Kari's Journal

Doe, a deer, a female deer...

2009-12-22T07:13:02Z

Yesterday was funtimes. I got done with my shift and headed back over to Katey's to resume hanging out with the chicago gang. We goofed off there for awhile, I took a nap, then the girls made us a breakfast themed-lunch. Katey made this amazingly wonderful hot cocoa/amaretto concoction, yum! After eating Miranda needed a ride to work, and Mel asked to come along. Ryan offered to drive. We took her and then Ryan got gas. We hung out at my place briefly so we could get some stuff and then headed back to Katey's. There, Katey asked us to participate in a ritual to celebrate Yule and bless the new year. We were awfully giggly for parts of it, but overall I think it was a very good mojo moment, heh. I got to write a recurring woe on a slip of paper and then burn it up in Katey's cauldron. Say what you will, but I definitely did not imagine the lifted-weight feeling when that sucker burnt into dust. Ahhhh...:)

After that we all went our separate ways since Mel and Erin very much needed to get back north. It was around 3 o'clock. Back home I took another nap and did some internetting. Then it was time to shower and ponder how the heck I was going to put together a holiday-themed costume on some very short notice and very limited funds. I'd riffled through my closet, trying things on and changing my mind several times. "This is cute, but I'm too chubby for it now. This is cute, but I'd freeze to death in it....This isn't cute at all, why do I still have this!?" and so forth. I eventually realized that I have a nice pair of brown dress pants and a nice sparkly brown top. Black shoes + little black shrug to keep the arms warm...all I need is the antlers and bingo, a really cheap reindeer!

I didn't feel like braving the Champaign shopping mob trying to fight my way across town to Walmart, so I called the local Schnucks and asked them if they had what I was looking for. They did. Yay! In the store I called up Miranda and conferred with her about her choices: Two types of antlers or a Santa hat. Choose. She wanted to be a deer too, and we ended up with the same style of antlers. I also picked up some Jack, coke, and some batteries for my camera. I picked up Miranda around 7:30p. We followed the google directions to Tom's quite easily, as he lives a mere 5 minutes from my apartment. The roads were very icy and we missed the turn trying to get onto his street. Sliiiiiide....I didn't hit anything/anyone, thank goodness.

There in front of what is obviously a very nice house, we decide that there aren't nearly enough fellow guests there yet, and perhaps it would be a good idea to come back after having some dinner. So we went to Jimmy Johns's and ate subs and tried on our antlers. Some random patron said we looked cute. :)

The roads were no better on the second attempt to get to this party, and we slid by the turn yet again, this time scaring a little squeal out of Miranda. Again, no harm, no foul. We put our antlers back on and rang the doorbell a couple times. Tim, Tom's uncle, aka Elf, answered the door. He welcomed us, took our coats, and directed us toward the rest of the party. My first impression was "Holy crap, that guy does NOT look like anyone's uncle...." He was very tall and very young looking. Without the eye crinkles, he could have easily passed for my age, not his late 30s. I quickly found out he also acts like he could be Tom's brother; fun guy.

Tom looked pretty funny in his "Bad Santa" garb. I introduced him to Miranda and fixed myself a drink. The party had a fairly small turnout, maybe no more than a dozen people plus us. Almost all of them were Tim's friends, and were roughly his age. Even so, the conversation was fun, random, and easy to participate in. Topics included the recent death of Brittany Murphy, the Champaign "Enema Bandit", Microwave carts, and whatever else came to mind. The people were plenty welcoming and I didn't feel awkward at all. :D

I drank. Aaaaaa lot. I had three tall jack n cokes to start, did two carbombs with Tom, had three mugs of his special spiked cider, and I lost count of how many vile sips of beer while playing Flippy Cup in their heated garage. Ahhhh, Flippy Cup...seriously fun times. I was already tipsy by the time we started playing that. There was another gal who happened to be named Kari too, but she was wearing a red apron and a Santa hat. She happened to be on my flipping team, and I remember shouting at her in encouragement at one point: "C'mon! C'mon Home Depot! FLIP IT!!!"

A sudden stomach pain, combined with the room beginning to tilt suspiciously, convinced me that I needed to take a bit of a break from the flipping and drinking. Me and Miranda hung out in Tim's little sitting room while I drank some water and tried to recover myself a bit. Tim came in the check on us and ended up standing there talking to us about his lovely house and family for a good ten minutes.

I started feeling much better and decided to start drinking again. I migrated back to the kitchen and there Miranda told me that she was very tired and was thinking about going home. I told her that I was still having a great time, and didn't feel like leaving yet. I didn't want to be a total douche though. She had to say goodbye to her horse earlier that day, and frankly I owed her one for even agreeing to come out with me, feeling as sad as she does. So I told her that if she wanted to go, she could take my car and she could pick me up in the morning. Now that I think about it, I should've confirmed that it's be ok to stay the night with our hosts, but it didn't even occur to me. She said goodbye, took my car, and left.

So yeah, after that, I honestly don't remember what I fixed myself, but whatever it was, it flipped the switch from "let's party!" to "let's pass out"... I sat in the doorway of the garage next to Tom and just kind of spaced out for awhile. Realizing that I was no longer really participating in anything anymore, I ambled over to the couch to see if I could get comfortable. At some point someone put a blanket on me and I mumbled some thanks. Then, later, Tom woke me up to ask if I wanted a bed. I said something to the effect of "That'd be nice..." and blearily went to the guest bedroom I was shown, aka one of Tim's daughter's rooms. I remember thinking "Ugh, sleeping in a fancy top, this is weird..." and then conking out for good.

Woke up feeling just fine, albeit with a desert gulch for a mouth...Until I rolled over. *PAIN* I had a pretty intense headache. I gingerly got up to use the restroom. I poured myself a glass of water and sipped it while checking my phone messages. Started feeling really nauseous and went back to the bathroom to evict the water I had only just drunk. The headache was not going anywhere anytime soon and the guys still hadn't gotten up. I didn't want to bug anyone, but I really needed some meds. I knocked on Tom's door until he got up and asked for some asprin. He gave me three ibuprofen, which kicked in surprisingly quickly. :)

We hung out watching tv for awhile and then he made breakfast: eggs, biscuits, and hashbrowns, yummo. He complained that the kitchen was a mess. I had to roll my eyes. You haven't seen a mess until you've seen the aftermath of a Nate and Jen's Halloween party. This mess was NOTHING, haha. We watched a sit com in which Rascal Flats were the guest stars. They played an acoustic version of the entire song "God Bless the Broken Road". Bear in mind, most country music makes me want to cut my ears off, but I happen to like a handful of these guys' songs. Hell, "What Hurts the Most" makes me cry like a baby. So that was an unexpected treat to hear. :D

I was enjoying myself and was half tempted to offer to help clean just to hang out more, but I didn't want to seem creepy. I contacted Miranda and told her I was ready to be picked up whenever she was available. She arrived around 1:30-2ish and picked me up. I thought I had packed up everything, but I ended up leaving my Jack, swimsuit (which never got used), and my spare camera batteries behind. Oops. Tom promised to bring them with when we all meet up Wednesday night at C Street. I talked to Amber about it and she (reluctantly) agreed to tell everyone to be there at 8p. We know that bar is notoriously dead until about midnight, but if we went with her original suggestion of being there at 10p, I'd only be there an hour and a half before having to duck out to go to work. :( I figure the group of us can just hangout on the bar side until it gets late enough for more people and dancing.

So yeah. I had a heck of a fun weekend. Now I've got this shindig coming up, along with seeing the fam' for Christmas. Megan says that she has her costume ready for the Masquerade on New Years. I can't wait, it's going to be a blast.:)

Suit Up

2009-12-18T01:39:39Z

http://www.myspace.com/longviewtheband - "Further" by these guys is just beautiful. *happy sob*

So via some research, I found that there actually IS a local store still selling swimwear out of season, a boutique called "Confidentially Yours" not far from my apartment. They specialize in lingerie and underwear, but have a back section with a small variety of mostly one-pieces. I was hoping to find a nice two-piece, but the only one I found that I liked had this bizarre bra-like attachment that made it look like I was wearing one under the suit, with the clips in back peeking out. Taaaaacky...:(

Then I tried on a simple one-piece, black with green stitching. It deals well with my belly, although it shows off a lot more chest than I'm used to. Eh, minimize the negative, maximize the positive, as they say. Frickin' thing was 72$, that that was after they took 30% off. *cringe* I have never ever paid that much for a suit before. :(

Sizing Up

2009-12-17T15:20:47Z

Got to hang out with the new girl, Nicole, at work last night. She is really personable; we hit it off right away. We have a surprising amount in common. We are both Psych majors, for instance. She's like a preppier version of me, lol. The conversation swiftly turned gossipy, which was a lot of fun. ^_^

She is very social. Said that she would have stayed and hung out for more of my shift, but had a half hour drive ahead of her to go visit the guy she's been seeing. Even so, saying that was nice of her. We were both invited to my other coworker Tom's Christmas party on the 20th. I told her I was looking forward to it, but had invited a friend (Miranda) along since I won't know very many people there. She said she was thinking about bringing a friend too. I'm hoping to go shopping sometime either today or tomorrow to get a cute new top for the occasion. Tom's uncle (who he lives with) has a hottub. I don't know if that will be in-use for this shindig, but I'll be bringing my swimsuit just in case. It's old and not terribly flattering, but it's all I've got and getting a new one is out unless I want to fork over an ungodly amount to order one online.

