I was very excited because I thought today I would be able to enroll in the dental plan from my new job.
But, then I noticed that to take advantage of any of the coverage (like for cavities) you have to be in the plan for 3 months, and, for major stuff, 12 months. I am not sure if it will be worth it, especially since I will probably have dental at my new job in September.
When I was in my 20s, guys who played guitar and smoked cigarettes made me weak in the knees.
In my 30s, it's a good health and dental plan and owning a washer and dryer.
It's interesting how priorities change.
My oldest and dearest friend from Las Vegas is visiting this weekend (Natedog's mom). I am looking forward to spending time with her, especially since the last time she visited me in PA it wasn't so fun. I had lived here a grand total of 2 weeks and didn't know how to find anything to do, it was August (hot and very muggy), and I had no air conditioning and no friends. Luckily it is meant to be a beautiful weekend and I know plenty of places to go and people to see.
She keeps telling me that she wants to go out to bars, since she never really does that at home, what with the husband and kids. I laughed and told her don't worry, I'll take you to my bar, and then my other bar, and then my other other bar, and then (if there's time) to a place near me that I haven't tried yet.
Showing posts with label 3-0. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 3-0. Show all posts
Friday, May 23, 2008
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
moving in
We had some lovely cool days last week, a respite from the oppressive, humid, summer heat.
But, of course, on Saturday when I moved into my new apartment, it came back with a vengeance.
Luckily, this time around there were no stairs involved, it was a a straightforward move from a storage unit to apartment, and I had 6 awesome friends helping me out.
I did learn some valuable lessons from the day:
1. Two dozen donuts is too many for only 7 people
2. So is 4 pizzas.
I've been slowly but surely unpacking and arranging my new environment. My new place has a good amount of space, but far fewer shelves. So, I went shopping for some additional cheap shelves along with the college students who were coming back to school this week.
I realized that I am 30 years old and am still buying furniture that doesn't match and is really suited for dorm life. *sigh*
I can't wait to graduate and get a real job. Then I could, perhaps, get a couch and loveseat that have the same upholstery. And then, if I am lucky, a coffee table with matching end tables to complement the sofas. Maybe even some lamps. And an ottoman.
It's good to have goals.
But, of course, on Saturday when I moved into my new apartment, it came back with a vengeance.
Luckily, this time around there were no stairs involved, it was a a straightforward move from a storage unit to apartment, and I had 6 awesome friends helping me out.
I did learn some valuable lessons from the day:
1. Two dozen donuts is too many for only 7 people
2. So is 4 pizzas.
I've been slowly but surely unpacking and arranging my new environment. My new place has a good amount of space, but far fewer shelves. So, I went shopping for some additional cheap shelves along with the college students who were coming back to school this week.
I realized that I am 30 years old and am still buying furniture that doesn't match and is really suited for dorm life. *sigh*
I can't wait to graduate and get a real job. Then I could, perhaps, get a couch and loveseat that have the same upholstery. And then, if I am lucky, a coffee table with matching end tables to complement the sofas. Maybe even some lamps. And an ottoman.
It's good to have goals.
Monday, August 20, 2007
Saying goodbye
I've been searching for a new apartment ever since I got back from Australia. The search has been heavy on my mind and heart. Being without a place to call my own has affected me more than I thought it would. I have been feeling lost and unable to start anything of any substance. It has been like I don't have a safe haven, a place I can sit with myself and think, and I hate it.
I have called about 30 people about apartments, and heard back from 2. It has been increasingly frustrating.
I was talking with my counselor about how much this is stressing me out, she asked if I had mourned the loss of my old apartment. When I instantly dissolved into a puddle of tears upon hearing the question, I knew that I hadn't.
When I left for Australia, I was in such a rush packing, cleaning, working, and organizing, I never was able to really say goodbye to the place. I knew that it would catch up to me sometime. And boy, did it ever.
I know that to some people, the space where they live is not really important. It is just an object in the world, and doesn't have any direct affect on their emotional state. But that particular apartment was special to me.
