Ummm

I know, I know. I don't blog anymore. I'm lazy about it. But really, all of my stories are inapprop and are better told in person. Anyone want to hear about my trip to the Urologist? yeah......

and let me just say this, I don't want to hear about how "every guy has to go eventually" or something along those lines. It was OUT of CONTROL!!!!.....but funny. I'll save it for an in-person conversation.

Time to complain....

So, Even though I thought I had everything settled last week with my school loan people, here they come calling again. Can you believe these people want me to pay $116 every MONTH!?!!!?!?! Surree, that's not a ton of money to some people, but that's a lot of money to me, when you make the kind of money I do.

Okay, here's the deal.

All your life you hear how education is sooooo important and blah blah blah. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad I got a degree.....but what's it all worth now a days? You go to school, take out loans (b/c you're poor.......not poor poor, but the kind of poor where you can still go to college as long as you get loans), and pay to get a piece of paper saying your educated.

THEN, you graduate school, only to find out that people with masters degrees are going for the same entry level jobs as you. (Or Purple Heart war veterans with masters degrees are going after the entry level jobs....but whose bitter?) The economy is so bad, that they have to go for jobs that are technically speaking, well below them. On that note, don't even get me started on how I think masters degrees are scams, as well as most higher education programs....I digress.

So here I am, barely making minimum wage, and these ridiculous loan people are hounding me, telling me that they are reporting my delinquency (big word, i know...) to my credit score people!!!!

It's ridiculous. What kind of country is this? I'll tell you who can solve this....Oprah. Yes, I'm writing Oprah to pay my bills. Actually, I'll write 3 letters.

1 to Oprah

1 to Celine Dion

and 1 to Obama.

If they can't fix this, I don't know who can..

Things I can't wait for.....results

5. Didn't get the promotion at work....don't EVEN get me started. Jess will probably kill me with all the venting I've been doing. But seriously, if you heard the story, you would be angry too. Let just say, it makes NO SENSE as to why I didn't get it. Also, my new supervisor looks like like a dirty raccoon. She needs help.

4. Dinner was delicious.....Jess knows exactly what I like to eat. (It's not hard....just think of what a kid would like and voila!

3. Alabama had the comeback game of the year.....it was awesome. (4-0)

2. Taking antibiotics for whatever "infection" I may or may not have. I have to take these things for 21 days, twice a day. I hate medication.

1. I still can't wait for Disneyland!!!! (I may or may not have already gone to the Disney Website and planned out every ride I want to go on)

Things I can't wait for...

5. A promotion at work.....wishful thinking.

4. Dinner

3. The Alabama game this weekend. (We're 3-0 so far)

2. Better results from all the Dr's tests. Ummm, I have an infection? What? Anyways, I kind of have a funny story about the Dr., but i don't know if I should share it or not. Maybe it's t.m.i.? idk...

1. Disneyland!!!!!!!!! Is it October yet???

Happy Birthday Joshua!

Ha ha ha. Okay, so I couldn't find the "Joshua" version. But you get the point.

We had the tape of this song and every year on my birthday I'd wake up to somebody playing this song in the house. Who doesn't love a 1970's creepy cartoon?

The Hills...Adjacent feat Kathy and Maggie Griffin, and Lauren Conrad

Kathy Griffin finally makes it on the Hills

Welcome to Subway ... by GloZell

One of my favorite comedians. This is how I feel about Subway.

My Phil-tropy

Oookay. This morning, I went into work early b/c many of us today decided to volunteer for Habitat for Humanity later on in the afternoon. I wanted to get as many hours of work in as I could, so I went in at 7:30. Nothing too special, except this old lady told me over the phone that we were worse than Hitler, and that we needed to stop harassing her. See, my job is still exciting. Anyways, after dealing with that one, It was time to go help build this house.

So when they asked some of us to volunteer, I wasn't so sure about doing it. I've heard about doing things for.... "charity".....but I didn't know how it would go. I mean, I figured it couldn't hurt to..."help"....people. <-------did those jokes translate in writing? B/c when I say it out loud it's realllly funny.

