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A continuation of my journal "Almost Angelic" |
| Welcome to my life! The ups and downs, ins and outs, tos and fros. Its a crazy ride...hang on! |
| I flew to Phoenix Tuesday morning. Spent Tuesday afternoon/evening catching up with family. Wednesday morning was the funeral and lots of family photos(we haven't all been together in 14 years). The funeral was a military one, with an honor gaurd and 21 gun salute. The Honor Gaurd were all WWII vets, which was very appropriate. A priest also was present to give a short sermon and benediction. All four kids were there, with their spouses. And, amazingly enough, all but one grandchild was present. Even Rachel was able to make it, and meet our extended family for the first time. After the funeral we took more pictures, and then headed out for lunch. I left straight from lunch and went to the airport, still in my black dress and heels. Six hours and two plane rides later I was home. I'm so glad I went. I'm not very close to my extended family, as evidenced by the fact that we're so rarely all together. But it's amazing how, despite time and distance, your family is still your family and they're there to love and support you(and annoy the bejeesus out of you). It was all very sad, and funny, and happy, and strange. Its ridiculous to have 50+ year old adults interacting the same way they did when they were kids. Its funny to shock aunts and uncles who think of you as still pre-pubescent with the fact that not only have you graduated highschool, but also college, and almost finished a Master's. Its strange to see how my cousins have grown up, and how different and yet the same each of our families are. And its funny to hear the stories that haven't been told in so many years dusted off and aired out, all the more amusing because of the long wait. It was everything Grandma would have wanted. GoCartCherub ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| I'm going to Grandma's funeral. I'm flying out Tuesday morning, will be there 27 hours, and will return Wednesday night. I've spent all the waking hours of the last five-six days(they're all bleeding together) working on my paper. When she got much worse on Saturday we thought she would die that day, then she got much much better, and we thought it might be a few weeks. So my mom told me not to come. I talked to Grandma very briefly Saturday. I know I made the best decision at the time, but I still feel guilty for not being there. The real problem is that funerals, as good closure as they are, don't substitute for actually being with someone, holding their hand, kissing them goodbye. I leave in less than 12 hours and need to get materials gathered so I can work on the plane. GoCartCherub ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| After journaling last night I spoke with my parents again. Grandma had been doing much better on Saturday. My mom stayed with her Saturday night and Sunday morning. The talked for a little while around 3:30am on Sunday and then Grandma went to sleep. She pretty much stayed asleep all day Sunday, and didn't speak when she did wake up. She passed away around 12:30 this morning, Phoenix time. My dad called about 20 minutes later to let me know. She died in her sleep with her family around her. Despite being so sick these last few weeks she had only a few hours of discomfort. She wanted to be buried in a military graveyard (she was a WAVE during WWII) and, fortunately, the one in Phoenix had space available. I don't know when the funeral will be, but I should find out today. That's all I have for now. GoCartCherub ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| I'm alive! Barely! In short this is what my life has been: Writing my thesis. Dealing with the fact that my grandmother has pancreatic cancer, is in the hospital as she dies, my entire family is out in AZ to be with her before she dies, and I can't go because its my graduation semester and I have to finish everything on time or delay graduation by a semester. Writing my thesis. Finishing four classes. This includes four exams, a paper, and a presentation with a lazy partner. (Argh!) Writing my thesis. Trying to conquer the entropy that is my kitchen. Writing my thesis. Addressing and sending graduation announcements. Writing my thesis. Taxes. Writing my thesis. Trying to plan my trip to the UK. I am so far behind on this its not even funny. Must buy tickets!  Writing my thesis. Annnnnnnnd. writing my thesis while fighting apathy! I can't tell you how grateful I was for cold, rainy weather! I currently subsist on Diet Coke, granola bars, frozen pizza, and Lean Cuisine.  Someone PLEASE cook for me! I'm desperate, really!GoCartCherub ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| I've been struggling with a tough decision these last few weeks. I know its an unpopular decision right now, but I joined the Marines. They're letting me finish my current degree, but I'll have to put off Med School for at least a year. I was looking at all the financial aide stuff and getting more and more scared every day. When my FAS came back my expected contribution was not at all what I thought it would be. So I looked into civil service financial aide programs. I liked the idea of going abroad more than staying at home and getting stuck in some back woods town for a couple of years. It was the right decision for me, even if it is a little scary. My parents were none too pleased, but they understand why I felt I needed some money source during Med School. From the halls of Montezuma... Oh, is it April Fools?  GoCartCherub ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