When I decided to move into that apartment, I was in the midst of some dark times in my life. I had been living in a crappy place on the first floor of a house. The bedroom was small, so my bed was in the living room. The bathroom only had a shower, no bathtub. It was basically a large dorm room, with no real furniture or decor. I had just been through a rough breakup, and in the process of dealing with the aftermath, alienated many of the people I called my friends at the time. I felt stagnant and miserable and just plain cranky. My upstairs neighbors had taken to playing Metallica at about 9am on Saturdays and then stomping about and yelling during the rest of the day. I hated where I lived and I hated how miserable I was. Eventually, I realized that I had to do something with my days other than sitting alone in my glorified dorm room, chain smoking and playing video games. So, I started taking an exercise class, I got involved in some new activities and started to make new (and quite fabulous) friends.
Also, I moved. The apartment had a real bedroom, a bathtub, a dishwasher, and it was the kind of place I could bring friends to. I moved in practically by myself. I was still really angry and good at alienation, so not too many people were volunteering to help me out. But, slowly, I built a new, better life there. I loved it. That apartment was part of my journey out of misery. I really loved it, and the years I spent there were great. That apartment was a haven for me, a place where my life transitioned from feeling bitter, lonely, unloved and unhealthy to feeling happy, social, well-liked, and healthy. I went from having very few people help move me in, to having a well organized network of many people help me and my stressed self move out.
This is one of the only pictures I have of the place. I will always remember that apartment. Good bye, old friend.
Next weekend I move into a new place. This place will be where I spend my last year of graduate school, where I write my thesis, search for jobs, and wear extra layers in the winter since heat is not included in rent. I move in next weekend, and I can't wait!
I have called about 30 people about apartments, and heard back from 2. It has been increasingly frustrating.
I was talking with my counselor about how much this is stressing me out, she asked if I had mourned the loss of my old apartment. When I instantly dissolved into a puddle of tears upon hearing the question, I knew that I hadn't.
When I left for Australia, I was in such a rush packing, cleaning, working, and organizing, I never was able to really say goodbye to the place. I knew that it would catch up to me sometime. And boy, did it ever.
I know that to some people, the space where they live is not really important. It is just an object in the world, and doesn't have any direct affect on their emotional state. But that particular apartment was special to me.
When I decided to move into that apartment, I was in the midst of some dark times in my life. I had been living in a crappy place on the first floor of a house. The bedroom was small, so my bed was in the living room. The bathroom only had a shower, no bathtub. It was basically a large dorm room, with no real furniture or decor. I had just been through a rough breakup, and in the process of dealing with the aftermath, alienated many of the people I called my friends at the time. I felt stagnant and miserable and just plain cranky. My upstairs neighbors had taken to playing Metallica at about 9am on Saturdays and then stomping about and yelling during the rest of the day. I hated where I lived and I hated how miserable I was. Eventually, I realized that I had to do something with my days other than sitting alone in my glorified dorm room, chain smoking and playing video games. So, I started taking an exercise class, I got involved in some new activities and started to make new (and quite fabulous) friends.
Also, I moved. The apartment had a real bedroom, a bathtub, a dishwasher, and it was the kind of place I could bring friends to. I moved in practically by myself. I was still really angry and good at alienation, so not too many people were volunteering to help me out. But, slowly, I built a new, better life there. I loved it. That apartment was part of my journey out of misery. I really loved it, and the years I spent there were great. That apartment was a haven for me, a place where my life transitioned from feeling bitter, lonely, unloved and unhealthy to feeling happy, social, well-liked, and healthy. I went from having very few people help move me in, to having a well organized network of many people help me and my stressed self move out.
This is one of the only pictures I have of the place. I will always remember that apartment. Good bye, old friend.
Next weekend I move into a new place. This place will be where I spend my last year of graduate school, where I write my thesis, search for jobs, and wear extra layers in the winter since heat is not included in rent. I move in next weekend, and I can't wait!
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
potent desires
From this week's Freewill Astrology:
I can barely begin to articulate why this week's horoscope touches my soul.
Since my return from Australia I seem to have been hit full force with the reality that the next stage in my life is rapidly approaching and there is nothing I can do to stop it. Well, I suppose I could move backwards, but the stagnancy I have been experiencing for the last few years definitely has to end. Basically, it's time for me to wrap up this crazy graduate school experience. This means the next year will be filled with insane amount of work, writing, and job hunting. I do not enjoy academic writing, but I am just going to have to get over that, as scary as it seems.
