| hooray for girly weekends! |
[Oct. 13th, 2008|06:21 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  productive | ] |
It was a fabulous girl weekend.
Saturday was a day with the sisters. I'm really happy that my older sister and I are starting to have a better relationship. We had a really hard time growing up together because we are so different and then were never in the same place again until now. And my little sister is just awesome. We ate at Wingers and watched Robin Hood (Kevin Costner) because my little sister had not seen it. We were up until like 1 in the morning.
Then Sunday was a day of extra girliness. A friend of mine from work (Erin DR) invited me to her friend's house to watch Pride and Prejudice. I think the last time I watched it in its entirety was in Trimble with Nora and Jennifer and Tessa. Seems like another lifetime. Anyway, this girl had THE BEST spread ever. Mostly cheese and wine and it was delicious. Actually my favorite items were the guacamole with gorgonzola cheese and the goat cheese fondue with the garlic clove bread. And chocolate. YUM. SO MUCH FOOD. But when you're watching Pride and Prejudice all day you have to have food. It was great.
Now it's back to work. I think I'm starting to feel the pangs of burnout. That doesn't really surprise me considering as much as I try to leave on time I'm almost always here late. Like today I left almost two hours late after getting there an hour early. I'm grateful for the long weekend coming up (Hooray for fall break and great bosses!) and I think I may have to take an emotional health day soon. I also think I'm missing Washington. Up until now I've been able to visit about every six months but it hasn't happened this year. Maybe I need an early birthday present. I would also really like to visit my friends and godson in Texas (flights are too expensive!) and have been thinking about doing the drive to Colorado to see some friends there (Ruth? Karen? Maybe?) We'll see. |
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| Question Time! |
[Oct. 11th, 2008|03:33 pm] |
From </a></a></b></a>![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) lightningflash
I want to know everything & anything there is to know about my friends. I don't give a shit if we haven't talked in a while, never talked before, or talk every goddamn day. You're filling this out, ya dig? NOW GO! GOGOGOGO! Oh & repost it in your journal so I can spam it up!
[Ok, really, I pretty sure Ashley's the only one who will do this. But humor me...]
01) Are you currently in a serious relationship?
02) What was your dream growing up?
03) What talent do you wish you had?
04) If I bought you a drink what would it be?
05) Favorite vegetable?
06) What was the last book you read?
07) What zodiac sign are you?
08) Any tattoos and/or piercings? Explain where.
09) Worst habit?
10) If you saw me walking down the street would you offer me a ride?
11) What is your favorite sport?
12) Do you have a pessimistic or optimistic attitude?
13) What would you do if you were stuck in an elevator with me?
14) Worst thing to ever happen to you?
15) Tell me one weird fact about you.
16) Do you have any pets?
17) What if I showed up at your house unexpectedly?
18) What was your first impression of me?
19) Do you think clowns are cute or scary?
20) If you could change one thing about how you look, what would it be?
21) Would you be my crime partner or my conscience?
22) What color eyes do you have?
23) Ever been arrested?
24) Bottle or can soda?
25) If you won $10,000 today, what would you do with it?
27) What's your favorite place to hang out at?
28) Do you believe in ghosts?
29) Favorite thing to do in your spare time?
30) Do you swear a lot?
31) Biggest pet peeve?
32) In one word, how would you describe yourself?
33) Do you believe/appreciate romance?
34) Favorite and least favorite foods?
35) Do you believe in God?
36) Will you repost this so I can fill it out and do the same for you? |
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| Chicago! |
[Oct. 5th, 2008|04:47 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | busy | ] |
I love big cities. Therefore, I loved Chicago. I think Seattle will always be my favorite, but for whatever reason I think Chicago beats out New York. Maybe.
But yeah, left on Wednesday for a four day conference in Chicago and really ended up doing a little bit of everything.
