Chris

Those were the days.

So I've had a pretty eventful day thus far.

I woke up to a parking ticket. Fantastic. The charge? "Parked on Crosswalk". Yeah, I admit I was parked too close to the corner of the block and that my car was resting where the crosswalk is generally accepted to be during the months of the year where snow isn't covering the road. And how dare I block the 3 foot snowbank blocking the sidewalk from the road? Pretty sure it would be as easy to get over my car as it would be to get over that pile. Ugh. Very unfair, but technically they are right, and I am out $21 bucks. Whatever Duluth, you win.

I didn't have time to gripe about that though as I headed straight over to the dentist's office to get my wisdom teeth pulled. It was an interesting experience honestly. They administered laughing gas, which I had never used before. Trust me, it's not just a name; I started laughing uncontrollably at really stupid stuff, like the fact that it was called laughing gas, or whatever else I would have found only marginally amusing normally. So I sat there for a while feeling "floaty" and laughing to myself about anything.

The dentist came in then and put numbing gel on my affected tooth as well as my other wisdom tooth, and pretty soon I couldn't feel a thing. Before I even realized what he was doing my first wisdom tooth was out. I just kept to myself, feeling totally numb and relaxed and kinda wanting to just go to sleep. I pretty much could have cared less about anything that was going on. If the place had caught fire I probably would have laid there anyway.

So it was then all said and done, and I opted to keep my teeth just to play with for a while before I decide to throw them out. I wore gauze pads on the affected areas for an hour and now am just dealing with the tingly weirdness that comes from not having teeth where you once did.

Other than that not much is going on today. Took a quiz in Spirituality and missed a few points because I was late and had to rush to finish it, but not big deal, it was still an 85%.

And now I'm just looking forward to eating pudding and mashed potatoes after class. Welp, cya!

We keep begging for more of this resurrection.

So I went down to donate plasma today right? Blah.

I've been gearing up to do this for like 2 weeks now. I can't afford rent this month and had been hoping to make enough to not have to hit my parents up for cash.

I did research, looked up the health risks and recommendations, thought I was all set.

Today is finally the big day when I had time to go do the first time donor thing, cause it takes like 4 hours. I got all showered up, ate a big meal of steak and potatoes, drank 4-5 bottles of water, and was set to go.

Kind of a pain parking there. I knew I would be in too long for a meter so I parked in a parking garage on the other side of the block. Gotta spend money to make money.

Walked over to ZLB and was all ready to be called in. I got signed up and waited in the waiting area with a bunch of sketchy looking individuals. That is may be an unfair assessment but I stand by it.

I get called in and I have all my stuff ready including the letter I had to mail to myself for proof of address. We get my picture taken and things are going great. I fill out my screening form. Do I have hepatitis? No. Have I ever been to France? No. Have I had a tattoo in the last 12 months?

lol yea y/?

Sigh. Instant disqualification. Are you kidding me.

Everyone I've told since has told me I should have lied. Haha, what a horrible idea. There is probably a reason for that which I am unaware of (and probably don't want to know now, since I can't just wish away my tattoo) and it's best that I don't potentially harm blood plasma donees (is that the receiving form of donor? No clue).

Oh well. At least I have a supplementary source if income come September, unless I get another tattoo then like I plan. Actually, doing Plasma donation for two weeks would pay for a new tattoo most likely. I now have a great plan.

My wisdom tooth is annihilating me. Ugh. It's worse at sometimes more than others. No idea when I'll get in to see a dentist. I just want this thing gone.

That's it! Bye!

Oh Fiddle Faddle

Welp, that does it: Next week I am finally gonna get off my lazy butt and apply to internships.

I'm not fully sure what's available. I don't know just yet what I want to do for the rest of my life. I'm not certain which career path I am interested in. I don't even own nice clothes at the present time and couldn't afford any if I needed them in a pinch.

But you have to start somewhere!

I can always borrow money from my parents for nice clothes if I actually make it to the job interview after all. But anyhow, I haven't heard back from Boise yet about doing an internship this summer. I probably sent in my resume too late. Sigh. What can you really do except apply elsewhere?

So another one of my friend's girlfriends got pregnant. Geez. I know so many people who got pregnant before they even turned 20, and many of them are/were still in high school. It is pretty out of control. People seem to be having children younger and younger as the years pass. It really seems like there is a separation taking place regarding the likely ages to have a kid; more and more people are either having their kid just out of high school or years down the line after they have got a career set up for themselves. It's interesting to say the least.

