"You will be...

...pooped on, peed on, bled on, bitten at least once - try not to get bit - it hurts. Almost everyone cries their first day. Oh, that vet tech - she's worked her for 23 years - she made me cry on my second day. It's pretty normal to cry at night during the first couple weeks because of all the stuff you've seen at work."

This was the pep talk I got yesterday afternoon from Stephanie, a 3-year vet tech at the clinic, when I went in to fill out my employment packet. I thought I'd be meeting with Dr. Smith, the vet who hired me, but instead Stephanie walked me through everything instead. It was good - she told it like it was. I filled out tax stuff, federal employment stuff, got a manual, an OHSA packet whose first two pages were about avoiding animal bites. Murphy now gets 50% off any emergency medical care (let's all hope we never get to take advantage of that). I learned where and how to clock in and out. Where to park. Where to buy scrubs. How to ask others to cover my shift and how to sign up to cover other peoples' shifts. Where the list of duties was and how that worked. When we can take breaks. How you should always initial and date the food you leave in the break area to prevent others from eating it. How it was really a fun place to work but that people would test you if you were new and how it could sometimes be like high school. Stuff like that. I like Stephanie, and I'm sad she won't be there on Sunday when I have my first shift (she's going to the Bahamas). But when she gets back she'll be training me. All her cautions didn't scare me off (it was pretty much what I figured), and I'm really excited about starting work. After that meeting, I went to "Uniform World" and got two sets of scrubs: a dark blue top and bottom, a maroon top, and light blue bottoms. After 90 days we get two sets of official clinic scrubs but you always need extras. She also recommended getting some nursing shoes, since they are very comfortable and are blood-resistant, but I'm holding off on that for a while.

In other job news, I'm going in next Friday (the 8th) to meet with the HPISD personnel department to discuss substitute teaching. Hopefully it will be a quick process so that I'll be eligible soon. Since I am only working on Sundays at the clinic, I'd like to do as much subbing as possible.

Finally, something completely off topic. One of my websites in my links section is that of Clare's website/blog/picture gallery. Clare was one of Leslie's two roommates her junior and senior years at UT, and she's a really awesome person. She just started a two year stint in the Peace Corps in Senegal, Africa. So first off, I highly recommend you follow her blog because it is pretty amazing stuff and she's posting pictures too. Also, if anyone is so inclined, postcards are highly encouraged (you can find contact info in the Peace Corps section of her blog) because nothing says awesome like mail from strangers in different parts of the country. :)

Oh yeah, and something else that's randomly being added to this post - Dad's getting a new Expedition today! I'm excited. I love new cars.

"Consistency is the defense of a small mind." - Beldin

Arg!!!!!

Never order anything from Barnes & Noble online. Ever. I wouldn't have either - Amazon is easier and cheaper - but I had a giftcard. So over a month ago I ordered a couple DVDs, and the total cost was covered by my gift card plus about $8 on my credit card. Well, one of the DVDs they sent was the wrong one (and I wasn't that surprised because on their website they had the pictures switched between the DVD I wanted and the DVD I got, even though they had different names). So I called and told them what was up. The customer service person said I'd get a label to ship the wrong one back and they'd send the right DVD as soon as possible, and that I'd get an e-mail confirming all of this and contained an order number for the DVD that was coming. Eventually I got the mailing label to return the DVD but nothing else (no e-mail, no DVD). So I wrote an e-mail explaining all of this. They eventually wrote back saying they were sorry, to send the DVD back, and they'd work on getting me the right DVD. A few days later I was told I needed to pay the $20 for the new DVD so they could ship it. Fine, I thought, and put it on my credit card. That was a while back, and I got the correct DVD pretty quickly afterwards. But no refund. I checked my bank account today and there was finally a refund there...for $8, not $20. Apparently they decided to partially refund my credit card and partially refund my gift card (which was long ago throw away because it was all used up). So today I got to call them again and demand that they completely credit my card (hello, I put $20 on it buying the right DVD from them?!?!) rather than putting any on my gift card. Frankly, I want nothing to do with them again. I don't want a freaking credit with them. Next time I get a B&N gift card, I'm walking in the store and buying something off the shelf. ARG! These people are so incompetent. First off, they send the wrong DVD. Then the customer service woman lies to me. Then they make me pay for the right DVD before they ship it. And then they refund me in a bizarre way and make me call them again. BOOOOOOO! Avoid barnesandnoble.com at all costs. Bleh.

