Wind & Rain

It's been a bit since I've blogged, so I suppose I should catch up a bit. John just wants to watch TV right now anyways. :P Lazy bum. ;)

Anyways, I got all kinds of cool things for Christmas. The fun part will be getting it to all fit in my suitcases though to fly back. John's mom cooked a fancy 5-course meal for Christmas dinner which was absolutely excellent. I was so stuffed afterwards though. Monday and Tuesday were fairly quiet. Just a bit of shopping and such. Then on Wednesday morning, bright and early, John and I headed for my grandparents' place. We got up there around noon and spent the afternoon with my grandparents, aunt, cousin, and my uncle was able to stop by too. We had a lot of fun playing Uno Attack. :D It's an interesting version of Uno with this thing that shoots Uno cards at you when you push a button. Quite amusing. After staying as long as we felt we could, we then headed towards the coast. John's parents had reserved some hotel rooms along the beach for the four of us. We got there a bit late the first night, but the sky was beautiful and perfectly clear. The next day was a bit rainy and windy, but not too bad until evening. So we went out on the beach a little bit with the dogs, then went and poked around a few shops and went and had dinner at a very nice restuarant. That evening the winds picked up to at least around 70 miles per hour. All night and this morning the winds were very strong. This morning we stopped for breakfast and then headed back here where we relaxed for a bit and then headed out for dinner. I-5 is closed south of Ashland right now, because of mudslides, so all the restuarants were very full, but we got a spot in a mexican place that was very good. I am going to be so entirely sick of eating out by the time I get back to Alaska though. Which is probably good, since I won't be able to afford to eat out much anyways. And it's no fun to go out to eat by myself anyways.

Well, that's the news so far. No idea really what we're doing for New Year's yet. I guess I'll find out soon. *shrug* Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

It's Christmas Eve, I'm in Ashland, Oregon, and it's nearly 50 degrees outside at 5:30 p.m. :) My kind of Christmas. It's so good to see John again. And his family, including the pets. Akiro is better behaved, although still his normal nuisance self. Lady is glad to see me. And Lexus is as cute as ever. :D The Christmas tree has more presents under it than 4 people could ever realistically open and actually want and use. Oh well. It'll be fun I guess. I hope John likes his present. I still have to finish it, but I decided to wrap it up now so I don't have to look at it for a couple days at least, then I'll finish the last little things on it after he opens it. Shouldn't take too long. I almost bought him a little something else today while we were at the mall, but I really can't afford to right now. *sigh* Soon I'll have a job, then I can... well... save for a car. :P C'est la vie! Anyways, I just came in here to change to go out to dinner and check my email briefly, so I'm off. I've won one game of pool so far. ;)

OMG! I'm done!!!

Four and a half long years and I am now officially done with my Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting. Well, maybe not officially done with it according to UAF, but all my classes are done now. Unfortunately UAF thinks I have a parking fine that has to be phony, cause I know for certain that I've taken care of any I have gotten.

Anyways, I've got a lot to write about, but it's not coming to me right now. I'm in Wasilla at Brad's parents' place now and will be flying to Wrangell tomorrow.

Packing

Today (Tuesday) was my packing day... the majority of my packing at least. I did get a lot done. In fact all I really have is a few odds and ends, the clothes and things I want to take farther than Anchorage w/me, and my kitchen stuff.

Tomorrow (Wednesday) is my studying day. Both of the finals I have left are on Thursday, so I get to study study study. And go to work for a little while too, and try to get those odds and ends cleaned up. Plus I've got a few more errands to run either tomorrow or Thursday.

Time is flying!

P.S. I know I have been very remiss about posting pictures. I have a bunch that I still intend to post, but they're still on my camera. I think I will save that project for once I get myself out of here. I've got too many other things to do right now. Keep checking, and bug me after Friday.

Chena!!!

Yippee!!! I finally got to go to Chena Hot Springs today! I've been wanting to all semester, and I actually hadn't been there in about a year or so. It was so nice. Erica, Kyle and I went. We actually went to Denny's for dinner first, then headed out. It was cold, but not terribly so, and the water was wonderfully warm.

Now it's time for bed, as I have work in the morning.

More fun this weekend

Yesterday morning I read "The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe" in 2 hours. Then I went to three west coast swing dance classes. Those were a lot of fun, but I hadn't had much to eat yet and was getting pretty tired. And of course my feet were hurting after 3 hours of dancing. Then I headed straight over to the GAAP Christmas Party and the Princess. That was a lot of fun and we had a great turnout! We had a very nice dinner and a Chinese gift exchange. I ended up with the board game Clue. :D After the party Erica and I did a car dropoff and then went back to the Princess to hang out with some of the group in the bar for a little while. Then Crystal, her husband, Erica, and I went to see Narnia - LWW again. (It was again for all but Erica.) Patrick joined us at the theater. They did such a fabulous job on the movie!!! I may end up seeing it again this week, and possibly again while I'm in Oregon w/John. ;) And I definitely do not mind! :D Then I stayed up last night and read "Prince Caspian". I really shouldn't have, and it was actually really hard to stay awake, but each time it was "just let me finish this chapter", then I'd realize I'd already started the next chapter without realizing it and therefore had to finish that one too, until there were only about 20 pages left to the book, which naturally had to be finished. :D

Now to work on my take home exam. Yay. :P

Now to write about something other than that dreadful paper...

This evening was fabulous!!! A huge thank you to everyone who was at the party and for all the laughs! You guys are wonderful and I'm going to miss you all so much! So you have to come and visit me in Anchortown. We will take Club Soraya over like a storm!

For all you who don't know what I'm talking about, here's what happened this evening.
Judy, JJ, and Ana showed up at 6:00 p.m. to take me to dinner. I knew there was going to be some sort of small group of dance friends and there had been talk about going to Lemon Grass for dinner. So the three of them showed up and said that we had to stop by Mary's house first because she had finally gotten her loan approved and had started moving in, so I had to go see her dance floor. So we head over there, with JJ pretending he has no idea where he's going, and Judy taking all the time in the world pointing out christmas lights and the works, and I'm just actively looking for street names and whatnot. We come up on this house that's all lit up and I spot people in the window and instantly realize that two of them are Vaughn and Megan. So I'm like, "that must be it there, I know those people!". So we pull up in the driveway and head inside. Mary answers the door and immediately offers to give us a quick tour. (No one else is in sight. Slightly odd, since I know there are at least 3 or more in the house.) So we head upstairs and she shows me her office, and her bedroom, and then the other bedroom. This is where everyone says, "Surprise!" There were so many of my dance friends!!! It was awesome! I won't dare try to list them all, because I know I'll end up forgetting to include one or more, but it was so cool! We danced and ate delicious food and beverages, and generally laughed a whole lot. Afterwards a bunch of us decided to go see "Chronicles of Narnia - The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe". It was awesome! They did an amazing job!!! I'm so psyched about it that I'm going to read the book tomorrow and go see it again tomorrow night! ;) I'm serious about seeing it again, and I'm fairly serious about at least trying to get the book read again between now and then.

