Passing of Time...

Some years seem uneventful when glanced from a distance - I can remember much about 2005 (good, bad, good, bad, good), but there are few noteworthy moments from 2006 and 2007. Yes, they had a couple of wonderful trips and memories made, but those are just a few days of each year. 2008 has proven to be a memorable year.

As far as finances, I'm much poorer at the end of this year than when I started. Buying a house will do that to you. I'm much richer in my home life though - having a home will do that to you as well. I love my house, truly, madly, and deeply. I'm thrilled that my basement holds heat and my scrapping area is cozy and inviting. I'm adoring trips to IKEA for fun, albeit tricky, bits of furniture that have come to adorn my rooms.

I found that I enjoy gardening this year. Walking outside to check the green beans put a smile on my face each day this past summer. Mowing the lawn isn't even that much of a chore - self-propelled lawn mowers are a blessing. The spots of dirt next to the steps were perfect for flowers and walking around the farmer's market picking them out was a happy experience that I loved sharing with my mom.

At the beginning of the year, I made a couple of goals. Not New Year's resolutions, but just goals. I wanted to buy a house (check!) and I wanted to FINALLY finish my degree. Eleven years after graduating high school, I found my self a college graduate. The look of pride on my dad's face when he held my diploma was worth all the extra work on projects and stress of poor learning groups. I have yet to decide what to do with the degree, but I made it. In a few years, I may consider graduate school - if only to say I did it. It is weird not going to class (online) anymore, but it is also nice to have completed my education.

In the late summer, our family lost a beloved family member. Our dog of 16 years, Chip, left us and I'm still having trouble with that fact. As odd as it seems, I've been very private with how much this hurts. Losing him is probably the closest I've ever come to depression and I'm still in mourning over him. Mom got another dog shortly after - a beautiful female Corgi who needed to be rescued and deserves a happy, loving home. She is a darling - a princess to say the least - but she is not Chip and I don't have a connection with her like I did with him. Chip was the happiest, nicest, and most selfless being I've ever known. He had such joy in just being able to make you smile - I admired that and will always miss him. It is just really hard knowing that I'll never hold him again and never get to scratch his back again.

During the year, I went to the doctor a couple of times for this shoulder pain I've experienced for the last year and a half. What a waste of money that was. The second doctor, the one who actually bothered to do x-rays, prescribe some muscle relaxants, and refer me to a physical therapist was slightly more interested in the problem than the first guy (who may or may not have been 12), but none of those things actually relieved the pain. I'm coming to believe the problem may be a side effect of spending 6 days a week in a bowling alley for my high school years. The type of injury I'm experiencing would make sense, but I still have no clue how to make the pain disappear. I have a funny story to share about my mom's advice, but it is more suited for a post of its own. Pretty soon.

Work has been work this year. Nothing really exciting, but that's how life can go sometimes. Our department is constantly changing, which can be interesting, but also can be tedious. There are moments that make me proud and moments that don't. I don't have much else to say about the work front.

Vacations brought opportunities for pretty pictures this past year. In March, DM and I headed to Duluth for a couple of days. We managed to not lose any fingers or toes to frostbite, but we may think twice next time we decide to watch a sunrise over a frozen Great Lake when it is below zero Fahrenheit. Yeah, we're crazy.

In September, I went on the second annual trip with my mom. We stayed a little closer to home this time and found ourselves in Chicago for the week. Chicago is a great city - lots to do and see. I was thrilled with the trip and enjoyed spending the time with my mom.

I hope that 2009 brings happiness to everyone. Life has wonderful moments that we need to appreciate and savor. I wish moments that take your breath away in a positive surprise. I hope for days that stand out because of wonderful moments to each person. Best wishes for 2009.

Happy Holidays!

Just in case I don't get a chance to post again before the holiday:
Merry Christmas!


Not much has been happening here this past week or so. I put together my dresser from IKEA and I'm thrilled with it. I finally have a nice storage space for towels, sheets, and blankets.

To help put my dresser together, my dad gave me an early Christmas present. My old cordless drill died (the battery wouldn't charge anymore) and now I have a shiny new drill! It's pretty cool and I just know DM will drool over it a bit.

As for shopping, I'm sort of done. I think I have gifts ready for most everyone, but still need something for a pretty great friend. It's a small Christmas this year - that's what happens when you buy a house.

We're supposed to get another couple inches of snow tonight. I'm not sure if I want snow or if I'm hoping for the snow-free winter. No snow tends to mean extreme cold. Well, at least I've learned how to use my snowblower. It only takes about 10 minutes to clear the sidewalk/driveway when it works.

Oh! This was a nice surprise. Saturday brought us quite a bit of snow again. Before I woke up, my parents and Scott stopped by and shoveled my driveway! It was a nice, sweet thing for them to do and really made my day. I have a pretty cool family.

My Christmas plans include wrapping like mad on Christmas Eve (after work - I'm really hoping my dad's presents show up on Christmas Eve!). On Thursday, I'll get up, call Dad, and head over to Mom's for family time and wonderful food.

I hope everyone has a happy holiday, full of happy moments, and positive memories. Best wishes to all my friends!

Success!

I have overcome the challenge of my snow blower! This afternoon, I woke to find about 2 inches of snow on the ground. "It will work. It will work. It will work." I chanted this to myself as I headed out in my multiple layers of clothing and hoped that I could get the machine to work for me this time.

The chanting worked! I got the machine to run and not die 2 minutes later. Within 10 minutes, I had the driveway and walkway cleared. Nice! So, I'm proud of my accomplishment today.

Let's hope this trend continues through the winter.

Layers. Yes, layers are good.

I am snow blower challenged. We got about 2 inches of snow (maybe less - doesn't sound like much to say 2 inches, but it is still enough to have to clear the driveway and walkway). When I got up this afternoon, I figured I needed to go out and clear some snow. I got the snow blower to start up and then it died. Then I started it again, tried to move it forward and guess what? It died. ARGH!

After a 1/2 hour of shoveling snow and freezing the small areas of exposed skin off my body and not being able to see ANYTHING because my sunglasses fogged over and then froze, I went back inside to remove the massive amounts of clothing required to spend 30 minutes outside doing manual labor. Could that sentence be any longer? Hmmm.

Here's a secret. When it is negative 8 below Fahrenheit with a windchill of negative 20 or 30 or something (I think the news said negative 33, but it didn't feel quite that cold), fashion is no longer a concern. I went outside with three pairs of pants on (long undies, pj bottoms, and jeans), three tops (pjs, long underwear, and a hoodie), my leather jacket, two scarves, ear warmer headband, a knit hat, and the hood of my sweatshirt. Oh, there were gloves involved too. I could barely walk, but there I was doing MANUAL labor because the machine that is supposed to make my life easier has decided to only work when my dad is here because it is mean to me. It is a conspiracy.

Why can everyone else make my snow blower work except for me? Seriously, I'm nice. I'm a good person. Work dang it!

Mom and I went to IKEA tonight. I was pleasantly surprised to find a 6 drawer chest that will fit nicely in my room so I have storage space for extra sheets, towels, and other stuff. Plus, it will give me a nice place to display items such as picture frames (which I got MORE of at IKEA - I may have an addiction).

I hope everyone is staying warm. I'm going to grab another blanket and bundle up while watching a movie.

Howling Wind

It is snowing outside right now and the wind is creating drifts of cold, soft, white. My first winter in this house is starting off well. Mom gave me a snowblower - it is a small one but one that should do the job for a narrow driveway. Tomorrow morning will be a good day to give the machine a workout.

I can't believe how close it is to Christmas. I'm not ready at all. I do have a small tree in my living room - it's only 3 feet high. It's sitting on an end table and is lit up in blue and white. Bowls of large ornaments are around the house trying to make the place a little more festive. I need to go shopping and figure out what to get my parents. It is going to be a scaled back holiday this year, but I'm sure it will be great to spend time with family.