Anyways, a few of us got to go help build a house. Think me, building a house. Is that not another episode for my reality show??? I'll have to say, I did a really good job. Mostly I just dug the trenches for the sprinkler system, but I worked hard. And it was HOTTTTT. We worked from 12-4 and then I decided to go home. We could have gone back to work, but we were all gross and didn't feel like it.

After I took a shower, I was starving. What's new? So I decided to head off to Subway.

Okkkaayy, I love subway sandwiches. But sometimes the people who work there are a little sketchy sketch. There were two girls working there. One started to make my sandwich and the other stood there and got ready to add the vegetables. (which of course there would be none added). BUT, while the girl stood there, she was resting her hands on the sandwhich making board. One hand on the board, and the OTHER......resting on the board with her FINGERS INSIDE THE GARBAGE HOLE. Inside that little cut out area where they discard old food and crap. My inner monologue was saying, "Nooo, I'm gonna need you to take off the garbage gloves before you touch my sandwich". She didn't. And yes, she touched my sandwich. I was hungry enough to get over it, but that ain't right.

This morning

Soooooo....as most of you know, Jess is camping this week. This morning started out like any other week day when she's gone. I got up, ate breakfast, got everything I needed for work and headed out the door. That's where the trouble started.

The SECOND I shut the door behind me I realized something.....I forgot my keys. Ummmm, yeah.

This has only happened one other time, and Jess was home that day, so I just called her and she woke up and opened the door for me. Today, I just panicked. I'm thinking, how in the world am I going to get back inside, get my keys, and make it to work on time. I HATE being late to anything, so I was so mad that I pulled such a boneheaded move.

So first, I tried to use an old subway card to open the door. We've tried this many times when we've been locked out. It just doesn't work. Our apartment is kind of old, but it's like Fort Knox. Seriously, you can't break in. I even went across the street to the people who used to have a key to our apartment, but they didn't answer the door. Next, i tried the sliding glass door. Of course, locked. At this point I started really panicking. I went down to the basement area and started looking for things that i could use to get up to our side window. I found an old ladder and brought it out to the driveway. Did I mention that the driveway goes DOWN, so the ground is not level? Once again....yeaaahhh. So picture this, me on an old, rusty ladder that I couldn't get to open up, on an unlevel surface, trying to open our window. I managed to pry the screen off, but the window wouldn't budge. i'm sure the neighbors got a funny view. They probably thought I was a terrible robber or something.

At this point, I got a text from Jess. Finally, some good news. Usually she doesn't have any service out there, but she randomly did. So I called her back and explained the problem. She gave me our landlords number so I could call him to open the door.

Remember, we have an illegal cat in our apartment, who loves to wait right at the door when you open it. So I was worried that if I called the landlord, he would open the door for me and see the cat. I risked it. I was already late for work, so I had to do something.

Luckily, he was nearby, so he drove to our place in about 10 minutes. As he walked up the driveway I reached out my hands and said, "thank you so much, I'm late for work" I pretty much grabbed the keys out of his hand before he even got close to the door. I ran up the stairs, unlocked the door and handed him the keys back as quick as I could. Once again, Luckily, he didn't try to come in.

I walked into the apartment to get my keys AND.......no kitty. I walked around calling his name, but nothing. No sight of him. I know all the places he sleeps and hides, so I started checking everywhere. Nothing.

At this point I was like, am I in some sort of twilight zone? Did the cat disappear? i thought, maybe I shut him in a closet or under the sink on accident. I started calling out that I had a treat. Kitty ALWAYS comes running for that. Nothing. I shook his food bag and even put some food in his dish. Nothing. That REALLY made me worry.

Finally, I looked under the bed, and wouldn't you know it, there he was...terrified. I think all the banging I had been doing on the windows and doors had really freaked him out. I had to drag him out b/c he was so scared. Anyways, I made it to work 20 minutes late, but at least I made it. Plus, my job is awesome now, so It didn't matter that I was late. I just made it up by taking a shorter lunch. So there you go.....one awful morning.

Promotion

Sorry I never blog anymore, I just don't have the time. Wimbledon ends tomorrow and Serena is in the final, so I've been doing my best to watch the highlights after work. I actually get to watch the final tomorrow, so that's the most important part anyways.

OKAY, on to the point.

