Bit of Ivory

RELAX. Yes, it sucks that they didn’t do direct deposit today. It sucks even more that they’ve discontinued it for the foreseeable future, and didn’t let us know about it until this morning, when it didn’t show up in our accounts. And it sucks most that even though the checks were supposed to be here by 3:00 PM, it’s now quarter to 4 and they’re not here yet.

I want my check just as much as you do. But stop looking at me like I’m hording your money all for myself, or acting like it’s all my fault. It’s not. No, I don’t know why they’re not here yet. No one tells me anything. I’m just the receptionist.

Okay, so. This week has been so slow. And today has been slower. There are several reasons for this.

The first is that I haven’t been sleeping well (for reasons unknown), so I am dead tired. Going to see Hairspray at 9:30 PM on Wednesday night did not help this situation.

The second is that it’s Friday, and Fridays by definition go slowly.

The third is that it’s the Friday before a long weekend, and therefore must go twice as slowly as a normal Friday.

The fourth is that the phones have been pretty quiet today, so I haven’t had as much to do.

The fifth is that I’m at a place on my current knitting project (the shawl that I did as “practice” for Jen’s and that I’m finally getting around to finishing) where I need to look at the instructions again, and I forgot them. So I haven’t been able to knit to pass the time.

The sixth is that my allergies are acting up a bit, so I’m drowsy from Zyrtec and wearing my glasses instead of my contacts, which is giving me a bit of a headache.

The seventh is that TOMORROW IS THE FIRST BYU HOME FOOTBALL GAME AND I CANNOT WAIT.

Hearing “One More Night” by Phil Collins, followed immediately by “How to Save a Life” by Fray for the SECOND time today hasn’t helped matters AT ALL.

Although I did just get a slight lift. I’m sitting here typing this entry and I get a call from our Recreational Therapist. It went like this (I swear, this is nearly verbatim):

Phone: *double rings to show it’s an internal call*
Me: *sees caller ID* Hi, Jaime.
Jaime: Hi. Goblet of Fire is the third one, right?
Me: Nope. It’s the fourth.
Jaime: Oh. What’s the third?
Me: Prisoner of Azkaban.
Jaime: Oh. Oh, yeah! Right there. Okay. Thanks! Bye.
Me: Bye. *hangs up* *giggles*

Now if only the next 20 minutes could be as enjoyable as that 20 seconds. . .

I’ve decided who my Most Hated Artist Played By KOSY is. This was not an easy decision. Even the groups/artists I like get played too much (I hear at least four Carpenters songs a day, and they only play about 8 different ones, so it gets old). But there are several artists that I just do. not. like. And these are the ones they seem to play the most. Elton John is one. Rod Stewart is another. Celine Dion I like sometimes, but most of the songs they play are the ones I really DON’T like. But there’s one who irritates me more than any of the above.

Phil Collins.

Seriously, why did this guy do so many cover songs? And his original songs are even worse! I’ve been here since 8. It is now 11:15. And I’ve heard Phil Collins three times already.

GAH.

Anyway. A couple of weeks ago, our IT guy at work came and stole my fax machine/printer. The nurses station needed it. He said I’d get it back after the weekend, but I didn’t. This was highly inconvenient. But then, last Friday, I got a brand-new HP OfficeJet Pro L7680 all-in-one printer/copier/scanner/fax. ‘Tis very pretty, and it works SO much better than my old one. I was really giddy about it until I realized how lame it was to be giddy over office equipment. Then I was just mildly pleased.

I’m much more than mildly pleased over something else, though. I mentioned Ravelry in my last (real) post. Well, one of the cool things on Ravelry is the ability to search by knitting pattern, and see who else has done that pattern and how it turned out. Each pattern has a page with a featured photo. A couple of days ago, I got a message that two of my projects had been selected to be the featured photo for that pattern! It made me very happy. Of course, it helped that only two other people had made Snaps and only one had made Flaps (I actually had to add the pattern to the site; someone else then said they’d made it, but that person hadn’t posted a picture at all), but hey, a featured photo is a featured photo. I was quite chuffed about it.