In other news, they announced at yesterday's staff meeting that starting the 4th, our houses and schedules will be fixed in place. Marissa is going to become my new main supervisor, with Teri remaining the final say for all three houses. I will be working five nights a week, and attending all of the Wednesday staff meetings from now on. I'm still strictly overnights, and will have Sunday and Monday nights off. Lori and Sarah M. were assigned to the other two houses, which is kind of a bummer. I'll still be seeing them at the meetings at least. Gavin was taken off of the Saturday outings, surprising everyone. Teri mentioned that the overnighters will have a few extra duties, including med audits. I was nervous about that until this morning when I asked Ashley about it. She said that it's not a difficult thing, just tedious. Basically you go through the Drawer and count every single client's pills and document it. Doesn't sound fun, but I think I can handle it.

And all this is, of course, assuming that the Prairie Center Plan falls through, and I have to stay at MHC indefinitely.

Been Busy!

2009-12-14T23:17:31Z

Megan's gift was a brand new scanner/printer/copier. I can finally post new art from home, huzzah! I went on a posting spree, which can be seen here: http://karigirl1984.deviantart.com/

Birthday partying was quite fun. It was great to see my friends! This was also my first birthday I've ever celebrated as a non-student. I went and got my hair cut and styled (curly) for the occasion. Ryan, Erin, and Brian met up at my place and from there we all went to Crazy Buffet. There we met up with Muchacho, Miranda, and Jon. After that we made a Schnucks run for supplies and then settled in at Jon's house to party. I had a couple drinks, enough to become pretty cheerful, but not full blown drunk. Then I went to work for the night. In the morning I went home to shower and change, then went back to Jon's to pick up where I left off with Brian and Miranda, while Katey and Erin went and saw the Frog Princess movie. The three of us went to IHOP for breakfast/lunch, which was delightful. Erin and Katey got back. We all hung out for a couple hours, and then just us girls went over to Katey to gossip, drink, and play my new game "Fact or Crap". Seriously fun times; made us all feel like a bunch of smarty pants, lol. I came in second, 50pts., right behind Katey, 56pts.

After finally finishing that game, we went to Lil Ceasars for some cheap pizzas. We brought them back to Jons to share with the boys. Connor has joined the party. They were drinking an absolutely awful concoction that I christened "The Purple People Eater".

Everyone went their separate ways around 6:00p. I went home and got ready to have dinner with Dad and Megan. They arrived around 6:30ish and we went to Olive Garden. We had a wonderful dinner and a very charismatic waiter. Derek came by several times to say hi and chat. I got sang to, but it wasn't nearly as embarrassing as these sort of things typically are, heh. I had a whole lot of leftovers; I'm just not used to eating in such large portions anymore.

They left and then I had the rest of the night to burn. Alas, I couldn't find anything else to do with my evening, so I ended up just going to bed early. Still, I had a hell of a birthday weekend. :)

Calllll the loooooocksmiiith!

2009-12-12T19:04:34Z

Sometimes I think that I have a certain "weird quota" that needs to be fulfilled on a weekly basis.

Last night I was leaving to go to work. I went to lock up my apartment as usual. I turned the key and tried to pull it out, but it wouldn't budge. I tried unlocking then relocking...no change, still stuck. I wiggled it. I cussed at it. In exasperation I just PULLED, hard.

The entire locking column popped out like a cork, little pins falling out every which way.

Crap! Fortunately this happened when it was still in the locked position. Unfortunately, NO one was going to be able to get back in there, myself included, with nothing to work with but a hole in the door. My maintenance crew's hours were long since over, and I was already running a couple minutes late for work. Had to leave it and go.

So this morning I got a hold of Royce and Brinkmeyer and left them a message. They called me back and set me up with a locksmith. As I'm typing this, Mr. Locksmith is currently conducting open heart surgery on my front door.

*sigh* Otherwise, all is well. Erin got her car running and will be down here sometime this afternoon/evening to visit me and Katey. Ryan will be joining us after he gets out of church. As for what we will actually be doing, I haven't the foggiest. I assume dinner will be in there somewhere, possibly a drink or three. Frankly just talking and hanging out would make me happy, anything else is just icing.

I got two cards in the mail yesterday, one from Dad and one from Grandma. Best wishes and 100$ to help things along this month. It's sad that the first thing I thought of was "Oh I can put this toward retaking the GRE..." or get a much needed oil change, not fun, goof-off purchases.

Is anyone else excited about that movie coming out, "Avatar"? I am, though I wish they wouldn't hype it up so much. That is practically the kiss of death. I think it will be a very fun movie, but I highly doubt the light of God shines out of it's cinematic arse. Wouldn't it be nice if the reviews weren't released until the movie was exposed to the general public? People would have to decide for themselves to watch something, taking a risk that it might not be good. I hear so often "It looked interesting, but it got horrible reviews, so I didn't bother". Are your tastes perfectly in sync with Mr. Ebert's? I think we, as a general populace, are missing out big time when we let others decide for us what is worthwhile.

The List (revised)

2009-12-11T19:21:55Z

Time to dust this thing off and update it. Kari, version 2010, wants slightly different things than when The List was first conceived, somewhere in Jr. High, lol. Several of these issues have come up in the past, but not all of them.

My Ideal Significant Other:

Will be employed.
Will have a car.
Will have an apartment/house of his own; not living with Mom and Dad.
Will have his own group of friends.
Will have my level of education or better.
Will not be a Dad.
Will not be a divorcee.
Will not talk about his exes, if said exes qualify as "baggage".
Will not be a "homebody".
Will be straight.
Will not do drugs.
Is not an "angry drunk".
Does not smoke more than socially.
Is not terribly allergic to animals.
Is confident, not arrogant.
Will not attempt to "one-up" other people's stories.
Will have good personal hygiene.
Will know how to dress himself.
Is not "financially stupid".
Does not expect a girlfriend to wait on him hand and foot.
Will NEVER hit a woman.
Is a good kisser.
Is at least mildly handsome.

Sense and Sociability

2009-12-09T03:36:28Z

Thursday I told Matt that we should just be friends. It went really well. He wasn't unduly upset and even said I was "more than welcome" to come over and hang out whenever. So yay. :)

Seeing Lupe Sunday was, as predicted, both wonderful and emotional. We picked me out an adorable pair of glasses for me, which I will be picking up around the holidays. We got into our old giggly ways fairly quickly. I forgot how much I loved her squeaks!, lol. Later, in the food court, we discussed her issues with Cristo. *sigh* The poor gal has a long, rough road ahead of her. She asked for whatever help I could offer, so I'm hoping to scrape together some reading material on the issues they are dealing with from work tonight; copy them and put together a packet.

Later that day, back in Champaign, I hung out with Katey. She did a tarot reading for me and then I told her about a story idea I have. It's about a Hell Hound puppy named Samson. Katey totally wanted onboard, and it evolved into a rough plan for a graphic novel which I would illustrate and she would write. So now that's two graphic novel collaborations in the works...

Later that night, around 1:30a, I headed down to Tuscola to have the last Late Night Denny's Adventure of 2009 with Neal and Jae. Fun times, as usual. A fellow nerd sat kitty corner from us, and eventually got pulled into the conversation. :) I didn't much feel like going home to my boring lil apartment, so I followed them down to Charleston. I crashed on Neal's spare bed for all of two hours. Then we goofed off for a bit. He showed me what Left 4 Dead 2 looks like (friggn aweseome) and taught me how to throw knives at his dorm room tackboard. I had a really nice lunch at Subway with Ryan while Neal and Jae were at their classes. After that I hit up the Phys Sci building and the Sociology dept office for info on all the profs I want letters of rec from. I then hung out in the Cyber Lounge until Neal got done with class. More goofing off and playing with knives. Then dinner with him, Jae, and their friend Jimmy (who smelled kinda of bad). Ahhhh QQ Buffet, how I love thee...:)

On the way back home to Champaign I got a text from Matt Lucas saying that I was welcome to visit him in Springfield while I was in a traveling mood, but man I was pooped and low on funds, so I asked for a raincheck on that one.

