Ying and Yang day

What a day I've had. This has to be the craziest balanced day I've had. Here's the sequential:

Wake up at 5:30 - allergies bugging me - I reset alarm to 6:30 to walk instead - got up and took my walk with Jedi.

Came back - dropped Jedi off - went to the grocery store.

Came home - started breakfast - fed Jedi - Jedi threw up (large chunks - yuck!) - cleaned it up -finished making my breakfast - used Nature's Miracle stuff on carpet to get rid of stains.

Realized I had 10 minutes to my conference call - still no shower.

During conference call - was walking out of my bedroom to the living room - ran into the couch - broke my middle toe (NOT kidding) - hit the mute option on conference call - had a brief bout of Turret's syndrome.

Conference call ran late - had two students call for quizzes - did those - hobbled into shower (FINALLY!) - 2 minute shower - hobbled back into living room for phone interviews.

First phone interview - talked to my Instructional Leader about incorporating the Adopt-an-Author into Marine Science - she gives go ahead to explore the idea - break for lunch.

During lunch - found the Adopt-An-Author site for Steve Alten - LOVE his books - are Marine Science based - I try to register and cannot for some reason - I email Steve Alten and explain we would like to try this with our course.

Second phone interview - call waiting/caller ID chimes in - IT'S STEVE ALTEN -WOW!!! This was TOO cool and I couldn't take the call - ARGH!!!!

I get an email from Steve Alten during second phone interview - I respond back to register through him. Ask about some ideas to hopefully have him work with our kids - very excited by this prospect.

10 minute break between phone interviews - back on phone - discuss book/reading idea with other Marine science teachers before candidate comes in - they ask for email - send email and do a student grade - do second phone interview.

Phone call comes in after interview - grade I just did is showing up N/A - WHAT!?!?! - IM my IL to fix it - it was my mistake ....sigh....

Fix grade - go in to peel potatoes for dinner - cut my finger on potato peeler - ouch.

Eat dinner - C calls - he's coming to get rest of his stuff - he leaves garage open and doesn't bother to tell me when he leaves. Sink is backed up in kitchen - I call my dad for help.

Drano is prescribed - then when that doesn't work - a plunger. I call R for localized help. Dad calls again - I use the plunger on the sink - it appears to work.

I re-start dishwasher - I'm outside talking to dad - I come back in - dishwasher is spewing out suds all over kitchen floor - I began laughing hysterically at my day.

Dad calms me down - advises I clean it up and try again. He will call back. I clean it up - same problem - suds on floor ....sigh..... I call R again for reinforcement - her mom knows how to fix this stuff.

I sit down to blog - I cannot BELIEVE the day I've had - good tempered with the bad - but my toe really, really, really hurts!!!

Woman with a drill - watch out!

So, I had to charge my drill today :) I used it extensively to install some stuff.

Having a drill is very empowering. It gives you the feeling of control - as if you can do anything. If I had known using a drill was so much fun, I would have done it a long time ago!

So, what did I use it for?? I installed hardware on my cabinets in the kitchen - it looks really good - there is one set of doors where they are off by a hair from being even, but only I will ever know :) I did run into one small snag. The drawers in the kitchen are double thick. The screws are not quite long enough to go through and removing the piece from inside is also not an option. So, another trip to Home Depot (yes, it's rough ....sigh.....) to get longer screws of the same size so I can use the same drill bit and also, more importantly, so they will actually fit the handles. The handles come with screws, but just not quite long enough. My first drill bit that I am using for the pilot hole is not long enough to go all the way through, so I may look to see if they have a longer one of those too. The regular bit that I need if fine.

My brother, who is a carpenter, is the one who gave me the idea. I don't know why I didn't think of it - we had them on all of our cabinets growing up. He was standing in my kitchen one day counting silently. So, I asked my sister-in-law what he was doing. She said he was counting to see how many pulls I would need on my cabinets. So, I asked him how hard it was and if it was something I could do, and he explained it to me. It's not rocket science. My dad gave me a good suggestion though - practicing on an old piece of plywood. That's when I found out that my drill bit my brother told me to use was not big enough and the screw wouldn't go through. So, a trip to Home Depot today - yes, I was very upset (NOT!). I swear I need to buy stock in them - I'm there almost every weekend.

