.:reflections of twilight:.

Today was the last day of my Practicum and it was a little bittersweet. I do think I learned a lot from this experience, though, which was the point. I will enjoy having more free time devoted to classwork (and, let's be real, sleeping in). I still have a few more months until graduation, so things will be getting more hectic. Hopefully I can keep my cool. I'm not gonna lie, I had a minor nervous breakdown on Friday. I guess all the stress had built up and it just exploded into one roiling sob fest. It did feel good afterwards, however. Like a catharsis of a sort. I guess it's something that you need sometimes...

I have some potential job prospects in the Knoxville area soon. My adviser had email some of us in the Practicum class about openings coming up in Knox County in January and gave us the name of the lady who is the liaison between the school board and the principals in hiring of new school librarians (I didn’t even know there was such a thing. Go figure). She did contact me back and we're going to be setting up a Skype interview within the next few weeks. Mostly because Knoxville is about two hours away from here. I am kind of hoping to get one of the later openings in May and thereabouts so that it will give me some time to move there. I'd rather not commute that distance, especially with a less than reliable car and in the winter. If it does happen, mom had mentioned something about moving with me and helping me get settled for a year or so, then moving on to maybe Townsend, TN which is closer to the Smokies, which is her dream area. Only time will tell, I guess.

I have to prepare for my Oral Presentation on Thursday. It's also via Skype with my graduate adviser and another instructor who teaches a lot of the library classes I take. I'm not super worried, but I do need to print off a bunch of stuff so that I can show them my physical binder. I have quite a bit of it already, but there are still a few items that I need to add yet.

I had my Remicade on Wednesday. Like a total dumb-ass, I forgot to do my lab work ahead of time, so I had to do them both on the same day, which took a long time and I had to wait awhile before I was even set up for it. Then, they couldn't get a good jab into my vein, even after multiple tries (which hurt. A LOT). They moved to another vein and things were better. I was the last person to leave, however, once everything was done. My next one is in December, a few days after my graduation. The only thing I wouldn't look forward to about moving again is having to re-establish with doctors and finding new favorite restaurants. It's the little things, sometimes...

Well, here I am, laying on my bed in my new bedroom in Tennessee. It's very nice. It seems bigger than my other room in Florida, but it could be because I don't have as much in it as I did down there. Mostly because there's not really the room for it, but also because it's set up a little differently.

I will say this, though. I never want to move again for a loooooooong time. It's really the worst. The day we loaded, last Thursday, was hot as hell and a little scattered. But, we had mostly teenagers helping out and they tend to not be the most responsible group. Still, they got the job done. I didn't do a lot of the physical stuff due to my back wanting to give out on me and the temperature. I mostly directed the guys moving and packed up a few last minute things. The girl who was supposed to help us out by cleaning did a rather piss poor job of it. We had to have a friend of ours (who was actually riding with mom on the way up) come over on Friday morning and help us clean out the refrigerator.

We ended up tossing away a few things at the last minute, like the vacuum cleaner, the brooms, the majority of the food in the refrigerator, the pots and pans, the cleaning supplies, because they 'supposedly' wouldn't fit in the truck. Mom said later on that she though they probably would've, but by that point we were over packing and loading that we didn't give much of a damn about anything.

Then, I had a brief emotional breakdown a few hours before we left due to the build up of stress and frustration and anxiety and all of that other crap. So I was sitting on my luggage bawling my eyes out, while the carpet cleaners were cleaning the apartment. It was rather cathartic now that I think about it. Added to it all was the fact that my car wouldn't start and we needed it to in order to load it onto the car trailer on the back of the moving truck. We eventually had to repower the battery and got it started enough to get it on. It's dead again, of course, but I think it's because I need a completely new battery since I just had the car tuned up not long before we left.

The trip up itself wasn't so bad. we drove straight through, although we had thought we might have to stop overnight at some friends of ours, but we were making good time so we didn't need to. We did pull in after midnight, so I needed to stay overnight with friends before coming to the condo the next morning. Once we got the key, we unlocked everything and once more people arrived, began to unload. The unloading seemed to go much smoother I think because we had all adults helping and the weather wasn't as monstrous as in Florida. Yes, it was hot but not ungodly like it was on Thursday.

