Five on Friday #125

EINS

This week's shit:

-My chemistry teacher seems to have a bad habit of having homework due dates posted and then AFTER they are due, she announces that they are not going to be due then.  She gets ONE more time of doing this before I call her out in front of the class.  Something to the effect of, "If this is going to be a regular occurrence, do you think you could start changing the due dates well ahead of time so I can stop having anxiety attacks while doing 4+ hours of chemistry homework that isn't due for another few days?"

-After Brit posted about perfectionism this week, I realized maybe I need to be better about letting myself off the hook a little bit.  That means accepting my test grades mostly. 

-A quick grade round up as an update:

• German test: all 95+'s.  Ain't no thang.  2 years of Duolingo may finally be amounting to something.  Who knew.  Additionally, we've had several vocab and essay tests to this point and I don't even discuss them since they definitely do not stress me out.
• Computer Science test: 94.  I expected a little lower honestly.  Some of the points I missed was because math.  Seriously, I said 3^2=6.  It's 9.  #Meganfail
• Math test: I got a 78.  I missed 5 points because I didn't put T/F on a group of questions, so I probably could have gotten at least an 80 if I had read the directions.  This was the test that I said, "I either confidently failed or passed."  I knew I wasn't going to do that well, but that doesn't mean I wasn't disappointed with this grade.  I was an A/B student all through high school and apparently those expectations never go away.  No matter how difficult the subject matter.  #Meganproblems
• Chemistry test: I got an 80.  I felt like I had done a little better than this, but it is what it is.  An 80 is still a B and that's an acceptable grade in my head.  79 would have been a disappointment.  

-My leg crack HS bump/BJB has been on high alert since school started, but this last week it has been extra miserable.  I was just enduring it and it wasn't going well.  It was difficult to walk and sit and mostly do everything.  Part of the reason I was enduring it was because I needed to do some lady-scaping because I knew that putting a bandaid on when the forest was at it's worst could only lead to even more pain.  I finally took care of the grooming situation on Thursday morning and applied a bandaid.  IT WAS LIKE A CHRISTMAS FUCKING MIRACLE.  No more pain every time I moved!  CRRRRAAAZZYYY!!  Like I had purchased those bandaids specifically for that purpose (truth).  FYI, I probably lost at least a quarter of a pound from my ladyscaping + shaving my legs.  Ya'll it was bad... let's just say, I'm glad Teh German is European. Ha.

-It's been shark week around these parts and it absolutely wiped me out.  I had to take afternoon naps after getting home because I couldn't stay awake.  I would wake up tired and then still fall right to sleep at bedtime.  It was rough.  I was also taking naps in my car before class since I usually have an hour to burn since I get to campus so early to avoid traffic.  At the same time, I bumped up my anxiety meds from 5mg to 10mg and it was too much.  I cut back to 5mg just in case.  I may try to bump back up on a week that isn't girl week and see what happens.  If I go back to my exhausted state, then 5mg is my magic number and I'll stick with that.

-Speaking of anxiety meds.  I believe they are working.  Shit that would be the end of the world, no longer is.  It's nice to feel level headed about life again and not always on the edge.  One of my coworkers said to me, "Oh, I thought you were all talk about the anxiety meds," after I said I had started them and I thought they were working.  Uhh, really?  Do you know me?  I finally explained to her that I'm not suicidal, but I know that my anxiety levels were constantly elevated.  When you are operating with high levels all the time, the smallest thing will set you over the edge, very much like what was going on with me.  Someone being slightly late for an appointment would set me over the edge.  The rage would overwhelm me and then I'd be exhausted from the overwhelming rage since I was already on high about everything else.

-Pinterest has a way for you to make ads go away, which I usually do.  I noticed a new option this week: "I just don't like ads."  ME!  THAT'S ME!  This is convenient since FB recently refreshed their algorithms recently and I spent 2 days hiding ads.  Now if FB would give me that option, I'd be set.  But seriously, just because I have a wedding board doesn't mean I need baby shit on my wall.  #ByeFelicia

ZWEI

Things I spent money on:

• Groceries.. and beer (which I will not be buying for another month).
• Teh German informed me that I would definitely be buying beer again in October since we will be having guests coming.  I completely blanked on his family being in SC for the wedding and he definitely gave me crap for "forgetting".  It's not forgetting, it's knowing that I'm barely around as it is.  He can take care of all that.
• Coffee x3 (if this is my new vice, then I'm just going to accept it.  It was girl week and I was dragging ass all week.)
• Shipping to send my wedding band back.
• Wedding bills: catering, flowers, plates/etc, unity thing.
• Walmart things (laundry soap, halloween candy, etc things)
• Lunch at Codfather...