2 weeks ago I got a promotion at work. I am now an Account Monitoring Supervisor in our customer support department. There are 5 of us in the group. It has made my job sooooooo much better. Before, I had to sit there all day long on the phone...call after call after call. Rude person after rude person, billing problems, cancellation requests...eckkk.

Now, I'm not on the phone nearly as much. I don't take any inbound calls, I just make outbound calls when necessary. Our job as Account Monitoring Supervisors involves doing a lot of researching on our customers accounts. We deal with bankruptcies, forgeries, false alarm fee disputes, and special cancellations among other things. (special cancellations involve moves to assisted living facilities, military, death, etc) For example, a customer will call in to a rep and say, "i'm moving to an assisted living facility so I want to cancel my alarm system agreement" That rep will instruct the customer to send in certain kinds of documents for us to review, and then email my group.

Once we receive the documents, I will call the assisted living facility and verify that the customer in fact lives there (and verify that it is an assisted living facility and not just a retirement home....that doesn't count). Once I make sure of that, I send it to be canceled.

Hopefully that gives you an idea of what I do. Plus, I get to do a lot of investigating about false alarm disputes. If a customer gets billed by their police department for a false alarm and they want to say it's our fault, I get to look into it and decide.

Sooooo, that's it. It's great, I don't have to sit all day long and talk. Me= Happy.

Good news and bad tacos

So, last night we went to mom and dads for dinner and we had tacos......my favorite. The kids got their food, and then we all started making ours. First, J made a comment about his food tasting weird. Then, Sarah noticed something was wrong. She thought it was the spinach. At this point, I was still making my tacos, but I could definitely smell something strange. Eventually I sat down and took a bite.....

How can I describe this?.... It tasted HORRIBLE. You should have seen my face. I was thinking, what is going on? Is this some new healthy taco recipe thats really gross? Oh no, it was the shells. We don't know what was wrong with them b/c they were brand new, but they tasted like they had some chemical in them. I can't even describe the taste.....it was awful and the taste stayed in your mouth forEVER!

You know the scene from the show Seinfeld, where Frank Costanza over-seasons the meat and everyone starts barfing? That's kind of what the kitchen looked like. No one was barfing, but we were all spitting out our food. The kids were so funny. J said, "I knew something tasted weird djoshy". We still don't know what was wrong with those shells, but it was sick.

Anyways, today was a good day at work. I mean, work wasn't that fun, but the things that happened were great. First, I got an email from the customer support secretary. It was an appointment for an interview with our manager for a supervisor position! That would mean more money and less time on the phones.....which is exactly what I'm looking for. I'll keep you posted with what happens.

THEN,

A while ago I had requested to trade schedules with someone for saturday, July 3rd. At my job, you can't just request time off if the schedule has already been made, you have to trade with someone else. So, it being a saturday, and a holiday weekend, I thought, "nobody is going to take this day". What do you know, someone took it, which means now I have July 3rd off! Whoooo hooooo. Seriously, for a call center, you can't get many days better than this one.

I am so excited!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

....ha ha ha

Oh Canada....

What....exactly....is wrong with people from Canada? Okay, okay, I'll apologize in advance to all of my loyal Canadian readers. In fact, instead of getting mad at me for writing this post, go sit down and think about how bad you bumbled the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. That should keep you busy for a while.

Seriously, anytime we get a call at work from Canada, we all groan. It never fails, they're always mad about something. The main problem is from people who live in 3 places:

Medicine Hat

Red Deer

Moose Jaw

Yes, those are actual cities in Canada. You would be an angry person if you lived in Moose Jaw. They're always yelling about something. Also, why do people from Canada act like the entire planet knows about Canada. The first time I said zip code instead of postal code I thought I saw my life flash before my eyes. Have you seen their Postal codes anyways??? It's like trying to read a license plate....very confusing. And don't even think about pronouncing the city Regina like Regeena.....everytime, they will correct you in a very rude tone: it's RegIIIIna.

The other day this guy was arguing with me over the phone.....not so shocking. He was upset with how we do certain things in our company. Let me assure you, he was in the wrong. It would take too long to explain, but he was wrong. After talking about this issue for a while he said, "you guys need to stop Mickey Mousing it around there" (don't ask, I don't know what that means)

Then he says, "where is your company located? America? Figures...."

