This post is a little overdue but I'm going to be doing some backposting anyways from all the posts I've written but haven't fully completed. I tend to start writing posts but am never happy with my writing or am too lazy to edit photos for the entry, so they sit on my computer for a few days (or even a week) until I finally get up off my butt and work on them.
Anyways, graduation went really well. I was really tired that day because Matt and I had attended his work's holiday party the night before and I was just really anxious to get graduation over with so I could just get a chance to relax. I had to show up an hour early to stand in line, which was almost pointless as there weren't that many people graduating in my major. I also had on really old dress shoes which didn't really fit anymore, so my feet were killing me the entire time. By the time we went out into the stadium, I was very ready to sit down. The ceremony was short and simple, and it only took about an hour overall. After the ceremony my parents, Matt, and I went and had lunch at Coopersmiths.
It feels so great to be officially graduated. It's finally started sinking in, especially now that I am realizing that I don't have to go back to school next semester. I'm very much looking forward to just being able to work, work out, and relax. Hopefully I can start releasing some of my projects that I've been working on as well. ^^
I went over to my parents' house on Thursday night to celebrate my birthday with them. My mom made my favorite veggie burritos tiramisu for dessert. =) I think my brother and sister were more excited for me to open presents than I was, haha. My sister got me the new Brain Age 2 game for my DS, which I've been really, really wanting, as well as an adorable Golden Compass Pez candy holder. ^^ I can't wait to go see the movie -- the books were great. My brother gave me a very cute Christmas candle holder and a yummy smelling cinnamon candle to go with. In addition, he also brought me back 2 tiny dolphin bracelets from his recent trip to Seattle. I thought it was really nice of him to think of me while he was there. ^^
My parents always seem to know what I want, even when I don't. This year they got me... a grill. I know, it doesn't sound like the most exciting birthday gift, but I've really been wanting/needing one. I love cooking chicken, and the old camping grill Matt and I used to use broke, so we've been cooking our chicken on the stove, which doesn't taste nearly as good. I also love to grill veggies, and haven't been able to do that in awhile. So I'm very excited about my new grill. ^__^
They also gave me this really, really fun cake pan that I saw at Williams Sonoma a few weeks back. They make mini-cakes in the shape of bugs -- a ladybug, a dragonfly, a bee, and a butterfly. I cannot wait to try them out sometime. =) Speaking of which, I'm signing up for the next cake decorating class in January! Now that school is over, I can finally concentrate on things I want to do, and that is one of them. ^__^
Thursday was my last day working at the VP office on campus. I've had the job since my first week of college, freshman year, and I was really sad to say goodbye to everyone. The place really has been like my second home on campus. I've spent so much time there and have met so many wonderful and funny people over the years. Without that job, I wouldn't have met Sarah, and without meeting Sarah, I would never have been Matt or Steve. I can't imagine how different my life would be right now if I never would have gotten the job. I still remember being interviewed by my boss Linda and the then web developer, Morgan. I honestly didn't think I'd get the job since I was a freshman and didn't have much experience, but about an hour after the interview, I got the call saying they'd like to offer me the position. I remember being ecstatic and actually jumping up and down in my dorm room. They hired me on the basis that I would work there for my 4 years at CSU and learn things as I went, even though I didn't have all the experience yet. Hopefully I didn't let them down. ^__^
Linda threw me the best going-away party, too. She had the whole office decorated with graduation decorations and had an amazing spread set up for lunch. She ordered Canino's (a local Italian place) for lunch and even brought me a birthday cake. She gave me some breathtaking yellow roses (green and gold are our school's colors) and had a huge box of CSU goodies for me. She gave me the CSU bear that had been sitting on my desk all 4 years, a new CSU hoodie, a CSU blanket with building images on it, a bag, and a mouse pad. She even gave me some Christmas goodies that go perfectly with my red/gold theme at home. I'm going to miss her so much.
People starting showing up around 11:30am, and it was so much fun to sit and chat with people I hadn't seen in awhile. My old supervisor, Ri, came. I wrote about her a few months ago, and how sick she was... She's feeling (and looking) soooo much better, and I'm happy to hear that. I missed an entire semester of walking together on our lunch breaks because of it. :(
Tyson and Lee also came, two previous admin assistants who went
on to bigger and better things. Steve (different Steve than
roommate-Steve) also came. He was a senior CS major when I was a
freshman, and he took on the role of being my older brother in CS,
looking out for me and giving me advice. Even if I wanted to quit CS
at times (which I did), I don't think Steve would have let me, heh
heh. Old roommate-Steve also came, since he's taking over my position
for a few hours a week. It was so fun to have everyone back together
again! I'm really, really going to miss everyone, but here's to
better, brighter, and better-paying things! ^__^
My birthday this year was so much fun -- maybe one of the best ever. Part of that is due, I think, to the fact that this is the first birthday I've had in 4 years where I didn't have a final exam to study for. Since I finished my finals the day before, I was able to completely relax, drink, and have fun with my friends.