I borrowed the recent "Pride and Prejudice" movie from a friend. P&P is very possibly my favorite book, Jane Austen is certainly one of my favorite authors. And of course Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy fills the romantic longings of even the most liberated of women. So as I'm watching this love story, and falling in love with Mr. Darcy just a little bit myself, I was completely swept up into the story, despite its deviations from the book. And of course at the pinnacle scene when Lizzie and Mr. Darcy declare their feelings I found myself sitting with my chin resting on my knees, a goofy grin, and tears sparkiling in my eyes.  How very foolish of me! Oh, but to have your very own Mr. Darcy. *sigh* Okay, I need to go drink a beer and burn a bra or something. Anything to get my "edge" back.Or I could watch the last scene again...  GoCartCherub ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| Well between the drugs, a long hot shower, and a call to the police I managed to get lots and lots of sleep, but only by virtue of not having to wake up this morning for classes. I called the police at 11ish last night, after over an hour of tossing and turning, because THE ASSHOLE was having a party. I spoke with the officer and explained that I'd spoken to my landlord about this tennant and he'd had a party every night this week. I asked that they send a police officer over and ensure that everyone except the tennant leave. About 30 minutes later they all left the apartment. Sweet, sweet quiet. I was asleep within minutes. THE ASSHOLE then came home around 4am and woke me up with the noise, but it was just him, so I was able to fall asleep again. So all told I got 10 hours of sleep. It was incredible. Fan-freaking-tastick! Plus the evening shower is a great opportunity to shave your legs! GoCartCherub ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| I got an appointment at Student Health with an MD regarding my insomnia...in three weeks. *sigh* It was the first available appointment. My guess is I'll be put on a mld anxiety/depression med and a temporary sleep aid, so I can get back to a regular sleep schedule. The one positive is that I'll be able to bring a sleep journal with me to my visit. With the journal I should be able to get meds immediately instead of having to wait a few weeks and come back. I also went and got some things to help me relax a little bit more before bed, as well as some benadryl. The pollen count here is horrendous and though its causing a true allergic reaction the allergen load is so high that I get a bit of a sinus headache. So if thats contributing to the sleeplessness the Benadryl can help with the allergies, plus it always makes me sleepy anyway. As for THE ASSHOLE I've decided to go file a formal complaint with the police. I feel threatened by him which is likely why I can only sleep when I know he's not in the building. Since my property manager is so slow acting I'm going to take things into my own hands as much as I can. And if he isn't out by the 8th I'll be handing in my letter of intent to move on the 9th. *sigh* GoCartCherub ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| Updating at 4:40 in the morning is never a good sign. Especially when, despite my best efforts I have yet to fall asleep. And by best efforts I mean sleep mask, ear plugs, 1/2 loritab, warm mint tea, and calling the police on THE ASSHOLE(as my friends have dubbed him). You would think that getting 9 1/2 hours over the previous two nights would allow me to sleep through anything. Apparently not so. I talked to my mom about it again last night (this night?). I talked to her over Christmas since falling asleep has been an ongoing problem since mid-October. Generally I fall asleep in 10-20 minutes. Now it takes more like 2 hours. In December she essentially waved aside my concerns. She gave me all the suggestions I already knew. Turn off the tv/computer. Do something relaxing. Use white noise. Darken the room. I had a check mark by every one and I still am not sleeping. When I talked to her tonight she gave me the same recommendations. It wasn't until I nearly broke down crying from exhaustion and frustration that she actually took me seriously. You would think five months would qualify you as a chronic insomniac, but apparently not so in my mother's mind.  