Surprise ... Telegram*

This is the Crown Fountain. It is at Millennium Park in Chicago. The faces will change throughout the day and water will shoot out the "mouth" of the display. Kids run and splash in the pool. It is somewhat creepy, but cool in a way too. The technology is quite good and it does make for an interesting piece to view.



I'm on vacation from work again. This is my last week off until next year. It is time to winterize the house a bit - mulch the leaves, get the tomato plants out of the ground, etc. I am going out to dinner with family & friends many of the nights this week. DM was over last weekend for scrapbooking and she'll be over again this upcoming weekend. On Saturday I am going to have a party.

There is not too much else taking place around here. Char & I played pool earlier tonight and I had the unfortunate pleasure of a drunk man trying to grind on me while listening to Vanilla Ice. I do have to admit it was rather funny.

The weekend newspaper had a story about a bar crawl with a zombie theme. The crawlers would walk like zombies. This makes the walking much slower. They have a cheer:

WHAT DO WE WANT?

Brains!

WHEN DO WE WANT THEM?

Brains!

That made DM & I giggle for about twenty minutes.

*The title is a bit of an inside joke within my family. Years ago, we saw this TV show called, "Mad Movies." They would take old movies and dub in new dialogue. One of the episodes featured, "The Night of the Living Dead." The show turned it into a surprise party with all the zombies saying, "Surprise," in perfect dead pan. One zombie frequenting the porch is set up to be a delivery man who keeps saying, "Telegram." I wish I could find the clip for you all.

A New Reason to Smile

A couple of months ago, I had a problem arise that I didn't really want to discuss with anyone. The problem impacted my smile quite literally. As I bit into a treat at work, I had the unfortunate incident of having a temporary crown break off.

I was not pleased and I was not feeling confident about myself. It was not a nice experience.

Luckily, I was able to get into the dentist quickly. He was able to put the temporary crown back on and schedule up some appointments.

Well, after a few painful experiences (oh, did I mention that I metabolize Novocaine extremely quickly? As in less than 20 minutes quickly?), I left the dentist today with a new bridge on my front teeth.

I'm actually very happy with the results and find myself smiling even when there isn't much going on today.

That is my news for today. I'll leave you with a picture now. I'm trying to post every day, but give me a little bit of time. I might not get the weekends every day, but I'll keep trying.

Fire up the grill

(Larger image can be seen here: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3165/2905840959_ab3ea02afe_o.jpg)

Happy Friday! Want to know what I've recently learned? I've learned that I don't know how to make hamburger patties that won't fall apart on the grill. Is there a special trick to this? Anything I could do that would prevent the entire chunk of hamburger from falling apart through the cracks? Yeah, that was a mess to clean up. And then I ate rice.

Know what? I enjoy grilling. I really like making potatoes on the grill, but have a new way to make bratwurst (thanks to my cousin Brad) that is A W E S O M E! I'll never go back to the old way.

The top picture is a panoramic of Chicago taken from a boat cruise. What do you think? The bottom picture is from the subway/El in Chicago (notice a theme yet?). I just enjoyed the lighting in the shot - even though it is pretty dark. What do you think?

Hi - not much to say

Not too much happening here today. My To Do list includes taking out the garbage (to the street) and that's about it.

Tonight's picture is of the John Hancock Center in Chicago. This was taken from Navy Pier. If you like the picture, give it a click! Thanks.

Starting Over

My name is Beth. Welcome to the infrequently visited and even more infrequently updated blog known as "Sheepshead and Other Stories." The title is a carry over from my days as a card playing junkie, sitting at the all-night diner with DM, Keem, & company.

In the past year to two years, the posting on this site has decreased quite a bit. It saddens me, but it never saddened me enough to make a change. Well, I'm going to try to change this again.

To help me out, I'm going to try and post a new picture each night. Even if there is little to say going on, I'll at least have a picture. It's not like I'll run out anytime real soon.

No one is more surprised than I am at the changes my life has taken on recently. I'm discovering new interests that were hidden inside myself since becoming a homeowner. My house is not perfect, but I love it. The bathroom could be bigger and the basement have a lot less crickets in it, but I love that it is mine.

Gardening was a surprise interest. This past summer brought fresh green beans, summer squash, and lovely tomatoes. My flowers took off and the images will help me smile when it is cold during those long winter months.

I'll try to stop by and visit soon. Hope you are all doing well.

The first picture of this new series is of "Cloud Gate," otherwise known as the Bean. It is in Millennium Park in Chicago. I was anxious to see this sculpture and I was not disappointed. I loved it! If you like the image, please click it and go to Flickr. You can comment on it or favorite it on that site.

September 15, 1992 - August 13, 2008 In Loving Memory

This post is overdue. I wrote it a week ago, but then Blogger ate it. It was almost enough for me to give up on this blog completely. But I'm not giving up. Forgive me for the disjointed thoughts that I know will follow here. This was hard enough to write once. I don't know if I'll do any justice a second time around.

In the summer of 1992, our family purchased a new home. The house was perfect for us and my mom still lives there. The backyard was fenced on all sides and Taco, our 5-year old canine, loved the space to run and explore. We installed a doggie door for added freedom.

As winter approached, our family started considering Taco's life. Taco needed a little brother. Mom and I went to a local pet store on the 15th of December and arrived back home with a three month old puppy. This little one was a mix of terrier, cocker spaniel, and Pekinese. He was dark in color, with hints of blonde below. Taco loved the little one at once and held his fascination with the puppy for at least a week. After two weeks, the little one was old news, but they were still inseperable for years to come.

We named him Chip. Officially, his name was Chocolate Chip Brooks. Unofficially, he went by "Chip Brooks Ever," "Stomach on Legs," and Taco's personal favorite, "Annoying Goofball."



One of Chip's favorite games when he was little was to be pulled across the carpet by Taco. They would each take hold of one end of a sock and Taco, the larger dog for a short period of time, would pull Chip around. Chip loved the feel of the carpet scratching his body. We think Taco always wanted Chip to pull back, but Chip just enjoyed being dragged.



As time went by, Chip shed the majority of his dark coat. When he aged, he lightened. Eventually, Mom referred to him as her "blonde boy." He shed oddly at first, getting a lion look that the groomer (a woman who cut his toenails) said others paid to have for their pets. He would loose the fur on his legs and along his torso leaving a mohawk pattern and a big bushy mane around his shoulders and head.

He had gorgeous eyes. His eyelashes were long and naturally curly. Black lines surrounded his expressive gaze in a natural eyeliner that many would die for.



Chip was rarely away from Taco. He idolized his big brother. Many of the pictures we have from the days when both gave our family so much joy include both of the lovely boys.



I want to write about when Chip fell in the river. I want to write about when our boys were robbed in a Halloween costume contest. I'd like to tell you about how Chip could count and how he could make a bed. I would tell you of his happy nature and how he always wanted those around him to smile. I could tell you how Chip was the goodest one ever. He really was.

I want to tell you all about him. I do. And I wrote it beofore. I can't tonight.

All I can say tonight is that I loved him and still do. I always will. I was able to spend time with him his last weekend. I was there the night before... I held him and told him how much I loved him, thanked him for the joy he brought to my life, and said goodbye.

I apologize for the quality of some of these pictures. Most are pictures of pictures, taken years before digital cameras touched our family's world.

If you've read this far, I'll leave you with a few more pictures. These are some of my favorites of Chip. If you feel like leaving a comment, I thank you. Please do me one favor though. Please do not mention anything with religious connotations. I would appreciate the ommission of that beyond all else. Thank you.

In Loving Memory for Chip, the one who left our family at 10 am on August 13, 2008

Pomp & Circumstance

While I'm opting out of walking down the aisle to collect the expensive piece of paper, I do feel good right now. Last night, in the last hour of school, my final group paper was completed and submitted. It will be graded this week and I'll be able to see my final grade by Friday. Once the grade is up, I can fill out a form to have my diploma sent.

I did it. I'm a college graduate.

Yeah, I'm pretty happy right now.

Backyard Blogging

Squirrels like to run along the top of the fence in the back. They do this during the day, when the people living there are away to work and the two canines are tucked safely inside that house. The neighbors to the left also have two pooches, a black and white cocker spaniel (I think) and a pug. Pretty cute. It'll be at least a year before I get a dog to go with my quaint little abode, but I love the neighborhood.

