Oh, yes, it has been a while

Wow! School and work have kept me extremely busy. Not to mention: biking, reading, sewing, hanging out with Brad. One of my classes was cancelled this morning, so I finally have to write. Isn't everyone so happy? :O)

Let's see. What have I done of interest since the last time I wrote? Good question. Finished A Confederacy of Dunces. It is a great book, and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a funny, thought-provoking book. I would discuss it in greater detail, but I know a few people currently reading it that might read this blog, so I won't. Now, I'm reading Anna Karenina. I'm on page 125 out of 850. It's extremely interesting--there are such differences in how gender is viewed compared to current standards. After reading on Friday night, I settled down to sleep, and I found myself thinking of what it would have been like to not have the ability to vote, own property, be independent. Women have only recently been able to be their own person, independent of others--especially males. I'm not as strong of a feminist as I used to be, but when I read books like this one, it makes me realize how far we have come.

Let's see, what else? Started training on the bike again. It is looking like we'll be able to do the double century ride next year--the one I have been excited about ever since I heard about it. I'm really, really hoping we can afford the tickets out there. A lot of that will depend on whether I have a job or not. I'm still thinking about grad school, but we'll see if I can get in first.

Brad and I are doing all right. For some reason, he has been extremely critical lately. It's not that he is intentionally being mean, but he doesn't have much patience and gets angry about things that aren't a big deal. It's very frustrating to live with someone that thinks they can complain about how dirty the house is but then leaves wrappers and dishes throughout the house. To be completely honest, I'm tired of picking up after him, so I've been leaving everything where it is. When he complains now, I just ignore him and hope he realizes that he is a big contributing factor to making it dirty. But, if I let something slip, then I get a lecture. I don't get it. Another thing I don't get is that he doesn't let me enjoy things if he doesn't enjoy them. Does that make sense? Like rap songs on the radio. Sometimes he humors me and lets me turn them up and dance around. But, at other times, he gets upset about the "loud" music. Then, he gets to decide what our monetary priorities are. I don't spend much money, but occasionally, I'll buy something I think we'll enjoy. For example, I bought us a toaster oven so that when we have something little to heat up we don't have to turn on the "big" oven. He thought that was a waste of money. Maybe it was, but I thought it would be a nice thing to have. The next day, we go out and he gets a hand saw something or rather because we need it for the house. Really? I don't know. He hasn't been very tender or affectionate towards me lately. I don't know what is up. I've always thought he has control issues, and now that I am standing up for myself, he's getting disoriented and doesn't understand what is going on. We'll talk about marriage one minute and how excited we are. But the next minute, he's going off on me about something and saying stuff about how he's glad we're not married yet because we need to work "that" out. Whatever. The thing that really irritates me though is the fact that he is willing to say things to me in public. It's one thing to have a problem with me, it's another to go off on me in public. He's extremely nice around friends though.

Opps. Didn't mean to vent for a minute there. Here's a post I wrote last year on my old blog. It's about Halloween, which freaks me out.

Halloween night. Normally on this day each year I hide myself away in a room that doesn't have windows and keep all the lights off. Actually I haven't done that in 3 years but that used to be my Halloween night ritual. It's hard to believe but I've never been trick or treating and I'm scared to death of the kids that walk around in scary costumes. My parents raised me strict Southern Baptist and never allowed me to participate in such a satanic holiday. Never mind the real reason for Halloween; they only care about the devil worshipping that is suppose to culminate on this day. I remember when I was in fifth grade they took me to church to watch a film about devil worshipping and Halloween. I promise you I have not been the same since. TERRIFIED ME!!! To be completely open, I wanted to lose my virginity after that because I did not want to be a virgin sacrifice. I secretly decided that should someone nab me I would lie to them so that I wouldn't be sacrificed for being holy. Yes, I decided that "thou shalt not lie" was not a commandment when it came to saving the earthly dwelling of my soul. You can bet your bottom dollar that if I ever have kids I will be taking them out on Halloween night. Apart from the spirituality of the day, there is sense of community that I missed experiencing. The feeling of camaraderie with other kids having fun and of goodness that people open their doors and give (even if it only results in cavities). :o)

I'm not reading over everything I've written today, so if there are any grammatical errors, please excuse them. I need to get ready for school. I'll try to be more consistant about blogging. Work should be slowing down again after this week, so I'll have more time to devote to writing.

Blahbity-blah

Earlier today I knew what I wanted to write about on my blog, but for now, it has escaped me.

