I'd feel bad about not blogging recently, but I think we were all taking a Christmas break. And I was busy with holiday things. On Saturday the 18th, Leslie and Bryan came into town. We celebrated Mom and Dad's 34th wedding anniversary one day early by going to dinner at Steak & Ale. Both working at Steak & Ale in 1970 is how they met, so there were lots of memories there. We also drove by the first house I lived in and Leslie's first house in Texas. On Sunday I went to work while the family had a "reception" of sorts for Leslie and Bryan, with M&D's friends, Carolyn, and Uncle Mike. That night Leslie and Bryan got to see where I worked and got the tour of the EAC. Picture here: The person on the right in the picture is Dr. Smith, who runs the clinic. On the left in the brown scrubs is Raye-Jean, my mentor of sorts.
At dinner on Saturday, I had inquired about Arla, Bryan's Undead warlock in the MMORPG World of Warcraft (WoW). They told me that the game was actually going to be my gift from them, so when I got back from work on Sunday around 12:30 am, the game had magically installed itself on my computer and Bryan was waiting up for me. I took a shower, and then we got down to business. Bryan and I decided to each create a character that we would only play with each other. He had a level two Tauren druid named Noko, and being a cow person seemed fine with me, so I created Heta, a Tauren hunter. When she reached level 10, she could have pets and so I also control a wolf named Murphy. :) WoW is the reason I never got around to posting during last week -whenever Bryan and I had a free moment, we played. I really like the game a lot, and while Bryan was in Colorado with his family I learned to play by myself using Zetarg, my Orc warlock.
We went to the mini-ranch on Tuesday and spent the night. Leslie and Bryan got to meet all the calves, but we all just missed the delivery of Joe Bob, Bob's (female) calf, which happened the day after we left. We were supposed to have bridesmaid dress discussion and fittings on Wednesday out in McKinney, but ... it snowed. So it got pushed back a day. So on Thursday Emily, Brittany, Leslie, Mom, and I went to McKinney and got the skinny on dresses. They picked out what they liked and picked a color, but we didn't commit to anything. And in the end, it was decided that Mom is going to make them! She's so talented.
Christmas Eve was normal for the Hall family. Mom, Dad, Les, and I went to the 4pm Children's Mass and Christ the King while Bryan stayed behind with Carolyn. Because of the crowdedness, Leslie and I had to sit in the row behind Mom and Dad...we only got uncontrollable giggles once. Then we came home and worked on the duck dinner. The six of us enjoyed Mom's wonderful cooking and were joined mid-dinner by Mom's sister Lisa, Chris, and Katie. After the eating, chatting, and dessert, as well as some kitchen cleanup, Dad took Carolyn home and the kids decided we were too wired and needed an activity. So I called the Roberts' and asked Susie if we could come play. We went over there and played a TV Guide board game for about an hour and a half. Bryan and Leslie got to experience playing a game with John Roberts, which was worth the trip itself. We had a really good time and I enjoyed Leslie and Bryan getting to know the Roberts family a little better.
Christmas Day arrived and we all did the present thing. My favorite gift this year was WoW and Bryan playing with me, but close seconds included Fable for Xbox, A&M scrubs, and a hand-crocheted Aggie scarf. That evening I went to the Roberts for the Stimson (Susie's side) Christmas. I got to meet Matt's one-month-old cousin Kelly, and then of course there was "The Game." The Game is a packet of Christmas trivia, Rebus puzzles and other brain teasers that Susie's brother Dave and his wife Carol orchestrate for the family ever year. Matt was emancipated from his family three or four years ago and gets his own game. So we started working on it when it came after Thanksgiving, and I get to use my family as a resource (Mom came in big on the Rebus puzzles). We won last year, so we really wanted to do well again this year. With a score of 92, we won again! Whoop! (Christmas pictures can be found on overt's gallery [here])
Bryan and Leslie left Texas for Colorado to ski and spend time with Bryan's family the day after Christmas, and Mom and Dad left for the ranch. That left me to go to work. I wore my Aggie scrubs and took leftover duck for dinner, and it was really slow, so it was okay. I gave my first IV injection, and that was cool. I also said I'd cover four hours of someone's shift for next week, which means I'm working 12-12 on Sunday, which I'm not looking forward to. On Monday Matt and I went to the mini-ranch for a couple nights. We had bonfire and played ping-pong. He drove the tractor, and we fed cows. Brittany and Emily joined us on Tuesday and we played with horses while Matt and Dad bowled. We also Dance Dance Revolted. And we all went to visit a mini-horse ranch! When we got back on Wednesday I reconnected with Zetarg and got him a voidwalker. Bryan popped on as Arla from Colorado, but he was just showing his brother Jeff the game. But now that he's back in California we need to be cows together again.
