MCOQueen's Ramblings

I got back around 1 in the afternoon.  I fell in love with portable gps units while I was in Texas and riding around in Jasmin's car.  I purchased one online and a portable dashboard mount and scheduled a pick up at the Best Buy near where I live.  I went and got it after stopping at my parents' place to pick up the rest of my stuff.  It works great!  It has a little bit of a problem with apartment complex neighborhoods because there are no street names.  It got me to my neighborhood though.  (I know where I live, I was just testing it out).  I used it to find Chill Bubble Tea.  It's in Chapel Hill about 5 miles away!!!  I have a place to get Bubble Tea now!!  There's a place in Durham I'm going to check out later and see.  My GPS is so cool!!  I have a Garmin Nuvi 750.  I'll never get lost again!  I can't wait to use it on a longer trip.  I'm currently cooking lasagna.

Later. 

 Yesterday was fun and eventful.  Jasmin, her fiance, and I went to the Dallas World Aquarium in the afternoon. It's a combination rainforest, aquarium, and zoo.  The setup is so unique!  The entrance is like a rainforest.  You start at the top floor and follow the paths gradually down.  Whoever designed it did a great job. It was really a unique experience.  Afterwards we came back and went to Fat Straws.  I knew this would be the last time I had Bubble Tea for a while so I ordered TWO.  Mango slushy with bubbles and Green Apple with Bubbles.  A lot of Manijeh's relatives had never heard of Bubble Tea either.  I had to explain it to them and now they want to go try it.  I am totally spreading the Bubble Tea love.  

My textbooks have been shipped to me.  I should receive them today or tomorrow.  I'm getting some software for one of my classes.  (I don't have to pay for books, it's included in my tuition.)  I'm a little nervous about my writing for the web class.  I am going to have to create my own webpage.  I did that years ago.  I don't remember crap right now.  I have been enjoying watching Wimbledon.  I am probably going to have to go to the Persian store again before I leave.  Mom wants me to pick up some more stuff for her.  

Later.

I didn't do all that much yesterday.  I did not get my hair done yet.  I'm probably going to wait until I get home and then get it done.  I did eat at a nice middle eastern restaurant yesterday.  I have been eating nothing but Persian food since coming here.  I'm not complaining.  It's all awesome!  Jasmine and her fiance wanted to have a nice dinner with some friends and Jasmine wanted to serve Lasagna.  I told her that Lasagna is my specialty dish. We bought all the ingredients and instructed her how to make it.  I didn't lift a finger.  It was a huge success.  Everybody but Jasmine and me had seconds.  It was so delicious!  We all played on Wii for a while.  It was really fun.  We played this modiphied pictionary game that was really fun and funny.  Overall it was just a really great evening last night.  

Today, I am going with Jasmine and her fiance to the Dallas Aquarium.  I haven't been to an aquarium since I lived in Myrtle Beach and would go to Ripley's Aquarium.   I was just looking at some pictures of Ayanna's on facebook.  She had some really cute pictures of her kitties.  I am still suffering from cat withdrawal.  MUST HOLD CAT SOON!  I'm returning home on Saturday.  This is the first vacation I've taken all year.  My next won't be until September.  Oh well.  

Later.

I hadn't actually seen a portable GPS unit in action until I came to Texas.  My friend Jasmine uses one in her car.  It is the neatest thing!  In a big city, it is very helpful.  I ended up going to the Dallas Zoo yesterday.  My friend, Mona, whom I haven't seen since 2000 when we were both on pilgrimage in Haifa.  I lost track of how often we got lost yesterday.  We kept joking about needing a GPS unit.  I realized at some point yesterday that I have Verizon Wireless Navigator on my phone.  It's GPS navigation.  I bought a small subscription and used it to drop off another girl who had come with us.  Mona's youngest sister came with us to the zoo as well.  VW Navigator kicks butt!  I used it to get us to where I am currently staying.  I want to get a GPS portable unit for my mom.  People with poor sense of direction would really benefit from it.  I am hoping to get my hair done today.  I'm not quite sure what to do with it right now.  It's so hot and I might cut it short.  I am going to dye it though.  

I think I am suffering from Kitty withdrawal.  Thomas took his kitties two days before I left to Texas. The friends I'm staying with do not have pets.  I can't wait to see my parents' kitties and give them each a hug.  I have been indulging myself on Bubble Tea.  I got my mom hooked on  it too.  I really wish I could get some in North Carolina.