DREI

From my phone:

Chem lab selfies while my experiment boiled.
Do you like my super awesome paper towel vent so my goggles don't fog up?  #hightech

The money I spent on this bad boy was TOTALLY worth it and all I want to do is flip through the book over and over and over.  It helped that there was a code for free extra pages.  I paid about $45 for a $150 book.  #likeaboss

If you like apple Jolly Ranchers, you'll like these.
If you're like me and do not like artificial apple flavor, pass.

Parks and Rec Easter Egg during the DoD Cyber Awareness training.
Of course Andy would call while I'm in the SCIF.
PS.  Do not judge my score.  It was my 2nd time this year doing that training and I was annoyed.

How Meri spent her 4th birthday:
Eating our Krispy Kreme while we were at work.
It's good she's so damn cute.

To finish off her day, we watched Mad Men on the upstairs TV so we could give her some extra birthday snuggles.
She didn't even complain a little bit.

 Teh Running Bestie is going to be so pleased to see this.
We're finally purging some of the mismatched dishes.

We received a set of dinnerware from our registry and I told Teh German that these were going to go.

I kept one set of the mismatches dishes until we receive the 2nd set I ordered (to have a total of 8 pieces each) or after the wedding when we buy the 2nd set.

How does a rancher keep track of his cattle?
A cow-culator

I forgot to selfie with the first joke of the week.  It was:
Why do cows wear bells?
Because their horns are broken.

It was cow week.  Next week I finally get to start incorporating some Halloween jokes.  YYYaaaassss..

VIER

From the internet:

It's definitely a click-bait site, but I thought these were hilarious. << Guys thoughts about menstruation.

FÜNF

10 things that made me happy this week:

1. Riding Bagheera to school.
2. Walmart Grocery Pickup.  Not going in the store is really a treat.
3. Passing my chem test with a B and passing my CS test with an A.
4. Scheduling my hair/makeup appointment for the wedding.
5. Receiving our first wedding gift (dishes, woot!).
6. A light homework week.
7. Starting Mad Men with Teh German.
8. Eating Marshmallow Fruity Pebbles for dinner.
9. Having survived my first full month of College Round 2.
10. Being able to write simple Java code with minimal frustration.

Happy it-almost-ain't-September-no-mo-Friday, Gentle Readers.

Book Things...

I stole this from another book blogger and I can't remember who, I'm sorry.  Maybe it was several book bloggers, IDK.  I've slept since then and well, excuses.

How many hours a week do you spend reading?

6-10 hours listening to audiobooks per week + 4+ hours of ebook time?
I don't count the hours of things I enjoy.

Do you prefer digital or print books?

I'm flexible.  I like having an eBook on my phone for "business" trips (aka poopin' time) and for when I'm waiting in line/etc, I don't have to obviously pull out a book to start reading it.  Yet, there's something about reading a print book that is comforting.

Audiobooks are by far the biggest convenience to my reading since "I'm 'reading' with my ears," as Kristen put it.  I can "read" while cleaning and driving and scooping poop in the yard.

2 favorite genres?

Young Adult
WW2 Historical Fiction

2 not-favorite genres?

Autobiographies/Biographies
Most things by Swedish authors

Biggest book pet peeve?

Weak female characters
Character behaviors that are illogical/impossible (i.e. most of the facial expressions in any 50SOG book).

Favorite thing about reading?

Getting to "discover" new worlds.
Being surprised when what I expect to happen does or doesn't happen.

Bookish confession?

I love listening to audiobooks while doing puzzles or editing photos.

Weekend Review {9/25}

FRIDAY

By Friday I was really dragging, so before class started, I hit up the not-Starbucks Starbucks (the "we brew Starbucks coffee type place) at the library.  I made a poor life choice to get the large peppermint mocha.

My German teacher complimented me on my essay that I had written for my test and we discussed how I'd been doing Duolingo German lessons for 2 years.  I explained that it didn't really help with knowing grammar, but I had a pretty decent elementary level vocabulary.  We also discussed where Teh German is from and where she is from.  It was good to finally unload that whole "don't be THAT impressed by me."

My 2nd class is computer science, where we were having a test, which was the real reason that I got the coffee, I wanted to be alert enough to process the questions.  Yeah, I was definitely alert.  I was jittery from too much caffeine.  Those jitters lasted through my math class and halfway through chemistry.

After classes were complete, I headed to work for a few hours.  I wasn't able to complete my task that I was working on since I needed answers from other people and I was trying to get home so Teh German and I could ride together to dance lessons.  When I got home, we had a few minutes to unwind and then we fed the beasts and headed to West Ashley.

For the first time, we finally nailed our dance, which made both of us really excited.  Now we just need to keep practicing and maybe not look like robots while we move around.  We'll see.  We're totally going to embrace the Logo figurine look.

