Five on Friday #225

EINS - Random Shit

A while ago the Gmail inbox UI was revamped and there was a stupid thing that when you hovered over the left side bar, it would expand and I'd always accidentally hover over it and click on shit I didn't mean to while trying to click other things.  Well, I got fed up with this shit and finally decided to Google how to fix it and there was a stupid simple fix and I'm mad I dealt with it for so long, but it's fixed now and no more accidental clicks and life is good.

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Thank you for any and all birthday well-wishes.  I'm gonna be honest.  My actual birthday fucking sucked for so many reasons, not the first one being the lingering sickness and subsequent coughing that is making me pee in my pants (because I'm 3 years old, tyvm).

Apparently that mask really fucked up the color balance of my camera?

Additionally, Teh German did the standard grocery store flowers and card and picked up cannoli cupcakes because "I know you like cannolis" but that was all the effort put into my birthday.  It had been decided week before last that we'd go to my fave Mexican place for dinner, which I'd already mentioned to him.  Fun reminder: I bought him hockey tickets with seats ON THE ICE for his bday, but ya know, it's fine he didn't bother to do anything for/get me anything... I'm not petty.

That's a fucking lie.  I'm petty AF and he couldn't even be bothered to put any thought into any ideas for me (HIS WIFE FOR FUCKING EVER (even if some days it's pure spite that I will stick around)) and I'm quite disappointed and when I did tell him, despite feeling like I'm being petty (because I am), he responded with, "Oh well, you can just bitch about it on your blog," but also, for the 2nd year in a row, my feelings were quite crushed.  Especially after he pointed out the florist where he usually orders flowers to be delivered for me when we passed it recently (prior to my bday).

So on Wednesday morning when he mentioned something about the bday celebration on Friday, I pointedly said, "It's my birthday do-over day since my actual birthday sucked so fucking bad, so if you have any regrets, this is your opportunity to remedy those."  I could literally feel the hint going over his head.

In case you were confused, THIS is marriage, Gentle Readers.  The NOT wanting to telling your significant other how disappointed you are in them that they can't be bothered to put any effort into a SINGLE DAY to celebrate you because you don't want them to feel like you're being critical of them because you don't want to hurt their feelings.

Get married, they said.  It will be fun, they said.

Update from later in the week:
I know it's just flowers and I'm over it after Matilda had flowers delivered to me.  I did finally cut the flowers that Teh German got me and arranged them in the vase better.  Yes, I'm still petty AF, but like, even my cold-heartedness has to give at some point.

Also, being angry is exhausting.

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Because of this fucking illness, I missed a medal giving half marathon and I'm kinda pissed about it.  Fortunately, it wasn't a super expensive race.  Teh PT Wife asked me if I deferred and I told her I just considered it a donation since the funds raised were to go towards saving the Morris Lighthouse.  Maybe next year.

Charlotte Hot Chocolate 15k with Matilda and Teh Bestie is my next upcoming race.
Then the Myrtle Beach 5k with Teh PT Wife for the Bless Your Heart medal.
Then Rock n Roll DC Half Marathon with Matilda and Teh Bestie.
Then I have some races on the calendar as suggestions, but no race commitments until June, which are local 5ks, and then July which is Rock n Roll Chicago with Matilda and The Bestie.

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If you REQUIRE Internet Exploder as the required browser in 2020, you are obsolete and need to spend the money to fix yourself.  YES, even if you are the motherfucking United States Department of Defense/Department of the Navy.  Maybe we should put some of that GDP to improving morale by improving mandatory training to be relevant in all the ways and less frustrating to complete.

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I love word etymologies and I recently came across an article that gave an etymology of the word "fuck" which obviously spoke to my soul.

The article is about 2020 masculinity, so it was an overall interesting read, but the etymology really got my goat.

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Is couple's therapy an acceptable valentine's gift?  Asking for a friend...

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NBD, but I am the 2020 Swain Family School of Science and Mathematics Outstanding Veteran Student and I'm super pumped about it.  At first I thought it was just like "outstanding veteran student" from the Computer Science dept and I was gonna be like, I'm THE ONLY outstanding veteran student graduating this year...

But then I realized it was ALL Science AND Math vet students and I'm like.. way more impressed with myself.  That includes Biology, Chemistry, Cyber and Computer Sciences, Health and Human Performance, Mathematical Sciences, Nursing and Physics.

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These fools after a family stroll in the rain:

He came in, sloshed water all over the floor, then flopped down.
He did at least lift his head for a photo.
#GOOFLIFE

Damp Meri is cute and dry Meri is adorable...
But wet Meri is the stuff of nightmares,
trust me on this.
This is damp Meri.

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When Coworker suggested the unicorn cake for our February birthday cake, I was like FUCK YES.  If it looks vaguely familiar, it's because that's the same birthday cake selection I made for my birthday gathering last year.  This is funfetti flavored and I'm super pumped.

It says, "Magical year to come?"
The bakery put an ! instead of a ? and we made them change it back to a ?.
I always make sure to put something ridiculous on the work birthday cake.

