I haven't even finished packing and I will be at the airport in 12 hours. I am NOT with it today. I've managed to spend the whole day somehow. I've discovered that due to boxes of presents all of the stuff I need will not fit into my small suitcase. (The presents would take up 3/4 of the room and leave no room for things like clothes and shampoo.) I'm going to solve this by putting them into the large suitcase inside a bag. When I reach Arlanda I'll take those out and carry them through. I don't think Swedish authorities are going to protest wrapped Christmas presents in a paper bag with a handle. It will be fun meeting up with the boyfriend's roommate. I don't know where or when to meet her. I just know that sometime during the many hours I'll be at the airport she'll be there to take my large suitcase... I do have her cell number now. That should help a bit.
Why is it that when I'm pressed for time my first idea is to come blog? Maybe I should get back to packing... I haven't even poured shampoo and conditioner into the smaller bottles I use for traveling. This trip doesn't even seem real. I've looked forward to it for so long I can't believe that the time has come. The wait must be harder for David though. He doesn't even have all the hustle and bustle of getting ready and traveling to keep him occupied. He'll be playing the waiting game, not knowing where the heck I am for the next 28 and a half hours. He won't know if I made all my flights or anything. And I think there's a pretty good chance I'll miss my connection in Amsterdam. Less than an hour to get from one flight to the next. I have 5+ hours in Stockholm though. That should give me time to change out of my PJs and make myself look presentable, Swedish style. I need a bit of time to make myself look a bit less American so I don't embarrass David. I haven't had time to take my nail polish off yet either. I hope I don't freak him out too much.
Ok... NOW back to packing!
Thursday, December 29, 2005
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
Comments
No one ever leaves comments in my blog anymore! I feel unloved! *cry* On another note almost everyone who reads my site is in either Sweden or a .net. (Which I think is me using the links on my page to find my way to other pages.)
Comment or else! *threaten*
Comment or else! *threaten*
Tuesday, December 27, 2005
The Real Christmas
Today felt more like Christmas to me than yesterday did. We had 17 people here. No fancy meal or anything but lots of people sitting around the snack table. There were kids running around screaming, pets underfoot, adults discussing serious type stuff. To me this was Christmas. Christmas should always have multitudes of children around. Now that I'm too old to get many toys to play with, I want to watch others play with toys. Even if the one I'm watching is my dad who stole one of the cousins remote control cars. The littlest ones were running in circle after circle along with the train. I was very surprised that nothing horrible happened to either train or child. I think I might be willing to move more of Christmas to the day after and establish a new tradition. I'd rather have family together than celebrate on a specific day. Although I think I'd still need to do something special on Christmas itself if possible.
Monday, December 26, 2005
L00T!
I feel like a pirate with the amount of loot I've acquired today. It's a bit weird knowing that I'll get even more tomorrow. Most of my 'loot' is in cash or cash-like items. Got 100 dollar debit/visa card from my mom. Got 100 dollar bill from my aunt and uncle. I got two 100 dollar checks from my grandfather, although one of them is for my birthday. I also got 600 (!!!) dollars from my grandfather for my old computer. I wanted to give him the thing for free. Finally I agreed to take 500, and he comes and gives me 600. I'm not going to complain though. The money is much needed. Besides the cash-like items I also got an MP3 player, two sweaters, two screwdrivers, an external harddrive (although I traded my old internal to my dad for it and am chipping in 40 dollars or so of my own cash), a jar of almond roca, the first three Megatokyo books, some homemade junk from my little cousins (a badly made sandart, a Christmas tree something, a small painted box, some cheap bath stuff, although to be fair the youngest is not yet 5), a hand powered flashlight, and a book on how to survive on my own. All of this and there will still be two or three presents tomorrow as well. Somehow I feel spoiled.
My mom and I are probably going shopping on Tuesday or Wednesday. Go and spend at least the 100 in debit card she gave me. It's one of those one use cards. When it's gone, the card is basically trash. I want a new pair of jeans, maybe a new sweatshirt, and perhaps a few other bits of clothes.
If I don't spend more than 500 dollars or so in Sweden during the next 3 weeks then I'll have enough money to survive 10 months or so in Sweden! *hop* That'll leave me just two months worth of expenses to earn next semester! This is getting more and more possible! If I can't stay under 4000 SEK for 3 weeks... that would be very pathetic. That's just for food, a bit of travel, and entertainment in Sweden. I REALLY should be able to stay under that! *laugh* Although if I go a bit over it'd be ok too. I might get more cash tomorrow too! We'll have to see.
My mom and I are probably going shopping on Tuesday or Wednesday. Go and spend at least the 100 in debit card she gave me. It's one of those one use cards. When it's gone, the card is basically trash. I want a new pair of jeans, maybe a new sweatshirt, and perhaps a few other bits of clothes.
If I don't spend more than 500 dollars or so in Sweden during the next 3 weeks then I'll have enough money to survive 10 months or so in Sweden! *hop* That'll leave me just two months worth of expenses to earn next semester! This is getting more and more possible! If I can't stay under 4000 SEK for 3 weeks... that would be very pathetic. That's just for food, a bit of travel, and entertainment in Sweden. I REALLY should be able to stay under that! *laugh* Although if I go a bit over it'd be ok too. I might get more cash tomorrow too! We'll have to see.
Sunday, December 25, 2005
Merry Christmas
I wish you a Merry Christmas! I hope that everyone gets all the presents that they wish!
Childhood memories
This year is one of the quietest Christmas Eves I've ever had. Although last year was pretty quiet too. I somehow doubt I will ever have the same Christmas Eves as I remember as a child. I remember spending the whole day writing Santa letters. One year my brother and I even went around and got writing samples from all of the adults just in case one of them was signing Santa onto the letters for us. We always left out pie crust instead of cookies. That's what we had on Christmas Eve. My grandmother would always make a bit of extra pie crust, sprinkle it with cinnamon sugar and bake it. Lovely! We don't really have that anymore since my mom doesn't make pie crust for pies by hand. It takes way too long when she's doing most of the cooking on her own. I try to help, but she always takes spoons and such away from me. I get only the simplest tasks. Mostly I just keep her company. We would also leave out carrots for Santa's reindeer. They must have been SOOO fat by the end of flying around the world and getting lots of carrots!
In the evening we would wrap the last of the presents. My grandmother always had the best of ribbons and bows and paper so some presents we would wait to wrap there. We'd get take out food for dinner because no one should do massive amounts of cooking on Christmas Eve dinner. Usually we'd get Chinese food. The women had been cooking all day for the next day's feast, they were tired and did not want to cook dinner for so many people.
My brother and I always had my grandfather's study to sleep in. It was a room attached to the living room. They would put up a brown curtain to separate it when we slept there. At night we would fall asleep to the sound of the adults talking a few rooms away, the lights of the tree shining through the curtain, and the whispers of parents putting things under the tree. That room always belonged to my brother and me. Even when there came more and more kids... that was our room. The other kids would sleep with their parents. My parents somehow also had the biggest bedroom, despite not having kids in there with them. I think part of that was that they were the oldest. They were the first married too. My dad's brother got the other guest room and his sister and her kids got to sleep on the floor of my grandmother's study. Later on my dad's brother's wife would require them to visit with her family and my uncle was often on call. They usually just showed up on Christmas day rather than on Christmas Eve.
Now it seems like everyone has their own thing going on. Someday I want to establish my own traditions. I know they'll be different from my childhood, but they'll be my own. I'll never forget the memories I had as a child, but in a way they're over. It is like the time I realized I was an adult. At the end of Christmas day I looked around and realized I did not have a single toy to play with. Everyone else had lots of toys and games and fun things. I was left with a pile of clothes and gift certificates. I must have been like 15 or 16 at the time. I was crushed. I cried, not because I didn't get lots of wonderful presents like I wanted, but because here it was, Christmas day, and I didn't have any toys. I guess we all have to grow up sometime. It always seems like it'll never happen, but when it does, it can be sad.
Tomorrow I look forward to opening my presents in the morning. No Christmas stockings, no last day of the advent calendar, just presents. There won't be lots of family everywhere, just the four of us. As much as I love my family, I wish I could be with my extended family on Christmas morning. I wish I could see the little ones open their Christmas stockings. Even though I'm too old to do it myself, I'd like to see the others happy. But, this is the way Christmas is. Perhaps next year it will be even more different. The BIG celebration of Christmas might be the day after Christmas so that my mom can host it. It might lose a bit of the magic because of not being on Christmas, but then I might be able to have my family all with me instead.
In the evening we would wrap the last of the presents. My grandmother always had the best of ribbons and bows and paper so some presents we would wait to wrap there. We'd get take out food for dinner because no one should do massive amounts of cooking on Christmas Eve dinner. Usually we'd get Chinese food. The women had been cooking all day for the next day's feast, they were tired and did not want to cook dinner for so many people.
My brother and I always had my grandfather's study to sleep in. It was a room attached to the living room. They would put up a brown curtain to separate it when we slept there. At night we would fall asleep to the sound of the adults talking a few rooms away, the lights of the tree shining through the curtain, and the whispers of parents putting things under the tree. That room always belonged to my brother and me. Even when there came more and more kids... that was our room. The other kids would sleep with their parents. My parents somehow also had the biggest bedroom, despite not having kids in there with them. I think part of that was that they were the oldest. They were the first married too. My dad's brother got the other guest room and his sister and her kids got to sleep on the floor of my grandmother's study. Later on my dad's brother's wife would require them to visit with her family and my uncle was often on call. They usually just showed up on Christmas day rather than on Christmas Eve.
Now it seems like everyone has their own thing going on. Someday I want to establish my own traditions. I know they'll be different from my childhood, but they'll be my own. I'll never forget the memories I had as a child, but in a way they're over. It is like the time I realized I was an adult. At the end of Christmas day I looked around and realized I did not have a single toy to play with. Everyone else had lots of toys and games and fun things. I was left with a pile of clothes and gift certificates. I must have been like 15 or 16 at the time. I was crushed. I cried, not because I didn't get lots of wonderful presents like I wanted, but because here it was, Christmas day, and I didn't have any toys. I guess we all have to grow up sometime. It always seems like it'll never happen, but when it does, it can be sad.