Two houses down, I saw an elderly man and his wife out doing some yardwork. As I drove up into the drive of my place, I looked to see if they would be curious about the newbie on the block. But they never looked up. Either they are lacking curiousity or they were just too busy in their work. Probably the former.

Unpacking is coming along. There is at least some room to breathe in the living room now. My bedroom is a different story and hopefully Thursday's trip to IKEA will cure that disaster or at least make a dent in my pocketbook.

I still don't have a shower. I have a bathtub to bathe in, but no actual shower exists in this house. That should be rectified on Saturday, after a trip to the Farmer's Market in Minneapolis with Mom. Dad promised to help adapt the tub into a tub/shower this weekend. Since my hair is too long for a bathtub (meaning: I need a shower head for rinsing), I headed over to my dad's place (less than a 1/2 mile away) to use his shower.

That was a bit of an adventure. His shower was stuck on two heat settings: scalding hot and "oh my! I didn't really need that patch of skin!" After screaming in pain and weeping in frustration for a few minutes, I tried again and again. Finally, I was able to pry the knob just enough to reach a, "That's really hot, but at least I'll live," temperature. I'm beginning to think the only thing I'll miss about the old apartment was the water pressure. It was nice.

I have a water softener sitting in my garage and a twenty dollar bill ready in my pocket. There are strong, burly men arriving tonight, sometime between 5:30 and 7:30 with a washer/dryer set. Sears would deliver the washer/dryer combo, but not a water softener. So I bought the water softener anyway and we put it in Scott's truck (Mom's boyfriend and my future step-father). It made it to the garage, but I'm hoping to bribe the burly men so that they might carry it down the basement steps.

I was prepared to purchase the washer and dryer. I had thought it out, put the money aside, and was really getting ready to pay for the pair. Mom and Dad are very nice and decided that this would be a fabulous college graduation present. One bought the washer, one bought the dryer. We received a pretty good deal at Sears on these items. There is a sale going on that if you buy 1 appliance over $399, you get 10% back as a rebate. Two appliances equals 15% rebate. Three was 20%. That's where the water softener comes in.

I opted for the front loading washer and dryer. Both are Kenmore products and I am pretty happy with the purchase. Dad's friend, Jeff, is going to show up sometime and adapt the basement with a 220 volt socket for the dryer. But I'll be able to wash and line dry some things tonight, which is good since the pile of clean clothes is diminishing and the piles of "needs washing" are growing.

Today is technically only day 2 of my vacation, since I work Tuesday through Saturday. But it is the fourth day I've had off of work (the weekend) and I've slept in my home three nights now. The noise from the highway somewhat nearby (end of the street) doesn't bother me at all. I've lived by busy streets for most of my life and it is the only noise that doesn't bother me while sleeping. Now, the sound of June bugs constantly hitting the window because a gleam of light is coming from it freaks me out. Thud. Thwap. It's just gross. I found a better way to keep the lights down at night so this isn't much of a problem anymore (aka, I figured out how to have the motion sensor work and not just leave the light on permanently).

The excitement of being here, the understanding that this is "my place," and pride I have in my house are amazing feelings. I really am loving being a home owner.

I still have much to unpack and a few more necessities to buy. I decided against a riding lawn mower, but am going to pick up a self-propelled little Honda mower. Dad let me try his out and I found it a better value for the money and easy to operate. I've got to plant a few little gardens here and there and I cannot wait until the peonies in the front start to bloom. There is a gigantic rhubarb plant in the back, next to the air conditioner, that is ready to pick. Maybe Mom knows something good to make with it. I'll have to check.

I mentioned a couple weeks ago that my car made a funny noise. Yesterday, I took it to this mechanic, Keith, that my mom trusts. Nice guy and honest. Honest mechanic may be a bit of an oxymoron, but it is true. I asked for an oil change, the 35K mile check up, and for him to figure out what was wrong with the car. He did the oil change, talking me out a new air filter, checked all the belts and such, and then reattached this piece of plastic hanging down on the bottom of the car. The piece of plastic was the noise culprit. He also noted that my tires, which were dealership 35K mile tires, were getting pretty bad and I had him put new 80K mile tires on the vehicle. It rides much smoother and drives like a new car again. I love it.

Life is good here.

24 hours down, a lifetime left

It's official. I am a home owner. The closing went like a breeze (I think I only signed about 30 times, I was expecting WAY more). I met the daughter and son-in-law of the woman I bought the house from. I'll tell that story soon. It's cute.

I work tonight and tomorrow (Saturday). Moving day is Sunday. I'd say my apartment is 90 - 95% packed (there are boxes everywhere!) I woke up at 11 am this morning (unusual) and finished my 2,000 word paper. I didn't expect that, but it really reduces my stress. For school, I still have to answer a discussion question by Saturday and type up a 75 word portion of the team paper. Once I sit down to do it (tonight after work), it should take no more than 30 minutes. I need to participate (respond to three discussion threads) on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. Hmmm. Sunday will be interesting. But, if I post after midnight on Saturday night/Sunday morning, that would work. That should only take 20 minutes or so.

The realtor (Spencer) kept thinking I should be more nervous than I was. He kept asking to see my hand to see if it was shaking. It wasn't. I guess I wasn't nervous for the closing because I knew my finances and I know that this is the right house for me. It was a fast process from approval to finding a house to closing, but when it is right, it is right.

The things I have left to pack are all things that don't fit in the traditional box or are something I would label "Misc." I'll be throwing most of these things into boxes or bags tonight after work. Should only take a couple of hours.

That's where I am at in life. I can't wait until Sunday when I start putting things in the new house. I have all of next week off of work so that I can settle in and get all those little things done (like Homesteading the property, buying a lawn mower, getting a washing machine, unpacking, arranging, and making the place mine.) I need to find out where the post office is to turn on mail service for the address and then make many calls to change my address. I'll put a forwarding address out with the post office too.

I think I'm going to have my car serviced next week too. It makes a funny noise sometimes that bothers me. Hope it's not too expensive. I'm due for an oil change as well, so that will probably help the car and improve gas mileage.

With gas prices as they are, I'm happy that I am living 1.8 miles from work and .4 miles from Dad. Mom is about 4 miles away. It's also nice that the car gets over 30 miles to the gallon, even on city streets. It's more on the highway.

The next week is going to be exciting!

T minus 11 hours and counting

My expectations were to be more nervous than I am. There's an odd calm that has surrounded me. I'm unsure if it is focusing on school, distracting myself with packing, or working this week that has done it, but I'm pretty relaxed about tomorrow.

In just over 11 hours, I will start the signing-my-life-away process. Spencer is meeting me at the house between 11:30 and 12:00 for a final walk through. Afterwards, we will head to the title office and I'll start signing papers. Lots and lots of papers. I hope I have a good pen.

The cashier's check is ready. I've given everything to the loan processor and she said it should be fine. The utilities are set up (cable on Monday - ooh, shiny Internet). After the closing, I plan on heading to the hardware store, picking up the new locks for the doors and installing them. Dad is going to meet me after he gets off work and help spray this bug killer around the perimeter of the house. Mom will call when she gets off work.

I plan on being at the apartment before 7 pm. I'm going to work on this paper (that isn't really due until Sunday, but being ahead of the game is important.) I'll get my group assignment done tomorrow (75 words or so, I could do it right now, except I'm planning on bed soon). I'll finish a discussion question for class, participate a little, and then watch the season finale of LOST (which I haven't been too impressed with this season, but it's a hard habit to break).

I'll then call DM, pick her up (just an hour or so early) and head to the Chalet. James said he'd probably be up earlier than normal and Betsy is joining us when she gets off work.

