March 2 & 3: Spooky, Scary

Get Out of the Fold: pink and yellow by bunni711 

Laconic (adj.) - (of a person, speech, or style of writing) Using very few words [Google Dictionary]; using or involving the use of a minimum of words : concise to the point of seeming rude or mysterious [mirriam-webster.com]

March 2: Today was an off day.  I've been in a bad mood all day.  It wasn't all bad, though: James and I made chocolate chip pancakes for lunch and watched Pride & Prejudice while we ate.  I was really surprised yesterday when he suggested that we bring it over to his house (I own a copy) to watch.  It's my favorite movie and James didn't seem to like it when we watched it together before.  (That was actually back at Johnson.)  He said he didn't remember watching it before, but he liked it this time around.  I think the music in the movie was less impacting when heard with the surround sound.  It is a great movie, though.

(As a side note, I wonder if I should do a "favorites" post where I just post about all my favorite things - just an idea.)

I was tired most of the day and had trouble staying awake.  I'm really not sure why.  It made me kind of grumpy, plus James and I had an unpleasant discussion that made us both a little upset (but me more so).  We made up later, but it was just a bad-mood day.

We ordered some pizza for dinner (bacon with mushrooms on my half, bacon and pepperoni on his half) which was delicious.  I tried to look up some research for my paper but got very discouraged.  I also looked up what classes are available this summer and I am thinking more and more that I should wait and finish the degree in the fall.  I'm really not sure what I should do yet.  When I looked up the information about my degree completion, it was very confusing, so I think I may have to talk to an adviser about it.  I'm just not sure what I'll do yet.

March 3: Today was much better for me.  I woke up and felt like getting some things done, so I cleaned up my stuff in Jamie's room and organized most of it in the guest room ("my room"), plus the stuff that was already in there.  The guest room was kind of horrendous, so it really needed to be cleaned up.  After that was done, I still felt like doing something (as opposed to sitting around reading, watching tv, or surfing the net), so I folded some clothes, made the bed, and was about to do my laundry before I found out someone else was already using the dryer.  I came back upstairs and sat down, thinking I would start in on my JavaScript homework for something to do.  Instead, I watched some tv with James and fell asleep sitting up on the couch.

Later, I sat in Jamie's room with him while he played video games and I made 3 entries for the Converse/Lady Foot Locker contest (the one where you can win chucks for a year!), then started my JavaScript.  We're working on forms this week.  It's actually quite interesting, and sometimes it's a lot different from the way we would do things in VB.  I'm glad I enjoy JavaScript more than VB because I was afraid I would hate all programming languages.  It's a bit different since JS is a scripting language (it has reduced functionality than Java) and it involves making web sites.

We had some pizza lunchables and chocolate pudding for lunch (yes, be jealous!)  And Chinese food for dinner.  I'm so happy about it, even now, several hours after I ate it.  It was sooo yummy!  Let's see, we got teriyaki chicken sticks, cheese wontons (I think they had seafood in them, too), egg rolls (James and I had to share one), and Chinese donuts, which I had never tried before, but they are soooo friggin' good!  Those were all small appetizer-y things, but I also had sweet and sour chicken with fried rice.  Geez, it was so good.  I have a bunch left over that I'm going to eat for lunch tomorrow.  Yum, yum, yum!

I'm still working on my JavaScript homework.  This is a pretty long chapter.  I think the regular expressions we are learning about are so interesting.  They're like little math puzzles and you can use the elements to make all sorts of different expressions.  It's actually fun.

For my Workgroup Productivity Class (the one with group projects), I e-mailed the professor to let her know that I wanted to be in a group with James.  It will be so much easier to have a group member I know and who I can work with in person.  My e-mail was really short though, and I felt like it sounded a bit laconic.  I didn't want it to come off as rude, though, so I wrote some nonsense in the end.  I always feel like my e-mails come across as formal and cold.  Hopefully they don't turn people off.

James and I watched Hanna tonight.  I thought it was actually a really cool movie.  I didn't think I would like it, but the film used music in a really interesting way.  The music was all techno (or dubstep?  I still don't know the difference), but I liked it.  The movie was actually directed by the same guy who directed Pride & Prejudice.  It's a very different kind of movie, but I understand how the same guy directed them because they both showcase music and use it in a unique way.

Well, I should probably get back to my JavaScript.  I'm just thinking about how me and James have been making jokes all day and having a good time together.  That's just one reason why we work well together.  We were laughing about the Werewolf Bar Mitzvah song earlier, too.  (The one from 30 Rock.)  The video is so funny.  I wonder if there is an mp3 version of that song...  Oh yeah, I'm gonna do some homework!  Goodnight.