On another note (I guess this is home improvement weekend :), I went to the nursery this AM and got my winter flowers (violas and pansies). I prefer violas, but they only had yellow. So, I broke down and got the pansies. I'm still short by about 3 plants - so ....sigh.... another trip to the nursery tomorrow. I love working in my yard. Especially this time of year when it's cooler and you can go out for 4-5 hours and not be dead. I also remulched some areas, put a border around one of my hisbicus in the back, mulched it (I have 3 more back there that need to be done - but the back was not cooperating today), raked up old mulch so I could plant more next to my tree (it's a little bare and depressing), remulched my gardenias and azaleas and laid more rock down by the patio. Yesterday was almost as fun - trimmed all the hedges, pulled all the weeds in the back bed and in the front where my new pansies and violas (oh, and dianthus) are now residing, mowed and figured out what I needed to work with today to get more done. Have I mentioned that I love working in my yard? It's been so neglected these past few months. In part due to school, but mostly due to C's shit in the garage blocking all of my yard tools. That's why I took my time to rearrange the garage - so I could get to the A/C unit and to my tools so I could FINALLY work in the yard. Tomorrow I need to spray the entire yard for weeds and finish up the bed in the front with the shrubs and roses so the front really looks good. I may do some more on Sunday. I will also have to get those last 3 violas that I need to finish out the front, and I have a little more room where I can throw in some more dianthus to round it out and make it look fuller. This is the one thing I will miss about Florida - year-round gardening.

On a completely different note - my fav Christmas song is on the radio right now - Christmas Canon - I can't remember the artist. I LOVE this song. Also, the station - Magic 107.7 - plays holiday music 24/7 from Thanksgiving day until midnight on Christmas. Christmas music is my absolute favorite part of the holiday. I could care less about the presents, decorating, stringing up lights - just give me my family and Christmas music and I am ALL SET.

I should be working on a paper tonight. I'm debating. I may just go ahead and fill out my graduation announcements. Or, I could actually do some more studying for my final exams - which I probably will end up doing. That and the final paper so it's done!!!!

Top 10 Hurricane Stupidity

So, the lady at the plant store mentioned hurricanes this morning and how next season is supposed to be worse, etc. So, I came up with a stupid top 10 list.

The Top 10 Things People FORGET to do BEFORE a Hurricane:
10. Buy paper plates, cups and plastiware - ummm...you're not going to have electricity OR water that is clean to run your dishwasher.
9. Laundry - see note about about electricity and water. Clothes get pretty nasty after being worn for two week with no way to do laundry. Let's not even discuss underwear.....
8. Radio - oh sure, we all get BATTERIES, but most people are too stupid to realize that they do not have an actual radio that will take batteries.
7. Vacuum - again, see note on electricity. I have to vacuum 3-4 times per week. A week without power and a dirty floor really sucks.
6. Pet food - yes, people are actually dumb enough to forget that their pets need food as well as them.
5. Cook meat in the fridge/freezer - this goes bad VERY quickly. Cook it, store it, then heat it back up on the grill.
4. Eat meltables - this includes ice cream.
3. Mow - it's going to be wet for several days, if you don't mow before the storm, you'll kill yourself doing it a week later.
2. Phone access - most people don't have a land line phone that has an actual cord attached to it - again, the lack of electricity means your portable phone will no longer function.
And the #1 think people forget to do BEFORE a hurricane hits.....
Charge their cell phone. It's a stupid, silly little thing. But, most likely, everything will be out, including land based phones. Having a cell phone for emergencies (and we are encouraged NOT to use them to keep the towers open for emergency personnel) is crucial - again, you may not have power for a while. Turning it OFF when you don't need it to conserve the battery is also a really, really good idea.

2 more days....

Two more days until C leaves - I'm just about counting the hours at this point. On the flip side - he decided to move out on Friday, which means I had to cancel my plans to drive down to see my brother and sister-in-law for Thanksgiving. I probably could have gone down today and left tomorrow evening (I don't trust him to move stuff if I'm not here), HOWEVER - he is getting his kids tomorrow morning or tonight - and I really didn't want them using my bedroom again. Yes, I said "again" - this has happened once before and it thoroughly pissed me off. But, only two more days. I think I'm going to go to Home Depot tonight and either look for a lock re-keying kit or just buy new locks to install on the house. That will be done the INSTANT he is gone on Friday. The garage remotes will also be re-programmed as will the outside keypad. The security system code will also be changed and so will the password with my security company - talk about covering all the based - whew!! And finally, as soon as all that is done on Friday - on Saturday morning I will FINALLY get to steamvac my carpet - I can't wait!!! I'm scrubbing my house down from top to bottom this weekend - I just can't stand it. Do all men live like complete slobs??? I jumped the gun and cleaned out the fridge today - I just couldn't take it anymore. It was disgusting with a capital D.

