Greetings Friends!
Thank goodness for the 'friends page' since otherwise no one would ever read my blog, cause I never post.
Well, is all that is about to change? No, not really, but hey I've got a few things to share!
Life in general: Mostly involving lots of school and work, and unfortunately that does not change with the summer. I am now on the final countdown for school - about a year from now I should be officially, formally done! I am very excited about this, to say the least. While I still have 4 quarters worth of school left, I actually only have 4 classes left as well. Two of these are quarter and a half long classes, and so there will be some overlap, and I can look forward to tougher classes, but I can focus on them mostly one at a time!
I still don't know about my doing the job itself, I generally seem to manage okay at work, which is a good sign. But recent classes have scared the spit from me, thinking about the complexities of working for myself: Contracts and Taxes and Liability, Oh My!!
I have made a few dents on my (long ago) posted list of Southern California amusements, though I keep adding things as well. I finally made a trip to San Francisco with
eirle and her husband, where we were generously hosted by his parents. We were there for the Maker Faire. And we even got to make things! The best item was a needle felted mustache which I gifted to my Matt. When I learned to crochet, I made him an Abe Lincoln beard; when I learned to needle felt = a lovely handlebar mustache to match!
That was a really fun weekend, and I have to admit that I have now conceived a liking of the Steampunk movement. There was a whole area devoted to it, and I love the gear-clockworks stuff - so interesting to see the innards of things. But, homemade, lasting, and unique is all part of it too. And costumes and corsets are fun, and men's hats are fun. It sort of celebrates inventors and the sense that the world has many unexplored nooks and crannies. Technology = a form of magic. Machines, but personal & playful, not dehumanizing. All the good parts of the industrial revolution. Of which there were many, and yet, so many bad things too. (And its not like the SCA bothers with the nasty parts either. Having liked the SCA, it shouldn't be much of a surprise I like this; and there is no authenticity to be concerned about.) Not going to go crazy, but it is fun! Here is a link to an article about it: Steampunkery!
Shortly after that we (
gold_flamingo, my Matt, and
eithne_erin) all went to the exciting Virgin Islands! It was our best opportunity to travel there and visit g_f's mom's rental property. It was beautiful! It was only 5 days, a pretty fast trip, and the first and last we were traveling most of the day anyway. But since we did ABSOLUTELY NOTHING the whole time we were there, it was pretty darn relaxing. Just some snorkeling and laying around. It was beautiful there, and quite warm. We saw sea turtles, and a lobster and even shark while snorkeling and drank lots of rum punch! But that was almost 2 months ago. Since then time has Flown!! I finished a quarter, and started the next one immediately.
Meanwhile, Matt went off to Peru for 3 weeks, working for the group that provides his funding at UCLA. (Before he left I had to make him buy SHOES, and bandaids!) He had a good time aside from the whole 'don't drink the water' thing. Lucky me I was busy with my finals, and then g_f and I played roommates again for a bit! I held her computer hostage at my house, and she had to stay with me. So that was lots of fun, like the old days, and I was very glad to have the company. There was finger nail painting, fuzzy umbrella drinks, disney movies and Shag. Sorry boys, no pj pillow fights! We also were extras in a Independent Movie (titled 'Black and Blue') that promises to be truly cheesy and bad. If/when it comes out, I'll let you know, and you can watch for us during the audience scene. We were right in the front, so we'll be visible. Dorky, but visible. So we kept busy, but I was very glad when Matt got back.
And now it is back to business as usual. School and work, and home, and repeat.... I'll keep trying to work on my Southern CA activities list, and my other goal is to get Matt as obsessed with travel as I am! I got him a passport for his birthday, but now we need to use it. We are going up to Montana to see his family in August, but have nothing else planned yet. So thanks for slogging through all of that, trying to catch up on 3+ months at a time means LONG Blog! Hugs to you all!
Well, is all that is about to change? No, not really, but hey I've got a few things to share!
Life in general: Mostly involving lots of school and work, and unfortunately that does not change with the summer. I am now on the final countdown for school - about a year from now I should be officially, formally done! I am very excited about this, to say the least. While I still have 4 quarters worth of school left, I actually only have 4 classes left as well. Two of these are quarter and a half long classes, and so there will be some overlap, and I can look forward to tougher classes, but I can focus on them mostly one at a time!
I still don't know about my doing the job itself, I generally seem to manage okay at work, which is a good sign. But recent classes have scared the spit from me, thinking about the complexities of working for myself: Contracts and Taxes and Liability, Oh My!!
I have made a few dents on my (long ago) posted list of Southern California amusements, though I keep adding things as well. I finally made a trip to San Francisco with
eirle and her husband, where we were generously hosted by his parents. We were there for the Maker Faire. And we even got to make things! The best item was a needle felted mustache which I gifted to my Matt. When I learned to crochet, I made him an Abe Lincoln beard; when I learned to needle felt = a lovely handlebar mustache to match!
That was a really fun weekend, and I have to admit that I have now conceived a liking of the Steampunk movement. There was a whole area devoted to it, and I love the gear-clockworks stuff - so interesting to see the innards of things. But, homemade, lasting, and unique is all part of it too. And costumes and corsets are fun, and men's hats are fun. It sort of celebrates inventors and the sense that the world has many unexplored nooks and crannies. Technology = a form of magic. Machines, but personal & playful, not dehumanizing. All the good parts of the industrial revolution. Of which there were many, and yet, so many bad things too. (And its not like the SCA bothers with the nasty parts either. Having liked the SCA, it shouldn't be much of a surprise I like this; and there is no authenticity to be concerned about.) Not going to go crazy, but it is fun! Here is a link to an article about it: Steampunkery!
Shortly after that we (
gold_flamingo, my Matt, and
eithne_erin) all went to the exciting Virgin Islands! It was our best opportunity to travel there and visit g_f's mom's rental property. It was beautiful! It was only 5 days, a pretty fast trip, and the first and last we were traveling most of the day anyway. But since we did ABSOLUTELY NOTHING the whole time we were there, it was pretty darn relaxing. Just some snorkeling and laying around. It was beautiful there, and quite warm. We saw sea turtles, and a lobster and even shark while snorkeling and drank lots of rum punch! But that was almost 2 months ago. Since then time has Flown!! I finished a quarter, and started the next one immediately.
Meanwhile, Matt went off to Peru for 3 weeks, working for the group that provides his funding at UCLA. (Before he left I had to make him buy SHOES, and bandaids!) He had a good time aside from the whole 'don't drink the water' thing. Lucky me I was busy with my finals, and then g_f and I played roommates again for a bit! I held her computer hostage at my house, and she had to stay with me. So that was lots of fun, like the old days, and I was very glad to have the company. There was finger nail painting, fuzzy umbrella drinks, disney movies and Shag. Sorry boys, no pj pillow fights! We also were extras in a Independent Movie (titled 'Black and Blue') that promises to be truly cheesy and bad. If/when it comes out, I'll let you know, and you can watch for us during the audience scene. We were right in the front, so we'll be visible. Dorky, but visible. So we kept busy, but I was very glad when Matt got back.
And now it is back to business as usual. School and work, and home, and repeat.... I'll keep trying to work on my Southern CA activities list, and my other goal is to get Matt as obsessed with travel as I am! I got him a passport for his birthday, but now we need to use it. We are going up to Montana to see his family in August, but have nothing else planned yet. So thanks for slogging through all of that, trying to catch up on 3+ months at a time means LONG Blog! Hugs to you all!