Wednesday: Spent most of the day flying. Finally arrive in Chicago and get stuck in playoff traffic. Not that I minded. Our shuttle driver was pretty cool and chatted about a lot of different things. And it was kind of fun to see the different areas we passed from O'Hare to down town. There were 6 of us that went from the College of Humanities and Social Sciences and the School of the Arts. 4 of us stayed in Hotel 71 and 2 in Hard Rock. I was in Hotel 71 with my friend and coworker Erin D.R. (We also have Erin G.). It was right across from the Trump tower - shiny with lots of glass but didn't really seem to fit the downtown architecture style - and a block away from Michigan Avenue. Since we are all girls we decide to go find food and shopping. So we did.
We ate at the most wonderful Thai place I think I have ever been. I'm pretty sure it's called VTK (Vong's Thai Kitchen or something). Seriously. Their Pad Thai was perfect and the Panang chicken was so rich and flavorful. It also had the most ridiculously delicious passion fruit souffle. yumyumyumyum. Shopping happened and I spent way too much at Sephora because we don't have one here in Utah. I do most of my shopping from them online so it was great to do some testing and actually try some colors before I buy. Purchases included a baked eyeshadow set (great browns and purples!) a couple of shadow pencils and lipliner. Not to mention some cream and a replacement brush. Yay.
Thursday: We actually went to the conference. We were there for NACADA (National ACademic ADvising Association). Lots of good sessions about how to get students engaged, how to professionalize our jobs, and how to keep us at the top of our game. Thursday night was actually free night at the Chicago Art Institute. This included a walk by Millennial Park (beautiful!). The art institute had a lot of cool stuff including Geoge Sauret, Monet, and Van Gogh. I also saw The American Gothic painting and this super cool painting interpretation of the Portrait of Dorian Gray. Totally freaky that last one was.
After the museum we went to Buddy's Legends and had soulfood and listened to live blues. The food was awesome. The music could have been better, but it was sweet atmosphere.
Friday: More conferency stuff. I also had lunch with good friends from College I hadn't seen in a while. Hello Bill and Kristine Parker! And they brought their little boy Jamie who's about 10 months. We did lunch at Harry Caray's cause Bill and I are both baseball fans. Friday night was WICKED. And yes, it's just as amazing the second time. The cast had it's differences of course, but the Elpheba was good and so was Galinda. I would have liked a better Fiero, but oh well. It was still amazing and the girls I went with hadn't seen it.
Saturday: Ended up meeting up with a friend from my grad program from Seattle. So crazy we have to fly to Chicago to hang out. He's actually a registrar so I didn't expect to see him there, but thanks to facebook I realized we were both at the conference so we met up for coffee. Sooooo good to see him again. Then those from UVU went back to the Thai place. Yes, it was that good. And then flew home.
Phew. It was a crazy busy week, but the sessions I went to were actually pretty good and helpful. It was great to build good friendships with those I work with and great to see some old friends. And spend some time in a big city. |
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| Plzkthnx |
[Aug. 29th, 2008|02:57 pm] |
....Can get you into trouble. So for the letter Z
Comment and I'll give you a letter; then you have to list ten things you LOVE that begin with that letter. Afterward, post this in your journal and give out some letters of your own.
I was given Z by </a></font></b></a>lightningflash. Here goes!
1. Zupas - it's this great salad, sandwhich and soup shop that has fabulous food
2. Zebras - they make me think of my awesome trip to Africa 10 years ago <- that makes me feel so old
3. The Zone system - in black and white photography. Makes manual BW photo taking a lot easier. At least for me.
4. Zzzzz's - I love to sleep =o)
5. Zephyrs - (hahaha love having to get creative!) But seriously I love breezes especially the variety that comes in off bodies of water.
6. Umm...Zippers? I guess how else would my pants stay up? ;o)
7. Zodiac signs Because it gives me some good insight
8. Zoolights makes me think of Tacoma and SAI
9. Zed - it makes me laugh how Canadians say it (and I can mock my lineage)
10. Zeal - is it possible to have zeal for zeal?
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| (no subject) |
[Aug. 29th, 2008|01:35 pm] |
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I don't usually follow my horoscope but sometimes they are amusing and applicable. As in todays horoscope that said: "Stressed and overworked? Day to day angst should not get in the way of your social life. Clock out and leave your problems behind. No one pays you to have meltdowns after hours. So live it up!" |
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| Because I should actually be working.... |
[Aug. 13th, 2008|02:24 pm] |
Let's Play 20 Questions!