Love,
Christen

March 1: New Workloads

Blue and Rainbow Outfit by bunni711 featuring belly rings

Pejorative (n.) - a word expressing contempt or disapproval [Google Dictionary]; a word or phrase that has negative connotations or that is intended to disparage or belittle [mirriam-webster.com]

I stayed up last night making a set on Polyvore based on Ariel (aka The Little Mermaid).  When I woke up this morning I wasn't feeling nearly as well as I did yesterday.  I spent the morning playing a puzzle game on Kongregate and making a list on goodreads of all the books I want to buy.  I would love to have a little extra money right now to buy some books.

James came over today and we went over to Dairy Queen because it's the day they re-opened.  It's so sad that they close during the winter.  I want tasty treats all year round!  We brought Teddy along since my parents were running some errands.  We got some small cones since Jamie's trying not to eat anything that will make him sick.  I got a chocolate cone dipped in chocolate - it was so yummy!  Plus, there wasn't really anything to eat at my house for lunch, so Jamie bought me some lunch.  He's so good to me.  : )

Mostly we watched tv and I read my book some more.  It was a pretty non-eventful day.  I was strangely not very hungry today, so I really only ate some baked red potatoes.  Plus, I wasn't feeling well after dinner.  I'm just tired.  Later we watched our Thursday shows, which were funny as always.

Now I'm back at Jamie's house and trying to just relax and not worry about school.  Things feel like they are piling up a bit right now.  I think I'm really worried about the proposal paper because I'm just not really sure where to start.  I'm going to sit myself down tomorrow and find some good research articles to use.  I already have a bunch of ideas.  I found some more after looking through some of my old psychology text books earlier today, too.  Another reason I'm worried, though, is that we just started two new classes today.  I learned that the Workgroup Productivity Software class is going to involve a lot of working in groups.  Sounds kind of obvious now, but I assumed the class would teach us about different software than we used in Personal Productivity Software.  We're still using Microsoft Office Suite, though.

On another note, I learned today that the Westboro Baptist Church is going to come to a nearby town to picket the funeral of a high school kid who died in a recent school shooting.  I talked to a girl I went to high school with (I went to school near, but not at, the school where the shooting happened), and she said she heard they are picketing in support of the shooter and they think "this was brought upon us because we raised demon spawn children."  I first heard about this group when I was still at Johnson, about 4 years ago.  They make me angry to no end.  I just don't hate people, but it is so hard not to hate these people.  Their aim is to get as much attention as possible by shouting horrible, pejorative terms at funerals.  The thing that bothers me the most is their complete lack of any trace of human compassion for people who are grieving for lost loved ones.  They are very famous for picketing soldier's funerals, saying that God is glad they're dead because the army is a haven for gays or something like that. I'm not sure how they come to that conclusion given the political climate.  I just don't really have words to express the abhorrence I feel toward these people.  It's so hard to keep believing there is good in everyone when there are people like that in the world.

Well, I seem to keep ending my posts on heavy notes.  I apologize for anyone who does read these things.  To be honest, this whole exercise is really for me because it really is a bit of therapy to write down my life.  Plus, I'm excited about possibly using this service at the end of the year that prints your blog out into a book.  I'd like to go back and flip through my year of blog posts and know what my life was like at this point in time.  Anyway, what I mean is that I'm glad if anyone does read the blog, but it's alright if no one reads it.  I'm just glad to have an outlet for my thoughts.

Love,
Christen

Feb 29: Leap Day!

Yellow, Black, and White Outfit by bunni711 featuring a trench coat

Insipid (adj.) - 2. uninteresting; dull [Webster's]; Lacking vigor or interest [Google Dictionary]

Today I woke up early and felt like getting things done.  First, I started on that set on Polyvore for Converse and Lady Footlocker.  The winner gets a year's worth of Converses!  That's 12 pairs, and if you get runner up, you get 6 pairs.  That would be a dream come true for me!  I woke up with the idea for my set already in my head, so I got started on it pretty much right away.  I think it looks pretty good so far, but I like to leave my sets for a while and come back to them with fresh eyes.  It helps keep the ideas flowing better.

I also did a lot of cleaning today in my room.  I went through a bunch of boxes and found homes for their contents, did a bit of decorating, and put away a bunch of clothes.  I hung a big map of the world on the wall by my bed and I'm really happy with it.  It is a bit crooked, but I don't know if I've ever been able to hang anything level.  We really should get a level around here.  There is so much more space in my room now.  It makes me feel really good to have a nice, clean space.  I still have a bit more un-cluttering to do - just finding places for random things - but it is looking so good right now.  I'm hoping to hang some pictures tomorrow, along with the new jewelry box I got for Christmas.  It's not a regular jewelry box; it is more like a shadow box sort of thing but with a door on the front that can hold pictures.  I cut out some pictures from magazines to fill the picture openings because none of my pictures fit in them.  I didn't want to cut any of them to fit, either.  The pictures aren't of people or anything, but they're more aesthetic sort of pictures.  There was a cool rug I found, a wall hanging, and a couple of cool designs from ads that I put in there.  I think it looks pretty cool, but I still might change them out.

