Civic-minded

It's bad manners to discuss politics or religion, because someone is bound to be offended. That being said, it's my blog and you certainly don't have to read it (but this will likely be my first & only post).

I'm so disappointed with the candidates that I'm thinking of not voting at all. And I'm certainly not participating in the primaries, because I want to avoid the junk mail and phone calls - I only have a cell phone, and I'm not paying for that.

By the way, People for Barak Obama, thanks for interrupting me at work and during class to call me four times in one day.

I will never, ever vote for Hillary Clinton or Barak Obama. I'm hoping that neither win; I can't imagine anything worse for the country. And I'm even more angry that the news focuses all of their attention and energy on them, and their petty little minority rivalry. Maybe if the news put forth just a tiny bit of effort on other candidates, you (yes you) and I could perhaps find someone who won't make us feel like we're voting for the least bad option. I would gamble that people would get involved, and excited, about the electoral process, if there were such candidates.

In a separate note, Andy and I had the following conversation a few days ago:

Me: "Hooray! I'm gonna get $300 from the government for freeeee!"
Andy: "What do you think about that?"
Me: ...

On one hand, I like getting rebates. Anything helps. And I like when people give me money just based on my general awesomeness. The Federal Reserve cutting interest rates will get us an affordable house very soon. But, I'll qualify: I've been studying business, finance, markets, etc. for the past 6 or 7 years, so I can pretend I know what I'm talking about. What the government is doing to the economy right now is just going to make it worse later. Tinkering with interest rates, I think, is just a way of making people feel like someone's looking out for them. Giving millions of people $300 or so is not going to ease a recession. And, this could hardly be called a recession, compared to developing countries! A free market has up and down cycles, and sometimes they're small, and sometimes they're big. But that means it's correcting, not that society is going down the drain.

I'm going to hop off my soapbox and crawl under a rock now.

Burnination

Thursday, I met up with a couple of my friends to work on a class project before class. It's only the third week of the semester, and we just got our first assignments recently, so you'd think I'd still be pretty on top of things. While we were discussing, though, I realized that I was very, very, not on top of anything. And, I was too overwhelmed to worry over it.

Yesterday, I went on an impromptu girls night out, and I was ready for bed around eight. We were having a good time, running around Payless ... but it seemed like after work, the whole week had caught up to me. Who doesn't go out on a Friday night??

That is so not me. I'm on top of things, in control, and a champion worrier.

I've been a full time graduate student for about two years, and a full time employee for about four years. I have major things going on in both - big changes at work in the next two months, and virtually completing one of my classes at the same time. So from 7 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., I'm working on these things. And that doesn't even include the wedding I'm supposed to be planning, a mere 14 months away! I've witnessed that, in itself, make any sane, put-together woman's brain melt.

Honestly, the work stuff will sort itself out, Japan will be fun, the wedding is actually under control, and in May I'll only need to take four more classes spread over two semesters. In four months everything will be so different! And hopefully a lot calmer, because I'd like to hang out more with the friends I've made over the years here, some of which I haven't seen at all. And spend more time on family, getting and staying organized, cooking, and a lot of other things...

Big kudos to my similarly-situated friend whose blog I inadvertently ended up sympathizing with. ^.^

Treasure

You know how every once in a while, you'll find $1, $5, or even some change in a purse or pants pocket, and it makes your day? It's exciting even though it's not really "new" money?

I just found a Starbucks gift card in a wallet I haven't used in a while, with $6.60 still on it. And I've got that same feeling.

To do

There's always stuff to do. The current list:

• Sign up for the Disneyland half marathon, and hope that it isn't full yet. I need two more days for my new credit card cycle to start!
  
• Finish my taxes. I'm waiting on one form.
  
• Copy some photos. Really, who doesn't give you the digital copies any more?
• Visit Ikea. This is a multi-purpose trip: investigate their bowls, candles, frames, and shelves. I've heard Ikea is a wealth of wedding-related items at very good prices.
  
• Find $1. I bought two boxes of girl scout cookies (those lemon coolers really sold me), and I like to have the exact change in cash.
  
• Do my homework assignments: Globe reading, Globe assignment; Law reading; Spreadsheet homework assignment.
• 5k packet pickup and race!
  
• Sell/donate my clothes. I keep having this feeling that they're really expensive, I shouldn't just give them away, etc. But I keep forgetting that I always buy things on clearance, and that "expensive" shirt from Express or the Gap likely cost about $5.
• Decide which optional side trips to take in Japan.
• Use up the syrup from my failed Master Cleanse attempt and make maple syrup candy. Yes, replace a diet with candy.
  
• Go to the ATM.
  
• Unearth my desk.
• Clean up and organize the apartment: get rid of things I don't want any more, and organize things so they're easier to move!
  

Decompressing

It's 9:30 already and the past week or so has definitely been sneaking up on me.

Last weekend:

• Went to class on Saturday to make up for the school holiday on Monday. Because, of course, it's my class's fault that the university shuts down on Martin Luther King Day. The lecture was good but a lot of people didn't show up, traffic into the parking lot was awful (some awards at the Shrine auditorium were the next day), and the Starbucks was really slow (but hooray for skinny lattes!).
  
• On the way home, stopped by the Lakewood Center for the Bridal/Quinceanera expo. I'll just say ... it was more Quinceanera than bridal. I saw my friend and my Mary Kay stalker, bought some great pants on clearance from the Gap in a very happy size, came home, and napped.
• Started our wedding registry. I'm not even going to mention where we started them - we're a long way from ready for that.
  
• Made a shopping run and finished the 150 or so pages of reading for my Monday class.

This week (so far):

• Went to work & school Monday. The lecture was just not as good as Saturday, and the homework we were supposed to substantially complete that night wasn't going to happen because the databases we were to use weren't working. But, I got to come home early! Good thing, too, because we had to get everything off the carpet to have it steam cleaned, as the roof was leaking from all the rain. They also fixed our front door!
  
• Work & school again Tuesday. I don't regret taking this spreadsheet modeling class, but it sure is boring. There is also homework due in that class for next week! It'll be a busy weekend for me.
  
• Today, Wednesday, was my non-school night before Andy takes off. After work I ran at the gym for just 20 minutes (but straight), came home, worked out some group homework stuff, emptied and loaded the dishwasher, rearranged the entire kitchen/dining room area, put away quite a bit of the boxes and things we moved for carpet cleaning, rearranged the bedroom, did laundry, and fixed salmon and sauce for dinner.
  

This week (to come):

• Tomorrow is work & school, but I have to get there early to work on one of the group homework assignments. If professors don't want students to "divide and conquer," why must they insist on assigning group homework?
  
• Friday is work, and then picking up race packets for the Pacific Shoreline 5k, and probably homework or hanging out.
  
• Saturday? Homework, I suppose. I have an amazing to-do list, and it might just include a trip to Ikea. It originally was for doing the laundry, but that's about done now. Also catch up on my law reading - I can see how this class is going to be in danger of falling behind, when there are actual assignments that affect my grade more pressing. It'll be quiet at home, so perhaps I'll hit up the Starbucks and get some bustle around to get me going.
  
• Sunday is the Pacific Shoreline 5k! After that, probably finishing up homework assignments and getting ready for the week. {edit: I just discovered two shirts in the laundry that have holes in them. I've felt like I needed a wardrobe makeover for a while now, but sometime this weekend is going to involve purging the closet. Again.}
  

Housing

No kidding, this song came on the radio while we were surfing Zillow for condos.

Condos, not giant plastic bubbles.

Bo-ring!

It occurred to me this weekend that I haven't been bored in years. And I'm not exaggerating - years!