I get Labor Day off! Thank heaven. I’m dearly in need of a break. BYU’s semester officially starts on Tuesday, but I’m not taking any classes, which feels odd. I am registered for two thesis hours, though, which is the minimum hours required for the semester you graduate. Yes, I’m still hoping against hope that I can finish my thesis in time for December graduation. It may take a miracle. But miracles do happen sometimes.

Gah. They just played Elton John. Maybe it’s a tie after all. . .

That is what I have managed to make out of my 100% hemp yarn. That’s what I get for thinking that I could wind it into a ball without the aid of a swift or even a chair back. It will probably take an hour to untangle. Joy. It’s a pretty color, though. A very nice blue. And the gray skein looks really nice with it. Will make some nice dishcloths. If I ever get it untangled, that is.

My title also feels like a good metaphor for how I feel about my life at the moment, but I don’t want to go into that.

I’ve been spending a lot of online time at Ravelry, which is still in beta mode but which is absolute crack for knitters and crocheters. I know is on there, but other than her, I have no friends (which kinda defeats the social-networking side of the whole site). Is anyone else in yet? Or are you still waiting for your invite (they’re getting closer to going public)? Or have you never even heard of it until now?

I threw my back out last Saturday. It was almost better on Monday. Tuesday it was as bad as it’s ever been. Massive amounts of ibuprofen and Thermacare wraps make getting through the day bearable, but if it doesn’t get better soon, I guess I’ll need to call the chiropractor. Grr. But– my insurance now covers chiropractic visits! Hurrah!

Speaking of insurance, I went to the doctor for the first time in a year on Friday. Got my thyroid levels checked (normal). Got a referral to radiology to get an ultrasound, to check for Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. If I have it, then the treatment is birth control pills (which I’m already on, and have been for years) and controlling weight (which I’m already trying to do). So even if I have it, nothing will change, except knowing that I have it. Joy.

Having insurance again is nice.

Overall, I like my job, but there are two definite drawbacks. One is that I have to listen to KOSY (click on the link to see what music I am subjected to, and feel my pain!) for 40 hours a week. Not only do they play the same songs every day, sometimes they play the same songs more than once in the SAME day! I swear, I’m going to go insane. And I just can’t WAIT until they switch over to all Christmas music, all the time in OCTOBER. *screams* Ahem. Anyway, the other drawback is that, unlike most office jobs, I can’t wake up in the morning and say “I can use another half-hour of sleep. I’ll go in at 8:30 and only take a half hour lunch.” I can’t just take off early to go to a doctor’s appointment. I can’t suddenly decide to take a weekend trip. And I feel like I can’t call in sick unless I truly can’t sit up. Because any time I’m not there, someone else has to cover for me. Which is a huge inconvenience to everyone else. I don’t like feeling guilty because I have a doctor’s appointment.

Of course, if I weren’t such a responsible person, I wouldn’t feel guilty. Being good is such a drag sometimes.

I’ve got two HP plot bunnies that I want to write– one a genficlet about Kingsley visiting the Muggle PM, and one a romantic H/G piece set a few weeks after the end of the battle– and I just. can’t. write. them. The H/G fic was progressing at the rate of 1 paragraph per day when my creativity completely died. It seems, then, that my writer’s block has progressed past essays and into fic, which is very bad news for my thesis. If I can’t even write H/G fluff, how can I write criticism? *sigh*

Speaking of my thesis, I need help from some of you. But that can wait for another post.

I saw Hairspray the other day, and Stardust on Monday night. Both excellent movies. Except I didn’t like John Travolta in drag in Hairspray. Totally ruined my suspension of disbelief. Robert de Niro in Stardust, on the other hand, was hilarious. And speaking of Stardust– where has Charlie Cox been all my life? And do you think he’d object to a slightly older woman?

