31 October 2008

It's Halloween

Wow - after all of the trials and tribulations of the no good very bad day, today's registration went pretty darn near perfectly. We registered over 1000 seniors in about a minute. It was pretty awesome. Okay, so you kind of have to be in my line of work to appreciate that, but it was a pretty great way to start the day. In honor of that, and to celebrate halloween, here is Tim Curry as the Grand Wizard in The Worst Witch, one of the best movies ever. Happy Halloween!!!




30 October 2008

The No Good Very Bad Day

I want to end this month on a good note with the blogging - 31 for 21. I missed the past couple of days, not without cause thought. Let's back up to Tuesday. I could barely talk. I felt fine otherwise, so I assumed it was the beginnings of laryngitis and continued on my day at work and I worked that night at Target as well. I woke up Wednesday morning with a dry throat and a very congested head. I think its a sinus infection (I'm hopng to get in to see the doctor this afternoon). Yesterday was also the first day of registration and I needed to be in the office a little after 6am.

To say the registration did not go well would be putting it mildly. We had to shut the whole thing down and back up everyone's registration time by a day. I also had to go in and delete the registrations of the students who had erroneously gotten in early. I left the office around 6:30 last night. I had been there over 12 hours. I ran to Kroger to get some chicken soup and orange juice. When I got home I had a quick dinner of campbell's chicken noodle and got back to work. Yes, I had to put in another hour of work after I got home (thank goodness for remote connections).

My head felt like it was going to explode, so when I was done with work I crawled into bed. I was asleep around 9:30 (I did watch Sheena get eliminated from ANTM - go sees next week!!!). I didn't sleep well. It's hard to sleep when you can't breathe and then wake up with the chills. But I tried, only to be woken up by Jack knocking the glass of water off of my nightstand. He's a little OCD that Jack. If its something that doesn't usually belong on the surface he knocks it off. He'd never knocked a glass over though. Fortunately the glass didn't break, there was just a mini flood in the bedroom and I've been up ever since. It seems a shame to try to go back to bed when I have to be back in the office in less than 2 hours. I think I am just going to go in for the conference call and then work from home the rest of the day (provided everything works today)

Oh and did I mention there is something wrong with my car? Yeah, it was that kind of day yesterday. Here's to hoping that today can only be a step up, right?


27 October 2008

The Mall

Well, I was going to go back to the mall tonight and check in with Swarovski and let them know that I was okay with just being considered for seasonal help. Well, they beat me to it and called today to see if I could come in to interview. I said yes, of course, so I'll be going in on Saturday morning to meet with them. Then Target called. They wanted to know if I could cover for someone tonight. I told them I couldn't. I needed to study tonight...the GRE is in almost three weeks!


25 October 2008

Down Syndrome Awareness Month

Well, October is almost over and I think I've only missed a couple of days of blogging. A reminder to all of you reading, I decided to try to post everyday in honor of Down Syndrome Awareness Month. One of the blogs I read is written by the mother of a child with Down Syndrome, which is where I got the inspiration to do this. For more information on Down's, please head on over to Michelle's blog, Big Blueberry Eyes, she has some great information and her posts are easy and fun to read.

Hmmm

I don't know how long I can do this. I didn't get out of Target until almost midnight tonight, and we aren't even in full holiday mode yet. I think I need a part time job somewhere else. I did put my name in at Swarovski. They were only hiring for seasonal and I told them I would be interested in something non-seasonal. At this point though, I am tempted to say hire me for seasonal and we'll see where we go from there. I don't think I can make it through the whole holiday season with nights like this. Okay...time for bed, I need to be back at the store for 8am tomorrow.


23 October 2008

Sarah on SNL

The "mavericky" one stopped by SNL last week...




Tagged

This one is courtesy of Michelle. Grab the nearest book. Open the book to page 56. Find the fifth sentence. Post the text of the next two to five sentences in your journal/blog along with these instructions.

The nearest book is "The Six Wives of Henry VIII" by Alison Weir. Here is what the fifth sentence on page 56 says:

Since arriving in England she had had only two new gowns, and the only serviceable ones left from her trousseau were two made of damask. It would be seventeen months, however, before she was able to afford to buy herself some decent clothes, and in that time she would appear even shabbier. Mindful that she should maintain the standards suitable to her rank in an age when appearances counted for a lot, she felt she 'dared not neglect my own person', and consequently had to sell or pawn out items from her dower plate and jewels just for necessities.

