09.29.09
Recent stuff
Today was my first day at work. It was intense, since there was so much new stuff to learn, but it was exciting. I think I am going to fit in very well there. I also had my first walk-in tutoring student! Terrifying, but gratifying. We did math 70, so it wasn’t killer stuff, but I was so nervous going in! There is a girl at work who doesn’t seem too happy that I am there, since I am her replacement. She’s a bit snippy, which makes asking her questions about the work I am supposed to be doing a bit hard. Unfortunately my boss has me working with her for another three weeks. Oh well.
Now, about the hair. I love it. It looks great, and I have gotten SO much positive feedback from my peers at school (making me a bit suspicious about how they thought I looked before….. ahem…. 
) It does make me look older, definitely, and hubby wasn’t too happy at first. I think he has come around now. What is it with men and long hair? Seriously? Anyways, we cut like 13 inches, which will be shipped off to locks of love. It’s pretty high maintenance though, which I guess I am going to have to get used to.
School is fine, a bit intense though. I had three tests last week (geography, math and BioLab) and three this week (American History, World Civilization and Environmental Biology). I did pretty well on the ones last week (120, 85, 100) and today my AmHis test was pretty decent. I have the two others before 10 am tomorrow. Eeek! I am terrified.
I also have allergy shots tomorrow again, and then Friday before we go and pick D up from school. Oh joy. Oh well, only 4 more years of this to go!
We are starting to compile Christmas/Birthday lists for everyone. D has already decided what she WILL get (yeah right) and it is some type of electrical scooter. Ain’t gonna happen. Maybe a regular one though, one of those you kick? I guess we will see. I would like to get her books, since she doesn’t read nearly enough, but I know it will just be a waste of money. The ban of removing things from our house will stand though. The things she gets here will stay here. Funnily enough, most of her stuff has somehow made its way to her mother’s house anyways (I told him this would happen). It is sad that we now have to search her bag for things she tries to sneak out. But it is necessary, since she NEVER brings it back! Somehow she has managed to sneak out an entire Lego Coast Guard Set (in pieces I am guessing), because she knows she is not allowed! Sigh…. And I am the bad guy for realizing it….. Of course.
Anyways, back to schoolwork!
09.20.09
Update
My darling sister noted yesterday that I don’t update this blog often enough. She is right of course, I don’t. In all truth and honesty, school is kiling me right now. I am fighting rather hard to try to keep up my 4.0, which my husband claims is near impossible. I’d like to try. But it does keep me busy and come weekends, I am so tired that I have been kinda neglecting this blog for a while.
Today we are having people over, for the first time in the new place. I’m excited, but also nervous. I am not a people person and I’m not very good at making new friends. We are only having three people over, but it is still nerve-wracking for me. Silly, I know. I don’t know two of the people that are coming, they are people hubby know from school, international students, one Swede and one Swiss.
I am a little nervous about meeting the Swedish girl. Appart from the Christmas fair and the consulate in D.C, she wil be the first Swede I meet here. Besides, just because she is Swedish doesn’t mean we will get along. There is a huge part of the Swedish population I don’t like. Anyways, I am cooking dinner for all of us. It will be a pasta dish that will be oven baked. I have never done it before, so I have no clue how it will turn out. I might do a chocolate cake for dessert, I haven’t quite chosen yet. I’m not that great when it comes to the dessert-department. I guess we’ll see later how it all turns out.
I have three tests this week, and three the following week too. This week it’s Math, Geography (maps) and Bio-Lab, the next week in Geography (climate and stuff), American History and Biology. It’s going to be an intense couple of weeks. I should also get started on my two research papers.
Anyways, lots to do.
09.03.09
Allergy updates
Today I went and saw my allergy specialist. It was the first time, so I was pretty nervous, but the nurses were really nice, and the doctor seemed okay (the little I saw of him. It’s really the nurses that do most of the work anyways…). It’s bloody expensive to go to the specialist, I’ll tell you. Sure my insurance covers 75%, but it’s still a pretty hefty sum. The allergy testing in itself was painful. They put 65 dots on my back an stuck me with needles and injections of various allergens. Though that was when the worst started. After the nurse had finished and left the room (they wait 15 minutes until they come in and measure the reactions) my back started feeling like it was on fire. I am serious! It also made me pretty aware of the fact that I have some pretty serious shit going on with my allergies. It was pure torture.
After 15 minutes, the nurse came in and started measuring the reactions, while she was giving off sympathetic noises. 24 of my “dots” exhibited reactions. Some of them was minor, like soybeans, but then there was the major ones too, like various forms of pollen. I already knew half of if, I had a test done as a kid, a smaller one, so some of it came as no surprise. What did surprise me, however, was my LACK of dog allergies. I showed very little to no reaction to the three dog tests they did, which is contradictory to the last test I did.
