I talked with Barnes & Noble again on the phone today. Please reference the post Arg!!! for background. Anyway, they never credited the other $11.02 on my credit card that I asked for 3 weeks ago. The customer service rep I talked to today (Bill), said he needed to look into it more and would write me an e-mail. I thought this was maybe because they'd put in the request (which he said they had) and thought it had already gone through and I was trying to get more money out of them or something. So I get Bill's reply tonight:
"We are unable to debit your Gift Card in the amount of $11.02 and credit this amount back to the credit card used to place the above order, as the total amount charged to your credit card, $8.96, was less than the amount of $11.02."
Okay, see, after that order I had to pay another $19.98 to get my replacement DVD shipped, and all of that went on my credit card. His solution, to give me a gift card in the amount of $11.02, ensures that I will spend $11.02 more with Barnes & Noble than if they hadn't screwed up the order in the first place! You think I want to rush out and buy something from them after this 2-month-long drama?!?!
So yeah, Bill and I will be talking again tomorrow. I'm acting solely on the principle of the thing now. Especially since they've handled everything SO poorly. They must lose!
Thursday, October 28, 2004
I am le tired
YAWN! It was rough getting up early this morning. I signed up to sub for the morning 4 periods for a freshman biology teacher, so I had to get up at 6:30 to be ready. I got up particularly early since I had no clue what I was doing. But, I made it and everything went fine. I even got to talk with the teacher before school because she wasn't sick or anything - she needed to be home to have furniture delivered. All I did was give a quiz (which the teacher had warned me the kids would whine about) and then show a video I don't really have any stories except that 2nd period decided to make a petition relating to the unfair nature of the quiz. I didn't mind them passing it around during the video (since my feeling was "it is fine to take it up with your teacher but as of right now just do your best"), but I refused to take the petition to give to the teacher. That's the students' business. And I have a feeling the petition isn't going to be a big hit with her. So I subbed 2-4 periods and then picked up lunch in the cafeteria before heading home (I got a free lunch voucher for subbing - I wonder if that's a every time thing?). I watched a DVR-ed Dead Like Me and chilled. Until now.
So the last couple days have been a little depressing. A friend I made in my anatomy group lost his mom to cancer on Sunday night. He came by yesterday to return some notes of mine and told me about it (he told me about the terminal diagnosis back in May, which was pretty much when his whole family found out). He's been back from A&M for a month to be with his family. He seemed like he was doing as well as he could be, but I think it'd be hard for him to be back home with all his friends still dispersed at various schools. He seems to be without much of a peer support group; even though we only know each other from one class, I hope I can maybe help a little to by being there for him. Also, Dr. Fred Sicilio, the namesake of the chemistry scholarship I received my first two years at A&M passed away yesterday. I only got to meet him a few times because of his failing health, but I heard all about him from the creators of the scholarship. He was an amazing man, a professor and advisor in the chemistry department, [you can read his obituary that appeared in the BCS Eagle (scroll down a bit)], and he also had an amazing family and friends. He will be missed.
So I'm a little sad. Luckily Murphy remains a source of joy or at least laughter. Last night I was talking with Mom and Dad in their room and I let him out to the back to go to the bathroom before bed. And he fell in the pool. I looked outside and saw these ripples in the water and there Murph was, clinging to the corner. I ran to him and pulled him out by the armpits. He was very distraught and shook water everywhere. Lesson from this: don't let the dog out in the back in the dark anymore. But it was still better than the time Jazzie fell in the hot tub - it was colder then (Thanksgiving or Christmas) and Jazzie only gave a couple futile strokes before resigning herself to her fate. Paddle-paddle-"this is the end...goodbye"...[bubbles]...
So the last couple days have been a little depressing. A friend I made in my anatomy group lost his mom to cancer on Sunday night. He came by yesterday to return some notes of mine and told me about it (he told me about the terminal diagnosis back in May, which was pretty much when his whole family found out). He's been back from A&M for a month to be with his family. He seemed like he was doing as well as he could be, but I think it'd be hard for him to be back home with all his friends still dispersed at various schools. He seems to be without much of a peer support group; even though we only know each other from one class, I hope I can maybe help a little to by being there for him. Also, Dr. Fred Sicilio, the namesake of the chemistry scholarship I received my first two years at A&M passed away yesterday. I only got to meet him a few times because of his failing health, but I heard all about him from the creators of the scholarship. He was an amazing man, a professor and advisor in the chemistry department, [you can read his obituary that appeared in the BCS Eagle (scroll down a bit)], and he also had an amazing family and friends. He will be missed.
So I'm a little sad. Luckily Murphy remains a source of joy or at least laughter. Last night I was talking with Mom and Dad in their room and I let him out to the back to go to the bathroom before bed. And he fell in the pool. I looked outside and saw these ripples in the water and there Murph was, clinging to the corner. I ran to him and pulled him out by the armpits. He was very distraught and shook water everywhere. Lesson from this: don't let the dog out in the back in the dark anymore. But it was still better than the time Jazzie fell in the hot tub - it was colder then (Thanksgiving or Christmas) and Jazzie only gave a couple futile strokes before resigning herself to her fate. Paddle-paddle-"this is the end...goodbye"...[bubbles]...