I don't have much (besides locks & bug stuff) planned for the time after the closing until 7. I might get some food. Maybe Mom or Dad will want to eat something. I'm not planning on moving any boxes over on Thursday, although it couldn't hurt. I still have some packing to do in the apartment, but nothing that can't be finished by the time everyone arrives on Sunday. It's mostly the things I'm still using (computer, bath stuff, food, bedding, clothes for the week, etc.) I've got a lot of boxes and I think they might be enough. I hope so. I can start using bags if necessary. The things left to pack are little odds & ends. I may just label them as "Misc" because the reason they aren't packed yet is that they didn't fill a box and it seemed wasteful to put one small thing in a big box.

On a school related note, do I really want to write about my personal, professional, and educational goals for the next five years? No. Will I? Yes. Will it be true? Who knows.

Two thousand words all about my learning experience. Whoopie.

But, school is another countdown. In twelve days, I'll be exiting the university with a piece of paper that states I'm qualified to do the job I already have. Sounds great, doesn't it? At least the company I work for paid for the majority of it. That's a pretty nice benefit.

Off to sleep, perchance to dream of white picket fences.

Bullet Point To Do List

Two full calendar days left. About four minutes of Monday left. Walk-through on Thursday at noon and closing scheduled for one.

Yikes!

To do:

• Go to bank on Tuesday to change one cashier's check in for another
• Call mortgage processor (before trip to bank) to get exact amount for cashier's check
• Buy new locks
• Spray perimeter of new house with bug killer (thanks Dad!)
• Write 2000 word paper by Thursday about the past, present, and future of my academic career (oh, the joy) *started
• Write introduction section to learning team paper due by Saturday *started
• Participate in class so that I don't end up with a B in this class too *partially done
• Restrict rage against other group members who don't contribute
• Finish packing up bedroom *90% complete
• Finish packing up hall closet #1
• Finish packing up hall closet #2 *95% complete
• Finish packing up kitchen *85% complete
• Finish packing up scrapbooking stuff in dining room
• Finish packing up bathroom *97.5% complete
• Finish packing up living room *90% complete
• Get more boxes
• Create directions for the possible 17 15 people helping me move on Sunday
• Relax *working on it
• Work Tuesday and Wednesday
• Call water company and hopefull get through this time
• Confirm that electric and gas are set up through same company
• Don't freak out *still working on it
• Clean bathroom
• Clean kitchen
• Clean living room
• Wash windows
• Clean bedroom
• Clean dining room
• Buy washing machine *next week
• Buy lawn mower *next week

Yeah, stress level rising a bit. Oh well, it's exciting!

Update to Lyrical Quiz* Updated Again!

The opening lyrics that are unsolved are listed first. There are still 19 points available!

2. I want you between you and the feeling I get when I miss you, when everything here is telling me I should be fine, So why it so hard above as below that I'm missing you every time; I got used to you whispering things to me into the evening, follow the sun as the colors left this world, seems to me that I'm definitely hearing the best that I've heard...

3. As I walk along I wonder what went wrong with our love a love that was so strong - 1/2 credit to DM for getting the title "Runaway". Who is it by?

5. I keep hearing you're concerned about my happiness, but all that thought you're giving me is conscious I guess, if I were walking in your shoes I wouldn't worry none, while you and your friends are worrying about me I'm having lots of fun...

8. Winners, losers, small time misusers, do what they must on their own

9. I'll give you the best I can give you baby, that's all I can give, we'll live it the best we can live it baby, as long as we live

12. Someone told me long ago, there's a calm before the storm, I know, it's been coming for some time - CCR, what's the title? DM 1/2 point

13. When the rain is blowing in your face, and the whole world is on your case, I would offer you a warm embrace

14. You and me we were the pretenders, we let it all slip away, in the end what you don't surrender, well the world just strips away

16. Aaaah hey! Oh yeah baby. Like a fool I went and stayed too long, now I'm wondering if your love's still strong

17. Fearless people, careless needle, harsh words spoken, and lives are broken; thoughts for ages, help me I'm fading, heaven's waiting, it's time to move on

20. We got something we both know it we don't talk too much about it, ain't no big secret all the same but somehow we get around it

24. Her face is a map of the world, is a map of the world, you can see she's a beautiful girl, a beautiful girl, and everything around her is a silver pool of light, people who surround her feel the benefit of it, it makes you calm, she holds you captivated in her palm - KT Tunstall, what's the title? 1/2 point to DM

29. They put a parking lot on a piece of land, where the supermarket used to stand, before that they put up a bowling alley, on the site that used to be the local palias - Not a trick question. I have both versions.

31. When I was a young boy, my mother said to me, there's one girl in the whole world for you and she probably lives in Tahiti

32. Talking to myself and feeling alone, sometimes I'd like to quit, nothing seems to fit, hanging around, nothing to do but frown

33. Oh, why you look so sad, the tears are in your eyes, come on and come to me now, don't be ashamed to cry, let me see you through, cause I've seen the dark side too

34. Take me now baby here as I am, pull me close try to understand, I work all day out in the hot sun, stay with me now til the morning comes

35. I keep a close watch on this heart of mine, I keep my eyes wide open all the time, I keep the ends out for the tie that binds

37. There you go and baby here I am, well you left me here so I could sit and cry, golly gee what have you done to me,

39. Once upon a time, once when you were mine, I remember skies, reflected in your eyes, I wonder where you are, I wonder if you think about me, once upon a time - Moody Blues, what is the title? 1/2 point to DM

40. Well my heart knows me better than I know myself, so I'm gonna let it do all the talking, I came across a place in the middle of nowhere




1. Summer has come and past, the innocent can never last - "Wake Me Up When September Ends", Green Day (DM got it right!)
4. Give me a ticket for an aeroplane, I ain't time to take no fast train, oh the lonely days are gone, I'm coming home - "The Letter" Joe Cocker - Yea DM! (Granted she said it was #5, but we'll give it to her)
6. You know that it would be untrue, you know that I would be a liar, if I was to say to you, girl we couldn't get much higher - "Light My Fire", The Doors (Go DM!)
7. When the night has come and the land is dark and the moon is the only light you see - "Stand By Me" by Ben E. King - 1/2 point to DM, 1/2 point to Teri! I would have also accepted the John Lennon cover version.
10. See the stone set in your eyes, see the thorn twist in your side, I'll wait for you - "With or Without You," by U2. Way to go Teri!
11. A man walks down the street he says why am I soft in the middle now why soft in the middle the rest of my life's so hard - "You Can Call Me Al", Paul Simon (DM got it!)
15. Shadows grow so long before my eyes, and they're moving across the page, suddenly the day turns into night, far away from the city, but don't hesitate 'cuz your love won't wait - Awesome job Teri! It is "Baby, I Love Your Way," by Peter Frampton! You are amazing to get this one!
18. Well a man come on the six o' clock news, says somebody been shot, somebody been abused, somebody blew up a building, somebody stole a car, somebody got away, somebody didn't get too far - Tobey Keith & Willie Nelson, "Beer for my Horses" point to DM!
19. What is happening here, something's going on that's not quite clear, somebody turn on the lights, we're going to have a party starting toniiiiiight - Teri is really good at the hard ones! This is "Dancing on the Ceiling," by Lionel Richie!
21. All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go, I'm standing here outside your door, I hate to wake you up to say goodbye - "Leaving on a Jet Plane", DM said John Denver (who I think was the original. I have the Peter, Paul & Mary version) - 1 point awarded
22. Busted flat in Baton Rouge, waiting for a train; and I's feeling nearly as faded as my jeans - "Me and Bobby McGee", Janis Joplin - Point to DM
23. There's a port on a western bay, and it serves a hundred ships a day, lonely sailors pass the time away, and talk about their homes - "Brandy", Looking Glass - Go DM!
25. Who's gonna tell you when it's too late? Who's gonna tell you things aren't so great? You can't go on thinking nothing's wrong - "Drive", The Cars, W00T to DM!
26. I had a friend, was a big baseball player, back in high school, he could throw that speed ball by you, make you look like a fool, saw him the other night at this roadside bar, I was walking in, he was walking out, we went back inside, sat down, had a few drinks - "Glory Days", by the Boss, Bruce Springsteen - point for DM
27. Put on my blue suede shoes and boarded the plane, touched down in the land of the Delta blues in the middle of the pouring rain, W.C. Handy won't you look down over me, yeah I got a first class ticket, but I'm blue as a boy can be - "Walkin' in Memphis", Marc Cohn, go Dana!
28. Jeremiah was a bullfrog, was a good friend of mine, never understood a word he said, but I helped him drink his wine, he always had some mighty fine wine - "Joy to the World", 3 Dog Night, Go DM!
30. What you want, baby I got it, what you need, you know I got it, all I'm asking is for a little ... - Go Teri! This is "Respect" by Aretha Franklin!
36. I saw the light on the night that I passed by her window, I saw the flickering of love on her blind, she was my woman, as she deceived me, I watched and went out of my mind - "Delilah", Tom Jones, DM gets a point!
38. I used to hang out down at Jack's pool hall, you go down there don't do nothing at all, you wanted to play some cards there was a game in the back, if you wanted a shot of something you went and talked to Jack - "Rack 'Em Up", Jonny Lang, Nice one DM!

