Has it been this long?!

I am pretty far behind on this. I meant to have pictures from my party, Halloween, anything, everything...but I've been lazy and still am. They are in the other room (I think) and I don't feel like looking.

We had our first snow last night. I blame my friend Greg because he was teasing that I'd really be jealous of Arizona weather once it started snowing. Dork. Jinxed it. We had snow within hours of that text message. At least it is melting off rather quickly, so it shouldn't cause any problems with all the driving I do. Hope my luck holds like that until the show and class are over.

Speaking of the show, we are getting closer and closer to opening night (which makes sense since time runs forward and not backward or sideways). Just 3 more weeks! Wow! Hope you've all gone online (www.theevct.com) to get your tickets. :-)

I had planned to work on my paper since the game is only on pay-per-view today, but instead I've been cleaning and working (literally - logged on to work and was working from home for about an hour and a half), and getting random things done. Still need to start laundry and vacuum. I want to bake to warm the place up, but I'm fresh out of some things and don't feel like going to the store. (Back to that "lazy" comment from before!)

Okay. I need to get motivated. This is our second to last paper and so far I have a solid "B" for the course...which annoys me something fierce (and no, I don't care what anyone says, a "B" is not good enough for me). I have my fingers crossed for this one because I'm working on it sooner than the night before it's due and it's a topic I already know about and have books about. No need for the library when you have it in your home.

Take care, all! Hopefully I'll write again and even post some pictures someday soon...though, with my schedule, I wouldn't hold my breath. Sorry. :-)

Briefly...

Very, very briefly...

Party Saturday to celebrate finishing my master's degree. Lots to do to get ready (which is why I shouldn't even be taking the time to do this, but I hadn't written for a while...anyway...)
Received an email today that the official document is in the mail and should be here next week. Too bad I didn't have it in time for the party, but I'll live.
Rehearsals for "Scrooge" begin on 10-10-10...at 6. :-) I have been listening to the muisc while I drive to work, so it is stuck in my head and making me nuts already.
So far so good with my writing class. Two papers out of six are done.
Work is stressful. The drive is killing me. But the people there are awesome and I can work from home on days when I have doctor's appointments and things of that nature which helps, too.
Choir sings almost every Sunday. I sang a duet with Diane, Pastor's wife. It went really well. She has a lovely voice and we blend nicely. We are under orders by members of the congregation to sing together again. I think it can be arranged. :-)

Really better go work on cleaning and putting things away. Time and energy are very limited...especially since I should get to bed in the next hour or two.

Al

Al died today. I've been told there wasn't anything more anyone could have done.

I was supposed to bring him home yesterday, but he was completely not himself and his breathing was labored. Mom talked to the vet and the vet said it sounded like pneumonia and she should just keep giving him the antibiotic as long as he would let her give it to him. Of course this meant I couldn't bring him back to Omaha, so Mom cared for him. She said he seemed to be getting better over the course of the day. This morning (Monday) she went downstairs to get some clothes and he seemed the same as Sunday night, but by the time she came back upstairs he had died.

I don't care if everyone says nothing could be done. I still feel guilty - guilty I wasn't there and guilty I couldn't do anything. :(

My friend Chris came and cleared out all the cat stuff for me while I was babysitting Nikki and Ivy tonight (Justin and Trisha were at the hospital as the baby miscarried today - yes, today royally sucked). That was one thing I'm not sure I'd have handled well at all.

To say my heart is broken would be putting it mildly. That crazy cat got me through some of the roughest times! He has been my baby for over six years...had...had been...I hate this.

Long Overdue Update...

A brief and very long overdue update as it is time for dinner and Mom is "yoohoo-ing" at me from the kitchen.

I got an apartment quite suddenly on July 18. It was move-in ready and had almost everything I was looking for. I had to buy my own washer and dryer, but at least I have the kind I like. It is on the first floor and I'm close to the parking and my garage. I would share my address, but it occurred to me that this is the internet and that would be sorta' stupid. But this is the floorplan...