After dance lessons, we headed to Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner, per Teh German's suggestion.  It was loud and cold and generally very much BWW.  We both paid for that life choice and I'm hoping that we get to avoid BWW for another long stretch.

When we got home, Teh German headed over to Teh PT House for cigar time and I stayed home.  Teh German encouraged me NOT to do homework, since he said I could use a brain break.  Per his suggestion, I did not do homework.  Instead, I got ready for bed and read in the bed until around 10:30.  Teh German said he came home around 11:15 and I didn't even hear any of it.

SATURDAY

We got a slow start on Saturday morning, which started with a Meri-rrito.

She wasn't complaining.

We didn't really have any plans for the day, besides me doing homework (for the rest of my life).  Teh German had said he wanted to work on projects, but he was slow to get motivated.  Eventually though, he did head outside and start working on his pallet project.  I was able to finish my math homework in record time (because I think I might be starting to understand it a wee bit) and I started working on my chemistry cheat sheet (allowed), but then said F this to take the dogs on a walk.  We had arranged to go to dinner with Teh AF Maintainer and Teh Dental Hygienist and I figured since we would be out late, tired dogs wouldn't hurt.

We did 1.4 miles and both dogs were super tired.  SUCCESS.  We headed to dinner around 6:45.  We had picked California Dreaming as our dinner destination and I was excited because I'd never been there before.

The croissants changed my life.

We ended up sitting outside, which was good except for the fact that there were no lights, so we had 2 cell phone flashes turned on with cups of water over them to disperse the light.  Teh German's genius idea.

After dinner, we headed home and Teh German announced that he was going to have a campfire.  Teh Dental Hygienist and Teh AF Maintainer came over for that.  Teh German prides himself on his fire skills, and it was a good fire. 

Around midnight, we finally called it a night and our guests headed home and we headed to bed.

SUNDAY

Sunday inadvertently became "MegMo Day".  We had brunch with our wedding planner and since it wasn't a mabillionty degrees, we rode Bagheera and Suzi.  After brunch, since it was so nice out, Teh German asked if I wanted to ride instead of going straight home.  I agreed and we did a "Charleston tour" and then rode through the Francis Marion forest.  It was a several hour ride and both of our butts were hurting.  We stopped about halfway and gave our butts a break and I peed in the woods.  At least my childhood trained me for that.

When we got home, it was homework time.  I studied for my chem test on Monday and finished up my cheat sheet.  Tiny writing, FTW.  After homework was complete, I asked Teh German if he wanted to go to the grocery store with me and he agreed.  It did NOT work out in my favor since our grocery bill doubled due to beer, lol.

Teh German suggested Chinese for dinner since it was next door, so he went to order while I was checking out.  We took it to go and ate after putting everything away.  After dinner, we watched the final episode of Parks and Rec.  I made the executive decision that we would watch Mad Men next since it's now available on Netflix.  Around this time, we both started regretting the Chinese food decision.  Ugh.  This is why I make the food choices.

But, it was bedtime after that.
Weekend, finis.

______________________________________________

Today, I decided to ride to school.. This was good and bad.  Good because the weather is absolutely perfect for riding right now.  Bad because my BJB is acting up and really hurting.  I have my first chemistry test at 11 and I'm as ready as I can be.  My cheat sheet is thorough, so that should help, fingers crossed.  I also brought a snack to eat so I don't get hunger stupidity.

This week includes a lot of wedding decisions/tasks, homework (of course), and my final dress fitting (hopefully). 

Happy end-of-September, Gentle Readers.

Five on Friday #124

EINS

Things I bought this week:

• New sunglasses which were MUCH needed.  Originally, I had asked Teh German for new sunglasses as a wedding gift, but I just couldn't wait anymore.
• Groceries
• Spotify subscription
• Wedding dress alterations (this time having a bra sewn into Lacy).
• Copies of the house key to distribute/hide
• Cookout milkshake
• Shutterfly photo book of our 2016 Disney Runs (FINALLLYYY)
• Starbucks on campus.
• Bills, bills, bills... (Verizon, sewer, surgery stuff)
• New bra from Victoria's Secret since I had coupons and a free panty.
• 
  

ZWEI

Random Things:

-Our screened in pergola permit got denied.  A variance is unheard of.  AKA, we're fucked.  File this under: shit I'm going to hear about for the rest of my life.

-It often takes me 6+ hours to do my chemistry assignments.  I met with the professor on Wednesday after lunch and said she tried to make the assignments about 1 hour long.  ONE HOUR!  HAHAHAHHAHA. 

-My first computer science test is today.  Ugh.  We can fill up a sheet of paper with notes for the exam.  I appreciate higher education understanding that it's not about memorizing, it's about application. 