Tuesday, October 26, 2004
Another long one :)
Let's see, what's been going on? I'll touch on the highlights. Friday night was the first ever Highland Park Blue Out game. The entire thing was the idea of Matt's mom. Okay, obviously not the idea of a "[color] out" game, but she was the reason why it came to HP. The shirts' profits (which was 100% in most cases because of sponsorship) went to the band, and the overall amount raised was something around or over $20,000!!! Way to go, Susie! And it was awesome to see thousands of typically apathetic HP fans wearing their blue, official shirt or otherwise, to support the football team as they took on a talented Wiley team. Mom, Dad, Matt, and I went to the game together and sat in the semi-covered-by-the-overhang school board section. It was very rainy (unfortunately, since that mean the blue got covered up with all different colors of rain gear), but there were several breaks in it. And the football was amazing. It was a very close game, with the lead going back and forth between Wiley and HP. HP scored on a 4th down play late in the 4th quarter to go ahead by 1 point, and in the 52 seconds left Wiley marched back down and got within field goal range. But they'd already used all their timeouts and their kicker was rushed and they missed the kick. I'd never seen as many HP fans stay for the end of the game as did on Friday. It was awesome. Blue Out record 1-0!
We got home late, which was unfortunate because Matt and I had to get up early on Saturday morning to drive to College Station for more football! Matt picked me up at 7am and drove us down for the Colorado game. We met up with Emily and the duplex and headed to campus. Gotta love the West Campus garage spot (good job, Em). We walked around the stadium and into the MSC looking for tickets. Matt left us waiting inside while he went back out to find a scalper with good seats. He returned victorious, and we celebrated with cheeseburgers grilled right in front of Kyle Field. Right before we parted with Em to enter the stadium, she discovered that our seats weren't on the alumni side as Matt thought, but were in an alumni section on the student side (in between the 5-10 yard lines, first deck). So we didn't part ways just then. Finally we did, as Emily was on the first row of the second deck. And let me say this about the weather: it was raining when we got to College Station for the game, and we were prepared with rain gear. Well, as SOON as the game started, the clouds broke and it became hot and sunny. The left sides of our faces got a little ... pink. Yeah, we looked silly. Anyway, we were looking forward to the A&M game as a welcome change from the excitement of the HP game the night before. We were supposed to crush CU. Ha! The game was terrifying and we barely managed to tie it up to head into overtime. Luckily, after scoring a field goal on our try, CU's Purify fumbled and we recovered and the scariest A&M game this season was over. Big sigh of relief. And even though it was way too emotional and scary, it was awesome to be there. Matt's so nice. We scurried right out of Kyle Field and College Station (after dropping off Emily) and drove to the mini-ranch. We had a yummy dinner with the 'rents and Jerry, watched some of the Texas-Tech game, had a bonfire, watched fog roll in and out, and went to bed before 11pm because we were so tuckered out. M&D let us sleep until after they got back from church, which was great. We had a lovely brunch around 11am and then Matt and I met Domino (turns out she's a she). Bob was being insanely protective of her as we walked out into the field, so that we came up with the plan "okay, if she charges us, jump over the fence." Mom and Dad went to get the horses, but we didn't have time to ride because I wanted to get back with plenty of time before work. Just as well - as soon as they got the horses to the barn, it started pouring. So we left the mini-ranch and came back to Dallas. Work was fine. I learned how to do x-rays and none of our patients died, so it was a good night. There were more patients in the clinic than other nights, but it still wasn't busy.
Yesterday I beat FFX-2. I had been going for 100% completion, but I messed one thing up (which was really annoying), so I just decided to beat the game as soon as possible after that. I still ended up with 98%, which was pretty good. And if you replay the game as a "new game plus," you start with the same %, so I just need to make sure I do what I didn't do last time. It was a really fun game and I enjoyed it (almost as much as FFX, and I liked certain aspects a lot more in X-2). But I'm also glad I've beaten it since Luke will be getting GTA: SA soon and he'll need my PS2.
Today I was convinced I would be substituting. My first scheduled job is next Tuesday, for Ms. Janik (McDonald), and I don't want her to have to be my first time. So I was scouring the website last night for a job but there was nothing. But last week I was called early in the morning Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday by the automated voice with jobs, so I thought there was a good chance I'd get called this morning as well. So I packed my bag, got out sub-appropriate clothes, and set my alarm for 7am (you have to be at the schools around 7:45am). I woke up at 7 but hadn't been called yet, so I didn't get out of bed. I figured I was awake at least, so if the call came I could spring up and be ready in no time. But, alas, the phone never rang and so I went back to sleep (I couldn't fall asleep last night due to nerves). Oh well, there's always tomorrow or Thursday or Friday (although one of those days I'm supposed to do wedding stuff). But I really hope something comes along soon.