I'm also ssssssoooooooo over grad school. I think I've mentioned this before. The good news - only two more actual class meetings for my bacterial class, and just one more for my molecular biotech class - and that one is just a review for the final exam - he cancelled the Dec. 1 class :) I have only one more paper to type up, which I think I'm just going to knock out tonight and get it over with. We are finishing up our final project on Sat. for my ISD class (ugh) and my current trends class with the professor I HATED is done - I already submitted my final paper in there and all of my other assignments are done. I really wish he would get off his butt and grade everything so I would know what I had in there - ugh.

So, for those of you that read this and haven't heard from me in a while, school and C are the two reasons why. Altho, ever since I told him to leave, I've been in a pretty chipper mood (did I actually use the word "chipper" - I'm tired - please forgive me....). My dad has been happier that I'm in a better mood as well. I can't wait to see him in Dec - he and my stepmom are coming for graduation. Oh yeah, I need to get my announcements done. That will at least be an enjoyable task!!

November 30th

That's the date I have given C to have his stuff moved out. He obviously wasn't happy about what I had to say last night - he tried to turn it around and give me a guilt trip. News flash - my mom has been attempting those for years and you know, when you no longer care about someone or think of them as a friend, the guilt trips don't work. Why the 30th? He said - I'll be out as soon as possible. My reply I need a date. His response - as soon as possible. Mine was then: November 30th. He said "You can't do that. The lease says 30 days." My response: No, it doesn't. There is nothing in the lease that says 30 days is required. However, altho I didn't mention this to him- there is a statement in the lease that says if the terms of the lease are not met, then he can be removed immediately from the premises. Guess what - he hasn't paid the power or water bill this month and his rent must be paid in advance according to our agreement. So, if no money arrives by the 30th and he makes no move to get out, locks will be changed.

Hell - he only gave me FOUR days notice before he moved in a month early - WTF?? 2 and a half weeks is MORE than enough time to find a place in the area that I live in. There are tons of condos/townhomes that lease out for $500 a month for a 2/2 - I know b/c my friends that moved to GA lived in a place like that for 2 years. And it was nice - they painted it and fixed it up and it worked. They saved a buttload of money and were able to move to GA and buy a house up there.

If I don't give him a definite date, it will turn into the storage thing - I don't have time to look, or I can't find anything and then he will just keep living here. Um, sorry - you've got a date now. I'm probably going to hell for this, but I've been in hell for the last 3 months and I just cannot take it anymore. My stomach has been in knots for over 2 weeks and my friends have said that I'm just not the same person I was before he moved in.

Unfortunately, this will probably change my Thanksgiving plans - I've already told my sister-in-law and she's going to talk to my brother about it. I'm not comfortable leaving the house until he moves out. I'm hoping he'll get off his ass and move this weekend. I may just drive around and get some phone #s and call people tomorrow and get rates for him - just like I did with the storage unit.

Everything must go!

Do you ever see those sale signs up in the store? And then they close and go into bankruptcy and then reopen under another name? Yeah, those guys suck....

So, I would like to get one of those and hang it on C's door. I've pretty much been convinced by numerous friends that he needs to go and he needs to go now. Or at least by the end of the month. I really can't do this anymore. My stomach was in knots all day today so that I haven't even eaten anything other than breakfast - why? B/C I never know what kind of shape my house will be in when I return to it on the weekends that he has the kids AND I left this AM and C wasn't here - which meant unsupervised kids in my home - I always have this nightmare that they will torch it while playing with matches (which I know one of his kids actually has a thing for fire and C caught him playing with his cigar flame thing and he burned his sister's toy dog about 6 months ago - can you see why leaving them alone in my house makes me nervous - which I've asked him repeatedly NOT to allow that to happen). So, yeah, I'm done. I really hate to do this, but I'm just under too much stress at the moment. I may have to leave my own house in order to get my research report done tomorrow - which sucks. But if they are here, they CONSTANTLY interupt me with questions and going in/out of my office while I am working (I'm typing this from the bedroom - AGAIN - on the laptop). So, the wine guy from Phoenix, if you're reading this - I will in all probability have a guest room available when you visit O-town - I will still have 2 animals - but I'm losing 6, so it will be easier :)

