Not a lot to report today. I went to work early - or so I tried, anyway. Bus was running way late, then the freaking bus driver tried to give me crap about having a February bus pass - when that's all the lady gave me! Whatever jerk. At least tomorrow is February so no one will pick on me...
Went to the doctor's this afternoon, which turned into a 3 hour trip (again - it's the bus...) So needless to say, I have some time to make up at work.
After work, I stopped at Fantastic Sam's, which now has a nail place attached to it, which is maybe four blocks up the street - right by the coffee shop and village market. So I got my nails done - and for cheaper than at home!! I also stopped into Subway to grab some food for dinner before coming back here for the night. And here I am!! I'm exhausted and am going to try to get into work early tomorrow so - this is all for now, I'm sorry :)
Love you guys...
Oh - and I owe a special thank you to Mike who sent me a card and a gift card for McDonalds for some more hotcakes ;) And Sherri, Sharon, Jeannine, Val, Kami and Jenn who sent me a card with some adorable pictures and candy!!!!! You ladies are too good to me, that's for sure. I miss you guys so much!!
Okay I see this strange bug haunting my ceilings so I need to go Windex it (it works - I promise!).
xoxo
me!
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
I ate all my oreos already!!
We're coasting towards the weekend! :)
Today was such a long day... not really time-wise, because it flew by, but stuff kept piling on top of our department, making for a long day of problem-solving and people-pleasing.
At least when I woke up - the weather was much calmer and there was no rain. Mom surprised me with a phone call while I was on the bus (nothing like a pleasant interruption to that morning commute!!) and I got to work semi-early. But already, by 7:45, Irene was swamped with complaints and issues and changes and ready to scream, so I got there just in time. We fixed what we could, and spent the rest of the day scheduling of course, but with a MAJOR shortage of staff. My floor alone was short almost 30 hours, so I had to creatively move the patients around, and let's just say some might be getting more occupational therapy tomorrow than physical therapy! :) It's supposed to be even but what can ya do...??
I spent a lot of my afternoon battling medical/insurance issues again. Even though I got a prescription last week, I still didn't feel right today so I thought since my insurance runs up tomorrow, it'd be nice to just get peace of mind and see a doctor. There's the Kapi'olani Women and Childrens Center about...300 feet from my apartment - can't beat that! :) (You should see the website - they offer cooking classes, cosmetic surgery, pilates, ob/gyn services, doctors offices, cancer centers, and alllllll the other girly stuff you could want - yes, even massages!) So I called there this afternoon thinking, there's ONE doctor's office I can find so luckily they had an appointment open tomorrow afternoon so I gave her my insurance information. After calling me about 5 times going over my ID number, then my group number, then my ID number again (ugh!) - she called to tell me she checked my eligibility and I was not eligible. Oooooh realllllly??? So I called Kami at work (the ONLY time I was happy to know she's working late!) and had her look up my insurance information and sure enough, I'm eligible - so she was NICE ENOUGH to fax that over to the Women's Center. (Thank you, Kami!) :) But after I thought about it - I was pretty excited, seeing as how it's so close to my apartment - but then I realized after I made the appt - my appt is at 1:30 in the afternoon. Well, now that's not so convenient is it! So I have to take the bus back (at least I know which bus it is) and then back again to work (aren't you glad I bought a bus pass?!).
Besides that, tomorrow should be calm enough. I hope anyhow. Sheena won't be at work so it will just be Irene... which is fine, but I'm hoping we don't get slammed again.
Did I ever mention how cheap the cafeteria is?? I think I did. But this morning I was starving (time to grocery shop again...) so I went to get a blueberry bagel and cream cheese, and to save time, I bought my egg salad sandwich, chips and a pop for lunch - all for something like $4.80 I think? Something close to $5. For lunch and breakfast - I'd say that's a decent deal. Maybe cheaper than grocery shopping for that food?! Geez.
I am DETERMINED to get to the beach this weekend!! I shouldn't be so pale for living here, and I have no fun beach pictures to send anyone. How sad am I?! :) Just hope the rain holds off....
I don't have anything else really to report. I hope everyone's mid-week was decent - and everyone is looking forward to the weekend.
Jenn - I tried to call you back, sorry - you must've already fallen asleep by the time I called (that was quick!!). Write me tomorrow at work or something - and remind me I have a list of things I want from home...(or at least I will by then!! haha)
Okay - have to get to work early so I'm off to sleep semi-early tonight.
Of course you know, but I'll tell you anyway - Love and Miss you :) :)
me.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Its a Monsoooon!!!!
Thought I'd start with some fun pictures :) A mini-tour, if you will...
The elevators by the entrance...(The gate is our "front door" and that's the call box)
These are the "lockers" where they put larger packages - I told a couple of you I'd let you know how big they are but I still can't tell. They're deep, though - even if not more than 12 inches tall.
This is the little hallway of mailboxes (this is directly across from the elevators). Notice that "wall" is open - those are just bricks - and there's another gate on the right that goes out to our laundry area.
This is at the other end of the hall - directly across from (and down a ways) from the front door. This is also just a gate - can we say huge wind tunnel?? I go smoke out here.
And this is my apartment door from the outside!! Those are those 'slats' I keep trying to explain to people that you can open/close for airflow. That fire exit is always open - and since the other end of the hallway is another gate - it's also just a big wind tunnel! :) I love it. And that fire hose thing is directly outside of my door - yay. (Sarcasm!)
Okay.
I've finished my oreos so it's safe to blog now!
Today I woke up to what I thought was a monsoon!! The palm trees were all swaying and bending and the wind was insanely strong. Even though I forgot to pack an umbrella (duh) I did remember my rain jacket thingie - so I threw that on over my hoodie and I was pretty safe with that. The ride to work was rather uneventful on the bus. Work started pretty busily - (spell check didn't flag that so now I KNOW that's a word!) but I did schedule a floor on my own. I think that's old news now, huh?? I did take my time, because today it was pretty frustrating.
Yesterday - Sheena and I were the only two scheduling and the way the numbers fell, we had 50 more hours NEEDED in therapy than we had being worked by schedulers, does that make sense? We were negative 50.5 hrs. Yet, through doubling and on-calls, we fit it ALL on there. Today, with three schedulers, we were -25.5 hours, and we were struggling hardcore at the end to find hours to fit the patients in....not sure how that happens but...that made it a stressful afternoon. Then when we were all finished - we were out of things to do! We tried to look busy for 2.5 hrs...I can't see doing that every day. That will get old quick.
The sun finally came out for GOOD this afternoon - or so I thought. It was out all morning but it kept raining, then a cloud would sneak in, then rain, then sun - back and forth At the end of the day - the sun was so bright I thought for sure it was done raining. I was fine at the bus stop, but when I got on the bus and we were going downtown, it was raining on the right side of the bus, but not the left. That's so fun :) Unfortunately, right after I got on the bus and looked towards Punchbowl (the direction of my apartment from work) I saw some serious clouds sneaking over the mountains....and I knew my place would be wet. Sure enough, get close to my place and it's raining hard. HARD!!!! I walk, maybe 200 feet? to my apartment from the bus stop - and I was soaked through. Darnit!!! Remind me to get an umbrella. A SERIOUS umbrella!!!
Can you actually see that i'm soaking wet or no? This is like, a 30 second walk for me...
And since I've been home, it's been the usual call-center :) I talked to Craig for a bit, then Dad, then Zachary. And now everyone's gone to bed and I'm watching American Idol. Figures, by the time my nighttime minutes start, everyone's asleep!!! (12 am your time back home) Oh well :) It's good talking to everyone...
I wanted to say hi to Grandmother & Granddad - I saw your comment the other day and I'm sorry I haven't emailed or anything lately. It was so good talking to the two of you before I left - and I hope you're still doing well and keeping warm. Love you :)
I hope everyone had a decent Tuesday (minus Zachary - who had a pretty poopy Tuesday). And hopefully HumpDay's that much better!! Happy Wednesday (it is where you are!)
I'm going to take my shower early, curl up on the ... inflatable mattress, watch American Idol and House and hope to be asleep by the end of that. I was beat today.
Say hello sometime tomorrow if you'd like! It's always nice getting a text (I have unlimited!) or a phone call or an email
LOVE and MISS you!!
me.
PS - I Just remembered something - Jenn this might be up to you to find - or Zach I'm not sure. But I have a little yearbook thing from fourth grade...it was in addition to our normal yearbook (both softcover) for Raccoon Elementary. If someone knows where this is - or can find it - turn to my page and tell me what it says under my picture...I've been thinking about that for some time and I want to see if I remember correctly ;)
Let me know what you find!
The elevators by the entrance...(The gate is our "front door" and that's the call box)
These are the "lockers" where they put larger packages - I told a couple of you I'd let you know how big they are but I still can't tell. They're deep, though - even if not more than 12 inches tall.
This is the little hallway of mailboxes (this is directly across from the elevators). Notice that "wall" is open - those are just bricks - and there's another gate on the right that goes out to our laundry area.
This is at the other end of the hall - directly across from (and down a ways) from the front door. This is also just a gate - can we say huge wind tunnel?? I go smoke out here.
And this is my apartment door from the outside!! Those are those 'slats' I keep trying to explain to people that you can open/close for airflow. That fire exit is always open - and since the other end of the hallway is another gate - it's also just a big wind tunnel! :) I love it. And that fire hose thing is directly outside of my door - yay. (Sarcasm!)
Okay.I've finished my oreos so it's safe to blog now!
Today I woke up to what I thought was a monsoon!! The palm trees were all swaying and bending and the wind was insanely strong. Even though I forgot to pack an umbrella (duh) I did remember my rain jacket thingie - so I threw that on over my hoodie and I was pretty safe with that. The ride to work was rather uneventful on the bus. Work started pretty busily - (spell check didn't flag that so now I KNOW that's a word!) but I did schedule a floor on my own. I think that's old news now, huh?? I did take my time, because today it was pretty frustrating.
Yesterday - Sheena and I were the only two scheduling and the way the numbers fell, we had 50 more hours NEEDED in therapy than we had being worked by schedulers, does that make sense? We were negative 50.5 hrs. Yet, through doubling and on-calls, we fit it ALL on there. Today, with three schedulers, we were -25.5 hours, and we were struggling hardcore at the end to find hours to fit the patients in....not sure how that happens but...that made it a stressful afternoon. Then when we were all finished - we were out of things to do! We tried to look busy for 2.5 hrs...I can't see doing that every day. That will get old quick.
The sun finally came out for GOOD this afternoon - or so I thought. It was out all morning but it kept raining, then a cloud would sneak in, then rain, then sun - back and forth At the end of the day - the sun was so bright I thought for sure it was done raining. I was fine at the bus stop, but when I got on the bus and we were going downtown, it was raining on the right side of the bus, but not the left. That's so fun :) Unfortunately, right after I got on the bus and looked towards Punchbowl (the direction of my apartment from work) I saw some serious clouds sneaking over the mountains....and I knew my place would be wet. Sure enough, get close to my place and it's raining hard. HARD!!!! I walk, maybe 200 feet? to my apartment from the bus stop - and I was soaked through. Darnit!!! Remind me to get an umbrella. A SERIOUS umbrella!!!
Can you actually see that i'm soaking wet or no? This is like, a 30 second walk for me...And since I've been home, it's been the usual call-center :) I talked to Craig for a bit, then Dad, then Zachary. And now everyone's gone to bed and I'm watching American Idol. Figures, by the time my nighttime minutes start, everyone's asleep!!! (12 am your time back home) Oh well :) It's good talking to everyone...
I wanted to say hi to Grandmother & Granddad - I saw your comment the other day and I'm sorry I haven't emailed or anything lately. It was so good talking to the two of you before I left - and I hope you're still doing well and keeping warm. Love you :)
I hope everyone had a decent Tuesday (minus Zachary - who had a pretty poopy Tuesday). And hopefully HumpDay's that much better!! Happy Wednesday (it is where you are!)
I'm going to take my shower early, curl up on the ... inflatable mattress, watch American Idol and House and hope to be asleep by the end of that. I was beat today.
Say hello sometime tomorrow if you'd like! It's always nice getting a text (I have unlimited!) or a phone call or an email
LOVE and MISS you!!
me.
PS - I Just remembered something - Jenn this might be up to you to find - or Zach I'm not sure. But I have a little yearbook thing from fourth grade...it was in addition to our normal yearbook (both softcover) for Raccoon Elementary. If someone knows where this is - or can find it - turn to my page and tell me what it says under my picture...I've been thinking about that for some time and I want to see if I remember correctly ;)
Let me know what you find!