Oh, I didn't mention this earlier. Mom, Dad, and I were all really intrigued by Bryan and Leslie's Replay TV (DVR). When we got back from California, I looked at our cable company's website to see what they had to say about it - turns out they were doing a DVR service in certain areas. Now, I knew that the ideal DVR is not one from a cable company, but our digital cable is finicky enough without trying to get it to play nicely with a third party device - getting it through the cable company is a way to ensure more support. Anyway, I called Charter on Thursday to see if it was being offered here. Sure enough, it was and you got the unit plus service for $9.99 a month - no buying the DVR, no contract. I told M&D about it, and Dad said "Let's try it!" So I called back and they said they could install it the next day (Friday). Woot! The DVR simply replaces our digital cable box. It doesn't have all the features that Leslie and Bryan's has, but it has enough, and they are currently working on a software upgrade that adds more. I've already set it up to record all of our shows, plus a few movies I wanted to watch, plus the show "Dead Like Me" on Showtime, a show I had watched a few times and liked but that airs Sunday nights. I love our new DVR. And for once, I think this was technology that Mom and Dad would have gotten on their own, even if I hadn't existed! I'm so proud.
We got home late, which was unfortunate because Matt and I had to get up early on Saturday morning to drive to College Station for more football! Matt picked me up at 7am and drove us down for the Colorado game. We met up with Emily and the duplex and headed to campus. Gotta love the West Campus garage spot (good job, Em). We walked around the stadium and into the MSC looking for tickets. Matt left us waiting inside while he went back out to find a scalper with good seats. He returned victorious, and we celebrated with cheeseburgers grilled right in front of Kyle Field. Right before we parted with Em to enter the stadium, she discovered that our seats weren't on the alumni side as Matt thought, but were in an alumni section on the student side (in between the 5-10 yard lines, first deck). So we didn't part ways just then. Finally we did, as Emily was on the first row of the second deck. And let me say this about the weather: it was raining when we got to College Station for the game, and we were prepared with rain gear. Well, as SOON as the game started, the clouds broke and it became hot and sunny. The left sides of our faces got a little ... pink. Yeah, we looked silly. Anyway, we were looking forward to the A&M game as a welcome change from the excitement of the HP game the night before. We were supposed to crush CU. Ha! The game was terrifying and we barely managed to tie it up to head into overtime. Luckily, after scoring a field goal on our try, CU's Purify fumbled and we recovered and the scariest A&M game this season was over. Big sigh of relief. And even though it was way too emotional and scary, it was awesome to be there. Matt's so nice. We scurried right out of Kyle Field and College Station (after dropping off Emily) and drove to the mini-ranch. We had a yummy dinner with the 'rents and Jerry, watched some of the Texas-Tech game, had a bonfire, watched fog roll in and out, and went to bed before 11pm because we were so tuckered out. M&D let us sleep until after they got back from church, which was great. We had a lovely brunch around 11am and then Matt and I met Domino (turns out she's a she). Bob was being insanely protective of her as we walked out into the field, so that we came up with the plan "okay, if she charges us, jump over the fence." Mom and Dad went to get the horses, but we didn't have time to ride because I wanted to get back with plenty of time before work. Just as well - as soon as they got the horses to the barn, it started pouring. So we left the mini-ranch and came back to Dallas. Work was fine. I learned how to do x-rays and none of our patients died, so it was a good night. There were more patients in the clinic than other nights, but it still wasn't busy.
Yesterday I beat FFX-2. I had been going for 100% completion, but I messed one thing up (which was really annoying), so I just decided to beat the game as soon as possible after that. I still ended up with 98%, which was pretty good. And if you replay the game as a "new game plus," you start with the same %, so I just need to make sure I do what I didn't do last time. It was a really fun game and I enjoyed it (almost as much as FFX, and I liked certain aspects a lot more in X-2). But I'm also glad I've beaten it since Luke will be getting GTA: SA soon and he'll need my PS2.
Today I was convinced I would be substituting. My first scheduled job is next Tuesday, for Ms. Janik (McDonald), and I don't want her to have to be my first time. So I was scouring the website last night for a job but there was nothing. But last week I was called early in the morning Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday by the automated voice with jobs, so I thought there was a good chance I'd get called this morning as well. So I packed my bag, got out sub-appropriate clothes, and set my alarm for 7am (you have to be at the schools around 7:45am). I woke up at 7 but hadn't been called yet, so I didn't get out of bed. I figured I was awake at least, so if the call came I could spring up and be ready in no time. But, alas, the phone never rang and so I went back to sleep (I couldn't fall asleep last night due to nerves). Oh well, there's always tomorrow or Thursday or Friday (although one of those days I'm supposed to do wedding stuff). But I really hope something comes along soon.
Oh, I didn't mention this earlier. Mom, Dad, and I were all really intrigued by Bryan and Leslie's Replay TV (DVR). When we got back from California, I looked at our cable company's website to see what they had to say about it - turns out they were doing a DVR service in certain areas. Now, I knew that the ideal DVR is not one from a cable company, but our digital cable is finicky enough without trying to get it to play nicely with a third party device - getting it through the cable company is a way to ensure more support. Anyway, I called Charter on Thursday to see if it was being offered here. Sure enough, it was and you got the unit plus service for $9.99 a month - no buying the DVR, no contract. I told M&D about it, and Dad said "Let's try it!" So I called back and they said they could install it the next day (Friday). Woot! The DVR simply replaces our digital cable box. It doesn't have all the features that Leslie and Bryan's has, but it has enough, and they are currently working on a software upgrade that adds more. I've already set it up to record all of our shows, plus a few movies I wanted to watch, plus the show "Dead Like Me" on Showtime, a show I had watched a few times and liked but that airs Sunday nights. I love our new DVR. And for once, I think this was technology that Mom and Dad would have gotten on their own, even if I hadn't existed! I'm so proud.
