elfy_smurfy85's Xanga

Where did summer go?!?!?

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 17:05:57 GMT

Holy crap, where did summer go?!? I can't believe it's already the end of August!!

Anyhow, so YES, I WILL be looking for a job shortly. My body still runs on a school schedule, so as soon as it starts closing in on September, I start getting antsy for getting back into the swing of everything, and now that I'm done school for good, that means a job comes next lol.

So anyway... My summer hasn't been terribly eventful... Since my last post I basically... watched a ton of tv... hung out with Wes and some of our friends... watched some more tv... shopped... tv... and yea... like I said, nothing eventful... Though speaking of tv, this summer I got into USA's "In Plain Sight" and A&E's "The Cleaner". Both are pretty good. I just finished watching the season finale of In Plain Sight again. It was a really good show. I can't wait for it to come back next summer. The Cleaner is only on the 4th episode, but it's interesting. I'm excited for CSI (Las Vegas), CSI: Miami, and CSI: NY, NCIS, Heroes, House and Bones to all come back in September and October!

Hmm, other than that, we finally took my St Bernard, Meghan, to the vet to see about getting that lump on her head removed. It turned out to be a cyst and won't be too hard to remove. But unfortunately they ended up doing a ton of other tests which cost a fortune. Then she turned out to have intestinal worms and a urinary tract infection, and the medicine was SOO freaking expensive!! It was ridiculous! So we're going to have to hold off on getting the lump removed for now until she's off the medicine for 1 week, and also until my mom finishes paying off the credit card...

Oh, and Wes and I will start working on wedding planning soon. As soon as we set a date, I promise I'll let everyone know, since everyone keeps bugging us, lol!!

Alrighty, well that's all! I'll write more at some point or another!

I am still standing my ground as Queen Procrastinator

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 20:28:22 GMT

So yea, I graduated over a month ago and I haven't even begun to look for a job yet... I just want to enjoy my summer a little bit. I'll be working the net 40-something years of my life and will never have more than 2 or 3 weeks vacation again, so I'm really not in a rush to jump into the working world... While I need money, and healthcare, and life insurance and stuff, I just can't bring myself to work on my resume or anything. I have no motivation... I have a resume more or less made up on HotJobs already, so I really just need to copy and paste the relevant stuff... I'll update you guys on the job status when something changes, lol!

Other than that... Hmm... What else has happened in the last month?

May 19 - Season Finale of House... Sad... I already can't wait for next season....

May 20 - Season Finale of NCIS... A series of very unexpected twists. Can't wait to see what next season brings...

May 21 - Me and Wes's FOUR YEAR anniversary!!! Yaaay!! It's hard to believe it's been 4 years! It seems like forever and no time at all at the same time. But I was still excited!

Also May 21 - Got my first traffic ticket Apparently coming down this one street near my mall, there's an "All Traffic Must Turn Right" sign that I didn't even see. I thought I could go straight and of course there was a cop right there as I did it... The ONE day it couldn't just be some asshole in an SUV that would blow his horn at me and go on with life... So I got a $108 ticket!!! The fine itself was only $25, so I can't complain so much, but then there was all this other crap tax stuff (E.M.S., MCARE, J.C.P., etc - to fund emergency medical care, judicial costs, etc) which is what really brought up the cost. I still feel like such an idiot... Anyway, I finally decided to plead Not Guilty and plead my case to the judge and PRAY that I can at least talk myself out of getting the points on my driving record. Since it's still within my first 6 months of driving, that will raise my rates so much... I'm really scared though...

May 23 - A very sad day... My college roommate's mother passed away... It was very sad and very unexpected... It's hard to believe it's been a month as of today though.... RIP Mrs. Malkin!

May 24 - My friend Christine got married! We were a little late for the wedding ceremony and ended up sitting on the wrong side though, but it was still a beautiful ceremony and the reception was so nice! I'm so happy for her!

May 25 - Mrs. Malkin's funeral :'(

May 27-30 - Vacation with Wes!!!! We went to Niagara Falls!! It was so much fun! I posted a ton of pictures on MySpace if you want to look at them. Facebook was giving me problems so I never did finish uploading them on there. It was a long drive and ended up being a little chilly, but it was still wonderful. He had never left the country before, so it was a good experience for him, and it was fun for me to take him to all the cool places (Maid of the Mist, Journey Behind the Falls, Clifton Hill, etc). American currency has really lost it's value though. Everything used to be so much cheaper in American, now it's MORE if you use American money. That sucked... It was still so nice though...

