Procrastination...

I'm supposed to be editing my 3-page paper written in APA format that absolutely cannot be more than 3 pages but requires ridiculous requests of 1.5 left and right margins, paragraph headers and Times New Roman 12 pt font (which I hate, by the way) and cannot get myself motivated to do it. I wrote it on Sunday...and I think I'm just tired of looking at it but I know my professor is going to ding me if it isn't perfect (duh). I can't bring myself to care.

This has not been a good week so far and it's only Tuesday. The dog is being a pain in the ass and refusing to pee (she's also counter surfing and required a $300 visit to the emergency vet for x-rays to make sure everything she ate came back up), Michael and I are in the Land of Miscommunication, I have a ton of reading to do and I'm not getting enough sleep at night. So instead of finishing the essay, reading any of my books, calling Pam for an appointment to deal with Esme's misbehavior or sleeping, I'm surfing the internets and am in total denial about everything. Also, even tho it's not as cold as where all of you are, it's cold enough that my hands are too cold to type without making a million typos. I feel like I need something to help me clear my head and get back on track. I've tried exercise and yoga. I've baked cookies. I've had a beer. Nothing works. Maybe a bubble bath? A vacation? A million dollars? A game of Sn00d?

Ausculation, Palpation and Percussion, oh, my!

As Michael likes to point out I am 4% closer to my BSN as of last Friday. As you can see by the title of this post I am up to my eyeballs in all things health assessment related. It's exciting, fun, scary and amazing all at once.

I know it's been ages since I last posted but I've been busy, blah, blah, blah, right? Aren't we all busy? And depressed about the economy. But happy about the inauguration. And needing more sleep. But trying out yummy new recipes.

So, I'm 2 weeks into my nursing program and it is BUSY. Lots of reading, lots of time spent in class and lab, lots of time at home reading some more. It's really interesting and it's all stuff I need to know (duh) but it comes at you at such a rapid fire pace that it's hard to stay on top of it. We'll start our hospital rotations in 3 weeks. No word yet on where we'll be placed for the first one. I hope it's somewhere a little closer to home.

Michael and I are settling in to the new routine. I think the dog is just glad when we leave the house in the morning so she can go sleep on our bed all day. My scrubs arrived as have my shoes. My loan finally got processed just in time to do taxes and submit a 2009/2010 FAFSA. My stethi arrived and I've managed to avoid spilling coffee all over my white scrubs. Did I mention that they are white? As in head-to-toe white?

That's about it. If any of you lived closer I would force you to let me practice health assessments on you and ask about your bowel movements and whether or not you wear sunscreen on a regular basis. Then I would check your pulse and listen to your lungs. See what you're missing?!? That and some 68 degree weather (which is warmer than normal at this time of year but I'll take it).

Hope you're all staying warm and have your glasses raised in honor of our new president. Cheers!

Meh...

What can I say that won't sound whiny and...well, whiny? Things here are fine--just the usual, every day stuff that we do but I'm not feeling all happy and stress-free (psst. I really want to feel happy and stress-free) and, well, it's getting me down. But then the economy is in the toilet, lots of people are unemployed or soon-to-be-unemployed or under-employed (my mom, for one) and lots of things are sucky for so many people. And here I am about to quit my job and take on some more student loan debt so that when I finish nursing school in a year I might not find a good job any time soon. Or a job that doesn't involve some hellish commute. Blarg, blarg, blarg.


So, enough bitching about that. There's nothing terribly wrong but nothing feels right. The holidays were weird this year since it's the first time in 6 years that I didn't go back to Lancaster for Thanksgiving. The weather is warm here (60's or so) so it doesn't feel holiday-ish. And I miss my friends. Living here on the west coast takes some getting used to and it's nice here but we're still adjusting. And I wish it were closer to the east coast but that can't be helped. One of the good things about living here is that the produce at the farmer's markets continues to be absolutely fantastic. I can still get strawberries. In December. And they're good. Not as good as in the summer but pretty darned tasty. And now grapes are in season and they taste so, so good. Better than any grapes I've ever eaten. There are pomegranates, oranges, apples and apple cider, autumnal veg and interesting things like persimmons which I can't seem to develop a taste for. And I'm only just now wearing a pseudo-winter coat.

All I can say is that I'm really looking forward to the trip to Lanky-town this weekend! This truly will be my last trip until 2011. That sounds weird to say. 2011. Anyway, there you have it. Guess I better stock up on hugs, apple butter from Market and wehani rice from Weaver's, a sandwich from I's and leisurely morning coffee on the back porch at my dad's.

Harder than it looks...