The 'she' is Katherine of Aragon, first wife of Henry VIII, daughter of Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain (yes, the ones who funded Columbus). She was first married to Arthur, Henry's brother. He died 6 months after they were married. Henry VII was looking for a more advantageous match for Henry and had stopped Katherine's allowance, hence her state of poor dress.


22 October 2008

International Adoption

This is something I've always wanted to do, since I was in high school I think. It's so gosh darn expensive though. I know you get tax breaks on it and you can get loans and grants to help subsidize the cost, but it's still a heck of a lot of money, something in the neighborhood of $15,000. I wish I had that kind of money that I would be able to do it. If I ever win the lottery that is first on my list of things that I would do with the money.

I haven't given up hope of ever being able to do it - it would just take a lot of saving and using the resources out there (like adoption grants and employer benefits, Duke doesn't but other schools do) to be able to afford it. My friend Melissa just became a big sister. Her parents are in the process of adopting a baby girl from Armenia. Melissa, her mom, and her grandmother just traveled to Armenia to meet her. Her mom will be going back in a couple of months for the final part of the process. I have so many questions about it - how long did it take, what is a home study like, what does a final dossier look like? I've done cursory research on the interwebs but haven't done any serious searching. I know some countries are "friendlier" than others when it comes to single women adopting (Armenia is one of them). After I'm done with GRE and the doctoral application process that may be my next research project.


21 October 2008

Tuesday Night Music Club

Ah, my poor Red Sox - they were so close, but came up short. At least they didn't lose to the Yankees. The pain was eased by the fact that the Patriots trounced the Denver Broncos last night :)

Students were able to get into the system today and start to plan and get their schedules ready for registration next week. It went well, no major issues, no complaints, and it will be interesting to see what happens when they actually try to register en masse.

I take the GRE in 4 weeks. I have 4 weeks left to cram for the math portion of the test. With registration and working nights at Target, I haven't really had time to study. I may just not turn on the computer when I get home tomorrow night and hunker down at the dining table and study for a couple of hours. I still need a research idea. I know what area I'd like to study (FERPA - aka the student records privacy thing),I just don't know what to focus on. If I get through a substantial amount of math tomorrow, I may treat myself to some time browsing FERPA on the internet to see if inspiration strikes.

19 October 2008

Tomorrow is the Day

Tomorrow is it - the pre-cursor to the big test. The students start the beginning stages of registration in the new system. I am a little anxious, we really went down to the wire testing some new features to make the system a little easier to navigate. It looks good - I am keeping my fingers crossed that everything works the way its supposed to. At some point you just have to let go, come 8am tomorrow morning it is pretty much out of my hands.

I broke down and turned the heat on tonight. I came in from work tonight and the house was just chilled. I turned it on for a bit just to take the bite out of the air. When I crawled into bed last night it was so chilly in the house. It reminded me of my last night in New York before I started work at Bentley. There was basically no heat in my building. Michaela and I had driven down to Queens to pick up the last of my belongings. It was about 52 degrees in the apartment. I slept in my clothes with a flannel bathrobe over them and burrowed under the covers on my bed. I don't know how Michaela survived on the couch. It was brutal. It wasn't quite that cold last night, but it was bad enough to have me remembering that night.

Update - we've decided to push back the opening day until Tuesday...still a couple of kinks to work out...


18 October 2008

Another Saturday Night

It as another late night at Target tonight. We didn't get out until 11:30. I did manage to make it home in time to see the end of the Red Sox game. I swear, they have turned coming from behind into an art form. Hopefully they can pull out the win tomorrow night.

As far as Saturday's go, this one was pretty uneventful. I did some laundry, I took Jack to have his claws trimmed. I changed the quilt on the bed to a comforter (it gets cold at night and I am not turning the heat on yet). I watched some college football and that was about it. I am working tomorrow night so I don't have much on tap for Sunday either - some GRE studying and a little cleaning.

