From the road: Tuba City, AZ

So, yes, I am in a really small, quite crappy town in Arizona that is overrun by abandoned dogs. And they don't use daylight savings, so its a different time than the rest of Arizona. We are in the Navajo nation.... so weird.

We have seen some amazing sights and it has been great. Today was probably the worst day actually. It was cold and kind of rainy at the sand dunes, and then we drove for like 5 hours to this crappy town, where the only rooms available are in the hostel, and my friends got their clothes locked in the laundry room. We barely have internet access and are locked in for the evening.

Ugh. If you want to see pictures, go to http://picasaweb.google.com/home?tab=mq

See you soon!

It's about to begin.

Well, the final night of waiting is here. I can't believe that I am going to be going on a two week long roadtrip that I have been planning for a YEAR with my best friends, and that it starts tomorrow.

We packed up the car tonight and took stupid pictures, surely that won't be then end of those. :) Everything fit in the car, so that's a good sign. Then we sat around the campfire with my dad and talked about what is going to come tomorrow. I am just so happy. I already don't want it to be over.

My dad is on the way to my apartment (in madison) to pick up the extra set of keys for my car... yes, I forgot them. It's amazing that he is driving there right now, that's a long way.

I have to wrap up some loose ends, to make the morning smooth. Talk to you soon!

The messy life

I cannot believe how messy my life has become since graduation, both physically and in terms of security.

Four years of living with other people has not cured my tendency to be slightly on the messy side. I left dishes in the sink for a week! There is stuff all over my apartment, and I am kind of basking in the idea that I don't HAVE to pick it up-nobody is going to get mad at me. I kind of am enjoying this whole 'living alone' bit. I still feel really free from graduation. It's good.

As for the security thing... I guess I am good rolling with the punches. Most of my life I have spent being slightly unsure about where I would be living in the near future, so I have experience with this sort of thing. But it still sucks. Now we don't know what exactly is going on with our house, because the married's aren't going to be married anymore, and the other guy doesn't want to be the only guy, and the other chick is nervous about getting a stranger. Oh my, the drama. I really like the idea of keeping the house we have, just because I hate to change things (and I showed my family where it was, lol) but if we have no better choice then I am up for it. The only thing I am truly afraid of is complete abandonment. If this turns into me having to find a place to live on my own, I might freak out. Signing a lease doesn't seem like a risk, but I guess it is. All I have to say is, Andrea, please don't leave me. Thanks. :)

I think I am going to go take care of the mess under my control. Lata

Weirdness

So. The dust has settled from the momentous weekend. Everyone survived. I know that my last post didn't make a whole lot of sense, but it was just a little too soon for me to blog about graduation, I guess.

I had my last exam on Thursday, and then had to work, which was hard. I actually was running in place in the back because I was so excited. After work, I got my hair cut (exciting), luke and I went shopping and got completely exhausted. Then I learned how to be treasurer, which seems like it should be ok... but a little challenging. At this point it was like 9pm, and I find out that my Lit prof couldn't open the final that I emailed him. So I have to print it off... but I am at the union, with no print card, no money, and my printer at home didn't have any black ink. I was so exhausted at this point that the thought that I might not actually be done, just made me want to scream. But I got a hold of Andrea and she printed it off for me... I just had to run and get it and turn it in. Even though I was exhausted, I still didn't sleep Thursday night.

Friday was Lukes 20th Birthday, so I took him out to breakfast at the Hubbard Ave Diner in Middleton. After that, I had to see my 'perscriber'... and then my mom came. We (she basically) made potato salad, and then my aunt and uncle showed up. My sisters flight was canceled on the Milwaukee to Madison route, so they bussed her in. When she got in, we went for pizza at the Roman Candle on Willy street. It was soooo good. We came back to my apartment, picked up the food for the picnic the next day and headed over to the hotel. And then we shopped. My family loves to shop. After Target, Kohls, REI and Party something, we met up with my dad and Aunt Karen to eat at Outback Steakhouse. It was so yummy, and it was great just having everyone there. My family is hilarious. Then the convoy traveled back to the hotel, where one group played cards, and the other group drank. I attempted to do both, but the alcohol never materialized. That night I found out that my sister talks in her sleep and that I can go a long time without sleeping through the night.

