Saturday, April 29, 2006
I guess I know what I'll be reading first this summer.
Last night, Rick and I were discussing Harry Potter while making dinner, as we are wont to do. Well, actually, since there's no reason to lie about it...Rick was making dinner while I was standing in the kitchen talking about Harry Potter, as I am wont to do. But at least he was listening to me.
After some lengthy discussion (I mean monologue), I sighed and said, "I would really like to read Goblet of Fire again."
Without taking his eyes off the veggies he was sauteeing, Rick smirked and said, "And so it begins."
He knows me so well. Bring on the summer!
P.S. Speaking of bringing on the summer, it is now crunch time for the old Procrasti-knitter. I have a week and a half left to begin and finish studying for finals. Now, I don't know about y'all, but I have an internet addiction. I need it worse than Coke. Sometimes my addiction causes me to check my favorite blogs multiple times a day. As you can imagine, this constant need to Refresh! Refresh! Refresh! sometimes gets in the way of my studies. Other things also cause me to not study...like an intense desire not to study. But still. Because I still don't have a solid A in Microbiology and there are only two tests left, I'm going to spend the next week and a half...BANISHED FROM THE INTERNET!!!! AAAAGGGHHH!!!!
I'll be back sometime in May and I can't wait to see what everybody's been up to while I learn the difference between Clostridium perfringens and Clostridium botulinum. (Y'all are so jealous. I can tell, you know.)
And happy weekend, too! See you soon.
After some lengthy discussion (I mean monologue), I sighed and said, "I would really like to read Goblet of Fire again."
Without taking his eyes off the veggies he was sauteeing, Rick smirked and said, "And so it begins."
He knows me so well. Bring on the summer!
P.S. Speaking of bringing on the summer, it is now crunch time for the old Procrasti-knitter. I have a week and a half left to begin and finish studying for finals. Now, I don't know about y'all, but I have an internet addiction. I need it worse than Coke. Sometimes my addiction causes me to check my favorite blogs multiple times a day. As you can imagine, this constant need to Refresh! Refresh! Refresh! sometimes gets in the way of my studies. Other things also cause me to not study...like an intense desire not to study. But still. Because I still don't have a solid A in Microbiology and there are only two tests left, I'm going to spend the next week and a half...BANISHED FROM THE INTERNET!!!! AAAAGGGHHH!!!!
I'll be back sometime in May and I can't wait to see what everybody's been up to while I learn the difference between Clostridium perfringens and Clostridium botulinum. (Y'all are so jealous. I can tell, you know.)
And happy weekend, too! See you soon.
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Tornadoes!
Yay! We had a grand ol' evening of storm tracking last night--from the living room, of course. I may love the thunderstorms and tornadoes, but I don't go chasing them. While Rick and I were eating at Zorba's last night (hella good hummus and falafel, people. Hella good), we noticed that everyone kept looking at the TV. What the hell is so great that everyone is watching? Rick took a look and saw the big Doppler map of Canadian County taking up the whole screen. A quick look out the windows and we understood. "Well, what do you know? That's a big freakin' wall cloud out there."
When we returned home, we quickly tuned in to KOMA for our weather updates. Tornado season is one of the few times I regret not having a TV. I love to watch the storm chasers' play by plays. So instead of watching the coverage on TV, we listened to the radio and went outside for a better look. All the neighborhood gathers on these occasions.
"I guess the tornado hit the El Reno airport pretty bad. Lots of damage."
"Looks like the hail is coming our way."
"That tornado is coming straight down I-40."
"I heard it's supposed to hit the fairgrounds."
"What do you guys do for information since you don't have a TV?"
Throw some weatherman talk into this friendly neighborhood banter, and you've got an exciting Oklahoma evening: Rope twisters, circulations, and tightening wind shears, oh my!
Here are some pictures:
When we returned home, we quickly tuned in to KOMA for our weather updates. Tornado season is one of the few times I regret not having a TV. I love to watch the storm chasers' play by plays. So instead of watching the coverage on TV, we listened to the radio and went outside for a better look. All the neighborhood gathers on these occasions.
"I guess the tornado hit the El Reno airport pretty bad. Lots of damage."
"Looks like the hail is coming our way."
"That tornado is coming straight down I-40."
"I heard it's supposed to hit the fairgrounds."
"What do you guys do for information since you don't have a TV?"
