Getting used to my new place

I have a very visual memory, where I need to see things in order to remember them. This makes navigating a new town very difficult because I have so few points of reference. The stuff I'm excited about is very silly to most people who live in civilization, but apparently I haven't been there for a year.
Stores that make my life happy in Washington: Loaves and Fishes (a health food store that has bulk foods, including TVP) Toadly Frogs (a frog collectors store- this town was made for me!) The Fudge Shoppe (need I say more) The Goodwill ( nice, $4 jeans) Used Furniture Store I can't remember the name of (high quality, gently used furniture, I'm getting another desk there later). There are lots of other cool shops that I haven't visited yet-but I've been told organic, fair trade coffee is in abundance.
I also really liking my apartment. My room is square, my previous room in Troy was this long rectangle, that really didn't fit right. Because of the size of my new room, furniture fits better and it is definitely more cozy. My desk in the room is an old teacher's desk from the city of St. Louis. It still has the metal I.D. tag on the side. It's nice and big for projects and has a nice deep red finish which I like. It's got all "my stuff" on it: my porcelain dolls, favorite debate trophies, diplomas, gifts from friends and stationary and cards. It really feels comfortable and more relaxing than the previous room.

Kitty update: I'm told by the landlord that he'd rather not let me have a cat. But, the people directly below me have a dog, and I know their are dogs in the other apartment buildings. The original plan was to get two kittens if he said yes. So, I figure I'll get one adult cat and name it after the landlord. If he finds out, surely he can't boot a kitty with his own name?!

Moved

I'm typing a little lamely, I gave blood today to get some good karma going. I forgot how much it wears me out. I'm moved, and the parents, sister and brother in law were a great help. Was able to load everything up in an hour and a half and unload about the same time. We were done by two, but we had to move furniture up the stairs, which drained everyone. My apartment is about the same price as my old one but I get a couple extra things: A garage with automatic opener, coat closet, pantry, storage area in the basement, laundry room in the basement, and a voice buzzer to see who's outside. The downside is that I will not have computer access until the 5th, so I've joined the library.
We also went to Merrimac caverns on Sunday. It was very cool, but a bit commercialized. All the stalagmites and stalactites were the same color, they are all made of calcium carbonate and the way the water flowed made it look like dripping snot. For the price $17, I don't think we'll be taking a field trip there for my Earth and Space Science class. I'm sure there are other caves that are less expensive and more authentic.
One of my old classmates is in the last throws of getting his masters degree in Geology, so I'm planning to have him talk to the class through web conference. Yea for technology, and here's hopping that I can figure out how to work it be fore the conference.

moving

I'm half way packed. But still have a lot to do tomorrow. I'll have to take apart my computer, and I may not have internet until August 6th. It looks like I'll have to get a library card to gt my daily internet fix. My parents, sister and brother-in-law are coming late Friday, so I've got to have everything packed by then. We'll move, and then hopefully do something fun as a family. I really want to go to a Cardinals game. An ex got me addicted, and now I follow them pretty reguraly. He also could get free tickets really easily, and that made it more affordable. There is something about the climate, the smell of beer and hot dogs, thousands of fans... I wanna go!

Anyways, wish me luck moving!

:)

I've got my masters degree. I'll have the diploma in August. Whew. What a relief. I'm done. It's weird because my main goal in life so far was to complete school. I've done it. And now my purpose is to be a teacher and enter into my adult life. It feels like a lot of evilness is behind me(adviser, some Troy experiences). Right now I'm in this transitory period though. I'm literally living in my old life, and will be moving to my new one on Saturday. I feel a lot of hope that I haven't felt in a long time, it's a good feeling. I'm excited and scared and incredibly happy. The move feels right, the town I become more and more impressed with each time I visit. I already have people I know there, and she said there were FOUR (!) young people bars. It's quite different from Troy and I'm happy about that.
I can see myself very happy/content in the future, and that is very promising.

Why Truman was a waste of money

I'm very angry. My portfolio is/was due on the 15th, a Tuesday. I drive up to Kirksville on Friday morning to make the final changes to my portfolio. Doc then looks it over and gives me a final edit. I do the final edition Saturday, burn it onto the required autorun CD and drive home. Total cost: $100 for gas, motel and food, not bad, but not cheap either. However, I get a call at 3 pm today from my adviser, saying that I need to do another revision. This is 16 hours away from the deadline. I drive up to Kirksville (3hrs) and find out that the edits he wants me to make are TYPOS THAT HE COULD HAVE CAUGHT ON FRIDAY! (It takes me twenty minutes to fit everything). So I'm out gas money and trying to decide if it would be safe to sleep in my car or semi-break in to one of the buildings at Truman so I don't have to pay for a motel again.
Driving home on Saturday was one of the most liberating things I've done. I was done with my education and I could just be what I set out to be, a teacher. Much car dancing and air punching ensued.
It was very frustrating to be told to come back. I was hoping to see the campus again next year, NOT the day after tomorrow.I'm behind on packing for the move this weekend and a goal that I thought was finished bounces back to be an even greater pain in the butt.
This guy is getting old, and his mistakes are passed on to his students to fix. Granted, I should have caught the typos, but he said it was his job to edit and catch everything.
I'm so angry, mad and frustrated. I'm deffinatly leaving Truman with a bad taste in my mouth. this is sad, because I was one of it's biggest advocates.

Fired

My life is very exciting right now, there are at least two events that I want to post about.
BUT
This masters degree project is killing me. I was so worried about it that Tuesday night I just didn't fall asleep. I ended up giving up at 5:30am, went to Caseys, got coffee and a doughnut and started doing laundry. The problem that keeps slowing me down is revisions. The deadline for the first self-booting/ autorun CD is tomorrow. However, this past week, my masters degree adviser would wait FOUR days before editing the newest edition. He has land and will only have large amounts of time to work on it "when the weather is bad and I can't work outside. " It seems to me that his primary profession is being my adviser. I'm paying tuition this summer for him to help me get this completed. I think in the final days to the due date, I should be a higher priority that his sheep!

Right now the document is 115 pages, not including some of the supporting evidence I had to create. To make the auto-run CD I have to drive to Truman, burn it, submit it to him. Then he'll check it out to make sure there aren't any more revisions. If there are, I have to make corrections and re-burn it. So I have to go to Truman, when the library is open and when he's willing to take time to look at it. There's not a whole lot of time between now and Friday(7hrs), and I'm waiting..... GAH!

Woot!

July is one busy month.
This weekend: 4th of July and Parties
Next Friday: MAE portfolio is due-I'm done with my edumacation! Yea!
19-20th, Moving weekend, with parents, sister and her hubby
25-27 Maybe going to Omaha to see some Creighton Friends
Last week of July! I'm either going to get two kittens or two adult cats. I've never had cats before, so I kinda want to get kittens, but fewer people want to adopt older cats, so I'd be giving them a second lease on life. What to do?!
First week of August: I graduate (sort of!) Truman doesn't have a ceremony in August, and I'm sure as hell not going back their in December.

Crazy, but eventful and fun.... now if I can just get my masters' degree adviser to respond to my emails. :(