Catch Up Time

Horrible, I am horrible at keeping up on this whole blog thing!  See let's play catch up.

This quarter has been a... well a not nice word.  Trying to fit school, work, CHCI, and everything else into my schedule is definitely tiring.

There have been some cool things that have happened this quarter though.  One of my best friends Nichola, had her baby!!! I can't wait to meet her in a week when I got to Utah and Idaho over spring break!  Also, my best friend Stephanie is pregnant with a little girl due in May!!!! AND her older sister is also pregnant, due about a week or so before Steph!
I also decided to go on my program's field school to Huangshan China to study Tibetan Macaques for 3 weeks! I'm super stoke and can't wait.  If all works I'll be also traveling around for a week after the field school with my friend Melanie.  I'm excited to experience a culture that is SO different from my own and to do research with the macaques!  They are habituated and very comfortable around tourists so it should be an interesting experience.
Then there is probably the MOST exciting thing of this quarter...

Introducing Reginald!!!! My good luck owl on my thigh!  I got him done at Third Eye Tattoo by Ben Reames.  He did an awesome job!  We intended for it to be less color but as we got into it decided to just go for it with a bunch of color.  It was supposed to be about 2 1/2 hours but ended up being 4 1/2 hours!  I probably should've done it in two sessions but I'm too impatient for that so I just did it all at once!  Let me tell you, it was exhausting and painful! (Although Ben said I was a trooper since it ended up being a pretty intense tattoo. Lol)  I'm so glad I decided to get it and with all the color!

Finals week is coming up and I really need to do well on all of my finals.  It's going to be rough but hopefully I come out ok.  After finals weeks is over I get to drive to Utah and Idaho for a week.  I can't wait!  I definitely need a break!

New Blog! 2 Miss Veggies

So Sharee and I started a food blog!

  Basically it's going to be all of our vegan and vegetarian recipes that we love and are going to try.  It's called 2 Miss Veggies: 2missveggies@blogspot.com.  Go check it out!  We've both posted a stir fry recipe so far; one vegetarian and one vegan, and they were both awesome!
We're posting a peanut butter granola bar type thing and super easy vegan no bake cookies soon!

 Hope you like it!

A Quick Note

I hate training new people at work.

Done

Slacker

Ok, ok, so I'm a slacker.  It's been forever since I've written on here, but, my life is crazy hectic right now!  I have school. I have work.  In between I try to do things with friends but honestly I rarely have time for that.

School for me isn't just going to classes.  This quarter I'm taking so many classes that have so much outside stuff to do.  Statistics... well it just sucks and I suck at math so...there.  ASL is all about the practice and I probably (not probably I know) don't practice as much as I should.  For one of my primate behavior classes I not only have to do homework and go to a weekly meeting but I have to work 4 hours at CHCI, Chimpanzee Human Communication Institute, every week cleaning and observing the chimps.  I have things to study, classes to go to, an apartment that never seems to stay clean for longer than an hour, co-workers who leave all their work for me to do, a dog to train and people who act like all I do is neglect them. (Some people in particular who act like I owe them everything!)

Well here are some words for you... My life does not revolve around you!  I am not your best friend, in fact some days I can't even stand to see your face and when you open your mouth I want to hit you in the face with the bottle of vodka that is in the cupboard.  I am not your mother.  I am not your maid.  I shouldn't have to follow you around and clean up after you.  You're an adult so act like it!  I shouldn't have to cater to your every desire and whim!  The whole world doesn't revolve around you and in fact, you are completely insignificant!  Now, I don't mean that in a cruel, nobody cares about you kind of way.  But the fact that you act like you are a god send to everyone, that you are so "artistic" (you probably think that even your poop is artistic) and that everyone should do things the way you want is ridiculous.  I'm sorry, but there is a reason that so many people dislike you!

I have a reason that I am at this school and one reason only.  To learn and get my degree.  I want to have fun as well but I'm a little more wise than I used to be and I don't want to waste my time playing around when I am paying for an education.  I CANNOT waste my money!  I don't have to waste my time worrying about someone else who doesn't give two $#*%$ about other people, their feelings, or their needs, but expects all of that and then some in return.

One day, and I pray that day comes soon, you will have a HUGE, GINORMOUS wake up call and it will NOT be a fun thing for you to go through but honey, you need it!

Life Lately

So this summer went by way too quickly!  BUT... I am so super excited for school! I am taking some great classes (well, I think they're great): American Sign Language, Primate Behavior, Prim 220 which is basically working at the Chimp Human Communication Institute learning observation and lab procedures as well as doing a lot of cleaning of the chimp areas, Swim Conditioning, and then my "this class is gonna suck!" Intro to Stats class.  So for the most part I think it's going to be a great quarter. (It's only been 3 days though, so we'll see.)  The stats class won't even be too horribly excruciating if I just keep up on my reading and such.  I'm already having a great time in my ASL class.  My teacher is super awkward and it's hilarious.  Although, he signs SO stinkin' fast that I can't understand anything he's saying.  It will definitely be a challenge but  hopefully a fun one.
Laura and I finally got a new roommate!!! Sharee!  She is so nice and I'm thinking we'll all get along well.  She loves Juliette, even though she is SUCH a pain sometimes.  Sharee also teaches Zumba at the SURC and Laura and I went to her first class.  I've never done Zumba before but it was super fun!  I'm going to try to go every week.  It was such a good workout and you can definitely feel it, but you're having so much fun you don't feel like you're going to die.
So that's about it.  Work and school, that will be my life for the next while! Oh and this not so little monster.

that toy didn't last long

I will start out by saying I love my dog...promise.  But having her is like having a child!!! I get no sleep!  And the sleep I do get is interrupted every hour by Juliette jumping onto my bed to cuddle (and by cuddle I mean try to completely lay on top of me) or she's already on the bed and is rolling around trying to wake me up to play.  Its exhausting.  And since I haven't officially adopted her yet, she is still not fixed which means she attracts all unfixed males like flies to poop. Yes poop.  She whines for no apparent reason, has to have someone petting her at ALL times, is as stubborn as a mule and all at the same time is just too dang cute.  I bought her a squeaky toy last week, it had 5 squeaky things in it.  The label said it was super tough and hard for dogs to rip apart.....