Throw some weatherman talk into this friendly neighborhood banter, and you've got an exciting Oklahoma evening: Rope twisters, circulations, and tightening wind shears, oh my!
Here are some pictures:
Oooooh! Big rain clouds! 
Rick started to clear out the hall closet...just in case. 
The big rain clouds get scary! 
And just as I started to grab things to take with me into the hall closet, Mike Morgan announced that the radio and TV networks would be resuming normal programming. The tornado watch was over. I had only had time to gather my keys, the checkbook, a flashlight, my knitting, and my Pharmacology project that is worth a quarter of the entire grade and is due this Thursday. 
Oh, and the digital camera with which I was documenting the whole affair. Rick laughed at me the rest of the night. But I know he's just jealous of my photo-journalism skills.
Friday, April 21, 2006
five places I have knit
There's a little contest that kat knits put up. Whoever has knit in the most original place wins a prize. I'm not entering the contest (which ends today, by the way), but I still had fun thinking about five places I have knit.
1. By a stream in the mountains of Carson National Forest in New Mexico, while Rick collected firewood.
2. At my grandma's house. Before I started taking night classes, I went to Grandma's to knit with her every Thursday night for several months. Not to be left out, my mom started coming and I taught her how to knit.
3. On my sister-in-law's boat dock.
4. In my nurses' station, whenever I have a slow night.
5. In the back of my pharmacology class, frantically trying to finish my Knitting Olympics project!
Good times, good times. And more good times tonight at our monthly Tulsa outing. This time we're eating at Santa Fe's. And I'm taking all my yarn with me for the ride!
1. By a stream in the mountains of Carson National Forest in New Mexico, while Rick collected firewood.
2. At my grandma's house. Before I started taking night classes, I went to Grandma's to knit with her every Thursday night for several months. Not to be left out, my mom started coming and I taught her how to knit.
3. On my sister-in-law's boat dock.
4. In my nurses' station, whenever I have a slow night.
5. In the back of my pharmacology class, frantically trying to finish my Knitting Olympics project!
Good times, good times. And more good times tonight at our monthly Tulsa outing. This time we're eating at Santa Fe's. And I'm taking all my yarn with me for the ride!
Thursday, April 20, 2006
So much for Plan A.
I had an appoinment for an ultrasound of my gallbladder this morning. Thinking ahead, I decided to take my knitting in case, as often happens with appointments, I would be waiting for awhile. But with this vest, I'm working from about fifteen different-sized balls of leftover yarn and I didn't want to take all of them with me. So I looked at my chart and saw that the green would come next, and took it along with my scissors and my vest. I figured there was no way I would be there long enough to switch colors more than once.
So once I got settled in the waiting room, I pulled my knitting out and promptly realized that green couldn't be the next color, because it was the color that came just before the brown stripe I'm currently working on. I had read the pattern wrong!
And because of that, all I could do was knit two rows of brown and stop. That took up less than ten minutes of my hour long wait. The other fifty minutes were occupied by The Tony Danza Show. (And in case, like me, you didn't know there was a Tony Danza Show, let me just save you some time and tell you now: it's AWFUL.)
Next time, I'm taking my big ol' bag of yarn, my pattern, and all my knitting tools. As God as my witness, I'll never be hungry again.
So once I got settled in the waiting room, I pulled my knitting out and promptly realized that green couldn't be the next color, because it was the color that came just before the brown stripe I'm currently working on. I had read the pattern wrong!
And because of that, all I could do was knit two rows of brown and stop. That took up less than ten minutes of my hour long wait. The other fifty minutes were occupied by The Tony Danza Show. (And in case, like me, you didn't know there was a Tony Danza Show, let me just save you some time and tell you now: it's AWFUL.)
Next time, I'm taking my big ol' bag of yarn, my pattern, and all my knitting tools. As God as my witness, I'll never be hungry again.
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
I do knit. Really. I do.
Just verrrrrrry slowwwwwwly.
But there is progress! I'm at the armholes and have finished the decrease rows for the back. A few more weeks and I'll have a vest that I won't be able to wear for six months! Yeehaw!
I really, really, really like the brightness of the orange and green in this vest. It reminds me of some kind of preppy boy's vest from the 80's, although I have no idea why. My step-dad, however, does not find it very appealing. When I showed it to him recently, his reply was, "That's...um...different. It's really...bright." Good thing I'm making this vest for me!