Later. 

I am on the hunt for Bubble Tea!!!  I am also going to go look at all the cute kitties at the pound. Will right more later!  Bubble Tea!  Bubble Tea!  Bubble Tea!  Yippeee!

Thursday June 19th.  My flight is at 8am and it's a direct flight to Dallas/Fort Worth.  I will be there until the 28th.  Right now I'm struggling to get ready for my trip.  My back (like clockwork) decides to start bothering me even though I had an adjustment last Thursday.  I called and made an appointment for Wed. Morning at 8:15am.  I have a dental appointment at 11:40am.  I have to clean and pack in between, before and after.  I'm borrowing luggage from insignia_void for this trip.  The only luggage I own is a hot pink carry-on.  I went to Lane Bryant today and bought a really nice formal dress (all black).  I got an overtop to go with it.  I really love it.  I bought some Spanks hosiery.  I've heard good things about it. 

I am not going to Florida in September.  I want to reduce debt and limit traveling by plane to once a year.  I might go visit friends in Myrtle Beach at that time.  It's just a 3 and a half to 4 hour drive.  I haven't done this drive in at least six years now.  This past Saturday I was in Clemmons with most of my family visiting Bridget's (Thomas' fiance) family.  I really like them. 

I'm waiting for one professor to grade my final project.  I already know I'm getting an A with my other class.  I finished real early on that class.  I finished 4 days earlier with the other.  I would like to get my grade before I leave but I'll just have to see.  I'm taking Writing for the Web and Rhetorical Analysis of Non-fiction writing next quarter.  It's going to be interesting. 

I honestly feel as if I just do not know how to relax.  I am always tense in my shoulders and neck.  I hope I can relax during my vacation.  I'm not going to be able to see Tina P. when I'm in Texas but I should see her at the end of July when she visits her sister in Roxboro.  Sophia B. is currently in Fayetteville.  I'm going to have to get in touch with her and see when we can get together.  I haven't seen her in many years.  Thomas picked up his kitties today and took them to his and Bridget's apartment.  I will miss the cute little buggers but I think I'll enjoy being able to sleep uninterrupted just a tad bit more. 

I really have to focus on cleaning the apartment (kitchen is already done) and packing stuff.  I already am renting a garage right in front of my parents' apartment building.  It's huge and we'll be able to store a lot of stuff in it.  Thomas is even going to store his books in it.  Dad's thrilled.  He's excited to have a garage to keep all his tools and all the clutter in.  Dad likes to be organized.  I wish I had inherited that trait. 

I am currently at work with insignia_void.  She's covering for M.B. because he was off yesterday and today.  My vacation is messing with everybody's schedule.  But, that's the way it goes no matter who takes off for vacation.  I've had to work 1st shift to cover for someone on vacation before.  I don't think I would relish covering for someone on 3rd shift.  I worked third shift for way too many years.  *Shudder*

Later.

I realize that I have not posted in a month.  There has just been so much going on.  Let's see if I can summarize.

Hi All,

Every since I got my cuisinart ice cream, frozen yogurt, and sorbet maker I've been on an ice cream making rampage.  I made licorice flavored ice cream for me (anise extract rocks!) and strawberry (sugar-free, fat free) ice cream for my parents and for my friend Skip, except his had fat in it.  I'm going to make me a cherry ice cream today.  I am going to make a cappuccino one for mom and then a peanut butter one for Adib.  I think I'll try my hand at a butter pecan one at some point.  

School's got me really busy again.  The zoo was fun.  I didn't end up going to Winston-salem though.  We just decided to make it a day trip this past Saturday.  It was going to rain all day on Sunday so it was pretty much pointless.  From one end of the zoo to the other is 5 miles.  I walked the entire length.  

later.
 

Well, here's an update on my zoo plans this weekend.  Adib was going to go but he has to get a bunch of car stuff done.  My friend Skip and I are going to go to the zoo on Saturday, stay in a hotel saturday night and then drive to Winston-Salem on Sunday and spend the day there.  It's going to be an eventful and fun weekend. 

Class starts in two days.  Yikes!  I'm determined to get ahead and get everything done before Saturday. 