Also, I've realized that I have an amazing support system of family and friends, and I have a full social calendar. I would love to have someone to share that with. It's been years since I had a proper boyfriend, and it's been over a year since I met someone who I felt any chemistry with. I'm still exploring what is keeping me from a fulfilling intimate romantic relationship at the moment.
And I am homeless, technically. I am staying at a friend's house right now but searching for a new place, hopefully moving in Sept 1. Not having MY place with all of MY stuff has been a little disconcerting. With the stresses of Real Life barreling toward me at 1,000,000 miles a minute, not having a place of my own to kind of anchor me down to the world has been affecting me more than I expected.
So I reckon my 3 huge, soaring, potent desires are:
1. a home
2. a boyfriend
3. a Ph.D.
Of course I also have a plethora of half-assed goals, but many of them will get done during the process of attaining the Big Three up there.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): It's the Season of Burning, Churning Yearning. Here are three of the most important things I've ever told you about how to get what you need. (1) If you don't precisely articulate your conscious desires, your unconscious patterns will come true instead. (2) If you want your conscious desires to trump your unconscious patterns, speak or write your conscious desires every day. (3) It's better to have three huge, soaring, potent desires than 25 puny, scrabbling, half-assed desires.
I can barely begin to articulate why this week's horoscope touches my soul.
Since my return from Australia I seem to have been hit full force with the reality that the next stage in my life is rapidly approaching and there is nothing I can do to stop it. Well, I suppose I could move backwards, but the stagnancy I have been experiencing for the last few years definitely has to end. Basically, it's time for me to wrap up this crazy graduate school experience. This means the next year will be filled with insane amount of work, writing, and job hunting. I do not enjoy academic writing, but I am just going to have to get over that, as scary as it seems.
Also, I've realized that I have an amazing support system of family and friends, and I have a full social calendar. I would love to have someone to share that with. It's been years since I had a proper boyfriend, and it's been over a year since I met someone who I felt any chemistry with. I'm still exploring what is keeping me from a fulfilling intimate romantic relationship at the moment.
And I am homeless, technically. I am staying at a friend's house right now but searching for a new place, hopefully moving in Sept 1. Not having MY place with all of MY stuff has been a little disconcerting. With the stresses of Real Life barreling toward me at 1,000,000 miles a minute, not having a place of my own to kind of anchor me down to the world has been affecting me more than I expected.
So I reckon my 3 huge, soaring, potent desires are:
1. a home
2. a boyfriend
3. a Ph.D.
Of course I also have a plethora of half-assed goals, but many of them will get done during the process of attaining the Big Three up there.
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Birthday weekend EXTRAVAGANZA II!!!!!
To celebrate my 30th, I had another birthday weekend EXTRAVAGANZA. This year I was back in the northern hemisphere, so I went with a more wintry activity list.
First, on Friday night, Frogweiler and I went to see Illinois, an awesome band we have recently discovered.
Next, on Saturday the day commenced with an afternoon of ice skating. I had not been skating in years, and so I thought it would be a fun activity. And it sure was, I was pleasantly surprised at how well I could skate and how much fun it was going around and around to cheesy music from the 80s and 90s. If it had been roller skating, I would have felt like I was in junior high again! The bonus was that I only fell once, and none of my friends actually saw it. Woo hoo!
My snazzy rented skates. See the red on the toes? It's the blood of those who got in my way MUAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
Then there was the official party, held at a freinds house. There was food, poker, and great friends. I was a bit preoccupied at the beginning, as I was kept making more rounds of snacks in the kitchen, but eventually I let the rum take over and I was pretty happy about my birthday.
Over the course of the next few days, though, I learned some important lessons:
1) Ice skating will kick your ass if you don't do it more than, say, twice in 30 years. My back and legs were so sore the next day. I felt very old and very busted.
2) When I have been drinking, I shouldn't be allowed to conduct video interviews, or let others conduct video interviews of me. I'm seriously considering retiring from the world of semi-public drunkeness. I didn't do anything more embarrassing than I would do sober, but still....
3) I have the best friends in the world, because they still love me even when they are subjected to lesson #2 stated above.
Ah, but it was a good time.
First, on Friday night, Frogweiler and I went to see Illinois, an awesome band we have recently discovered.
