Category: the catch-all-egory

wait a second…

What do you mean that the weekend is OVER?

That was fast! However, it was a great weekend. Fun times with good friends. That’s how every weekend should be!! Not much else to report here… just plugging along with my Stats homework, wondering what the first Anatomy test will be like, and hoping that I do well in all of my classes from here on out.

I kind of feel a little “in the fog” today, which I hope will pass soon. There’s nothing fun about drifting through the fog, waiting to see what will happen next.

I have started working out again too, and I have to say, I have felt like I have been hit by a train for a few days now. I also can’t wait for that to end…. But I am back to the treadmill tonight! I will make it stick this time!!

art, wonder, and the lack thereof

Last night in Anatomy Lab, we went over the amazing process of Mitosis. I have to say, that I have always been fascinated by the way the body works, and how miraculous the many tiny parts of the body work independently in order to keep us running each and every day. It really puts things into this amazing perspective, when you realize that such a tiny thing as a cell really is the building block of everything that we are; and even more amazing, it does its thing without any help or conscious instruction from us. Pretty amazing stuff.

It also makes me wonder how people decided to start looking at things like cells, and the building blocks of the human body in the first place. I mean, I know people “wonder” about things, but what makes them look into things and discover things like cells? I wonder, because I truly believe that it is a little bit (maybe a LOT) luck (discovery without really knowing what you have discovered, or being able to comprehend it), and a little bit something mysterious; which is really where my mind starts to go off in fanciful wonder. It also makes you wonder who in the right mind just “experiments”, like in the case of these freakish experiments (I’m surprised Tuskegee wasn’t in there… ); just to “see” what will happen. Where do these people come up with these ideas? I guess there really is a fine line between genius and crazy, eh? Either way, pretty interesting things have been discovered; and now I have to memorize them for my class!! It’s a good thing I have been through it before, because there is a lot to know about the human body.

Sort of on the same vein, and given that there have been some amazing things that I have been looking at lately, I have to say, that I really don’t get this at all: Damien Hirst is apparently this amazing “artist”, and recently sold a diamond encrusted human skull for 100 million dollars. Correct me if I’m wrong (and this takes into account the whole “art is in the eye of the beholder”), but gluing diamonds to a skull is NOT art. In fact, it is, at best, expensive kindergarten crafts. So, why do people like him display dead sharks in tanks of chemicals, and waste 2 million dollars on “skull crafts”, call it art, and make the big bucks while the rest of us have to get real jobs? Perhaps that is the best swindle of all(?). Regardless of whether or not I “understand” or “appreciate” his “work”, all I can say is that I am more than willing to take a shit in a museum, stick a straw in it, and label it “life sucks”, if you want to pay me the big dollars; because to me, that is pretty much the same fucking thing.

Hope everyone is having a kick ass Friday!

who really cares?

Everyone’s raving about another defecting Republican, who got caught giving in to his homosexual tendencies… but really, who cares? I mean, this guy goes up in an airport restroom to score some cock, and everyone is all abuzz about it. Please. I am so sick of the “news” covering stories like this one, or this and that about Britney Spears’ night out on the town; what is really going on in the world? Tell us that stuff!

Seriously. I mean if you really want to look at it, he didn’t even do anything but proposition the guy! No gay sex was involved!! What a freak, and what a non-news situation. Seriously, find something important to talk about, for crying out loud.

I do, however, think it is funny that so many of these anti-gay jerks find themselves in a restroom somewhere begging for a bit of man on man action… which really makes it clear that the more homophobic you are, the more you are covering up your own homosexuality; and honestly, that’s just sad.

I just wish people could be happy with themselves, and the world wouldn’t judge you because of what you do between the sheets. Perhaps people like this would be able to express themselves in a healthy (and more legal?) manner, and instead of being so against our “agenda”, they could just join us in place where you can be happy for who you are, you can enjoy personal acceptance, and people will understand and accept you for you. Man, wouldn’t that be a wonderful thing; and potentially, something actually worth reporting (for a change)?

Who knows… Now back to your regularly scheduled Michael Vick update… wait… I don’t give a shit about that either! HA!

In duane-related news… I have been really working hard at Statistics, which, if you are not a math wiz, is seriously another language. I just hope that I can pull out some magic knowledge or memory, and somehow score an A in this class. It is, after all, the only math class I have to take. At least I am getting it out of the way first!!

Finally, I don’t now if anyone is actually taking my music suggestions seriously, but here is another fantastic one: Kate Nash, Made of Bricks. Wow. She is a little bit Lily Allen, and I love her! The whole CD is a great listen, and I love her writing style. The song “Foundations”, is seriously infectious, and so well written. I have been listening to it on repeat for days. Do yourself a favor, and check it out! This CD is definitely one of my favorites of the year!

policy cancellation and first class impressions

First of all, I wanted to say something about the craziness that is my mortgage company (and in a related note, the craziness that is my insurance company). We have had our loan sold many times, but this was the first one that never sent us payment information (like, where to send it, and when), and then threatened a late payment for the payment we didn’t know existed. Anyway, cut to the other day…

We got a notice that our home insurance policy was about to be canceled, due to a lack of payment. Since the mortgage company are the ones that make those payments on our behalf, we called them up. After a little talk, it was cleared up; not their fault, because they made the payment back in June.