Damn cats kept waking me up this morning.  I should have known they were running low on cat food.  I have to get an oil change for my car on Wednesday.  I have to go to the chiropractor on Thursday.  I need to buy new tennis shoes and new pajamas.  I have an eventful week ahead of me. 

Adib really wants to go to the zoo so we've planned to do just that on Sunday, May 18th.  I think that the majority of my family will be able to go on that day. 

Later.

I absolutely love mulberries.  They are so sweet and good!  I also like Incan Golden Berries and Goji Berries. I order a trail mix of these three berries (no nuts or anything, just the berries) from www.livesuperfoods.com .  They're located in Oregon.  Not only are these berries good for me, I can eat a lot for very little weight watchers points.  Yay!  

Work yesterday was just really long.  I was on network my entire shift.  The MLB game went into rain delay and we ended up going to the Nascar Pre-race at 8pm.  The pre-race was supposed to start at this time anyway.  Around 8:27pm we went back to the end of the MLB game once the rain delay was over. The game was on the very last pitch and then we were switched back to Nascar because the race had just gotten the green flag and had started.  To make things worse, our HD channel was stuck on our local signal and would not go to widescreen.  I got a lot of phone calls yesterday.  Luckily, J.G. was there already.  I was so happy to hand things over to M.G. at midnight.  

I was a little suprised to find out that Michael Johns got voted off American Idol.  Carly did the worst so I thought she'd be voted off.  I'm really sucking at my Nascar Fantasy Racing this year.  I'm also not doing that great with my Dancing With the Stars fantasy dancing.  I've been reading and playing some Sims 2: Free time while I have this break off from school.  My new quarter starts on Wednesday.  Noooooo!  I did get A's for both of my classes this past quarter.  I still have a 4.0.  Yay!  Now I just need to get my tuition reimbursement.  

I am planning on going to the Asheboro Zoo this Saturday.  I haven't been in two years and they have made updates.  I invited insignia_voidand my family members and a friend of mine as well.   kas3dot0you are welcome to come as well.  I promise we won't leave so early this time.  The zoo is open from 9am to 5pm.  Hopefully it won't rain.  It's supposed to be cool next weekend though.  I'd prefer that instead of a really hot humid day.  

I bought my ticket and my mom's ticket and our mutual friend's ticket to Texas last week.  We're going on American Airlines and it's a non-stop flight.  We'll all leave on the 19th of June.  Mom and our mutual friend will be back on Tuesday the 24th.  I will be back on Saturday the 28th.  I'm looking forward to the trip and seeing friends I haven't seen in a while.  

Later.

Television:

Hell's Kitchen has started up again .  I aired the first show this past Tuesday night and of course I had to dump out of it for :05 seconds because Chef Ramsay decided to say "He's standing over there pissing his pants".  Piss cannot be said on television if it is referencing a bodily function.  Pissed off or telling someone to piss off is okay to air.   Another $50 in my pocket.  I love airing anything with Gordon Ramsay in it.  Dancing with the Stars started back up a couple weeks ago.  I am really liking it this season.  Shannon Elizabeth has surprised me a bit as well as Kristi Yamaguchi and Jason Taylor.  I haven't a clue as to who will actually win it.  American Idol is getting narrowed down as the weeks go by.  I am forced to watch it because I air it.  This season has just been okay for me.  I have no definite favorites.  The Tudors has started back up again.  The first episode aired last Sunday.  I need to watch last night's episode.  I really love that series!  I do watch Nascar every Sunday just so I can keep up with my Fantasy Racing.  It's kind of pointless since I always come in last place. Urgh!  

School:

Right now I'm waiting for my professors to grade my final projects and etc.  I will probably know on Thursday night.  I am so hoping I get an A in both my classes.  Once I have my final grades I can then do my tuition reimbursement for this quarter.  The classes I took this past quarter were "Interpersonal Communication" and "Communication and Conflict".  I really learned a lot on how to be a better communicator.  This next quarter I will be taking "Organizational Communication" and "Effective Communication in the Workplace".  I was supposed to take "Group Dynamics and Team Building" next but it wasn't being offered this next quarter.  Yay!  I was not looking forward to that class.