Next, on Saturday the day commenced with an afternoon of ice skating. I had not been skating in years, and so I thought it would be a fun activity. And it sure was, I was pleasantly surprised at how well I could skate and how much fun it was going around and around to cheesy music from the 80s and 90s. If it had been roller skating, I would have felt like I was in junior high again! The bonus was that I only fell once, and none of my friends actually saw it. Woo hoo!
My snazzy rented skates. See the red on the toes? It's the blood of those who got in my way MUAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
Then there was the official party, held at a freinds house. There was food, poker, and great friends. I was a bit preoccupied at the beginning, as I was kept making more rounds of snacks in the kitchen, but eventually I let the rum take over and I was pretty happy about my birthday.
Over the course of the next few days, though, I learned some important lessons:
1) Ice skating will kick your ass if you don't do it more than, say, twice in 30 years. My back and legs were so sore the next day. I felt very old and very busted.
2) When I have been drinking, I shouldn't be allowed to conduct video interviews, or let others conduct video interviews of me. I'm seriously considering retiring from the world of semi-public drunkeness. I didn't do anything more embarrassing than I would do sober, but still....
3) I have the best friends in the world, because they still love me even when they are subjected to lesson #2 stated above.
Ah, but it was a good time.
Sunday, January 21, 2007
I got the horse right here, his name is Paul Revere...
So tonight I had my amazing 30th birthday party!
The theme was Viva Las Vegas (of course)!
And, now that I have sent the last guests away and I am waiting to be sober and awake enough to go to home to my own bed, I have turned on the television, and what is on?
Why, it's Guys and Dolls!
The only thing better would have been Ocean's 11 (the original) or Viva Las Vegas.
Frankie Sinatra and Marlon Brando...way back in the day.
It's been a fabulous birthday!! Woo Hoo!!
The theme was Viva Las Vegas (of course)!
And, now that I have sent the last guests away and I am waiting to be sober and awake enough to go to home to my own bed, I have turned on the television, and what is on?
Why, it's Guys and Dolls!
The only thing better would have been Ocean's 11 (the original) or Viva Las Vegas.
Frankie Sinatra and Marlon Brando...way back in the day.
It's been a fabulous birthday!! Woo Hoo!!
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
200th post!!! Yay!!!
My time in Vegas was amazing, and once I get the pics put on the computer I will have many tales to tell.
Because that whole "what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas" is a crock of shit.
I hate that saying, because you know what? I happened in Vegas, and I managed to get out.
But first I have a dilemma and need help from my friends in the blogosphere.
On this coming Sunday (Sunday Sunday SUNDAY), I turn 30. That's right, the big three-oh. I am rather excited at the prospect of being done with my 20s, but I have no idea how I should celebrate this big b-day.
At the moment the default is borrowing a friend's house and having a party (Vegas themed, of course), which is nice and fun and all since one of my favorite things to do is hanging out and chatting with my friends. But, I don't know, it feels like I should do something special. Some sort of ceremony. Plus the idea of having to plan and then get the basic supplies for a party is not the most appealing thing. I'd kind of like to do something really fun with as little effort as possible on my part.
I had thought of maybe ice skating or riding a mechanical bull at the country and western bar, but I want something that all my friends would want to come out and do and that is relatively inexpensive.
Any suggestions?
Because that whole "what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas" is a crock of shit.
I hate that saying, because you know what? I happened in Vegas, and I managed to get out.
But first I have a dilemma and need help from my friends in the blogosphere.
On this coming Sunday (Sunday Sunday SUNDAY), I turn 30. That's right, the big three-oh. I am rather excited at the prospect of being done with my 20s, but I have no idea how I should celebrate this big b-day.
At the moment the default is borrowing a friend's house and having a party (Vegas themed, of course), which is nice and fun and all since one of my favorite things to do is hanging out and chatting with my friends. But, I don't know, it feels like I should do something special. Some sort of ceremony. Plus the idea of having to plan and then get the basic supplies for a party is not the most appealing thing. I'd kind of like to do something really fun with as little effort as possible on my part.
I had thought of maybe ice skating or riding a mechanical bull at the country and western bar, but I want something that all my friends would want to come out and do and that is relatively inexpensive.
Any suggestions?
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