Alice

I keep saying I'm going to write here more. My computer broke down, so I'm using my mother's laptop. Haven't had too much free time lately. Been working a lot of overtime. Last week was 25 hours.

My boss owns a baseball team, so everyone in the office received free tickets to opening day on Monday and we closed at 2. Beforehand, they handed out popcorn, cracker jacks and soda. I don't follow baseball, so I didn't really know what was going on during the game, but I had an okay time. Afterward, Rob came over and we went to the Olive Garden.

Friday, I went to a political event. I listened to the candidates give their speeches. It was a bit inspiring. I've been not too involved recently. I hope that changes soon.

Snow day Friday. yay! They said that they would follow whatever decision Baltimore City schools made. I felt like a child again waiting for the update.

I haven't been writing here too much lately. I guess when you spend almost all your time at work in front of the computer, you're not really that eager to do the same at home. Or maybe it's because I don't know what to write.

Work has been busy. I've been doing a lot of overtime. There a mountain of work to get through.

In the primary, I did not get elected to become a delegate...however, half of our people running, got their party's nomination, so I'm excited about that. Now Rob's thinking about running for office in his district next time.

Today, was a bit crazy. Maybe I'll write about that later. I'm hoping to start writing/ posting pics here again.

I'm in Virginia right now for training on how to read medical documents. I found out about this at 4 pm yesterday and now here I am sitting in a hotel room with a sore neck, watching the post Republican debate and worrying if I'm going to pass the test tomorrow.

There so much information to digest. I've been studying all day. G and J have background in this. I don't. And there's also the costs. The whole thing must have been over a grand for just me. I know the hotel room bill alone is $600. *sigh* I'm worried about what happens if I don't pass.

My biggest news is that I started a new job. I work for a large law firm. Right now, I mostly cure deficiencies. Hopefully, soon I'll be able to start filing claims.

I like my job, but my favorite part is the money. I've been putting in a lot of overtime. Unfortunately since I'm paying Rob's tuition for this semester (only $550 left to go!), I haven't had any real spending money yet.

For some reason, I have a pain in my left shoulder/lower neck. I have no idea what caused it. I've had it since last Wednesday. Unfortunately, my insurance doesn't kick in till Dec. 1. I hope it goes away very soon.

I'm doing a lot better emotionally. But I've found that I still have a lot of negative thoughts when there is no need to. For example, as I was waiting for the elevator, I saw someone (not in my dept) looking over at my desk. I thought they were there because I did something wrong...but when I came back down, I had a name plate up. One of my co-workers told me, it took over a year to get hers and with me, I hadn't even been there a month yet. I hate how I think that way.

Things are going good with us, relationship-wise. It's odd to think that less than a year ago, he was emotionally disturbed...Now, it's like it never really happened. Rob came in Wednesday and we went to the sushi bar across the street. (The place is amazing. I've found a new addiction) Tomorrow, we're going to take pics together.

Speaking of pictures, I'm organizing a student photography auction at the college. I'm really excited for the show. We've got the gallery for the whole month of January. It's going to be big. Hopefully, I'll be able to get something of mine in the show (the photography teacher is judging).

The Ron Paul stuff is going okay...wish I could do more to help out. But it's hard now with the new job. A good thing though is that a lot of my acquaintances have recently started to agree with me about Ron Paul and/or many of my beliefs. For example, Steve brought me a newspaper article about the Ron Paul coins reaching $3500 on eBay (and he agrees with me about the system.) My grandmother decided to support Ron Paul. And after many months, I even got my socialist boyfriend to see the light! He switched over two weeks ago. It's great after been considered a "radical" for so long, to have people finding what I'm saying to be common sense.

And oh yeah, I'm also on the ballot as a delegate. So if you are in district one (MD), vote for me :)

What's new...
*Looks like I'm possibly getting a new job. I had an interview and it looks like it went really well.
*I adopted a new kitten from the last-chance project at Petsmart.
*Spending more time campaigning for Ron Paul. I even got to meet him last week!
*I'm helping to plan a photo auction for student photographers.

Rob needed to borrow money for his tuition next semester, so I had been doing overtime recently to get it. I was trying to stay offline during that time so I could get everything done, since the internet can be a time drainer.

*Work sucked as usual
*Rob signed up for the wrong test...*shakes head* I tried to email him to warn him, but it seems like he's going to be in for a rude awakening tomorrow.
*Didn't get an Audrey painting. They all sold out before they got to me. But I am getting a print though.
*Missed the Ron Paul meetup unfortunately. I regret that I didn't go. It's always a fun and informative time.

I better head to bed. I have to wake up at 7 tomorrow for work. Hopefully, this weekend will be better than today.

I keep telling myself I'm going to write more here, but I never do. I wish I was one of those people who regularly updates. I like having this record though, so in the future I can look back on it.

I've been in a down mood lately. Mostly because of Rob... I also had car trouble recently. First it was the spark plugs, then the next week it was the starter. Hopefully, that's IT. Things otherwise have been okay.