Yanked from lightningflash
01. How has LJ changed your life?
I like the people that are on my friends pages but they're people I never really got to know as well as I should have during college. This has helped me get to know them better and stay in touch as people have spread across continents.
02. What do you do before bedtime?
Usually talk to my best friend on the phone and listen to some NPR.
03. What are you going to have for dinner tonight?
Not sure yet. Considering going to Bajio for one of the best chili chicken burritos, but we'll see. May have plans with L&H who are in town!
04. What is the ONE place you want to go before you die if you had the money and the time?
Ireland. I would spend like three months and take my medium format camera and lots and lots of B&W film and just wander the countryside taking landscape and architecture photos.
05. Are you an introvert or extrovert?
Introvert, but despite common misconceptions that does not mean I avoid people. It just means that at the end of the day I usually am ok recharging my batteries on my own or with maybe one other person. It also just means I need time to process things internally (I don't need to talk about things with others).
06. What do you do in your free time?
Right now, watch the Olympics. And I'm not going to have a lot of free time in the fall. In addition to my full time case load of advising (about 1000 students and it should be closer to 400 to be a fair caseload!) I will be teaching two classes, attending Yoga class twice a week, kickboxing twice a week and hopefully singing in a choir once a week. That should keep me busy!
07. If you could speak another language (meaning one you currently don't know), what would it be?
I tried Latin in college, but just didn't have time. I love languages, but don't think I learn it well how it is taught in most class situations. I'd also love to learn Italian and Russian.
08. What personal belonging do you have with you everywhere you go?
My cell phone, my iPod, my class ring and that's about it.
09. What was your favorite song or musical group when you were young?
Even as young as 4th grade I loved musicals. Especially Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Probably had something to do with the fact that I grew up in Utah and Donny Osman sang in a cast recording at some point.
10. Are you a risk taker?
Sometimes, but more often not. But I've made some big risks including moving to Washington for school, moving back to Utah to take a job BEFORE I finished my grad degree. And quitting my job and giving notice in my apartment before I had found another job and another apartment. I've also flown over Mt. Timp in a hot air balloon and at some point would like to try sky diving. So, I guess you decide.
11. Is being tagged fun?
Yes. Gives me motivation to do it.
12. Where do you see yourself in ten years?
Still working in advising at a college somewhere and possibly even back in Washington. Hopefully married with one or two kids.
13. If you could be anyone for one day, who would you be?
Right now, one of the Olympians. It'd be cool to be there and participate and feel what is was like to be in such great physical shape.
14. What kind of person do you think the person who tagged you is?
I think lightningflashis fun and random and someone I should've spent more time with in college. we have more similar interests than I possibly could've guessed at the time.
15. Would you rather be single & rich or married but poor?
Married and poor. As long as it was a happy marriage it could withstand the poor part.
16. How many children do you want to have, if any?
No specific number in mind. But probably no more than 4.
17. What's better: to give or to receive?
Yes. Presents are great.
18. If you fall in love with two people simultaneously, who would you pick?
Two? This is an odd question.
19. Would you have 100% safe sex with a stranger for £10,000,000?
Probably not. surprisingly.
20. If you were on last day on death row what would your last meal be?
Roger's steak, Mint Milano cookies, all the Dr. Pepper I could drink, garlic mashed potatos something along that line.
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| (no subject) |
[Aug. 11th, 2008|04:42 pm] |
Participate only if you feel so inclined…
3's About Me!* ( short survey)
Three jobs I have had in my life
1. Dining and conference services - mass food production YUCK!!!
2. Program Assistant at Cascadia Community College (my first paying job in higher ed!)
3. Academic Advisor
Places I have lived:
1. Provo
2. Tacoma
3. Orem
Three favorite shows that I watch: (currently)
1. Big Brother (it's like a train wreck, you can't look away!)
2. CBS Sunday Morning news
3. The Office
Three people who email me often:
