This will be a relatively short post.
For those of you who knew about my horrible chest cold and lack of inhalers, I am feeling better. Not 100%. Maybe like 60%? But considering I was at like 5% that's a huge improvement. Of course I start feeling better just in time to actually get my inhaler (it should be here on Monday I think). I have actually been able to do some unpacking and decorating. Our house is beginning to look like a home! I will post pictures on Facebook once it is at least 90% decent, lol.
I have an interview with a clothing store on Wednesday. I applied to a company that works with adults with disabilities, but I haven't heard anything. I even emailed the contact person on Monday, and all she could tell me was that she sent over my ap and I "may" hear from someone for an interview. When I gave the professional thank you and hoping to hear from someone, she replied and said she hoped so too and that there were several positions open. And yet I still haven't heard from anyone. I really can't afford to wait an entire month to get a job, just for the chance at an interview (not even guaranteed employment). Whatever happens, we'll only be here a year. And as a mentor of mine once told me, you can do anything for a short time.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Friday, June 25, 2010
A New Beginning...Again
For those of you paying attention, the blog has a new title. Instead of the not quite exciting adventures it is now the even less exciting adventures. That's right, we're officially (all) in Burlington. How...anticlimactic.
Despite the (all too appropriate) title of the blog, it has been a rather exciting week. Last week was my last week at work. It was full of goodbyes, hugs, tears, and a baby shower! (not mine!) I also stretched out the cleaning and packing way too long. I figured everything I had to do would be easy. Wrong. Not the first time my judgment has been wrong. Ask my father: I suck at anything that has to do with packing and moving. Thankfully a good friend of mine came over Thursday to help me clean. Then she and another friend came Friday to help pack. This friend even stored some of our things in her 2nd bedroom over the weekend until I could pick them up Sunday.
Now for the drive home. It was the scariest drive I have ever made, no exaggeration. I drove through what I have now discovered was a derecho. There was winds trying to push my car into the next lane. There was lighting going off several strikes a second. There was heavy rain. There was hail. There was limited visibility. There were patches of fog. There was one person and three animals in a tightly packed car with a sometimes-working AC and fogged up windows. Needless to say, I was utterly relieved to make it to the house in Burlington. At one point in the drive Booboo crawled over and sat right next to me because he was so scared.
Then Monday comes and what does it bring us? More bad weather. This is only one of two warnings we received that day. I actually spent about 15 minutes in the basement with the pets and the laptop. I have since found my travel weather radio. (Although I did discover that our wireless does in fact reach the basement.) Luckily the tornado hooked south and we didn't see any of it.
Tuesday was also stormy. So was Wednesday. Wednesday was when we had some terrible wind and heavy rain. Luckily the only damage was some (small) branches torn off the trees in the yard. And of course this entire time it was inhumanely hot and humid, which grew worse yesterday and today because of the uninterrupted sun. (What is up with Midwest weather?)
Since it was either too stormy or too hot, I spent most of the week in the house. And the cable was out for three days. And Matt was away at the training. Which leads me to my next bit of news: the pets. I am about ready to give them all up for adoption!
Booboo: My only real irritation with Booboo is that he has been incredibly clingy. I know dogs can be clingy by nature, but this goes beyond normal. I don't do clingy too well. I'm pretty sure it has everything to do with all the changes and probably some separation anxiety since Matt's been gone so much. The thing is, even with Matt here--Matt will be sitting on the couch, arms open to Booboo, and Booboo will still jump into my lap no matter that it's occupied by the laptop. But I can't be mad at him right now. He's lying down upstairs (which is strange since me and Matt are downstairs) and his nose is dry. I think he has a little heat exhaustion/dehydration. He follows me up and down the stairs as I unpack, and that's a lot of work for a little dog.
Drac: Drac hasn't really been too bad. He cries for food and attention, which is normal. He tears around the house at random times which is normal. The only times I've gotten mad at him were when he followed Jenkins into the basement (more on that later) and today when I found him on the counter trying to get to the dog food. Oh, and when he finds bugs in the house he doesn't kill them. He plays with them until he gets bored, and then leaves them so they can find ME to crawl on. Yuck!