My recreational reading has taken an Austenish turn lately. I’ve started reading the Jane Austen Mystery series by Stephanie Barron, and actually find the books amusing. She does a pretty good job of capturing Austen’s voice, IMO. Then yesterday I read Austenland by Shannon Hale, which, despite its not-so-subtle insults of Northanger Abbey, I found thoroughly delightful. I was quite giddy at the romance, even. Almost giddy enough to forgive the Northanger Abbey digs. Hale really gets the Austen fangirl, though. Really.

I also started another reread of Pride and Prejudice. I swear I started before I read Austenland, though.

I don’t plan on seeing Becoming Jane until my sister can get me in for free. I hope I can set aside my prejudice and enjoy it, but I don’t hold much hope. I’m just so annoyed at the message it’s sending– that Jane couldn’t have written those books unless she’d actually experienced a tragic love story, and that apparently she has next to no imagination at all, anyway, since most of her best scenes, lines, and characters are copied from her life. That really, really bugs me. But that wouldn’t be so bad if Hollywood hadn’t also marketed it as 100% TRUFAX, when actually it’s (as Mags of Austenblog likes to say) an almost totally Made Up Story. Grr.

In much, much happier news– BYU Football officially begins a week from Saturday. I’ve been haunting fanboards. I’ve been eagerly gobbling up practice reports. I attended the Women’s Football Clinic and the Big Blue Bash. I nearly kissed our season tickets. I’ve changed my cell ringtone to “Rise and Shout,” and I get giddy every time I hear it. I ADORE football.

I finally got around to blocking Jen’s wedding present, and I gave it to her on Harry Potter Eve. With all that went on immediately thereafter, I haven’t been able to think much about it. But I just uploaded a few photos, and I can’t resist sharing.

Project: Shoulder Shawl in Cherry Leaf Pattern from Victorian Lace Today
Yarn: Handspun 1-ply 100% silk purchased on eBay from silkindian. Unsure how many yards were used.
Needles: Knitpicks Options size 7 and INOX DPNs size 6, size F Susan Bates crochet hook for picot edging

The shawl being blocked. I stretched the shawl dry on my newly-purchased lace blocking wires, then wet it down.

The full shawl, post-blocking.

Close up of the stitch pattern, knitted-on border, and picot edging. I had to re-learn how to crochet to do the picots.

As worn by the happy recipient– a month to the day after her wedding. We were waiting in line for our wristbands for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows at the time.

I think she liked it. Now I have to make me one. . .

It’s a slow day at work. I find it rather– ironic that now, where I’m working somewhere that updating my journal from work would be perfectly acceptable, I hardly ever do it. But when I was working somewhere where doing such a thing would be frowned upon, I did it all the time.

Anyway. I’m just going to post some random things that I’ve either been doing or thinking lately. ‘Cause my life has gotten rather boring lately.

I’m thoroughly sick of listening to KOSY 106.5 for 40 hours a week. They play the same dumb songs every day. And even when they play a song I like– a Carpenters song, or a few that I’ve got on my iPod– I’ve heard them all so much lately that I don’t even enjoy them any more. And why, why, do people remake stupid 60s songs? There are lots and lots of really good songs that came out of the 60s, but do people cover them? No! Instead we get “Groovy Kind of Love” and “On Broadway” and other such songs that weren’t that good to begin with, and certainly don’t improve with a modern cover. Just. . . stop, people. If you were taking these mediocre songs and making them better, I wouldn’t complain! But instead, you’re making them worse.

And if I never hear another Elton John or Rod Stewart song, it’d be too soon. Unfortunately, they play at least 3 a day. Hmph.

Vanilla Coke is back (well, it’s now “Coca-Cola Vanilla” and “Coke Zero Vanilla”, but it tastes the same). This is both wonderful and terrible news. Wonderful because I love Vanilla Coke. Terrible because I try not to drink caffeine, and I haven’t been drinking as much of it since Vanilla Coke was discontinued. Woe.

