So it's August already, and other thoughts
So it's August already. Go figure. Where do I stand on plans and possibilities? Not where I planned to be, that's for sure.
THESIS:
The thesis draft is in to my first reader in full; still waiting on quote confirmation from Phil H. as well as a bunch of things from David G. He's sending me images over the next few days, ditto for responses. I'll integrate all of that as soon as I hear back from Romi (my first reader). I'm aiming to have this in before Luke's parents are down the weekend of the 22nd (because I do NOT want to deal with the "still working" bit while they are down).
JOB-SEARCH:
I've applied to some jobs (read: not many, because there simply AREN'T a lot out there at the moment) but either been rejected or just not heard back (and have no way to really check in with those). So I'm angling to hopefully be employed by September; I'm aiming for part time so I can get my language skills in order and try to get an internship in the film-related world. I'm not worried, not yet (we budgeted around Luke's salary, and can make it, but it's going to start getting tight in the fall).
I've been setting up house (it takes a little time, to furnish and arrange and unpack). We're mostly furnished (needed: another bookshelf for my office, a reading chair for said office, a cabinet and some other storage for the basement, a coffee table and a low case for the living room). We're mostly unpacked (still some office-y boxes, boxes of my generalized crap, ditto for luke, etc). There's also some stuff in NJ we need to get (mostly of mine, but also a few things of ours). We also need to do the whole decorating thing - we have plates and posters and pictures and degrees to hang, pictures and such to pick up and then hang, stuff like that. Luke also still has some items in Prasana's basement. But we figure home-ownership is an ongoing thing, so we'll work on pieces at a time and get it all together eventually. We also need to do fresh coats of paint in the kitchen and living room, and we want to paint the bedroom, my office, the basement, and the living room. There's all kinds of other projects, from the smaller-scale (like getting rid of dimmer switches, replacing a ceiling fan) to the larger-scale (gut the upstairs bathroom). And, of course, buy new window blinds & drapes (post-painting).
We're also in the "tear it all out" phase of gardening. We did plant day lilies on the side of the house, but it's way too late in the season for large-scale gardening beyond removal. In the fall, I'll plant some bulbs; come spring, I'll do the other flower bed and herb garden. Next spring / summer, we'll do the rest of the planting (black-eyed-susans on the side where we're pulling out the holly, mountain laurel and maybe/probably cone-flowers out front where the huge juniper bush is currently, transplant the japanese maple, etc). Most of you probably have little interest in my gardening, but I'm excited to be doing it.
My kitten got pretty big (she's not huge, but she's much bigger than when she arrived). She's becoming closer to cat-size; she's growing into her proportions and getting a hang of her spacial needs. She's probably not the 12-13 weeks she's been claimed to be (Luke estimates that she's def. closer to 4+ months than to being about 3-4 months). She likes to sleep in window sills and door jams; she chews on cardboard like it's laced with kitty-crack (which it is not). She's got four modes: asleep, sweet / calm, playful, and holy fuck calm the hell down. In other words, she's pretty much normal. She was a stray and had a parasite from drinking contaminated water as a little lost kitten, but is pretty healthy now. I actually need to call the vet to schedule her next distemper shot and then her rabies vaccine. She's an indoor cat, so she's only getting the basic shots (and the vet was like "I don't do unneccessary vaccines - this is what she needs. Beyond these, it's a waste of money and basically ineffective." So our kitty's getting distemper, rabies, and one other that escapes me. I love it when vets don't try to sell you on expensive and unneccessary stuff).
So yeah. I should take a shower, eat some lunch, call the vet, and work on getting the house in order for 'lizabeth and will's visit (they're driving down tonight & staying until sunday). Our first real overnight guests (a mid-move visit from my parents doesn't really count). We've had people over for dinner, but they're the first to stay with us. Luke's parents will be staying in a hotel when they come down, as will my folks when they visit this fall. We've got a pair of airmattresses and a futon - great for people in our general age bracket, not so great for parents. And, um, we kinda planned it that way. The 2nd bedroom is being used as an office, because it's wee and wouldn't fit a full-sized bed plus a desk, bookshelves, etc - it's basically the size of a darkside single, for those of you who understand what that looks like.
I'm sure there are other things I'd like to say, or meant to post about, but ... eh. Maybe later.