Jenkins: Oh Jenkins, where do I start. At the apartment he knocked the sliding screen door off its track and led Drac onto the balcony. At the new house: he has broken 4 out of 5 sets of blinds (2 could be Drac, but it's unlikely), he opened the door to the basement and led Drac in an exploration down there, he hung himself on a set of blinds, he knocked an entire bag of cat food onto the floor and proceeded to eat the food even when it had landed in the litter box, and he and Drac somehow knocked there food dish off the dryer onto the floor while it was full and while they WERE EATING IT! He is seriously acting out. I'm not sure if he's mad about the move or about Matt being gone, but he is a rebel without a cause.
Of course through all this I still love them dearly. After all, I am still able to find times when I think, you guys are too cute. Except Jenkins. Lately, everytime he looks at me I just know he's silently cussing me out.
Despite the (all too appropriate) title of the blog, it has been a rather exciting week. Last week was my last week at work. It was full of goodbyes, hugs, tears, and a baby shower! (not mine!) I also stretched out the cleaning and packing way too long. I figured everything I had to do would be easy. Wrong. Not the first time my judgment has been wrong. Ask my father: I suck at anything that has to do with packing and moving. Thankfully a good friend of mine came over Thursday to help me clean. Then she and another friend came Friday to help pack. This friend even stored some of our things in her 2nd bedroom over the weekend until I could pick them up Sunday.
Now for the drive home. It was the scariest drive I have ever made, no exaggeration. I drove through what I have now discovered was a derecho. There was winds trying to push my car into the next lane. There was lighting going off several strikes a second. There was heavy rain. There was hail. There was limited visibility. There were patches of fog. There was one person and three animals in a tightly packed car with a sometimes-working AC and fogged up windows. Needless to say, I was utterly relieved to make it to the house in Burlington. At one point in the drive Booboo crawled over and sat right next to me because he was so scared.
Then Monday comes and what does it bring us? More bad weather. This is only one of two warnings we received that day. I actually spent about 15 minutes in the basement with the pets and the laptop. I have since found my travel weather radio. (Although I did discover that our wireless does in fact reach the basement.) Luckily the tornado hooked south and we didn't see any of it.
Tuesday was also stormy. So was Wednesday. Wednesday was when we had some terrible wind and heavy rain. Luckily the only damage was some (small) branches torn off the trees in the yard. And of course this entire time it was inhumanely hot and humid, which grew worse yesterday and today because of the uninterrupted sun. (What is up with Midwest weather?)
Since it was either too stormy or too hot, I spent most of the week in the house. And the cable was out for three days. And Matt was away at the training. Which leads me to my next bit of news: the pets. I am about ready to give them all up for adoption!
Booboo: My only real irritation with Booboo is that he has been incredibly clingy. I know dogs can be clingy by nature, but this goes beyond normal. I don't do clingy too well. I'm pretty sure it has everything to do with all the changes and probably some separation anxiety since Matt's been gone so much. The thing is, even with Matt here--Matt will be sitting on the couch, arms open to Booboo, and Booboo will still jump into my lap no matter that it's occupied by the laptop. But I can't be mad at him right now. He's lying down upstairs (which is strange since me and Matt are downstairs) and his nose is dry. I think he has a little heat exhaustion/dehydration. He follows me up and down the stairs as I unpack, and that's a lot of work for a little dog.
Drac: Drac hasn't really been too bad. He cries for food and attention, which is normal. He tears around the house at random times which is normal. The only times I've gotten mad at him were when he followed Jenkins into the basement (more on that later) and today when I found him on the counter trying to get to the dog food. Oh, and when he finds bugs in the house he doesn't kill them. He plays with them until he gets bored, and then leaves them so they can find ME to crawl on. Yuck!
Jenkins: Oh Jenkins, where do I start. At the apartment he knocked the sliding screen door off its track and led Drac onto the balcony. At the new house: he has broken 4 out of 5 sets of blinds (2 could be Drac, but it's unlikely), he opened the door to the basement and led Drac in an exploration down there, he hung himself on a set of blinds, he knocked an entire bag of cat food onto the floor and proceeded to eat the food even when it had landed in the litter box, and he and Drac somehow knocked there food dish off the dryer onto the floor while it was full and while they WERE EATING IT! He is seriously acting out. I'm not sure if he's mad about the move or about Matt being gone, but he is a rebel without a cause.