After running about and doing all that work, I started not to feel very well, so I lay down and ended up falling asleep.  I hadn't even planned on taking a nap, and it honestly didn't even feel like it.  I was just out.  When I woke up, I felt a little better but still weird.  I had some peanut butter because I thought maybe it was low blood sugar or something (pb usually helps).  I hung out with Teddy while my parents ran some errands.

After that, I finally beat those two levels of golf solitaire!  I was pretty excited.  I must have played them over and over about a million times.  Later, I wrote my last paper for networking and filled out the class evaluation.  I liked the class.  I actually sort of enjoyed doing the online labs.  It wasn't insipid sort of work.  I think it's just nice to do something hands-on.  One thing that I didn't like much about working on my Bachelor's degree was that we heard a lot of lectures but didn't get to do anything hands-on.  I'm sure if I had gone after the Master's degree, I would have gotten to do a lot more hands-on work, but I had a lot of reasons for not going for it.  I am starting to wonder if this new degree was a good idea, though.  There seems to be a lot of work to get the associate's degree and I'm not learning a whole lot about web design.  Those classes make up a fraction of the classes I need to take for this degree.  It's frustrating.  Honestly, I just don't think the college education system really works the way it is now.  Maybe that's just my experience, though.  Maybe other colleges offer a different learning experience from the one I've had.  I value my own experience, of course.

I watched The Bachelor later in the evening.  It's down to two ladies now.  I don't like all the exaggerated drama, but I watch the show for those rare moments when people let their guard down and really show who they are - when they're vulnerable.  I don't know; maybe I'm looking for a feeling - empathy, perhaps.  I think I just like to see relationships unfold and see how people work.

After that, I caught the new episode of Face Off.  They had some really cool make-ups today.  Some of their work is very inspiring.  I read my book during the commercials and I'm about to go read some more of it now, too.  Hopefully I'll get a bunch more done tomorrow, including some more of my room and some headway on that proposal paper.  Oh yeah, and JavaScript.  I'm just not very excited about writing the proposal - the whole deal feels very insipid to me.  I'll just have to muddle through it.  There never seems to be a break with these online classes, I'm telling you.

Love,
Christen

Feb 26, 27, 28: Fired Up

Kate Spade collection by bunni711 featuring polka dot jewelry

New addition to the blog: alright, so I'm going to be adding a little something extra to each blog post.  I've been meaning to get around to this for some time (and I really mean awhile!), so I've decided it would be cool to incorporate this idea into my blog posts to help me keep up with it.  Introducing... the word of the day!  So I'm going to pick a new word every day (well, every post), give it's definition, and try to use it in my post.  I don't know if it'll be boring or interesting or whatever, but I think it will be a great way to expand my vocabulary.  So the word of the day is...

Pablum (n.) - bland writing or thinking [The New American Webster Handy College Dictionary]; bland or insipid intellectual fare, entertainment, etc.; pap [Google Dictionary]

I read this word a few days ago and was wondering about it.  Sometimes I hear a new word and repeat it over in my head, so I thought I'd find out what it meant. By the way, this is what "pap" means (I didn't know this, either):  Reading matter or entertainment that is worthless or lacking in substance [Google Dictionary].

Anywho, let's get on with it!  Feb 26: I started 1Q84 last night and I like it.  It's very easy to read and interesting, too.  I'm glad it's not just another example of pablum, like some of the useless pap out there.  (Did you see what I did there?!)  I'm glad it is easy to read, though, because otherwise it would take me absolutely forever to finish and I have other books out from the library that I need to get to eventually.

James and I watched the Oscars tonight.  It was fun watching it together.  I like seeing what people wear and imagining what kind of floofy dress I might wear to the Oscars.  Maybe I'll do a set for the Oscars on Polyvore...  Hugo won a lot of awards, but I was disappointed that The Help didn't win anything (besides Octavia Spencer winning best supporting actress, that is).  I was disappointed when The Artist won best picture because, honestly, it looks like a dumb movie.  I figured the Academy would like it, though, because who would make a silent film in the 2010's?  They just love that kind of pablum, though (I did it again!)  I did think it was really cute that they brought the doggy from the movie with them to the Oscars; he was a pretty cute dog.

Feb 27: Today was a work day.  James is working hard on his labs to get them all finished.  We were supposed to go back to my house today, but he needs more time to finish them.  I told him it was alright with me if we stayed at his house longer so that he could finish everything up.  I finished up the last two quizzes for the class and all I have left to do is the last paper.