Tomorrow I look forward to opening my presents in the morning. No Christmas stockings, no last day of the advent calendar, just presents. There won't be lots of family everywhere, just the four of us. As much as I love my family, I wish I could be with my extended family on Christmas morning. I wish I could see the little ones open their Christmas stockings. Even though I'm too old to do it myself, I'd like to see the others happy. But, this is the way Christmas is. Perhaps next year it will be even more different. The BIG celebration of Christmas might be the day after Christmas so that my mom can host it. It might lose a bit of the magic because of not being on Christmas, but then I might be able to have my family all with me instead.
Saturday, December 24, 2005
Cooking attempts
Attempts in Swedish of cooking in the US *laugh* I hope I will not have nearly so much trouble trying to make pies in Sweden after the new years! I'll be making several pumpkin pies and a pecan pie. It'll be fun! But trying to make anything there requires extensive substitutions. Today though, I'll be making these yummy things in the US so it will be much easier. I'll also have my mom's help. Pumpkin Pie, Pecan Pie, Gravy, Rolls, and whatever else my mom wants to make. We have to do all the cooking a day in advance this year. She's going to hide some of the pies at home rather than take them to the party so that we can have lots of extras. Anyways, I'm supposed to be getting ready to go help bake. Wee!
What is it about being home again...
On a completely different topic. My dad has his model train out! You should get a picture or two sometime tomorrow. Right now it's just lots of bits of metal and lots of cars lined up in a row. You have to understand, this is not a simple train set, this is Lionel. (http://www.lionelstore.com/) Lots of pieces, cars, tressles, etc. We even have a Campbell soup car! It's one of my favorites. Although I think my all time favorite as a child was the Toys R Us car with the giraffe who ducked his head under the bridges. Currently the plan is to take it around the couches in the living room, through the dining room, through the kitchen, back into the living room, and have a train yard behind the couches. It should be cool!
Friday, December 23, 2005
Lizzy
One of my closer friends when I was younger was a girl named Liz. I bet you can guess what that's short for. Elizabeth. I used to tutor her when I was a first year in highschool. She was a year younger than me. I managed to get her grades to go from below a C average to the honor roll in a semester. Mostly because I made her do her homework. We used to just sit around and talk and have fun. I haven't heard about her since her mom took her away from her dad right before highschool. She was miserable there, but it was what she had. A few years ago her dad died too. Her dad was my dad's friend so that pretty much ended our contact with that family.
Anyways, the point of all this background is that last Saturday my parents had an old office gathering. It was people who worked together years ago but are all in different places now. They always meet up each Christmas to see what's going on. Liz's older sister who is my age showed up. So my mom managed to collect all sorts of news for me. Liz got married in August this year and has a child. It was a shot-gun wedding apparently. I guess that was the responsible thing for her to do given the situation. Get married and fast. But I still have problems with seeing my little Lizzy married with kid. She's named the girl child Ariel after the mermaid.
I guess the whole point of this story was to just be amazed at how much I've grown up and my friends as well. Although sometimes I think the growing up is a bit forced after stupid choices. I wonder if she's still the bean-pole she always was?
Anyways, the point of all this background is that last Saturday my parents had an old office gathering. It was people who worked together years ago but are all in different places now. They always meet up each Christmas to see what's going on. Liz's older sister who is my age showed up. So my mom managed to collect all sorts of news for me. Liz got married in August this year and has a child. It was a shot-gun wedding apparently. I guess that was the responsible thing for her to do given the situation. Get married and fast. But I still have problems with seeing my little Lizzy married with kid. She's named the girl child Ariel after the mermaid.
I guess the whole point of this story was to just be amazed at how much I've grown up and my friends as well. Although sometimes I think the growing up is a bit forced after stupid choices. I wonder if she's still the bean-pole she always was?
Another busy day.
Have you ever realized how difficult it starts to be to come up with new titles? Mine are getting repetitive! Anyways, today was busy! I managed to sleep in until 8. Had breakfast, then took pictures of my mom's quilts. That took forever. I should upload them tonight but tomorrow works just as well I guess. I went into one of the larger nearby towns with my mom. It's about 45 minutes away. The police were ticketing that area like crazy! We saw 6 or 7 highway patrol cars pulling people over within 2 minutes. They're cracking down on that area since there have been 3 fatal accidents in a very small area in 2 months. We then went to my mom's sister's house and picked up some books from the porch. After that we went to the fabric store in that town and bought some material for another quilt or two. Then to K-Mart to buy tissue paper for wrapping. We also bought some stuff at Hickory Farms since it was in the same parking lot. Then back to my town and to another fabric store to look for the fabric she couldn't find at the first store. Then we ended up back home again. Carried all of our loot back into the house. I wrapped the last of my Christmas presents, including David's. I then had to help my mom find the fabric she wanted online since neither of the two stores had it. I helped make dinner, played my game for half an hour, watched football with my family while eating dinner, took a bath, and read my book. I also watched a TV show called 'Deal or No Deal' with my parents. Somehow all of that took up an entire 14 hours. I'm not quite sure how, but another day is gone! Tomorrow is cleaning day, Saturday is cooking, Sunday is Christmas, Monday is the after Christmas party. Tuesday I pack, Wednesday I leave for Sweden. Wow! When will I have time to even think?
All of this done in absolutely pouring rain. We spent the trip back home admiring the wonderful rivers and lakes that the mountains turn into after 5 days of POURING rain. The problem right now is that it's a warm rain. This means that all the rain farther up in the mountains is pouring down the hillsides rather than turning into snow to trickle down the hillside at a later date. So we have our water to deal with, and the water from higher up. If this keeps up much longer we might have flooding. I pray it doesn't end up as bad as the first year we were here... So many homes near the rivers flooded. Thankfully we used that as an opportunity to decide which house NOT to buy. Despite the fact that we have two small creeks on either side of the property, neither are large enough to flood. There is also too much of a slant to the hillside for water to pool and flood anything. Thank goodness.
On another note, less than a week until I'm in Sweden!
All of this done in absolutely pouring rain. We spent the trip back home admiring the wonderful rivers and lakes that the mountains turn into after 5 days of POURING rain. The problem right now is that it's a warm rain. This means that all the rain farther up in the mountains is pouring down the hillsides rather than turning into snow to trickle down the hillside at a later date. So we have our water to deal with, and the water from higher up. If this keeps up much longer we might have flooding. I pray it doesn't end up as bad as the first year we were here... So many homes near the rivers flooded. Thankfully we used that as an opportunity to decide which house NOT to buy. Despite the fact that we have two small creeks on either side of the property, neither are large enough to flood. There is also too much of a slant to the hillside for water to pool and flood anything. Thank goodness.
On another note, less than a week until I'm in Sweden!
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
Another Day
I got my hair done today. I got 4 inches cut off. It seems like so much now! But it really looks much nicer. I'm hoping that with it shorter I will wear it down more often. I also no longer look like a skunk since I got it re-dyed. That took almost 3 hours of my day. The rest of the day I spent talking with my parents, working on a puzzle, and generally just relaxing. Today is my last day without my brother. My parents are going to go pick him up from school tomorrow. BLEH!
I'm not sure what the rest of my week will be spent doing... but I think some cooking, packing, etc. Perhaps I'll find time tomorrow to write in Swedish too. Especially if both of my parents are gone to pick up my brother. Maybe only one will go though.
I'm not sure what the rest of my week will be spent doing... but I think some cooking, packing, etc. Perhaps I'll find time tomorrow to write in Swedish too. Especially if both of my parents are gone to pick up my brother. Maybe only one will go though.
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Argh!
I just spent the day with a pair of holy terrors. Actually, one holy terror and one semi-angel. The 5 year old did nothing but whine, cry, yell at her sister, boss the little one around, and scream. The three year old basically put up with everything. Their family is going through a messy divorce right now though. The little one is daddy's favorite. It's easy to see why. The older one sat down and cried the that younger one didn't love her because the younger one was tired and didn't want to be a slave and carry things around. I think that both of them could use some attention, especially the older one. The only time the younger one cried the whole time was when her sister hit her with a stick and then the sister got upset because everyone was paying attention to the crying hurt one instead of her. I had 6 hours of that today. My mom needed my help. Because of all of this I didn't manage to get any pictures of the bunny bread. I have one bunny left. The older one ate my nice bunny though because she decided it was hers.
I got my game today but haven't had much chance to play it. I plan to a bit tonight. With all the Christmas and family stuff I feel like I'm neglecting my friends and David! I guess this is the time of year when I wish my friends were closer. Then I could do things with them. I have a hard time justifying to myself spending time in front of the computer when I could be with family in person. But at the same time I realize I need to not neglect others. Argh! Maybe I'll get the mortgage in my game paid off tonight if I work hard though?
I got my game today but haven't had much chance to play it. I plan to a bit tonight. With all the Christmas and family stuff I feel like I'm neglecting my friends and David! I guess this is the time of year when I wish my friends were closer. Then I could do things with them. I have a hard time justifying to myself spending time in front of the computer when I could be with family in person. But at the same time I realize I need to not neglect others. Argh! Maybe I'll get the mortgage in my game paid off tonight if I work hard though?
Monday, December 19, 2005
Family Time
Sometimes it hits me like a brick. I really value traditions and a lot of others don't. To me it is extremely important to spend Christmas with my extended family. Since the death of my grandmother though I lost one of the traditionalists. My mom is the other. Perhaps come of the kids as well, but they don't get to make choices. A lot of people aren't able to make Christmas day stuff this year, so the day after Christmas my mom wants to have an informal gathering with no food, just getting together.
The final agreement was that we'd still have Christmas at my aunt's, but since she HATES cooking, my mom has to do all the cooking and preparation. Without her sister Grace this year since her boyfriend says Christmas will be with his family for once. This means my mom will be doing dinner for 10-15 people mostly by herself. My grandfather will deep fry the turkeys, but everything else she has to do. I will be VERY busy the day before Christmas making pies and during Christmas in the kitchen to help her. It is worth it to keep Christmas. Sometimes I think people forget that Christmas should be spent with as much family as you can get... and lots of little kids.
