15 minutes and I am out of here!!!

Just wanted to share my last 15 minutes at the Turning Point with everyone. Have a good one. I know I will!!!

I'm smitten :)

As of 9:00 this morning, I have 8 hours left of work at the Turning Point. Man, that is a crazy feeling!! Well, I am completely smitten. I am trying to take things slow with Bryan and I think becuase of both our crazy schedules, that is working out well. But, he is just so sweet and always says the perfect things. We hung out a bit yesterday and talked on the phone for quite a while. We are definitley getting together on Saturday. I am excited. He also invited me to one of his best friend's wedding. How sweet is that? Anyway, we all know that talk is cheap, but it is so nice to hear someone say such nice things about me.

Well, 2 more days of class for the summer, that is a great feeling. The new roommate thing is working out great. I hope to get most of my stuff unpacked this weekend. It will be nice to actually be able to move around in my room and once I get all my shit out of the living area, we can start setting up our nook. :) Jay is coming into town this weekend also. And on a very exciting note, my internet is getting set up at the new apartment on Friday morning. Yeah, I dont like not having internet at home. I think if I was completely broke, the last thing I would get rid of is my computer and internet connection. I love it!! Well, I have much work to do today, so I am off to get started.

Wow, I have a job!!!!!!!!!!

Oh my god, right before that last post, I talked with one of the interns here and she told me that the collin county children's advcacy center (CAC) is hiring case aides right now. So, I gave my old supervisor (from my internship last semester) a call and left her a really sweet message. Well, she calls me back almost instantly and says that she was looking at a bunch of resumes for this position and she does not like any of them. She said my call made her day and if i want the job, it is mine. So, I said YES!!!! The job basically entails driving the CAC van to pick up kids and bring them back to the center for their supervised visits. How great is that? It is up to 25 hours a week at $10/hr. It seems that I start on Monday at 9:00. Goodness, so much for being unemployed. Well, at least I have Friday off. :) It is amazing to me how life just sort of works itself out. Wish me luck!!

damn, I will miss those potluck luncheons!!

I am so full that all I want to do is go into one of the group session rooms in the back and sleep on one of the fluffy couches. But, alas, I guess I have some work to do since everything has to be done by tommorrow (my last day, woo hoo!!) well, the potluck was wonderful. Good food, good conversation. I did not cry, yeah for me. I got a pretty glass heart shaped jewelry box engraved with "In appreciation to Nada Elias, The Turning Point, 2003" How sweet is that? Everyone wrote really sweet goodbyes in the card. We all know how bad I am at goodbyes, so I am really proud of myself for not crying. :) Also, Jenn's mom made the most amazing coconut cream cake. It was to die for great. Between the cake today, pizza last night and all the other bad food i have been eating lately, this whole diet thing is not going to work to well. oh well, enjoy life now is what i have always said. On the bright side, once things settle down for Leslie and I, we are going to start working out together, so we will be able to keep each other motivated. :)

Also, I have a big brown couch I dont want anymore, so if you know of anyone that needs a couch, please let me know.

I cant believe that in 1.5 days i will have no commitments except school. School is actually almost done for the summer also. I have tonight and then Monday and Wednesday of next week and then I have a two week break before the Fall semester starts. I cant remember the last time that I was not working. It is a good feeling. I think I am going to be a student and stay unemployed forever. :)

Another day begins

So, yesterday after work was as miserable as I anticipated it would be. There were some perks to the evening, but I have also decided that I am never moving again. I will live in Plano, TX for the rest of my life. Just kidding. :) I went to my old place right after work and loaded my computer and desk into my dad's car and took it to my new place. My back is killing me. I feel like an old lady. Anyway, for dinner Leslie and I ordered some pizza from the Pizza Guy (best damn pizza ever). It was mmmmm good. Another perk to having a roommate is that I can order pizza and not worry about what I am going to do with a whole pizza. :) Will came over for a bit to check out the new place and say goodbye before his 2 week roadtrip. Will, I hope you have a blast!!! Around 8:30, i finally mustered up enough strength to head to my old place to clean it up. This was quite a task, the place was so nasty. I didnt get back home till about 10:00. I took a LONG shower and then Leslie and I watched Legally Blond. Such a cute movie. Anyway, I got a nice wake up call this morning from Bryan. It was nice to talk to him in the morning. Well, I am impatiently awaiting the luncheon this afternoon. I fear there might be some crying. As much as I am ready to leave work, I do have a lot of attachments to this place. I cannot wait till Thursday at 5:00!!

Two things

First off, sometimes I hate being so busy. I was invited out for sushi (mmmm!!) tonight by one bud and then also invited to the Velvet Hookah (I could use some hookahing) by another bud and I cant make either because I am so damn tired because I am always so damn busy. This sucks. Anyway, I guess there will be other times to hang out and I can look forward to those days. Thanks Deb and Nick, sorry I cant make it tonight. have fun!!

Second, as of 5:00 today, I have 2 days, 16 hours, 960 minutes, and 57600 seconds left of work at the Turning Point. Yeah for that!!

I'm out!

Busy and exhuasted is never a good combination

Sorry it took me a while to write today, I am totally pooped. I think I am always trying to do a million things at once and I might have finally worn myself out. Anyway, class was all good last night. I turned in my paper on clinical depression, hopefully it was good. Our professor is not so good at teaching. He knows the subject really well, but he sucks at teaching others about it. We finished class at about 7:30, but then I spent much time teaching others in the class how to calculate all the statistical tests that he tried to teach us. It is a research class, so we have to use some special computer programs. You know me and computers. Jay, you thought you were a nerd, check me out. Anyway, after the computer program lesson, I headed out to the library to drop off my books and catch up with Bryan. We talked for a while. It was nice. He was also very tired. It is kind of a catch 22 with us. We are both totally interested and we are both totally happy that we can date someone that is as busy as we are, but then again we are not finding time to hang out. Whenever we do have some time, we are both too tired. Anyway, we are going to try to get together for a bit after class on Wednesday and then actually go out together on Saturday. Hopefully it works out. I really like this guy and he certainly seems interested. Anyway, then I headed home to hang out with my new roommate. It was cool. I walked in the door and Leslie asked me how my day was. How sweet is that? It was nice to come home to a friendly face. well, I crashed out at about 11, my body is totally telling me to just sit and relax, but alas I cannot.

I had a lot to do at work today. I am trying to train the woman that will take my position. It is hard to sum up my job in a few hours. There is a lot to teach her. But, she seems to be picking up on it very quickly so that is good. We are having a goodbye luncheon at work tommorrow for me and a few other people that are leaving. I am excited, the food is always so good at these luncheons. mmmmm.

Thanks to Chris, I learned all about what a router is today. It seems that Leslie and I can get one cable internet connection and purchase a router for a mere $15 and just route my connection to Leslie's computer and then we can split the bill. how great is that? I love technology.

Tonight, there is more moving to be done. I am not sure if my body can handle it, but we will see. I have to move my computer and my desk, but fortunatley my dad is going to help me. Then, I have to clean my old apartment, which is very nasty right now. I am not looking forward to this evening. Anyway, after tonight, the move will be complete and all I have to worry about is unpacking. Damn, did I mention I am tired. :) For once in my life, i wish I wasnt so damn independent. I would love for someone to help me out with all the shit i have to do tonight, but you know me, I can handle everything on my own. :) Well, I am off to get a bit more done here at work. Have a good one.

I have a new pretty green pillow!!