I’m thirsty, Garion, not dirty

That quotation has nothing to do with my post. I just like it. Makes me smile. :) (<--see?) Saturday night was a blast - Matt's parents hosted dinner for my parents and me. Chef John was in the kitchen while the rest of us whet our appetite on baked brie and crackers. It was a wonderful meal, celebrating Matt and my engagement as well as Emily's 20th birthday. The food was very yummy. On Sunday, Mom left us to go on her semiannual trip to Round Top. I took advantage of her absense to teach Dad how to play Halo. Even though Dad doesn't play video games with me a lot, it's really neat to have a father who has some skill at video games. A lot of people over the age of 50 just can't get it and would have had poor Master Chief perpetually walking in circles and looking at the sky. Not my dad. Ha! Sunday night I tried out a couple recipes from my page-a-day recipe calendar: beef strips with orange and ginger and ginger-spiced applesauce, served with green beans and white rice. Dad and Matt helped out (Matt learned how to steam green beans to the Hall family desired crispiness) and we sat down to a really good dinner. I was proud. Then Matt and I watched Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones.

On Monday night Matt and I went over to Claude's house and joined him, Jerry, Ted, Dad, and Robert in watching the 'Boys played the Redskins on his huge widescreen HDTV with surround sound. It was awesome. But we left at halftime so Matt could get to bed to be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for work the next day (although it was such a good game he later admitted to watching the rest at home in his PJs). Yesterday it was just Murphy and me at the house because Dad went down to the miniranch for a day. I went to the dentist for a checkup (joy) and played lots of Final Fantasy X-2. I hadn't played in a while (I was in a slump) but I got back into it. Besides, I need to beat it in the next month because Luke is going to borrow my PS2 to play GTA: SA when it comes out in late October. Then last night I watched Scrubs and L&O: SVU at Matt's.

I'm meeting with Dr. Smith, my new boss, at 4 today to fill out my "employment packet" for the vet clinic. Only 4 days until I start my job...it's exciting but a little scary. I still haven't made contact with the HPISD personnel department about substitute teaching, but my application is all ready to go (Jerry notarized my "Oath of Office" on Monday night). Actually, I'll be calling them again as soon as I post this blog entry.

Silk advised, 'Thinking about it isn't going to help, and it's only going to serve to make you nervous.'
'Nervouser,' Garion corrected, 'I'm already nervous.'
'Is there such a word as nervouser?' Silk asked Belgarath curiously.
'There is now,' Belgarath replied 'Garion just invented it,'
'I wish I could invent a word,' Silk said to Garion admiringly, his ferret like eyes gleaming mischieviously.

Happy Birthday, Emily!

No longer a teenager! Whoop!

Fort Worth Fun

First off, I really enjoyed watching CSI and ER on Thursday night. It's fun to have those shows back, although we'll have to wait two more weeks until the next ones because of the presidential debate next week. Grr. Another exciting happening on Thursday - I heard from the vet at the emergency clinic and got my schedule. I'd asked for two shifts a week but he'd only scheduled me for one: 4 pm - midnight on Sundays. I start October 3. Yay! We'll discuss adding another shift on Wednesday when I go by to fill out an "employment packet."

Yesterday was very fun - I went to Fort Worth to have lunch with Matt! I made it there with no problems even though I'd never driven further than Six Flags on I-30 before. I went up to his office and he introduced me to people and showed me around. It is ridiculously small compared to the Dallas office. Then we walked around downtown looking for a place to eat. Eventually we settled on 8.0 because we were tired of thinking about it. After lunch, we went back to the office and said goodbye so he could go back to work. Then I proceeded to go to the Fort Worth Botanic Garden, which I think is nicer than the Arboretum. And most of it is free! After wandering around there for a while, I went to the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, specifically for the Omni (IMAX) Theatre. Some people I know, like Matt, have been to the IMAX before, but if they haven't been to the Omni, they haven't seen anything.