ZWEI - Money Shit

-All the utility bills.  IDK why they all seemed to come at the same time this month, but necessities.
-bully sticks
-2021 Charleston Half
-Stupid credit card annual fee (#Rage, but travel rewards, so #TradeOffs)
-A million medical bills
-Flight to DC for the Rock N Roll DC race with Matilda and Teh Bestie, but I used my credit card travel rewards so I only had to pay the $11 in taxes, so the #TradeOff has been validated
-Birthday Bojangles (when the day was still young and full of hope)
-Groceries
-Sinus rinse bottles
-New 12 ft power cable for the monitor on my desk so I can arrange my desk in a less cramped way.
-Dog food
-Vet bills for nail clips and vaccines/boosters.  It's been over $150 per visit for the past 2 months and I'm ready for that shit to stop right NOAW.
-Birthday do-over Bojangles.
-Local 5k in June

DREI - From My Phone Shit

What doing German homework looks like these days.
Although I've started adding more translation windows, zooming in on the questions, and splitting more windows for more things.  I'm over it.

Sickness meant not being able to celebrate when my countdown finally got below 100 days.
This is 94 days.

This Moose.  <3 

He's such a goof.
And then Meri like, why would you be paying HIM attention when I'm right here.

I love jokes about eyes.
The cornea the better.

Birthday week at work.
I love my bday ears, but the band squeezes my head and I figured this was slightly more subtle.

The best part of my birthday:
Lingua chimichanga with a side of cilantro.

Here's what we say about this coworker:
It's his world, we just live in it.
Ugggggh.  Why can't people be considerate of others?

It cost $1.10 for all this.
See also: how I soothe shitty-shit.

Birthday flowers from Matilda!  <3

Teh German likes lentils, so I made lentil curry.
I'm not a huge Indian food fan, but this was packed full of healthy healths, so fine.

TACO SOUP.
Teh German's specialty is making schnitzel or kasespatzel.
My specialty is taco.mother.fucking.soup. 

VIER - From the Internet Shit

take it one wave at a time.
MHN

BE.FUCKING.BETTER

I know it is so hard to take deep breaths on days like this but every single one you take is a sign of strength...
A small and beautiful rebellion to the darkness that thought it had you.
MHN

FÜNF - Things that made me happy this week

1. Not being contagious.
2. Designated birthday do-over day.
3. My Spotify On Repeat playlist + subsequent songs via their algorithm which can be hit or miss.
4. 2020 Swain Family School of Science and Mathematics Outstanding Veteran Student
5. Accomplishing Tech Writer things.
6. Annual raise + expectations chat.
7. Teh German dropping up/picking up the beasts for doggy daycare today.  I already handled both of them on my own for their vet visit this week and it is always super anxiety inducing for me, which Meri feeds off of, and then we're all a disaster.
8. Handling the laundry promptly all week, like the fucking Laundry Fairy Master I am.
9. Teh Bestie listening to my woes.  She's got a lot of her own shit going on and she still helps me manage my life. <3
10. Teh German helping me with the laundry one night and suggesting a family walk, despite the rain.  Yes, I bitch a lot, but when I watch him while he sleeps, I still have like, nice feelings for him and like love and stuff, so.. he's not so bad all the time.

Happy Friday, Gentle Readers.

Five on Friday #224

Let me make this quick with 5 words:

I have the influenza virus.

Weekend Review {1/27}

FRIDAY

When you spend an obscene amount of time in the bathroom, you learn new things.. like the fact that your soap container is glow in the dark.  YAY for clearance halloween soap.

Also, when your dogs are fucking creepers, you will NOT poop alone.  Even though you're living in the bathroom.  No man gets left behind.. and if you dare to shut the door, all you'll hear outside the bathroom is the sound of dog feet dragging on the floor like their leg weigh triple their entire body weight.  Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh.

And that's essentially the tale of that one time Megan couldn't stop pooping for 36 hours.  Not sure if it was food poisoning or a virus but either way, no thank you.  Since I had morphed into a poop monster, I notified my PM at 0443 that I would NOT be coming into the office since I was probably going to change my permanent address to my toilet.

I did manage to sit through class and it was a mad dash after class was over to get to the bathroom.  After, I went to pick up my race packet, got gas, picked up flushable wipes, and by the time I made it home, it was bathroom time again.  Teh Bestie encouraged me to take some Imodium, which I discovered we had (since I had forgotten it when I was at Walmart, even though I knew I was forgetting something) even though it was expired.

When I got home, I did more work things and took the beasts on a walk and took care of Teh German's chores and ensured that Teh German didn't die and was unmotivated for the majority of the evening.

Teh German spent the entire day in bed.  He came home Thursday afternoon from work feeling poorly and he was already in bed when I made it upstairs (after I had come home and then had to spend some time in the bathroom).  He called someone at work to let them know he wasn't coming in because he was sick and went back to sleep and that's where he stayed.  When I got home from school, I fed him soup for lunch and ensured he was medicated.  He texted me from bed to inquire where his meds were later in the evening and I asked what he wanted for dinner and delivered it to him with his meds.  I was kinda pissed to see that he was functional when I delivered dinner, having turned the bedroom lights on and was scrolling, but couldn't be bothered to come downstairs to feed himself, but fine.

