RIP Anonymous Kitty

Some people say I care too much about animals. I just feel I have a conscience. Today, after trying to figure out South Lowell, I drove on Route 38 and took a left onto Shawsheen street... Just exploring.

In the road, there was a dead cat, white and orange, in the road that people were just running over or avoiding all together. I passed by it, bothered by the sight and kept going. Since the road was detoured all over the place, I ended up just turning around and ended up passing the cat again. After going for another 5 minutes, my conscience got to me so I turned around and parked near the cat again.

I only had paper towels, but I had lots of them. Over the course of 15 minutes, I would get the guts to go in the road, slowly wrap the cat in paper towels to protect myself (lots of head trauma, and an eye that was popped out :-() and slowly drag the cat to the side of the road, where it was at least safe from more damage. I started to write notes, but ended up just going to people's houses and letting them know I found a cat dead in the road and pulled it off to the side and asked them to pass it around to their neighbors.

Now this was somebody's pet; he had a collar on and everything. Since there was so much head trauma, I was too nervous to unwrap the head and check to see if there was a tag, but at least I had enough of a conscience to protect it... Someone loved and cared for this pet and now, lost their pet because yes, cats are stupid and run randomly into roads.

After pulling basically onto someone's yard and bugging all the neighbors, I drove off and couldn't stop crying. One of the neighbors said they noticed the cat hours ago, and they did nothing. There was a decent amount of traffic on the road and NO ONE did anything. This was someone's pet - what if it was my kitty Spike? She loves to go outside and while she's overly afraid of cars, what if she got hit... Would anyone make any effort to save her? Would anyone try to take her to the vet to save her life?

...Or would they just let her lie in the road to die? And once dead, to just rot there?

I want to keep Spike indoors, but she gets too antsy and I doubt my dad would listen to me. I hugged her extra tonight...

I'm still wicked upset, I mean you probably think it's really illogical to get to pained at this type of thing, but that's just the kind of person I am I guess. The only thing I can really do now is buy a shovel, so when this type of thing happens again, I can be a little safer when pulling dead pets that someone else hit and ran over to a better spot for them.

I hope I can sleep tonight :-(

Just if you see a girl with a silver Ford Focus pulled over on the side of the road with her hazards on, trying to save animals or something, please don't hit me :-)

Life is Good Again :-)

I absolutely adore my job at TDBank - the people are wonderful and I just get so excited to work for a company that actually has rules and regulations and followthrough and actually wants you to provide excellent customer service. Great company, and I have to say, I love their very generous mileage reimbursement ;-). Tomorrow I'm working there 7:15 - 12:30 so Diane, the Head Teller, can show me how to open. They are mailing my first paycheck to me, so hopefully I get that on Friday, but we'll see. I get a little confused though because the direct deposited the mileage reimbursement into my bank account but they can't do that for my check? Hahah, oh well. I'm just excited for the money that will be going to bills in no time.

Things are really good right now, really stable. I've needed stable for awhile now, and it's good to have it. Corey and I are actually getting along now, so there is 20000x less drama in my life... I even invited him along to my trip to NY in August.

Ooooh about my trip to NY: every year Corey and I would visit Troy, NY and the Albany area. His old school was in Troy, Rensselaer, so we'd visit that in the freezing weather (usually went in January). This year, I'd like to continue the tradition as a single girl, because I like the area and would really like to photograph it when the weather is completely lip cracking freezing. Friday I'm probably booking the hotel, two double beds and it's actually wicked cheap, only $160 for two nights.

My little Focus makes my life. I love driving and I do it all the time - my car gets 31 miles to the gallon and everything. I get so much freedom now and it's just so exhilerating... I waited too long and let too much fall apart before I got a car. Oh well.

This week I'm probably not going to lose much weight, but next week I definitely will. Oh and how excited am I that I got a Saturday off the weekend of the Folk Festival? I hope it's nice out :-)

Time to go to my doctor's appointment and enjoy the sunshine :-)

So I apologize - Blogger has been giving me a lot of trouble lately and they have been jumbling up my posts. At first I thought it was just because of it being from my cell, but a post from my laptop messed up as well. I'll be looking into it soon.

I tried multiple times to post this so here we go again, and it's not even important lol:

Right now I'm sitting at the Drum Hill BOA ATM parked in my little car watching a little skunk forage around. They are absolutely adorable, if you get them descented can you keep them as a pet? They are smaller than I thought, haha.

Tonight *as in yesterday night* I went to the Olive Garden with Keri and for the first time in months I felt really confident with my body. I'm down almost 15 pounds and can actually really see it now in my clothes! Another 10 and I'll be back to my "normal" weight, but I still have a long way to go towards a healthier weight. I'm so proud of myself :-)

Ello ello.

I really like working at the bank, everyone is super nice to me. I mean, it's an obvious statement, but it's way better at Market Basket. I'm promised 25 hours (minimum!) a week there, and with the 18-20 I get at MB, I'll be making about $1600 a month, just for the summer. With the way I've budgeted, I'll be paying down debts and still have $50 a week to spend for fun, if I so wish :-D

At the bank, I finished my book training, in one day. I was pretty excited, and I passed my Bank Secrecy Act test, so I can handle money now. Annnnnd I get to go to orientation on Monday. It's in Bedford, NH and it's at 9am, but at least I get fed! I also need to pass my banking exam so I can be a full fledged teller, they are looking at maybe next week to get that done for me.