Working in non profit has many downfalls, but every now and then, there is a little pick me up. Today, one of our amazing board members and volunteers brought in some pretty pillows (one for each staff member). How sweet is that? It seems that she gets free samples of stuff and she brought these pillow samples in for us. How nice.

Also, I want to send a big congrats out to a new friend of mine, Sam, who got a job teaching art to high school students in Katy, TX. Congrats, Sam!!!! I know you will totally rock. The kids are going to love you and I am sure you will be able to teach them all they ever wanted to know about art. I wish you the best of luck.

Just want to let everyone know that I never have to attend another staff meeting (which are often very excrutiatingly horrible) at the Turning Point again. YEAH!!!

I am sore in places I didn't even know I could be sore :)

This was a weekend full of packing, moving, and studying. None of those things sound very fun, but on the contrary, it was actually a great weekend. Friday after leaving work early, I went home and did some more packing. Then, the fam came over and I had only intended to move a few things on friday, but my dad was on a mission, so we packed and moved for about 4 hours. It was exhausting. Then, I laid on the couch for a bit to try and rest and Bryan calls. It seems that both of us were exhausted, but neither wanted to cancel the date, so it was kind of a mutual thing. We were just both too tired to be any good company, so we decided to wait till next weekend. Thank goodness because I was pooped. Friday evening ended up being a blast anyway. I went to Z's cafe with Scott and Denise for a tasty chicken shwarma sandwich, some hummos and fatoosh. Mmmmmm. then, we headed to Obzeet where I had the pleasure of meeting Denise's friend Arnan (sp?). He was awesome, I loved him. Then the four of us went back to my old apartment for one last hookah smoking session. It was a nice goodbye to the end of my no roommate era. It was nice while it lasted, but I am totally pumped about living with Leslie. Friday night was a blast!!

Saturday, I woke up super early to get started on more packing before my friends came over. Then, they arrived and we packed and moved for a few hours. Thank you so much to Deb (aka She-Ra), Mike, Ted, and of course my dad. You all rock!!! After the moving, there was the traditional pizza and beer to thank everyone that helped. Isn't my dad the best (he bought the pizza and I provided the Shiner) mmmmm. There is nothing like a cold Shiner after hours of moving in the freakin' Texas heat. Well, my new roommate did not arrive until about 10 in the pm. So, I helped her move all her stuff in and then we gave our new apartment a proper house warming. Obviously by this time, I am completely exhausted and every muscle in my body aches, but life continues and another day begins.

Sunday, I wake up super early again to head to my old apartment where my computer is still set up (I can't live without internet) to finish my paper on clinical depression. So, I work on that for most of the morning, then head out to lunch with Deb and Ed, then off to the library to record a 15 minute therapy session for one of my classes. This was quite an assignment, very interesting, but also very time consuming. That is followed by dinner with the fam, then back to the apartment to try and clean it up a bit. So, Leslie and I spend much time shifting couches around to see how we want to set it all up. Finally we decide on a pimp set up. Then, we head to the kitchen to get that all set up. We had a good time fixing up the place. We still have much unpacking to do, but it is looking good thus far. I am really excited about the soon to be nook area. It will be like the Velvet Hookah in Plano instead of Deep Ellum. :)

Well, I only have 2 weeks left of class and really only one major project left. I only have 4 days of work left. Things are looking good. I still need to find another job. Jay is coming into town this weekend. YEAH!! I also hope to see Bryan this weekend. If not this weekend, then hopefully at least in the 2 week break we have between semesters. I think this is the first time in my life that I have tried to date someone that could quite possibly be as busy as I am. :) well, I am off to start my Monday (last staff meeting at the Turning Point in 10 minutes). Have a great one!!!

The moving has finally begun!!!

So, I got my oil changed last night. The guy that worked on my precious little Chewbacca Jr. was way cool. Anyway, after that, my sis and I went back to my place and started packing and moving. Since I seem to think I can do anything, i carried this big ol' box of books down my stairs and then back up the stairs to the new apartment. I am so silly. I should've just waited for someone to help me with it because now my bad knee is already acting up. Oh well, I will make it. My mom and sis are coming over today after I leave work at 11:30 (woo hoo!) to help with more packing. Then, the moving with all my awesome buds starts tommorrow morning at 11:00. There will be a slight break tonight for my evening of fun with Bryan. Plans have actually changed for tonight. I never thought it could happen, but it seems that Bryan drives a car older than mine. :) Anyway, his car won't start, so we were going to just scrap the evening and try next weekend, but he was so intent on seeing me and that was way flattering. Since I am such a softie, I am driving to Fort Worth and we are going to try this Lebanese restaurant I have always wanted to go to, but never have since it is in Fort Worth. We are going to Byblos, they have a hookah bar there also. YEAH!!! Anyway, I am off to do a bit of work before I take off to continue the packing fiasco. I hope you all have a great weekend!!!

I am officially frustrated!!!

So, I fully understand that I could not function in this world without my cell phone since I am never really at home and I am always driving around on some highway or another, but that does not mean that I have to like it. I just got off the phone with Sprint, my cell phone provider, and all I wanted to do was change my address. Instead the guy changed my address and then told me that I could change my plan for no extra charge to have my unlimited minutes start at 8pm instead of 9pm (when they currently start). Of course, I think this is a great idea so I say cool. He then sends me to an automated system that tells me I have to start a new year contract if i want this deal, so I hang up. I do not want to start a new contract and the guy never told me i would have to. Grrrr. So, i call back to make sure the new contract did not go into effect and the lady tells me it did. I tell her that I do not want her stinkin' 8:00pm deal, i just want it back to normal because I am not sure I am staying with Sprint when my contract is up. I told her that the other guy never told me it would start a new contract, so she puts me on hold for about a half hour (oh my god) and then tells me it is finally back to normal. I ask her if there is any way i can go back to the 8:00pm deal I had before i upgraded my contract and she said if I had told her that earlier, yes, but not now. What the hell does that mean?!!! Anyway, my contract with Sprint is up in Januray and I can't wait. Well, i do have a personal attachment to my cell phone. I cant remember a time in the last several years it hasnt been right by my side, so I guess a half hour of dealing with stupid people is not so bad. Anyway, i am off to get my oil changed. Have a great day.

Stuff

Having a pet is quite a task. One of my friends and co-workers is stuck at home right now trying to get her chinchilla out from a little crevice. This chinchilla seems determined not to come out and Susie cannot leave until she does. Susie has been at it with this chinchilla for a few hours and she is actually late to work because of it. How crazy is that? But, i guess we love those pets anyway.