"The Omni Theater is a technical marvel incorporating the most advanced super 70mm, multi-image projection and sound systems in the world. The theater's screen is a dome, 80 feet in diameter, tilted at a 30-degree angle to the horizon...72 huge speakers in 10 clusters are strategically placed to allow 6-track sound to "move" across the theater in synchronization with the action on the screen. The patented Omnimax® projection system utilizes the largest film size format in the history of motion pictures. Nearly 10 times larger than its 35mm counterpart, the film fills the dome with brilliant, distortion-free images. The Omnimax® projector alone stands 6 feet high and weighs 2,000 pounds."

Yeah, it is super-cool. The best field trips ever were the ones to the Omni. I sat in the exact center, which was awesome, and took in the film Forces of Nature. Very cool. Now that I know that Matt's never been to the Omni, we're going to have to go sometime. Soon. What a deprived childhood he must have had.

Anyway, after the Omni, I headed back home uneventfully. Last night we went to Wild About Harry's for hot dogs and then went and registered at Crate & Barrel. That was really fun. Matt liked holding the scanner. We did mostly cooking stuff, and now we definitely need Mom to help us sort through it to let us know what we forgot to put on there or what is really unnecessary. We're new at this. Then we browsed the Apple Store and went back to Wild About Harry's for custard. Yum. So it was a very good day. :)

The Force is with me

I got Tuesday with the specific purpose of driving to Best Buy and getting the Star Wars Trilogy. And I did just that, as well as picking up Episodes I & II as well. I watched Episode I that afternoon, and on Tuesday night, Matt, Mom, Dad, and I watched Episode IV.

Yesterday I helped out at the high school "Lunch on the Lawn" (which was in the cafeteria...Old Army's gone to hell...oh wait, wrong school). Peggy Sue joined a few other restaurants in providing the food. I was the cashier while Mike Shannon and Baldo served chopped beef sandwiches. It was pretty fun - I got to be up at the school and chatted with some old teachers and whatnot (Alcerreca, Duke, Dr. Bryce, some counselors, etc). The Roberts were there selling Blue Out shirts too (Susie borrowed an idea from A&M and is arranging a "Blue Out" game for HP and the shirts are a band fundraiser). After that was over, I went back to the doctor and had my TB test "read," which meant a nurse brushed her fingers twice over the injection location, didn't feel anything, and circled negative on my sheet. No tuberculosis! Wahoo! Last night I had a pleasant dinner with Dad, food provided by Amore, sitting in the backyard. I set him up with The Empire Strikes Back and then went over to Matt's to watch the season premiere of Law & Order. Both new episodes were okay overall, but I really like the new detective who replaced Lenny. When I got home, I watched the series premiere of Lost that I'd taped with M&D. We liked it and will definitely watch next week's continuation of the pilot. It was good.

Today I haven't done much, just had lunch and watched The Empire Strikes Back. Now I'm thinking about getting dressed and going to the Y. Tonight we have the season premieres of CSI and ER! Yay for primetime television's return!

In November, Sony is releasing a new design of the PS2 that is TINY (and has built-in Ethernet)! I'm jealous. Read [the article] if you're interested.

For those of you who stopped looking at Brittany's blog a long long time ago due to a lack of updates but were once eager readers, she has posted her first update since June. Yay! We welcome Brittany back into the blogging fold. :)

There's a guy on Texags who has this pic in his signature. I just love it, so I'm going to share:



Addition: anyone else want a Gmail invite? There are tons out there now, but if any readers want to go ahead and get one from me, I have 6. Again. They keep coming back. Anyway, e-mail me if you do (same name as my tamu.edu address, but @gmail.com).