Thank you all again for such a fabulous evening! I am going to miss you all!

Paper is done!!!

My paper is turned in! It's not perfect, but it's done. That's what matters. Now there's only relatively small stuff left. Now I'm headed to bed though, as I'm going to go to work for several hours tomorrow.

Nearly done, but still not close enough

The paper is finally starting to look like something. We still need about three more pages, at least, but that's not too bad. It's due tomorrow, so whatever is done, is done. I won't have to worry about it after that. Finally!!! Then there isn't too much left.

Paper, paper, paper, and dancing

Work was fun. Sitting and attempting to write my paper all afternoon was not. Especially since I only wrote a few sentences. I can't frickin' focus! Salsa rueda practice was a blast. Contra was great. It was tinged with sadness though, as it was my last one here unless I come back to visit on a contra weekend. Then we did the mandatory one last late night rendevous (sp? sorry, too tired to look it up) at Denny's after contra. Generally today was good, except for not getting anywhere on my paper. Tomorrow will be packed. Paper, dancing, more dancing, more dancing, and more dancing. Sunday's tango practice was cancelled :( so that day will end up being paper, paper, paper, and more paper. Monday will hopefully see the finish of the paper, as well as possibly (depending on the paper status) a few hours of work. Tuesday will see the paper turned in, whatever it may look like by that point, and the absolute rejoicing by me.

Ok, I'm obviously tired, so goodnight.

I've got my computer!!!

Hurrah! It's here! And it's cute! I'm psyched. Although I'd be much more psyched if I didn't have homework and a paper to do.

*shaking head*

Ok... I want to know who in their right mind mails something to Fairbanks, AK from Nevada, via Tennessee AND California (in that order). So much for overnight mail. Oh well, I'm not really complaining, just confused.

My computer is in town! Somewhere. At the FedEx place, wherever that is. If I knew I'd probably show up and beg for it. But no, I can wait a couple more hours until they deliver it to the residence life office up the hill. And in the meantime I have to work on this damned paper. :S

So much to do, so little time to do it, and no motivation at all.

I'm getting overwhelmed and all I want to do is be done with it all! Too much schoolwork is the worst part, especially this damned paper. Although my schedule in general is filling up very quickly too. I've already triple booked dance events for this Saturday, and somehow I'm going to try to make it to all of them. Friday is a contra dance. Thursday is packed with classes and homework. Wednesday, tomorrow, is all homework and work too if I can fit it in. I think I'm going to not go to work tomorrow though. I have to work on my paper, I have advanced accounting homework that has to be done, some corporate strategy stuff to read, think about, and write a paragraph or so about, and also four business law chapters to read and answer questions about. All tomorrow. Yeah, I'm not going to work. Erika will understand. My bank account won't be as understanding, but it'll live, or I will... hopefully.

Next week is going to be insane as well. Sunday is sleep in day, followed by homework and tango class. Monday is another go insane day, as the paper is due Tuesday, so anything not done by the end of this week will be done Monday. Tuesday is classes, homework and salsa at the pub. Wednesday is any homework I didn't get done Tuesday for Thursday classes. And Thursday is my last day of classes! Which means homework due in two of them and a final in the third. Then I'll have a week to, well, go insane a bit more, pack, study, and visit people. The following Thursday I take my last two finals and Friday I hit the road to Anchorage with all my stuff.

Which brings me to a question for y'all. Does anyone need a ride to Anchorage at the end of the semester? Or, does anyone plan to drive to Anchorage and would like to caravan down? Or, does anyone know anyone who might be interested in either of the above? If so, please either email me or leave a comment and I'll get in touch with you, or them, about it. I do have to drive down on Friday the 16th of December, since I have finals the day before and I fly out of Anchorage the day after. But time of day could possibly be played with. Let me know asap! Thanks!

Is it over yet?

My birthday was great. A big thank you to Brad and his family for that. On Sunday, Brad and I drove back to squarebanks. The trip back went very well. There was one area with somewhat slick roads, but the sky was perfectly clear the whole way until we were on campus, where there was some pretty major ice fog.

Today I went to work, then took my car back to the mechanic to get the clutch readjusted again. Apparently my clutch is worn out and will likely need replaced soon. Grr... it was just replaced last December, so I don't see any reason why it should have worn out that quickly. Apparently the clutch itself could probably be replaced under warranty from the previous one, but they're still going to try to make me pay for the labor to put it in, which is around $430. Needless to say, I'm getting very tired of all the trouble this car has caused me. Dammit... I need a job.

Christmas Shopping and Apartment Hunting

I dragged my silly butt out of bed yesterday morning at 4 a.m. Why you ask? Cause of that silly little day called Black Friday. No, it's not a tradition for me, and god help me if it ever becomes one. But I decided to give it a shot this year, with Brad's mom, Kim. We headed out and arrived at Fred Meyers at 5 a.m. I got some presents for my family and some socks for myself. What is it with socks and Christmas anyways? I'd be horrified if I ever received socks for Christmas! But since they were on sale, I bought some for myself. I needed them anyways. The dorm dryer seems to like eating my black socks. Anyways, then we went to Allen Peterson, a kitchen store, and I got a $10 gift certificate to use someday... probably when I'm ready to add a thing or two to my kitchen, when I've got my own. We went a couple other places next, then home to take a nap. 5 a.m. is pretty grueling. Then around 10, Kim and I headed into Anchorage to do a bit more shopping and apartment hunting. We went to Title Wave books, where I got another present, and then we headed to go look...

I just got interrupted by a rousing rendition of the happy birthday song. :D Apparently I get spice cake w/cream cheese frosting for my birthday today. Yay!