So, my hours for this week and next:

June 28 - July 4

Sun: 12-4 MB

Mon: 9:30 - 2:30 TD

6 - 9:30 MB

Tues: 9 - 2 TD

Wed: 9 - 2 TD

6 - 9:30 MB

Thu: 6 - 9:30 MB

Fri: 9 - 2 TD

Sat: 12 - 4 MB (time and a hallffffff)

July 5 - July 11 (don't have my bank schedule yet, will edit soon)

Sun: 4 to 7:45

Mon: 6 to 9:30

Tues: 6 to 9:30

Wed: 6 to 9:30

Fri: 6 to 9:30

Sat: 5 to 9:30

I had to ask for all closing shifts because I had to leave the days open for the bank, but either way...

I don't really mind working two jobs (of course I just started). I have some time during the middle of the day for myself to get errands done, and this crazy schedule is just for the summer, until school. Not much time for the gym, but that's okay, because....

... I'm still losing weight! My stomach has definitely shrunk considerably. Garrette (who is an amazing friend, definitely) and I went to the Lo Kai, a Chinese buffet as tradition dictates. However, tradition was broken when I couldn't eat my 2nd plate of food and I had no room for ice cream! Garrette and I ALWAYS got 2 plates of food and got soft serve ice cream! I'm so pumped :-)

I'm still having nightmares and still sleeping erratically, but things are looking up. Not sure where things are going or what's going on always, because it always seems to be changing, but I got what I needed to handle things better. We'll see what happens, good or bad, I'll still be me.

Can I just say how much I love having a car? It's seriously therapy for me. Anytime I'm upset, I just go for a drive (lately it's been up the highway to Hudson, then backroads home) and when I come home, I'm in such a better mood and a better state of mind. On the roads at night, you can really find yourself and figure yourself out because there isn't much else on the road except you and your thoughts. It's nice.

I don't recommend driving up the Everett Turnpike though, the other night I only had 50 cents available easily and I didn't expect to hit tolls so soon, so I ended up having to park my car at the toll booth and find that last quarter (it was late at night, exact change only). Since I didn't park close enough to the money thing, I had to get out of my car and put the money in. Hahahah, I'm an idiot, but thankfully no one else was on the road. Maybe I should look into those EZ Passes :-P

Since I took a nap, I'm not tired, but I should get ready for bed. Goodnight everyone <3

Lily, My One and Only

So I'm just hanging out with my lil degu Lily. In a lot of ways, I'm glad I didn't find a new home for her, she's so cute to watch! This morning she crawled right into my hands so I brought her up to my bed and she's just crawling around in my blankets snuggling up. I love my little rodent :-)

I really do worry about her, a lot. A couple days ago I saw that she had an incredibly serious seizure and I thought she was going to die. She's okay now, just have to keep an eye on her. She is expensive to take care of, because she's an exotic pet, but I really think I should try and focus on giving her the best life she can get, for as long as she can get. She's worth it and I feel awful for thinking otherwise.

Her sister, Daisy, died two years ago because of diabetes complications. So far, I don't see any diabetes problems in Lily, but the seizure (I wasn't around much so this may have not been her first one) worries me.

My poor dad has his back out, right now I'm waiting around to pick up his meds for him, he needs muscle relaxants. I'm really fortunate I didn't inherit the Robbin backproblem....

So Excited!

Okay, so to start off, I'm getting this phone by 3pm:

http://reviews.cnet.com/cell-phones/lg-env-touch-verizon/4505-6454_7-33665903.html

It's the LG enV Touch, and if you click on the link above you'll see it has an amazing review and it's going to be mine :-) :-) :-). The Goobermaphone is happily going to be gone, thank goodness! Time to move on to bigger and better things!

I had a wonderful day today with my friend Jess... We went to Parlee Farms for some strawberry picking, saw Transformers II at Chunky's, AND went to a Spinners game. Some pictures for your visual enjoyment:

One of my favorites of myself :-)

Cutie pieeee

Don't they look absolutely delicious? Way better than the icky strawberries you get at the grocery store.

My bear, Frankie, is my co-pilot in my Ford Focus. To me, he's my good luck charm who'll keep me safe from accidents. Don't judge me, it's obvous Jess doesn't :-P

I'm seriously obsessed with all things buffalo.

Cute, then wait for it, wait for it...

Hahaha not so cute :-)

Cute again.

It was a really good day for strawberry picking, very few people were there, and it was only misting enough to frizz our hair but keep the bugs away. So many yummy strawberries to eat, can't wait :-)

Transformers II was a great movie and I highly recommend seeing it. Warning, it is very long. Like 2 and a half hours. But it's good, and worth the time.

The Spinners game was a blast. It was an absolutely embarassing loss (3-0, with 5 errors on the Spinners part) but it's the beginning of the season and hey, it's a super minor league baseball team. Jess and I were giggling the entire time though.

I love hanging out with her, we both can be complete idiots around each other. Examples:

- I promised her I wouldn't tell people why I call her "Little C", but believe me it's absolutely hilarious.

- We were driving down to Chunky's in Pelham, and we were discussing gas tanks and where people fill theirs up, like which side. I was curious about where the Toyota's was located. So I attempt to stick my head out of the window at a red light. The window was up. I'm amazing, I know.

