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.