These are the red wigglers we bought for vermicomposting from the "Worm Dude."

(not an advert for USPS)

here they come!

worms? veg scraps?

These are the worms now...

Yeah, those are shriveled up dead little worms all over our back porch. About 2/3 of them committed mass suicide about 2 weeks ago and the remaining 1/3 offed themselves earlier this week. Both times this happened it was after a day's rain. We were feeding them all kinds of yummy veggie scraps and egg shells but then we'd come outside to discover they crawled out of their worm bin and died. What the hell? Vermicomposting is supposed to be super easy and a no-brainer and yet we killed our worms. Boo. But check out this new piece of awesomeness that now graces our backyard:

you know you want one

THE BEST WEDDING ANNIVERSARY PRESENT EVER!!!!!!!!!!!

WWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, OBAMA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! MUST USE ALL CAPS!!!!!! WOOOOOO!!!

Seriously, this is the BEST anniversary ever. EVER. What could top this? Now, every year we will share our anniversary with the day that the American public pulled its collective heads out of its collective asses and voted for Obama. Life is good.

On edge....

I've been anxiously checking the internets for campaign news for weeks and now we're down to the final 24 hours of this presidential election. I'm hoping the American people do the right thing and vote for Barack Obama. In the meantime I'm anxious, my eye is twitching and I'm supposed to be studying for my final exam of the semester. But I can't concentrate because I'm too busy compulsively checking CNN and Salon.

3 songs...

One day last week I drove to work instead of taking the train and on the way home I was listening to my favorite station: NPR (psst! Have you made a pledge to your local station yet?). The 'California Report" was on and while I don't remember the name of the guy whose story I was listening to, his story goes something like this: because he works for iTunes, he was put in charge of putting together a CD of songs to be played at his aunt's funeral. He talked about what to choose and why and the clash of religious beliefs between family members and what the deceased would have wanted. And then he mentioned the 3 songs he knew he wanted played at his funeral and listeners were invited to submit their 3 songs.

I've been thinking about this for a week now and it's been hard to decide which 3 songs but today's list is as follows: Elton John's "Your Song," Elvis's "Blue Christmas" and Louis Armstrong's "La Vie en Rose." I'm sure tomorrow's list would look different, as would one from next week, next, year, etc. But today, here's my list. What's yours?

Wait-Listed...

I got my letter this week (finally) and found out that I've been wait-listed. I suppose I should be pleased to be wait-listed (I'm 5th out of 10) when 22 people didn't get that option at all. There were 80 applicants for 48 slots for the January cohort and while I'm disappointed that I didn't get in I'm hoping that I'll get accepted for the June cohort. In the meantime, I'll be waiting to hear back from admissions re: whether I should retake the NET (god, I hope not) and resubmit everything or what. It's not like I can make my grades any higher and I know my letters of rec were solid. What's left? Those stupid essays they make you write? Maybe that's why I didn't get in...

Anyway, life goes on and I'll just do what I can do to get in for the June cohort. If I still don't get in then I'll need to consider something else. Blarg. I've been thinking about this since I was a senior in college and felt like I was so close this time. Oh well, it gives me time to paint my living room and dining room and take more tennis lessons and do more cooking. And do more fun stuff with Michael and Esme...maybe a trip to Tahoe? Or Yosemite? And another trip to Sonoma? How about all 3? Lots of fun stuff to do and no homework to hold me back.

What they don't tell you about taking public transportation...

Is that sometimes people purposely or accidentally jump or walk in front of said transportation and get themselves killed. I'm not trying to make light of this because it's a horrible thing. And while it is frustrating to be waiting for the train and wondering why it's late, mostly I'm just thinking about those poor people being killed by an oncoming train. Yesterday's accident was the 2nd one in the past 30 days and the 10th for the year.

I'm sure that most of these deaths are intentional but surely some are accidents...but then I wonder how that is even possible. If you're deaf, you can certainly see the trains and feel the vibration and if you're blind you can hear them and feel the vibration but...I don't know. Are these people zoned out and don't realize what they're doing? I just can't wrap my mind around this. According to C@ltrain spokespeople, at least 5 this year were suicides, 1 was an accident and 2 unknown. No word on the last 2 fatalities.

I realize that things like this happen everywhere but it makes me sad. Sad for those who are killed, sad for their families, sad for the train engineer and conductors and sad for the commuters who try to stop people from going out on the tracks. It's a sad day indeed here in sunny California...

When the only thing that makes you feel better is a bag of Doritos...