My nails and cuticles look terrible. I just bought some cuticle cream to try to whip them into shape. I don’t have much hope though– I’ve never been able to make them look anything but terrible. And my nails are so brittle. I guess I need more Vitamin E in my diet or something. Anyway, these horrible horrible cuticles have been catching on my knitting lately, so something must be done.

Speaking of knitting, I’ve been working on a silk shawl as a gift for Jen’s wedding (which was on Wednesday and which was beautiful and at which I cried and which I still haven’t recovered from, and all I did was serve cake for an hour and a half) and it’s turning out absolutely beautifully. Here’s a pic I took with my cellphone camera when I’d only done a few repeats. It’s much bigger now. I was trying to get it done for the wedding, but hurrying made me make stupid mistakes, which took more time to correct than just taking my time in the first place would have, so it didn’t get done. I am glad that I did the practice shawl (most of it, I still have to do the edging on two of the sides) beforehand, though, because if I hadn’t already had experience with the kinds of aggravating things that happen when knitting lace, I think I would have given up on it long ago. Anyway, I think I might be able to finish it by the time she gets back from her honeymoon, though. Or shortly thereafter.

Once I get that finished, I’ve got baby House sweaters for the niece and nephew to knit in time for the DH release, Lisa’s Hufflepuff scarf to finish in time for the OotP premiere, and then– I’ve got so many lovely projects on tap! For my birthday I requested gift certificates and/or money to spend on knitting things. So, in the past few weeks, I’ve bought lace blocking wires, 4 more sets of Knitpicks Options needle tips in the sizes I use most (6, 7, 8, and 9, if anyone was wondering) as well as another set of 24″ cables and a new set of 40″ ones (and it’s a good thing, too, because I certainly need the length for the shawl!), a set of wooden cable needles, and a magnetic chart keeper. And those are just my notions! I also bought the book No Sheep for You, which had good info on silk and also has a lot of cute patterns that I want to make. And yarn! I got three balls of this lovely, lovely DK-weight merino superwash wool that I can’t remember the name of to make an Irish Hiking Scarf (hence the cable needles– I haven’t done cables yet, and this is my project to learn), a ball of sock yarn to make my very first pair of socks with (haven’t decided what pattern to use on that yet), two skeins of a burgundy-colored laceweight merino wool to make Christmas-present shawls for my grandmothers (I’m planning on using the Shetland pattern from Victorian Lace Today for them), a cone of laceweight 100% silk yarn in Citron from Colourmart for a shawl for my mom (we haven’t decided on a specific pattern yet), and two cones of heavy-laceweight silver gray yarn from Colourmart for a Cap Shawl from VLT for me. And I still have two balls of Rowan Kidsilk Haze that I bought in Laguna Beach that’s wanting to become a Victorian Ruby scarf from VLT. But I don’t know when I’ll actually get to that.

Luckily, I still have a lot of time to knit at work. Because I’m still trying to work on my thesis at home. Which is hard. And which I haven’t done much of. Next week, I shall buckle down. Yes, I will.

And who knew that when I decided to learn how to knit so I could make myself a Ravenclaw scarf, that it would turn into this? I certainly didn’t.

I still haven’t written up my trip to Laguna, or to New York. But I have uploaded my pictures to my Flickr account. Laguna is here and New York is here. Haven’t finished writing up descriptions for all of them, though. I think some of my “artsy-fartsy”-type landscape and scenery shots turned out rather well, even with my point-and-shoot digital. One of these days I’ll bring my SLR on a trip. I hardly ever have room for it. Not that I really know how to use it, anyway.

I really need to reserve my copy of Deathly Hallows. I’ve been putting it off because plans were still hazy, but there’s not much time left! Less than a month! EEK!!