We decided that I am going to get allergy shots, which will, in time, make me immune to most of the allergens. They will make me my very own special formula, and I will get it administered twice a week at first, and then after a couple of months, they will gradually decrease. In 3-5 years, I will be mostly symptom free, and will probably not need to eat allergy medicine. And if I am lucky, since this is to make me produce my very own antibodies, I will transfer my resistance to my children, so they will not have to live my hell. We do live in one of the worst allergy states in the country. Also, I would like my children to be able to play in the grass, eat tomatoes and apples, without having any problems. It would be nice… It is going to be expensive, but worth it. Also, imagine how much money we have spent over the years buying me allergy medicine….
Oh, I am allergic to nuts, most of them. Now I actually have it on paper. Not to shellfish though (I kinda hoped that I was… *blushes*). Also, I now have it on paper that I am allergic to raw potatoes, so from here onwards, hubby is totally responsible for peeling them. I have a doctor’s note!
09.02.09
Anniversary
We are celebrating two years of marriage Saturday. And we have D all weekend, it being Labor Day weekend and everything. I would like to go out to a nice restaurant and have a really nice adult dinner and conversation, maybe go to listen to a violin concert or something. Now we have a ten-year old to take in account. No fancy dinner, and if we spend a lot of money on a concert, D will fall asleep.
Is it so wrong to want to spend some quality time with my husband on our anniversary, alone? Am I being selfish? Because if I would say voice my opinion, I’d be classified as an evil stepmother, and selfish.
*Sigh*
08.25.09
Geekland
This semester my husband has done something I am not so sure he can handle. He has decided to get a masters degree in digital communication, which means that he first had to take a couple of undergrad classes. Now, this program is mainly populated by geeks. Don’t get me wrong, I have ABSOLUTELY nothing against geeks, in fact, I rather look at them in awe and admiration (Seriously, anyone seen Big Bang Theory? Those guys are awesome!), and have dated a couple. Now, my husband is not a geek. Not even close. He would like to think he is, but he really isn’t. He is so in over his head in this degree.
Let me give you a scenario about the world of geek here. Let’s say we take a trip to Geekland (for argument’s sake, it is now a country). In Geekland, they speak Geek. In Geekland, I am capable to order a coke and possibly find the main touristy sites using a map. My mother would be able to read the descriptions of the touristy sites in Geek, probably not perfectly, but she would do well. My sister would hold entertaining and enlightening conversations with the tour-guide in almost fluent Geek (that girl went three years to kinda-sorta Geek-school. While I never fully understood what the hell she did there, I do know she is very good with computers. Most people call the tech-guy, I call Cathy. She is pretty fluent in Geek, even if she doesn’t look it. Seeing as her X is a super-geek, it might not be that hard to understand. She has said she would like to marry Sheldon from the Big Bang Theory. Or was it Leonard?). Now, my husband would probably be able to order dinner in Geekland, and possibly buy some souvenirs, but he would also fancy himself quite the local and go out in the wilderness without a map, no appropriate gear or clothing, and end up in a river full of piranhas, having no clue how he got there, coming out if it with tropical fever.
As you can probably understand, my husband fancies himself quite knowledgeable in the area of technology. He really isn’t. He’s a wannabe. A cute wannabe, but a wannabe nonetheless. While he is terribly intelligent, he is not very smart and has no common sense. And now, he is in Geekland, up shit-creek without a paddle. He is with people who can put together a server in their sleep, and he still has trouble figuring out the oven and remote control. I am very worried, and also rather amused. I warned him about this. Did he listen? Make a guess.
08.19.09
Science
Today, I have done approximately 6 hours of science, which technically is more science than I’d like to EVER. I don’t like science. So why am I doing it? Well, I have to have at least 8 science credits to be able to transfer to my preferred university. So, I am taking Environmental Biology, worth 4 credits.
I am also going to be doing a lot of geography. Apparently Americans suck at geography (TWO professors’ words, not mine), so we will be having tests on contemporary geography in American History and World History, as well as in my Geography class. 90 % of my class did not know where Austria was. In that respect, I believe some parts of my fall classes will be pretty simple, considering they are based on the American school system. No offence intended.
My other classes are interesting. World History guy seems pretty cool, the American History guy clueless, Biology lady fairly nice, math lady decent.
When it comes to my Creative Writing class… well, the teacher seems good, but the school was seemingly unaware that this was supposed to be a creative class. We are in probably the least creative room on campus. We are in the building that is usually used by the automotive/electric programs (and similar). It is a small, dirty room, narrow, high brick walls, water damaged ceiling, high sitting windows with closed, dusty blinds (stick too high up for us to be able to open the blinds), and NO AIR CONDITION (we had 93 degrees today, which is 34 Celsius). There were 25 chairs in the room, and with 25 members in the class, it was packed, and hot beyond belief. And as if the room was not small enough, one whole table had a huge transmission on it (yes, the car part). I am going to be stuck in there 3 hours a week. Yay…
08.17.09
Another family member
And so we ended up with another cat, despite the fact that I said no more animals. We were at Petsmart to get food and litter for Gus, and the Humane Society had kittens there. We have been looking on their website for a while and were interested in an orange male kitten named Zoogle. He, however, paled in comparison to the energetic lady in the cage above him, who was climbing on the door of her cage upside down. Zoogle hid in the back of his cage when they came to feed him, this little lady tried to escape.