That's where I am right now. School has taken over almost every waking moment of my life that is not spent at work, commuting to and from work, bathing, walking the dog and cooking/eating. And still I struggle. Online classes seemed so ideal in some ways and now...not so much. It's the method of testing. In one class, we're told to read 36 chapters and then take a 25-question MC exam in 50 minutes. 36 chapters. Seriously? Now, to be fair, they're not all really long chapters but you can't even ask one question per chapter.

In the other class, we take weekly 10-question MC quizzes and those are better. We don't cover as much material but the questions are still hard. If you're taking an open-book and open-note test then the questions get much trickier. Not fun. It's doable, of course, but I'm not a good test taker within this format so it makes it worse. But now I'm down to the last 3 and 4 weeks of classes. I know I'm looking forward to a little time off between the end of October and the holidays. Then I'll have time for leisurely reading and baking and painting. Did I just say that? Painting? Am I crazy?

Just call me...

Taupe Armageddon. Bwahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! And Michael shall now be known as Axe Diesel.

Go find out what your name would be if the Mooseburger had been your mom.

Feeling sick to my stomach...

All I think about is this damned presidential election. I am most of the way through a brand new bottle of Pepto (seriously? Buy some of their stock b/c we have a long way yet to go) and have been hitting the Tums pretty hard, too. I want to write about the more interesting stuff going on around here, not that there's much of it, but still. I can't. All I can think about is McSame and the Mooseburger. God. Just seeing their faces in the paper or on the internet makes me want to throw up. Forget seeing them on tv--our gov't voucher for the HDTV adapter box thing-y still hasn't arrived and maybe that's not a bad thing. Except that the season premiere of House is Tuesday and I'm dying to see it. I love me some Hugh Laurie...

Anyway, I leave you with a picture of a warthog statue that we encountered during our visit to Sonoma in August.
No, I did not hump it. Don't even ask. There were like, a hundred people there and I was not about to subject myself to public humiliation for your viewing pleasure. You know who you are.

The little red cart makes its debut...

We recently took the little red cart and Esme to the local farmer's market. We have since decided that Esme only gets to go every other week while the little red cart gets to go as often as it wishes.

In other news, things around here are just plain busy. I'm finishing up my second week as a receptionist working for 3 chiropractors (free treatment for me!) and they like me so much they want me to stay thru the end of December. It turns out that finding a PT temp job was a lot harder than I would have thought. Companies either want someone temporarily FT or permanently PT. Anyway, everyone is very nice and it's only 12 mi. from home and it's really close to a Caltrain station. I will start taking the train to work on Monday. The work pays well but it's 30 hrs/week plus transportation time. It's not bad, but more than I wanted to do in combination with school. So far I seem to be making it work.

I'm finishing up the 3rd week of my online classes and they seem to be going pretty well so far but it's definitely different from sitting in the classroom and going to lab. I'm amazed, tho, by how many people seem to squander their opportunity to do well in these classes. Quizzes in one class are open book and open note. They consist of 15 questions and you have 25 min. to answer them. You are told to keep time b/c the computer doesn't do it automatically and either the other students are losing points for going over 25 min or they aren't getting the right answers or a little of both. It's true that these quizzes are a little tricky but if you read the material and took good notes to supplement the powerpoints, you should still do reasonably well. And yet...many of them don't. The thing I don't get is that this particular class is taught by the director of the ABSN program that we've all applied to...not setting a good example, now are we?

But I digress. School is okay but there is a lot of material to cover, mandatory group work (thankfully I have a good group who submits things early so we're always on time) and you don't have the opportunity to sit in a classroom and get a lecture on things like, oh, acid-base balance. Which I struggled with last quarter. But you can call the professors and do online chats and things. I can see how this would be a big problem for people who aren't very self-directed. You'll be please to note that while the school application process was part of the early August shitwich eating issue that all of my stuff got mailed and was received by the school (as far as I can tell, anyway) and now I just wait to find out if I'm accepted. 80 applicants were submitted for the campus I applied to and there are 48 slots. Notice will be given sometime in October so keep your fingers crossed for me.

Lastly, we're just about all unpacked. Or as unpacked as we're going to be. We've got plenty of organizing to do and we still need to purchase a shelving unit for the living room but we seem to be making it work so far. I have pics to post from our "Worst. Shakespeare. Play. EVER." trip including many a "Tree?" pose throughout Sonoma. I'll get to that....sometime...maybe...you know, in October after the fall quarter is over...we'll see...

WTF?!?

3 words: Republicans for Voldemort.

p.s. To my Republican friends: I'm sorry, but we have to agree to disagree on this one. Love you!

It isn't just me...