Monday, January 28, 2008
Rainy Day
Monday's over - phew!! I've always hated Mondays but I guess this one wasn't so bad...
Yesterday started out pretty lazy for me - I woke up REALLY late (on purpose of course) and laid in front of the TV for awhile - a sure perk when your couch and your bed are one in the same. Eventually I decided to get down the block to that Village Market, well four blocks, and I got a Bertolli's dinner, oreos and milk (shhh!), bananas (yay!), and water. I got back and washed some clothes in the sink again (ewww) and took them down to the dryers - only to rip my laundry bag in the process. Ooops :( That made the trip fun...anyway I threw them in the dryer then Jesse called to see if I wanted to go grab some food in Waikiki so I got the laundry out when it was done - only it wasn't dry. In a rush, I just threw it all out all over the room to let it dry out while I was gone. So we went to Outback and I was craving a burger for DAYS so I got a Hickory Burger...but it took over an hour to get it. And it was well-done, when I ordered it medium. Needless to say, Jesse spoke up about the long wait and my burnt burger and I got a free cup of soup while I waited for my sandwich and they threw in cheesecake with chocolate sauce (shhh!) as well as comp'ing my meal. I felt bad though that Jesse still had a bill of $40 (he ordered all sorts of crap for himself) but mine was free because he spoke up so I split the bill with him. Two hours later!!! We finally got out of there...by the time I got back, most of my clothes were dry - and I spent the rest of the night relaxing and trying to sleep but because I slept in SO much, I had a hard time doing that!! After I finally did, 6 am crept up FAST on me.
Today was a rainy day - all day for the most part. But remember, with rain, we still get sunshine, so I can't complain too much. After work, I went to the 7-Eleven and got a bus pass - WOOHOO!! Now I have a pass and I won't have to go on mile walks to get cash to get on the stupid bus. I feel better about that...
And here I am. I haven't done much since I got off work - but now I have to decide whether to attack the oreos or the cheesecake - touch call. Maybe I'll combine them! ;)
Sorry so short - been boring the past couple days!
Love and Miss you.
THANK YOU FOR THE CARD, MOM!!! :) It did make me laugh - I had to read it twice to make sure I got it...too funny.
Love you!
Yesterday started out pretty lazy for me - I woke up REALLY late (on purpose of course) and laid in front of the TV for awhile - a sure perk when your couch and your bed are one in the same. Eventually I decided to get down the block to that Village Market, well four blocks, and I got a Bertolli's dinner, oreos and milk (shhh!), bananas (yay!), and water. I got back and washed some clothes in the sink again (ewww) and took them down to the dryers - only to rip my laundry bag in the process. Ooops :( That made the trip fun...anyway I threw them in the dryer then Jesse called to see if I wanted to go grab some food in Waikiki so I got the laundry out when it was done - only it wasn't dry. In a rush, I just threw it all out all over the room to let it dry out while I was gone. So we went to Outback and I was craving a burger for DAYS so I got a Hickory Burger...but it took over an hour to get it. And it was well-done, when I ordered it medium. Needless to say, Jesse spoke up about the long wait and my burnt burger and I got a free cup of soup while I waited for my sandwich and they threw in cheesecake with chocolate sauce (shhh!) as well as comp'ing my meal. I felt bad though that Jesse still had a bill of $40 (he ordered all sorts of crap for himself) but mine was free because he spoke up so I split the bill with him. Two hours later!!! We finally got out of there...by the time I got back, most of my clothes were dry - and I spent the rest of the night relaxing and trying to sleep but because I slept in SO much, I had a hard time doing that!! After I finally did, 6 am crept up FAST on me.
Today was a rainy day - all day for the most part. But remember, with rain, we still get sunshine, so I can't complain too much. After work, I went to the 7-Eleven and got a bus pass - WOOHOO!! Now I have a pass and I won't have to go on mile walks to get cash to get on the stupid bus. I feel better about that...
And here I am. I haven't done much since I got off work - but now I have to decide whether to attack the oreos or the cheesecake - touch call. Maybe I'll combine them! ;)
Sorry so short - been boring the past couple days!
Love and Miss you.
THANK YOU FOR THE CARD, MOM!!! :) It did make me laugh - I had to read it twice to make sure I got it...too funny.
Love you!
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Lazy Saturday!
First off - I feel about 90% better - thanks for those who helped and checked up on me :) I didn't feel better this morning so I walked (well, almost crawled) to the pharmacy (a mile away) and got some stuff then stopped at McDonald's to get food on the way back. I was talking to Jenn at the time so I recited some of the menu to her - Spam and eggs and rice :) I wasn't lying!! And portugese sausage and rice. I'm not brave enough to try either, really. So I got hotcakes - yum!! That's right folks, I was up in time to walk a mile to a pharmacy and STILL get to McD's for breakfast.
I got back here and continued to talk to Jenn and, like I usually do while on the phone, I cleaned the apartment. And since I forgot to buy a Swiffer at Walmart last weekend (by forgot, I mean purposely avoided those aisles due to the enormous amount of idiotic tourists clogging them and getting in my way) so I used my Clorox Bleach wipes :) That took awhile...and was hard with an aching belly...but man I could eat off that floor now! I also washed the mirror doors, did dishes, emptied the trash (did I tell you I found a trash chute??) and cleaned the bathroom. Then I bugged Pam for her medical knowledge before I took anything that I bought to be sure I wasn't going to mess myself up more - and she convinced me to go find coffee and food after we got off the phone - what a good idea! :) So I took my shower and walked down about three or four blocks and found a few Asian places and a Subway (remind me the one Asian place doesn't accept credit!!) So I bought some katsu chicken again, and found a little supermarket thing (real small) and bought People and the canned coffee I like, and found a little coffee shop and bought a huge mocha. They have food there, too - including lox on a bagel which makes me VERY happy and I'll be sure to find that another day when I'm in the mood for it (or haven't already bought katsu chicken). So Suzette was on the phone with me through that adventure :) Sorry for all the background noise and my distractions, Suzette!!
When I got back, I turned on the TV and read my People after I ate my dinner, and there's a ton left over so I threw that in the fridge. I watched a little TV and remembered my coffee so I warmed that up on the stove and now I'm enjoying that! :)
I realized one thing I really like about not knowing anyone - and living in Hawaii - I can get out of the shower and let my hair air-dry!!! :) No one I know will see it if it's a mess, and it dries so fast!!
So I didnt really elaborate on my day yesterday - I forgot. But obviously it started out rough being doubled over in pain - but I got used to that as the day went on. I got to work knowing I was the only scheduler there (because it's Sheena's day off and Irene has been sick) so Shelby came to help me a bit after I had to fix problems from the day before that the other schedulers caused...ugh. After a nine hour day and no lunch, I booked two floors on my own and solved so many issues :) I'm so proud of MYSELF!! And Susan was too apparently so she gave me 2 movie passes and Shelby took me home so I could avoid the bus. :) She even asked me to go out for drinks with some of the therapists - but I passed, due to the bellyache. And Jesse was feeling sick, too so we didn't go out like we were supposed to. Today he said he'd call if he felt better 'cause he wanted to go to the swap meet - but I haven't heard from him so maybe tomorrow? Though that's probably the last thing I need to do - go spend more money. BUT! That's where the good purses are... ;)
Well. That's it for now. Off to drink some coffee and find a movie to watch...
Talk to you soon! Miss you...
xoxo
OH! And another good bus story - I saw a cross-dresser on the bus Friday morning. Long, curly hair, mini-skirt, purse, heels, nicer legs than me... and a mustache! WOW!! Everyone was a bit shocked. ;)
I got back here and continued to talk to Jenn and, like I usually do while on the phone, I cleaned the apartment. And since I forgot to buy a Swiffer at Walmart last weekend (by forgot, I mean purposely avoided those aisles due to the enormous amount of idiotic tourists clogging them and getting in my way) so I used my Clorox Bleach wipes :) That took awhile...and was hard with an aching belly...but man I could eat off that floor now! I also washed the mirror doors, did dishes, emptied the trash (did I tell you I found a trash chute??) and cleaned the bathroom. Then I bugged Pam for her medical knowledge before I took anything that I bought to be sure I wasn't going to mess myself up more - and she convinced me to go find coffee and food after we got off the phone - what a good idea! :) So I took my shower and walked down about three or four blocks and found a few Asian places and a Subway (remind me the one Asian place doesn't accept credit!!) So I bought some katsu chicken again, and found a little supermarket thing (real small) and bought People and the canned coffee I like, and found a little coffee shop and bought a huge mocha. They have food there, too - including lox on a bagel which makes me VERY happy and I'll be sure to find that another day when I'm in the mood for it (or haven't already bought katsu chicken). So Suzette was on the phone with me through that adventure :) Sorry for all the background noise and my distractions, Suzette!!
When I got back, I turned on the TV and read my People after I ate my dinner, and there's a ton left over so I threw that in the fridge. I watched a little TV and remembered my coffee so I warmed that up on the stove and now I'm enjoying that! :)
I realized one thing I really like about not knowing anyone - and living in Hawaii - I can get out of the shower and let my hair air-dry!!! :) No one I know will see it if it's a mess, and it dries so fast!!
So I didnt really elaborate on my day yesterday - I forgot. But obviously it started out rough being doubled over in pain - but I got used to that as the day went on. I got to work knowing I was the only scheduler there (because it's Sheena's day off and Irene has been sick) so Shelby came to help me a bit after I had to fix problems from the day before that the other schedulers caused...ugh. After a nine hour day and no lunch, I booked two floors on my own and solved so many issues :) I'm so proud of MYSELF!! And Susan was too apparently so she gave me 2 movie passes and Shelby took me home so I could avoid the bus. :) She even asked me to go out for drinks with some of the therapists - but I passed, due to the bellyache. And Jesse was feeling sick, too so we didn't go out like we were supposed to. Today he said he'd call if he felt better 'cause he wanted to go to the swap meet - but I haven't heard from him so maybe tomorrow? Though that's probably the last thing I need to do - go spend more money. BUT! That's where the good purses are... ;)
Well. That's it for now. Off to drink some coffee and find a movie to watch...
Talk to you soon! Miss you...
xoxo
OH! And another good bus story - I saw a cross-dresser on the bus Friday morning. Long, curly hair, mini-skirt, purse, heels, nicer legs than me... and a mustache! WOW!! Everyone was a bit shocked. ;)
Friday, January 25, 2008
Owie
If anyone knows why my lower abdomen, on the left side, a little lower than my belly button - would be sore to the touch, and when i sit it makes me feel like i have a stomach-ache, let me know!! :)
Thursday, January 24, 2008
1/24 Not long I promise :)
I got SO many complaints that the last entry was really long - (ahem - from people who don't even leave me COMMENTS) - so this won't be long.
Irene called off work for today and tomorrow - meaning it is JUST ME tomorrow scheduling! Yikes. Shelby will be helping I'm sure, and some therapists said they'd help (the ones that used to schedule) so it shouldn't be too bad. But I imagine I'll be a bit stressed :)
Tomorrow night, Jesse wants to go into town and hit up a couple bars, or maybe this bar that has a patio RIGHT on the beach, like, literally - there's a mini-wall keeping you from the sand and water. So we'll see...I might need a drink after my day tomorrow.
Tonight I started doing some laundry - this may sound gross but to save money I washed some of my clothes up here in the apt and just took them down to the dryer. Only - I used my dollar to use the dryer and forgot I need singles for the bus - I only had a $5 :) Oops. I made a mile walk to the 7/11 for singles. Ugh....
So that's it in a nutshell. I figure you all need a break after that last novel. Zach told me he was reading it to his dad and eventually even his dad said 'ookay that's enough' :) I get the hint, guys!!
HAPPY FRIDAY
xoxo
Irene called off work for today and tomorrow - meaning it is JUST ME tomorrow scheduling! Yikes. Shelby will be helping I'm sure, and some therapists said they'd help (the ones that used to schedule) so it shouldn't be too bad. But I imagine I'll be a bit stressed :)
Tomorrow night, Jesse wants to go into town and hit up a couple bars, or maybe this bar that has a patio RIGHT on the beach, like, literally - there's a mini-wall keeping you from the sand and water. So we'll see...I might need a drink after my day tomorrow.
Tonight I started doing some laundry - this may sound gross but to save money I washed some of my clothes up here in the apt and just took them down to the dryer. Only - I used my dollar to use the dryer and forgot I need singles for the bus - I only had a $5 :) Oops. I made a mile walk to the 7/11 for singles. Ugh....
