Changes

The last time I blogged I said I would provide more updates later in the week.... That, obviously, did not happen. Those updates were to include details of a rather scary thing that happened the previous week while Kevin and I were purchasing new phones and combining our wireless plans. Being that this story is not going to be its own post as first intended and will instead only be a small piece of this, a longer post that has other things in it also, I'm not going to describe it in as much detail as I once would have.

Suffice it to say that I randomly fainted just as we were paying for our new phones. I got really hot all of a sudden and then kind of leaned into Kevin and ended up lying on the floor of the establishment. An ambulance was called and I ended up with my coat off, a bottle of water, a fan, and a chair to sit in while answering all kinds of questions. Firemen were the first responders to arrive and ask me the preliminary questions (do I have any health conditions, has this happened before, when was the last time I ate, etc.). They also asked if I could possibly be pregnant... to which I had to answer in the negative for a variety of reasons chief of which was that Aunt Flow had arrived that very same day (possibly contributing to the reasons for my faint in the first place). Anyway... the point of including this story in the blog was to inform everyone that a group of firemen now know that I'm not pregnant. (There ya go, Ash!) The whole experience resulted in a trip to the doctor complete with blood tests and a prescription for 12 weeks worth of vitamin D.

Other things have also been happening. Kevin and I finally got our acts together and found an apartment to lease for the next 6 months. The whole thing took one week to finalize and we're super thrilled. We're very happily installed at Providence at Harbour Club which was the cheapest place we could find. It's in Belleville which, so far, does not seem to suck as much as we thought it might. We're close enough to groceries, restaurants, post office and the po po's plus we have a lovely proximity to a large park with quite a bit of property and a view right onto the first hole of a golf course from our balcony. Speaking of which, we have a stinkin' huge balcony with two sliding glass doors (one to the livingroom and one to the bedroom) that will be perfect for hanging out on this summer and I know the Lu will love to be out there for some fresh air. As we were moving in we discovered some of our lovely neighbors: all older-ish people that were kind enough to offer to help us carry things in and smile and say hello. The whole experience of moving in was excellent. I'm so excited for our first place together... and I'm excited for Kevin to move in in May. The only fly in the oinment was that I had to leave like 3 days after we signed the lease so I didn't get to unpack everything and get everything organized for Kevin and Lucy to be there while I'm gone.

Which brings me to the fact that I'm currently in California visiting my sister, Faye. I will be here for a little over two weeks which will be a tremendous opportunity to exercise and relax plus my getting to visit Faye and David. While it is not exactly the best timing for my visit because we have the wedding fast approaching and many things to prepare and loose ends to tie up, I'm here and I intend to enjoy it (taking care of some wedding tasks long distance, of course).

Wedding plans are progressing. Kevin and I have decided on a cake, have had our first meeting with the Rev., have ordered the invitations, and had our first fittings for gown/tux. Everything's sneaking up so quickly... it's all very exciting.

Good things are happening and I'm happy. I'm hoping that returning to HCrizzle in two weeks will not sour my optimism about how things are going.

Good Grief

I skipped a whole month! Whoops...

Obviously a lot has happened since last I posted: I graduated, walked (with my parents and Kevin present), had a Merry Christmas with the fam, had a Happy (drunken) New Year in Chicago with Korpals and peeps, and a wonderful visit with those Norrises in South Kadota.

Life after school has been going well. I've enjoyed having some time to myself to do some reading, crocheting, crafting, wedding planning, movie watching, sleeping... you know: doing what I want to do. I've also been spending quite a bit of time with that Kevin of mine, which has also been nice. Seeing him not as often as I would have liked to during student teaching was a pain and so being able to spend some good quality time together has been lovely.

I was back to work at HCrizzle after we returned from our trip and have been working since then: subbing, aftercaring, and doing a bit of summer camp planning. I'm feeling optimistic and enthused for this upcoming session of summer camp! I'm hoping we will be working out many of the kinks from last year and the years before... we shall see how things go. I'm currently a bit miserable at Honey Creek and I would really like to have a good going away summer so I may remember it (and my coworkers) fondly.

So many phases of my life have finished with me walking away happy to leave and not caring about whether or not I see any of the people or places from that phase ever again (ex: high school, Gateway Chiropractic, EMU). Later on I have been sorry that I did not spend more time saying good-bye, cherishing the people/places while I had them, etc. I don't want Honey Creek to finish like high school did... and then with me later regretting how I left the situation. It will certainly be a challenge.

