New Years List (Even Though I'm Still Waiting for Christmas to Finish)

Yeah, the reason I'm not up to date on my Christmas post is that for us Christmas isn't really over yet, since a lot of my family couldn't make it for the actual Christmas celebrations and are coming this week. I mostly want pics of my godson to include, but in the meantime, Kate posted this list on her blog, and I like the idea of checking off the things you've already done. Maybe in five years I'll come back to it and see what I've been able to add.

1. started your own blog
2. slept under the stars
3. played in a band
4. visited hawaii
5. watched a meteor shower
6. given more than you can afford to charity
7. been to disneyland
8. climbed a mountain
9. held a praying mantis
10. sang a solo
11. bungee jumped
12. visited paris
13. watched a lightning storm at sea
14. taught yourself an art from scratch
15. adopted a child
16. had food poisoning
17. seen in person the statue of liberty
18. grown your own vegetables I don't have much of a green thumb, but my grandma has always had a vegetable garden. I'm happy to keep my spider plant alive, frankly.
19. seen the mona lisa in france
20. slept on an overnight train
21. had a pillow fight
22. hitch-hiked
23. taken a sick day when you're not ill
24. built a snow fort
25. held a lamb
26. gone skinny dipping
27. run a marathon
28. ridden in a gondola in venice
29. seen a total eclipse
30. watched a sunrise or a sunset (both!)
31. hit a home run
32. been on a cruise
33. seen niagra falls in person
34. visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. seen an amish community
36. taught yourself a new language
37. had enough money to be truly satisfied I'm not satisfied yet, but once I start my new job I'll have enough to pay my bills again and feel self-reliant to a point I haven't thus far. My old job barely covered the bills, and this one should make a big difference in how much I can save every month.
38. seen the leaning tower of pisa in person
39. gone rock climbing
40. seen michaelangelo's david
41. sung karaoke
42. seen the old faithful geyser erupt
43. bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. visited africa
45. walked on a beach by moonlight
46. been transported in an ambulance
47. received a prestigious award
48. gone deep sea fishing
49. seen the sistine chapel in person
50. been to the top of the eiffel tower in paris
51. gone scuba diving or snorkeling (probably isn't going to happen, I'm not a big fan of being under water and never have been)
52. kissed in the rain
53. played in the mud
54. gone to a drive-in theater
55. been in a movie
56. visited the great wall of china
57. started a business
58. taken a martial arts class (this one was taken care of since I was 12, and I'm now a martial arts instructor)
59. visited russia
60. served at a soup kitchen
61. sold girl scout cookies
62. gone whale watching
63. got flowers for no reason
64. donated blood, platelets or plasma (I'm not too bothered by the sight of blood, but I'm rather attached to my own, which is weird, because I have friends who are terrified of seeing their own blood who have given it. I may need to man it up (figuratively speaking) and just go for it at some point.)
65. gone sky diving (definitely on my to-do list)
66. visited a nazi concentration camp
67. bounced a check
68. flown in a helicopter
69. saved a favorite childhood toy
70. visited the lincoln memorial
71. eaten caviar (and blech, it's nasty)
72. pieced a quilt
73. stood in times square
74. toured the everglades
75. been fired from a job
76. seen the changing of the guards in london (one of the coolest experiences ever!)
77. broken a bone
78. been on a speeding motorcycle
79. seen the grand canyon in person
80. published a book
81. visited the vatican (also on my to-do list, I want to go to Rome, and maybe hear Mass and go to confession at St. Peter's)
82. bought a brand new car
83. walked in jerusalem
84. had your picture in the newspaper
85. read the entire bible
86. visited the white house
87. killed and prepared an animal for eating (I grew up in a rural area, and have helped my grandpa butcher cows, pigs, and sheep, not to mention that my dad and uncles hunt, so I've helped prepare deer and elk also)
88. had chickenpox
89. saved someone's life
90. sat on a jury
91. met someone famous
92. joined a book club (I guess if GoodReads counts...I've always had discussions with friends about books but we never called it a formal club)
93. lost a loved one
94. had a baby (not yet, but something I'd like, once I'm married and settled down)
95. seen the alamo in person
96. swam in the great salt lake
97. been involved in a law suit
98. owned a cell phone
99. been stung by a bee
100. learned to play an instrument (I wish now that I'd learned to play the piano as a child, but I didn't. Now it's the violin that interests me)

I've done a lot of things that aren't on this list, so I may amend it to include some of the things that have been important to me in my life. Things like living in another country (Japan), getting a degree (want to go back for more, actually), becoming a godparent (twice, one godson one goddaughter), working in theatre (not acting, but doing tech, which I prefer), and having friends of all nationalities, beliefs, races, genders, and walks of life. I'm particularly proud of that, because I want to work as hard as I can on being tolerant of any person and their beliefs or ideals, so long as they aren't forcing them on others or causing harm to others by them. I think that if they are that way it's because God made them so, and we have no right to cast judgment on His creations when we have no fathom for the magnitude of his scope.