Of course through all this I still love them dearly. After all, I am still able to find times when I think, you guys are too cute. Except Jenkins. Lately, everytime he looks at me I just know he's silently cussing me out.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
We Were Never Normal To Begin With
We found a house!
It's a cute little two bedroom house. Two stories, one bathroom. There's a big front porch and a partially fenced backyard. We're going to finish the fence when our finances have recovered from the move. With a fence we'll be able to let Booboo run around the backyard. The living and dining rooms have newly refinished hardwood floors. The kitchen has laminate flooring that looks like wood, which I love! It has a fridge (with a lot more freezer space), lots of cabinets, a whole lot more counter space, and a microwave. No dishwasher :( but that just means we'll save on water, heat, and electricity. There's a basement we won't use because of moisture issues, but now we have a place to go if we ever get another tornado warning!
The only problem with the house is that it's waaayyy smaller than our apartment. So Matt's having a difficult time figuring out how to arrange everything. He's saving most of it for when I get there. Which is fine, because I told him to. If there is one thing I'm picky about it's home decor, so I am perfectly happy with him leaving it to me!
I have a week before I get to rejoin my husband. He starts work on Monday (officially, anyway--he got bored so went into work today). My last day of work is Friday. So, we have to be apart for a short time.
It is really boring here without him and all our stuff. I mostly miss the tv. Not that I spend all Saturday watching tv, but I usually have it playing in the background when I'm cleaning. Unfortunately computer doesn't cut it since these dinky speakers don't compare to surround sound.
S0, our life in Iowa partially begins. Matt has a head start on me, though he's not having any more fun of a time.
Pictures of the house will be up once it's ... acceptable.
It's a cute little two bedroom house. Two stories, one bathroom. There's a big front porch and a partially fenced backyard. We're going to finish the fence when our finances have recovered from the move. With a fence we'll be able to let Booboo run around the backyard. The living and dining rooms have newly refinished hardwood floors. The kitchen has laminate flooring that looks like wood, which I love! It has a fridge (with a lot more freezer space), lots of cabinets, a whole lot more counter space, and a microwave. No dishwasher :( but that just means we'll save on water, heat, and electricity. There's a basement we won't use because of moisture issues, but now we have a place to go if we ever get another tornado warning!
The only problem with the house is that it's waaayyy smaller than our apartment. So Matt's having a difficult time figuring out how to arrange everything. He's saving most of it for when I get there. Which is fine, because I told him to. If there is one thing I'm picky about it's home decor, so I am perfectly happy with him leaving it to me!
I have a week before I get to rejoin my husband. He starts work on Monday (officially, anyway--he got bored so went into work today). My last day of work is Friday. So, we have to be apart for a short time.
It is really boring here without him and all our stuff. I mostly miss the tv. Not that I spend all Saturday watching tv, but I usually have it playing in the background when I'm cleaning. Unfortunately computer doesn't cut it since these dinky speakers don't compare to surround sound.
S0, our life in Iowa partially begins. Matt has a head start on me, though he's not having any more fun of a time.
Pictures of the house will be up once it's ... acceptable.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Back from MIA
Well. It's been quite some time. I have to admit I have not been so good about updating this blog.
I'm sure whoever reads this already knows, but were moving to Burlington, IA. Right now we're in town trying to find a place to live. We found something that seems promising, but we're waiting to hear from the owner. It's stressful because we need to be able to move in on Thursday.
The house we are hoping to get is a two bedroom. It's pretty nice. The downstairs has newly refinished hard wood floors. There's fresh paint inside. The carpets in the bedrooms are a little stained, but nothing to bad. There's a partially fenced backyard. If we get the place we'll probably finish the fencing so Booboo can run around the backyard.
But for now, we wait.
