good/well or good/evil

A couple weeks ago, my friend, A, and I went to the used bookstore. After browsing for a while, we finally made a decision on which gems we would purchase. A paid for her books and turned to me and said, "I did good!" I immediately corrected her with an exasperated, "WELL!" She looks at me and says, "I did GOOD as in I did not do EVIL!" It was hilarious; I wonder how long she had been thinking of that one and just waiting to use it.

Brad's mom sent me the most gorgeous pen for my birthday. It's made from seven different types of wood! It's beautiful and writes very well. Pens are so cool. I've "collected" them for as long as I can remember. I tried to kick the habit for about a year; I actually threw the majority of my collection away--they were taking up too much space. Yes, I had that many pens. I'm trying to be more critical of the pens I purchase...I'm not buying a pen simply because I don't have one like it. I can tell which ones I'll definitely like versus the ones that I know are awful. So that's good.

I have been slammin' busy with school and work. I love both, but it is quite a bit of work. It has been difficult to get to sleep at night, and I think it is because I've been so active during the day that my brain will just not stop. I lie awake thinking of everything I need to do and how I'll do it. After accidentally sleeping in on Tuesday, I didn't know where my first class would be meeting this morning (the professor doesn't want to walk all the way to the other side of campus from her office, so we hold class in the library--in a different room every time), so I sent an email to everyone in the class to find out. One person wrote back to tell me where class would be and to also give me the good news: our paper on the rhetoric of 9/11 isn't due until next Tuesday! It's not due today! I was overjoyed to find that out last night! I have most of it written, but I need to write the intro and conclusion. I finished my other homework, but I still wasn't done until 11:30 p.m. after starting my day at 8:30 a.m. I'm NOT complaining, just merely remarking on why sleep has been slow to come to me. My brain just wants to veg out after going for so long without a break (I didn't take a lunch break, but I did take and hour between work and doing homework to eat dinner and to exercise for 30 minutes).

I'm finally feeling well enough to exercise again. There's still a bit of congestion going on, but it's not too bad. We're hoping to ride our bikes on Saturday. Brad rode last night and feels great. Yeay!

Well, I'd better go get ready for school! Hope everyone has a wonderful day!

Grandparents

My paternal grandparents came in town yesterday so that Grandfather can go to the dentist today. He will only go to this one particular gentle dentist. They drive 4 hours to TN every six months or so. I like it because that means I get to see them! They took Brad and me to dinner; it was so much fun! My grandmother is so sweet and so cute! She has a fantastic southern drawl that always puts a smile on my face.

While we were at dinner, they told us a story about their friend, Al. Apparently, Al would throw parties quite often, and Grandmother and Grandfather would not attend. One day they got an invitation to attend a party for Al, and they decided to finally go to one of his parties. When they got to the festivities, they filled their plates and sat at one of the tables to talk with friends. Finally, Grandmother says she looked around and then leaned over to the friend sitting next to her and sweetly asked, "Where's Al?" Grandfather chimed in, "Where is Al? We haven't seen him for a while, and now he's not at his own party?" Everyone was horrified! The friend sitting next to Grandmother said, "Al has been dead for a month! This is his memorial!" My Grandparents said they were so embarrassed!


In other news, my maternal Grandfather is not doing well. After breaking his hip a couple weeks ago, he is now in the hospital due to a kidney infection and pneumonia. I don't know what is going to happen.

I still don't feel very well. My throat is still sore, and I'm thinking about going to the doctor. I'm pretty sure it's just a sinus infection (biggest evidence of that: major nasal drainage), but my throat is feeling very icky. I accidentally overslept this morning, which is probably a good thing since I need sleep to heal. I'm going to take a shower and head to my other classes.

Last night

I had so much fun last night! My friends, K, S, and R, came over for a grill out, and then we went country line dancing. It was so much FUN! We got along so well, and there was a lot of laughter. E was unable to attend because her flight from CA was delayed. She didn't arrive in Knoxville until after midnight. She's marching in the Alumni band today so I'm not sure when I'll see her. Tonight, Brad and I are eating dinner at our neighbors. I'm hoping we don't spend all night over there, but we'll see. I have a lot of homework to finish this weekend. I have a paper due on Thursday, and I'll need to get a large chunk of it done before Monday. Working has prohibited me from doing much during the week. I can't imagine writing a whole paper during the week!