- When trying to take a picture of herself at the Spinners game, we get this gem:

Jess happily posed for her picture, but did not realize that the camera was backwards

<3

Today was a really good day, and with the friends I have, who I can happily yammer to about the mundane stuff in my life and see as often as I'd like, I'll be just fine :-)

Picture post is coming up next! I know you're excited that I'm actually updating for once. Or thrice. Or something.

Updates!

So things, after everything going downhill for 3 weeks straight, are wonderful again.

- Corey agreed to let Spike live with us, which makes me overjoyously exuberantly happy. I missed her so much and was welling up everytime I ran to my dad's really quick to see her and take care of the basics. Kristin helped me move her in today, and she's been coping really well. I promised Corey I would keep the kitty fluff to a minimum, so I actually have to vacuum more than every three weeks. No more lazy for me :-P

- Thanks to my mom, I can go to school. I never thought I'd say this. After my dad's ridiculously high income screwed me over on the FAFSA (he doesn't help with my school at all), which is the Federal Application for Student Aid, or a required form that decides how much school you can afford, I called my mom. And she let me claim her instead... Thanks to her, my expected financial contribution went from $33,500 to $0. Even though we don't have a relationship and may never have one, I am eternally grateful to her for her help. 

- I paid my $200 deposit on a UMass Lowell dorm - I'm hoping to dorm during school, so I have a place where I can focus on my homework and have some space of my own. I'll definitely still be frequenting at Corey's now mind you, but it's nice to have a place where you can study and have some time for yourself. I'm nervous about not getting a dorm though - because of the circumstances I applied late; I'll be on the waiting list. We'll see what happens... I don't have a plan for if things go wrong yet....

- Corey and I are stable again, which is a relief for me. I really love him, and I understand that my family issues can be difficult to handle and adds extra baggage which can feel overwhelming, but he understands that I'm doing everything I can to get out of this awful situation.

- Everytime something good would happen, I'd find myself increasingly more upset with my dad. I'd get depressed and sad that so many wonderful people believed in me and wanted me to succeed, why didn't my dad? Today though, I realized that I expected too much out of my dad, he was not what I wanted him so badly to be, and never would be. My dad is not the type of person to offer stable comfort and support, he's more of the "white knight" type, that when you have a major crisis (or what he deems to be one), he will swoop in to save the day. He believes that the school of hard knocks and hard work can get you further than anyone helping you along, and this is where we fundamentally do not see eye to eye and never will. 

I believe a parent's job is to try and ensure than your children do better than yourself, so not only can they possibly avoid the struggles you've been through, but also that your child can teach the same to their own someday. I feel education is paramount to any decent job with decent wages that I may have held without a degree, life is not about money. I believe a parent's job is to be a role model for their children, and to push when they need to be pushed, offer guidance as needed, and to let them live their lives and make their own mistakes. 

I feel like my dad has always had a different philosophy - one of a more hands off, let them figure out everything on their own ideal. He told me before that he was disappointed that I quit Bruker to go back to school, and he disagreed with it wholeheartedly. He feels that a child should be able to support themselves without parental help after 18 - in this day and age, it is increasingly difficult to do so. With the high costs of school, the astronomical cost of car insurance, etc...

All I can do is accept him for who he is; this does not mean I need to have a relationship with him. I have barely spoken with him since our huge fight - short texts at the most. This is a tough time in my life, I need positive people who are rooting for me, and want me to succeed and believe in the path I am taking. I am not saying that people who disagree with some of the things I do are out of my life, but I cannot deal with toxicity and overall negativity at this point. I am driven and desperately want to get out of school and make something of myself, I refuse to let ANYBODY stop me.

My friends have been amazing to me, and they have helped me through this more than anyone else... They made me feel worth it, and kept me motivated through everything, thank you guys <3.

Ooooh, and by the way: last weekend Corey, Mark and I went for a short trip to San Francisco. Pictures on the next post!

Easter, gym, car goodness

Sooooo I decided I'm going to make an effort and keep up with this blog again instead of letting it all pile up and me trying to avoid posting. I like keeping people updated and I like having a blog, because it's a nice way to see how I've changed over the years...

So like I said in my last post, Keri and I have been going to the gym a lot and since I'm a high energy person, I LOVE being at the gym. To keep myself motivated, I try and take pictures of each elliptical session I do, and at this point I'm up to an hour:

4/7 - 62 minutes on the elliptical, 6.25 miles, 638 calories

4/9 - 623 calories burned that day on the elliptical

4/13 - 65 minutes, 702 calories, 100 situps, 60 40lbs on triceps, 36 40lbs on biceps, then some leg presses

4/14 - 65 minutes, 725 calories, 50 crunches with 50 lbs, 200 crunches with 40 lbs, then some leg exercises as well as the 50 minute walk to the gym

I've been going to the gym A LOT (on average 4-5 times a week at this point) and my hard work is paying off - even with Easter weekend (and eating Chinese food before running on 4/13) I lost 5 lbs in one week. Go me!

Speaking of Easter - pictures! :-D

Corey and I posing before our Easter brunch

Me posing in my pretty Easter dress - notice my cute new Coach purse... Did you know you can trade in your old ones for a new one for FREE? Now I do :-)

With our yummy Cobblestones omelettes

The whole gang - from left front: Bethany, Dave, Kathy, Corey, MEEEEEE

My favorite picture of all of us :-D

My dad said he had a nice Easter too - he hopped on his bike and went for a ride in the sunshine :-)

Ugh, I am SO sore from the gym. Today is my day off from the gym (thank goodness!) but tomorrow, Keri and I will be running like crazy as usual.