Hurray for this article in Slate. It's nice to know that I'm not the only one who can't figure out how the hell to do those damn sudoku puzzles and doesn't think crossword puzzles are the bee's knees. Which is probably a good thing or else Michael and I would fight over the puzzle page at the end of the Sunday Times magazine. I'm more than happy to leave crossword puzzling to him and I will carry on with the reading parts. You know, before I fall asleep with my glasses still on and the book splayed open on my chest.

The Neti Pot - Day 1...

Michael and I met our new GP this week at the medical office complex from hell and she was very nice. She recommended we use a neti pot which I already have (thank you, Hefk!) but have not yet used. So, I decided today was the day. Our doctor recommended using it in the shower since it's kind of messy until you get used to it but I didn't want to get in the shower yet (showering before tennis=waste of water) so I followed the directions that came in the box and did it over the sink. And I think I did okay. It didn't really go down the back of my throat which was good but I was not prepared for the resulting drippy nose. I blew my nose a few times after I was done but then it kept dripping. Is it supposed to do that?

In the meantime, I had the fabulous idea to unpack my china (seriously, why the hell did I take this stuff from my mother?) so I could put it in the cabinet (now safely secured with earthquake straps--a topic for another time) and managed to drip all over the glass shelves I was cleaning. Gross, I know. By now, the dripping has stopped but I'm left with a bit of sinus pressure on the left side in both my frontal and nasal sinuses. Is that supposed to happen? How soon does that weird there's-something-liquid-up-my-nose feeling go away?

Great Sexist-pectations...

You know, it's 2008. Not the 1800s, not 1950 but 2008. I know that sexism is alive and well but recently I got smacked upside the head with it. Twice. Not in major, frontline news kinds of ways but the subtle little shitty ways that are so part of everyday life that most people don't even think about them.

The first time was at the bank. Michael and I went in to open new checking and savings accounts and I took the initiative and I told the banker what we wanted. And what did she do? She listed Michael as the primary on our jt checking. Why? Because he's the husband. He's the man and I am the lowly woman who does not get to be listed as the primary on the checking account. And I was so stunned by it that I didn't know what to say. Then she asked me where I worked and when I said I didn't she asked if I was a homemaker. A homemaker? Do people even do that anymore? I am a woman who happens to be a wife who isn't working and that makes me a homemaker? WTF, people?!? Why can't I just be unemployed? Why can't I just be a person who is not currently employed but is looking for a job. Why not ask me if I am a job seeker not a fcking homemaker?

The second time occurs when getting quotes for car and renter's insurance. I called the broker Michael used during grad school and the company with the most competitive quote wants a copy of our marriage certificate because we have different last names and need to prove that we are actually married. Now, this is not the broker's fault. But I did tell her how appallingly sexist this policy is and if the quote weren't so dang competitive, I would have asked for a quote from another company. I wouldn't mind if they applied this policy across to the board. If you insist that all couples provide a copy of their license, then fine. That's fair. But to single out people like us is total crap. And if it weren't for Michael's minor fender bender in the snow last year, I would go somewhere else but we just can't afford it. But, by Ogg, they are going to hear from me.

No more shitwiches...

At least for the time being. So, I realize that my little bloggy post there was cause for concern for some of you--rest assured, things are returning to normal. Many of you were at the wedding and have already heard my tales of woe. For those of you still in the dark, here is the recap:

• Less than 24 hours before closing on the sale of our house, the stupid buyers start freaking out over the crack in the basement that I disclosed in our first contract and had noted that I was taking bids for repair. I had since brought someone in to repair it and he did a damned fine job. However, I did not think to ask for a receipt esp. since I paid in cash. He's an industrial engineer by trade but is retired from that line of business and rehabs houses in the neighborhood now. Great guy. Anyway, butthole buyers keep acting like we're lying and even tho you can see that the concrete in the SE corner is a different color and texture than the rest of the floor, they claim that it wasn't fixed. So our realtor spends the afternoon trying to call in contractors to no avail. Long story short, Michael sends them an email detailing what we had done and includes a diagram. Thurs. am while I am in transit to the east coast the paperwork is signed and we are no longer the owners of that house. I land at O'Hare around lunchtime and treat myself to a cold beer and a sub-optimal portobella sandwich (hey, at least it wasn't a shitwich).
  