Brad was on a business trip the other night, and I decided that it would be great to put together a bookshelf. I've been wanting another bookshelf for quite a while, but we never seem to find time to get one. I finally decided that I would just do it since I had time. Since I'm pretty new to the whole furniture building thing, I thought it best to use an electric drill on the screws. You know, to make sure they were nice and tight. The bookshelf I purchased is one of those particle-board cheapies from Target. Apparently, it is quite easy to strip the screws on particle-board...especially if you're using an electric drill. Anyways, the bookshelf was put together, but it wasn't very stable. Last night, I decided to move it from where I put it together to it's new location in the corner. Wrong. As I was sliding it across the floor, the bookshelf started leaning. (The new cheapies are made from four vertical boards versus the old ones that were more stable with only two vertical boards.) It ended up breaking at the joint that connected the two vertical boards on the left side. Thankfully, I still have a 1/2 bookshelf since I removed the "top" part from the "bottom" shelves. It's working out great and doesn't block any light from hitting my desk! Yes!

I want to organize my books on an Excel spreadsheet so that I can easily see what is in my library. Of course, I'll mark the books I haven't read yet in an effort to keep myself from purchasing new books at a faster rate than I read the books I already have. I go in spurts it seems. I didn't buy a new book for about a year, and then all of a sudden, I just started grabbing all the books I've been contemplating buying (about five of them). It'll probably last about another week, and then I won't buy any more books for another year. It's just one of those things I'm obsessed with...pens, books, and sewing material. It used to be pens, books, and lipsticks. At least everything will get used at some point. Yes, I'm sure someone out there is saying that I should go to the library (if my Dad knew about this blog that is exactly what he would say), but I like to write comments in the margins and underline meaningful quotes. You can't do that with public library books. I like to interact with my books not just read them. :o)

When is laundry done?

Household chorses never seem to end, right? Well, I have a question for you: when is laundry done? I think Brad and I have a different idea of what it means to "do the laundry." Brad likes to put the clothes in the washer; move them to the dryer; and then dump them on the couch claiming that he did the laundry, and now I need to fold and put it away. I think that if you want to get credit for "doing the laundry" you have to manage it from washing it to putting it away. What do you think?

I'm getting a haircut after school today. I love it when people play with my hair! It's so expensive to go to the salon, but I'm vain enough to continue. I have an interview to conduct at 5 p.m., and then I'm going to dinner with my friend, K, and her fiance, S. It should be fun!

Better get ready for school...I need to leave in approximately 20 minutes.

There's a lot

There is so much going on right now. I'm finding that I must create lists to remember everything I need to do. It's the good kind of stress (well, writing this one paper is the bad kind of stress) and is quite different from my last job. I'm driven by producing results. For me, part of producing is the process. I like to work things that take a few days to complete--not doing something quickly just so it is done. I know I'm talking somewhat vaguely, but I don't want to say anything that sounds negative about my former employer.

Brad and I are going to send my grandmother some money. Since my grandfather is in the hospital, I'm sure she is struggling. About 20 years ago they were sued (for a very stupid reason) and lost all of their money. They haven't been financially stable since. My grandfather was working, but not making enough money to really save. So, we're going to send a little money. It has been rough the past two months since I wasn't working, but we're quite sure we're not as tight as she is right now. Plus, she is my family, and we love her.

It's going to be a long day at work, but I'm looking forward to it since I'll be busy! Tonight I'm going to finish the paper I don't want to write! Lofty goal? I hope not.

Weekend Update

This post will be about my weekend, but did anyone see the season opener for Saturday Night Live? Tina Fey is gone! Anyways.

Brad and I had a really great weekend! We made a little fire in our fire-bowl and burned the branch that fell off one of our trees during the storm last week. That was really nice. We just sat there watching the fire and talking. It felt like we were camping, something we haven't done in quite a while. On Saturday, I worked on and finished one of my papers that is due Tuesday, and I began researching the topic I planned to write on for my other paper. I've decided since then that I will write on a different topic--road cycling in Knoxville and Driver Education. Yesterday (Sunday), Brad and I went to church, and then we rode our bikes!

It was so wonderful to be back on the bike! We did a 35 mile ride, and I'm not sore one bit. I was afraid I might be since I haven't been able to exercise for about 2 months now. To be honest, I think my body needed the rest. We rode one of my favorite short rides...it goes through a lot of Tennessee farm land and is a gorgeous route!

There is only one person (that I know of) that is reading A Confederacy of Dunces. It is such a wonderful book...I've been going through it slower than I normally would, but it is one of those books that you don't want to rush through--it's so good that you don't mind reading it slowly because that means it will last longer. :O)