Oh, my! It's been awhile...

So, I was contemplating not writing here anymore. The truth is, my sister is really the only one who reads this, i think, or at least the only person who has any interest in what I ate for lunch two wednesdays ago, so I could just email her everyday. But, here I am. Because...well, I don't really know why.

So, because I'm a little lazy, and because I spent TWO WHOLE DAYS on this, I'll just list this thing I did for Facebook:

25 Random (and seemingly unimportant) facts about me:

I like to count down instead of up. (I guess that's number 25.)
24. I hate squirrels. The whole country's popluation of squirrels lives on the campus where I work and people (namely those who work with me) feed the squirrels right outside my office and thus they are not afraid of people and LOVE to sit at my window and STARE at me. And did I mention that they're the same size as the miniature dachshund that lives at my house????
23. I miss College Football and being in the south during the football season. People out here only care about Pro Ball (Broncos) and it makes me very sad.
22. Along the same line as squirrels...I hate the meerkat species. Long story. But I will tell you this: if I ever see a meerkat injured on the side of the road...I'll keep walking.
21. I am very weird about stuff touching my ears. I don't like other people to touch my ears and I'll get furiously mad if you give me a wet-willie. If i get water in my ears I sort of freak out.
20. Two things give me panic attacks. The first is something I've known about for years and that's the Ocean. I can be near it...see it...and even stand with my tip-toes in teh water...but if I have to get in the water for any reason I will FREAK. And the second I just recently learned about: driving in the snow. It's much scarier than you think when you live in a climate where everyone driving isn't scared and you ARE!
19. I work in an Eye Clinic for type I diabetics. We dilate peoples eyes and then use several different methods to look at the retina for signs of Diabetic Retinopathy. The best method we use is called Retinal Photography. I am in training to learn Retinal Photography. Most people who go through Optometry school don't learn retinal photograpy. I'm very blessed to be here and to be learning so much!
18. I used to fight so much with my brother and sister. A LOT! But now...I can't imagine my life without them. I also love my nieces and nephew more than I ever though I could love little kids with sometimes-snotty noses.
17. I have been so blessed to find the most wonderful church! It's a "me too" community like I've never experienced! www.flatironschurch.com And because of that church Jules and I have had the change to make such wonderful friends (the commUNITY group)! :)
16. I wear long johns almost every day. (under my clothes, of course)
15. I cry at almost anything to do with the military. At ballgames where they have fly-overs, when I see young soldiers at the airport, when there's a military-related song on the radio...i cry and cry. I'm so thankful for the sacrifice all military personnel make. I have friends in the military and I cannot tell you how proud they make me. It never fails--i cry.
14. I have a very real fear of getting breast cancer.
13. When I read books I actually see the story play out in my head...so vividly sometimes that I cannot remember if a story was a book I read or a movie I saw.
12. I have almost died each time I've tried skiing. Therefore, even though I live in CO, I do not ski.
11. I am thinking about being a flight attendant someday. Not as my forever career, but for a while.
10. I tend to smack my gum. I cannot help it. I try to make a conscious effort not to, but I still do it without realizing. I'm sure it's pretty annoying.
9. I crack my knuckles almost constantly. All day long. I do it without even realizing. I'm sure it's pretty annoying.
8. I make the dumbest jokes. I laugh at my own jokes. I seriously think I'm hilarious! Most of the time Jules is the only one who thinks my jokes are funny too. That's why we're best friends. Sometimes other people laugh. That's okay too.
7. When I shop I look at little decoration things and crafty things, and instead of buying it I think, "I can make that! I'm not buying that when I can make it." And sometimes I do actually make it. For the most part I say, "I'm not buying that because I can make it!!" and then I do one of two things: 1. I make it, but spend double what I could have bought it for. 2. I don't buy it and then never make it. :(
6. I learned how to swim correctly, you know, with all the strokes and all, about a two years ago...and I'm actually pretty good...but I still look like I'm drowning if thrown/pushed into a pool. I'm told it's one of the funniest things you've ever seen.
5. I sneeze about 100 or more times a day. My boss can account for this. He doesn't even say "bless you" anymore.
4. I have only bought one cell phone in my life. All my others have been hand-me-downs (mostly from my sister.)
3. I drive like a maniac (except when it's snowy, of course). Seriously, i get really aggravated at other drivers. I don't ever make hand gestures or yell obscenities, but i do yell...and I've been known to honk on occasion.
2. I am so un-interesting that it has taken me TWO DAYS to think of this many things...
1. I love post-its. I write everything on post-its. I've been known to walk around with post-its stuck to me so i can remember something.
Well, there we go. None of this was all that interesting, but they were at least random. :) I Hope you enjoyed


Okay...well, that's enough for today. I'm going to try to get back in the habit of posting (for you Heather!!) :)

Let's waste time chasing cars...

Hi.

I have no idea why I always feel compelled to say Hi at the beginning of my blog posts. Jules joked me about it the other day, and until then I hadn't realized I do it. But the proof's in the pudding...or whatever the saying is.

Anyway.

Oh, also random: my title. Just a song playing on the radio right now. Whatever.