Anyways, that was yesterday. I also stayed up until midnight doing a puzzle with my dad. We realized early on that it was missing pieces because some that should be obvious we couldn't find. My mom was quilting, the cat was attacking my feet, the dog was sleeping, my dad and I were doing a puzzle. All without watching TV. I think that almost makes up for listening to my relatives play phone tag and try to get Christmas sorted out. Sometimes it's the little things that matter. Maybe next year I'll stay in Sweden for Christmas if people can't agree on what to do for Christmas!
The final agreement was that we'd still have Christmas at my aunt's, but since she HATES cooking, my mom has to do all the cooking and preparation. Without her sister Grace this year since her boyfriend says Christmas will be with his family for once. This means my mom will be doing dinner for 10-15 people mostly by herself. My grandfather will deep fry the turkeys, but everything else she has to do. I will be VERY busy the day before Christmas making pies and during Christmas in the kitchen to help her. It is worth it to keep Christmas. Sometimes I think people forget that Christmas should be spent with as much family as you can get... and lots of little kids.
Anyways, that was yesterday. I also stayed up until midnight doing a puzzle with my dad. We realized early on that it was missing pieces because some that should be obvious we couldn't find. My mom was quilting, the cat was attacking my feet, the dog was sleeping, my dad and I were doing a puzzle. All without watching TV. I think that almost makes up for listening to my relatives play phone tag and try to get Christmas sorted out. Sometimes it's the little things that matter. Maybe next year I'll stay in Sweden for Christmas if people can't agree on what to do for Christmas!
Sunday, December 18, 2005
Christmas Progress
Well, I've wrapped half of the Christmas presents that are going to Sweden now. I've also almost finished putting David's present together. Took me forever to find where my mom put the double stick tape. I knew she had some because I bought it for her. My dad and I searched all the drawers, checked with her quilting supplies, checked with the art supplies. When my mom got home we asked her where it was. The car. What the heck? Oh well. I spent most of the evening sticking my fingers to each other rather than sticking things to each other like I was supposed to be.
I bet after that paragraph David is really confused about what his present will be!
I'm at my parents place now. I got a Christmas card from David. My 2nd Christmas card of the year! My brother got one from my grandfather. I didn't. Which is strange because I sent my grandfather a card and my brother didn't! *laugh* Not that my grandfather is great at Christmas cards. It just says 'Grandpa' inside after the prewritten text.
My Animal Crossing: Wild World game arrived today. Not that it does me any good since I don't have the system yet! That won't be here until Monday because I don't think UPS delivers on Sunday. I might go check their website just in case though.
My dad and I booted up my old computer, it works nicely. We put the new hard drive into it too. I should get a good 400 dollars for it after subtracting the harddrive price.
I should go update my Swedish blog... but I'm tired. Right now I think I will go wrap more presents then maybe take a long bath. My parents want me to put a log on the fire sometime this evening too. They're at a Christmas party. My brother will be home Wednesday. I'll wrap all of their presents before they come home I think. Then I won't have to try and be sneaky. Being sneaky can be hard when you're so proud of what you've bought that you want to tell someone! I'm not even sure who all reads this thing anymore, so I can't list any Christmas presents on here now! *laugh*
I bet after that paragraph David is really confused about what his present will be!
I'm at my parents place now. I got a Christmas card from David. My 2nd Christmas card of the year! My brother got one from my grandfather. I didn't. Which is strange because I sent my grandfather a card and my brother didn't! *laugh* Not that my grandfather is great at Christmas cards. It just says 'Grandpa' inside after the prewritten text.
My Animal Crossing: Wild World game arrived today. Not that it does me any good since I don't have the system yet! That won't be here until Monday because I don't think UPS delivers on Sunday. I might go check their website just in case though.
My dad and I booted up my old computer, it works nicely. We put the new hard drive into it too. I should get a good 400 dollars for it after subtracting the harddrive price.
I should go update my Swedish blog... but I'm tired. Right now I think I will go wrap more presents then maybe take a long bath. My parents want me to put a log on the fire sometime this evening too. They're at a Christmas party. My brother will be home Wednesday. I'll wrap all of their presents before they come home I think. Then I won't have to try and be sneaky. Being sneaky can be hard when you're so proud of what you've bought that you want to tell someone! I'm not even sure who all reads this thing anymore, so I can't list any Christmas presents on here now! *laugh*
Saturday, December 17, 2005
Another nice evening.
I'm having another nice evening. I'm sitting around with my roommate cleaning. He's actually helped me a fair amount. A few friends might show up later. I think his cleaning spree has ended though. He's watching TV on his computer now while drinking. The bathroom is now clean. I've mostly cleaned my room. I just need to take the luggage out, pack up my computer, and wipe some surfaces off. I still have some bathroom stuff to pack into my luggage too. The living room is mostly picked up. It needs vacuuming like the rest of the apartment. The kitchen needs the counters wiped off and dishes washed, maybe sweep the floor. Have a bit of trash to take out too. The guest room is doing well too. My roommate looked in earlier and went WOW! You can see the floor! I'm like, yea, because I just spent the last hour cleaning it!
Tomorrow morning I head back to my parents' town. I guess it's my hometown, but sometimes it's hard to think of it that way. I spend so little time there anymore. I guess it's a sign of growing up. My apartment doesn't feel like home either. I almost feel homeless. They say home is where the heart is, but I've not been stationary enough in the past few years for me to feel like my heart is any home. Even when I go stay in Sweden with David it will be in an apartment I've never seen before.
My packing is mostly done now. I have Christmas presents packed and clothes. I still have my toothbrush and such that I still plan to use. I've washed my towels and tomorrow morning I will stick around here long enough to wash my sheets and fold them. I want to come back to this apartment in late January and just make the bed with nice clean sheets, put my stuff away, and be happy. I don't want to come back to a dirty apartment. That's the last thing anyone wants at the end of a stressful trip home. I'll be missing David a lot then too. I won't need the added stress of a messy place. Anyone think of anything else I might forget? Now is the time to tell me! Although I guess I could drive back to my apartment anytime next week that I feel like killing 4 hours.
Tomorrow morning I head back to my parents' town. I guess it's my hometown, but sometimes it's hard to think of it that way. I spend so little time there anymore. I guess it's a sign of growing up. My apartment doesn't feel like home either. I almost feel homeless. They say home is where the heart is, but I've not been stationary enough in the past few years for me to feel like my heart is any home. Even when I go stay in Sweden with David it will be in an apartment I've never seen before.
My packing is mostly done now. I have Christmas presents packed and clothes. I still have my toothbrush and such that I still plan to use. I've washed my towels and tomorrow morning I will stick around here long enough to wash my sheets and fold them. I want to come back to this apartment in late January and just make the bed with nice clean sheets, put my stuff away, and be happy. I don't want to come back to a dirty apartment. That's the last thing anyone wants at the end of a stressful trip home. I'll be missing David a lot then too. I won't need the added stress of a messy place. Anyone think of anything else I might forget? Now is the time to tell me! Although I guess I could drive back to my apartment anytime next week that I feel like killing 4 hours.
Friday, December 16, 2005
Nice evening.
My developing countries econ class met at the pizza place in town after the final. The professor showed up and bought us pizza. (3 pizzas! So probably about 45 dollars worth.) We bought him lots of beer. I think our table went through about 8 or 9 pitchers of beer. Another professor showed up and bought us two pitchers of beer too. I bought one of the pitchers even though I wasn't drinking since I don't like beer. We played pool, my team won all three games. It's not even 10pm yet and I'm home. It was nice to start early, I do better with parties like that. We had pizza at about 4:30. We actually got a pool table as soon as we showed up at the bar too. (we went over about 8:30 or so. My professor says not to worry about the exam. That's good since I wrote on one of them 'This wasn't in the book!' and there were only 6 problems!
Oh, I received a REALLY cool Christmas card in the mail today. From David's mom. It made me smile so much. I'll have to look up a few of the Swedish words, but wow! The only Christmas card I got this year! Weee!
I'm completely done with finals now too and tomorrow is my last day of work for 5 weeks. This makes me happy. :)
Oh, I received a REALLY cool Christmas card in the mail today. From David's mom. It made me smile so much. I'll have to look up a few of the Swedish words, but wow! The only Christmas card I got this year! Weee!
I'm completely done with finals now too and tomorrow is my last day of work for 5 weeks. This makes me happy. :)
Thursday, December 15, 2005
New Idea?
Well... how does this plan look? The picture to the right is what I currently have this semester. You can see there's a BIG change in the number of hours I'll be working and in class. I'm wondering if 17 hours is too many? I think I could handle it. Maybe instead of officially setting those as my hours I'll work 15 and then maybe show up early on Tuesday if I am not too tired and maybe stay that extra hour on Fridays if I'm busy. I just know that this semester has been hard on me. Next semester I'll be working at least 50% more hours. I could fit many more hours into there, but I'm having a hard enough time this term! Next term will be worse! But the extra money... mmmm...
Lots of nothing
I am tired, too tired to think really. I've been sitting in front of my computer for the last two hours and haven't done anything. I keep thinking of all of the things that I should do. I have only one more exam. Tomorrow I will spend all day studying for it. I think my boss wishes that I would work next week. But since the office is closed and he won't be working... I don't feel that guilty. I need to decide tomorrow how many hours of work I should do a week next semester. I'm thinking 15, although I could add in more. If I felt very crazy, I could work more than 20 hours a week. I think that might be too much though. 18 hours a week might also be a bit much.
I am sitting here looking at when my classes are and how early I want to get up. I have to plan in lunch and dinner breaks too. The big change compared to this semester is that more of my classes are at night. This means that I have mornings free. Here's what my schedule next semester looks like... when should I work? This plan gives me 18 hours of work. I could open up a morning or two by dropping to 16 or 14 hours. I could also give up lunch breaks if I felt like really abusing myself. And perhaps lose that dinner break on Monday nights? I think 18 hours will be my max though. Any better ideas? The yellow blocks are working, the white block are open for whatever, and the green blocks are classes. I've decided not to add any more classes in. It might be nice though to have a Tuesday or Thursday free. Requirements here are that I have at least half an hour between work and starting class and at least 15 minutes after class to get to work. Work can only take place between 8-5. I must work at least 2 hours in a row. Anyone have any better ideas for arranging this? If I want to go home for lunch rather than bringing my lunch to work I need at least an hour.
It would be really nice to have sleep in days though.
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
New Calculations!
