Santa Monica: A Much Needed Re-Charging

Yesterday E and I ventured down south for a day trip to the great city of Los Angeles. Yes, yes I know the city is smoggy. I know it is uber-congested. I know that no matter what time of the day there will be standstill traffic on any one of the freeways there. I know there are sometimes earthquakes and that they seem to have difficulties controlling wildfires in the area. And contrary to what people believe, going to LA does not indicatively mean that you are going to be mugged, shot, maimed or in any other way harmed by anything other than ultra-violet radiation which will inevitably damage overexposed bodies. All this aside, each and every time that I have stepped foot in this city from the moment I leave the airport to the moment I head back I have a never-ending smile spread across my face.After getting our rental car and navigating our way thru West Los Angeles due to certain distracters on the 405 which caused me to miss the 10 exit we finally made it to the beach. Malibu. We were hungry and needed a bathroom so this stop was not expected to be a very long one, I just needed to breath in the ocean air...
From here we got back in the car and headed over to the promenade in Santa Monica. There is a crepe place that I love there that sounded mighty tempting. When we got there however there were police galore and someone pinned up against the wall in the process of being arrested. Ok.. well then we will find a different place to eat at... After walking a little ways down we decided to stop at a local burger place called Rocket Burger. This, as I later found out, was a mistake. From the time we sat down to the time we left our served paid us no heed. After sitting for about fifteen minutes he came to take our order. Ten minutes after that he brought me my water and E's milk. Doot-do-do, wait wait wait. The larger tables around us (by larger I mean parties of four and six) were obviously his main concern and finally the manager brought us out our food... but didnt bring out all of it. To bring me a burger and not the fries?? That is just very strange to me being that it IS a burger place but ok. After we were finished eating and had all the garbage piled on our plates to make it obvious that we were done the server made his first appearance to our table since he brought us our drinks which was to give us our bill. I put my card in the little black book, placed it on the edge of the table and attempted to wait patiently.
Patiently.
Patiently.
I am not known for my patience, especially in situations like this and when I see him over twiddling his thumbs after asking each and every OTHER table if they needed anything I got his attention by saying "You know, I would love to be able to pay so I can get out of here" while waving the holder in the air. He looked at me with disdain and finally came and took the card. Hmm.. yes that is a great way to get a tip from me. When I got the receipt I decided to give him the best tip of them all. After slashing a huge line thru the tip section I wrote him a little line below: My tip to you, a little attention goes a long way.
Not to say that that was the first time I didnt leave a tip. Dont' get me wrong, its not a typical occurrence and when the service is good I give more than the 20% on occasion, but never before had I been actually compelled to write something.
From there we went to do what we came to do and that was soaking the sun on the beach. We walked down to Santa Monican beach, went under the pier and found a nice place to lay out near the lifeguard stand (this was merely coincidental I swear! hehe). There we sat and played and basked for the next few hours. It was wonderful.6pm came and our flight left at 840 so I decided it was time to start heading back towards the airport.
Sure, it may not seem like we were there for long, in all actuality that is true, but it was long enough to recharge my soul. Something that has been very desperately needed.
Thank you Santa Monica!

The Chain Has Been Removed

Literally.
:)
I can move my feet again! haha
Tomorrow I will be heading down to the sunny state of California and you will be able to find me laying on the beach and walking the promenade with my little boy in hand (he's still at that age that he doesnt mind holding my hand lol).
I cannot wait. Oh let me tell you! Excitement is oozing from the seams! hehe

I am an Auntie the second time over.

Last night at around 10:11pm my sister Amanda gave birth to a 7 pound, 8 oz, 19 inch Keeley Rae.
I cannot wait to meet her after work today, from the looks of things she will fit right into the family.. hehe

I went bowling last night. And I lost.

No matter how much I hate to admit that, even though I am not good at the game and could honestly care less, I paired my two worst scores in history together in a fashion that gave me a whole 170 for my final score. Whatever could cause me to do so poorly?
Let’s just say I might have been a little distracted…

Oh and on an unrelated note, today is officially day EIGHT! Can you believe it? The days have soared by faster than a rocket on its way into orbit, or an airplane heading to Los Angeles. Which also reminds me... 3 days til I'm there! hehe.

And there is more to my wonderful day.