So, i felt like a completely horrible person yesterday becuase I worked on schoolwork for most of my day at work. How bad is that? I usually have a very high work ethic, but yesterday all of that flew out the window. I think it is that we have hired someone new for my job, she seems really great. I am all ready to train her, I am all ready for the training I have to do in August (yeah, I dont really think I will ever fully leave the Turning Point) and I am all ready to just turn things over, so I really dont have much to do. Since, I do have much schoolwork due next week, I thought why not work on it? Anyway, I spent most of the day yesterday and probably part of the day today working on my paper on clinical depression. A very depressing topic, might I add. Anyway, I have learned a lot about the topic, it is very interesting. Studies sponsored by the National Institute of Mental Health estimate that 6% of 9- to 17-year-olds in the U.S. and almost 10% of American adults, or about 19 million people age 18 and older, experience some form of depression every year. Oh my god, 19 million people in the U.S. That is crazy. Also, other studies show that in more than 4 out of 5 cases of depression, the treatments (like antidepressants or cognitive therapy) will alleviate symptoms, but less than half of all people with depression seek the help they need. Often these people, and those around them, fail to realize that they have an illness. Most people think they will be seen as weak if they ask for help. Also, most people dont realize that clinical depression is just simply a chemical imbalance between the neruotransmitters in the brain. Though the stats are bleak, if people could reach out and ask for help, it is out there. My paper has dealt mostly with the use of cognitive therapy as a treatment for depression. I think antidepressants help allievate symptoms at first, but the effects are too short term. I think a combination of antidepressants and cognitive therapy has been proven as one of the most effective ways to treat clinical depression. Anyway, just thought I would pass all that along since i spent about 7 hours learning it all yesterday. :)

Also, Will called last night, he is having much fun in Canada. He went to hang out in his natural habitat yesterday (with the gays :) That comment was for you, William. He said the city of London, where he is staying, is very beautiful. He also promised me a call from Niagra Falls. Have fun, Will!!

I know you are all waiting to hear about this crazy love life of mine, so here it goes. Short and sweet, I dont want to give away too much. :) Bryan (UTA library boy) seems really great. We have been emailing and he called last night just to chat for a bit. He seems very interested, which is always nice. We are going out on Friday, I get to make the plans. I am thinking Cafe Brazil followed by the Velvet Hookah (he has never been, but has wanted to go since it opened). Sounds like a great evening to me, so I will see what he has to say about it. Anyway, it is going good thus far, but I have told myself not to get my hopes up. I hope to just take it easy and let whatever happens happen. Well, I am off to learn more about clinical depression. Have a great day!!!

Slurpees are good!!!

Thought I would let everyone know that I saw a man dressed up as a big slurpee saluting passing cars on the way to class today. I also bought myself a new toy (don't think kinky here, think illegal, but shouldn't be) on my way home from class today. Also, before you comment on the previous statement, remember I have family that read this blog. :) Much peace and love.

We are so lucky to have Bush as our president

Please note that the above statement is drenched in sarcasm.

It seems that Bush's pro-marriage bill is headed for approval in Congress despite opposition from both the political left and right. It seems that there has been a debate for the last year and half as Congress works to renew its landmark 1996 welfare overhaul. The renewal gives lawmakers and the White House an opportunity to make changes in the program and Bush has made promoting marriage one of the centerpieces of his plan. The House has already passed its welfare legislation, which includes the marriage initiative. They are just waiting on Congress to pass it.

Learn more about the proposed legislation.

Learn more about NOW (National Organization for Women) and how they responded to this proposed legislation.

Bush says, "Many are learning that it is more rewarding to be a responsible citizen than a welfare client. It is better to be a breadwinner, respected by your family." He says, "Work is the pathway to independence and self-respect."

Damn Bush, you are so intelligent. Did you come up with that on your own? I bet all the people on welfare choose to be on welfare. They must think to themselves, I would rather be on welfare, living in poverty, working my ass off, and raising children all on my own instead of being a responsible citizen. It must be a great idea to promote low income couples to get married, that sounds like the solution to our welfare problem. Of course, all is solved when there is a mom and dad united in the bonds of marriage and baby john and baby sue. Making a family does not solve many problems especially when domestic violence is so rampant among low income couples. The choice for many single moms on welfare is between getting abused everyday or being on welfare. That is some choice. Anyway, I cant believe that half of America voted this guy into office. Well, just something for you all to chew on. Any opinions?

My new apartment

So, I went to turn off the AC this morning at my new apartment since Leslie (my new roommate) is not moving up here till Saturday. No reason to waste energy and money. :) The apartment looks really great. I am so excited about moving in to a new place and having a roommate again. (May-Ling, please notice that I cannot bring myself to use the term roomie to describe Leslie, that term is officially yours for the rest of my life :) So, I am thinking that I might paint my room in the new place. Now, mind you, I am not the crafty kind of woman you might imagine me to be :), so this is quite a task for me. I am thinking maybe a light blue, but I have also thought about maybe just painting one wall a very deep red. I am not sure, any thougts would be much appreciated. I talked to my little sis, who is a very crafty girl and she said she would help me if i did decide to paint. That relieved some of the stress. I think it would be really great to try something new. I have always just dealt with the color of the wall I am given when i move in somewhere. Anyway, we will see, but I am really excited about the new place. This might actually call for another housewarming party!!! You know me, any reason to throw a party.

Oh yeah, I just talked to my sis and it seems that the state believes she is a good enough driver to give her that flashy piece of paper that she needs to drive on her own. She ran some errands today all on her own. Go Nadia!! I cant wait for you to chaufere me around. Now, you can come visit at my place whenever you want. Yeah, I see many fun times ahead. Congrats, little sis. As for everyone else, if she drives at all like I did when I was 16 (I drove Chris's car right up a curb :), then you better get off the roads. Just teasing, Nadia, I know you are a kick ass driver.

First dates are fun!!

Let's just leave this post at I had a brilliant evening with a great guy. :)

Oh yeah, I still haven't packed one single thing yet and I move on Saturday. Also, still no job and I leave my current one on July 31. Oh well, I guess all will work out in due time. Have a great one!!

Skid Row rocked the house!!!

So, Sunday started off with some Nada time at my apartment. I just needed some down time. Then, I headed off to see my family and tell them all about the wedding and celebrate my mom and dad's 29th anniversary. Wow, that is a long time. My brother, sister and I bought them a smoothie pro and this cool party set my mom wanted. It was nice to talk to them. Then, off to Cafe Brazil for dinner with Brandi, Steven and Brett. Mmmm, Cafe Brazil has good food. Then, off to rock with Skid Row, Vince Neil and Poison. The concert was such a great time. It was really hot when we first got there. We actually got there very early because Nada is not so smart and she thought the concert started at 5:30, but it seems that drs stands for doors. That makes sense now. Well, the doors opened at 5:30 and we were there at 5:20. So, we just hung out on the lawn and tanned for an hour and half. The concert started right at 7 with Skid Row. Man, they rocked. God, i love 80's rock. I felt like I was a teen again rockin out to Skid Row. Vince Neil was allright, i was never really into Motley Crue, so I wasnt totally pumped about that. Poison also rocked out. When they sang, "Give me Something to Believe In", it was so amazing. The concert was really a good time. It was so great to be there with brandi and Steven because they are both totally into 80's rock, too. Steven and I were rockin hard the whole time. I have never seen such an eclectic group of people at a concert. It was so great!!!! Also, Brandi paid for my ticket to the concert for my birthday present. It seems like the birthday celebration is still going. :) Thanks, B.

One more thing, UTA library boy (let's call him Bryan from now on) called on Saturday night, but i was too tired to answer. He left a very sweet message and I called him back last night after the concert. He made much fun of me for going to see Poison and Skid Row and then we decided to meet tonight after my class. :) I am not sure what we are doing yet, but I sure am looking forward to getting to know him better. I hope to take it slower this time than I have in the past and I think the fact that he lives in Fort Worth will help me take it slower. I will keep you all posted on this crazy love life I have.

Dancing Queen

First off, only 8.5 days of work left!!!! woo hoo!!! I am really pumped about moving on and becoming a full time student again. Yeah, part time work and full time school sounds a lot nicer to me than the craziness I have been putting myself through these past 2 years. :) Good times ahead.