Matt gave me my birthday present a day early since he wanted it to be more personal, rather than giving it to me in front of everyone. Unknown to me at the time, he had hidden my gift inside my shoes and put them in the hallway. The entire night he kept telling me to go put my shoes away, because he was afraid Rudy would chew them up. I ignored him, because Rudy wasn't chewing on them at all and I was perfectly comfy on the couch. Eventually he said, "You want your birthday present now?" Of course I said I did, but he said I had to go put my shoes away first. >.< For the life of me, I couldn't figure out why my shoes were bugging him so much. However, I figured it out as soon as I picked them up, as there was a little gift wrapped box tucked inside. I ripped it open and found a gorgeous pair of princess cut diamond earrings inside. ^___^ I absolutely love them (what girl doesn't like jewelry from a guy, hehe). And at least I know he listens to me, because I was complaining a few weeks earlier that I need a good pair of earrings since all the non-stainless steal ones I buy make my ears infected. They're so pretty... I feel more like a girl when I wear them!
On the night of my actual birthday, we went to Coopersmiths's for dinner since it's my favorite restaurant. I just love their pub chips dipped in ranch... yum! As soon as we sat down and ordered drinks, Kelsey wanted me to open the present I got her, so I did. I absolutely LOVE what she got me. The first thing I found in the bag was a wooden box full of squirrel/nature stationary so that we can write each other when she goes away to grad school next fall. The cards were just adorable, and they fit my personality perfectly. I kept looking through the bag and found a few other squirrel related things (remember my fascination with squirrels?)... a little squirrel figurine and two accompanying squirrel candle holders... all of them are just so extremely cute. I just love them, hon! Thank you so, so much!!!
The rest of the night was spent talking, laughing until my
stomach hurt, laughing until my eyes started to tear up, and eating
good food and drink. I have so many funny memories from the night
(which I won't post here because they wouldn't be funny to anyone but
us). It felt so good to spend time with all my friends after the long
and rough semester. The birthday celebration was a perfect end! ^__^
There's no better way to describe it. No more homeworks, no more exams, no more studying, no more late nights in the CS lab programming, and no more freaking out about whether or not I passed my finals. A lot of people I've talked to tell me that life after school isn't that great, but I can't see what's wrong with not having to stress about any of the above anymore. It sounds great to me! Making real money, being able to save for the future, not having to depend on my parents for a thing, and having my weeknights/weekends to myself... I'm ready.
I will say, however, that I'll miss school somewhat. I've always loved and enjoyed school, but after 19 years of it, I'm ready for something new. I'll miss seeing my friends everyday, making lunch plans with them, goofing around in the lab when we should be programming (Steve...). I've had a lot of great memories at CSU, and I'll be sad to leave, but I'm really looking forward to what the future holds. At the moment, I don't really feel any different, and I was expecting to. I feel relief that finals are over, but it's the normal feeling I get every semester when I finish it. I don't really feel the finality of it all, or the realization that I am indeed, done. Maybe it will hit me when I walk the stage tomorrow. I'm sort of bummed, though, because my sister and brother can't make it to my graduation, as they both have to work. I don't know why they couldn't have thought ahead and had that day reserved to take off, since they've known about it for months. My grandma isn't coming now either because she's afraid to drive down in the snow. Oh well, graduation is more for the family than the graduate anyways.
And I apologize to all my lovely Vox neighbors... This week has been busy. Not just because of school, but because of my birthday, going-away parties, and working. I enjoy receiving each any every one of your comments and try to respond to them as soon as I can, but like I mentioned, this week has been incredibly busy. I've also really behind in reading all your entries and commenting, but I'll catch up soon, I promise!
I have lots more to post but I'll post them in a separate entry (hopefully tonight) so they don't end up being too long. ^__^
Things have been going really well lately, although they've been really busy. My group finished up our final project for my Object-Oriented Design class on Tuesday night, and the only thing I have left for school is one last Databases assignment and an online quiz. Other than that, the only thing I have left to do for school is study for my finals, which are Monday and Tuesday. I don't think this week can go by fast enough.