Holiday Preparations and a New Job to Look Forward to

I'm quite proud of myself, as of yesterday all my Christmas cards are in the mail and all the gifts I have that are ready are sent or wrapped. This past weekend my parents were out of town, so I took advantage of the time to myself to get all my Christmas cards done and ready to be sent. I also had fun wrapping presents. I'm only missing a few people as far as gifts, and most of them are merely on their way to me, since they've already been ordered. The only two people I have no idea what to get are my grandpa and my godfather. I'm also going to find out soon when we'll get our tree and discuss with mum how we want to decorate it. She wants to sort through our ornaments and see if there's anything broken or not worth keeping for any other reason, as well as lights that may not work and garlands that are too old and worn, and so forth. We usually do a theme color and stick with it, and then put sentimental ornaments to fill it out, and we haven't decided on colors for this year yet. One of my favorites was Red and Gold, though the blue and silver also looked very pretty, as well as the purple and gold. I think I may suggest silver and gold, though I don't remember if we've done that recently. There are keepsake ornaments, and things that my sis and I made during school over the years, and dad's Bronco ornaments. I kind of wish I'd gotten an ornament to put up from Japan. Oh well. We're also gonna try to put the tree in a new spot, perhaps the dining room, to change things up a bit and keep pine needles off the carpet.

I've also got some good news to report. I quit my job last week. I had put in my resignation, since I already had confirmation on at least one new job, and another pending, and then the company did something that I didn't want to be involved in anymore. There are specific laws regarding collection tactics for companies, and this company was breaking them fairly blatantly by calling multiple times a day starting as early as the second of the month, with two weeks or more left in the grace period for most customers, and also calling before and after the designated times allowed for calling. The customers, as can be expected, were very angry or quite panicked, and we were having to deal with a huge flow of calls from people either furious with us and swearing up and down and threatening suit, or else panicking and wanting to know what was going on, or else we were being expected to help participate in the calling, and having people swear at us about that. Along with being tired of being yelled at, I couldn't in good conscience continue to help this company harass people by means I knew to be illegal, so I resigned early. My parents are cranky, as usual, but I have money to last through the end of the month, and I'm still expecting my last check, which won't be a full check, but I don't care. I'm starting a new job as soon as the results of a background check come in. I'll be working on counseling with kids who have emotional or other problems, as a result of things like personal or family tragedy or broken homes or the like, sitting with them in school, helping parents with coping mechanisms, and making sure that if they're lashing out violently, they don't harm themselves or others. Better pay, guaranteed hours, and a job that seems really fulfilling. Not perfect, but way better than what I was previously doing. I can save more and hack down my existing bills before I go back to school, and I may even have extra to travel or something if I want to. I'd like to go visit my friends in other parts of the country and so forth. All in all, a good holiday season. I'll be home and able to spend time with my family, I'll have a new job to look forward to, and of course all the joy and blessing of the holiday.

Thanksgiving

I had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend, and I was especially happy to spend time with my family. All my dad's siblings were there, and almost all of my cousins, and as always we had a wonderful meal. I got to spend some time with my nina (for those who don't know, that means my godmother, in Spanish) and also with my own godson. He's six years old now, and much more willing to actively spend time with people he doesn't see a lot. I played video games with him (I do wish he hadn't gotten into video games or been given a DS so young, but oh well) and also took him to a movie. We went to see Bolt, and he's such a good little boy, he was quiet and well-behaved. About halfway through the movie, he leaned his head on my shoulder, and I asked if he wanted to sit with me. So he crawled into my lap and I held him for the whole movie. Not that he was tired, or scared, he just likes to be cuddled, and is very affectionate. It made me feel so happy to be close to him and have him know that I love him and want to be a part of his life.

Another big family event that happened this weekend is that we had a dinner to celebrate my grandparents' 50th anniversary. The whole family went out for a dinner, we were all dressed up, and we all got up to make toasts and whatnot. Most of us were moved to tears, and my grandma was sobbing long before we were finished. Also, my godson was adorable there, too, he was dressed up in his tie and sport coat, and we told him he looked like a little politician, that we would be voting for him for president in a few years. I got an adorable picture of him on my phone holding his hands up in two peace signs like Richard Nixon.