You guys know how much I love to calculate things out! Now that I earn more each hour, time to redo my income estimates for next semester.
If I work 15 hours a week next semester from the end of January through the middle of June, I can do quite well. These new calculations assume that I don't take spring break off of work. I work my usual 15 hours that week. Realistically I'll probably work more if there is more work available. I didn't take into account holidays or days when I work longer to finish things up or show up early. It'll probably end up being more than this. Especially since I might get another small promotion during that time. I figure I have about 24 weeks of work left.
That means at 15 hours a week, for 24 weeks, for 9 dollars an hour... I'll earn 3240 before taxes. I'll probably end up giving about a third of that or so to my mom in living expenses though. I guess I can estimate on having another 2000 or so into my bank account by the end of next semester. That's about another 3 months worth of living expenses! If everything goes right, I'll still have only 9 or 10 months of living expenses. I'd better pray that I get into that Master's Program!
Ok, back to bed now that the cold medicine has kicked in and I can breath again.
If I work 15 hours a week next semester from the end of January through the middle of June, I can do quite well. These new calculations assume that I don't take spring break off of work. I work my usual 15 hours that week. Realistically I'll probably work more if there is more work available. I didn't take into account holidays or days when I work longer to finish things up or show up early. It'll probably end up being more than this. Especially since I might get another small promotion during that time. I figure I have about 24 weeks of work left.
That means at 15 hours a week, for 24 weeks, for 9 dollars an hour... I'll earn 3240 before taxes. I'll probably end up giving about a third of that or so to my mom in living expenses though. I guess I can estimate on having another 2000 or so into my bank account by the end of next semester. That's about another 3 months worth of living expenses! If everything goes right, I'll still have only 9 or 10 months of living expenses. I'd better pray that I get into that Master's Program!
Ok, back to bed now that the cold medicine has kicked in and I can breath again.
12.5% More in Each and Every Bottle!
Well, ok, it isn't a bottle. It's per hour. I got my very first raise ever today. My pay increases by 12.5%. Which is also known as a dollar an hour more. To celebrate I think I will order myself a new toy online today. My mom is also going to give me 100 dollars for my birthday. She says that if I don't want to save it for Sweden that's my choice and she thinks it's good to spend money on myself sometimes. So tonight I will look everywhere online to find my new Nintendo DS and the Animal Crossing: Wild Wilderness game thingie I want.
The pay increase went in today, right before time cards were due, so I will get the increased pay for all hours since the first of the month. This is a nice Christmas bonus. Also, the increase was not a normal time increase, it was merit based. I am a very happy, soon-to-be Swede!
The pay increase went in today, right before time cards were due, so I will get the increased pay for all hours since the first of the month. This is a nice Christmas bonus. Also, the increase was not a normal time increase, it was merit based. I am a very happy, soon-to-be Swede!
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Present for myself?
I've decided that if my grandfather ends up buying my computer for more than 400 USD, then I'll buy myself a Nintendo DS. I'll use the money I get for my birthday for the Animal Crossing game I want, or just ask my mom to buy it. The system is 130 USD and the game is about 35 USD. A bit expensive... but sometimes I want/need new things!
I finished my 4th final, only one more to go. Tonight after work I'm going to make tacos to make up for not remembering to eat much the last few days.
I still have lots of cleaning to do before Saturday/Sunday when I leave for my parents. Going to have to bring lots of things to my parents place too. All my Sweden stuff, clothes, computer equipment, stuff my mom asked to see, and anything like textbooks that I don't want at my apartment anymore. Also need to bring blankets and pillows since there isn't any at home. I stole most of them because I was freezing.
Weee! Semester is /so/ close to being over and soon I will be in Sweden!
I finished my 4th final, only one more to go. Tonight after work I'm going to make tacos to make up for not remembering to eat much the last few days.
I still have lots of cleaning to do before Saturday/Sunday when I leave for my parents. Going to have to bring lots of things to my parents place too. All my Sweden stuff, clothes, computer equipment, stuff my mom asked to see, and anything like textbooks that I don't want at my apartment anymore. Also need to bring blankets and pillows since there isn't any at home. I stole most of them because I was freezing.
Weee! Semester is /so/ close to being over and soon I will be in Sweden!
Monday, December 12, 2005
Post 101
Well, this means I have over 100 posts now. I've been busy all weekend. Almost no free time at all! I don't know if the rest of the week is going to magically have time either. Good news is that I have three finals over and only two to go. I think I'm doing ok, but not sure. Definitely got B's or better on the two I took today, not sure if I have A's though.
I returned several books. Got 82 dollars, which I'll give to my mom. She bought the books, only fair that she get the money when I sell them back to the school bookstore. There was one of mine they won't buy back because they have a new edition. I know that there are two more that they won't buy back as well. BLEH! Hundreds of dollars on books each term and I get so little back. Only reason I got so much back with those books is because one of mine was worth 65 dollars by itself. The other 4 weren't worth that much.
I've fallen behind on my Swedish writing too... but it's almost excusable with final studying. Yesterday I made myself a long list of school work and of housework. Anytime I wasn't doing school work I had to be doing housework. I actually got a fair bit done. Kitchen was clean yesterday, did laundry, cooked and ate two meals, took a shower, and partially cleaned my room. I also read 8 chapters and studied a lot.
For the rest of today I will study for tomorrow's final, clean house more, go to a study session, and maybe find time to take a nap. Someone needs to rescue me from me. I've also been reading a bit more about Animal Crossing for the Nintendo DS. I think it'd be a lot of fun, but not enough of my friends have it to make it much fun. I wonder if it has a playable single player mode.
I returned several books. Got 82 dollars, which I'll give to my mom. She bought the books, only fair that she get the money when I sell them back to the school bookstore. There was one of mine they won't buy back because they have a new edition. I know that there are two more that they won't buy back as well. BLEH! Hundreds of dollars on books each term and I get so little back. Only reason I got so much back with those books is because one of mine was worth 65 dollars by itself. The other 4 weren't worth that much.
I've fallen behind on my Swedish writing too... but it's almost excusable with final studying. Yesterday I made myself a long list of school work and of housework. Anytime I wasn't doing school work I had to be doing housework. I actually got a fair bit done. Kitchen was clean yesterday, did laundry, cooked and ate two meals, took a shower, and partially cleaned my room. I also read 8 chapters and studied a lot.
For the rest of today I will study for tomorrow's final, clean house more, go to a study session, and maybe find time to take a nap. Someone needs to rescue me from me. I've also been reading a bit more about Animal Crossing for the Nintendo DS. I think it'd be a lot of fun, but not enough of my friends have it to make it much fun. I wonder if it has a playable single player mode.
Sunday, December 11, 2005
Adventurous Day
Today has been busy and quite stressful. I got up at 7, took a shower, studied a bit, went back to bed around 9. Woke up at 10.45, got ready for school, left home at 11.30. Got to school around 11.45. From 12-1 I told a kid about Sweden who goes there in the spring. Then from 1-1.45 I had pizza paid for by the international office. From 2-4 I had a study group for anthropology. Around 4.15 I went and picked up a cake pan I left at a friends place a few weeks ago, then went shopping. I got home a bit after 5 and made food while getting ready for the party. I realized I didn't have wrapping paper for my present so I made my own. Computer paper with some red and green lines drawn on it. Inside my box I had a cake... but it required some assembly (ok, so it was a mix, frosting, sprinkles, 3 eggs, and a stick of butter).
Here comes the fun part. I didn't have the address for the party. I'm sitting in my car with the food and the present and no idea where to go. I don't have anyone's cell phone number either and don't really know my co-workers last names since I call them by their first names. I ended up driving around for awhile. Came home twice during the hour and 15 minutes or so. Then I figured out what to do. I found one of my co-workers last names... called his dad who was listed in the phone book, and got the cell number. Then I could call and get directions. I knew my co-worker had a dad who worked in the anthropology department, so I just did a search on each of the guys last names until I found a student with the same last name AND the first name I wanted. Then looked up that last name in the phone book, luckily there was only one with that name. His dad laughed at me when I explained my situation.
I ended up making it to the party, an hour and a half late. It was only a 3 hour party! That was ok though, it was plenty long for me. I still got to eat food, open presents, and play pictionary. My team won. I got to bring home a snow globe. It plays music and makes me happy. I'm very glad I found the place. My co-workers were drunk. A quote from the receptionist who is old enough easily to be my grandmother... "Rum is bad at my age, it makes for naked." I leave you with that wonderful thought.
Oh, and I got to talk to a slightly drunk David, I hope he doesn't think I didn't want to talk to him. I was on the phone figuring out where to go when he messaged me and wanted to leave for the party.
Here comes the fun part. I didn't have the address for the party. I'm sitting in my car with the food and the present and no idea where to go. I don't have anyone's cell phone number either and don't really know my co-workers last names since I call them by their first names. I ended up driving around for awhile. Came home twice during the hour and 15 minutes or so. Then I figured out what to do. I found one of my co-workers last names... called his dad who was listed in the phone book, and got the cell number. Then I could call and get directions. I knew my co-worker had a dad who worked in the anthropology department, so I just did a search on each of the guys last names until I found a student with the same last name AND the first name I wanted. Then looked up that last name in the phone book, luckily there was only one with that name. His dad laughed at me when I explained my situation.
I ended up making it to the party, an hour and a half late. It was only a 3 hour party! That was ok though, it was plenty long for me. I still got to eat food, open presents, and play pictionary. My team won. I got to bring home a snow globe. It plays music and makes me happy. I'm very glad I found the place. My co-workers were drunk. A quote from the receptionist who is old enough easily to be my grandmother... "Rum is bad at my age, it makes for naked." I leave you with that wonderful thought.
Oh, and I got to talk to a slightly drunk David, I hope he doesn't think I didn't want to talk to him. I was on the phone figuring out where to go when he messaged me and wanted to leave for the party.
Saturday, December 10, 2005
And the weekend is here
Well, the weekend is here and I'm not quite sure what to do with myself. I'd like some time to destress, but I think I should clean and study too. I have a lot going on this weekend. Two study sessions, an office party, and something for the study abroad office.