Today I had "CPI" training from 9am-4p. Basically I learned the MHC approved techniques for deescalating crisis situations. It was taught by Jason, the head of the TIMES Center. Jason is quite funny/charismatic, and made for a fun class.

Work tonight, blah. Thinking of treating myself to a bubble bath prior.

Wow...

2009-12-03T17:11:04Z

It's amazing how sometimes a song will come out that sums up your situation so consummately you could swear you actually wrote it, and someone famous stole it to sing for the world to hear...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wQBFL5j1iU

Friends Don't Let Friends Dial Drunk- Plain White T's

Those are all very beautiful words
But actions speak louder
In case you haven't heard, I'm all alone
While you're out on the town drinkin' with your friends
You can say all these beautiful things
But they don't mean nothing
No, they don't mean a thing
Gotta back it up
But you keep backing down
Tell me how this ends

If you think it's possible then anything is possible
But I think you're impossible
I hope you prove me wrong

You only call me after you've had a few
You only want to hang out when you've got nothing to do
Don't tell me you love me and act like you don't
Oh, if you really want me you just gotta let me know

Same old thing happens every night
You get me going, and then you say goodbye
I'm heated up
And you just leave me there to take care of myself
Don't get mad, don't get all wound up
Just get your act together, or baby give it up
Just let me know if I should hit the road or if you want my help

If you think it's possible then anything is possible
But I think you're impossible
I hope you prove me wrong

You only call me after you've had a few
You only want to hang out when you've got nothing to do
Don't tell me you love me and act like you don't
Oh, if you really want me you just gotta let me know
You only call me when there's no one around
You only wanna come up when you know I'm going down
Don't tell me you love me and act like you don't
Oh, if you really want me you just gotta let me know

You gotta show me you mean it, if you really mean it
You're talking to me like you mean it, and I don't believe it

You only call me after you've had a few
You only want to hang out when you've got nothing to do
Don't tell me you love me and act like you don't
Oh, if you really want me you just gotta let me know
You only call me when there's no one around
You only wanna come up when you know I'm going down
Don't tell me you love me and act like you don't
Oh, if you really want me you just gotta let me know

You only call me after you've had a few (oh oh oh)
You only want to hang out when you've got nothing to do (oh oh oh)
Don't tell me you love me and act like you don't
Oh, if you really want me you just gotta let me know

A Year in Review: 2009 (4 pgs long)

2009-12-02T15:02:42Z

Here it is, December already. Where did the time go? This was my first full year out of school since graduation. And it has certainly been an…interesting year.

January found me desperately looking for a job in the wake of Linens N’ Things going kaput. I was still living in Indigo Place in Savoy, and was terrified that I would lose my place if I couldn’t find work soon. I had finished my semester at Parkland in December of ’08. I felt being both a non-student and unemployed at the same time to be extremely unsettling. I’m all about having a Plan and having at least a vague idea of what my future has in store for me. This was all way, way too up in the air for me.

Last year I had swallowed the bitter pill of realization that my degree means squat. In light of this, my job hunt took on an “anything will do” attitude. This is how I found Schnucks. I applied for a cashier position and was hired. I had worked there for about a month when I noticed that I was only making enough to make rent; maybe eat once in awhile. Needing more breathing room, I applied for the night shift over at FedEx. I was hired and worked 11p-2:30a five nights a week.

Schnucks’ mindless drudgery swiftly became a hateful experience. Cashiering at a grocery store is dull and surprisingly dirty work, broken up by the fairly frequent bright spots of seeing my then-boyfriend Brian come in and stock the coolers for Pepsi. FedEx, on the other hand, was similarly mindless, but had the pleasant endorphin rush of doing hard physical labor, and an almost complete lack of social interaction. In short, Schnucks made me angry, FedEx made me muscles.

When work was done I went home to a roommate, Natasha, who are hardly ever there, and when she was, our only communication was in the form of bitchery about the slightest of offenses. I was very uncomfortable whenever she was around. I rarely ever had guests over and spent a great deal of my time over at my boyfriend’s. My apartment came under new management, who swiftly found out that I had not registered my cats with them. They informed me I was to be fined for their presence, and would have to pay 300$ per cat if I wished to keep them.

I just plain could not afford that. I arranged to have Jon take care of Candy, and Derek and Gretchen take care of Phazer, until other arrangements could be made. Both me and my roommate’s cat, named September, missed my girls terribly. In a twist of irony, September and I became pretty close during those months, despite the fact he was an original point of contention between me and Natasha. I played with him, cuddled him, and worried over him when my roommate was gone for long stretches of time.

That brings us to summer. In a moment of unforgivable laziness, during a transaction involving a tall can of beer, I did not check the birthdate on the ID an undercover cop. I only checked to see that her picture matched her face. I was taken aside and told what had just occurred. They filled out a yellow form indicating when my court date was. I was flabbergasted. I suppose another gal would have started apologizing profusely, or burst into tears, or both. Me? I hated the place. And I had just been caught in a neat little trap set up by some very callous and rude Champaign police. They were lucky I didn’t tell them to fuck off, frankly. I told them it wasn’t intentional, and I’ll never do it again, and blah blah blah, but I wasn’t the least bit surprised when I was summarily fired.

My family and boyfriend were very supportive during this mess. Travis’s dad Curt came through for me big time as well, lawyering for me pro bono. I pled guilty and was placed under “court supervision” for one year. Court costs tallied up to about $1,000.00, which my wonderful Grandma covered, with the understanding that Dad would pay her back.

Curt was of the mind that everything happens for a reason, and though getting fired from Schnucks and having to go to court was awful, it did get me out of there and on to better things. Relatively anyway. My job hunt began anew and by June, with the help of a kickass new resume a la Erin, I was hired on at the Champaign Mental Health Center. I quit FedEx and began the less than glamorous job of keeping an eye on mentally disabled adults in a group home setting. I was so excited to be finally working in my field of study!

In July I moved out of that cursed apartment and moved to a rather tiny one here in Champaign. I had saved up for the Pet Deposit and was able to get my kitties back from their respective foster parents. I had a rough period in which Brian and I broke up, my apartment flooded due to a faulty hot water heater, and I financially recovered from a very costly flat tire and subsequent tire-replacement.

My excitement for the Mental Health Center soon wore thin as I came to find out that anyone over 21 with a HS diploma was eligible for this job. Not only that, but one aspect of the job quickly became a huge thorn in my side: I was doing great with building a report with the clients, ensuring they took their meds, and encouraging them to continue to strive for their independence. But every single day I worked, I was expected to do a type of paperwork known as “billing”. It is time consuming, tedious, repetitive, and often downright dishonest. It is also absolutely required. I never did get the hang of it and my bosses lectured me on several occasions about it, in addition to harping at all of us during our weekly Wednesday meetings. I kept missing my quotas and becoming ever more stressed out about it. I was beginning to feel like a failure.

Things reached a breaking point one weekend in which I got only about 40% of my required billing done for a two day period. My bosses wanted answers. I couldn’t honestly see myself getting any better at this, and my apathy about it had built up pretty high. I had begun job hunting again on the side. On September 14th, I told them I quit, and here is my two weeks notice.

I had an interview at a local drug rehab facility called the Prairie Center. During my interview, my prospective boss told me about a program through which I could become a Certified Addictions Counselor, without having to go to grad school. If I worked for them for 2 years and then had a supervisor vouch for the required hours of experience, I could take the certification test and finally become a real counselor!

There was a catch. Though my interviewer seemed to love me from the start and was set to hire me right then and there, she only needed a part-timer, and had no full time positions open. Shit. There was some run-around about a possible employee moving to a different department, but the end result was that she told me to try again in January.

I told my MHC boss how the job hunt was faring, and since we were (and still are) woefully short-staffed, she cut me a deal: I would continue to work here, working only overnights, until a new job could be found. This would ensure that I could continue to pay my pay my rent and feed myself, but only have to deal with 10% of the usual amount of required paperwork on the job, making everyone happy.

Now that I had officially “un-quit” and was now working strictly overnights, my stress levels went way down. By then I was dating an old acquaintance from EIU named Brad. Things started out wonderfully, but eventually it became apparent that we had one very lopsided relationship. Physically we were on fire, but emotionally, neither one of us was truly invested. Things came to a head one October weekend in which he canceled plans with me twice in a row. The second time caught me at a vulnerable, semi-drunken state at a party. Surrounded by all of my friends, I burst into tears.

God I hate making a spectacle of myself like that. Awwwwwkward. Brian Compton took me aside and provided both an ear and a shoulder. The gist of that talk was “Well you just told me he is a douche. We know he is a douche, and have for awhile. You should break up with him, he’s not good for you and you can do better….and on a side note, holy crap that guy is arrogant!”