Dana's sitting at 16 1/2 points right now. Teri has 4 1/2 (and got some pretty hard ones!). Anyone care to join in the fun? The winner will receive an original brooksba item! (Hint, most likely a picture in a frame)

I'll post the answers next Monday (after the cable gets set up at the new place.)

18 and Life

Yes, yes, I know, cheesy title. But what can you expect from a mind overworked by ethical thinking, logical reasoning, and puzzle solving as the boxes pile up and space for more boxes must be created.

School has started. That's where the "ethical thinking" and "logical reasoning" are coming from. This last class is the Capstone, or the one where we put it all together. I was afraid of statistics, but at this point, we've been discussing what is ethical and where do we stand on certain issues. Interesting at least.

I drove by my house again. The sign in the front now states to the neighborhood, "SOLD" with confidence. I'm so excited about this and can't wait to move (because seriously, apartment living is really starting to suck). Moving involves a lot of work, which at this point involves gathering as many boxes as I can lay my hands upon and trying to pack things so that I'll be able to find them again once I move.

One of my aunts is a consultant for a crystal company. She has done this for years. What does this mean? It means that for every birthday and Christmas I received crystal. It's beautiful and functional and delicate. And a bitch to pack. Over the years, I did the right thing at each move. I kept the boxes. Sure, they take up a lot of space (at Dad's house for the last 4 years), but it was nice to bring over 9 - super duper garbage bags full of empty crystal boxes. The packing of these items can be a bit challenging in figuring out how each piece fits, but once the box is closed, the items are protected well.

I have the first week of June off of work. It will be nice to have the time to settle into the new place, again, my place. I'm just getting used to saying that. It feels good. My mom said she might take some time off during that week to help out and we could be doing a bit of shopping. IKEA may be a destination.

I feel as if there was a point to this post that I lost about the time I signed in. The title offers me little help, other than to remind me that I have 18 days before I am a homeowner. Interesting.

Since I've lost what I was looking to post about, I think it may be time for bed. Good night!

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there!

Pini gemellati

The weekend has arrived again and the stress level should hopefully decrease some. All is well on the home ownership front, although I may be having an unexpected expense that has nothing to do with the house popping up (car related in fact). I started packing tonight. I believe I officially have 10 boxes ready to haul. Unfortunately, that's not even a dent.

I met with the inspector on Thursday. I think I wrote about that already. Maybe. It's all so jumbled right now. While walking around the backyard, my dad suggested a name for the home. With two Norway pines growing in the backyard, he suggested, "Twin Pines." And the mood I'm in tonight, I thought I might spice it up a little. What do you think of "Pini gemellati"? From what I can gather, this is the Italian translation of Twin Pines. It may not stick.

I thought I'd post a picture, just in case anyone was curious. Twenty-five days left. Wow!

I'm exhausted. I may post again tomorrow to discuss the war I'm going to wage with the management of my apartment complex. It appears they cannot do math and do not want to live up to their end of the agreement. Grrrr!

Test of Patience

Patience is a virtue that others have commented that I have. At times, I feel as if it is wearing thin, but all-in-all, I can normally survive and make others feel comfortable. Lately though, it's been harder. The stress of so many life changing events is starting to get to me.

Rarely do I have troubles sleeping. I'm still able to sleep straight through when I do fall asleep, but so many thoughts have been going through my head lately that it is hard to fall asleep. When this happens, I try a trick my mom told me when I was pretty little. She explained that she would tell herself stories when she was trying to sleep. The stories always involved having to hide from someone (bad guys or something) and having to be very still and quiet so they wouldn't find her. My stories are variances of this same thing and I usually fall asleep before the story gets any farther than the previous night. In this sense, I've been stuck in the same place of my current story for at least 8 months now. That sounds rather boring, but it helps to fall asleep.

In the past couple of weeks, I keep having other thoughts in my head and I forget to tell myself the story. So, my sleep is delayed each night. Unfortunately, the alarm clock still blares music at the same time each workday.

I'm overly excited about the reality of home ownership. Today, I met with the inspector and toured "my" house again. If everything goes well, it will be my house in 4 weeks exactly. Wow [full stop]. My dad was nice enough to meet me at the house for the inspection. I felt much more comfortable with him there since he understands the information much better than I do and has way more experience in fixing little things than I. There are a couple little things that need to be done in the house and I'm sure I'll have a million and a half projects lined up. But, all-in-all, this house is livable. That is important to me. Some of the others I viewed required quite a bit of work before I could even sleep there.

I'm stunned at how fast this entire process is going. Although it may seem long each day, I have to remember that there is a real possibility that I will have gone from the unknown to the preapproval to the house search to the home owning in less than 6 weeks. In fact, if everything goes right, it will be 38 days. I work for a fairly large bank and all of my co-workers are amazed at how fast this is. In many ways, this helps reduce my stress because I won't have it as long. In other ways though, it seems to drag and is probably larger than I expected.

On top of the home buying process, I have one final class left for school. In less than 6 weeks, I will be a college graduate. My last class starts on Tuesday and I still have only a vague idea of what it will entail. I have to fill out some paperwork tomorrow at work to have the class reimbursed (thankfully the Large Bank is paying most of the bills for school - nice benefit).

The last class I took was on eBusiness. It was an absolute nightmare. I managed to pull off a B+; a fact I still haven't told my dad. (That story is to come one of these days when I actually start my encyclopedia of brooksba posts.) Besides the subject matter being rather boring, I was stuck with a teacher that didn't gain my respect and a learning group that prompted me to give really nasty (in a professional way) remarks at the end of the class. There was a guy in the group who refused to participate during our forming stage and then demanded that we change the way we met at his whim. What really bothered me about the situation is that he wanted to communicate with others by using teleconferences. He rejected any ideas posted in the online forum and negatively impacted discussions. We attend an online school (in which most teachers discourage or actually don't allow teleconferences for communication) and we were taking a class on how to conduct business online! Really? Really?

It didn't help his overall score that he turned in his portion of the paper extremely late and left the compiler (not me - in fact, I was the ONLY group member to turn in my assignment on time or within 4 days of the due date) in the lurch. I helped the compiler with editing and reading through the paper and helped make the right adjustments.

In these classes, what stuns me the most, absolutely appalls me, is the lack of skill found within certain group members. I look at the classes we are in and I know how much schooling is required before reaching this point. I just do not understand how these students have made it this far in the process without learning anything. The minimum amount of classes at this school alone (assuming credits from other institutions and prior learning from high school) to be at this point of the program is something like 17 classes. In each of those, there is an individual paper due weekly and group assignments due usually 4 of the 5 weeks. That means these people have written at least 85 individual papers and contributed to 60+ group assignments. By this point, you'd think they'd have learned how to cite a source, how to use transitional statements, and how to format a paper in APA format (which has been required for every single paper). I don't even want to go into the subject of grammar or being specific in writing. It's exhausting.

So, with one class left and the amount of stress purchasing my first home added to the mix, I hope to make it through the next 6 weeks with all of my hair still on my head, all my fingernails still intact, and with my blood pressure remaining in the healthy range that it always reads.