I'm sure whoever reads this already knows, but were moving to Burlington, IA. Right now we're in town trying to find a place to live. We found something that seems promising, but we're waiting to hear from the owner. It's stressful because we need to be able to move in on Thursday.
The house we are hoping to get is a two bedroom. It's pretty nice. The downstairs has newly refinished hard wood floors. There's fresh paint inside. The carpets in the bedrooms are a little stained, but nothing to bad. There's a partially fenced backyard. If we get the place we'll probably finish the fencing so Booboo can run around the backyard.
But for now, we wait.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Catching Up
Well, it's been awhile. So let's recap by month:
February
Matt is now working at Furniture Row. He really likes it and is on the fast track to management. His manager is sure he'll be ready to be promoted in July. When he makes manager he'll be making more than he would in higher ed. Another benefit of the job is we have friends now! We're actually currently at his assistant manager's place playing cards. Well, Matt's playing cards I'm watching--and blogging obviously.
As far as my job: February was very busy. I had to plan two conferences for my students and accompany 15 students to one of them (my colleague went with the other as both conferences were at the same time). I was also injured at Black Student Union's Black Heritage Ball. I still can't feel my finger from repetive pressing of the hot glue gun. I also ripped my lip on a piece of super tape. It's since healed.
March:
I took some vacation time. Mat and I went to Decatur. I'll post pictures at some distant point in the future. This past Tuesday I went up to Chicago to see Pacific folks. The VP for student life was inducted as the new President of NASPA. Pacific also hosted a reception. It was good seeing old friends. I was gonna come back home the same night, but Matt and my former Dean of Students preferred I stay the night. So I crashed at my mentor's hotel room. It was fun cuz it was like a sleep over.
General Updates
Health: Matt is healthy as usual. I was suffering from a bad asthma flare-up, but it's mostly under control.
Pets:Everyone is doing fine. Booboo has started acting up a bit, but he was good today so I hope he's over it.
Future plans: Wedding plans are in partial-swing. I've put in estimate requests for several places. I am currently negotiating cost with the location I really want. I've looked into things for our honeymoon location: Niagara Falls. The wedding is likely going to be in June 2012 in upstate New York. The location I really want is in Albany. This should be interesting planning long distance. I may have to take a couple trips to NY and crash at Mama Waldron's place! :]
Well that is the update. I'll try to do better at updating!
February
Matt is now working at Furniture Row. He really likes it and is on the fast track to management. His manager is sure he'll be ready to be promoted in July. When he makes manager he'll be making more than he would in higher ed. Another benefit of the job is we have friends now! We're actually currently at his assistant manager's place playing cards. Well, Matt's playing cards I'm watching--and blogging obviously.
As far as my job: February was very busy. I had to plan two conferences for my students and accompany 15 students to one of them (my colleague went with the other as both conferences were at the same time). I was also injured at Black Student Union's Black Heritage Ball. I still can't feel my finger from repetive pressing of the hot glue gun. I also ripped my lip on a piece of super tape. It's since healed.
March:
I took some vacation time. Mat and I went to Decatur. I'll post pictures at some distant point in the future. This past Tuesday I went up to Chicago to see Pacific folks. The VP for student life was inducted as the new President of NASPA. Pacific also hosted a reception. It was good seeing old friends. I was gonna come back home the same night, but Matt and my former Dean of Students preferred I stay the night. So I crashed at my mentor's hotel room. It was fun cuz it was like a sleep over.
General Updates
Health: Matt is healthy as usual. I was suffering from a bad asthma flare-up, but it's mostly under control.
Pets:Everyone is doing fine. Booboo has started acting up a bit, but he was good today so I hope he's over it.
Future plans: Wedding plans are in partial-swing. I've put in estimate requests for several places. I am currently negotiating cost with the location I really want. I've looked into things for our honeymoon location: Niagara Falls. The wedding is likely going to be in June 2012 in upstate New York. The location I really want is in Albany. This should be interesting planning long distance. I may have to take a couple trips to NY and crash at Mama Waldron's place! :]
Well that is the update. I'll try to do better at updating!
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Casualty of the Job
And I don't mean the physical kind. In my line of work I am forced to think about issues of diversity.