So that's it in a nutshell. I figure you all need a break after that last novel. Zach told me he was reading it to his dad and eventually even his dad said 'ookay that's enough' :) I get the hint, guys!!
HAPPY FRIDAY
xoxo
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
1/22 Oops - Longer than I expected sorry!
I promised I'd update tonight, but I'm not sure I have much to update with...
A little birdy left me notes to find as I went through my wardrobe and I thought for sure I'd seen them all but this morning I found another :) My favorite so far:
"Away to the island went Kristen
to her heart she began to listen...
It took her awhile
But now she can smile
The buckeye flew away from the snow a'driftin'"
This morning started out crappy. I woke up pretty late. Late being 6:45 when I try to catch the bus at 7 or 7:30. Luckily, I still take my showers before going to bed so I did not have to scramble too much, but I still managed to miss the 7:15. It came early. Figures. The past couples days here have been really windy and we've seen rain at least once during the day, usually in the mornings. Last night and tonight are so windy that when I go outside to smoke, I almost get pushed over. Needless to say, I stay in when it's super windy!
So I got to work a little bit late, but it was no big deal. After a meeting with Shelby and Susan, and seeing how much they put on us, they decided to take us out to P.F. Chang's for lunch. Apparently some people don't know what that is, so I think saying it's a really expensive Chinese restaurant sums it up alright. I think our meals were probably at least $30/person, and there were five of us. Phew! Glad I wasn't picking up the tab! :) It was nice to get out with Shelby and Susan and feel like they're getting to know me a little more. They're both pretty young and have a great sense of humor, so we all had a good time. They think I'm sassy. And Susan told me she thinks I look like I belong here. Not "native" obviously, but I could be mistaken for someone who's lived here all my life. Considering the green eyes and freckles and white skin, I was a bit surprised to hear that! :)
The rest of the afternoon went pretty quickly. I had to deal with my Ohio doctor and the local pharmacies, well actually Jenn and Mom had to deal with Dr. Shemory's office. And I was going to have our hospital's pharmacy fill the Rx for me, but it turned out since we only do therapy there, the prescription I needed was not readily available. I had to call the hospital's pharmacy across the street and arrange to have it sent there, and give them my Ohio insurance - which apparently tripped them up a bit. Then I had to call Shemory's office and leave a msg for a nurse to call me because apparently the girl answering the phone couldn't just write down a freaking phone number. I was almost in tears - mostly because I'm PMSing - TMI, sorry. After work, I walked to the pharmacy and only ended up having to pay $2.87 for it so it turned out alright. I am still BEYOND GRATEFUL to Mom and Jenn for helping me out with that situation. Hopefully the meds kick in ASAP and I can live in comfort once again :) Glad I still had my insurance...
Anyway it is now official that I schedule a floor everyday. Looks like I'll be doing the third floor consistently, so that I can get used to the patients and the practitioners and their schedules. Since we took a long lunch, and because I had a complicated schedule today, it took me a bit longer to do the schedule and I got pretty frustrated as it grew closer to quitting time. It was my own fault. We are supposed to schedule new patients first, to be sure they are paired up with their primary PTs and OTs, but I forgot one, so when I got down to the last couple patients I tried to squeeze this guy in and ended up short on hours from PTs and OTs and scrambled to fit them in. Since it's all a big puzzle, I eventually worked it out - but I saw my first hint of stress from scheduling. Right now, they still have us squeezed into this small room, and two of us are working off of laptops....apparently once we are officially doing our own floors, we will go to our respective floor for the afternoon to schedule on desktops. I won't get to talk to the girls, then. But I can take my iPod and hope no one bothers me.
Tonight I came home kind of grumpy. Just the day - and stressing over the usual bills and rent and car payment - and worrying about finding things like the post office and a place to buy a bus pass. It's frustrating right now and tonight it definitely got to me. Zach had the pleasure of hearing it all on the phone tonight - but of course, knowing Zachary, he told me to breathe and told me it'd all be okay. Thanks for that. But we all know I'll continue to freak out - it's my nature.
I obviously have the internet at the apartment now - which is great. I spent some time downloading songs and singing louder than I should in an apartment building. My poor neighbors. (I think I have neighbors?! I never see 'em).
Dad: Boston Legal comes on at 9 pm here. Zach: American Idol comes on at 7 pm here. So when I said nothing's on at 7, I totally lied. I missed American Idol. Rob and Big comes on at 10:30 tonight.
Stupid TV time zone crap.
Hopefully tomorrow starts off a little smoother.
No exciting bus stories. No one farted on me today. I know I didn't put that story on here, but long story short, this creature of a woman who looks like she's straight from the trailer parks in Ohio sat basically ON me at the bus stop - I moved over and she raised a leg and ripped one LONG AND HARD for a good 2 seconds, shaking the bench. This was Friday. I'm still having nightmares about it... YUCK.
The pool is done in the backyard. I saw them start to fill it, so this time tomorrow that pool should be full. It's pretty cold, though. I'm outside in a sweatshirt and jeans after work.
Okay I guess that's it. I rambled more than I thought I would! I feel like I had more to say but (lucky for you) I can't remember...my brain's worn out by this time at night.
I know lots of people are reading this - you've all told me so - wish you'd leave me comments. Makes me happy to read them...
Jenn - I hope things are working out for you at work - your Myspace makes it look like something got worked out. Can't wait to hear what you've arranged.
Dad & Patty - Hope you guys are staying warm. Dad you said you have a long day (not sure why) so I hope it goes smoothly for you...
Suzette - I miss you a TON and think about you a lot. During the day mostly - so I wish I had more time at work to write you. I haven't forgotten about you and I hope things are looking up for you - keep me updated.
Kami - It was SO nice talking to you for the first time since I've been here - I can't believe it'd been that long. But it was good to have our little chats again...I miss those.
Pam & Dan - I hope you're still reading!! It was so nice to talk to you on the phone the other day - I hope my craziness and multitasking wasn't annoying and I get to talk to you again soon. I guess weekends are good for that!!
Sharon & Sherri - Haha I KNOW you're reading!! I'm sorry I didn't respond to your emails today - but it was SO good to hear from you guys. I miss being in the office with you ladies...I hope I didn't leave you with more stress...hopefully NDS is behaving themselves :)
Zachary - I appreciate your calm and collected attitude sometimes. I tend to ignore things a lot and they build up at once and you know that so it's nice for you to offer to help and be there to at least listen to me whine - I wish I didn't ruin our conversations with that - cause it's nice just chatting with you and gossiping. I can't wait to get your package - even if it is just bills from Akron :)
Mom - I'm glad things worked out for you in the mornings - I hope that's still going alright for you - I haven't heard an update lately. Also - I miss you more than you know as well...I think about you all the time and wish we were communicating more. You are truly my best friend and I'm so grateful to have you and I need you in my life. I miss you so much. Not near as much as I love you, though.
OKAY! Not trying to get sappy or make it harder than it has to be, just some things need to be said when it crosses my mind.
Okay that's it for now. Shower time before some junk TV to fall asleep to...hopefully I wake up on time tomorrow morning! Anyone who may think about it at 6 am my time - a wake-up call never hurt ;)
Have a GREAT hump day...oh, and tonight they had a big gathering for the two women that were murdered on the island...and they all joined together to sing and light candles. Just makes you think how lucky we are to be loved by one another and have supportive people in our lives - not horrible souls that only bring us down and intend to hurt us. So maybe just kind of look around tomorrow (today when you read this) and try to appreciate what's around you...I know that sounds silly and cliche but...there's a lot out there that we take for granted.
Love you guys
me.
A little birdy left me notes to find as I went through my wardrobe and I thought for sure I'd seen them all but this morning I found another :) My favorite so far:
"Away to the island went Kristen
to her heart she began to listen...
It took her awhile
But now she can smile
The buckeye flew away from the snow a'driftin'"
This morning started out crappy. I woke up pretty late. Late being 6:45 when I try to catch the bus at 7 or 7:30. Luckily, I still take my showers before going to bed so I did not have to scramble too much, but I still managed to miss the 7:15. It came early. Figures. The past couples days here have been really windy and we've seen rain at least once during the day, usually in the mornings. Last night and tonight are so windy that when I go outside to smoke, I almost get pushed over. Needless to say, I stay in when it's super windy!
So I got to work a little bit late, but it was no big deal. After a meeting with Shelby and Susan, and seeing how much they put on us, they decided to take us out to P.F. Chang's for lunch. Apparently some people don't know what that is, so I think saying it's a really expensive Chinese restaurant sums it up alright. I think our meals were probably at least $30/person, and there were five of us. Phew! Glad I wasn't picking up the tab! :) It was nice to get out with Shelby and Susan and feel like they're getting to know me a little more. They're both pretty young and have a great sense of humor, so we all had a good time. They think I'm sassy. And Susan told me she thinks I look like I belong here. Not "native" obviously, but I could be mistaken for someone who's lived here all my life. Considering the green eyes and freckles and white skin, I was a bit surprised to hear that! :)
The rest of the afternoon went pretty quickly. I had to deal with my Ohio doctor and the local pharmacies, well actually Jenn and Mom had to deal with Dr. Shemory's office. And I was going to have our hospital's pharmacy fill the Rx for me, but it turned out since we only do therapy there, the prescription I needed was not readily available. I had to call the hospital's pharmacy across the street and arrange to have it sent there, and give them my Ohio insurance - which apparently tripped them up a bit. Then I had to call Shemory's office and leave a msg for a nurse to call me because apparently the girl answering the phone couldn't just write down a freaking phone number. I was almost in tears - mostly because I'm PMSing - TMI, sorry. After work, I walked to the pharmacy and only ended up having to pay $2.87 for it so it turned out alright. I am still BEYOND GRATEFUL to Mom and Jenn for helping me out with that situation. Hopefully the meds kick in ASAP and I can live in comfort once again :) Glad I still had my insurance...
Anyway it is now official that I schedule a floor everyday. Looks like I'll be doing the third floor consistently, so that I can get used to the patients and the practitioners and their schedules. Since we took a long lunch, and because I had a complicated schedule today, it took me a bit longer to do the schedule and I got pretty frustrated as it grew closer to quitting time. It was my own fault. We are supposed to schedule new patients first, to be sure they are paired up with their primary PTs and OTs, but I forgot one, so when I got down to the last couple patients I tried to squeeze this guy in and ended up short on hours from PTs and OTs and scrambled to fit them in. Since it's all a big puzzle, I eventually worked it out - but I saw my first hint of stress from scheduling. Right now, they still have us squeezed into this small room, and two of us are working off of laptops....apparently once we are officially doing our own floors, we will go to our respective floor for the afternoon to schedule on desktops. I won't get to talk to the girls, then. But I can take my iPod and hope no one bothers me.
Tonight I came home kind of grumpy. Just the day - and stressing over the usual bills and rent and car payment - and worrying about finding things like the post office and a place to buy a bus pass. It's frustrating right now and tonight it definitely got to me. Zach had the pleasure of hearing it all on the phone tonight - but of course, knowing Zachary, he told me to breathe and told me it'd all be okay. Thanks for that. But we all know I'll continue to freak out - it's my nature.
I obviously have the internet at the apartment now - which is great. I spent some time downloading songs and singing louder than I should in an apartment building. My poor neighbors. (I think I have neighbors?! I never see 'em).
Dad: Boston Legal comes on at 9 pm here. Zach: American Idol comes on at 7 pm here. So when I said nothing's on at 7, I totally lied. I missed American Idol. Rob and Big comes on at 10:30 tonight.
Stupid TV time zone crap.
Hopefully tomorrow starts off a little smoother.
No exciting bus stories. No one farted on me today. I know I didn't put that story on here, but long story short, this creature of a woman who looks like she's straight from the trailer parks in Ohio sat basically ON me at the bus stop - I moved over and she raised a leg and ripped one LONG AND HARD for a good 2 seconds, shaking the bench. This was Friday. I'm still having nightmares about it... YUCK.
The pool is done in the backyard. I saw them start to fill it, so this time tomorrow that pool should be full. It's pretty cold, though. I'm outside in a sweatshirt and jeans after work.
Okay I guess that's it. I rambled more than I thought I would! I feel like I had more to say but (lucky for you) I can't remember...my brain's worn out by this time at night.
I know lots of people are reading this - you've all told me so - wish you'd leave me comments. Makes me happy to read them...
Jenn - I hope things are working out for you at work - your Myspace makes it look like something got worked out. Can't wait to hear what you've arranged.
