Special K and Coffee
I don't really know why you'd be here. I mean, I know I'm the single most interesting person, but don't you people have lives? Really, it's quite sad.
Lame-o Links Section
My homepage
Greenville College
Iowa State Cyclones
Gilmore Girls
Bannerland
Jars of Clay
Waterdeep
Mancy A'lan Kane
Roxative
Prinsiana
Memorial Lutheran Church
Knox Knolls Free Methodist Church
Our Redeemer Lutheran Church
Country Music Television
Iowa Geological Survey
Monster House
I Really Should Read These Sometime
Paul
Beth-Annie
Helen
Matt
Patty
Steve
Alex
Mandy
Shannon
Melissa
Bill
Ryan
Christy
Eric
Jessica & Levi
Katie
Ben
Archives
<< current
Saturday, October 30, 2004
I am telling you, it just doesn't get better than the Midwest
I have finally decided that this is my favorite season. It's taken me 22 years, but this year I finally know it without a doubt. I love each season for varying reasons, but Fall definitely takes the cake. It has a little bit of everything: hot, warm, cool, cold, rain, snow, etc. The leaves turning are beautiful and are a good reminder that sometimes we have to go through that, too, and that, too, is beautiful if we remember to look at it that way.
Yesterday we saw temperatures in the 80s with sunny, windy skies, then severe thunderstorms with heavy rain and a tornado watch. Today temperatures are only in the 40s and as I took the scenic route (and highly indirect, I might add) home from church I was driving north on County Line Road (aka R38 :-)) and I had the sun and blue skies at my back but clouds that held a distinct feeling of snow in front of me. It was the coolest feeling in the world. And I swear I saw a couple of flurries as I was getting into my car to come home, but I think it's just wishful thinking. :-)
Now to take this refreshed feeling and turn it into a permanent job and my own apartment... That's the plan anyway and I have a lot of cover letters to tackle and a road trip to plan to make an attempt at accomplishing that. I'm looking forward to Monday for once and plan to make the most of my day off. :-)
Question of the week
Is it generally the mother who has the biggest problem with a daughter's decisions and desire for independence? I had always thought that it would be the father and that the mother would be more understanding and supportive, but my parents are continually proving me wrong about that. It has happened twice this week alone.
Thursday, October 28, 2004
Here fishy, fishy, fishy.....
Oh moM? Guess who has tomorrow off of work. :-) I'll give you a hint: it's the same person who's too lazy to actually call you tonight with this short notice news and inquire about fulfilling the purpose in life of those 22 Canuck worms in her fridge. And she hopes you will read this in time, but will probably give you a call sometime tonight anyway...in between the TV, trying to acquire a bike, and the nodding off. :-)
For everyone else: I've had a post rolling around in my head for days now, I just haven't had the time or energy to post it for ya, so hopefully it'll happen soon. :-)
Saturday, October 23, 2004
I just need to thank two people...
Sharon and Michael. They let me crash their exciting night of laundry and studying to help cheer me up. Sharon and I spent an hour or so at Wal-Mart picking a movie for me to buy and picking a coffee maker for her to buy (and me to covet ;-)). Then we got back to Sharon's house and I showed her how to use the coffee maker (she's a recent coffee convert), we ordered pizza, watched some Odd Todd (I know for a fact the humor of those is not for everyone who reads my blog, so I will not send you all to that page so as not to offend anyone :-)), ate popcorn, and watched my new movie while I enjoyed my splurge of a Bacardi Raz--I absolutely love the stuff but it is expensive as all get out. Sharon, as usual, fell asleep halfway through the movie (as did I almost with the combination of the Raz and having been up since 6am :-)) and Michael and I had a little chat after the movie ended while he tried to loosen some of the knots in my shoulders and neck. He just had some simple, encouraging words about life and love. It's proving to be a slow road, but I'm getting there--slowly. ;-) The whole night left me feeling so much freer and happier than when I called Sharon around 6:30 in desperate need of getting out of the house and being distracted from my own thoughts and stupid fears. So a huge thank you and hug to both of you for being such great friends and listeners and for cheering me up. :-D
Oh, and Michael, I did forget something: my popcorn.
Wednesday, October 20, 2004
For those of you who also read my sister's blog...
(Which is the vast majority of you, I believe.) ...the thing that was ironic about Matt and Josh talking about buying a new car and costs and depreciation and all that a week ago is that a week ago I was seriously beginning to consider the possibility of purchasing a much better car--not new, but much closer to new. It was brought on by the fact that two mornings in a row I was afraid my car might not get me to work. And I had what some might term a little emotional/nervous breakdown about it. Since then, however, it's been fine. Which I take to mean that very soon it will decide to throw a fit again. No one I have talked to about this can figure out what might possibly be wrong because it doesn't make any sense. I know I need to have a professional take a look at it, but I cannot for the life of me figure out when that could possibly happen anymore and it would probably not be acting up if I did. So I'm just praying that it gets me to the point of being able to afford something better....like perhaps (in a bit over a year) a certain Chevy Lumina I got pretty used to driving this summer. ;-)
Monday, October 11, 2004
I have decided to invest in a hot tub
But first I have to pay off my car, find a full-time job, get an apartment, get a better car, get a house, pay off my student loans, and have enough expendable income to afford it. So, ya know, it'll be happening really soon. ;-)
The best things always happen right after you leave somewhere
Like this. Or the darn school adding more geology classes.