-My first Chemistry test is on Monday.  Extra ugh.  We get 1/2 of the front of a sheet of paper for a "cheat sheet."  That will not be enough for me.  Guaranteed.  Also, why not just a whole sheet?  Seriously?  1/2 of the front?  How is that enforceable?  Ughx2.

-I heard it was supposed to be fall after Irma.. and it ain't been anything like fall around here.  LIES.

-Teh PT Wife's Mom (yeah that was complicated, sorry) gave me a gift certificate for a massage for being their wedding photographer.  That was in July.  I have yet to schedule that since I was waiting for after school to start since I was so stressed before it started.  Turns out, that stress level hasn't went down that much.  Also, finding the time to get a massage is complicated.

-I haven't scheduled bridal portraits or a makeup/hair trial.  #WorstBrideEver  Seriously though, I think I have solid messy bun game.

-I tasked Teh Mom, Teh Dad, and Teh German with rounding up some RSVPs.  Completely embarrassing, all the outstanding RSVPs are from my side of the family... I could probably just assume that most of them aren't coming, but I just like knowing because OCD.  Teh German gave me answers for all his people the same day.  #BestFianceEver

-I had signed Teh German and I up to do a 9/11 run and it was cancelled due to Irma.  I've not seen anything about it being rescheduled.  Soooo essentially, they just took my money.  No me gusta.
Update: I checked their FB, they are trying to reschedule to Oct 29 or Nov 19.  Fingers crossed for Nov 19 since the weekend of the 29th is already booked with wedding events.

-I really should get on that whole planning the beer cruise thing for the wedding weekend.  My motivation levels are epic-ly low since I spend hours of my life doing homework.  Le siiiigh.

-I have to mail my wedding band back tomorrow to get resized.  Which means I have to force myself to make time to go the post office.

-To the fool on FB who wanted to buy the Mike exhaust that I have listed on marketplace... You only wanted a small part to the entire thing and THEN you wanted me to meet you since you're 2 hours away?  Pulease, just go buy the damn thing online and don't be such a cheapass.  #Somepeoplekids

DREI

I got nothing for this section, but this post was prenumbered and I'm not going to mess up my numbering, so this is me bullshitting something for this section to say there are 5 things here.  Pinterest and Someecards resulted in nothing amusing enough for me to share with you.  This is what happens when your Pinterest board is taken over by wedding things and Someecards is a stupid click bait site.  Ugh.

VIER

From my phone:

Friday celebration.

This old ass elevator is creepy as shit to ride.
And sometimes I use it because going up and down 3 flights of stairs several times a day with my 20+ backpack isn't my idea of a good time.  #notsorry

What do you call a pile of cats?
Meow-tain

The day-to-day wedding countdown begins on Oct 1st!
The last time I did a countdown, it was when I got out of the Navy.

When you don't have kids and forget that school traffic is a thing...
There was also some asshole that drove down the wrong side of the street, almost causing no less than 2 accidents, just so she didn't have to sit in traffic.. THEN she did a u-turn just to wait on her kid getting released.  SERIOUSLY?  For once, I was disappointed that there wasn't a cop parked in that area (where they usually are).

Sloppy joes for dinner.
I'm out of motivation and good ideas for things to cook.  Seriously.
I wish I could afford someone to cook for us.

What do you call a group of disorganized cats?
a cat-astrophe.

FÜNF

10 things that made me happy this week:

1. Coffee actually waking me up.
2. Pax puking 2 minutes before the alarm would go off, compared to one hour before the alarm.
3. A mostly, no school weekend (last weekend).
4. Cheat sheets for tests.
5. PASSING my math test (78/100, the class average was "in the 70s", I'll take it).
6. Washing my phone case.  That beeyotch was nasssty.
7. German tests being easy.
8. Finishing books.
9. Successfully programming things in CS lab without any assistance.
10. Either my anxiety meds are working or it's the placebo effect, but either way, sleeping through the night is pretty miraculous.

Happy Friday, Gentle Readers.

Three Things..

Three Things has been going around the blogosphere in the last few months and I felt like this would be a fun mix up from my regular post schedule.  I also like simple blogs sometimes that I don't have to put much brain power into.  Feel free to steal.  #notsorry

Three things I've enjoyed lately

1. Reading a not ereader book before bed.
2. Teh German stepping up.
3. Meri and Pax play sessions.

Three things I dislike participating in

1. Daily status meetings of a project I don't do work on.
2. Rush hour traffic.
3. Charleston summer. It really is too fucking hot.

Three things I don't feel like doing anymore

1. Laundry (despite the new machines, I bet if we didn't have 2 stories I would be much more productive)
2. Being healthy
3. Dealing with Dan Ryan warranty repairs/House things.  It's a new house!  It should just be fine!

Three things I'm excited to do this year

1. Get hitched to Teh German, which goes hand in hand with seeing all of our people in Charleston!
2. Ride Bagheera in the fall/when it's not a mabillionty degrees outside.
3. Run a half marathon again... which I should start training for.... it would help if it wasn't still Charleston summer.