After he ate, I brought his dirty dishes back downstairs, started the dishwasher, did my own pre-bedtime chores/grooming and went to bed.  When I said that it was lights out, there was no question about it.  Thankfully, Teh German didn't argue, because if he had, his ass would have been kicked out of the bedroom.  #NotSorry.

I kinda felt like Nurse Rachet about him being sick and then I felt like I was being taken advantage of after serving an alert, functional Teh German dinner in bed.  Mostly because I don't feel like I receive that same type of treatment when I'm sick, but let's not keep score.

SATURDAY

Saturday, Teh German got up at regular work time and headed to his former German company to work one of the agreed upon Saturdays for training his replacement.  This was not an issue for me since I was doing the Post Charlie Classic 15k at Sullivans Island. 

Knowing the course was boring AF reallyyyyy helped me not get bogged down this year, unlike last year.  I stopped to pet a greyhound and take selfies with the library and the beach and I walked at the water stops.  RunKeeper said my time was 10:34/mile, but the race tracker said 10:44/mile and I'm going with the faster time on principle.

After my race, I stopped by Metto and picked up treats for myself, Teh German, and his replacement, then I dropped them off at the company.  I had considered messaging Teh German beforehand, but I was afraid he'd tell me not to come, so I didn't.

I went home and walked the dogs and talked to Teh Granny for 3 hours.  I was not planning on that time commitment.  I took a bath while I was talking to her and couldn't wet my hair because every time I said I needed to get off the phone, she'd start up talking again.  Like, I love my Granny the most, but jjjjjeeezzzzuuuuussssssss. 

Eventually, I did get off the phone because Granny started fussing that when she was looking for something, she wanted peace and quiet to do it, and I was like, uhhhhh ok, byeeeeeee.  Teh German and I took to the couches for recovery time with Meri.

I think we dozed for a short while, but we did eventually get up.  We went to Page's Okra Grill for dinner because I wanted chicken livers, then we accomplished our grocery shopping at Sam's and Walmart.

When we got back home, I put away the groceries and Teh German turned on the NHL All-Star game.  I wasn't overly interested and I was tired, so I went up to bed and read until Teh German came to bed.

I ended up finishing my Stephen King book after Teh German came to bed.  I also finished the Jojo Moyes audiobook on my way home from the race.  Woot, book accomplishments.

SUNDAY

I got up earlier than I felt it was on Sunday, around 0930, feeling like it was 1030 at least.  I finished up the laundry that I'd been avoiding since Friday (using the excuse that Teh German was trying to rest on Friday and recuperation on Saturday) and went downstairs and had breakfast.  Then it was homework time.

I really hate when I put stuff on shelves and it just slides around and falls off in the floor...
so I finally decided to hang my running skirts.

In working up to be motivated to do homework, I picked out the colors for my next medal rack that I'm waiting on Teh German to size and sand for me to paint and cut stickers on the Cricut.  Grey will be the letter color, I'll then put the decal on, then paint over it with the green, then peel the stickers.  Hopefully it won't look too bad.  We'll see what happens.

I did finally chug through my German homework and looking over the suggested readings for my databases class.  I considered doing Stats homework, but we haven't covered the questions yet and rather than be frustrated, I figured I'd just wait for the lecture. 

I finished my homework at 3, right as Teh German left to go to some brewery event with Teh PT Husband and Teh Ret AF Maintainer, so I had to deal with my boredom all by myself.

I did go over to Teh PT House for a little bit to visit with the Huddie-Wuddie and we watched some Zucko's baking challenge show on Netflix that we enjoyed snarking.  But then it was doggy dinner time and I headed home to ensure the beasts didn't die of starvation.  I settled on the couch for a little bit to play my stupid game and read and scroll.  Teh German wasn't home by 8:30 so I headed up to bed and read my MHN book and finally went to sleep.  Teh German came home while I was still reading, but didn't come upstairs before I went to sleep.  Oh well.

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Overall, a decent weekend, despite the ending of the week being so... poopy.  I didn't have any issues during my run (no runS, ha!), so all the praise hands for that.  I also felt confident with my time and I will have a good feeling going into the half marathon next weekend.

This coming week is rather busy.
-The beasts will be doing their trial daycare run at the boarding place.
-Teh PT Kid's bday
-VA appt on Friday
-My bday celebration event on Friday night.
-Saturday is the half marathon and Teh PT Kid's bday gathering (which I will make bday mac and cheese for him)
-Sunday is that stupid football game that everyone cares about
-Monday is my BIRFDAY!!!

I'm still kinda struggling with how little demand for my time school has this semester.  Granted, I really should be doing more research stuff.. but YOLO.

Other things I need to accomplish are booking lodging for Teh German and I in Denver and reserving a rental car.  I need to get with Matilda and Teh Bestie to see what the lodging situation is for Charlotte later in Feb.  There's also something else I'm forgetting.. but I'm sure I'll remember eventually..

Happy End of January, Gentle Readers!

Five on Friday #214

EINS - Random Shit

You know those "friends" on Facebook who are always sharing obviously viral/spam things?  Yeah.  You do know.. Your great-great aunt who is young enough to want to learn about computers so she can keep up with her 7 well-into-adulthood children and her 18 grandchildren.

I hide them from my news feed because my toleration levels are dangerously low some days for people that have to interact with face-to-face.. so when my irritation levels rise because of stupid shit on social media, I get rid of it so I still have patience for my face-to-face interactions.

Also, I hate to be this person, but to all those people who share lost and found pet stuff on social media?  I block those groups.  I'm obviously a dog lover, but, for the most part, people sharing those posts are from places where I don't live and so there is not a possibility of me helping recover said lost animal, and even if I did live there... under these school/work conditions, I probably wouldn't help.. unless it was a sighthound from one of our rescue groups.

I have to pick my battles, Gentle Readers.  Judge me if you want.

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It made me LOL when one of the Cadets asked where my ring was earlier this week, like I wasn't wearing it.  Bitch, please.  Fuck yes I'm wearing this damn thing with pride.

That said, I ordered the mini ring since I have tiny hands and I don't like bulky jewelry.  I still think the mini ring is kinda bulky, but that makes it very Citadel-ish, so I accept it.

I raised my hand in response to him to show him that I was, in fact, wearing my ring.. and several other Cadets noticed that I was wearing it on my pinky and they were like, WOAH!  Uhh, yeah, yall.  ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE!

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I've had an 8-10 page paper to write since mid-September.  It's due 11/1, and I've had the desire to start it, but I need a block of SEVERAL UNINTERRUPTED hours to accomplish it and I don't ever have that.  What's the requirements for sending your husband away for a weekend?  How does one go about doing that?  Because, while Husband does mostly keep to himself when I'm doing homework things, he's still around and randomly makes comments or asks me for help.. and I lose focus and get sidetracked..

Additionally, before the paper is due, I have multiple programming assignments due each week.  So I feel like I'm always neglecting something, so I neglect the paper since it's got the furthest due date.. But the due date is quickly approaching and I have a feeling that some of these programming assignments are gonna get half assed because I need to take care of other shit.

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I went to campus on Monday morning, asked my PITA professor if I could take all my exams for the day so I could go be sick at home, and he said yes.  He gave me all 4 of my quizzes for the day (which isn't out of the ordinary, in case you were wondering) and I sat in the teacher's lounge and pounded out the quizzes, 1 of which I wasn't prepared for because I didn't realize we were being quizzed on it.  When he asked if I was ready to take it, I responded, "Come what may."

Here's why I did this to myself.  PITA professor doesn't allow students to make up missed quizzes since he drops several of the lowest quiz grades when he averages the quiz grade.  I've already got several quiz grades that need to be dropped.. remember, when I talked about my do not give a fucks last month regarding these stupid quizzes that are impossible to prepared for?  That still applies.

The non-PITA Professor class that I missed was probably not so good that I missed it, but I'm less worried about that class since I know that I'm not the only one struggling.

I just did some GPA math... to see what it would take to graduate with a 3.5 GPA, because I know I said I didn't care, but I totally do (but low-key, ok, GOSHHHH).  Anyways, the calculator I was using returned this answer about me graduating with a 3.75 GPA with only 8 classes remaining (5 of which are currently in progress), "High number of credits required for that average. Impossibly high GPA needed to achieve that."  Thank you, thank you very much.

So I then tried to see what it would take to maintain my current 3.533 average and it kinda looks like all A's would do it.. except I just don't think that is reasonable based on the load of the semester... so I calculated my GPA after making all low B's in my classes, which isn't unreasonable, but I doubt I'll make low B's in all my classes, but maybe a few?  And with low B's I end up with a 3.13 or something.  Ugh.  #MeganProblems

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Being sick at the same time as Husband is really the worst.  Neither of us function well when sick and when we're both sick, NOTHING gets done and if something does get done, it's a painful task for all involved.

Thankfully, Nurse Meri helps make my sickness better.

Even if she's huffing in my elbow pit because I won't pet her.

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In my software engineering class, ALL of our assignments are partner assignments.
Guess what I fucking hate?  Partner assignments.

The first assignment wasn't so bad.. but the 2nd assignment I was paired (by a random matcher that the professor uses) with a Cadet who doesn't overly concern himself with due dates.  This makes me nervous, but we're cool, so I tried to be cool about it.

Said assignment was due on Friday, which happened to be Ring Day and the professor was like, bad idea, I'll give you until Sunday night to do it.  Fine.  Guess who ends up sick by Saturday afternoon?  Me.. AND MY PARTNER.  FML.

We didn't make the Sunday deadline, even though we had some code that worked.  I agreed with Cadet that we could just turn it in late and he'd figure out what was broken with our code and we'd turn it in the next day.  Well, the next day turned into Tuesday, which turned into Wednesday.. and by Wednesday night, I was fucking over this shit.  I harassed my partner all day and messaged him right at 8:30 when he said he'd have it done.  Was it done?  NO.