Tomorrow is the Cotton Bowl. The Aggies are going to BTHO Tennessee, and I will be there to witness it, along with Emily, Jeff, Luke, and John. Oh, and Zelda had her calf this morning. It is all black, sex unknown, and I have dibs on names! So that means we have 5 calves now, and there is still a chance Belle might be pregnant. Crazy! :)
Friday, December 31, 2004
Wednesday, December 15, 2004
I wasn't trying to be morbid by leaving the Hammy post up so long. I just didn't feel like posting for a while. So, we'll remedy that right now. Work has been going pretty well. Last week (Dec 5), work was a mix of good and bad things. Here's the scoop, in list form...
Good:
-I got to try to place a catheter.
-The dog I was trying to put a catheter in was completely knocked out by Dormitor so I wasn't hurting it and it wasn't squirming.
-I ran two complete blood work-ups without any help.
-I get to have my own patients now (well, maybe just one at a time, but still, my own!)
Bad:
-Dr. Howard got mad that Stephanie and Maggie were letting me try to put in that catheter and told them to not "let me practice on one of his patients" - you know, someday I'll be his tech and I'll bet he'll want me to be able to do catheters!
-Dr. Sarpong put Tiger to sleep (he's the dog who came in two weeks ago with third degree burns - she took over ownership eventually and had been treating him. He looked bad the first night but last week he was alert and eating and doing better. But he took a major turn for the worse and she felt it was time - about half the staff was crying about it. It was really sad)
-Raye-Jean's cat in renal failure that she'd been trying to support died.
This week's work was good, but slow. I had my own patient and gave a couple injections by myself. Not much else to report, except that I got to hold a 5-week-old Boston Terrier puppy for a long time while we were waiting for test results and he was adorable.
Other happenings...last Friday was Matt's company work party. They filled three floors in their building with food, music, carolers, ice sculpture, Dippin' Dots, and arcade games including DDR. But it quickly got annoyingly crowded, so we only stayed about an hour and a half. That day I had subbed for Ms. Steckler's algebra class because she had a funeral to attend. The kids were pretty great, as usual, and I still think math is really neat to sub for. Tomorrow is my work Christmas party, and I may play my pipes. Also, I've been playing Kingdom Hearts for the PS2 for a few days now and I think it is very cool. I recommend to all RPG-ers. I just got back from a fun 2.5 hour lunch at Brittany's house. It was fun catching up on her fall quarter happenings. Leslie and Bryan get into town on Saturday! Wahoo!
And, done.
Good:
-I got to try to place a catheter.
-The dog I was trying to put a catheter in was completely knocked out by Dormitor so I wasn't hurting it and it wasn't squirming.
-I ran two complete blood work-ups without any help.
-I get to have my own patients now (well, maybe just one at a time, but still, my own!)
Bad:
-Dr. Howard got mad that Stephanie and Maggie were letting me try to put in that catheter and told them to not "let me practice on one of his patients" - you know, someday I'll be his tech and I'll bet he'll want me to be able to do catheters!
-Dr. Sarpong put Tiger to sleep (he's the dog who came in two weeks ago with third degree burns - she took over ownership eventually and had been treating him. He looked bad the first night but last week he was alert and eating and doing better. But he took a major turn for the worse and she felt it was time - about half the staff was crying about it. It was really sad)
-Raye-Jean's cat in renal failure that she'd been trying to support died.
