. Q is home, and yesterday was our one year anniversary. Yeah!
We went to mass then out to lunch with my aunt and uncle. We were planning on staying at home for a little while then going out for a dinner and perhaps a movie. Unfortunately I flopped down on our spear bed around 6 pm because Mr. Q was playing on his computer in there. At some point he curled up next to me and we woke up this morning at 6 am, fully dressed, in a full size bed. Good Anniversary! Were gonna extend our plans into today. We can't be known as the people that slept for 14 hours on our anniversary.