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KTea

This election is still so surreal right now, that I felt the need to write down my thoughts.  I understand that there are people out there who may disagree with my political views.  However, this entry is not meant to be an attempt at changing those views, it's simply my way of expressing my feelings.

I have waited almost 27 years for something like this to happen.  I realize that our country as a whole has waited much longer than that, but I can only speak about my life.  For the past two elections I have passionately researched the candidates and come to a very informed decision as to who I would vote for, only to be disappointed each time by an outcome that, in my humble opinion, was not only wrong but downright detrimental to the country that I love so dearly.  I cannot say whether we would be in our current situation had my candidates been elected, because that is not something that anyone could rightfully predict.  What I do know, however, is what has happened since my candidates were not elected, and if I am being truthful, it has caused my patriotism to dwindle a little bit.  It's just hard to keep fighting for what you believe in only to be defeated every time.  Did I give up?  Hell no!  But I would be lying if I said that I didn't feel dejected.

And then there was last night...this beacon of hope that has been rising, steadily growing brighter as the election drew nearer.  And yet I could not allow myself to believe for one minute that, this time might actually go our way.  I had to do a double-take when I saw the electoral college numbers.  Really???  Did that just happen???

The historical nature of Barack Obama's win shall not, cannot, will not be underestimated.  No words can describe how greatful I am that I was able to be a part of history.  And for that, I have never been more proud to be a citizen of this great country.

But I am proudest that, through these past 27 years of my life, I have never been scared of expressing my opinion.  And finally, this time, after waiting so patiently, I voted a PERSON into office that I believe is best qualified for the job.  Yes he is black, yes that is historical, but I voted for him, to paraphrase Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, "not for the color of his skin but for the content of his character."  I am honored that a person who was best suited for the job of president won this election.

KTea

Even though my last journal entry proved to me that not very many people read my tabulas anymore, I still feel the need to write and say...

I GOT IN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I will officially be a graduate student at NC State beginning in January 2009. 

What a weight off my shoulders!  Now the real work begins...and doesn't school coast money?  Oh crap!

KTea

Well, it appears that I haven't written on here since March, however, only a few things have really happened since then (such is the life of a working adult).

I wrote in the last entry that we got a dog named Jimmy.  We still have him and he is just about a year old.  He has gotten exponentially fluffier and smarter while still managing to piss us off on a regular basis with his wall-chewing and hole-digging antics.  Also, he currently has green toenails, thanks to Kristen.  Tonight will be his second class in the intermediate level of obedience training...he continues to be the class dunce, mainly because he loses his shee shoo at the prospect of having all of those other dogs around to play with, and the realization that he is not allowed to play with them.

Ed and I started Weight Watchers this summer.  We have been on it for almost 4 months now.  I have lost 25.8 pounds and Ed has lost approximately 40.  It's going well and we have no plans to stop anytime soon.

For the last 2 months, I have been preparing to apply to grad school at NC State for their Masters in Public Administration (it's just like Business Administration except it is for government and non-profit work as opposed to corporate work).  I studied for a month for the GREs and took them on September 29.  Although my scores didn't blow me away, they were good enough (or at least I hope they were) to go ahead and apply.  From there I gathered all of my recommendations (I needed 3), filled out all of the application stuff, and wrote a pretty kick-ass personal statement as to why I chose that program.  On Friday (October 17) I officially submitted my application.  Now, it is just a waiting game.  If I am accepted, I will start school in January for the Spring 2009 semester.

Well, that's about all in my neck of the woods...not that anyone reads these things anymore.

KTea

So, I finally broke down and let Ed get a dog.  I mean, I've wanted a dog for a really long time as well, but I was holding out until things were more stable.  Ed had already moved past the logical part of why we didn't have a dog and was in the yearning for another four-legged creature stage.

So, realizing that I could not hold him off much longer, we once again made the treck to the SPCA of Wake County.  This trip was to visit a dog named Buster, who was a Basset Hound and Pitt Bull mix.  Yep, that's right, he looks just like he sounds.  Basset Hound body with a Pitt face.  He was super adorable and very docile, so Ed and I thought he was a pretty good match.  However, just like when you are looking for a house, when you are looking to adopt a pet, they have to be more than just acceptable and logically a good fit.  Buster didn't give me butterflies and I would have been just as happy seeing him go home with someone else, because he deserved a good home.

Then, Hailey suggested that we look at this little fluff-ball named Jimmy.  Now, keep in mind that, not only were Ed and I not interested in a puppy, we also did NOT want anything with Border Collie in it, because they can be a handful.  Jimmy is 4 months old (which definitely qualifies as puppy) and he is some sort of Border Collie mix.  When I saw him, my heart skipped a beat and we knew that we had to have him.  Despite the fact that he would probably piss and shit all over everything we own, and would eventually be smarter than us, which would make life even harder with him, we knew that there was very little that this dog could do to make us regret getting him. 

So, we now have a puppy.  He is the cutest, fluffiest, smartest, most well-behaved puppy I have ever met.  Now, he's still a puppy, so he has his moments, but all-in-all, we couldn't have asked for a better dog.  The cats get along great with him.  Elijah even rubbed against Jimmy yesterday to mark Jimmy as "his dog" and then gave him a belly show.  Now those of you that know Elijah know that once you get a belly show, you're in.

If you want to see some pictures pf Jimmy (before he got groomed, after he got groomed, and after he completely negated his grooming by playing in the rain) you should visit: http://web.mac.com/edlava/Site/My_Albums/My_Albums.html

Sorry that I couldn't post the pics on tabulas, but all of these pics are saved on our computer at home, and I am at work right now.

