Tuesday, December 12, 2006

My long-lost twin in the blogosphere...

I think I found my long-lost twin sister or something out in the blogosphere... I don't want to sound crazy or like I am getting all single-white-female on this particular blogger, but after reading her weekend posts (which she was good enough to do while I was basically worthless this weekend), I saw so many similarities that, first, I thought about e-mailing my mom and telling her she had to read this girl's blog because she was so like me, and, then, I decided I just had to blog about her a little bit. She has left a few comments and I hope she doesn't mind or think I am blog-stalking her or something... I am not. I swear!

So, first, I mentioned this blog the other day, Life: The Ongoing Education. When you go to her site, leave her the requested comment about what you did this weekend (or make it what you did on Monday or what you plan to do this upcoming weekend, that could be fun!), but also check out the info about Her Bad Auction. The blogger who writes Her Bad Mother (another GREAT blog), along with another blogger is holding an auction... Well go read about it as I am afraid I will screw up the story. Please go check it out to relieve my guilt for not getting the whole story on here.

So why Lara (Life's author) is like my long lost twin. Where to begin. I was catching up from my slacking over the weekend on blog reading and she posted one with interesting quotes. I initially skimmed--I don't usually get or appreciate some of the "great" quotes... But hers were some of the same ones I would select, if I were creative enough to actually think long and hard about quotes that I thought were insightful or interesting enough to write down again... So that was a first sign, but then she mentions her Do, Due, Done list and I am feeling like we were separated at birth.

You see, I am a list maker. No, really. Not like people make them at work, use them occasionally kind of thing. I am a real list maker. I use them for everything, and they are really the only way I can function as a responsible member of society. If you go read Lara's entry about her lists, some of this will sound familiar... I make lists when I go on a trip. Packing lists will be in sections--sometimes I will double-make the list--one by day, one by activity or some other organizing factor. This list always contains the exact number of socks, bras, and underwear I will need for the trip (usually the number of days gone plus the number of days gone minus two or four, depending on the length of the trip)...

I also make lists for school. While in undergrad, I had a dry erase board on my closet door that had each course I was taking with space below it for the stuff to be done for that course. I also had space for the sorority, and any other activities I needed at the time. It was neurotic (according to my roommates). So now, I keep this list in my planner. When times get too busy, I supplement the planner with a sheet of notebook paper that I paperclip to the planner. When I get behind, the paper stays on the week where things were last checked off. That is my way of punishing myself for being behind. I have to turn back the pages to see where I left off and what else is on my list. I usually make one about a month or a month and a half before the end of the term so I can get an idea of how hellish things will get.

Sounding familiar?? Those of you who read Lara's post might be thinking I am copying her or something, but I am not. Hmmm, I just had a thought... Maybe Lara and I are not the only ones like this? Maybe this is a characteristic of smart, ambitious, successful young women. Anyone want to share his or her list making tendencies? Just a thought.

Okay, so I am not so good at blogging on the weekends, but maybe that is OK. I will try harder next weekend.

ttfn

Friday, December 8, 2006

Puppy hunting

Well, Herbie is not our dog... He is a little more terrier than we would prefer, so we will just hope for him that he finds a happy home with lots of room for the little energetic fella! He is CUTE CUTE CUTE--just not right for us.

So we went on quite an adventure today--puppy hunting. We started at the local humane society. We played with two very cute pups. The first one was named Spunky and he was very cute, but spunky might be an understatement. He was about the right size--no more than 35 pounds, but WOW could that dog jump! He was no taller than my knees, and when he jumped, he caught enough air to be about even with my face. I am still slightly frightened by dogs--mainly because of my unfamiliarity with them--so we don't need a dog who would be too jumpy. So, then we played with Comet and, man, if we had a house with a yard, we might have taken this one home with us. Comet was calm, sweet, smart, didn't bark too much, young enough that we could influence his demeanor, but old enough that he was house trained and not a puppy puppy. But, Comet is a walking tree hound or something like that, and I just don't think it would be fair to keep a dog meant to have lots of time outside locked inside our town house.

So, off we went to the Pet Rescue place... There wasn't a single dog there that caught our eye, so that was a quick trip. Off we were (with a stop in at Burger King) to the next town over--about 30 miles away. There was supposed to be an adoption thing going on at the PetSmart until 5, but when we got there at 4:30, no puppies were to be found. So then we found our way to that county's humane society... About a 15 minute drive at 5 p.m.--not the best planning on our part.