So I called Allstate. Turns out, that someone issued a refund two days after said payment was received and processed. The best part? There was no reason for the refund. All is taken care of, right? Well… not exactly. See, the refund check went to the mortgage company, who, you guessed it… cashed the refund check. Now, we have to get them to pay again.

You know, you would think that companies that deal with many loans, and many customers would be able to keep better track of what’s been paid, who’s paid up, and where $800 some odd dollars are at all times, you know? Well, at least we found out BEFORE our insurance was canceled, eh?

In other news, I have been logging in to my online classes each day, and I really think that I am going to be able to manage this quite swimmingly. I went up to the school yesterday to take care of getting an ID card, a parking pass, and my books, only to discover that the bookstore doesn’t carry my stats book. No matter, I said, I will check amazon! Well, turns out, even better for me, that you can just buy one year’s access to the book online; which is part of a program that I was going to have to buy anyway. The best part, is that it was cheaper, AND I won’t be stuck with another book sitting around that I won’t really need after this class is over. What isn’t so great, is that my anatomy book and lab manual cost me $300! Damn! I forgot that books were so expensive! Oh well… at least I have it, right? Weirdly, the anatomy teacher hasn’t updated anything on the anatomy class website, so we’ll see where that one goes… onward!

Hope everyone has a great Wednesday… I can’t wait for tomorrow to be over, because I am off on Friday and Monday! Woot!

back to the heat, back to the grind

Well, I survived Rochester, NY. I guess I didn’t mention WHERE I was going this weekend for work, and I honestly don’t have a reason for not doing so… just an oversight.

Either way, I had to work all day Saturday, and then was tied up with travel and airport nonsense all day Sunday. Sitting here in my office on a Monday, it really doesn’t feel like Monday at all. I am going to make some of that up by taking off time this weekend… because it’s birthday weekend!

My birthday is on Sunday, so if you want to do something, let me know. I don’t really do parties or big dinners, but would love to just spend time with friends. Also, if you feel so inclined, you can purchase me something shiny and new from one of my amazon wish-lists; which are right there on the right column under “more than just a blog”. But don’t feel obligated, okay?

Overall, the weekend was nice. The weather in Rochester was unbelievably amazing. So much so, that I will seriously consider moving north once I get my nursing degree. It was really nice to walk around in 50-60 degree weather after leaving the sweltering coal furnace that is Atlanta. On Saturday, I went to the movies and to dinner with one of my coworkers, and that was nice, because I really felt we have never really connected before. We saw The Invasion (which was okay), and had dinner before saying goodnight. It was good conversation the whole time. I also managed to have a little one on one time with another coworker who I had connected with, and it was great getting to know her. I look forward to getting to know her better too! I guess some good can come out of working on the weekends, eh?

Classes officially started for me at GPC today. For those that don’t know, I am taking a few prerequisites for nursing school at GPC, and luckily, I get to take some of them online. I have signed on and looked at the stuff, but haven’t gotten my books yet, so I will probably do that tomorrow, and I will then try to get a little ahead in each of my classes. Man, going back to school after so many years is weird, but I just hope it is a good experience! I am sure that I will have updates on that from time to time… so stay tuned.

Hope everyone is having a great Monday… mind feels like Wednesday or something!

going oot for work

I am going out of town (oot) for work this weekend. Gah, going out of town is bad enough, having to deal with airports and whatnot, but going for work is just double gah. At least our work session lets out at 3 on Saturday! What… we got to look at something positive, right?

So yeah, I will be available by mobile and text. I still haven’t fixed my email capabilities on my phone, since every time I call verizon I have to explain everything to them, and apparently, it is really rare to have your own email account that isn’t yahoo, gmail, or one of those other ones. Maybe I will take care of that while I am there… who knows? Either way, I will be able to get emails, I just won’t be able to send them. Man, that was a long way of saying that!

Oh well.

Since I will be oot, and I will be relying heavily on my ipod for entertainment and companionship, I figured I would give you my listening suggestion for the week, since I haven’t already. This week, I have slowly, but surely, been falling in love with Ms Brandi Carlile. If you are a fan of bands like the Indigo Girls, please do yourself a favor and check out Brandi’s new CD, The Story. It is beautiful, and well done. I love her voice, and her sound is so (as my friend Stu would say) “lesbionic”, that there is no way that I couldn’t have fallen for this chick. Seriously, it’s a good listen all of the way through! Let me know what you think, won’t you?

Have a good weekend folks… stay out of trouble!

two observations

1. I love tattoos. I might even be “addicted” to them. However, healing them sucks big time. I am also fairly certain that Aquaphor was made by the devil… the OCD in me cringes every time I have “grease up” the tattoo. Thank God it is only for 5 days, today of which is the 4th.

2. Working on the weekends is not cool. Especially when you don’t get paid for it. Additionally, going out of town for work can also suck, even more so, when it is over the entire weekend. There will be some flex time in my future; oh yes, oh yes there will. At least it came the weekend BEFORE my birthday. Yes, this means I will be going out of town this weekend, coming back on Sunday night. Sigh.