Three things I’m glad I did this year

1. Hip surgery
2. Started school.
3. Hired a wedding coordinator/planner.

Happy Halfway Through September, Gentle Readers!

Weekend Review {9/18}

Day late and a dollar short, I know.  Whatevs, the finale of this weekend was too good not to share.  PS.  This post include a picture of me in my wedding dress.

FRIDAY

School and work on Friday.  I took my math test and I was the 2nd student finished.  The teacher gave me a look when I stood up and handed her my test.  In my defense, most of the questions were straight from the book.  The same questions that I had been getting wrong for the week I studied... and had also memorized the correct answers, despite my not understand WHY I was missing those questions.  I either confidently failed or passed.  It is what it is.

I stopped by the police chief's office after class and the building was locked.  Resigned, I headed to work.  Teh German and I discussed going to get pizza to celebrate my accomplishment (completing my first difficult test which I had been really worried about) and we agreed on Mellow Mushroom.

After running into Teh Dental Hygienist on my way home, I finally headed home from work.  When I got home, we weren't really hungry so we chilled on the couch for a bit.  We had asked Teh PT Family if they wanted to join us.  They said yes, so we waited on Teh PT Wife to get home. 

We were super hungry and our server left a lot of be desired.  Eventually, we all got drinks and got fed.  Of course, we had barely had time with our appetizers before our pizza arrived... Pet peeve of mine.

Once our collective hangar was resolved, we headed back home.  We headed over to Teh PT House for smoking time. 

Finally, we were all tired and it was bedtime.

SATURDAY

I had my 2nd dress fitting on Saturday morning.  Hemmed, I exttttrrrraaa lurve my dress.  I can actually walk in it, which makes ALL the difference.  Check out that smile..

Shoe test.
HA, made you look!
As if I'm putting my dress on the internet as the debut.

On the other hand, the pins in my dress (from the sash) attacked me. 
I have no less than 5 pin scratches on my body!

After running some errands (Walmart, Goodwill, Publix), I headed home.  Teh German was working on yard things and so I tried to be productive inside.  Since there is currently no hurricane coming, I figured I'd finally remove the ice bags.  Except they had melded together and it was impossible to pull them out.  Ugh.  I tried several ways to get these out, to include a hammer, and in the end, I just ran water through the coffee pot and poured it in the drawer to melt the ice enough to pull the bags out.  It was a pain in the dick.

Freeze ziplocks filled with water, they said.
It's good for if you lose power, they said.
Please notice they said nothing about undoing all your hard work...

Probably because of the hassle that it was to get the ice bags out, watching the hot water melt the 5 ice chucks was immensely satisfying.  In fact, I may have spent 5-10 minutes letting the hot water run in the sink watching the rivets the water melted into the ice and all the different patterns. 

I also did the dishes for Teh German since he had been digging a hole in the yard for a drain and I knew he'd be exhausted.  I also had dinner fully microwaved and ready when he came downstairs from his shower.  #BestFianceEver

We stayed home that evening and watched Parks and Rec.  I stayed up late and played Roller Coaster Tycoon (RCT) and read.  I also deleted RCT after losing way too many hours of my life to it this week.  I know myself and I know that I have a hard time cutting myself off of games like that.  I ended up going to bed about 0130, after finishing Ramona Blue.

SUNDAY

Sunday morning we opted to go and get brunch on Bagheera and Suzi.  It was a good day for a ride. 

Smiley breakfast.

After brunch, we headed to Tanger to check out sunglasses for me.  I've had my Oakely LBD's since Black Friday 2014 and they have seen MUCH better days.  I've replaced the lenses in them 2x, but the frames were pretty beaten up too.  I had originally asked Teh German for new sunglasses as a wedding gift, but I just couldn't wait longer.  As something I use daily, I was tired of shittiness. 

Since Oakley no longer makes the LBD's, I had to find something different, which is always the pits.  After stopping at Sunglass Hut, I ended up finding a pair at the Oakely store that I bought and they were on sale, so that was nice.

When we got home, we were lazy with the dogs.  I read while Teh German played on his iPad.  At 5, we headed over to Mr. Golfer and Roux's Humom's house for a crab boil.  Teh German mostly starved (since he prefers his food ready to eat) but I had a few crabs and some skrimpies.  We hung out with the neighbors for several hours and finally headed home. 

Despite it being 9:30, we headed over to Teh PT House for more socializing.  When we got home at 11:00.. we discovered we were locked out.  Teh German had locked the inside door to the garage when we had gotten home since he didn't think we were leaving.  The front door was locked since we had went out that door, and the back door was locked.  The garage and backdoor were deadbolt-ed so we were mostly fucked.  Teh AF Maintainer came over to try and use a credit card to pop the lock, but it wasn't happening after 20 minutes. 