Thursday, October 21, 2004
The Promised Update
At last - I'm getting around to posting about California. I'd say I've been busy and that would be somewhat true...trying to beat Final Fantasy X-2 is hard work! So, California was great. The weather was awesome, we saw did lots of things, and it was great catching up with Leslie and Bryan. I'll start from the top.
On Wednesday morning, we left the house and Murphy in the capable hands of Carolyn as Jerry took us to the airport. Flying American was super, except for us being in the back of the plane. We kept thinking how the people in the back of the plane were the ones who died in Lost. I wore my traveling maroon. I met one Aggie, class of '97. Getting the rental car was a little trickier...Dad got a super-budget car that required a ride from the airport to the rental place, followed by another ride by van to a hotel where the rental place was in the lobby, in what looked like a closet. It was a little sketchy. And then they directed us to the wrong gold Camry in the parking lot, so they had to drive around with our keys out the window, seeing which car honked back to find ours. Also, Dad had paid $6 extra per day for a new car, and ours had 29k miles on it (and a cracked windshield). Yeah, that's new...but in the car's defense, it did just fine for the 400+ miles we used it. So then we went to M&D's hotel and got checked in. We hung out there for a while, and I finished reading the book (The Lovely Bones)Mom loaned me to read on the plane. It was really good. Then we headed over to Les and Bryan's apartment. We chatted for a while and then somewhat watched the debate. And we all got a ReplayTV lesson. And Les and Bryan cooked dinner for us later, which was very good. Then M&D headed back to the hotel and I got settled in on the couch, which was very comfy.
Thursday: Leslie took the day off from work, which was great! M&D got to the apartment around 8:30. We got organized and then drove a long way on curvy mountain roads through Colorado-esque towns to Big Basin State Park, which has the best redwoods in the area. We did a short hike (walk) that took us by some amazing trees. And it was in the high 50's temp-wise, which felt awesome. Then we played around on a big fallen redwood they let you climb on (the roots were great fun to climb). Next we drove to Bonnie Doon, a winery, and did tasting (Les and Bryan have been there almost 10 times between them). It was interesting, and even though I didn't like the wine (Bryan didn't really either, which made me feel better), I appreciated the fact that it seemed like quality product. And it made me feel cultured... :) We had two dessert wines, including a rasberry one served in a chocolate cup, that were okay because they were really sweet. But still not something I'd really choose to order somewhere. Then we drove along the coast about 40 miles to Half Moon Bay, a really cool little town (okay, not that little). We ate at Bryan's favorite "seafood dive" the Flying Fish Grill, where we ordered garlic calamari as an appetizer, and I got fried prawns with sweet potato fries. Then we walked around the downtown, which was a lot like a Colorado town with all the little shops and restaurants. At about 4:30 we left and drove down to the beach just to see it. It was really foggy, which was cool. The waves were pretty big (surfers like the area). So, after the ocean, we drove back to fremont. We crossed over the longest bridge in the bay and could see Oakland and San Fran. It was cool. We went to Trader Joe's (the cool, totally California grocery store chain) and got stuff to have a laid back dinner. While we ate, we watched 'Best in Show'. Then Mom and Dad left and the kids went upstairs. I watched CSI and ER that Leslie had so kindly set up to TiVo for me. Bryan joined me for ER, which was nice, although regretably it was a crummy episode.
On Friday, Leslie had to teach (sad), and so Bryan was our tour leader for the day (what a good sport). We drove to Berkeley after contemplating taking BART like Bryan does usually. After some parking excitement, he left us at a coffee shop for M&D to get their caffeine fix while he met with a professor. After collecting us, we proceeded to tromp through all of the Berkeley campus, which I really enjoyed seeing. I kept my eyes out for Jenny McBee, but didn't run into her. We went through the library, which was just amazing. Very ornate but cozy. Then we had lunch at one of Bryan's favorite restaurants and headed back towards the car, stopping along the way to walk through the chemistry building for my sake. :) We drove through the neighborhoods around Berkeley before heading to San Jose. We saw neat houses and the coolest elementary school ever in those hills. Next we visited Leslie's class right before school got out, followed by a trip to the Winchester Mystery House, which was surprising cool (aren't insane people interesting?). Then Johanna (one of Leslie's TFA friends) joined us for vegetarian Indian food. That night I got to talk with Matt on the phone. I woke him up when I called - he'd fallen asleep on the couch. He'd reached the October 15th tax deadline and was done with working in Fort Worth (thank goodness).