Breakup proceedings swiftly followed. We had lunch together, talked, and the end result was something like this: “So basically you just think I’m amusing for the time being…?” “Yeah. Guess you called my bluff.” “…wow.” “I think this relationship has run it’s course” “I think you’re right” We then watched the last of the How I Met Your Mother episodes he had lent me and agreed to still be friends.

With the exception of borrowing some money from him (and paying it back), and then one night going out for a drive with him and getting high (intentionally) for the first time in my life , that is the last I’ve seen of him. My relationships with my exes tend to be rather…unconventional. But with Brad, there won’t be a welcoming into the fold. He will not be adopted into the ever-shifting mass that is My Group of Friends. He is not, and never could be, a Jon, Charles, or Brian. There is something about being reduced to a good lay that leaves a bad taste in one’s mouth, no?

The remainder of October was expensive, busy, and mostly a whole lot of fun. I attended my first Octfest in several years, Owen’s Pirates Vs Ninjas Party, Leia’s Halloween Party, and to cap it all off, Nate and Jen’s Epic Halloween Party. I started seeing Leia’s roommate Matt on an understood we-are-just-dating basis. I attended Brian Compton’s very fun Pj-Movie Night-Nerf Gun- Birthday Bash in November. I drove up to eat with family for Thanksgiving. Seeing Dad’s side was socially awkward and I left as early as I politely could get away with. I don’t really understand most of those people, and really have no desire to. I then drove further north in order to visit with Mom’s side over at Aunt Pat’s house in St. Anne. There I had a MUCH better time talking and laughing with Mom, my aunt, and two uncles. Uncle Dan told a hilarious story about “Ralph the One-Winged Pigeon; Victim of an Industrial Accident!”.

Annnnnnd that brings us to the Present! Hurrah! Looking this over, I was kind of miserable and worrisome for a lot of this year. Being an Adult sucks sometimes. Money, relationships, and all the other flavors of trouble I get into. And yet somehow, I always find a way to make things work. My friends are my rock; my solace. Half of my “luck” is really just them being there for me when I need them. My family too, in their own limited way, have been incredibly supportive. I have seen Megan, Dad, and Mom more this year than I have since I moved down to Eastern. Being an hour closer certainly helps, heh.

What will 2010 bring? Heck if I know! I won’t try to predict it…..I will try…really hard…NOT to predict it. What is certain is there will be bills to pay, boys to kiss, and an education to chase. Sagittarius is ruled by Jupiter, the planet of Luck. Somehow, I’ll be ok. 

Bullets

2009-11-25T18:32:36Z

Brian's Pj/Movie/Nerf Battle Party was epic. :) We got there around 7p and I didn't leave until 11p the next night. Lots of pics on facebook.
Been playing Super Mario World for the Wii over at Charles'. Me, him, and Miranda also watched "Knowing" the other night. Basically a little girl predicts major disasters until the biggest disaster of all...the sun farts and obliterates the Earth. I am not kidding. Also watched The Haunting in Connecticut.
Thanks to an uncommon amount of help from my parents recently, none of my checks bounced and I even was able to afford groceries. I've got $80 leftover for various odds and ends until payday, the 27th. :D
My Muse has found me! I've picked up some old projects that had been sitting dormant in my portfolio since graduation. Making great headway on Katey's Irish chibi Drinking Girl, and finally fleshed out a Pose and a Plan for my Jack, the Sin of Wrath, fanart collage. I spent 2 hours at the Champaign Public Library working, and will likely do it again today. :)
Thanksgiving I'm driving up to Gilman to hang out with Dad's side for a couple hours, and then up to St. Anne to hang out with Mom's side. December 1st me and Dad are driving down to Salem IL to visit my friend Jon's radio station. Dec 11th I will have been working at MHC for 6 months. Dec 13th I turn 25.

Adventure

2009-11-15T16:24:27Z

Friday, feeling like a fat ass, I went for a really really long walk. I walked from my apartment almost all the way to Parkland College, 2.2 miles away. I say almost, because there is a park I never noticed before there on Bradley Ave. I was feeling adventurous and decided to walk through it until I could go no further. (it happened to conveniently lead back south, ie the way I came from)

The path was pretty, going past a little lake and then following a creek for a very long way. At one point it led underneath highway 72 and I had the odd realization that I was in fact between the highways (72 forks into one-ways just as it arrives in Champaign, so there is this big swatch of overgrown nothing in between, neat!)

Eventually I got to a point where there was a barrier across the path saying that the trail was closed ahead. I thought to myself "Meh, there is no one around, and I'm really curious as to why it's closed. Maybe I could get around it...?" So I went around the barrier. A little further on, the creek I had been following opened up wider, an there was a rough dam across it, covered in graffiti. I hung out standing on the dam for several minutes, just enjoying the water sounds and the nice weather. Then I figured it was time to find the trail again. It actually led to a pair of tunnels that ran under some train tracks, with a central tunnel for the creek water in between. The path was partially flooded in one corner, but with a little hop, I was easily able to get to a relatively dry portion and continue on through the tunnel.

It was just a little scary. I could easily see daylight streaming in through the other end of the tunnel and the scenery beyond, about a hundred feet ahead, but I really couldn't see my footing at all. I heard a lot of glass crunching underfoot and was careful to stay in the center to avoid any boggy portions.

Either the tunnel floor slanted upward, or the tunnel roof slanted downward, but the end result is that I gradually had to bend almost double by the time I came out on the other side. I felt like Alice going through the rabbit hole, he he.

There I found the opposite corresponding barrier across the trail. I stepped around it and climbed a little embankment to rejoin the main trail. Just as I was doing so, another walker, a middle aged guy, came around a bend. I didn't have the good grace to look guilty about emerging from the forbidden trail. I just smirked and continued on ahead of him. :)

Then there was another barrier across the trail. This time it was one I could not get around. It was a pile of earth, a wall of hay bales, and some construction vehicles. Technically I could have climbed over, but it'd be my luck that there would be workers on the other side and I'd be busted. So I didn't risk it. Instead I backtracked a bit and crossed a little footbridge I had passed that crossed the creek. That put me in the far backyard of an apartment complex. I walked the outer perimeter, keeping close to the creek. From there it was easy to see where the park ended with a little parking lot and an outbuilding. An El Toro restaurant was across the street from me, and it took me a moment to realize that I had come out unto Springfield. Basically I had gone 1-1.5ish miles through the park, and was roughly halfway home.

On the way back I figured, since I was already in the area, I'd pay Derek and Gretchen a visit. Derek was not answering his phone, and I don't have Gretchen's number. So I went to their apt anyway and knocked on the door. At worst, I thought, they wouldn't be home and I would just be adding a bit more to my walk, so win-win. But Derek was home. I hung out there petting Joey the cat and watching him play Dragon Age for an hour or so. Funtimes. :)

Yesterday I woke up feeling like I'd been hit by a truck. My hips and back were very sore from the walking. It was Zoie's birthday. She turned 2. I just got paid. I went and got gas, checked my balance, and then headed over to the mall to get her a gift. There I ran into Miranda and Jon, who were burning time before Miranda had to start the second portion of her double shift at The Loft. We went to that nifty candy/stuffed animals shop and had a good half hour long cute-gasm looking at all the adorable toys. I bought Zoie a sleepy looking stuffed sea turtle, and because I couldn't resist it, I bought myself a stuffed brown rabbit.

The three of us then went to the food court. Me and Jon got Subway, and Miranda, not being very hungry, got herself a very very tasty pineapple smoothie. Me and Jon then went to Hottopic while Miranda went off to Victoria's Secret. We listened to the headphones they had set up next to their display of CDs. I want the new Paramore and Flyleaf albums sooooo bad....

We then met back up with Miranda. We sat on some chairs in the middle of the hall between stores and spent several goofy minutes taking phone pics of us posing with my stuffed animals. Jon had the best one with Zoie's turtle on his head, making this hilarious expression. :) Miranda then had to go to work, so I said goodbye to the both of them.

Later that evening I went over to Nate n Jen's to celebrate with Zoie. Katey, Muchacho, Conner, Dude, and Aurora were all there. We had an icecream cake, frozen pizzas, and a little booze. Zoie got several stuffed toys, and several Nightmare Before Christmas themed bedding items. Zoie especially seemed to enjoy the book Katey and Muchacho got for her, as well as the green "learning dog" Conner brought. Zoie became quite hyper for awhile, enjoying all of the attention and new things to look at. She eventually started to crash, slaying me with cuteness by cuddling up between me and Katey, while Jen youtubed some classic Sesame Street skits for her to watch. And boy, I never realized how witty most of those were as a kid. Like the relationship between Cookie Monster and the Count. Cookie Monster is blatantly making fun of the Count in most of them, hilarious! :)

The BBB
They but the 'Zo to bed and then, as per usual, there was role playing. And yeah, I finally made a character. I strove to make something that no one would see coming....the end result was Beth. Beth is a strangely charismatic Oruk...a 8 ft tall Orc/Ogre hybrid race. She is a Barbarian Bard. Yes, I could smash you into little tiny pieces , BUT I could also manifest my violin at will...and play it reasonably well too! Naturally, my violin is damn near the size of a cello.

