phenomenological

cnn’s online section for all things science and spacey, called light years, keeps an updated list of “People in orbit” and “Hardware in orbit”. listed under People in orbit is, of course, the current ISS crew.listed under Hardware in orbit:

1. Hubble Space Telescope
2. International Space Station

… so that’s why i’m not getting cell phone service!

study and work. that’s pretty much my life… but i love it! ok, well maybe not this intense. i have definately decided to extend my 2 year program, so that i can a) not rush through my thesis b) fit in the language requirement c) keep working d) take fewer hours! so instead of 2 years, i’m looking at 2.5 or possibly 3. no biggie. heck – i’ve taken this long to decide what to do with my life, what are 6 or 12 more months.

so i took a breif hiatus from this blog. one of my classes created a wordpress site to use for our project. so, there were several times i had to stand in front of the class to show everyone how to use it. the best way to show them was to use an example, i.e. this site.

so a brief update: i got a promotion at work, so that was cool. bandit has been sick, of course. the list of things he is allergic to keeps getting longer. oh, i’m thinking about getting a new car. i like the tucson, there’s nothing wrong with it, it is just not “me”. i miss the jeep, but now i’m kinda spoiled to having extra room. i don’t really like the jeep unlimited, i think it’s too long for me to park. so i test drove an FJ Cruiser yesterday and loved it! now i just have to see if i can afford it.

anywho, not much to report. seriously, all i do is go to work, go to class, and study in between. fun times.

so yesterday was orientation for my cohort (the people starting the anthropology grad program the same time as me… my “class” i suppose). it was also our 1st day of class. a looooong and busy day, to say the least. there are 8 or 9 of us which is big as far as grad programs go, but small for UNT. yesterday was a chance for us to meet each other, but also to meet the department faculty. hopefully, to start getting an idea of who we want as our advisor. (btw, i have no clue who mine should be. i have about 3 choices as far as specialty, but within those 3 i have no idea). basically, the whole day and evening consisted of introducing yourself and your area of focus about a million times. as much as i love to talk about myself, it was a bit much. not to mention intimidating and stressful.

so, when i get nervous… everything makes me laugh. it’s a bad, bad habit that i can’t control. last night, they had some current grad students come talk to us about their thesis projects. one of them was a guy studying environmental anthropology, specifically with offshore drilling. his thesis centers on fraking. LOL! ok, i knew what the real term meant, but i did not expect to hear it over and over from an anthropology major and especially from anthropology professors. i was cracking up, as inconspicuously as i could because they were being very serious. after the student left, i couldn’t help it and had to tell everyone, including faculty, why i was laughing. now they all think i’m really immature. and a nerd for watching battlestar gallactica.

but seriously… fraking?

“i study fraking”…. LOL!!!!! 
“fraking can be very dangerous!” …… LOL!!!!! 

so my department/group/co-workers… had our first happy hour ever last night. i thought maybe they just didn’t have them very often, but it truly was their first ever! it was really fun, actually. and apparently, i have been appointed head of the social committee. so now, i get to plan the happy hours! woohoo! i got this job because i asked when happy hour was, the second day on the job. i really only asked 1 person, but it has become a joke now in our group.

school technically started yesterday. it’s only my online Hawaiian language class, but i’ve already had homework due. my regular classes, grad school, starts next monday. but i’m already busier than the Dallas opening of H&M on tax-free weekend.

just because it was my birthday weekend and just because my mom was visiting… i decided to brave northpark and go to H&M last saturday. it was also tax-free weekend. to say it was crowded would be the understatement of the year. there were policemen outside and even an H&M security guy, a big guy whowith his earpiece looked more like a bouncer for a secret service gala. the line to try things on practically went out the store. girls were taking off their tops in the store to try on shirts. me… i’ll take them back if they don’t fit. by the time we left the mall, there was a line just to get in the store.

so, now whenever i need a good analogy for something being busy or crowded… it would have to be H&M.

or maybe an In & Out drive-thru!

here’s a random snapshot of goings’-on:

• nothing gets the nazi’s excited like the possibility of rain! – so today at work (with the nazi’s who don’t let people talk about anything not directly related to work)… the boss comes into the cubicle area and announces there is a giant black cloud approaching. it might rain! this is like day # 5-million without rain, so it’s kinda a big deal. everyone gets super excited! a few minutes later… someone shouts out “it’s raining!” everyone jumps up and runs to the windows. but it was only dust blowing in the wind, literally. even though it never actually rained, it was a pretty exciting day for the nazi’s.