I have been attempting to coordinate my Boston trip and it seems like everything is working against me. Flights are getting iffy, finding a rental car that is below $50/day is proving to be difficult, locating a hotel that is in the area I want to be (which I dont even know WHERE I want to be) that is in the price range that I am wanting to pay is becoming overwhelmingly difficult. The fact that I don't know where I want to stay is making it very frustrating because I am the type that doesn't like to book until I have seen WHERE the hotel is actually located. I have been burned way too many times in the past when it comes to that and if there would have been a way to get out of the hotel I would have. That is another thing, what ever happened to being able to cancel a reservation if you decide you cannot make it or would rather stay somewhere else? I do not want to book for 4 days in a hotel that I haven't seen if I get there and would rather sleep in the rental car, or don't like where it is located distance wise.
To top it all off I am half starving and am waiting for my lunch to arrive.
I wish he would hurry up... I'm having a crisis here! lol

I. Am. Going. To. Scream. Op.. is that not correct APA format??

I am so very, very extremely massively overwhelmingly FRUSTRATED right now! I just got my second paper back from my deranged Methods teacher and he again gave me a horrid grade. He stated, and I quote “Rebecca, this is a respectable paper that is undermined by your inattention to several major APA formatting and content rules.”
These major APA rules that I am somehow “missing” are things that he specifically told me to do or not do on my previous paper. That paper he said that I did everything wrong on even though I copied the book and the APA style it depicted word for word.
Now I am being threatened by him saying “You really need to buckle down and master the basics of APA style, otherwise you won’t be able to get a passing grade on your final paper”.
Meaning if I don’t somehow, miraculously, decipher what I am or am not supposed to do by all his major contradictions and misrepresentations I may have to take the class again. The final paper is worth a majority of the points in the class and being that he has already given me not one but TWO C’s on my last two papers I would not be very optimistic about passing. I am not a student that gets anything below an A-! Now I am being threatened to fail?
Believe me when I say that I am in the process of composing a very detailed email to the teacher stating my grievances. This is more than unacceptable.

100 Billion Dollars later and I'm still hungry

To have 100 Billion Dollars and not be able to buy a loaf of bread... (yes, I said one hundred BILLION). In fact, all you would be able to buy is 4 oranges... or maybe a one pound bag of sugar. In Zimbabwe 100 billion dollars is the equivalent to one US Dollar and the paper money they have there isn't really cash at all, but is what is known as a bearers cheque which expires in the end of December.
And we think our inflation rate is bad, here is a story on Zimbabwe and their 2.2 million percent inflation rate.

A Cure For Comatose. Coffee?

What a night. It was a night to beat out all nights. And omg am I tired today. And my eyes can hardly open. Now I am drinking freshly brewed coffee in at attempt to bring my body out of this comatose state. I won’t know if its working until at least 20 minutes pass by since it supposedly takes that long for the caffeine to get into the system. 30 minutes to get into the central nervous system. Look at that, a biology lesson this morning. Ha ha.
Anyways, some advice that I gave myself via a voice memo back on April 06, 2006 (yeah, that is how long I have had this phone, I am patiently waiting for my upgrade to come. That is another story in itself). I don’t remember what I was doing at 9:38pm on that day but I said:

You have to stop thinking about what is coming next and enjoy the moment

Sometimes I really just need to listen to myself. I know what I am talking about! haha

Summer Session Woes by the Wayside

So last week I wrote out a long and detailed appeal letter to the board of financial aide up in Pullman about my financial situation in regards to the summer session and after a couple days of waiting I finally got my reply.
I must say that I was quite scared to open the email but after I did, and after scanning it rapidly because of course I couldn’t take the time to read it word for word at that moment I found out that they are going to give me an institutional grant for the term
Ya ya ya
And my methods teacher made me think twice about my writing ability… damn him. Damn him I say! Ha ha ha

Now that that obstacle is out of my way, summer vacation planning is in the works. Currently I have two trips planned out for certain:
Los Angeles, CA July 29th (that’s right, it is a day trip)
Boston, MA August 7th thru the 11th

The chain is being taken off of my ankle and let me tell you, I am going to run away as fast as I can, and for as long as I can before I have to put the think back on again! August 25th……………..

The New Yorker and Obama

Only in this country could a person, any person, portray a candidate for leadership of the nation in this derogatory of a matter and not fear any sort of repercussions whatsoever. What a great place to live :)
If you look at the image closely, it is Obama as a Muslim fist tapping his wife who is dressed as a terrorist in what I believe would be the White House. There is an American flag burning in the fireplace above which hangs a portrait of Osama Bin Laden.