A Good Week

This has been a good week. I am happy. Monday was pretty uneventful, but from there it gets more exciting. On Tuesday I went up to the middle school because I wanted to arrange to sit in on some class the next day. I ended up instead having a lovely chat with Ms. McCormick. It was great fun catching up with her. She had just cast Matt's cousin Sarah as "Ursula" in the school play The Little Mermaid, so we even had that to discuss. On Wednesday I put on my respectable clothes and went to the middle school for observing. It was just something I wanted to do before jumping in as a substitute teacher. I sat in on two of Ms. Janik's 8th grade English classes, the TaG 2nd period and regular 4th period. During 3rd period she arranged for me to go next door and sit in on a pre-AP algebra class. I had a really good time, even if I was having to be "Miss Hall" (sound familiar, Les?). And although some of the kids' antics were a bit scary, in general the whole thing put me at ease about the subbing process. I can do this. Bring on the TB test. On Wednesday night, I got to celebrate it being the 15th (which was the deadline for corporate taxes that had filed extensions) with Matt, as he finally emerged from the Fort Worth tax bat cave he's been holed up in for weeks. He worked all weekend! And SOOO late on Monday and Tuesday. But he got home in time for dinner on Wednesday and we had celebratory Sonic and watched the episode of Scrubs I'd taped.

Thursday afternoon Brittany and I went down to the mini-ranch. She went back to school today, so I was glad we got to spend that time together, even more so since she hadn't seen the place yet and loves horses. Mom and Dad had gone down there early that morning, and we joined them around 6 pm. We pet the horses, I showed Brittany around the place, and then we fed the cows. After dinner, Dad had to return to Dallas to get ready for his dove hunt. That night we dressed me up in the wedding dress samples that had come in all the way from Washington, and then Brittany and I watched Fantasia 2000. In the morning we rode the horses and then made a quick get-away because all three of us had stuff to do back in Dallas. Friday afternoon I had my interview with the Dallas Emergency Animal Clinic. I was pretty nervous, but it wasn't actually much of an interview. The vet with whom I had been communicating with, Dr Smith, met me there and we just chatted about why I wanted to work there and he told me what they did, how they did it, what working there was like, etc. Then he gave me a tour of the facilities. I told him I wanted to work a couple shifts a week (he was willing to have me work as little as a couple times a month or as much as full time), and he said that he'd call by Friday with a tentative schedule for me. Yay! I mentioned that I might later want to work more, even full time, and he seemed fine with that - they seem very flexible. And full time is only 35 hours/week, which is pretty cool. So it was pretty cool. Then Friday night I went to dinner with Kathy Carroll, my 9th grade world geography teacher and friend. :) Speaking of that, I gave her my blog address, so now I have to keep my Tech bashing to a minimum. That's going to be hard but I'll try. Anyway, we went to a trendy pizza place on Henderson called Fireside Pies (we didn't mean to be hip and cool by going there, since hip and cool means waiting 45 minutes to get seated, but we were anyway). It was good food, and there was definitely good conversation. I had a great time catching up!

On Saturday, Matt and I left for College Station after lunch. We picked Em up from the duplex, stopped to get subs from Subway, parked in the West Campus Garage, and met up with Amanda at their tailgate. I had an awesome time catching up with Amanda, but all too soon it was time to head to Kyle Field. Matt, Em, and I walked around the new Aggie Fan Zone by the stadium, and then we split up so Em could trek up to the 2nd deck of the student side while we waltzed over to the alumni side. Matt had done an amazing job getting us tickets - they were on the first deck, roughly the 50 yard line. Mega VIP section. The pregame was so incredible - the Golden Knights parachuting team was there and sailed into the stadium! It was so cool. There are some game pics here. We had an awesome time watching the game. A&M was looking stellar most of the time and totally beat the hell outta Clemson. I was really impressed with the Clemson fans, though - there were a ton of them, and they were very enthusiastic. And then I felt sorry for them for coming all that way to watch their team get beat thoroughly. Oh well. We had a great time! After the game, the three of us just hung out at the duplex, watching Star Wars specials and Em and me talking while Matt looked online and on TV frantically for football info and highlights. Sometime after midnight, Matt noticed they were replaying the game on TBS...*sigh* He watched the first half. On Sunday we all slept until 11. We made breakfast and then we drove back to Dallas.

Yesterday afternoon Laurie Haluska, the woman who has designed and made the La Fiesta dresses for the last 16 years, came over and we had our first wedding dress pow-wow. She brought her assistant with her, and Mom and Susie were also there. I tried on our three favorite dress samples that she'd shipped to us on Thursday and we all talked about what we did and didn't like about them, as well as how we could modify them for a Texas summer wedding. I also modeled them for Dad and Matt, who were in the other room watching the Cowboys, because this was Matt's first and only chance to have input into my dress. I basically wanted to make sure that something I liked didn't turn his stomach or something. But they all passed. You can see the ones I tried on here, styles 967, 1917, and 1179. Laurie is going to send us sketches and fabric samples of the gown we think we just worked out yesterday. I'm excited!!! :) And I had a good time doing it, which was more than I can say for my La Fiesta experience (although I made it through those dress sessions too, mostly because Laurie is awesome). And I'm really glad both Mom and Susie were there to help me out, because as most of you (*cough* Amanda) know, these type of wedding-related things really aren't my forte.

This morning I went and got a TB test, and it was oh-so-much fun. It didn't take hardly any time at all, but having a needle stuck just under your skin and stuff injected into it so there is this subcutaneous bubble of fluid...not my favorite thing in the world. But as soon as I go back and have the area examined (assuming I pass), I can schedule my substitute teaching interview! Yay!

And that's my ridiculously long blog update. I told you it was a good week.

Quotation of the day 9-18

Hello all. I have a real update in the works, but I don't have time to finish it because Matt and I are leaving to go to the football game in College Station soon!! :) We have the best seats ever. Anyway, in lieu of that, I leave you with the quotation of the day, an e-mail Amanda got from her inorganic chemistry professor.

Dear 462 Students, Once every 5-10 years, what happened today happens: I just got busy with a research related activity and forgot about class. No other excuse – extremely embarrassing, but true. Let me extend my sincere apologies, I'll do my best to make sure it doesn't happen again.

Awesome.

Quotation of the day

Found tonight as Jenny's away message, Google says it is a paraphrase from an episode of Daria...
"voluntary simplicity, sounds better than broke"

Nice.

Oh, and the computer hasn't restarted today. I wonder if it has decided to play nice since I browsed the Apple Store...

Oh dear

I think my computer may be on the verge of another breakdown. This afternoon I got the blue screen of death, a disk "consistency check," and another restart a couple hours later. I really don't want to have to reinstall Windows for the third time...I wish I were rich enough or brave enough to switch to something more reliable. When I do have the time, money, and patience to get a new computer, I think this computer will be relegated to solely PC-only gaming. Because I'm tired of messing with it. Grr...

Productivity is down

Not to imply that my other days have been extremely productive, but today was highly unproductive. I've been catching up on TV/movies both old and new. Last night, Matt and I watched Lost in Translation, which neither of us had seen. I really liked it but can't say why. Then during lunch today (which was only about an hour after I awoke - that's what happens when you sleep until 10:30) I watched The Ring for the first time. It was pretty good. I like Naomi Watts. Then I watched A&M kick Wyoming's butt - WHOOP! After that, I puttered until 7, at which time I knitted intermittently and watched a Dead Like Me episode and the second half of While You Were Sleeping. Good times. Matt has been at work in Fort Worth since 8 or so this morning and is still there. He will not be the only one happy when September 15 rolls around.

So yeah, the last couple weeks of nothingness have been fun and I still have lots of video games left to play (I'm about 10 hours into Final Fantasy X-2 now with 12 more games in various stages of play still in the queue), but time off is so much more meaningful when there is an "on." I was recovering from the school-induced "on" phase for a while, but I think I'm past that now. I'm still waiting to hear back about the job - I called Dr. Myers on Friday and he said the head of the clinic had been out of town and gets back in tomorrow and I should check back in if I haven't heard anything by Thursday - but in the meantime, I've been working on my substitute teaching application. I need something notarized and my A&M transcript is on its way, and then I can schedule an interview! So there's some good news in case the vet job takes some more time.