Dad & Patty - Hope you guys are staying warm. Dad you said you have a long day (not sure why) so I hope it goes smoothly for you...
Suzette - I miss you a TON and think about you a lot. During the day mostly - so I wish I had more time at work to write you. I haven't forgotten about you and I hope things are looking up for you - keep me updated.
Kami - It was SO nice talking to you for the first time since I've been here - I can't believe it'd been that long. But it was good to have our little chats again...I miss those.
Pam & Dan - I hope you're still reading!! It was so nice to talk to you on the phone the other day - I hope my craziness and multitasking wasn't annoying and I get to talk to you again soon. I guess weekends are good for that!!
Sharon & Sherri - Haha I KNOW you're reading!! I'm sorry I didn't respond to your emails today - but it was SO good to hear from you guys. I miss being in the office with you ladies...I hope I didn't leave you with more stress...hopefully NDS is behaving themselves :)
Zachary - I appreciate your calm and collected attitude sometimes. I tend to ignore things a lot and they build up at once and you know that so it's nice for you to offer to help and be there to at least listen to me whine - I wish I didn't ruin our conversations with that - cause it's nice just chatting with you and gossiping. I can't wait to get your package - even if it is just bills from Akron :)
Mom - I'm glad things worked out for you in the mornings - I hope that's still going alright for you - I haven't heard an update lately. Also - I miss you more than you know as well...I think about you all the time and wish we were communicating more. You are truly my best friend and I'm so grateful to have you and I need you in my life. I miss you so much. Not near as much as I love you, though.
OKAY! Not trying to get sappy or make it harder than it has to be, just some things need to be said when it crosses my mind.
Okay that's it for now. Shower time before some junk TV to fall asleep to...hopefully I wake up on time tomorrow morning! Anyone who may think about it at 6 am my time - a wake-up call never hurt ;)
Have a GREAT hump day...oh, and tonight they had a big gathering for the two women that were murdered on the island...and they all joined together to sing and light candles. Just makes you think how lucky we are to be loved by one another and have supportive people in our lives - not horrible souls that only bring us down and intend to hurt us. So maybe just kind of look around tomorrow (today when you read this) and try to appreciate what's around you...I know that sounds silly and cliche but...there's a lot out there that we take for granted.
Love you guys
me.
Monday, January 21, 2008
1/21 - A Weekend Full of Rainbows!
I have a bit of downtime until I am expected to really do anything. I already scheduled a floor (woohoo) so I thought I'd give you something a little more interesting to read this time. Who cares if they realize I'm not working because I'm typing so much, right? :)
Friday I got home from work and decided I was not going to sleep another night in my bed shivering so I walked into Ala Moana/Waikiki area which I figured out was about .9 mi one way. So I got a nice walk in that night!! Got back and passed out on the bed, though - I was supposed to go over to Niki & Matt's. Oops.
Luckily I got a LOT of sleep in (I took another "dizzy" pill before I fell asleep). I woke up Saturday and Aunt Pam called so I talked to her for a bit and she talked me into walking to the bank to open an account (she's so smart!). So I walked about .5 mi where I knew there was a bank from the night before. Not open Saturdays. Son of a !!!!! Ugh. So I walked over to Beretania (a street) where I knew there were more banks. Not open. Not open. Not open. I'm striking out! I finally go down a side street and turn back towards my place. I see ONE more bank near a grocery store - "okay, last one" I tell myself. Because four closed banks just wasn't good enough for me!! Luckily :) this one was open. I now have an account at American Savings Bank in Honolulu. So I deposited some $$ into that, kept some of it, waiting for the debit card to arrive in the mail. It'd help if I had the right freaking zip code, huh?? Ugh. That makes me so mad :) Anyway - I can't imagine how many miles that walk was. 3?
So I walked back to my place and relaxed a bit, and then Dad called so I returned his call and while I was on the phone with him and Patty, I walked what seemed like another 5 miles probably. I walked one way on Wilder to find take-out, and NOTHING. It seems those places are everywhere, unless you want one. So I walked the OTHER direction, back-tracking, and past my place, back over to Beretania where I was the day prior, and eventually found something called "Grace's Inn", which is like a fast-food place where you can order American, Korean, and Chinese foods. So I got Chicken Katsu (pictured below!) which is basically breaded dark meat with a Katsu sauce (comparable to BBQ) and noodles and rice.
Then....the long walk BACK! :) When I got back, Dad and Patty were playing on Google Earth (if you haven't already, you should try it - you can see satellite pictures of ANYTHING- so far I got Zach to do it, too) so they were looking at my building, my work, Diamond Head, and everything else around here. While they oooh'd and ahhh'd I cleaned my floor with Windex (it's all I had!). Then after they got tired of talking to me (what was that - 5 hrs later?) :) I finally unpacked everything. I rearranged everything - you'd be so proud :) It's pretty tidy and everything has its place now. And it smells fresh and Windex-y!!
So of course - telling you I cleaned it up and whatnot wouldn't mean as much without PICTURES!!! As you might be able to tell - I moved my TV on top of the fridge, which I moved from the other side of the room. I put my laptop on the counter so I can play music from there (it has a remote) and my books as well. Did I tell you about the stupid Clock Radio I bought? It's supposed to automatically set the time - so you just have to select your time zone. Guess what? Mine is not a choice. It goes as far as California. So I keep it set on Ohio time...
The Pictures:
So anyway. Before all that cleaning - I watched a cloud of rain come over the hills, which of course made a rainbow so I took a picture of it which I TRIED to send to everyone but no one's said they got it so here is the first one I saw out of my window. Then there were two, then it moved forward and then crept back into the mountains....(I think you can kind of see two here...)
Anyway - Saturday night I met Matt (from Minerva....remember him?), his girlfriend Niki, and her brother, Carl. We went to the Hibiscus Club first, which was a small place. I took a cab there!! That was different - never done that alone before. It was a $10 ride - is that good?? Anyway then we went to Varsity, a bar near the University, and had some Ahi and more beer, then they took me home. They talked about surfing Sunday morning but it never happened. Which I'm okay with 'cause I got to sleep in again! :) I woke up and texted Jesse saying I'd buy him dinner if he'd take me to get groceries. Bribery is a beautiful thing. We went to Wal Mart, the crazy, insane, tourist-infested WalMart that about throws me into convulsions....and I blew $140 on groceries, which also included some pots/pans and cleaning stuff. I also now I have a $2 shower liner up. Which you can see in the pics above by the way I think. Oh we went to a Taco/Burrito place (similar to Chipotle, but with fish, too) which was pretty good. Not quite Chipotle, though. When we were leaving, it started sprinkling, and we saw this rainbow, which seemed to end right in the building lit up by the sun...kind of neat:
It seemed it was the weekend to talk to everyone, though. Got phone time in with a few different people which was nice, kept me occupied. Last night I ended up relaxing in front of the TV for a couple hours - which I actually haven't yet done. That was kind of nice :)
Friday I got home from work and decided I was not going to sleep another night in my bed shivering so I walked into Ala Moana/Waikiki area which I figured out was about .9 mi one way. So I got a nice walk in that night!! Got back and passed out on the bed, though - I was supposed to go over to Niki & Matt's. Oops.
Luckily I got a LOT of sleep in (I took another "dizzy" pill before I fell asleep). I woke up Saturday and Aunt Pam called so I talked to her for a bit and she talked me into walking to the bank to open an account (she's so smart!). So I walked about .5 mi where I knew there was a bank from the night before. Not open Saturdays. Son of a !!!!! Ugh. So I walked over to Beretania (a street) where I knew there were more banks. Not open. Not open. Not open. I'm striking out! I finally go down a side street and turn back towards my place. I see ONE more bank near a grocery store - "okay, last one" I tell myself. Because four closed banks just wasn't good enough for me!! Luckily :) this one was open. I now have an account at American Savings Bank in Honolulu. So I deposited some $$ into that, kept some of it, waiting for the debit card to arrive in the mail. It'd help if I had the right freaking zip code, huh?? Ugh. That makes me so mad :) Anyway - I can't imagine how many miles that walk was. 3?
So I walked back to my place and relaxed a bit, and then Dad called so I returned his call and while I was on the phone with him and Patty, I walked what seemed like another 5 miles probably. I walked one way on Wilder to find take-out, and NOTHING. It seems those places are everywhere, unless you want one. So I walked the OTHER direction, back-tracking, and past my place, back over to Beretania where I was the day prior, and eventually found something called "Grace's Inn", which is like a fast-food place where you can order American, Korean, and Chinese foods. So I got Chicken Katsu (pictured below!) which is basically breaded dark meat with a Katsu sauce (comparable to BBQ) and noodles and rice.
Then....the long walk BACK! :) When I got back, Dad and Patty were playing on Google Earth (if you haven't already, you should try it - you can see satellite pictures of ANYTHING- so far I got Zach to do it, too) so they were looking at my building, my work, Diamond Head, and everything else around here. While they oooh'd and ahhh'd I cleaned my floor with Windex (it's all I had!). Then after they got tired of talking to me (what was that - 5 hrs later?) :) I finally unpacked everything. I rearranged everything - you'd be so proud :) It's pretty tidy and everything has its place now. And it smells fresh and Windex-y!!
So of course - telling you I cleaned it up and whatnot wouldn't mean as much without PICTURES!!! As you might be able to tell - I moved my TV on top of the fridge, which I moved from the other side of the room. I put my laptop on the counter so I can play music from there (it has a remote) and my books as well. Did I tell you about the stupid Clock Radio I bought? It's supposed to automatically set the time - so you just have to select your time zone. Guess what? Mine is not a choice. It goes as far as California. So I keep it set on Ohio time...
The Pictures:
So anyway. Before all that cleaning - I watched a cloud of rain come over the hills, which of course made a rainbow so I took a picture of it which I TRIED to send to everyone but no one's said they got it so here is the first one I saw out of my window. Then there were two, then it moved forward and then crept back into the mountains....(I think you can kind of see two here...)
Anyway - Saturday night I met Matt (from Minerva....remember him?), his girlfriend Niki, and her brother, Carl. We went to the Hibiscus Club first, which was a small place. I took a cab there!! That was different - never done that alone before. It was a $10 ride - is that good?? Anyway then we went to Varsity, a bar near the University, and had some Ahi and more beer, then they took me home. They talked about surfing Sunday morning but it never happened. Which I'm okay with 'cause I got to sleep in again! :) I woke up and texted Jesse saying I'd buy him dinner if he'd take me to get groceries. Bribery is a beautiful thing. We went to Wal Mart, the crazy, insane, tourist-infested WalMart that about throws me into convulsions....and I blew $140 on groceries, which also included some pots/pans and cleaning stuff. I also now I have a $2 shower liner up. Which you can see in the pics above by the way I think. Oh we went to a Taco/Burrito place (similar to Chipotle, but with fish, too) which was pretty good. Not quite Chipotle, though. When we were leaving, it started sprinkling, and we saw this rainbow, which seemed to end right in the building lit up by the sun...kind of neat:
It seemed it was the weekend to talk to everyone, though. Got phone time in with a few different people which was nice, kept me occupied. Last night I ended up relaxing in front of the TV for a couple hours - which I actually haven't yet done. That was kind of nice :)
Update on the psycho who threw his kid over the bridge (has everyone heard this story? If not, I will tell it) - the paper says he may have been on Meth, and he was in a mental clinic as recently as December '07 - explains a lot, huh? Turns out I ride by that bridge on the way to work - I saw the balloons and stuffed animals this morning... What a messed up family that was.
Anyway - I'll close with a picture of me eating my LAST peanut butter sandwich!! (Okay, not ever - but at least I have more foods to choose from now!)
Yes, I'm a raging dork. But you love me. And miss me.
It's okay I love and miss you, too! :)
Stupid ZIP CODES!!!!!!
So I go online to change my address - and I do a zipcode lookup - it says 96822 - the original one I used. What?!?! Whatever. Use whatever zip you want :) I got the landlord's letter when he used 96813??? So. If you've already used 96813 that's fine, but USPS.com says 96822.
I give up.
I give up.
Friday, January 18, 2008
1/19 TGIF
Hi!! :) I have a few minutes on my lunch so here's a quick update.
First off - I ate a healthy lunch. Spinach salad and pineapple! Is it legal to mail a pineapple?
Also - I should have internet by the end of the weekend.
AND! My address is as follows. ANd this is correct. It will NOT change again I promise. And I only know because the landlord sent me my lease in the mail, and he even crossed out the zip he had given me...so it's his fault.