Ok, where was I. Oh, then we headed to go look at the apartment I've been hoping would be a good one. The neighborhood did look very nice, the buildings appeared well taken care of, and the apartment they showed me was awesome! It hadn't been cleaned yet, but the layout was nice and roomier than I expected. The carpet looked nice, the murphy bed was great, the kitchen appliances are older, but looked good. The yellow kitchen countertops are annoying, with dark wood cabinets, but there are possible decorating modifications that can be made if I get creative enough. So, I paid the deposit on it!

Now I'm off to go get a shower, then Brad and I are going to go watch a movie in Anchorage. After which he's planning to make his world famous (at least in my world) Thai curry. :D

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am thankful for all my awesome friends! You guys are great!

Today has been fun and relaxing. I woke up late, took my time getting ready for the day, talked to Kate, then helped out in the kitchen. Brad's mom is a very good cook and everything turned out really well. Another family joined us for dinner and we had 10 people total. It was particularly fun talking to Amanda, Brad's sister, for awhile.

Yesterday was also rather exciting. Brad and I drove down to Wasilla from Fbks. We left around 10 a.m. and got here sometime around 5 p.m. It was snowing almost the entire way. Some areas weren't too bad, but there was one point where I couldn't see an inch beyond my windshield. And I really dislike semi-trucks now. Five of them passed me twice! It is really frickin' scary to be passed by 2-trailer semi's when the roads are snowy, it's snowing, and a bit windy too! I was sure we were going to be pushed off the road, and then when they did finally pass, I couldn't see where I was going because of the snow they kicked up. That's when I was whitewashed the worst. But we made it in one piece and without any real difficulties.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Computer died...

My computer is officially dead. Well, it was entirely dead, but now it's mostly dead... I am typing on it right now, and it is responding, but in order to start the thing I had to gently hold it at an angle, slap it a few times, and hold it that way for quite awhile after it was up and running until whatever it is that's making the dreadful noises quit making them. It actually is doing exactly what it did when I had to send it in for warranty repairs just before the warranty expired. When they sent it back it had a new cpu, motherboard, and random other things. Basically everything but the hard drive. Anyways, since I was able to get it up and running again, I copied everything possible onto my external drive so I don't have to worry about that.

And I bought myself a new computer today. :D It's a little Dell Inspiron 700m notebook, 80 gb hd, 1.7 ghz processor, 1 gb ram, DVD burner, and a wide 12.1 inch screen, with a 4 year warranty. It's gonna take a bit longer than I'd like to get here (ignoring my impatience), but it should be here in time to finish up the semester.

Snow, Harry Potter, Matt, Car, and more...

It's snowing again... very pretty, but not as warm as it should be. It was very cool seeing individual snowflakes land on the windshield of my car though. You could see the actual shape of each flake, with its perfectly symmetrical branches, and each one completely different.

I watched "Harry Potter: The Goblet of Fire" last night. It was generally very good. I think they could have shaved down a few parts and added some other parts from the book that explained the story better, but I do understand that with a book that big, there is no way they could do it properly and not have a 5+ hour movie. It was a lot of fun though. I love Hermione's dress at the dance!

Matt left last night to visit his family in Northern California/Southern Oregon. I took him to the airport just before going to the theater. I haven't heard from him yet as to whether he made it safely, but I assume he did. I'm going to miss having him around to dance with, and just hang out with. He's a great guy, even if he does listen to talk shows. ;)

My car went back to the shop today, for a short while at least. Yesterday it was having a hard time starting, and finally I discovered that the clutch wasn't pushing the ignition button. So I had to reach under the dash to push the button while reaching my other arm up to turn the key each time I wanted to start my car. And all this while my knee is firmly planted on the snow or ice outside my car. It's fixed now though. It didn't take them too long. I knew it was just a little adjustment and tightening of a screw or two.

My room is starting to look more like a dorm room again. I've gotten compliments on how cozy and nice it looked over the last week or so, but yesterday I started packing anything I won't need for the next few weeks so I can haul it down to Anchorage when Brad and I go down on Wednesday. Now half the shelves are bare, there are boxes full of stuff lying around and it's looking a lot less like a cozy room and a lot more like the bare-walled, cold dorm room that it started as. Fortunately I don't have to live in it too much longer. I'm out of here in 25 days, and almost 5 of those I'll be gone for Thanksgiving break.

One distance class is entirely done on my end, and I'll be finishing the other one tomorrow. I also have a take home exam in Advanced Accounting that is due by Wednesday at noon. So... 3 exams in 3 days. And hopefully I'll have them all done by tomorrow. Which means I need to get to work on studying for the one and taking the other. Plus a paper to work on and some business law reading and questions. I just want to scream and be finished with all this!

2nd Place Winners!

The competition was absolutely awesome! Matt and I danced better than I think we ever have together and we pulled off a stunning performance that landed us in 2nd place. :D It was so much fun. Megan and Michael got first place, and they definitely deserved it. Megan did tell me though that I made her work hard for it. ;) So many people were congratulating us both before and afterwards. And Matt's shirt was complemented more than my outfit! I guess I should have worn a skirt or dress. Bah! Oh well. Hehe. It was tons of fun. Patrick even got to compete with Anna (sp?). They looked fabulous too, despite the last minute throw together. Patrick's hat tricks were awesome! And Mary and Alisa were gorgeous. The other two couples did a great job too. It was a really fun night.

Dance Dance Dance Dance

Last night I helped co-DJ/host the ballroom dance at Alaskaland. It turned out to be excellent, and I received many compliments on the music list. I also received many compliments on my outfit. :D Little black dresses made by my mom tend to do that. Thank you Mom! After the ballroom dance, I came home and changed and then went out to the blue loon, with a few other dancers. We had a grand time dancing to latin, hip-hop, and such. I got to dance with a few hottie latinos too. :D Alejandro was one (my hottie latino from Hot Tamales), and Juan and Julio were the others. And of course Matt and Michael made excellent partners as well. ;) I'm hoping Matt is getting a bit more comfortable with the idea of competing tonight. He is such an excellent salsa dancer, all we really need to do to win is make it flashy and be completely comfortable. Well, at any rate, we will have a blast, regardless of who wins. :D

A Blown Kiss

by Amanda Chadwick

Fly quick, be swift,
Don't catch on a snowflake.
Fly swift, be quick,
My dear one is waiting.
Fly quick, be swift,
Don't pause, nay nor stumble.
Fly swift, be quick,
He is waiting for you.