1. My students
2. Roger (I do enjoy the forwards!)
3. Facebook
Three of my favorite foods:
1. Dr. Pepper
2. Milano Mint Cookies
3. Roger's Steak
Places I'd rather be right now:
1. Seattle (at a baseball game)
2. Seattle (at Alki beach)
3. Seattle (on the sound)
Three friends I think will respond:
1. jenni
2. Ashley
3. Ruth
Three things I am looking forward to this year:
1. My Office with a window!
2. Teaching
3. Seeing Haston this week!!! |
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| House hunting... |
[Jun. 19th, 2008|09:18 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  contemplative | ] |
Yes, indeed. I am house hunting. Again. *sigh* I did this to myself, you know. I love my adorable little apartment. But I really can't (ok, I probably COULD, but won't) justify that my first of month paycheck goes almost entirely to rent. And they are increasing rent in August. So I sent in my notice.
Unfortunately, that leaves me as apartment hunting. Thank goodness for the stimulus check because with that in the bank I can afford a first and last + deposit required of most places here. What I can't seem to find is housing for people like me. No, I am not a student and do not want to rent a ROOM. (Seriously you have to look so carefully to distinguish the difference between renting an apartment and renting a room in an apartment. And people don't really seem to understand the difference.) No, I am not married (which disqualifies me for about half the housing in Provo, go figure. Isn't that illegal?). No, I am not rich. Yes, I want to live by myself. Yes, I am a working professional. Sheesh.
I've tried everything. Rent.com. Apartmentfinder.com. Craigslist. The local newspaper classifieds. Even stooping so low as asking my students. I've got leads on two potential places, but neither can tell me if they have anything specific available for the end of July when my lease ends. And no, I can't afford to pay double rent in July. And they definitely aren't as cute as my current place.
So now I'm considering buying. I've found a place that's small, but that I really like. It's just down the street from where I am now and so close to campus (work). I could walk to work if I weren't so lazy and it weren't so hot. The list price is 125,000. Pretty affordable I think, but then my mom tells me her friend bought one of the condos there two years ago for 90000. Prices couldn't have changed that much? But I have no idea how to go about this. The thought of a 30 year mortgage freaks me out, but I was playing with an online mortgage calculator and the monthly payments were coming up about what I'm paying now, including the HOA fees. I could perhaps justify it more if it's a place I OWNED instead of rented....
Thoughts? Advice? |
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| (no subject) |
[May. 2nd, 2008|01:11 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  excited | ] |
I'm headed to Washington today. Hooray! I'm so excited. Hopefully I will see many Adelphian Alum at the concert tomorrow for Dr. Yonkman. And I'm going to a Mariner game and lunch with a couple of really good friends. I'm so happy. |
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| Random thoughts |
[Apr. 11th, 2008|03:42 pm] |
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The wind outside makes me want to take a kite out and fly it.
Time felt different when I was a college student. I miss it.
My grandma's jumbles (a type of cookie) are the best. Especially when my little sister makes them and saves one just for me. Awww.
My little sister can't make it to swimming tonight. I hope I still have the motivation to go.
I don't function very well when I can't see outside. My office is a converted half of a conference room in the basement and middle of the building. All I get is fluorescent light and white walls (with my decorations of course).
I'm happy it's almost the weekend.
This kid is amazing:
That is all. =o) |
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| Just keep swimming.... |
[Apr. 10th, 2008|12:05 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | working | ] |
So today I have a semi-break from the madness that is registration week. I have a student assistant here all day today, so I can make him meet with the difficult students. JUST KIDDING =o)
That means I have more time for catching up on filing and paperwork, and of course, posting on LJ.
So I'm incredibly sore and tired today from a much needed workout last night. My little sister and I are meeting each other at the rec center three times a week (hopefully!) and swimming for a little over an hour. Last night was night 2 of 3 for the week. (Go me!)