• if i am the local fashion authority, lewisville (dallas) is in worse shape than i thought. – the past couple of weeks, my co-workers keep coming to me for fashion advice. they keep saying “i knew you would know ____ !”. maybe at one point, i was doing ok in the fashion department. but after becoming super poor, gaining weight, and living in nacanowhere i am soooo not anywhere close to being fashionable. so how can people who just met me think i know anything?

• after the shuttle landed, i had to force myself to put away anything nasa/space related. this is quite a challenge for me normally but especially difficult since my soon-to-start grad research is focused on the subject. but i really had to make myself concentrate on something else because i was so depressed! i’ve said this before, but there is very little in this world that i feel as strongly about as i do for space exploration. so, i put up my articles, switched off nasa tv, and stopped reading my nasa friends’ blogs. (sorry guys). but this afternoon, i caught up on the blogs. just reading about their last experiences with the shuttle program has made me depressed all over again. but school starts in a few weeks!! i have got to get this out of my system!!

              i know… i’m a dork.

the only thing that has really helped my feelings about living in dallas (over houston) is the opening of H&M.

and when is their Grand Opening? ON MY BIRTHDAY!!! they even announced there will even be a second H&M location opening in Plano (closer to me) in the late fall/winter.

oh, what a happy day August 18th will be. it really should be a state holiday! (that way the nazi’s would have to give me the day off)

all i wanted was a nice, mindless job so that i could earn some money, but focus on school. ya know, mindless like all my other jobs have been. (heehee!)

but no. i had to go and get a real job. one that actually requires intelligence. i’m even doing stuff that i learned in college! albeit, accounting 101. i’ve been doing some financial analyst stuff that is even pretty challenging at times. who knew a job could be challenging?! i even go to meetings!! and i’m not just there to take the minutes!! woohoo!!

but with the challenges comes the stress and mental weariness. so how am i supposed to focus on school, once it starts? my brain is so tired at the end of the day from all the numbers that i can barely function after 5:00PM. my classes are at 6PM. so, i am really stressed about being stressed in the near future. i’m not sure if i will be able to handle going to grad school full time and working full time.

like the song says… not sure if i’ll make it, but watch how good i’ll fake it!

yesterday it was 106 in Dallas! but a cold front moved in overnight… only 102! woohoo!!

so, bandit has officially lost his marbles. he came to live with me in dallas 8 days ago. it was pretty good timing because he had gotten a staph infection from some new unknown allergy. the latest allergy he developed was to febreeze. seriously? febreeze? so, who knows what the new allergy is to. he’s already allergic to grass, all insects (including house flies), shampoo, and dog-ear cleaner. now, he’s propbably allergic to collars or leashes.

anyway, so he’s on antibiotics and prednisone. the prednisone makes him hyper. he’s weaning off the prednisone now, so he should be getting back to normal . well, he has absolutely gone bonkers. can’t really explain it, which makes this post pointless, but you would understand if you saw him. he is bouncing off the walls!! the best analogy i can think of would be to imagine giving a 5 yr-old 10 red bull’s (or something with a ton of pseudoephedrine).

i’m this close to giving him benedryl just so i can get some peace and quiet… (if i’m like this as a dog-parent, do you think i will be drugging my real children? hope not.)

what a chore it is to move. i’m not just talking about the packing and unpacking… but all the disconnecting and reconnecting. of course, the most essential need (to me) after air conditioning and water was the hardest to get connected. i’m talking about internet service. but finally, i am moved in and reconnected!

naturally, my job-place has internet access, but they supposedly  have a strict no surfing rule. i say “supposedly” because this policy is not written down or spelled out in any fashion. not only is it ambiguous but it also only applies to certain people? i don’t know… i just know an exec walked by and saw someone on facebook and the guy was fired on the spot. so, needless to say, i don’t be playing da net.  :(

speaking of my new job… it’s going good, the work part at least. the Company is brand-spanking new so the corporate culture is like nothing i’ve experienced before. considering everyone there has only been around for a year or less, no one knows the proper code of behavior. people are constantly being let go because of random behavior that was previously unspecified as taboo (as in the facebook scenario). it also doesn’t help that the owners are the execs and they share the same workspace as the peons, like me. so far, all i have been told officially is that there is no small talk allowed… at all. i am not over-dramatizing. there is the occasional “good morning”, but nothing like “man, it’s hot outside” or “how was your weekend”. anything said at all, even work related, is said in a very quiet whisper. overall, the atmosphere is EXTREMELY tense. i attribute this to everyone’s fear of being fired for sneezing too loud.

well, enough about work. it’s stressin’ me out. i’m off to google!!