Many miles, many mountains,
Many stars, many fountains.
It is far, do not fail me.
Gently place my message clear.

Fly quick, be swift,
Don't catch on a raindrop.
Fly swift, be quick,
My lover is waiting.
Fly quick, be swift,
Don't pause, nay nor quiver.
Fly swift, be quick,
He is waiting for me.

Musings

Everything is blanketed in glittery white. I love how the snow here glitters. It's not a gaudy kind of glitter, but a very natural, cheery kind of glitter. I also love how at night, when it's snowing, everything on campus is bathed in a surreal golden light. It's almost like the world is getting all dressed up in white for a very special magical event. If it didn't have to be cold, and if snow wasn't actually a form of water, therefore wet, I would love to grab a good book and just go sit outside in the snow, at night, reading by the golden light. Preferably a good book such as The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe. A fabulous book about magic and winter. Although winter isn't a good thing in that book, it's still beautiful imagery. I am definitely looking forward to that movie.

This evening I had a most wonderful time. It began with a salsa dance practice session with Matt in the Wood Center that turned into a mini latin dance. Megan and Michael showed up, as well as a few other random dancers and we had a blast playing with moves and trying out different music and such. After I finally managed to tear myself away from that, I walked up to Brad's apartment for a cooking lesson and dinner. Brad taught me how to make his fabulous Thai green curry! :D It's really not that hard, and as always, it was so incredibly good. Thank you Brad!

Now I'm sitting here, musing, and thinking of all the things that have made me happy today. Snow, dancing and curry are definitely on the list. Also someone reminded me of some happy memories that made me smile and even laugh a little today. That was happy. And I did not get my test back in Corporate Strategy, which made me very, very happy. I was sincerely hoping my day would not be burdened with having to think about that. I didn't get to talk to John today, but just thinking of him makes me happy. We talked last night and I also got to talk to his mom a bit. She is very funny and overzealous, but wonderful all the same. I still can't believe she had a pattern and fabrics picked out for a quilt within fifteen minutes of deciding to make one!

I suppose I won't be as happy tomorrow unless I get some sleep, so thank you to everyone who has added to my happiness today and goodnight all!

Computer problems and such

So my computer crashed today. I managed to get 2 BSOD's within the course of about 5 minutes. I have absolutely no idea why it crashed, and I also have absolutely no idea why it is working perfectly fine at the moment, and has for the last hour or so. Maybe it just wanted to be shut down and allowed to rest for awhile. Whatever the case, a new computer is definitely on my to-buy-when-I-have-the-money list.

In my mind I have already finished school and am moving into my new apartment in Anchorage. Of course, in reality I am still in school and don't even have an apartment in Anchorage yet, but that is more or less beside the point. I believe this condition is called senioritis, and I guess I should be glad it's only hitting me bad now, instead of much earlier in the semester. I am most definitely ready to be done with school, however, and am particularly looking forward to Thanksgiving break, in the meantime.

This evening is looking fairly happy too. The salsa lesson at the pub starts at 8 and I'll get to try out my new dance shoes. :D

Dance Shoes & Extra Credit

I got my dance shoes today! :D I'll get to try them out tomorrow evening, see if I can manage to break an ankle or something. ;) We'll see how it goes. At any rate, I can guarantee I'll get many blisters over the course of the next several weeks of breaking them in. The heel is a half inch taller than I'm used to, and slightly narrower, so they'll take some getting used to, but I'm sure I'll manage.

Anyways, I just finished my advanced accounting homework AND the extra credit! And all in record time too. Or at least it felt like record time. I'll find out tomorrow in class if I actually did it all correctly or not though. I'm fairly confident I did, but there are a few spots where I'm not quite convinced.

Well, it's bedtime. Class at 7:30 a.m. and staying up too late don't mix well.

I love this song...

Here By Me
Three Doors Down

I hope you’re doing fine out there without me
‘Cause I’m not doing so good without you
The things I thought you’d never know about me
Were the things I guess you always understood

So how could I have been so blind for all these years?
Guess I only see the truth through all this fear,
And living without you…

And everything I had in this world
And all that I’ll ever be
It could all fall down around me.
Just as long as I have you,
Right here by me.

I can’t take another day without you
‘Cause baby, I could never make it on my own
I’ve been waiting so long, just to hold you
And to be back in your arms where I belong

Sorry I can’t always find the words to say
But everything I’ve ever known gets swept away
Inside of your love…

And everything I had in this world
And all that I’ll ever be
It could all fall down around me.
Just as long as I have you,
Right here by me.

As the days grow long I see
That time is standing still for me
When you’re not here

Sorry I can’t always find the words to say
Everything I’ve ever known gets swept away
Inside of your love

And everything I had in this world
And all that I’ll ever be
It could all fall down around me.
Just as long as I have you,
Right here by me.

And everything I had in this world
And all that I’ll ever be
It could all fall down around me.
Just as long as I have you,
Right here by me.

Surgery...

Well, yesterday took an interesting turn right around 4 o'clock. I went to work in the morning, per normal. Then stopped by Gabe's afterwards so they could adjust my car. It's working fabulously now! :D Then at 4 o'clock I had an appointment with the oral surgeon (who took my wisdom teeth out a bit more than a month ago). I had set up the appointment the day before because my cheek had swollen up and I couldn't quite determine what was going on. So I went in and they seemed pretty worried about it. Then they told me they were going to have to cut it open and clean it out. :S I wasn't thrilled with this prospect, but I quickly realized I didn't have a choice in the matter. It was that or let it sit, get worse, and end up in the hospital. Yeah... I guess I'd rather a little pain and hassle now, vs. a lot later. So they numbed the area up with local anesthesia, which managed to frighten the heck out of me. I mean, I can handle needles... I've never had much trouble with them. I mean, I'll wince a little sometimes, but that's all. Well, needles (even really short ones) on the inside of the mouth... that's a whole other world. And it sucked. I had a terrible time trying to control my emotions after that. I think I had been a bit overly stressed before all this and getting poked repeatedly by a needle inside the mouth was just the last straw that put me over the edge. Well, despite my tears and desperate attempts to stop them, the surgeon managed to do what he needed to do pretty quickly and the whole thing was over in a matter of minutes. Then I stopped by Freddy's for some antibiotics they prescribed, and headed home to eat (carefully), take vicodin, watch movies, and crochet. It was a very relaxing evening actually. I watched Mary Poppins and then Notting Hill. You know, it's odd how vicodin doesn't affect me much except to make me think I'm not hurting. It does that very, very well. But it doesn't make me tired, or make me lose any sense of where I am and what I'm doing. But anyways, so now I get to keep my mouth washed out with salt water (rather icky stuff), and all that other fun post-op kind of stuff. Fortunately I can still eat normal food pretty well though. I just have to chew it with the left side of my mouth. So Matt, Michael, Megan and I should still be able to go to Jalapeno's today. :D And hopefully I'll get to go see Bye Bye Birdie this afternoon, followed by Jalapeno's, then some dancing, but probably not with quite as much enthusiasm as normal, as I do have to take it a little bit easy. In the meantime though, I need to work on homework.

