Will You Take a Rain Check?:

So after a mysterious ailment that left me feeling closer to death than I'd ever care to feel again for two solid days, I'm still scrambling to get my life back in order. I have a French midterm tomorrow morning, a lot to catch up on at work after being out for two days due to the aforementioned sickness, and my final draft for my senior thesis is quickly creeping up (along with all of the other day to day things that need not be mentioned).

Basically I'm asking for a couple of days to catch up on life before I pick back up on blogging... In return, I have some awesome things lined up, including some awesome pictures of some new Gocco projects I've finished and that wonderful card catalog (which is now safely in my possession! Woot!).

So bear with me while I regain control... I'll be back soon! (Maybe even by the middle of the week.)

(Photo from here.)

Reason #815 Why I Love My Job:

I brought Lily to work with me this afternoon! She is currently under my desk eating a bone and chilling out. :)

Pest control was coming to my apartment today, and she does not do well with strange men. She's terrified. Also, I didn't want her to potentially lick the fresh chemicals that would be sprayed...

So I brought her to work with me and Chris will come to pick her up when he gets out of class this afternoon! She is always such a well-behaved lady when she comes to work with me, and today has been no different thus far. What a great little dog I have! (And a great job that let's me bring her in situations such as this!)

Also, she was wonderful on the walk over here despite the buses and dump trucks that passed us! This is a huge step for her since she has always been crippled by fear in these types of situations... it's great to see her finally becoming a normal, well-adjusted pup in every way! It makes me feel like I've really made a great new life for her, and I couldn't feel more fulfilled by the fact that I've been able to provide this for such an adorable, loving doggie!

Rescue dogs are the best dogs! Opt to adopt!

Oh Me, Oh My:

I am feeling very overwhelmed this week. Yeah.

Work has been incredibly hectic.
Last week's illness continues to linger.
Teaching myself French is nothing short of daunting.
There is so much work to be done for this senior thesis.
I feel like I'm neglecting my pups.

In an attempt to make sense of everything, I've resumed making insanely detailed To-Do lists. However, this only 50% helps me to tackle every task one by one and 50% furthers my intense feelings of being overwhelmed due to it's frightening length.

Hopefully things will ease up once I finish my partial draft for my thesis in two weeks...

Eeeeeee!:

I am absolutely thrilled! I just got the go ahead from my boss' boss to be put on staff as a permanent employee! That means salary, great benefits, paid vaca, free tuition for my last three classes, and they'll still be flexible around my school schedule! I could not be more excited!

Also, he informed me that they would like to keep me on post-graduation! I don't want to stay in Athens, but it is a nice fall-back plan if I'm not able to immediately find another job... unless of course they are willing to pay me the big bucks. ;)

Old job title: Research Assistant.
New job title: Research Technician III. Ballin'.

Will You Take A Rain Check?:

I will be rather absent for the next two weeks since I am *gasp* actually busy at work. The end and beginning of every month always bring lots of things to be done around the office, but I promise that I'll be around every now and then to write some posts (including a more detailed run down of the fun, albeit disappointing, weekend).

In the meantime, here is a complete gratuitous picture of Emerson when he was a wee 6 weeks old. This was the only time when he was a good puppy...

Realizations About Reality:

It's back to work and school today, but I think that the weekend getaway definitely helped me to gain some of the clarity that I was so desperately in need of. Just getting out of Athens was what I needed.

Being in Athens makes me so anxious... anxious to graduate, anxious to move, anxious to get as far away as possible. Not that I haven't loved living here, I'm just ready to get to that next stage in my life and being in a college town only helps to perpetuate the feeling that I am stuck in time. But I need to be logical and responsible about my plans. And as much as I'm dying to get out... staying might be more of that responsible thing I'm speaking of. Not that I'll stay in Athens... god no... but using my contacts and networking here in the Atlanta area to land a decent job that will give me the coveted experience on my resume would be a wise move in this struggling economy.

Things are definitely still up in the air at this point, but the thought of being in Atlanta for just one or two more years doesn't absolutely kill me on the inside anymore... it makes me feel like I'm being responsible about my future. (Even though "responsible" rarely coincides with "fun". Le sigh.)

Forgotten Secret:

I'm still not sure what triggered this particular memory in my head, but I chuckled to myself yesterday upon it's recollection and felt it interesting enough to be shared...

Right before I turned 21 I participated in a sting operation with a nearby county's Sheriff's office. This was all very hush hush, but I figure it has been almost two years so it's safe for me to tell the tale.

I walked into several convenience stores armed with my real ID (which clearly stated that I was 20 years old at the time) and ten bucks that the cops waiting outside had marked and given me. I nervously handed each of the cashiers my real ID and through shaking hands paid for the beer. Even though I was in cahoots with the police department, I was still terrified that I would be turned down. What was the worst that could have happened? They call the cops only to have them walk in to fetch me? I don't know why I was so nervous, but lying has never been my forte.

Every time I breathed a sigh of relief as they handed me my change from the transaction and I walked out successfully. I then handed over the change and the 6-pack to the officers who were watching the entire thing from a neighboring parking lot. I waited as they took the cashier and put them into the back of their cop cars, and off we went to the next target.

(It's The Police... Get it?)

I definitely felt a little bad for helping bust these places (especially since I was never one to adhere to the legalities of the drinking age) but it was exciting and I got a nice little check in the mail for my hard work. I know it wasn't a competition, but the other girl who was participating in the stings only successfully bought alcohol from one place and I managed to bust every single one that I attempted.

The story was in the local paper the next week, but luckily my mug wasn't plastered next to it as a conspirator. :)

I didn't tell anyone at the time (again with the hush hush-ness to it all) but it's a fun story to tell now! Maybe my life has been a little more interesting than I give it credit for...

Parlez-vous français?:

I took my final exam for my Independent Study course this morning. Yay! Multicultural Diversity isn't terribly interesting, let's be honest. I am definitely glad to be done, not only because that puts me 3 credit hours closer to graduation (and when you have as little left as I do, 3 hours is a lot!) but also because that means I can start my next Independent Study course! Why so excited about school, you ask? Well, because the next class I am taking is: Beginning French! Oh la la!

At work, I am going to forgo listening to music on the days that I am not on the phone and listen to silly French instructional videos on YouTube. I cannot wait!

(Did I mention that I'm a quarter French, quarter French/Canadian?)

Arts & Crafts:

I love being creative. I'm not necessarily awesome at it... but I'd venture to say that I'm craftier than most. That being said, I really wish that I had a job that stimulated me creatively.

What exactly that dream job is, I don't know. That I could land said dream job with nothing but a $15 sewing machine, nice handwriting, and a degree in history, unlikely. Le sigh.


If I had the moo-lah to do crafty design projects constantly, I totally would. My paychecks would be spent at Michael's and papersource, while my weekends would be spent going to flea markets and garage sales searching for that perfect something. Instead, I suppose I'll have to live vicariously through blogs like The Lucky Nest. (I totally want to be her. She is so amazing.)