June 1 - My St Bernard, Meghan's, birthday! She's getting so old! She turned 7, I think. She's finally gaining some weight and not throwing up as much anymore, which is good. She's doing a lot better. [My cocker Spaniel, Andy's, birthday is June 30, he'll be 11. My cat, George's, birthday is July 1, he'll be 16!]

June 5 - Wes and I decided to start working on eating healthier and getting back in shape. So we signed up with Bally Total Fitness. They really worked with us on the price, so we're only paying $30 each per month, which was at least $10-$20 cheaper than the other gyms in the area (YMCA, LA Fitness, etc). We're doing really good. We've hardly gone out to eat at all in the last 3 weeks, and we're making healthier choices. We've both already lost 4 or 5 lbs! We have one meeting with a personal trainer, but then he ended up resigning. We're just doing our own thing for now, and it's working out fine... After 3 years, the price drops to $22 each. If we recommend Bally to anyone and they sign up for a membership, we get a full year for free! So if you're interested, let me know!

June 15 - Father's Day... RIP Dad

June 21 - First day of summer! Yay!

June 22 - Party for Wes's grandmother's birthday. The baby (born last Christmas) is getting so big, he's adorable. Wes's godson is so into Pokemon now! I had a lot of fun playing with the kids, but they wore me out!

So yea, I think that's all for now to fill you in on my life... Well, if anyone reads this anyway... I doubt anyone does, it will just be interested to come back and read someday in the future!...

Have a fun, happy, and safe summer everyone!

I am officially a college graduate!!

Mon, 19 May 2008 17:10:30 GMT

Here's the latest update on my life...

I officially graduated college yesterday (5/18)!! I got my Bachelor's Degree after 4 long years! lol. I graduated Magna Cum Laude for having between a 3.5 and 3.85 GPA (I had a 3.81). And I got to wear honors cords for both History and Education. I was also formally inducted into the Society of Jacob Albright Scholars as a lifetime member on Saturday 5/17. So I think I did pretty well for myself lol.

Now I just need to find a job. Though I don't even have my resume together yet...

Oh well, I'm off the Sears to get my grad pictures retaken... The ones the professional photographers took in November or whatever weren't very good, plus they didn't even have the hood or my honors cords for them.

So I'll write more later.

Wow! "Fucked up" doesn't even BEGIN to explain this one!

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 22:50:17 GMT

"Police: Dad confesses to holding daughter captive 24 years"
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2004378437_webcaptive28.html?syndication=rss
By Veronika Oleksyn and William J. Kole, Associated Press

The abridged version of the story:

AMSTETTEN, Austria - A man has confessed to imprisoning his daughter for 24 years in windowless cell with a soundproofed door and fathering seven children with her, police said Monday.

...
The daughter, who is now 42, had been missing since 1984 and was found by police in the town of Amstetten on Saturday evening after police received a tip.

Police on Monday released several photos showing parts of the cramped basement cell, with a small bathroom and a narrow passageway leading to a tiny bedroom. Investigators said an electronic keyless-entry system apparently kept the daughter from escaping from the cell, which was made of solid reinforced concrete.

...
"He admitted that he locked his daughter, who was 18 at the time, in the cellar, that he repeatedly had sex with her, and that he is the father of her seven children," Polzer told The Associated Press.
...
Hans-Heinz Lenze, a senior local official, said the suspect's wife apparently had "no idea" of what went on and was devastated. "You have to imagine that this woman's world fell apart," he said.
...
Police said Elisabeth F. appeared "greatly disturbed" during questioning. She agreed to talk only after authorities assured her she would no longer have to have contact with her father and that her children would be cared for.

On Sunday evening, police said investigators had found the area where Elisabeth and three of the children were held captive.

Investigators said the rooms were at most 5 feet 6 inches feet high. The area had a TV and small hot plates for cooking.