Someone at work joked tonight that I could add more to my plate by applying for other jobs, getting promoted, and possibly trying to get married. Funny. Yeah. Marriage is not a possibility at least. I'd also have to apply for another job if I was looking to be promoted, so that's not something I'm going to add to my mix right now.

But deep down (well, and on the surface), I'm still extremely excited about this house. I'll post soon some pictures and more information about it. There are pictures on my camera of this house that my dad dubbed, "Twin Pines," today. Don't know if that will stick, but it might. There are two beautiful Norway Pines in the gigantic backyard.

I really need boxes now. I do need to start packing! The good news is that I have the first nine days of June off to be able to move most of my things. I'll also have my apartment until June 30th and be able to get really situated correctly. This helps.

Because it takes my mind away from the pending paperwork that I want finished NOW

On the home front, there's a slight stall in the counter offer agreement. As it turns out, the owners have countered my offer, but only slightly (if the financing doesn't go through, they get to keep some of my earnest money - no biggie), but they are also out of town and won't be able to sign the papers until Wednesday. Coming from the generation of instant gratification, I'm stressing a little (probably without reason) and I have slept very little in the past few days.

So, with that in mind, I'm trying to clear my mind. In efforts to get back into blogging, I'm going to revisit an old idea. It's a musical quiz with the answers straight from my iTunes playlist.

I'm going to post the opening lines of 40 songs that come up in shuffle. You, dear readers, get to guess the song title and artist. The person with the most correct will win. The prizes include bragging rights and if you're willing to send an address, possibly a fun, brookba original gift. That's up to you though.

Let the games begin:

1. Summer has come and past, the innocent can never last
2. I want you between you and the feeling I get when I miss you, when everything here is telling me I should be fine
3. As I walk along I wonder what went wrong with our love a love that was so strong
4. Give me a ticket for an aeroplane, I ain't time to take no fast train, oh the lonely days are gone, I'm coming home
5. I keep hearing you're concerned about my happiness, but all that thought you're giving me is conscious I guess, if I were walking in your shoes I wouldn't worry none, while you and your friends are worrying about me I'm having lots of fun
6. You know that it would be untrue, you know that I would be a liar, if I was to say to you, girl we couldn't get much higher
7. When the night has come and the land is dark and the moon is the only light you see
8. Winners, losers, small time misusers, do what they must on their own
9. I'll give you the best I can give you baby, that's all I can give, we'll live it the best we can live it baby, as long as we live
10. See the stone set in your eyes, see the thorn twist in your side, I'll wait for you
11. A man walks down the street he says why am I soft in the middle now why soft in the middle the rest of my life's so hard
12. Someone told me long ago, there's a calm before the storm, I know, it's been coming for some time
13. When the rain is blowing in your face, and the whole world is on your case, I would offer you a warm embrace
14. You and me we were the pretenders, we let it all slip away, in the end what you don't surrender, well the world just strips away
15. Shadows grow so long before my eyes, and they're moving across the page, suddenly the day turns into night, far away from the city, but don't hesitate 'cuz your love won't wait
16. Aaaah hey! Oh yeah baby. Like a fool I went and stayed too long, now I'm wondering if your love's still strong
17. Fearless people, careless needle, harsh words spoken, and lives are broken; thoughts for ages, help me I'm fading, heaven's waiting, it's time to move on
18. Well a man come on the six o' clock news, says somebody been shot, somebody been abused, somebody blew up a building, somebody stole a car, somebody got away, somebody didn't get too far
19. What is happening here, something's going on that's not quite clear, somebody turn on the lights, we're going to have a party starting toniiiiiight
20. We got something we both know it we don't talk too much about it, ain't no big secret all the same but somehow we get around it
21. All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go, I'm standing here outside your door, I hate to wake you up to say goodbye
22. Busted flat in Baton Rouge, waiting for a train; and I's feeling nearly as faded as my jeans
23. There's a port on a western bay, and it serves a hundred ships a day, lonely sailors pass the time away, and talk about their homes
24. Her face is a map of the world, is a map of the world, you can see she's a beautiful girl, a beautiful girl, and everything around her is a silver pool of light, people who surround her feel the benefit of it, it makes you calm, she holds you captivated in her palm
25. Who's gonna tell you when it's too late? Who's gonna tell you things aren't so great? You can't go on thinking nothing's wrong
26. I had a friend, was a big baseball player, back in high school, he could throw that speed ball by you, make you look like a fool, saw him the other night at this roadside bar, I was walking in, he was walking out, we went back inside, sat down, had a few drinks
27. Put on my blue suede shoes and boarded the plane, touched down in the land of the Delta blues in the middle of the pouring rain, W.C. Handy won't you look down over me, yeah I got a first class ticket, but I'm blue as a boy can be
28. Jeremiah was a bullfrog, was a good friend of mine, never understood a word he said, but I helped him drink his wine, he always had some mighty fine wine
29. They put a parking lot on a piece of land, where the supermarket used to stand, before that they put up a bowling alley, on the site that used to be the local palias
30. What you want, baby I got it, what you need, you know I got it, all I'm asking is for a little ...
31. When I was a young boy, my mother said to me, there's one girl in the whole world for you and she probably lives in Tahiti
32. Talking to myself and feeling alone, sometimes I'd like to quit, nothing seems to fit, hanging around, nothing to do but frown
33. Oh, why you look so sad, the tears are in your eyes, come on and come to me now, don't be ashamed to cry, let me see you through, cause I've seen the dark side too
34. Take me now baby here as I am, pull me close try to understand, I work all day out in the hot sun, stay with me now til the morning comes
35. I keep a close watch on this heart of mine, I keep my eyes wide open all the time, I keep the ends out for the tie that binds
36. I saw the light on the night that I passed by her window, I saw the flickering of love on her blind, she was my woman, as she deceived me, I watched and went out of my mind
37. There you go and baby here I am, well you left me here so I could sit and cry, golly gee what have you done to me,
38. I used to hang out down at Jack's pool hall, you go down there don't do nothing at all, you wanted to play some cards there was a game in the back, if you wanted a shot of something you went and talked to Jack
39. Once upon a time, once when you were mine, I remember skies, reflected in your eyes, I wonder where you are, I wonder if you think about me, once upon a time
40. Well my heart knows me better than I know myself, so I'm gonna let it do all the talking, I came across a place in the middle of nowhere

Love at First Sight

"Can you picture yourself living there?"

This was one of the questions I'd heard multiple times when speaking to homeowners before I went to view houses on Sunday. As it turned out, there were five houses on the list for the day. I met Spencer face-to-face for the first time at the first location with both of my parents there. We walked around the house, checking out the yard (and a really weird looking tree - it could have been at home in the Wizard of Oz), and then entering a house with horrible red shag carpeting, four entrance doors, an attached garage (in which none of the previously mentioned four doors connected it to the house), and a multitude of empty rooms. Not a bad house, but not one that I could picture myself in.

Four of the five homes I was shown on Sunday were vacant. This isn't a bad thing, it just made it difficult to picture myself in most of them. Well that and too many "do-it-yourself and hope-to-be-able-to-actually-live-here in 5 years" projects. There was one that I feared I wouldn't even be able to use the waste removal facilities without hours of gruelling labor (or expense).

One house was inhabited and during the walk through, two cats came to pay a visit. They ran up and down the paths created by the residents made up of extra junk and plenty of Miller High Life cases of beer. Who stores beer by the bed? Really? I'd like to know. Oh, wait, I do know. These people. These same people who have a basement without much moving room (lots and lots of piles of stuff) and the walls covered in heavy metal and grunge musician posters.

The second house we viewed was by far the best. It was vacant, but not dirty. The house had previously been owned by the same family for 56 years. My realtor kept saying "her" and "grandma," so I think she had lived the last few years alone in the home and is now either moved onto a retirement home (hopefully!). This property is 2 1/2 blocks away from my dad's home, 2 miles from work, and three doors down from a quaint little park. It boasts .3 acres and at first glance the backyard seems to go on forever (at least to my apartment dweller eyes). It is one and a half stories with a basement. The attic and basement are unfinished, but have lots of room for storage and opportunity to build value in the home. Half of the basement is carpeted and has lots of room for certain piles of scrapbooking materials that take over other areas of my current living space.