I was thinking, seriously Mr. America Jr.? SO RUDE!!

So whenever I start talking to someone over the phone and I hear them say "aboot"...I know I'm in for trouble. Just saying....

Lastly, Serena is dominating the French Open. Thank goodness.

Laser tag

Yeah yeah, I never blog anymore. I'm gonna have to ask you to deal with it. All I do is work work work anyways, so there isn't anything that exciting going on.

However, I've become addicted to laser tag lately. It's a new addition to the new Nickelcade. And I don't care how little the kids are that I'm playing. The smaller the better...they make easy targets. Last night was our 3rd time playing. My team dominated of course. If you haven't tried it you should. There's smoke, lights, music.....it's really cool.

Also, you should see me and Jess collect tickets. We know exactly which machines to use, and we don't waste time. All the little kids just stare at our stash of tickets when we walk by. Occasionally we'll just give the tickets away...but we work hard for our slap bracelets and toy guns, so not usually. Ha ha ha. Anyways, that's all for now.

yeah, I said that.

[Real conversations I've had on the phone....as best as I can remember]

80 yr old woman

Caller: I would like to update my emergency contact list

Me: okay, the first name on the list is dave, is that still a good contact?

Caller: No, he's deceased now.

Me: oh, I'm sorry to hear that. The next name we have is Janet.

Caller: deceased.

Me: ohhh..... awkward pause.....sounds like you've had quite a time here lately

Caller: you can say that again...

--------------------------

Caller: I need to have the system at our business moved to a new location.

Me: okay, is this Mrs. Corp?

Caller: Who?

Me: Mrs. Kalua Corp.

Caller: Umm....no. My name is tammy. I work for Kalua Corporation.

Me: ohhhhhh.....yikes.

--------------------------

Outbound call

Me: Hi, may I speak with Mr. Sigler

Caller: No, he's not here.

Me: Oh, will he be back soon?

Caller: No

Me: Do I have the right number?

Caller: Mr. Sigler isn't here

Me: Can I reach him at this number?

Caller: No, you can reach him in heaven. He's been dead for 13 years.

awkward pause

Me: um, is this Sila Sigler?

Caller: Yes

Me: I'm sorry ma'am....I guess I didn't realize who I was looking for.

Yeah...I'm used to making myself look ridiculous.

I forgot

I forgot to mention that last weekend BJ came out to Utah and stayed with us for a few days. Jess and I had fun playing with him. You should have seen us cleaning up at the new nickelcade. But let me say this.....arcade prizes are rip offs! Between BJ, Jess, and I, we ended up with 1500 tickets. That's a ton. And what did we get? A couple of toy guns, a slap bracelet for jess, and some candy. It's kind of out of control. Oh well. The funniest part is when you start winning tons of tickets, and then the little kids start eye-ing your machine.....I'm always thinking, "Back off"!!!!

We also went to the mall and watched lots of excellent movies. (Check out the review blog)

It was fun to have him visit. He's funny like us....learned everything from me of course. Jess probably wants him to move out here and live in the apartment above us. Ha ha ha. Okay, the end.

I love Ameri-curr

I just want to know why....people are surprised that a killer whale would kill somebody? I'm from Florida, and i've been to Sea World, Shamoo has been jackin people up for a long time!!

Ha ha ha. Okay, that was actually from a comedian named GloZell. She has hundreds of YouTube videos, and I watch them everyday. I'm kind of obsessed. But hey, she's funny like me, so it don't matta!

So it's been a while since I've posted anything.....I guess it's because I haven't had many funny stories to tell. I mean, my life is funny all the time, but I'm much funnier in person. Writing takes so much time.

Work has been same old same old. I'm a pro at telling people they can't cancel their agreements. Today, after 25 minutes on the phone with this older lady, and after telling her over and over again that she can't cancel, she finally said, "I hope you have a miserable day, and a miserable week" ha ha ha. It was kind of funny. I mean, sure I feel bad for SOME of these people, but for the most part, I don't. Actually, if they are nice, then i feel bad, otherwise, I couldn't care less.

Also, yesterday I said yes ma'am to a customer about 5 times before he finally said, "I'm a sir"....oops. hahaha. Never a dull moment I suppose.

