Yet another exciting revelation about our new house:
No more SCREAMING couples on the opposite side of our bedroom wall waking us up at 7 o'clock every, single Sunday morning like clockwork.
Awesome! Those two "lovebirds" are totally whack ...
(Mood: Annoyed)
(Music: Either Way, I'll Break Your Heart Someday by Augustana)
Fox has pulled a tricky, tricky move ... they forced us to watch the pilot of Glee, made it completely fabulous, and are now withholding the remainder of the goods until the Fall.
What a nasty thing to do!
Ugh, if you didn't get a chance to check out the first episode on its original air date (a couple of weeks ago), it will apparently be running throughout the entire summer. Watch it!
(Mood: Productive)
(Music: Journey's Greatest Hits)
Happy Birthday, Aunt Kay!!!!!
Here are a few pictures from her 60th birthday party this past weekend:
Busy, busy, busy, busy, busy ...
It's nice to have so much to do. Sitting around all day without a purpose bums me out.
So ... on Thursday, we are heading to The LBK for Aunt Kay's 60th Birthday Party!!! It's a HUGE shindig at Norbert's house with lots of food, lots of drinks, lots of games, and lots of people! I have no idea of the actual head count, but it is going to be BIG.
That's Saturday night.
Thursday afternoon and Friday (most of the day) will be dedicated to finding a house. We have made it our mission to sign a lease and have a Lubbock address waiting for us at the beginning of July before returning back to Austin for the month of June. This shouldn't be too, too difficult, as I hear there is a lot for rent right now, with the official school year being over and whatnot.
Call me crazy, but I do enjoy a good day of house-hunting.
Saturday is mostly party, very little business. It starts at 5, but there is much to do in preparation. Alex and I will be full-on decorating and setting up and assisting right up to the time of the hoe-down. (Ho-down?) Then it's all fun and games into the late evening hours.
F-U-N!
Sunday and Monday and possibly Tuesday are all up in the air. We aren't going to leave until Tuesday morning, at the earliest. Just depends on what other loose ends we need to tie up before the big move, as we will not be back to Lubbock until we roll in with our U-Haul.
(I can't believe it's only a month away.)
Anyway, I'm totally excited about this trip! It is going to be full of super-fun stuff. I also have devised a plan to optimize the picture-taking extravaganza that Saturday will most certainly be! I mean ... SO MANY PEOPLE will be there!! All of our family and lots of friends. Too sweet of an opportunity to NOT take a boat-load of photos.
Of course, I will post a great number of them on here as soon as they are uploaded late next week.
Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee ...
(Mood: Thrilled)
(Music: Firecracker by Ryan Adams)
Fresh cherries are back in season!!!
I squeaked and clapped my hands in the grocery store when I saw them.
(I think maybe it's time to stop listening to my iPod when I shop ... makes me feel like I'm not really in a crowd; hence, almost too comfortable.)
Still, I've been happily treating myself to a bowl of cherries every day for the past three.
Whoooody, whooooo!!! Life is good.
Now that everything surrounding school is determined, delivered, and decided, speed of life has flown into the highest of high gears. There is so much to do in preparation: packing, finding a new place to live in a different city, movers, u-haul, dates to arrange, solidifying registrations and payments, jobs, schedules, etc ...
It's a lot to take in, and many lists are quickly growing.
I've been looking online at houses for rent in The Hub this morning, and I have to say ... I'm somewhat baffled by the super low prices. I guess the near 2 years I've lived here in Austin has jaded my money perspectives a bit. I must say, I'm delighted to find that cheaper living is soon-to-come!
There are definite benefits. I'll never say different.
I also had another happy realization about my Fall schedule while going over details of classes. I will only be in school on Tuesdays (all day) and Thursday evenings. Grad school classes are scheduled so much more conveniently than undergrad! This helps tremendously with job possibilities.
Though, I still don't know what kind of job I'll do.
There's always subbing as an option. I have a bit of a sour taste with my experiences with the school district here, but not all districts are the same. Subbing is always a good fall-back, just in case. There are also many openings on campus for grad students. I'm thinking of checking those out first.
(Almost) anything to pay the bills!
Oh, and yeah, after my first year of grad school, I'll hopefully be teaching full-time while finishing my Master's in night classes. The time-frame will most likely still be 2-2 1/2 years to finish everything up, and I would just like to have an actual salaried job (with benefits!) before I graduate.
Then it's possibly onto a Ph.D and full-college professing.
I'm just really happy because I'm finally able to relax and allow myself to get excited. With everything being so uncertain for so long about the move, and no specifics whatsoever being known, it has been really difficult to feel anything other than anxiety and stress. Not anymore!!! Bring it, I'm ready now.
Well, after all of the aforementioned tasks have been done, that is ...
(Mood: Wiggly)
(Listening to: Shoot Your Gun by The 20-20s)
(... are about to be spilled ...)
The "official" tally ... Alex and I will be moving to Lubbock together in about 6 weeks.
Lots to do before the end of June!!!
Cripes on crackers.
(Listening to: Honey & the Moon by Joseph Arthur.)
I'm having one of "those" days. Blegh!
"The situation's always the same
You got your wolves in their clothes whispering love's just a game
Stealing gold from the silver they see
But it's not me ..."