The garage is detached and is actually a one and a half car garage. Shelving takes up the 1/2 part of the garage, which is pretty nice for some additional storage. A few feet away is the entrance to the house through the kitchen. There is another entrance at the front of the house.

The main floor has a cute little kitchen, a decent sized living room, two bedrooms, and a bathroom. The layout is almost identical to the layout in my dad's house.

So, I fell in love. I can see myself living here. I can see myself coming home, sleeping here, and having a great time.

I can see this being the right place for me so much that I put in an offer! And guess what. After paperwork galore, waiting and nail-biting, a slight counter-offer back, it is accepted!

I'm going to own this home! It is possible that if things go right, I'll be closing on the house on May 29th. I'll have a month to move out of my apartment and get settled into my new place.

Seriously, I'm jumping up and down inside. I randomly break out into clapping.

Hee hee hee! This is cool.

2 Br, 1 Bth

"I have been receiving emails from Spencer lately."
"Spencer?"
"Yes, Spencer."
"Spencer who?"
"Spencer M."
"Who is Spencer?"
"Spencer is the random real estate agent that was assigned to me when I checked out Houses.com."
"Oh... Wait! Houses.com?"
"Yes, that's right."

It's true. My intent to purchase a home is quickly solidifying. I have spoken to the bank and golly gee, I've been pre-approved for a certain amount of money to start making my own monthly payments on a dare-I-say-it mortgage.

I feel like I'm 18 again and thinking, "I'm an adult now!" Just wait until the day I actually purchase my own furniture. What a sign of mature adulthood that will be.

In a little less than 12 hours, I will be meeting my real estate agent face-to-face for the first time. We've exchanged emails for a couple of months now and spoken on the phone twice (this may be the longest "relationship" I've had in years) and I'll be meeting him at some location in the afternoon on Sunday with both of my parents.

There are six properties on my shortlist now of houses to view. I'm excited about two of them, but the other four are interesting enough to spend a little time looking at. Over the past few weeks, I've been contemplating the real possiblity of owning my own house. The stress actually reduced when I spoke to the bank last Monday and received the pre-approval in less than 25 minutes of cellular phone time. The exciting part was that once the representative actually sent the information in about the possible mortgage, the response was practically immediate. I emailed Spencer as soon as I hung up and had an appointment with him for Sunday at 4:00 PM within minutes.

I'm not looking for a big house. I don't want a really big house. I'm single and affording this on my own. There will be yardwork and maintenance that I'll deal with, but that's a reality of owning a home. Maybe in a year or so I'll get a puppy.

But right now, I'm excited for so many reasons. Parking the car full of groceries within 30 feet of the door is a wonderful thought. Being able to put clothes in the dryer (or hang them on a line!!!) and not having to sit and wait for the cycle to be over to make sure no one moves my underwear without my consent is relieving. Having a kitchen where the stove isn't additional counterspace for scrapbooking memorabilia seems more logical. Having room to put up exercise equipment makes me happy (as odd as that sounds). Not listening to the jerk living above me scream about his personal problems and hearing his girlfriend sobbing in pain is a nice perk. Being able to customize my walls (color) and making a place mine is thrilling.

I'm sure I'll be busy in the next few months. If I find a place I like, I hope to move in June and be out of my apartment when the lease is up at the end of June. There is more happening at the same time (school, work, life, etc) and I'm going to try and write about my experiences a bit more in the upcoming months.

It's Been Awhile - How About Some Pictures to Make Up for My Vanishing Act

We all know that I haven't been around. Instead of apologizing and making a promise that I can't keep right now, I thought I'd just take the opportunity to post something that I wanted online. Dana and I went to Duluth a couple of weeks ago and stood along the shoreline of Lake Superior while the temperature was hovering around zero Farhenheit. Neither of us lost fingers or toes and managed to avoid frostbite by layering our clothing so much that someone could have pushed lightly and we may have fallen over.



But we had a good time. It might be crazy, but it really was fun. We drove along Skyline Parkway at night and viewed the HWY 2 bridge all lit up. We stopped along the shore of Lake Superior to see the ice breaking up and admiring how much it looks like broken glass everywhere. We stayed up all night long to watch the sunrise over Lake Superior. It was a good trip.



What would a trip be without pictures? You got it. Here are some of my favorites (and yes, I'm getting much better at narrowing down the field. I have decided to develop less than 10% of the pictures taken by my camera. I'm getting better!):




In the bottom row of images here, I would like to point out the two pictures with the orangish tone. What I love about these images is the fact you can see the ice evaporating away from the sun's rays. Pretty cool!

HWY 2 Bridge


A Very Cold Dana


A Very Cold Beth


Skyline


Arial Bridge


Ice on the Lake

The third picture from the left in the bottom row is an ice fishing hut. See, there are people crazier than Dana and I.

Dana again - looks happier here.


Vroom (or how I learned that my tripod is not strong enough to battle wind and the extra weight of my new telephoto lens)


If you're interested, the entire set of "best pics" from the trip are here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/brooksba/sets/72157604139620039/

I hope you enjoy. I'll now head back to the schoolbooks. I am so glad this is getting close. I do NOT like the class I'm in right now. Ug.

Life, In General

Returning to work after a long weekend or a week off is always an interesting experience. I felt rather busy today, but it was a good day. I feel like I walked in the door and never stopped until the calls stopped rolling into our call center.


My day, well, my work day, started with a meeting with my peers and boss. We have a specific meeting agenda once a year where we analyze the results of a survey conducted each fall, focusing on an area of strength and an area for improvement. I enjoy these meetings because great ideas are generated to help improve our already great environment. It just makes me happy.


The best part of my day, even though most was pretty good, was being able to see the expression on a banker's face. She is a banker on my team who is just plain awesome. I've nicknamed her "Smiley," because she always greets each day with a positive attitude. It is absolutely contagious. She tends to get a lot of recognition (most of the bankers do) because she is a top performer, but also because she is just so positive. We like to have her represent our call center at job fairs and I enjoy working with her quite a bit. Last year, 2007, she performed very well, but never knew quite how high she ranked in comparison to other bankers. She figured she was in the top 25-30, but she was actually #3 in our entire center (out of 170 bankers or so). I've known for about a month how well she performed, but kept it a secret. Why? Because we award a trip to the top performing bankers each year. At the end of April and beginning of May, she will be going to Florida/Disney World for 5 days, all expenses paid and will get to bring a guest. This is a nice trip that the company awards to select individuals (about 1% of the organization) and I'm thrilled for her. She beamed all night long and kept saying, "Did I tell you how much I love my job?" and "I still can't believe it!" Days like today make my job meaningful.


My team also had a meeting tonight where we celebrated our successes in January (more recognition!) and we also had our annual meeting to go over our survey results. There is always room for improvement in our environment, yet I was pretty pleased with the results of our survey. It asked 12 questions (well, 12 major questions) and we scored "Agree" to "Strongly Agree" in every single one of them. It was a fun meeting and there were some terrific ideas presented. I know that implementing the ideas will help us achieve even more.


Work was good. Home wasn't so good. I was awakened at a quarter to 9 am by my upstairs neighbor screaming at the top of his lungs. He has extreme anger management issues. I didn't have time to stop by the office on my way out the door, but tomorrow I am going to complain. This is not the first time he's been beligerant to the point where I worried about his safety or the safety of others and it is quite bothersome. I think he was on the phone this time, screaming obsenities and using threatening language. After giving a big "F*** you" to the person on the other end of the phone, he must have disconnected the call and then decided to file away something in his bathroom. There was this awful scrapping noise coming from upstairs. The more I live below this person the more and more I want a house. I'm sick of his actions and it worries me to be living close to a person who acts as he does. I'm going to talk to the office in the afternoon and see what can be done.