Oooh soooooo I know I say this a lot, but I have an actual deadline to get a car - the end of May. Why the end of May? Well, I told Keri I would babysit her son Sage (who I love so much) M-F 7am - 3:30 pm till the end of June and I need a car for that. I need a car to drive Corey down to his surprise birthday locale... And I have so many oppurtunities to make some extra cash when I have a car. Garrette mentioned he could get me a job where he works (at a breakfast place) on weekends as a waitress, as well as Corey's boss Steve wants me to babysit his twins a couple nights a week in the summertime or so. No car? No money.

I've been working hard on getting my license as soon as possible. It's just so frustrating, my dad isn't exactly as gung ho about it as I'd hoped he'd be... I don't have a lot of day time to practice, like on weekends I'm usually booked with work and plans, and he just seems upset at me and I don't know why. I really need his help to get a car, and I've been looking at a lot of Dodge Neon SXTs lately. You can find a really cute newer model (2004-2005) with low mileage (30k-45k) for under 7k. I can put $1000 down but I wouldn't be able to pay the monthly payments (about $150) and definitely not the insurance ($334 just to insure myself monthly).

So here is my plan before I bring it to my dad's attention, I can take any and all suggestions, ideas, etc:

I propose to my dad that he buys the car, under his name and pays for the insurance, and lists me as a driver on the Neon I want. It will cost him a lot, yes, but not as much as it would cost me. For him to add me to his insurance, it would be about $200 total to insure two cars and cover both of us. It would cost about $150 to pay for the car monthly, but I would pay for all gas, parts, and repairs. In return, I will continue paying for my school (I'm taking out about $15k in loans yearly) and every other month, I will pay for my interest on my school loans instead of him paying for the $50 monthly. 

It may sound like I'm making my dad foot the bill for a lot, but I think it turns out to be pretty fair. I'm in college. Since 2005, I have paid for my school himself, he has never ever paid my tuition. I buy my own books. I pay for all my own expenses, including groceries. He does give me money sometimes to help me out because I am struggling, but financially, I do 95% of it on my own. 

I need a car, and badly. Corey and I are fighting like crazy over me not having a car, it's holding me back from a lot of great oppurtunities, and I desperately want to be more independent. It's always bothered me I didn't have a car, but for many years I was too petrified to even learn to drive. Now I'm comfortable on the wheel, but I just have no clue to parallel park. I don't feel comfortable in my dad's Ford Escape, as in driving or testing (the wheel, it's very loose and too responsive, very hard for me to drive, especially on the highway) but I'm thinking of asking Keri to practice on her car and even possibly use it for my license test. I'm gonna talk to her about it tomorrow while we're gymming it up.

In other news, I saw Corey's dad last night and he gaves us our Easter baskets. Me being the fat kid I am, well, mine is already gone. Guess I'm working extra hard on Thursday :-P

Also, Memento - great movie. Messed with my head, eek.

Someday I will sleep by the way. It doesn't help that I go to bed at 2am and then get shaken awake by Corey at 4:30am with crazy eyes and mass confusion on what was going on. I asked him if he was okay, and he said yes - wanted to know if I was okay. I must have been tossing or turning or something, but oh man was I NOT happy to be woken up.

Okay off to class bye everyone :-D

Last post for the day promise

Haha to those who are subscribed to my blog, sorry for flooding you guys - I had a lot to catch up on, as you can see. I've been really busy and it's been really hard to take 7 classes and have any real time for myself. I've been tired and burnt out and I'm so glad I have 6 weeks left. 

Estimated grades so far:

Life Science: B

Lab: A

Financial Accounting: C

English: B

Marketing: B/B-

Macroeconomics: B (but I have an exam Wednesday, so that could change :-P)

Precalc: B+

I haven't lost any weight, but since Keri is getting married in August, I signed up at her gym and have been really good about going to the gym since. We both want to look amazing for her wedding, but it can be so tiring. I absolutely love going to the gym so it's worth it to me. 

Unfortunately, I will not be able to do the Walk For Hunger this year. Corey is going to San Francisco with a family friend to show him around, and he wanted me to come too so I don't miss out. We didn't realize we planned it for the same weekend as the WFH, so I'm pretty upset about it, but it's not really anyone's fault. It's hard for me to get motivated and continue to fundraise... I guess there's always next year.

Oooh about DC. So I was pretty upset Logan took away my body spray, but I nearly started crying when the airport in DC took away my water globe I bought for my dad. They saw how upset I was and let me keep it, but seriously, a PLASTIC WATERGLOBE?!? How is that a contraband? That is ridiculous...

I really hope I can make it to the gym today, I got called into work on my day off... I've been eating horribly because of stress. Ugh I can't wait for this semester to be over. Then I can have summer!

I keep looking for a new job because I hate mine. I love the people but Market Basket is an awful place. Can you believe I've been there a year? Ugh, I didn't want to be there more than 6 months, but in this recession, there are no jobs out there. So I'm stuck here, at 22 with 7 years of customer service experience making 8.25 an hour. UGHHHHH

KK time for class.