That is all for now.

it’s official…

Yesterday, I registered for two classes: Human Anatomy and Physiology I (with lab), and Intro to Statistics. Much to my surprise, and sheer delight, I was able to register for both of them as online classes!! I knew that statistics was offered as online, but imagine my delight when I found out that anatomy was as well! Now, I only have to go to the school one night a week!

Rock!

Now… the nerves really will set in… I haven’t been in school in years! Yikes! Wish me luck!

alright monday… move on, now…

Today seems to be dragging a bit; perhaps I have a case of the “Mondays”? Either way, I can’t wait to get home this evening. Ah, relaxing… the joy of life.

A few jumbled, scattered, smothered, and covered thoughts for you to swish around your brain today:
Because everyone else is doing it, here is my “personality” profile; which is based on some pretty random questions. I expected pretty much everything, I have done a Myers-Briggs before, so nothing too unexpected, I guess… One thing I did get excited about, was that Nurse was listed as one of my career matches; maybe I should have taken this little test while I was in college? Either way, that is good to know that it will mesh well with my “advocate” personality style. I don’t really think these things are 100% accurate, but I do see how they can be pretty good generalizations.

All I have to say, is BWAHAHAHAHA!: Paris Hilton loses her $60 million inheritance because of her dumb ass behavior. Her grandpa is like, look Paris, too much ass, drinking, and going to jail is tainting my name, so you aren’t getting my dough! I wonder if she will have to work and earn money like the rest of us? If so, I fear for her, because I have seen the Simple Life, and if she has to rely solely on her “skills” (or lack thereof), she is royally fucked. I don’t think that she would even be able to get enough money to buy food for herself, if she actually had to work for a living. Poor, poor Paris… However, we all know that she will come out on top somehow; people like her always do for some reason.

Just because there are some people that still think the people of Iraq are all “Islamic extremists” out to kill us, which has nothing to do with any of our actions against them, their land, or their way of life; here’s more compelling evidence that all we are doing over there is making things worse (for us and them). I don’t get why pointing out the obvious stain that you made on the rug, and suggesting that it be cleaned up, is such a “radical” and “scary” observation and strategy for change. The shit has more than hit the fan, and it is pretty crystal clear that there are more and more people, who are just getting more and more angry at us for the very reason illustrated in the article; we are doing more harm than good, and always have. I have an idea, why not stop doing all that “destruction and death” mumbo jumbo, and focus on what we are SAYING really matters; helping the people of Iraq and ending terrorist plots against the US? I suggest this, because we are currently not doing that at all, and instead, our presence is making it worse; both for the Iraqis, and for us, because we are giving them more and more reasons to hate us. Another “revelation” courteous of the “omg this is so fucking obvious” news.

I was thinking as I was driving in to work this morning that I want to start what I hope will be something of a regular here: weekly music suggestion(s), that we share, explore, and recommend to each other. I am always hungry for new music, and often times, it can be hard to find. So, in the spirit of getting this thing going, I am going to recommend a few selections for you to check out this week. As evidenced by today’s selections, the recommendations do not necessarily have to be “new” as in “just out”; if it is new to you, it counts as new! Also, if it is something that you have heard and like, maybe it will just make it a rediscovery for you!

Here’s your music suggestions for this week:
Imogen Heap: Speak For Yourself (I popped this back in the CD player this morning on a whim, and was reminded at how fantastic this disc is!)
SIlversun Pickups: Carnavas (this CD is so awesome; I wish I would have discovered it sooner)
And sort of in the middle of the two: Great Northern: Trading Twilight for Daylight (fyi… this is a myspace link, which I am convinced is the only reason that myspace should even exist: marketing) (This IS new, and I am currently listening to/getting into it. Initial listens are definitely yielding a positive vibe… I am feeling that same little tingle in my body that I get when I hear Silversun Pickups… it’s a good thing.)

This whole “music sharing” idea was further pushed by my stopping by a little CD shop during my lunch break, and my finding Jude’s King Of Yesterday CD in the $1 bin. I had heard the song “King of Yesterday” on Felicity years ago, and remembered that I really liked it, and so I picked up the album. Always good to check out new things, right?

Now that you have your “Music Assignments”, hook me up with some suggestions too; this ain’t a one way street bitches!!! Bring on the music! Bring on the noise!

rain or shine? that just sucks!

Tonight, we were supposed to go and see the Indigo Girls at the Botanical Gardens, but once the rain started pouring outside, I figured it would be best to try and find someone else to take these “rain or shine” tickets off of my hands. It sucks, because who wants to go to a concert, knowing that it is raining before they even show up?! Not us!

Well, we were lucky enough to have someone get back to me through craigslist, and she is buying the tickets from me! (Crossing my fingers that she is legit and actually shows up).

I am losing about $30 in the whole ordeal, but at least we will be able to enjoy the night dry and happy; rather than sopping wet at the show. I am sure it would have been fun for me a few years ago, but not now… maybe I am just getting old? Either way, I will be sure to look next time I buy concert tickets for an outside venue, and make sure that they aren’t rain or shine tickets.