This is about 4 hours after she got it.... super tough my rear!!!  The only squeaky thing she has yet to pull out is the one in the butt and she keeps pulling stuffing out.  I only let her keep it because it keeps her ocupado while I'm cleaning or cooking.  

I'm taking miss Juliette with me to Oregon on Friday.  My mom's side of the family is having our annual family reunion.  We'll be somewhere near Newport camping.  I love camping at the coast.  Granted its not real camping; campsites and showers and what not.  But it's still fun seeing all the aunts, uncles, cousins and of course the many dogs that my family has: Kevin and Laurie's 2 yellow labs, Matt and Casey's  black lab, Klint's black lab that could actually be classified as a horse, Jenessa's little mutt dog whatever he is, my families poodle and pom (although they won't be there, sad face) my grandma's 4.... yes 4 little black toy poodles, Michelle's aussie shepherd, Adam and Krista's english mastiff puppy and now my Juliette.  Needless to say our family really likes animals.  I didn't even name off all the other cats and horses but trust me, there's a lot.  I'm so excited to see everyone though.  Especially my little cousins and second cousins.

Also while I'm in Oregon I'll be going to my friends Audrey and Ryan's wedding. (It's about dang time I tell ya.)  I'll get to see a bunch of my Oregonian friends, most of which I haven't seen in probably a year.  I'll be posting pictures from the Oregon trip when I get back!

Sea Shepherds, Juliette, way to go NY!!! and don't come looking for a room!

   First things first: It's a good idea if you know you're going to need a hotel room for the night to call around to make sure a hotel has rooms available!  Weekends here in Ellensburg in the summer are usually jam packed with sport camps, conventions and concerts so trying to find a hotel room on a weekend night is like trying to find the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow... in your dreams!  Every and I mean EVERY hotel from Yakima to Moses Lake is completely full tonight and I've had person after person coming in tonight and asking for a room.  I tell them that there isn't a single room to be found in the Ellensburg and they look at me like I must be lying.  No, I'm not.  I'm not that mean I promise. (Most of the time anyway.)
   So have you ever seen the show Whale Wars or the documentary The Cove?  If not then you seriously need to get it together!  They are all apart of the group the Sea Shepherds.  Actually unless you have an extremely strong stomach, which I do but it didn't help, then don't watch The Cove.  Just read about it here.  The documentary shows the extremely gruesome things that Japanese fisherman are doing to the dolphins there.  It's really hard to watch, trust me I bawled my eyes out and almost threw up multiple times!  Whale Wars however, is much easier to stomach and in fact, I love watching it every week!  It takes animal rights activism to a whole new level.  Basically, the Sea Shepherds are trying to stop the Japanese whaling industry but the whalers say they have the law on their side, but so do the Sea Shepherds.  Technically, so many whales a year are allowed to be killed, under the law, for "research."  But whale meat is a big thing in Japan, so after the whalers have killed hundreds of whales each year for "research" they package it up and sell it.  So each year the Sea Shepherds go out with their ships and basically harass the whaling ships, trying to stop them from killing whales.  I think it is incredibly brave, especially since many of the situations they are in are dangerous.  I just think that if you believe in something, then you should do something to help.  I'm thinking about volunteering with the Sea Shepherds after I graduate.  Harassing whaling ships sounds exciting but I was also extremely moved after watching The Cove.  We'll see though.
   Shout out to NY!  Same sex marriage has been made legal!  Here's what Keith Olbermann had to say:


"Every year the margin by which this country supports this grows and within a decade or perhaps less it will be universal in this nation. Period. Ironically, it is not because there is great advocacy for it, but simply out of an inability of younger people in this country to do what older ones still can — to pretend this matters anymore. It just doesn't. It won't destroy the democracy, it doesn't destroy the family, it strengthens the institution of marriage in its principal premise of fidelity, and it increases the number of people living in stable and loving homes."


I completely agree.  Young people in this country just realize that this shouldn't even be an issue!  Some people just can't let go of it though.  Fortunately, one more state is on the right track!  Congrats!
   And one last thing for the night!  JULIETTE!!!

This beautiful girl is soon to be mine!  She's a dog I've been working with at the animal shelter for the last month and I tried and tried to talk myself out of getting her.  But alas, it didn't work.  Technically she's not mine yet.  I'm just fostering her now to make sure it works out, but how can I give this cute face back!?

I just love her one floppy ear.  She is a pit mix so obviously I'm going to have a lot of people that are afraid of her.  But the only attacking of people she does is attacking them with love.  She is an attention whore and loves to cuddle.  She still needs to learn a few manners but she listens for the most part and can sit, lay down, and understands off but doesn't always want to act like she understands it.  If she's calm enough she loves to take naps with me and she LOVES to curl up in MY spot on my  bed.

So hopefully I officially adopt her in the next week or two and get her fixed in time to take her camping with me in Oregon in July!  I just love her!
   If you're looking to adopt an animal go to your local animal shelter.  This time of year there will be tons and tons of dogs and cats and even some other types of pets at the animals shelters.  Shelters only have so much room and if you adopt from a shelter that is one less animal that has to be unnecessarily euthanized!