So.. we submitted BROKEN code, LATE.  I could have submitted broken code (-15 points) on Sunday night with a penalty for it just being broken, but now there's also a late penalty (-10 points) which means an even lower grade (nothing higher than a 75) which makes me want to stab that Cadet in the fucking eye.  This is why I don't turn shit in late.

And the cherry on top of this entire situation is that we were allowed to pick our next partner and no one likes partnering with me because I like to get shit done early AND I'm not available at 10pm at night the night before an assignment is due to go sit in the room of another Cadet and bang out the code... so I ended up stuck with one of the worst cadets to be partners with in our major... as no one wanted to be partnered with them because they suck.

Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh.
While I understand that our professor is trying to mimic "the real world"... in my "real world" partner work just isn't a thing.  Many people are working on the same project, but it's many different wheels spinning.  Granted, that's not how it always is, I know.. but partner anything in college is the fucking worst.

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Who bought her coworker a dozen doughnuts for helping with her homework assignment the night before it was due?  THIS GIRL.

It was doughnuts in lieu of a mental breakdown. 
Programming is frustrating and hard.
Programming without knowing what the fuck you're doing is even more frustrating and hard.

I also brought in a dozen doughnuts for my other coworkers.

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People who rattle their keys or clink coins in their pocket MAKE ME CRAZY.
More crazy than when people drag their fucking feet.

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I'll be buying those stupid ass expensive AF noise cancelling headphones when they go on sale again.  Over the summer, the Bose and Sony headphones I'm looking at went down to $300 and I thought for sure they'd just go down more.. They did not.  The opposite, in fact.. Ugh.  So now I have to wait for them to go on sale again because I'm #CheapAF.

What had happened was....
I was trying to concentrate on Thursday night for coding purposes... and Teh German was just doing his thing in the kitchen... but it was too much.  Granted this was his "just doing his thing":
-playing music over Alexa, which I had been enjoying while we ate dinner, but once my brain switched gears, less enjoyment was had.
-chemistry tests for the tank, which involves vigorous liquid shaking and setting a millionty random timers ("Alexa, set timer for 60 seconds" "Siri, set timer for 3 minutes") and said timers then going off and having to tell whatever smart device to dismiss timer.
-whistling
-random comments to the dogs
-chair scraping
-door the garage/closet opening/closing
-more whistling
-at least one question at me

It was just all too much and I knew earplugs weren't going to cut it once Teh German started watching the Caps hockey game (his random cheering and clapping scares the shit out of me).  So I went and fetched Teh German's headphones and put them on and thennnnnnn... there was no outside world (as long as I ignored Meri bumping me with her nose for scritches).  I made a little bit of progress on my HW, but not much, but more than I was making.

Thennnnnnn.... the following day at work... Listening to my cube mate mouth breathe sealed the deal.  I'm buying the damn headphones.  Apparently, I DO have a need for $300 headphones.

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WE HAVE BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF COOL TEMPS!!!!

71° at noon?  YYAAAASSSSSS.

It was so delightful that instead of going to the gym, I opted to get in some miles around campus.  It's about to be half marathon training season, so I gotta get back into it.  That said, all my ellipitical time REALLY helped my pace.  I'm under 10 minutes for a mile right now and that brings me ALL.THE.JOY.

When I got home, I took the beasts on an excursion.

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I bought a bike from Roux's Humom/Mr. Golfer so I can burn off more of Meri's energy.  Her batteries NEVER drain.. so I figured that if I walk both beasts, then Meri and I go back out on the bike after 1 mile and she does a little more at a faster pace, maybe she'll be more calm?

I tried this last week with Teh PT Kid's bike and Meri's batteries were NOT drained, but I'm hoping with a bit more consistency, she'll be more tired.  #PodencoProblems

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Teh German has been staying up late to watch hockey and I don't really care, but I also kinda do.  I like going to bed at the same time since he always wakes me up when he comes to bed.. but I don't want to stay up that late.  Mostly though, I don't want to have to say to him, "Husband, bedtime."  Because I'm not his mother.. and that's what me having to tell him it's bedtime feels like..

For some reason, this week, living with another person has been a real test.  I'm going to just give the blanket female reason: probably PMS.

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I just discovered that Jon Reep will be in Summerville tonight and I think I just found our evening plans.  I've always wanted to see Jon Reep.. and I'm sure you're like, who the fuck is Jon Reep? 

Welllll, Jon Reep is from Hickory, NC, which is near Home, Home.  He attended NC State for a while, not at the same time as me.  Reep won Last Comic Standing in 2007.  He's also the guy in the Dodge commercial that says, "That thing got a Hemi?" and a handful of other things.  Anyways, I've followed him for a long time, but was never willing to travel to Myrtle Beach to see him and now he's coming to Charleston and I feel like it would be stupid to NOT go.  Buttt, we'll buy tickets at the door to save $4 in convenience fees because.... #CheapAF.