On the flip side, I almost killed my dog today. I wore him OUT. I took him swimming :) Unfortunately, his shoulder is acting up again. And I am all out of Rimadyl - the drug of choice for injured puppy dogs. So, I gave him TWO shoulder massages on his left side - yeah, vacuuming was a good idea today - NOT!! - and 1/2 an aspirin. Last time I gave him a full one and he threw it up immediately. This one is staying down (so far). I love my dog. The weird thing was is he wasn't limping when we left the park and he jumped up into the truck fine - he jumped out at home fine as well. So, I know it's not that serious and I did the manipulation like the vet showed me and he didn't wimper and he has full range of movement. I keep thinking about the day and there's really nothing he did that would have caused this - we mostly stayed in the water. I threw the frisbee a few times on the grass to take a break, but I don't remember him doing any quick turns - but I could be wrong. At any rate, I will be getting Rimadyl from the vet on Monday - I pretty much have a standing prescription now. I won't be able to walk tomorrow- which sux - but I can't take him - it will just aggravate the injury.

Speaking of walking - have I mentioned how much I love the trail? This morning was amazing. Not only did I see my red-tailed hawk in the tree :) I actually saw a FULL SIZE DEER- a doe. It was so cool. Jedi, of course, flipped out - which freaked it out even more (poor thing!). It was late and it was trying to find the hole in the chain link fence that some idiot at the county office decided would be good to put up - not realizing that there are actual animals that live in those woods that need to move around! A**hole. So, this poor deer was frantically running back and forth along the fence pushing it's head at it periodically trying to find the loose spot, and me with my barking dog making it even more frantic. The really cool thing? - it made absolutely no sound while it did this. It did make it through - we didn't see it on the walk back, so I'm assuming - but it was just so neat. I've never really been that close to a deer, so I was amazed and it was HUGE - much larger than I realized.

I haven't really mentioned school too much lately - but I'm getting burned out. For example - I should be working on a project right now and what am I doing - blogging :) Blogging is infinitely more interesting than creating a template for a storyboard (actually just redesigning one). I did survive my two presentations and two of my papers. Ugh. Tomorrow is designated as: "I will finish the rough draft of my research report and I will not leave the house until I do" day. ...sigh.... I really, really do not think there is any way on God's green earth that I can do a Ph. D. The horror stories that J & D tell me (two people in my group) are just terrible. I would go insane. There's really no point to me getting it either. So, I will be happy with two Master's degrees and my dog :) Who is snoring as I type - it's so cute. He also still has nursing dreams - which are even cuter! He is a Lab - food is in the top 3 list of priorities. The others would be tummy rubs and going outside to play or walk. Oh - I also let him chase another cat out of the yard this AM before we left - what fun!

Okay - you must be thinking - evil person - cat hater! Au contraire - I have a very large, fluffy fat cat named Jasmine who gets along just fine with Jedi and he with her. However, I have no sympathy for cats who are allowed to run loose and will probably end up dead. I think I have blogged about this before, so I will stop my ranting now - altho a good rant would also help me procrastinate from working on my project.

So, this project is my last one - thank GOD!!!! I am in hell next semester tho - 2 classes with my advisor who is tough as nails, my internship and then one class that should be pretty easy - it's all project based and there are no due dates ...grin... But the other two are guaranteed to kick my a** - the Saturdays that I spend working are usually for his class and his class only. Usually between 3-6 hours on Sat., and then almost always another night (usually Wed.) during the week. It's crazy.

I don't really think anything else interesting happened today. We had a very interesting conversation about waxing - but I won't share that here. I did run a few guys out of the ISD lab tho - wimps! I wish R would have been there - she would have been able to explain what I was not and it would have been fun to see J and H blush! ;)

So, it's early, but I'm off to bed. I haven't been sleeping well either. My friend from Colorado is visiting and she's sleeping on my side of the bed, and I really don't sleep well on the other for some reason - and I have absolutely no explanation for that at all. Altho I just drank a can of Mt. Dew - we'll see how well I sleep - but I honestly don't think caffeine even affects me anymore - I think I've had enuf of it this semester that I am officially immune!

Random thoughts for my neglected blog

I've had a helluva month (I've always wanted to type that word ;). October could just be chalked up to the busiest month I've had in my entire life that I would like to NEVER go through again.

I survived my first round of comprehensive exams for my first degree. My interim prof (since mine was in England) was like "Well, if you're taking these at home, then you should answer all 6 questions, not just 4" - so, he got 20 pages of types, single-spaced responses - he wasn't happy. Well, next time give me a freaking page limit!!! I have (unfortunately) another set to go through in March for my second degree.....sigh.....

