Rest.

This poor little laptop of mine has had a rough couple weeks.  It freaked out, which resulted in a format... it hasn't been that stressful this time around as I'm now more than used to the whole process.  I also had plenty of time to back things up.  Blah.  Now it's tired and hot...and sitting here, still on... because I'm updating all the crap that needs updating: service packs and whatnot.  It really wants to be shut down to rest.

My classes are over now... Somehow I managed to pass that religion class (shocking, as I had no interest in participating)... and I got an A in my the computer class.  Despite the A, I don't think I learned much.  I emailed the Cisco teacher a bit ago to ask whether or not my knowledge of computers is adequate for the courses or if it'd be wise for me to take some more background classes first.  I hope the teacher is honest.  As of right now, I can get into a basic networking class and a web design class, if I add them now, and drop both Cisco classes.  I guess I also hope that the Cisco teacher gets back to me while I can still back out and have something to fall back on :)  It's sooooo nice to know that I won't have to participate in any discussions again until August, though.  Now I can just focus on the depressing task of job hunting.  That's going just as well as ever.  At least the librarian in Tombstone responded to my email, though... usually I just get ignored when I email people directly to ask for jobs.  That's probably not the best way to do things, but that's what it's come to now...

Maybe I'll write on a piece of cardboard and go sit by Safeway while Oliver's at his dad's... "Will work for reasonable pay and within the fair labor standards set forth by the state and federal labor laws...Legal jobs only.  Would like benefits, 401k, vacation time, sick/family time, and tuition reimbursement."  I'd need a big piece of cardboard.

For the next couple days, I'm going to rest and read things I want to read.

Speaking of rest... my sweet chocolate-covered Oliver is asleep on the couch behind me.  He's so cute :)  I'll have to wake him up in 8 minutes though... I don't like it when he sleeps past 5.  Then he can come outside and help me water all the plants.  There'll be a little fit when that's done and it's time to come inside...because he never, ever wants to come inside.

It's been a...tiring...couple days.  I've been doing Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred, and it's only taken 3 times for
me to get used to it. Apart from not liking Jillian, I have to agree with all the people who complained of knee pain after doing these workouts.  After the first workout, I genuinely felt as though I'd had my ass handed to me.  I walked like an old lady for a day.  Luckily, that only happened once.  So far.  Right now the only thing that hurts is my knees.  Jillian says "buddy" too much... she also says "phone it in" too much.  There's a lot more focus on the upper body than anywhere else.  I don't really have too many issues with my arms/shoulders and have quite a few issues with everything else...lol...so I think I'd benefit from a bit more focus on...those areas.  So much of the talking on this DVD is completely unnecessary and, honestly, annoying.  The pain I felt the day after the first workout is the only thing that's keeping me going.  I'll make it the 30 days, and if there's some kind of noticeable difference, I'll try out some other Jillian workouts.  I want to try No More Trouble Zones, but my endurance level is so unbelievably low that I really think I'm best off sticking to just one thing for the time being.  I think when I do this workout tomorrow, I'll mute it and play some normal music.

So...yesterday was Game 7 for the Red Wings and the Sharks... I was beyond excited for the game... waited alllll day, and missed watching The Vampire Diaries finale when it aired just so that I could see the whole game.  And the Wings lost :(  I could have cried... but just moped around a bit and then went to bed.  I blame American Idol, because we all need to have our superstitions.  James sang Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" and was voted off the show... as any good hockey fan knows, that's the Red Wings anthem.  I also think Oliver should have watched the game with me...but he chose to jump on grandma's bed instead.  :|  I've decided to devote myself to the Canucks for the next series, only because I want them to completely destroy the Sharks.

I've never mentioned the hockey thing here, have I?  I had a friend in middle school/high school who was from Detroit... the only good thing that ever came from that friendship is my near-obsession with the Red Wings and hockey in general.  I've taught Oliver to chant "lets go Red Wings!" and it's adorable.

Also... I finished watching Lost...finally.  I'm not sure how I could have felt if I didn't know how it ended already.  Because I knew the ending all along, I think my interpretation of the show and expectations were very different than they would have been had I watched it blindly.  I've heard a lot of criticism about the last episode...criticism about the religiosity of it all... The thing is, it was very present throughout the entire show.  Typically, anything with an overtly religious theme is offensive to me...I stopped watching Glee after their religious episode.  I stuck it out with this, though... because it was cliffhanger after cliffhanger.  Regardless of whether or not I became attached to the characters, I really wanted to see what happened next... and how they got to the end that I knew was coming.  Sadly, I didn't really become too attached to anyone.  All the little scenes in the last episode of memories got to me, though.  And... I think the ending was right and that it came at the right time.  How else could it have ended??  It took a very long time to finish this series...but I'm glad I got through it.  Seasons 2 and 3 were so blah that I almost gave up.  :)

There was something else I wanted to talk about...

OH!  The Vampire Diaries... I finally got to it today.  Sadly, it wasn't as dramatic as I'd hoped.  The one death I'd been hoping for didn't happen.  There were reconciliations...which is nice in a season finale... but I guess I was expecting more of the unexpected from a show that typically keeps me on my toes.  At least there are plenty of things to wonder about for next season :)

ANYWAY... Oliver woke up on his own, right on time.  He's now sitting on my lap watching my type this.  Blogging is probably pretty boring for a 2-year-old, so I think we'll go tend to the garden and then make some stir fry.  :)

A day of realizations...

This morning, while laying half awake, I watched an old Looney Toons episode.  Watching it relieved me of one of my main sources of mom guilt - the fact that Oliver likes Family Guy.  He mostly likes it for the theme song, but has watched more than a few minutes of many, many episodes.  Now I don't feel bad about it anymore.  In this morning's Looney Toons, Bugs Bunny got high... and most of the characters died violent deaths more than a few times.  Apparently, that's the kind of programming I grew up with... and to the best of my knowledge, I'm not a serial killer.  Family Guy (with the possible exception of that episode where Stewie uses a blow torch on Brian) is pretty tame in comparison... So yeah, there's one lesson learned...and one bit of mom guilt gone.

I went on to feel super accomplished!  This morning I finished my presentation and took a final in my religion class.  I'm as good as done...just have to go comment some more :)  It'll be so nice when I never have to set virtual foot in that class again.

Then, after feeling that great sense of accomplishment, I decided I'd reward myself with a shower...and then I'd make some cupcakes (which would also serve as a reward).  I got myself together and went to shower... was about to step into the shower...grabbed the shower curtain... and then, right at eye-level, was a huge spider.  Evidently, it does not matter how many times you yell, "fuck!!!" while jumping around a bathroom naked...that alone will not kill a spider.  If only profanity were deadly to arachnids.  I got my clothes back on and found the only thing under the sink that I thought might have the power to kill...oven cleaner.  It took a LOT of oven cleaner... and a lot more yelling of profanities and hopping around.  Eventually, 20 minutes later, the spider's corpse dropped from the shower curtain.  I then smashed until no parts were recognizable.  Now, as I am one of those people with a very solid irrational fear when it comes to spiders (arachnophobia is not a strong enough word for what I have), I am convinced that spiders have very large, very vengeful families.  As a result, I won't be showering today.  I might not pee, either.

And, after that fiasco... particularly the being naked and trying to make an escape... I've decided that cupcakes are probably not in my best interest.  Unless I really want to reward myself with additional fat, that is.  I'm considering an air and water diet.  If I get any fatter, I'll be deserving of my own zip code.  And the real bitch of all this is, no matter how much I want to work out...the fact that I'd need a shower after and am currently afraid of my bathroom is sort of winning.

I guess it's time to finish season 5 of Lost...