Today we showed a screening of Morgan Freeman's "Prom Night at Mississippi". It basically is a documentary about the first desegregated prom in a town in Mississippi. In 1997 Morgan Freeman went to them and offered to pay for the prom if they integrated the prom. At this time they had a separate prom for Blacks and a separate prom for Whites. In 1997 they refused Morgan's offer. The school got away with it because the students' parents paid for the proms. In 2008 Morgan tried again. They accepted. (A select group of parents did not agree and still hosted a White only prom).
This film and the following conversation really made me think about my background. I never realized until I moved to Illinois just how diverse my neighborhood growing up was. I mean, I have always had friends of various races. It's still odd to me that students haven't been around people of diverse backgrounds.
Next week I will be serving on a panel about inter-racial dating. I have an interesting background being a multiracial person in an inter-racial marriage. Should be interesting.
Today we showed a screening of Morgan Freeman's "Prom Night at Mississippi". It basically is a documentary about the first desegregated prom in a town in Mississippi. In 1997 Morgan Freeman went to them and offered to pay for the prom if they integrated the prom. At this time they had a separate prom for Blacks and a separate prom for Whites. In 1997 they refused Morgan's offer. The school got away with it because the students' parents paid for the proms. In 2008 Morgan tried again. They accepted. (A select group of parents did not agree and still hosted a White only prom).
This film and the following conversation really made me think about my background. I never realized until I moved to Illinois just how diverse my neighborhood growing up was. I mean, I have always had friends of various races. It's still odd to me that students haven't been around people of diverse backgrounds.
Next week I will be serving on a panel about inter-racial dating. I have an interesting background being a multiracial person in an inter-racial marriage. Should be interesting.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Back Again
All right, let's face it. I suck at this whole blogging thing! I it's just been difficult since I've been so crazy busy at work. I usually have enough energy to get me through the day, but by the time I get home I don't want to do anything!
Life is good. Some of you on facebook may have noted I had a concussion a while back. I'm pretty much fine now. I think trying to get back to work was more of a headache then the bump on the head! HR does not joke! I am still getting slight headaches daily, but I don't know if it's risidual from the concussion, my inconsistent caffeine intake, or the continuation of the minor headaches I was getting before the concussion. I suppose I could go to the doctor but there's two reason why i won't: 1) I don't think they'll really do anything but try to pump me up with more pain medication and 2) I just don't want to deal with HR. I got a workers comp prescription card which is funny since i was told that i a) did not qualify for workers comp, and b) i wasn't given any kind of prescription. My supervisor said I should call hr to find out what it's about. I'm thinking I can score some vicadin! (kidding!)
Work is going great. I've finally gotten into the groove of the office and am really connecting with my students. It has been crazy busy, but it makes the day go faster. Matt has gotten a new job with Furniture Row. It's still retail but it pays a lot better and offers a lot more benefits. Bed, Bath, n Beyond were sad to lose him, but they couldn't offer enough incentive to keep him. Their loss! It's not Higher Ed but it's a better circumstance. Plus I think if he can make manager that will give him some supervising experience if and when he decides to get back into Higher Ed. Student Affairs is kind of a hard job market right now. I think maybe half of our cohort has gotten a job. So maybe when things start to look better Matt will at least have some transferable skills.
I have found a meetup group in Bloomington. I went to one meeting two weeks ago and really liked it. I have another one in about an hour. I just fit right in with. Those who have watched me grow know that I might be an extrovert, but I can be shy in first greeting. So it was great that by the end of the night I was joking with the group and sharing stories. The welcome emails on the listserv have been great as well. Tonight will be a larger group, so we shall see how it goes.
The kiddies are good. Drac remains special and continues to grow more and more incessant for my attention. Jenkins is the same, causing mischief and looking up at us with deer in the headlight eyes when we catch him. Booboo has gotten a bit more active. He likes to chase the cats...well, he likes to chase Jenkins. I think he's finally figuring out that Drac doesn't really like him all that much. Jenkins can hold his own so we're not concerned. The only irritating thing is when Booboo gets really excited Jenkins jumps to safety, and yesterday knocked down the pitcher from the counter. The only real irritation is Booboo will butt in if someone else is getting attention. He especially tries to steal my attention away from Drac. I don't really know how to correct this behavior. I don't reward him. If he butts in and chases Drac away, I put my hands behind my back and don't pet him. I'm not sure what's more important to him: getting my attention or keeping Drac from getting my attention.