I guess I never really followed up on the grad school stuff I have been talking about for months now.
Well, I got in. I got in here in Austin and at Tech. I applied to UNM as well, but didn't get in there because they take almost only residents of New Mexico.
Two out of three ain't bad.
The reality of the situation is that staying in Austin to finish school would be a poor choice, given my current economic situations here. Despite all of my (many, many, MANY) efforts to overturn this plight, I have been basically bleeding money since I pulled into town.
The schools still aren't hiring, I'm still certified with a degree and unable to get a job. And if I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times ... I refuse to wait tables with an education. I just won't do it. I don't care how fanciful and "great" a city may seem.
The truth is that staying here just isn't worth it to me. If I had a job, or if the schools here had offered me a better deal than Tech, sure, I would consider staying.
That just isn't the case, though.
So, yes, I am moving back to Lubbock for some grad school. It took a TON of deliberation and a TON of ... stress ... but it's really the best thing for me and my future.
I need at least a Master's to do what I want to do with my life, and living here with a BA and a teacher's certificate for the past 2 years (almost) just isn't cutting it for me.
So, I move on. I start over ... in some ways.
I start my dual-Master's degree (English and Education) on July 7th. I'm excited more than nervous, but nervous as well. It's a big deal.
I'm trying not to look at it as a step backwards ... because it isn't at all. Circumstances are still shaky involving certain aspects of the move, so I can't really discuss those at this time. All I know is that I will be there ... because it is what I need to do for me.
There you have it. Grad school ... in less than two months ...
Last night, Alex and I watched a special on Animal Planet about Sea World. (We are going to the one in San Antonio in June. Yessssssss!) The main "Awwwww" moments for me came from the penguins. I mean, I LOVE the little critters! (Well, some are big, but you get what I mean.) They are just the cutest, funniest, goofiest, almost-fake-looking animals I've ever seen.
I mean, seriously!
While we were watching the Sea World special, a trailer for a show they are going to be airing on Friday came on. It is the full-length story about Christian the Lion. I don't know who has seen that YouTube video, but it literally makes me cry every, single time. (Pardon the music, as it was not my choice.)
Again, I say ... SERIOUSLY!!!!
Ugh! Alex is totally sick. I took him to the doctor this morning and they asked about a billion questions about possible interactions with Mexico.
The "good" news is that he has something else. Bronchitis, it seems. The bad news is that he is sick, sick, sick. I mean ... sick!
The Mexico questioning has lead me to a random pouring of thoughts I seem to consistently go back to about the media in general, and this current "outbreak" of swine flu specifically. I just can't decide what I believe.
All of the subs in AISD have been asked to avoid schools right now. (That includes me, even though I'm "permanent.") Apparently, there is some nervousness about bringing "new" germs constantly in and out. I get it ... and I don't.
I definitely don't get the closing of schools before any cases have even been confirmed, or are even probable ... as in Fort Worth. I think that's just way too touchy and rash.
Then again, I'm not really worried about most of the stuff they warn about on tv. I would prefer to not catch this supposedly horrid flu, but I'm just not panicked like a lot of people seem to be.
I can't decide if this is a good or a bad thing. Which is my biggest thought on government and the media in general. I never have any idea what to believe, and just how worried (or comforted, for that matter) to be about all of the crap they spew.
Because, you know, President Ford faced something like this in 1976 while he was campaigning against Reagan. There was a military base that had an outbreak of this same flu ("they" say).
One G.I. died and Ford made a huge deal about it on the campaign trail. He ordered that vaccines be made for every man, woman, and child in quick-order. They were rushed through, and it turns out less than half of the population took them.
I read that of those who did, a certain number (rather small-ish, but still) either became paralyzed, lost function of the arm in which the shot was given, or flat-out died.
And it turned out that only about 150 were infected total, all of which lived on the base ... it never left the premises. Still, there was a mass flip-out, just like there is now. Decisions were hasty and people were overwrought.
My point - Is this the same kind of situation, or are we actually dealing with something that is as terribly threatening to the human population as so many officials are saying?
Because, you know, hysteria does no one any good. This is just my opinion, of course. I'm no one who knows anything about it, really, I'm just a normal, everyday member of society ... one who can't help but wonder how all of this recent flurry will play out.
My instinct tells me that a somewhat small number of people will get it, some might have really bad times with it, but the great majority will be just fine ... and it won't end up being the animal house it's so far been chalked up to be.
Like I said, I could be totally wrong. I hope I'm right, though.
Those are just my thoughts for now. I guess we shall see.
The first three are from shooting the first weekend we were in NM. The second two are from Telluride. Still can't believe I didn't take more pictures! I definitely took more than just these five, of course, but I'm usually a freak about keeping on top of that kind of thing. I guess I was just too busy going, going, going. Shoot!
Alex getting the weaponry ready while I watch, too afraid to touch anything without heavy supervision. ;)
I'm obviously not very comfortable with a gun in my hands. I realize this is not exactly the proper posture. Ha!
This is what shotgun shooting is supposed to look like. Alex is an amazingly precise shot! Misses maybe 3 per 100. 
About 5 layers deep for warmth after our first day of skiing ... very hungry, very cold, very tired, but very happy.
View from the dining room window of our condo in Telluride. It snowed the entire time we were there. Beautiful!