She thinks this is likely anxiety related, which is probably why the last few days have been so very bad, given THE ASSHOLE's behavior. So she promised to do research into anxiety meds, as well as sleep aids. I promised to get an appointment at student health and do a consult. Since I'm wide awake and the appointments are scheduled online I just did my part and should get my confirmation tomorrow. I miss sleep. So very much. THE ASSHOLE is quieter now so maybe I can relax enough to get some rest. That would be about two hours of sleep. 11 1/2 hours of sleep in three days...its getting crazy up in here! GoCartCherub ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| I know you typically run a marathon but today my fat butt SAT a marathon. I've been at the library for ELEVEN hours. And now that I've decided to go home what do I do? Am I tidying my papers? Packing my backpack? Backing up my paper? Nope. I'm playing on the internet and writing a journal entry. Yes, the same internet I have at home. Not my most briliant moment. But my thesis is getting done. Today's work consisted of lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of tables.  This is the easiest part of the paper to write, but also the most tedious. There are tons of references, but very little analysis. *sigh* GoCartCherub ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| This thesis is actually getting written. As of now I have several pages of text, a couple of endnotes, two citations (correctly) listed, and two tables. It doesn't sound like much but those citations and endnotes always take forever to do the first time around. The one thing I really like about this thesis writing is that I can model it off the journal articls or reports by the government and other agencies. So you state your topic, write a few paragraphs on that topic, and then go on to the next topic. There need not be any transitioning, your header IS the transition! The only truly synthetic aspects of the paper need to be in the introduction and the conclusion. The rest is like a bunch of baby essays, completely self-contained. Well only an hour and a half more before I break for dinner, or more accurately start the long process that will lead to dinner. Its probably not so good that except for an egg and some toast at 6:30am all I've consummed today is some Diet Coke and peanut M&Ms. Foods seems to have taken a back seat, for now. For example dinner last night was rice. Well rice and some nori. Tonight will be good though. A couple of us are drivin out to Stephen's stepfather's parent's home in the country so they can feed us Shepherd's Pie. No, really. What started as a comment on french fries quickly escalated into designing an all-potato menu which spiraled into a question of Shepherd's Pie that then sparked a remark by Stephen regarding said dish which resulted in the randomness that is tonight's dinner adventure. At least I don't have to cook or think about tonight's dinner and it should be infinately better than another round of peanut M&Ms. GoCartCherub ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| Is it me? Am I crazy in thinking that having company over at 2 am on a Tuesday morning is weird and unusual? I have bags under my eyes that were about the size of those big black trash bags. My voice is failing me because of lack of sleep, and every movement is slow and painful. My throat burns from reflux and my stomach feels like a toddler is jumping on it. Sounds like I'm coming down with a nasty virus, doesn't it? And the symptoms are all directly related to how much sleep I get. Last night I got just under 6 hours. About 3 from 11-1:40 and about three from 3ish to 6am. Its not like I normally have problems sleeping. Ocassionally if stress is really bad I'll get insommnia but once I'm tired enough I'll sleep enough to semi-catch up. This has been going on for two weeks. Since this kid moved in I've gotten 6 hours of sleep, or less, on all but one night. That night I got 10 hours, but he also wasn't at home at all that night. Do we see a correlation? And the fact that he's waking me from a dead sleep is also amazing. While its true that noise while I'm going to sleep will bother me its incredibly rare that noise during sleep ever bothers me. And even noise while going to sleep doesn't bother me that much unless its incredibly loud. I sleep through hurricanes and tornados, as well as the weekly noises from drunken partiers outside my window. And yet everytime I DO get to sleep this guy manages to wake me up, generally around 2 am. So is it me? And I too sensitive? I'm trying to be fair about this. I've tried earplugs. I tried ignoring it, hoping I would get used to it. I even went and talked to the guy yesterday when I got home. He looked at me like I had two heads. All I did was ask him to be more considerate during normal quiet hours in the building, from about 10pm to 7am. I mentioned how it sounds like he's playing basketball, moving furniture, and having parties every night. His response: "I'm not doing anything." To which my answer is he's obviously doing something if you can shake my windows and vibrate my furniture. I was really very nice to him, despite the fact that I wanted to rip his fat head off and shove it up his lardy butt. I offered him some suggestions, such as taking off his shoes since boots and heels make a lot of noise, and suggested he not entertain so early in the morning. I asked him to be more concientious of the noise he and his friends were creating, but that it really needed to stop. I even offered to help him in anyway I could. Then I thanked him and shook his hand. He turned around by having at least two, more likely 3 friends over last night. They were loud enough that I could hear their conversation. They were bouncing some kind of ball and at one point took turns purposefully stamping on the floor. Some of them had better rythym than others. At 2:40 I called my property manager and asked her to call me this morning, and gave her the name of the subletter. I asked her to call me this morning when the office opened, but she has yet to do so. Its not like this is difficult. The fourth clause in the lease says very simply that the leasee may not, under any circumstances, sublet the apartment. When I asked to speak to Dave(the old tennant) Phillip(the new tennant) said he wasn't home at the moment. I know perfectly well that Dave moved out, I watched him do it. And he hasn't been in the building since then. But this guy is pretending that Dave still lives there because he's illegally subletting. If I don't receive a call back by 4 this afternoon I'm heading over to the office to talk face to face. If Phillip knew what was good for him he would have gone out of his way last night to make no noise. As it is he invited my wrath. He not only ignored what I said but went out of his way to make extra noise. This is war and I WILL win. I will keep on this issue until it is solved to my satisfaction. That means getting him kicked out of the apartment. And if he makes noise again tonight I will be inviting policemen over to encourage his silence, which I'm going to mention to the Property Manager today. That should encourage her quick action. I wish I could be nicer about this whole thing. But Dave broke his contract and Phillip has no rights in this situation. Even if Phillip did sign a lease he would have broken it. I've kept to the standards of my lease. I pay the rent on time, I maintain the apartment, I am clean, I respect the public areas, and I work to make sure my noise is unobtrusive. But because Dave and Phillip are breaking their contract they've broken mine, the parts designed to protect me. So its not unreasonable of me to try and force the issue. Because really, in the end, if the property manager won't fix this problem I will move elsewhere. As much as I hate to move I hate not sleeping even more. 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| Is it bad that I would consider my semester over once I finish this thesis? Currently I can get a B in every single class with little to no thought. I can get an A in three of them with the smallest amount of effort, and an A in another with a large amount of effort. I don't feel bad about that likely B as I had no background in the material... I've spent the morning scanning through journal articles getting background info on child care and its effects on kids. My paper will be structured like this: I)Quality child care is important a)look how many people need/use it b)look at the effects quality child care has on kids c)children are our present and future i) quality safe child care means parents can work= $$ ii) good child care=better performing kids=more sucessful adults=$$ d)defining child care...this should probably be first II) National Child Care Programs a)Federal studies b)Federal recommendations c)Federal funding III)Child care in Alabama a)administration of federal monies and programs b)Alabama specific programs i)goals ii)evaluation of programs c)trends of child care in Alabama based on a sampling of counties d)recommendations regarding child care in Alabama i)Liscenced vs. unliscenced ii) dispersal of monies a)Do facilities need help? iii)training iv)availabilty/usabilty v)policy/$$ changes Yeah, I know that was incredibly boring for you, but I needed the thinking space. The way I have it structured it is essentially three papers with a common theme. Each paper I estimate will be 8-15 pages long(double spaced). By breaking it down this way I feel like I can actually handle these suckers. I can write three papers in a week. I've got the data gathered, I just need to process it. Most of it is electronic, which is a bit different than my past methodology, but when you're looking at a 985 page Federal report its pretty much a necessity. My bibliography is starting to feel like a federal report already. I'm really racking up the articles with this logitudinal study of child care done by the NIH which started in 1993 and has followed these kids from