1550 Wilder Ave
Apt A502 (or 502A)
Honolulu, HI 96813
SORRY that I've changed it so many times.
Work is good. I'm scheduling now, at least with a little bit of supervision. Days fly by that way so it's not so bad. Last night I realized I was tired of peanut butter sandwiches for dinner (that's all I have in my apt) so I ordered Pizza Hut. A medium pepperoni pizza, cheese bread and a 20 oz pop cost me...prepare yourselves...27.50!! Plus a tip. He got $2 :) Unbelievable. So that's the first expensive thing I've encountered.
I also got paid today. That's fun! I just...I don't know what to do with it. I can send it home and have someone deposit it, or I can go to the bank in the morning (via The Bus) and open an account somewhere...haven't decided. It's a live check because my direct deposit won't start for at least two pay periods I think? Oh well.
That's all for now - going to finish my pineapple and go have a smokie treat before it's back to the grind. LOVE YOU!!! :) I hope everyone's thinking of a good time to come out - let me know and I'll pencil you in ;) haha...
me.
First off - I ate a healthy lunch. Spinach salad and pineapple! Is it legal to mail a pineapple?
Also - I should have internet by the end of the weekend.
AND! My address is as follows. ANd this is correct. It will NOT change again I promise. And I only know because the landlord sent me my lease in the mail, and he even crossed out the zip he had given me...so it's his fault.
1550 Wilder Ave
Apt A502 (or 502A)
Honolulu, HI 96813
SORRY that I've changed it so many times.
Work is good. I'm scheduling now, at least with a little bit of supervision. Days fly by that way so it's not so bad. Last night I realized I was tired of peanut butter sandwiches for dinner (that's all I have in my apt) so I ordered Pizza Hut. A medium pepperoni pizza, cheese bread and a 20 oz pop cost me...prepare yourselves...27.50!! Plus a tip. He got $2 :) Unbelievable. So that's the first expensive thing I've encountered.
I also got paid today. That's fun! I just...I don't know what to do with it. I can send it home and have someone deposit it, or I can go to the bank in the morning (via The Bus) and open an account somewhere...haven't decided. It's a live check because my direct deposit won't start for at least two pay periods I think? Oh well.
That's all for now - going to finish my pineapple and go have a smokie treat before it's back to the grind. LOVE YOU!!! :) I hope everyone's thinking of a good time to come out - let me know and I'll pencil you in ;) haha...
me.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
No Internet!
Hey - sorry I've been MIA - no internet at the apt yet so we'll have to get right on that huh :) :) Scheduling today so I'm pretty busy - guess if you want to talk you'll have to resort to the good ol' phone ;) Love you!! Miss you!!
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
1/16 Correction
New Address:
1550 Wilder Ave
Apt. A502
Honolulu, HI 96822
(Ugh. I think the zip's right....)
:) Sorry.
So far - I havent gotten my internet to work in the apartment, sorry. I'm working on it...
Right now I have my blowup mattress, 14 in tv courtesy of Walmart, and peanut butter and bread.
I'll hopefully get to update later - right now my boss is coming down to teach me to schedule. AND! Remember how I said they think I have a 'beautiful voice'? Apparently now I have to re-record all of the floors' messages because I have such a WONDERFUL voice. Woo. Hoo.
Check back later - love and miss you!
1550 Wilder Ave
Apt. A502
Honolulu, HI 96822
(Ugh. I think the zip's right....)
:) Sorry.
So far - I havent gotten my internet to work in the apartment, sorry. I'm working on it...
Right now I have my blowup mattress, 14 in tv courtesy of Walmart, and peanut butter and bread.
I'll hopefully get to update later - right now my boss is coming down to teach me to schedule. AND! Remember how I said they think I have a 'beautiful voice'? Apparently now I have to re-record all of the floors' messages because I have such a WONDERFUL voice. Woo. Hoo.
Check back later - love and miss you!
Monday, January 14, 2008
1/14 I LOVE MONDAY!!
Why yes! Yes, I did get an apartment today!! Funny you should ask! ;)
Tomorrow at 5:00 pm (10 your time) I will be signing my papers and receiving my key. Because it's mid-month, the rent will be pro-rated, meaning I'll only pay half plus $500 down. Not bad! I just got back from Thrifty, where I rented a Toyota Corolla (yay, Mom!!!). So now I have that, so I went to Walmart and got an inflatable mattress, sheets and a pillow. I'm ready to sleep there, at least!! Maybe Goodwill will have a TV? :( Oh well...this is when I wish I had stuff from home. Including my shower curtain! My stereo. My TV. My car (WOW it feels good to drive a car around). A rug?! :) It will all come together - I have to remind myself it doesn't have to come together right now, or I'll never be able to pay rent come the 1st!!
So that's my news. Tonight I will pack up what I can and load the car's trunk - then tomorrow morning I will grab the rest of my stuff, load 'er up and go to work. Then I'll go to my new place!! Not sure what to do from there to be honest and I HOPE I have internet there, if not, that will be the reason I don't post or email until I get that set up. Cross your fingers that someone in there has wireless and I can use it ;)
Thank you for all the support and crossed fingers!! I'm excited. And don't worry - eventually I'll get a bed so you can sleep on the inflatable mattress when you come to visit me. Hint hint!! :)
By the way - if you want to find a rental company in Honolulu near the airport, I can tell you how to get there. After hopping the bus (YES! I rode The Bus!!) down there, I walked for about 40 minutes trying to find the place. Talk about a workout for the day...
I think I'll take advantage of the washing machine and do some laundry, take a shower and get some stuff together... (yeah right, I'm going for my Ben & Jerry's, taking a shower and going to bed....who am I kidding?!)
Love you - I'll give you an update on the place ASAP!!!
me.
Tomorrow at 5:00 pm (10 your time) I will be signing my papers and receiving my key. Because it's mid-month, the rent will be pro-rated, meaning I'll only pay half plus $500 down. Not bad! I just got back from Thrifty, where I rented a Toyota Corolla (yay, Mom!!!). So now I have that, so I went to Walmart and got an inflatable mattress, sheets and a pillow. I'm ready to sleep there, at least!! Maybe Goodwill will have a TV? :( Oh well...this is when I wish I had stuff from home. Including my shower curtain! My stereo. My TV. My car (WOW it feels good to drive a car around). A rug?! :) It will all come together - I have to remind myself it doesn't have to come together right now, or I'll never be able to pay rent come the 1st!!
So that's my news. Tonight I will pack up what I can and load the car's trunk - then tomorrow morning I will grab the rest of my stuff, load 'er up and go to work. Then I'll go to my new place!! Not sure what to do from there to be honest and I HOPE I have internet there, if not, that will be the reason I don't post or email until I get that set up. Cross your fingers that someone in there has wireless and I can use it ;)
Thank you for all the support and crossed fingers!! I'm excited. And don't worry - eventually I'll get a bed so you can sleep on the inflatable mattress when you come to visit me. Hint hint!! :)
By the way - if you want to find a rental company in Honolulu near the airport, I can tell you how to get there. After hopping the bus (YES! I rode The Bus!!) down there, I walked for about 40 minutes trying to find the place. Talk about a workout for the day...
I think I'll take advantage of the washing machine and do some laundry, take a shower and get some stuff together... (yeah right, I'm going for my Ben & Jerry's, taking a shower and going to bed....who am I kidding?!)
Love you - I'll give you an update on the place ASAP!!!
me.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
1/13 Sunday
Happy Sunday! Hope everyone enjoyed their weekend.
After my post yesterday - we went up to North Shore for some Mexican food. On the way there, I saw a gorgeous view of the sun coming through the clouds over the mountains...I tried to send it to everyone but apparently not everyone got it so I'll include it here:
Then we came back into Pearl City and went to visit his two friends from the Air Force, James and Becka, who were 21 and 20 respectively. We played Taboo and let me tell you - I am officially the bomb at that game. ;)
I'd been pretty dizzy since I've been here (yes, I've been drinking water) but last night I decided to take one of my 'dizzy pills' I was given for the Vertigo last year or whenever. This makes me pass out COLD - so I slept for probably 10 - 11 hours :) When I finally got up - we went to Denny's and got breakfast. After that, it was back to the couch for more ghost-hunting TV shows! Surprise!! ;) I ended up taking the car and running to the Goodwill down the street. They have amazing things there - who knew!? The pants rack was littered with Banana Republic, Limited and the Gap! I bought three pairs of pants for work, a brand-new American Eagle sweatshirt, a t-shirt, a CD, and a tiny little incense burner (in the shape of a grill!! for $1 - I had to!) all for like, $25 I think. That's pretty good, I think!! I stopped by Long's Drugs on the way back and got myself something for dinner, Ben and Jerry's chocolate fudge brownie ice cream, and some more canned coffee (this is the best stuff ever and it's only $.77 a can!). And when I returned the car, Jesse left for work so I'm sitting on the floor watching Anchorman about to dig into my ice cream... :)
No news yet on the apartment - so keep crossing your fingers! :) I saw a couch at Goodwill - black leather mod kind of deal - three oversized pillows in the back, three cushions, and two sideways cushions all held together by shiny silver metal...the couch was $150 I think. Is that expensive?! The only issue I saw was that the leather was looking a little 'worn' - not cracked, but just turning lighter - on the center cushion. I didn't know if this was something worth getting or not. Oh well...
I've got some laundry to do - a shower to take - some movies to watch - and a date with Ben & Jerry :) Sorry I don't have much to report but I'm feeling my first headache coming on and I think it's due to a lack of chocolate!
Love you...miss you...
me.
After my post yesterday - we went up to North Shore for some Mexican food. On the way there, I saw a gorgeous view of the sun coming through the clouds over the mountains...I tried to send it to everyone but apparently not everyone got it so I'll include it here:
Then we came back into Pearl City and went to visit his two friends from the Air Force, James and Becka, who were 21 and 20 respectively. We played Taboo and let me tell you - I am officially the bomb at that game. ;)
I'd been pretty dizzy since I've been here (yes, I've been drinking water) but last night I decided to take one of my 'dizzy pills' I was given for the Vertigo last year or whenever. This makes me pass out COLD - so I slept for probably 10 - 11 hours :) When I finally got up - we went to Denny's and got breakfast. After that, it was back to the couch for more ghost-hunting TV shows! Surprise!! ;) I ended up taking the car and running to the Goodwill down the street. They have amazing things there - who knew!? The pants rack was littered with Banana Republic, Limited and the Gap! I bought three pairs of pants for work, a brand-new American Eagle sweatshirt, a t-shirt, a CD, and a tiny little incense burner (in the shape of a grill!! for $1 - I had to!) all for like, $25 I think. That's pretty good, I think!! I stopped by Long's Drugs on the way back and got myself something for dinner, Ben and Jerry's chocolate fudge brownie ice cream, and some more canned coffee (this is the best stuff ever and it's only $.77 a can!). And when I returned the car, Jesse left for work so I'm sitting on the floor watching Anchorman about to dig into my ice cream... :)
No news yet on the apartment - so keep crossing your fingers! :) I saw a couch at Goodwill - black leather mod kind of deal - three oversized pillows in the back, three cushions, and two sideways cushions all held together by shiny silver metal...the couch was $150 I think. Is that expensive?! The only issue I saw was that the leather was looking a little 'worn' - not cracked, but just turning lighter - on the center cushion. I didn't know if this was something worth getting or not. Oh well...
I've got some laundry to do - a shower to take - some movies to watch - and a date with Ben & Jerry :) Sorry I don't have much to report but I'm feeling my first headache coming on and I think it's due to a lack of chocolate!
Love you...miss you...
me.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
1/12 Don't Forget to Read Yesterday's!
Guess where I just came from? :) Viewing an apartment!! Let me tell about the rest of my day, though it's boring.
I fell asleep, as predicted, during the movie last night and woke up at 6 am in an upright position with my head to the side. Not so comfortable - and Jesse left me sitting like that all night! Needless to say I'm a little sore.
Woke up and immediately started cleaning the apartment for him. His landlord was showing the place today at 1:00 and he had to run to work to grab some financial papers for his outprocessing, so I cleaned up and really made the place sparkle! :) You'd be so proud. Then I made pancakes when he got back - I had a pretty strong craving! By that time, we figured the landlord wasn't coming because she hadn't called but we were wrong - no sooner did I put my plate in the sink did she call - so I disappeared downstairs for a little bit.