Eventually, I remembered that I had left at least one upstairs window open.  First, they tried the guest room window but it was locked.  Process of elimination meant that it was a bedroom window.  I guessed correctly that I had left the air conditioning window unlocked.  Thank God for growing up in the sticks and not believing that everything has to always be locked.  I also have a habit of locking myself out of the house, so these are also protections against myself. 

Teh German was extremely frustrated about the entire situation, but I didn't get my feathers ruffled.  Shit happens.  Our Neighbor Besties were there to help us out.  It was also an accident.   

Once we got inside, we headed straight to bed.

______________________________________________

Overall, a relaxing weekend.  Knocking out that math test blew me into the weekend and I was ok with relaxing a bit.  I tried to do some chemistry, but we hadn't covered the topics yet, so I didn't really bother.  My German homework is always caught up (since it's the easiest to do, I knock it out first) and my computer science tasks were 99% complete since there was one question that I said DNGAF to answering since it was only 2 pts.  I'd rather take the hit than bother posting a discussion about it. 

Since this is a day late, yesterday was my last PT appointment, which I'm glad and sad about.  Glad because no more driving to Summerville and missing work.  Sad because no more excuse to get out of work and because I believe it was helping.  This just means that I need to stay on top of myself and doing my exercises.  October is coming and I'm planning on starting to run.  That half marathon in Dec isn't getting further away.

I have my 2nd German test this week, my first CS test, and plenty of chem homework because the instructor doesn't seem to know how to schedule properly.  Also, I found this shit obnoxious:  We had a print-out-turn-in homework due on Sept 11th, but class was cancelled.  So the Thursday before, classes were also cancelled, she offered 5 pts extra credit for people who turned in their assignment early so she could get a head start on grading the assignments.  I emailed my assignment to her on Friday morning before class would have started.  When we get back to school a week later, she emails and asks for everyone to print out their assignment to make it easier for her to grade, even people who had turned them in early.  Nope, can't.  I tried to help you already by submitting it early and you couldn't be bothered to grade it while we were out for a week?  Not my problem.  #sorrynotsorry

We have dance lessons this Friday and we haven't really been practicing because life has spiraled out of control.  I'm hoping that next week will bring a sense of normalcy to my life since I will have taken a test in each of my classes to know what to expect from here on out.  I also need to get back on the homework wagon, the most depressing ride.

PS.  I have remedied the lock out situation and had some spare keys made.  Let's just say that is a situation that probably won't happen again.


43 days till the wedding.
That means 43 days to write my vows, get my ring sent off for resizing, to schedule my hair/makeup trial and day of appointments, and whatever else comes up.  Wish me luck.

Five on Friday #123

EINS

Things I bought this week:

• Sesame for lunch, since I failed to bring my lunch
• Coffee
• Bojangles for dinner 

I like how cheap hurricane weeks are!

ZWEI

Things from my phone:

You don't need dis hand, Mama.

I think Mr. Moose has found his new favorite place.

ROCK SOLID LIFE CHOICE:
caramel brownie with peanut butter cookie ice cream.
FUCK YAAASSS.

Puddle splashin' in my new rain boots!

This boy is a goof, but he makes me swoon.

NEVER ENOUGH ketchup on meatloaf...

2 outside beds makes the back yard a calmer place....

What would bears be without bees?
Ears.

DREI

Bullshit I'm dealing with:

The doc didn't call my meds in last week before they closed down for the hurricane which didn't really affect Charleston in ways that Charleston isn't regularly affected by a storm (downtown flooded like it always does, there was some crazy winds, blah blah).  Here's my problem.  I waited 24 hours after my appointment to call and ask about it and no one answered the phone.  Annoying.  I called 3 times in a row and no one answered the phone.  Cue the rage.  Assuming that maybe something was going on, I called back a few hours later and listened to the voicemail recording that their office was closing at noon that day and they would reopen the next Wednesday.  I called those 3x at 11:30.  30 minutes before they closed.  SOOO MUCH RAGE.  Nothing I could about it.  I forgot to call their office on Wednesday because life.  So I finally called yesterday and someone from a call center answered.  SERIOUSLY?  Someone from the office would call me back.  Fantastic.

Seriously, I just want to start taking anti-anxiety pills to see if they will help me or not.  If not, fine, then I'll work on getting my life under control, but this is me right now:

VIER

More bullshit I'm dealing with:

2 parking citations from The Citadel.  I'm trying very hard to be respectful and logical and not bring out my inner bitch, but she keeps mumbling loudly behind that duct tape I have over her mouth and it's distracting.