The magazine says that it is purely a satirical piece in which they aim to set the record straight and show all the lies, rumors and speculation that the right wing party has attempted to associate with Obama for what they are: Nonsense.
But even though I believe that there were many other, more tasteful, ways of doing so this method most definitely got the people's attention and will then get the message across to more people more effectively.
I say it is a job well done.

Job Titles

You are what your title makes you out to be, or are you?
One would say that you are what you make your title out to be... A good example of this is for those employed by the gas stations to pump gas. What is it they do? They pump gas, thus their title should them be "gas pumper", right?
Not according to a friend of mine...
He suggests: Professional Petroleum Transfer Technician
Oh that is good...
Altho I think I would prefer "Artist" to "Technician" due to the fact that Technician is so overly used nowadays that those who do occupy this position would think that it would be overly generic. Wouldn't you say??
Haha
I needed that laugh :) Back to work!

EX-tra Confusing

So I was just wondering. Wondering about the word "EX".
Why is it spelt with an E-x? When using it in the phrase of Ex-boyfriend or Ex-lover wouldn't it be more appropriate without the e? That way of spelling it makes it seem to me like it would be short for something else and not a stand alone word. Wouldnt it be more efficient if one was to just use the letter X in its place? That simple X would, in my opinion, better imply the fact that the subsequent word will be what is being "X"d out, what would be no longer viable, no longer significant, no longer included in the sentence or the speakers life. In a sense, that X would be implied to be writen over the following word, to show that it was once there but now is not.
Maybe people don't like complexities (and messy papers) so they put it in front of the word and added the "e" so it would be a proper english word being that it would then include a vowel. We don't want to have to say a-e-i-o-u and sometimes y and on one occasion x.
Makes sense to me.

$3802 in Two Weeks

I was recently informed that my financial aid did not cover the summer months and if I did not pay my current balance of $3802.05 by 7/25 I would be unenrolled from my current classes.
What??
There was no way that I thought this could be correct but after a meeting with the financial aid adviser apparently it is the case. The way this school budgets funds is different than the way any of my previous schools would do so which is why I naturally assumed that the summer months would be no different than fall/spring. So I have fall tuition covered but summer is still up in the air....
Today has been a frantic search for funding be it from scholarships to additional loans. Oh how I don't want to get another loan...... But the scholarships..... I don't know why I didn't apply for more of these sooner. I am going to continue applying to any that I can get and any funds I do receive will be applied to my huge mountain of debt! (which is how it should have worked in the first place)

Where'd My Teddy Bear Go??

Closer... Closer.... Just a Little Closer... I promise I won't hurt you.... Too Much....
hehe
Something about this photo really cracks me up. Maybe it is because we always associate panda bears with lovable, fluffy creatures that make good bed buddies for children... this one... well, he seems to remind me of someone....

Future Seattle-ite?

I inadvertently applied for a job up in Seattle today…
Now I don’t know if I am even going to get an interview because they want at least 5 years of industry experience, although I really don’t see what the difference between having 3.33 and having 5 really is. What if my first 2 years was in the industry but in no way related to the position whatsoever? They say that that is ok! How would that really benefit me in the position? So I hope that I even get an interview.
There are lots of benefits getting that job would entail…. The main benefit would be a 36% increase in salary. For that type of increase I had to at least apply. I would not only be able to live more comfortably pay wise, but the job itself would be more rewarding and have more responsibility which I really crave.
The next major benefit would be that I would be able to get out of this area. I have been wanting a change of scenery for a while and moving within the company allows for a relocation allowance… what better than to move and have the company help pay for it?? Seattle is a nice city, it is one of the cleanest big cities I have been to, and the weather is right up my alley for what I love. I would still be in the northwest, still would be able to fly down to Portland whenever and I do know a couple of people that live up there to start on a new network of friends. I have been really wanting to make new friends. Honestly, I do not have very many friends here. I recently lost both of my best friends to relocation so me relocating is a great way to offset that loss. It would also force me to move on. Which I more than desperately need to do.
The next benefit would be the fact that there is a greater availability of graduate schools in psychology, and the University of Washington for medical school if I make that route. The only option that I have here is OHSU and that school is not easy to get into so sticking around here really wasn’t going to be an option if I wanted to further my education after December anyways.
Come October they are going to be doing the second round of layoffs, and my department is going to be affected by a loss of at least 2 people. Who those people will be is not being foretold. I am the second to last one into this department so if they go by seniority I will be unemployed come October. I don’t want to be fatalistic, but I do need to be realistic. My boss, who assured me that I have nothing to worry about, may not be the one choosing who is let go, so I have to watch out for myself in this instance.
With the benefits comes the downside of the transition. Although moving can be considered a positive, it can also be considered a negative. I would be loosing my babysitter, my network, my security that I have here. I would be able to find replacements in all of these areas but it would take time. Maybe what I would have to do is commute between the two cities until I have everything set up and ready to go before I make the complete move. The benefit of the city not being that far away. A very big possible negative would be the fact that I am not done with WSU yet… not until December. All but two of my classes are online, I could make it all but one of the classes so I could possibly just extend my graduation date until spring, which I may have to do anyways for medical school requirements but that would make it even more difficult if they do not offer the classes online. But if my schedule is right it is possible for me to come here for that last semester… if I can get 4 10’s and weekends again. That will have to be a question I ask if I get an interview. E would have to change schools, which he would consider to be a negative, but it would be in the very beginning of the school year, we’d probably move in August, so the timing of that would be perfect. I wouldn’t want him to have to change right in the middle, or after a session just started.
Really, the benefits outweigh the negatives.
I am glad that the system applied for the position for me, and I am glad that I even looked at the positions today. I wouldn’t have had I not been told that someone else got a relocation allowance for moving here from Denver. The position closes on Wednesday, and has been open since 6/25, I do think that I could be a major contender for the position since it is almost exactly what I am doing now, but I am not going to get my hopes up.

