The internet at our apartment decided to quit working for some reason.  I kept walking over to my computer to go online and check something and then realized I couldn't.  I finally just turned the thing off so I would stop doing that.  It's sad that I feel so lost without the internet. 

It sounds like my dad and sis are having a great time on RAGBRAI without me.  So far Lex has a sunburn and her contact was stuck somewhere in her eye for 3 days and then finally disappeared!  Luckily they went through Eldora yesterday so she was able to get a new one and the weather has been excellent for biking.  There was no way I could have done RAGBRAI this year and moved to a new apartment. 

I am all packed up!!  Now all I need to do is move it all and vacuum.  Of course I can't really do any of that until Sunday.  We thought the girl that was moving into my room wouldn't be bringing her stuff until the 12th, but now she is bringing it sometime Friday night.  We already have Adam's and Joanna's stuff in our living room as well as some of Stephanie's stuff.  There is really not room for someone else's.  This girl also has all the couches and other furniture.  Hopefully Stephanie will have her stuff out of her room and the living room so we can throw Adam's stuff in there soon.  I am amazed Stephanie isn't complaining about having all of Joanna's and Adam's stuff at our place considering how she reacted to Rey's futon last summer.   I got my deposti back from Stephanie, so now they don't have two deposits from me anymore and I now have money!!!!  Of course it is pretty much going directly to rent next month, so I won't have money for long.  Stephanie also finally deposited a check I wrote her about 2 or more weeks ago for bills for last month.  I hate it when she does that. 

Lab meeting is today, so I better go get a supply of caffeine and maybe some sugar to get me through it.  I left my coffee on the counter this morning :(

Today Joanna brought all her stuff to my apartment. She is keeping it here until we move into our new place on Sunday. She called at 6:30am to tell me she was leaving for Iowa City, but they didn't get here until around 10:30 and then they had to go load everything onto the truck which meant they didn't get back to teh apartment until around 1:00. I thought they were going to get here around 9:00. I thought we were going to have this all done this morning and I was going to go to work this afternoon, but that didn't happen. Her dad took us out to lunch and we didn't get done until almost 3:00 so took a bunch of stuff to Goodwill and Stuff Etc. It's nice to get rid of stuff I don't want anymore.

I am not going to tkd tonight, so maybe I will pack my books, CDs and DVDs. I feel the need to be somewhat productive tonight.

Random Survey Time!!

Last Cigarette:	never had one
Last Alcoholic Drink:	saturday night
Last Car Ride:	driving last night from davenport
Last Good Cry:	Wednesday
Last Library Book:	good question
Last book bought:	Shadowmancer for my sister
Last Book Read:	Eragon
Last Movie Seen in Theatres:	The Bourne Supremacy
Last Movie Rented:	21 grams with Nicole
Last Cuss Word Uttered:	shit
Last Beverage Drank:	H2O
Last Food Consumed:	alphabet cookies
Last Phone Call:	Joanna at 6:30 this morning
Last TV Show Watched:	something on VH1
Last Time Showered:	last night
Last Shoes Worn:	flip-flops, of course
Last CD Played:	one of matt's CDs at the lab
Last Item Bought:	lunch at blueberry hill
Last Download:	a spyware removal program
Last Annoyance:	realized i am missing a hub cap
Last Disappointment:	realized i am missing a hub cap
Last Soda Drank:	diet cherry 7Up
Last Thing Written:	the answer to the previous question
Last Key Used:	car key
Last Words Spoken:	see ya later, to Joanna
Last Sleep:	last night/this morning
Last Ice Cream Eaten:	reese's peanut butter cup blizzard
Last Chair Sat In:	my desk chair
Last Webpage Visited:	nicole's crazy life
CREATE YOUR OWN! - or - GET PAID TO TAKE SURVEYS!

As most of you know I went to St. Louis with Josh and Shauna for a party for one of Shauna's friends.  It all went well except for our problem finding restrooms in Illinois.  The first gas station we stopped at on the way there didn't have a working bathroom, then we couldn't find another for about 15 miles.  When we decided to stop at that first place, we really had to go, so by the time we got to the gas station that had bathrooms we really, really had to go.   One the way back the first gas station we tried had really nasty bathrooms.  The toilets were brown and they were supposed to be white.  Then we went to the gas station across the street and the bathrooms there were only slightly better, so we went next door to a restaurant where the bathrooms were tolerable, but the lady in there was playing with her false teeth. 

