My Dad Is Ruining My Birthday

Today is my 22nd birthday. Today, my Dad also had knee surgery.
Reasons why he is ruining my birthday:

-He is acting like he thinks he is "King Tom" and we are his loyal servants, put here to wait on him.
-He scheduled knee surgery on my birthday.
-He is abusing the phone. He called my cell to ask for a glass of ice. He called the house phone to ask where is his sandwhich. HE IS IN THE GODDAMN BASEMENT.
-Did I mention today is my birthday and he scheduled knee surgery?
-He thinks he is being funny calling on the phone. Sadly, he is not.
-The humid weather we've been having the last few days has gotten to my Mom. She is tired and irritable and can barely breathe. He is not helping the situation.

Act like the King tomorrow, I don't care, but today is my day and I get to do silly things like stay up in my room all afternoon. I really shouldn't have taken work off today.

Sorry for the Silence

Now that I have time to blog, I never get around to it. It is this summertime malaise I seem to have developed.

I got my first photo assignment from Volume One - covering Sawdust City Days over the weekend. Basically a giant carnival with a beer tent and has-been 80's bands headlining the nighttime entertainment stage. But the carnival is what matters. I was really nervous about going out and shooting. I didn't know how many shots they would want and I was afraid that I was going to horribly screw up. In short, I was being incredibly stupid. You know those voices in your head that tell you you're going to screw up? They are pretty powerful. And loud. The happy ending is that I got out to the fair and took some shots that I'm really happy with. Below are two of my favorites:




I got a job. I'm working at Sharp again. "But Mary!" you say, "Didn't you vow never to work there again?" Sometimes you go out and drink with your old coworkers and they convince you to come back. You miss the camaraderie, the hi-jinks, the crazy ass pictures, and the smell of photo chemistry. Mostly you just need a job because Macy's and Best Buy never got back to you. (But its not like you're too upset about that.)

Also on my plate are preparations for the big family garage sale. Its this weekend. I WANT TO KILL MYSELF. I just want it to be over already and it won't be until Sunday. My Dad's knees are bad (he's getting surgery again on my birthday next month, woohoo!) so I make many trips up and down the stairs, dragging things out to the garage. (We have an entire wall in the basement of boxes full of Christmas decorations. Yikes!) My Mom has asthma so I get to make even more trips up and down the stairs. I don't mind going up and down the stairs too much, it's nice exersise, but what I do mind is when they both want my help at the same time. There is only one of me! One! My brother was so smart to move four hours away. The upside of this is that I will be making some nice cash because I think need one of these. You know, to do edit pictures faster on. Because Photoshop CS3 will look so much prettier on it.

Just give me a job, ok?

My "interview" at Macy's was a complete waste of time. I got all dressed up - I even put on make-up - for nothing. What Macy's calls an "interview" is actually the process of filling out another application and then two "assessments". So I sat in the Human Resources office in my business clothes, taking a stupid test asking me what I would do in hypothetical situations. Grrrrrrrr. At least Best Buy had the decency to do that to me online rather than in person. I will be hearing about a "second interview" later this week. Goody! I can't wait! At least tomorrow I get to go to Volume One and talk about how awesome I am at taking pictures.

And I really need my Dad to not come home drunkish from charity golf events and tell me that my normal evening activity of watching Discovery Health Channel and knitting is not helping my Mom get ready for a thrift sale they've been planning. "Does Mom need help right now?" Of course she didn't. Go put your drunk self to bed.

And we are moving this summer for reals. I can't fucking wait.

So I don't have a lot to report or say for that matter. I haven't done...anything. My parents got to Rochester Thursday afternoon and we were back in America's Dairyland Saturday afternoon. Its been nice being home and relaxing, but a week of this business is about all I can take. Time to do stuff.

I went over to my old middle school today to help out a teacher friend of my mom's. It was...surreal being back there. Absolutely nothing has changed. Not even the ghastly display in the main entrance of stuffed birds. (We were the Falcons.) My mom's friend needed advice on how to present this kid's photography work that she works with. I guess she wanted a "real" photographer to talk to the kid, which was gratifying. His stuff wasn't bad for a 7th grader. He's doing exactly the same things I did when I started taking pictures (at his age! Gawd, I'm old) walking around downtown (lots of rundown buildings and interesting architecture) and experimenting. Sigh..youth is wasted on the young.

My parents are trying to sell the house. My Dad has a new job, he'll be teaching finance at the university but he'll also be making less. My parents are getting older and feebler, so its hard for them to keep the house maintained. It's also just too much house for them. My brother is officially on his own and I'm not home hardly ever, so it makes sense for them to move into a smaller place. Back to the house selling. We had a showing today, which involved a frantic cleaning of the house and a final dramatic whisk out the door with the cat wrapped in a blanket. My mom and I drove around town with kitty chilling in the backseat. In my experience, Smokey becomes a wildthing when she is brought anywhere near the car - she rightly thinks she's going to the Vet. But this experience was a lot different, she was way more calm for one. She even knew to hop up onto the seat when we pulled into the garage. Such a good girl.