birth to present. They're finishing up the last stage of evaluation right now, to measure "sucess" in 15 year olds, but that data isn't avaialable yet. Which is too bad fo me, but there is enough info on early development so I can extrapolate the adolescent/adult sucess likliehood myself. And if you're wondering why in the world I talk about money so much instead of the warm fuzzies of child development its because I'm studying Health Policy, not Maternal Child Health. We're all about the money, honey. But it does have a strong MCH bent to it, for which I blame my mother. But, if this paper is any good I'll likely get it publshed by the Alabama Department of Public Health for at least internal usage and policy recommendation. A good friend of mine(and my mom's) heads up Child Care in Alabama and is terribly interested in this thesis. So she'll read it at least and likely the state's child advocacy group will use and/or read it. No pressure or anything. In other news I graduate May 5th. I don't get my diploma until much later, but I do walk. I'm not that excited about walking as we'll be clumped together with the undergrads. There is a hooding ceremony on May 3rd that I AM excited about. But I am thouroughly horrified at our hood color...salmon pink. I can carry off pink no problem, but salmon pink is NOT attractive. My other and I had a lovely circular conversation on graduation announcements with me asking her how many she wanted and her asking me how many she should send out. So its likely that I'll have about 30 too many announcements, so if you want one, let me know. Heck, if you show up I might just feed you, or at least invite you to join us for lunch afterwards. If I end up being super popular(which I doubt) we'll do a picnic in one of the parks near my apartment. If its small we'll end up at a local restaraunt. Right now I've got 30 invitations that should be distributed, including some former coworkers with whom it would be prudent to mantain good relationships. My guess is Mom and Dad will add 5 or 6 more friends to the list, so that leaves 15 or so announcements. Of all those the only ones likely to show up will be my parents, my Josh and Rachel, and 2 or 3 of my good friends here, although the friends will most likely hit the after party. Back to the paper. Or as I'm going to think of it, back to paper 1 of 3. GoCartCherub ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| This week is Spring Break. Which should be a good thing, right? You would think so. Spring Break started out promising enough. Friday I went to class and when the professor was late I went and had coffee with a friend instead. That afternoon I finalized my tattoo design and went to have the last three words added. Of course this was made more fun when my printer wouldn't print from my computer and nessecitated a trip to campus. Ed, the tattoo artist, was very nice and complimented me on my ability to not flinch despite the fact that I was sitting up and he was tattooing on spine. I loathe pain, but I loathe permanent mistakes more. The tattoo looks very nice now. The Hebrew characters for "grace" are large and in the center, which is from the original tattoo. Then "faith", "love", and "hope" are in a ring around "grace". Its all in black ink, very simple, very pretty. Its healng pretty well so far, although I do miss long showers already. After the tattoo we grabbed a quick dinner and then headed to the movie theater to see 300. Of course the 8:00 showing was sold out so we got 10:00 tickets and headed to Lin's house where we proceeded to play Scategories, which may be the best game ever. Then back to the theater to see the movie. And let me tell you, it was something special. Drug abuse, incest, and child molestation, all in one scene! The villian is an 8 foot tall drag queen, everyone wears diapers, and of course there was the delightful soft core porn. The gore is excessive though not offensive as the slow motion pictures and unrealistic texture of the gore makes it feel like a cartoon. Its about as gory as Braveheart, but without the realism. After the movie I got home and crashed for about 7 hours.Saturday was fairly uneventful. I tried to get my camera to upload pictures to my computer, but the laptop won't recognize it as a device. After two hours I gave up, for now. Which is why there are no pictures of my tattoo. I have them, they're just being kept "safe" on the camera. *glowers* Sunday was a delight. I missed church because the (new) guy upstairs is a night walker. As in he STARTS making noise at midnight. Somewhere after 4 am I fell into an exhausted stupor. I don't think I've ever been so near to murder. In the afternoon I went with friends to the Barber Motor Sports Museum where I was bored almost to tears for an hour and a half. Four large floors of motorcycles and less than a dozen cars. And if thats not boring enough they fail to teach you anything about the bikes. So unless you walk in knowing what all the specs on a bike would mean there is