Oruk's are typically adventurers since neither the Orcs or the Ogres like them much. Oruks are ridiculously big and strong, but at the expense of having weak lungs since their rock hard chests make for poor lung expansion. (going to show that even in fantasy I can't escape my asthma, heh) Me and Connor's character are old buddies. We saunter in to join the group the morning after having a delightful barfight in the troll/gnoll ghetto of the City. I call him "Pinky", and he calls me "Wheezy". I hope to eventually earn myself a Dire Bear as a companion.

We had a mission that involved getting some cursed dice away from a pair of little rich kids because Esmerelda (Katey doing a ridiculous gypsy accent) saw a vision of the dice causing the little boy and little girl's death. The dice summon an infernal creature; the higher the roll, the more deadly or plentiful the creature(s). The dice have this strange magnetism that compels you to roll it, even knowing the consequences.

We do some detective work and find out where this is all going to go down. We get past the strangely robot-like guard and enter the gated community of humans (or "norms" as Katey so lovingly called them). Katey wanted us to "blend in" and cast a invisibility orb around us. Connor briefly stepped out of it's influence and informed me that I needed to duck. The orb did not extend to my full height and the end result was we were "blending" all right, just your normal average everyday disembodied floating ORUK HEAD hovering about...:(

We arrived at the appropriate house after Katey and Jen did some hocus pocus to ensure we had the right place. Upstairs we could see the little girl standing in front of her bedroom window, dice in hand, and a zoo of infernal baddies prepping to munch on her. Being much too big to be of much use in cramped, humanly porportioned house, I chose to stand below the window and wait for whatever will inevitably fall out. We charmed the kids mother into letting Katey in. Katey bolted up the stairs, burst into the bedroom, and locked the mom out behind her. Muchacho, Aurora, and Jen chose to climb up to the girl via the side of the house, with varying levels of success.

Jen ended up getting the closest, riding first her dire rat and then utilizing her newly acquired pet infernal spider. Jen (I think it was her anyway) summoned some friendly Hippogriffs to appear within the already very crowded bedroom and help cover Katey's retreat. Jen wanted to break the window to get to the girl, but was worried that the glass would cut her up. I suggested that she have her spider web up the glass first, smash it, and then peel it away. Jen approved and did so. Muchacho got close enough to toss in some daggers that changed into protective little huts next to Katey and the girl. Under this cover, Katey ran at the girl, snatched her up, and lept out the window.

I rolled a 20 and caught them both, neat as you please. Katey made a crafty box with glue inside to keep the dice from rolling and causing more mischief.

That is more or less where we ended it for the night. I took Aurora home (Dude had left much earlier to fix a computer) and then went to work.

Today
I really should be sleeping right now. This update is taking longer than I thought it would. Today, after I've slept, I'm going to try to take another long walk, probably the same route as before. Then I'm going back over to Nate n Jen's and pick up where we left off. Then tonight, work at my least favorite house. :( I got a 75$ check in the mail today from Dad, which literally doubled the amount of spending money I have to keep me afloat until my next payday on the 27th. Much of that will likely go into my gas tank since I still have Lupe to visit and Brian's party to attend before then.

Happenings of Late

2009-11-11T00:25:32Z

With help from an informative "cat lady" that I found via calling around local pet grooming facilites, I have finally managed to get the flea problem under control. :D The cats were treated with Advantage, all laundry was stripped and cleaned, and the apartment was summarily BOMBED with a fogger designed specifically for this purpose. I haven't been bitten since. My girls still itch occasionally, but I have found no fleas on them at all. I am SO relieved. :)

Today I read my first one hour installment of "The Eyes of the Dragon" by Stephen King at the radio station. I'm finding this volunteering gig to be a complete joy. I get to combine two of my loves: literature and helping people. How cool is that? :)

Yesterday morning I got back from my date in Decatur and had to go straight to the MHC headquarters in order to become CPR certified. I got that mixed up with my upcoming first aid training, and thought that there would be more of my coworkers present. Nope, just me and Tom.

The training felt rather rushed. I would have liked to practice a bit more; didn't really feel like what I did was certification-worthy. But meh, Linda was satisfied with it, so I won't complain. And I got to partner up with Tom. Nothing more involved than pantomiming choking procedures, but still, he's a cutie. :) Don't know if I want to pursue that lead at some point. I've still got to figure out where I stand with Matt. Also, typically when I try to chase outside of my nerd comfort zone, I tend to get burned.

After training I went to the gas station down the street my my apartment in order to put air in my tires. There, I accidentally locked my keys in my car. :( I called Muchacho and he was nice enough to come out and coat hanger-open my car for me. It only took us a half hour of cussing to do, heh.

Work was uneventful. Gavin came back in to finish a whole bunch of billing. I stayed out of the office in order to let him concentrate. He had his headphones on listening to Tool and then NIN. He had it cranked up so loud I could almost make out Trent Reznor's individual words all the way in the living room, geeze. He left around 5am.

Today has been lazy, other than doing my Reading at 2p. I returned the movies I had watched with Miranda the other night, filled out their survey, and got my free rental. I got "The Proposal". I made myself dinner, and as usual, accidentally made myself too much pasta and shells n cheese for one sitting. I'm half tempted to call up friends and see if anyone wants to come over and see this movie with me. I've pestered Miranda and Charles enough lately, I just saw Brian yesterday, Katey is at work....eh, I'll think of something.

November upcoming events and such:

Tomorrow: I will have been working at MHC for 5 months. Blah.

Thursday: Dad is driving down to visit and tour local radio stations. Dad is going to retire from Armstrong very soon, and has decided that he wants to become a radio DJ. He has been researching schooling and trying to tour a bunch of stations in the state, looking for advice and encouragement. *shrugs* He has always had a very distinctive voice, and of course he loves music. I say, if he really wants to do this, I'll support him all the way. 25+ years in a factory, and then finally persuing the chance to do something he would love? I hope he makes it.

Friday: PAYDAY! ...I have 470.78$ worth of bills to mail out at that time. *sob*

Monday, 16th: First Aid training for work in the morning. Then, unless plans change, I'll be driving up to Martinton IL to visit Lupe, whom I haven't seen in years. Lupe has been struggling with a lot of family strife lately, and I fully expect this visit to be half a happy reunion of old friends, and half a tearful discussion of why her husband is an asshole, and my psychological take on the situation. :(

Tuesday, 17th: There is supposed to be "the biggest meteor shower in our lifetimes" happening tonight. Pretty! :)

Wednesday, 18th: Meeting for work. Haven''t been to one of these in a loooong time since I only work overnights now. I'll try not to fall asleep, but no guarantees...

Friday, 20th: Brian's pajama/movie birthday party!! Not sure yet about the traveling arrangements yet. I might be picking up Leia and Matt on the way up to Chicago too. Also noteworthy: I have that night, as well as the next FOUR off. Yaaaaaaaay!

Sunday, 22nd: Mom may be driving down for a visit. She wants to buy me groceries again, says she is worried that I am not eating enough, lol.

Wednesday, 25th: Thanksgiving. Will probably swing up to see Dad's side at Grandma's, and Mom's side at Mom's or Aunt Pat's.

Dad once said, that at the end of every dance, there is always someone crying behind the bleachers

2009-10-26T18:42:13Z

Leia's party: I arrived around 1:15a. Jon and Miranda had already left due to Miranda's allergies going bonkers. One of Leia's friends had taken a couple pictures of them, and they had looked adorable in their costumes. :) So did Heather, who came in pjs and was wearing antenna and wings, saying "I'm a bedbug!" :) Apparently her and Ryan are dating now, and have been for months. I was shocked that I only just now found out. Normally I'm in-the-know on such things...

Leia looked amazing. Her and Brandon had put together a costume for her based on her role playing character. She had done these really neat curls in her hair, which I told her would be great to do even on a non-costuming day. :) I greeted everyone and then got changed in Leia's room. My pirate costume, version 2.0 was minus the undershirt (because this was an indoor party) and plus a fashionably ragged strip of black leather tucked into my belt. Teresa, a friend of Leia's, got a couple good pictures, but I did not, due to not being able to find any charged batteries in time. She doesn't have reliable internet access, so who knows if I'll ever see those pics again.