Well, I need to type up my response to the reading I've completed so far. Hope everyone has a great weekend!!!

Short Post

This is going to be a short post because work starts in 7 minutes.

I'm feeling much better, and my voice isn't quite as croaky.

Last night, I went to a lingerie shower for my friend, D. It was a lot of fun. We ate at a Japanese restaurant and made her open her gifts in public. It was funny, and I think she enjoyed herself.

A few of my friends are coming over tonight for a grill out. It should be fun. I haven't seen one of my friends, E, in a long time. She moved to CA, and we don't get to see each other as much. I'm thinking of taking a trip out there sometime after Christmas.

Okay, I should go and get my desk prepared for work. Hope everyone has a great day, and I'll try to post again later or this weekend!

Wonderful

I had a wonderful birthday! For my Birthday Dinner, Brad took me to Abuelos. It was fantastic! I can't wait for another thing to celebrate so we can go back! Actually, it wasn't terribly expensive. Compared to past Birthday Dinners it was cheap--I ordered one of the most expensive entrees on the menu at $14.99. (Last year we went to Baker Peter's Jazz Club where a steak is $30.) Every single bite I put into my mouth was superb! So good!

My favorite book of all time, All the King's Men, has been made into a movie and will be released tomorrow. I'm having friends over for a grill out tomorrow night, but Brad and I are there on Saturday! It stars Jude Law, Kate Winslet, and Sean Penn. It looks pretty good. Brad has read the book and loves it too.

I thought I was getting better, but this morning I woke up with a lot of nasal drainage. Thankfully, I don't have to talk much today. I would think about skipping my first class, but we have a quiz and I can't miss that! :o)

IT'S MY BIRFDAY!!!!!

Wow! 27 feels different! I woke up this morning to Brad bringing me breakfast in bed--eggs and pancakes! I got to open my presents: a really nice CD player for my crafting room, a Bible cover, and two Chuck Palahnuik novels (Diary and Haunted). Palahnuik is one of my favorite authors ever...he uses such a unique writing style and startling subject matter. I'm super excited! My friend, D, is going to take me to a celebratory Birthday Lunch. :o)

I feel a lot better today, but my voice is still a bit croaky. I hope I'm able to do my job! I'll be working until about 6:30, and then Brad is going to take me for my Birthday Dinner. I think we're going to try a new restaurant; I'll let you know how it is.

Happy Birthday to me! Happy Birthday to me! It's going to be a wonderful day!!!

Birthday anticipation

When I got home from school today, I let the dogs inside then got the mail. I was walking back from the mailbox when I looked down the street and saw the UPS truck coming towards our house. I slowed down and the UPS driver slowed down. My heart leapt with excitement--a present! I turned, gave a half wave, and beamed a smile. The driver smiled back, waved, then reached down to change the truck's gear as he went over the "speed hump" just past our driveway. I felt so silly! The UPS driver was just slowing down so he wouldn't damage all the fragile packages as he went over the "speed hump."

It's My Birthday Eve!

The full celebration is beginning! It will not stop until the end of the month! I'm becoming very excited about tomorrow. My birthday is always a time of rebirth for me. A time for reflecting on how I've grown and how I will continue to mature. I don't believe in astrology, but my sign is Virgo--the goddess of harvest. I reap the lessons I sow during the year at this time. On my birthday, I feel benevolent to everyone and want to spend the day in complete happiness!

I'm not positive, but I think I might be coming down with a cold. My throat feels icky, and I'm just plain tired. I'm taking all my vitamins and downing some echinacea. Hopefully I'll feel better before tomorrow.

Where should Brad take me for my birthday dinner?

