Well, dear blog, it looks like it's just you and me tonight, and I have news: I passed my test! The results came in today, and I am now certified to run the liquid-based test for Strontium. It's definite: I start my regular shift on Monday. I wish I felt more excited. Honestly, the shift really does suck. Badly. Maybe I'll write something about it; I've found poetry lately to be cathartic, and I've posted some of it online. This whole writing thing is pretty nice. I did have an email this morning from someone who reviewed my story (you know, the one I haven't written a word of in several months) and she said that enough was enough, I needed to finish the damn story! Maybe that's the encouragement I needed! =D

Rejected Hallmark Thank You Card

[Front] Thanks! If I was a dog, I'd lick your face.
[Inside] Oh, what the heck, c'mere!

--From The Shoebox Blog, Hallmark

The Real World Closes In

I talked with my parents today and one of the things we talked about was money. I always hate talking about money, normally because I don't really have any, but my Mom asked me how much I made last week, to help me figure out my budget and how much I can afford on rent and a car and insurance & etc. as soon as I get my own place. Not much, it turns out. Worrying about it later is not something I can do anymore; I have to grow up. I am extremely happy with where I am at Kim and Darren's, but at the same time, I don't want to get too comfortable here. I do want my own place and I do want my own car (one with AC, preferably), but it's really nice living with Darren and Kim. It's like an extended vacation with two of my favorite people in the world. I'm not in a huge hurry to change things, but at the same time, I absolutely positively do not want to be a burden to anyone and I don't want my staying here to cramp anyone. It's going to be hard - getting my own place. It's going to be lonely and there's going to be a lot of sleeping with a baseball bat next to the bed with a dead bolt on all exterior doors. But I'm also excited about having my own place, a place done up in my own style that just seems to say, "Hi, I'm Jessica's living room. Welcome." But in a good way. I feel so incredibly lucky to have Darren and Kim, so lucky that they let me live with them and drive their car. But beyond them, I see the real world, and it looks hungry.

On a heavier note, my Great Uncle John is in the Hospital. He's been anemic, and when he went in to get it checked out, the treatment they gave him caused him to vomit up his own blood. They think the treatment ripped a hole between his esophagus and his stomach. He's out of the ICU, but he's still at the hospital and his blood count is still terribly low. We're all keeping our fingers crossed and keeping him in our prayers.

On a more positive note, I've started writing again. I picked up a notebook this morning and began jotting some notes. I've since written a dreadfully droll poem, but I have hopes that I might write something of substance soon that I can post to my story online. We'll see.

Hi blog, I'm here on...

Hi blog, I'm here on the couch with Darren and Kim. Just thought I'd say hi. Goodbye. listen

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Yay!

Yay, they're home!! Darren and Kim arrived home about an hour ago, and both have since gone to sleep. In the brief time that we talked, I received a beautiful beaded necklace in one of my favorite colors and some real hispanic coffee that even Darren loves (and he hates coffee!). I told them that since I bought stuff for margaritas, we should all get drunk tommorow while D and K talk about the DR. I hope we do!

Just checked out the "Listen" link from my Jott post...

And it's official...I really, really hate the sound of my own voice. I'm never talking again!

Hi Blog, it's me Jessica,...

Hi Blog, it's me, Jessica, your creator. How is it going? Good, good to hear. I guess I will be talking to you more often, now that I have this Jott thing. This is pretty cool. All right. Bye, bye.

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Bon Nuit

Good night, sleep tight. Don't let the bedbugs bite!

Storm's Brewing

Rumble bumble rumble grumble goes the bruised sky outside. I worked late today, and am now looking forward to relaxing in the world of household minutiae. I have things I want to bake, dishes I want to prepare, laundry I want to get going, and organization that I want to bring to this house. Painting can wait for another day - it's too humid anyway. Both kitties were extremely affectionate when I got home. Hobbes let me pick him up, twice, and purred in my arms. Pi was her usual sweet self, but I was really touched by how sweet Hobbes was. WOW! Did you see that lightning? It lit up the entire room! Oh...there goes the thunder! I love thunderstorms!