I have to say, working at Target gives me some time to think about anything and everything. Unless I am helping a guest, I pretty much don't have to think about what I'm doing while I'm on the floor. So tonight I was thinking about a former boyfriend who I miss very much. He was a really great person and a great friend. Our timing at that point was not right though and it didn't work out. I hear from him occasionally. I wish it were more frequent. It's funny sometimes the thoughts that randomly pop into your head. Had he and I stayed together, my life would probably be very different right now. I'd probably be married and perhaps have a child. I most likely would not be in North Carolina. I know the decision I made at the time was the right one. I just wonder sometimes if I had to do it all over again if I would do it differently. Maybe someday I'll give you all a little more info, but for the moment, I'll only tell you the story of the first time I met him. It was on an airplane and we were seated next to each other. I thought he was so cute in that academic way that I can't resist - glasses and all. We chatted through the entire flight and that was it. It was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.


16 October 2008

On a Thursday Night

I brought home a stack of work to do at home and I was swamped all day today, so I don't really have much to say tonight. I didn't really have time to get into much else regarding news and events. So on this beautiful Thursday night, I give you my favorite scene from one of my favorite movies of all time - Labyrinth (and yes that is a young Jennifer Connelly):








15 October 2008

Back in the RDU

I'm back from my jaunt to Burlington, VT. I had a great trip and really enjoyed my conference. No research ideas, but that's okay. It's good to be home - I missed my kitties. They were very happy to see me. I spent the afternoon unpacking and catching up on laundry. It's back to work tomorrow and there is a ton to do before registration starts on Monday. I am tired though, traveling can be exhausting and while it is nice to sleep in ones own bed, the bed at the Doubletree in Burlington was divine. I could sleep there every night. Hopefully I'll make it up to see the debate. I cannot wait for this election to be over. I feel like its been going on forever.

Okay...back to the laundry...one more load to go.

14 October 2008

Blogging from Burlington...Day 3

Every region has its comfort food. In the South where I currently reside, it's fried chicken, grits, sweet tea, and red velvet cake. When I lived in Louisiana it was red beans and sausage, jambalaya, gumbo, and pecan pie. Comfort food warms your soul - it warms your very being from the inside out. It's not just about indulging in something that is not so good for you, it's about the memories the food evokes, the fondness for the region, and shared experience you get from eating it. For me, one of the comfort foods of New England is New England Clam Chowder. Not Manhattan, not Corn, not Seafood. No, this chowder is thick, white, and creamy, with cubes of potatoes and pieces of clam. I had some for lunch today, with oyster crackers of course and a little bit of salt and pepper. It was heavenly. Saying it warmed my soul would be an understatement. It did nothing to stem the wave of homesickness I've been feeling lately, but it did make me feel connected to my roots here in New England, and that made me happy.


13 October 2008

Blogging from Burlington...Day 2

I am enjoying this conference. I went to a session this morning on Stalking and Student Behavior, another on Interinstitutional collaborations and one on Sexual Harassment. I know it all sounds like a downer of a day, but the sessions were really fascinating. I've always been interested in the legal aspects of higher education and my legal classes were my favorites in grad school. I haven't gotten an idea yet for my research, but there is always tomorrow.

This is also my second conference in a row where the plenary session has dissected the Virginia Tech tragedy. It was a horrible situation and there have been committees and panels that have looked at it from many angles. I am just wondering how many more conferences I have to go to before the plenary subject changes...


12 October 2008

Blogging from Burlington

I am here in Vermont. It's gorgeous. As I was walking back from my conference to the hotel I am staying at, the mountains were in plain view in the skyline. It's pretty breathtaking. Since the day was cloudless, as we landed in Burlington, you could see all of the colors of the leaves from the plane. The conference I am at is an interesting one. It focuses on legal issues in higher education, which is something that I am always fascinated with. I am hoping to be struck by inspiration regarding research for my doctorate.

Back to Burlington, VT. I spent a week here one summer when my Auntie Lorri and Uncle Larry used to live up here. Carolyn and I came up during the summer. We had a blast. Carolyn and I would get lost (not literally) in the mall while my aunt and uncle worked during the day. I remember we would go into the Hallmark store and we'd come up with a scenario, like Father's Day - Uncle Roger, and we'd have to go in search of the perfect card. I'm surprised mall security didn't kick us out. At night we would could dinner with Auntie Lorri. I liked Burlington then and I still like it now. Who knows, it could be on my list of New England cities I would move to when I move back here after I'm finished with school. There are a few schools up here - UVM and St. Michael's.

I'm off to bed soon - I got about 3 hours of sleep last night after another late night at Target. we got out at 11:45 and I hadn't even started packing yet, so I didn't get to bed until close to 1am and my alarm was set for 4. Yawn. I want to be bright eyed and bushy-tailed when I go to my sessions tomorrow.


