New music Guess

So today's musical guess by my co-worker was:

Performing "The Sunrise [Nevins Radio Mix]*"

Real Artist

Duran Duran


*Courtesy of Zippersparks

Life of a Student

It's amazing the stuff you find to do instead of studying when you are a student. Tonight, I actually had "nothing" to do so I was going to get my notes organized and start really studying for my communications theory test which was moved from Friday to Monday. I mean, I really need to study and plus, I have a chapter to read by Friday that I thought I would have the weekend to read.

So instead of organizing my notes I:

organized my desk
cleared my junk off of the dining room table because I know how much it bugs mom
sorted through all the papers in my in-box
selected a new box to keep all of Ms. S's letters and cards in
finally addressed and bundled up the last two B-day CD's I have to mail
wrote two thank you notes
downloaded an iTunes update
did some online banking
started loading music into my Mac
wrapped a gift for Bev to give her Saturday
edited my playlists on my PC iTunes (I haven't reformatted my iPod for my Mac, but now I am a step closer)

and last but not least

scubbed the floorboards and fronts of the cupboards in the bathroom.

Because these are all things that sneak up on you that urgently have to be done and right now!

Yeah, I'll study tomorrow.

Oh yeah!

The University Student Union has offered me the job, I got it! I am on my way out the door. I get to write a letter of resignation tonight and send it in tomorrow. Well, I think I will wait until Friday, Wednesday's are very busy days for my department.

I am very excited because I really did not want to be in my current job by the time January 1 rolled around but I am also very nervous about leaving. I will really miss three of my coworkers as I feel that we have developed a strong working relationship, they have a great sense of humor and I feel bad that I am pulling myself as a resource for them. I know I am replaceable but if the department track record is any indication, it is going to take a long time to find a replacement and there are parts of my job that I quietly take care of things and I don't think my supervisor's realize that I keep certain parts of the department running smoothly with out being officially assigned to them.

There are also parts of my job that I will not miss. I have to keep that in mind.

I am nervous about taking the job because it is less pay, less hours and no benefits. So, my budget will really change. I believe I can do it, there will just be less and less extras in my life. The side note being, since I will have more time to myself, I can cut back on my clothes shopping as I will have time to finally make all the clothes that I bought fabric and patterns for but have never made. Theoretically. And I will spend less on gas as I will not be going to work and then to the university and then back to the University. One stop shopping people.

There is also a small part of me that fears I have bitten off more that I can chew with this job.

But the hired me. And I know I am smart and they are actually going to have me start training with the person who currently has the job before my two weeks notice is up.

At any rate, my life is going to be changing and with any luck, it will all be for the best. Maybe I will even be able to start running on the treadmill again.

Name that tune!

I know when I first posted about Musical jeopardy on August 28, I promised it would be a regular weekly occurrence. And believe me, I have been given plenty of entries for musical jeopardy. But life has been crazy and I have been collecting the trivia for the last few weeks. To get caught up, here is a summary of all the guesses my cubiclemate has made in the last three weeks.

September 5
Sunday Morning by

Rob Thomas.

Real artist:


September 6
He almost got one right.

He guessed that Ex-girlfriend was on Gwen Stefani's solo album. He got the singer right, the song is just from a No Doubt album, Tragic Kingdom I believe.

September 8
Teardrop by

Christina Aguilera

Nope, it is by Massive Attack



September 12
'Oh, this song is on Fiona Apple's new album...'

uh, the song was

Thank you by Dido.

September 19
Can you Feel it by

Justin Timberlake.



Real Artist:


Second guess that same day:

guessed as



I found out this week that he was not raised in the United States, so some of these songs would be unfamiliar. But I also think he may be tone deaf since he cannot hear the difference in the artists voices. At any rate, I will try to not let the musical jeopardy build up so much in the future.

TGIF

Wow, so when I did my fast update earlier this week, I left off a couple key components of why I have not been blogging lately.

First and foremost, I lost the battle with the cold and became really sick from Friday through the weekend. On Wednesday I ended up in bed by 8 pm and that did me alot of good. I am finally getting back on my feet. I can tell because my textbooks are starting to make sense!