I drank and mingled for a long time before I realized that Leia had disappeared. I finally found her, Heather, and Teresa on their enclosed front porch with their friend Lamar. I asked them what's up, and they told me that Lamar has been having a really hard time being single lately, being that he falls for girls very quickly, and then becomes unduly upset when they do not return his interest. The guy has apparently been struggling with depression on a off for months because of this.

All three of the girls were giving their 2 cents on issue. Teresa is a loud and abrasive drunk, and in her efforts to "counsel" Lamar, she only came off as a pushy, belittling, attacking b- well you get the idea. Upon the third time she said you him "No, shut up, you need to build a wall around your heart!" I finally got fed up and was like "Dude! I know you mean well, but there are way too many cooks in this kitchen, and you don't need to attack the poor guy" She swore that she didn't intend to attack him. Leia was called back inside to the party. Heather went off of hang out with Ryan. And Teresa, fortunately, eventually found something else to do. I stayed there talking to Lamar for, I don't know, 5 minutes or so. I told him by own two cents and then rejoined the party.

Well apparently I screwed it up too, because not another 5 minutes later, Teresa comes up to me and says "Well now Lamar likes you"

....*face palm*

So the next couple hours were spent trying to gently, but firmly fend off the advances of one sad drunk fella. At one point he draped a bullet bandolier (part of his costume) around me. This felt way too much like being lassoed, and got my hackles up. I took it off and gave it back to him. He made a melancholy face, but I think that got the hint across because he stopped trying after that. Lamar finally left, and called back to tell us he had made it home ok. *whew*

The party started to wind down and sleeping arrangements were made. Leia and Brandon left to bring someone home to Charleston around 6am, saying they wouldn't be back until Monday. :( Heather and Ryan crashed in Leia's room, and Matt, Leia's roommate, offered me his bed, and he said he would sleep on the couch. Bear in mind, this guy had been giving me a lovely foot rub for the past several minutes. I said impishly "Sure, but what's the fun in that?" So we ended up (chastely) sharing the bed and talking for another hour or so. Heather and Ryan left sometime around 8am. I got up around 1:00p. Me and Matt spent the rest of the day watching Youtube videos and playing with Artemis, his cat. We had lunch at McDonalds and then watched some Eddie Izzard skits. Matt seemed to have no intention of kicking me out, so finally I was like "Ok, I'm going to head home now. Thanks for the fun day!" :) It was about 5:30p.

I got home, showered, changed, and then headed over to Nate n Jen's. On the way I nearly committed vehicular manslaughter. Stupid. Freaking. Joggers. I hung out with Nate, Jen, Katey, Muchacho, and the baby until 8:10p, when I left to go meet Jon Mattson at Steak n Shake. Jon was looking more disheveled than I have ever seen him. His eyes were bloodshot, his hair was longer and kinda poofy, and his awful lung wracking cough made me cringe. He was sick and miserable, in short. We talked a little about what all we'd been up to lately, and then said goodbye in the parking lot.

Today I had to get up early to turn in my timesheet to work, which I had forgotten to take care of the last time I was there. After that I headed over to my bank, checked my balance, and officially started up a savings account. I don't forsee actually being able to add to it anytime in the near future (see: next few years), but at least now I can say that I have one.

Now I'm sitting here waiting for Katey to show up and pick up the stuff she had left at my place last weekend. Nothing else really planned for today. I have the night off and really need to find some way to entertain myself....

Happenings

2009-10-23T02:46:22Z

Octfest:
There are many words I could use to describe Octfest....rainy, muddy, cold...drunken, awesome....um...experimental?

Me and Miranda drove up together. This was her first ever event and she absolutely loved it. :) It was cold and rainy the first day, and just cold the other two days. Mud was a constant, though we alleviated the problem a bit with planks around the fire pit and straw spread around the entire campsite. Katey, and Muchacho (also his first event) arrived, and then later that night, so did Erin and Brian. Some other familiar faces included Freswin, Kat, Olos, one of the twins, Winblades, and Thayet. Overall I thoroughly approve of the Ohio batch of petitioners. Standouts were Higler, for being so freaking funny, and Raven, for being so badass. :)

Saturday night Miranda got pretty wasted, and in our concern, we had her drink water and eat food and hold off on any further drinking in order to sober her up. And, being the enormous hypocrite I am, I proceeded to get utterly verschnickered myself! I had my very own "fish bowl", a Bubba Keg from Walmart, filled first with Disarono and Coke, and then with Jack n Coke. I changed into my new white corset and felt quite pretty. :) I was about to try to put the moves on this rather handsome fella whose fighting name was Paragon, when I got distracted by some more liquor in the form of "grenades" of cheapo fruit drinks, injected with Everclear. I wanted to see how they were making them, and then they let me have one. After that I wandered back over to my friends. Erin "triple dog" dared me to kiss Brian, which I did when he was a little more plastered. It was nice. We had a Circle, and afterward at petitioner, Ulrich, read an erotica, starring alternating brothers and friends, much to everyone's amusement.

I don't remember much else. I have flashes of some rather unpleasant things. I puked at one point; I remember spitting a lot afterward. I remember laying down and curling into a miserable ball, shaking uncontrollably. Then it was morning.

I woke up warm and relatively comfy next to a sleeping Erin, in their tent. Friends later filled in all the blanks that I had blacked out. Apparently I had ordered Miranda to start packing up our tent when she was in the middle of receiving a backrub. Miranda didn't take offense, fortunately. She told me she had just said "Ok Kari, I'll get on that....", knowing I must be totally wasted. They told me that I sat down and leaned over, holding my stomach and moaning loudly. Then the puking. Then apparently Brian picked me up, though this was hard cause I was a little beyond understanding simple instructions like "Hold on to my neck". He said that the short walk to their tent was very long due to many obstacles in the way, and me being a very unhelpful dead weight. He put me in their tent and removed my glasses. The I started whining "I'm blind! I'm blind!" Brian, trying very hard not to panic me any further, said "Ok Kari, I'm going to put an arm around you so you can stop shivering. Is that ok?" And I mumbled some sort of agreement. He got me sufficiently warm and then they let me pass out there.

The moral of the story is that camping in October is fine, but bring a friggn significant other or a rather open minded friend, cause there is no substitute for another warm body when it's freezing outside and you are too drunk to properly care for yourself. :(

The rest of the even was fun though. Watched a couple battles. Ate Feast with Miranda. Made her fighting name official: The Dread Pirate Bubbles! :) I ran into Ashen at a camp across the lake. He didn't remember me at all, surprise surprise. I bought myself a straw hat at one of the booths and it ended up being a god send in regards to keeping the rain off of me. All in all, a good event, though I certainly learned my lesson in regards to that fish bowl...

Pirates vs Ninjas:
This was really freaking fun. With the exception of a ninja Jon, my entire main group went as some seriously badass looking pirates. Say what you will about my friends, we DO NOT do anything halfway when it comes to costumes! :)

This was hosted at Owen's awesome country property just outside of town and not even ten minutes from my apartment. We all gathered here to get ready. Oh man, I've never had so many people over at once, and it was crowded. Katey had Erin dye her hair while me and Brian went on a booze run over to Friar Tucks. We stopped by a Walgreens on the way back. Once in the store we became utterly mesmerized by a video playing above a toy display. It was advertising "Fun Ferrets", these wiggly worm like things that somehow will appear to crawl over and over your hands if you keep them moving. We watched this for a good two minutes, before one of us broke the spell, and was like "My A.D.D. likes this...a lot." Sadly (or fortunately), they did not have any actual Fun Ferrets left on sale, which left us trying and failing to explain what the heck was so interesting about them. :(

When we got back, Katey was in the shower. From then on it was a flurry of getting changed into our costumes, taking some nifty pictures, and then finally heading over. It was fully dark. We checked in with "Security", one of Owen's roommates who happened to be a cashier at Dallas n Company, the store we had costume-shopped at several hours earlier. We signed in and parked out on the far side of the property, creepily close to a power station.

I had bought myself a bottle of rum and a 2 liter of coke to go with it, but somehow neglected to actually bring the rum along. This led to me sadly announcing "Why is the rum all gone?...because my dumb ass left it at home" :( I did manage to bring my leftover Disarono along though. That was fine for a little while, but it eventually ran out. Colin, one of Jon's best friends from Lincoln, was present with his finance (wife?). When me and the rest of us rapidly ran out of libations, he said "No worries, come on back to my car..." We followed him, not knowing what to expect. This guy got some serious brownie points with the group as he presented to us a ridiculous variety of mostly full bottles of a little bit of everything, just hanging out there in his trunk. We each picked out a bottle and were good to go for a good long while until Colin eventually left to go home, and we had to give the bottles back.