I started working more on my idea for the technical writing paper.  I've figured out what kind of research I need to do, so I'm going to find some through the school's research database when I'm at home and print some of it out.  It's easier for me to sift through that sort of thing on a printed page, armed with a highlighter.  I also tried to figure out what I would write in the different sections, so I'm making some progress.  Other than that, I played a fun game of golf solitaire on Kongregate.  It was a little frustrating, though, because the last two levels are pretty hard and I was trying over and over to get 3 stars on each level - with no luck.  I did some reading, too.  The book is pretty good.

Feb 28:  I woke up late again today and I'm starting to feel the oversleeping catch up with me.  It sort of builds up in layers and weighs me down.  After I got up, I read some and tried to beat those two levels of golf solitaire again.  No luck.  It's kind of addicting, but so, so frustrating.  It's nice to take a break, though, and play a game.  James worked most of the day on finishing his labs.  I figured out that I don't have to do my last paper since I already have a 98 in the class.  I'm not sure if it's one of those classes where you have to turn in everything or you get an F, though.  That makes me afraid enough to just write the silly thing.  So I guess I will - tomorrow.

We headed over to my house after James finished his laundry.  I wrote down the setup of the proposal paper from the book before we left so I wouldn't have to take the book with me.  First, we stopped by the library because The Hunger Games finally came in.  Hopefully no one else has it on hold so I can finish 1Q84 first.  My dad started reading it earlier tonight at my recommendation because he said he'd read everything in the house that he was interested in.  I'm already 160 pages into my book.  Like I said, it's pretty good.  I also returned the Isaac Asimov book I got out because I don't think I'm going to read it.  I just wasn't that interested in it in the first place; I got it out before because there wasn't anything else at the library that I wanted to read at the time.

We had homemade beef stroganoff for dinner and I convinced my mom to make Wacky cake for dessert.  I feel bad, though, because James isn't eating any chocolate now because it makes the acid reflux worse.  I really shouldn't eat chocolate in front of him.  : (  Oh, and our refrigerator is making some crazy noises - it sounds like it's on its last leg.  The manager can't come fix it, though, because he's sick.  He might have pneumonia, but I'm not sure.

James and I played some Skip-bo and hung out, plus I read some while he finished up the labs here at the house.  He's really glad to have them all done.  Now I'm just worried about the new classes because I haven't heard anything from one of the professors and the class site is not available on Blackboard yet (the class starts Thursday).  The other class - Computer Assembly and Configuration - is a "work at your own pace" class, so everything is due at the end of the semester.  I have to work week by week on it, though, or I'll never get it done.  I hope James does the same...  That class looks like it's going to be a pain, though.  Lots of command-line stuff and weird graphs.  I don't know.  I don't think I'm going to like it at all.

I just want to mention this whole contraception debate that's going on in Washington right now.  My dad watches political shows everyday and I try to avoid them, but I hear some things from time to time.  I used to be really into politics, but I've since discovered that they are just not worth my time.  There is really no rhyme or reason to politics and I just do not want to hear about them most of the time.  But I'm pretty upset about this contraception thing.  Not only is there a movement against abortion rights - including that ridiculous rule about invasive ultrasounds - but there is also a movement against providing birth control coverage for women through their health care.  I guess I understand what the deal was with exempting religious institutions from providing birth control (I do not agree with it, but I at least understand where they are coming from with that argument), but trying to extend that to all health care providers is a blatant attack on women's rights.  There is just no excuse for it.  The only ulterior motive I can dream up is that they are trying to systematically dismantle the whole healthcare ("Obamacare" - ugh, I hate that word) thing piece by piece.  I guess they're trying to be sneaky, trying to do it under our noses.  I don't know.  I hope that's the reason, because I don't want to think what it would mean otherwise.  You don't have to be a feminist to be upset about this, either.  Millions of women would be affected if their health care providers did not have to cover their birth control.  Even a lot of Catholics use birth control.  It's not a religious issue!  This is about taking away a woman's right to decide the terms on which she is pregnant and has a child.  Simple as that.

I just hope this doesn't go through.  I already don't want to live in a country that considers issues like this.  If it becomes law, I'm really not sure what I'll do.  Fight like hell to repeal, I guess.  I just wish politicians wouldn't masquerade this as a religious issue, but leave it at face value: you are trying to take away my reproductive rights.  Just because you think one way, does not mean I do, too.  So keep your religion, or what you want us to think are religious motivations, out of my government.  It's so sad that politicians use religion the way they do - as a cheap way to get votes and as a mask for pushing their agendas through in government.  I'm over it!

I'll leave you with a nicer thought.  I hope you have a wonderful night!  [Peace, love, and understanding]

Love,
Christen