They gave me a new computer at work. While there are benefits to that - like the turbo charged the thing and I have oodles of memory available - I have a different internet browser than I did before and it doesn't always let me get to Blogger. Damn privacy report and work restrictions!

They also upgraded me from the Microsoft suite 1997 to 2000 and when I use Word then copy and paste into Blogger, I end up with all these weird spaces and code in Blogger. What a hassle. And it suddenly became harder to upload pictures to Blogger. I didn't have these problems before...

So while I have a paper that I will be working on this weekend, I do have a couple posts up my sleeve and plan on publishing them. I had a pretty good day today, I hope you did too.

Oh - I interviewed for the second position today. I took the time last night to iron my clothes and I even starched the collar and cuffs. Yeah, I 'm a nerd. It is basically another accounting position but with the University. I am one of two applicants and they should let me know by next Wednesday. If I get it, hooray! If I don't, I lost out to one person. Doh! We shall have to wait and see.

Oops

So I made a small tactical error when setting up my school schedule this fall. I left myself 10 minutes between my last two classes which run from 4:20 to 6:50 and then 7:00 to 9:45. Oh and in case you are wondering, yes, the second class is kept for the entire time.

So, I didn't leave myself time to get dinner. And trying to eat a room temperature soy bolongua sandwich.... Ah I can hear you all gagging already. Believe me, I thought I was going to yak during my last class.

And I didn;t have any money in my wallet, naturally, to hit the vending machines during breaks.

So, my two meals so far have been, week one) peanut butter crackers, applesauce and soy milk - not fillling or satisfying in any way but travelled well. Week two) Soy cheese and bolonga sandwich which did not travel well and peanut butter crackers. Any suggestions anyone? I do have a hour break between my first and second class....


I was really craving mac n cheese for lunch tomorrow but I was just not in the mood to go grocery shopping although I did make the all important stop at the bank for some cash on the way home. Damn WAMU doesn't have a drive through ATM of course. At any rate, I almost cried when I came home, opened the kitchen cupboard and saw a couple of the little microwave neon mac n cheese cups. I am so taking one for lunch tomorrow.

Big Sigh

So I didn't get the job I interviewed for this morning. I really didn't feel good about it when I walked out of the room so it wasn't a big shock.

Two upsides though. 1. They let me know right away so that I can move on to plan B. And 2. the coordinator asked if she could forward my resume over to another person at the organization for consideration for another position. That was nice of her and she didn't have to do that so I guess I made a good impression even though I wasn't the best canidate, right? So I thanked her for her time this afternoon and let her know that I was open to a different employment opportunity. Doesn't hurt. Who knows, maybe this position would be even better.

So there you have it folks. One opportunity closes and another possible adventure begins.

Catch up

Still trying to get a handle on my life. This week will be my first week of a full school and a full work schedule. So far it has been a challenge to balance everything. I always find that it takes me about 2 weeks to adjust to a new schedule. I tend to walk around like a zombie during these transition periods. In the meantime, here is a brief collection of thoughts or events that have happened over the last week or so.

Monday is my longest day, two of my classes only meet on Mondays so I am on campus from about 1 to 10. This week my last class was sent home early which allowed me to go pick up the last two readers I needed.

My three day a week class continues to progress. I have managed to stay ahead of the reading so far and today, I had a very nice walk and talk with a fellow grad student, J. She's very cool. She just moved to California from Texas and is a Virgo, just like me. I hope that she stays in the class as she is trying to get an equivalence out of it. I am hoping we get a chance to hang out more. It is always nice to meet potential new friends.

I was originally really looking forward to my women's studies class which is entitled, Sex lies and media. I mean, we have to watch two movies on our own time pretty much once a week and considering that I own half of the films already, I thought that was a good sign and this class would be right up my alley. And the class is going to be involved with a film festival which once you read through the lines, is a GLBT film festival on campus. There is a lot of work involved with this class but it sounded great. Ironically, I took a women and media class as an undergraduate and really enjoyed it. We are even using the same text book, although I had to buy the updated version as I had one from 1993 and the updated version is copywrite 2002. Plus, I checked and the first two articles I needed to read for class were not in the older vesion.