There was a slave auction. Most of my buds volunteered for this. Colin offered to spot me up to 13$. I bid on my friends (and Owen, cause, well, he's cute, and even though I knew I'd be out-bid, it can't hurt to let him know the interest is there :) I didn't successfully "buy" anyone, but it was fun all the same. :) My experience with the party was rather tame overall. I got tipsy and flirty, but it was all harmless. I met and chatted with folks whose names I will never remember. I gossiped with the girls about this and that. And I managed not to lose the nifty pirate hat that Sarah from work lent me for the occasion. :)

And so...:
This weekend, ie Saturday night, I am working until midnight and then driving to Decatur for Leia's party. Haven't decided yet if I am going as the pirate wench again, or if I want to hurry up and finish my Harley Quinn costume and wear that. I don't know. There's a lot to be done on that Harley...so yeah, probably won't be done in time.

Then it's Halloween itself to look forward to. :D I'm sure Nate n Jen's party will be a blast, it usually is. :D

Oh Mai...

2009-10-20T05:40:00Z

http://buttersafe.com/2009/10/08/the-invisible-patient/

Dan Le Sac - Thou Shalt Always Kill

2009-10-20T04:04:08Z

Thou shalt not steal if there is direct victim.
Thou shalt not worship pop idols or follow lost prophets.
Thou shalt not take the names of Johnny Cash, Joe Strummer, Johnny Hartman, Desmond Decker, Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix or Syd Barret in vain.
Thou shalt not think that any male over the age of 30 that plays with a child that is not their own is a peadophile... Some people are just nice.
Thou shalt not read NME.
Thou shalt not stop liking a band just because they've become popular.
Thou shalt not question Stephen Fry.
Thou shalt not judge a book by it's cover.
Thou shalt not judge Lethal Weapon by Danny Glover.
Thou shalt not buy Coca-Cola products.
Thou shalt not buy Nestle products.
Thou shalt not go into the woods with your boyfriend's best friend, take drugs and cheat on him.
Thou shalt not fall in love so easily.
Thou shalt not use poetry, art or music to get into girls' pants.
Use it to get into their heads.
Thou shalt not watch Hollyokes.
Thou shalt not attend an open mic and leave before it's done just because you've finished your shitty little poem or song you self-righteous prick.
Thou shalt not return to the same club or bar week in, week out just 'cause you once saw a girl there that you fancied but you're never gonna fucking talk to.
Thou shalt not put musicians and recording artists on ridiculous pedestals no matter how great they are or were.
The Beatles... Were just a band.
Led Zepplin... Just a band.
The Beach Boys... Just a band.
The Sex Pistols... Just a band.
The Clash... Just a band.
Crass... Just a band.
Minor Threat... Just a band.
The Cure... Just a band.
The Smiths... Just a band.
Nirvana... Just a band.
The Pixies... Just a band.
Oasis... Just a band.
Radiohead... Just a band.
Bloc Party... Just a band.
The Arctic Monkeys... Just a band.
The Next Big Thing.. JUST A BAND.

Thou shalt give equal worth to tragedies that occur in non-english speaking countries as to those that occur in english speaking countries.
Thou shalt remember that guns, bitches and bling were never part of the four elements and never will be.
Thou shalt not make repetitive generic music,
thou shalt not make repetitive generic music,
thou shalt not make repetitive generic music,
thou shalt not make repetitive generic music.

Thou shalt not pimp my ride.
Thou shalt not scream if you wanna go faster.
Thou shalt not move to the sound of the wickedness.
Thou shalt not make some noise for Detroit.
When I say "Hey" thou shalt not say "Ho".
When I say "Hip" thou shalt not say "Hop".
When I say, he say, she say, we say, make some noise... kill me.
Thou shalt not quote me happy.
Thou shalt not shake it like a polaroid picture.
Thou shalt not wish you girlfriend was a freak like me.
Thou shalt spell the word "Pheonix" P-H-E-O-N-I-X not P-H-O-E-N-I-X, regardless of what the Oxford English Dictionary tells you.
Thou shalt not express your shock at the fact that Sharon got off with Bradley at the club last night by saying "Is it".

Thou shalt think for yourselves.

And thou shalt always... Thou shalt always kill!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoN6XfyQsr4&NR=1

This house is not a home...it's a barn

2009-10-06T03:53:08Z

I'm annoyed with my apartment. It smells like a really gross combination of cat crap, that fishy turtle smell, and newly cut board smell (via that platform I built with the cinder blocks and wood). That, combined with the fact that Candy got fleas when she went to her vet appointment , gave them to Phazer, and through their mutual cuddliness, gave them to my bed....I feel very white trash right now, and I hate it.

I clean the litter box regularly. Hudson's tank was just refilled. I've sprayed the entire place with Febreeze. I bought a flea collar for Candy, flea powder for the carpet, flea spray for my furniture, and flea drops for Phazer (which she won't stay still for). I'm doing the best I can, and it's still not enough.

One option is, of course, just get rid of the animals. Set Hudson free next to a body of water. Give away my cats. Bug-bomb the apartment and be done with it.

Naturally I can't do that. Maybe in a pinch I'd set Hud' loose, but these cats are my responsibility. It's not their fault that we have to live in a cardboard box, practically on top on one another.

I am so freaking lonely here. And not just because I've just had a breakup. I hate not feeling motivated to do anything around here. I come home and I'm bored. It'd be so nice to cook nice dinners with someone every night. It'd be so nice to have someone to just hang out with, someone who will be home when I get home and ask me how my day was and watch DvDs with me and such. And it doesn't even have to be someone with a romantic interest in me. Just someone who will take care of me as I take care of them.

Or, as far as more immediate needs are concerned: Someone to hold down the dang cat while I administer her flea drops! heh

I feel like I'm trying to do too much by myself, and yet I don't really have a choice in the matter.

sad panda

2009-10-05T14:39:31Z

Finally got a hold of Mrs Jeffery today in regards to employment over at The Prairie Center. No dice. The dude decided not to move. :( She told me that positions would likely be opening up around January. *sigh* I'm just mad that she seemed to have no intention of calling me to SAY SO. Listen up managers, supervisors, bosses, and the like: You are doing NO ONE any favors leaving them hanging. Be the bad guy, it's your job. Tell me if I got the position or not. You won't hurt my feelings. I just need to know so I can get on with my life. Mkay?!

*mutter grumble mutter mutter* So yeah, looks like Kari the Nocturnal Bat of Crankiness will continue to haunt the MHC overnights until further notice. :(

So

2009-10-04T22:04:21Z

Broke up with Brad today. It was very mutual and drama free.

sings "I've got a golden tiiiiicket..."

2009-10-01T23:01:40Z

So the interview went very well. She was about to hire me on the spot but I told her that I can't work part time, it has to be full time or I won't be able to live off of it. She said that she was waiting to hear from another employee who might be moving to their toxicology department, leaving a full time position I want open. If he moves, it's mine. She said she would contact me either today or tomorrow about it.

As a HUGE added incentive, she told me about a program to become a licensed addictions counselor. With my Bachelor's Degree I already am halfway qualified for it. If I was hired on and worked for two years at the Prairie Center, all I would need is a supervisor to vouch for the fact I have the required hours of experience, take the certification test, and bingo! I'd have a CADC (Certified Alcohol & Drug Counselor) without having to go back to college! She said they lose Treatment Technicians that way all the time, they do their time and then go on to make $37,030 per year...!

Yeah, it's not my original intended Marriage Counseling certification, but I'd still be helping people for a living AND instead of getting even further into debt to do it, I'd basically be earning it while they pay ME. Win Win.

Needless to say I'm very excited about this opportunity. I want this job. Hell, even without the possibility of certification, the job alone sounds SO much more tailored to me than MHC was. Far less paperwork, far more hands on, far less repetitive, and once I'm trained on all shifts, a schedule that won't make me feel like a zombie. So I've got some more nail biting to do...Hey random tech guy? Go work for toxicology. Help a gal out. :)

Opportunity

2009-10-01T01:39:19Z

I have an interview tomorrow!!! She said that I should bring copies of my driver's license, soc card, auto insurance card, etc "in case the interview goes well", which implies that I will know how it goes right away. :D

Wish me luck folks. Tomorrow morning I'll either come home terribly excited, or really mopey. We'll see...

Psychic Messages

2009-09-26T23:25:02Z

TAROT
Last night I called up Nate n Jen on a whim and asked to come over and hang out with them. I had fun snuggling with the Zo' and having Jen do a couple tarot card readings for me. The results were enlightening, and put me a smidge more at ease about a couple things that I have been worrying about lately. Jen and I talked about all sorts of stuff and the subject of my cats came up. I mentioned that I think that Candy has horrible ear mites because she is always scratching and crying because her claws in turn hurt her ears. Jen, being a vet, said "Bring her in!" So we arranged to meet at the animal shelter at 11am.