Now, on to the crazy fun weekend I just ended. So, Thursday consisted of a kick ass bachlorette party. We went to dinner at Gloria's (mmm, great food) and then headed out to Club Clearview for a night of continued dancing with lots of beautiful men. Wonderful fun. Have I mentioned I love to dance? It really was a fabulous time and seeing Natalie all prettied up and having a fantastic time out on the town made it all the better. Then, we headed back to Denise's place for some girls fun. It was a great evening.

Friday morning, we got all prettied up again and headed to the bridal tea. It was a very unique experience for me. I actually wore a tea party hat. :) We drank tea and ate mini quiches on beatiful china. It was so cool. Natalie made a speech at the end that started the tears flowing for me. It was very rude of her to make me cry so early in the weekend. :) Then, we headed out to get our manicure and pedicure on. Well, I first chose a pretty purple with sparkles in it, but then with the help of Nat and Denise, I settled on a french manicure and red for the pedicure. I dont think I will do this whole french manicure thing again, but it was nice for a wedding. :) Now, I am not the kind of woman that takes time out of her life to pamper, but let me tell you, the spa manicure and pedicure was wonderful. Someone did my nails for me while I sat in a chair that massaged my back. It was wonderful!! I wish I could afford to do it more often. Oh well, if I do it every now and then, it will make it that much nicer. :) After all that was said and done, we headed out to the mall to purchase a final few things for Nat's amazing day. I actually bought a few things myself, it was nice. Then, off to the church for the rehearsal (or as Zaidun calls it, the tryout :) that went well, the coordinator was a little bit on the control freak side, but that is what made the wedding the next day run so smoothly. :) then off to Nat's parents house for some excellent mexican food and some wonderful company. The dinner was a very fun evening, which consisted of great food, much shiner, good conversation and a pinata. What more could you ask for? Then, everyone said their goodbyes, which for me consisted of more crying. Man, i am such a sap. Well, all the women headed back over to Tricia's (where the tea was held) to crash out. Sara and I made a quick pit stop to put some air in her car tire and along the way we had a nice heartfelt conversation. Thanks, Sara, it helped.

On to the much anticipated wedding day. We were all up bright and early, made ourselves look very pretty and headed to the church at 9:00. All the way singing, "we're going to the chapel and we're gonna get married". Ok, maybe I was the only one singing that, but i thought it was funny. :) well, we hung out in the bride's room for a while helping get everything all set up. Then, Denise and I attempted to complete our assigned task of handing out programs and making sure everyone signs the guestbook. If I do say so myself, I think we did a pretty good job. Pat yourself on the back, Denise. :) then, the wedding began. So, the tears started flowing again. I think I cried through most of the wedding. It was so beautiful to see two people I love so much share their love for each other with all the people they love. Too much love for my poor sappy self. :) Then, off to the reception, which was much fun. There was much dancing. Nat even played "I will Survive" for me. It was a good time. There were plenty of occasions for crying at the reception also. While Sam (one of the best men) gave his toast, he started to cry, then Mark started to cry, then Denise and Nada started to sob. I believe I was actually making sobbing noises at this time. I am just so happy to see the life that Mark and Nat have created for themselves. It is so beautiful. Ok, if I dont end this, I think I will start crying again. Anyway, the reception was great. One of the best parts of the wedding and reception was that I was able to have William there through it all. Will, you are always there for me when I need you and I love you for that. Unconditional love is hard to find nowadays, thank you. so, after the reception, Mark and Nat headed off for an evening full of newlywed fun, we all made plans to see each other that evening, but when I got home, I didnt move from about 6 till the next morning. I was completely exhausted from a weekend of amazingly good times. One more thing, Denise, thanks for the moral support this weekend. you rock!!!

This weekend was all I could have imagined it would be and more!!

couple of quick things to share

I am getting a new computer!!! woo hoo!! A good friend of mine (Jason) bought a new computer and has been kind enough to give me his old one (which is much better than the computer I currently have). Thanks, Jason!!!! I can't wait, my computer is still going, but it is pretty old, it will be nice to have a new computer especially since I will be doing more schoolwork next year since I will be going to school full time. Yeah for fast computers. I am such a nerd.

I am signing my apartment lease today after work right before I get all prettied up to head to Denise's for the beginning of a spectacular weekend. I am so excited about getting a new place with such a cool girl (I am speaking of Leslie, of course). I think it will be great to have a roommate again. I have not packed a single thing yet, but I am sure I will get it done (hopefully). :)

Also, Jason is planning on coming into town from about August 1 through 10, so anyone who wants to plan something fantastic and exciting to do, let me know!! I see a few trips to the Velvet Hookah in early August. :)

Researching clinical and bipolar depression is not so fun. I am learning a lot of information, but it is not the most uplifting topic. :) It is really interesting how many gender differences research has found when dealing with depression. Women are much more likely than men to seek help for their depressive symptoms. Men tend to feel weak when they choose to seek help, but in my opinion it takes more courage and strength to seek help than it does to pretend there is no problem. Men who choose not to seek help also tend to turn to drug and alcohol abuse to cover up the problem of depression. Anyway, it has been a very interesting topic to research. It is really neat to see how much empirical research actually supports these gender differences. It amazes me how different men and women are socialized in this sociey. Anyway, I will jump right off my soap box again. :) As I get more into the paper, I will let you know more of what I have learned.

Also, I got a 90% on a project I turned in a few weeks ago in my Advanced Micro (counseling skills) class. Getting good grades makes me feel so much better than when I used to get not so good grades as an undergrad. :)

Also, I took a crisis call this morning at work and it is so frustrating to me about all this crazy jurisdiction stuff. Like, if someone is raped in dallas, they cannot come to a collin county hospital for the rape exam, they have to go to parkland. Also, we are not allowed to meet someone at the hospital unless it is a collin county hospital. So, this woman calls and is very upset, I talk to her for quite a while and she decides that she does want to get the exam done. so, i tell her that I can meet her at the hospital and help her through the process and then she tells me the assualt happened in Dallas. So, I have to tell her that I can no longer meet her there. So, I have supported this woman and then I have to tell her I cant help her any further. I gave her our hotline number and she does want to set up an appointment with one of our counselors, but it is very frustrating to not be able to follow through. Anyway, I hope she is doing all right and that she gets the help she needs. I guess that is all I can do.

Anyway, on a happier note, I am totally pumped about the bachlorette party tonight followed by much festivites tommorrow and then the much anticipate wedding of Mark and Natalie. I need to find some waterproof mascara so I dont look like a raccoon after the wedding since I will crying the whole time. i wish you both (Mark and Natalie) the most amazing weekend of your lives.

I think that is it for now. Have a great weekend everyone!!

Who would've thought?