Vacation:

June 19th-28th I will be in Dallas, Texas.  I will be visiting friends.  I love Facebook.  A friend of mine whom I met back in 2000 when I was on pilgrimage in Haifa, Israel found me on Facebook.  She and I share a mutual friend in Texas.  I will be staying with this mutual friend's mother.  My mother and a friend of ours will be going on this trip as well except they will leave on the 24th.  I'm staying longer.  I will be going to Florida for hte ultimate Florida vacation this September.  I will no longer be going to St. Maarten.  It kind of just didn't work out.  I will be going to Florida with a coworker of my Dad's who happens to be a friend to my family as well.  I can't wait.  I've never been to Florida and I want to see Disney World, Sea World, Universal Studios, and etc.  I can't wait.

Work:

Work has pretty much been normal.  Nothing really new to report except that the really comfortable chair in Master Control (that was really good for my back) broke.  Now I have to sit on the old crappy chairs with my lower lumbr support cushion.  I really have to convince C.D. to get another chair.  

Family:

I got my bridesmaid dress in two weeks ago.  I tried it on for Bridget and Thomas the other day.  They think I look great in it.  I really love the dark apple red color.  Bridget is keeping my dress for me.  I don't trust the cats not to destroy it one way or the other at my place.  Speaking of which, my and Thomas's lease is up in July.  We have to move out by July 25th.  Thomas will be moving in with Bridget.  I will be moving in with *Gasp* my parents.  This is only temporary.  They are only charging me half of what I pay now and I have to get a storage unit.  I will probably only be with them for a year.  I will be reducing my debt and saving money as well.  Once I graduate with my second degree, I will hopefully get a technical writing job which is going to pay a lot more than what I'm making now.  I will then move out.  My parents are looking forward to having me there.  I just hope we get along better now than when we did when I was younger.  Pray for me.  :)  Yesterday I met a first cousin of my mother's for the first time.  He currently lives in Papa New Guinea.  I didn't realize that I have relatives there as well as in Australian, England, Scotland, New Zealand, Holland, Gibraltar, and several states in the U.S.  My family on my mom's side is really spread out.  

Reading:

I have been reading up a storm in the past month.  I've been reading a lot of Lora Leigh's Breed books.  I am addicted to that series.  I also read several of Christine Warren's "Others" series.  I read one of Patricia Brigg's earlier fantasy works.  It was okay.  I have an Amazon Kindle.  I absolutely love it.  As many books as I buy in a year, I will make up the price of it in six months and will then start to save money.  I am currently reading the first book in Piers Anthony's Xanth series called, "A Spell for Chameleon".  TCO at work leant me the first 3 books in this series.   I was not aware that she loves supernatural/paranormal books.  I have leant her five series:  Sookie Stackhouse, Betsy Taylor, Kitty Norville, Rachel Morgan, and Mercedes Thompson.  She is currently reading the Rachel Morgan series.  She likes it so far.  I like the book I'm reading so far.  

Conclusion:
I need to start packing stuff up for the move.  I need to clean as well.  I just wish I hadn't slept the day away on Saturday.  I did get up early Saturday morning to go to this grocery store called, "Aldi's" in Cary.  It is a german store (owned by the same company that owns Trader Joes" and the food is really good and it is super cheap.  A 5 lb bag of sweet potatoes cost $1.69.  Unfreakingbelievable!  Scallops were $4.49 a pound.  Freaking cheap!  Everything is either cheaper than Wal-mart or the same price.  They save on cost by making the carts quarter-operated.  You put a quarter in and it releases the chain and you can now use the cart.  When you're done with the cart, you reattach it with the chain to the cart in front of it and your quarter pops out.  You get your quarter back.  Also, if you use their paper bags, you'll have to pay  a nickel for each.  I brought my own canvas reusable grocery bags that I had bought from Harris Teeter.  I love Aldi's.  My entire family loves Aldi's.  


Later.