Brad and I watched the news last night...it's down-right scary! I am not as informed as I should be on many of the current issues in the media. I am utilizing the Internet to research the history behind the conflicts in the Middle East. In my Rhetoric & Writing class, we are analyzing the rhetoric of 9/11. It is extremely interesting to compare writings and speeches given during the first month after the attacks to the writings and speeches being given now. I don't think we (Americans) have made much progress in understanding the real issue behind the attacks...we have responded to the violence against us, but we have not discussed the policies the terrorists have said they were fighting against. It is important to remember that the terrorists are not exemplary of mainstream Islam. I won't write about this touchy subject right now, but PLEASE become informed about current events...democracy works best when citizens are informed. To be informed, one must consult many different mediums...understanding how and why bias is formed and used. In 1782, Hector St. John de Crevecoeur wrote "What is an American?" In that piece, he states, "As citizens it is easy to imagine that [Americans] will carefully read the newspapers, enter into every political disputation, freely blame or censure governors and others." Have we done that? Are we ideal citizens?

:::coming off my soapbox now:::

I am enjoying working from home. I didn't get out of my pajamas yesterday! I have noticed that I must become more efficient with my time. My day started at 8ish, and I finished homework around midnightish. It will be necessary for me to spend more time working on homework over the weekends. I have time to write on my blog right now because one of my classes was cancelled. I don't want to spend all of my time working and going to school. If I prioritize correctly I should be able to continue working out and starting the book club.

So far, only one person has become a contributing author on our book club blog. I've heard from my other friends that they will be joining, but they just haven't gotten to it yet. My guess is that once they purchase the book and begin reading, they will join at that time. I'm really excited about discussing our book! It's something to look forward to! Plus, it'll be great to hear other people's perspectives. :O)

Well, I've written a small story already. It's amazing; I could write, and write, and write. It's just so much fun! Hope everyone has a great day!

Hi

I started working at my new job on Friday afternoon. They over-nighted a cell phone to me, and when I called to talk to them, they begged me to start right away. I did. Today will be the first full day of work. I still have a little bit of homework to do, but I'll get to it tonight.

Brad and I planted two trees this weekend: a dogwood and a flowering cherry. We're looking forward to Spring so we can see the impressive display of flowers. I'd like to get a couple evergreens to add winter interest. We're trying really hard to conserve money, so that may wait until next year.

Tennessee lost to Florida on Saturday. It was an exciting game with a bad ending!

Well, I need to get ready to start working. The area I am recruiting for is in the Central Time Zone, so I have to wait until 9ish to start working. It's going to be nice to have my mornings. On the flip side, I will have to work until a least 6:30 every day. Hopefully everything will go smoothly.

Last day

Its been glorious, but it will all come to an end on Monday. On Monday, I start my job. I think it is going to work out really well since I will be working from home. It is the ideal situation!

The weather in East Tennessee is now more than perfect. It feels and smells like September, my birthday month. It's fabulous, and I want to spend every moment I can outside. We put the screens in the windows last night (they're the old style of windows that push out so you can't leave the screens in all the time).

If you haven't watched the most recent episode of Project Runway, stop reading now. -------- Okay. Can you believe they brought Angela and Vincent back? It was definitely good television, but it must have sucked for the other designers. Michael is so nice...did you see him helping Kayne? I'm so glad Laura won; I really liked her dress...especially the fringe at the bottom. Uli has long been one of my favorites, but like the judges, I want to see something different from her. I want to see something tailored and not so breezy. Jeff has some wacky, rock-star outfits, and I want to see him design something simple and sophisticated. I think all of the designers left are wonderful. Each has a unique style. Overall, I think Michael is the most versatile and probably deserves to win. I didn't watch the first two seasons, but didn't males win both of them? Oh well, may the best designer win!

I've had positive responses to the book club from five of my friends, one no, and one that I haven't heard back from (I don't think she checks her e-mail very often). Brad might join, and our total would be six. One of my friends is going to tell two of her other friends about it since she thinks they might be interested. So, today, I'm going to write out some general guidelines. Brad doesn't think I need to do that since everyone is a friend. I probably don't need to, but it'll be fun. Plus, I'm going to make the schedule rotation for choosing books. Since I am starting the club, I think I will choose the first book and kick off our discussions. After much deliberation, we are going to read A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole. It's going to be awesome, and I am so looking forward to it!!!

I'm meeting My A for lunch. I'm going to go through the Chick-fil-A drive-thru before I pick her up. We'll eat in the car on our way to the used bookstore. We're both "enablers" for each other's weakness for books. Hey, at least I consider used books now. I used to be a book snob and only read new, unmarked books that were purchased at full price. This is what I call progress.