Came back up - got ready and went to look at that apartment down by my hospital. It's not really THAT close - but its only a couple miles away I think. Anyway as soon as you get off the highway - it's just a complete difference. It's shady, there's trees so it's not ridiculously hot. VERY nice compared to riding on the highway sweating. Jesse went with, partly because he doesn't know the area I think. The guy, Kevin, met us at the door, we went up to the 5th floor and it's right by the Fire Exit. That's good right? Anyway the hallway was nice and breezy - and the doors (wish I would've taken a picture of this for you) are not solid. They have those slats that open and close to let air in the apartment. Then the entire wall was windows basically, as you can see in the pictures. There's no a/c but as long as you keep that door open and the windows open, he said it's not bad. Plus the air coming in from the fire exit (which is wide open) and then down the hall it's just ... air. Not completely closed in like apartments at home. It's small...it's only a studio.
BUT! when I asked what the lease term was, he hooked me when he said that it was month-to-month. He hadn't mentioned it in the ad, so that was a huge selling point for me!! That way, if I find something else, or find something nicer once I get to know the area, I can get out of that lease easily. Then I asked if the deposit was the same as the rent and he said it's negotiable, based on what works for the renter. HELLO! Wow. So technically, if rent is $950 (INCLUDING all utilities!), and I can make a deposit of $500, I'm saving $450 right there that I could use for groceries and not go completely broke. Phew. THEN! :) There was no application fee and no credit check - he just wanted basically my past landlords once he found out I had a good job at the hospital down the street. Jesse talked him up about sports and whatnot so I think I have a good chance at this place - I even wrote him an email to thank him for showing it today.
The listing is at this link http://honolulu.craigslist.org/oah/apa/533210734.html but you can just see the pics below if you want!!
Basically - this is the space. There's not a lot. He said it was 400 sq ft. The bathroom is way cute, though :)
(The view)
The pictures got distorted because I blew them up a little bit but you can see the clearer ones on Craigslist. Hardwood floors. (Well, laminate I think).
Bus stop? Not even a block away....
So, it's small but it's do-able. So cross your fingers, please. I should hear either way within a couple of days.
That's all for now - going to figure out my plans for the night.
XOXO
me.
I fell asleep, as predicted, during the movie last night and woke up at 6 am in an upright position with my head to the side. Not so comfortable - and Jesse left me sitting like that all night! Needless to say I'm a little sore.
Woke up and immediately started cleaning the apartment for him. His landlord was showing the place today at 1:00 and he had to run to work to grab some financial papers for his outprocessing, so I cleaned up and really made the place sparkle! :) You'd be so proud. Then I made pancakes when he got back - I had a pretty strong craving! By that time, we figured the landlord wasn't coming because she hadn't called but we were wrong - no sooner did I put my plate in the sink did she call - so I disappeared downstairs for a little bit.
Came back up - got ready and went to look at that apartment down by my hospital. It's not really THAT close - but its only a couple miles away I think. Anyway as soon as you get off the highway - it's just a complete difference. It's shady, there's trees so it's not ridiculously hot. VERY nice compared to riding on the highway sweating. Jesse went with, partly because he doesn't know the area I think. The guy, Kevin, met us at the door, we went up to the 5th floor and it's right by the Fire Exit. That's good right? Anyway the hallway was nice and breezy - and the doors (wish I would've taken a picture of this for you) are not solid. They have those slats that open and close to let air in the apartment. Then the entire wall was windows basically, as you can see in the pictures. There's no a/c but as long as you keep that door open and the windows open, he said it's not bad. Plus the air coming in from the fire exit (which is wide open) and then down the hall it's just ... air. Not completely closed in like apartments at home. It's small...it's only a studio.
BUT! when I asked what the lease term was, he hooked me when he said that it was month-to-month. He hadn't mentioned it in the ad, so that was a huge selling point for me!! That way, if I find something else, or find something nicer once I get to know the area, I can get out of that lease easily. Then I asked if the deposit was the same as the rent and he said it's negotiable, based on what works for the renter. HELLO! Wow. So technically, if rent is $950 (INCLUDING all utilities!), and I can make a deposit of $500, I'm saving $450 right there that I could use for groceries and not go completely broke. Phew. THEN! :) There was no application fee and no credit check - he just wanted basically my past landlords once he found out I had a good job at the hospital down the street. Jesse talked him up about sports and whatnot so I think I have a good chance at this place - I even wrote him an email to thank him for showing it today.
The listing is at this link http://honolulu.craigslist.org/oah/apa/533210734.html but you can just see the pics below if you want!!
Basically - this is the space. There's not a lot. He said it was 400 sq ft. The bathroom is way cute, though :)
(The view)The pictures got distorted because I blew them up a little bit but you can see the clearer ones on Craigslist. Hardwood floors. (Well, laminate I think).
Bus stop? Not even a block away....
So, it's small but it's do-able. So cross your fingers, please. I should hear either way within a couple of days.
That's all for now - going to figure out my plans for the night.
XOXO
me.
Friday, January 11, 2008
1/11 I Didnt Forget!
First week is finished - thanks for all the messages :) I did survive the first week and it got better as it went on.
Today started out alright - Jesse got up and drove me to work and it was just Sheena and I (The Filipino girl who is my age that is pregnant...her husband's from Ohio!) and she's pretty nice. I started out doing the normal stuff I know how to do, audits and printing and CET scheduling. I ended up spending most of my day scheduling Caregiver Education Training (where the families come in) and I made a lot of friends with old men on the phone!! Susan, my boss, ended up calling and telling me I had a beautiful phone voice - well that explains it!
The day went by fast, blue jeans and t shirt made for a comfortable day. At the end of the day - Sheena insisted I don't take the bus and she drive me home because I was five minutes away from her house. Eventually I let her....so much for learning the bus today. BUT! I'm glad she did drive me. Because it was 5:00, we had a lot more traffic. During the ride, she told me more things about Hawaii - I listened a little closer to her since she's lived here all her life. I guess Hawaiians believe it's rude to enter a home with their slippers on (what we call flip flops) so they leave their shoes outside the doors of homes. Apparently in the ghetto, people even steal those shoes. Another thing is this statewide superstition....when people go to the islands, especially the Big Island, they take black sand and lava rock as souvenirs. The Hawaiians believe that will bring REALLY bad luck - until you return it to where it came from. She said she worked at the post office and people would send anonymous envelopes back to the island, just addressed to The Big Island, filled with rocks and sand....must've had some bad luck!! Funny stuff....anyway we got to talk and get to know each other a little bit so that was nice. I even met her two kids....cute. But loud.
I came back to the apt and Jesse had actually cooked some Hamburger Helper! So I cleaned up and did the dishes since he cooked. I wrote a few people emails who had written me, looked for apartments AGAIN (I just can't pick anything..!!), got a craving for Starbucks so I ran down the street to get a coffee. I haven't had Starbucks since I've been here!! Unfortunately I'm a moron and forgot Kami got me a giftcard there and I forgot to use it....I also got a brownie :) Yum.
I just put on Blackhawk Down so I think it's time to get comfy with my coffee and watch...I've had a long week and I'm pretty tired. Won't be surprised if I don't make it through the movie.
Thanks for the support this week. I look forward to reading comments every day and I'll even sneak on at work to see who's written - it really does make my day! And since I made it easier to comment, I better see more...
Miss you...and Love you all tons.
me.
Today started out alright - Jesse got up and drove me to work and it was just Sheena and I (The Filipino girl who is my age that is pregnant...her husband's from Ohio!) and she's pretty nice. I started out doing the normal stuff I know how to do, audits and printing and CET scheduling. I ended up spending most of my day scheduling Caregiver Education Training (where the families come in) and I made a lot of friends with old men on the phone!! Susan, my boss, ended up calling and telling me I had a beautiful phone voice - well that explains it!
The day went by fast, blue jeans and t shirt made for a comfortable day. At the end of the day - Sheena insisted I don't take the bus and she drive me home because I was five minutes away from her house. Eventually I let her....so much for learning the bus today. BUT! I'm glad she did drive me. Because it was 5:00, we had a lot more traffic. During the ride, she told me more things about Hawaii - I listened a little closer to her since she's lived here all her life. I guess Hawaiians believe it's rude to enter a home with their slippers on (what we call flip flops) so they leave their shoes outside the doors of homes. Apparently in the ghetto, people even steal those shoes. Another thing is this statewide superstition....when people go to the islands, especially the Big Island, they take black sand and lava rock as souvenirs. The Hawaiians believe that will bring REALLY bad luck - until you return it to where it came from. She said she worked at the post office and people would send anonymous envelopes back to the island, just addressed to The Big Island, filled with rocks and sand....must've had some bad luck!! Funny stuff....anyway we got to talk and get to know each other a little bit so that was nice. I even met her two kids....cute. But loud.
I came back to the apt and Jesse had actually cooked some Hamburger Helper! So I cleaned up and did the dishes since he cooked. I wrote a few people emails who had written me, looked for apartments AGAIN (I just can't pick anything..!!), got a craving for Starbucks so I ran down the street to get a coffee. I haven't had Starbucks since I've been here!! Unfortunately I'm a moron and forgot Kami got me a giftcard there and I forgot to use it....I also got a brownie :) Yum.
I just put on Blackhawk Down so I think it's time to get comfy with my coffee and watch...I've had a long week and I'm pretty tired. Won't be surprised if I don't make it through the movie.
Thanks for the support this week. I look forward to reading comments every day and I'll even sneak on at work to see who's written - it really does make my day! And since I made it easier to comment, I better see more...
Miss you...and Love you all tons.
me.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
1/10
So I know people are reading still - yet I'm not getting as many comments! Boogers.
By the way - any feedback on that apartment I put on yesterday's post??
Today went much quicker at work. I remembered how to do things I was taught yesterday and I even wow'd some people with my skills ;) Not really but I did let them know I'm not just a body taking up space in that closet. I even spent the afternoon learning how to schedule other appointments for families and had to call over Hawaii to speak to family members - that was weird, I couldn't pronounce half the names I saw. At least now, after showing me how to do this and how to pronounce these names, my supervisor Shelby has loosened up with me and thinks I'm entertaining!
After I got home from work and returned jesse's car safe and sound WITHOUT getting lost, we went to some Dixie place for food. Felt like being back home at Joe's Crab Shack. I had fish and chips and sweet tea- yum! Then we went to this old record/comic book/used movie/everything else you can imagine store and he bought some records. I did not. I know, that's huge. Then we ran to WalMart and I picked up at pair of $9 black flats now that I know I don't have to dress up for work really. Might as well be comfy - it's not tennis shoes but it's better than my heels at this point. And here I am. SO tired. It's 10:00 just about and I'm thinking it's time I take my shower and head to bed. Tomorrow is jeans day - and we get to wear our REHAB shirts so I should be pretty comfy :) Fridays are apparently pretty busy and difficult, and we're one girl down so this should be interesting.
I think I'm going to change the way this blog works, so I can control who reads it a little better...at least I think I can. So send me the gmail account you made (sorry, I didnt realize it was making you do that) and I'll add you. I think I even changed it so you don't have to use gmail accounts, but that any account will do. We'll see if this works....You'll just have to log in when you want to read. I'm sorry!
Sorry so short and not-so-exciting. I'm online paying bills. Hey uh, if ya think of it, remind me to call the US Dept of Educ so I can get my student loans taken care of...please. :) I got a message from them (at like, 5 am here since it was much later there...jerks) and I need to get that put on hold or whatever they call that. And I keep forgetting.
Hope everyone has a wonderful Friday.
Miss you and Love you!
PS - That waikiki slideshow? i didn't choose any pictures, it pulls them directly from the web by keyword. so if there's pictures of people or something, i don't know them :) just an FYI cause I saw an old couple and some weird people when i tried to make it of honolulu!!
By the way - any feedback on that apartment I put on yesterday's post??
Today went much quicker at work. I remembered how to do things I was taught yesterday and I even wow'd some people with my skills ;) Not really but I did let them know I'm not just a body taking up space in that closet. I even spent the afternoon learning how to schedule other appointments for families and had to call over Hawaii to speak to family members - that was weird, I couldn't pronounce half the names I saw. At least now, after showing me how to do this and how to pronounce these names, my supervisor Shelby has loosened up with me and thinks I'm entertaining!