I can see clearly now

I can see clearly, yes, much clearer than with my old glasses, but my depth perception is all whacky right now. Outer Vision called me today to say that my prescription safety goggles were ready to be picked up, so I drove over there after work and got my new goggles. It's amazing how crisp and clear my vision is now. It's taking me a while to get used to it, but I can see and read so many things now that I couldn't before! My goggles are pretty nifty. And big. Luckily, the prescription on my current glasses is okay for now, and I can still use them to drive, but as soon as I get insurance I'm getting new glasses with my new prescription. Or contacts. I think I'm going to get contacts. That way I can wear sunglasses because the sun in Charleston is practically blinding to me and that's not a good thing when I'm in the driver's seat.

I got to see The Happening last night with Calvin. I think I liked the movie. I'm not sure. I passed judgement way too quickly on Lady in the Water, a movie that I currently like, so I think I'm going to have to see The Happening again before I reach my verdict. That won't be until it comes out on DVD. I will say that it was interesting and that for a good third of the movie, I had to hide my eyes because I was too scared to watch the screen. And then Darren and Kim aren't home, so when I went to bed, it was extra creepy, so I curled up next to Darren's Louisville Slugger after dead bolting and securing both doors. I liked the idea behind the movie, and Marky Mark's character was a little deadpan but oddly funny and adorable. The lines came off a little stiff, in my opinion, and I think that a Director and Author as great as M. Night Shyamalan could have finessed them a little more to make them flow better. But, like I said, I'm not giving my verdict just yet.

My plan today is to skive off of Ladies' night with Kim's friends - I'm just not in the mood, plus I have things I want to get done. Really important things, like taking a nap or watching one of the two movies I rented this weekend, There Will Be Blood and No Reservations. Or maybe getting into my new book, Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. And then cooking dinner...maybe dirty rice, maybe spaghetti...maybe leftover mac and cheese. So many possibilities!

One is the Loneliest Number

Good thing I have Pi and Hobbes here to keep me company. I'm using one of Darren's laptops and the wireless connection from next door to write to you tonight...hello! Darren and Kim left early (really really early) this morning so they could make their flight out of Savannah. They will be gone for the next ten days, spending some quality time in the Dominican Republic. I looked at their itinerary and at all the things they get to do...they're going to have a blast!

Last night I made some really good curry (if I do say so myself) that all three of us virtually wolfed down, but two minutes after finishing dinner, Kim was sick to her stomach. Darren said that they thought that she might be allergic to curry, and judging by her reaction last night, they're pretty sure Kim is. Poor Kim! I hope her stomach gives her (and everyone around her) some peace on her plane flights today!

I had a pretty busy day at work today. On Friday, I put several batches through columns and then filtered them and weighed the filters, and I got really really low recovery amounts for the Strontium. I spoke with two team leaders and they said to go ahead and turn in the batches to the count room, and that they'd look into it. Today, the same thing happened, and we finally pinpointed it to a batch of resin. A week or so ago, we were completely out of resin with which to run our columns. That's a problem, because we couldn't run any batches. Whoever makes the resin put a rush on it and got it to us ASAP, but they didn't mark the weight and the density and all that stuff (I don't make the columns, I just use them, so forgive me my lack of resin-know-how). The result was that all of the columns we'd been using were low on resin (it's sort of like affinity chromatography: the beads in your column bind to something that you filter through them, and then you wash the beads, and then you elute the bound particles into a new container. If you don't have enough beads, you're going to lose some of your target molecules. That's what's been happening). The point is, we found the problem today and have now remedied it. The only problem that remains is if we're going to have to do the batches that were run through the low columns over again. We don't have enough time or enough sample to do six or more batches over again!

This weekend, I'm probably heading up to North Carolina. Susan is going up to NC at about 4AM on Saturday so she can be there early for TJ's birthday, and she's invited me to come along. I do want to visit home and see my family and the dogs and Leo and get some more of my things, but that weekend was the weekend I'd set aside to do some painting in Darren and Kim's house, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to start working 4AM to Noon next week, and I don't want to get in really late on Sunday night and throw my whole week off. We will see. Mom and Dad really want to see me, as much as I want to see them, so I'll probably go. Maybe.