Our Gus is an energetic large male, and bored as hell. He loves playing, so we wanted to get him a playmate, someone who’s energy was up to par with his. Enter Roxie. She is about 14 weeks old, tabby, adorable, and isn’t afraid of anything. After only a couple of hours in her new home, she was chasing Gus all over the place. She is not fazed by him in the least, when he starts hissing at her, she takes a swipe at his tail. She spent last night running all over the bed, trying to gab and bite our arms, and pull my braid. We asked for a bundle of energy, and received this tiny Tasmanian devil. She’s perfect.
School starts tomorrow, I can’t wait.
08.10.09
Silly…
I have been in a bit of a right state today. I went to the doctor, after feeling like crap for almost a week and having fainting spells and no energy. I found out I have low blood-pressure, and it is scaring me. It basically means my brain isn’t getting the blood it needs to function properly, so it shuts down on me, causing me to basically black out and faint (I’m not letting it get that far though, I sit down before that happens). They don’t know what is causing it, but they did a lot of tests, and I will get the results Wednesday. I’ve been freaking out, feeling all awful (not being able to stand for more than five minutes really isn’t helping either), and haven’t been eating properly today. Which might not be too weird.
Anyways, when my husband left to go to training and take D to taekwondo, he asked if he could bring me something. He was getting the two of them salmon-cakes to make burgers, and wanted to make sure I ate too. So I asked him to get me comfort food, Hot Pockets or Paninis, lots of cheese, ham, warm, gooey, fattening, delicious. You know what he ended up getting me? Lean Cuisine Lemon Chicken with Whole Grain Risotto, broccoli and peppers. Lean cuisine 300 calories. Not gooey, fattening or delicious, and certainly not comfort food. It’s very healthy, and not what I was looking for in my moping, feeling awful, dreadful state. I don’t normally eat Lean Cuisine Lemon Chicken with Whole Grain Risotto, broccoli and peppers, even when I am feeling great. So why would I now? He was looking out for me, yes, I know, and it was very sweet of him. But seriously? Seriously?
And now, I got tattled on by a 10 year old. She looked in the trash and told hubby that I didn’t like my food, since I had thrown some of it away (mainly the broccoli, btw). He just came into the room to question me about it. Wow, boys are clueless and 10 year olds are annoying.
08.01.09
Fun things
Next month is our 2 year anniversary. The 5th of September marks two years of being Mrs. L. Now, September also means that both hubby and I will be fully engaged in school and won’t really have time to do anything. Last year, we were going to go to a nearby city, have dinner and catch a show, but we ended up being forced to cancel, on the account of Hurricane Warning. We went to lunch at Olive Garden in jeans and t-shirt instead, then went home and boarded up the house. Yeah….
So this year, we decided to come up with a plan. Since my semester ends Monday afternoon, Tuesday morning, we are leaving for a small trip. We will be driving the largest city in our state, spend two nights, go to a museum, a FREE performance of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, and the most exciting, go to IKEA. I am childishly excited. I will be surrounded by Swedish stuff, be able to eat Swedish food, and possibly buy Swedish candy and other exciting things. I have yet to go to a IKEA in the US, so I am thrilled. To me, it’s the best thing about the journey.
Today, we are going to go roller skating. I have never been to a roller skating rink, so this will hopefully be a lot of fun. We are leaving in a couple of hours, just have to do some studying first (have a final on Monday. Eek!). I hope I will return home in one piece. But that is yet to be determined….
Wish me luck!
07.30.09
Fall books
Yesterday I looked into how much books would be for my fall classes. I have had a lot of problems regarding my financial aid (none my fault. No, really), so I was looking at prices, just in case I’d get stuck with buying the books on my own. I am signed up for 6 classes in the fall, along with one lab. It’s 19 credits. Do you know how much the books are? $689, not including tax. It’s f*****g insane! Really? They expect me to pay almost $700 for books! Wow. And I won’t be able to get any of them used, since if my financial aid does show up, it will be so late that all the used books are gone, nor will I have time to send for them from Amazon. And if my financial aid doesn’t come? Well, I guess I won’t be needing the book then, since I will not be able to attend the classes at all. We might be able to find a couple of cheap electives for me to take, with super-cheap books, but then I’d be taking MAYBE 6 credits. We’d have to pay for the classes out of pocket, which will be tough.
Wow, who knew community college could be so damn expensive. Stupid financial aid office. Seriously, how do you screw up so badly that you write someone else’s social security number down as mine, and when I finally discover the mistake and ask you to change it, you don’t! I had to go back in 3 weeks later, when I finally realized that it STILL wasn’t changed, and try to get you to do it with me standing there, watching. Do I get an apology? Nope. *Sigh*
