I am lazy
So clearly I haven't updated this beast in quite some time (20 weeks, to be precise. LiveJournal told me so). Mostly I blame it on our awkward computer situation. We have my computer hooked up to our TV so we can watch movies instantly on Netflix. Since we don't have cable of any sort, Netflix is our only source of entertainment and we watch movies via computer fairly frequently. However, the keyboard and mouse are on the desk next to the TV (which we fiiiinally mounted on the wall this weekend, yaaay)... so pretty much the screen is right next to the keyboard and it makes typing awkward because you basically have to look sideways to see what you're doing. This discourages me from doing much on the computer because it hurts my neck. We may look into getting a wireless keyboard. Incidentally, I highly recommend Netflix, as it is awesome. However, if you have a life, it may not be for you.
SO, to briefly update everyone on the last four months or so... I graduated, yay! I've been working at an internship at DES since May. It's my third internship that I've had there (I worked all last summer and again over my Christmas break last year), so it was nice going back to something that I already knew. It also helped them out because my supervisor from last summer got a new job, so the woman who took over was brand new in January and didn't know much about the program, so I pretty much trained her in everything that I knew, and required no supervision or direction of my own. I worked for the Beach Program (which is what I did last summer) from May until the last week of August, and now they've switched me over to the Volunteer Lake Assesment Program. The program is still run within the same bureau, so I'm working in the same lab with the same people, but I have a new direct supervisor and I'm doing different stuff. (I go out to different lakes and meet up with a volunteer, go out on their boat with them, and supervise as they take different samples/take the samples with them.) I'll be doing VLAP sampling for the next two weeks until their sampling season ends, and then I'll be back in the lab/office. THere is a lot more involved with the VLAP position than there was with my Beach position, so I was a little nervous about it, but I'm starting to get the hang of it. I think I'm doing my first trip alone on Friday, so hopefully I've got it all down by then.
Meanwhile, I've had no luck getting a real job. I have this internship until November at least, but I really need to get something permanent, as well as something that pays more than $9.83 an hour. I applied to three more positions last night, so hopefully one of those will pan out. My student loans are going to start coming due very soon, and my "estimated monthly payment" is something like $540 a month. I am certainly planning on consolidating so it won't end up costing that much each month, but it will still be a pretty penny.
Ricky and I made our first big purchase together about a month or two ago... his truck is just about beyond its limits, so we got a 2004 Jeep Cherokee. I started panicking and flipping out on the way home because I feel very sad about spending that much money, especially when I make barely enough to cover my gas and groceries, but so far it's been working out okay. We put Rick on my insurance policy because I am a girl and have a pristine driving record... as a 22 year old male with a couple speeding tickets, he was getting robbed on his insurance. My insurance for a year used to be about $450 and his was a little over $1,000... we both had the bare minimum coverage and both owned our vehicles outright. So with the Jeep, we had to increase the coverage since we don't own it, and it's much newer than either of our vehicles were/are, but our insurance really didn't go up as much as we thought, so that was a pleasant surprise. And I really do like it... it's a much smoother ride than Rick's truck was, and it has A/C and a 10-disc CD changer! Ricky originally wanted another truck. I was okay with that but definitely wanted one with rear seats a) so we could bring someone somewhere if we needed to and b) because we're planning on having this vehicle around for a while and I want Ricky to be able to have a car seat in his vehicle when it becomes necessary! So we're both really happy with the Jeep because there is spacious passenger room but the seats also fold flat into the floor so there is as much space as you would have in a truck bed, and it's not out in the elements. And trucks with full cabs with the nice big seats in the back get pretty expensive and start having really poor gas mileage, so I was glad to get something a little smaller. Oh, and it has 4-wheel drive which is what Ricky wanted. So we're trying to sell his truck (which they offered him $300 for on a trade-in, HA) and I'm still driving my car while it holds out.
In wedding news, we have put a deposit down for our reception location. It's the Lake Opechee Inn and Spa on June 6, 2009, so clear out your calendars! My next step is to call the church that's just around the corner. I've had the number for a few weeks but haven't called because I haaaate making phone calls and I suck at life and weddings.
Ricky's grandfather has been in the hospital quite a bit lately, as he's had three strokes in the past 2-3 weeks. He went home two days ago and is doing better for the time being. He was scheduled for a double by-pass, but had his first stroke a few days before that, so the surgery has been pushed back so he can recover. I know he just wants the heart surgery soon, because they told him it will make his breathing easier. He's been through a lot but he's a trooper and seems to be in pretty good spirits still; at least he has whenever we've gone to see him in the hospital.
We are (most likely) getting a dog! My mom's coworker knew of a family who has a 1-year-old black lab mix that they needed to get rid of. The way we originally heard the story was that they had two young kids and it was too much for them between the kids and the dog. We did a looot of phone tag and such, and got the story from them that the KIDS were too much for the dog. They would pull his tail and stuff and be really rough with him, and the dog would put up with it fine but the owners felt bad for him. So we went to meet them last night, and Ricky and I really like him. His name is Sparky, which may or may not change... heh. He was definitely very exciteable, but of course we were expecting that. There's a few things he needs work on in terms of training, like he jumps up on you and also puts your hands and arms in his mouth... he doesn't bite down, and it certainly isn't vicious at all, but it's probably not a good habit to have. Other than that, he seems pretty well trained. He knows some simple commands and is crate-trained (the owner says "Go in your crate!" and he DOES! It was very novel.) So we are really excited about it. The owners wanted a week or so to wean the kids off of the dog, so hopefully we'll be able to bring him home soon. (The kids were devil-children, horribly behaved, loud and obnoxious and we witnessed the tail-pulling and everything... poor Sparky! If I were the parents, I'd be trying to get rid of the kids and keep the dog!)