Another cool thing about this class, my godfather coauthored an article in this version. It is so weird to recognize and know one of the authors listed on the cover, although I am sad to note they removed the article by bell hooks.

Now the bad part. I don't like the teacher. She drones on and on and this was the first class. I am hoping it gets better but an not optimistic. Plus, the class discussion got pretty hostile. And I don't mean students getting hostile with each other, I mean there were some pretty venomous rants against men and media and society in general. Yes, there are problems in the world but the level of rancour was shocking to me.

I like my last class, rhetorical theory. I don't know if I will get the actual therory but I like the professor, he seems interesting.

I am still preparing for the interview on Friday. It was moved up to 10:30 and I was sent a 2 page questionnaire to fill out and bring to the interview. They gave me a lot of material and I spent a good hour on line tonight exploring the website. Still nervous and don't quite feel prepared but I am still working towards it. One of the new questions asks what student associations/clubs I would join if I got the job. My first thought was, Yeah, right. Like I have the time as a graduate student. But is kind of the job description. I searched through the clubs and associations and found a few I can list that sound interesting. And you will be interested to know that there is a CSUN Cat people club. I am not kidding.

Work is work. I wonder if my bosses will see that I can get my work done working less hours. Hello! I've been telling them forever that I don't have enough work to keep me busy during the work week. And this included time off for a follow up eye doctor appointment and an 'appointment' on Friday. BTW - my eyes are fine. I had popped one stitch in my left eye so the Dr removed it. My next appointment is in November as a sixth month checkup. I cannot believe it has been 6 months since I had the first surgery.

Okay, I really need to get of the computer. I am fighting a cold and I am determined to win. Plus it is another fun filled and action packed day for me tomorrow. Is it sad that I am looking forward to a day when all I do is go to work, I don't have to run over to campus? I love school but running back and forth sucks.

I know there are probably lots of typos but whatever, live with it.

Eek!

Okay, I have had a lot going on with work, school and personal stuff the last few weeks and I was going to write an update entry this weekend but..

At any rate, I had to share, I just got a phone call. The graduate assistantship I applied for on August 24? I'm interviewing on this Friday at 11. I really really want this position, so please think good thoughts for me. And if you have any interview tips, I'll take them. I am really really nervous.

Thankful

This is my 100th post. How fitting that this post is a reflection of some of the things I have learned over the past year. Thanks for hanging in there with me.

I had a wonderful birthday. I heard from everyone, some friends multiple times. So I wanted to take a moment to reflect on all the things I learned this past year and some things I am grateful for.

"Bionic eyes are cool. There is nothing like being able to see the clock when insomnia hits at 4 in the morning."

"I think there is a license frame curse with Colleges. I never purchased anything from my undergrad institute and managed to graduate. But I bought a license frame with the college name on it for my first graduate program and didn't finish it. I gave Ms. S a college license plate frame and Ms. B bought one for herself and neither of them have a degree from that particular university either. Maybe I'm just being superstitious but I am not buying anything with the college's name until I graduate."

"Sometimes, it doesn't pay to be nice to people, they will try to walk all over you."

" I really need to get over my I-don't-like-to-drive and my I-don't-like-to-talk-on-the-phone thing. If I don't, I will miss out on a lot of my life. I'm starting to take steps to getting over these bad habits but I still have a ways to go."

"It's okay to ask for something you want. It doesn't mean that you will necessarily get it, but you will never know if you don't try."

"I've had a lot of fun with my brother over the past year, Yes, sometimes he drove me crazy but I think we have gotten to know each other better."

"While driving to work with a companion was fun in it's own way. I do enjoy a solitary morning commute to wake up and think things through as I drive through the canyon."

"Sometimes you just have to suck it up and go for it."

"If you are not willing to open up to your therapist in the first few moment of a session, you are wasting their time and your money. Just say it, there is nothing, and I mean NOTHING that they haven't heard before. You can't shock them."

"I have space issues."

"I'm not crazy, there was a reason for my past behavior. My fears were grounded in reality, not fiction."

"Never underestimate the value of good friends. A good friend will disagree with you without arguing, will administer a swift kick in the butt when needed and if they can't be there with you when you need them, do the next best thing and send in the Calvary. Most importantly, a true friend can put you back together with emotional duct tape."