ZWEI - Money Shit

-Laser hair removal session.
-Dog Christmas gifts.  #SorryNotSorry
-My class ring.. because I was never billed for it when I ordered it.
-Motivation slushie.. it was that or a sweet tea and the slushie was cheaper.
-Couples massage
-New writing utensil container that goes in my 3-ring binder that contains all 15 of my erasable pens and it looks like a monster.  It's awesome.
-Groceries
-Gas
-$7.50 MORE to the stupid ENT.  Fuck them.  Ugh.
-Cell phone bill.  $40, thank you, Google Fi.
-Krispy Kreme
-Power bill
-Starbucks on campus
-Dessert pizza from Park Pizza that I also shared with Teh German

DREI - From My Phone Shit

Look, Gentle Readers.. when the internet goes down... our household is immediately put into an emergency status.
You see, our SMART house is incredibly useless without internet.
To the point that, I told Husband that the internet was down.. and a few minutes later he still tried to use Alexa to turn on the lights.  He didn't think it was funny when I laughed.

These monsters.
All legs and bellies.

Rule: leftover sushi is never as delicious as you want it to be.
Especially, if any part of the roll was put into a fryer.

I keep a word search book in the bathroom, keep your judgement to yourself.
Anyways, I found it kinda hilarious that instead of going full on "Petty Officer", they only listed out "Petty".
I messaged this photo to Mrs. Reflective and we got a laugh out of it.
Civilians, man.. never fail to amuse.

Finally ate one of my chocolate bars from Amsterdam.
Teh German refused to have any at first because he thought it was "Amsterdam" chocolate.
I had to explain that it was just a normal chocolate bar.

Shrimp and grits for dinner.
Fun fact: as much as I try to like them, I really DO NOT LIKE bell peppers.
Not when they are red or yellow or orange or green.
I just don't like them.
I should just accept this.

Me: Have you taken your marshmallows today?
Teh German: Are you even sure that works?
Me: The only thing we have to lose is a cough.. so I'm willing to risk it.
Teh German: You just like eating marshmallows.
Me: Well yeah, but this is for sickness.

Title of said 8-10 page paper.
#NotSorry

Doggy Christmas Presents arrived!
Teh Running Bestie sent me a photo that theirs arrived as well, which is why I am able to post this.
:)

Tried a new crockpot recipe for chicken.
I just think that a packet of brown gravy and a packet of ranch might be too much packets.
But it didn't taste bad, so there's that.

VIER - From the Internet Shit

When you remember much more than you want to,
and the pain of it all still finds you,
I hope you know that nothing in the past can strip you of the strength rising like the dawn within you.
Because after the longest nights and the loneliest mornings,
you kept going anyway.
You found hope and radical courage,
and you are not the same.
Nothing in the past can hold you back from who you are becoming today.
-Morgan Harper Nichols

You can still be who you were meant to be without meeting everyone else's expectations of you.
-MHN

"Pretty is not the rent you pay to exist in the world as a woman."
HOLY.FUCK.PREACH.

FÜNF - Things that made me happy this week

1. Figuring out the final mandala portion of my sleeve.
2. Scheduling Meri's hair cut.  She's shaggy.  I had to cut mats from her chest and under her tail. It's time, fuzz lovers.
3. Pushing my hair appointment back 2 weeks.  I don't feel like going this week and my hair doesn't look that bad at this point.. sooo it will wait.  Also, poordom is a thing after that surprise class ring charge.
4. Couples massage and a good Ring Day celebration with Teh German and my classmates.
5. Finishing The Americans.  It was a good show, but I have wanted to watch something else for a while because I was burnt out on it.. and Teh German just wanted to push through to finish, and since he dealt with my delays with getting to watch End Game, I just went with it.  Look at me compromising and shit.
6. Eating marshmallows "for my throat".. definitely not because they are delicious and I was enabled.
7. Coworkers who like a challenge and offer homework assistance.
8. Temps under 80°F.
9. The scale falling under 160.  Thanks, sickness, you da best!
10. LONG SLEEVES.  It's not a hoodie.. YET.. but it will do.

Happy Friday, Gentle Readers.

Weekend Review {10/07}

Last week was all over the place.  Posts were late (Weekend Review) or didn't happen (Friday's post).. but life had to come first last week, and then over the weekend, life (aka sickness, owned my ass, le sigh).  But I did make an A on the test I had on Friday (with the 10 point curve), sooo I'm calling it a win.

FRIDAY

Friday was Ring Day.  This is a special days for Citadel seniors because we get our class rings.  There's a presentation ceremony and some traditions after you get your ring (saluting the war memorial, tapping your ring on the war memorial plates on the Chapel, banging your ring on the Chapel doors as a ring blessing).  I was skeptical on the whole thing at first, but I'm glad I participated.

If you look in the middle of the face of the ring, you will see the current "Class of ___" year.  The year doesn't get changed until the ring presentation ceremony.  Usually the ring is covered in the AM after it gets changed and the cover is removed at the end of the ceremony, but I arrive to campus pretty early, so it wasn't even changed or covered yet.  I did see it covered last year though.

The only time that the current class year is not on the ring is when there is a class reunion.  Then, the ring is changed to the year of the graduating class.  I remember seeing 68 on the ring one year.  I think this year will be the reunion for the class of 1970.  Since all my classes are in the same building room, I no longer cross campus and see the ring on a regular basis, so I may not see it change for the reunion this year.