More interesting news to come in more posts this week... just you wait...

Resolution

No worries, friends. I have managed to procure 3 tickets (enough for my parents and the Kevin).
Stinkin' EMU. I still feel like they suck but at least I was able to get tickets... I have been appeased.

THE END

I am currently sitting in my LAST class as an undergraduate student. After a rather frustrating hour spent trying to pick up my allotted graduation tickets (only to find out I missed the pick up deadline) and going to the bookstore and spending another $32.81 (after the $90 graduation application fee) for my cap and gown, I am finally FINISHED spending money at EMU.
Yes, I know it's my own fault that I missed the ticket pickup deadline. I've been a bit of a flake for deadlines for quite a while now so now I'm finally seeing some hardcore consequences for my bad habit. My parents are driving up from North Carolina to see me walk on Sunday and unfortunately they won't get to.
There was NO notification of graduation information available for graduating students other than a postcard that was sent out sometime in October (I think) that directed them to a commencement website which said that there would be no information sent to graduates by mail and that all information would have to be obtained by accessing the website. They want to save on postage and maybe be more green... I get it. I am beyond tired, however, of having to do all of the work regarding any and all paperwork that needs to be filled out and filed on my account as a student and getting minimal notification of when things are supposed to happen while at the same time working as much as possible and attending all classes and maintaining a decent GPA. Other people seem to have no problem doing this. Good for them. They're more organized and on top of things.
Since I was "let go" from my job in February of 2006 I have been BUSY piecing together random jobs to be able to make my ends meet and have also been fully enrolled in classes at EMU. No, I have not been a dogsitter, housesitter, data entry clerk, camp counselor, sales staff member, etc., etc., etc., by choice for the last 2 years. I am exhausted and have been exhausted for a really long time. Getting through all of the red tape and jumping through all of the hoops that EMU has provided me with has been the hardest thing I've ever done. Needless to say that all of my other commitments and having a tiny bit of a life on top of school has left me completely burned out. I have been gaining weight and having headaches and falling asleep on my date night for so long that I don't even really remember being relaxed and happy anymore.
Keeping my finish line in sight has been my only weak driving force. My finish line has arrived and I won't get to have anyone share it with me. I'm angry and upset and feeling like an idiot.
As I've been telling my students for the last 3 months, "forgetful people need reminders." How hard would it have been for an email notification to go out about ticket pick up?
I'm sick and tired of stupid EMU and I hope I never have to return. I certainly will NOT be back for my master's program. I will be happy to choose any other institution.
How sad that I haven't been able to have a positive university experience. I've spent the last 2 years wishing that WCC was a university so I wouldn't have to deal with all of the stupid, jerky, and apparently inept people at EMU.

another short one

I have been queen of the short posts lately... and here's another. Perhaps sometime soon I will get it together enough to write something a bit longer.
I recently watched this video on youtube and loved it. It makes me laugh every time. Please enjoy.

Something to Think About

Please read this article. I would love to hear comments back about it if you feel so inclined.

sad, sad Alexa

I am currently at the library to do my planning for the next week of solo teaching. I only have 5 more days to go! While the idea of graduation gets me feeling feverishly excited and oh so happy, those feelings are taking a back burner position to sad and depressed right now.

While I'm finishing up my career as an undergrad student, other changes are also taking place. My roommate, Bethany, and I are going our separate ways. Our lease is up December 1st. She has a new apartment a few minutes from where we've lived for the last two years and I will be returning home.

The thought of moving home is not all that depressing. True, I don't really have a bedroom there anymore (my brothers, who used to share a room, now occupy both upstairs bedrooms) and the house is about 15 minutes further away from everything, including Kevin, and all of my stuff will be in boxes for about 3 months. But I will be going home. I have missed being there. And I've missed my brothers, so reconnecting with them and seeing them more often before I go off and get married will be nice, I suppose.

But I've really loved having such a great roommate and I'm really sad that we won't be living together anymore. I feel like I'm losing a friend (and a pet). She's been great about putting up with me and my current messy ways and has been great to spend time with and see every day (even for a very short amount of time). There have been things about our living together that have annoyed me (and I KNOW she's been annoyed from time to time too) but it's just been wonderful to share a space with such a great friend.

I'm going to miss you, Beth. I know we'll still get to spend time together now and then but it just won't be the same. Thanks for putting up with me for so long and for being so understanding. Love you.