So Exciting...

I may have found the perfect apartment for me. :D It's near the airport, in what seems to be a very nice community. It's a studio apartment, unfurnished, but with a murphy bed (the kind that folds up into the wall), a washer and dryer, and a fireplace (I believe). And it's right in the price range I was hoping for. If anyone knows Anchorage well and I haven't already asked your opinion, please contact me and I'll be more specific about where it is so you can let me know what you think.

Sam's baby arrived a few days ago! And Mary is expecting in February. It's exciting. But I must admit, I feel a bit sidelined. It's not that I want to be married or thinking about kids at this point in time, cause I most absolutely definitely do not. But it is a bit odd when so many of my friends are in those situations. I keep being told that it's normal for people to wait until much later to get married and such nowadays, but that's hardly what I'm seeing. Maybe I'm in the wrong state. Maybe that's really true elsewhere. Oh well, I never agreed to conform to "normal" anyways, so I'll take my own sweet time about it, regardless of what everyone else is doing. And I'll enjoy their adorable little ones in the meantime. :)

Things

I'm done housesitting now. And my car is supposed to be finished today, so I'll hopefully be independent again. I don't mind asking for rides when I need them, or even when I just want them. But when I have to ask for rides over a long period of time, and I wouldn't have to except that my car is inoperable, well, that rubs my independent nature the wrong way after awhile. Oh well, Matt has been very gracious, and I think he actually likes getting teased by Michael about having a blond in his car. ;)

I took my 2nd cost accounting exam yesterday. I now only have 2 finals left, one in cost and one in governmental accounting. Those should show up in the next week or so and they shouldn't be too hard to study for. And I have 8 days of regular classes left! 1 more this week, 2 the following week, 1 Thanksgiving week, and 2 each the next two weeks. Then finals week, with 2 finals, and I'm outta here! Then I drive down to Anchorage (anyone want to drive down with me?), fly to Wrangell, spend a week and an early Christmas, then fly to Ashland and spend Christmas and New Years there. Then fly back, move into my apartment, and start work. :D

Well, enough for now. I'm going to try calling apartments today, and start that process. Also I have a paper I need to work on and a memo to edit later.

School, work, and dancing... the usual

I submitted my last distance class lesson today! Now I just have 3 tests to take, as they show up. Then I'll be totally done with those classes. Yay! Then I get to devote all that extra free time to writing a paper for Advanced Accounting. Yay! :( Oh well, in 6 weeks I will be in Wrangell and done with my degree. That makes me very happy. :D

Work is going well. I'm probably not going to be able to make it to work on Wednesday, cause my car is still in the shop. Broken clutch, again... always the clutch, always a different reason. I so want a new car! But otherwise work is good. I'm working on balancing intercompany accounts right now, that is a lot of fun, although a lot of work too.

And of course dancing. Matt is going to stick around town long enough to be here for the dance competition in a couple weeks, so we can do that together. Otherwise, I've been dancing my feet off, literally, every weekend so far and there's no end in sight. Between latin dances, ballroom dances, contra dances, silver spur dancing, salsa rueda practice, tango practice, and random other dance events, I'm finding myself more than busy enough. And my dance shoes have holes in the bottoms now! Fortunately my parents just ordered me a new pair for my birthday, and they should arrive this week, hopefully. Now I'm just hoping I picked the right size.

Little Boy - the cat I'm taking care of for 2 weeks. He's so sweet! 

My Halloween

I suppose I should tell about my halloween, seeing as the actual day has come and gone already. My halloween was really on Saturday, since that's when all the dancing was.

So, Saturday I spent roughly half the day getting ready to go dancing, and the other half actually dancing. :D The morning and early afternoon were anything but productive really, but I did try to get a little homework done. Then I took a nice long shower, spent plenty of time primping, and generally came out looking like I do in the picture below.

Matt, pictured below me, showed up around 5:45 looking pretty damn good in his costume. His costume is particularly awesome to those of us in the know. I will attempt to explain. Another Matt, whom I'll call Matt L. here, always wears a tight black shirt with slacks when he's dancing, as Matt is wearing in the picture below, and has his hair cut short with no facial hair. So, Matt decided that for Halloween, he was going to dress up as Matt L. (We have too many Matt's who dance, btw.) But to add to the look a bit, he found an awesome Zorro hat, and made a mask out of a black sock. (Washed first, he promises.) Anyways, so in the end, we have Matt, dressed as Matt L., dressed as Zorro. :D Way too much fun, I know.

So, after we had some cheesecake I had made up the night before (oh that was soooo good!) and adjusted our costumes as necessary, we headed off to the Silver Spur. There I discovered a tear in my skirt, so after dancing for awhile, we headed back to the place I'm housesitting with a few friends in tow and had more cheesecake while I mended my skirt. Then it was off to the contra dance. It was way to much fun gypsying as a gypsy. :D

After contra, Matt and I decided to check out Point After to see what was going on there. The band was fabulous, as always, but it was really smoky. So after a few songs we headed to Jalapeno's for the latin dance. The turnout there was disappointing, but the music was good. We danced a lot, a random stranger bought me a drink, Megan and I played a round of pool, and then came the contests. First was a costume contest. Matt got really close, being the last one told to sit down. But it was myself and a latina lady who tied for first place. We each got $50 certificates for dinner for 4 at Jalapeno's restuarant. :D After that the DJ did a screaming contest. I wasn't particularly interested in screaming, but after a few guys tried, the DJ finally convinced me to do it. So I screamed. And I got first place. And $20. Which pretty much paid for all my dancing over the weekend. :D

After the contests, Megan, Michael, Matt and I decided to head over to the Blue Loon to see what was going on there. It was already well after midnight by this time. So off we went and discovered that that was where everyone in town was apparently. It was fun, although the floor could not have been more disgusting. We left when the place closed at 3:30 a.m., including the time change. So it was really more like 4:30 a.m. Then Matt drove me home and I took a quick shower and crashed.