The morning started out like usual, class, class, class, then Teh German came and we had lunch together.  Since the Canteen was bursting, we went back to the CS dept to have lunch.  We ended up in my dungeon since the teacher's lounge was occupied by a meeting.  Teh German was like, you're in this classroom... all day?  Yup.  Sucks, right?

I walked out to my car after my classes ended and the spot next to me was open.  I put my stuff in the spot and stood there, saving the spot for Teh German, pissing off at least 5 other people who were denied such a solid parking place.  #SorryNotSorry

After lunch, Teh German headed to the Field House where the ceremony would be taking place and I headed to the barracks where we were lining up.  We marched from the barracks to the Field House.

But first, a selfie!

Class of 2020, sweating it out.

The march to the Field House was a surprise.  I've never involved myself with any of the campus activities ever.  No Friday parade, no after hours things..  So when we marched out of the barracks and both sides of the road were lined with freshman, clapping to the beat of the drum line, I almost cried I was so (good) overwhelmed.  Behind the freshman were by-standers (parents and friend, since it was Parents Weekend) and some of the other students (juniors and sophomores).  I saw a few of my classmates, which was cool.  One was recording the march, so I'm hoping she sends me the video.

The ceremony felt like it was never ending.. Probably because active duty and day vet students were in the front this year and so I was just holding this box and I wanted to open it and see what was inside and put the ring on.. but I knew the time would come when we would be instructed to do so.. so I had to wait a millionty years (or 35 minutes, same difference).

Finally, the time came and we were instructed to put our rings on, with the number facing away from us.  We will turn the ring to where the numbers face us when we graduate.  I know it seems kinda weird, but these weird things are what make traditions, so I'll follow these fake rules.. because it's kinda fun to be included.

After the ceremony, while the cadets ran across the parade field to salute the war memorial and bang their rings on the Chapel doors, the day vets and active duty walked down the street to the war memorial and chapel.  Originally, the cadets had been told they would form up instead of running over to the memorial/chapel, but that is NOT what happened.  Oh well.

I explained to Teh German that on Thursday, at ring ceremony practice, we had discussed the fact that we weren't sure we really wanted to bang our brand new, quiet expensive, piece of jewelry on anything, tradition or not.  On Friday, that wasn't even a consideration.  Granted, I didn't slam my ring into the various surfaces with all my might, I did try to be moderately gentle when I tapped my ring on the war plates.. but I put a little bit of might behind my bangs on the Chapel doors... because tradition.

You bang your ring on the Chapel door (generally 3 times), as a symbolic prayer.  Someone mentioned it on Friday, but I can't remember the 3 reasons.  Something about thanking God for getting you this far and asking for a blessing for the rest of the year and post-graduation.  Teh German waited in the shade while all this was going down, and then we walked down to the big ring so we could get some photos, as I requested.

It was important to me to get photos WITH Teh German because without him, I wouldn't have survived the last 2 years.  He had to pick up the slack since I have more commitments now.  He's also had to deal with my emotional/stress roller coaster, and that's always a good time... not.

After photos, we headed back to the vehicles and agreed to go home and drop off a vehicle and feed the dogs half their dinner, then head back out.  I had scheduled a couples massage for us earlier in the week because I needed a massage and Teh German hadn't had one in a while (and he won't make an appointment for himself for whatever reason).

The massage was everything I knew I needed.  After my masseuse asked me how long it had been since I had a massage and I said, "During the hurrication."  He played off his surprise well, because he responded with, "Oh, your shoulders were VERY tight."  I believe he thought I was going to say many months ago or something... not just 4 weeks ago.  When I said, "Yeah, I call those my perma-knots," Teh German's masseuse really got a kick out of that.  #ISeeWhatYouDidThere.

After the massage, we headed to Kaminsky's for dessert alcoholic beverages.  Conveniently, it was still happy hour when we arrived.  I made sure to take advantage of that.  I enjoyed a chocolate martini, the starburst martini, and an almond joy martini.  The starburst drink was like drinking fruit juice, it was deliggghtful.  The chocolate martini was very delicious and the almond joy was a great dessert drink.

I ordered a dessert to go and Teh German and I agreed to pick up Famulari's for dinner.  We don't really have any reason to go all the way to our favorite Famulari's anymore, so being kind of in the neighborhood was a good enough reason.  There were no regrets.

When we got home, we managed the dogs, ate our dinner, and then it was bedtime.  The heat and the sweating while I was outside took a number on me.  In addition, I was wearing heels for the ceremony, so all of the walking was in heels and that tore me up.  PLUS the massage?  I was d.u.n.

This notification brought me joy in my brain.
But I don't feel like it FELT like 18° cooler on Saturday....

SATURDAY

Saturday, Meri was done with the sleeps by 0730... as always.  I was not though, I attempted to snuggle her to calm her down, which worked for a few minutes.  She got annoying quick and finally, I gave in, went downstairs to feed them.