I need to see Pirates 3 again. I’ve only seen it thrice! Not nearly enough.

The owner of my place of employment comes in rarely, but he never fails to make me feel like he thinks my IQ is significantly lower than it actually is, and that I’m doing everything wrong (when I’m not). One of the drawbacks of doing a job that’s below my skill level, I suppose.

Speaking of work, they’ve been asking me to create more and more specially-formatted documents lately. And all I have to work with is Word, which SUCKS when what you’re really doing is desktop publishing, not word processing (actually, it sucks for word processing, too, but that’s another rant). When my boss gets back (she and half the rest of the company are on vacation/at conferences this weekend), I might ask if they’d be willing to spring for something rather better– especially if they’re going to do that newsletter that they’ve been talking about since I was hired. I don’t suppose InDesign would be a viable option, but I might be able to talk them into Publisher. Which would be better than nothing.

The other day in a fit of boredom I read The Mysteries of Udolpho on Project Gutenberg. Now, I knew from past experience (and several classes discussing the Gothic Novel) that Ann Radcliffe’s brand of Gothic is more of the Scooby-do type (where everything that seems supernatural has a rational explanation), but her style of giving these explanations is maddening. At one point, the heroine, Emily (and as a nitpick– if the heroine were really in 16th-century France, as the novel purports, her name would have been spelled Emilie. Just sayin’), lifts a black veil covering what is supposedly a picture, and faints dead away. She then spends the rest of the book nearly fainting with horror over what she saw. But the reader doesn’t even get to know what it was that she thought she saw until almost the last page of the book, and then it’s explained in the same breath as what it was she actually saw. Which felt a lot like being conned rather than tricked. I didn’t get that feeling with The Romance of the Forest, though. So maybe it’s unique to Udolpho. Anyway, I’m glad I read it, as I now understand the references to it in Northanger Abbey that much better, but it’s a horrid book– and not in the sense Catherine uses it, either.

And “horrid” is a word that we Yanks don’t use much. Which is a shame, because it’s much more compact than “horrible.” I always think about this fact when listening to the Keane B-side “The Way You Want It,” because they use “horrid,” and it’s just another sign of their Britishness coming out. Which I love.

I’ve been helping my mom find and plant (we both do the finding, but I’ve been doing most of the planting– mom’s back has been bothering her. The doctors think she has a herniated disc, which stinks) perennials in our yard lately. It’s quite fun. Right now we’ve gotten mostly shrubs and ornamental grasses, but we’re hoping to plant some flower seeds in the fall. In the meantime, our strawberries ripened, and they were (and are, since we made jam and froze them) delicious. They were kinda dinky, but so much sweeter than the big ones you get in stores. Mmm. Now to plant some raspberry bushes. . .

My other BFF Nicole is in town for a family reunion and for Jen’s wedding, and tomorrow we’re going to go to Kneaders for lunch. I’m really, really looking forward to it. MMM, fresh roasted turkey on foccacia with Kneader’s sauce. And I’m saving my WW points so I can indulge in a mini Key Lime tart, too. Or maybe a mini strawberry tart. We shall have to see when we get there.

Speaking of points, I’ve re-lost about half of the weight I regained between all my vacations and starting work full-time (which at first meant eating out every day, although I’m getting better at that). Slowly but surely, the weight will come off! Although it’s leaning more towards slowly these days. I bought an incentive dress the other night, though. It’ll look great about 10 pounds from now. The new Kashi frozen entrees are absolutely delicious, are very filling, and a nice change of pace from Lean Cuisines (which I rather overdosed on, hence the eating-out-too-much phenomenon). Snacking on sugar snap peas is also a good thing. The new Hostess 100 Calorie chocolate cupcake packs are only 1 point per package (if you only eat one. If you eat two, then it’s 4 points for both :P), while the yellow cake ones are 2. Packs of mini Pringles are 3. I’ve been enjoying all of them in moderation lately.

