Blue Roses

Um, hi, everyone.

I think it's pretty clear that I don't post much here anymore. Or, you know, at all. It's been a great four years, but I think the time has come to officially close up shop. Everything will stay here, because it's a record of my life, but it's not likely to be updated again.

I also reserve the right to change my mind and come back here. *g* I love Blue Roses and my domain, so who can tell. But for now, good bye.

As always: if you think you know me in real life, please move on. This was me in college and if you want to know what I was like? I will tell you. With far fewer exclamation points and obnoxious emoticons. Thanks.

Posted by Rina at 08:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's May! How on earth is it May already? My year is speeding by.

I set out to do something cool in each month this year. I think I skipped February. In March, I got accepted into grad school. In April...I think I skipped April. In May, I shall attend MWC with Melissa. It'll be an adventure. *g*

Only 5 more weeks of Noneck. I will miss her so badly. Then a summer "off" with only 3-4 jobs, and grad school in the fall. Ack! I need to slow down, enjoy myself, do more things. Preferably without spending any more money.

11 days until Lead Awareness Day!!

Posted by Rina at 01:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I am watching SGA with Jennie. Wheee! And while we do this, I shall go over my year in posts. Just to see what all I did. LOL

January:
*I went on vacation! Nashville, Panama City Beach, Disney World, Hilton Head, Atlanta, Memphis. Best vacation EVER.
*I started Brownies with C.
*Wrote an nsync story.

February:
*Moved back into my room after 7 months
*Applied for library job (did not get it)

March:
*Talked to Lady K when her mountain erupted
*Played Sims
*Went to Houston to see Jennie

April:
I*I got my beloved Winnie!!
*Did a Sibshop
*TiVo #1 died a sad death

May:
*Media*West con with Biz. Eeee! I can't wait to go again.
*Got re-hooked on CSI
*Celebrated my 24th Lead Awareness Day
*TiVo #4 moved in

June:
*Got hired to keep working with Noneck
*It was hot.

July:
*Played Sims - Lily and James and the conception of the twins. Heeee!
*Challenge for the Children. Yay Challenge! Aaron Carter and David Gallagher. LOL
*HPB. Yay Harry Potter!
*Dad got sick.

August:
*Saw the Wiggles in concert. Ooooooooh.
*Saw Backstreet Boys in concert. Ahhhhhhh. LOL

September:
I*I got hired as a librarian!
*My computer sparked a great big light and died.
*Lady K upgraded MT for us.
*Garage sale.
*Bought Trixie the Nintendog

October:
*Hurt my knee walking
*Wrote 2 HP stories. Go me!

November:
*Saw HP at midnight!
*Saw RENT and Anthony Rapp!
*Got sick at work
*Started my first novel

December:
*Made Christmas cards
*Baked cookies with C
*Watched a lot of SGA
*Visited with Jennie :)

....well, according to my blog, my life was very very boring and uneventful this year. With a few exceptions, sure - Challenge, HP and RENT movies, getting a job in my chosen profession that I love. But still. Fairly boring.

My resolution: I resolve to do at least one new thing next year to make my yearly round up look really cool and interesting.

Posted by Rina at 11:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I'm stressed out and exhausted, but White Christmas was on this afternoon. It never feels like Christmas season until mom and I watch that movie. I love it so much.

Cards have been mailed, cookies with C have been made. We started slow (burning the first batch) and steadily gained experience - the last batch, kolazki, were perfect and fantastic and wonderful. We had such a good time working on them together. She's such a cute and wonderful kid.

So tired. *sigh* Work was a hassle. I love when it's busy, but it was busy plus two programs and I was the only one there. That was a little too much. Maybe this will be a good night to go to bed early. I can always work on sesa tomorrow.

Posted by Rina at 08:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

My December is barreling on, full stream ahead. So far, I put up my little American Girl Christmas tree, made 40 cards, wrote out 39 cards, bought stamps, bought all but 3 gifts, mailed approproriate gifts and bought a Betty Crocker cookie cook book. Now I need to address the cards and mail them, which I have planned for Friday. I'm doing well here. *g*

Sesa is even going fairly smoothly. I won't have any problems hitting my 1000 words, and I really like my plot. It's coming together.

It's bloody cold out. 8 degrees right now. 2 degrees when I left for work this morning. Two kids braved the cold to come to my storytime tonight. Really cute kids, too. We all sat on the floor, I read stories, and then we listened to A Charlie Brown Christmas while they decorated their own Christmas trees. A fun night, but quiet.

I finished SGA S1 (first time I bought a DVD pack and watched every single episode! In a timely manner, no less.) and am 2 episodes into the second season. God, I love this show.

Posted by Rina at 10:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I was so proud of myself, walking 2.5 miles yesterday, running errands all over town. Then I got home, and my knee ached. Kinda weird. By bedtime, I was limping and couldn't straighten it without pain.Now it's morning, it hurts like hell, I'm braced and not supposed to get out of bed. Grrrr argh.

Bummer is that I was going to Liss's Halloween party tonight, and I was going to wear my 1950s vintage party dress for a costume, complete with pearls, pumps and white Snow White gloves. And now I'm stuck in shorts and a tshirt, in bed, because I need to be able to drive tomorrow to my jobs. Sigh. I am so disappointed. And, also, sore.

Posted by Rina at 10:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

My computer is dead. It sparked a great big light yesterday afternoon and cooked. Like major melting smell. And won't turn on.