My dad and stepmom are coming for graduation AND will help me with house stuff while they are here - :-D!!!! We are going to tile my back porch, put up curtains and change out some of the lights. I should (hopefully) have all the cabinet hardware up by the time he gets here. I'm excited - my dad doesn't visit often due to the driving distance and my stepmom is allergice to my pets. It will be fun to have them here for a few days and do some running around (since I am DONE as of December 6th with classes for ONE FULL MONTH!!!!!!!!!!! can you tell I'm excited??)

I joined a singles activity group - not sure if I previously blogged that or not. It's fun to get out and meet people AND they post events a month in advance. For the "I live for my planner" gal that I am, this is a perfect social group for me :) R joined as well - it's been good so far. I'm going bowling tomorrow with my friend L who is in town from Colorado, taking Jedi swimming with the group on Saturday, and going to a Christmas Tree festival Sunday - no, I have no idea what that means, but I'm going to find out.....grin.....

So, how do you kick someone out of your house? Any ideas from anyone would be appreciated here. C needs to go. I'm sick of it. Case in point - I put his dirty dishes on his bed today - all day - b/c I'm tired of him leaving them in the frigging sink. It takes all of 30 seconds to put the damn things in the dishwater, which is less than a foot away from the sink. What probably, truly prompted this, is the complete and total continual lack of respect that he shows. Exhibit A: I went for my walk this AM with Jedi (nothing unusual). We left around 6 AM - so it's still a little dark out. Got back (when it was light)....C went out to smoke cigars last night. I don't really care as long as he does it outside and far enough away from the house that the smell doesn't come in (I am VERY allergic to cigarette and cigar smoke - I can't even put my contacts in the next day b/c my eyes are so red, bloodshot and puffy). Rather than take an ashtray with him - he throws his butts (with the stupid little plastic things on them) in the driveway - directly where I can run over them with my car. Are you stupid or something? Oh, wait, nope - just completely inconsiderate and rude. I'm over it - actually I have been for a while. So, how do I kick him out? Suggestions?? I figure I would give him until Feb. 1 to find a place - why so long? I am going out of town at the end of Nov. and the end of Dec. - no offense, but I don't trust him that much anymore to not take something of mine when he moves. I'll be here at the end of Jan. to make sure that doesn't happen. Just a small amount of paranoria can actually be a good thing.

I had a funky dream last night. I was with a guy, but I can't remember his face, but he was the best kisser (even topping Victor from high school - that boy KNEW how to kiss - WOW!! and I never found anyone to top him). Everything felt really good - just the kissing and I was thinking - THIS is the guy. Hmmm....could it be I'm starting to miss men? Honestly, I've just been too busy to mess with that aspect of my life. Besides the fact that I am almost 100% sure I'm moving in a short 8 months :), so what's the point?

I cannot wait until Dec. 6th - I'm so over school right now. I'm wondering what the hell I was thinking. In the past month, and also within this month I've had: 2 major projects (fortunately in groups - but requiring about 5 hours a week outside of class with the group, and numerous hours without to finish), SIX PAPERS - with references, including my comps exam that took me 8 hours over 2 days- my brain actually hurt!, 2 presentations - both of them are this week - YIKES!, a midterm, 2 regular tests in 2 different classes, and finals are rapidly approaching. After tomorrow, I can actually start scheduling time during the day to study for finals so I am not cramming. I might actually have a chance of getting an A in my molecular biotechnology class right now - as long as I didn't blow the last test, and I need to go ask my prof a question about these 8 mystery points that I don't understand. That's the only class I'm really worried about. If I actually make an A in there, I will have a 4.0 for my first master's - WOOHOO!!! I've NEVER maintained a 4.0 average in school before. I realize that in the grand scheme of things, it doesn't really matter. And as my friend B points out- a 4.0 is really insignificant when you're dead (I really do love her for saying that and putting things in perspective for me), but it also means I will graduate with top honors - which I missed in my undergrad program by one B that my prof made a mistake and would not adjust my grade, even when I showed him my test. So, a 4.0 would be FABULOUS!!!! My dad would be really proud too - which is part of the reason I want to do it - I really want him to be proud of me :)

So, I probably should have broken this up into several different posts, but I had just a few minutes to try and wear myself out before bed tonight (little anxious about my presentation tomorrow - ugh). Now, all I have to do is move my 85 pound dog to HIS side of the bed and I'm all set! lol