Sunday, April 16, 2006
Self-Portrait Sunday with...my scrubs.
Okay, so it's not really Sunday, but I'm posting my self-portrait anyway. Because:
1. You can change the post date/time in this blog program thingie and it's kinda fun to lie about when you actually posted something,
and
2. I've been awake since 3 pm on Sunday (it is now 8 am Monday), so it still feels like Sunday to me. In fact, this is my Sunday night!
So...anyway. Woohoo! Blogging when tired is fun!
Since I currently look like something the Easter Bunny barfed up, I just took a picture of me lounging around in my scrub top after a long night's work. I really don't like wearing scrubs (it just feels wrong to go to work in drawstring pants--like you're wearing pajamas), but this is my favorite top. It's funny what patterns I will tolerate in a scrub top, because in real life, I wouldn't be caught dead wearing a pastel butterfly and flower shirt.
It's also funny that I don't consider work to be real life.
Going to bed now! Night night.
Thursday, April 13, 2006
spoiled baby
We've had Shiva for two months now, and sometimes it feels like having a kid. Not that I know what that feels like, but consider this conversation from yesterday:
Me: Shiva's been whining and crying all day and I don't know what she wants. She has plenty of food and water.
Rick: Is her litter box clean?
Me: Yep. And I've been picking her up when she cries and petting her all day.
Rick: Have you played string?
Me: No.
Rick: Play string with her. That's probably what she wants.
Replace the words "food and water" with "bottles" and "litter box" with "diaper" and possibly even "petting" with "rocking" and you'll see what I mean.
I can just see us with an actual baby that won't stop crying at 3 in the morning. When I wake Rick to complain about it, he'll turn over and say, "Play string with her" before falling back asleep.
Me: Shiva's been whining and crying all day and I don't know what she wants. She has plenty of food and water.
Rick: Is her litter box clean?
Me: Yep. And I've been picking her up when she cries and petting her all day.
Rick: Have you played string?
Me: No.
Rick: Play string with her. That's probably what she wants.
Replace the words "food and water" with "bottles" and "litter box" with "diaper" and possibly even "petting" with "rocking" and you'll see what I mean.
I can just see us with an actual baby that won't stop crying at 3 in the morning. When I wake Rick to complain about it, he'll turn over and say, "Play string with her" before falling back asleep.
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
No more belly-aching!
Sorry. Couldn't resist. Belly-aching. Hee hee.
Thanks for all the well-wishes. My belly is no longer doubling me over in pain and I have one less test to stress about. Today will be spent studying and cleaning this pig-sty that I call my home, and if I hurry up and do these things instead of just talking about it, I just might get a little knitting time in tonight. Ah, knitting. How calming and soothing knitting this vest is...stockinette on circular needles is just the kind of mindless knitting that I love at times like this.
Some better news now: I've decided to take the summer off from school. The last time I got this burned out I just quit going altogether. I took home an impressive 1.7 GPA that semester, and I'm still making up for it. It will be much, much better in the long run if I take a few months off to regroup and have a little "me" time.
And for the love of God, I'll be able to READ again! Bring on the summer reading!
Thanks for all the well-wishes. My belly is no longer doubling me over in pain and I have one less test to stress about. Today will be spent studying and cleaning this pig-sty that I call my home, and if I hurry up and do these things instead of just talking about it, I just might get a little knitting time in tonight. Ah, knitting. How calming and soothing knitting this vest is...stockinette on circular needles is just the kind of mindless knitting that I love at times like this.
Some better news now: I've decided to take the summer off from school. The last time I got this burned out I just quit going altogether. I took home an impressive 1.7 GPA that semester, and I'm still making up for it. It will be much, much better in the long run if I take a few months off to regroup and have a little "me" time.
And for the love of God, I'll be able to READ again! Bring on the summer reading!
"Silly human. Don't you know life is about eating, sleeping, and having your head rubbed? Get with the program already."
Monday, April 10, 2006
Warning: Pity Party Ahead. If you don't want to lose five minutes of your life never to get them back, turn back now.
I just visited blogland for the first time in a few days. I also took a look at some of my old posts and discovered more comments on them. Yay! So exciting, comments! Upon further examination, however, they are mostly from an anonymous someone who wants me to be a mystery shopper and/or visit San Diego. Hence the new and not so exciting word verification feature. Is it just me, or are some of those not really words? I won't tell if you won't.