On one hand, I want to complain about his actions, and on the other, I'm a bit afraid. I know that sounds a bit ridiculous. Here's the thing. I've worked in a call center for eight years now. Customers tend to be calling from a comfort zone when they reach us (calling from home). One thing I've learned about human nature is that people can become much more aggitated and use extreme language/behavior when on the phone versus in person. Not that people don't get out of hand in person, but I remember only 2 people upset enough to a point where other customers could see the problem when I was at the branch and I compare those experiences to the 50-100 escalated/upset customers we speak with each day. When I took escalated calls as a primary function of my job, I remember at least once every couple of weeks having someone who was out of control.


I think of all the out of control customers I've spoken to in the past. Not one compares to the extreme behavior this man living above me exhibits on a fairly regular basis. His behavior seems to be escalating to a point beyond recourse. If he hasn't hurt himself or someone else, he's going to soon. So, while I want to say something to reduce the problem, I am also afraid that he might want to lash out at me. Not that I know who he is or think I'm in any danger right now. But when I say something, I don't want him to know it was me. I trust the police not to give away my identity to him if I report him (as I did one time that I think he was abusing a girlfriend). I guess I don't trust the apartment complex staff to protect my identity. That's sad, but true.


I tried to complain at the office about him once before and was completely brushed off by the woman working there. She wasn't one of the regular women in the office, but she was an employee of the complex. So, this discourages me. I guess I'll see what type of response I get tomorrow.


On a much more positive note, I received my final grade for the class I was just in. My dad will comment and ask what happened to my grade, but all-in-all, I'm proud of the 98.45% I received. It's hard to get 100% in a class where the majority of your grade comes from group assignments.


Two more classes, I'll be graduating. My next class starts on March 11, which happens to be DM's birthday. I have a week off before the class starts and hopefully DM and I will have fun adventures that week. I am looking forward to it.


There it is. Simple post, nothing profound, but an update on my work life, my home life, my school life, and my plans for next month. Life is pretty good right now, minor problems, but nothing to get me down.

(Spell check isn't working tonight, so I apologize if I have a couple of words incorrect.)

Colorful Words

Yes, colorful words. As in the ones I just yelled loudly at 1:30 am in my apartment. It was a simple chain reaction, but as I was heating up leftovers, I emptied the plastic dish onto one of my plates. In this, I managed to drip gravy on the floor. Simple, right? So, I grab for the paper towels. This knocks over the wire rack I have on top of my refrigerator. Which sends (amongst a bag of torilla chips and a very large container of vinegar (why do I have so much vinegar?)) a beautiful, footed crystal bowl crashing to my kitchen floor. It was not unbreakable.

Crap. Now I have added "mop" to my things to buy at the store. I want to make sure to get all the little pieces of glass picked up.

Oh, and my food got cold. I had to reheat it. Argh!

Hey, look at that, two posts in two days! Not bad, huh?

Too Long Between Posts

How have you been? I would probably know if I had been paying attention in the cyber-world lately, but I can't change the fact that I haven't been up-to-par on the whole blogging thing. I got an email from Joe (thanks for the prodding) that pointed out my absence.

How have I been? Decent. Life is going pretty well right now. I don't have any complaints, other than the fact we're stuck in the dead of winter right now and it's cold outside. Now, anything over 20 degrees is beautiful. Seriously. Above zero, still good. But it is -7 degrees Farenheit outside right now, and that's without the wind. Add in windchill and you get the feeling of 1,000 razorblades slicing up any exposed skin. I don't know how to make the site show the equivalent temperature for those who use Celcius. I just know that Farenheit and Celcius meet at -40 degrees and with windchill, we've been there. It is rather nice though when it is 30 degrees and snowing. It's quite beautiful.

These are old, but here are some snow pictures I took in December:





I do love the snow, even when it involves digging my car out of a pile of white. I don't think I could live somewhere without snow or even the changing of the seasons. I thrive on the changes of the year and really do enjoy the differences of spring, summer, autumn, and winter.

Since I last wrote, I've taken almost a full course at college. Tomorrow is actually my last day of class. With this one out of the way, I'm two courses away from graduating and soon I'll be able to use the words college and graduate in the same sentence. Right now, I still lack the ability and every time I try to indicate the end result of my long-term goal, it comes out, "I'm a ca-co-lagegeee ga-gadurate." One of these days I'll be able speak the phrase with pride.

Speaking of my upcoming graduation, I think I'm going to have a party. Well, that is if I buy a house. I have a timeline for events to purchase my first home, but that timeline includes waiting until March to call for a pre-approval. I'm going to see then how feasible this dream is. I like the fact that houses are dropping in value, which makes it more affordable for me. I also like the fact that the prime rate was dropped twice in the last month (good for work and personal life), but I'm scared of where our economy is and where it is going.

But I need a house. That sounds silly, because sure, I don't "need" it. But I want a house. I want a house for many reasons. My car is getting old (not that old, but it's not new anymore) and I'd like to have a garage for cold winter days. I want to have a fenced in backyard (even a little one) so that I can have a puppy. I want to have a washer and dryer on the same property because lugging laundry around is a hassle. I want a basement with a big room for scrapbooking where I can put everything in its place. I want room in my living room to put in an exercise bike to lose the pounds I gained when I became a supervisor and stopped running around our call center for four hours a night. I want the freedom to paint the walls any color I desire (and I think bold colors are awesome). I want to plant flowers in the backyard to take pictures. I want to be able to grocery shop without it becoming an ordeal to haul the bags from my parking spot halfway across the parking lot up the stairs and down the hall to my refrigerator. I want room to invite friends over for a night and maybe have a bonfire pit in the backyard.

I don't want a big house, but something that I can call mine. And the biggest thing that I want is to stop throwing money away each month on rent and build up equity.

What else is going on with me? Not too much. School takes up a lot of time. But I still get out and see friends. I go to my mom's every Monday for dinner, to play with Chip, and socialize. We have a good time. Chip is getting older, which bothers me, but he is still cute and still a loving member of our family. Smoke is the youngest of the pets at Mom's and he's anti-social. But he is getting better with company. I tend to pull out his toys when I'm there and have spent time petting him (much to my discomfort - I think I'm slightly allergic to cats). Mom told me that Scott's friends (family? I'm not sure) came over and said, "Oh, the other cat is here!" Smoke usually doesn't even make appearances for company. But he is getting better. Being in my mom's home will do that to an animal.

Work is pretty good. Problems from before are minimized and not in my immediate focus any longer. My team is doing fairly well and the feeling of "team" is very strong. This time of year is busier for the bankers, but not so much for me. I have been able to devote much more of my time towards coaching than when I have to write reviews, etc. As much as work is going well, I am looking forward to a long weekend (starting Thursday) and eleven days off in a row in March. DM's birthday is approaching and I've taken a week off to celebrate it with her. We'll go to Manny's and the opera during that time, but we're also considering a roadtrip to Canada. We both want to see Kakabeka Falls frozen. The only thing that really makes me question this idea is the fact that we'd be driving through northern Minnesota in one of the heaviest snowfall times of the year. But we'd follow the highway for most of the trip and then drive along Lake Superior for another big portion. The lake effect may help regulate the weather. We'll see how the weather is and then make a decision.

But I want to get out and try out my newest toy. For Christmas, my mom gave me a telephoto lens for my DSLR camera. I'm excited to see what it can do. Plus, I need new pictures!

So, I'm sorry that I don't post often or get around to everyone's sites. I know I sound like a broken record and I really wanted to improve in 2008 with blogging. I miss it. I do. I miss everyone and knowing what is going on in everyone's lives. Everything is pretty good here, but I just don't have a lot of news. I think that's part of the problem with blogging. There's no karaoke on Sundays (so no funny stories), I can't write about work much, and life is good. I'm busier with school and have more weekly routines for my social life (after work), so I'm not home as much. I also find myself a little sick of the computer by the time I get home.

But it will get better. I don't know when, but it will. Until then, I'm lurking. I hope all is well with everyone and I am sorry again.