So at this humane society... Well this was my first encounter with what looked like a dog pound to me. There was this huge room with dozens and dozens of large dog pins, and there had to be 30 dogs in this one room. Bear in mind, I am still not 100 percent comfortable with dogs, so when we walked into this compound, the odor of dog pee mixed with the ongoing bark-fest sent me WAY out of my comfort zone. So we walked up and down the aisles as if we were peeking into jail cells. Some of the dogs looked like they wanted to eat me, some paid me no mind, some looked sorta' cute, but none of them really sparked our interest.

So back out into the lobby we went. When we had walked into the lobby, I had noticed a very pretty pup in a cage by the desk, but we headed into the compound (sorry--I didn't get all the chronology right)... So into the lobby again. I want to find out more about the cute little weenie-dog looking pup. The nice lady behind the desk tells us she is about 2 years old, was a stray who had been brought in and wound up needing surgery... When she first got there, the shelter was unable to help her put on weight, so they took her to the vet and she eventually had to have surgery to remove a corn cob from her intestines. Yuck and sad... So now she is healthy. She is a little shy, very sweet, and I am falling in love fast. So NLBTD (I am trying some of the new tricks I have seen in other blogs) takes her out of the cage and lets me play with her on a leash. This pup is GREAT... She wanders around the lobby and sniffs everything, lets me get down on her level and just played. So I am even more in love! This whole time, G is not connecting with her and this causes me great concern. I try to get him to play with her and get to know her as I think this is OUR dog... I look at G for some sign of up or down, and I get a very definite DOWN vote. I am bummed. So we leave.

Once in the car, I, in my usual way, badger G as to why on earth this girl isn't coming home with us. After a little poking and prodding, it turns out G is not interested in this dog for a couple of reasons. He suspects her health is not 100 percent. He is also very bothered by what we call her udders. This sweet little girl must have already had a litter (or two), and mix that with her being a weenie dog and, yeah, the udder thing was a little funky. So I defer to G, as he knows FAR more about dogs than I do, and this little girl isn't coming home with us. Bummer. Damn udders.

I got an e-mail from a rescue group nearby that a basset hound/boxer mix, 1-year-old girl might be right for us. So tomorrow we are going to try to drive out to see her and get a feel for her. I am hopeful.

I am not sure where my desire for a puppy comes from as I am not really a dog person, but I just really feel like G and I need something to nurture and love and that this is something we are supposed to do right now. I hope we aren't being selfish in wanting a dog... I think we will be great dog parents. I also think this will be good training for when we will someday be responsible for a human life. Another added bonus, I DO NOT want my kids to have this freakish dog fear that I have. I know I have this fear only because I am unfamiliar with dogs. If we get a puppy now, this will be the dog with whom our kids grow up. I want my kids to have the joy of a dog... I dunno.

So that about covers it today. I hope this is enjoyable for someone to read! I really enjoy writing it. I know I have only done this like three times now, but I am proud of myself. I really want to continue with this. It really did give me more of a reason to do something worth while today (even though I didn't think about it once all day, I just know it was some motivating factor, somewhere in the depths of my mind). So we shall see. I am loving the comments, btw.

OH! Speaking of that, Lara, of Life: the Ongoing Education, blogged about Lurking. So read her post about it. And if you are lurking here, FIRST let me say that I just think that is awesome that anyone might be reading this. Second, I, too, welcome you and encourage you to make your presence known. I am a big fan of the whole small world thing and making connections. While I have yet to blog about anything worthy of some intellectual debate, I just would love to hear from folks. So, let me know how I am doing at this whole blogging thing. Constructive criticism is always welcome--I do teach journalism writing, so I appreciate editors!

ttfn

Thursday, December 7, 2006

College town activities

So tonight is the Gator Stomp--an event during which large numbers of college students bar crawl through numerous places in town, get free drinks, get a t-shirt, and probably an ugly hangover tomorrow. They, of course, pay a fee of some sort for this. My question is this:what about those of us who do not enjoy drunken debauchery but might enjoy having a drink and some live music on a Thursday night? I will have to avoid my favorite bar because it will be overrun with drunk children. Now when I was 21, I certainly didn't think I was a child. And some of them are not, but when you go out in an attempt to get falling down drunk, that makes you a child--in my humble opinion. So, I think we will be relegated to the really old-fogie, kind of white trash, kind of biker, bar. That is always fun for people watching.
-
My husband worked really hard again today at a job that he is not so wild about. All to allow me to continue my pursuit of a degree that will allow me to do what I think is my calling--teach and shape young minds. I think I just had an epiphany... If he is working in a job that sucks to allow me to do this, I need to be honest about it. I want to teach. TEACH. I enjoy research and will do a little of it, but I really LOVE the teaching. It is what God has called me to do, and I want to do it to the best of my ability, at a university that will appreciate my teaching efforts. So I think my first step will be to be honest to my advisor that this is my goal--even if it will make her very angry. She is so all about her and how what I do and become will reflect upon her. But I need to be about me and G. We are our family now and I need to respect what G is doing for me, and in return, I need to be honest and serious in my pursuit of a good teaching job. I feel a little better now with that clarity about what I am doing.
-
So I am trying to be somewhat anonymous with this blog... I am not sure that I am doing a good job of it. I searched blogs for my name and e-mail address and I couldn't find this, so I am hoping people who know me in real life might not stumble upon this. I just think that is better. I certainly wouldn't want my advisor to stumble onto this and see that I think she is selfish. So if there is some certain procedure I need to follow, let me know...
-
Well post no. 2... So far I like this. I don't think I am very good at it, but I like it none the less. I hope to return tomorrow.
Hopefully with a new puppy--see, training some someday-mommyhood. G and I are going to Ocala tomorrow to see about adopting the cutest little boy. Keep your fingers crossed for me!! I think we will be good puppy parents. This will be good for us!
ttfn