Needless to say I didn't accomplish a lot on Sunday. In fact, a few of us were rather tired and zombie-like at salsa rueda practice later that day. It was entertaining to watch us try to do some of the more energetic moves.

Halloween Pictures

Gypsy! And I got to gypsy as a gypsy at the contra dance too! (All the guys got a kick out of that one.) 

Here's Matt dressed up as Matt L. dressed up as Zorro! (His hat says Zorro on it too.) :D 

New Element Discovered in the wake of Katrina and Rita

A major research institution has recently announced the discovery of the heaviest chemical yet known to science. This new element has been tentatively named "Governmentium."

Governmentium has one neutron, 12 assistant neutrons, 75 deputy neutrons, and 224 assistant deputy neutrons, giving it an atomic mass of 312.

These 312 particles are held together by forces called morons, which are surrounded by vast quantities of lepton-like particles called peons.

Since Governmentium has no electrons, it is inert. However, it can be detected as it impedes every reaction with which it comes into contact.

A tiny amount of Governmentium causes one reaction to take over four days to complete when it would normally take less than a second. Governmentium has a normal half-life of four years; it does not decay but instead, it undergoes a reorganization in which a portion of the assistant neutrons and deputy neutrons exchange places. In fact, Governmentium's mass will actually increase over time since each reorganization will cause more morons to become neutrons, forming isodopes.

This characteristic of moron-promotion leads some scientists to speculate that Governmentium is formed whenever morons reach a certain quantity in concentration. This hypocritical quantity is referred to as "Critical Morass."

You will know it when you see it. When catalyzed with money, Governmentium becomes Administratium, an element which radiates just as much energy since it has half as many peons but twice as many morons.

-----------------------------------
Thanks Grandma for forwarding this to me!

Halloween Costume

I don't think I've ever had this much fun putting together a halloween costume!

To back up slightly... my sister was supposed to send me the costume she made and wore last year. It's a belly dancer costume made with shiny fabrics and belly baring. She did a fabulous job on it. But she didn't get it in the mail on time, so it wouldn't be able to arrive in time.

So this afternoon I've been going a bit crazy trying to think of something else. Well... I did, with the help of a few friends: Kate, Courtney, and the internet. I've got a few finishing touches to find still, but every last bit of it so far came from what I've got, plus a few things Courtney is letting me borrow. Thank you Courtney!!!

Waiting to hear what it is? Tough luck! I'll be sure to take pictures when it's complete, but anyone who won't see me in person on Halloween will have to wait until after to see the pics and find out what my costume is! :D

A story my brother wrote...

Here's a story my brother wrote just the other day. It's totally not fair how he's so good at so many things!

Seth's Story - Shiloh

Can't Stop Dancing!

This weekend has been a whirlwind of dancing, more dancing, and even more dancing! And it's not even over yet!

Friday night I went to the ballroom dance at Alaskaland. That was a lot of fun with most of my favorite dance partners in attendance. :D Soon after I showed up I was told that there was a latin dance at the Blue Loon afterwards. I wasn't so sure I could withstand even more dancing after dancing for a few hours at Akland, but I said maybe. Well, it ended up that my feet had horrible blisters on them and I was fairly tired by the end of the ballroom dance. (A polka to Cotton Eyed Joe will do that to me every time.) Well, as you might have guessed, I went to the Blue Loon anyways. :P Matt gave me a ride out there cause I didn't really feel like driving and a bunch of other people I know were there too. It was a blast! I haven't had so much fun dancing in awhile at least. The DJ was pretty cool and played lots of salsas and merengues and other latin tunes for us. He also played some pretty good hip-hop and other styles too, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I even acquired a puppy dog! (Puppy dog = random guy with a crush on me.) I never did get his name, but from pretty much the first minute I was out on the dance floor he was checking me out. :D Poor guy though, he had no chance competing against all the guys I knew that knew how to dance to latin dances. They'd grab me almost before the next song had started, while this poor guy was just working up the guts to start in my direction to ask me to dance. And then he'd get one of his friends to help him learn the steps for whichever dance was playing, but the next song would be something entirely different. He did get me for a couple of the club style songs though. And I will admit he was cute, although not really my type. *shrug* Oh well, it was fun. Matt and I didn't leave until nearly 2:30 a.m. and by the time I got home, took a shower to get the smoke out of my hair, and went to bed, it was 3 a.m.

Saturday morning I woke up quite happily at 10:30 a.m., which was pretty impressive given the time I went to bed. I spent most of the day going through my music, sorting out the good dance tunes. :D Patrick is DJing the music for one of the next ballroom dances and I get to help! Yay! I love picking music for dances, although it does take a lot of time. *shrug* It's worth it. Anyways, then at 5, Patrick and I went to Hot Tamales for dinner with the NATC group (where I currently work and Patrick has worked before). It was good to see some people I hadn't seen in awhile, and also meet others who have worked there. Then Patrick and I headed to the Silver Spur (with a little running around after silly shoes involved). Matt was there, as well as various other dancers. It was a good evening with some good west coast swings, cha chas, tangos, salsas, sambas danced as salsas (that was fun!), and all kinds of other stuff. Patrick left just before the live band came on, and Matt agreed to give me a ride back home afterwards. The live band was really good, with an excellent female vocalist. I must say I do like country music on occasion. :) Matt and I ended up staying until about 12:30 a.m.

Now it's going on 2 a.m. and I seriously need to go to sleep. I've got more dancing to do tomorrow!

Weird Moods, Stress, & Lack of Sleep

I am so glad this week is almost over. It has been an odd and off week for me. Between too little sleep (and still being tired when I finally get enough sleep), and lots of school work to do, as well as other work too. And then toss on some other odds and ends that I don't need to get into, but have affected me emotionally, and you get a week that definitely does not make it onto the favorites list.