I can tell I'm stressed because I'm always tired, my face is breaking out and peeling (how weird is that), and for some reason my jaw has decided it will not open. The jaw is the most worrying. I'm hoping that by Monday it'll function normally again. I had to trade my tootsieroll pop to a girl in class in exchange for skittles. Skittles I can fit between my teeth. I can eat just fine and it doesn't hurt unless I put my fingers in my mouth and try to force my jaw open. I've been doing that on and off trying to increase the flexibility a bit. It seems to be helping. I can open my jaw more now before it stops.
I'm going to have to do laundry this weekend if I want clean clothes for finals week too. I'm planning on working 16 hours next week, which should be plenty with all of the studying I need to do.
OH! And my grandfather might buy my old computer off of me. That'd let me get a hundred or two hundred dollars into my bank account. I also got paid today. This makes me feel partially rich. Except that I donated 50 dollars to aardwolf last night.
This will be a somewhat boring weekend too... David and Jonas are gone to a weekend drinking festival. I'm a bit jealous. I wish I had time and money to just take off and go drinking with friends. If wishes were fishes I'd take up commercial fishing.
I can tell I'm stressed because I'm always tired, my face is breaking out and peeling (how weird is that), and for some reason my jaw has decided it will not open. The jaw is the most worrying. I'm hoping that by Monday it'll function normally again. I had to trade my tootsieroll pop to a girl in class in exchange for skittles. Skittles I can fit between my teeth. I can eat just fine and it doesn't hurt unless I put my fingers in my mouth and try to force my jaw open. I've been doing that on and off trying to increase the flexibility a bit. It seems to be helping. I can open my jaw more now before it stops.
I'm going to have to do laundry this weekend if I want clean clothes for finals week too. I'm planning on working 16 hours next week, which should be plenty with all of the studying I need to do.
OH! And my grandfather might buy my old computer off of me. That'd let me get a hundred or two hundred dollars into my bank account. I also got paid today. This makes me feel partially rich. Except that I donated 50 dollars to aardwolf last night.
This will be a somewhat boring weekend too... David and Jonas are gone to a weekend drinking festival. I'm a bit jealous. I wish I had time and money to just take off and go drinking with friends. If wishes were fishes I'd take up commercial fishing.
Friday, December 09, 2005
Almost over!
I have only one more lecture, four finals, two teacher sponsored study sessions, and two group study sessions before the semester is over. I have 4 hours of work tomorrow, then 3 hours on Tuesday, 6 on Wednesday, and 6 on Friday. After that I will have 5 weeks with no school! I plan to spend the time productively. Spend time with my family, work on my application to Uppsala, and work on my Swedish. I'm especially worried about my writing sample for my application. I need to spend some time going through all my old writing assignments and deciding which, if any are good enough for all of my hopes to ride on. I might have to take an old one and increase it substantially. I don't have anything that can compete with a C-uppsatz though.
I've decided to spend the next week cleaning out my freezer. This means eating lots of muffins, meat, pasta, etc. If I leave for 5 weeks I'd really love to just turn off the fridge and freezer and leave the doors open. I also want to have my apartment spotlessly clean before I leave... not much chance of that happening though. Might make some agreements with my roommate. I don't know when I'll head to my parents. I'm thinking maybe Saturday morning or Sunday morning. I might spend a day by myself just relaxing and cleaning. That way I'm not rushed Friday night/Saturday morning with packing and stuff.
Tonight I will have real noodles (no ramen), broccoli, and some beef. It will all be tossed in some sauce of some sort.
I might end up buying some tomato sauce or some taco fixings for next week to use up everything that I have in my freezer.
Need to go shopping this weekend too because I have to bring some stuff to the office Christmas party. A side dish... maybe I can make up a rice, veggie type dish that won't be too bad. Hmmm.
I've decided to spend the next week cleaning out my freezer. This means eating lots of muffins, meat, pasta, etc. If I leave for 5 weeks I'd really love to just turn off the fridge and freezer and leave the doors open. I also want to have my apartment spotlessly clean before I leave... not much chance of that happening though. Might make some agreements with my roommate. I don't know when I'll head to my parents. I'm thinking maybe Saturday morning or Sunday morning. I might spend a day by myself just relaxing and cleaning. That way I'm not rushed Friday night/Saturday morning with packing and stuff.
Tonight I will have real noodles (no ramen), broccoli, and some beef. It will all be tossed in some sauce of some sort.
I might end up buying some tomato sauce or some taco fixings for next week to use up everything that I have in my freezer.
Need to go shopping this weekend too because I have to bring some stuff to the office Christmas party. A side dish... maybe I can make up a rice, veggie type dish that won't be too bad. Hmmm.
Thursday, December 08, 2005
Bleh!
I'm tired of being tired! I don't suppose that makes much sense, but for some reason I am always tired right now. I think the stress from the rest of the year is building. I would like some days where all I do is sleep for a week straight.
I spent last night studying with my study group and by myself. I worked for two hours on the exam I have today and the rest of the time on other classes. Last thing I did before bed was study and the first thing this morning as well. Thankfully this is my LAST 8am class. And next semester I don't have any. Originally I was thinking to go in at 8am on the days next week that I don't have class... but now I'm thinking I might be a bit happier if instead I went into work at 10am. Gave myself a bit of a reward. It'll mean less money. I'll have to decide if 16 dollars rates higher than 2 extra hours of sleep in time.
At least my exam today should be easy. I wish I could say the same about the rest of them! And tomorrow! I sleep until 10! My first class is cancelled so I don't have to be up and about until right before my 11am class. Hooray!
I spent last night studying with my study group and by myself. I worked for two hours on the exam I have today and the rest of the time on other classes. Last thing I did before bed was study and the first thing this morning as well. Thankfully this is my LAST 8am class. And next semester I don't have any. Originally I was thinking to go in at 8am on the days next week that I don't have class... but now I'm thinking I might be a bit happier if instead I went into work at 10am. Gave myself a bit of a reward. It'll mean less money. I'll have to decide if 16 dollars rates higher than 2 extra hours of sleep in time.
At least my exam today should be easy. I wish I could say the same about the rest of them! And tomorrow! I sleep until 10! My first class is cancelled so I don't have to be up and about until right before my 11am class. Hooray!
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
Rewards?
Should a kid get fancy toys just because all of their friends have fancy toys?
Should good grades be rewarded?
What are the pros and cons to buying a kid anything that you wish you had when you were a kid?
I have a lot of opinions on these things. I don't think that a kid needs something just because all of their friends have it. If they want something cool, offer them a trade. Well, we could buy you this, but would you do this many hours of work around the house first? That way they get a sense of accomplishment. If the hours don't get accomplished, they don't get the toy.
Good grades should be rewarded. Grades don't have to be perfect, just good. It can be a reward for working hard, even if the grades aren't perfect. Otherwise, what incentives does a child have to do well in school. They have to give up their free time for what? For some intangible benefits that they don't understand? I think they need something that they can see. And the reward should not be given if the kid doesn't at least try.
Kids are not objects. They are not to be used to show off how much money a parent has. I hated when all I was, was an object my dad could brag about. See what my daughter has, see her perfect grades, see her a cheerleader. I was happy to be appreciated, but when I wasn't perfect, I just got in trouble. I wanted to be appreciated even when I wasn't perfect. If you want a fancy toy, buy it for yourself, you had to earn the money for it. Your kid doesn't need more toys than they know what to do with, just so mommy or daddy can brag about what nice things there are.
If you have an agreement with someone, adult or child that they do a certain thing and they get a certain reward... under NO circumstance should that reward be given if the thing was not done. Otherwise how will they learn that hard work has rewards? When I really wanted to buy a special doll when I was a child (still have the doll) my mom helped me earn the money. She gave me tasks to do with a certain amount of cash reward. It took me forever to save up the 100 dollars I needed. My mom kindly paid taxes and shipping. But I value that doll a LOT more because I know how much work I had to do to get it. I had to give up playing with my friends sometimes to help clean. I couldn't buy candy or other small things that I wanted. It required sacrifice.
I guess I sound like a lunatic... but somehow I don't like the kids who are sitting in the middle of a room filled with toys saying that they're bored. I also don't like perfectly good children/adults who don't know how to work hard to accomplish things because no one ever taught them to work. I guess that's the American in me showing through. I tend to blame a lot of the lack of success of some people on a 'flawed character' model. Or lack of a good work-ethic.
Should good grades be rewarded?
What are the pros and cons to buying a kid anything that you wish you had when you were a kid?
I have a lot of opinions on these things. I don't think that a kid needs something just because all of their friends have it. If they want something cool, offer them a trade. Well, we could buy you this, but would you do this many hours of work around the house first? That way they get a sense of accomplishment. If the hours don't get accomplished, they don't get the toy.
Good grades should be rewarded. Grades don't have to be perfect, just good. It can be a reward for working hard, even if the grades aren't perfect. Otherwise, what incentives does a child have to do well in school. They have to give up their free time for what? For some intangible benefits that they don't understand? I think they need something that they can see. And the reward should not be given if the kid doesn't at least try.
Kids are not objects. They are not to be used to show off how much money a parent has. I hated when all I was, was an object my dad could brag about. See what my daughter has, see her perfect grades, see her a cheerleader. I was happy to be appreciated, but when I wasn't perfect, I just got in trouble. I wanted to be appreciated even when I wasn't perfect. If you want a fancy toy, buy it for yourself, you had to earn the money for it. Your kid doesn't need more toys than they know what to do with, just so mommy or daddy can brag about what nice things there are.
If you have an agreement with someone, adult or child that they do a certain thing and they get a certain reward... under NO circumstance should that reward be given if the thing was not done. Otherwise how will they learn that hard work has rewards? When I really wanted to buy a special doll when I was a child (still have the doll) my mom helped me earn the money. She gave me tasks to do with a certain amount of cash reward. It took me forever to save up the 100 dollars I needed. My mom kindly paid taxes and shipping. But I value that doll a LOT more because I know how much work I had to do to get it. I had to give up playing with my friends sometimes to help clean. I couldn't buy candy or other small things that I wanted. It required sacrifice.
I guess I sound like a lunatic... but somehow I don't like the kids who are sitting in the middle of a room filled with toys saying that they're bored. I also don't like perfectly good children/adults who don't know how to work hard to accomplish things because no one ever taught them to work. I guess that's the American in me showing through. I tend to blame a lot of the lack of success of some people on a 'flawed character' model. Or lack of a good work-ethic.