Geez do I have enough homework. I don't mind mass quantity homework so much as being at a loss of where to start in regards to doing them. For Linux I have to research a few different open source operating systems and I don't really know where to start. Then for Management I have to do a paper on a hardware technology and figure out all this crazy stuff about it, like the HIPPA regulations or whatever it's called. I can't be bothered to look it up at the moment to make sure I got that right. It's just blah. I want it to be the weekend so I can go home and hang out with my girlfriend.

My other primary concern at the moment as I have documented in the past is money woes. I was all set to go to ZLB Plasma yesterday and do a bit of good while also making some "cheddar" as the kids say nowadays. Unfortunately as I walked through the door of my house announcing my intentions, I was told by a roomate - who I had previously had no idea worked there - that the water pipe had broke and it was closed for the day. I couldn't go today cause I didn't get out of class till 3:40 and that wasn't enough time to eat a big meal and make it to the clinic for the deadline (they need you there sometime before 4 when it's your first time cause they have to do a bunch of preliminary stuff to get you set up with them and make sure you are healthy). I COULD go tomorrow, but then I wouldn't get out of town till like 3 or 4 and I just want to be home by then. Maybe I'll change my mind, I dunno.

I did some research on plasma giving. I was concerned about health problems that could arise from it. Aside from some isolated claims I found from people who gave every two weeks for 3-4 years on end, it doesn't appear to be too harmful. Generally you may feel dizzy afterwards but blood plasma regenerates quickly, and I don't plan on doing it for even 5 months, let alone 3 years. And hey, if it helps save a life, I'd love to be a part of that. Prick me, pay me.

Although, one issue stands in my way: I got my tattoo less than 12 months ago and that apparently matters. Sigh. If I go up there, and they say the tattoo I got last September is too recent, I'm out of the source of income I was relying on to pay my rent this semester. Admissions pays me enough for rent and bills, but I'm almost broke and I still have other expenses like gas, food, and miscellaneous. So, I kinda need this right now. We shall see what they say when I do go in next Monday.

Welp, back to homework. Peace.

The Radiator Hums

How was everyone's Martin Luther King weekend? Mine was great.

So, we have a new president and I for one am thrilled. I voted Obama, and was ecstatic to see him deliver the oath of office (even if he flubbed it up a bit) and then go on to give a fantastic speech.

I had been in my Intro to Spirituality class and was worried I was going to miss the whole thing, but luckily our teacher let us go early. The Mitchell Auditorium was airing the inauguration on a projector and the place was packed with people wanting to witness a historic moment. They provided cocoa and cookies, which is always a plus, and it was a day I don't think I'll soon forget.

It felt great to feel like a part of something being in the auditorium cheering with everyone. It sure is great that an African American is now president for the first time ever, and I am so happy to be alive to see it.

I am, for the first time ever, very optimistic about our presidential office. I am very happy with Obama and I would be lying if I didn't admit I was expecting a lot from him. Here is to hoping he is up to the challenge.

So money has become an issue for me. I am a little worried at the moment. Friday I will get a paycheck for one weeks work from CSS, and I also plan on donating plasma soon for some extra cash. For the first time in my life I am officially living paycheck to paycheck, and it is quite the experience. I've been way into the black for years now, but that is definitely not the case as I begin this last semester of school. I have my parents support of course, but I'm gonna do what I can to prevent having to ask them for more money than they already have given me. But I think I will be fine.

I got a lot of homework to do tonight, so I'm gonna get on that. Happy inauguration day everyone!

You said, "My life is like a bad movie."

Happy Friday.

So I had to start my new class yesterday. Intro to Spirtuality. It doesn't seem too bad. I really wish I could take the 9/11 course still but what can you do?

Tuesdays and Thursdays still drag though. Ugh. I work 8-10, class 10-11:40, work 11:40 to 2, class 2 to 3:40. Blah.

So while those days are the days I barely survive, I am very happy that I can leave at 10:20 AM Friday. Yessss. I can't wait to get home.

Three cheers for long weekends too, woop.

Last night I ate some Taco Bell, and that was a mistake. I felt pretty sick laying in bed that night. Ugh, why did I do that? I just had this crazy craving for hard shell tacos and didn't feel like making my own. I learned my lesson. Maybe.

Nothing else is really going on though. I was up late last night working on a sub-par presentation. Blah. I dunno. I just want to not think about school again for a while.

Guess I'll see ya Monday.

Here in this desert, they recited my last rites.

So! Let's see here, what exactly is new with me?

