Smörgåsbord

Oh, sorry about that. I've been away for a while. The past couple months have consisted of one weird medical issue after another, and over the last few weeks I knew things would get better, but not until they got a little worse. It seems all is well for now, though, so I am back!

I still don't have a job. The more I talk to others, the more apparent it becomes that there really are no jobs out there. At all. It's really demotivating. Don't worry, I'm still trying. I can't just sit back and say "Oh well, I guess I'm not paying my bills this month!" Ah, if only. I got to see a former coworker today, Brian, at his new job. We caught up with each other and it was really nice. He also told me a bit about what was going on at our old Starbucks since I left, and it was kind of encouraging. I'm going to look into what he said, and I might just re-apply there, after all.

At the beginning of the month I did have a sort of odd job. Mike's parents went out of state for five days, and their two dogs stayed at our house instead of having to stay at the pet hotel. They gave me enough to pay my bills in return! It wasn't all that pleasant, however. Among other things, they were here while I was being treated for some sinus problems (as I mentioned, one of a few issues), and for some reason when I was around them, my nose got all blocked and it was harder to breathe. I'm glad Mike helped out with them. I offered to split the compensation with him, but he declined. He is a gentleman, when he's not thinking about it. Anyway, despite the setbacks, I greatly appreciated his parents giving me that opportunity, because they knew I needed it. Either way, I'm now officially a cat person.

It's almost time to register for classes! I don't know if I should do it as soon as possible, so as to make sure I get the ones I really want, or wait until I'm able to finish my FAFSA. I don't have to send my parents' tax information now, but I heard that it might help if I put down that my dad is a veteran. If I send that info, I also have to send their tax stuff and whatever else the financial aid people need. Well, it might be worth it; I need all the help I can get. I'm pretty sure you're supposed to put the payment for the classes down as soon as you register for them, and I really don't have the money right now. Considering this, I should probably wait until all the financial aid stuff is taken care of before I register for any classes. The FAFSA deadline is sometime in June, so I do have some time. I've already waited this long, another month or two shouldn't be so bad.

Speaking of my parents, I'm back in touch with my dad. Well, I think we have sort of been talking for a couple months now, but it's slowly gotten to be more than just "hey how are you ok bye." He wants to collaborate on a book. It sounds like a good idea, but I've had no idea what to write, and he hasn't shown me any of what he's started, so maybe I should bring that up next time we talk. I mentioned that my new laptop has a webcam, so we've talked on that a couple times now. It's nice because I don't use up my phone minutes, and don't have to type all the stuff I want to say, and I sometimes get to see Marian (the good sister) and my mum. I miss Marian and worry about her on occasion (she's about to turn 14 which seems to make it impossible to get in contact with her) so it's really nice to see her.

My Aunt Alice finally got her other hip replacement surgery this month. Everyone was pleasantly surprised by how well she handled the anesthesia this time. Whatever new procedure the guy used, it was a good idea. She's still in the hospital doing physical therapy, and seems to be doing really well. I'm pretty bad at keeping in touch with people, but it's easy to talk to her and I find myself calling more or less regularly. I like to make sure she's still doing alright and get her mind off of being in the hospital, and she likes to hear about how I'm doing and how Mike and I are getting along and everything. I miss her a lot. We're planning on visiting her during our trip to New Jersey in August, and I know that will be fun.

A friend of a friend, Leigh, moved to Arizona a while ago, left, and just recently came back. He and I met up at the Tilted Kilt along with our respective significant others to catch up with each other. I hadn't seen him in about six years, and before that we didn't know each other that well. We had common friends back in the day though (including Jeremy, who is best friend to both of us), and we went to high school together. It was nice to sit with someone in person and reminisce, and talk about the different things that have happened in the past few years. His girlfriend seems really nice, and everyone seemed to like Mike and we all got along and it was fun. Now I need to make some time to visit with Lauren over at Luke Air Force Base, and Krysten, another friend from high school. It's hard when they live 30 or more minutes away, but we're they're both certainly worth it and I miss them so I'm going to try to see them soon.

So other than all this stuff, there are a few other boring things: practically futile research for picking out a new vacuum cleaner, borrowing chemistry and physics books from the library because I'm a nerd, and spending way too much time on the internet while still managing to avoid writing on here. I'll try to update on a more regular basis, but as I said before, I'm pretty bad with keeping in touch with others and that carries over, you know.