It occurs to me that this post would be more effective when broken up over several days. I bet I’d get more comments that way.

Maybe that’ll give me the incentive I need to post more.

Okay. Let’s see. I think I’m going to break this down into categories for ease of organization and such.

1) School: Pretty much the same. What with starting a new job and still being quite exhausted, not much progress has been made on the thesis. But things are looking up for this week. I’m determined not to let myself get stressed out about it again, as it will simply exacerbate the problem.

2) Job: Loving it. Everyone is really friendly and they think I’m great (I’m in a fair way to getting a big head with all the praise I get). The phones are anywhere from steady to nonexistent, but never off-the-hook. During the time between phone calls I’m free to do whatever I like. They have little projects for me every now and then (they’re already quite enamoured of my editing skills), but if there’s nothing that needs to be done, I can read, play solitaire, surf the web, whatever. So yeah, good job for me. I’ll admit that it was tough getting up in time to be there at 8 every morning, but that’s the beauty of this switching-off deal– I only have to do that for a week. I am trying to be up *by* 8 on my afternoon-weeks, though.

3) Family: We’re doing well. My niece and nephew are about the most adorable things ever. We’re trying to nail down dates for a family vacation (including both married couples and my Grandma By) to upstate New York at the end of April/first of May. I’m way excited.

4) Friends: Good. Jen has invited me to join her and a couple other friends for a trip to Laguna Beach over Easter, which I’m very excited about. In the meantime, I hang out with her once a week at Institute. The trip to California will include a day at Disneyland, so I’ll get to see Nicole while I’m down there as well.

5) Fandom: Still working at Scribbulus, and am very excited that HarryPotterSeven.com is up and running. I’m the one in charge of making the .pdf version, and I’m trying to work on that a little every day– so hopefully it won’t be too long until you can download all of our brilliance as an e-book. I’m also doing a bit more at SQ (which I basically ignored for several months). I guess the excitement of a new book is bringing me back to my roots. I’m, unfortunately, a few days behind on the reading, but I hope to catch up soon. (As an aside for my Austen-loving friends: the more I hear about the upcoming Becoming Jane movie, the more I want an undead monkey around to shoot. Grrr.)

6) Church: I was unexpectedly called into the Bishop’s office last week, and I got a new calling. I’m no longer teaching the adult Sunday School class– instead I’m a Ward Missionary (which mainly involves working with those within your ward boundaries that are members but not currently attending). I’ve never done anything like it before, so I’m a bit nervous, but also excited. I’m going to miss teaching, though. While I was in the interview, my Bishop (who is a close family friend– the guy who made my Ravenclaw cake at Wahleecon, actually), decided I needed a priesthood blessing (which, for the unfamilar, is where a man holding the priesthood lays their hands on your head and tells you what God needs you to hear– comfort, healing, and advice), and made me sit right down and have one. It was one of the more amazing blessings I’ve ever had. There was comfort, yes, but there was more advice. He basically told me I need to change nearly everything about my life (pray and read my scriptures more consistently, go to bed earlier and wake up earlier, eat healthier, exercise, and many more things), and that if I did these things, God would bless me in ways I’d never thought possible–including being able to write my thesis. So, I’m trying. It’s slow going, changing your life, but I know it will be worth it. This week I worked on the prayer and scripture study, and also the adjusting of sleeping patterns. Next week I’m adding in exercise. I’ve already been eating better (because of Weight Watchers–I’ve lost nearly 15 pounds so far, yay!), but I’m trying to do better at eating natural foods instead of processed stuff. So, yes. I’m on my way to a new me.