Okay, that's all for now. Another day, another dollar.

This just in: People are dumb

So I've been officially working at my new job for about a week. (since finishing training). Again, i'm working in customer support for an alarm security system company that will continue to remain un named. For the longest time, I always said how this company scammed people. Thats what I thought of most of these companies. Since I've been working here, I've decided, "Nobody is getting scammed, people just really are as dumb as I've always believed." You can't imagine how many people call in and want to cancel their agreement. Hello???? Did you read the thing before you signed it??? You can't cancel!!! Of course it comes as a shock to every single person. My other favorite is, "I didn't know I signed for 5 years??" Um, can you read?

Here's another good one I've heard a few times: "You know, we got the system last year and now my husband lost his job....the economy is just so bad, we can't afford it" Really? The economy is so bad? Hmmm, I wish it was last year again when the economy was BOOMING!! Duhhhh, why did you buy it in the first place???

As many of you know, I am not a people person. I like my family, and my friends. That's about it. It is incredibly hard to put up with these people all day long. I have to be so nice to them when they're screaming and cursing bloody murder at me. In my head I'm yelling back, "why did you buy something you couldn't afford???"

Just in case you are one of those people like I used to be, someone who thinks these security system companies are scam artists, consider this:

1. Once you sign an agreement, you have 3 days to cancel the service with no charge to you. That's THREE days to read every single word of the agreement. (or perhaps to get someone smarter to read over it for you)

2. Before the system is installed into your home, our company calls you and gives you a pre-installation survey where they ask you yes and no questions about the system. A rep will actually call you, and you have to verbally answer. Example: Mr. Jones, do you understand that you will be paying 39.99 for 39 months? etc...

3. After the system is installed you receive a post installation survey with even more questions.

(side note: some individual salesmen might be creeps, and lie to potential customers....the previous list still rings true)

So the only way you can be scammed....which a lot of people claim to me every day.....is if you are a complete moron!

Bottom line: people are d u m b.

My new job

So I've had my new job for a week now. I don't want to get sued or anything, so I'm not going to mention the company name here, but I'm working in customer support for a home security company. So far, so good. The pay is just okay, but there are lots of opportunities to move up. Here are some of the perks of the job:

- Our building is brand new and cost 37 million to build. I don't know if that's a perk, but it's a cool building.

- Free lunches

- Free soda anytime, even if I'm not working. This could be bad....so much dr. pepper.

- Free gym membership

- Cell phone discount. I'm not sure if this applies yet, b/c I'm on a family plan. We'll see

- Benefits

There's lots more. Food places, movie theaters...blah blah blah.

We start taking calls today, so I'm sure I'll have some funny stories later. I'm just ready to be done with training....there are so many annoying people. This one guy thinks he's funny and keeps trying to make jokes. Half the time he just trails off and then there's the awkward situation where everyone else goes, "what did you say?"...then he says, "nothing, I was just making a joke about...." Then he explains the joke and it's obviously not funny and nobody laughs....which then makes me laugh. Goodness, it will be nice to be done with training.

By the way

Tiddy limps all the time again...and he switches which foot to limp with on different days. You can see him holding his paw up in the picture above.

You didn't wish hard enough...

Just kidding. But no, I really didn't get the Denver interview job. It's okay, I think things happen for a reason. Anyways, I'm still unemployed (and plasma-less) so I've had to find things to do.

Soooo, here is something you've never seen on my blog, and probably never will again: me being crafty. I got the idea from an old friend. So be impressed, b/c usually you only get sarcastic comments, funny stories, and sports news on my blog.

For our wedding, Nana (Jess' grandmother) gave us a really nice picture and frame. The frame is wood and pretty big. The only problem is, our apartment has boring white walls, and the wood is a really light color....so it doesn't really look good up on the wall. Sooo, I decided to fix it up a little

Here is the frame. It's really nice, but see how it almost matches the wall? The green tape is where I started to tape off the center portion that is fabric

Here is a close shot of the wood detail

I couldn't find the camera until after I had spray painted it blue and applied a black glaze. I know, me? I did this! Nuts huh? Also....spray painting indoors....yikes.