In a chronology of events outlined in a police statement, authorities said Elisabeth F. told them her father began sexually abusing her when she was 11. She told police that some years later in 1984, he sedated her, handcuffed her and locked her in the cellar.

Police said a letter written by Elisabeth had apparently surfaced a month after her disappearance, asking her parents not to search for her.
...

Full version here:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2004378437_webcaptive28.html?syndication=rss

My opinion:

I can't even believe this happened! If there was ever a guy that "deserved" the death penalty, it would have to be him. (Austria outlawed the death penalty in 1950 though)... I mean, locking up your own daughter in a basement and telling everyone she ran away, then sexually abusing and raping her for 24 YEARS, yes YEARS, and making her carry SEVEN of your children, is just... I don't know... There's not even a word to describe how utterly messed up that is......

Keep this poor woman in your thoughts and/or prayers...

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

The latest development is even MORE fucked up!

"Police: Austrian kids locked in basement, never saw sunlight"
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/austria_captive_daughter
By Veronika Oleksyn and William J. Kole, Associated Press

Fritzl was placed in pretrial detention and faces up to 15 years in prison if charged, tried and convicted on rape charges, the most grave of his alleged offenses under Austrian law.

(There are a couple news clips you can watch in the top left-hand side of the article page too.)

Are you f**king KIDDING ME????? He imprisoned and repeatedly raped his own daughter for 24 YEARS and the bastard MIGHT only get 15 years himself?????????? What logic is there in that?!?!?!? And why is rape even the "most grave" charge??? He kidnapped, isolated, and trapped his own daughter!!! Doesn't any of that account for jail time??? They keep saying it's one of the most heinous crimes in Austria, yet he faces UP TO 15 years????

I say HE should be locked up in a cramped, windowless jail cell until he dies... See how HE likes it.

I am NEVER going to Austria...

Senioritis

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 15:03:32 GMT

Graduation is getting closer!!!! I have Senioritis like you wouldn't believe!!

Some countdowns as of right now:
31 days (746 hours)
8 assignments
10 Islamic History classes
6 Women in Latin America classes
4 Art History classes
33 Albright meals

As you can tell, I am procrastinating my work a little more. I just CAN'T get anything done any more!! I am just so burnt out. I don't have the motivation for anything! After being in school almost 17 consecutive years - I NEED A BREAK!

V-day

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 03:11:37 GMT

Wow, I haven't updated in forever!!!

I should definitely be doing homework now though, I have two things due tomorrow... I just CAN'T get into the swing of things this semester. It's my last semester and I am just so burnt out. I don't want to do ANYTHING. I really need to stop procrastinating so much. I basically have less than 12 hrs to write a 3-4 page essay and four 1-pg (each) journal entries on chapters I didn't read... This sucks. And I need to sleep in between... Ugh. Thank God it's almost Friday.

But anyway, so yea, my Valentine's Day kinda sucked. Hope everyone else had a good day though. It was basically just an average day... I got 1 text message, 1 IM, 2 Myspace comments, and my sister sent me a spoon on Facebook (because she's random like that, lol)...

Hmm... What else has happened since Christmas.........

Nothing worthwhile that I can think of right now...

Oh well, I just wanted to procrastinate on my homework a little more. I guess I'll try to work now. Night!

Thursday, December 27, 2007

Thu, 27 Dec 2007 00:39:05 GMT

I guess Christmas didn't end up being so bad after all... I still didn't get to enjoy it the way I was hoping to though...

Whole lot of driving around though! lol! I barely stayed in the same place more than a couple hours the whole day... I spent the night at Wes's house. We exchanged our gifts at like, 1:00 in the morning on Christmas day. We went to his parents' by 8:30 to eat breakfast and for him to open his presents there. I got a t-shirt and an oil incense thing (Mulberry) from his family. After that, we came back to my mom's house for muffins and for me to open my presents. After that, we headed to our friends' house, to see the whole Hignett family. I got to see John's son, Maddox, for the first time since he was a couple months old (he's 3 now). I also got to see Joe and Tiff's sons, Joey and Joshua. Joshua is 8 months old now, I haven't seen him since he was about 1 or 2 months. He was adorable though! All smiles! Then after we left there, I went to my sister's boyfriend's house to see his family. Then I headed back home with mom and Jen to eat our dinner. Then went to Wes's grandparents' house for dessert and to see his family (most of which I had seen Christmas Eve too). Then went back to Wes's, back home, and then back to Wes's again lol. So it was a pretty exhausting day!