Samson is still adjusting and Al is enjoying the freedom to move around the whole place.

Speaking of Al, he got a booboo on his tail when we moved (don't know how). It wasn't healing, so the vet had to take about an inch and a half of his tail off! No more cute little kink at the end. :-( He was pretty mad at everyone and finally started purring for me again today. He's been recuperating at the farm. I will be taking him back to Omaha with me tomorrow.

Work has been stressful...long story.

My master's degree is almost complete. I have just 3 days left of class! About a week later my final grade will be posted. Then there's some sort of review and that's it. Fair warning: I am planning an open house to celebrate. I'll let you know more when I figure out the details. :-)

I start my last "real" class at Midland for my English BA on Thursday. I should be doing my thesis in the Spring, which means that degree will be done next May.

Auditions for "Scrooge: The Musical" are tomorrow night. I'll keep you posted on that, too. Hopefully I will manage to do that before the show runs in December! ;-)

Let me think if there is anything else...not that I can think of. Sorry I've been so bad about writing here. Been so busy it seems!

Just a note on what's going on...

Finished my 3rd week at Nelnet. This was Baptism by fire week. I'm pretty thankful I'll only be at work on Monday next week. Then I fly to Florida to drive back with Chris and his cat, Happy, as he moves from the Ft. Lauderdale area to Omaha. That's a big change! :-)

Trisha is pregnant and due in February. A new niece or nephew! Wowsers!

I'm at the farm "convalescing" and doing homework. Only two more classes to go and my master's degree will be done...and just a couple days later I start my last "real" class for my English degree.

Mom and I are watching a movie while we work on "projects". She's making teddy bears and I'm putzing around on the internet. My plan is to do some apartment hunting and some homework.

This is nice. :-)

2 Weeks Down

I can't believe I've been working (for real working - not temporary working) for 2 weeks now! Seems like less and more all at the same time. Still rather unreal. Still think I should be seeing Comtech people in the hallway. Still think it's cool I am in my own office (though someday I might be sharing it). Big windows with a view of downtown. :)

The drive is taking a toll, though. I am tired a lot. That makes it really hard to function by the time I get home. If I do too much reading at work I start to fall asleep - also bad. I hope I can find a place that will shorten the drive even if only a tiny bit. I need to get into a better schedule, though. I have my fingers crossed that as my master's degree wraps up it will get easier and easier to have a life and get sleep.

This week won't quite be a full week at work. I'm working a half day (in the a.m.) on Monday and on Friday (in the p.m.). Chris is coming this week to find an apartment for himself. So, there are trips to/from the airport in my future. Should be a nice long drive from Lincoln tomorrow. :-p

Next week will only be one day since I am flying to Florida to drive back with Chris and his cat. It will be nice to have a break and go on a roadtrip, but I am taking it all unpaid, so that will be a small check.

After that it is all business as usual...actually, the bulk of my duties will kick in at the beginning of July. Thank goodness we get the 5th off for the Independence Day holiday. I think I will lose my mind (quickly, too, as there's not much left) after that as there are no breaks until September and about then I start my next class (and last "regular" class) at Midland. Twice a week I will drive from Lincoln to Fremont. That will last until December. But my master's will be done!

Day 3 is over.

So, today was my 3rd day at the new job. I am exhausted. Mostly that is because I am not getting enough sleep. It also may have something to do with sitting in the car for an hour at a time to drive first to and then from downtown Lincoln. Hopefully this weekend I can recover and be in better shape for next week when the real training starts.

It is strange to say "I'm going to work" and then to get there and realize I'm not at Comtech and none of my friends from Comtech are there...especially since I use my Comtech jacket to keep from freezing to death in my office (yes, an office!) like I used to in my cube back in the day. It's somewhat surreal. And, I noticed today that I have not really been nervous there. Sometimes seems like an out of body experience. I guess it has just been too long since I had a real job.

Meanwhile, I am still trying to do the apartment hunt thing (with little to no success) and still have school going on. In fact, that's what I'm supposed to be doing right now...homework. Yuck!