My business law class was driving me nuts today. We were going over the topic of shipment and who gets the risk of loss, the buyer or seller, in various situations. Well, shipping terms have never made a lick of sense to me. I mean, F.O.B., stands for "free on-board". What the hell could that possibly mean??? Well, anyways, after reading the chapter last night, I was still just about as confused as ever. Then in class this morning, the professor talks in circles around the topic for at least an hour and managed to confuse me even more! And to top it off, when we go over a problem in class, he changes his answer to the problem three times! Add to this my weird mood and I was just about ready to either break down crying right there, or walk out of class early. I actually did sit down and have a good cry when I got back to my room. It felt good and it helped relieve the stress a little at least.

Well, that's only one of the things that have been driving me batty, but that's all I'll complain about for now. This weekend should be at least minorly less stressful. And with plenty of dancing. :D There's a ballroom dance tomorrow night, and Saturday I'm going to go to dinner at Hot Tamales w/NATC (my job), then Patrick and I are going to head to the Silver Spur for some dancing. Matt will be happy to hear that. ;)

I'm off to bed now. I think I'm starting to get a headache, so a tall glass of water and sleep are on my agenda.

Too much fun with dolls... :D

Here are a few dolls made on elouai.com:

These first two are John's rendition of me, and my rendition of him. Aren't we so cute?!?


These last two are ones I tossed together, both with at least the vague idea that they looked something like me. (Or at least what I'd love to look like.) ;-)


By the way, Jessi, you're a horrible influence on me! You put way too many fun/cool things on your blog! :D

Dance Video Clips!!!

Hurrah! Many thanks to my very generous brother for donating space on his server so I could upload them! And many more thanks to Vanessa for taking these video clips and giving me a copy!

Anyways, now to explain. On Saturday the International Day of Friendship went very well. Jessi and I went together and watched most of the performances before it was my turn. There were some pretty awesome performances, including one I've included a clip of below. Then our salsa rueda group, nicknamed the "Cuban Dancers", even though all but one of us is white as can be, did a little practicing and then went on. It was awesome! We only messed up a little at one point, but I dare you to figure out where it is. ;-) (It is in the video clip, but not incredibly noticiable, except to us.) We had a great time doing it though, and I'm pretty excited about doing it again December 3rd. I'll keep you all posted as to where and when, after I find out. Anyways, don't mind me, here's the clips:

The first 3 minutes of our performance. - Fairly large file, will take time to load, be patient!
JJ's and my little exit routine. - A very short/small file.
A beautiful Thai dancer. - Another large file, but generally worth taking a peek at.

Also, see my brother's website, where he so graciously allowed me to upload these clips, since I seem to be too close to my limit on my ASUAF space.

Winter Wonderland!

It's snowing and everything is white. You know what my favorite part of snow is? It dampens all noise. Especially the noise of cars driving past. It makes you feel like you're in a whole new world where cars don't make any sound and the stuff you walk on is really some sort of cornstarch. :-) I think I'm starting to get used to the idea of winter again. It's not such a horrible thing. Although I do have to start remembering to plug in my car. It always takes me awhile to start remembering to do that every time. I need to start now though, or I'll never get into the habit.

On another note. Are Jessi and I the only ones who blog anymore? It's becoming an assumption of mine that I'm not going to find any new blogs on any of the ones I check except Jessi's. You guys can't be all that busy! Or maybe I'm more bored than I thought I was. I do have tons of things to do, but I guess I do hang out with other people a lot less than I used to. Which means any amount of time not spent in class, doing homework, or dancing is most likely spent sitting in front of this computer, or crocheting and watching a movie. I used to hate having free time to myself. Now I think I kind of like it. I suppose that is a good thing, since when I'm in Anchorage again, I'll be living by myself and it'll take awhile to make friends outside of work.

International Day of Friendship is at Alaskaland (Pioneer Park) today. I'm planning on heading over there around noonish and hanging out most of the afternoon, at least until the performance I'm in at 3:50 p.m. I'm in the Cuban Dancers performance. We're doing a salsa rueda performance that is totally awesome and a lot of fun! Come see it!

8 months!

John and I have been together 8 months now. I wouldn't trade those 8 months with him for anything! (Except maybe another 8 months.) I do wish we could be around each other more, but this arrangement does seem to be working for the best right now anyways. Especially considering the load of school and such I seem to have gotten myself into this semester. I guess that's what I get for trying to plan an easy last semester of college. :-P Anyways, I'm off to work now.

Sleep?

It's amazing what an extra hour or two of sleep can do to you! I was so tired yesterday and last night that I took a half hour nap in the afternoon, and I went to bed at 9:15 instead of my official bedtime of 10 and my unofficial actual bedtime of somewhere closer to 11. Then when I woke up at 6 o'clock this morning, I didn't feel like I was trying to kill myself to pry my eyes open! I was still almost late for class (a different story), but I didn't sleep through it, even though it was a rather boring class this time. I also did some sit-ups this morning, which were actually really hard. :P I'm so out of shape. But I've got a halloween costume that I don't want to look too flabby in, so I'm going to do sit-ups dammit! (No comments from the biased peanut gallery please: aka John.) Anyways, I guess today is working out to be a pretty decent day. It's white outside, not too chilly inside, I've got tons to do, and I'm bound and determined that it is all going to get done! And if it does, I'll reward myself with a bit of time to crochet this evening, and then go to bed on time! Haha, ok, have a good day everyone!

Interesting Again...

Your Blog Should Be Purple

You're an expressive, offbeat blogger who tends to write about anything and everything. You tend to set blogging trends, and you're the most likely to write your own meme or survey. You are a bit distant though. Your blog is all about you - not what anyone else has to say.

What Color Should Your Blog or Journal Be?

Interesting...

Your Hair Should Be White

Classy, stylish, and eloquent. You've got a way about you that floors everyone you meet.

What's Your Funky Inner Hair Color?

Distance classes are such a hassle...