Saturday: M&D arrived at 9 to pick Leslie and me up to head to San Francisco. Bryan was staying behind because his friend Doug was arriving in town later to interview for Bryan's old Apple job (and was also staying at the apartment). We drove around a place called "The Presidio," and then parked in a neighborhood right by Haight-Ashbury and had brunch at a cool place with excellent food. I tried to order a coke and was told "um, we brew our own sodas here;" they also made their own beer, including one called "Weekapaug Gruit." Phish reference woot! Then we went to Chinatown and walked around there. We got back to Fremont in time to watch the Aggie game, which was AWESOME! I was so proud of the Ags. FSN cut away to the Stanford game when A&M was in the 4th quarter, but I'd seen what I needed to. Leslie was a very nice sister to let me watch the game in her living room. :) :) At the end of the game, Bryan returned with Doug and another friend Phil. After a failed attempt to locate Chinese restaurants that would deliver to us, Mom and Dad picked up fried chicken for all. We feasted and watched Aladdin. Then M&D went to their hotel we and played DDR on Bryan's PS2. It has real well-known songs, unlike my Xbox version, and more songs in general, but the Xbox version is more polished and looks nicer. I agree with Bryan, though, that they all have a horrible user interface. Then Phil went home, Bryan got Doug settled on the dining room floor, and we all went to bed. I had to get up at 6:45 on Sunday to get ready to go to the airport.
So, to sum up, California was lovely. Leslie and Bryan were super-generous with their time, and it was great catching up with both of them. I read a couple books, Bryan loaned me the two PS2 Grand Theft Auto games...a good time was had by all. :)
On Wednesday morning, we left the house and Murphy in the capable hands of Carolyn as Jerry took us to the airport. Flying American was super, except for us being in the back of the plane. We kept thinking how the people in the back of the plane were the ones who died in Lost. I wore my traveling maroon. I met one Aggie, class of '97. Getting the rental car was a little trickier...Dad got a super-budget car that required a ride from the airport to the rental place, followed by another ride by van to a hotel where the rental place was in the lobby, in what looked like a closet. It was a little sketchy. And then they directed us to the wrong gold Camry in the parking lot, so they had to drive around with our keys out the window, seeing which car honked back to find ours. Also, Dad had paid $6 extra per day for a new car, and ours had 29k miles on it (and a cracked windshield). Yeah, that's new...but in the car's defense, it did just fine for the 400+ miles we used it. So then we went to M&D's hotel and got checked in. We hung out there for a while, and I finished reading the book (The Lovely Bones)Mom loaned me to read on the plane. It was really good. Then we headed over to Les and Bryan's apartment. We chatted for a while and then somewhat watched the debate. And we all got a ReplayTV lesson. And Les and Bryan cooked dinner for us later, which was very good. Then M&D headed back to the hotel and I got settled in on the couch, which was very comfy.
Thursday: Leslie took the day off from work, which was great! M&D got to the apartment around 8:30. We got organized and then drove a long way on curvy mountain roads through Colorado-esque towns to Big Basin State Park, which has the best redwoods in the area. We did a short hike (walk) that took us by some amazing trees. And it was in the high 50's temp-wise, which felt awesome. Then we played around on a big fallen redwood they let you climb on (the roots were great fun to climb). Next we drove to Bonnie Doon, a winery, and did tasting (Les and Bryan have been there almost 10 times between them). It was interesting, and even though I didn't like the wine (Bryan didn't really either, which made me feel better), I appreciated the fact that it seemed like quality product. And it made me feel cultured... :) We had two dessert wines, including a rasberry one served in a chocolate cup, that were okay because they were really sweet. But still not something I'd really choose to order somewhere. Then we drove along the coast about 40 miles to Half Moon Bay, a really cool little town (okay, not that little). We ate at Bryan's favorite "seafood dive" the Flying Fish Grill, where we ordered garlic calamari as an appetizer, and I got fried prawns with sweet potato fries. Then we walked around the downtown, which was a lot like a Colorado town with all the little shops and restaurants. At about 4:30 we left and drove down to the beach just to see it. It was really foggy, which was cool. The waves were pretty big (surfers like the area). So, after the ocean, we drove back to fremont. We crossed over the longest bridge in the bay and could see Oakland and San Fran. It was cool. We went to Trader Joe's (the cool, totally California grocery store chain) and got stuff to have a laid back dinner. While we ate, we watched 'Best in Show'. Then Mom and Dad left and the kids went upstairs. I watched CSI and ER that Leslie had so kindly set up to TiVo for me. Bryan joined me for ER, which was nice, although regretably it was a crummy episode.
On Friday, Leslie had to teach (sad), and so Bryan was our tour leader for the day (what a good sport). We drove to Berkeley after contemplating taking BART like Bryan does usually. After some parking excitement, he left us at a coffee shop for M&D to get their caffeine fix while he met with a professor. After collecting us, we proceeded to tromp through all of the Berkeley campus, which I really enjoyed seeing. I kept my eyes out for Jenny McBee, but didn't run into her. We went through the library, which was just amazing. Very ornate but cozy. Then we had lunch at one of Bryan's favorite restaurants and headed back towards the car, stopping along the way to walk through the chemistry building for my sake. :) We drove through the neighborhoods around Berkeley before heading to San Jose. We saw neat houses and the coolest elementary school ever in those hills. Next we visited Leslie's class right before school got out, followed by a trip to the Winchester Mystery House, which was surprising cool (aren't insane people interesting?). Then Johanna (one of Leslie's TFA friends) joined us for vegetarian Indian food. That night I got to talk with Matt on the phone. I woke him up when I called - he'd fallen asleep on the couch. He'd reached the October 15th tax deadline and was done with working in Fort Worth (thank goodness).