I came in last place again with my Nascar Fantasy racing league on CBS sportsline with insignia_void and D.S. from work.  I even picked the winner of the race, Kyle Busch!  I stupidly forgot to check to see if all my drivers were qualified for the race.  Unfortunately, one of the driver's I picked did not qualify.   Double ugh!  I just know I'm gong to end up in last place by the end of the season at this rate.  I finished doing my unit 5 project and seminar discussion for one of my classes.  We are currently on Unit 6.  One of my professors allows us to turn these two assignments up to a week late without penalty.  As a result, I am always behind in that class.  Ugh!  I just finished reading the chapter for Unit 6.  I am hoping to catch up so I can get ahead and start working on my Final Projects for my classes.  I really can't wait for this quarter to end.  I need to do my FAFSA for my next quarter of the year.  I had a lot of fun at my brother's birthday party last night.  Great food and the Wii!  Too cool!  I showed off my laptop to my family.  It's the first time they've seen it.  I am getting used to typing and using it now.  Laptops rule!  For my Unit 6 project for one of my classes, I have to watch a tv show that I like and watch it with no audio and jot down all the nonverbal communication taking place.  I then have to write a paper on it.  Thank goodness my parents have cable and a DVR.  I do not have cable.  I am procrastinating at the moment and need to get back to my assignments.  Later. 

 This has been one long week.  I worked from Saturday through Friday.  I was having to use my brother's compuer until my new laptop came in.  Of course, it comes in this past Tuesday while I'm in the middle of doing a paper.  I'm still trying to get used to a laptop.  I've always had a pc.  I think I will never go back to that.  My games play so well on this laptop.  I'm not surprised.  It is a gaming laptop.  I'm actually liking all the services that Dell offers.  My laptop is an XPS m1530 Dell laptop.  I'm still tryin to get used to Vista.  It runs well.  I have so much school work to do.  I'm going to be writing papers and watching Nascar tomorrow.  I'm currently at my parent's place.  We're celebrating Varqa's birthday today even though it was last week.  Mom is cooking and the food smells wonderful.  Everybody around me seems to be getting sick.  I've been taking the airborne stuff and so far I haven't gotten sick.  I'm hoping this will last.  Later.

I've been stressing out so much this past week due to school that my neck and shoulders have gotten so tense that I've been taking a muscle relaxer every night. I finally got my tuition reimbursement for my last quarter. It only took a month. It is also not taxed because it's not considered income. I am so paying off a credit card! I have two Nascar fantasy leagues going on right now. One includes insignia_void and our coworker D.S.  He kicked both our butts this past week with Daytona. I came in last place.  I hope to remedy that for tomorrow's race.  I have so much school work that I need to do.  I'm going to work on everything and watch the race.  This morning I went bridesmaid dress shopping with Ayanna (Adib's fiance).  I was so surprised to find out that I looked good in every dress I tried on.  I guess my body shape is perfect for Bridesmaid dresses. I ended up choosing the first one I tried on.  I looked awesome!  The color she chose is Apple Red.  Here's a picture of my dress with the Apple Red color:
 
If you want a bigger and better look, go to http://www.davidsbridal.com/bridesmaids_bycolor_detail.jsp?stid=2334&sid=7999&cfid=44

Ayanna ended up picking 3 dresses for all of us to choose from.  First, my dress, then these two: 
  For a better look go to http://www.davidsbridal.com/bridesmaids_bycolor_detail.jsp?stid=3328&sid=18743&cfid=44

And this one:  I'm pretty sure this is the other one.
For a closer look, go to http://www.davidsbridal.com/bridesmaids_bycolor_detail.jsp?stid=3318&sid=18564&cfid=44

I looked good in all three but I looked the best in the first one. 

Tonight, I'm going to go see the Spiderwick chronicles with my Mom and a mutual friend of ours.  Oh, Ayanna and I went to eat at Chili's after we were done with the Bridesmaid stuff.  I can't really think of anything else to talk about.

Later.

Right now I'm being forced to listen to the Presidential address. My only thought is that I hope it ends on time so I won't have to run News off of tape. It can get a bit tricky if the address only goes over by a few minutes. I've been enjoying my two weeks of no classes. The 10th week of class doesn't have any assignments. My next quarter starts on Wednesday. I currently have a 4.0 cumulative GPA. I got an A in both my Technical Writing class and my Fundamentals of Grammar and Editing class. I cannot wait to get reimbursed for these classes. Paying off debt, here I come! I'm doing really well with Weight Watchers. I've lost 11.2 lbs. I started back with my resistance band training yesterday. I'm a little sore. I am determined to get back on the treadmill tomorrow. I'm eating a whole lot better now and can still eat what I love.

Vacation this year will be Texas in the summer (a few days) and then a week in St. Maarten in September. Because of where mom works, we (mom, dad, and I)get to stay in the resort for free. We just have to pay for our tickets, food, and entertainment. I can't wait! I am so going to do as much as I can when I get there. My plan next year is to go to London. I have a cousin living there and I want to go visit her and see all the sights. I'm probably going to go for two weeks.