I've also got some good news with regard to the misery of my job situation. Myself and several of my coworkers have been feeling bullied and treated badly in general by our company for quite some time, and I've been looking around for a new job. I had a couple of prospective ones, one for REA, the local electric company, and another for an organization called Team Builders, which does one on one counseling and support for kids with emotional problems or learning disabilities. Both of them are very promising, and depending on what I hear about the one from REA tomorrow, I should be out of there at the latest by the end of the month. Hopefully sooner though, since the place and the treatment really does make me feel miserable. I've actually had days where I've sat at my desk and cried because of the way they treat us. The hardest part is that until I do get a new job I'm supposed to just suck it up and deal with it, unless I want to be out of work and not be able to pay my bills this month.

I've also decided where I want to go back to school, and that I'm going to wait another year before I do so. I'm actually very impatient to go back to school, but I want to give myself the best chance to apply and get in to the school I want to go to, so I'm going to take the time to study and take the GREs, and also to do the writing I'll need as part of my application. I'll also have more time to save money and get rid of more of my debts, which will also help in the long run. It's still frustrating, but I think I'm making the right decision.

Reading Material

I'm starting to notice a trend in my reading habits. Along with my usual fantasy and Christian inspiration books and manga as new volumes of my favorite series come out, I'm finding myself seeking out things like histories or biographies pertaining to various subjects, things like historical info on the Roman Catholic church, the start of the Meiji era in Japan, or else literary criticism. I find the need to challenge my mind and really think about my reading is almost essential now, and it's making me feel so much better in terms of my mental state. For a while I was feeling downright dull, like I was in a mental fog. I want the stimulation and the challenge, because I'm working as I can to go back to school, and I want to be at least a little in the habit of studying and thinking critically. My writing has only been fiction lately, with a smattering of poetry, but I'll have to work on that too.

My Weekend in Vegas

I've managed to survive another weekend trip to Vegas intact, and without killing any family, which is always important when we travel there together. We flew out Thursday night, fairly uneventful, though the flight was a bit late. I opted not to go out that night, since I was quite tired, but my parents and their friends went down to the casino at the Tropicana, where we were staying. Thankfully this time my sis and I had a separate room. My grandpa Zeke also retired early, and my other grandparents were scheduled to arrive by car the next morning. We slept in and relaxed, quite gratefully, got up for the breakfast/lunch buffet, and met my grandparents and my sister. My grandma isn't a big fan of gambling or drinking, so she and I and my sis went out to do some sightseeing. We went to the Shark Reef Aquarium at Mandalay Bay, which was lovely and very calming, and full of small children in costume, since it was Halloween. Next stop was Circus Circus, at my grandma's request. Most of the stuff there was kid-oriented, and not to our tastes, though we did get to see the acrobats. That night for dinner we had a delicious meal in honor of my parents' 25th and my grandparents' 50th wedding anniversaries. We went to the Japanese steak house at the hotel, called Mizuno's, which is a Japanese hibachi-style grill. I was the only one who knew the etiquette and words for a Japanese meal, and who ate the meal only with chopsticks (note to self, learn how to make miso soup), and the filet mignon I had was delicious, so tender I could probably have not chewed it, it almost melted in my mouth. Again, I opted to stay in and relax that evening, playing my DS and listening to my iPod. Apparently I missed out on karaoke and a Halloween costume contest, but I wasn't terribly bothered. Next day, much to my delight, dad informed me that we were going to the drag races, which I'd been looking forward to. We had killer seats thanks to grandpa's cousin Chris, and for that race two of my favorite racers, Cruz and Tony Pedregon, did very well. Cruz won his second in a row race, which puts him in first place for points for this season with one race to go. We were all getting a bit tired by that night, I think, and tempers were running high. Dinner was very stressful, my grandparents wanted to eat early but no one was back on time, everyone was going off without telling anyone else, and my grandpa Zeke's obnoxious cousin June was in full form, loud, bossy, and just generally annoying. That evening, after we'd calmed down, we decided to see the Cirque du Soleil show Beatles Love, which my mom in particular had been looking forward to. That was really the highlight of my trip, as I'd never seen a Cirque performance. The staging was amazing, especially for being in the round, though I suppose an acrobatic show of that caliber is better performed in the round. I was enthralled through the entire show. The music was great too (I've been a Beatles fan since I was quite young, thanks to my mom) and all the acrobatics were just unbelievable. My only issue was that I was sitting next to June, and she had the gall to take a flash picture in the middle of the show, despite the warnings about photography. That really did make me angry, since as well as it being incredibly rude, it's dangerous to the performers because the flash could cause an accident in their stunts. Being the theatre geek I was, I was so embarassed to be sitting beside her when the usher came to tell her to put the damn camera away. Also because of my knowledge of theatre, I was amazed by the level of tech in the show. Of course it's a large professional production, but it was flawless, and though I knew how most of it was done, that didn't stop the magic from overwhelming me. I had a great time shopping afterward too, at the shop, and there were many other things I could have walked out of there with if I'd had the funds. I had a great time shopping on this trip too, bought some fun things for myself as well as a few Christmas presents...not saying what here, since some people read this blog, but some of the stuff I got for myself included a Beatles Help! t-shirt, some racing stuff, and a Nintendo Monopoly set to add to my collection. I wanted the Beatles Monopoly set as well, but couldn't afford them both, and I'd seen the Beatles one elsewhere, whereas I'd never seen the Nintendo one before. We were out late that night, at any rate, and we had a kind of early flight the next morning, so we went straight to bed. Next morning, thanks to the time change, we were rudely awoken an hour too early by my grandpa, who had forgotten to change his watch and was panicked that we'd be late. We got to the airport three hours early, checked in, and found our gate, then settled down to wait. My grandparents tend to panic about traveling by air, which is why we got there so early, but I got very frustrated by all their fussing. Then, to add to the fun, our flight was delayed by almost an hour and a half, so we got to sit at the crowded gate for even longer. *sigh* Oh well, I can't really blame them, they don't travel by plane as often as I do, and quite frankly, I don't worry anymore about anything that isn't an international flight, just because those are the real meaning of complicated. A short flight to Vegas is cake. Anyway, after followed a sleepy drive home from the airport, and that more or less concluded my weekend.