After taking care of the beasts, I fed myself and then headed to the office for homework time.  I managed to get a few things accomplished.  While I was doing school things, Teh German did tank things.  I had to laugh when he came downstairs wearing long sleeves.  I told him that it wasn't that cold out (which I had observed when I'd let the dogs out) and he said he wanted to wear longs sleeves, and I laughed because he had the sleeves rolled up.  We are such winter people.

Eventually, I gave up on school things, since I was only making myself frustrated. The Hurricanes and the Capitals were playing at 7, so I went upstairs, finished up the laundry, grabbed my jersey, and headed back downstairs.

The game was blacked out on NHL, so I had to do some nerd troubleshooting to get it figured out, but I did come up with a successful work around, after paying $100 for a VPN that wouldn't work (I requested my money back).

The Hurricanes WON!  And it was an earned win, after we had a millionty penalties, which gave them several power plays.  I also told Teh German that next time, we can listen to his announcers because the announcers for the Hurricanes annoy the fuck out of me and make me so disgruntled and ragey.  At least if I'm going to hate on the announcers, it should be the other team's announcers.  Siiigh.

After the game, it was bedtime.

SUNDAY

Because my entire body was hurting when I went to bed on Saturday, I took a Flexeril before going to sleep and I had zero regrets.  At some point doing the night, I felt it hit and I might have just been a blob contained by skin.  Nonetheless, I woke up on Sunday feeling like a bag of ass.  My throat hurt and my head hurt and my skin hurt.. and I do NOT like being sick.  Know what else isn't fun?  Being sick at the same time as Husband. 

I needed to do homework things, but knew that with the way I was feeling, nothing would get accomplished, so I spent the day on the couch.  Oh yeah, and I didn't get out of the bed until 1130 (thanks to the Flexeril magicks).

We were productive about sick day.. we finally finished The Americans.

I asked Teh NY Chef if she could make chicken soup for our sick house and she obliged like the best adopted Mom anyone could ask for.  I'm not gonna lie, there's something special in that soup because for a few hours after eating it, I felt functional again.  My throat hurt, but I didn't wince each time I swallowed.

Nurse Meri was on duty, but ONLY for me.  Apparently, she didn't nurse Teh German at all last week, despite his being home sick Wednesday and Thursday.  He said she stayed upstairs at her post all day until I'd come home.  Part of me is happy with this.  Part of me is frustrated.  Happy because she loves me the mostest (and Pax too, because he didn't come down for most of the days either).  Frustrated because the dogs are always up my ass and I can't get a break.  But it makes me more happy than frustrated... so c'est la vie.

I had toast as a dinner snack.  I wasn't really hungry, but knew I needed to eat something.  Being sick is really my favorite diet plan.  During Hurrication I gained a few pounds that I've been struggling to work off.  Sickness always helps kick start minimal weight loss.

In the evening, we watched Big Mouth, instead of The Ranch, because we needed some laughs after the heaviness that was the last season of The Americans.  We headed to bed around 9:45, but I got up at 10:45 to do some homework that was due at midnight, conveniently, when my project partner was also up working on it (this partner told me he was sick with a fever on Saturday and might go to the hospital.. so when I woke up on Sunday with a sore throat, I knew I was fucked).

We didn't manage to get the code to work, and by we, I mean him, because I have ZERO idea what is happening for that project.  He said he'd rather turn it in late and get 10 points off a correct submission than turn it in on time and get 15 points off for that part of the assignment not being done correctly.  I said fine and then I went back to bed.  Teh German was still awake reading up on tank things, but when I crawled back into bed, we finally went to sleep.

______________________________________________

Monday came, as it does.  Because I had PITA Professor for 3 classes and I knew that there was a quiz in at least 2 of the 3 classes, I went in, knowing he's also there by 0730, and requested to take all the quizzes for the day so I could go back home and be sick at home.  He said ok to my request.  I spent 20 minutes taking the quizzes and returned the papers to him and headed home.

./squeeeee

Since I'm not in class today, that means I should be working on things that are due tomorrow, but with the pressure in my ears, the way my head is screaming at me, and the inability to swallow without 13/10 on the pain scale, I'm not sure how successful I'll be at accomplishing things.

This week includes:
-Quizzes and tests in all my classes.. rah
-Programming assignments in all my classes.
-Hopefully starting on a paper that has a rough draft due on 11/1.
-Tattoo session on Saturday, which I am woefully unprepared for, mentally and physically, as I have a concept of what I want, but no good example, which means that a portion of my time will spent not being inked since Noel will need to draw out the stencil, which means not taking advantage of the full day... ugh.
-I'm supposed to have a hairs did appointment on Friday, but I think I'm going to push it back because my hair doesn't look bad yet.  Also, I'm considering going somewhere different so I don't have to drive to BFE to get my hair done.  I'm all about convenience and her new shop is not convenient for me.


This week is also Teh Sister's birthday and Phil's birthday. 
Pretty sure Teh Sister is forever 14, despite what the math just told me.

If it's finally fall where you are, congratulation.  While the temps dropped into the low 80s here, it still feels hot.  Then again, I might have a fever.. or it might just really still be hot because #SouthernProblems.  Either way.  I JUST WANT TO WEAR A FUCKING HOODIE AND NOT SUFFOCATE.