The party was fun.  I met all these people I kept hearing stories about, so I now have names to put with faces.  They had a couple of kegs (my first kegger ever!), but they were both gone by 10:30.  There were severla large sandwiches, but they had ham, pastrami, and roast beef on them and I don't eat any of those and neither did Josh or Shauna, so we ended up taking all the meat off our sandwiches and eating bread with cheese, lettuce and tomatoes.  Actually, Shauna and I made Josh get the sandwiches and he de-meated the sandwiches for us.  Shauna's friend's roomies were gone so she a couple beds for us to sleep in, so we didn't have to sleep on the floor, which was quite nice.  Today we ate lunch at Blueberry Hill and stopped at Sam's and the Schlafly brewery to get the beer before heading back to Iowa. 

Well I am tired and Joanna is coming sometime tomorrow to drop off some stuff so I better get to bed.  I sleepy. 

My horoscope

Capricorn: (Dec. 22—Jan. 19)Your decision to take up bicycling will cause many in your area to rethink their call for increased bicycle safety.

I am confused since for the first time in about 7 years I am not riding RAGBRAI. 

I just had Kristen's favorite meal at the hospital:  chicken strips and cheesy hashbrown casserole.  They also had the spicy fries, but I went for the hashbrowns.  Tao and I waited in line for at least 5 minutes to get the hasbrowns because they had run out. 

Today instead of regular lab meeting a psychologist studying the relation between genetic deafness and intelligence came and talked to us.  He is going to be doing a study with my boss, Dr. Smith.  Studies have shown that deaf children, children with deaf parents, and children with a deaf sibling on average have higher IQ scores.  I honestly think the connetion is due more to the way the children learn through the use of sign language than and actual genetic connection, but I gues we will find out.  Unfortunately we still have normal lab meeting tomorrow, but if all goes as planned, I will not be in attendance. 

I should probably get back to work.  I am still doing boring stuff that Matt doesn't want to do, but at least I am doing something.  I wish I could take my pop in the lab with me, but we aren't allowed to have food or drinks in there. 

I am not as cranky as I was this morning.  I talked to my mom again tonight, not about what we did this morning, but it still helped for some reason.  I think it helps that work is over, and I am also less tired for whatever reason.  Matt was complaining that my depression and lack of motivation was rubbing off on him today at work.  I think that may be when he started dancing on his chair.  He didn't want to do his work and I didn't have any to do, so we sat and talked for awhile adn sang to the radio.  I was so bored today that I offered to do some of his work.  I had absolutely nothing else to do. 

Seth and Stephanie are dog sitting for his brother.  The dog is constantly barking and growling at me.  It always is right where I want to go so every time I walk towards her, she starts barking.   It is driving me crazy!!!  That dog is always in my way.  If I step on it, I am not taking the blame.  Now the dog is in my room!! 

Stephanie is packing as if she is moving across the country not just to the other end of the building.  She is packing everything in boxes and taping them all very well as if they were going to be mailed.  It's kinda crazy!  I think 3/4 of the stuff in this apartment is hers.  She took all her stuff out of the cupboards and we don't really have dishes anymore.  There are some plastic cups and my plastic bowls and plates from the dorms.  She also finally cleaned out the fridge.  She left Rey and I a note saying that she had done it and it made me laugh because she made it sound as if it was a big deal.  Rey and I clean out that fridge every 2 weeks or so.  Mostly we throw away her really old, moldy food.  She threw away a pizza and a bowl of spaghetti of Rey's that were totally fine.  Rey was going to eat that stuff today.  She also unplugged our answering maching.  Rey is waiting to hear back about jobs and really needs the answering machine.  We can't actually move until next saturday, so I am not sure why she is packing all the 'community' stuff now.  I feel like I should be packing, but all I really need to do is put

Nicole left me her plant to take care of and I am just hoping I don't kill it.  I am not so good with plants.  The one I got in November when my grandma died is still alive, but I think that is only because I put it outside on our balcony.  I have killed several cacti already. 

It's hot and humid, work is boring, I am stuffed up from a cold or allergies (not sure which) and tired, and now I am kinda depressed and worried about my sister after talking with my mom this morning.  I was looking forward to this weekend but not really anymore.  