I'm having a hard time right now. I've started riding the bus, and although I cannot tell you how thankful I am for not having to drive to work everyday now, and also for the fact that the bus is not like ghetto and scary, I am TIRED. I have to get up much earlier than I would if I were driving, and since I'm new to the bus thing, I'm still having to perfect the amount of time I need to leave my house in, etc. Also, I get home around 7 instead of 6, which means LOTS to do at night and not much time to do it in. Also, I keep getting car sick. The driver is doing a great job, it's really not his driving. It's that I can't see out. The windows are constantly and completely fogged up because it's like 3 degrees outside and if you sit in the back part of the bus you just can't see out. And I like to spend my hours on the bus reading...so that adds to the car-sickness. So, I'm trying different seats, different sections...i don't know.

The point is...I'm really really exhausted. I haven't been getting enough sleep and this morning I got up, looked in the mirror...and I have black bags under my eyes. BLACK. like someone punched me. Hi. I'm 24 and I have the eyes of a 55 year old woman. YAY!! I'm trying to go to bed early but it just hasn't been happening. I actually am starting to feel a cold coming on...I think that's partly to blame on the tiredness and partly to blame on standing in the dad-blasted cold all the stinkin time.

Tonight is our CommUNITY Group...and although I'm really glad to see everyone...I'M SO TIRED. and lots of times people stay over until like 11. That CANNOT happen tonight. I have no idea if it's too rude to tell everyone that I'm super tired and that I'm shutting down at like 9. Is that too rude?? (i have no idea who I'm asking...Heather???)

I feel like crying. I feel like laying in the exam room and crying. Because I'm tired. Because I don't see any light at the end of the tunnel. Because there' s still so much to be done. Because my house is a disaster and people are coming over tonight. Because work is SO busy now. Because I need to do things like eat and shower and I just don't feel like I have enough time. :(

It's too bad I'm not riding to work in an RV. That's SORT OF like a bus...and it has a shower...a kitchen table and fridge...and I could probably even sleep on the way. Anyone want to drive me to work everyday in their RV???

Jet-Lagged

My boss has been out of town since October 27th. He and his wife went to various areas in Europe, spending most of their time in Germany, with one of their oldest friends. I'm sure they had a great time. I got a text message from my boss yesterday around 4:30 saying something like this:

"were back. n chicago. any patients tomorrow? were very jet lagged." or something close to that.

I wrote back and informed him (for the 45th time) that I had cleared the schedule a long time ago and he was not expected back at work until the 13th. And I might have told him to chill, or something.

So, I'm pretty sure he's still going to be jet-lagged tomorrow...because you just don't recover that quickly from that many days of different time stuff. I tried to talk him into taking the rest of this week off, back when he was planning the trip, but he said his usual, "It'll be fine." And I think that his record of being right once he's uttered those words is pretty pathetic. He really should try to listen to me sometimes. Anyway, of course I stacked the schedule extra full for the rest of the month because he wanted to make up for the days he has been out (half the month.) And the week before he went out of town we saw like 20 patients who couldn't be charted on at all because of technical problems with the charting program here at work. They are leaving the records open until the 15th. That means that not only does he have to see a full day's patients on Th and Fri, but he also has to chart on 20 patients that he saw like 20 days ago. And I get to be the one to tell him all this. YAY!....................boo.

So, anyway, aside from still being sick...and the dread of clinic opening back up...things are going pretty good. We're having a coffee house tonight at CommUNITY group. That should be fun!!

Oh..and I just need to admit that I took my niece to see High School Musical 3 while I was in Alabama, and I JUST LOVED IT. I think I am really a 13 year old girl trapped in a 24 year old's body. :) OH, that troy. It should be illegal for someone so young to look so beautiful.

VICTORY...at least halfway!

So, those stupid flyers I've been rambling on and on about for weeks?

I finished about half of them. We are sending them in two batches because sorting 1,000 flyers in zip code order is much much easier than sorting 2,000. So in that box is about 1,000 flyers that are stamped with the return address, labeled with the mail-to address, University stamped on them, and sorted, boxed up and FINALLY ready to go.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have ONE MORE 1,000 set to finish. Then I can be rid of those flyers forever.

Surrender

So, Jules has been trying to get a job working with a lab doing tissue analysis and using a microscope and squeezing pipets and slicing and spreading and all that stuff that lab people do. She has had 4 interviews for lab jobs. All 4 have been the best interviews of her life. At all 4 she was told they would like to hire her, they love her, and they'd call her back. She hasn't heard from any of them.

When she first became unemployed she applied for a job at Southwest Airlines. She didn't know if she would get it or not, but it was worth a shot. After a long process of about 3 months of interviews, stacks and stacks of paperwork, background checks, fingerprinting, meetings, and such, Jules got offered a job with Southwest.

She starts on the 17th. While she was in the hiring process with SWA I was just not sure that it was the right thing. I wanted her to have a lab job. That was what she wanted to do. The SWA job was supposed to be a "fall back" job.

Monday she applied for one last job at a great lab that processes donor tissue and organs. On Tuesday they called her back and said they would love to have a phone interview with her. On Wednesday they called to say that the shift had changed from Day to 3pm-1am. Working night shift is not really a possibility at this time, so unfortunately Jules had to tell the woman thanks, but no thanks.