Maybe I'll post again soon lol

Ahlooooooo

Just real quick because it's gorgeous out and I'm all high energy and stuff right now:

- Lady Gaga with Kayla and Courtney was AMAZING and totally worth the 2 hour wait outside in the cold with wet shoes and rain... General admission sucks, as I don't like being crushed, but I had my gay men to protect me and help me :-D. Hair bows are also amazing, especially when made by Gaga, but what is not amazing is when people touch it and I have to take it out... Giant picture post eventually of DC, Britney, Gaga... I'm a slackerrrr

- I love German men, as Stephanie and I were discussing travelling and it made me remember how much I loved that German place in CT... As well as a German opening band with great hair and a nice twist of androgyny

- Saturday, Kayla, Courtney and I are all going to a drag show on Saturday, so excited :-D

- Corey and I are going to San Francisco May 2nd and 3rd.... YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY! He's so cute, he's going with a family friend's son who wants to check out a school, but he didn't want to go without me, so I get to go too!

- I'm taking Corey to a super secret location for his birthday but let me tell you it's AMAZING. And we'll be flying in a bi-plane.

Nice :-)

So busy!

Just a quickie...

So good news:

- So far, I'm up to $205 for the Walk For Hunger. Very excited, especially because one of my donors was a local Massachusetts politician :-D. $995 to go!

- DC was amazing. Post on that coming up within the week as well as a mega large picture post.

- Britney Spears was an awesome concert and I had a blast with Filomena. It was also really good to see my sister, who I hadn't seen since Novemberish...

Bad news:

I'm sick, very sick. Ick :-(. I don't want to work at all. Blahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh why isn't Spring break two weeks?

P.P.S.

I'm absolutely addicted to Depeche Mode's Wrong...

Like over the top addicted.

I keep listening to it on repeat every chance I get. And now it's on FNX and I really want to hear it again.

Oh goodness.

Oh Goodness.

Sorry I haven't really updated in forever, I really have been extremely busy... But guess what guys?

IT'S SPRING BREAK!!

YAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!

So I have a super busy spring break, and I'm loving it:

Monday: Britney Spears concert with Filomena

Tuesday: Work 6-close

Wednesday: Work 6-close

Thursday: Boston with Filomena

Friday: DC

Saturday: DC

Sunday: DC

Yes, I'm going to Washington DC with Corey, which will be AWESOME. So excited :-D

Ok so:

- Find me on Facebook guy really creeped me out. Remember that guy from the train station after that massive fire spent hours finding me on Facebook? Oh goodness, well I saw him again a week or so ago and ignored him because he's creepy and he sat in front of me. I ignored him, so he moved around. And around. And around. Everytime I looked up, he was staring at me. I decided it'd be better if I just waited outside and he followed me. Took the same bus, the same stop, went into the store next door. Normally, I'd be like oh hey no big deal right, coincidence, but all together just freaked me out. Eeek!

- I'm getting a car soon. I was all upset about said creepy guy so my dad has renewed resolve to find me a vehicle.

- I need to find my cable for my camera, because I have pictures on there (not on the memory card) that are really cute and/or hilarious and I would like to have them.

-I'm officially a bridesmaid in Keri's wedding and I'm WICKED excited. I even picked out my bridesmaid gown and it looks wicked cute :-D

It's been so long I don't remember what else I had to say. I'll try to update more soon, plus I have some GREAT pictures to upload :-D

I hate winter.

So two days ago I leaving my house to get to work and I slipped on ice, and fell down four steps. At first, my butt, my left elbow (which I apparently slammed on the steps...) and my lower back hurt.

Today? My hips hurt. My ribcage hurts. My neck hurts. My back hurts. My shoulder blades hurt. My elbow is swollen and painful. It hurts to sit. It hurts to stand. It hurts to move around.  I feel like an old lady; I keep moaning and groaning everytime I have to move. 

I hate winter. I can't wait until it's over and NO MORE ICE. I hate ice :-(

Last night Corey and I went out to the Fireplace, where we met up with Corinne  and Ron and a few of their friends. The Fireplace, in Brookline, was holding a Harpoon Brewery dinner, where they paired some of their beers with a 4 course meal. It was good, and cheap too - $40 for soup, salad, dinner, dessert, and 4 different beers. I only finished the Hefeweizen, so everyone else finished the rest of my beers for me :-P.

Also last night, we got some worrying news about Kathy, Corey's mom. Shooting pains up her neck, a warning sign, bad test results... I hope everything will be okay, Corey's taking her to the doctors for more tests on Friday. I'm worried :-(

She tells me not to, but I'm such a worrywart anyway.

Filomena and I are also planning a NYC trip in the near future. We don't know when, but we've already found a cheap bus that will take us there. We just need to save and figure out what we're doing... Plus, I really hope Corey and I can work out an affordable way to go to DC for a couple days on my Spring Break...

Filomena and I also might go to Britney Spears on the 16th... That should be fun, but we both feel bad about possibly taking the tickets from my sister. Her friend might not be up to going after surgery, and my sister promised Kristie that she wouldn't go to Britney without her... The ideal situation is that my sister gets to go with her best friend, so I'm hoping for that. 

Bah, I need to shower now and get ready and go to my Precalc class. I hope I heal up soon, this whole elbow thing is the newest and most painful addition to this body sore thing. I have to work tomorrow as well... Ugh.

Valentine's Day and Other Updates.

First off, Valentine's Day pictures!!

My super gorgeous roses...