Who would've thought I would meet a man at the UTA library of all places? Well, I did. :) So, I leave class early today (about 7:45) because I have to go to the campus library to get some books on clinical depression for a paper I am writing. I have only been to the UTA library one other time, I usually do all my research online. Anyway, I'm walking through campus and thinking to myself how nice it is to be on campus again among big brick buildings and pretty green planters. I begin much reminiscing in my mind about life at UT. i usually just drive to the social work building and leave directly from there, so I never spend any time on campus. Anyway, I get to the library and I am overwhelmed, I have not been in a university library in quite a while. So, I find a computer and look up some books and head up to the 5th floor to locate the books I need. I am walking through rows and rows of books. Wonderful feeling. I finally find my section and there are about 10,000 books on clinical depression, so I start sifting through them. Now, I am the only person for miles of books and all of a sudden up walks a nice man. He walks past me and starts perusing some books dealing with Alzheimer's disease for a paper he is writing. He asks me what my major is, i tell him i am a grad student in social work. He looks quite impressed (another good feeling). I ask him his major, he says neuroscience. i say, one of my best friends (I am speaking of William now) is a neuroscience major at UTD. So, we begin to talk. he actually works at Women's Haven (a battered women's shelter). how crazy is that? Anyway, I made the assumption that he was too young for me when he told me he was an undergrad, but i soon find out he took 2 years off to travel in europe :) and he is acutally 26. Wow!! Anyway, we just stood there and talked for about an hour about everything from traveling, politics, school, future career plans, even marriage since I brought up the wedding I am attending this weekend. It was so crazy. Anyway, we exchanged numbers and we will see what comes of it. I told him that I am very busy this weekend and next because of the wedding and then moving and he seemed a bit disappionted. But, as we were leaving, he told me he was so happy that he came to look for his books right now because that way he had a chance to meet me. How sweet is that? :) the only down side is that he lives in Fort Worth. Even if nothing happens with this nice guy, getting two phone numbers in one week is mighty flattering. The single life is not so bad. :) Well, i need to get my rest if I am going to party like a crazy girl tommorrow night. Yeah for bachlorette parties!!! Anyway, tommorrow starts the craziness of this wedding weekend. I am so excited. Fun times ahead!

How 80's hair band music can lift spirits

So this morning, I was feeling very blah. I feel like I havent had much time to myself lately and it is really wearing on me. I am also not looking forward to class tonight. But, during lunch, I listened to some Poison and Skid Row while cruising around and I feel like a new person now. All I have to say is Unskinny Bop, Every Rose has it Thorn, 18 and Life, Youth Gone Wild!! I am so excited about the concert this Sunday. It is going to be such a good time. Reminicing about the 80's is something I can spend hours doing. :)

I have a confession

I want to learn how to work on cars. Ok, I said it. Wow, that is a weight off my shoulders. I was just talking with one of my good friends, Chris (a major car guy), and we got on the topic of cars becasue of my race last night. The more we talked the more I felt comfortable, so I finally told him that I have always wanted to learn how to work on cars and just never had the courage to ask him to teach me. I have known Chris since I was 8 or 9 years old or something like that and I never thought it was ok to ask him to teach me. I always figured it was a guy bonding time and I didnt want to intrude on that. I also feel somewhat intimidated when car guys are talking about a bunch of car stuff i dont know about. I dont even know how to drive a stick shift because i never had the courage to allow someone to teach me. I can say that I know how to change a flat, that is a step in the right direction. Anyway, Chris is unforunatley moving to Florida for a job he will love, so he cannot teach me right now. But he promised that the next time we have some time and we are in the same city, I can learn all about wrenching cars. I am so excited. Anyway, it feels so good to get this out in the open. I feel like I should be at a Cars Anonymous meeting. :) Have a good one.

Chewbacca Jr.

Where would I be today without my little green Altima (aka Chewbacca Jr.)? so, I get out of class early today, yeah for that. I am hauling ass down I-30 and then these 3 guys in an old Honda Accord start playing with me, so of course I play back. We are cruising down 30 at about a 100 weaving in and out of lanes (like those people that I often get angry at because it is unsafe). To our surprise there is a pig hanging out on the left. We both slam on our brakes and take the next exit. We pull into a gas station and talk for a bit (the driver gave me his number, but i dont think i am going to call, but it is flattering none the less). long story short, we had much fun racing and neither one of us got a ticket. Sounds great to me. I dont think I am ever trading this car in. It has over 120.000 miles on it and it is still chugging along and it just blends right in allowing me to speed my ass off. :) it has been so good to me. overall, it was a great drive home from arlington tonight.

On a quick side note, I got a 96.5% on my midterm from last week! After a long weekend of partying and hanging with buds, I can still pull a 96.5% (can't forget that .5%, that makes all the difference :) on a midterm. That rocks!!

After the Howard Dean rally last night, Will, Ted and I made a quick stop in the gay ghetto (Oak Lawn) to pick up a greeting card. They have a crazy cool store that sells some kick ass cards. I was in heaven. I love cards. Well, i bought one that had an excellent quote on the front. It says "peace. it does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. it means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart." (unknown author). During high school and early college, i was having many troubles in my life and a good friend of mine (Jason :) wished for me peace of mind and heart and I wanted to feel peace so much, but I couldnt. when i read this quote, it really hit home with me because now i feel at peace most of the time. Even through thoughts of work, school, jobs, family, friends, mutual friends, lovers, harassing phone calls, i can still feel peace. It is a great feeling.

a Sex in the City weekend :)

So, I know you have all been anxiously waiting to find out all about my weekend. Just kidding. Anyway, here it goes. Well, it all started Friday around 5:20 or so. I was totally pooped from the long week, so my plan was to go home after work and take a nap before heading out for Friday night fun. Well, that didn't work so well, so I called Will to see what he was up to and we decided to drop everything and head to the Velvet Hookah. I drove over to Will's place and we both suddenly realized were were still very tired, so we hung out at his place trying to figure out what to do. Soon, we decided to just stay in since I have a hookah and some left over Shiner from my party. so, we headed to blockbuster (corporate hell) and rented some Sex in the City episodes, headed to my place and had a blast. Denise joined us a bit later and then some of my other buds came over in the late evening. Overall it was great fun. I really enjoyed hanging with Will and Denise. Good times, good conversation, great fun. It was also a fun experience to watch Sex in the City with 4 straight guys. It was a new perspective. :)

Saturday consisted of much preperations for the upcoming wedding. YEAH!! Denise, Natalie and I worked on programs and CD covers. I learned how to emboss and I loved it!! I never thought I would say something like that. If you have never embossed before, you should definitley try it. It is pretty amazing. :) Sam Moon was also on the list of things to do for the day. It is a pretty overwhelming place, but it is also Nada's heaven since it is full of unique and funky jewelry at excellent prices. I spent Saturday evening with Susie watching more Sex in the City. I love that show. It is so right on. There was one line that Carrie (one of the main characters on the show) says that really hit home with me. Her boyfriend asked her how he could get into her heart and she responded with I have been taking care of myself for a very long time now and if I let you in and let you take care of me, what happens if you are not around? Her boyfriend says, where am i going? she says, what if you are out of town or on vacation or things between us fall apart. It was so right on for me. No matter who it is, family, friends, lovers, if you let someone in, there is always the risk you will get hurt. i have been hurt many times in the past, so it is hard for me to let others in, but once i make the decision that a person is worth letting in, i fall pretty hard. It is not good, but i guess that is what you get for being an emotional nimwit. :) So, Susie let me talk for an hour or so about next weekend and how I am so excited about everything, but that things are still a bit awkward for me. I told her that I want Mark and Natalie's wedding weekend to be PERFECT. They deserve it. Susie, I love you, thanks for listening, it helped a lot.