FATAL ATTRACTION
I had also made plans to hang out with KT after Nate n Jen went to bed. KT was running a bit late, but we eventually met up at her place around 11:30p. We watched "Fatal Attraction" (which proved for me that Glen Close has always been a little scary) and drank until we were philosophical. We had a nice long discussion about how we were both natural empaths, but deal with in in very different ways. I also finally gave her that back rub I've owed her for a long time.

OOPS
I slept on her hide-a-bed since I was in no position to safely drive home. I set my alarm for 10am so I would be up in time for the appointment with Jen. I had my phone set to vibrate, and totally did not hear it when my boss called me twice wondering why I didn't come in for my morning shift that I had completely forgotten about. Oops! I called her back at 9:45 when I got up to use the restroom. She said she already had the shift covered. I told her that I had overslept. I got a text from Mike Benson, a co-worker, about an hour later asking me if I had just gotten fed up with the whole place and decided not to come back, but I assured him this was just an accident.

VET
After that, there seemed to be no reason why I shouldn't just go about my vet appointment as planned, so I did. Jen was about an hour late getting back to the shelter to meet me. I spent a fairly miserable amount of time just sitting with Candy in a waiting area, having violent sneezing fits. That, on top of Candy having gotten carsick on the way and throwing up, made me not too happy of a camper.

But Jen did eventually arrive, having finally procured a saw from Home Depot. Apparently Jen is in the habit of buying a fresh saw for every amputation she does. Normally this is not a problem, but today they did not have the one she wanted and so she had to pretend she was going to be "cutting an antler" in order not to shock the Home Depot worker and get him to help her find something that would work.

Jen and I went to her operating room in order for her to examine Candy. Jen left again to do who-knows-what. In the meantime, a beautiful black lab puppy was put under on the table next to ours. He was then tied spread eagle on the table and his belly was shaved. I felt a little green as I realized that, like it or not, I was about to witness a surgery.

Jen finally came back and examined Candy, mercifully hiding most of my view on table #2. She very quickly announced that it could not be ear mites that were causing Candy so much grief, the coffee ground-looking refuse was not present to indicate it. Jen cleaned out her ears with q-tips and then sent one of her interns to check a sample for bacteria. While we were waiting on that, Jen had me hold Candy while she trimmed her claws. Candy was entire miserable throughout this entire process, and it only got worse when the results came back. Candy has what amounts to a yeast infection of the ears and needs drops twice a day for seven days in order to clear it up. 15$ little bottle of drops.

Jen stressed that it's important to get 5-7 drops in each ear and squish it around to ensure it really works. We did the first application and Candy was just a mess she was so upset. And I knew I had gotten into more than I can handle. I'm squeemish when it comes to causing anyone discomfort as it is, but then tell me I will have to hold down a miserable fighting cat for seven days in a row, without help because I live alone and there's no way Brad is going to come over that often...yeah.

But I paid for the stuff and got the heck out of there. I thanked Jen profusely though. Yeah, it was overall a miserable experience, but via our friendship I got a free exam which I otherwise would have never been able to afford. Pretty sweet deal, really.

COSTUME SHOPPING
After taking a nap at home. I decided that it was high time for me to get out to Dallas and Company and pick up my costume. I felt kind of melancholy that Miranda was not picking up her phone and Jon was at work; I really wanted someone there to help me pick it out. I tried on a red catsuit, and once I realized I had tried it on backwards and remedied the situation, it didn't look half bad. I really need to lay off the junk food though, cause man I've got a belly now, and that suit does absolutely nothing to hide it. :(

After that I wandered around the store finding the rest of my accessories. I was looking into the makeup section when KT, Muchacho, and Nate with Zoe in tow arrived. I was really happy to see them. :) Not even ten minutes later, I bump into Leia who had come all the way from Decatur with her roommate and one of their friends. Holy crap! Today was unofficial "Go Get Yer Costume Day" apparently! :D

I stuck around socializing for awhile, and then headed out. I've got everything I need now but for the high-heeled boots and a black and red jester's cap. I still need to figure out how I'm going to paint the black portions onto the cat suit, but I've got plenty of time to work that out

GREAT BALLS OF FIRE
This morning I tired to administer application #2. That went well. I got about 4 drops in an ear, and then the cat shook herself and got a big ol' drop in my EYE. So this morning found me staggering around in my living room yelling "Oh God!", and not for the fun reason. :(

The pain eventually subsided. I decided that I would just try again later to get the other ear. Ugh.

Today I have been very very unproductive so far. I had told myself that I was going to do a bunch of MHC work here at home, save it on my zip drive, and take it with me so that I would have that much less to catch up on, on my overnight shift. So far I've managed to sleep until 4p and write a really long lj entry. I'm going to jump in the shower, and hopefully wash off some of this apathy in the process. Maybe get a handful of bills done before I have to leave at 8:45p. (I'm scheduled for 11 hours tonight, fun fun)

Fear

2009-09-19T23:24:36Z

Whoever first coined the phrase "one step at a time" must of had me in mind. I can't stop worrying about the possible significance of not being able to handle working for MHC. My problem there boiled down to a crippling inability to stay focused on the paperwork aspect. I'm thinking about the sorts of jobs I would rather have, but none of them are purely just helping people for pay. If it's worth having, it will almost undoubtedly have a lot of paperwork involved. I really can't escape it. It makes me lose hope that I'm cut out for a white collar job at all.

I wish I could make a living creating things. It would be so neat to build furniture for people, or make hippie beaded purses, or $1,000+ paintings. My swirly art pieces are pretty badass...but man do they ever take a long time to make. And I'd have to find some way to afford the start-up costs of materials, framing, and advertising....bah, dreaming.

I'm so friggn scared. I don't want to think about my future anymore, because if current trends persists, I'm going to be a serial job-hopper, never making more than just enough to get by. :(

Over Exposure

2009-09-18T02:23:22Z

I was working at one the the group homes last night. I went to the kitchen to do some cleaning around 5:40am. I was wiping the countertop next to the sink. I noticed some movement in the corner of my eye. At first I thought I was seeing my reflection in the window in front of me. I did a double take when I realized there was a nude male standing out there, staring at me and wacking off. I said "what the fuck?!" and backed out of the kitchen. The guy just calmly walked out of sight. I didn't see his face at all because of the glare on the window. Just a skinny white male is all I could be sure of. I called the cops and sat in the office shaking like a leaf. I called two fellow coworkers and told them what happened. They both were comforting in their own ways, Evan just listening and Linda telling jokes; "You know Kari, this wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for the sexy way you scratch your nose in the kitchen" lol

The cops came. The peeping tom was gone by then. They took my description, as minimal as it was, and then left. The clients started to wake up soon after. I wrote what happened in the staff log. I eventually stopped shaking and was able to laugh about it.

Still, glad I'm getting the hell out of there...

More about celtic astrology, "The Elder", my sign. Thanks Leia!

2009-09-17T02:56:11Z

The "new moon" Elder individual is usually more outspoken and impulsive than his or her "full moon" counterpart. Such people are extremely persuasive orators who constantly challenge injustices or what they perceive to be corrupt powers. The "full moon" Elder individual possesses great vision and inclined to operate more successfully in the background rather than pursuing a confrontational approach.

The Elder individual evolves gradually during his or her lifetime. In youth, such people are inclined to waste much time and energy on worthless ventures or projects. They are often fortunate individuals who frequently benefit at an early age from inheritances. However, this usually only encourages their extravagant tastes and indulgences. With a basic restlessness and/or insatiable curiosity, Elder individuals are drawn into the study of profound subjects and are prone to travel great distances in order to further their knowledge. Elder individuals are self-sufficient, lively and outspoken. They dislike routine and refuse to be pressured by others. Highly energetic with a great deal of stamina, they thrive on change and crave constant mental and physical challenge.

In later life, the Elder individual commands respect and possesses a great deal of patience. However, Elders can sometimes be heartless and cruel, and have a tendency to lack good judgment in their choice of friends. Ambitious, with a driving force to win at all costs, Elder characters are often outspoken and prone to speak without first thinking, but they possess a constructive approach to life and are frequently drawn to careers in the military or journalism. The true strength of Elders lie in the instinctive knowledge of when they are right and others are wrong, coupled with their inherent inclination toward self-discipline. The Elder individual is open in his or her relationships, but tends not to fall in love very deeply, seemingly able to remove their emotions from most situations. While finding it difficult to tame their restless natures enough to take on parenthood, Elders do make wonderful uncles and aunts. It is important that Elder indiviudals learn to use change as a positive force in their lives in order to avoid becoming reckless and confused.