One Month

As time would, life has been flying by way too fast.

Matt and I have been married one month today, and I just would like to briefly go through the craziness of this past month...

After the wedding, we came home that night, but left for North Conway the next morning. I don't really have any pictures, but I did take some video footage with the video camera we got as a wedding gift.

In North Conway, we stayed at the adventure suites. We went for the simple room (we really just wanted the jacuzzi bathtub) but for our one year anniversary we would like to go back for a weekend in one of the larger themed rooms... Probably the cave. We spent most of our time in North Conway relaxing in the hotel, but we vowed to eat only at non-chain restaurants. We ate at some place with a moose in its name, Peaches, and some other Italian restaurant. One day we did go out and walked the line of shops and we picked up a couple of sovineirs (less the traditional turtle.)

Since then, we've been adjusting to married life, trying to work out some sort of balance between work, school, together time, apartment maintenance and church. I've been promoted to full time at work, which I'm not sure yet if I like or not. Yes, every cent we can put towards school loans and saving for a house, but I find it hard to keep up with my homework and keeping the apartment clean. I already had benefits (less dental) as a part time associate, so that isn't a big deciding factor.

As far as school, I am so glad I have a two year degree, and whenever I'm watching lectures or doing homework I try to imagine my future... Five years from now, when I'd be done with school, I don't see myself wanting to work full time. In five years, I want to have children and I don't want to spend 40 hours a week away from them, especially if they're not with either Matt or myself for that time.

I don't need a BA in Accounting to stay home and raise kids or work part-time if that needs to happen to make ends meet. And I don't want to spend the rest of my time as a non-parent in front of a computer explaining to the teacher why or why not Kant would have a moral problem with sweat shops in third world countries.

Do I regret spending a lot of time getting my associates degree? Not at all. I know I would regret NOT getting it. I just don't see the practicality of me staying in school to get a BA.

As far as Matt's education, I know he would really love to get into computers, and I really want him to have a profession he loves. Where there aren't really a whole lot of small businesses left, I do see a lot of small, privately owned comuter repair shops. I would prefer putting my energy that I now put into schooling into taking on more household responsibilities so he could focus on doing whatever he needs to do to get into his chosen profession, whether it be college or a certification course or hands on experience. (Right now Matt helps out a lot with the cleaning and dishes.)

As for work, I'm still at Walmart, but not happily. I don't mind the work that I do all that much, but they're understaffed and a lot of time I have to do other jobs that require a lot of heavy lifting (one night I stocked a literal ton of sugar) and my body just can't take it. Not to mention the constant battle between management contradicting each other and themselves and just being all around unprofessional enough to scream someones name in an empty Walmart when you want to find someone. But it pays the bills, and hopefully I'll gather my courage and enough time in the very near future to do some job hunting.

As for living with Matt, I love it. Sometimes I wonder how I would go a week or two without seeing him and have it be "normal." Now I miss him even just on the days where he's working and I'm home. I just can't seem spend enough time with him (not that we don't spend a lot of time together, just that I always want more!)

And lastly, to end this obnoxiously long post, I have gotten wedding pictures!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=151851&id=599723064&l=fe18cfb439

That's the easist way for me to share them, haha!

Booked!

I am excited to announce that school is OUT FOR THE SUMMER!

But my workload has yet increased. I stared a second job on 5/5 and have been working 45+ hours a week the past two weeks. It's exhausting. I will never understand how people can regularly work 60 hours per week.

Sheesh. I thought I had more to talk about. Oh, here:

I found out today that approximately 30,000 Americans per year experience what is called "Anesthesia Awareness." While they are "under anesthesia" they are somewhat aware of what is going on, ranging from just remembering a few words uttered during surgery to a complete recollection! As in, the patient was completely aware of what was going on while they were being operated on, but they are paralyzed from the anesthesia.

Read one woman's experience here.

Dress

CHECK!

I'm making cake right now, because I wanted cake... And I wanted to try out a frosting recipe. I don't have enough butter, so there's going to be some margarine in it... (I would use shortening, but the shortening we have is old and tastes funny. It's ruined any other frosting I've tried to make with it)

And then VN this weekend! I'm so unprepared!