I called Geek Squad. They said bring it in.
I brought it in. They said call geek squad. They don't do power sources.
I called Geek Squad. They don't do power sources.
Fuck that, I said, you DID do my power source and it broke and I want it fixed!
So we tracked down my agent, they gave me his store's number, and I called them.
Agent is on vacation, how does Oct 5 sound?
Fine.

Argh! The only helpful person was the agent at the last store. Everyone else tried to deny that they could do anything. They don't do power sources in store, they don't do them in house, what, do I need to meet them at the park? Bah. Let's not even get into the fist store agent telling me that he didn't know if my harddrive was okay. ACK! KC suggested getting it backed up by them, and I may bring it in to see if they can. After all, I have until Oct. 5.

Thank God for Winnie. I spent a lot of last night and some this afternoon getting her all set up. I finally have OE running, complete with folders, rules and address book. It's not everything, but I'll get better ideas of what I forgor when e-mails come in looking for a place to go. I have most of my pictures and all of my stories over here already, and a good number of common favorite sites. So, now I wait. And wait and wait and wait. LOL

Posted by Rina at 02:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's cloudy, rainy, grey and 72 out. I love it! It feels so autumnal. In that sprit, I put on my new flannel sheets.

Before: Quilt, purple gingham sheets
After: Red duvet with red and pink plaid sheets

Cozies up my room. Feels smaller, but comfy. I like them.

What I don't like is that my top CD drawer is kaput. I was importing a CD into iTunes, and it said the disk couldn't be read. It disappeared from my iTunes source list, the green light on it turned off, and it refused to close with the button. Like it doesn't exist. I rebooted, and it worked for a short time - I imported about 6 new songs, but only 3 of them worked. The rest were staticy and then it disappeared before the last song could go on. I'm very unhappy and quite nervous. Bottom drawer still works, but the top is my burner, man! I can't even back my stuff up. Gotta figure this out.

Posted by Rina at 03:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tomorrow is our second annual garage sale. Eeeep! We have some good things for sale. I'm getting rid of a few fannish acquisitions...XF movie collectors box, a lot of Harry Potter stuff. While cleaning out college stuff in the basement to sell, I found stuff I've been looking for. Now I have all the HP books back in my room, and the last Jasper Fforde book, which I've been wanting to reread forever. I also found a large number of pictures from when I was a kid. Holy crap, was I cute. Seriously! Until I was about 7, I was the cutest thing ever. Not one clue what happened. LOL

Gacked from Krissy:

Your Brain's Pattern

You have a dreamy mind, full of fancy and fantasy. You have the ability to stay forever entertained with your thoughts. People may say you're hard to read, but that's because you're so internally focused. But when you do share what you're thinking, people are impressed with your imagination.

I'd say that's really quite accurate. I'm sure it's probably distracting to people, how I can just be sitting or walking somewhere, grinning or laughing to myself. LOL

In less than a week, I shall be playing Sims 2 Nightlife. Wheeee!!!!

I can't believe I almost forgot - I have a job interview on Thursday. Library next town over, in the children's room. I'm quite excited.

Meanwhile, I am tired and think I shall watch CSI. I rode the stationery bike during Gilmore today - 11 miles in one hour. Not shabby, but it kind of felt like cheating because it was easier than the treadmill. LOL

Posted by Rina at 08:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I'm determined to lose weight and get more healthy again. So, I've devised a "look more like Lorelai than Babette" campaign. The battle plan involves using the stationery bike or treadmill for the hour each day that I watch Gilmore Girls. I was on the treadmill today - boring, yet effective. 2 miles in 1 hour, 350 calories burned. Plus I walked for an hour at the zoo today with Mom, Josh and some very quiet med students. Not bad at all.

Note to self: call L tomorrow and find out what time you need to be at work on Thursday.

I can't wait for Sims 2 Nightlife! Eeee! Dating and cars and proposals over dinner. Luke and Lorelai are going to have a grand time. And - synchronized dancing and karaoke: Hello Sim!Sync! Heeee!

Posted by Rina at 06:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

For posterity and fun, I present Rina's Own Obligatory MediaWest Post.

For me, the weekend started Wednesday night. A long day (am work, lunch meeting, pm work) made longer by the fact that while my plane was meant to leave at 8:30, it didn't leave until after 10:30. I got quite familiar with Midway airport's terminal in those 4 hours, let me tell you. Southwest's waiting area had ABC on originally, as a passenger had requested we watch the season finale of Lost, but after an hour, brighter minds prevailed and we turned the channel to Fox to catch the AI finale. The TV, however, was only meant to show CBS, ABC and PBS, so we had to reprogram it, and the connection was poor - it had a habit of going out for a few seconds of static every few minutes. During the 30 second reveal at the end, it went out twice, prompting horrified gasps from everyone there. Oh, and the camera people from that A&E Airline show were there, too recording a bit of out two hour wait. So maybe I'll be on A&E. <.g>

Finally, we left Chicago, and arrived in Ohio just after midnight. Oy. Biz and her hubby were gamely waiting for me, and we got to their place pretty quickly. By that point, I was beyond exhausted and into slightly giddy. I think. It's kind of a blur. LOL

Next morning, her hubby got off to the airport for his con, and I eventually woke up. We planned on leaving around 11, which turned into, I think, 2. LOL But I got a bit of a tour of the city, we got snacks, had lunch at a delicious Italian/Mediterranean/Egyptian place, and I fell in love with XM radio. In a really big way. LOL The drive was pretty nice....Lucy (Biz's dog) was in the backseat, and we played filk and fan songs on the CD player. I was pretty amused by some of them, and it was fun. Finally got in at 7, checked in, and realized our room was an accessible room. Which I didn't even notice, as that's what I always stay in, for Joshy, but waist high switches can take getting used to. LOL What I found ironic was that the door itself was catankerous and took at least two tries, often more, to open. Hardly a good option for someone in a wheelchair, as it usually involved hip checking the door with all our might to get it to open.