Oh I hope, I hope!
Dammit!
haha

Politics and Potato Chips

After much debate last night about the current presidential candidates I decided to gain a little information about the two contenders myself today to see what all the hype and hoopla is about. Not to say that I am not concerned with politics, I just have never really been THAT into it, mostly because I do not feel like any difference is made whether I vote for one or another in a presidential election. I am a registered voter, I have been called up for jury duty (which I so graciously got out of due to my full time student status... my full time employee status and full time single mother status didn't seem to make a difference, but the end goal was just getting out of the additional time commitment) and I have voted in a majority of the local elections. But the presidential election has always seemed quite pointless to me being that as everyone knows the popular vote does not elect the president.
Needless to say, I have to be able to stand my democratic ground with my overtly republican family so research on the candidates I will do!
First impressions, Obama really does seem like he could be a serious contender for the position. He has a good stance on the energy crisis, his wartime politics are very attractive to a war-torn country that doesn't wish to be war-torn and his over all dedication to change feels like it could be the breath of fresh air that America needs. But then again, its always so hard to gauge a real representation of a person from a website that is sponsored by the said individual or other websites dedicated to smear the name of any decent person running for any political office.
No surprise, my first impression of McCain isn't a very good one. He seems very "Bush-esque" with a hardnosed policy to continue the war and indications of future conflict with unstable countries such as Iran. Does America really need any more enemies in this world? I believe that now is the time to redeem our reputation within the "world community" and step up to be the respectable and responsible country we once were known for. Other than his stance on the war, he doesn't seem to have any hardline policies on anything that would make the changes our economy needs. What is the point of drilling for oil in the outer coastal shelf? This seems to me to be a temporary bandaide for a very large, on going problem. Shouldn't we be investing our time and money on ways to kick our oil habit all together by making alternative energy a more feasible source for our fuel in the future? Overall, it seems to me that to elect McCain would be sentancing the country to yet another four years of the Bush regime.

On a lighter note, I read today that Pringles Potato Chips are not infact classified as potato chips in Britian. With only 42% of its make up actually containing potato, do I really want to know what the remaining 58% "chip" is made up of? One could venture to guess...

Another reason to not frequent McDonalds?

I really cannot stand close-minded individuals. When said individuals are members of my own family in order to keep the peace I must keep my mouth shut on most occasions, but sometimes the things that are said really cross the line of decency.
What I am talking about in this instance is how homophobic my family really is. Both sides. I could venture to guess that they probably do not even know anyone that is of the homosexual orientation but the judgment that is placed on them anyways is downright sickening in my opinion.
The latest "stand" that they are taking "against" homosexuality is boycotting McDonalds due to their recent public support of the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC). If there is any reason to not eat at McDonalds (of which I have not stepped foot in, nor drove tire thru in a good year) it would be more because of their crap food, sketchy, overprocessed, as far from organic as physically possible ingredients or unsanitary conditions of both the kitchen and the dining area. Not because they decided to support a group of people who have done nothing to deserve the judgment and condemnation that narrow-minded individuals such as my family deem appropriate. When actually looking into the issue, I am amazed at the outcry against McDonald's support. Webpage, after webpage, after webpage dedicated to the atrocity which is supporting equality in the workplace....
Treating people in such a bias way due to the way they decide to live their lives is just another form of racisim. And don't even get me started on issues of race and my family... its even worse. Though sometimes I think it would be funny to come home hand in hand with an african-american girlfriend just to see the look of horror on their faces... haha. But then I wouldnt be allowed back in the house. Ever.