Test tonight! I'm so unprepared (but I'm working on that tonight)

And the weekend after next I'm making a cake for Tim's birthday party! I'm confident about it and nervous at the same time. Luckily, it's vacation week so I'll have lots of time to make it properly while Matt's at work (which is when I usually catch up on homework)

I love using (parenthesis) ...

Nothing Interesting

Things have been carrying on as usual.

Class.
Homework.
Lack of (but some) work.
Dance Classes.

I find myself being more intolerant of intolerance. I'm a hypocrite.

Classes seem to be assigning more work than ever, but I'm not working very much, so it is very much handle-able.

I HAVE NOT BEEN SICK! I think I'm the only one left in the US. All of my family and all of Matt's family (including Matt) has been sick except for me. I haven't been sick since last March.

Boredd

12 hours too late.

My first class was on Tuesday at 7, so Tuesday afternoon I patiently wait for 6:45 to roll around so I can go into the classroom... Except, when I go to my class, I see that the schedule has nothing posted for this time slot in this classroom. So I check my schedule online, and funny enough (not at the time) my class was scheduled for Tuesday at 7... AM.

Yeah. I dropped the class. Instead I have a class on Thursday, and yes, it's 7pm this time. I double checked. I'm hoping to have a Mon-Fri day job soon, so a class that early in the morning wouldn't work. Luckily I found a class I needed that still had all the requirements I was looking for: It was needed for my degree, started after 5pm, and was ITV, so if I have to relocate during the semester, I won't have to drop the class or travel to take the class.

Wow, I'm a boring writer. I can be funny in person, really!

Ahh, Relaxation.

I'm enjoying the calm before the storm. 2 weeks after classes ended I was still quite busy, with Christmas and New Years and all. Although, I definitely liked the holiday stress more than the finals stress. I had two days off in a row this week, and I did absolutely nothing! I sat in front of the TV, worked with pictures on my computer, and started reading a book.

Alas, classes once again start up on Tuesday. I'm not sure how ready I am. But this whole sitting around doing nothing thing is getting old faster than I thought it was.



In more interesting news... (at least more interesting to me..)

I was setting up Valentines day decorations, cheap gifts, and classroom handouts at work a week or so ago, and I was just amazed by the... "Cheapness" of it all. Cardboard heart cutouts, sweetheart candies, and heart shaped cookie cutters... I'm really starting to "develop" a style, so to say, and that is not it. Decorating with paper and glitter just doesn't appease me [I just looked at my New Years post... Decorating MYSELF with paper and glitter is OK. Just not my house]. And then I got to thinking about the whole gift giving scene that comes along with valentines day... Matt's more into it, but I would rather just go out on a date.

Anyway, down to the point.... I brought up the idea to him of (in lieu of giving each other presents) we each save up a little money and take a day trip to Boston! Boston isn't my first choice of somewhere to travel, but it's the only place that's really close enough to go without having to spend the night somewhere.

I wanna take the train there, for two reasons...
1: It's just more FUN!
2: I hated driving through Boston when I had to, and if Matt was driving I'd have a heart attack (I already get nervous enough when he drives through Portsmouth!)
And we'll go out to eat while we're there...
And maybe go to the Museum of Science? I really don't know what Boston has to offer..


Any ideas?

Surprisingly Peaceful

This past weekend I was at Vida Nueva until Sunday around 5.
I worked Monday morning.
Class Monday night.
Work Tuesday morning.
South Berwick Tuesday night.
YAAY!!

After a week and a half, I finally got to see Matt. It was nice, because I got to spend three nights there (one was just so I didn't have to drive in the dark) but any visit for the past 2 months has been like one night...

Yes, it had it's stresses. Matt can tell you about that if he wants to, but I'm surprisingly peaceful right now.

I totally forgot what I was going to blog about!!

OH! I'm totally paranoid and so I use this spreadsheet I made to track my grades even before my final grades get out... So I know if I need to work extra hard to bring up a final grade, or if I just need to carry on the way I've been going. Right now I've got a 95 in one class! Yay. Taxation? Not so much. But I've only taken one test, and thats ALL that is going towards the grade. It will hopefully be more accurate once I get a couple more projects passed in.

3 Tests down...

So I just completed the 3rd test of the semester, and after having 2 not so great scores, I'm finally feeling halfway confident about this one. We'll see how that goes.

In other news: there is none.

So... How about a story!!