Stapler

I won a five dollar gift certificate to Wal-Mart when I was in fifth grade. It was the award for doing something well in the computer class...maybe something to do with The Oregon Trail? Please tell me someone remembers that game. I digress. The stapler. My mom took me to Wal-Mart so I could pick out my prize. I have this major thing for school and office supplies so I spent the majority of the time perusing the pens, paper, folders, notebooks. But what I really wanted was a stapler. I could envision myself stapling packets of information together...everything would be completely organized if I only had a stapler. Alas, all of the staplers were a bit more than five bucks. I decided to use some of my allowance (an allowance of fifty cents that I earned by doing three hours worth of chores before 10 a.m. on Saturday morning--if they were not done by the time limit then I wouldn't receive the full amount). I picked out a white Bostick stapler, and I've used it ever since. I love my stapler...it has progressed beyond useful school supply that organizes my life to an object of extreme sentimentality.

I printed a two page article this morning and confidently reached for my stapler. But, it didn't staple! I was horrified! My trusty stapler! Oh! What's a girl going to do!?!? Examine it and figure out why it isn't stapling--that's what you do!

I figured out why it was malfunctioning--the tooth that separates the staple being used from the rest had become hooked on the wrong side of the staple reservoir. After quickly fixing the issue, I stapled that article together, hole-punched it (another great invention), and put it in correct chronological order with other articles I deem important. All this is made possible because of my trusty stapler.

And for those wondering, yes, I totally identify with the guy in the movie Office Space. :O)

I forgot to write about this in the previous post

I would like to start a book club. I just don't know who is interested and what forum to use.

Here are my questions:

• Are any of my friends interested in starting an online book club using a blog as our forum?
• Are any of my friends truly interested in participating in a book club?
• Are you committed to reading and discussing books?
• How will it be organized?

My suggestions/goals:

• Gather at least 3 friends to join an online book club or "real life" club
• A book is chosen once a month
• The book will be decided by the members on a rotating schedule
• The person that chooses the book that month leads the discussion
• Increase our literacy and spread the love of learning

Is anybody interested? Do any of my friends actually read this blog?

Thank goodness we're on the same network

My sister and I have recently started talking to each other a lot more than we used to. Thank goodness we're both on Cingular plans--we can talk to each other for "free." It's so nice to just call her up to chit-chat for a few minutes. We laugh and laugh.

My sister and I haven't always been close. She's always been the daughter that catered to our parent's standards. I was always the questioner of thier boundaries and authority. I didn't mind asking questions rather than simply believing my parents knew best. Yes, I was the "problem child." But, you know, the thing is I wasn't a "problem"... I would simply want to know why...why I couldn't watch a movie above a "G" rating, why I couldn't wear my hair down, why music other than hymn couldn't be joyful, why I wasn't allowed to call boys on the phone, why I couldn't watch TV. I was more well-mannered than most kids, but my parents felt that I should just accept everything they said. In the eyes of the rest of the world, I was probably a saint. I will say that I pushed the boundaries by letting my hair down once I got to school, and I would "sneak" and listen to "bad" music when I was at my friend's house. For the most part though, I was scared of being caught, and I wouldn't do much "behind their backs." My sister did way worse things than I ever did. She would put up on front to our parents, gain their trust, and then go out and party it up. At least I was staightforward in my questioning, but I still accepted most of their boundaries.

My parents would always quote Ephesians 6:1-3 to me: "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother--which is the first commandment with a promise--that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth." They would scare me into thinking I wasn't long for this earth because they felt I didn't honor them. God would take me away so I wouldn't be able to sow seeds of rebellion. (I wasn't rebellious...just wanted to know why.) But, either way, I would quote the next verse right back to them (gotta love what you learn in Bible Drillers--a group that required one to commit scriptures to memory and know exactly where to find them in the Bible), Ephesians 6: 4: "Fathers, do not exasperate your children, instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord."