Who reads this thing anyways?
I know I have two readers for sure. Are there any lurkers out there I'm not aware of? Are you stalking me! (joking) But if you do read this sucker even occasionally, post me a comment so that I can feel special and loved. Which I know I am even without you posting a comment cause I have David and who wouldn't feel special with him around?
no topic?
I can't think of an interesting topic today. I don't even really know what I'm going to type about. I'm tired as usual. Ran 1.5 miles today... or roughly 2400 meters. Without stopping. I'm rather proud of myself. Took me 15 minutes and 9 seconds. I used to be able to run a full mile in half that time! Ick! But it was a long run and I stayed at a pretty constant speed throughout. Took me about 2 minutes 30 seconds per lap. I'm going to skip aerobics on Thursday because it's not actual aerobics, just fitness testing and I don't need to show up to pass.
My office now has a space heater that hangs out behind my desk. I don't know if my office can really be called MY office since it's mostly the main room with 3 desks and 3 smaller offices off of it. The receptionist is in the office on the other side of the hall. Don't have to go through my office to get to her. Does that count for anything? My boss complimented me on my good work last week. My precious pivot charts. Although he has given permission to the assistant director to kidnap me to do boring stuff for the next 2 weeks. Ick! I will be able to work extra hours next week though. Finals schedule gives me free time. Once I decide when I'll work I'll post my 'new life' for next week.
I'm not feeling too stressed about exams yet. I'm sure that will come. My first final will be the day after tomorrow. It should be the easiest of my exams and its the only one I have a study group for. I spoke to that professor about non economic stuff, or vaguely economic stuff for a half hour in his office today. I went in with some questions and we just kept talking until it was time for class.
I still haven't heard back from Uppsala yet about if I can apply or not. I'm starting to get worried! Maybe though Ulla just had to go look something up? Or maybe she was away today. I've started collecting stuff in a suitcase to go back to my parents house and eventually to Sweden. Just presents for people, cake mixes, etc.
That was a very wandering, no topic post. :P
My office now has a space heater that hangs out behind my desk. I don't know if my office can really be called MY office since it's mostly the main room with 3 desks and 3 smaller offices off of it. The receptionist is in the office on the other side of the hall. Don't have to go through my office to get to her. Does that count for anything? My boss complimented me on my good work last week. My precious pivot charts. Although he has given permission to the assistant director to kidnap me to do boring stuff for the next 2 weeks. Ick! I will be able to work extra hours next week though. Finals schedule gives me free time. Once I decide when I'll work I'll post my 'new life' for next week.
I'm not feeling too stressed about exams yet. I'm sure that will come. My first final will be the day after tomorrow. It should be the easiest of my exams and its the only one I have a study group for. I spoke to that professor about non economic stuff, or vaguely economic stuff for a half hour in his office today. I went in with some questions and we just kept talking until it was time for class.
I still haven't heard back from Uppsala yet about if I can apply or not. I'm starting to get worried! Maybe though Ulla just had to go look something up? Or maybe she was away today. I've started collecting stuff in a suitcase to go back to my parents house and eventually to Sweden. Just presents for people, cake mixes, etc.
That was a very wandering, no topic post. :P
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
Have you ever noticed...
... that if you post more than one entry at a time, no one reads/comments on the entries below the first one? Even if they might be more interesting? ;)
Life Plans! (If everything goes right)
Current plans!
Now until the end of 2005... survive finals, score perfect on all of them, sail through Christmas with everyone loving the presents I carefully chose for them, get all of my Christmas wishes granted, even those outrageously expensive ones, fly to Sweden, enjoy a nice new years party.
Jan 2006 - Celebrate my birthday, finish up my application for Sweden. Transcript will be set to send itself as soon as its ready. Enjoy Sweden. Relax. Towards the end of the month fly back to the states in time for school and start work again.
Feb 2006 - Have my application completely done, amaze the wonderful people at Uppsala University with my amazing grades and wonderful written work sample. (ACK! I need to find a written work sample!) Do well in school while working 15+ hours a week.
May 2006 - Graduate with honors, be accepted into the masters program I want, work, relax.
June 2006 - Swedish friends should all come visit me now. We'll explore California and whatever else is within driving distance.
July 2006 - Lease ends on the last day of the month, any Swedish friends still around will be forced into helping me move. mwahahaha?
August 2006 - Fly to Sweden in time to start my school program, visit with David's parents for awhile, relax a bit before a hard semester. Also time to enroll in SFI if I can do that while studying.
September 2006 onwards... study lots and lots! Learn to speak Swedish perfectly and sound like a native (although keeping a cute accept is also a possibly as long as it's cute and not stupid.)
May 2007 - Finish my masters program then start freaking out with what to do for the rest of my life.... that isn't that far away....
Now until the end of 2005... survive finals, score perfect on all of them, sail through Christmas with everyone loving the presents I carefully chose for them, get all of my Christmas wishes granted, even those outrageously expensive ones, fly to Sweden, enjoy a nice new years party.
Jan 2006 - Celebrate my birthday, finish up my application for Sweden. Transcript will be set to send itself as soon as its ready. Enjoy Sweden. Relax. Towards the end of the month fly back to the states in time for school and start work again.
Feb 2006 - Have my application completely done, amaze the wonderful people at Uppsala University with my amazing grades and wonderful written work sample. (ACK! I need to find a written work sample!) Do well in school while working 15+ hours a week.
May 2006 - Graduate with honors, be accepted into the masters program I want, work, relax.
June 2006 - Swedish friends should all come visit me now. We'll explore California and whatever else is within driving distance.
July 2006 - Lease ends on the last day of the month, any Swedish friends still around will be forced into helping me move. mwahahaha?
August 2006 - Fly to Sweden in time to start my school program, visit with David's parents for awhile, relax a bit before a hard semester. Also time to enroll in SFI if I can do that while studying.
September 2006 onwards... study lots and lots! Learn to speak Swedish perfectly and sound like a native (although keeping a cute accept is also a possibly as long as it's cute and not stupid.)
May 2007 - Finish my masters program then start freaking out with what to do for the rest of my life.... that isn't that far away....
Links
Here's just a collection of links that I think are cool for figuring out what the heck I want to do with myself next year.
Master's Courses Taught in English
Different list - don't know why they have more than one
Overview of my first choice program
Details of my first choice
Overview of my 2nd choice program
Details of my 2nd choice - don't exist because the website has broken links
Application information - I can apply online apparently, but they don't ask for much information... so I guess I'll be spending a small fortune on stamps, or else hand delivering things when I get to Sweden.
I think I'm more likely to get into my first choice though. I'm hoping my grades translate well into the Swedish system! I showed them to David, he thinks I have a chance. It's interesting because a C in Sweden is a G which my home university makes into a B... which going back to Sweden somehow turns into a VG I believe. Or something equivalent to that. Strange eh?
I am on track to graduate. Spoke to the evaluations office today and they say I'm good with the classes I'm taking next semester, I just need to pass them. I've been on the Dean's list 2 of my 3 years so far. That requires a 3.5 GPA or better to do. The two semesters I wasn't on the list? My year in Sweden! And I didn't miss it by that much either.
I'll post another post tonight with my new and updated goals for the future... instead of sleeping like I should be. Blogger broke today so I didn't get this posted earlier. I was annoyed because I wanted lots of people to share my joy in being able to apply! People's lives should revolve around me! David was happily around, he knows his place! (that and he's just a nice person)
Master's Courses Taught in English
Different list - don't know why they have more than one
Overview of my first choice program
Details of my first choice
Overview of my 2nd choice program
Details of my 2nd choice - don't exist because the website has broken links
Application information - I can apply online apparently, but they don't ask for much information... so I guess I'll be spending a small fortune on stamps, or else hand delivering things when I get to Sweden.
I think I'm more likely to get into my first choice though. I'm hoping my grades translate well into the Swedish system! I showed them to David, he thinks I have a chance. It's interesting because a C in Sweden is a G which my home university makes into a B... which going back to Sweden somehow turns into a VG I believe. Or something equivalent to that. Strange eh?
I am on track to graduate. Spoke to the evaluations office today and they say I'm good with the classes I'm taking next semester, I just need to pass them. I've been on the Dean's list 2 of my 3 years so far. That requires a 3.5 GPA or better to do. The two semesters I wasn't on the list? My year in Sweden! And I didn't miss it by that much either.
I'll post another post tonight with my new and updated goals for the future... instead of sleeping like I should be. Blogger broke today so I didn't get this posted earlier. I was annoyed because I wanted lots of people to share my joy in being able to apply! People's lives should revolve around me! David was happily around, he knows his place! (that and he's just a nice person)
HAPPY!
There is a possibility that I will be able to apply for the fall semester's master program! I found a small exception to the rules of having a degree in hand.
"However, for EU/EES citizens in their last semester/term of study, some exceptions can be made. If you are a citizen of the EU or an EES country and therefore not in need of a student visa to Sweden, your transcripts must show that you only have one semester/term left to complete your degree and that a degree can be submitted before the MasterÂ’s programme begins in August. The transcripts must correspond to at least 100 Swedish credits and that one semester/term is required to complete a degree." http://info.uu.se/fakta.nsf/sidor/questions..idB8.html#feb1
So...Using my Irish citizenship I won't need a visa. This means that I should be able to apply for the fall! This will be good because then I will stay on my mom's insurance and I'll get mom money for next year. That will decrease a lot of the worry I have right now of being able to afford food and rent. I'll have health insurance and money! What more could a girl want? (I mean, besides the things that I already have like a sot boyfriend and underbara friends!
I am having some problems with my university though. The transcript they send out does not have my expected graduation date. They will not add it on there even in pen though because they don't want to alter transcripts in any way. They won't even enclose another document saying when my expected graduation date is. There is one other document I can get from them that they are willing to send separately that states my expected graduation date, but it doesn't say that I filed or am actually going to graduate on that date. I'm hoping they won't look too closely and will just assume that I will graduate.
I will see if Peter can help me a bit with this thing sometime this week.
On a positive note, I have turned in today my last assignment for the semester. All I have to do now is survive the exams. I should speak to my boss tomorrow about what days to work during finals week. We have a different class schedule during that time.