Being me, I managed to find 3 straight hours of CSI to watch while we unpacked and got room service. LOL Poor Biz. We also started working on our door and realized that hey, neither of us had brought scissors. Just means that our pictures had artistic edges. ;)

Next day, we registered, which was fun - I read, she chatted with our line neighbors, and everyone got confused by the registration process. My first panel was that afternoon - it was the first panel of any con I ever attended, so of course I was hosting it. Solo. LOL Biz came for moral support, and the group slowly expanded from us and two ladies to Julia and another woman. I think it was a great deal of fun, talking Christmas stories and movies and Connie Willis. I was pretty jazzed by that point...really when things started going from "OMG Overwhelmed This is all so new I hate new things!" to "Oooh, fun."

That night was the vids. I've never been much a vid fan, so I was unsure as to what so many hours would be like. The verdict? An utter delight! There was one string where I didn't care for them, but overall, they were super fun. Even when I didn't recognize the fandoms. LOL Now I'm interested in checking Battlestar Galactica and Stargate. Frankly, I don't care that they made Starbuck a woman, because she's hot. As is the guy. Apollo, perhaps? I really, really liked the look of him. LOL So I made TiVo wishlists for them, and shall give them a chance. I asked Biz if we could stay for the slash vids, and she kindly agreed. I loved it, the atmosphere was somewhat akin to a bachelorette party, with women shrieking and cheering the naked men. I loved a Star Wars one set to some country song about women of different ages - 14 year olds went for Luke, 25 year olds went for Han in handcuffs, 35 year olds had naked Luke, etc. LOL Oh, and an Angel/Spike one that was incredible, totally made it look like them sleeping together. And a lot "" of Jim/Blair from Sentinel. LOL

I hit a few more panels on Saturday. On my way down to meet Biz for the Discworld one, I rode the elevator with women talking about cooking, science, and explanations. I turned around: "Are you talking about Good Eats?" Of course! That delighted me. As did the Discworld panel - when I hit Borders a few days ago, I grabbed Soul Music on their recommendation. Can't wait! I also did the WENN panel with Biz and Julia. Mostly us, but another woman joined us. She wasn't as familiar with the show as us, so I think the convo mostly went over her head, but it was still fun. I think there were other panels, but I'm getting pretty bogged down in minutia here. LOL

The dealers room was fun. I don't go in for zines, which is overwhelmingly favored, but I found fun and creative things - magnets, jewelry, etc - that more than captured my imagination. I also enjoyed doing hall crawls, seeing what people were selling or showing. One door provided a pen and little construction paper ships, where you wrote down your fandom and pairing. I contributed Luke/Lorelai and Chris/Lance. Joining C/L were another Trickyfish, JC/Chris and Kevin/Nicky. I was very pleased to see that. LOL

Sunday was great - a Numb3rs panel that was fantabulous, where I learned that David and Judd have played father/son 4 times before now, and Rob has said point blank that he loves David and now has the brother he always wanted. No wonder the show is so awesome. What a nice dynamic and it shows through.

Highlight of the day was the night. Biz and set up camp with Winnie and Lucy in the atrium around 6pm. As the Star Wars battle raged around us, we watched the entire first season of Remember WENN. Completely on accident, we discovered Winnie makes caps - I tried to hit P to pause, and ended up capping Victor and Betty! Julia and I played around with it for about 20 minutes and finally found out where and how they got stored. We were VERY excited. And by the time we hit 1am, we were capping potential OTPs like Betty/Medwick, Scott/CJ, Scott/Foley, Scott/Eldgridge, etc. ;) Also, I took the first and only 5 caps of Maple and CJ in a scene together - true, he's over her shoulder through the glass into the control room, but whatever. I've shipped them for 4 years without proof and now I have it. LOL Yay!

So that took us to 3am. LOL Many nights of 2:30 and 3am bedtimes took its toll. We spent most of Monday recovering, watching more WENN and an episode of Numb3rs that I bought. We checked out Tuesday morning, drove back uneventfully, got me to the airport 3 hours early. I relaxed, had cheese curds and a root beer float at A&W, and got back to Chicago 10 minutes early. Then proceeded to plan to get to bed early, only to be foiled by a call from M as I was getting into bed, and ended up turning off the light at my customary hour of 11:30. Welcome home.

Posted by Rina at 07:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

For some reason, I hadn't really been looking forward to my birthday. Just generalized anxiety, I guess. But I had a lovely day. Really, really lovely. The am teacher made awesome treats for my little party - cupcake ice cream cones! Regular cupcakes, but she put cones on top of each before baking, and then frosted them when they were done. Looked like vanilla ice cream. <.g> I also got to watch my girl demonstrate how damned smart she is with day 1 of PECS training, which made me so proud. LOL

PM was a huge surprise - the teacher had gotten balloons, AND yesterday, the kids made me cards that she bound together with red gingham bows. The cover has a photo of all the kids, and each card has a picture they drew of doing something with me. OMG I am so in love with this booklet. Some are so sweet, like the girl who drew us picking flowers, or reading, or, my favorite for the amusement factor, a boy drew us picking stars out of the sky. LOL! Where he got that, I have no clue, because he's never demonstrated any such imaginative behaviors before. <.g> In addition to that, she *bought me a cake.* Which was frosted and said Happy Birthday Miss Rena. Yes, spelled wrong. <.g> But SO SWEET and unnecessary. She even hugged me. !!! I was rather kind of surprised. But touched, no matter what.