This week's work was good, but slow. I had my own patient and gave a couple injections by myself. Not much else to report, except that I got to hold a 5-week-old Boston Terrier puppy for a long time while we were waiting for test results and he was adorable.
Other happenings...last Friday was Matt's company work party. They filled three floors in their building with food, music, carolers, ice sculpture, Dippin' Dots, and arcade games including DDR. But it quickly got annoyingly crowded, so we only stayed about an hour and a half. That day I had subbed for Ms. Steckler's algebra class because she had a funeral to attend. The kids were pretty great, as usual, and I still think math is really neat to sub for. Tomorrow is my work Christmas party, and I may play my pipes. Also, I've been playing Kingdom Hearts for the PS2 for a few days now and I think it is very cool. I recommend to all RPG-ers. I just got back from a fun 2.5 hour lunch at Brittany's house. It was fun catching up on her fall quarter happenings. Leslie and Bryan get into town on Saturday! Wahoo!
And, done.
Sunday, December 05, 2004
RIP Hammy
Last night after Matt had dropped me off at home from the Christmas party, Matt disccovered that Hammy had passed away. He was 2.5 years old, so it wasn't totally unexpected. Still, this was Matt's first solo pet and Hammy was loved.
Bernard C. Hamster
August 2002 - December 4, 2004
You will be missed.
"Only in the agony of parting do we look into the depths of love." - George Eliot
Bernard C. Hamster
August 2002 - December 4, 2004
You will be missed.
"Only in the agony of parting do we look into the depths of love." - George Eliot
Friday, December 03, 2004
Deck the halls
Happy holidays to everyone! I've been a bit behind in updating recently, but I'm still the best blogger I know. So there. In my last update I forgot to mention something important that had happened. On November 18 Mom and Dad got a call from Claude Locke - he was down at the lake and was checking on our animals at Mom's request due to a feeling she was having regarding the animals. He said that all the animals seemed okay...the two horses...the six cows...the two calves. Wait, #TWO* calves?!?!?! Apparently Nameless was pregnant and we didn't even know it, and then she gave birth when no one was around. So we have another calf, this one totally unexpected and a boy! Becky Locke named him "Midnight," which is very appropriate. Here he is, in between his mommy and Domino:
And the best part of the story is this: Mom is at the ranch now watching Lucy (the big red cow) going into labor! Just to remind everyone, Mamacita (Domino's mom) is the only cow that we knew to be pregnant when we got the six cows. Such craziness!
Now to get back to the right order of things...when last I left you, I was in the midst of a 5-day subbing stretch. Monday and Tuesday before Thanksgiving I subbed for Julie (Garrison) Churchill, my social studies teacher of three years. One of her students is Sarah, Matt's cousin. It went okay, but the kids were super hyper because of the upcoming holiday and Tuesday's field trip to see National Treasure. I went with them on that, and the movie was okay, much better than the awful reviews it got. I sat with Hunter Bradley, Taylor's little brother, who was good company. Wednesday was a major relaxing day, since I was exhausted from substitute teaching as well as sick with a cold from the 8th grade germ pool. I played a lot of Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door, which is marvelous. I recommend it to anyone who has played Super Mario RPG, Paper Mario, or Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga.
Thursday was Thanksgiving, which was great. Mom, Dad, and I were joined by Carolyn, Matt, Uncle J and Stephanie, Uncle John and his girlfriend Joanne, and Uncle Mike for our 1:00pm feast. After the first quarter of the Cowboys game, Matt and I went over to his house and did their Thanksgiving. They were hosting the Lydeckers, and it was great fun to a) be there with Matt's family for the holiday, b) share it with the Lydeckers, and c) have two Thanksgiving meals! On Friday we capped off the holiday by watching some of the Halls' and Roberts' family videos. On Saturday I had my second wedding dress meeting with Laurie and got to see my dress for the first time. It was awesome. I'd put up pictures but 1) we didn't take any, and 2) Matt can't see!