absolutely nothing for you to learn about the machines except its name. Somebody really doesn't understand what it means to run a museum. Several hours later of time wasting I am the proud owner of a new air purifier and some more Friends DVDs. Of course in all this time I am exhausted and have that weird pressure under my eyes signalling that a nap would be appropriate. You would think I would fall asleep immediately, right? Well at 1:41 am I was still awake, but I fell asleep shortly after that. I was then awakened by stomping, shouting, and general mayhem at 5:44 am. Again. FOUR hours of sleep. I had to get up at 6 so really there was no point in trying to sleep. I thought I was close to murder yesterday, its nothing compared to today. I went up to the guys apartment but could tell by the loud conversation on bongs with at least two other people that 6 am was not the best time to speak with him. I don't like being outnumbered, especially with men, and I'd rather other people are around to help me out should I need it. Plus having someone answer when they're high is not going to garauntee any change in action. So here I am sitting in the library on my Spring Break with less than 8 hours of sleep accumulated over the last two days trying to pound out my thesis so I can basically blow off the rest of the semester. I'm sucking down the Diet Coke and the jelly beans in an attempt to caffeinate and energize, if only temporarily. I don't care what it takes to finish this stupid thing, but its getting done this week.  And that child will get a thrashing tonight and if he does it again I will call the police on him. I am alredy working on getting him kicked out since he's illegally subletting, but that's another story.  I'm the best neighbor in the world, so long as you don't mess with my sleep.*sigh* I know that a ton of edits need to be done, but I don't care. This new keyboard is not my friend and I'm really tired of going back to fix everything. It'll get better, I promise. (Three sentences and 7 typos, lovely. 8...) 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| So I went to see the Property Manager today who is now firmly on my side. I made sure to show up wearing professional looking clothes and was my normal friendly self. It pays to NOT be a jerk sometimes. Apparently when she talked to the guy upstairs after I sent a letter he outight denied he was making noise. But, in her words, "he was a smart-alec on the phone", so she didn't put much stock in his opinion. Again, it pays to be nice.  I'm also fairly certain that he has moved out and there are two different men living there now, who may or may not be a couple. If they are a couple it would explain all the "furniture moving" noise. So the property manager is goig to pay a house call to make sure that the person who signed the lease is actually occupying the apartment. If he's not he'll lose his lease and the elephants will get kicked out. I am a bitch, but again I'm nice about it. The other possible solution would be that they would transfer my lease to another aparment. A condition I agreed to if they found an apartment at the same price. Since I'm a good (and quiet) tennant they'd like to keep me, plus its always better to keep apartments occupied rather than not. So we'll see how it turns out. For now I've got new pillows and I hope to high heaven that I get to use them more than 3 or 4 hours tonight. GoCartCherub ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| 3 hours and 20 minutes of sleep! Turns out I can't do simple math when sleep deprived and angry. I was awakened at least once during those three hours and when I got up at 6am they were STILL up. I think they're entirely nocturnal. Which should make knocking on their door in the late morning veeeeeery satisfying. Oh, and Sir Yapsalot went at it for at least 33 minutes. {e:disgust} GoCartCherub ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| Supposedly the guy upstairs moved out. Either he didn't and has come up with new sleep patterns and started wearing heels, he got a girlfriend(not likely, he is quite unnatractive), he is subletting, or they found someone new for his apartment very, very quickly. The last two seem the most likely given my late night activites. The last week has been miserable as far as sleeping. I generally try to get to bed between 10 and 11. The guy upstairs generally was a 12-1 kinda guy, but would get quiter after 10ish. This week I have been woken up(or kept up) for hours on end between 11 and 3 every night except for the two I spent in Montgomery. Tonight I went to be at 11:12. It is now 2:05 and I have gotten exactly 0 minutes of sleep. I've banged on the ceiling several times and each time they get louder. And its not music loud it the moving furniture, cleaning vigorously, practicing a stomp routine kind of loud. Its the kind of loud that wakes me from a dead sleep when even tornado sirens couldn't. Its so loud it caused water to slosh out of my cat's water bowl and a book to fall off