My little Rudy is doing well too. He's a lot less scared now and much more playful. He still follows me around everywhere, but he no longer feels the need to whine and cry if I don't pay attention to him every second. He's been having a lot of fun with the chew toys I got him and has been spending a lot of time laying inside his kennel, which is good for me because I can go do other things without having to keep an eye on him 24/7. He's still not completely housebroken yet, but he's getting better... we're getting into a sort of routine now, and I've been trying to reward him when he goes outside. Puppies are a lot of work, but totally worth it. I'm loving him more and more each day. ^__^
The next two weeks are going to be complete chaos, but fun chaos. Here's the rundown:
- Monday the 10th: cs414 final exam
- Tuesday the 11th: cs430 final exam
- Wednesday the 12th: My birthday! Lots of celebrating
- Thursday the 13th: Going away party at my school job
- Friday the 14th: Holiday Party @ Matt's work
- Saturday the 15th: Graduation! More celebrating
- Sunday the 16th: Kelsey's graduation + party
- Monday the 17th: Mannheim Steamroller concert with Steve
- Wednesday the 19th: All day holiday baking with mom
- Thursday the 20th: Holiday party at Burns
More likely than not, I'll be pretty scarce online and at Vox these next couple weeks. I already feel bad for neglecting my wonderful neighbors and friends, but I promise once all this craziness ends, I can return to my normal online life. I hope! ^__^
It's finally happened -- I finally have a puppy of my very own. For those who know me personally, I've had puppies on the brain for about a year now, and circumstances have finally allowed me to have one. I think I spent the whole weekend in puppy heaven.
On Friday I had some free time at work so I was browsing the puppy ads online and came across an ad which features Dorkies -- Dachshund/Yorkie mixes -- and just knew I had to have one. I've done a LOT of puppy searching online and in the pet stores, and while I loved them all, I had yet to come across one that stuck out. Well, as soon as I saw the Dorkie puppies, I instantly knew it was the dog for me. I called the number provided and left a message, and an hour later a lady called me back saying she would be in Denver on Saturday with the puppies, so we arranged a time to meet. Needless to say, I was on pins and needles the entire morning and afternoon until she called.
When I met up with her and she brought the puppies outside, I think my heart melted. I instantly saw the one I wa nted and picked him up, and I knew as soon as I held him I was going to buy him. ^__^ It was pretty cold out and the poor thing was shivering, so I stuck him inside my coat and he just laid there with his head nestled under my chin. After standing there for awhile looking at the other puppies, I paid the lady and took my new puppy inside Pet Smart so I could buy him some food, dishes, a leash, etc.
The rest of the weekend is sort of a blur -- I spent a lot of time just holding him, taking him outside, and playing with him. He is such a shy, calm puppy, too. When I pick him up to hold him, he never tries to wriggle out of my arms or jump down... he just lets me hold him and lays his head on my shoulder. He is constantly wanting to be held and starts whining if he wants me to pick him up, which is most of the time. He has been following me around everywhere, literally. If I walk off without him seeing, he'll start crying and whining because he can't find me, and I have to call his name until he hears the sound and finds me. It's so adorable. ^__^
However, when he IS on solid ground, he's very playful. He'll run around the room in circles and trip over his legs if he goes too fast. When he's running he'll see his tail out of the corner of his eye and jump around to bite it, but can't find it, and the process will continue until he's chasing his tail. I laughed so hard when I first saw him doing it.
I was initially going to name him Roscoe, but after getting him and playing with him for a few days, I decided on Rudy. It just suits his personality better. My little Rudy-Roo. ^__^
As promised, here are some (very bad) photos of the new place. As you can see, Matt's couch, coffee table, and end tables haven't been moved yet, but the place should be near complete after that. Well, until I start getting regular paychecks and can invest in some nice furniture and get rid of my old mismatched college furniture. ^__^
Friday I woke up to find an email from Amazon saying my TV had tried to be delivered, but that they had an insufficient address. Basically, Amazon shipped my TV through a third-party shipping company who got the address from Amazon (which is correct -- I checked), only they didn't include the Unit # on the invoice (even though it was right there on the box... couldn't they have checked?). So I called them and they said they wouldn't be able to deliver the TV until Tuesday between 11am - 3pm. Well, that wouldn't work since I'd be in classes, so I asked if I could pick it up. They said I could, so Matt and I hopped in the car and drove all the way out near Denver International Airport to get it. The whole ordeal was very frustrating, but I finally have my TV, and I love, love, love it. Thanks to my parents for my early graduation present. ^__^ I've never had a TV of my own, and it looks great on my new TV stand. Now I only need to worry about getting some nice end pieces for it to make it all come together!
Saturday was a fun day... Matt had to go get his hair cut, so we went down to the Park Meadows mall. I love that mall, especially around Christmas -- they have some of the best decorations. Plus, the mall has a Cheesecake Factory in it, which inevitably means Matt and I stop by for a piece to go. Mmmm, it's a rare treat and I savor every bite. I also had a lot of fun window shopping, although I didn't buy anything.