Well, I have to end this here because I have a half hour to eat and get ready before my meeting.
Love you all!
Life is good. Some of you on facebook may have noted I had a concussion a while back. I'm pretty much fine now. I think trying to get back to work was more of a headache then the bump on the head! HR does not joke! I am still getting slight headaches daily, but I don't know if it's risidual from the concussion, my inconsistent caffeine intake, or the continuation of the minor headaches I was getting before the concussion. I suppose I could go to the doctor but there's two reason why i won't: 1) I don't think they'll really do anything but try to pump me up with more pain medication and 2) I just don't want to deal with HR. I got a workers comp prescription card which is funny since i was told that i a) did not qualify for workers comp, and b) i wasn't given any kind of prescription. My supervisor said I should call hr to find out what it's about. I'm thinking I can score some vicadin! (kidding!)
Work is going great. I've finally gotten into the groove of the office and am really connecting with my students. It has been crazy busy, but it makes the day go faster. Matt has gotten a new job with Furniture Row. It's still retail but it pays a lot better and offers a lot more benefits. Bed, Bath, n Beyond were sad to lose him, but they couldn't offer enough incentive to keep him. Their loss! It's not Higher Ed but it's a better circumstance. Plus I think if he can make manager that will give him some supervising experience if and when he decides to get back into Higher Ed. Student Affairs is kind of a hard job market right now. I think maybe half of our cohort has gotten a job. So maybe when things start to look better Matt will at least have some transferable skills.
I have found a meetup group in Bloomington. I went to one meeting two weeks ago and really liked it. I have another one in about an hour. I just fit right in with. Those who have watched me grow know that I might be an extrovert, but I can be shy in first greeting. So it was great that by the end of the night I was joking with the group and sharing stories. The welcome emails on the listserv have been great as well. Tonight will be a larger group, so we shall see how it goes.
The kiddies are good. Drac remains special and continues to grow more and more incessant for my attention. Jenkins is the same, causing mischief and looking up at us with deer in the headlight eyes when we catch him. Booboo has gotten a bit more active. He likes to chase the cats...well, he likes to chase Jenkins. I think he's finally figuring out that Drac doesn't really like him all that much. Jenkins can hold his own so we're not concerned. The only irritating thing is when Booboo gets really excited Jenkins jumps to safety, and yesterday knocked down the pitcher from the counter. The only real irritation is Booboo will butt in if someone else is getting attention. He especially tries to steal my attention away from Drac. I don't really know how to correct this behavior. I don't reward him. If he butts in and chases Drac away, I put my hands behind my back and don't pet him. I'm not sure what's more important to him: getting my attention or keeping Drac from getting my attention.
Well, I have to end this here because I have a half hour to eat and get ready before my meeting.
Love you all!
Monday, January 4, 2010
Random Update
Well, this will be a quick update. Life has been boring but interesting all at the same time. Booboo, Drac, and Jenkins make life interesting. At one point I caught Drac licking the Christmas tree water. Then on the day we were taking the tree down Drac climbed up into the tree. Booboo is always chasing the kitties. He wants to play with the kitties' toys. And if one of the cats is getting attention, Booboo pushes them out of the way. Drac does not like Booboo and meows and paws at him whenever he gets too close. I guess that's better than the hissing he used to do. Jenkins will play with Booboo, but I think he's getting sick of him. Booboo has started to get a little rough lately. We had to buy a jacket for Booboo and will have to get him booties because it is too cold for him.
Today was my first day back from Winter Break. The day went pretty quickly and I didn't mind getting back to work.
I have discovered that a day off for Matt is not necessarily a good thing. He's being really annoying! LOL.
Today was my first day back from Winter Break. The day went pretty quickly and I didn't mind getting back to work.
I have discovered that a day off for Matt is not necessarily a good thing. He's being really annoying! LOL.
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