Saturday: M&D arrived at 9 to pick Leslie and me up to head to San Francisco. Bryan was staying behind because his friend Doug was arriving in town later to interview for Bryan's old Apple job (and was also staying at the apartment). We drove around a place called "The Presidio," and then parked in a neighborhood right by Haight-Ashbury and had brunch at a cool place with excellent food. I tried to order a coke and was told "um, we brew our own sodas here;" they also made their own beer, including one called "Weekapaug Gruit." Phish reference woot! Then we went to Chinatown and walked around there. We got back to Fremont in time to watch the Aggie game, which was AWESOME! I was so proud of the Ags. FSN cut away to the Stanford game when A&M was in the 4th quarter, but I'd seen what I needed to. Leslie was a very nice sister to let me watch the game in her living room. :) :) At the end of the game, Bryan returned with Doug and another friend Phil. After a failed attempt to locate Chinese restaurants that would deliver to us, Mom and Dad picked up fried chicken for all. We feasted and watched Aladdin. Then M&D went to their hotel we and played DDR on Bryan's PS2. It has real well-known songs, unlike my Xbox version, and more songs in general, but the Xbox version is more polished and looks nicer. I agree with Bryan, though, that they all have a horrible user interface. Then Phil went home, Bryan got Doug settled on the dining room floor, and we all went to bed. I had to get up at 6:45 on Sunday to get ready to go to the airport.
So, to sum up, California was lovely. Leslie and Bryan were super-generous with their time, and it was great catching up with both of them. I read a couple books, Bryan loaned me the two PS2 Grand Theft Auto games...a good time was had by all. :)
Tuesday, October 19, 2004
Domino
I'll post an update about California and work and whatnot later, but right now I want to post a pic of the newest member of the mini-ranch herd: Domino the calf. Mamacita had her baby sometime when we were in California (our guess is Friday). We're pretty sure it is a 'he.' All the cows are being very protective of him, especially his Aunt Bob. Here's the picture Mom took on Monday:
Tuesday, October 12, 2004
Caleeforneuh
It's not a tuma...
Tomorrow we're going to the great state governed by the Terminator to visit Leslie and Bryan. We'll be there until Sunday. Leslie's taking Thursday off from teaching to play (and going back on Friday to clean up the sub's mess) and we're going to come visit her school on Friday. Her principal is even an Aggie! I've been to her school once before (last Christmas) but there weren't any students, so I didn't get the full effect. And I think we're all going to San Francisco on Saturday. I'm just excited that I'll get to see Les between August and Christmas. And it looks like the A&M game will be shown on Fox Sports Bay Area, so if we're home I might even get to watch! We are supposed to get into DFW at 4pm on Sunday, which is exactly when my work shift starts. I got someone to cover until I can get there.
Not much has been going on with me lately. I had my sub meeting on Friday. It was a group thing with maybe 12 other prospective substitute teachers. They made sure we had all our paperwork and we filled out a few more forms. I had to call Mom for her SSN because I had to name a beneficiary for my retirement plan. That was a little weird. We're supposed to be on the sub list by tomorrow exciting! On Saturday Matt and I ordered the A&M game on PPV and watched it over at his house. That was really fun. I'm so glad our team is improving...I mean, 4-1 (2-0 Big 12) is awesome! And we're even ranked now! A big test will be the Oklahoma State game this Saturday. It'll show how far we've really come.
I had my second work shift on Sunday. I was more relaxed and able to contribute a little more, but at the same time, I feel like I know nothing. When I got in around 3:30, I got to say hello to Dr. Myers (our vet, the one who helped me get the job) who was just finishing up his shift. He introduced me to the vet I was working under (Dr. Johnston - super nice and fun to work for) and told me if anyone gave me a hard time, I should let him know. I felt special. :) It was another slow Sunday night (unusual, they say). I got to see my first surgery - a Mastiff with bloat - meaning I could watch whenever I had time. And I helped drain off over half a litre of fluid from a boxer's chest. A dog needed a whole blood transfusion and the techs on the case were asking all of us if we owned big dogs. Dr. Johnston's wife ended up bringing their dog (a tripod - that's what happens when both adults are vets) to be the donor. That was cool. I didn't get home until about 12:30. Murphy went crazy when he smelled all the animals on me. I took my time getting ready for bed this time around because I discovered last Sunday that I need to wind down after work before trying to sleep. Mom and Dad were very considerate of my need to sleep in on Monday (Murphy not so much).
I've been playing a lot of FFX-2 in the last week, and now I'm over 80% done. I need to beat it soon because Luke's borrowing my PS2 to play GTA: San Andreas when it comes out. And I can't have a game like FFX-2 remaining unbeaten when my PS2 is unavailable (and I don't think the Roberts want me popping in and playing video games all day while Luke's at school). Yesterday Laurie Haluska brought over fabric samples for the wedding dress and I picked the ones I liked. It was exciting. We're going to have our first fitting at Thanksgiving!