Before i removed the green tape from the center fabric

Problem. When I removed the green tape, the spray paint and the black paint had both bled onto the fabric. (as you can see from the top and side portion). Soo....I ripped all the fabric off completely. (as you can see from the bottom and left side)

I decided to paint the inner portion completely black...it was really the only option I could think of. So....here is the finished product.

Impressive huh? Anyways, that was my day yesterday. You're welcome for being a craftman.

Wish me luck

So finally, (feels like i've been waiting forever), I'm leaving for Denver tomorrow to interview for the job. I'll be there until at least Wednesday. Wish me luck, send all your good vibes my way, and hopefully I'll have some good news by the end of the week.

Failed again

Told you the plasma center owns me. 122 this time. Or maybe 127....i honestly can't remember. I just laughed. Anyways, I made an appointment for next saturday. That might be my last one, because this obviously isn't working anymore.

I never want to donate plasma again

Okay, while that isn't true, I probably will never be able to again. Here we go again...

Today I went to donate plasma again. The second I left the house, my heart started racing. I could just feel it. After last weeks incident, I looked up ways to lower your pulse. I've been trying all of them this morning. I got to the place and made sure I went to the bathroom right away. Then, I tried everything. I tried to focus on the movie that was playing, I tried texting, I tried watching other people to get my mind off myself, I tried breathing, I tried closing my eyes and relaxing....etc.

All the while, I could still tell that my heart was beating fast. I just kept repeating in my mind, "relax.....relax"

Then I got called into the screening room. It was the same girl from the last time. She was much nicer though. She put the cuff on my arm and after a few seconds, she said what I knew was coming, "you're nervous huh?....you're pulse is 132". 132!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was like, good grief. That's what your pulse should be when you're doing a light workout!! It's time to face it, the plasma center owns me. I'll never be able to donate again, b/c I'll never get my pulse down again. The first time it was a fluke, but now it's all I can think about. I'm not nervous about anything they do there. I don't mind the needles, I don't mind the procedure. But since I failed the pulse last time, it's all I could think about. The lady was nice and told me I had to just think about something else next time. But how can I??? Seriously, how can I not think about it. I tried everything. I tried to be calm and my pulse was 132!!!! I'll never not think about it.

What am I supposed to do? Now I've lost $65 potential dollars from this place. That's a lot of money that I could have used!!!! Any suggestions? How can I get my mind to not think about this now? It's not like I was running around freaking out. It was just in my mind b/c of what happened the last time. ARRRRRRHRHHGGGG

Going again on thursday.....to fail again probably.

I'm still awake!!

Serena and Venus won the Australian Open doubles title again....Serena is in the singles finals and it starts in 10 minutes. (1:30 am). Yes, I am awake. I'm that loyal.

I am angry

Guess what happened at the plasma place today? I went there this morning to donate. Just like the last two times I went, I drank a ton of water this morning. I mean, a lot. So as I'm sitting there waiting to go into one of the screening rooms, I really had to pee. BAD

I didn't go to the bathroom though, b/c I was worried I might miss my name being called. After about 10 minutes, I finally got called. I went in and the lady checked my blood pressure, pulse, and temperature. All of a sudden, she calmly says, "okay, your pulse is 107 so you won't be able to donate today". It was almost like I didn't understand what she was saying. I said, "excuse me, what???" She goes, "your pulse is too high, it has to be under 100".

The annoying part is, they don't retake your pulse....not until they get a new system in 2 weeks. That's it, they just send you home and say you can't donate all day long. Can you believe that??!!! I am still angry. I planned my whole morning around this, I drank a billion gallons of water.....I AM ANNOYED!! The only thing I can think of that would raise my pulse is the fact that I was holding in my pee for so long. Is that possible? I mean, I wasn't nervous or anything, what else would cause this? How ridiculous is it that I couldn't donate just b/c of my pulse? Give me a break. I want/need that money and it just bugs me that they don't even give you a chance to go sit down for a few minutes...or heaven forbid, go and PEE!!! I had been dying in the waiting room, which is why that's the only thing I could think would have caused it. Anyways, I'm done venting for now, but if you see me in person I'll probably start again.