Sunday, I woke up at 8. oh my god, that is so early for me. So, i decided to go ahead and get up, started some laundry, did some grocery shopping, bought a new skirt and some new shoes for the rehearsal dinner. I was done with all my errands before 1, how great is that? Well, Will and I went to see Pirates of the Caribbean, but it was sold out, so we say Legally Blond 2 instead. Now, I really enoyed Legally Blond 1, but the sequel was pretty poor. The only redeeming quality of the movie was that the main theme was that one person can make a difference in this world. I do believe that, so it was cool in that apsect, but overall, not such a good movie. Then, Will, Ted and I headed to City Hall to see Howard Dean (Democratic Presedential Candidate) speak. It was a good experience. I liked what he had to say. He talked about equal rights for everyone (including womens rights and gay rights). He talked about how race and ethnicity should not separate us. He is also anti war and he talked a lot about healthcare. He said that all kids in Vermont have healthcare. I believe that if other countries can provide basic healthcare for their citizens, how come we can't? I am not sure about the whole healthcare issue, i need to do some more research, but Will, Ted and I talked about it last night and they gave me some new ideas to chew on. Let me know if you have any ideas about why we cant supply basic healthcare to our citizens? Anyway, i liked what Dean had to say. He also said a quote that i thought was really great. He said that one of his coworkers told him to give them hell before his speech. He replied with "All I have to do is tell the truth and they will think its hell". The quote was first spoken by Truman, but i really liked it because things in our economy and politically speaking right now really are pretty bad. Anyway, off to do some more work. Have a great day.

Is it 5:00 yet?

So, I am pooped and very unmotivated at work today. I think I was able to accomplish a few major tasks today, but certainly not enough work to fill up an 8 hour day. well, it is almost 5 and it is friday, both good things. so, I really love this blog thing. It is a great way to get some of those thoughts that are always floating around in my head down on paper or (computer if you will). well, last night I hung out with my kick ass little sis. I havent been able to hang out with her in a long while, things have just been crazy busy for me. we had a good time, caught up on life. She told me how crazy my mom still is, some things never change. She also chauferred (sp?) me around all day. She just passed her drivers test. Yeah for her. Congrats, Nadia. I spend so much time in my car driving places that it was very nice to be driven around. well, we watched "I'm with Lucy". It was a cute romantic comedy. It was fun.

I am looking forward to this weekend. It is the first weekend in quite a while where I have nothing planned. I have a few options for fun tonight, we will see what happens. Tommorrow, I have to find some jewelry to match my dress for the wedding, but that is the only obligation I have. How great is that? Sunday is all free until the evening meeting with Howard Dean. Also, my family is out of town, so I really dont have any obligations at all this weekend. It is kind of nice to have an open schedule for once. I do have some serious studying to do, I have a major project that I should get started on. well, I look forward to being able to hang with friends and have some Nada time all in the same weekend. I might even get a chance to do some seriuosly needed laundry. :) well, hope you all have a great weekend.

Oh one more thing, I have a new job lead. It is at Plano Presbyterian Hospital, I will keep you all posted, just keep sending good thoughts my way for the job hunt. Thanks.

What a day!

So, I fully understand that I am one of those individuals that just keeps on going, kind of like that energizer bunny. :) Even after a full day of work and then a 3.5 hour class, I often want to go hang out with some good buds. Anyway, today I think I fully exhausted myself, which is very hard to do. After such a fun packed and busy weekend, I have been going non stop as usual and I think it caught up with me today. Well, I worked an 8 hour day that included bulk mailing (which we have already talked about) and some quarterly reports (lots of number crunching, which i hate). Then, I drove the hour and 10 minutes (record time, I havent beat it yet) to Arlington for sit through a 3.5 hour class. Class was ok, we did talk about feminist therapy, which i obviously love. I am too exahausted to discuss that now, but I will leave it for another post, maybe for tommorrow during work. :) Then, I drove to Deep Ellum to have my interview at the Velvet Hookah. So, I am pretty tired now, but i pretty myself up, drink a Dr. Pepper and head on in for the interview.

So, I meet Ehab (the interviewer), we shake hands and sit at a small table by the bar. He runs to the back to get my resume and joins me again. He then says something along the lines of: I notice from your application and resume that you are interested in a waitressing position, yet you do not have a lot of waitressing experience. I answer with yes that is true, but I am a quick learner. He then proceeds to ask me about my cooking skills (I am thinking to myself, what the hell do you need to know that for, you chauvanistic bastard), but i tell him that my cooking skills are pretty damn poor. I make a joke and say my mom's skills are great, but they have not brushed off on me yet. He then asks me about my Arabic speaking skills. I let him know that I can read and write Arabic ok and that i can carry on a conversation if I needed to. He seems happy with that. Well, then he tells me that he does not want to offer me a job that I am too good for. (Again, in my head, I am thinking, but that is what I want, I want a shit job where I dont have any responsibilities, I make some good money, and I get to meet cool people, but i obviously do not say this out loud). so, he says to me that the Velvet Hookah is just a front, they have much bigger plans in mind. he says that they are traveling to Mexico this weekend becasue Club Med is going to start selling their hookahs and tobacco. he also tells me that they are starting a clothing line called Hookah Wear. he then says that I am too educated to be a waitress and that he has always loved working with educated people. He says he would like to work me into "the company" and that there should be some job openings more suitable for me than a waitress in the next few months. Basically, the interview ended with him saying a few more times, you are too educated. oh yeah, somewhere in there he asked me about my computer skills, which i was able to brag about a bit. :) Anyway, he basically said that he would call me in about a month when they figure out what the future holds for them and their hookahs and their hookah wear.

I guess the whole experience was a mixture of flattery and frustration. It is nice to have someone tell you that you are too educated, but i really just want to have a job where I can just have fun and make some money. Just becuase I have been motivated and worked my ass off to get this schooling doesnt mean I cant be a waitress. anyway, it is kind of frustrating, almost like reverse discrimination or something. well, it has been quite a day and i am pooped. So, peace out and if anyone has any ideas of a low responsiblity job that makes good money that I am not too qualified for, please let me know. :)

You ask, Why would someone CHOOSE to bulk mail?

Before I begin, I would like to let Susie and Jenn know that none of the views expressed in this post apply to them. I love you both and I love working with you both.

Ok, people, if you have never had the wonderful opportunity to do bulk mailing for our US postal service, please count your lucky stars. Please make it one of your goals in life to never ever bulk mail! Let me fill you all in a bit on what bulk mailing is. It is a way to send out mail for much less than the regular 37 cents a letter. It is a great deal, but it is also a lot of work. So, at work, we are sending out "save the date" cards for our annual gala scheduled for October. So, our tasks (our being Susie and I (and Jenn of course when she is available) since no one else at my place of employment ever seems to do anything outside their specific job description) include stamping, labeling and sorting by zipcode almost 2000 letters. This is quite a task in my opinion. So, last week, Susie and I did the stamping and labeling. This morning at work, we actually started the bulk mail task. It is so infuriating and frustrating to be working on something that is so mindless and not actually a part of my job, while the rest of the office is milling around pretending they are busy. This is not the first time that Susie and I have been stuck doing the bulk mailing. I am so sick and tired of always being the person that does whatever no one else wants to do. I feel like I get all my work done plus half of everyone else's work, while the rest of the office is working on who knows what. I can relax since I know I only have 15 days of work left, but I do feel bad for Susie. I am sure she will have to tackle the bulk mail again in the near future. I love my job, but some things in this office really get under my skin. I have felt a whole new meaning to "go to person". I feel like I am definitley the "go to person" in this office and to put it bluntly, that sucks.

Anyway, I am off in a bit to class and then on to my interview. Send good thoughts.

Good talks with good friends :)

So, Jenn (one of my good friends and coworkers), Brandi (good friend, ex cowoker), and I went to Pei Wei's for dinner tonight. Jenn was not able to make my b-day party, so we celebrated tonight. I think the birthday celebrations are officially over as of this evening. :) Anyway, dinner was great, we had some wonderful conversation and some great food. mmmm. After dinner, Jenn and I went to see Finding Nemo, which is a great movie. It was so cute and funny. I think my favorite character was the sea turtle. He talks like I do and I think that is cool. He even says "No worries", how great is that? Well, after the movie, Jenn and I had some great conversation. The topic is as follows.

We were discussing all the ironies, confusion, and expectations for single people in today's society. It is so funny how a random stranger can ask you if you are dating anyone and this is seen as a normal question. When i went to renew my lease on my apartment, the woman at the complex asked me if i live alone in my apartment. I answered yes, i do. She immediately asked me if I was seeing anyone. I told her that i was not. She was so surprised. She even had the nerve to ask me what I am doing and why i am not dating anyone and how i can live on my own. I started to tell her that i was working full time and going to school at night and then i realized i was about to start justifying something that does not need to be justified, so i just changed the subject to the matter at hand, my lease. It was so odd to me that she did not hesitate at all to attempt to make me feel different or inferior because i am single. Fortunatley, i was able to shrug her ignorant comments off, but I believe that not everyone can do that as easily. Jenn and i were discussing that there are no guarantees in relationships. I have seen so many of my good friends get into relationships that are not healthy, but they become so codependent on their partner that they stay in those relationships. Now, i dont want to be too cynical, i have also seen some amazing relationships that i think will last forever (ex: Mark and Natalie, Scott and Denise, Sam and Sara, May-Ling and Leith and many more I am sure). But, i think so many people get lost in the expectation that they are supposed to find someone, get married, and have 2.5 kids. That is crazy to me. I think that we should attempt to build a life for ourselves that makes us happy. That means school, a career, family, great friends, whatever makes you happy. If you can build that happy life for yourself and then you are lucky enough to find that person that complements that life, then that is wonderful. If for some reason you do not find that person, then you are still happy. I think to many people live their lives with the goal of finding someone to spend their life with that they stop living for today. They live for the future. I am a firm believer that you should do things that make you happy now, dont keep waiting for the future to make you happy. Now, dont get me wrong, I would love to find that person that fits into my life so well, but I have promised myself to never put my life on hold just because I have not found that person yet. This weekend helped me to see how lucky I am. I have so many friends and my family that love me unconditionally through thick and thin. That is something that can never be replaced or substituted. Obviously since I am single, we can conclude that all my relationships with men have failed, some my fault some not, but never the less they have failed. Out of some of those relationships, i have been able to build life long friendships that are invaluable and that I would not trade for anything. In my life, men seem to come and go, but family and friends stick around even when times are tough. It is such a catch 22 because we all want to find that special someone, but along the way, there are going to be ups and downs and we need our friends to be there for us through those. So many people find that special someone and slowly begin to cut off all their other friendships, but if that relationships ends, they have no one to turn to. It is a hard balance to find between sharing your life with someone, but not becoming codependent on that person. I think if you can set up a life for yourself that you are happy with, then an addition of a romantic relationship will just be icing on the cake. Anyway, I will jump off my little soap box now. Let me know what you all think on the topic.

One more thing, guess who just set up an interview at the Velvet Hookah for tommorrow night after class. Oh yeah, that would be me. Wish me luck, please send out good vibes at about 10:00 tommorrow night. Thanks!!

Guess what I just did?!

I just bought tickets to Poison with Skid Row and Vince Neil!! Yeah for 80's hair bands. I am so excited!!! I believe that it is now time to start brushing up on Poison and Skid Row's greatest hits. :)

The best weekend ever!!

This was definitely one of the best birthday weekends I have ever had. It all started on Thursday night with a trip to the Velvet Hookah with my soon to be roommate, Leslie. Leslie and I had some pre-party fun before we headed down there, good times. We met Scott and Denise and they treated me like a queen all night long. Good friends. I even had a drink (I don't remember the name, I was a bit intoxicated) in the pretty new martini glasses they gave me for my birthday. Thanks, you two. Since Les and I got there so early, we got to sit in the little malaria free (that is for you, Scott) nook in the corner, it was perfect. Later on, Will met us and then when Jay arrived in town from Florida, he came to celebrate also. It was great to see him. It has been so long (since January). Well, the night was amazing. It was so much fun, great friends, good drinks, good music, great conversation, an excellent atmosphere. It was the perfect way to kick off my birthday weekend. Way later that evening, Jay, Will, and I headed over to Pete's Dueling Piano Bar in Addison to celebrate one of my other friend's birthdays. We didn't stay very long, but it was a good time. It was very crude, but still fun. Overall, a spectacular day!!

Friday (my birthday) started off with me sleeping in. :) My cell phone rang nonstop all day with all my good buds calling to wish me a great birthday. I have such wonderful friends!! I love you all. I hung out with my family for a while and then I headed over to Chris's place and hung out with his family for a while. It was a good time, I miss spending time with the Bilich clan. Then, Chris and I headed to my place so Chris could use his expert engineering skills to help me make some jello shots for the party. Chris and I were also able to catch up and talk about our future lives, which are both very uncertain right now, but I am sure it will all work out for the both of us. In the evening, a lot of my buds and I went to catch the fireworks. They were beautiful. It is like nothing I can explain to watch fireworks in the sky. It was so wonderful.

Onto Saturday (the day of the party :). I went to Costco with my parents to buy some party supplies and then I headed out to The Colony to buy some liquor for the party. It sucks living in a dry county. I had to drive 20 minutes just to buy liquor. Oh well, it was totally worth it. I spent some time with Jay in the afternoon, just catching up on life. It was nice. Also, mid afternoon, there was a knock on my door and to my surprise, it was a fed ex man delivering 12 beautiful red roses from my amazing roomie, May-Ling. Thanks!! Then, I prettied myself up and got my place ready for the big shindig. The party was awesome. I had such a great time. Since I am such an emotional person :), there were some ups and downs, but overall the party was a blast. It was so nice to have all my good buds hanging out, meeting each other, and having good conversation. The jello shots were a hit and my new smoothie maker was all hooked up at the party. The Narghile (hookah) was going all night long, much fun. The party finally wound down about 1:30 or so, but the real partiers stayed till about 4:30. You guys know who you are. :)

Sunday started off great. Kim and I woke up and cooked some eggs. Mmmm!! Then, Kim worked really hard to motivate me to get ready so we could head over to a coffee shop so I could study for my midterm on Monday. I finally got ready and we headed over to Borders. We studied for about an hour or so, then we made a list of all our options for fun for the day. Just to let you all know, the list was Kim's idea. I know you were all thinking it was mine, but you are so wrong. Now, don't get me wrong, me and my anal self jumped all over the idea of making a list, but it was Kim's idea to begin with. We slowly crossed things off our list till we finally decided what to do. We headed over to Sal's pizza to meet some buds that were on their way to the Dixie Chicks concert. By the way, Sal has some damn good pizza! Then, off to the Velvet Hookah again. I had to show Kim. She loved it. We tried strawberry, it was great. It kind of tickled my taste buds. Mmmm. This trip to the Velvet Hookah was actually not all pleasure, it was partly business related. I heard that they were hiring waitresses and since I seem to spend so much time there anyway, I might as well make some money instead of always spending my money. So, I dropped off my application on Sunday. I hope it works out. I think it would be a great place to work. Kim and I had a really heartfelt talk at the Velvet Hookah. It was really nice to be so honest and open with someone I have been through a lot with. It is so nice when your friends have the courage to let you know how much they appreciate you in their life. Thanks, Kim. Well, Kim headed back to Austin and I drove back up to Plano to hang with Jay and some old buds. We played some cards and just caught up and reminisced about old times. Then, jay and I hung out for quite a while. It was a nice way to end the weekend.

