.:reflections of twilight:.

I seem to be noticing a “once-a-month-update” pattern lately. It’s not a deliberate thing, it’s just the way it is.

Anyhoodle, other than school and medical stuff, not much has been going on. We had a major snowstorm happen a week ago, so we had a nice couple of days where there was a lot of snow on the ground. Schools were closed for almost a week in some areas, including the university. I was going to have my Remicade last Thursday, but due to weather, it was moved to tomorrow.

Mom and I did get a chance to go and take some pictures of the snow-covered historical area that we frequent sometimes, so that was neat.







In other news, I’ve been doing some research on International Schools. It’s an idea in the back of my mind to be a librarian at one maybe. My main concern would be my medical treatments, but sometimes you need to do things out of the box once in a while I still have some more research to do and all that important stuff, but it’s a possibility. I have a meeting with my advisor on the 20th to see what all I need to do in order to finish my schooling.

I did my FAFSA done and processed for next semester, so at least that’s out of the way. I’m trying not to think of the debt I’m racking up at the moment. -_-

I gotta say, I've been jumping through so many hoops these past few days, I feel like I should join a circus.

Apparently there are absolutely no records of me having gotten my MMR immunizations from when I went to undergrad. I know for certain I had boosters done in '99, but UCF doesn't keep records longer than seven years. Naturally I can't sign up for my final class unless I have this dealt with, as I explained in more detail in my last post.

We searched high and low (literally, since we have files both upstairs and in the basement) for these damn things, only to come up empty. So I thought I'd go and get the MMR Titer test done so that they can see that I did indeed get my immunizations, only to discover that they damn thing costs $107.00! Screw that!!

So, I thought I'd just bite the bullet and go to the Health Department and get immunized again so that there can be documentation that I'm not riddled with disease. I called them (which I loathe since I have to talk on the phone with my voice the way it is) and talked to someone who made me an 'appointment' for today at 9:00.

I show up, and after it took them awhile to even find me in the system (turns out whoever I talked to on the phone took down my birth date wrong), I discovered my appointment wasn't until TOMORROW at 9:00.

Now, I distinctly heard the lady on the phone say "Tuesday at 9:00", which I even put in my calendar on my phone so I'd remember. How the hell they had me down for tomorrow I'll never even know.

And now I have to traipse alllll the way back to the health department tomorrow to get injections which I've had twice already, then haul ass back to the school so that they can have documentation that I did all of this, just so I can FINALLY finish registering for classes and am eligible for the GA job I'm pretty sure is in the bag. That is, if this whole debacle hasn't sabotaged my chances.

*siiiiiiiiiigh*

I just gotta keep focus on the larger goal here, which is to get my Master's Degree and have a career that I actually might enjoy rather than a soul killing job.

Then I find out that the kid who shot up his school in Colorado this past week was looking for the school librarian... Fantastic.

Remind me not to head the debate team.

In better news, I did manage to get the Christmas tree up and decorated a mere eleven days before Christmas. Which means it'll probably stay up until April.



And no, it's not crooked. It's just the angle at which I took the picture.

I'll probably not be able to send out the letters until the New Year, since I need to buy ink so I can print them off. Maybe next year I can actually send out cards instead of lame-o letters...

First of all, I am MASSIVELY annoyed with my computer right now. For some reason, the power cord doesn't want to make a connection so it's using the battery which tends to lose power fairly quickly. I haven't figure out why it does this, but it seems that even if I make the slightest movement, it disconnects. Maybe the power cord is bad or something. I don't know really. (ETA: Yeah, it IS the power cord. I'm using mom's right now).

So, I have to retype my post that I was working on before since I had to restart my computer, and I never have the wherewithal to actually SAVE the drafts to my client. *grumble*

I've been accepted into Graduate School!

Granted, it's a conditional acceptance. Basically, it means I have to get a 3.0 or above during my first 12 credit hours (basically two semesters). I'm pretty sure I can do it if I put my mind to it. I'm a little out of practice, but it'll probably come back to me. So now I have to go to the campus and get my ID and parking permit and all of that jazz. Classes start on the 16th, and I need to get my financial aid straightened out before that. I have an interview on Tuesday for a GA position, and if I get it, the school will pay for my tuition for a semester, which will help a lot! Since I'm technically an 'out of state' student until June, it'd be more per credit hour. But, if I get the GA position, then the following Fall I'd be an 'in state' student and the tuition would be a lot less. Plus, I'd get a monthly stipend which will help tremendously.

If I do get the GA job, I'd have to be on campus for 20 hours a week, which I can handle I think. I used to work 40 hours a week at my old job, so this will probably four hours or so per day. I don't know what it entails to be a GA, but I'm assuming it'll be to help out the professor I'm placed with. I guess we'll find out...

I'll also need to learn to drive in the wintertime since I'll have to be on campus for the job. My classes are all online, so that won't be a problem.