Right now, I'm going to finish my beer, maybe do some cleaning, maybe not, heat up some leftovers for dinner, and settle down to watch There Will Be Blood, the movie for which Daniel Day-Lewis won the Best Actor Oscar for this past year.

Gentlemen, the lunchbox has landed

And by lunchbox, I mean bed. Yes, dear reader(s), I have now joined the ranks of people who sleep on actual matresses. Woohoo! Eat my dust, people who sleep on the couch! Darren and Kim ordered a futon matress not too long ago, and it came yesterday. Darren, being the excellent brother that he is, hauled the thing up the stairs and into the guest bedroom, where he and I unwrapped the matress and set it up. I have a bed now! A permanent one I don't have to fold up every day!! It's comfy and smells exotically (if weirdly) of cedar, which I'm told is something the factory does to make the matress and its immediate surroundings smell nice. I gave the matress a test run last night and I've reached the conclusion that it's a good matress. Pi likes it; she was curled up on it earlier today, so she must like it, or maybe it's just my Captain Jack Sparrow blanket that she likes- he is pretty irresitable.

Oh, before I forget it again, June 9th was Johnny Depp's birthday. I felt like such an idiot when I forgot it, so this is my attempt at an apology. Happy Belated Birthday, Mr. Depp!!

In other news, work is going well. I pretty much ran solo on Friday because the girl I normally shadow was sick to her stomach and couldn't work, and the other girl I normally shadow was out on vacation. Flying solo was pretty fun, until it came time for me to weigh the filters. I run a test that detects Strontium levels in surface or ground waters, and the test basically involves aliquoting out samples, treating them with chemicals, running them through drip columns, filtering the eluates and then weighing the filters to get detect the level of strontium recovery. We have an acceptable range of weights for recovery, and all of the filters but one that I weighed were extremely low. Really really low. Below 50% recovery in most cases, except for one, but what I think and what two team leaders think is that the resin in the colums was bad and that I didn't do anything wrong. That's a relief, especially since I messed up pretty badly on Wednesday when I started eluting a 24-sample batch before I had tubes under the columns to catch the eluates. Whoops!

I'm not sure when my hours are going to switch, but I think (based on the other new person's input) that this next week may be my last working 8-5. Pretty soon I will be 4am-noon, but that will be fine. I'll get off work with plenty of time to get to the beach or, more importantly, to run errands that I'll need to get done during business hours...like finding my own place, buying a car, getting a passport, getting insurance...life can be such a headache.

Oh! I got my checks today! I now no longer have to use starter checks! After I get my next few paychecks, and have some idea of what my steady income is going to be, I will apply for a credit card, which I probably won't use because I'll be too petrified of getting myself into debt, but at least it will be handy in emergencies!

Kim and Darren will be out of town starting Tuesday morning, on vacation in the Dominican Republic, lucky bastards that they are (just kidding, Kim!). I get to stay at their house by myself with the two kitties, Pi, who likes me, and Hobbes, who sometimes likes me and mostly does not. We'll see how this works out. Dun dun dunh! I do know how to get to the vet in case of emergency, and I know where the hospital is, and I know how to get to Calvin's, to Shaun and Laura's, to Darren and Kim's work, and somewhat to Susan's. And, most importantly, I know how to get to a movie theatre, and I will go see The Happening sometime soon and I'm almost certain it's going to be good. I'm hoping to get some painting done while they're gone - namely the bedroom I'm in, which might need a little plastering before it gets a new coat of paint, and a bookshelf that needs a fresh look and that I've been told is going to be my art project. Woohoo!

At some point, I am going to start writing again. I've sort-of hit a wall with my characters and my plot, and I'm quite sure my readers have abandoned my story by now, but I will get some new chapters written as soon as my inspiration returns. Maybe I'll watch the movie it's based on again (Labyrinth, starring David Bowie and Jennifer Connelly) to find my muse. Maybe I'll just pick up the threads of the other stories I was brainstorming on...oh, I miss my muse!