The best thing about these nights is that my little sister swam competitively for several years and was really really good. And she loves swimming so she's having fun coming up with the reps for us to do. It's kicking my butt just trying to keep up with her. She's also a ton of fun to spend time with, so I actually look forward to going. And swimming is supposed to be one of the best things you can do to stay in shape, supposedly. And I enjoy it because I don't feel the work out as much during the doing of it, just about 30 minutes after. =o)
So we've committed to doing this for a month and hopefully I will see some changes. Nothing but the soreness yet, but I'm sure I'll get there. |
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| (no subject) |
[Mar. 22nd, 2008|01:08 pm] |
So, the week was spent helping my best friends (laura, jeremy and 9 month old Haston) pack up and move. =o( Now they are off and fairly settled in Dallas where they'll be for the next couple of months before moving to Corpus Christie. So sad. I will miss my little man.
I think it just put me in a rotten mood for the week. I love my job, but still that doesn't mean I want to go everyday. And this week was one of those weeks where I just wanted to stay in bed.
Instead, I tried to do things to cheer me up. And most of them worked fairly well. I received my tax return that I promptly turned around and spent. I bought a plane ticket to visit Washington, yay! If my one best friend will move to Texas then I will go see my other best friend! Besides, it's been about six months so it's about time anyway. And I will get to go see Dr. Yonkman's last concert. And I've bought tickets to a Mariner game. And I will get to chill with my best friend. All good things and something I can definitely look forward to doing.
Then, I bought a new cell phone. My phone is totally old school and has started to crap out on me on a regular basis. I'm with Verizon and I was up for my "new every two" anyway which means that I got a discount. So I bought a new Chocolate phone. It's a pretty blue. I ordered it online to get an additional discount so it should be here in a few days. I'm looking forward to playing with it.
I will be visiting home for the Easter holiday, and hopefully that will be good. With my family, it's a toss up. =o)
And that is all. |
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| (no subject) |
[Mar. 11th, 2008|01:18 pm] |
That was not really a happy meme, especially to end on a question like that! Oh well. I should get back to work. |
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| (no subject) |
[Mar. 8th, 2008|12:15 pm] |
61
I don't think that's half bad considering I knew a lot more countries by name but not by spelling. I spent a lot of time just trying to spell something I knew was a country instead of moving on.
And now...answers to the quotes:
Character 1: You dance with passion.
Character 2: No sensible woman would demonstrate passion, if the purpose were to attract a husband.
Character 1: As opposed to a lover?
is from Becoming Jane. A fast favorite of mine based on the life of Jane Austen.
"I'm not kidding, that boy's head is like Sputnik; spherical but quite pointy at parts! Now that was offsides, wasn't it? He'll be crying himself to sleep tonight, on his huge pillow."
is from So I Married an Axe Murderer. A favorite from high school. |
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| Finish please? |
[Mar. 3rd, 2008|03:17 pm] |
Ok y'all. Jennicole had her go at the quotes, now it's time for more input. Here are the movie quotes that weren't guessed last week:
2 "I'm a woman! We don't say what we WANT! But we reserve the right to get pissed off if we don't get it. That's what makes us so fascinating! And not a little bit scary." Sliding Doors guessed by lightningflash
3 Character 1: You dance with passion.
Character 2: No sensible woman would demonstrate passion, if the purpose were to attract a husband.
Character 1: As opposed to a lover?
4 "I put no stock in religion. By the word religion I have seen the lunacy of fanatics of every denomination be called the will of god. I have seen too much religion in the eyes of too many murderers. Holiness is in right action, and courage on behalf of those who cannot defend themselves, and goodness. What god desires is here [points to head] and here [points to heart] and what you decide to do every day, you will be a good man - or not." Kingdom of Heaven guessed by phangrrrl
5 "Oh, king eh? Very nice. And how'd you get that, eh? By exploiting the workers. By hanging on to outdated imperialist dogma which perpetuates the economic and social differences in our society." Monte Python and the Holy Grail guessed by lightningflash
8 "I'm disinclined to acquiesce to your request. Means "no"." Pirates of the Carribean guessed by lightningflash
9 "Snakes. Why'd it have to be snakes?" Indiana Jones guessed by jennicole lightningflash gets bonus points for knowing it was Raiders of the Lost Ark.