In memory

I remember September 11, 2001 very clearly. My first semester at college, I had an 8:00 computer science class. It was totally uneventful, and I didn't hear anything until I got back to the dorm. I was meeting Andi and her then-boyfriend Russell downstairs because it was his birthday and we were going to Sbisa for a celebratory breakfast. All Andi said when I met them was an offhand "I heard some plane crashed into a skyscraper in New York," as in a little four seater or something...maybe the people on board were killed but nothing like the reality of the situation. It wasn't until we got back from breakfast and I turned on the TV that we knew. I still had to go to my computer lab and math class, but in between I just sat in front of the TV. They kept showing the towers fall over and over. And I remember talking to Mom, how everyone was calling their family, to make sure there wasn't some family member or friend on a plane or in New York that day...and how Matt's dad was there on business and the worry I felt until we heard he was okay. Last night on HBO they were showing an hour long special called "In Memoriam: New York City, 9/11/01," and whenever I flipped by it or lingered on it, it was all of these funerals: big ceremony-filled ones for firefighters, Muslim and Jewish ceremonies, small family affairs. It was one of those things I couldn't watch for long because it was too horrible.

It has only been three years, and yet this year seems so much more removed than September 11, 2003 or 2002. Maybe it's because it is an election year, or the war in Iraq, or ... I don't know. Maybe it is a good sign that there is ten times as much coverage on TV about college football right now than 9/11. But I am glad that I have not forgotten and will not forget.

I was just reading the e-mails I received on September 11 and the days past. Brittany's dad was stuck in Chicago...John Roberts was declared safe but stuck in a New Jersey airport...Emily was telling everyone Kelsey Grammer died in one of the planes...and then I came across one from English teacher Mark Pollex. He mentioned Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address...
With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.

Aladdin

Did you know that the voice of Aladdin in the Disney classic is none other than that of Steve, DJ's boyfriend on Full House? Weird, huh? (I watch Full House sometimes when I work out at the YMCA...11-12 on ABC Family!)

Dallas Emergency Animal Clinic

FYI: The place I'm looking at working is the Dallas Emergency Animal Clinic. It is only open after hours and on weekends (until I looked at the website, I thought it was open 24 hours). I've actually been there once, when Matt and I had to take their cat in because she'd ingested antifreeze. We went there because we knew our vet worked there sometimes. Anyway, I'll have some interesting hours if I do get a job. 6 pm - 12 am wouldn't be so bad, but anything much later at only a few days a week wouldn't be do-able. Talk about a messed up sleep schedule!

Not my fault

I don't think it's my fault for not updating my blog very much. There hasn't been much to report. My working life has been put on hold until I hear back about the job at the animal hospital. Until I get a call about that, all major plans are on hold. But what has been going on...

Last Friday Matt and I went to the HP football game and stayed for the first half. We won. Afterwards we had a furious DDR session in which Matt "blew off some steam" related to having to work all weekend. Saturday Matt had to work; that night we went to Bubba's, North Park, and back to his house so he could to laundry, during which we watched Secret Window with his parents. I liked it.

On Sunday, Matt had to go into work again, but before that we went to his family's old church up in Richardson, Trinity Fellowship. We went because we really need to find someone to marry us. The Catholic church is out, which leaves us with someone with whom Matt's family is associated if we want it to be someone we know. His family changed to Park Cities Baptist after Matt left for A&M, but I'd actually been to Trinity quite a few times when we were still in high school. Dr. Anderson, the head pastor, is a good guy and actually married three of Matt's uncles. So yeah, we went there on Sunday to listen to his sermon and reacquaint ourselves with what he's like before going any further on the wedding business. We weren't turned off, so we spoke with him afterwards and arranged to set up a meeting sometime. After an early lunch at Sonic, Matt was off to work in Fort Worth. In the afternoon, I picked Brittany up and we went to Peggy Sue for a root beer float (me) and apricot fried pie (her) and conversation. It was nice to have seen each other and talked as recently as mid-summer (when she came to CS) so that it wasn't one big "catch up on each other's lives" session. It's fun having someone around who hasn't had to go back to college yet (yay quarter system!). After I took Brittany home, Matt called saying he was on his way home, didn't have to work on Labor Day, and wondering if we would like to go to the ranch. I said yes, so we packed up quickly and hit the road!