Looking Forward to Traveling with Grandpa Again

We're flying out tomorrow for Las Vegas to celebrate a joint anniversary: my parents have been married for 25 years as of September 10th and my paternal grandparents will have been married 50 years as of November 22nd. It should be a lot of fun traveling with more than my parents and sister. I'm not a big drinker and only mildly interested in gambling, which are the two things my dad and sis are really into. I'd rather see things, like the shows. Last time we went, the most fun I had aside from the drag races, which are fun no matter what, was seeing the Tournament of Kings, which is a staged joust at the Excalibur. I'm enough of a dork to enjoy watching the staging as much as the actual show, just because I know a lot about technical theatre. Anyway, this weekend my other grandpa is also joining us, and he was the one I traveled to Europe with, and we had so much fun together. I'm looking forward to traveling with him again, since he's willing to indulge me in what I like to see and is also more interested in the same things I am. He doesn't drink anything but wine anymore, and that only a glass with a meal once in a while, and he'll do only a little gambling. On top of that, he and I worked hard at wrapping a lot of change at his house the last two weekends. He and my grandma had been putting aside cans and jars and whatnot of change for several years, and I agreed to help wrap it. We filled 3 folders of the state quarters, still working on the Philadephia mints, since we have the full Denver mints, and set aside all sorts of rare coins like bicentennial quarters and silver dollars and whatnot. Aside from that we wrapped $545 in quarters, nickels, and dimes. Grandpa said he'd divide that up as spending money between me, my sister, and him, which is also nice. I'm looking forward to going, and I hope we get to see Cirque du Soleil or some other fun show. Not sure about the craziness of Halloween, and we're still not sure if we're going to the races either, but we'll see. All in all should be a very interesting weekend. I'll post pictures and give a rundown when I get back on Sunday.

Weekend in Colorado Springs

My weekend in C. Springs was quite enjoyable, though I had my issues with some of the things that happened there. I went up with my friend Cole, who I've been quite close to for many years. We get along well, but our interests and temperaments are very different. If we spend more than a day or two together I find myself growing weary of his company because he's very extroverted, and I'm very introverted. He loves to be surrounded by a crowd and have an audience for his antics, and he doesn't always understand that I want to be left alone or spend time with people one on one Also, I missed out on some of the church-related things I would have liked to do because he doesn't have any interest in such a thing. On that same note, I didn't get to spend as much time with some of my friends from that venue because he was driving and he doesn't know these people almost at all. Next time I go I'd like to go alone.

Nonetheless, I did have a great time. Our hotel room was nice, and we got to spend a good time with Sami and Brian, and also Ella. We went out to eat probably more than we should, and I spent an exorbitant amount of money. I went to the bookstore, bought some things from my school bookstore, and found some nice things in All Things Catholic, a little shop I really do like. I also got a jump on my Christmas shopping, which is another thing I'm very happy about. I got to spend some time with Valerie at her new place, and it makes me happy that she's settling in and has Lisa and Aaron and Lena around to look after her while she's going through such a difficult time. I wish I would have been able to see some others though, mostly my friends from school or church, like Beth and Patrick, Philip, and Carl. Next time I have any time off I would like to take a three day weekend so that I can stay and go to Mass with them. In the meantime...Go CC Tigers!!!!!