11 "Husbands should be like Kleenex: soft strong and disposable." Clue guessed by serorobele
12 "I'm not kidding, that boy's head is like Sputnik; spherical but quite pointy at parts! Now that was offsides, wasn't it? He'll be crying himself to sleep tonight, on his huge pillow. "
14 "The big-flashing-red-light way of telling you're not really over someone is when you're still reading their horoscope in the hope that they're going to get wiped out in some freak napalming incident." Sliding Doors guessed by lightningflash
15 "Me? I'm dishonest, and a dishonest man you can always trust to be dishonest. Honestly. It's the honest ones you want to watch out for, because you can never predict when they're going to do something incredibly... stupid." Pirates of the Carribean guessd by lightningflash
========================
See, I knew y'all could do it. ^_^ |
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| Movies! |
[Feb. 26th, 2008|02:51 pm] |
Rules:
+ Pick 15 of your favorite movies.
+ Go to IMDb and find a quote from each movie.
+ Post them here for everyone to guess.
+ Strike it out when someone guesses correctly, and put who guessed it and the movie.
+ NO GOOGLING/using IMDb search functions.
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| (no subject) |
[Feb. 5th, 2008|10:47 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  drained | ] |
Yuck. I've had better weeks. I've been sick for the first time in a long time. I don't remember being this sick since I missed about a week senior year of college. I've actually called in sick to work and to top it off I'm going in for oral surgery tomorrow. Yipee. I have a failing root canal that has caused a major infection and is spreading. They're going to go in, pull the tooth, do a bone graft if the infection has killed enough bone in my jaw, and hopefully do an implant so I can get a crown to replace the tooth in about 3-4 months. So despite the fact I've been on pretty heavy antibiotics, to hopefully kill most of the infection, I'm still sick. Yuck. I was also too sick to vote today, which is something I really kind of wanted to do. This would be the only time my vote would really count in the great state of UT. =o)
Other than that, life is decent. I have the best little sister in the world, but she knows that. I'm tired often. I still enjoy my Yoga class. I'm thinking about getting a personal trainer, but debating the financial aspects. I still love work, though which students I like varies day to day. I miss playing the violin. I'm not social often, but maybe that's where I can improve. Maybe next week. =o)
To leave with, a meme:
You are The Star
Hope, expectation, Bright promises.
The Star is one of the great cards of faith, dreams realised
The Star is a card that looks to the future. It does not predict any immediate or powerful change, but it does predict hope and healing. This card suggests clarity of vision, spiritual insight. And, most importantly, that unexpected help will be coming, with water to quench your thirst, with a guiding light to the future. They might say you're a dreamer, but you're not the only one.
What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out. |
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| Gordon Bitner Hinckley |
[Jan. 27th, 2008|10:37 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  sad | ] |
Tonight Gordon B. Hinckley, president of the LDS (Mormon) church passed away. He was 97. He has been the president of the church for 13 years, and most of my impressionable life. He was an excellent leader with a huge heart, someone who loved his faith and his people. He was always so active and so articulate, I will miss his talks. He always had a sense of humor, he was always grateful for the experiences he had, and for a 97 year old man was really easy to relate to. I will miss him. |
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| (no subject) |
[Jan. 9th, 2008|09:58 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  geeky | ] |
I actually scored much higher than I thought I would (29.557).
Take it yourself and post reults.
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| (no subject) |
[Dec. 11th, 2007|03:37 pm] |
First line of the month for 2007:
January
Given my day today this made me laugh:
February
So...I flew an airplane this morning!
March
So I got a call back for the job at South Puget Sound Community College.
April
Hee hee hee....I LOVE baseball.
May
It was exactly one year ago today I started my current job; my how things can change in a year.
June
So I'm back from Maui and unfortunately my life did not figure itself out while I was gone.
July
I'm happy.
August
I went and saw Tony Bennett perform live last night at Deer Valley.
September
When it rains it pours....
October
So. Freaking. Excited. I <3 Johnny Depp.
November
I feel unexpectantly old tonight.
December
First line of the month for 2007:
A lot happened this year. I'm sure once the break hits I will have plenty of time to think about the changes and think about where I am and where I want to be. =o) |
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