Then, after dinner, my C and her mom came over. Oh, MAN. Love. The love I have for this child. Mom took pictures of us together on the stairs, and C turned to me and puckered up, like she was waiting for a kiss. LOL! M told her no kisses, only hugs, and so she hugged me. Later, when I was opening her present (she chose the card and gifts ALL by herself - and demonstrated a good knowledge of me and what I like while she was at it!), she leaned over and gave me a kiss on the cheek. AWWWW! I've never seen her kiss anyone. She was so sweet and cute. And then! Josh was watching Lizzie McGuire, and she found his speech mic and started singing the theme song and dancing!!!!! We were all in hysterics, she was so freaking adorable and cute and wonderful and eeeeee! <.g>

So, lovely lovely day. (Even if I did get woken up at 6:30 am by the horrific thunderstorm...while I've been waiting for a good storm this spring, I'd have prefered it earlier so I didn't have to wake up so damned early and not fall back asleep. LOL) I got nice gifts, too - 2 Kate Hepburn DVDs (Philadelphia Story and Woman of the Year), the Rob Thomas CD, a gorgeous new yellow outfit, and last but not least, a DVD recorder! With the touch of a button, my Gilmore tapes can become my Gilmore DVDs. Yay! Plus some gift cards from assorted family members and friends, and a barette and flip flop sticky notes from C. Also, a text message from Joey that made me smile very big. <.g>

Seriously, best birthday I've had in a long time. I'm all glowy. And it shall continue tomorrow, as I'm sitting for both C and Joshie tomorrow evening. ::beams::

Posted by Rina at 09:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I have a new baby! And by baby, I mean toy. Meet Winnie, the cutest laptop EVER! She's so pretty. She has a 15 inch screen, 60GB harddrive, and 2.9Gh processing speed. She's cute and cuddly and very comfy to drag around my room. She was an early Lead Awareness Day gift (26 days on the countdown. ;))

I spent the afternoon and evening with C and her mom last night. Much fun! Took C and R to the park, had dinner with C and M, and watched C do her listening therapy. I enjoy them. C's such a cutie. Whenever she feels her mom and I are talking to each other too much, she'll jump in with whatever is currently running through her head to get our attention. LOL

Tonight, I totally, 100% need to plan tomorrow's Sibshop. ACK! HOW IS IT FRIDAY ALREADY?!?!?!?! That is so wrong. (One of the few times I will ever say that.) I found last year's plan, so I'll just modify and go off of that, I'm sure. 3 hours, 6 kids, 5 boys and 1 girl. Are they always 3 hours? I don't remember. That makes me a little nervous. As do all of the boys - we're usually much more balanced! Well, I'll plan more rough and tumble things. Ooh, and it's by a park - we'll definitely go there. See, plans are coming together already.

Posted by Rina at 11:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Life continues apace. Not much is happening. Work, for the most part, is improving. Things aren't perfect in either place, but they're liveable. I applied for yet another part time job at the local library - 2 nights a week plus one weekend a month. Am I nuts? Yes, yes, I am! I don't know if I want it or not. Or, well, I know I'd love it. But it's going to make me want the school year to end that much faster!

I'm still pretty focused on Gilmore Girls. Mom, despite protests, is as well. Luke rocks.

Geez, I'm boring! I don't even have cute kid stories right now. I'm not feeling like kids are very cute, as so many have coughed in my face that I'm currently sick. The joy of preschoolers!

I'm finally getting close to moving back into my room. I love my room - it's so pretty. I have a border up now, and I have a reading section with a 1940s radio and rocking chair next to my window. It's just lovely.

Is it really only 8:38? I'm tired. I'm so boring. LOL I need to work on this.

Posted by Rina at 08:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Kate did a runthrough of her year, and I thought that might be a neat idea. It's weird- I feel like I'm in the exact same place as I was last year at this time, 1/1/04 feels like yesterday, but I'm really not. Hmm. Let's see.

January
*I was working on the exact same story I am this year (NYC!Lambs)
*I had a dream about BrookLynn on GH (which, dude, came true. Wild.)
*I drove in snow for the first time
*I wrote a story and vowed it would not be another 2 story year. (It was 3.)
*I accidentally went blonde.

February
*Josh was sick and went in for a LOT of endocrinological tests.
*Odd things happened to mine and Kate's blogs.
*Karey came to visit.
*JC's album came out!
*Tiff wrote a video concept that I still love.

March
*Josh subluxed his knee and came too close to needing more surgery.
*More odd things happened on our blogs - turns out Kate and I had used up all the space on our domain.
*I was rejected by 4 grad schools.
*I visited Jennie in Texas!!

April
*Dad had a small stroke.
*I saw RENT with my friend's mom.

May
*I celebrated my 23rd Lead Awareness Day.
*I saw JC in conert!!
*My cousin got married and I was bridesmaid.
*I was officially rejected by all 6 grad schools.
*Cheered myself up with *NSYNC marathon and many viewings of JC's video for ADIDAS.