We won!!!  Well actually, the other team forfeited so no volleyball tonight.  Maybe I will go look at sheets instead.  I have decided to buy sheets first and then when it gets cold I will think about other blankets. 

Stephanie started packing and moving a bunch of her stuff out yesterday.  She took some normal stuff like her dresser and a couch and some other stuff like that, but then she also packed some of her bathroom stuff, which I thought was weird since we are still living there for another week and a half.  She and Seth rented a garage which I also think is weird since they are moving to the other end of our building.  Now they will be moving everything twice!!  Sorry, I will stop writing about stuff you probably don't really care about anyway, but I had to tell someone. 
 
I have a new bed!!!!  My dad picked up a queen mattress, box spring and frame for me yesterday.  He said it all cost half as much as his matress and box spring, and I thought mine was expensive.  I think he is going to bring it when I move in.  I really don't have the money to pay him back right now, but he is willing to work something out with me!!  Now I need to buy new bedding, which could be kinda fun as well as expensive.  He also bought himself a widescreen TV and entertainment system.  I thought he couldn't afford one right now, but I guess I was wrong. 
 
I got an email from my grandma yesterday saying she had tried to call me but I didn't answer.  She had called my old dorm room.  She has called my at my apartment before so I know she has the number.  She also told me she didn't have my cell phone number, which I know she does because she has called me on it before as well.  This is why I love grandmas. :)
 
I am going to be playing volleyball again tonight with Matt and his friends.  I htink I will be playing every week now because his friend broke her tibia and can't really play any more.  I love to play, but it is going to be so hot and humid.  The game is at 6:00 so it won't have cooled down much by then either. 
 
It looks like I will be taking my sister's boyfriend with me to our cabin in MN.  At one point it sounded like I was going to be taking a bunch of her friends with me, but I think it is only Jeff now.  It may be an interesting 9 hour drive.  If anyone else wants to join us please do.  We are leaving from Eldora on the 8th and will come back the following weekend. 
 
Can you tell I don't have a lot to do at work right now?  The woman I am helping with her research is in Maine for the next two weeks, so I don't have a whole lot to do.  The two high school boys pretty much take care of all the work I used to do and they yell at me for making them wash their hands.  It's fun!!

I played softball today for the first time in about a year.  Rey asked if I wanted to play this afternoon and since I wasn't really doing anything else, I decided to go for it.  I only batted once and played catcher for two innings, but it was nice to get outside for about an hour.  I also hit the ball my one time at bat and scored a run.  I wore a tank top to try to get rid of the farmer's tan I get while walking home from the bus.  I can't tell if it worked yet or if I got a sunburn instead. 
 
The tension has increased between Stephanie and Rey, and I kinda had something to do with it.  I told Rey what Stephanie had been telling me and someone at work about her and it really made Rey mad because it wasn't true.  She also made an awful comment about Rey not having a job yet that made me mad.  I hope we make it through the next two weeks without a major fight, but I am not sure it is possible. 
 
I made gazpacho today.  I had never had it and decided it sounded really good, and I was right!!  I hated chopping all those vegetables with a not so good knife, but it was worth it.  I am bringing it to work for lunch tomorrow.  I just realized I forgot an incredient though.  I think I will go add it after I finish writing this.  At least it wasn't a crucial ingredient. 
 
I have been sorting and organizing all my miscellaneous stuff and my papers.  I alphabetically filed all my important papers and threw away all the ones I don't need anymore.  I think I am going to go through my clothes next.  I can't wait to get rid of some of those nasty t-shirts I hate.  I want this moving thing to be easy and quick.  I am not moving far so it won't be too bad, I believe.  I still have to talk to Mediacom, Qwest and the electric company.  Woohoo!!


6:51pm
 
Oh yeah... it's a sunburn. :(

They changed it again!!!  I like this new set up for creating posts.  It's more like a word processor. 

Anyway, I wanted to post something, but I don't really have anything to write about so I am going to write about the usual stuff I write about:  things I want to complain about. 
 
I am sore from helping Hela move and I bruised both my knees carrying things.  I need to start packing my stuff, but I don't want to.  I was thinking I may get the big bedroom with the bathroom in my new apartment, but I think Joanna wants it and I don't want to fight her for it so I think she will just get it. Initially I think they said I could have it, but I am fine with sharing a bathroom.  I was really looking forward to having my own bathroom for the first time ever, but I know I don't need it.  It's not like my room is small by any means, and I think a bigger room would mean I would just make a bigger mess.  I think it will be better once I get a dresser.  The mess I mean. 
 