Sleepy me posing with said roses

Talking to Uncle Ken on my brand new bean bag at Kathy's house

Oh jeez, it's been a while since I updated at all and for that I apologize. I've been super busy, but I have some time in between classes now so I can post.

My birthday was pretty awesome, and I was just so grateful to everyone that was able to share it with me... I've never had a party that big and it was a ton of fun. We all went to Feng Shui (about 20 of us) and had a hibachi party. Hibachi is a type of Japanese cuisine that is cooked in front of you, and I was very pleased with how well it turned out. When the bill came around, we ended up being $50 short which was upsetting. Kristen Costa decided to be a major sweetheart and put in $50 of her own money to cover the shortage. I later found out who didn't pay their fair share and all I can say is I'm really upset with them as they should know better, but hey, let bygones be bygones I suppose. No use in discussing it now, you know? But perhaps they should be more conscious of how expensive the drinks were and should bring more money next time...

I was incredibly surprised that people even brought gifts! I wasn't expecting it in the least, I was just happy to have them come and celebrate with me, but Garrette was super sweet with his FYE $30 gift card (which we'll be spending in Boston, when we get the chance to get down there)... I was also extra happy when Liz, her boyfriend Victor, Jess and her boyfriend Jared all pitched together and gave me money and a cute card :-).

After my birthday, I spent time with Keri and I have to tell you, she's so cute. I had SO much fun together... Everytime we hang out we just get closer and closer as friends. I also accepted her offer to be temporary day care from the end of May to end of June- I love her son Sage, we have a blast! It was so cute when he went to bed and he wanted a kiss from me too :-). I plan on seeing her ASAP, but I wish I had more time...

Valentine's Day was wonderful. I was a little upset I had to close that night, but Corey made me feel 100x better when he took me up to Parker's Maple Barn for our "romantic" Valentine's breakfast. He also went over the TOP with his gifts - I guess he got me the "Ultimate Package" at a local shop. A dozen gorgeous red roses, a bottle of champagne and DELICIOUS chocolate covered strawberries. I made him two photo albums and got him too little corny stuffed animals, but he liked them anyway! His card was so cute - he even drew me a rose and ended it with "Love You Soulmate". Awwwww!

I'm pretty tired - I was up till 4 am talking with my sister/planning Boston with Filomena, but not at the same time. Filomena and I have narrowed down our plans to this:

Noon: Take the commuter rail to Boston

1: Take the green line to the Prudential Center. Go to Barnes and Noble, shop, and take a duck tour. Have a blast, eat lunch somewhere in there. Also do the Sky Walk, which I loved last time I went with Corey.

Whenever afterwards: Take the green line to the blue line, head to the aquarium where we visit Sally the 200lb sea turtle and go to Faneuil Hall. Filomena knows of a deal where if you call Pollard Library, they can get us a pass to the Aquarium for $7 each, instead of $20. 

She wants to go on a swan boat and go to the Cambridgeside Galleria, so I promised her we'd go in April for that.

My sister and I started talking at 1am... I spoke with her the other day because I was a little concerned and wanted to make sure she was ok - she shaved her head. She said she was fine, just didn't want to be so vain anymore, and wanted a fresh start. Hey, it's her head, let her have fun with it right? My sister and I had a wicked fun conversation though, very light hearted and humorous. It was good to get to know my sister again :-)

I'm very excited to be getting closer to my grandmother. We never were close when I was younger because of the animosity between my mother and her, as well as the messy and dramatic divorce between my parents. When I moved in with my dad, we didn't form a bond, she was closer with Katie at the time. Well after Katie had continually stolen money and items from my grandmother, she realized that I'm actually a pretty good kid, very respectful and sweet. I promised her a girls night with her and my Aunt Nancy soon!

I'm wicked tired so I might as well get the heavy stuff over with before I take my Precalc quiz...

I'm very upset with my cousins Katie and Jonathan. Katie threatened to kill her father and wielded a knife, just because they got in an argument about how she refused to get a job and clean the house. My Uncle John decided to get restraining orders against both his children as they both are dangerous, and kicked Katie out. Not to be outdone, while my Uncle John was away for the weekend, Jonathan broke into his grandfather's house (where my Uncle lives now) and trashed the place. He broke 8 doors and poured laundry detergent on the stove, causing many thousands in damage. What awful people, they should be ASHAMED of themselves. You can point out that they have had tough and awful lives, but you know what? I have had an equally tough life and I turned out fine because I wanted better for myself and worked hard for it. You may have had a tough life, but how you deal with it is how you will be judged - they have a loving family who tried to help them multiple times, only to have them refuse it. Laziness is no excuse. Jonathan may think his life sucks, but that's only his fault because he's the one who skips school to smoke weed all day with his "thug buddies". Katie could have done better for herself, my grandma paid for her college,  but she stopped going and now her goal is to be a welfare queen who keeps going in and out of mental hospitals because she refuses to get real treatment for her bipolar disorder. She alienates all those around her who care about her with her brash and nasty, ungrateful attitude, and spends all day not working and posing in "sexy" pictures for her myspace pervs. Ugh.

My dad is spending his nights and weekends installing and fixing the house because of some thug kid who thinks he's tough... I hope I never see them again, I'm not going to lie. I don't envy them, I pity them because they are too stupid to realize the hole they have dug themselves in. This time, grandma won't bail either of them out. I honestly hope they grow up then and realize the oppurtunities they were given and they can make positive changes in their lives.