10 October 2008

Friday Night Musings

I'm tired. My body is tired. Fortunately we got out at 11pm tonight. I cannot wait to crawl into bed. So yes, I'm physically tired. I'm also a little emotionally tired. Grandma and Grandpa's memorial mass is this weekend and I wish I could be home for it. I missed Grandma's wake and funeral last year because I couldn't afford to fly out of the middle of nowhere (aka Alexandria, LA). I was very upset that I couldn't get home. So I'm feeling a little melancholy and I've been really missing my family, particularly this weekend. Fortunately I leave for Vermont on Sunday. It will be nice to get out of town and clear my head and enjoy the gorgeous fall weather.


09 October 2008

CSI is back!

The new season of CSI premieres tonight! Woohoo!!! I've loved this show since day one. I am a little disappointed that they are bringing Sara Sidle back because she grates on my nerves something fierce. I much prefer Grissom with Lady Heather (who, I hear through the grapevine, will be making an appearance this season). But the show isn't about the romances, please, that is an afterthought. It's about the crimes and the interaction between the cast. We'll see how that dynamic is affected when William Peterson leaves the show and Lawrence Fishburne takes his place. That should be interesting. It's a shame they killed off Liev Schreiber's character last season - I would definitely watch more of him.

Grey's Anatomy is supposed to be really good tonight too - thank goodness for tivo! I also hear ER has had kind of a resurgence in its final year, so I may tivo that as well just to see what the fuss is about.

Yes, I am a tv junkie, but I also have never been one to just sit and park myself in front of the tv (ask my mom). I'll be reading or cleaning or researching on the interwebs while the t v is on. The researching and cleaning have happened as I matured and had other responsibilities. When I was a kid it was a book...always a book. I'd read at the kitchen table during dinner if my mom let me. Anyhow, CSI is on tonight...tune in because it's going to be good.


08 October 2008

Blackberry

After listening to my sister extol the virtues of the Blackberry for so long, I broke down and got one a month or so ago. I love my Blackberry. I've loved it since the minute I held it in my hot little hands. Unfortunately it does not love me at the moment, which means I am in telephone hell. I've been bounced from att&t tech support to RIM (the Blackberry people) and now I am on hold waiting for RIM to bounce me back to at&t. Grrrr. I just want my e-mail to start showing up on the Blackberry again.


07 October 2008

Weekend in New England

I am so excited. I leave for Vermont on Sunday. Yes, it's for a conference, but I have not seen a great New England Autumn in so long. I can't wait to see the trees. Their leaves this time of year are glorious colors. I can also take some of my sweaters out from the back of my closet. I get to wear them occasionally in the winter (and I definitely get to wear them more here in North Carolina than I ever did in Louisiana) so it is nice that they will be getting some use. As for the conference, it's in Burlington and is being hosted by UVM. We will cover the broad and exciting subject of Legal Issues in Higher Education. Okay, so there is a hint of sarcasm in that, but I do find the topic fascinating, despite the fact that some of the regs are about as exciting as watching paint dry. So I'm sure to come back with some bee-yoo-tee-full pictures if I only remember to buy a new battery for the camera.


06 October 2008

No New Gossip Girl

Okay, I have 2 tv vices (shows that I cringe a little inside admitting to). One being America's Next Top Model and the other being Gossip Girl. GG is the best show you aren't watching. Leighton Meester as Blair and Ed Westwick as Chuck light up the tv. They have the best lines and are completely worth watching the show for. It can be a little trashy and a little over the top, but it's my guilty pleasure on Monday nights. Unfortunately, there was no new episode tonight :( After a long weekend at Target, I was looking forward to relaxing and indulging a little.

And here I will show my age - the actress who plays Serena (she was also in Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants) is the sister of Robyn Lively who played Louise in Teen Witch, one of my all time favorite cheesy 80s movies. It ranks right up there with The Pirate Movie and Grease 2. Stop laughing, I am being totally serious here - I love those movies. I have all three on DVD. Before you cast aspersions on my movie viewing, keep in mind my sister and brother love them too, so it has to be genetic.

So here is my shameless plug for GG - Monday nights at 8pm on the CW. You can also catch episodes on the CW website. You know you want to. xoxo...




05 October 2008

04 October 2008

Consider This Saturday's Post...