Well. Yesterday I went to 2 new classes: Religion and Culture after 9/11, and Information Management Systems.

The 9/11 class is awesome. I was really excited about it. I really was. Read on...

After being excited by the course content and layout, and also meeting the awesome teacher (Neil is his first name. Don't recall the last.) I went to what will possibly be my most boring and dry class ever in college history, the previously mentioned Information Management Systems class. Blah. I dunno if I'll be able to take this class twice a week, an hour and 40 minutes each. But, you gotta do what you gotta do and the teacher seems nice, so we shall just see if it's unbearable or not.

I arrived at home, and immediately realized: I had lost my wallet. Holy cow. I panicked a little bit. Ran around my room in disbelief that it could possibly be gone. Drove back to the school, walked back into the last class I had been in in Wellness, and found it directly behind my sear on ground. It's a miracle I found it and that it wasn't stolen. I probably wouldn't have thought to have looked there if it hadnt been for recalling being uncomfortable in my seat for a moment and later hearing a light thud, but at the time not putting 2 and 2 together. Sheesh.

I then came home and for the first time ever installed my own RAM. I'm not quite sure what I was expecting. I thought it would be hard or something, or I'd have to like, mess around with BIOS or something. But nope! Just opened 'er up, pulled out the old RAM, snapped in the new, screwed it back up, and was on my way. And it is awesome. It already ran Vista fine on just one gig (disbelieve all you want, I've been running it like this for a year and a half now) and now I have yet to even come close to slowing down since. I like it alot.

Wasted the rest of the night doing nothing, just like tonight. Sigh. I need a hobby or to at least start doing something constructive with my time. Should I not be too busy with homework tomorrow I fully intend to go work out at least.

I also deal with wrist strain due to my poor typing habits and also years of Guitar Hero. I need to figure out how to reverse that ASAP.

Today I went to Wireless class for the first time. Just had the course explained to us by Tom. I'm probably most worried about this course since programming was never my strong suit. It's just way too much to remember and debug. But we shall see.

Next was Stylistics. I think this class is intriguing and I've had Schifsky before. I am however a bit worried about this course for whatever reason. Not that I won't at least get a B or something. Apparently getting an A is very difficult, but what the heck ever. But I hope to get a lot out of this course and hope I can get a lot out of it.

The other class I have is Linux. That class should be interesting. I'm taking it because, well, I had no choice, but regardless may have chosen it because I have always wanted to try Linux and this seems like a great environment to try it myself and see what is up.

So I got see Diana to ensure all my graduation requirements thus far are taken care of. Whoops, 9/11 class isn't the spiritual requirement we thought it was.

UGH. Haha, but what can you do right? Tomorrow I'm gonna talk to Neil to make sure it can't be counted as a religion credit, and if that is the case, I walk right over to switch the class to Intro to Spirituality. Which is a thousan level course where I basically sit there and blow freshmen minds, but I am definitely far more interested in the course I'm already in. Cross yer fingers.

I've been eating a lot of garlic bread lately. What a bad idea.

I took a trip down memory lane re-reading my old myspace messages. A lot of funny stuff and a lot of drama. Ah to be young again. Oh wait, my life is still full of drama. NVM.

So I should probably get SOMETHING done now. Be back Friday.

Not off to the best start.

Argh. 4 more months.

I had a pretty great break at home. I got a girlfriend! This is wonderful news. I also got to spend a lot of time with my family and friends and have funny adventures, which is all I'm ever shooting for typically. Awesome vacation.

But that's what it was: a vacation. Back to real life.

After being incapable of falling asleep last night, I woke up around 8:30 wondering if I had slept at all. That is never a good sign. This realization was followed by realizing I was late for class, because my alarm clock decided to be worthless for some unknown reason, and my cell phone back up alarm was, despite all precautions, set for 7:30 PM. Brilliant Chris.

So I get to school and thankfully find out today we didn't have that class. Woo.

I've only gone to one class so far, Stylistics with Schifsky. It should be a cool class, but it's gonna be a lot of busywork. Blah. Oh well, I'm almost done FOREVER, may as well not complain too much. I did get busted for texting during class though, so that sucked. But no matter, I plan on starting fresh tomorrow. Course, I plan that every day, and then I wake up and get miserable and screw up. Oh wells.

Currently finishing up at work. I have a headache, and I'm concerned about a couple of my seemingly tougher classes. Ugh ugh ugh. I just want to go home, eat, and sleep.

Blahhhhhh and I don't want to do an internship! Arghhhh.

I'm stressed, gonna go chill now, peace.