A New Year, A Fresh Start

"I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is to try to please everyone."
- Bill Cosby

I've been a bit busy the past few days and thus unable to post. My New Year's Eve went pretty well. Most my age would consider it boring, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. After working a five-hour shift I arrived at home a little after 9:30 PM. I had an alcoholic beverage that was mixed with sprite (just one glass) and enjoyed being lightly buzzed. I ate some great hawaiian pizza for my late dinner. I passed the time by playing some video games, Sims 2, and reading.

Once the clock struck midnight I went into my parent's bedroom to wish my mom a happy new year. She wasn't sleeping well due to the fireworks (many illegal) that were going off in a neighborhood nearby. My dad was up and at the computer, due to his own sleeping problems caused by napping too much during the day. My brother was playing World of Warcraft. I decided that it was late and went to bed. Yes, I normally go to bed around 9 or 9:30 at night. I'm more of a morning person that a night owl.

On New Year's Day I spent the morning enjoying a not-so-healthy but hearty breakfast and playing some video games. Then I went off to another five-hour shift at work. When I came home, I immediately went to bed. Today was pretty similar: woke up, ate breakfast, took a shower, played video games. Only I didn't have to go to work. Instead I went to the GameStop in the Old Mill district of Bend to return three PS2 games that weren't as fun as I thought they would be (fixed camera angles suck!) and bought Mirror's Edge for the Xbox 360 plus the game guide. I used my Christmas and Birthday money for this. I have a monthly entertainment budget of $20 on whatever I want. I spent what was left of November's and all of December's for some craft supplies (for card making).

Now I just got back from visiting my coworkers for a little bit at work, so I need to start cleaning up my room. This sunday I'm going to be heading back to Portland, and this room needs to be nice.

Later.

Christmas Break & Work

"If it's sent by ship then it's a cargo, if it's sent by road then it's a shipment."
-- Dave Allen

Yesterday I managed to get a really good deal on card stock. I bought a value pack of 300 assorted card stock that's 8.5" by 5.5" and a value pack of 300 assorted card stock that's 4" x 4". The bigger one was $9.99 and the smaller $5.99. That's makes the bigger pack less that $.04 per card stock and the smaller pack about $.02 per card stock. If you buy them individually it's usually about $.30 to $.40 cents per card stock.

Also yesterday I was working at Subway from 3 to 9 and the weirdest stuff went down. Some friends came in drunk (drove in) and we yelled at them to go straight home and wait until they were sober before driving again. Then an ex-coworker calls in asking if its alright for her to come over, but apparently she's been banned from this Subway. She calls a bit later and talks to Mya to see if it's okay to get 4 foot longs for free. Of course it's not okay. Then a "friend" (not really) of Mya's comes in with a bloody fist, apparently from punching his truck over his psycho girlfriend. She counsels him for a while before he leaves. All in all that was a little exciting. We even made a threatening phone call to a two-timing jerk that was hitting on a coworker that is jailbait. We know this guy has a girlfriend. So we just told him how old she was and that if we found him coming here again to talk to her, we would be in contact with her mom and his girlfriend.

Today I need to go shopping in a little bit for some basic stuff. Oh yeah, I also made a blood drive appointment for when I'm back in Portland. I needed to wait until after the day after Christmas in order to donate blood again, but there are no blood drives until the 5th around here. I'm leaving on the 4th for Portland, so that didn't work. Now I'm going to be donating on the 10th, a Saturday.

Well, I have my duties I need attending to. I also have to work later today as well. Ciao!

Christmas Day

Microsoft: "You've got questions. We've got dancing paperclips."

Christmas is a wonderful holiday with many good memories for me. I didn't even realize how much I've matured until 3 hours after waking, I remembered I had a stocking. Normally that's the first thing I do on Christmas morning, because I'm going to have to wait until afternoon to open any presents. That's when Uncle John and his two dogs arrive for Christmas dinner. Instead I played speed (card game) for a while with my mom. When we tired of that we started playing hand and foot, a card game that needs 5 decks to play and has four matches per game. I spent all of last night putting the finishing touches on my handmade christmas presents.

Uncle John didn't arrive until 2 in the afternoon. My mom and aunt had been procrastinating with the dinner in hopes that Uncle John would drop by soon. And it worked. We had a lovely honey ham, sweet potato yam mix, fruit salad (yuck), peas and carrots, and broccoli. It was a really good dinner. I even manage to eat two small bites of broccoli! I hate that stuff.

After that it was a while before we managed to round up everyone for opening presents. Jimmy, my eldest brother, pulled a classic last minute gift wrapping.

What I got:
-130 Rubber Stamp Collection from Aunt Kathy
-"The New York Times: The Complete Front Pages from ???-2008" from Uncle John
-2 Egyptian cotton green towels from Dad
-3 books from my brother John
-Watercolor pad and sketchpad from Jimmy
-$25 Barnes & Noble Gift card from Matthew (Cousin)
-Chinese Brush Painting set from Erin (best friend)
-Slippers from Mom
-Backpack/Luggage from Dad

Seems like a lot, doesn't it? But this year I didn't get my bunch of tiny gifts and one big gift like I normally do. Mom and Dad didn't get me one so that they could justify all the help they are giving me for college. I like it better this way.

And now I'm all excited about my new hobby: card making. The rubber stamp collection and my handmade presents helped inspire me. I love the idea of making cards for people. Customized, thoughtful cards.

Edit [Sun, 28th 9:55 AM]; It looks like I saved this entry as a draft instead of posting it. Corrected that mistake.

Lovely 6 Hour Trip

Time is a great teacher, but unfortunately it kills all its pupils
- Louis Hector Berlioz

Yesterday was not my favorite day for travel. We already knew that the weather would slow us down a lot coming over the pass to Portland, but due to a jackknifed semi we spent about 6 hours traveling. In normal conditions we can make it there in about 3 hours with a lengthy stop at Government Camp to talk to my Aunt and Uncle who own a grocery/liquor store there. We didn't eve do that lengthy visit this time because they weren't going to be there. Man was it miserable to be a passenger! I can't even imagine how horrible it was for my mom, who had no break from driving.

You see we came over in my mom's Honda Odyssey and my brothers Honda Civic, because John (my brother) had to go back Christmas Eve because he had to work four hours on Christmas Day (for $21/hour too, DOUBLE PAY!). My dad drove my brother's car up until Government Camp where John switched places with dad for driving. So John drove his own car, my mom still driving her car, and my dad is in the van with us just sleeping. I can't drive in these conditions because I'm such a scared-y cat when it comes to driving in normal conditions, let alone these conditions.

In a little bit I'm going to head downstairs and finish up John's handmade christmas present. I'm doing a small little drawing of his favorite animal in his favorite color with watercolors. Then I'm attaching it to a piece of colored card-stock centered and into a matching envelope. I'm doing the same thing for everyone important to me. The list goes on: Mom, Dad, John, Jimmy, Matthew, Aunt Kathy, Uncle John, Aunt Judy, and Uncle Cliff. That's just family too. I also want to make some for my good friends: Erin, Mya, Diana, Brianna, Anna, Kea, Priscella, and Xin. I'm going to be late with those, but I've already let most of them know about that. A good lot of them already know I'm late with Christmas presents pretty often. I have a horrible sense of timing for personal projects.

Today was nice due to an iHop breakfast John and I enjoyed. He was kind enough to take me with him for a parent-funded meal. My mom was also nice enough to pick up enough of my extra supplies for making gifts. She has the most knowledge on what I'm doing, but I have no doubt my mom is mentally blocking it in order to enjoy the surprise. She loves to be surprised.

Well, I need to head on downstairs. John is leaving about 3 or 4 in the afternoon, so I have plenty of time.

Sugar Cookies & Cavities Go Hand in Hand

“I know that you believe you understand what you think I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.”
- Robert McCloskey

Well I haven't gotten a new cavity yet, but one of my old fillings fell out while I was flossing my teeth. A bit ironic isn't it? I figured that out when I ate one of my cookies. The pain was horrible. This was late on Monday. I immediately went to the bathroom to brush my teeth (an effective way to get the sugar out of the cavity and end the pain). I looked at the cavity (which was on my bottom row of teeth, right side a little to the back). It was pretty big, but an older cavity I got years ago. So I made an appointment with my new dentist (Dr. Beals retired last year and Dr. Turley is who he sold his practice to).

Sometimes a new dentist can be troublesome, however Dr. Beals did a good job on selecting who to sell his practice to. It's my understanding that Dr. Turley learned a bit under Dr. Beals, which explains why his chairside manner is so good (chairside instead of bedside, since I'm in a chair). He was thorough and quick with the job, making sure I didn't have any pain or discomfort. I love it when a dentist believes you when you raise your left hand signaling pain. My mom once had a dentist who didn't believe that she could still feel everything - most of the numbing medicine takes longer to take effect on her than other people. In short, my cavity was filled in on Thursday and all is good in that department. Still flossing once a day and brushing three times a day.

Today in particular I did something that made my mom and dad really happy. I tackled the cookbook drawer in the kitchen. By tackling, I mean organizing and cleaning it out. Now there are only three cookbooks and two binders of recipes in there. Before there was at least 20 cookbooks and recipe clippings all over the place. I've also suggested drawer dividers to put in there (since now there is so much space) to put things like their wine corkscrew, can opener, etc. Basically a place to put odds and end kitchen stuff. It's pretty much accepted around here at home that I'm the organizer. It's not that no one else can organize in my house. It's more of a matter of who's willing to put the time, effort, and hard work into getting it done. I love tackling such projects. It's why I'm working on organizing the garage. Everyone who has ever had a garage understands how disastrously messy they can get. I don't think that's an exaggeration.

My dad has been doing stuff around the house to. Ever since he retired he's become handy man that actually gets things done and house-dad. He cleans dishes, the kitchen, table, floors, etc. He's putting up curtains in the three bedrooms and the backroom. Nice curtains too. He's in-progress on the ones in my room.

Also something that happened today that isn't so pleasant. Our oldest cat, Stripes, has been coming in a lot more lately. We've given her the Queen's treatment and a couple days ago she shit on my bed. This is probably due to the fact that the one time she (purposely) shit on my mom's bed, mom threw her out the door after rubbing it in her face. So that's why, instead of where she was most of the time, she went into my room to shit on the bed. >.> Then she did it again today. I've decided she can do without my petting for a while. We kicked her out after rubbing it in her face. Next time she's in? My door is closed. She can go shit on John's bed. Nice thing is my dad said it would be his fault if she shit in the house and now she's done it twice. I get to tease him about it, so it's not so bad. Plus, looking on the bright side: she didn't shit on my comforter or pillows. I can't live without those. I can change my basic bed sheets easily though.

Anyways, I have work tomorrow so I should be heading to bed about now.

Working Me To The Bone...Or Not

“There's no half-singing in the shower, you're either a rock star or an opera diva.”
-Josh Groban

Nice thing is I'm back on the Subway work schedule. Yay! This is mainly due to a coworker getting himself fired. Now, should I be happy about that? Yes. Jacob pushed the envelope one to many times. In the past he did a no call no show, which usually gets you off the schedule (and effectively fired) but someone pleaded for him. Then there was that time he did something stupid and got himself in jail for a couple of nights. I do believe I covered his shifts while he was in jail. No one told Mike, our manager, because we figured that Jacob needed help in order to hold down a job. Then last weekend someone calls him to come in a couple hours early because they'll be short a person, and Jacob tells them he can't come in at all because he's in Christmas Valley. Mike was told this time, because this is exactly what we don't need. He's now off the schedule, which is the kiss of death. Mike doesn't actually fire him (thus he can't get unemployment) but makes him quit.

So now I have his hours. Yesterday I was supposed to cover his 12 to 6 shift, but was called by Mike and asked if I could do a 4 to 9 shift instead. I did and we closed at 9 (we close lobby at 9, drive-thru at 10) because of weather. Thus Mike called me today to say that I shouldn't come in today due to lack of business, but I do have a 5 to 9 shift tomorrow which I know will happen. Any night shift lasting until 9 or 10 is a for sure one, because we are the closers. Hopefully I get to work with Diana. Also, the Christmas Party at work happens tomorrow. I'm going to be bringing chocolate sheet cake (a recipe of my mom's) at around 4 when the party starts. Originally there was going to be a meeting as well, but alas this will not happen.

The reason I'm not to worried about the lack of hours is due to my other job. I'm cleaning and organizing the garage for my dad. $10 an hour. It's good work. I also need some time to clean my room properly. Plus, my dad's going to be cooking the turkey my mom got on a good deal (69 cents per pound, a steal!) and he needs supervision. I've never even cooked a turkey before, but I know that I'll be needed due to my kitchen experience. You need to at least look at directions when cooking, which my dad has a tendency of not doing quite as thoroughly as I do. And the first time you do a recipe you need to pay ATTENTION. Only after having successfully done the recipe can you alter it. Or so I believe.

Well, I'm going to get dressed and ready for the day. I need to start making my christmas presents or they won't be finished in time. I will be putting my Aunt Judy and Uncle Cliff's on delay, for our christmas party we have after christmas. They are always so busy working during Christmas. Later.

Crazy, Crazy Happenings

"“The ability to quote is a serviceable substitute for wit.”
- Somerset Maugham

So, I haven't posted in a while due to hives. Monday morning I woke up all itchy and went to take a shower. Once I got out of the shower I noticed I had an itchy, red rash all over my body and especially on my face. Immediately I went and showed my dad (I put on clothes first, of course) and he told me it looked like hives. He gave me a couple benadryl and a nice breakfast. An hour later I fell asleep, probably due to the benadryl. I woke up a few hours later still feeling horrible. I was itchy all over and that does not feel good.

Later that day I took more benadryl (6 hours after first dose) and then a couple hours later we went to the clinic for a walk-in. The docter told us what we already knew: a) I had hives, an itchy red rash b) unless my throat starts swelling closed, I should just take non-prescription drugs. She then gave us a list of drugs good for taking care of hives along with the generic name, joking about how she doesn't have any stock in those companies so she doesn't care if we get the cheaper generic drugs. She also said I should wear more green to be festive (since I'm red all over). My dad came to the clinic to find out what meds I needed (I went with my mom) and went off to Wal*Mart to get them.

That night was the worst of the nights for sleeping. Even though I took benadryl before bed, I woke up four hours later and couldn't fall asleep. My mom came in and checked on me, to make sure I was breathing fine. A little while later my dad comes in and asks if I want more benadryl. Thankfully that helped knock me out until about 5:30 in the morning. Not that long after waking up again though I fell asleep on my own. It's not uncommon for me to wake up once or twice in the night, but usually I just fall asleep right away.

For Tuesday I took a different medication that was one tablet per day. Plus my dad had me put on a bunch of anti-itch cream which helped a little bit. I wasn't as miserable at first, but later on in the day my hands and the pads of my feet swelled up. It hurt to move my fingers or walk (even with shoes on). Though for Tuesday night I took benadryl again along with some ibuprofen for my pain and some anti-itch cream all over my body. Next day? My face, which was the worse in terms of hives, looks normal except for a few tiny hives on my forehead. My arms are their normal paleness with one or two small hives. My fingers and foot pads are no longer swollen and they don't hurt as much (though they still hurt). Even though it didn't look as good on my thighs, waist, or top of my feet I felt a lot better.

I did this same meds from Tuesday night for Wednesday night. I slept peacefully and woke up with no pain, no itching. My face and my arms were completely normal and the hives on my thighs and top of my feet were a lot better. For most of today I felt no pain or itching sensation, but I did have some moments. So I was able to final start cleaning the garage with my dad. We got a significant chunk of work done today, and I plan on doing some more this weekend. Though it might end up that I work on Saturday from 4 to 7 at Subway, because Jordan can't make it. I need some money so I volunteered. I'm trained to work there, have a uniform, and I was a trusted, valued employee before I left for college. I'm going to put up a note saying that I can cover shifts for people up to the 22nd.

Tomorrow my dad will be taking the van I normally drive now in for a maintenance check and it'll be gone most of the day. So my mom asked me to drive her to work (Elton Gregory Middle School, Health teacher) so that I could have her car. The catch is I also have to pick her up and drive her back home. Not a bad deal. However I plan to mostly stay at home and work on my handmade christmas presents. I can't afford to get nice, individual and thoughtful gifts for my friends and family. Instead I'm creating some nice, personalized artwork that shows that I care about them. It'll probably cost me...$1 per present this way. I don't mean to be so cheap, but I don't have the money to spend. I don't even buy stuff just for me as often as I want. I let myself have $20 a month to spend on something for me, but I already spent it on art supplies.

I need to turn in for the night, it's getting awfully late. Later.