my window sill. Earplugs don't work. Sleep aides don't work. A mallet to the head might work, but seeing as I don't own a mallet I have yet to try that. At 1:30 I called my landlord, and asked her to talk to the guy upstairs(since his name is still on the mailbox). At 1:45 I got dressed and went for a walk around my building in the literally freezing cold. Out of 3 dozen or more apartments only 3 had lights on, and only 1 had the ALL the lights on. Guess who is lucky enough to live under that apartment? But it reinforces my new tennant theory as there is now a red curtain and some christmas lights strung about. I got back to the apartment and cleaned a bit then turned here to vent. Its fascinating how venting can make you type so fast. Oh thank God, they finally left. As in multiple people. No wonder there was so much noise. One of the people said something loudly in the hall about everyone sleeping right now. Which is a "duh" kind of statement. Its two in the freaking morning. f course this was said in that very stereotypical Stoner voice, so one wonders at the number of brain cells he has to spare. Craaaaaaaaaap. There is a yappy dog who apparently doesn't appreciate being left alone. Crap. Crap. Crap. I'm so freaking tired. I've gotten 5 or less hours of sleep for the last three nights. If I fall asleep right now I'll get 3 hours and 46 minutes. Not likely with Sir Yapsalot going at it. I'm going by the leasing office to drop off my rent check tomorrow morning and hopefully at the same time talk with the Property Manager. I am too angry to go and talk to them right now, plus I don't fancy a conversation while I'm in PJs of any sort. And now I'm too angry to go to sleep. *sigh* Not to mention the dog is still barking. Its now been ten minutes straight of yappping. You better believe that I'll be mentioning that tomorrow. If this is a subletter they'll be getting kicked out so fast their head will spin. And if its a new tennant, well its time they read their lease. And if its the same guy he could get kicked out. Yapping: 15 minutes and counting. Possible sleep: 3 hours 36 minutes... I hate all people right now. Every last one of them. GoCartCherub ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| I got my new laptop today. no only does it have a bigger screen but its lighter than my old notebook. You gotta love technology for making everything smaller. I'm still getting used to Vista though. If I could have I would have purchased a laptop without it, but that wasn't a possibility. Now I have to work on transfering all my files over. *sigh* But I have a functioning laptop, wohoo! GoCartCherub ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| Welcome to my life. Very suddenly my computer stopped working off my AC adapter on Monday afternoon, then the battery discharged itself. After many frustrating hours it turns out that Dell sucks at designing laptops and managed to connect their motherboard to the AC adapter plug so that when the plug gets knocked about it knocks about the motherboard, essentially turning my computer into a doorstop. I'm currently on a borrowed laptop(that has no wireless  ) and have the option of paying $500 to replace the motherboard or paying $800-1000 to get a new laptop. Guess which I'm choosing?Of course this all happened right before a big exam on Tuesday and a presentation on Wednesday. Seriously I was so angry and stressed out that I'm suprised my blood pressure didn't cause a heart attack. Wednesday was busy. It was an early morning so I could meet friends for breakfast, as it was Lin's birthday. Then more computer stuff, packing for home, classes, presentation, and then the drive down the highway to my parent's. I got home, threw in a load of laundry, and popped over to church. There I learned that friends of mine had gotten a divorce after less than a year of marriage(both of them are younger than me, btw), and another friend of mine had proposed to his girlfriend of 3 months...aquaintance of 3.5 months. Also younger than me. Then I spoke with Matt, whose father is in the hospital for heart trouble. Bad heart trouble. He's on the heart transplant list bad. So far they've put in a stint and a pacemaker and have him on meds, completely incapable of leaving the hospital. And, the man hadn't had any medical care in thirty years. Fear of hearing bad news has him living the life of an invalid at 63 years of age instead of getting his blood pressure under control in his 40s. Anyone need me to spell out the lesson in this? Okay then.I also finally received my official letter as well as the forms I needed to reserve my spot in Med School. I paid my $50 to hold the spot, and I've got my FAFSA stuff rolling. I was also assigned to a campus. The first two years I'll be in Birmingham, like everyone, so I don't have to move. But 3rd and 4th year will be in Tuscaloosa, which kinda sucks. I hate moving, and I preferred the facilities and life offered in Birmingham, although I have good connections in Tuscaloosa. I'll have a 