Saturday I graduated. On big days I get hypersensitive to irritating things, like ... someone in my family who bugs me constantly. But I made it through (with a small close call during the ceremony... stupid anxiety). My favorite part was singing 'varsity' at the end. I always have felt the most connected to my school while singing that song in large groups. Surprisingly, I found my family afterwards outside in front of the kohl center... a miracle in itself. Then there were tons of pictures taken...and we left to go to the arboretum for the picnic I planned. Absolutely perfect day for a picnic. Not to cold or hot, partly cloudy, just great. We ate, took pictures, played in a tree and smelled flowers. Then we visited Laurie at the shop and got some chocolate! It was fun to chat with her.

Man, I have to go to work. I guess I will finish this later...

It's Over

So, the long awaited, much anticipated weekend is over. I have trouble with things ending. It isn't so much the school ending that makes me sad, I am just sad that the weekend is over. My family is amazing. Really. I mean, they have their problems, but they are amazing to me. I had NINE family members attend the ceremony. That's amazing to me. And the next day, I had a ton more people show up for my party. My sister flew in from Georgia, for $750, to see me graduate. Sigh. The fact that this all happened makes me happy and sad, of course. I know this is supposed to be about being grateful that everyone came, but I am just so happy that I got to see my sister. I miss her so much. Last night she slept in my room, and now it still smells like her perfume in here. Sounds creepy but it isn't.

I had a great weekend. Couldn't have been much better, really. I just wish it wouldn't have had to end.

got the 'after party' blues.
Jen

Meine Schulter tut mir weh. Warum?

Hey yall. the mystery has been solved. Early this morning I had my MRI. That was really weird, and I am so happy that I didn't let myself freak out in there, because I was close. Those tubes that they put you in are so much smaller than I expected. I swear the 'ceiling' was 3 inches from my face, and I was touching it on both sides with my arms right on top of my body. It reminded me of the beginning of the Space Mountain ride at Disney World, where there are all these lights in rows, blinking to make it seem like you are going faster than you actually are. It wasn't too similar, but the recognition of something positive helped, so I went with it. Laying in that machine without moving for almost 40 minutes really made my shoulder start hurting. I was not happy about that, or the fact that my eyebrow itched and there was no possible way for me to scratch it, the tube was too small, and my arm was velcroed to my body. Sigh. But I made it!

I got the results today while I was in the library. Apparently I have both tendinitis and bursitis. So I have some swelling where there shouldn't be any. It's not too big of a deal, with the worst case scenario being that I will have to have some sort of drugs injected into my joint. While this doesn't sound pleasant at all to me, I will take that over surgery any day. And I know I will have to ice the crap out of it, so I bought a new ice pack. And rest. Lots of being nice to my shoulder. Read: no paddling for a while. That's sad, but I guess I can deal with that more than near constant pain. But it really is a close race between those two alternatives. lol. I will for sure ask about how long it should take. I am still shooting for the Chicago River seakayaking trip on June 3rd, but that might be ambitious.

I got Theresa to carry my clothes down the stairs today because I knew there was no way for me to do it without hurting myself. Do you know how much you use your shoulder every single day?! A LOT.

Oh well. I am going to get back to actually accomplishing things. My motivation waxes and wanes, or something (comes and goes). So I have to use it while it is here.

TEN DAYS LADIES AND GENTS.

Yes, no, maybe so

I'm sorry.

Now that that's out of the way, let me waste my time. I have an exam tomorrow, but I am tired. And I just don't want to participate in the educational process anymore.

Today I was the lead teacher at Head Start. I loved it and I wasn't too bad. I love those kids, seriously, I am going to be sad to see them go at the end of the year. That might be a bad thing, getting too attached, but I think it enables you to really give everything you have in helping them. At least if that is your job. With me it's just kind of sad. For a visual, there is me reading a book about the moon to the cuties.

And here's Tony.... Yeah, he is the most challenging child at the center, but when you get on his good side its just so much fun. Ok, I admit it, I love little kids. I can't help it.

After that, I went to do a presentation on my internship, that I spent about 20 minutes preparing for. Yeah, wasn't pretty, but it's over, so, that's what I am focusing on.

Back to the exam stuff. I wish you well.