KTea

So, Ed and I moved into the new house this weekend.  Things are still pretty stressful because, as hard as we work, we NEVER get everything moved out on the first try.  There are still some stragglers at the old place that we need to weed through.  Not to mention the fact that we still have to clean the old place from top to bottom, which in my humble opinion, is a process that belongs in one of Dante's levels of hell.  And don't even get me started on the unpacking at the new house!

The cats seem to be settling in quite nicely.  They are getting used to the hardwood floors.  During their more rambuntious times, you can sometimes hear them gallop and then slide, not realizing that their momentum needs to be toned down a bit for optimum cat-placement.  There is apparently a bunny who has taken refuge in our yard, which seems to be taking their minds off of the lack of a spiral staircase.  And, since we no longer have vertical blinds (something else that belongs in one of Dante's levels), the cats can sleep with us again, assuming Elijah doesn't find some other way to make lots of noise in the middle of the night.

We finished all of the painting that we wanted to get done and it looks pretty sweet (thanks to everyone who helped us out!!!).  Our sellers came over yesterday evening to pick up some of their mail that hadn't gotten forwrded, and they really liked the color in the living room.  They didn't get to see the bedroom, but I am convinced that they would have liked that as well, because I think we have great taste and no one can convince me otherwise!

Ed mowed the lawn for the first time yesterday evening.  It looks really good, but, as with everything surrounding a home-purchase, it made us realize all of the stuff that we still need to buy: weed-eater, Round-Up (or the like), composter, hedge trimmer. 

Buying a house, as is to be expected, is the most expensive thing we have ever done.  But, it's not just because of the initial purchase.  There are SO MANY things that you have to buy just for upkeep.  Especially since my biggest fear is that we will let our house go so much that we will be "those neighbors."  Luckily, someone has a car on blocks in their front yard across the street, so we have some stiff competition before we get to that point.

All-in-all, homeownership has turned out to be exactly what I thought it would be both positively and negatively.

KTea

I never know what to title these update posts besides "Updates," so I'm just going to start making up words with "update" in them, to keep all of my readers on their toes (since there are so many of you out there ).

First and foremost, I found out that Ed and I are having a niece.  I am soooooooooooooooooooooooo excited and I can't wait to meet her!  She is due on May 31, which happens to be like 2 weeks after my brother graduates from grad school.

Speaking of grad school, I am officially thinking about going.  I need to start studying for the GREs.  Luckily though, there is a computer testing site on Six Forks Road that tests year-round, so that gives me a little wiggle room as far as when I want to take the test. 

I found a program that I think I might be interested in, since it seems to have a lot to do with what my company does and ideally, I'd like to work for this company for the rest of my life.  It is a master's in Education for Educational Psychology, Measurement, and Evaluation.  I haven't been able to find any other program like it in the area...and unfortunately, it's at UNC Crappel Hill. 

Besides the obvious reasons why this sucks (insert UNC bash here), it would also take a lot out of me living in Raleigh, working in Durham, and schooling in Chapel Hill (and moving isn't an option because I love my apt.). 

The good news, however, is that, since my company is centered around education (seeing as how we develop and grade tests for education departments around the country) they are very flexible when it comes to working around school schedules and they will pay for 75% of your schooling costs. 

One big thing that worries me is that the application for this program requires 3 letters of recommendation.  You are not required to have a teaching degree to enter the program, so they must expect people from all walks of life to apply.  However, I could think of maybe 2 professors that I knew remotely well enough 3 years ago to ask for a recommendation, and I have no idea if, now, they would even remember me.  Not only that, but these teachers could only attest to my academic abilities in the fields of Biology and Microbiology, not education.  I know that I'm getting way ahead of myself here, because I haven't done anything more than read up on this program, but I tend to freak out about things until I can wrap my head around them.

OK.  What else is new?  Christmas was good.  Ed and I got more gift cards than I would have ever imagined, which is awesome, because I love to shop!

Is there anything at all going on for New Years???  I must know!

That is all.

KTea

I got in a fucking wreck yesterday...with the Lancer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  And it was legally my fault (even though I didn't see the car coming) because I was backing out of a parking spot.

I fucked up the back bumper and I most likely am going to have to buy a new one.  Mostly because Ed and I discovered that apparently the original bumper had been previously fucked up and repaired with some putty in the exact same spot that I hit...and putty over putty is just not acceptible (according to Ed).

Luckily for me, I hit an 80's model Buick and left a medium-sized dent with no paint damage (on practically the only part of the car that had paint left), so the guy really wasn't that concerned over it.  He didn't want to go through insurance and said that he really didn't care about the dent, so that part is good.

KTea

Ed and I are going to be Aunt Katie and Uncle Ed to a very special little baby...thanks to my brother and sister-in-law!!!  I am so excited I could seriously burst!!!

The baby is due on May 31.

OMG I think I'm gonna go make 1478541457574 baby blankets like as soon as I get home!

Ok...that is all.

KTea

This is me updating...

Not much new going on.

Pack It Up started back up and we got 5 new members , and then it went down to 3 , but that's ok because we still have new members.  We have a concert this Thursday, September 21 at 7:30 pm in Stewart Theatre: $5 for students, $10 for non-students.  So we are practicing for that.  It should be pretty good so all of you should be there or else

Ed and I have slowly been putting up boxes in the new place.  We're gonna have a house-warming party soon...I PROMISE!!!  We're just really lazy and it's taking us a while to get all of the little shit up.

Work has been very busy lately.  I was definitely here until 6 on Friday (which should never be allowed...ever).

Well...that's all I have to say about that.