Thursday, October 07, 2004
Mom quote of the night
"So Karleen makes a dirty living and has a crack habit. Where did we go wrong as parents?"
Wednesday, October 06, 2004
Oh, the power I have
This is all my fault. :-D
Question of the week
Which is more professional: short hair or long hair that's put up?
Tuesday, October 05, 2004
Sometimes you just need a sign
As I mentioned before, I have been struggling with the now open secretary position at Memorial and several people pushing for me to apply for it. After much thought and prayer, I found myself coming to the conclusion that it wasn't right and that even if I did try for it and got it, I would keep looking for something else, which wouldn't be fair to the church or the other applicants. I still wasn't 100% sure I wouldn't apply for it, but was very much leaning that way, but had to consider the fact that I have to start paying student loans soon and custodial pay is not enough to handle that for very long. I never heard from the soil lab in Nevada and figured that meant she didn't need me. So I kept checking the Ames Tribune classifieds for other temporary jobs and was about to go fill out an application at Manpower to help collect soybean samples because it pays well and they'd been looking for people for a long time. Then I found a listing for a temporary medical records clerk at the Iowa Heart Center Ames office, so I wrote up a cover letter and dropped it off. I also submitted a resume and cover letter to Blackwell Publishing in Ames and Concordia Publishing House in St. Louis to do freelance copy-editing/proofreading from home. (Concordia was the only company I found advertising that opportunity and I checked some of the really big publishing companies.)
Last Thursday morning I decided to try to finish delivering All American Turf flyers before the phonebook meeting. So I drove to the Arkansas (Arkansases? Arkansass? Arkansaas? ;-)) and delivered to those streets. When I got back into my car I heard my cell phone beep, so I picked it up and looked at it: "New VoiceMail." You're kidding. Who on earth would have called me and left a message? So I checked the recent calls and found that I had a missed call from area code 515, prefix 382. In my dumbfounded state, I couldn't think where that prefix was from, but knew it wasn't Ames and couldn't imagine who would have called me and left a message with a number I didn't recognize that wasn't the 712 area code. So, of course, I called my voicemail and was surprised to hear a peppy (because she generally is) Teresa Sjulin from the MVTL Soil Lab in Nevada ["Duh! That's a Nevada number!" I told myself.] asking if I was still interested in a position there and if I would please give her a call. So about half an hour into my day, just about everything I had planned for the day suddenly changed. I really wasn't sure about delivering phonebooks anymore and wasn't even sure if I should go to the meeting. I went, but couldn't commit to anything like everyone else had and just told the manager that I might stop by for a route to deliver after I knew better what was going on. After playing a little phone tag with Teresa that afternoon, we finally got in touch with each other. I told her I hadn't found anything permanent yet and was still interested in a job with her, and she asked if I could start at 7am on Friday. Sure could.
I drove to work Friday morning in the dark and a thunderstorm. Some may think that's an ominous sign at the beginning of a new job, but I loved it. :-D
Oh yeah, and the deadline for the secretarial position at Memorial was October 4. I never submitted my resume.
Saturday, October 02, 2004
Blasts from the past and new realizations
Sharon and I stayed up waaaay too late last night talking, just like when I stayed with her for VEISHEA a year and a half ago. I had been wanting a girl's night out with her for a while and last night we finally got it and it was really fun even if I had been up since 6 and didn't get home until 3:15am. :-) And tomorrow we're going to the 8:30 service at church, which we did for her first Easter in Ames.
Phil visited today and I hadn't seen him since June, so that was nice. We played frisbee on central campus with a couple of other people from church and I had to remind myself not to just sit on the sidelines and that just recently I had been very fondly remembering playing frisbee with Phil when I was a student. I almost missed out on that fun and how stupid it would have been. [Referred to posts: It's a girl thing and Musings and memories]
After hanging out with Phil until he had to leave, Sharon and I were both starving so we decided to go out to eat again and tried a new restaurant in town: Broadway Diner. [Note to Amesians: prices are decent, good service, and it's where Donutland used to be. :-)] They have tried to make it like an old diner, complete with phosphates, shakes, malts, and ice cream. They're still obviously new, but it was really cool. My realization? I might have a dream other than a family afterall, but I'm not sure, which is one reason I'd like to try waitressing in a place like that: to see what it's really like to work behind the scenes and see if that's something I would, in fact, like to maybe run/own someday. I'd definitely rather just have the family thing, but I have to think realistically because it might not happen and I'm not about to force it. Just kinda made me realize more fully why I have this unexplainable urge to work at a diner/cafe in a small town. And it really started years and years ago as an idea to someday own a coffee shop, but in the past several years, I'm sure due in part to Gilmore Girls and the 50s diner and 2nd Street Cafe in Greenville, it's shifted over to being a diner or cafe.
I know, I promised a post about the full-time job, but that's something that requires getting it expressed just right and I'm way too tired for it right now. Maybe tomorrow. :-)