I've been plugging away at these two distance classes I'm currently taking at a fairly quick pace. Sometimes slower, sometimes faster, but overall I've gotten a lot done. Well, the other day I did a quick count of how many lessons I had left and the number of weeks I thought I had left to do them in. Plus some time for testing and all that good stuff. It worked out that I needed to get 2 lessons done per week. (Pretty much regardless of which class.) That's not bad, that's actually worse than I've been averaging, so it'd be pretty easy. But then I was looking through part of one of the syllabi trying to find something about the exams, (I'm waiting and mostly ready to take one in each class currently.) when I found a line saying that I needed to take my final exams 4 weeks before I wanted to have my final grades. So I did a new calculation. I have to have my final grades turned in to UAF by the 16th of December. Four weeks before that is the 18th of November. I have to my last lessons turned in about 2 weeks before that to have any hope of actually being able to take the tests by the 18th. So that means I have to have all of the lessons, plus all other tests, done by the 4th of November. That means I have approximately 3 and a half weeks from today to finish 13 and a half lessons, 10 of which are in one class. And I'm not allowed to turn in any more than 3 lessons per class per week. Well... now what my mother is saying (or will say when she reads this), is that it's feasible, "now why aren't you working on it right this minute instead of blogging about it?!?" Well, I guess I'm trying to set in stone a few dates. If they're on here, I can't ignore them so easily. So here's my messy timeline:

*3 lessons per week in Cost Accounting, starting this week (Already did one, so 2 more this week and 3 each week after until they're done.)
*1 or more lessons per week in Governmental Accounting, starting this week (Already half way through one, will finish and start on next this week.)
*Midterms (1 in Gov. Accting, and 2 in Cost Accting) taken as soon as they show up.
*All lessons mailed on or before November 4th.
*Spend the next 2 weeks hounding them to send me my finals and studying for them.
*Take both finals by November 18th or sooner.
*Request final transcripts sent to UAF and hound them until they are there.

I guess the good thing in all this is that while I'll be swamped for the next month or so, I won't have to deal with it at all (except the hounding part) after that. Which is particularly good since I'll have a paper to do and lots of studying for my regular classes.

Oh, and I added more class time slots on my weekly schedule to set aside specific time to work on these distance classes. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 2 p.m. until 3:30 p.m. is from now one dedicated to distance classes until they are done.

Alright, now I'm off to my Advanced Accounting class.

RPG Class Test

Some of you will be shocked I did this, others will be worried. I just like that I'm a wizard. ;)

Wizard 29% Combativeness, 13% Sneakiness, 82% Intellect, 30% Spirituality

Brilliant! You are a Wizard! Wizards are spells-casters who study powerful arcane magic. While Wizards tend to be pretty fragile, some of those spells can pack quite a punch. Unlike Clerics, Wizards aren’t as good at fixing people as they are at breaking them, so watch where you toss that fireball… Your most distinctive trait is your intelligence. You're probably well learned and logical, if perhaps a bit fragile.

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 10% on Combativeness You scored higher than 4% on Sneakiness You scored higher than 84% on Intellect You scored higher than 30% on Spirituality

Link: The RPG Class Test written by MFlowers on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

Announcement!!!

I am here to tell you that Bryan and I are making a new little addition to our relationship! We will be having (er... acquiring) a puppy! Still working on a name for our new little baby. Feel free to suggest!

Disclaimer: This is a joke... there is no puppy. Or if there is, Bryan is taking all responsibility for it!

Oh, and John is my boyfriend... Bryan and my relationship is... well... something else. *shrug*

Last Night

Brad is a fantastic curry cook! His thai green curry with tofu was quite possibly better than any I've ever had at any restuarant. :D He should have made about three times as much. ;)

While eating dinner, Brad and I watched the second half of "Fiddler on the Roof", which we had started a week and a half ago. That is a very good movie, although I'm a bit confused when in history the general events happened.

I also got a good bit of crocheting done between dinner and when it was time to go. I'm determined to get this afghan done someday! (Soon hopefully.)

Then Alicia (sp?) showed up and the three of us headed to go see Jessi's theater production, "Noises Off". It was excellent! It was a very confusing plot though. I won't tell too much in case someone was going to see it today, but it's basically a play about a play... sort of. Anyways, it was very good and Jessi did a fantastic job!

After I got home, I sat down and watched the rest of "Snow White" with Courtney who was watching it in the middle room. I found it quite hilarious when the prince comes waltzing in at the end like he owns the place, kisses her, then is completely unsurprised (happy, but not surprised) when she wakes up, and just waltzes off with her like he owned her. lol, I guess that's Disney simplification for you. These movies were made by men mostly, weren't they? Haha, on well, I love Disney movies anyways.

Well, I've got a list of things to do today... I guess now's when I've got to get hacking at them.

No motivation...

I've successfully managed to accomplish nothing today! Oh well. That generally just means I'll be working like crazy to get things done tomorrow and Monday.

In a little bit I'm going to head up to Brad's apartment and see if he's as good of a curry cook as he tells me. ;) (I have no doubts.) Then we are off to go see Jessi's show, Noises Off.

Anyways, I don't have much to say right now, so I'll end this here.

Ice Breaking Pictures, as promised!

Ice breaking in a canoe!!! This was definitely a first for myself and Matt. It was fun trying to get the paddle in the water sometimes. :-D 

Matt keeping the canoe going in a straight line, more or less. (He did a better job then I did!) 

Beaver Dam on the Noyes Slough - It's hard to tell in this picture, but the difference between the water level on either side was around 2 feet! 

Hehehe...

You will be famous for being a Poker Star You have incredible intuition, and although you don’t desire fame or fortune you will eventually get both. Take this quiz at QuizGalaxy.com

What I Really Want...

You know what I really want? I want a system where I can have a tablet of some sort (not too heavy or large) that will allow me to sit comfortably somewhere with my school books laid around me and I can "write" with a pen-like object. This pen-like object would work both as a pen and a mouse and would interface perfectly with Microsoft Excel. I would be able to write numbers into cells, arrange things exactly the way I want, draw borders, drag things, anything I might want to do while working out a homework problem in Excel. I would have to have all the functions and capabilities that I traditionally have in Excel (or more would always be nice), but in my hand in a pen form working on a tablet. Now of course Excel isn't the only program this would have to interface with, but seeing as I'm doing my Advanced Accounting hw right now (consolidations and the works), that's what I'm most interested at the moment.

If this exists as such, please let me know! And then get it for me as either an early birthday or christmas present. :D Thanks!

New Look!!!

I've got a new blog!

Don't worry though, my old blog is still available and can be accessed by clicking on the "Pre-October 2005" link under Archives, or by clicking this link.

For anyone who doesn't access my blog through my website,
1. you should! and
2. the new web address is salmonamanwich-blog.blogspot.com.

Please let me know what you think of my new layout!