So yeah, that's what's been going on with me lately. Oh, and one more thing: if anyone out there saw the movie Garden State and really liked it, you should totally get the soundtrack. It is awesome.
Tomorrow we're going to the great state governed by the Terminator to visit Leslie and Bryan. We'll be there until Sunday. Leslie's taking Thursday off from teaching to play (and going back on Friday to clean up the sub's mess) and we're going to come visit her school on Friday. Her principal is even an Aggie! I've been to her school once before (last Christmas) but there weren't any students, so I didn't get the full effect. And I think we're all going to San Francisco on Saturday. I'm just excited that I'll get to see Les between August and Christmas. And it looks like the A&M game will be shown on Fox Sports Bay Area, so if we're home I might even get to watch! We are supposed to get into DFW at 4pm on Sunday, which is exactly when my work shift starts. I got someone to cover until I can get there.
Not much has been going on with me lately. I had my sub meeting on Friday. It was a group thing with maybe 12 other prospective substitute teachers. They made sure we had all our paperwork and we filled out a few more forms. I had to call Mom for her SSN because I had to name a beneficiary for my retirement plan. That was a little weird. We're supposed to be on the sub list by tomorrow exciting! On Saturday Matt and I ordered the A&M game on PPV and watched it over at his house. That was really fun. I'm so glad our team is improving...I mean, 4-1 (2-0 Big 12) is awesome! And we're even ranked now! A big test will be the Oklahoma State game this Saturday. It'll show how far we've really come.
I had my second work shift on Sunday. I was more relaxed and able to contribute a little more, but at the same time, I feel like I know nothing. When I got in around 3:30, I got to say hello to Dr. Myers (our vet, the one who helped me get the job) who was just finishing up his shift. He introduced me to the vet I was working under (Dr. Johnston - super nice and fun to work for) and told me if anyone gave me a hard time, I should let him know. I felt special. :) It was another slow Sunday night (unusual, they say). I got to see my first surgery - a Mastiff with bloat - meaning I could watch whenever I had time. And I helped drain off over half a litre of fluid from a boxer's chest. A dog needed a whole blood transfusion and the techs on the case were asking all of us if we owned big dogs. Dr. Johnston's wife ended up bringing their dog (a tripod - that's what happens when both adults are vets) to be the donor. That was cool. I didn't get home until about 12:30. Murphy went crazy when he smelled all the animals on me. I took my time getting ready for bed this time around because I discovered last Sunday that I need to wind down after work before trying to sleep. Mom and Dad were very considerate of my need to sleep in on Monday (Murphy not so much).
I've been playing a lot of FFX-2 in the last week, and now I'm over 80% done. I need to beat it soon because Luke's borrowing my PS2 to play GTA: San Andreas when it comes out. And I can't have a game like FFX-2 remaining unbeaten when my PS2 is unavailable (and I don't think the Roberts want me popping in and playing video games all day while Luke's at school). Yesterday Laurie Haluska brought over fabric samples for the wedding dress and I picked the ones I liked. It was exciting. We're going to have our first fitting at Thanksgiving!
So yeah, that's what's been going on with me lately. Oh, and one more thing: if anyone out there saw the movie Garden State and really liked it, you should totally get the soundtrack. It is awesome.
Wednesday, October 06, 2004
Ever seen Emergency Vets on Animal Planet?
Yeah, it was kind of like that but 100 times slower. They told me it was a really slow day (especially for a Sunday) and not to expect it to ever be like that. I got there around 3:30 pm. I met Christina, a vet tech in the know, who showed me around randomly until the tech I was to shadow, Susan, arrived. Susan is probably in her early 40's, and she's a very good vet tech. So I learned how to read medical charts. We do chart updates every two hours, and what the update consists of depends on the animal - it might be as little as making sure the cage is clean and the animal is still breathing or as much as administering medications and taking TPR (temperature, pulse, respiration rate). I saw a few catheters placed and medicine given, although I didn't do any myself. Also, I was told to watch all the techs holding techniques on the animals - it is our job to make sure no one (especially the vets) gets bitten. Techs are all assigned to vets (about three techs per vet), and Susan, Jennifer, and I were under Dr. Sarpong (she's a nice, very young-looking vet - good, though).
Some of the cases already there included Buck, an old epileptic wirehaired Fox Terrier feeling off; Smokey, a gray kitty hit-by-car (HBC) with a broken jaw that was awaiting a Monday surgery; Billie Badass, a fluffy orange kitty HBC; a dog with distemper in isolation; and three 3-week-old kittens who'd lost their mom and were awaiting foster care. My favorite was Lilley, a Calico who'd actually died on Saturday night from respiration problems (air in the chest cavity compressing the lungs) - all the techs and vets who'd seen her on Saturday were amazed she was still alive - and she was doing awesome. She was in an oxygen cage when I got there but was doing so well she got moved to a regular cage. She was super affectionate and loved ear rubs. Whenever I had a free moment I'd go over and pet her.
