I've been working from home, and I took the weekend off, so I haven't been eating myself to death with delicious food at RG. I will be back there tomorrow though, and I'm not sure what I'll be trying but I'm sure whatever it is will be super tasty.

I'm off to finally get my ID badge made for the Red Cross, I also have a meeting to get all situated to start my training to be a First Aid/CPR/AED trainer. I'm very excited about it, I think it's going to be a lot of fun.

I have about five hours of emergency response training next Tuesday, which I think is going to be really interesting and informative. I've got 35 hours left after these five before I can be a national responder, which is my goal. Until then, I can do local and state response.

I worked canteen on Monday and I met a really nice lady who gave me the contact number for the State Hospital's volunteer coordinator. So what did I do? I called of course.

Anything to keep me busy and out of trouble, right?

I have Bookbyte training on Wednesday, so then I'll be back to work there. I need the money, and it's time to go back to work anyway. I'm sad that I'm losing all my volunteer time, but I'll just move everything back into the evenings and it should all work out.

I have a meeting in about an hour. It's a super secret meeting about super secret things I haven't told a single person. I'm very excited about these super secret things, but not so excited as to jinx it. Not that telling anyone would jinx it, or anything. I mean, you guys aren't bad luck, that's not what I mean. What I mean is, sometimes these things are better left in the dark at the beginning. Also, suspense keeps you Figments coming back, and if you stopped coming here, then who would I talk to when I'm all alone?

So, if this meeting goes the way I want it to, and then if all my cute fluffy baby ducks fall in a huggable row, I'll tell people. If not, then I'll sulk in private. Sound good? Good.

HoTD:

This is your fault, Pran.
Cute Overload is meanness,
It's akin to crack.

Long day, I didn't sleep last night, and was on campus from about 8 this morning until 6 this evening. I haven't eaten anything at all today and I really just want to crash, burn and get some snoozes.

In happy news, I got a notice that my Faid has been posted to be put into my bank account within three business days. Which means hopefully by mid-next week I can buy my books and catch up on all the homework I'm behind.

I've got a busy weekend ahead of me, and a busy week next week. I've got some stuff left on a client website to do that I hope I can get done on Thursday. Maybe, by then, I'll have something amusing and of substance to say.

HoTD:

Yawn, yawn, yawn yawn, yawn.
Yawn sniffle yawn yawn sniffle,
Yawn yawn yawn yawn zzzzzz.

I've been working on a clients website all day today. I've got about four days left to cram my last minute work in before my deadline is up. I'm pretty much on track, but the hosting leaves things to be desired. What I originally wanted to do with their shopping cart isn't going to work. Even after I whined at it all morning, it just wouldn't give and magically change into what I wanted.

My goal is to cross off the majority of the things on my list so that my last day or so can be spent testing to make sure everything is working correctly. Keep your fingers crossed that nothing blows up or gets deleted on me. I would cry.

My toes are cold and I should really throw my slippers that I got from The Sister for my birthday on, but if I get up and move around I'll distract myself. It's only raining out but the forecast has hinted a bit at snow later in the weekend and I believe it. It's certainly chilly enough outside. I'm one of those nut people who once I get cold, it takes me a long time to warm back up. So for most of winter, I'm perpetually cold. My friend Terra is the complete opposite, she's perpetually hot, even if the temperature is 40 degrees where she is, she'll still want a window open or the AC on. Nuts, nuts I say.

I wouldn't mind snow, except for the fact that if it snows, there is no way I'm commuting to campus for the first day of classes. Maybe it'll snow so much, that the start of term will be pushed back a week and my lovely vacation will be extended. Wouldn't that be fun? I think so too.

Back to the grind like a good little Cinderjamie. I'm going to bang on this with a proverbial hammer for another hour or three and hope that when I leave Guido to go start my soup later this afternoon, the Achteemell Fairies have finished the job for me.

A girl can dream right?

HotD:

Smiling Buddha man,
Sits on my desk and just grins,
Hope I amuse him.

So I spent New Years Eve watching bad movies and good Twilight Zone episodes and just relaxing, which was the best way ever to end one year and usher in another.

I spent today trying to work out a bunch of issues that have arisen, one of which being how I'm going to work full time like a normal person from 8 - 5 at The Book Place and go to school full time at a university that is an hour away taking day classes. Unfortunately the answer was that I can't - work at The Book Place, that is.

If it was a job that had night hours, or would be willing to let me patchwork hours in then that would be fine. Sadly, neither option exista, so my only alternative is to back out from working this rush, and focus on school. I'm hoping to find some extra work on campus that I can pick up ten hours a week or so when I can, since all my classes this term are science based with labs, and as many of you Figments who go to school know, these are crazy time consuming.

So I wrote my supervisor and let her know I wasn't coming in, and said I'd love to work over the summer rush like last year, when I didn't have to commute to Corvallis. Until then however (and let's hope they do let me come back in summer) it's just not going to work for me.

Maybe I'll get lucky and find a campus job or a night job that will work with me. I could use the extra money, but I'm not crazy worried about it.

It's all good. Next is getting the title transfered into my name for Le Car De Goose, which is a whole 'nother bundle of fun goodies because all my forms of picture ID have gone missing, and so I have to go track one down (and dish out the money to get it) before I can dish out the 130 to transfer the title. Yay!