An American Holiday

I found out something interesting today… today is actually not the date when the war of independence was won, which is what I have thought to be celebrating over the past 27 years of my life. No, today is actually the date when the declaration of independence was signed and read aloud to the masses. Interestingly, the revolutionary war actually ended on April 14^th, 7 years later, and there are no celebrations that I know of on that day… Wouldn't you think that the date when the war ended would be more significant than the date when a wish list of rights and liberties was signed and read aloud? Those rights and liberties were not really officially granted to the people until after the war was over anyways......... oh wait, you cannot have BBQ's and Hot Dog eating contests when it is raining, in the middle of spring. Best to wait til the middle of summer to celebrate our freedom, because being able to eat the most hot dogs in a limited time frame is a true indicator of freedom, rights and liberties...

One thing that I am going to do differently this year, since I am planning on watching fireworks with my dad and E, I am going to learn from my past and bring ear plugs! Hehe, I will be the only one there not having to worry like I did on Planters Day ...

Wall-E

After reading very disappointing reviews on the movie Hancock I decided to treat E to the movie he has been asking me to take him to ever since he saw the first preview for it ages ago.

Wall-E

I really didn't know what to expect when coming into this film (but isn't that typical?). All I knew was that it got rave reviews and was supposed to be a cute movie. I would have to agree.
The movie starts out in a desolate New York City which holds more skyscrapers made out of garbage then actual buildings. There are no plants. There is no water. There are no animals. No people. Nothing but a mass of garbage, dust and debris flying in the wind. Then you see the one thing that is still operational... one lone robot doing the job that he was set out to years before. When looking at the mass of garbage I have to admit that I was wondering where all the bugs were, there is one, an invincible pet cockroach that is Wall-E's sole friend on the planet, but other than that the garbage was insect free (which is probably why after 700 years it still exists in its recognizable, totally non-degraded state). The next 15 min or so consists of following this robot around, seeing his day to day routine and his desire for companionship.
This is when the spaceship arrives and Wall-E falls in love.
The next hour or so is the story of what one robot will do for love, companionship and honor.
All in all it was a cute movie, as the reviews stated. There really is no dialogue aside from the continuous "Wall-e!!" and "Eve!!!" which are repeated over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over through out the film (just those words. Alone. Not in a sentence with other words, standing completely alone) To me, it got annoying. To the kids, they didn't even seem to notice.
Like most kids movies, the underlying issue or concern that is being addressed is very present and in this case it was obviously that we, as humans, are destroying our planet and need to do something about it now, instead of leaving our problems for future generations. The "go green" theme was very prevalent but it didnt feel like it was being shoved down my throat in an offensive manner. I would have to say that one of my favorite parts was when the space ship left the earth's orbit and had to push through a sea of satellites which were littering the outer atmosphere of the earth like the garbage on the ground of the earth was. I was surprised that they didn't have the humans settle on a different planet to wreak their havoc on it in the same manner as they did Earth. Maybe that would be too real of a scenario to actually consider...
I will say, however, after seeing the humans in the state they were after 700 years of non-movement I literally ran out of the theatre. Ie: I chased E to the car to feel the blood rushing to my legs, just to get the image of atropic, obese, lifeless masses out of my head!

If you have kids, take them to see it!
If you don't.... maybe rent it when it comes out.

I would give it a 4.75/5 (hey, you cannot get a 5 with only two words in the script, hehe)

What I Really Want for my Birthday

I was told that there has to be something that I am wanting... that even though I say that I don't want anything so that way I won't be expecting anything and then won't be disappointed when I get nothing (typical of years past).. so when the subject was pushed and I really thought about it it is true that there IS something that I really wish I could get for my birthday........
But then again, what is it they say about wishes??
If you state them aloud they won't come true?

I think that is just a way to keep the wisher from embarassment if the wish DOESN'T come true, but I will go with the superstition on this one.

I want this.