I thiiink that's most of what's gone on in the past few months. I'm going to try to be better about updating this so you'll all be better informed about my oh-so-exciting life.
I just had a revelation: I will be married before the next Harry Potter movie comes out. EEK!!
SO, to briefly update everyone on the last four months or so... I graduated, yay! I've been working at an internship at DES since May. It's my third internship that I've had there (I worked all last summer and again over my Christmas break last year), so it was nice going back to something that I already knew. It also helped them out because my supervisor from last summer got a new job, so the woman who took over was brand new in January and didn't know much about the program, so I pretty much trained her in everything that I knew, and required no supervision or direction of my own. I worked for the Beach Program (which is what I did last summer) from May until the last week of August, and now they've switched me over to the Volunteer Lake Assesment Program. The program is still run within the same bureau, so I'm working in the same lab with the same people, but I have a new direct supervisor and I'm doing different stuff. (I go out to different lakes and meet up with a volunteer, go out on their boat with them, and supervise as they take different samples/take the samples with them.) I'll be doing VLAP sampling for the next two weeks until their sampling season ends, and then I'll be back in the lab/office. THere is a lot more involved with the VLAP position than there was with my Beach position, so I was a little nervous about it, but I'm starting to get the hang of it. I think I'm doing my first trip alone on Friday, so hopefully I've got it all down by then.
Meanwhile, I've had no luck getting a real job. I have this internship until November at least, but I really need to get something permanent, as well as something that pays more than $9.83 an hour. I applied to three more positions last night, so hopefully one of those will pan out. My student loans are going to start coming due very soon, and my "estimated monthly payment" is something like $540 a month. I am certainly planning on consolidating so it won't end up costing that much each month, but it will still be a pretty penny.
Ricky and I made our first big purchase together about a month or two ago... his truck is just about beyond its limits, so we got a 2004 Jeep Cherokee. I started panicking and flipping out on the way home because I feel very sad about spending that much money, especially when I make barely enough to cover my gas and groceries, but so far it's been working out okay. We put Rick on my insurance policy because I am a girl and have a pristine driving record... as a 22 year old male with a couple speeding tickets, he was getting robbed on his insurance. My insurance for a year used to be about $450 and his was a little over $1,000... we both had the bare minimum coverage and both owned our vehicles outright. So with the Jeep, we had to increase the coverage since we don't own it, and it's much newer than either of our vehicles were/are, but our insurance really didn't go up as much as we thought, so that was a pleasant surprise. And I really do like it... it's a much smoother ride than Rick's truck was, and it has A/C and a 10-disc CD changer! Ricky originally wanted another truck. I was okay with that but definitely wanted one with rear seats a) so we could bring someone somewhere if we needed to and b) because we're planning on having this vehicle around for a while and I want Ricky to be able to have a car seat in his vehicle when it becomes necessary! So we're both really happy with the Jeep because there is spacious passenger room but the seats also fold flat into the floor so there is as much space as you would have in a truck bed, and it's not out in the elements. And trucks with full cabs with the nice big seats in the back get pretty expensive and start having really poor gas mileage, so I was glad to get something a little smaller. Oh, and it has 4-wheel drive which is what Ricky wanted. So we're trying to sell his truck (which they offered him $300 for on a trade-in, HA) and I'm still driving my car while it holds out.
In wedding news, we have put a deposit down for our reception location. It's the Lake Opechee Inn and Spa on June 6, 2009, so clear out your calendars! My next step is to call the church that's just around the corner. I've had the number for a few weeks but haven't called because I haaaate making phone calls and I suck at life and weddings.
Ricky's grandfather has been in the hospital quite a bit lately, as he's had three strokes in the past 2-3 weeks. He went home two days ago and is doing better for the time being. He was scheduled for a double by-pass, but had his first stroke a few days before that, so the surgery has been pushed back so he can recover. I know he just wants the heart surgery soon, because they told him it will make his breathing easier. He's been through a lot but he's a trooper and seems to be in pretty good spirits still; at least he has whenever we've gone to see him in the hospital.
We are (most likely) getting a dog! My mom's coworker knew of a family who has a 1-year-old black lab mix that they needed to get rid of. The way we originally heard the story was that they had two young kids and it was too much for them between the kids and the dog. We did a looot of phone tag and such, and got the story from them that the KIDS were too much for the dog. They would pull his tail and stuff and be really rough with him, and the dog would put up with it fine but the owners felt bad for him. So we went to meet them last night, and Ricky and I really like him. His name is Sparky, which may or may not change... heh. He was definitely very exciteable, but of course we were expecting that. There's a few things he needs work on in terms of training, like he jumps up on you and also puts your hands and arms in his mouth... he doesn't bite down, and it certainly isn't vicious at all, but it's probably not a good habit to have. Other than that, he seems pretty well trained. He knows some simple commands and is crate-trained (the owner says "Go in your crate!" and he DOES! It was very novel.) So we are really excited about it. The owners wanted a week or so to wean the kids off of the dog, so hopefully we'll be able to bring him home soon. (The kids were devil-children, horribly behaved, loud and obnoxious and we witnessed the tail-pulling and everything... poor Sparky! If I were the parents, I'd be trying to get rid of the kids and keep the dog!)
I thiiink that's most of what's gone on in the past few months. I'm going to try to be better about updating this so you'll all be better informed about my oh-so-exciting life.
I just had a revelation: I will be married before the next Harry Potter movie comes out. EEK!!