I've gotten myself all distracted on what else I was going to say, haha. I'll post more later, maybe tomorrow on other stuff when I'm not so frustrated anymore. Time for precalc!

Sorry... =/

I just wanted to apologize for my last post, it's now edited. I said things that are too personal to have on a public blog that can really hurt my dad. I should know better...

My cousin? I don't care if I hurt her or not, as callous as that is. She made her bed and she needs to lie in it. I don't respect people who lie, steal, and are ungrateful, simple as that.

I sometimes just get really depressed about my financial situation and get extremely jealous of those who have it far easier than me. I have always grown up working twice as hard as anyone else to get where I need to be. So many obstacles to conquer, but I've conquered them all. In times of extreme exhaustion I can crack and breakdown and wish for things to be easier for me. As a result, I whine and complain that I want a handout too once in awhile, and it just comes off as childish.

I got stuck at an awful community college because it was what I could afford to pay every month and because of various family/life issues. I spent 2-3 years building my credit so I could get to a position where I can get hefty student loans that come with being in a better school on my own without a cosigner, and I'm very proud of this. As a result of working full-time and going to school part-time, I am 2 years behind and am doing my best to play catchup so I can move on with my life.

There have been many people who have helped me in key ways throughout my life and I am incredibly grateful for them. Because of my struggles, I have turned out as well as I have... I'm especially grateful to my dad. I'm very glad we're at a better point in our lives where we can have a great relationship and I try to be as supportive as I can of him...

I'm rambling and exhausted and need to finish English homework before 5pm. Then I'm working 6 - 9:30. I just want to sleep :-(

A day in pictures.

My life is never boring, and yesterday was no exception. Lucky you, I have documented the day in pictures (click for big, probably REALLY big, as always).

I started the day off normal, went to Financial Accounting, the whole deal. Snapped this picture of Spike kneading my bed. Cute kitty :-). She was just purring away and digging her claws into my comforter, but hey if she's happy, I'm happy.

I had to work at 6pm at MB, so I took the bus, and on the dispatch I heard about a fire on Thorndike and Highland, right near the bus station. Being the inqusitive detective that I am, I rushed to the scene. I didn't have my usual Nikon Coolpix S560, so I had to make do with my cameraphone. Luckily it's 3 megapixels, so it came out pretty good. 

The third floor looked to be on fire, and there was a hole in the roof with smoke pouring out. I figured it would be easily contained because of the quick response.

Just because I'm a curious person, does not mean I'm particularly very bright. Mind you it was 8 degrees outside and I did not wear my gloves, hat, or scarf. My hands and feet were quite pink and painful when I got back inside. Notice my $3 pants, nice comfy corduroy courtesy of half-off on Old Navy Clearance.

Back at the bus station, I waited patiently for my 5:40 Chelmford St bus, talking to a few people here and there about the fire. I found out by one woman that Paul Tsongas lived in that house! I started talking to this guy Nick about the fire. He was pretty nice.

Someone comes in and points out that the fire got worse, and many of the roads were closed off. Traffic was going through the bus station at that point, and buses were 45+ minutes late. I called my work, and spoke with Jess W., letting her know I was going to be late because of a massive housefire. Sat around some more. Nick apparently ran outside to go see the fire.

He came back, talked about 10 foot flames coming out of the roof. How could I NOT see what was going on? We wandered outside, spoke to a cop that was patrolling outside of the train station. I offered to buy him coffee because it was so cold out, but he declined saying he was used to it. He told me I should have dressed better and I agreed :-P. Because we were so nice, he let us get closer to the fire, but told us to just stay to the right and not interefere.

It was a bad fire alright :-(. Various people told me the house was collapsing and that it was a 5 alarm fire. However, the news article seems to refute this: http://www.lowellsun.com/ci_11637523?source=rss_viewed

Another article: http://www.lowellsun.com/portlet/article/html/imageDisplay.jsp?contentItemRelationshipId=2302640

Nick and I stood out there trying to get the best pictures, freezing in even colder temperatures. I couldn't take it anymore, and had to head back inside and wait for my bus. My hands hurt so bad, and my thumbs didn't even thaw for at least 15 minutes. Nick and I talked a bit more, and I mentioned I had to call Corey, so Corey and I discussed the fire a bit. I decided I should call work again and let them know the bus still wasn't here, so Liz picked me up from the station.

I said goodbye to Nick and said I'd see him around. And went off to work.

And then decided I was a pirate.

So, last night before Corey and I went to bed at an ungodly hour I received this Facebook message:

hey, yeah.. so i don't even know if i got the correct person... but i think i do. and yes, i do realize this seems pretty darn sketchy..but i figured i'd give it a shot.

so yeah. hey. i might have met you tonight at the bus station, and you may or may not have made a decent impression on me.. and if you're who i think you are, i think you're pretty awesome.

here's hoping i dind't message some random girl.. lol

~Nick

Oh. My. Goodness. I truly have no idea to react... 

How do I get myself into these things? My poor boyfriend, I'm too friendly for my own good :-P.

After that message, Corey and I had a really good discussion. He brought up how I joke about my "work boyfriends" or the guys that hit on me to his co-workers or friends and they are all horrified or worried. He mentioned that he knows how devoted to him I am and that he trusts me completely, so he has no fear or worry. I mentioned that I tell him everything because I know that he trusts me and I trust him. I joke about his "girlfriends" all the time, because I'm comfortable with him and trust him.