Wish me luck everyone with convincing Chico and Uppsala that they love me!
"However, for EU/EES citizens in their last semester/term of study, some exceptions can be made. If you are a citizen of the EU or an EES country and therefore not in need of a student visa to Sweden, your transcripts must show that you only have one semester/term left to complete your degree and that a degree can be submitted before the MasterÂ’s programme begins in August. The transcripts must correspond to at least 100 Swedish credits and that one semester/term is required to complete a degree." http://info.uu.se/fakta.nsf/sidor/questions..idB8.html#feb1
So...Using my Irish citizenship I won't need a visa. This means that I should be able to apply for the fall! This will be good because then I will stay on my mom's insurance and I'll get mom money for next year. That will decrease a lot of the worry I have right now of being able to afford food and rent. I'll have health insurance and money! What more could a girl want? (I mean, besides the things that I already have like a sot boyfriend and underbara friends!
I am having some problems with my university though. The transcript they send out does not have my expected graduation date. They will not add it on there even in pen though because they don't want to alter transcripts in any way. They won't even enclose another document saying when my expected graduation date is. There is one other document I can get from them that they are willing to send separately that states my expected graduation date, but it doesn't say that I filed or am actually going to graduate on that date. I'm hoping they won't look too closely and will just assume that I will graduate.
I will see if Peter can help me a bit with this thing sometime this week.
On a positive note, I have turned in today my last assignment for the semester. All I have to do now is survive the exams. I should speak to my boss tomorrow about what days to work during finals week. We have a different class schedule during that time.
Wish me luck everyone with convincing Chico and Uppsala that they love me!
Monday, December 05, 2005
Productive! (for once)
I actually accomplished a lot this weekend. I created study guides for 3 classes. They aren't 100% done yet, but they're as done as they can get without checking with my classmates and getting the other lectures. I did my class project for political science too. I bought my brother's Christmas present and went to best buy to pick up David's DVD's and Peter's camera case. I did the dishes and bought more food for my kitchen.
I bought the stuff I need to make pumpkin pie which will be Jenny's Christmas present. She'll know about it in advance though since I was informed that unless I brought pumpkin pie I wasn't welcome. So I bought the evaporated milk and the can of pumpkin mush. The other stuff I should be able to get in Sweden. I also bought two cake mixes, two containers of frosting, and a small jar of sprinkles. Those are for my two birthday parties I'm going to have in January. I'm starting to get such a large collection of things to take to Sweden I wonder if I can fit them all into my suitcase. My list is getting pretty long now. I'll add what I can remember at the end of this post. David's mom got the Christmas card I sent her and was apparently quite pleased with it. That makes me glad. What is the fun of sending out cards if people aren't happy to get them? If I am feeling REALLY productive tonight I might even locate the floor of my room. You know, put the clothes away and my books back on the shelves.
THE LIST!
Stuff to leave:
cat ears + tail
books for David (have about 12 of them and they're BIG)
any winter clothes I won't need in the states anymore
maybe some of my cool Christmas decorations that my mom doesn't want anymore
bottle of booze
Christmas presents (not going to say who is getting what since I'm not really sure who reads this anymore!)
DVD's
camera case
pumpkin pie stuff
cake stuff
perhaps an American medicine kit so that I'll have proper cold medicine next winter
And I'm sure lots of other things that I've forgotten!
And this is on top of all the things I'm bringing there that I"m going to bring back to the states like clothes, my medicine kit, shoes, etc!
I bought the stuff I need to make pumpkin pie which will be Jenny's Christmas present. She'll know about it in advance though since I was informed that unless I brought pumpkin pie I wasn't welcome. So I bought the evaporated milk and the can of pumpkin mush. The other stuff I should be able to get in Sweden. I also bought two cake mixes, two containers of frosting, and a small jar of sprinkles. Those are for my two birthday parties I'm going to have in January. I'm starting to get such a large collection of things to take to Sweden I wonder if I can fit them all into my suitcase. My list is getting pretty long now. I'll add what I can remember at the end of this post. David's mom got the Christmas card I sent her and was apparently quite pleased with it. That makes me glad. What is the fun of sending out cards if people aren't happy to get them? If I am feeling REALLY productive tonight I might even locate the floor of my room. You know, put the clothes away and my books back on the shelves.
THE LIST!
Stuff to leave:
cat ears + tail
books for David (have about 12 of them and they're BIG)
any winter clothes I won't need in the states anymore
maybe some of my cool Christmas decorations that my mom doesn't want anymore
bottle of booze
Christmas presents (not going to say who is getting what since I'm not really sure who reads this anymore!)
DVD's
camera case
pumpkin pie stuff
cake stuff
perhaps an American medicine kit so that I'll have proper cold medicine next winter
And I'm sure lots of other things that I've forgotten!
And this is on top of all the things I'm bringing there that I"m going to bring back to the states like clothes, my medicine kit, shoes, etc!
Sunday, December 04, 2005
Test!
You are all to take this test and report back to me the 4 letter code you get! It is listed above the graph as something like I+9 N+20 F+20 P+20! Feel free to read the descriptions at the end and change your mind about what you are compared to what the test says you are! I want people to post what they are.
http://keirsey.com/swd.html
I am an ISFJ I think. I used to be an INFJ but I've changed since highschool I think. Learned to look at things in a different way.
Highschool me: http://www.personalitypage.com/INFJ.html
Now me: http://www.typelogic.com/isfj.html
Those who know me, does that seem right? Try changing the letter around and see if you find something that is more you!
I - E (I people get energy from being by themselves, E people from being with others)
N -S (I can't remember)
F - T (Do you make decisions based on logic (T) and this is the way it is or based on feelings (F), this person needs it most)
J - P (J people like schedules and plans, P people like to keep options open)
http://keirsey.com/swd.html
I am an ISFJ I think. I used to be an INFJ but I've changed since highschool I think. Learned to look at things in a different way.
Highschool me: http://www.personalitypage.com/INFJ.html
Now me: http://www.typelogic.com/isfj.html
Those who know me, does that seem right? Try changing the letter around and see if you find something that is more you!
I - E (I people get energy from being by themselves, E people from being with others)
N -S (I can't remember)
F - T (Do you make decisions based on logic (T) and this is the way it is or based on feelings (F), this person needs it most)
J - P (J people like schedules and plans, P people like to keep options open)
Saturday, December 03, 2005
Weekend!
Woohoo! It's Friday! Done with work and school until Monday at 9am! Next week I have my first final... on Thursday. Next week is really just my last week of classes before finals, but one of my professors rightly believes that we will have too much stress in finals week so he's giving the final earlier. This weekend is going to hopefully be spent studying a lot. I have a long todo list before finals week.
Work, Wealth, and Income Distribution
*Read 5 chapters
*Finish Study guide
*Exam THIS Thursday at 9:30am
Environmental Economics
*Read 4 chapters
*Exam next
Economics of Developing Countries
*Read chapters 12 & 14
*Look at study guide (will hopefully get on Tuesday)
*Read chapters again
*Read chapters a third time
*Exam next Thursday 2-4pm. (REALLY need A on final and haven't done anything all semester)
Politics of California
*Read chapters
*Do study guide
*Do project due THIS Friday
*Exam next Monday 12-2pm (C+ on final to get an A-, B+ on final to get an A)
Anthropology
*Read chapters
*Read chapters again
*Go to lab this Wednesday and ace quiz.
*Exam next (REALLY need an A on the final here too if I want an A in the class)
Somehow I doubt I'll even make a dent on everything I'm supposed to do before finals... before the finals! But David has a hemtenta (take home exam) for the next week, so that should free up some of my time to study... if I actually can force myself to!
On a completely different topic... I have an interesting learning curve. It took me 4+ hours to do the first of two basically identical projects (just different data because it's for two different hospitals). The second one I put together in 40 minutes. I now understand pivot tables in Excel. They're actually quite interesting. You know you enjoy your work when you come home and want to play with things such as Pivot tables... AFTER work on Friday! Maybe a nice room with padded walls would be good for me? All of this studying and stress has obviously gone to my head.
Work, Wealth, and Income Distribution
*Read 5 chapters
*Finish Study guide
*Exam THIS Thursday at 9:30am
Environmental Economics
*Read 4 chapters
*Exam next
Economics of Developing Countries
*Read chapters 12 & 14
*Look at study guide (will hopefully get on Tuesday)
*Read chapters again
*Read chapters a third time
*Exam next Thursday 2-4pm. (REALLY need A on final and haven't done anything all semester)
Politics of California
*Read chapters
*Do study guide
*Do project due THIS Friday
*Exam next Monday 12-2pm (C+ on final to get an A-, B+ on final to get an A)
Anthropology
*Read chapters
*Read chapters again
*Go to lab this Wednesday and ace quiz.
*Exam next (REALLY need an A on the final here too if I want an A in the class)
Somehow I doubt I'll even make a dent on everything I'm supposed to do before finals... before the finals! But David has a hemtenta (take home exam) for the next week, so that should free up some of my time to study... if I actually can force myself to!
On a completely different topic... I have an interesting learning curve. It took me 4+ hours to do the first of two basically identical projects (just different data because it's for two different hospitals). The second one I put together in 40 minutes. I now understand pivot tables in Excel. They're actually quite interesting. You know you enjoy your work when you come home and want to play with things such as Pivot tables... AFTER work on Friday! Maybe a nice room with padded walls would be good for me? All of this studying and stress has obviously gone to my head.
Friday, December 02, 2005
My day!
My day was pretty uneventful. It's rainy, windy, and cold here. If I have to put up with bad weather, it could at least look pretty. It is so windy that the roads, sidewalks, and bike paths are littered with sticks which have fallen from the trees. Sometimes whole branches are on the ground. I know they haven't been there long because they aren't broken up like they'd be if cars had run over them a few times.
I have an office Christmas party coming up on the 10th. There will be alcohol and my boss says that the two stuffy old ladies really know how to party. *giggle* I'll have to bring a present. I'm not sure what to buy that's around $10 that'd be acceptable for a work party. I've been told to bring my spouse and children. *rolls her eyes* I think I'll show up by myself. It's only a few streets over so if I get bored I can head home early. I probably won't drink while I'm there. I would rather my coworkers think nicely of me!