Oh, she also said I could come back and try tomorrow- yeah, there are no appointments available tomorrow...like I'm going to come sit and be on standby.....that line is always incredibly long. So now I don't get to go back until tuesday and instead of getting 35 then, I'll have to start over and only get 30. (that is if my pulse goes below 100). I feel like I just failed a drug test without taking any drugs. Blurg!!

Australian Open Update

Good news so far. Serena and Venus play in the doubles final tonight (they won last year). And, Serena plays in the singles Final tomorrow against an old [disgusting] rival. Roger plays his semi final tonight...Hopefully I'll have good news to report in the next few days.

Also, I donated plasma again on tuesday and I'm going again on tomorrow. It was much better this time, and MUCH faster. Only another week until my job interview in Denver. Fingers crossed....then I can finally slow down on selling my precious fluids. :)

I got my diploma!

And that means my graduation is for real.

Oprah Winfrey whole segment, for real for real.

20/20 Barbara Walters for real for real.

60 Minutes for real....

What I will sell for money

Here is the deal....I'm broke. I'm still waiting for my interviews in early February, so in order to make some money, I decided to donate plasma. (how else will we pay the rent? haha)
This is my review of the whole deal.

Since this was my first time donating, I had to be there for a loooong time. 3 hours total. They ask all kinds of medical questions....millions of times too. Also, there were several times when they actually made me read aloud what I was signing. All very unsettling. First they make you go into the screening room, which apparently you have to do every time you donate. You have to say your name and your "donor number" when you sit down. Then, one of the workers checks your blood pressure, temp, weight....you have to have specific numbers in order to be able to donate. My blood pressure was a little high, but I think that was because I was nervous. The amount of plasma they take from you is based on your weight. I was the lowest weight for the middle amount, so the lady suggested that I wear "less clothes" in order to drop a pound and therefore be able to give less plasma, and then be less light headed. Sketchy, no?

Anyways, then they prick your finger and test your blood to make sure the protein levels are okay to donate. After these tests, they started the million questions. After this, they make you go and have a physical from one of their.....doctors....?...ha ha ha. Okay, not really a doctor, but somebody who worked there who looked official. Again, right when I sat down with her she said, "say your name and your donor number for me" I had to pee in a cup and even had to take off my shirt so the lady could feel me up. Eyes, ears, reflexes, everything was checked. Then the questions started again. Every medication, every surgery (I might have forgotten my last one), everything you could think of, they ask. She even looked up Pleva to see what it was. Finally, after all the questions, and checking me out, she said it was okay to go back to the "donor room"

Okay, let me paint a picture for you....Have you seen the previews for that new vampire movie, where they farm humans for blood? It was like that. Tons of bed chair things with people hooked up to them lined the walls of the room. It was kind of scary, I won't lie. Plus, they ask all kinds of questions about piercings and tattoos like it's a terrible thing, but there were some sketchy sketch people in there with all of the above.

So they call me over, I lay down and it starts. One more time "say your name and your donor number" I'm thinking, "who is listening to this? Why do I have to keep saying it?" Anyways, I've never even donated blood before. Basically, they stick a needle in your arm and start to draw out the blood. The blood is centrifuged in this machine thing that you're hooked up to and the plasma goes into a plastic tube. Then, every so often, your red blood cells are pumped back into your arm. By the end, they had taken a full tube of plasma. It was actually freaky to see how much they removed from MY BODY. I couldn't help but feel violated. :) I was hooked up to the machines for about an hour total. The whole time I just watched the tv where they had a movie playing. By the end, I walked out with 30 Bucks. I can go twice in a 7 day period. The first time they pay 30, the second is 35.

Overall, the whole first day process was not very fun at all. Plasma donation centers are a money making machine and I felt a little bit like a robot to them. It took forever and was not that enjoyable. However, once I actually got into the donation room, (blood sucking factory), I enjoyed it a lot more. The next time will be much better I think, and i'll get paid more money. Oh, also, I drank a lot of water before I went there and I had to pee the whole time, so that was driving me nuts too. :)

Conclusion.....if you need extra money (or money at all like me), this is a good way to get it. The first time was long, but I think it will get much better once I become a "regular". Ha ha ha

Jess is...

There has been a lot said about my wife this past week. Most of you have heard all about it. It's been bugging me all week, because after all that's been said, somehow, Jess (and me.....go figure) has become the bad guy to some. So instead of discussing what a few think of her, I'd like to make a post dedicated to the person THEY are missing out on.