Overall, it was a super, fantastic, wonderful weekend and it couldn't have been so great without all the amazing friends I have in my life. I love you all. :)

The Wonders and Frustrations of Higher Education

I made it to my Monday night class (Research II, it is boring as all hell) in an hour and 10 minutes (this is very good time for a drive to Arlington in rush hour traffic :). At 6:00 when the class is supposed to start, another professor came in and told us that our professor was on a plane back from somewhere I don't remember and that we should go get some dinner or something and come back at 7:00 becuuase he will be back by then. Of course this made me very angry, but we had to stay because we have a midterm next week and we needed the information that the prof was going to lecture about. So, we all stayed and bitched about it. He finally arrived at about 7:15 and he lectured until 9:00. I was a bit happy that he did let us out a bit early. Class is not supposed to be over till 9:20 during the summer session. It just frustrates me that we pay all this money to take these classes and spend so much time and energy and the professor is not held accountable at all. Also, this professor actually counts us absent which affects our grade if we are late, yet it doesn't matter when he is over an hour late. Craziness!!

Let's move on to Wednesday night's class. So, I had a pretty lengthy paper due for my wednesday class this week. I have been working on for a bit now, but as of Tuesday, it was not finished. My plan was to work on it tuesday after work, but during work my mom called and told me that they would like to take me out for my birthday. So, I thought who am I to turn down such a nice offer? :) So, my family and my aunt and uncle and my two little cousins all went to Magiannos (sp?). Itwas a great time. We had great conversation, great company, great food and they even sang happy birthday to me. It was very sweet. After all was said and done, i did not get back to my apartment till about 10:30. I just sat down at my computer to start working on my paper when my good friend and old roomie called me, so of course i stopped everything to talk to her! I proceeded to tell her of all the drama in my life and she proceeded to make me feel better about it all, as usual. What would I do without the super fantastic May-Ling? Anway, at about 11:45pm, i finally started working on my paper. At about 1:00am, I felt that I really wasn't being very productive anymore. So, i set my alarm for 6:00am and decided to wake up early to finish the paper, which is not always the best idea. Fortunatley, i was able to wake up and finish the paper. I even made it to work early, how great is that? Wednesday night's class was actually a lot of fun. we were all being a bit silly and not focusing too well, but it was a good time. I got an earlier assignment back with a big fat 92% on the front. Woo hoo!!!

I also got Charlie, my cat, declawed on Tuesday. I had decided not to get him declawed, but I am moving in with a friend at the end of July and her cat is already declawed, so I figured if i didnt declaw Charlie, he would beat the crap out of Cali (her cat). They keep him for one night at the vet. I was able to pick him up during lunch yesterday. It was definitley the saddest thing I have heard in a while. He just kept moaning and crying. It was so horrible. So, I rushed home after class yesterday, so I could be with him for a while. He was so cuddly and affectionate last night. He looks so sad, but he is a trooper (just like his mom :), so I am sure he will be fine very soon.

Oh, I just wanted to assure anyone who was the least bit worried about me that my blue mood is over. I have figured all the drama in my life out in my head (thanks to May-Ling and Jason :) and now I am fully ready and willing to begin the week of my birth. Notice I did not say birthday because I like to have birthweeks, they are much more fun. :) Let the festivites begin!!

July Tarot Forecast

One of my good friends sent me my horoscope that she got from a friend's astrologer, so here it is. (I think it would be neat to have your own astrologer :) I don't know if I really believe in the whole horoscope thing, but it is definitley some good fun.

Cancer: Chariot (7 of Wands)

There is a challenging time ahead that requires courage and determination if you are to assume victory. Luckily the opponent is only yourself! However, to come out on top you have to manage the emotional reactions to others and their perceptions of you. This may seem contradictory to your nature, but it is necessary if you are to amass enough strength to leap forward. Most of this battle is to maintain self-control. Once this is accomplished, you can stand behind your evaluations instead of falling prey to them. Ultimately this is a test of faith in yourself and your beliefs.

The Starfish Flinger

The tide had thrown thousands of starfish onto the beach.

Unable to return to the ocean, they were dying.
Then a young beachcomber saw their plight and began picking up starfish one by one and throwing them back into the water.

One watching his seemingly futile effort observed:
"There are thousands of starfish here, you can't possibly throw enough of them back to make a difference."

Ignoring the criticism, the young man picked up another starfish and tossed it back into the waves.

"It made a difference to that one", he said.


I just thought I would pass along one of my favorite poems on to you all. Every time I begin to question my chosen profession, I take some time to read through this poem. It helps remind me that even if I can just help one person through a tough time in their life, then all is worth it. Have a great day!!

About working at a rape crisis center

Sometimes in my field of work, you can have really, really tough days and other times, one great thing can make up for all the shit that happens to the people that come into the center. I have had some tough days before, several hospital calls in one day or a lot of students coming up to me after a presentation to ask questions relating to their personal experiences of sexual assault. Some days are better than others. A woman called the center this afternoon and she was very angry and was not able to articulate how we could help her. She said that one of her friends reccomended that she call us. one of the counselors talked with her for a while and gave her our hotline number and told her it was available 24 hours a day if she needed it. Well, it was kind of shitty because it seemed like we couldn't help that young woman because she did not want to set up an appointment. Well, it seems that she just called back to set up her first appointment. We haven't even started working with her yet, but it feels so good to know that we might be able to help her. Just thought I would shed a little bit of light onto an otherwise tough day. Enjoy!

Confused

Sometimes I wonder how we are able to function in this world when we are so full of feelings and thoughts all the time. Sometimes, I wish my brain would just shut off for a bit so i could have some down time, but it seems to always be thinking about something or someone or class or family or friends or work. It just seems to always be going. Anyway, lately (for the past several days), I have been feeling very down, not really depressed, just kind of down (blue if you will :) I am not really sure why. I am usually very good about being in touch with my feelings and making sure all is good with me. But, lately that hasnt been working quite right. I have been thinking to myself that I should be totally ecstatic this week becuase it is my birthday week. There is all kinds of great fun planned and I get to see all my good friends from here and out of town. But, for some reason, I am still feeling kind of blue. I have tried to figure it out and I think it is a combination of many things. I think the main reason I feel down is the fact that I often find myself trying to please others so much that i forget about myself and what makes me happy. I think that has been happening a lot in the past few weeks with family and friends. I think I have spent so much time thinking about how my actions will affect all my friends and not worrying as much about what I need. I am sure other people feel and act this way. Anyone out there know what I mean about always trying to please others so much that it totally messes with you? Another part is that I am leaving my job soon and I dont have one lined up come August. Since i am a born planner, this is very scary to me. Also, I am continuing school full time and starting an internship i am not sure i feel ready for. Also, I am moving into a two bedroom apartment with a good bud at the end of August. I think there is just so much going on during this month that things in my head are just going crazy. As much as I welcome all these changes, they are still scary. As we all know, change is always scary. well, any advice is much welcomed. :)