Let's start from the beginning of this whole shit show.
1.  When I paid for my parking pass, I was told that I could park in Kovatt's Field behind the Vet Center.
2.  I was NOT given a map for parking.
3.  When I looked up the parking map online, it only shows "decal" parking blacked out and handicapped parking/building access.
3a.  There are (at least) 3+ types of decal parking.


What had happened was....

On the 3rd day of school (so my 2nd day going to class, 8/28), I got a parking citation for parking in a faculty/staff parking spot.

Facts:
-The spot was not marked on the pavement.
-I challenged the ticket though a very official "you have to send an email to the chief" process and heard nothing back for a week
-The sign at the entrance of the parking lot does not specify that specific groups must park in designated areas.
-Citations state that you have 10 days to challenge or pay the fine.

Then at 1015 on 9/6, I received another parking citation for, again, parking in a faculty/staff parking spot.

Facts:
-On that same day, I received an email from the Vet Center Director at 1106 explaining that unlabeled parking spaces were assumed to be faculty/staff spots and that there was an area specifically for day veteran parking in that same parking area.
-I was parked in a labeled spot, this time, but I hadn't actually realized that the labels meant anything since there were also signs.
-When I went into the Vet Center to talk to the Vet Center Director about the unlabeled parking spaces, I spoke with some other vets who informed me that this day veteran parking area really existed, BUT there were very limited parking spaces there (17 to be exact).
-I went with the Vet Center Director to Public Safety to challenge the 2nd citation and inquire about the original citation.  They again gave me the email address for the police chief and told me to email him, which I did on 9/7.  Due to Hurricane Irma, the police chief responded to my email and said Irma was priority and he'd get back to me.  I acknowledged and waited.
-While at public safety, I was informed that the 10 days thing "isn't really enforced."  Good to know.
-The Vet Center Director and I also tried to hunt down the police chief in his office, but he was at lunch.

Yesterday, 9/14, I received an email from him saying,

"Megan- Thank you for your interest in dismissing these. Unfortunately, it is our position that the three (3) warning signs in Kovats Field Parking are more than sufficient to notify folks of their parking options. Although you cite a lack of identification on the asphalt in each space, there are many locales on campus that have that same issue. However, if not specifically identified as to who may park there, it should be understood, based upon the signage, that Fac/Staff only are allowed to park in those slots.

There are an additional 17 slots in Kovats specifically for Red Tags/Veterans.

Since you have no prior citations other than these two, I will dismiss one, which we do in all cases and will allow the other to remain, which you will need to address."

YOU GUYSSSSS.. I almost lost my shit at work.
I might be struggling through discrete math, but I can do normal people math in a decent way... so let's math for a minute.

When I was speaking with other Vets about the parking situation, there were 7 of us in that room.  If there are 17 spaces, that leaves 10 for other day veterans.
Dilemma: There are over 300 registered day veteran students.
Where in the shit is everyone supposed to park?

Additionally (this is me using that veteran privilege), these spots are NOT close to anything.  I feel like if you threw a rock at a group of day veterans, you wouldn't be able to not hit one with some type of service related disability.  That said, as a collective, most veterans don't play up their disabilities and only if it's really bad do they accept the handicapped placard.  That's on us, but as much as The Citadel likes to kiss veteran asses and tell us what role models we are for the cadets, I feel like we shouldn't be having to fight a parking war just to come to class and be epic roll models.

Finally.. Cadets are very limited in their comings and goings.  Freshman Cadets (aka Knobs) aren't allowed to bring their cars.  Apparently, they were also going to restrict sophomores from bringing their cars too, but that didn't happen this year.  That said, it won't help unless some of the cadet parking spots are redistributed.

My 2 cents: I parked in BFE at NC State for years.  Even when I commuted to campus, I still parked in BFE.  But I didn't have a problem with parking in BFE because that was my designated space and there was enough parking available when necessary.  I didn't have to trial and error figure out where to park.  Purple S parking was clearly labeled Purple S parking.  Gold C parking was clearly Gold C.  Yellow T parking was clear.  I don't understand how it can be that motherfucking difficult to have a clear parking plan.

But can we all agree that 17 spots is NOT enough?  I know that I've seen at least 20 vets in the Vet Center at one time and I know those bitches ain't carpoolin.

Anyways, I'm planning on going and talking to the police chief about this face to face (since it's easy to be an asshole over email), but I have a feeling my frustrations are going to seep out of me and I'm still going to be fucked over on this.  From my understanding, this situation is not uncommon.

The reality is, each parking citation is $25 and it's not that I don't have the money to pay it (although that could be the case for someone else), but the principle of the matter that this situation is fucked up and it's not ok.  If I had been given a map or shown EXACTLY where to park, I wouldn't be this stubborn about it.  I'm not above admitting when I'm wrong.  But I do not feel like I'm in the wrong on this.  I just worry about running out of steam while trying to fight the fight.