That's when you know you've hit the best part of your relationship. Full trust, no jealousy. No drama, just making it work and making it better. We're at different parts of our lives, with me in school and him working full-time, us making sacrifices to make us work. But we're worth it to each other.

I love him :-)

Speaking of school, I'm so screwed next year. I have to re-file the FAFSA for Fall 2009 once my dad is done his taxes... My part will be much better, because I only made $8k last year. But my dad? Well, with his regular wages and a inheritance that equaled his yearly pay... Loans are going to be harder to get this year, and I'll be getting zero financial aid. Not even federal subsidized loans I bet. 

My dad has it really good, and in a lot of ways I'm jealous. With his inheritance, he paid off his house, his truck, his motorcycle, and has a lot of discretional income. He never got much of a party life when he was younger, and he recently admitted he spends $300+ a week at the bars.

With my college education, I just hope I can live much more comfortably than I am now...

I saw my grandma on Wednesday, and it was wonderful to see her! Next time I see her, she wants me to get all dolled up so she can get a really nice picture of me. She thinks I'm gorgeous :-).

Speaking of grandma, my cousin Katie got kicked out of her house by her dad last week. He also has a restraining order out against her because she threatened to kill him. I hate her, I'm not going to lie. This girl got handed EVERYTHING because she had an awful childhood. Abusive or neglectful parents messed her up bad. My grandmother bought her a car, college education, clothes... Katie just squandered and stole it all away. Her goal in life is to live on welfare and not have to work... I can't feel pity for her, because she doesn't have a grateful bone in her body. I just feel badly for my grandma, who tried everything she could to give her a better life...

What is Marketing?

I really can't believe how hard it was to find and utilize two marketing journal sources that defined marketing.

5 hours of research total. For two sources, with each ONE line defining marketing. I couldn't use the official AMA (American Marketing Association) definition either. I could find that definition in 30 seconds, and now I impart that knowledge to you:

New Definition of Marketing (est. in 2007)

Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.

Previous Definition (est. in 2004)

Marketing is an organizational function and a set of processes for creating, communicating, and delivering value to customers and for managing customer relationships in ways that benefit the organization and its stakeholders.

You learn something new everyday, eh?

Not. Fair. Now to write my ONE PAGE paper.

P.S. Superbowl today! Not that I care because the Pats' aren't in it, but Kayla and I are gonna have a Superbowl homework party are work (4-7:30) since it's going to be dead after 5:45 pm (very scientific estimation, I know).  

P.P.S My diet has gone down the tubes, boo to that. I went grocery shopping yesterday so I can at least eat better and actually bring my lunch instead of wasting $8 I dont have everyday at Southwick cafe on North Campus. 

P.P.P.S. Maybe someday I'll find time to run too, because this whole 7 classes thing is exhausting! Haha, I always bite off more than I can chew, but you know what? I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna make sure I finish all 7 (ok 6 and a half, because the lab is like a half class) and do WELL. Wish me luck!

P.P.P.P.S. 9 more days until my 22nd anniversary of my birth, a joyous occasion, I know.

Snow Day Ct'd

I forgot to mention how my new classes are going!

College Writing - It's online, but so far it's not so bad. No real thoughts...

Macroeconomics - If you remove the very far left bias, my professor actually makes a lot of sense and it seems like it'll be a great class.  Wayyyyyy better than Micro, with my non-English speaking awful professor. Never again.

Life Science and Lab - They are basically two separate classes... My life science class is basically a joke and will be wicked easy, and oh man do I need an easy class. My lab is going to be a lot of work and for some reason I have to go down to a museum in Boston for a lab and pass in the lab report before April 30th? I have no idea when I'll have time for that!

Marketing Oppurtunities - I LOVE LOVE LOVE this class already. I love marketing and I get to write a marketing plan! Those are my favorite :-)

Financial Accounting - This class will be a lot of work, but it seems interesting. I'm not exactly a numbers person, but it's a core required class so wish me luck!

Management Precalc - This is going to be a fun class I think, and easy too. I took it at MCC, but since it was Business Precalc I it only transferred as a math elective. Stupid, but I'm glad to never have to deal with a community college again. EVER.

This is going to be a really tough and draining semester. 7 classes and working 15-20 hours a week.... Scary but last night Corey told me he'd be there for me for support, and I know for a fact that my dad and my awesome friends will be there for me too.

I'm in a really good place :-)

Snow Day!

I love love love love snow days.

No work. No school. Just me, Corey, and my homework. Not ideal, but you know what? Not bad.

I still suck at drawers, but I'm slightly better! Hurray! Even though Fil and I were at work till 10 and even though I almost cried AND even though I publicly bashed the Front End Asst in charge for overwhelming me and generally sucking at his job, I wasn't told I screwed up big... I'm getting better :-)

It was weird, but some taxi driver who drove me to work (I was tired and needed the extra 40 minutes of sleep; I had a longggg day) came in an hour and a half later and asked me out. Filomena could hardly stifle her laughter, I was wicked embarassed... It's never a boring day at Market Basket!

For the first time, I'm actually holding myself a large birthday party. Facebook and Myspace invitations out, my 22nd is gonna have so far 14 people for sushi and hibachi goodness and maybe 10 others. Hurray! So far, still waiting on 12 other people to get back to me :-)

It's almost Goober Holiday week!