Well hello there

So I have been inspired by The Atomic Tumor and his impressive writing ability in a time of great sadness, so let's see how this goes. I stumbled upon the mommy blog phenomenon and WOW. I am really afraid my life is far too boring to compare to that of mothers, but I think this could be a good outlet. It might also make me strive to accomplish something worth writing about every day.

-

Today was rather uneventful, but reading the mommy blogs really reminded me how badly I want to become a mommy (as you see, I am making strides to become a blogger--not a mommy right now). I know I am a Ph.D. student and we make just a little money and we have motorcycle payments, among many other bills. But who has the money to have a baby when they have one? I don't know. I go thru this quite regularly and I think that is God's way of saying to do it. I know my husband is looking out for my best interests when he says we should wait (until I graduate, until I have a job, until we have money), but I am so afraid that as a diabetic if I wait too long--being diabetic and all--I will lose this chance for us. I just don't want to risk that. And I am quite sure we can handle whatever God sends our way...

On another unrelated note, I am in the playoffs in both of my fantasy football leagues! Woo-hoo! In the Gator Club I went undefeated thru 11 games, lost one and then won the final game, so I have a first round bye. I am hoping that give McGahee the time to heal a little more, time for me to figure out which QB to start--Hasselback, Rivers, or Rothlesberger (I know, my spelling sucks)... I picked up Gramattica--I am proud of that one--but Witten is my TE and he is hit and miss. I am really trying to stay positive and just have fun in this league, but it is much harder than in Lils league.

See in that one, I almost missed the playoffs after starting the season 0 and 4 or 5... Then my team started coming together. Keep in mind I had the first round draft pick in both leagues (picked up LJ in lils, LT in Gator), so waiting 4 or 5 games for a win was painful. This week it looks like I might have to play one of the strongest teams in the league--the team who has the bears defense... And that is one place I am struggling. I have the Cowboys and the Broncos and neither team is desireable this week--Broncos play Chargers (LT will run all over that defense) and Cowboys play Saints (they have one of the best offenses in the league)... I just really want to beat this guy--he is one of those guys who was probably a fat kid who got picked on alot, then he got to college and figured out that being big (not so much fat) can be a good thing at this age and that people will not openly make fun of him anymore... This caused him to become deep down a really good guy, but on the surface an a-hole with ego issues. I swear I have heard him say things about being a bartender at a certain bar in town makes him a pimp. Get over yourself. And he's all of a sudden a Bears fan. I am not sure this is genuine or not. But, I beat him in the regular season by sheer luck and I really want to do it again.

I have a good team--Carson Palmer (whom I got in a trade for Warrick Dunn--I got the better end of that deal), LJ, Addai (although I am debating starting Tatum Bell or Cedric Houston (NYJ)), Anquan Boldin, Roy Williams, Laverneus Coles (I might start Marty Booker instead of Williams), Witten in this league too, Gramatica here too, Cowboys or Broncos defense... Not a bad team at all. They can blow up--I got 225 or so points in week 12... But I am deeply competitive and I really want to win!

-

So the hubby and I may go on a toy ride this weekend or to a swap meet... I am just not really into swap meets, so I am hoping for the toy ride. If the weather is good, all we need is a new toy, we are "doing good" and we get to ride??? I'll take it.

I am so surprised by how much I enjoy riding the motorcycle. It is about the only time I have noticed enjoying the out of doors. It is just nice quiet time where I still feel like G and I are together and bonding, but I know I am not bugging him. I often worry about bugging him, but that's for another day.

-

So that will do it for this one. I hope I can do this regularly. I hope if anyone actually reads this that they find it interesting or entertaining in some way. Let's see.