• At the same time, I am experiencing extreme frustration with the idiots at Sylvan Learning Ctr in Mt. View. I arranged to have their facility privately proctor my stupid NET exam for nursing school and after dealing with the headache of making said arrangements and taking the test, thought everything was a done deal. I could not have been more wrong. Turns out that somehow the testing company neglected to include the Big Brown return envelope or the idiots at SLC misplaced it when they opened the package. So, I took the test the Friday before last. They call me Wed. am when I am trying to tie up loose ends, finish laundry and pack before my early morning flight on Thurs. They never sent my test back to the testing company for scoring. They wanted me to come bring them a shipping label. I'm confused as to why they aren't using the one that should have been included with the test. The girl I'm talking to is confused. I hang up and call the testing company. The customer service rep says it will be faster if I just go buy a Big Brown envelope and drop it off at the test site. I call back. The girl tells me they have the envelope...they were confused about when I wanted them to mail the test back to the testing company...WTF?!?!? I make the girl promise me that she will personally get in her car and drive the test to the nearest Big Brown Flush it Down drop box or business. I hang up and go back to packing and laundry. I get a call a few hours later from the director of the school of incompetence asking me why I haven't dropped off a mailing envelope for them yet. Seriously? My god, what the fck is going on over there?!? Another long story short, she calls the testing company and gets their UPS shipping acct no. and drops off my test. I get some BS excuse about "I'm really busy...blah, blah, blah." Well, I'm busy, too, and I paid you people $55 to hand me my test and then to take it to fcking UPS after I finished with i. Idiots. SLC is run by incompetent boobs so if you or your future kids needs their services I would consider going somewhere else. Idiots.
  

• So, now the good news. The house sold and after our mortgage, HELOC, realtor and closing fees were paid, the remainder was wired to our checking acct. Woo! Also, I got my test scores Mon. night and they were good enough for the nursing program. I did better on the math section than the reading comp--go figure.
  

• The just plain old news is that I got an email yesterday from the school saying that they have completed the first portion of application review and apps now go forward to the faculty. They have 80 apps for the San Mateo campus and only 48 spots. Keep your fingers crossed that I'm one of the 48. If I don't get into this program I really don't know what to do with myself. I can't keep treading water until I can get in somewhere...sometimes I wonder if I shouldn't have stayed in OH until I finished my degree. Blarg. Anyway, no sense worrying about it now. I should hear sometime in October.
  

So, that's it. No more shitwiches for now. At least not this week.

My luncheon with the Universe...

Me: What should I order...hmmmm....the portobella mushroom with goat cheese and roasted red peppers looks yummy...

Universe: No, I think you should order the shit sandwich platter.

Me: Shit sandwich platter? That doesn't sound tasty at all.

Universe: Waiter? This lovely lady here would like to order the shit sandwich platter. Chop, chop!

Me: Universe, what have I done to piss you off?

(Waiter brings platter of shit sandwiches, places platter in front of me)

Universe: Here, Kelly, have a shit sandwich. They sure are delicious, aren't they?

Me: Nom...nom...no, this is terrible! I would really rather have the portobella...

Universe: No, no, this is so much tastier. Here, have another...

Me: Nom...nom...this sucks...nom..nom...could I at least have the lemon curd tartlet for dessert?

Universe: No, you may have the shit tartlet. Eat up!

I guess the cat's outta the bag...

Well, most of you don't know this but the neighbors do...the sale of our house is pending and we close at the end of the week. We've chosen not to discuss this with anyone other than our parents--mostly for superstitious reasons but also because this is so hard. We love our house (although I had some serious moments of intense dislike while prepping it for sale) and our neighborhood and are so sad that we must turn over the keys to new owners. I hope they love our house as much as we do and hope they don't do anything horrible to it like paint the woodwork.

There was a time when we thought we'd live there until Michael retired from the university. But when the tenure process didn't work out and we found ourselves here in CA, we carried on smartly to do what needed to be done. And now that we're (mostly) settled into our new digs and getting used to our new surroundings...I don't know...it's just hard. I wish I could have picked up our house and our neighborhood and moved it here to CA. It's not even that I'm so attached to Dayton...Michael is, but I'm not so much. But I do miss our friends and the familiarity that comes from having lived someplace for a number of years.

What makes it harder is that the buyers have already called the utility companies to transfer the billing and I can't help but feel annoyed that they're doing this when it's not their house yet. I know it's stupid to feel this way but it's our house until they sign on the dotted lines. Our house. I can't believe other people are going to be living in our house...

I think it's good that we live so far away because that gives us the physical distance to lend us the emotional distance we need. We'll always have fond memories of our time there. Admittedly, it's a relief to sell so quickly in this market and to have gotten a good sale price, at that. It's also nice not to have a rent payment plus mortgage payment every month. Still, I can't help but feel sad. I'm really going to miss that house...

p.s. I found the futon hardware--hurray!