If anyone needs a vacation the 2nd week of August I would like to invite you to join me on a trip to my family's cabin on Cass Lake in northern Minnesota.  My mom keeps asking me to bring friends, so I am inviting you all to join me for the week. 
 
I learned another form and possibly two tonight!!  I definitely know I remember on of them. 
 
I am so glad tomorrow is Friday. 

 
My horoscope according to The Onion:
 

You'll be of two minds about things next week, primarily because of the renegade saw blade that neatly severs your corpus callosum Monday.

I am glad I am moving out of this apartment soon. I have no problem with Rey or Adam. We get along really well, but Stephanie is another story. She sits in her room with the door closed all the time and never talks to us. Her door is even closed when we aren't here. She is very anitsocial and often rather rude. Tonight Rey, Adam, Adam's little sister and I were playing X-Box in Rey's room. We were a little loud and Stephanie came in and asked us to be quiet or shut the door. I am fine with her telling us to be quiet because it was about 12:30am, but it was the way she worded it and how she said it. The four of us just looked at eachother after she left because we couldn't understand her attitude. I am just getting sick of dealing with her in general.

I am actually tired and it is night, so I better take advantage of it and get some sleep. I can really only afford to be an insomniac on the weekends.

I hate this weather. It is humid and semi-hot and I can't seem to cool down. Even my uncle from Georgia thought it was humid. He and my cousins are here because my cousin Jake is attending the basketball camp here this week. My Uncle and cousin Alysa are staying in Pella this week and are going to visit Eldora tomorrow. My uncle will probably be here again on Wednesday or Thursday so I may do something with him again. I haven't seen him forever so it was fun to get to talk to him. He is a conservative republican so I had to hold myself back a few times when he started going off on a few things. He and I went out to eat at Old Chicago and he insisted on buying me a Samuel Adams, his fave beer, with our meal. He is a pilot for Delta and he was telling me that when he and the other pilots go out for beers when they are on layovers they tell people they are heavy machinery operators so they won't freak out about pilots drinking.

We are getting new carpet in my new apartment!!! But Adam just told me the air conditioner in there is leaking. I am so glad I have him and Rey around to tell me those things. They also told me about the carpet situation down there. I am going to miss not living with Rey. At least she will only be upstairs. I am also getting a new bed. My dad just bought me a cheap bedroom set that includes a headboard, dresser and nightstand and I think he is going to help me buy a mattress and boxspring. I almost got a free bed from my grandpa, but I would have had to buy a new mattress and boxspring for it, so I decided to just get new stuff all together. I don't have a dresser right now, so I am very excited about having one. It is all dark wood, and I prefer lighter wood, but I can't pass up cheap stuff that my dad is helping me buy. My mom also offered me her mattress and two coffee tables and a dresser and a hutch and matching coffee table. All I need are kitchen chairs. I will have to go home some weekend to go through all that stuff and decided what I want. I am not bringing any of it here until I move in the new apartment though. I can't wait to get a new big bed!!! I almost fell off my little bed this morning when I woke up. I need a bigger bed for my own safety.

Finally Friday!!!

I went to tkd tonight, but no one else did. I hope you all have as good an excuse as I did on Monday and Wednesday. There is a new 2nd degree and she looks about 14 or so. She was pretty good. Makes me feel like a slacker for not having my second degree yet. Today one of the green belts asked me for help with pal gwe 3 so I told him I didn't know it and the little white belt I was working with said "Aren't you supposed to know that?". I felt like a loser.

Tomorrow I am going to visit my dad at his new house. He has done a lot of work on it and has gotten a lot of new furniture since I last saw it during spring break. Lex and I are also going to go to my grandpa's house and sort through all of my grandma's dolls. She left all of them to us so we have to pick the ones we want. I think my grandpa is going to end up selling most of them. I think I may also be getting a bedroom set from my grandpa. I have been wanting to get a new, bigger bed for about a year now and my grandpa has one in the basement he is willing to give me. I am quite excited about that. It means I don't have to find one or pay for it. I was not looking forward to buying a mattress and boxspring. He may also have a kitchen table for me to use so I can use the one I was going to get from home as a desk. I love free stuff!!! Now I just have to steal my dad's truck and get it all here. I am not going to get the love seat from some people I am sorta related to in Eldora because they decided to keep it. I am not looking forward to all the driving tomorrow, but I am liking the idea of getting stuff. I will be back in time for any partying we decide to do.