4 week rural medicine program there, which I was interested in anyway, but I could have done that based in Birmingham mostly. It does mean my fourth year I'll take some of my electives in Birmingham most likely, especially if I do OB/GYN. The advantage to Tuscaloosa though is that I'll get more hands on. For example in surgery I'll likely be 2nd assist as compared to 3rd or 4th. Which means I'll get to hold fat flaps and have a good view of everything going on instead of looking over shoulders. Wheeee! Then trip to Montgomery was much more eventful than I hoped. I went to meet with some resources on my thesis. Then the tornados came. Again, and again, and again. Instead of driving bach to B'ham in torrential rain and tempting a funnel to follow me up the highway I stayed at home, missing classes that for some reason hadn't been cancelled. I really don't understand how you can expect students to attend classes with tornado sirens going off ever 20-40 minutes. Especially when you have to walk outside to get to classes. Somebody in the school administration put their stupid hat on. Fortunatly as I'd brought laundry with me I had more than enough clean clothes. Man, that weather was crazy. At one point one of the air force jets(from across town) came in low enough it shook our house and sounded like a train...or a tornado.  Then we turn to the weather channel and Enterprise, Alabama has practically been ripped off the map. Matt's family is from down there. Lots of property damage although no injuries. Unfortunatly, the same can't be said for the highschool there. Eight children died when a funnel basically sat on top of the school. The kids were all in the hallways(a good, safe location) but then the funnel hit the school and part of the building collapsed. Its a truly awful situation down there. *sigh*I also got the entire story of some drama my parents are involved in, which is an entry or two on its own. Suffice to say that ego has no place in a church, especially if you're a pastor. My parents passed along information on which they have knowledge and authority, given they're physicians and the pastor freaked out and lashed out at them in unBibilical and downright socially unnaceptable ways. Then there is the guy upstairs. He moved out, I saw him. Furniture and belongings gone. And yet, he's still up there, moving around.  What the crap?And then there is the kitty box, which needs changing. So there, in brief, is my very disjointed recounting of the drama, good and bad. GoCartCherub ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| The gym is almost directly across from the School of Medicine. While running on the treadmills or riding the bikes you have a great view of the Med School's front steps. Today, being a Thursday, was an interview day. This means that a bevy of young people in formal dark suits wandered around the corner trying to correctly identify the Med School while simultaneously trying to stay dry. I felt and odd sense of pity, camraderie, and triumph as I watched their fidgety meanderings. They're in for a long and, at times, incredibly boring day, and so I pity them. But these may be my future classmates and so I wish them well and feel a certain solidarity with them. But also, and somewhat shamefully, I feel a sense of triumph as the slightly childish chorus of "I'm already in and you can't take my spot!" circles trhough my head. The next group to catch my eye were those decked out in their green scrubs. Today is obviously an anatomy lab day as most student wear regular clothes the rest of the time. This group was much more self assured than the interviewees. They laughed and chatted with each other and most certainly were not lost. I found them to be...alluring. I wanted to go with them, laugh, and cut into my very own cadavar. Not out of any sense of morbidity, but simply an eagerness to know what they know. Lastly I noticed the white coats. White coats symbolize those in the medical profession, as we all know. But less commonly known is that the length of the coat will tell you how far along the person is in their training. Coats that go past the hips, or "long" coats, are physicians that have completed their training. Coats that come only to the hips are for students who have not completed their schooling. I will admit...I lusted after those coats. Shameful, I know. The last activity of Orientation is the White Coat Ceremony in which I will receive my very own short coat with my very own name embroidered in blue. The ceremony acts as an induction into medicine and the coats serve as the physicial reminder of the oath doctors take. Its a stupid and relatively new tradition but I still cannot wait for it. So for the next few months I'll lust after those white coats. Unfortunatly for me they seem to be everywhere now. I never really noticed them before but now I see them all the time. I wonder what changed? GoCartCherub ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
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