There's plenty more for me to write about, but none of it is very interesting or amusing. There was a funny incident at Tsunami's I didn't write about. Shaun asked me that if I moved in with a guy, would I sleep with him? He had to yell it across the table because it was pretty loud in there, and I thought he was referring to me moving in with Darren and Kim, and I said something along the lines of, "Eeewww! He's my brother!" That, of course, was not at all what Shaun meant when he asked me, and he was pretty shocked by my answer. Picture this:
Shaun: "You move in with a guy...you'd sleep with him, right?"
Me: "Ewww! He's my brother!"
I think I can understand Shaun's cry of "What is wrong with you?!" So I clarified my answer, and then he clarified what he meant when he asked, and so I gave another answer which brought instant uproar at the table and several guys' exclamations of "Sold to the Highest Bidder!!" I guess saying that of course I'd sleep with a guy if I moved in with him, and that he'd get it at least twice a day is a pretty rare commodity.

Hmm. That's not really that funny now; I guess you had to be there. The other funny mis-hearing was yesterday night, when I bent down to pet Pi and Darren asked me if I wanted to go set up the bed (remember, the futon matress had just arrived). I thought he asked me if Pi stuck her butt up (like most female cats do when you pet them), and I said no, she just walked away. The look of confusion on Darren's face was priceless. Imagine:
Darren: "Do you want to go set the bed up now?"
Me: "No, she just walked away."
As Darren said, for the record, my response didn't make any sense whatsoever.

Another Update

Hello again! I didn't think I'd be on the internet again this soon, but here I am! I'm at Kim and Darren's work; I had to order some personalized checks because of something that happened yesterday, but I will get to that in a moment.

Yesterday, we went swimming at Calvin and Sam's apartment complex and boy was that FUN! I may be overreacting, simply because to me, swimming at a pool is only outranked by two things on my fun scale: boogie boarding at the beach and watching a new movie in theatres. Kim, Darren, and I are all sunburnt, and we all are walking results of an experiment testing the effectiveness of a variety of different sunscreens. Some passed, and some didn't.

After that, Kim and I went grocery shopping, and stopped at Barnes & Nobles to use a coupon she had. I found a book and Kim was nice enough to give me the coupon and to let me use her membership card. I told the cashier I was going to write my check for over; she said fine. She takes my check, gives me a receipt, but no change. She calls her manager over because she can't figure out why the machine wouldn't give me change. The manager says they do not cash checks; they must be made out to the exact sale value. So I void my first check and write a new one. I get my new receipt, they take my check, and as I turn to walk out the door, the manager asks me if they were starter checks. I say yes, because I only opened the account two weeks ago. She says that they can't accept starter checks. At this point, I'm torn between yelling WTF? and crying, so I voided another check and Kim paid for me. What the hell is the point of issuing starter checks if they aren't accepted? And why do they need my address if they write down my drivers license number? Stupid B&N policies. Publix, on the other hand, accepted my check with my drivers license number without a problem. So you can buy food with a starter check, but not books. Whatever.

But now I have checks. They should be arriving sometime next week. I got the Marine Corps series - it was either that or the American Flag one. What can I say...I'm patriotic, and I get the feeling that that trait is a rarity among people my age today. Such a pity.

I think that's it for now...nothing really ground breaking to report. This weekend I'm hoping to go see M. Night Shymalan's The Happening because he has yet to disappoint me with any film he's ever made. Unbreakable, The Sixth Sense, Signs, The Village, Lady in the Water...I loved them all, and any one who didn't can kiss my ass. Vitriolic, I know, but that's my personal opinion and I'm sticking too it.

Quick Check In

Hi! Just writing to say I'm fine and my job is excellent! I love Charleston and I love the weekends! On Friday, it was Shaun's birthday, so Darren, Kim, and I went over to Tsunami's (I know, I know...what the Hell am I going to order at a sushi restaurant?) and then I proceded (with some help) to get so drunk that I couldn't walk straight. Seriously. I tried. I was flanked by Shaun and his brother-in-law Jason (probably to make sure I didn't fall over into the street) as we walked to the ATM and I was going on about how fine I was and then I tried to walk a straight line and failed. Miserably. What a fun night!