Sorry, I haven't been around online much. Been busy. Life is okay, just busy.

I'm heading to the beach tomorrow with my family.

Looking forward to laying in the sun on the beach.

I also curious about getting my fortune told. My mom, my brother and I each had the $5 palm reading last time. They seemed to describe my personality pretty well. Among the things they told my mom was that she was married twice to the same man (true), had two kids but wanted another girl (true) and that she should not take too much responsibility at work because something will happen in January and it did...my grandmother was hospitalized and my mom had to take over for family leave. I wonder what they will say this time...

I'm not looking forward to eating at the same place each night. Last time, we ate at the same restaurant three nights in a row, because my mother's boyfriend was afraid of trying something new, in case it wasn't any good. Blah.

Right now the air conditioner is broke. Even though the windows are open, it's a hell of a lot hotter inside than outside. I can't wait to get away

Wednesday, I drove up to New Jersey to see TOOL for their last US show of this tour. I had an excellent time. There's nothing like having the music pulsate through you, the emotion, the intensity you feel. The only negatives is that Maynard's voice isn't as good as it used to be and that the venue sucked.

I had to hike quickly in the dark, in heels, through a muddy wood from the parking lot. We had to use cell phones as flashlights. That was insane. But the people I was with were impressed. And that was the short cut. On the way back, it was a 15 minute walk. And the bathrooms there were disgusting. Mud and toilet paper everywhere. A good thing though was I didn't have to buy the $6 beers since I snuck alcohol in. I convinced them to let me go through the VIP entrance so I didn't get searched :)

Thursday, the water broke in our house. Luckily, it was a non-carpet room. But getting the water out was a long, annoying process process. My mom, brother, grandmother and I were in there with buckets, towels, sponges and a fan to get the water out as quickly as possible.

Friday night, I went to the Ron Paul meetup. We brainstormed ideas, mainly about how to get name recognition. Afterward, the conversation got really interesting :) It's a welcome thing to be able to converse freely with open-minded individuals...

Today, I went to DC with my family and went to the Spy Museum. They mainly focused on the Cold War and WWII. I wanted to know more about Chinese and Israeli/Mossad spies (well, a lot of the spies for those two were actually jews, but still...) Afterward, we ate at the Hard Rock Cafe. The food was good, but a little pricey, like most things in DC. Then we went walking around. My mom's boyfriend wanted to see the Vietnam Wall, but we didn't find it in time. We did get to look at the WWII, the Korean War and the first World War memorials. I got a little misty-eyed thinking about it; I was trying hard not to cry...all those lives lost.

Tomorrow, meeting Rob again to help him study. I haven't seen him in a week. I miss him a lot, I wish he was closer.

Kazuha Imura started taking photographs especially her self-portraits at age 16. She devised a special way of drawing by scratching surface of her prints by a safety pin in 2003. Since then she has kept making her works in that way. Scratchings make her prints original and unique. Her rich imagination spreads out on her self-portraits.


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Oh wow. I love the idea of marking the photographs like that. I especially like the back ones with the smoke & wings. I found her work from the gallery where I purchased a few Irina Ionesco prints in the fall.

Okay, am I crazy for wanting to go to the last show of the Tool tour? I'll be driving back home afterwards. It's at least 3 hours each way. I'll be working before I leave and I have a doctor's appointment the next morning.

Monday- Dentist. Then meeting Rob to help him study.
Tuesday-work, work, work all day.
Wednesday-work, work...morning, afternoon...Tool show in the evening???
Thursday-Doctor's appointment in the morning. Meeting Rob later in the day???
Friday-work work work all day
Saturday-work in the morning...Otakon later???

It's probably not the best decision, however I'm probably going to do it anyway. I already saw one show on this leg of the tour in Baltimore in June, but it just wasn't enough.

I met Audrey last night! I was extremely nervous, since I get that way sometimes around people I like who I don't really know. The long drive didn't help either! When I told her my username, she looked surprised and said she was looking forward to meeting me (i comment on her journals a lot)

I asked for her to sign the postcard and asked if she could put my name on it...and I ended up getting a little sketch on it! (my first original kawasaki hehee ;) I wasn't expecting that...

I also ended up getting some pictures of her. Hopefully, they'll turn out okay...I told her that she didn't like them, I wouldn't post them). I also took some of the paintings. In my Lighting class, we learned how to photograph pictures (i.e. in gallery), so it was nice to use what I learned. I hope I remembered correctly, I was always bad with the math.

I also met Stella. I got her autograph too, which was really nice of her since it wasn't her show. I didn't remember her face, so I figured out who she was after she came up to sit with Audrey.

It was interesting seeing her artwork in person. My first thought was that it was smaller than I thought they would be.

Towards the end, people came up to me to chat and I initiated conversation with others. I noticed that the top three topics of conversation (about Audrey) people brought up were...

1. Which one is Audrey? Can I say hi to her?
2. The Grafuck ones sure are sexual.
3. Her work is expensive...does it have any resell value?

Heh.

I had a good time but it was draining. I felt really jumpy when I got there so I walked around the gallery a lot and had two cups of beer, which calmed my nerves. I still felt awkward though after that since I didn't know anyone there. Last time I drove to Philly was also just for the night (for a NIN show), but it took only about two hours each way. This time was a lot of traffic and I missed a few exits. One of the exits I was suppose to take was blocked on the way back...but luckily 95 goes straight to Baltimore, so I was safe. I really should have convinced Rob to come with me.

Yikes, it's 4am and I can't sleep.

Later today, I'm going to Philly to see i_seldom_do's art show. I'm really excited about that. I didn't get to buy any paintings though :(

Wednesday, Rob and I saw Nickleback (not a fan, Rob is) for his birthday. The traffic there was bad and we saw someone taking a dump on the side of the road. Ew. We had floor and were second at the barricade. The people in front of us were short, so it was like we were first anyway. I was glad we had floor and weren't out in the lawn.

My favorite part was when they were giving out beer to the audience (it was an all ages show haha) They also gave out water and T-shirts (we didn't get any).

I guess I better get back to bed and try to sleep. I have to drive my grandmother somewhere in the morning.

I had two different dreams about snakes last night. I don't really remember either of them that well. One was of a giant snake eating something. The second was of getting bit by a rattlesnake. The girl wasn't me, but I'm not sure if I was her in the dream. (It was more of watching than actually being) So the girl and the guy were trying to figure out which kind of snake it was (I guess so they could get the cure). There were seven snakes in the book that they were looking at and one was pink.

On the way to work while still in the court, my car got a flat, so I pulled into our driveway. My brother and I changed the tire to a spare. I'm going to go the shop tomorrow to get a new tire. I'm pretty sure that when Rob had a flat here, I also had a dream about a snake beforehand.

I didn't really get much done today. I found out that I don't have gallstones, which I didn't think it was. I'm on some medicine that kills the acid in your stomach. I feel tired all the time now. I fell asleep during the day yesterday, which is unlike me. But other than that I'm okay.

So the sore throat thing went away, but now I got a sore stomach. From Monday through today, I've had severe stomach pains. Tuesday night/Wednesday morning was the worst. You know that tale about the Spartan boy who stole a fox, keeping it under his clothes? He showed no emotion like he was trained even though the fox chewed at his stomach till he died. I felt like I had that fox.

Saturday morning I have to go for an ultrasound, since the doctor thinks it might be gallstones... I hope not, since my mom says you have to get surgery for those.

went to the doctor, it turned out to be just a cold. i'm fine now except that the medication is making me extremely tired.

i went to minnesota last week for a funeral for my grandfather and uncle. i'll write about that later.

some good news: at my grandmother's recent doctor's visit at hopkins, she found out that her breast cancer has shrunk by about half from the hormone treatment. she has been taking it for about three months. hopefully, it will keep going down.

Friday, was the last day of the school year. I got to supervise an exam for a teacher who had "disgusting girls who left her bloody tampons on her desk." Luckily, there was no problems.

Thursday, I had lunch with Chris and that was nice.

Right now, my throat hurts a lot right now & I'm worried that it might be something serious (i'll probably make another post about it). I have to read some things for Rob tomorrow for his class and help him study, and I'm not looking forward to that at all.

Friday was an interesting day. Someone switched tapes so the whole high school watched 30 seconds of interracial sodomy instead of the morning announcements....


For 2nd period, they had a review for their final.
It contain questions relating to paychecks:
"You work 80 hours a week. You work 5 days a week at $13 an hour. You get paid every two weeks. How much is your paycheck?" (There were about 20 of these)
"Your yearly salary is $24,000. How much do you make a month?" (There were about 10 of these)

They were suppose to complete the review and when they finish, they receive an answer key to check their work. Easy huh? Except most couldn't do it. They had trouble doing simple math. And they continued to have problems, even after the co-teacher handed out calculators, which the instructions didn't state.

About five or so of the kids were able to finish during the first 45 mins. After checking to see that their paper was complete, I gave each one an answer sheet. The co-teacher seemed upset that they had received answer keys, so she announced that they were going to work on the review as a class, so everyone could "learn." She then made some comments that inferred that they were just copying the answers and that they needed to be able to show the class how they got their answers. I pointed out that they had finished their work so I had given them the keys as the instructions had stated. She then mumbled some comment again about how everyone needs to "learn."

Then it was time for my other job. That was boring since hardly anyone showed up.

I left early for the Tool show. I didn't really care for the opening band and there was an annoying couple nearby, so I kind of regretted getting their early. The show itself was great. I remember a bunch of people claim that Tool hates its fans, so I was kind of surprised that the "UFOS" didn't start "shooting" people with the lasers ala Independence Day. I was also surprised they didn't end with Aenema. Maynard ended up dedicating "Stinkfist" and "Vicarious" to Paris Hilton.

Some of my favorite models. For baibai_matane
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