June
*We got cable internet!!
*Mom and I saw PoA at midnight, the first showing.
*Finished my *NSYNC Bear collection and had a facial and pedicure at a marathon mall outing.
*Moved out of my bedroom into the guest room to recarpet/paint. (Still not back.)

July
*Spent Fourth of July at neat resort with my family.
*Got hired to work with my girl again.
*Went to another spa for my first massage, and a manicure. Liked the manicure best.
*Saw Hilary Duff in concert.
*Accidentally outed myself as a slasher to my mom, who was more interested in Harry/Ron than horrified.

August
*Got accepted to speech grad school, horrifying me, thrilling my mom and throwing my entire life into turmoil. Yay!
*Quit my job and decided to try grad school.
*Ate delicious venison at $100+ dinner.

September
*Mired in self-doubt while in speech.
*Josh was diagnosed with a kidney stone.
*Escaped into Queer as Folk.
*Escaped into The Sims 2.
*Went out to dinner with just my parents for the first time in 15 years.

October
*Left grad school.
*Became focused on The Gilmore Girls.
*Dad got second degree burns on his knees.
*Got hired for a job in an autism class.
*Quit the job after 3 days.
*Did a presentation at a national conference.
*Stayed in a hotel suite with a big fireplace and slept in a king sized canopy bed.

November
*Was offered 2 jobs, one of which I accepted. (preschool vs. bookstore)
*Felt very wintery and made two wallpapers.
*Josh turned 16. Eeep!

December
*Accepted and began a morning ECE job.
*Wrote 2 stories (1 *NSYNC, 1 Remember WENN)

And thus with my year. Fraught with medical emergencies and a lot of change. Funny how I don't feel changed, though.

Posted by Rina at 09:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I went to bed at 1am, and there was no snow. I woke up at 9, and there was snow! Yay! I also got to talk to Jennie at midnight, where there was also snow. For the first Christmas ever. Double yay! <.g>

I got the neatest, most fantastic presents. I got a replica of a 1940s radio with stand. It has a record player, AM/FM radio, cassette and CD player!! I went searching for an oldies station, real oldies from the 30s-40s, to listen to and instead found a German Chicago station. It was the playing the Nutcracker, so I stayed, and then I realized it did its ads first in German then in English. I loved understanding both, and, well, the irony was too delicious.

Then! I got the greatest picture - framed pic of Audrey Hepburn from Breakfast at Tiffany's - with bits of the film! Isn't it gorgeous? I'm so excited. I think my Return to Me and Playing By Heart posters will need to go poof when I move back to my room, to make room for this and the Anne/Gilbert poster Karey got me.

Oh, and I also got the prettiest pink sapphire bracelet! (Beware, that pic also shows me and my Christmas pjs. LOL)

Beyond that, I got Britney's perfume, a goregous new purse to match my pretty mistletoe green jacket, Gilmore Girls season 2, and my annual Dept 56 gift was the New York Public library. ::loves:: I'm thrilled. I've been sitting by my new radio, just beaming, all morning.

I hope everyone has a very special day, whether you celebrate Christmas or not. {{{HUGS}}} to you all!

Posted by Rina at 01:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I keep forgetting to post here! Bad Rina.

I opted not to take the bookstore job. I interviewed and observed in a morning ECE job, and I should find out this week if I'll be offered it.

When I was at Borders last week, in the DVD section, I saw Silk Stalkings S1 for sale!! oh, my God! Chris and Rita!!! I loved that show when I was a child. Loved it. Oh, MAN! I was so sad when Chris died, leaving new wife Rita pregnant with their kid. Especially since it was the same week Stone died on GH. <.g> But I decided that Chris didn't actually die - since Rita left soon after (both actors wanted out), obviously Chris had faked his death and Rita was going to join him. Remember when we wrote that fic, Krissy? Silk Stalkings/Dawson's Creek/X-Files. Or started to, at least. <.g> That was also right before you got me into Buffy - you wanted that girl to have been killed by Jen the vampire and I was resistant, because I didn't know how totally cool vampires could be. LOL

Have I mentioned this? We're going on a vacation, our first family vacation since I was 4, in January. We are going to: Hannibal, MO; Memphis, TN; New Orleans, LA; Panama City, FL; Orlando, FL (for 4 days); Sea Island, GA; Atlanta, GA; Pidgeon Forge, TN; Louisville, KY. I'm very excited! I think it's going to be fabulous.

Other than that, I've been playing Sims and getting holiday cards ready. My Sim families are: Blythe (Anne/Gilbert), Blythe (Jem/Lucy and 4 kids), Weasley (Ron/Hermione and 2 kids), Weasley (Ginny/Rilla and 1 kid), Gilmore-Danes (Luke/Lorelai and 2 kids), Wakefield (Ned/Alice and 2 kids), Wesson (Claire/Jeremy and 2 kids). It's fun intermarrying them. <.g>

Things to do this month: Write two (2) secret santa stories (NSYNC and WENN), write three (3) short essays for grad school, mail twnety five (25) holiday cards, visit one (1) library science program. Gah. LOL Good thing I like a challenge.

Posted by Rina at 03:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

You Are Winter! Intelligent Serious Cozy Calm Shy What Season Are You? Take This Quiz :-)

Quite appropriate for me, really, given my obsession with the idea of snow. LOL

I'm feeling all pink today. Pink sweater, pink shoes, pink pearls, So Pink body spray. <.g> I feel all cute and cheery. Except for the way that I'm struggling to stay awake, but yeah. The *outfit is cute and cheery and that's good enough for me!