Some cases that came in while I was there: a dog with a three-pronged fish hook in its mouth. A dog that had been vomiting and either had an upset stomach from eating spoiled chicken or Parvo (let's all hope it was the former) came in - its owners tried to con their way out of the bill and probably did (the mom signed a promissory note that I doubt she'll return to pay). We gave the dog fluids subcutaneously and sent it home...it'll probably die...Dr. Sarpong wanted to have them sign the animal over to us but they refused. I saw a torti cat that looked almost exactly like Whiskers but with stunning green eyes who'd been attacked by a dog; she did okay. There was a Boston Terrier with a broken leg - super cute. Then there was an old dog who was attacked by another dog (of the same owner) at a dog park because it was weak and had spine problems. It was going to be put to sleep on Friday because of the spine, so basically the owners were having their last week with the dog, but then it got attacked by another of their animals and so they went ahead and had it put down at the clinic. Then I got to learn what we do with dead animals - bag them up, put a tag on the back identifying them and indicating whether they're destined for private or communal cremation, and put them in the freezer. Not the best part of the job. There was also a young stray dog HBC with leg problems that had to be put down too because no one was there to authorize payment. All the techs working on him were trying to get one of us to adopt it (they hit me extra-hard because I was new). I would've loved to have saved it, but at the same time, I'm glad that living here with Mom and Dad automatically prevents me from picking up strays. I don't have the money or the place in life to start my animal collection. Yet. Just wait. Everyone at the clinic has multiple animals. It is only a matter of time. :) But I seriously can't get a pet right now. Especially not one that requires thousands in medical treatment right off the bat.
So yeah, it was good. I learned a lot and next Sunday will be great starting with some knowledge already in hand. My feet hurt like crazy when I got home around 12:30 am. I think I'm going to get some of those nursing clogs that resist blood and whatnot but are also super-comfy. Oh, and all I got on my scrubs this time around was peanut butter.
Some of the cases already there included Buck, an old epileptic wirehaired Fox Terrier feeling off; Smokey, a gray kitty hit-by-car (HBC) with a broken jaw that was awaiting a Monday surgery; Billie Badass, a fluffy orange kitty HBC; a dog with distemper in isolation; and three 3-week-old kittens who'd lost their mom and were awaiting foster care. My favorite was Lilley, a Calico who'd actually died on Saturday night from respiration problems (air in the chest cavity compressing the lungs) - all the techs and vets who'd seen her on Saturday were amazed she was still alive - and she was doing awesome. She was in an oxygen cage when I got there but was doing so well she got moved to a regular cage. She was super affectionate and loved ear rubs. Whenever I had a free moment I'd go over and pet her.
Some cases that came in while I was there: a dog with a three-pronged fish hook in its mouth. A dog that had been vomiting and either had an upset stomach from eating spoiled chicken or Parvo (let's all hope it was the former) came in - its owners tried to con their way out of the bill and probably did (the mom signed a promissory note that I doubt she'll return to pay). We gave the dog fluids subcutaneously and sent it home...it'll probably die...Dr. Sarpong wanted to have them sign the animal over to us but they refused. I saw a torti cat that looked almost exactly like Whiskers but with stunning green eyes who'd been attacked by a dog; she did okay. There was a Boston Terrier with a broken leg - super cute. Then there was an old dog who was attacked by another dog (of the same owner) at a dog park because it was weak and had spine problems. It was going to be put to sleep on Friday because of the spine, so basically the owners were having their last week with the dog, but then it got attacked by another of their animals and so they went ahead and had it put down at the clinic. Then I got to learn what we do with dead animals - bag them up, put a tag on the back identifying them and indicating whether they're destined for private or communal cremation, and put them in the freezer. Not the best part of the job. There was also a young stray dog HBC with leg problems that had to be put down too because no one was there to authorize payment. All the techs working on him were trying to get one of us to adopt it (they hit me extra-hard because I was new). I would've loved to have saved it, but at the same time, I'm glad that living here with Mom and Dad automatically prevents me from picking up strays. I don't have the money or the place in life to start my animal collection. Yet. Just wait. Everyone at the clinic has multiple animals. It is only a matter of time. :) But I seriously can't get a pet right now. Especially not one that requires thousands in medical treatment right off the bat.
So yeah, it was good. I learned a lot and next Sunday will be great starting with some knowledge already in hand. My feet hurt like crazy when I got home around 12:30 am. I think I'm going to get some of those nursing clogs that resist blood and whatnot but are also super-comfy. Oh, and all I got on my scrubs this time around was peanut butter.
Friday, October 01, 2004
Ah, memories
So I usually try to time my workouts so that I do my 30 minutes of cardio during an episode of Full House on ABC Family (I get bored). Well, as I've been watching recently, I realized that I was seeing the newest Full House episodes (everyone was really old). Just now while I was waiting for Matt to get back from Fort Worth, I watched (unknown to me until now) the very last two episodes ever (the one where Michelle falls off the horse and gets amnesia and its continuation). I don't think I'd seen them since I experienced them the first time in primetime. But you know what that means? On Sunday, they start all over from the beginning! I don't know that I ever saw the first episode of Full House, but I going to make sure and catch it this time around! :)
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