7) Hobbies: I’ve bought a fabulous new book called Victorian Lace Today, and I want to knit pretty much every single project in it. I’m starting easy, though (the very first project in the book, to help me learn how to follow a chart and such), and hope to be able to make one of the shawls as a wedding present for . I even bought some 100% silk yarn from India off eBay the other day, and I can’t wait until it arrives. I’m working on a very simple practice shawl for my sister right now, then I’ll make a more complicated one for myself, and then do Jen’s. I finally went to a new yarn store I heard about back around Thanksgiving (I’ve avoided it until now, because I didn’t have any money and knew I’d be entirely too tempted if I even set foot in it) and– I’m pretty much in love. For your basic Cascade or Plymouth or Lamb’s Pride stuff, it’s not a great store, but if you want anything exotic, three wishes Fiber Arts is the store for you. They’ve got Noro from Japan and Bamboo Silk and gorgeous 100% merino superwash wool, and– even more cool– roving to spin your own yarn. They teach classes in not just knitting and crocheting, but also weaving, spinning, dyeing, and tatting. It makes me want to be independently wealthy. I’ve never seen so many yarns I want to buy. I think that pretty much covers it. I’m going to try to update once a week, now, so you’ll hear from me soon. Great big hugs to everyone on my flist who needs them– and thanks for your love and concern. It’s helped a lot.

Currently watching Kenneth Branagh’s Hamlet. Haven’t actually seen it for years.

Yup. Brian Vaughn was better.

(I’ll do a real update tomorrow, promise. )

Yup, that would be me. My contract job with WGU wasn’t working out (mainly because I hardly ever did any actual work, what with being so unscheduled and all, and because it was boring as all get-out), and since the beginning of the year I’ve been looking into regular part-time jobs. I did have a few caveats– I didn’t want to work on Sundays, and I wanted to have a job that, while keeping me busy, wasn’t so mind-numbingly boring that I’d have trouble pulling my brains together to write, but also wasn’t so thought-intensive that I came home mentally exhausted. So, that left me with, basically, customer service, general office work (NOT exclusively data entry– been there, done that, drove me batty), retail (if they didn’t make me work on Sundays), or receptionist.

I tried retail first– applied at a couple of locations of Deseret Book, which I had worked for before– and even had an interview at one, but nothing came of it. So then I went to Utah’s Workforce Services website and, after a couple of days of looking around for what was available, what looked interesting, and what I was actually qualified for, I updated my resume (which hadn’t been done since 2004, as I’ve been using my c.v.  to apply to most of my other jobs lately. But the kinds of jobs I’m applying for now could care less about my publication credits, so. :P) and sent it out to about 7 companies on Monday. On Tuesday, one of them called me back. I went in for an interview yesterday, and was told that they were very interested in me, and to expect a call for a second interview either that day or today. This morning I got that call, and went in for said interview this afternoon, where I was offered the job. I have to go into the staffing company that they were working through either tomorrow or Monday to fill out paperwork, and then orientation is Tuesday.

So what am I doing? I am now a part-time receptionist at the New Life Centers, an eating disorder clinic here in Salt Lake City. I’ll be making $10 an hour, and working 20 hours a week.

And I’m quite excited about it.

And sorry for not updating in so long. I went through a very rough patch, both school-wise and with life in general, at the end of the year that I still don’t feel like talking about much, but I’m getting better. Onward and upward, right?

Well, it’s over. I’ve spent most of the day veging, celebrating the accomplishment of one of the steps necessary to get my PhD. Thanks so much for all of your good wishes. I didn’t get to read them until after I took the test, but I knew that they were there waiting for me to read, and it made me feel good. I ended up missing the train (just barely– if I hadn’t had to buy a ticket, I would have made it) and had to drive to the U’s campus, but luckily there were hundreds of people taking the LSAT in the same building, so finding the place wasn’t too difficult (although finding a place to park was a bit more so). I think I did pretty well on the test. There were some questions that I had no idea what the answer was, but there were more that I knew straight out, and even more that I could make a pretty good educated guess on. We’ll see how I actually did in six weeks. Now I just have to survive for the rest of the semester, find a job, write my statement(s) of intent, gather letters of recommendation, actually apply, finish my thesis, and manage to graduate. No problem.