After I got home from work and returned jesse's car safe and sound WITHOUT getting lost, we went to some Dixie place for food. Felt like being back home at Joe's Crab Shack. I had fish and chips and sweet tea- yum! Then we went to this old record/comic book/used movie/everything else you can imagine store and he bought some records. I did not. I know, that's huge. Then we ran to WalMart and I picked up at pair of $9 black flats now that I know I don't have to dress up for work really. Might as well be comfy - it's not tennis shoes but it's better than my heels at this point. And here I am. SO tired. It's 10:00 just about and I'm thinking it's time I take my shower and head to bed. Tomorrow is jeans day - and we get to wear our REHAB shirts so I should be pretty comfy :) Fridays are apparently pretty busy and difficult, and we're one girl down so this should be interesting.
I think I'm going to change the way this blog works, so I can control who reads it a little better...at least I think I can. So send me the gmail account you made (sorry, I didnt realize it was making you do that) and I'll add you. I think I even changed it so you don't have to use gmail accounts, but that any account will do. We'll see if this works....You'll just have to log in when you want to read. I'm sorry!
Sorry so short and not-so-exciting. I'm online paying bills. Hey uh, if ya think of it, remind me to call the US Dept of Educ so I can get my student loans taken care of...please. :) I got a message from them (at like, 5 am here since it was much later there...jerks) and I need to get that put on hold or whatever they call that. And I keep forgetting.
Hope everyone has a wonderful Friday.
Miss you and Love you!
PS - That waikiki slideshow? i didn't choose any pictures, it pulls them directly from the web by keyword. so if there's pictures of people or something, i don't know them :) just an FYI cause I saw an old couple and some weird people when i tried to make it of honolulu!!
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
1/9 Apartment Shopping
Yes, folks - I was productive today! I called about the $600 apartment (slightly creepy looking but only .6 miles from work!) and went into Makiki to see this apartment:
This one is not any that I had listed yesterday (- actually two of those are rented. The first one, the little house-like one, I am on a call list for that - meaning they'll call when they set up a showing and I'll have to be there to see it.)
This one is $900/month - not furnished, I think it only includes water and sewer. This is very close to the University so it's a very busy area - to say the least. I got so freaking lost getting there, I was so late but the guy was really nice.
But I learned a few new roads so that's good. Then on the way home, I thought I took the wrong way, since I've never driven from Makiki - and after calling Jennifer and Mom, turns out I was on the right path after-all so all was well and I was home .... after an hour drive. Awful!
This is traffic. Bad traffic. I'm not sure you can get the idea from this picture, but there's a bridge of cars that I had just passed, then oncoming traffic and my traffic - all doing that 'stop and go' thing.
By the way - if you want to see the space I'm living in now....lookie here:
And tilt your head for this one:
Huge, huh? Behind the couch is an air mattress and my luggage...and what you see is what you get besides that!!
Can you tell I take over the place while he's at work :) Where's Waldo?? I see cigarettes, my shoes, my pillow, my necklace, my purse, my laptop haha...
Love and miss you
me.
This one is not any that I had listed yesterday (- actually two of those are rented. The first one, the little house-like one, I am on a call list for that - meaning they'll call when they set up a showing and I'll have to be there to see it.)
This one is $900/month - not furnished, I think it only includes water and sewer. This is very close to the University so it's a very busy area - to say the least. I got so freaking lost getting there, I was so late but the guy was really nice.
But I learned a few new roads so that's good. Then on the way home, I thought I took the wrong way, since I've never driven from Makiki - and after calling Jennifer and Mom, turns out I was on the right path after-all so all was well and I was home .... after an hour drive. Awful!
This is traffic. Bad traffic. I'm not sure you can get the idea from this picture, but there's a bridge of cars that I had just passed, then oncoming traffic and my traffic - all doing that 'stop and go' thing.
By the way - if you want to see the space I'm living in now....lookie here:
And tilt your head for this one:
Huge, huh? Behind the couch is an air mattress and my luggage...and what you see is what you get besides that!!Can you tell I take over the place while he's at work :) Where's Waldo?? I see cigarettes, my shoes, my pillow, my necklace, my purse, my laptop haha...
Love and miss you
me.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
1/8 Tuesday's Gone
Good evening!
I can't even keep up with what day it is anymore. It is Tuesday, right??
I got out of work early today - was home by a little after 4:00...I'll get into work stuff later.
And guess what I'm doing? That's right - looking online again for apartments. I can only look so long before I get frustrated and give up. I have to write these down and call, though - there are some decent ones. The girl at work, Risa (Lisa with an R), has been giving me the low-down on the area a lot. Today we went to Burger King in Kahili - which is apparently the Filipino gang area - obviously it's okay to drive through and get food but she doesn't suggest living there. Every little bit of info she gives me helps...
Work today went so slow...but I finally met my supervisors and the girls I work with. They are all SO nice and sweet - it's amazing how nice people are here - and NOT snotty! There are two girls I work with in scheduling (when I say scheduling, please picture a tiny room, oooh 6 x 10 with three girls in it), Irene and Sheena, who is pregnant. They are both my age. Turns out Sheena is Risa's cousin - they had no idea the other worked there. So that was a fun coincidence... Susan, my boss, is super nice. She STRESSED to me over and over again not to worry about things and not to get overloaded or stress myself out - repeatedly told me this. So they're very laid back it seems. Shouldn't be a bad transition - but I did realize I have a LOT of information to learn for scheduling.... It will be interesting! :) Tomorrow I have to be in at 7:30 - can you imagine me getting up that early?? Funny thing is, I can right now because I'm still waking at 4:30 since I'm on Ohio time. I'll be in trouble when that wears off for sure.
Jesse works tonight - first night he's worked since I've been here. And he'll get home at 4:30 am anyway (I have to let him in)....this will be my first night I can relax alone. Not that he's bad company, but he has to be getting tired of having me around constantly, too... I am going to walk to WalMart here in a few and get myself a notebook so I cant take some notes tomorrow. It's not a real long walk...but it will definitely be my workout for the day/week!
I have no fun pictures today - maybe I'll take a picture of WalMart! Haha... I am going to make myself some food and get walking I think...I'll update after I get this errand done and I'm bored on the couch.
xoxo
**** it's now 8:00 and I am beat. I could sleep right now, in fact I might just do that after a shower here shortly...
I ran to Ross's, for some reason Jesse thought it was a bad idea for me to walk to WalMart without mace. Please. Ross's is a heck of a lot closer though so it was a good idea - and I found a pair of earrings to replace my crappy silver ones. For cheap of course. It's like a Marshall's or something.
You'll be so proud - I called five apartments, or rental companies rather, and left messages. I found a few one bedrooms for $900-ish that seem really nice, assuming they're not gone already. I also called The Bus and got the route from the hospital to Pearl City so that if Jesse can't pick me up, I don't have to stress about getting home - I really hate making Risa drive me here, even if it is on her way home. If only I had asked how to GET there in the mornings...then he wouldn't have to drive me (we're not morning people....it's a long drive).
Price: $900
I think this one's cute - it's a mini-house. I imagine there's another unit in the back or something.
This one's alright....I don't know that there's a lanai (I need fresh air!) It's only a studio though but fully furnished.
This one's $950...and there's a lanai off the bedroom it sounds like.
Okay so that's only three, but one place doesn't have a picture, and the other is rented. So that's all you get.
I think I've definitely made this long enough...and included fun pictures ;) (you can click on them to enlarge them)
LOVE YOU AND MISS YOU!!!!
me.
BUT WAIT! There's MORE!
Could I possibly make this any longer?? Of course I could.
I was going over my benefits for work - and our options. Obviously they go from the HMO where you go with their docs, to the HMO where you pick whatever doc you want - anyhow this is about how it ends up:
My HMO? I pay nothing out of pocket, no premiums or have to meet a yearly deductible.
My Dental? Pay nothing, just have to go to a Hawaii Dental Center.
Vision & Drugs, too but I don't know specifics on that. I think in vision, you don't pay for frames, but you do for the lens...something about contact lenses...I don't know. But I think that's a good thing right?? Plus, our long-term disability and our ... I don't know, that dismemberment one? - all paid for by REHAB. How about that?! Then, we can have our 401k (and money we put in before the matching starts) taken out before taxes, our parking fees taken out before taxes, and medical expenses (like monthly prescriptions) taken out of our flexible spending pretax. This all means that it is taken off of our yearly gross income, which, if we use it enough, can keep us at a lower tax bracket. HOLY COW how come no one ever told me about this before??
If you claim 1 dependent - you get more each paycheck or more at the end of the year?
Phew. Bed time.
I can't even keep up with what day it is anymore. It is Tuesday, right??
I got out of work early today - was home by a little after 4:00...I'll get into work stuff later.
And guess what I'm doing? That's right - looking online again for apartments. I can only look so long before I get frustrated and give up. I have to write these down and call, though - there are some decent ones. The girl at work, Risa (Lisa with an R), has been giving me the low-down on the area a lot. Today we went to Burger King in Kahili - which is apparently the Filipino gang area - obviously it's okay to drive through and get food but she doesn't suggest living there. Every little bit of info she gives me helps...
Work today went so slow...but I finally met my supervisors and the girls I work with. They are all SO nice and sweet - it's amazing how nice people are here - and NOT snotty! There are two girls I work with in scheduling (when I say scheduling, please picture a tiny room, oooh 6 x 10 with three girls in it), Irene and Sheena, who is pregnant. They are both my age. Turns out Sheena is Risa's cousin - they had no idea the other worked there. So that was a fun coincidence... Susan, my boss, is super nice. She STRESSED to me over and over again not to worry about things and not to get overloaded or stress myself out - repeatedly told me this. So they're very laid back it seems. Shouldn't be a bad transition - but I did realize I have a LOT of information to learn for scheduling.... It will be interesting! :) Tomorrow I have to be in at 7:30 - can you imagine me getting up that early?? Funny thing is, I can right now because I'm still waking at 4:30 since I'm on Ohio time. I'll be in trouble when that wears off for sure.
Jesse works tonight - first night he's worked since I've been here. And he'll get home at 4:30 am anyway (I have to let him in)....this will be my first night I can relax alone. Not that he's bad company, but he has to be getting tired of having me around constantly, too... I am going to walk to WalMart here in a few and get myself a notebook so I cant take some notes tomorrow. It's not a real long walk...but it will definitely be my workout for the day/week!
I have no fun pictures today - maybe I'll take a picture of WalMart! Haha... I am going to make myself some food and get walking I think...I'll update after I get this errand done and I'm bored on the couch.
xoxo
**** it's now 8:00 and I am beat. I could sleep right now, in fact I might just do that after a shower here shortly...
I ran to Ross's, for some reason Jesse thought it was a bad idea for me to walk to WalMart without mace. Please. Ross's is a heck of a lot closer though so it was a good idea - and I found a pair of earrings to replace my crappy silver ones. For cheap of course. It's like a Marshall's or something.
You'll be so proud - I called five apartments, or rental companies rather, and left messages. I found a few one bedrooms for $900-ish that seem really nice, assuming they're not gone already. I also called The Bus and got the route from the hospital to Pearl City so that if Jesse can't pick me up, I don't have to stress about getting home - I really hate making Risa drive me here, even if it is on her way home. If only I had asked how to GET there in the mornings...then he wouldn't have to drive me (we're not morning people....it's a long drive).
Price: $900
I think this one's cute - it's a mini-house. I imagine there's another unit in the back or something.
 | |
This one's $950...and there's a lanai off the bedroom it sounds like.
Okay so that's only three, but one place doesn't have a picture, and the other is rented. So that's all you get.
I think I've definitely made this long enough...and included fun pictures ;) (you can click on them to enlarge them)
LOVE YOU AND MISS YOU!!!!
me.
BUT WAIT! There's MORE!
Could I possibly make this any longer?? Of course I could.
I was going over my benefits for work - and our options. Obviously they go from the HMO where you go with their docs, to the HMO where you pick whatever doc you want - anyhow this is about how it ends up:
My HMO? I pay nothing out of pocket, no premiums or have to meet a yearly deductible.
My Dental? Pay nothing, just have to go to a Hawaii Dental Center.
Vision & Drugs, too but I don't know specifics on that. I think in vision, you don't pay for frames, but you do for the lens...something about contact lenses...I don't know. But I think that's a good thing right?? Plus, our long-term disability and our ... I don't know, that dismemberment one? - all paid for by REHAB. How about that?! Then, we can have our 401k (and money we put in before the matching starts) taken out before taxes, our parking fees taken out before taxes, and medical expenses (like monthly prescriptions) taken out of our flexible spending pretax. This all means that it is taken off of our yearly gross income, which, if we use it enough, can keep us at a lower tax bracket. HOLY COW how come no one ever told me about this before??
If you claim 1 dependent - you get more each paycheck or more at the end of the year?