It's been a hectic week or so. Compounded with stress and lack of sleep, this equals Not. So. Fun. Sometimes it's just really difficult working the night shift. Particularly when you decide to cut down three huge trees in the back yard that are so stratregically placed that they threaten the existence of four different garages and several power lines. Wouldn't you know it, the folks that cut down trees for a living work during the day, all day in fact, which meant that for four days last week, I became The World's Biggest Bitch. A patient wants a sleeping pill at 2 in the morning and I want to say, "You think you want a sleeping pill? I've had twelve hours of sleep this whole WEEK!!!!"
The stress comes from multiple school issues. I have lots of deadlines piling up and am pretty overwhelmed. And now I have lots of extra research to do because I received some bad news two weeks ago. I'm not going to get into the RN program this fall. I'm missing one prerequisite, though my counselor expressly stated that I had them all done. There's no way that I can get out of it or take the class concurrently, which means I can't possibly get into a nursing program at OCCC until Fall 2007. Bad news. The one thought sustaining me this semester has been, "One more year. One more year." And now that's gone and a mantra of "Two more years" is more depressing than encouraging. The tons of extra research comes to play because now I'm trying to figure out if there is anywhere else I can go, where I have all the prerequisites and haven't already missed the deadline. Blah.
The stress, lack of sleep, and complete disregard for nutrition came to a head last night at work. I developed some serious pains in my stomach, radiating to my back, unlike anything I had ever experienced before. The pain came at me in waves for five hours, leaving me crying and pretty much useless at work. My coworkers finally convinced me that I wasn't able to work and I went to the ER, where the doctor basically confirmed what I'd already figured that it was: the ol' gallbladder. At twenty-seven years of age, I am way too young to be having gallbladder problems. Sometimes I think that this lifestyle that goes along with working nights is just hell on the body, and it's aging me prematurely. The problem is that I feel so stuck with it; it's what I have to do to be able to go to school. And now I won't be done with school for two years instead of one.
Waa waa waa. Okay. That's the end of the pity party. Here's a picture of my dianthus (dianthuses? dianthi?), which I am happy to report came back to life a couple weeks ago.
For a new gardener with a black thumb, having perennials return is reason to celebrate. Hmm. Now what foods can I celebrate with that won't piss off my gallbladder? :^p
It's been a hectic week or so. Compounded with stress and lack of sleep, this equals Not. So. Fun. Sometimes it's just really difficult working the night shift. Particularly when you decide to cut down three huge trees in the back yard that are so stratregically placed that they threaten the existence of four different garages and several power lines. Wouldn't you know it, the folks that cut down trees for a living work during the day, all day in fact, which meant that for four days last week, I became The World's Biggest Bitch. A patient wants a sleeping pill at 2 in the morning and I want to say, "You think you want a sleeping pill? I've had twelve hours of sleep this whole WEEK!!!!"
The stress comes from multiple school issues. I have lots of deadlines piling up and am pretty overwhelmed. And now I have lots of extra research to do because I received some bad news two weeks ago. I'm not going to get into the RN program this fall. I'm missing one prerequisite, though my counselor expressly stated that I had them all done. There's no way that I can get out of it or take the class concurrently, which means I can't possibly get into a nursing program at OCCC until Fall 2007. Bad news. The one thought sustaining me this semester has been, "One more year. One more year." And now that's gone and a mantra of "Two more years" is more depressing than encouraging. The tons of extra research comes to play because now I'm trying to figure out if there is anywhere else I can go, where I have all the prerequisites and haven't already missed the deadline. Blah.
The stress, lack of sleep, and complete disregard for nutrition came to a head last night at work. I developed some serious pains in my stomach, radiating to my back, unlike anything I had ever experienced before. The pain came at me in waves for five hours, leaving me crying and pretty much useless at work. My coworkers finally convinced me that I wasn't able to work and I went to the ER, where the doctor basically confirmed what I'd already figured that it was: the ol' gallbladder. At twenty-seven years of age, I am way too young to be having gallbladder problems. Sometimes I think that this lifestyle that goes along with working nights is just hell on the body, and it's aging me prematurely. The problem is that I feel so stuck with it; it's what I have to do to be able to go to school. And now I won't be done with school for two years instead of one.