I spent money again today. I realized I had some 50+ dollars in my wallet since my brother paid me in cash for alcohol and for Christmas presents which I bought. So I went out and bought Chinese food for dinner. It's silly, but I spent all day looking forward to this. I am now the temporarily proud owner of lemon chicken, broccoli beef, chicken chow mein, and some steamed rice. I should have enough for several days so the 20 dollars is well spent I think! I've barely put a dent into the food and I had a very large plateful! Some days I just really crave good food that I don't have to cook. Somehow it is hard to put effort into cooking when the only one I'm cooking for is myself.
I'd also like to note that my bathroom is larger than my kitchen.
I have an office Christmas party coming up on the 10th. There will be alcohol and my boss says that the two stuffy old ladies really know how to party. *giggle* I'll have to bring a present. I'm not sure what to buy that's around $10 that'd be acceptable for a work party. I've been told to bring my spouse and children. *rolls her eyes* I think I'll show up by myself. It's only a few streets over so if I get bored I can head home early. I probably won't drink while I'm there. I would rather my coworkers think nicely of me!
I spent money again today. I realized I had some 50+ dollars in my wallet since my brother paid me in cash for alcohol and for Christmas presents which I bought. So I went out and bought Chinese food for dinner. It's silly, but I spent all day looking forward to this. I am now the temporarily proud owner of lemon chicken, broccoli beef, chicken chow mein, and some steamed rice. I should have enough for several days so the 20 dollars is well spent I think! I've barely put a dent into the food and I had a very large plateful! Some days I just really crave good food that I don't have to cook. Somehow it is hard to put effort into cooking when the only one I'm cooking for is myself.
I'd also like to note that my bathroom is larger than my kitchen.
How much is a child worth?
As is becoming usual today, you'll get two posts, one that is about something I've been thinking about and one that's about what my life is like. Joy!
Here is a quote from my textbook on "The Economics of Poverty and Discrimination."
"In California, for example, the poorest elementary school district had only $15,500 of assessed property per pupil in 1997. The richest district had over $47 million of property per pupil!"
The thing that makes this particularly troublesome is the fact that schools in California are funded in a large part by local property taxes. The Federal government supplied 8%, the State supplied 48% and the rest of school funding is from the local government. If you are a child in a rich school district, you will have better education. Schools also tend to be built around neighborhoods... which for the most part means around income levels. If you're rich, you live in a nice neighborhood with other rich people. If you are poor, you live among other poor people. This means that a poor child is likely to get a lower quality of education, when that is the child that needs it the most!
Those who are in rich school districts though are not likely to want to have the poor in their district! It dilutes the benefit that their children receive from someone who can't contribute their 'own share.'
I think that one of the better solutions would be to take funding of schools away from the local governments. Property taxes should be paid to the state for the most part rather than the local. The money can then be divided equally up between all students and schools in the state. The ones who will protest the most? The rich who are probably sending their kids to expensive private schools anyways. I lucked out and got a pretty well off school district. But this fact is just staggering. Is a rich child worth more than a poor? This information seems to say so!
Here is a quote from my textbook on "The Economics of Poverty and Discrimination."
"In California, for example, the poorest elementary school district had only $15,500 of assessed property per pupil in 1997. The richest district had over $47 million of property per pupil!"
The thing that makes this particularly troublesome is the fact that schools in California are funded in a large part by local property taxes. The Federal government supplied 8%, the State supplied 48% and the rest of school funding is from the local government. If you are a child in a rich school district, you will have better education. Schools also tend to be built around neighborhoods... which for the most part means around income levels. If you're rich, you live in a nice neighborhood with other rich people. If you are poor, you live among other poor people. This means that a poor child is likely to get a lower quality of education, when that is the child that needs it the most!
Those who are in rich school districts though are not likely to want to have the poor in their district! It dilutes the benefit that their children receive from someone who can't contribute their 'own share.'
I think that one of the better solutions would be to take funding of schools away from the local governments. Property taxes should be paid to the state for the most part rather than the local. The money can then be divided equally up between all students and schools in the state. The ones who will protest the most? The rich who are probably sending their kids to expensive private schools anyways. I lucked out and got a pretty well off school district. But this fact is just staggering. Is a rich child worth more than a poor? This information seems to say so!
Thursday, December 01, 2005
Conversation with a friend
One of my idiot highschool classmates (K.) managed to get herself knocked up and married. She was already having problems with the guy. What's worse is that I think K. did it on purpose. I was talking with another of my friends and we had a long discussion involving girls (and sometimes guys) who think that a marriage ring and/or a child will magically fix any relationship problem. Hello! Kids just make relationships worse! They are an added stress, if you already can't get along, a kid isn't going to bring you closer together, it's going to drive both of you insane. Plus it really isn't fair to the child to be brought up in that sort of situation. That baby isn't going to fix K.'s relationship. It isn't going to make the guy magically like her. Neither the ring nor the baby is going to make him stick around if he was thinking about breaking up with her before she got knocked up. Stupidity all around.
Annoying thing number 5678... girls who have babies because 'no one loves them.' The baby of course will love her. *sarcasm* If you don't love yourself, no one else will love you. Not the baby, not the guy three times your age you had sex with, not even your mom who ends up caring for the kid. Any girl who thinks that way need major mental help.
This side rant was brought to you by K.'s stupidity and my nice conversation with a friend today.
Another note, they've discovered that the majority of teen mothers are not ruining their lives because they didn't really have a life to look forward to anyways. 10 years down the road studies which compare teenage moms with their sisters discover that they're all in the same income bracket. Why put off having a kid if it isn't going to make a difference in your perspective opportunities anyways? Perhaps instead of trying to prevent pregnancies we could work on the poverty issue. Preventing poverty might prevent pregnancies more than preventing pregnancies prevents poverty. (did that make sense?)
Annoying thing number 5678... girls who have babies because 'no one loves them.' The baby of course will love her. *sarcasm* If you don't love yourself, no one else will love you. Not the baby, not the guy three times your age you had sex with, not even your mom who ends up caring for the kid. Any girl who thinks that way need major mental help.
This side rant was brought to you by K.'s stupidity and my nice conversation with a friend today.
Another note, they've discovered that the majority of teen mothers are not ruining their lives because they didn't really have a life to look forward to anyways. 10 years down the road studies which compare teenage moms with their sisters discover that they're all in the same income bracket. Why put off having a kid if it isn't going to make a difference in your perspective opportunities anyways? Perhaps instead of trying to prevent pregnancies we could work on the poverty issue. Preventing poverty might prevent pregnancies more than preventing pregnancies prevents poverty. (did that make sense?)
Eiii! The Real World Waits! (not MTV version)
Every now and then it hits me... very very soon I will be graduated and completely responsible for myself. I'll have to have my own health insurance, my own dental insurance, pay my own rent, etc. I'm 21, soon to be 22, and yet my parents have always paid my rent and helped me with my bills, if not paid all of them. I mean, I don't even own my car or pay insurance on it. I have a feeling that if I wasn't leaving the states these things would be transferred over to me. It feels like a lot of sudden responsibility. I know my parents would still help out if I got stuck, but once I'm done with school I should be able to support myself. I just have no idea how!
How do people suddenly go from mommy money into completely surviving on their own? It isn't like there is an intermediate step for me. I never even had government money. I never see my rent money, it's sent in a direct check in 6 month blocks to my landlords. I barely manage anything of importance. My idea of managing finances is to watch my online account drop steadily from the first of the month until I get another transfer at the beginning of the next month. I guess the closest I've ever come to managing on my own was in Sweden. I had to figure out exchange rates, compensate for the fact I wasn't getting enough money to even meet the minimum immigration requirements, work, AND pay my own rent... but all out of mommy money. And if I got stuck, I could write to her and say 'mommy... I'm having problems.'
I had to do that at the beginning of this year. I couldn't stay in budget, just couldn't. I finally calculated out how much electricity, gas, and internet were, then realized I wasn't getting enough money just for food each day. I wonder if I'll have to consider that next year. My budget for next year gives me 2000 for food, bus passes, shampoo, etc. That's roughly 65 SEK a day for food. It doesn't quite seem like so much when I break it down like that. I guess the thing to remember is that I won't be paying for each meal separately. A bag of pasta is good for several meals and is quite cheap. Rice is almost the same. Falukorv doesn't cost much. I'll just have to stick to the cheap food and maybe see if I can afford some nice veggies in there somewhere.
I'm going to have so much stuff to worry about on my own! I'll have to actually plan ahead and think! The future is scary, but perhaps it is welcoming too? It is the next big adventure... a very delayed entry into adulthood. (Perhaps that's one of the reasons I liked Sweden so much, I was able and perhaps forced, to make my own decisions and survive on my own... mostly.)
How do people suddenly go from mommy money into completely surviving on their own? It isn't like there is an intermediate step for me. I never even had government money. I never see my rent money, it's sent in a direct check in 6 month blocks to my landlords. I barely manage anything of importance. My idea of managing finances is to watch my online account drop steadily from the first of the month until I get another transfer at the beginning of the next month. I guess the closest I've ever come to managing on my own was in Sweden. I had to figure out exchange rates, compensate for the fact I wasn't getting enough money to even meet the minimum immigration requirements, work, AND pay my own rent... but all out of mommy money. And if I got stuck, I could write to her and say 'mommy... I'm having problems.'
I had to do that at the beginning of this year. I couldn't stay in budget, just couldn't. I finally calculated out how much electricity, gas, and internet were, then realized I wasn't getting enough money just for food each day. I wonder if I'll have to consider that next year. My budget for next year gives me 2000 for food, bus passes, shampoo, etc. That's roughly 65 SEK a day for food. It doesn't quite seem like so much when I break it down like that. I guess the thing to remember is that I won't be paying for each meal separately. A bag of pasta is good for several meals and is quite cheap. Rice is almost the same. Falukorv doesn't cost much. I'll just have to stick to the cheap food and maybe see if I can afford some nice veggies in there somewhere.
I'm going to have so much stuff to worry about on my own! I'll have to actually plan ahead and think! The future is scary, but perhaps it is welcoming too? It is the next big adventure... a very delayed entry into adulthood. (Perhaps that's one of the reasons I liked Sweden so much, I was able and perhaps forced, to make my own decisions and survive on my own... mostly.)
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