According to my cell phone bill I called someone in Bakersfield, CA on 6/23 and talked to them for 3 minutes. I wasn't charged anything for it, but I don't know who it was and I don't like that. I also got a call Monday, actually Tuesday morning at 1:45 and no one was on the line when I answered it. Kinda freaked me out because it said private number on my caller ID, but I was too tired to care at that time.

I almost escaped having to talk to Randal after class tonight, but I didn't move quite fast enough. I was trying not to make it too obvious that I was running away and I moved to slowly. We then had to talk all the way to our cars. At least he makes me feel like less of a nerd.

I should not be allowed to buy mint chocolate chip ice cream sandwiches anymore. Time to paint my toenails!!!

I fell asleep during The Simpsons again and missed tkd. I feel like such a slacker.

I hate making decisions

It's lunch time at work, so I don't feel too bad about posting this right now.

I feel like I really need to visit both my parents. My dad moved most of his stuff out of the house in Eldora to his new house in Ames this past weekend adn left a big mess at home for my mom and sis to take care of. Lexsea helped him a lot, which must not have been fun for her for several reasons. I haven't seen my dad since Lex's graduation in May, so I really need to see him, but my mom and sis are all stressed out about him moving his stuff out, so I feel I need to see them too. I think I will be heading to my dad's this weekend and probably go to Eldora next weekend. My dad wants to show me all he has done to his house and all his new furniture and I have to sign some papers for him. I hate having to choose between them, but I know that is how it is going to have to be now. I really don't want to do anymore driving right now either. It's a about a two hour drive to both Ames and Eldora.

Okay, now for my crazy week. I went to North Bend, WA with Josh's parents and his great aunt Eleanor. We left on Friday and got there Monday afternoon. During the drive they kept trying to tell me stories about Josh, but to their disappointment he had already told me most of them. We loaded everything on Tuesday and left Wednesday morning. Josh and I beat everyone else to our destination all three days. It went pretty well. His mom hit a deer Thursday night and the air conditioning in Josh's truck died soon after we left Des Moines, but we had no other problems. His dad gave me a case of beer from Coeur d'Alene Brewing Company as a thank you for helping. I am drinking one now because Josh told me I had to have one on Tuesday nights because I have to drink at least half of it by myself and Tuesdays are the only nights I don't have TKD.

My dad's birthday was the 4th, but I still don't have a present for him. I think I am going to Ames to see him this weekend, so I better get him something. He has offered to help me purchase a new bed. I think I will get him a DVD or something because that is almost as good as a bed. I don't know if he has a TV or DVD player though. Maybe I will just get him a country CD to feed his new addiction. Or maybe I can find him a dragon to help decorate his new house. I am not sure I even know how to get to his house!!!

I played volleyball with Matt and his friends again tonight, and I am definitely going to feel it tomorrow. I was doing a lot of hitting tonight and my shoulder will not be happy tomorrow.

No Jon Stewart on The Daily Show tonight!!! I am confused, but at least we get Stephen Colbert to fill in. Also, there is going to be another Celebrity Poker Showdown tournament!! It is sad how much my life revolves around TV.

My beer has made me sleepy, which is good since I took two naps yesterday and then went to bed at 11:00. I am still kinda hungry though.

I think computers hate me. Our internet at the apartment isn't working and neither is the guys' downstairs. Here at work, all my bookmarks are gone as are my desktop icons and my wallpaper. Either I have a different computer at my desk, but the same monitor, or if I don't log in within a certain period it decides to change all my stuff. This computer isn't liking Blogger very well right now either. It won't let me load any blogs and I can't leave comments when they actually do load.

Not only are computers not liking me, but the ice machine decided to break and the fridge next door is leaking something all over the floor. Yea!!!


After a late lunch...

I just found out our internet is fine. It was just being wonky because the power briefly went out on Sunday night. Blogger is also acting funny for Amanda, so I know it isn't my computer at work.

I will update you all on my crazy week when I get home tonight since my internet there is actually working.