The other day at work, we all had our faces painted as some of the guys on the higher part of the hierarchy of management were gonna show up, and we wanted to look spirited... Ally and I got the same design (mirrored) so that we were like each other's half. But then we didn't take if off, and hung out around augusta, and got some interesting looks. Ally tried on a kids size dress, and surprisingly it ALMOST fit! Umm.. we got slushies. We made them pretty. :)

Here's a couple of pics:

Neverending

I have TONS of homework! It's so backed up.. It might possibly have a little to do with procrastination... But there really is just barely enough time to pull it all off :(.

Matt and I will have a short visit this weekend (which is different from the past month and a half how??) but we've got some plans involving pumpkins and steak....


Also, I REALLY want to do just a pencil sketch soon, but my goodness I have no time! Hopefully I'll have one within 2 weeks.

:)

Why am I not...

Part Indian-American?

I could use the massive amounts of scholarships they get. I've given up hope on finding any for myself at this point.

Picking Up....

Work has certainly been picking up lately. I know a lot of people at work are getting really stressed (it's pretty obvious) but I mean, it's usual Halloween stuff. Not saying I like the season, or its quirks... but geez people it's not gonna fall apart...

ok enough about silly work...

I bought some oil paints today, excited to try something new (I've been using acrylics thus far)

And I'm starting to think about Christmas!! I'm excited. I love Christmas.

Frustrating

Alright, as I already mentioned, I have a little bit of a different position at work, which requires a more irritating schedule.. lol... Basically, I seem to need to work every Saturday night and Monday morning... Which is really hard when you have to drive 95 miles one way to see your significant other.

Let's just leave it at that. It'll be over Oct. 31st.


I have so much to do, but I've gotten really good at procrastinating...

I used to procrastinate, but not this much.

Date Day

I haven't mentioned this on the blog yet, but I've been really on the edge the past few days because I was under the impression I wasn't going to see Matt this weekend because he seems to have contracted pneumonia. Well, he was feeling better, and I had the brilliant idea to meet in Portland since I was going to be there for my Monday night class anyway.

We walked the mall a little bit, checked out some cell phones, and then went to walk around the bay. We got like 3/4 of a mile and turned around (we were both hungry) and so we walked about 1 1/2 miles in all, and then we picnic-ed (pictured above).

After the picnic we went to Panera bread, got some drinks, and watched "I Am Legend" on my laptop! We spent our last moments together at the mall again. I must say, it's been a long time since we've had a "date" and it was nice I think, even though it was way short compared to the amount of time we usually spend together on the weekend, we made it count ;).

P.S. This is also my last week for 2/3 of my summer classes, so there's a lot of testing going on, and my manager always seems to know when I'm testing so he makes up all the hours he didn't give me during the slow season during finals! I've scheduled time to at least finish one picture for Thursday (I'm gonna try and do 2 one week to make up for what I missed) but be patient with me! I need to sleep sometime!

"Girls" Weekend!

Alright, I must admit... I have always wanted my friends to come visit me for once instead of me driving to see all of them, so Karen, Meesh, and Matt all came to my house this weekend, along with Chelsea! We had a great time. We must have spent 50% of the time in the pool, but we also watched Michael J. Foxx movies, explored Augusta, and pretended to be Matt's groupies ; ).... I didn't take any pictures though! I know, I'm a bad person! We're already planning another adventure in August sometime maybe!

School is back in session full swing! I thought it would be easier in the summer than when I take another full course load in the fall because I'm only taking 3 this summer, but because it's 3 classes in half the time it's about the same. Stress time is back! Haha, I love being a student though. I think.

Well, it's late and I'm tired, but this blog needed updating!! Maybe I will post more weekend stories later on! : )

A Bit Easier

It seems to me to feel like the space between Matt and my visits are getting easier. I think I'm in a routine now, in a way.

Oh gosh, last night I knew what I was gonna post about.

My Saturday class is really... weird. I kinda feel like I'm not learning anything, at least not so that it sticks. There are no real "tests," just at the end of each chapter he assigns us a problem and that is what we're graded on. I did awful on the first two, and the rest he basically gave us the answers to. Ok, not basically, he DID! He says I'm getting an A-, but is that really what I should be getting?

Work is pretty crazy right now. No, not busy, it's slower than ever it seems, but the slower it gets, the more time the employees have to talk, and the more rumors and gossip and talking behind each others backs goes on. I'm stuck between these two options: Defend the persons being talked about to whomever is doing the talking (defend both ways), or just keep my mouth shut and not risk making things worse. Of course, they want to know what is being said about them, and in most cases I know, but then I would be spreading this gossip just as bad. I know some of the stuff that one party says is over exaggerating, and I know that stuff that has been talked negatively about one person was really not all at her fault. But, if I defended her, wouldn't I just be spreading rumor about the other girl who is also partly at fault? Sometimes it's hard to keep my mouth shut, but then I think of any possible consequences and then it becomes amazingly easier. This isn't even high-school bad, this is middle school click & gossip-worthy.

And now, some pictures! This is my second cousin, Cru. His full name is Christopher Michael Presti, and he was born 3 months ago today, on Feb. 29th; leap day!

This is his birth picture.

Look at those dimples!

The End.

Alright. The end of the Spring Semester at UMA has finally come.

30 hours of work.
4 tests.
2 headaches.
1 paper.
1 week.

WHEW! I've still got a class every other Saturday until June 21st, but it's not too much. I wont have any classes whatsoever from 6/21-7/7. This week has been SO crazy! As you have already read, I'm working 30 hours this week, plus finals. Also, I got a really bad migraine a few days ago, I thought I was going to throw up... And I can feel it coming back. I'm working tomorrow, coming home and doing homework for my Saturday class... and my Saturday is wake-up, drive, class, drive, nap, work, sleep... then MOTHER'S DAY!

I'm so excited for the gift my brother and I got her. I'm not sure if she monitors this blog or anything (I may have even said something on the blog already, but whatever) so no details until Sunday.

Then I have 3, count-em 3 transfers!! A transfer is where I go to another Iparty store to get/bring merchandise for a customer so they don't have to travel. They usually don't do too many transfers, unless its for a lot of product or unless someone is going. Well this girl is purchasing like $1,000 in merchandise, which is basically what our Iparty makes in 1 day. So I'm going to the Portland, Newington, and Peabody store. Yeah, I'm driving an hour out of my way, but if Matt doesn't want to go I will go when he's sleeping.

Okay. Headache + Computer Monitor = Pain.

One More Week

Of Spring Classes!!!

Both of my Summer classes are in the second session, So I've only got my every-other-Saturday class until July 7th! I'm really excited to take a small break from homework, and I plan to spend the time planning (as much as one can plan) my future move. And reading.

And now I have a question: Should I get a second job for the summer? I could always use the money, but it's my last summer working part time before... Life hits full time. The practical part of me says "You really need the money!" and the rest of me is just like "Relax while you can!"

OK. Time to go finish my last two tests and one last paper for the semester.

Nothing New.

In Denny's, before he decided that a restaurant is not the place for a camera...

Well, now that the blog has taken a break for a couple of days...

Matt visited this weekend. It was fun. We rented 2 movies, Juno and The Water Horse. Both OK I guess. Juno is a little slack on moral for me, and the water horse was a little too... dark to keep my interest. I can't really think of a better word than dark. There seemed to be a consistent lack of color in the film. I think Matt liked it though.

Well, the disappearing theater in Portland has reappeared, so that's where we will be on Friday night! What else...

I may be moving just a tad sooner than expected. I was planning on moving between December and January... Possibly during my winter break... But I may start looking a little sooner... Mid November maybe. That's when the Halloween season ends, so I really won't be getting many hours at work after that... And I'm counting on the hope that someone will hire me with the knowledge that I am to graduate in just a month. I was thinking about getting a seasonal Christmas position right after the Halloween season so as to assure work for myself during Iparty's slow time, but my mom suggested skipping that step. How in the world I will afford an apartment (first and last months rent and whatnot) I have no clue. Maybe my mom will help me out with my Fall semester too so I can save up.

OK. Done babbling.

A Plethera of Different Topics

First: Spring!!

I spent weeks thinking spring, and now it's here! There's hardly any snow anywhere!! I spent too much time inside, it's like spring came overnight- it was 65degrees outside yesterday.

Second: Adulthood?

• When did I grow up? Like the coming of spring, the fact that my life consists of college, work, and grown up issues has hit me all at once, even though I've been doing all of this stuff for at least a year. Maybe it's because when I graduated I was so young, and still felt like a kid even though I was working and going to college. Now that I'm thinking about a more permanent job, graduation, and eventually an apartment away from home... I feel like I've become one of those boring adults that would rather sit and chat with family about gas prices and politics than play with my new toys on Christmas! *sigh*

Third: Expelled.

• Sub-topic 1: The movie

• Matt and I are probably going to New Hampshire two weekends from now the day before the Kutless concert to see the movie because we can't get in contact with the theater in Portland and we can't find out show times, so I am under the assumption that the theater has closed. Plus the theater in NH is just as far away from Matt as Porland is from me, so it really wont be too different in retrospect. Let me just say that for only working 11 hours that week, I'm going to be putting out more money in gas than I'm actually making!

• Sub-topic 2: The evolution subject itself (a bit lengthy, don't feel obligated to read)

• I showed a flyer for the movie to my science professor, asking if she had heard about it. She hadn't, but we managed to get into a debate. I was just saying that Intelligent Design should be taught in school, or at least the faults and evidence against evolution taught. HAH! "Scientific Theory is not like any thing else..." and blah blah blah... I can see why some scientists have lost their jobs and almost their career over this...

• I then talked with another student in my class, and he was nicer about it, saying "anything is possible," and while he himself is "religious" and believes in the Bible, he thinks that a lot of it is not to be taken literally, which is true to a point. He however believes in what some call "Creationism," which is the belief that God basically created the big bang, and set evolution in process, and the 6/7 days we know to be creation happened over billions of years, thus evolution and the belief that the earth is 4.5 billions of years old.

• I told him that the primary "evidence" for evolution was fossils, and in order for fossils to be created, death had to happen, which didn't until after the fall of man. Makes perrrrfect sense to me, but he started going on about how he didn't think there was such a thing as an eternal 'body' and that the death not happening until after Adam was referring to a spiritual death that was non-existent before the fall of man.

• Why do I get into these debates? People are usually pretty set in their ways, as I am set in my mine; I'll admit that I'm pretty closed minded when it comes to evolution. I just think that it should be presented in a manner that doesn't make it out to be fact. There is a lot of evidence against macro-evolution that is never looked at when it is discussed. Would I rather it not be taught at all? Of course, I think the concept is ridiculous. But let's at least give people the option to believe something else (and yes, I told them this and they said basically that it's religion and should be kept separate from science, and people were idiots if they didn't think critically and search for information on other subjects if they found fault with Darwin's Theory.)

• But yet, the people that DO research against Darwin's theory and report their findings are shot down and shunned by other scientists! Hence the creation of the film Expelled!

• Sorry. That was still fresh in my mind. This class has 10 people, and I know 3 people including myself who outright do not believe in Neo-Darwinism. 3/10? 33.3%? That's a large percent. Why can't we get anything else but Darwinism taught?

(sorry, bullets were the only way to indent and make this book easier to read)

Expelled

Click to Enlarge

I saw the commercial while watching TV with my dad on Tuesday night, and I was just soooo happy! Someone actually made a documentary that will be in a few select theaters (only one in Maine) that actually suggests something other than evolution/Darwinism is out there. I haven't been able to get in contact with the theater that is supposedly playing the movie starting this Friday (I need to know showtimes!). It's in South Portland, and hopefully Matt and I will be going sometime this weekend (YAY!).
I would also like to host a Generation Christ event geared towards high school and college students based on the information in the documentary and the materials from their website. They make it easy with a slide show presentation, teaching tips, handouts, etc. Myself included, students in any sort of science class are bombarded with evolution thrown into every aspect of practically everything taught, and it makes it hard to know whats fact and fiction.
Call me a geek, but I'm really excited, because this has been a sore spot for me recently. I attribute my sensitivity to this subject to the fact that I'm in the middle of an evolution intensive course, and the fact that I attempted to debate NOT that ID (intelligent design) is the way to go and that everyone should believe it, but just that it should be taught in schools, because evolution is still a THEORY! I got shot down!
I wasn't attacking their belief, I was just suggesting that maybe, just as in psychology there are multiple theories taught, that the same should be in science until we are 100% sure. These people were like "oh we are 100% sure stop being closed minded!!" HELLO!!!! Who is attacking the other's belief, and who is suggesting both be taught?! Who here would you consider closed minded?! Insecure much!

OK enough of my rant, but here's some food for thought: How come all of the links that prove evolution are missing?