All this reminds me, as well, that I need to put up wedding pictures. I know, I know. But when have I ever been super timely?
THESIS:
The thesis draft is in to my first reader in full; still waiting on quote confirmation from Phil H. as well as a bunch of things from David G. He's sending me images over the next few days, ditto for responses. I'll integrate all of that as soon as I hear back from Romi (my first reader). I'm aiming to have this in before Luke's parents are down the weekend of the 22nd (because I do NOT want to deal with the "still working" bit while they are down).
JOB-SEARCH:
I've applied to some jobs (read: not many, because there simply AREN'T a lot out there at the moment) but either been rejected or just not heard back (and have no way to really check in with those). So I'm angling to hopefully be employed by September; I'm aiming for part time so I can get my language skills in order and try to get an internship in the film-related world. I'm not worried, not yet (we budgeted around Luke's salary, and can make it, but it's going to start getting tight in the fall).
I've been setting up house (it takes a little time, to furnish and arrange and unpack). We're mostly furnished (needed: another bookshelf for my office, a reading chair for said office, a cabinet and some other storage for the basement, a coffee table and a low case for the living room). We're mostly unpacked (still some office-y boxes, boxes of my generalized crap, ditto for luke, etc). There's also some stuff in NJ we need to get (mostly of mine, but also a few things of ours). We also need to do the whole decorating thing - we have plates and posters and pictures and degrees to hang, pictures and such to pick up and then hang, stuff like that. Luke also still has some items in Prasana's basement. But we figure home-ownership is an ongoing thing, so we'll work on pieces at a time and get it all together eventually. We also need to do fresh coats of paint in the kitchen and living room, and we want to paint the bedroom, my office, the basement, and the living room. There's all kinds of other projects, from the smaller-scale (like getting rid of dimmer switches, replacing a ceiling fan) to the larger-scale (gut the upstairs bathroom). And, of course, buy new window blinds & drapes (post-painting).
We're also in the "tear it all out" phase of gardening. We did plant day lilies on the side of the house, but it's way too late in the season for large-scale gardening beyond removal. In the fall, I'll plant some bulbs; come spring, I'll do the other flower bed and herb garden. Next spring / summer, we'll do the rest of the planting (black-eyed-susans on the side where we're pulling out the holly, mountain laurel and maybe/probably cone-flowers out front where the huge juniper bush is currently, transplant the japanese maple, etc). Most of you probably have little interest in my gardening, but I'm excited to be doing it.
My kitten got pretty big (she's not huge, but she's much bigger than when she arrived). She's becoming closer to cat-size; she's growing into her proportions and getting a hang of her spacial needs. She's probably not the 12-13 weeks she's been claimed to be (Luke estimates that she's def. closer to 4+ months than to being about 3-4 months). She likes to sleep in window sills and door jams; she chews on cardboard like it's laced with kitty-crack (which it is not). She's got four modes: asleep, sweet / calm, playful, and holy fuck calm the hell down. In other words, she's pretty much normal. She was a stray and had a parasite from drinking contaminated water as a little lost kitten, but is pretty healthy now. I actually need to call the vet to schedule her next distemper shot and then her rabies vaccine. She's an indoor cat, so she's only getting the basic shots (and the vet was like "I don't do unneccessary vaccines - this is what she needs. Beyond these, it's a waste of money and basically ineffective." So our kitty's getting distemper, rabies, and one other that escapes me. I love it when vets don't try to sell you on expensive and unneccessary stuff).
So yeah. I should take a shower, eat some lunch, call the vet, and work on getting the house in order for 'lizabeth and will's visit (they're driving down tonight & staying until sunday). Our first real overnight guests (a mid-move visit from my parents doesn't really count). We've had people over for dinner, but they're the first to stay with us. Luke's parents will be staying in a hotel when they come down, as will my folks when they visit this fall. We've got a pair of airmattresses and a futon - great for people in our general age bracket, not so great for parents. And, um, we kinda planned it that way. The 2nd bedroom is being used as an office, because it's wee and wouldn't fit a full-sized bed plus a desk, bookshelves, etc - it's basically the size of a darkside single, for those of you who understand what that looks like.
I'm sure there are other things I'd like to say, or meant to post about, but ... eh. Maybe later.
All this reminds me, as well, that I need to put up wedding pictures. I know, I know. But when have I ever been super timely?