My brother's cats are driving me crazy. They won't let me sleep. They keep waking me up in the middle of the night. Just because I get up and go to the bathroom doesn't mean that I'm awake and ready to pay the little pests some attention! I do like waking up to the cuties sleeping up curled next to me.

Till next time.

School has been keeping me on my toes. It was so much easier when I only worked part-time and was a full-time student. I love doing my classes online though. I love Kaplan. I finally decided to start doing Weight Watchers online two weeks ago. So far I've lost 6.8 pounds and lost it eating food that I like! I just have to watch my portions. I'm going to start with my exercising this week. I've actually managed to do a bit of reading recently. I finished the third book in the Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs called "Iron Kissed". It was great. I finished the last book in the Noble Dead series called, "Child of a Dead God". I read the latest Aisling Grey Guardian novel, "Holy Smokes". I am planning to read the last two books in the Dante Valentine series, "Saint-City Sinners" and "To Hell and Back" once I'm done with my final projects this week. I will be spending all weekend doing schoolwork.

I think my first quarter has gone pretty well so far. Mom, Dad, and I are planning to go to St. Maarten (St. Martin) in September. Our stay will be free. I love that my mom gets a free week stay at any of the resorts that Divi owns which are all in the Caribbean. I'm saving up my money and am planning to do a lot of activities on our vacation. My room is so cluttered right now. I've got school crap all over it. It's driving me nuts. I'm going to have to straighten it all up before working on my schoolwork. Work is going well. New changes are coming and although I delight in learning something new, I can't help but anticipate some bugs and problems that are going to occur.

Later.

Dear Santa... Dear Santa, This year I've been busy! In April I gave maryjane7547 a wet willie, then I took it back (-5 points). Last month I ate my brussel sprouts (1 points). In November I helped shadowsneophyte see the light (8 points). Last Wednesday I helped tweetaz across the street (6 points). Last Saturday I set kas3dot0's puppy on fire (-66 points). Overall, I've been naughty (-56 points). For Christmas I deserve a lump of coal! Sincerely, mcoqueen

Write your letter to Santa! Enter your LJ username:

Hello to all my friends!  It has been two weeks since I last updated.  I don't have nearly as much free time as I used to have because I'm a full time student now.  I'm doing all my courses online and so far, I'm really enjoying it.  Since I've been working at my current job for over five years, I can actually go to the long term luncheon this year.  It's on December 5th.  My work has a tuition reimbursement policy and I just got approved for the two classes I'm taking right now which are "Fundamentals of Grammar and Editing" and "Technical Writing".  I'm an Advanced Start Bachelor of Science in Communications with an emphasis in Technical Writing.  I just have to wait until this quarter is over and pass my classes, and then I will be reimbursed.  Yay! 

The Wake County Public Library Book Sale started on the 14th.  I only went on the first day and spent $26.  This is much better than last year.  I spent over a hundred bucks last year. 

Yesterday was my birthday.  Thanks to all of you who wished me a happy birthday!  I was out and about yesterday.  I had made plans with Adib and Ayanna to go with them to the Durham County animal shelter to help them pick out two kittens.  We picked up Bridget (Thomas' girlfriend) and went.  They ended up picking a really cute little tabby who is 3 months old.  He is so cute and sweet and hyper!  They're going to name him Atreu, or Trey for short.  Atreu comes from the Never-ending Story.  The second one they picked is a little tuxedo kitty who's only 6 weeks old.  They're going to name him Xander.  He was a bit scared of us in the visitation room, but he seemed to warm up to Ayanna and Bridget.  Atreu licked Bridget's hand when she was holding him.   Animals just love Bridget for some reason.  After picking the kitties, we all went to the Olive Garden for lunch.  It was really busy.  Bridget went home after that.  The rest of us ended up going to Burlington Coat Factory.  Adib needed a coat and so did I.  I bought this really nice Ann Klein coat.  I also needed to get some business casual clothes for the luncheon.  Ayanna helped me pick just the right outfit. 