Phew. Bed time.
Monday, January 7, 2008
1/7 First Day - Done!
Aloha, Ohana!
I successfully completed my first day at the new job. That's a pretty vague statement, though - it was only orientation in a conference room. I have yet to see my department, or meet the people I will be working with. But I met some nice people, none of which will be near my department. One girl is a student, there for 12 weeks, who went to LSU so we were joking about the big game today. The other is a nursing supervisor, she ended up giving me a ride home because it was impossible for Jesse to come get me. That or he just wanted to watch the game and he was faking being busy - but whatever! ;) I decided I need a place RIGHT by the hospital - to avoid all traffic and so I have a better chance of getting out of here ASAP and not needing my car. But I do. But whatever! I'm having a hard enough time finding an apartment.
Hmmm, well the temperature today when we were driving home was 82 at 5:00 - not bad, but I hear Ohio had 66 degrees today! That's pretty warm. Traffic is horrendous here - the drive in was clear until this one area where three ramps all merge at once, then it was major bottle-necking. The ride home, however, was way worse. It's now 7:00 and it's still slow from what I can see from here. And it's like this every. single. day. You'd think they'd make some more highways but whatever - this is why it'd be best for me to live by the hospital so I could avoid all that nonsense.
I went for a walk on my lunch today (a block - huge walk!) and saw this stream that ended up in a mini waterfall:
)
And I watched the disaster of a game tonight - boo OSU. I'll hear about that tomorrow...
and I just got done with a smokie treat (did I mention I cannot smoke at work? I went all day without a cigarette!) - and got my first bug bite! I think it was a mosquito - I can't remember the last time I got bit!! Boogers....
Unfortunately I don't have much to talk about. My orientation was nothing to write home about...I won't meet anyone til tomorrow...and I'll start on Wednesday and hopefully know my schedule better. Sorry I didn't have much else to say....
xoxo
me.
PS - it's 10:19....I just went to take a shower and realized I have had my underwear on inside-out all day. That's what you get for dressing in the dark.... :)
PPS - Look what i got today!!! My badge - I look uber important now.
I successfully completed my first day at the new job. That's a pretty vague statement, though - it was only orientation in a conference room. I have yet to see my department, or meet the people I will be working with. But I met some nice people, none of which will be near my department. One girl is a student, there for 12 weeks, who went to LSU so we were joking about the big game today. The other is a nursing supervisor, she ended up giving me a ride home because it was impossible for Jesse to come get me. That or he just wanted to watch the game and he was faking being busy - but whatever! ;) I decided I need a place RIGHT by the hospital - to avoid all traffic and so I have a better chance of getting out of here ASAP and not needing my car. But I do. But whatever! I'm having a hard enough time finding an apartment.
Hmmm, well the temperature today when we were driving home was 82 at 5:00 - not bad, but I hear Ohio had 66 degrees today! That's pretty warm. Traffic is horrendous here - the drive in was clear until this one area where three ramps all merge at once, then it was major bottle-necking. The ride home, however, was way worse. It's now 7:00 and it's still slow from what I can see from here. And it's like this every. single. day. You'd think they'd make some more highways but whatever - this is why it'd be best for me to live by the hospital so I could avoid all that nonsense.
I went for a walk on my lunch today (a block - huge walk!) and saw this stream that ended up in a mini waterfall:
And I watched the disaster of a game tonight - boo OSU. I'll hear about that tomorrow...
and I just got done with a smokie treat (did I mention I cannot smoke at work? I went all day without a cigarette!) - and got my first bug bite! I think it was a mosquito - I can't remember the last time I got bit!! Boogers....
Unfortunately I don't have much to talk about. My orientation was nothing to write home about...I won't meet anyone til tomorrow...and I'll start on Wednesday and hopefully know my schedule better. Sorry I didn't have much else to say....
xoxo
me.
PS - it's 10:19....I just went to take a shower and realized I have had my underwear on inside-out all day. That's what you get for dressing in the dark.... :)
PPS - Look what i got today!!! My badge - I look uber important now.
Sunday, January 6, 2008
1/6 Monday, Monday....
Aloha!
It's Sunday night, 8:30 pm...and I'm having the hardest time staying awake! I guess I didn't adjust as quickly as I thought I would to the time change. This morning, I woke up much later than Jesse - but got ready much quicker! :) We went out for Thai food, which was my breakfast/lunch and it was fantastic! I had sweet & sour mahi. Then we drove down to the hospital, which seems like it is actually in Chinatown! Pretty neat little area. I just hope I can find my way to a bus stop tomorrow after work! Jesse will be driving me in the morning...sucks to be him! :)
So after all that, we went on base and he did some shopping for TP (he's not used to having a girl here to use all the toilet paper!) and car stuff for him. When we got back to the apartment, he couldn't keep his eyes open so he took a nap for a couple hours. I stole his car keys and ran to WalMart and got some things to eat while I'm here, and picked up Wendy's on my way back. I found my way back alright!! (Which isn't saying much considering it's a block away but...give me some credit!)
And now I'm struggling to keep my eyes open. The internet wouldn't work for me all day - I'm using someone else's internet signal through my wireless, so I guess I can't be too picky. Otherwise, I would've written something sooner today - and probably a little more interesting.
I'm glad most of you left me a comment! It's nice to know you're reading this and leaving me something...
Okay so I added a picture of the 'centipede' I saw yesterday - it's dead or I never would've gotten this picture!! Absolutely disgusting, he's at least 5 inches and covered in a hard scale-type thing...YUCK! And they say things are bigger in Texas - ha!
So that's it for now. Tomorrow morning, 1 pm Ohio time, I will be reporting to my new job! Cross your fingers...feels like the first day of school! What do I wear? What will they wear?? Are they nice? Etc etc etc :) I'll live, I'm a big girl. They have to be nice on my first day, right??
Love you all and miss you tons.
me.
It's Sunday night, 8:30 pm...and I'm having the hardest time staying awake! I guess I didn't adjust as quickly as I thought I would to the time change. This morning, I woke up much later than Jesse - but got ready much quicker! :) We went out for Thai food, which was my breakfast/lunch and it was fantastic! I had sweet & sour mahi. Then we drove down to the hospital, which seems like it is actually in Chinatown! Pretty neat little area. I just hope I can find my way to a bus stop tomorrow after work! Jesse will be driving me in the morning...sucks to be him! :)
So after all that, we went on base and he did some shopping for TP (he's not used to having a girl here to use all the toilet paper!) and car stuff for him. When we got back to the apartment, he couldn't keep his eyes open so he took a nap for a couple hours. I stole his car keys and ran to WalMart and got some things to eat while I'm here, and picked up Wendy's on my way back. I found my way back alright!! (Which isn't saying much considering it's a block away but...give me some credit!)
And now I'm struggling to keep my eyes open. The internet wouldn't work for me all day - I'm using someone else's internet signal through my wireless, so I guess I can't be too picky. Otherwise, I would've written something sooner today - and probably a little more interesting.
I'm glad most of you left me a comment! It's nice to know you're reading this and leaving me something...
Okay so I added a picture of the 'centipede' I saw yesterday - it's dead or I never would've gotten this picture!! Absolutely disgusting, he's at least 5 inches and covered in a hard scale-type thing...YUCK! And they say things are bigger in Texas - ha!
So that's it for now. Tomorrow morning, 1 pm Ohio time, I will be reporting to my new job! Cross your fingers...feels like the first day of school! What do I wear? What will they wear?? Are they nice? Etc etc etc :) I'll live, I'm a big girl. They have to be nice on my first day, right??
Love you all and miss you tons.
me.
Friday, January 4, 2008
1/5 I have arrived!
I decided this is one of the best ways for me to keep EVERYONE updated...while collecting all my thoughts at the same time.
It was so incredibly hard leaving Cleveland...I didn't think I'd have such a hard time with it, I knew I'd be sad and I'd cry, but once I saw Mom cry, I couldn't stop myself. I even went through security and people were asking if I was okay - then I went to the bathroom to calm myself down for a few minutes. After that, I roamed around, found my gate got some water and pretzels and waited to board, which didn't take too long. That flight was alright - longer than expected, and with a lot of turbulence - my heart skipped a beat a couple of times. But we made it to Vegas safely.
I successfully avoided gambling in Vegas, though I heard people winning everywhere, one guy by the gate even won $1500. But I took my time trying to find somewhere to go smoke and take a break, then stayed by my gate for about an hour, checking my email and keeping myself busy. Luckily (or so I thought) I had an emergency exit seat, so I had over 4 feet of leg room! Unfortunately, I was also right by the door, which was letting cold air in. I think it froze my purse at one point. That flight was a little more intolerable, but after watching a movie on my ipod, and watching one on my computer, I eventually fell asleep for a little bit. They didn't feed us, though and I hadn't eaten anything more than my pretzels since I was at the airport in Cleveland. I also got a dixie cup-size drink - one. That's it. Needless to say I was a bit thirsty by the end of the flight.
I arrived last night at about 10:30, a little bit earlier than expected. But by the time I got my luggage and we grabbed some Taco Bell, it was already about 11:45. Jesse has been extremely nice and helpful. After gabbing for a bit, and listening to him play the guitar, we finally passed out - after I had been up for just about 24 hours. What a long, long day. I woke up today at 7 am, apparently my inner clock is still ticking in Ohio time. But I managed to sleep til about 10:30. Got up, showered, smoked (and got yelled at by some security guy for it) and we went to Denny's for breakfast/lunch. Hit up the Goodwill - Jesse collects these little jar things. And now we sit on the couch watching a Paranormal Investigator show... So far so good.
Still really nervous. We didn't go find the hospital today; I forgot to Google it before we left. Maybe tomorrow. And maybe after my first day of work, I'll feel more like I belong here. I feel like I'm just visiting, I feel like this isn't my home. Well, I KNOW it's not my 'home'. But I'm supposed to reside here...I haven't accepted that yet. Hopefully next week will give me a better feel for my plans for myself...and if I'm going to be alright here!! Glad I have people here to help me, though. I hate being five hours behind - I never know who's where when and who can talk .... this could take some getting used to.
I love and miss everyone ....
me.
It was so incredibly hard leaving Cleveland...I didn't think I'd have such a hard time with it, I knew I'd be sad and I'd cry, but once I saw Mom cry, I couldn't stop myself. I even went through security and people were asking if I was okay - then I went to the bathroom to calm myself down for a few minutes. After that, I roamed around, found my gate got some water and pretzels and waited to board, which didn't take too long. That flight was alright - longer than expected, and with a lot of turbulence - my heart skipped a beat a couple of times. But we made it to Vegas safely.
I successfully avoided gambling in Vegas, though I heard people winning everywhere, one guy by the gate even won $1500. But I took my time trying to find somewhere to go smoke and take a break, then stayed by my gate for about an hour, checking my email and keeping myself busy. Luckily (or so I thought) I had an emergency exit seat, so I had over 4 feet of leg room! Unfortunately, I was also right by the door, which was letting cold air in. I think it froze my purse at one point. That flight was a little more intolerable, but after watching a movie on my ipod, and watching one on my computer, I eventually fell asleep for a little bit. They didn't feed us, though and I hadn't eaten anything more than my pretzels since I was at the airport in Cleveland. I also got a dixie cup-size drink - one. That's it. Needless to say I was a bit thirsty by the end of the flight.
I arrived last night at about 10:30, a little bit earlier than expected. But by the time I got my luggage and we grabbed some Taco Bell, it was already about 11:45. Jesse has been extremely nice and helpful. After gabbing for a bit, and listening to him play the guitar, we finally passed out - after I had been up for just about 24 hours. What a long, long day. I woke up today at 7 am, apparently my inner clock is still ticking in Ohio time. But I managed to sleep til about 10:30. Got up, showered, smoked (and got yelled at by some security guy for it) and we went to Denny's for breakfast/lunch. Hit up the Goodwill - Jesse collects these little jar things. And now we sit on the couch watching a Paranormal Investigator show... So far so good.
Still really nervous. We didn't go find the hospital today; I forgot to Google it before we left. Maybe tomorrow. And maybe after my first day of work, I'll feel more like I belong here. I feel like I'm just visiting, I feel like this isn't my home. Well, I KNOW it's not my 'home'. But I'm supposed to reside here...I haven't accepted that yet. Hopefully next week will give me a better feel for my plans for myself...and if I'm going to be alright here!! Glad I have people here to help me, though. I hate being five hours behind - I never know who's where when and who can talk .... this could take some getting used to.
I love and miss everyone ....
me.
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