We had a good time at the mini-ranch. I introduced Matt to the horses, and then we had dinner at the Lockes' with the two of them, Mom and Dad, Carolyn, and Robert and Cindy. It rained Monday morning, so we had a big breakfast inside. When it slowed down, M&D turned to gardening and Matt and I went down to the pond to watch the wildlife - lots of frogs and turtles. Then we played some ping-pong and watched The Fifth Element while eating lunch. In the afternoon, Jerry and his girlfriend Karyl came, and we were later joined by Karyl's daughter Marni and her boyfriend. We helped Mom and Cindy saddle up the horses and they rode around while we went to the pond and tried to shoot turtles with the pellet gun. *EDIT*: Dad, Matt, and I decided to turn over the boat that had been resting upside down by the pond for quite some time. Dad was very seriously warning us about snakes when we turned it over, but the only inhabitants were a small confused skunk and a big fat bullfrog. I didn't even see the frog at first because I was too busy running the heck away from the skunk, but Dad hesitated a few nanoseconds to contemplate the hugeness of the frog. Then he cleared out too. We scattered and the skunk (quite cute, actually) trundled away. We tried to catch the frog but it made it back to the pond. (end edit) Then Matt and I rode for a while (I was proud of Matt - he's not much of a rider). Story behaved much better than last time. Matt and I had to get back to Dallas since he had work the next day. We went straight to Curtis Park where his family was grilling out with Charlie and Meredith's family. We had some good food and then played a killer game of ultimate Frisbee. My team (John, Meredith, me, Luke, Joy, Mary) won 5-4 (other team: Charlie, Susie, Matt, Johnny, Sarah). Charlie+Johnny was a deadly combination because Charlie would run insanely far (way past their goal line) and then Johnny would throw the Frisbee all the way to him - I've never seen someone throw a Frisbee that far. But my team spread it all around and was ultimately (heehee) victorious! Then Matt went home with his family and I came home to an empty house (M&D, Carolyn, and Murphy stayed at the mini-ranch Monday night). So I played FFX, which I beat last night. Not bad, to beat it in just over a week.

So that's about it. Now I'm just waiting to hear about whether I can work at the animal hospital or not...playing video games until I know. :)

Gmail

I know that half the people here are on blogger and therefore have already had this opportunity, but for the others - I have 5 Gmail invites that are up for grabs, if anyone wants them. Just let me know and make sure I have your e-mail address.

Oh yeah, I'll post more eventually, but my life has been boring recently - just lots and lots of FFX! :)

I'm in (Final) Fantasy (X) Land

In the past two days I've played over 18 hours of Final Fantasy X, and I loved every minute of it. This is what I thought I'd be doing my first couple weeks back from college (because this is what I've been wanting to do with my free time since Christmas), but I was actually pretty busy during my first two weeks in Dallas. On Monday, there was some organizing accomplished, along with a lengthy errand run. I also went to the Y and played DDR. On Monday night I beat The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (again). Yesterday I took Murphy to the vet for his yearly check-up, and I also asked Dr. Myers if he'd every let someone shadow him for vet experience... [More below] After the vet, I whipped out the Final Fantasy X because I've only beaten it once and I want to play through again before tackling X-2. And I pretty much played until Matt came over to watch the season premier of Scrubs at 8. We played some DDR afterwards. After Matt left, I kept playing DDR, this time on "Workout Mode," where I supposedly burned 200 calories. Then back to FFX, which I played until 2 am. :) This morning I bathed Murphy, swept/mopped/vacuumed the downstairs, and washed my sheets (chores #1 and #3 really have to go together for the best results). And once that was done...you guessed it - FFX for a very long time. It is such a great game with an awesome story and feel and design, and I can't believe how good it looks for a PS2 game. I'm really enjoying it again the second time around. I just played some DDR so I wouldn't feel like a lump.

Tomorrow I'm driving back to Dr. Myers office because (continuation from the story above)...
he said that his practice can get pretty boring. But, he works a few days a month at a 24-hour emergency clinic and was going to be seeing the vet who runs it that day or the next. He offered to get me an application and see what I needed to do to work there. Notice I said work, not volunteer - I had been thinking my "vet experience" this fall would be non-paying because I haven't worked in the field before, but Dr. Myers seemed to think I might be able to work there a couple days a week and get paid for it. And even if the money part doesn't work out, it seems like a great opportunity regardless. So I'm driving back to his office tomorrow to pick up the application he got for me. :) Yay!