Waa waa waa. Okay. That's the end of the pity party. Here's a picture of my dianthus (dianthuses? dianthi?), which I am happy to report came back to life a couple weeks ago.
For a new gardener with a black thumb, having perennials return is reason to celebrate. Hmm. Now what foods can I celebrate with that won't piss off my gallbladder? :^p
Tuesday, April 04, 2006
What do I love besides sandwiches? Netflix!
....and lists. I HEART lists!
Here's one of every movie I have rented from Netflix in the last three months and the rating I gave out of a possible five stars:
The Squid and the Whale (haven't watched yet)
The Ice Storm (haven't watched yet)
Paths of Glory (3 stars)
Walk the Line (4 stars)
Everything is Illuminated (4 stars)
Me and You and Everyone We Know (5 stars)
Capote (4 stars)
Elf (3 stars)
Good Night and Good Luck (4 stars)
The Shape of Things (2 stars)
A History of Violence (2 stars)
Jarhead (3 stars)
Possession (2 stars)
Pride and Prejudice (1985) (5 stars)
Proof (4 stars)
Lumiere and Company (3 stars)
Quadrophenia (3 stars)
Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (4 stars)
Madagascar (3 stars)
The Aristocrats (3 stars)
The Magnificent Seven (3 stars)
Seven Samurai (4 stars)
The Constant Gardener (4 stars)
Broken Flowers (3 stars)
Lost: Season 1: Disc 5 (5 stars) (I'm hooked, what else can I say?)
To Catch a Thief (3 stars)
The Quiet American (4 stars)
Zero Effect (4 stars)
The Machinist (4 stars)
Word Wars (3 stars)
I'm going to be offline for the next several days--big tests, working overtime, and mental breakdowns are on the schedule for the next couple weeks--so please, feel free to discuss movies (have y'all see any of these and if so, what did you think?) and to give me some recommendations to add to my ever-expanding Netflix queue. For the weeks after these when I get to breathe again.
P.S. I think I love Lost even more than fusion sandwiches. I would even give up fusion sandwiches if they would just release Season Two on DVD already!
Here's one of every movie I have rented from Netflix in the last three months and the rating I gave out of a possible five stars:
The Squid and the Whale (haven't watched yet)
The Ice Storm (haven't watched yet)
Paths of Glory (3 stars)
Walk the Line (4 stars)
Everything is Illuminated (4 stars)
Me and You and Everyone We Know (5 stars)
Capote (4 stars)
Elf (3 stars)
Good Night and Good Luck (4 stars)
The Shape of Things (2 stars)
A History of Violence (2 stars)
Jarhead (3 stars)
Possession (2 stars)
Pride and Prejudice (1985) (5 stars)
Proof (4 stars)
Lumiere and Company (3 stars)
Quadrophenia (3 stars)
Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (4 stars)
Madagascar (3 stars)
The Aristocrats (3 stars)
The Magnificent Seven (3 stars)
Seven Samurai (4 stars)
The Constant Gardener (4 stars)
Broken Flowers (3 stars)
Lost: Season 1: Disc 5 (5 stars) (I'm hooked, what else can I say?)
To Catch a Thief (3 stars)
The Quiet American (4 stars)
Zero Effect (4 stars)
The Machinist (4 stars)
Word Wars (3 stars)
I'm going to be offline for the next several days--big tests, working overtime, and mental breakdowns are on the schedule for the next couple weeks--so please, feel free to discuss movies (have y'all see any of these and if so, what did you think?) and to give me some recommendations to add to my ever-expanding Netflix queue. For the weeks after these when I get to breathe again.
P.S. I think I love Lost even more than fusion sandwiches. I would even give up fusion sandwiches if they would just release Season Two on DVD already!
Monday, April 03, 2006
The Tex-Mex-Middle-East-and-German Fusion Sandwich
My new favorite sandwich is cucumber and romaine with pepper jack cheese and hummus on pumpernickel bread. Here's a picture!
I can't get enough of it. I've gone through half a loaf of pumpernickel in four days. And seeing that I'm too lazy to peel an orange, you know it must be good if I'll take the time to wash lettuce and slice...stuff.
And before you ask: No. I am not pregnant.
I can't get enough of it. I've gone through half a loaf of pumpernickel in four days. And seeing that I'm too lazy to peel an orange, you know it must be good if I'll take the time to wash lettuce and slice...stuff.
And before you ask: No. I am not pregnant.