If these people could only see, Jess is...

Soft Hearted- She was a shoulder to lean on when we had to put Hunter down.

Fun- Need a Pixel Junk Monsters partner? She's top notch. And I hear she's a good Canasta partner, but you'd have to ask Dorris about that.

Thoughtful- She's always making food for someone, or trying to help her friends with anything.

Crafty- Have you seen her etsy store? It's freakish how talented she is.

Loyal- She always has my back, and she never would turn on a friend.

Beautiful- She should give lessons on how to be a model.

Smart- Her GPA is disgusting, but she's not about to brag....that much. :)

My Wife- Perfect in her own way.

The list goes on and on but I'm sure you're already barfing over this post. (Sarah) ha ha ha

Anyways, this is the girl that I see, and THIS is why I defended her. Maybe one day they'll understand.

Okay, this is the sappiest my blog will ever get. Prepare for boring tennis posts and updates on donating plasma.

Tennis starts tonight!!!...

...which is actually tomorrow. It's the Australian Open, so the times and days are all weird. But anyways, I can't wait to watch 2 weeks worth.

Cleaning

Since I'm out of work right now I've been trying to keep myself busy around here. I renewed the car registration, gone to the post office to mail things, and begun cleaning parts of the house that never get cleaned. The big project was the shelves in the back room. That's pretty much where we just set anything that doesn't have a real place. You should see the recycle pile I made of all my old school supplies that were up there. The shelves look really nice now. Usually I make a throw away pile, and then a pile that Jess can go through to see if she wants to keep. For example, any of her school papers or magazines go in the maybe keep pile. But if I find junk things like these ugly red/white Christmas tree ornaments that someone gave us a while ago, they definitely going into the garbage pile right away.

That way, we minimize the junk in the house, and we won't be in danger of becoming hoarders. Plus, it gives me something productive to do while I'm waiting to hear on my jobs. The end.

Hoarders

So....week 2 of no job. BUT, things are looking up. I mean, I like being positive, so even though things are pretty much the same, I have high hopes. I've applied for a job with the BLM (that would be a federal job) which would be extremely cool to get and that's what I'm wanting to get. They don't start interviewing until February though, so I just have to wait. Until then, I plan on donating plasma for cash. Yes, I'm that desperate for money. :)

That's the job update for now.

Now for another issue. Last night I watched the show Hoarders. Each episode documents the lives of usually 2 people who have hoarding issues. I'm fascinated with these people and that's what keeps me watching, but I'll be honest: I can't stand that show. Hear me out. I would call myself an anti-hoarder. I routinely go through my house and throw things out. I can't stand clutter, I can't stand junk, I don't have many sentimental things....if I don't use it, I want to throw it away. As you already know, I'm also OCD, and many of those tendencies involve cleaning. So it just bothers me seeing these gross houses on this show.

Here is why I hate the show:

1. They only stay and clean the hoarders houses for 2 days, so by the end, the houses aren't really clean. I know that's not the real point of the show, but I kind of want it to be like "Clean House", with a big reveal at the end.

2. It bothers me that nothing really happens during the show....they just repeat over and over how bad the situation has become for the hoarder and how they need to get their lives together. well duh!

3. If the show is really trying to help these people, why do they only help clean for 2 days? They make a big deal about it too. Once the 2nd day is over they start yelling at the cleaning crew.. "stop, don't throw anything else away, we're done" What is that about??? How about they stay a whole week and really get the situation under control?

These are my main complaints. By the end of the show, there just isn't any real closure. Anyways, I'll keep watching, b/c it's so freakish it's hard to turn away.

We're baaaack

Alabama 37 Texas 21

Graduated....

Yes, it's official, (even though I haven't gotten the actual paper)....I finally graduated with a degree in Wildlife and Wildlands Conservation.

And I'm jobless

So I've been a hobo today, without school or work to go to. Okay, I haven't been a total hobo. I've applied for 4 jobs (and those applications and whatnot take for-ev-er), went to the bank, went to the post office, paid rent (which is going to get harder and harder to do....haha...yikes), and cleaned the house. Here's to finding a job!...