And now, as customary, I shall share with you all my gifts lol. I think I got everything, if not, I'll add it later.

From Wes:
-A custom license plate for the front of my car. It has a white and red background with "Shortie" written in dark blue cursive.
-Two silver chains because my last chain broke.
-Black slippers with cats on them that say "purrrfect pair".
-Pirates of the Caribbean 3

From Maria, Alex, and Alberto:
-Fuzzy socks
-A porcelain box from Puerto Rico with a gold necklace and bracelet in it
-A two-pack of pajama pants
-Stationary kit

From the Crossmans:
-A notepad and photo frame
-A porcelain jewelry box
-Nail polish
-Socks

From Jen:
-A "Nine West" pocketbook from Macy's (where she works), that's a lot bigger than my old one
-A black wool coat
-A nailcare kit made with dead sea products (lotion, 3-step emery board, cuticle oil, etc), that actually works REALLY well!
-Leather gloves (for driving)

From my mom:
-Photo frame pencil holder
-Cigarette lighter operated light
-A battery charger for my car
-A shovel
-A light and panic alarm keychain
-Aeropostale sweatpants and t-shirt
-Sun magazine (a funny supermarket tabloid paper)
-A CSI computer game
-A CSI board game
-Windshield de-icer spray
-Day-by-day cat calendar
-Make up remover
-Cigarette lighter powered vaccuum
-Emery boards
-Sunsilk De-Frizz shampoo and conditioner
-Socks
-Gloves

Oh yea! And Wes's aunt had her baby on Christmas morning! So he has a little Christmas cousin now! Brendan William. 22 inches long, 9 lbs 2 oz (big ol baby)! Can't wait to meet him!

Hope everyone had a good Christmas and got good presents... Unless you don't celebrate Christmas, in which case, I hope you had a good Tuesday

Monday, December 24, 2007

Mon, 24 Dec 2007 15:46:56 GMT

Well, another Christmas going to suck...

It's tomorrow and the house STILL isn't clean and looks like shit. I did what I could and the rest was up to everyone else cuz it was their crap, but of course, no one did anything.

And mom is still yelling about everything under the sun. So that doesn't help the Christmas spirit.

So once again, I ended up setting up the tree (by myself), decorating it (by myself), decorating at least some of the house (by myself), cleaned (by myself)... Isn't Christmas supposed to be a family holiday? The tree and windows look pretty nice if I can say so myself though... I just wish someone would at least appreciate it...

And the major buzz kill, as always, is people in general. I absolutely, positively, HATE people's "fuck you, it's mine" attitude around Christmas. Isn't Christmas supposed to bring out the "goodwill" in people? Because it never does. Whether it's toys, shopping carts, parking spaces, whatever, people would rather kill one another over it than just let someone else have it, especially if the other person was there first. Christmas brings out the absolute WORST in people, and it's ridiculous.

I was actually complaining about it the other day, and I think I have a possible solution... I proposed that we, as a country, CANCEL Christmas (as a cultural, consumer holiday, it can stay a religious one) for like, 5 years until everyone can get their act together and remember how to act like decent human beings. That means NO gift-giving, NO sales, NO stores open extra hours, December will be just a regular old month with regular old days. However, I know it won't work. People will STILL have that "fuck this, MY child is more important" attitude and still forget the whole point... Sigh...

I think next year I'm going to find someplace that doesn't celebrate Christmas and go there. I hate this shit...

Revelation

Tue, 18 Dec 2007 22:16:44 GMT

Ok, so I have wanted to be a teacher since like, 5th grade. But now that I'm a senior, as I got closer and closer to student teaching, I realized that I just couldn't do it.

The idea of student teaching absolutely terrified me and I just was NOT as mentally ready for it as I thought I was. It hit me like a tidal wave or something on Sunday night, and I just had this "revelation" of sorts that I just wasn't as drawn to it anymore as I once was. I realized my heart just wasn't in the right place and I couldn't go through with it.