Right now I'm at Calvin and Sam's and I don't want to type too much longer because we're getting ready to go swimming and swimming is one of the few things that will make me drop whatever the hell I'm doing to

Charleston, Here I Be

My fingers are twitching to correct the incorrect usage of grammar in this post title, but I'm trying to curb that urge. I have to learn to take a chill pill when it comes to grammar because when I hear people talk, I automatically correct their grammar and it's only my natural reticence around people I don't know very well that saves me from the horrible faux pas of openly correcting them. Mainly it's replacing improperly used adjectives with adverbs, but I can't figure out why I care so much! Maybe I'm just that anal.

I'm here in Charleston now, good ole Chucktown as I heard it called the other day. I'm staying with Darren and Kim, with Pi and Hobbes's permission of course. I love Pi and Hobbes! They're so cute and funny and both are real characters. Darren and Kim are just OK...just kidding!

Wow, that sounded really cheesy. Sorry! Anyway, I have my clothes, computer, books, movies, CD's, my Captain Jack Sparrow Talking Action Figure, and my Captain Jack Sparrow Fleece blanket safely stowed at Kim and Darren's, and there's even room for all of it in the guest bedroom! Darren put up the blinds in the room this morning, so I'll have some privacy from the peeping toms that might or might not be outside as soon as I start staying in there, which won't be for at least two weeks I'm told because they need to order a futon mattress. I'm not in any hurry - I'm on the couch right now which means I get a ton of AC when I go to sleep, and I can watch TV or play Wii until I get tired. See? I'm in no hurry whatsoever to sleep upstairs.

Mom, Dad, and Rob came down this weekend to bring me a few things (namely said J. Sparrow Action Figure, and then my complete collection of Jane Austen's works, including her short stories), and to pick up their white Ford Focus. Sadly, it isn't mine and I don't get to keep it. I did get to drive it downtown yesterday and had my very first lesson in pseudo-parallel parking, but it's on its way back to North Carolina today. Adios! I don't have a car at the moment, and that would present a problem if not for the awesomeness of my older brother Darren letting me drive his car, a black Ford Focus. It's a cool ride and aside from the lack of AC and a loose steering wheel, it's wonderful. Darren even replaced the brake light that had been out for a few years today! I'm actually used to a loose steering wheel at home - though on a lawn mower - so I'm not terribly freaked out about it, but I have some advice from Kim about what to do if I really really want him to get it fixed.

On Friday, we all went (with TJ and Susan) to a really neat Mexican Restaurant and had margaritas and some very good food before we retired to Susan's place for eclair pudding (I think that's what it was called). It was very tasty, especially on Saturday night when Susan and TJ cooked out for us and Susan's mom brought a Cheesecake which neither Kim, Darren, nor I could eat (it had almond cookies and I just don't care for cheesecake). Mom, Dad, Rob, and TJ are now on their way back to NC, and Kim and I just went with her friend Libby to Rebecca's (not my sister) son Connor's birthday party at the Children's Museum. It was a lot of fun and the museum is AWESOME! I wanted to play with everything, especially in the water room! I wish I could have had a place like that growing up, and I wish they'd make a place like that with a kid theme but built for adults to play in because I'd be there in a heartbeat! Libby is a really cool person who shares my love of J. Austen's works, including the film adaptations of her novels, and I thoroughly enjoyed a brief conversation with her about Austen's works to the almost complete confusion of my surrounding family.

And now, here I sit at some guy named Chris's computer, using Darren and Kim's work's internet to check my mail (15 messages, 6 of which were Washington Post, CNN, and NY Times updates, and then the rest were junk mail...doesn't anyone love me enough to send me a real email?!?). I start work tomorrow, so hopefully I can drive Darren's car tonight to get used to it so when I leave tomorrow at 7:30 or thereabouts, I don't freak out while driving it. I have orientation tomorrow at 8am, and I'll be working 8-5 for a few weeks (I'm betting two), and then I switch to 4am-12, so if anyone working a normal day job wants to do lunch, I'll probably be available (well, some restrictions may apply. For instance, you have to be in Charleston, sorry!). And that's about it.