We're gradually beginning to unpack everything and set things up the way we want them to be. We did have to buy some things, like a new vacuum, pots and pans, cleaning supplies, food, ect. We want to try to get things on the inside set up before trying to tackle the things in the garage and basement. THAT will be the fun part.

The cats seems to have adjusted quite well already. They like to run up and down the stairs and explore things. We do have to make sure that the basement and garage doors are closed so that no wandering kitties will appear... and then disappear.

Here are some pictures I took of the inside of the new place. I wanted to get them before we started loading a bunch of boxes and stuff inside. I hope to take more once we get everything all put into place.

One of my goals is to try to go back to school and get my Master's Degree in Library Science at Eastern Tennessee State University. I never tried to do school and work at the same time because I knew I couldn't do both. Hopefully I can get a job on campus as a Graduate or Research Assistant so I can pay a lower tuition. It's knowing where to start is the tricky thing. But, hopefully it'll work out. I want to try to avoid getting the same kind of job I had in Florida, because it wasn't fulfilling, and I'd like to try to avoid getting a job out of necessity rather than enjoyment if I can help it. Wish me luck!

Time is inching closer. Yet it still seems like forever. Of course, whenever you're looking forward to something, it always feels like it takes forever.

I of course speak of our move to Tennessee.

There is a shit ton of stuff we have to do beforehand though. Most of it is stuff I'm not particularly fond of... like intensive cleaning. And packing. I kind of have to really be in the mood to do a lot of cleaning. I hate to say that because it makes me sound like I'm a slob or something (which I'm not). I just dislike cleaning unless I'm in the mood to do so. But, since I'm only working for an hour and a half tomorrow I'm going to TRY to motivate myself to get a little bit done. If I tackle a section at a time, I may be able to make some progress.

So wish me luck.

In other, yet related news, mom and I have been browsing some of the housing option on Craigslist (I know, not necessarily the BEST choice when considering housing but hey) and she found one with a decent amount of acreage and within our price range. It's a condo, so I emailed them to see if there was a wait list for May. Two bed and two bath with wood floors and a decent sized kitchen. And there are pictures!!



The front

the deck

the kitchen with a good view of the wood floors

There's no guarantee we'll get it, but maybe. If not, then there's another better one out there.

We're gonna turn in our notices at work in May and then go up for a few weeks and house hunt. I think once we move and find a place and get settled and all of that then we can start really looking for jobs. It'll be easier once we have established residency I think. I just hope I don't get lost since I have a terrible sense of direction.

And this weekend we're going to the Central Florida Highland Games along with cosmic_reverie! I always enjoy going because I have a lot of fun while there and since this will be our last year to go. I'm definitely looking forward to it!

So, yesterday I saw snow.

Yeah, I know it's not a big deal for you in the Northern regions, but for someone like me who has lived in a sub-tropical area like I have been for nearly 30 years, it's quite the rarity.

This was in the upper elevations of the Smoky Mountains which was brought on by the colder weather and the side effects of Sandy. And it was the nice snow. The fresh, clean snow that covers everything in a fine white powder. For some reason, it makes most anything look magical. Kinda like being in a winter wonderland.



It was a bit of a weird juxtaposition, coming from obvious Autumn to Winter. But, it was a nice surprise nonetheless.

There's a bit of a change coming for us coming down the line. The current plan is to move to Tennessee sometime in the Spring or early Summer. There is a job possibility for me which is essentially the same thing I'm doing now. So, when we get back home, I need to look for my resume and update it and send it in. I'm hoping for the best. The company I'm looking at is pretty large and there are a number of openings in the medical data entry department.

So... here's hoping. I can't take Florida heat anymore. All the health issues and the constant oppressive heat are too much for me. I know Tennessee has heat in the summers, but not nearly as long as in Florida. It's unbearable. Plus, mom and I have been wanting to move there for quite awhile. She doesn't want to move in the Winter, so that's why we're aiming for the Spring or early Summer.

Wish me luck!