After a lot of thought, talking, debate, and tears, I finally went all the way back to Albright to talk to my education advisor. He assured me that it's ok to back out now. Better to realize it now than 2 months from now when I'm halfway though and miserable.

He made a very good point though - Very few decisions in life are irreversible. And he's right. I can always come back to teaching later in life if/when I feel more up to it. But as for now, I just felt I couldn't commit to it if I knew I wasn't going to be happy...

So yea... That's my life as of now. Everything has just gone on a long, wacky roller coaster and I have no idea what I want to do with my life, but I just know that it's not teaching at this moment... Everyone is shocked, myself included. But I am actually incredibly relieved with my decision. (And for anyone who was wondering, my first placement was at Brandywine Heights High School in Topton, PA. It was over a half hour drive each way, everyday, and is apparently almost undriveable in the snow...)

For now, I am going to go back to Albright for next semester, take 3-4 classes, enjoy my senior year, graduate in May, and we'll see where it goes from there........

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

As for everything else going on right now...

--I love my new car. It's great. It's a cute little gold Mazda Protege. Everything is great with it so far and I'm really happy with it.

--I'm not ready for Christmas at all. I actually really wanted to enjoy it this year. It feels like it's been forever since I've had a good, fun, happy Christmas. It's a week away and we don't have a SINGLE decoration up. And we haven't even cleaned up the slightest bit. I think I'm going to do that now...

--I decided I'm not going back to take an interim course this year, so I'm home until January 21st now. I promise I will catch up with all of my friends that I haven't see in forever. Especially now that I have my own transportation.

Ok. That's all for now. Hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season, regardless of what holiday you celebrate.

Tuesday, December 04, 2007

Tue, 04 Dec 2007 04:41:46 GMT

I officially have my license, a car AND insurance!! Go me!!

This is what the course looked like by the way:
http://s8.photobucket.com/albums/a39/shortie_elf/?action=view&current=drivingcourse.jpg

So, I got my drivers license on Friday (2nd try). On my birthday too! So it was a very good birthday. (I also got an emergency kit for my car, an ice scraper/brush, digital photo frame, a "Somebody loves me at Penn State" coffee mug from my sis, and a couple other things).

I went out looking at cars on Saturday, even though I didn't really get to see that many. This car was the only one I really looked at that closely, started it, went on a test drive, etc. It seemed like a really good car, I liked it a lot, and I decided to just go for it.

I skipped my first class on Monday so I could go to dealer when they opened. I wanted to get it before anyone else did (there were other people interested in the car). That took almost 2 hours. Then we went to the insurance agent to sign everything. I decided to go with State Farm. For a new driver, with no experience, they are actually only charging me $104 a month! I was really surprised! And that's for a good amount of coverage, not just straight liability or anything! That's over $200 a year cheaper than it was to add myself to my mom's policy. And it's nearly half what I was expecting to pay! ...So if anyone is looking for insurance, I really suggest State Farm. They do everything they can to get you good rates and discounts.

So by 1:00pm, I was officially a licensed, insured, car-owner!

Unfortunately, I don't get to even drive it until after finals in 2 weeks... I wasn't allowed to test drive it or anything since I didn't have any insurance. We gave $1,000 deposit today, and my mom is going to take the balance over to the dealer on Friday when she picks up the car and drives it home for me. (Or Wes might drive it home for me, I'm not sure yet). So I OWN the car, but it's still at the dealer for now until they put on a license plate and everything for me.

Ok, so the details about my car, for anyone that's interested:

1998 Mazda Protege LX/ES
4-door, power locks, power windows, keyless entry, moonroof, cruise control, CD and cassette player, etc. I ended up with even more features than I planned on, which is exciting. Plus is has BRAND new inspection and tires. It's gold/beige, which isn't my first choice for a car color, but I can live with it. It's really clean too and in really good shape. It has a little under 86,000 miles on it, which is a little higher than I had hoped, but for a Mazda, that's still pretty good. Foreign cars can easily get 130,000 miles as long as it's taken care of (change the oil, etc). One of my boss's got over 200,000 miles out of her old Mazda.

The car was $3,699, and after taxes, titles, registration fees, and all that crap, it was only $4091! Not bad!

So yea, I'm really excited!!!

Picture: