Thursday, April 2, 2009

Today is much, much better

Wow. April Fool's Day really did a number on me! But after work yesterday I cleaned the terminals on my Jeep and then took it up to Livingston for a nice long drive. Dinner at Mark's made life all better again!

And Jessi just came down & gave me a check for the food that spoiled in the freezer. Yay! I won't bounce any checks this week! (Not that that ever happens anymore. But those destitute days in my early 20s have really stuck with me...)

Trying to make a really big decision, and really wishing I knew what to do.

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

This is just ridiculous...

I went up to Mammoth to sit in my car for the interview b/c that's where we get best reception. Well, the interview was really good. But then I went to start my Jeep and....clickclickclick. No starting. Uh oh. So, long story short, the folks at the HRC came up in the work van to rescue me, which was very nice. But then Andrew put the jumper cables on backwards, thereby potentially killing both my battery and the van's. Luckily, Ranger Keith (next door neighbor last summer) came up and jumped both the cars w/ his squad car. Whew! Hopefully my car will start again after work! I think it's just the corrosion around the battery cables that caused the problem. I hope so--a new starter is $500!

This day gets better & better!

It just gets better

Andrew and I just got into a big fight about whether or not it's right to levy a huge tax on cigarettes. I think it is. He thinks its discriminatory. He kept pulling out arguments and his final one was that we should tax government weapons b/c they kill more people than smoking does. He doesn't believe in the health effects of second-hand smoke. He thinks fossil fuels are luxuries. He doesn't think that tobacco is a luxury b/c it used to be part of soldiers' rations. I finally had to leave the room b/c I found myself raising my voice and telling him that his arguments were the stupidest things I've ever heard. When I came back in, he came over to my office and whispered "You're going down, Murphy." I cannot wait to be away from this kind of thing.

One of those days...

I hate days like this. It actually started last night when I discovered that the plumber that Jessi hired to come re-do our pipes had unplugged my freezer sometime last week. I'm thinking Wednesday. And so everything in it, including all the 4-H beef Mom and Dad gave me, and Heidi's elk meat from her folks, was ruined. Not a nice surprise.

Then this morning, I let Ruffers out, peed, and then went to let him back in and *poof* he was gone. So, I had to track him, in the new snow, in my pajamas, across the street and down a block. I only found him b/c he noticed 2 other loose dogs romping around near me. And then, when I saw him, he ignored my calls and went to play with the other dogs. I finally got him to me and flipped him over on his back and shook him by the scruff (I've read Monks of New Skete). He yelped like I was skinning him alive and ran back to the house. It's no effing wonder that he's sick all the time! Who knows how much garbage he ate on his little jaunt. Might I also add that he did the same thing on MONDAY morning at 6AM? When I was SICK and he was really SICK and had bloody diahrea the entire day? And I drove my car around the entire town, calling his name, for almost 1/2 hour before he magically showed up at the house again? He KNOWS he's supposed to stay near the house. I sure wish I could find his wireless fence collar, but I can't. And since it costs almost $150, I'm not going to be able to replace it any time soon. I'M SO MAD!

And then I got to work and realized I'd forgotten my ID badge.

And on the way back to the house to fetch the afformentioned badge, some idiot was sitting at an uncontrolled intersection. He was there before I came around a corner & saw him. He was on my right. He CLEARLY had the right-of-way. But no. He waved me through. Now, I realize that he was probably just trying to be nice, but I've totalled a car b/c someone wanted to be nice and break a traffic law. I don't want to do it again. Just obey the laws and no one will get hurt, people!

Ok. Rant done. I can only hope the rest of my day goes better. Like, for my job interview at 10:30.

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

I PASSED COMPS!!!!!!!!!!

Those 4 hours of frantic writing and searching my brain and then the days of second-guessing my essays are over! I've passed! Now I only have to finish my paper and endure my orals! Yahoo!!!!!!!!!!!!

Let them eat CAKE when they're done with their comps!


Here's the fancy cake Denzil and Pete brought for all of us to eat on Friday. It's bee-u-ti-ful. And yummy. The flavor was pink champagne & it had a strawberry on top. Sweetpea Bakery in Bozeman, for future reference.


I lived!

Comps are over. Dinner w/ Hali, Denzil, and Pete at the Mint in Belgrade (Ka-ching!) is over. Amanda's house-warming/birthday party is over. I have a end-of-the-stress cold, even though the stress is still here. I worked on my paper yesterday, going over edits and finding more quotes to back up my broad statements. Ruffers was really, really sick all day long. I even called the vet and he prescribed Immodium for the poor guy. It's scary to see blood on the ground.

Interview tomorrow. I hope I can actually speak!