Mom's been laid up for a week with some sort of viral infection. We think she got it during Thanksgiving. The husband of our hostess was feeling under the weather that day which they had initially attributed to food poisoning. Later on, it was found out that there was an 'epidemic' of sorts going on at her work, which is where it likely came from. I just hope she feels better by the time she starts work on the 16th. Ideally before that since she has to go for her drug testing on Monday. Plus, she'd just like to feel better.

We've been having some weird weather recently. Yesterday I was able to wash the car outside while I was wearing shorts and a T-shirt. Of course, the hose had dry rot, so I had to rinse the car with buckets of water. Mom had forgotten that since we moved up here now, that the hose needs to be brought inside for fall and winter. Oops.

I finished typing up my Holiday letter, now I just need to get some more ink in order to print it off. If you still want one, just let me know, and I'll drop one in the mail. You can give me your address via email or drop me a message. If you'd like mine, let me know, and I'll send a message.

I'm currently rereading High School Debut for the umpteenth time. I love it. It's so adorable. There are a few orphaned series that I wish would've been bought by another company, or seen continued. Like Sky Blue Shore form TokyoPop. But, since they stopped publishing manga (or most of it anyway), it was discontinued after only two volumes. It's a shame. I started to like that series and I can't find any translations of it anywhere. Another series that was stopped (bizarrely with only two volumes left to go), was Papillion published by Kondansha. When they switched ownership, they dropped it for some reason. I kinda wish they'd at least have published the remaining volumes so it would be a completed series.

Farewell for now!

Well, I've been laid up since Friday with what turned out to be a case of bronchitis. Hence my longer than anticipated absence. I had a nice Dragon*Con post almost completed when I somehow deleted it without saving a draft. It was a pretty well written one too. Hopefully I can get back into the right mindset again in order to rewrite it.

So this weekend was a pretty brutal one. I had had a bit of a nagging cough since the middle of the week or thereabouts but I didn't really think anything of it. I just attributed it to seasonal allergies as per usual. But, it kept getting more and more persistent and then Friday I was feeling very hot and I found out I was running a slight temperature. I took some OTC stuff to help rein it in somewhat, but it didn't really do much except dilute the symptoms.

Friday, mom had gone to a cemetery in order to take a photograph for Find A Grave, and I went with her because I was a little curious about the whole process. Yes, it's basically taking a picture of a headstone, but there are parameters that have to be followed it turns out. Pretty interesting. I was feeling so-so buy the time we started, but back to feeling miserable by the time we ended and having to stop in at Walgreens for Mucinex for me to take.

By Sunday, I was over it. I was tired of the coughing and the yo-yo temperatures and the sleeplessness, so mom went to see if my COBRA was caught up for September to see if I could get into a Walk-In Clinic somewhere and nip this thing in the bud. It was, so we did.

I've never had bronchitis before, so I had no idea what it all entailed. Something with the lungs, I think? Anyway, since I tend to be a massive hypochondriac I was thinking I had all kinds of things. Tuberculosis. Yellow Fever. The Plague. ANYTHING!! All I knew is that I wanted this thing GONE! I did wonder a little if it was a case of the Con Crud, but I didn't hear that my companion I went with had been sick, so it most likely wasn't that.

We found the urgent care place, which is open until 6:00 on weekends, and signed in. Mom called ahead of time to double check that they took my insurance since it's out of state, which luckily for me they did. So while in the waiting room, I had to fill out a phone book's size amount of paperwork before the long wait. Luckily the wait wasn't terrible or anything, not like some places I've seen.

I was called back and taken to an exam room and had my vitals taken. I did find out I lost some weight since being up here, probably due to hauling ass up and down the stairs everyday. Then I waited some more. Then the student Nurse Practitioner came in, did a small exam, took some notes and then left. Finally, the provider on call came in, who was a regular Nurse Practitioner and she examined me and I got a diagnosis and she wrote me some prescriptions. Luckily there was a 24 Hour Walgreens not too far where I could get them filled so I didn't have to wait until the next day to fill them since it was early evening and most everything else was closed. Mom and I wandered around the place while they were getting filled. I saw a cute stuffed Jack Skellington in there that I wanted and dammit if I shouldn't have gotten it!

So today I've been taking my meds and taking it easy and I've started to feel a little perkier, except for the damn cough. I don't know why coughs feel the need to hang around longer than necessary. Especially the hacking kind of coughs where you feel like you're gonna rupture something every time you cough.

I've never been one for patience.

I'm wanting these next four months or so to be over with quickly. I want to quit my job and leave (at least temporarily) all the stress behind me. If I didn't need to work for the money and, more importantly, for the insurance, I'd be very satisfied at staying at home.

Maybe the time in between when I quit my job and start another one in Tennessee I'll have recovered enough from stress that I won't burn out. Hopefully.

The majority of the stress comes from the soon to be buyout and the transition that comes with it. We have to amp up our workload in order to make sure we get all the stuff caught up and posted and it means longer hours for us. Plus, I got in a wee bit of trouble due to my hours being askew since I had to go in early and leave later for the past few weeks. Hopefully since my mom's hours have regulated, so have mine. There are days when carpooling kinda sucks...