So, she's back at square one.

I, being a Christian, believe that God is in control over our whole lives. I have struggled with anger issues with God lately, but that's okay, because I'm pretty sure God is big enough to handle me being mad at him. But, even in my confusion and frustration with the whole situation, I think I am at a point now where one fact is staring me in the face.

I think Southwest is where Jules is supposed to be.

Every interaction with the people of Southwest has been extremely positive. Jules is excited. There are good benefits. She will be treated like a human being, not just a robot filling a position. She will have a very good opportunity to advance in Southwest in very little time. She will be appreciated. All the signs point to this being a good thing.

I wasn't excited. I wasn't happy about it. I wasn't supportive. But after all that has happened...I had to remind myself that God IS in control. All those great interviews ending in NOTHING has to mean that God is clearing the path for her. Southwest MUST be where she's supposed to be right now. I have resigned myself to that fact.

So, stay tuned for a more supportive, more excited, happier me! Things are going to be okay. NO..they are going to be GREAT! And I'm feeling hope and optimism about this Southwest thing.

Watch out life....I'm BACK!

Camping, Jobs, and Illness

So, on Saturday we went camping with our community group. Mostly? It was a disaster. I learned lots of things about myself though. Things like, I don't like to sleep on the ground, and I don't enjoy 32 degree nights when sleeping outdoors. I also learned that it's difficult to hold your poop for that many days. And that it's hard to change clothes in a tent. I learned that not taking a shower for 3 days does something to your confidence, and that roasted marshmellows are the best food on the planet. So, aside from my self-enlightening experience, i didn't sleep...i froze to death...i got a sinus infection which left me miserable for a good majority of the trip. I was so annoyed with some people's inconsiderate-ness that I was sure my head might explode. It rained. Mice got into our food storage and ate some of it. People fussed the whole time. I was very glad to go, and learn lots of things NOT to do if I ever go camping again...but I am not sure I've ever been so glad to be home!!!

Jules still hasn't heard from the interviews that went sooooooo great last week. It's a shame because she really deserves one of those jobs. :(

And, finally, the reason I haven't been writing is because I have been really sick. I got some stupid sinus infection while camping and it has knocked me on my behind. I had to take two days off work, and although I'm back at work today, I still don't feel 100%. So, that's why I haven't been writing. That's why I am not my normal upbeat self. I'll be back to normal as soon as I can get the 25 pounds of cotton balls out of my head and sinus cavities. :)

Flyers

Remember those flyers I was working on about a month or more ago? It was about 3,100 flyers? They were blank on the back and I had to stamp the Return address on all of them.
And stick the address label on all of them.
And then the mail center told us that they had to say the University's name on them. So we bought a stamp and I stamped the university's name on all of them.
Then they told us that they all had to be in Zip Code order from 00000 to 99999 and they wouldn't charge us for the sorting.

I sat here for a month putting all of them in Zip code order. Yesterday we get an email from the mail center saying that they are going to charge us no matter what for the sorting, so don't waste my time.

When I told my boss this he said just throw them all in a box and send them over to the mail center so we can be rid of them.

I did throw them in a box, but I wanted more clarification on the price before we just sent them over. Today I spoke to the supervisor of the DUMMY I had been dealing with. The supervisor said that there is a charge no matter what for sorting, but if they're in zip code order then they discount the charge half.

Remember what I said my boss said to do yesterday? Remember when I said I did that. I tossed them in a box, mixing up the zip code order I had slaved over. Remember THAT???

Livid.

I think fire may be coming out of my nose.

Jules had an interview today...

HEY!

Jules got a letter on Friday at 5:30 that said that a job she applied for was very interested in interviewing her. The letter also said you must reply by August 22nd to get an interview. Friday WAS August 22nd. Remember what time I said she got the letter?? YEP. 5:30. She called the number immediatley, but no one answered. She left a message saying that she was sorry, and that she didn't get the letter until after business hours today (friday). Our mail-man is fantastic and honest and hard working...but he is also overworked and so he's out there delivering the mail after 5 on most days. So, she got up early this morning and called the woman again and left another message. About 1o minutes later the lady called her back and told her that the only time they could interview her was today at 11. Jules got up and rushed a shower and such. She then stopped by here on the way to her interview because I had the makeup bag (i was running late to work AGAIN today). I walked back out to the car and got the makeup bag (which was no small feat in itself) and met jules at close to 10.
She got lost on the way to the interview, mostly because the buildings weren't labeled with signs or addresses. After multiple calls to the office she finally arrived close to 10:45. I didn't hear from her until about an hour later, and she said it was a great interview. Actually, she said it was one of the best interviews of her life. Great, eh?

So, they said they'll be in touch. It really seems that something positive is going to come from this interview. They said they love her and they really want to hire her, but if they cannot get it to work out then they will hire her in a couple weeks when they open another lab position. It seemed really promising.

I know Jules is afraid to get her hopes up...after all she's been through. So, if you are a praying person, please pray that this works out one way or another.

thankyouverymuch.