I'm learning now that God is full of love and grace...he's not out to get us. I'm really enjoying going to church, but I'm still trying to make sense of God. I'm finding that I need to re-learn who God is. And, before anyone thinks otherwise, I love my parents very much!

Now that my sister is growing up, it's easier to talk to her. She's not as closed-minded, even though she sill misrepresents herself a bit to our parents. I've had to learn not to be judgemental of her. She copes with our parents in her own way. She is old enough to make her own decisions and accept her own consequences. We're real friends now and it's nice.

Just so everyone is clear: my birthday is in ONE week ... that's SEVEN days. Are you prepared? I don't expect presents, but I do expect celebration. And by celebration I mean that you should remember me on that day and give thanks to God for letting such a great person as myself be born. I guess that means it's really a day for you to give glory to God for all my wonderfulness!!! LOL!! :O)

I have a paper due tomorrow in Persuasive Writing. I'm about done with it, but I need to polish it up. It needs to gleam. I would love to get on my bike this afternoon...I think my feet are healed enough. It's looking like rain though. So, I'll cuddle up on the couch and drink hot chocolate! Yeay!

It's a birds-beware window

We've wanted to replace the window in our kitchen for a while. It was tacky, dark, and fake stained glass look to it. We could see anything out of it. We took the window off its track Saturday night thinking that Lowe's or Home Depot would be able to replace the glass on Sunday. Neither store replaces glass in windows! So, yesterday I took the window to a specialty glass store, and the guy was very reluctant to work on it since it is a Pella window. The way they put their windows together makes it very difficult to modify them in any way. While he was talking, I noticed a place in one of the corners that the horribly fake sainted glass looked like film...like tinting. The guy said, "Yeah, you can scrape it off." When I got home, I used my nail to pull up a corner of the film. The whole sheet slowly came off!! Brad came over, and we did a little dance of joy. We didn't have to spend any money to fix the issue with our kitchen window! How wonderful is that?

It's going to be difficult to go to school and work at the same time. Even though I don't start until next Monday, it's already stressful because I am trying to get ahead on my homework. When I decided to go back to school, Brad and I talked about how I would need time to do homework and he would have to help out a bit more around the house. He seemed to understand and respect my decision. Well, now that I'm going into the third week of school, it's becoming more difficult to do schoolwork when Brad is home. This is one of the only things we're having problems with in our relationship. I agree that it is important to spend lots of time with each other, but I also need time to do some things independently. He's argument is that I should have everything done while he is at work. I get the majority of my work done during that time, but sometimes there are things I think of and want to research after he gets home. I feel like I have so much to learn, and I want to make sure I'm not short-changing what I learn in class because I don't know all rules of grammer. Once I start working next week, I will always need to do homework at night. I just don't know what to do to make both of us happy with the situation. I'm not complaining about Brad!! We love each other very much, and our relationship is great. We're just trying to work through how me going to school and working is going to work.

September 11, 2001

It's still hard to watch footage from the 9/11 attacks. Five years ago I was in my senior year of college taking a course on literary criticism. Someone came running down the hall frantically yelling that the U.S. was being attacked. The professor let us go early, and I ran to my apartment where I watched the events unfold. My friend E called because she was extremely worried about her dad--he was in a plane. She came over, and we sat in the floor watching the TV and crying. Thankfully, E's dad was all right.

Another scary thing to think about is the fact that I was in New York City less than a month before 9/11.

I'm saying a prayer for the families that tragically lost loved ones five years ago.

Tennessee Wins

Tennessee beat Air Force in a tough match. All the AF touchdowns were by rushing. Our quarterback, Ainge, did a good job passing. Go Tennessee!

I set up a study area this afternoon. We went to Sam's and purchased a 6 foot folding table that is now covered with my school books. I'm hoping it will help to have a special area. I'm not sure how much homework I will get done on the weekends. Brad and I really enjoy spending time with each other. It's difficult to say, "Hey, honey, I gotta go do my homework so I can't hang out with you." And Brad doesn't like to hear those words come out of my mouth. It's only one semester so we'll manage.

I am going to church in the morning. I visited a church two Sundays ago, and I am going to visit it again. I'm not as nervous as before, but I do feel very excited. There is an early service that I'll probably go to.