I got into a bit of a tiff with a friend of mine on Facebook took something I posted the wrong way. I mentioned the fact that I didn't want to see pictures of mutilated or dead animals on my news feed because it's just something that I don't want to see. Yeah, you can hide them, but the image is still in your head. My friend had posted earlier about a petition to prosecute a guy who killed a dog by malnutrition or something (I didn't read the post too closely) and thought that I was singling her out specifically. I told her it wasn't due to her alone and that there have been other posts about various animal abuse causes that tend to use graphic images in their postings. She mentioned how she was creeped out by Domo-kun for some reason and didn't want to see any pictures of him and some such. We were able to hash things out and I think things are cool between us now, but I just hate how political Facebook has gotten. And how hyper sensitive people are anymore. All I wanna do is keep in touch with friends and family that I don't get to see on a regular basis and post geeky pictures and cat macros. so I'm laying low for a little while until the whole thing blows over...

My anxiety and the paranoia that sometimes comes with it is starting to crop up again. Hopefully my meds will regulate things again and I can feel like a human being once again. It really sucks in the meantime. Maybe once all of the stuff regarding the take over is all over and done with, things will begin to smooth out and feel normal again.

Sorry I've been so sporadic with my posting on here. My depression sometimes tells me why I even bother since hardly anyone reads it, but I know a few of you still do, so I appreciate it.

Health wise things seem to be getting better. I still have a few problem areas, but otherwise I'm doing good overall. Maybe now that we're getting into fall, things will get even better. I do know there are those out there who have it worse than I do, so I guess I'm appreciative for that at least.

Things at work are actually pretty good. I think it's partially because I'm working on changing my overall attitude to try and become a better person. I don't want to be the kind of person who holds onto all of the petty crap and bitterness that happened in the past. It does nothing but hold you back keeping you from moving forward with your life. It won't always be easy, but it's worth it to try.

I also think it helps with the fact that my co-worker that had the most issues with everything is no longer there and not feeding into the situation. I still keep in contact with her and we're still friends and all and I value that friendship, but she's a bit anti-social and misanthropic. So since she's not at work anymore, it helps to stay focused on other stuff and not get dragged down by the little unimportant things.

There's still heavy talk of a buyout, but some of us had a meeting with our supervisor last week and the subject was addressed. It seems for the most part that our department will most likely stay intact. My boss reasons that since we have the more advanced computer system, that it would be foolish to get rid of people who have been using it for awhile and are familiar with it. And since we'll be implementing a new data entry system (which will take a few years to be fully operational) that we'd still be needed. Now, granted this is all guessing, but it still gives me some relief to say the least.

Mom and I are prepping for our vacation in three weeks. I'm so excited! We're going to be in Tennessee and see the fall colors and the beautiful mountains and the crisp air. It's gonna be very hard for me to go back. Especially since more friends of ours moved up there this weekend. I keep hoping and praying that the opportunity will arise for us to make the move up there once and for all. Hopefully...

I finished my reread of Furuba yesterday. I still get the warm fuzzies when I read the last chapter. I have such affection for this series as well as the friends I met through it that it makes me smile every time. I may reread my Ouran series next, even though I'm missing the first ten books. I hope to be able to acquire them at some point in time. Either that or High School Debut, another shoujo series that I find cute and charming. I haven't made up my mind yet.

Well, happy fall everyone! Enjoy the changing of the leaves, the cooler air, pumpkin flavored everything and the coming holidays!

Well, the wonderous adventure of my health issues continues it seems.

Remember how I said I had a fungal infection and was being treated for it? I went to see my PCP on Wednesday and explained the situation to him. He decided to up the dosage of my anti-fungal medication that I'd been taking. So I started that on Thursday. Yesterday, when I was getting ready to take my shower I had noticed a nasty rash all over my abdomen, back, neck, upper arms and upper thighs. I showed my mom and she thought it was a reaction to my meds. So today we decided to go to the non emergency urgent care clinic to have it looked at.

So they looked me over and decided that I was definitely having a reaction to the medication, so I was given some steroids to take to treat for the rash, which doesn't thrill me since I dislike having to take them, but it's only for a little over a week, so that's not too bad. I was also given new medicated cream for my initial fungal infection that started this whole mess in the first place.

So, God willing, this course of treatment will actually do the trick, and I can start to feel better for my birthday on Friday.

I was able to fit in a viewing of The Dark Knight Rises Saturday morning. Bottom line: AWESOME!!! I'd try to write a more elaborate post about it, but there was so much going on that I know I'd be lost. I did wear my brand new Batman T-Shirt as well as the Batman pendant I got from savvyliterate and secondlina. It was tres cute, ladies. I especially love the wee lil Robin atop of Batman's head.



Mom and I also went to dinner with a mutual friend of ours and her teenage nephews. Being around teenage boys is very... interesting to say the least. Still a good time was had by all.

So far, the steroid shot I was given in the clinic has started to diminish the rash, so it's not as bad as it was before. I mean, I looked all red and scaly and freaky. Not my best look, I gotta say. I'm keeping my fingers and various other appendages crossed.

As for right now, I need to decide what to have for a snack...