This week has been spent decorating for Christmas, beginning my Christmas shopping, and coughing a lot (still haven't quite kicked the cold). I also got registered for the two classes I'm taking through the Dallas TeleCollege online [for vet school admissions]. I'm taking technical writing and public speaking online in the spring (I'll let you know how you can take speech online as soon as I figure that out myself). It is only $300 to take the two classes and including my books. I am SO glad I waited until after A&M to do this. I subbed for the math teacher in Ms. Janik's team (Ms. Steckler) yesterday and had a great time. I like subbing for math (this was pre-algebra) a lot, and the kids (these are the ones I'm really getting to know) were well-behaved. I ate lunch with Ms. Janik in the team office, and we looked at Julie's wedding pictures during 8th period (our "team planning" period). Then when I returned the pictures to Juile at the middle school "Trading Post" where the coaches sell junk food to kids after school, I ended up working there with her until 4:25 so that we could chat. It was a really a nice day!
Today Dad and I went to get a Christmas tree, and we picked out a great one. It is already standing in the living room, acting noble. Matt and I are doing some shopping this evening, and we have a Christmas party with his work friends tomorrow night. I can't believe today is three weeks from Christmas Eve! And only just over two weeks until Leslie and Bryan come! Yay!
And the best part of the story is this: Mom is at the ranch now watching Lucy (the big red cow) going into labor! Just to remind everyone, Mamacita (Domino's mom) is the only cow that we knew to be pregnant when we got the six cows. Such craziness!
Now to get back to the right order of things...when last I left you, I was in the midst of a 5-day subbing stretch. Monday and Tuesday before Thanksgiving I subbed for Julie (Garrison) Churchill, my social studies teacher of three years. One of her students is Sarah, Matt's cousin. It went okay, but the kids were super hyper because of the upcoming holiday and Tuesday's field trip to see National Treasure. I went with them on that, and the movie was okay, much better than the awful reviews it got. I sat with Hunter Bradley, Taylor's little brother, who was good company. Wednesday was a major relaxing day, since I was exhausted from substitute teaching as well as sick with a cold from the 8th grade germ pool. I played a lot of Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door, which is marvelous. I recommend it to anyone who has played Super Mario RPG, Paper Mario, or Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga.
Thursday was Thanksgiving, which was great. Mom, Dad, and I were joined by Carolyn, Matt, Uncle J and Stephanie, Uncle John and his girlfriend Joanne, and Uncle Mike for our 1:00pm feast. After the first quarter of the Cowboys game, Matt and I went over to his house and did their Thanksgiving. They were hosting the Lydeckers, and it was great fun to a) be there with Matt's family for the holiday, b) share it with the Lydeckers, and c) have two Thanksgiving meals! On Friday we capped off the holiday by watching some of the Halls' and Roberts' family videos. On Saturday I had my second wedding dress meeting with Laurie and got to see my dress for the first time. It was awesome. I'd put up pictures but 1) we didn't take any, and 2) Matt can't see!
This week has been spent decorating for Christmas, beginning my Christmas shopping, and coughing a lot (still haven't quite kicked the cold). I also got registered for the two classes I'm taking through the Dallas TeleCollege online [for vet school admissions]. I'm taking technical writing and public speaking online in the spring (I'll let you know how you can take speech online as soon as I figure that out myself). It is only $300 to take the two classes and including my books. I am SO glad I waited until after A&M to do this. I subbed for the math teacher in Ms. Janik's team (Ms. Steckler) yesterday and had a great time. I like subbing for math (this was pre-algebra) a lot, and the kids (these are the ones I'm really getting to know) were well-behaved. I ate lunch with Ms. Janik in the team office, and we looked at Julie's wedding pictures during 8th period (our "team planning" period). Then when I returned the pictures to Juile at the middle school "Trading Post" where the coaches sell junk food to kids after school, I ended up working there with her until 4:25 so that we could chat. It was a really a nice day!
Today Dad and I went to get a Christmas tree, and we picked out a great one. It is already standing in the living room, acting noble. Matt and I are doing some shopping this evening, and we have a Christmas party with his work friends tomorrow night. I can't believe today is three weeks from Christmas Eve! And only just over two weeks until Leslie and Bryan come! Yay!
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