The last day of Turkey break was yesterday, and I spent a lot of it picking up the house, cooking, and reading a book. It was a nice relaxing day and a nice end to a fun, yet busy, break. I started back at work today and had a really busy day, spent mostly on my feet packaging lots of boxes to go out to clients. This week I'll be busy with 2 homework assignments I have due, and then celebrating Kelsey's 23rd birthday on Thursday night. Friday night I'm going to a "Wine, Women, and Wealth" meeting with my teacher, Ms. Haden, whom I mentioned in a previous entry. My old math teacher is the one hosting it, so I'm really looking forward to seeing her. Basically, it's just a few hours of women getting together drinking wine, eating good food, and discussing financial matters in regards to our future. It should be fun and I hope to learn a lot.
I'm finally done moving. It feels like the last week has been nothing but pack, pack, pack, move, move, move, and then unpack, put together, put away. I received three new pieces of furniture (my TV stand finally came, as well as a dining set and a baker's rack) that I also had to put together, so everything has been really hectic the last few days. I also spent the entire day Monday packing Matt's apartment up while he was at work, and then in the evening we made several trips over to the new place to drop it all off. Then it was more unpacking and putting away -- I love him, but the boxes would have sat there forever if I waited on him to put it all away, haha. However, we're 95% done now, and the place is starting to look really great. The only things we have left to move are Matt's couch, coffee table, end tables, and bed. Those can happen anytime before Dec. 18th, since that's when he officially has to be out of his apartment. I'll post pictures of the place soon.
I've also been on Thanksgiving break this week, although it hasn't felt like much of a break until today. Today was wonderful... I laid in bed and finished reading The Kite Runner (great book), took a nap, woke up and had lunch, started reading another book but then took another nap, and now I'm awake again waiting for Matt to get back from the grocery store. It snowed today, about 4 or 5 inches, I'm not sure, so it was an even better reason to stay in and be lazy. I can't believe I slept most of the day away, although I'm sure my body really needed the sleep.
Matt's birthday was the weekend before last. I think he had a nice birthday... at least I hope so! We went to On The Border for dinner the night before with Steve, and then went to Wahoo's Fish Tacos with Matt's dad on Saturday for lunch. I spent the afternoon baking him a birthday cake with the bee hive pan he bought me a few months ago. However, he didn't want to use the lemon cake/cinnamon frosting recipe that came with it, so instead I made him his favorite... spice cake with cream cheese frosting. The frosting was a lot thicker than it would have been if I had made it from scratch, so it didn't look too good going on the cake, but the taste is all that mattered to him anyways, haha. At least he liked it. He normally doesn't like sweets, but the fact that he asked for a second piece of cake shows how much he enjoyed it.
Ever since I was young, I've loved to read. I remember being very little, laying in bed with my mom while she read to me, wishing I could decipher the words on the page. I also remember being so extremely excited about starting school, so that I could learn to read. Back then, I thought that it was something I could learn in a day -- I would go to school in the morning, and come home in the afternoon and magically know how to read. I was very disappointed that this was not the case.
The first book I remember ever reading cover to cover was Grandfather Twilight. It was a book of very few words, but I was ecstatic when I was able to read the whole book without having to ask my mother what a certain word was. I'll never forget that.
When I grew older and was able to read a little bit better, I got into a lot of the young adult series, mainly, The Boxcar Children and The Babysitter's Club. I think I read every book in each of the series, and there were a lot of them. I'd read whenever I had time -- in the car, at the Dr.'s office, or at recess (yes I was a nerd). I read for hours up in my room, back before the internet was big, or before I was allowed a phone or gaming console in my room.
Those young adult books gradually grew into more adult series. I became engrossed in the Redwall series, followed by The Sword of Shannara series, which my dad was a fan of. Those books finally led to Lord of the Rings, and other great fantasy/sci-fi classics.
However, since I've been at college, I haven't had much time to read for pleasure. Between working, keeping up with school, spending time with friends, with Matt, and driving down to Denver to see the family on occasion, my reading hobby somehow took a backseat for a few years. Only recently have I rediscovered how much I've missed reading, and have also discovered new tastes for books. Before I was mostly only into fantasy/sci-fi books, but lately I've been reading all sorts of new books -- mostly off the New York Times Bestseller list. Some of my favorites as of late have been The Golden Compass and Eat, Pray, Love. I've also been really into buying books that are being made into films, hence my recent purchase of The Kite Runner, which I just started reading tonight.
I've been reading approximately a book per week, which is surprising to me due to how little time I have available. Most of this reading is done on the weekends at Matt's apartment, since I have no room or computer of my own to waste time on. I really hope that when we move next week, and I'll have a room of my own again each weekend, my reading doesn't decrease. In fact, I'm really looking forward to getting my new bookshelves, because after that, I plan on buying a nice lamp, table, and reading chair, and creating a little reading area in the corner of my room. It should be nice. ^__^