We then stopped by Trader Joe's which if you've never been there before is like an Earthfare or Wholefoods but with a lot cheaper prices.  It's a pretty cool store.  After that, Adib and I stayed at the house while Ayanna went to the store and got some more things for later that night.  Adib and Ayanna hosted a game night and invited all their friends.  There were a total of 9 of us.  I had a whole lot of fun.  Game night started at 8pm and I left the house at midnight!  I had been procrastinating for the past two days on doing my assignment but I managed to finish it last night after I got home.  I stayed up to 2am.  I just have a few small assignments left and then one big one which I really need to think about. 

I'm still waiting for my enrollment packet to come in the mail.  I want my student I.D.!  I can't wait to get a student discount!  Today, I'm going over to my parents' place for lunch and to watch football.  I won't actually be watching the game.  I had my mother make me Fesanjun.  It's this really awesome Persian dish.  I can't wait to eat.  I think I'll take my textbook and complete my small assignment while I'm there.  I think that's about it.  I'll try and update some time soon.  Later.

I finally figured out what I wanted to do with my life career-wise.  Although I like my current job, I just can't see myself doing master control for the rest of my life.  The pay isn't all that great either.  So, I was talking to insignia_void the other day and she mentioned she was going back to school.  I had been thinking about doing the same thing but I hadn't yet figured out what I wanted to do.  It finally came to me!  Technical writing!  Technical writers make a lot of money.  I already have an English degree that will complement this degree well.  I am currently enrolled at Kaplan University.  It's an online university.  I'm an Advanced Start Bachelor of Science in Communications with an emphasis in Technical Writing.  Because I already have a degree, they went ahead and gave me 90 credits.  I'm a junior in college again!  School starts Nov. 7th!  I just spent the last 3 days working my butt off to get enrolled.  I had to fill out an application online for the school and for financial aid and for a loan.  Yeesh!  I also had to take a test online and write an essay.  The online test was the Wonderlic test.  I only had 8 minutes and there were 30 questions.  I wasn't expected to finish all of them, just the ones I could.  Apparently I did so well on the test that they went and told my Admissions adviser to go ahead and enroll me even though they hadn't scored my essay yet.  I still haven't found out how I did on my essay.  I'll have to ask my adviser.  I also have an academic adviser. 

Kaplan has 4 quarters per year.  Each quarter is 10 weeks long.  All the classes are planned out and pre-approved ahead of time.  Each week is one unit.  I'll know what we're going to do before we even do it.  I just went through the orientation class online.  This is all so neat!  I only take 2 courses per quarter.  Each course I'm taking this quarter is 5 credits each.  First class is "Fundamentals of Grammar and Editing" and the 2nd class is "Technical Writing".  I'm only required to log into my class at least 3 times a week.  One of the hours I am required to be on at a specific time with the rest of my class.  This is the class seminar.  Unfortunately for me, these 2 classes are only being offered in the evening.  I work 4pm-midnight.  I can't actually do the seminar part.  However, there is an option 2.  I'll just have to post to the discussion board and answer some questions the professor has given out and also respond to classmates' posts.  It should take me no longer than two years to get this degree. 

I'm excited.

I've been so busy getting back to real life and going back on my diet and exercising that I haven't had time to continue with my vacation entries. I will get to it though. Last night I stayed at work until 2am because of the damn baseball playoff game going into extra innings. Ugh! Well, at least this year we're only airing the ALCS championship and the World Series and that's it. Previous years, we've aired from the beginning of the playoffs until the end. Either I'm a bit hoarse because I'm exhausted or because I'm getting a cold. I have been sneezing a lot and am occasionally stuffy. I'm not sure if it's allergies though.

Since my mom couldn't make me one of her special dishes last year due to her recovering from her knee surgery, I asked my mom to make me some of her awesome homemade chicken barley noodle soup. It's so good. She owes me two dishes! One from last year and one from this year. I'm not sure what I'm going to ask for the 2nd dish. I'm being really careful about what I eat now.

I'm really loving facebook. I love a lot of the applications on it. Hatching gifts is one of my favorites and so is My Diet. I love finding people I haven't talked to in years. In fact, I found a friend of mine from High School that maryjane7547 knows. Sophia Butt is on facebook!  Rissa you really should join Facebook.  I found Tina Powell also and Edmound Ellison.  Sophia has two kids now and they are adorable!  Facebook is not a blog. 

I'm airing an NFL game right now.  I'm hoping it ends on time.  It probably won't.  Later.