HoTD:

Need to clean my room.
Scary Phyllis haunting me,
Bad childhood mem'ries.

OSU and I are currently in a battle of wills. I'm willing them to get their act together, and they're willing me to some deserted island somewhere that doesn't have internet or phone access so I can't bug them anymore.

I'm a little (and by little I mean a ton) nervous about this next term. I just really need the next year to go really well. For once, if it's not to much to ask. Thankyouverymuch.

I meet with my academic adviser on the 7th, which amusingly enough is also the first day of classes. This makes it extra special super duper fun, because I'm currently blocked from registering for classes until I meet with him. Yay for picking your class schedule on the first day of classes.

My FA is semi-sort of straightened out. I got an E-mail back from the office today saying no my FA wasn't canceled. Seriously, it was one sentence long. I'm assuming that it means what it says, and there wasn't an unspoken 'but' at the end of it. Like 'No your FA wasn't canceled, but we'll do that right away for you.' That would be hilarity.

The dispersement stuff is saying I should be getting the grant portion of it on time. The loan part won't show up until next Neverember. I haven't even gotten the bank paperwork for my new loans yet, ten bucks says they sent it to my old address like they did my award letter. The old address I never even gave them. How they pulled it out of their asses and sent my paperwork to it I have no idea.

As long as I get my grants and can pay for the term, books and maybe ten dollars of my rent, I'll be alright. For a day or so anyway.

I go back to work for That Book Place on the 2nd. They wanted me to come back the day after Christmas, but it just didn't work out. That's okay with me, because as much as I need the extra money, I really need a week or so at home to take care of some Collective stuff. I won't be able to work full time though, because this term I need to be on campus instead of online. I'm trying to not worry about it by pretending it's not an issue I have to deal with until next year. Stupid, but it's working so far.

This whole mess is made all better by the fact that I'm having mashed potatoes for dinner. Food of the Gods, Figs. Food of the Gods.

HoTD:

My AA just laughed,
I've taken too much Bio,
For Bio degree.

I finally got my act in gear, and now I'm just wasting a few minutes before I'm off to the second day of the Salem Holiday Show, where I'm running a booth for Robin's stained glass company.

Yesterday I was there from about 7:30 until about 6:30. It was long, and because we're in a building at the fairgrounds, it was freezing. I was also exhausted because I went directly from the hotel room that hosted the bachelor/bachlorette party for Terra and Cory to the show. I didn't sleep at all the night before, and spent a lot of time herding drunk people. At the party, not the holiday show. Although it wouldn't surprise me if there was drunk people there.

I came home last night and just crashed. The show went well though, and I'm hoping today goes just as well.

I've got to come home tonight and get started on the huge list of stuff I have to get done before I leave for Portland tomorrow night.

HotD:

I hate the flying.
I dream the plane will explode,
And I'll get sucked out.

So, I've compiled a list of everything I'm going to do this year, and then at the end of the year, we're going to revisit it and see how horribly badly I failed at following through with anything. It'll be fun, Figmets. Play the home version of this game along with me!

In no particular order, is L.O.S.T I.T, which, of course stands for "List of stuff to do in two-thousand-and-seven". I'm so clever. 2007 is hyphonated because it's my list, and I said so. Plus, I suck at acronyms, okay? Just smile and nod and go along with it. There you go..you're a peach.

• Learn to knit. I mean it. I really want to learn how. It just looks so fun, and you get to make stuff! I promise not to make scary doll clothes.
  
• Travel out of the state. East coast is my desitnation this year, since I've never been that far...well...East.
• Travel out of the country. Someplace where accidenal beheading and disembowelment insurance is optional, not required.
• Five things off the 'Before I Die' list. I don't know what ones, but at least five of them.
• Jeans. Seriously, why do I buy them if they don't fit? They'll fit by the end of this year, mark my words.
• Sit on a jury. Now Figs, I've been avoiding this for two years, and I do want to do one. So watch, I won't get a single summons at all.
• Write my will. Morbid, but necessary. Everyone should do one.
• Graduate. Six months to go Figs, six months to go.
• Go Mini Golfing. Because I never have.
• Finish a novel NOT connected to NaNo.
  
• Take a very long road trip.
• Make a quilt.
  
• Take Japanese lessons.

So, it's not that long, and it'll probably get longer. But I think these are fun (for me) goals to set for myself for this year. Because I can, because it's always fun to gripe at myself for not doing them later.

Further proof that I'm a gigantic dorkwad that has some pretty screwed up views on what's exciting in life: I got a new vacuum! Isn't that exciting?

I know it shouldn't be exciting, but I'm very happy about it. My last one went to the giant suckfest in the sky ages ago, so I've been forced to beg and plead to borrow vacuums and then just having to suffer with how filthy I really am in between borrowings. It's amazing how gross carpet gets even when nobody's home to make it a mess. I don't have a clue how some of this stuff even gets tracked in here. Perhaps Imaginary Boyfriend is throwing parties while I'm away.

So, yay. I got a new vacuum. Too bad I'm so lazy I don't want to clean, I just want to enjoy my day off and do nothing. I'll give the first person to come clean my living room floor thirty-eight cents and a cookie. Anyone? Anyone?

HotD:

Come eat some soup, man.
It is tasty and delish,
And will just go bad.