I have a lot of homework to do. Since Brad already gone to bed, I have some alone time I can use without feeling guilty for not spending time with him. I guess I should get off the computer and read.

Only 11 more days until my birthday!!!

Only 1 week until the Tennessee vs. Florida game!!!

Pertinent information

In light of what I am learning in school, I find this article from the NY Times to be extremely pertinent. Five CORPORATIONS own ninety percent of U.S. media. Something to think about.

Okay, time to do homework.....

Busy

I am preparing myself for an onslaught of work. I've agreed to work as a part-time recruiter for a national company. It will be a challenge to stay abreast of homework while working, but I think I can manage. It will require that I become focused and efficient.

I turned in my first paper yesterday. I rhetorically analyzed the speech Bush gave at the American Legion National Convention in Salt Lake City, UT, on August 31st. He states that the current War on Terror is "the decisive ideological struggle of the 21st century." It was interesting to analyze a Bush speech! That's all I'll say about it. I'm thinking I will turn in the same paper in Persuasive Writing. The first paper in that class is due on Thursday.

My sister called tonight to tell me my grandfather broke his hip on Monday, and he has been in the hospital since then. He hasn't been doing too well lately. He has heart problems and severe back issues. I'm debating on whether I should go visit. My sister said he has been really mean...more than likely due to the pain medication. And not that this should make a difference, but no one called to let me know about the situation. For some reason, my family doesn't really communicate with me. I didn't know my mom was going in for a hysterectomy until the night before the surgery. I didn't know my sister was in the hospital with a complication from colitis until she had been there for 1 1/2 days. I know my parents disapprove of my lifestyle choices--namely that I live with Brad and they suspect that I drink alcohol--but I don't think that means they should exclude me from feeling like a part of our family. My grandfather is such a wonderful man, and it hurts so much to know he is in pain right now (and the pain medication is making him act loopy and mean). I'm just not sure what to do.

I'm tired...I'm going to bed. I'll try to post regularly! The one person I know that reads this blog informed me that I have been slacking. Sorry A--I hope you have fun on your cruise!!

It was a PAR-TEE, and I should've painted my toenails.

Brad and I drove to Dallas to attend his brother's wedding party. It was a lot of fun! It was held at an indoor golf place that gives you the opportunity to play at different courses throughout the world by using computer simulation. It was really neat: you go into a "booth," a ball automatically comes up on a tee, you pick the right club out of your bag, get into the golf stance, and take your shot. The ball hits a TV screen type thing, and you watch it travel down the fairway. Brad did pretty well. I tried it a few times, but I don't think I quite have the swing down. I think his brother and sister-in-law had a great time. It was a lot of fun to see family and socialize.

We took Callie, the newest member of our immediate family, with us. On Saturday morning, she escaped from Brad's mom's house. She was lost for about 3 hours, and we were all running around the neighboorhood calling her name and growing more worried by the second. Thankfully, she is microchipped and tagged with a special id number from 24 Hour Pet Watch. It turns out she was three (3!!!) houses down. The neighbors were leaving to run errands and saw her sitting under their tree. They put her in their backyard with their black lab and called the number on her tag for 24 Hour Pet Watch. 24 HPW gave them our contact information. Of course, we didn't find out her location until I ran all over the neighboorhood for 3 hours in my Chacos. I have flat feet, and when I run, I need to wear special shoes, not sandals. I ended up with huge, painful blisters where the arch should be. I had planned to paint my toenails but never got around to doing it. If I had known so much attention would be directed at my feet, I would have painted them! :o) They still hurt, and I'm trying to stay off them as much as possible.

School is really busy right now. I don't think I've written about this yet: I dropped Writing, Layout & Production of Technical Documents and added Persuasive Writing, a class I have been interested in taking since seeing the course textbooks at the University Bookstore. Over the weekend, I had to make up for 3 missed classes. It's worth it. I love the subject matter, and I really hope it helps improve my writing style and ability to critically read documents and articles. My first paper is due Thursday; tomorrow is going to be a busy day!

Well, I need to get to bed. When Brad came home from work this afternoon, we took a 2 hour nap. We're exhausted from all the driving we did over the weekend. Tomorrow I'll respond to e-mails I received while away.