FÜNF

10 things that made me happy this week:

1. Hurricane days.
2. Pax discovering the couch.
3. Tired dogs (we assumed they played all day and wore themselves out)
4. Roller Coaster Tycoon.  I should have never downloaded this.  But it has been very nice to space out and not think of school for a few hours.
5. Getting questions right when studying math/chemistry.
6. Shutterfly coupon codes which lead me to FINALLY getting that photo book from our 2016 runDisney events created...
7. Getting to look through all the Run Disney photos to upload photos to Shutterfly.
8. Reading.
9. Wearing hoodies.  IDGAF if it's still 80°F out.  
10. Colored staples in my mini stapler.

Happy Friday, Gentle Readers

Shit Teh German Said #13

Retelling a story.
Teh PT Husband: Wait, a muzzle fell out of your bag [to me], is it for you?
tG: She has been a little mouthy lately.
 

Doing my evaluation paperwork at my first PT appointment after my surgery.
Teh PT Husband: When did this happen?
tM: January 2017.
tG: Febrary 1986.



tG: I just want to make my words sound.








We are upstairs and I was still on crutches after my surgery and my phone started ringing downstairs.
tG: Your phone is ringing.
tM: Let's not pretend like I'm going to go answer that.  We both know I won't make it downstairs in time.


tM: Sometimes I get up in the morning and I'm like (scary noise).
tG: Yep. I just love you.


tM: Ugh, that car doesn't have any brake lights.  Only their rear window brake light works.
tG: They have a disabled tag.  Maybe it's for the car.



tM: Yeah, Teh PT Wife definitely got some angry snaps about that from me.
tG: like [sassy snaps]?

tM: Are you waiting on me to get into bed?
tG: Yes.
tM: Why?
tG: So I can rub your shoulders like you asked.
tM: OH! I had forgot.
tG groans.
 

While discussing photos of a totaled van.
tM: If you have to ask if that van is totaled, you are an idiot.
tG: Well, by South Carolina standards... You could probably just buff that out.
tM: And add some duct tape.  "Yeah, it's all good now, don't mind the fact that the van has a limp, the duct tape will hold it together."
tG: Put an LED light on it, no one will notice.


After getting a sunburn.
tG: Is the light still on or are you glowing?


tM: I can't even see the Big Dipper anymore!
tG: It's dippin.


tG: They are local.  You can tell from their driving.
tG: Maybe not.


About Teh German driving fast on Highway 181 (which is pretty curvy) on our way up to the Highland Games.
tM: I told you take one of your favorite roads, what did I expect?
tG: Yeah, you did this to yourself.



Shit Teh German Said Edition 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13  adadas 

Wednesday Dump {9/13}

Hurricane stay home days + a weekend are like a staycation I always need. It feels like I somehow manage to get my life together while hunker down for the storm. Maybe it's just recoup time for me, well or study time now, but I always go back refreshed. Completely different than after a vacation which I tend to need more days off to recover from. #HurricaneStaycation

I don't really have a lot of things to dump (because when you spend a majority of your time focused on chem and discrete math, you don't really have very interesting thoughts), so instead, I'm stealing from Brianne and answering some random questions. I lurve random questions. #notsorry




What’s the clumsiest thing you’ve done?
Be.

I fell INTO the boat rather than into the water.
Life lesson: Sunscreen is slippery.  So is water.

What did you eat so much of that now you hate it?
Grape jelly. Almost every day in 2nd grade, I had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch. Not a problem, except that Teh Mom would prepare my lunch before school and by the time lunchtime rolled around, the sandwich would be soggy. Also, I took a LOT of Dimeatapp as a kid and no longer tolerate the taste of artificial grapes. To the point that I also usually pass on eating grapes.


What word do you always mispronounce?
Vulnerable. I also used to say ah-bom-ah-nem instead of abdomen.


What’s your favorite drink?
Sweet tea.  Always.

When people come to you for help, what do they usually want help with?
Suggestions for things to do/places to eat.


What was the best book or series that you’ve ever read?
Tales of the Otori.  I wish more people would read it so I would have a reason to reread it and love it all over again and then talk about it with everyone.


What is the most annoying question that people ask you?
Anything that I've already answered before, specifically in text that can be referenced at a later time.


What could you give a 40-minute presentation on with absolutely no preparation?
Sighthounds/Greyhounds/dogs in general.

If baby Meri doesn't melt your ice heart, you might be dead.
And my Baggins.. 💓💛💚💙💜

What’s worth spending more on to get the best?
Anything you use daily.


What fad or trend do you hope comes back?
Tie-dye shirts and bell bottom pants. 

Pretty much my favorite outfit for soooo many years.
I'm certain I had enough tie-dye shirts for every day of the week, then some.
#notsorry