I haven't played Sims in days. I'm itching to get back into the game! I wanna get more couples going and kids and new generations. I also wish to figure out a way for Sim!me to marry into the Blythe family, preferably with a grandson also named Gilbert. <.g> This is proving a challenge, as Rilla is quite madly in love with Ginny Weasley and Jem is, uh, not the cutest thing in the world. LOL! Which is shallow and all, but Gil is so cute and I want a cute Gil of my own. I'm thinking of trying to introduce Jem to this cute hippie named Lucy and seeing what happens with them. That could work. <.g> Will take time, but being Rina Blythe will make up for it in my game world.

/end utter insanity ;)

Posted by Rina at 02:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I am an a spending spree this month. I'm not going to be able to spend ANYTHING in August.

Today's purchases: Gorgeous tweed skirt AND!! a leather skirt. I have wanted a leather skirt since Lois wore them in 1995. I love my skirts. Plus I got this shirt, in claret. I'm going to be quite cute and broke this fall.

Tomorrow, I am going to Mario Tricoci Spa for a massage and manicure with Liss. I was supposed to go with Karey, but she couldn't get a flight. : ( Sadness.

This is after an iPod ($378), facial/pedicure ($205), amazon purchases for me and my brother ($70), etc. eeeeeeeeeeek. Lots o' money. But tomorrow is it. It, I say! Let's just hope there isn't time to wander down to Victoria's Secret and their Think Pink sale.

At least I'm getting paid $100 next weekend. That will help.

I'm reading LM Montgomery's The Alpine Path. (In digging for the link, I learned that amzon is recommending Bill Clinton's autobiography because I also recently purchased a Xena book. ::boggles::) I adore it. It's a slim little book, and quite pricey for 95 pages, but the stories! I love how many are familiar to me already because she used them in her books and stories. I see what she means about writing what you know when she does that.

Anyway, I think it's time to watch Josh Charles be a very cute college student in Threesome. Life is good.

Posted by Rina at 08:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Add this to my list of brilliant moves: I was pushing the CPU back into place, and it slid over some wires faster than I expected. I ended up jamming my finger between the CPU and the wooden partition thing. So I have this lovely bruise under my nail, a jammed joint, and a finger splint. It hurt SO bad. Much better now. But the splint is driving me MAD! I keep turning on the caps lock without knowing it.

i GET CABLE (damn caps!) internet on Friday. WHOOOOO! I'm super excited. I've missed it so badly this year. But that also means I need to say goodbye to AOL after about 9 years. Wow. A lot of people complain about AOL, but I was never less than satisfied. I'm going to miss it. I have a lot of stuff to transfer! Oh, shoot, I forgot about my WENN mail. Will need another new s-d address for that, likely, to organize. I'm so dorky about organizing. LOL Maybe I can take this time to clear out some of my old yahoogroups.

We're also getting digital cable. I get Oxygen again!!!! I've missed Xena and Isaac Mizrahi and Sue. PLus I'll get Turner Classic Movies!! Good old movies!! And the Food Network!! My excitement knows no bounds.

I still can't believe the school year is over. I'm going to miss my girl something fierce. I told her mom I'd like work with her again next year, and I would, but it's up to the coordinator and I don't think she'll reassign me. :( But that's okay, I like new challenges, too. And I think I'll be my girl's babysitter, which will be fun.

I was supposed to write a story tonight, and I'm not feeling it. Too laborious to type. After i cleaned out my entire desk looking for the 3 pages already written. LOL It was only due yesterday. Maybe I can do it tomorrow. LOL (Excuse Queen of the World, that's me.)

Posted by Rina at 10:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tornado warning in effect, so this may end abruptly!

I got a rejection letter from SXU this weekend. It was the one school I honestly thought I had a good chance of getting into. I know three of the staff members, two of which who are on the committee to choose students, and they wanted me. But it didn't happen, and if it didn't happen here, I don't think it can happen.

So, I need to reconsider all my options. As it stands now, I can think of being a teacher, librarian, journalist, or editor. Just, you know, thinking about what I enjoy doing and have at least some experience with. But I need to talk to people and find out options and it's really kinda scary except I'm okay with it.

Had an 8 hour nsync marathon with Jess last night (8pm to 3am) plus a few hours this morning. LOL! I'm a little nsynced out. But, oh, what glorious fun we had laughing hysterically! Mocking and adoring and mocking some more. <.g> I love those boys. So amusing and talented and sweet and funny and dorky. They make me smile.

I got rid of all my XFiles and Buffy videos and books. Sadness. But I have Xena Season 1 on DVD now!

Last week, my top drive didn't want to work. And last night, Real PLayer wouldn't. Now they both seem to be back? I don't know. I'm still worried.

Extreme House Makeover makes me cry a lot.

Posted by Rina at 07:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's going to be 90 tomorrow. 90! It was in the 60s today. I'm getting whiplash, man.

Angel. Jooooooooooooooooooossssssssssssssssssssss! Why????? Meanie. <.pout> Not my favorite ending of a TV show.

Liss and I are going to make an appointment at Nordstrom Spa! Pedicures and facials. Wheeee! This is the summer of spas for me. June with Liss, July with Karey. And Karey and I are going to get hot stone massages. I am SO excited about that, I can't even begin to tell you. I'm not generally one for people touching me, but I'm trying to get over that. Feeling that blissed out has to help. <.g>

Next year. What on earth am I going to do? Seriously. What if I don't get in to grad school? I don't think I'll cry. I'll feel sad, but it won't be the end of everything. Then I'd look into teaching. I think I'll look into teaching before I hear from grad schools.