I worked at Target tonight and we got out very late. For some reason the clothing departments got shopped hard and I didn't leave until 11:30. We also had someone from our department call out, so I was supposed to be in 2 different areas all night. I didn't get to the second one until after the store closed. So this post is late.

The new Nancy Drew game came in the mail yesterday. If I wasn't working at Target, I probably would have solved it by now. I love these games. It's not a shoot-em-up or a multi-player game. You get to play as Nancy and solve a mystery by collecting clues, solving puzzles, and talking to characters. There have been 19 games all together and I've played them all. I loved the Nancy Drew books as a young reader and this gives me a chance to relive some of the enjoyment I had reading those books. And the games are fun (and quite challenging at times). It's too late now to play, but I hopefully will get a chance tomorrow night after dinner. If you're interested in the game (or the Nancy Drew series in general), check out Her Interactive.


03 October 2008

Nervous

Okay y'all, for those of you who read posts from the summer, you know that we had a major upgrade of our student information this summer. Overall the upgrade went well. Some complaints, seniors hate it, whatever. I wasn't nervous about it until now. Student registration for Spring starts in a few weeks. THIS IS MY JOB. This is what I do everyday - I oversee all student registration. This is the first major registration in the new system. It's only my second major registration overall. I have a sinking feeling that all is not going to go off with out a hitch. There will be hitches. How big? I don't know. Hopefully not so big that we have to shut down registration - that would just not be good for so many different reasons. So I'm a little stressed about this.

In other nervous news, I've signed up for the GRE (finally). November 19, 2008 is when I will be taking the test. This gives me roughly 6 weeks to further shore up my math skills. My application materials are due January 20. Once the GRE is taken I will be 90% done with the application. I also need to write my "about me" piece which also should include my research focus. Ummm, yeah, don't have one yet. I have no clue what I want to research when I go back to school. Yes it will be education related, and most likely registration/records related, but what? Any ideas? Inspiration hasn't struck and it needs to...soon.


02 October 2008

Thursday Recipe

This one is another quick pizza recipe utilizing a pre-made crust. Hey, I'm a single woman with 2 jobs, I am definitely a proponent of the 30-minute meal that leaves me leftovers for a couple of days. .

Ingredients
1 Boboli whole wheat thin pizza crust
1 jar sauce (small - you won't even need the whole thing); I use Ragu Pizza Quick
1 fresh smoked mozzarella (I don't have ounces), shredded
1/4 pound prosciutto, chopped

Directions
1. Preheat oven as instructed on Boboli package
2. Spread sauce on crust.
3. Spread chopped prosciutto on top of sauce
4. Spread shredded mozzarella over the whole thing
5. Bake for 10 minutes

**note - I prefer the smoked mozzarella, you can use plain if you like. I like the smokiness of the mozzarella with the prosciutto, I find they complement each other nicely.


01 October 2008

Declare Yourself

Okay, I know I am blogging everyday this month and I could have saved this for tomorrow, but time is precious. Some registration deadlines are as soon as Saturday. If you have not yet registered to vote, please do. It only takes a minute. If you need a little convincing, here are some reasons why:



October Road

I love the month of October. It's the first full autumnal month and the palette of fall is one of my favorites - rich scarlets, russets, oranges, and golds. I love the leaves crunching underfoot, the scent of wood burning from fireplaces in the air, and the feel of the cool breeze flirting with my hair. It is a feast for the senses. October is what I think of when I remember going to high school football games as a child with my mom and my grandmother. I remember being bundled into sweaters and mittens, steaming cups of hot chocolate, and the Somerset High School marching band. My uncle was a football coach there and I spent many a weekend watching the games, the parades, and dreaming of the day when I could be a drum major. I had lofty aspirations as a 3 year old. I wanted to be a flag twirler; then for a short time I wanted to be part of the color guard, but the guns kind of freaked me out (even though they were fake); then a majorette; then finally I realized the drum major had all the power. After that, my career path was settled. I even practiced. On a trip to Florida with my mom, my grandmother, my great-grandmother (Ma), and my great-aunt (Aunt Mary), I would instruct Aunt Mary as to the appropriate way to march. Bless her soul, she let me. Even when I intentionally let her walk into walls. It was my job to tell her when to start and when to stop. She would giggle with me when I would neglect the stopping part. I wanted to be a drum major for maybe a couple of more months until the age of four when I decided I wanted to be a secretary, but Aunt Mary and I had fun while it lasted.


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