Shouldn't I have done this when I was 18? I feel like I'm doing a lot of things now I should have when I was 18. Better late then never, I guess.

Is teaching the job for me? Could I manage 18-30 kids, day in and day out? If I could, and I think I could, could I do it without terror before and after the work day? I get so freaked out before I do it, but am fine during. Is that a viable way to live my life? Would I get over it? Is this really what I want to do? Is speech what I want to do? I have no passion for it, but I have interest. Should I look for something where I have both, even if the passion is scary?

So torn. So torn. Ack!

Posted by Rina at 09:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I had a fun, relaxing Lead Awareness Day yesterday. : ) Thanks for all the kind notes and cards! {{HUGS}}

Kids were all cute and sweet yesterday. I got so many nice cards, some that obviously took a lot of time and effort. They sang to me and ate cupcakes and were quite adorable all day.

I got the neatest gifts, too! A shower clock/radio/CD player so I don't lose track of time in the mornings, PhotoImpact graphics program, Buffy S3, Singing in the Rain, and the abridged RENT soundtrack for the car. Ease of listening. <.giggle> I'm so excited! I've been playing with PI a lot, and I've been making my own pictures. My mom was laughing at how bouncy I was, showing off my moons and landscapes and thunderstorms. LOL!

Today we went to Naper Settlement. It was SO FUN. I adore that place. Still haven't been inside the mansion, though - they've been working in it for many years, and it just opened a few months ago. But we didn't have time for it. : ( So I need to go back sometime. On the bus, I entertained "my girls" with stories of what they did back then. ("Yes, they had fun! Yes, the girls had to be ladylike even playing.") They thought that was cool, and I had fun. Because heaven knows I like sharing things. LOL!

I wanna do a recap of my JC night! It was so fun. I never recapped Justin last summer, and I still regret that. So hopefully I can find time this week. It was a fabulous start to my birthday weekend, I gotta say. LOL

Posted by Rina at 09:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Mom and I "highlighted" my hair again. We're not sure how it happened, but I'm really kind of completely blonde. In certain areas. <.g> It's hard to see with the lighting, makes it look a lot darker than it is, but here are two examples.

One blonde strand, with some of my brown bangs to provide contrast

Whole head shot. This is where it mostly looks darker, but an idea is given

I'm almost afraid to see what happens next time we do this. LOL

Posted by Rina at 07:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I'm torn between two sets at KMart. I like them both. However, I kinda want cute gingham sheets, which I don't think goes with option #2. But option #1 is rather bright, and I don't know if it's appropriate for all year use. Thoughts and opinions?

Option one: Prairie Star

Option two: Stencil Patchwork

Posted by Rina at 10:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

I cannot *believe it's May 4 already. I swear, it was JUST March. Just yesterday! Really! Where did my semester go?!?!?!

Anyway, we all know what May 4 means, right? Well, yes, it's the sleepy blonde in my header's birthday. Happy 24th birthday, Lance.

But more importantly? It's one week until Lead Awareness Day! Most of my friends forgot this very special day last year, so I'm taking steps to avoid that this time. <.g> One year I can laugh it off, two in a row I get pissy. LOL

So, here's my bloggy reminder. Mark your calendars now! Lead Awareness Day will *not be forgotten this year.

(For those highly curious and/or worried about my sanity - I got a card years ago where the person tried to remember what exactly May 11 was - two days after Jaromir Jagr's birthday, a month until the end of school, no, that's not it. Of RIGHT, it's Lead Awareness Day! It's also my birthday, but it's more amusing to just refer to it as Lead Awareness Day. I'm a dork that way, but this should surprise no one.)

Posted by Rina at 01:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I did it! I did it! I got my driver's license this afternoon!!!! I am so excited, I'm giddy. LOL This is so cool.

Also in exciting news, huge huge hugs to my sweet Lady K, who's turning 27 today. Everyone go wish her the happiest of birthdays, because no one deserves one more. : ) Love you, sweetie.

Posted by Rina at 01:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

There's just nothing like taking an exam while dizzy, nauseous, and shaking. So much fun! Despite that, I think it went great. My only objective was getting it finished (70 questions in 15 minutes, thank you very much), so imagine my surprise when I actually knew most of them. Only a handful I guessed on, even. My only worry is that I was shaking so much I didn't get all of the bubble filled in, but we did this experiment in Astronomy a few years back - as long as you get the middle of the circle, you're good. And I'm certain I managed that, so, yes. Good feeling about this exam I barely remember!

Then it turned out to be nearly 60 today and I slept right through it. <.g> Dance class was fun, though - I actually like this routine! (Student teachers make all the difference.) And then I came back here to back up some files on my harddrive. 190MB of nsync pictures, sounds, and other paraphanalia. Yikes. <.g>

Posted by Rina at 08:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

eating strawberry ice cream with rainbow sprinkles mixed in, outside under a cloudless blue sky in springtime, and only dripping a little spoonful on your jeans. : )

Posted by Rina at 06:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Driving lesson went great! I didn't make any big mistakes, and it wasn't too scary, and the guy was really nice, and he thinks I can get my license next week, easy. My next lesson is Friday, and he'll take me on a practice run of everything that will be on the test. Then, if I'm feeling comfortable, the third lesson he'll take me for a warm up and then we'll go straight to the DMV. Eeek? Eeee! I'm nervously excited. Excitedly nervous? I guess we'll see how Friday goes. : ) I haven't parked in, like, forever and a day, let alone unhill or downhill. <.g>

Posted by Rina at 11:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

When I go here, I get a list of things associated with my name over at Google. 1 and 4 may have made me squeak. <.g>

Also what made me squeak - it snowed today! Just for a little while, and it didn't stick, but SNOW! : )

Continue reading "ACK" »

Posted by Rina at 01:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ten things I learned today:

1. I should never wear my tiny grey tee with these overall shorts. Because, well, tiny. Everyone knows what color my underwear are now. (Dark blue, in case you were curious.)

2. Lance weighs 80kg (about 180), which is a fairly significant amount above me. Whoo! I always worried that three members of nsync weighed less than I do. Pride. But now it's actually probably only JC. (Yes! Because while insanely doing a stupid search, learned that Justin is 172 pounds. JC is either 150 or 160, or at least he was when 22. So, hey, could be a lot worse! LOL I'd say I'm about equal with JC, except I think he lost weight since then.)

3. My internet connection desperately needs to be fixed. It started in August when I moved in with D. He had to have done something when trying to fix my internet.

4. One will always find cool wallpapers mere days after making their own.

5. Even really cool and funny and sweet teachers give sneaky and horrible quizzes.

6. Justin's! Little! FACE! is addictive and adorable.

7. Today is not Wednesday, honestly. Okay, I'm still trying to learn that. I can't keep it straight!

8. Just because something seems really complicated at first, doesn't mean it can't be simplified in an enjoyable way with a date analogy.

9. My GRE is at 9am, and not 11. This, I feel, is very important.

10. Stuffed animals can cure almost anything.

Posted by Rina at 05:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Argh. Had two job interviews today...one at the bank, one at a preschool. I think the school is mine, but it's scary. Twenty kindergartners, all on my own. Twenty. And she said that this is a rough bunch. The first and second graders are sweethearts, but the kindergartners are tough. I would be the teacher. I would do swim with them one afternoon a week, and that morning I would be taking them out of the property on field trips. Is that even legal??? A 20:1 ratio, with the one being someone without a teaching certificate, let alone experience leading an entire class? I've been the aide in a number of kindergarten classrooms, but this would be a totally different experience. EEEEEEKKKK!!!! But it's money, fulltime, and she was excited for me and my week long internship in June. So. I'd have to take it, of course. But I'm scared. A lot. <.g>

Then, tomorow I'm going to get my permit. God, please let me be bringing everything. I can't find my purse with my SS card and voter registration in it, but I have my IL ID and an old permit that expired two years ago, both of which have my SS# on it. God, I wish I could find my purse. My mom will kill me if I don't get my permit tomorrow.

I swear, these are such tiny things, but I am nearing hysteria. I don't get it. I must breathe. Breathe breathe BREATHE, damn it.

I started Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood tonight, already on chapter 13. It's excellent. All along, though, I've been sympathizing with Sidda when she talks about envying her mother and the Ya-Yas, and the friendship/relationship they had, because I was seriously envious, too. But then Sidda's own friends came to visit her, and I was mad at Sidda, because I think she does have it, and she doesn't realize it. It made me wonder if it was my story, would the reader get annoyed with me for complaining and wanting that very thing that I actually have and don't realize? Sometimes I wonder what my life looks like to an outsider. How much I actually manage to hide, how much peeks through, what shows that I don't even know is there. I've gotten e-mails from people, GBabes actually, who complimented me on maturity and intelligence and kindness, and it blows me away, because I don't see it. Makes me wonder what they see, and what leads them to those conclusions about me. Also makes me wonder who's perception is correct...theirs, mine, no ones?

I don't know. Not sure where this is stemming from. Maybe the book, maybe because mom and I were talking today about how some SLPs are making her doubt her faith in Josh's abilities. Josh is a fantastic communicator. Not conventional, no. Sentences aren't grammatical. But who's are? Mine aren't, but you all understand what I say just fine. So he only conveys the important words..."mom video for night." Who needs the "I want"? He's saying he wants to have a video to bring in bed with him when he goes to sleep. Perfectly logical. (Some kids like teddy bears, Josh prefers videos and tapes to protect, make sure we don't steal them from him.) I think it sucks that these so-called professionals who don't see Josh more than 4 hours a month, at most, can know him, know what he's capable of, like we can, who live with him all the time. He gets his point across. People understand him. Isn't that the point of communication? Mom shouldn't doubt her instincts, let other people's perceptions color what she sees. She may not have a degree, but she knows Josh. But on the other side, they have experience and can compare Josh to other kids, see where he measures up. In this case, I don't buy that, I think personal knowledge eclipses professional experience. But who's to say who's right, or if anyone is? Opinions and perceptions are unique to an individual, so can they really be wrong? I disagree with their notions of Josh, but maybe I am biased. (Okay, yes, I am.) But that doesn't make my view of Josh less valid, does it? I see what I see, believe what I believe. And I believe he's a strong communicator, who can certainly improve, but so can we all. I really, truly believe that, no matter what those stupid, otherwise-opinioned people think.

Okay, I'm talking in circles. And I'm not sure of what I'm saying. Don't you love late-night, sleep-deprived posts?

Posted by Rina at 11:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)