My mom and I also looked at a gym that we are probably going to join. I've gained weight from my screwy hormones and taking an heavy-duty anti anxiety medication last fall and I've been having trouble taking the weight off. I became very conscious of my diet this spring and I think that helped but I couldn't get to the gym as often as I wanted to. This way, Mom and I can motivate each other. A regular excersise routine will be especially beneficial for my mom in the lung capacity department. Her doctor's have her on meds for COPD. Awesome, it's like she has emphysema but not.

Next week things get busy. I've got a job interview with Macy's on Monday (!!!) and then I'm meeting with Volume One to get started on my assignments. Sweet. Plus a baby shower to look forward to next weekend.

Hello Again

Welcome to almost summer. I have neglected posting on this here blog because apparently, school is taxing on the mind. I shall remedy this utter negligence of my blog by posting a lot this summer. I will have oodles of free time I hope. Or insomnia. Whichever comes first.

My parents are at this moment headed to Rochester, New York. Upon their arrival tomorrow, I shall move my belongings out of my apartment and into the back of their car. We shall then proceed to return to Wisconsin.

The decision to spend the summer in Wisconsin was slightly agonizing. You see, I really like money. I would like to be able to buy groceries and pay other bills next year without having to see how far one box of pasta and two chicken breasts will get me. I enjoy eating. Buying beer every now and again would not be bad either. I decided to move home this summer and sponge off my parents. The one snag in my evil plan was the whole co-op thing. In order to graduate I need to complete one ten-week co-op experience in my field. YAWN. Would little old Eau Claire, Wisconsin have something to fulfill my needs besides free meals and housing? Why, yes, of course. I've managed to secure an internship takin' pictures for a local arts and entertainment magazine, Volume One. I am enjoying the ego boost securing this position has given me. I guess spending 30 grand a year on my education DOES have its perks.

The other rub is that I need a job. VO is an un-paid internship. But don't they know about my expensive education? Apparently not. So I need a real job. I am giving myself a period of two weeks in which I can be picky and find something that will not make me want to walk into oncoming traffic at the end of the workday. Macy's is excepting applications. Things I will not do: WORK AT THE MOTHERFUCKING HOSPITAL AGAIN. Hell, no. I have self-esteem and a fancy private school education and I don't want the fact that I posses both of those things thrown up in my face all summer. Also, I have dignity. Do I sound much like a spoiled white rich kid yet? No? Ok, good. I might even consider the possibility of returning to work at Sharp Photo. Oh wait, I said I wanted to eat next year. Snarkfest over.

Many events have taken place in the past few weeks that I want to talk about but I have not yet gathered the eloquence quite yet in which to put down words. Give me a day or two, when the fact that I am not longer a slave to the grind of RIT for 3 months sinks in.

I should be back in Wisconsin on Saturday. You'll be able to find me in my backyarnd, a block of cheese and a good Wisconsin beer gripped firmly in my hands.

Sleeping

I love the little nether region I find myself in between getting ready for bed and actually getting into bed. I check my email one last time or do a crossword puzzle. I listen to quiet music specifically. It is like my brain links the act of doning pyjamas as time to start telling the brain to sleep. I can feel it happening. Its like I'm drunk. Every synapse, every appendage, every blood vessel begings to slow down, realizing they will have little work to do in the next 8 hours so. My brain will regulate my breathing and dreaming, if dreaming itself is even up to the brain or just a biological byproduct of the cycles of sleep. Its like I get to a certain point and suddenly I feel like I writing this or doing something from a point beyond sleep. Or it could just be the Ambien. But that is another story.
What I am trying to get at. What I want to say. I put on my pjs and somewhere my mind knows its time for bed and the brain gets going but then I start doing a crosswordpuzzle and I fight against my body. My body wants to sleep. Its an interesting sensation.
But I also have a lullaby. Damien Rice "Sleep, don't weep."
sleep don't weep
my sweet love
your face it's all wet
and your day was rough
so do what you must do
to find yourself
wear another's shoe
or paint my shelves
there's times that i was broke
and you stood strong
i think i found a place
where i ..
sleep don't weep
my sweet love
your face it's all wet
'cause our days were rough
so do what you must do
to fill that hole
wear another's shoe
to comfort the sole
there's times that i was broke
and you stood strong
i think i found a place
where i feel i will..
sleep don't weep
my sweet love
my face it's all wet
'cause my day was rough
so do what you must do
to find yourself
wear another's shoe
or paint my shelves
there's times that i was broke
and you stood strong
i hope i find a place where i feel i belong
sleep don't weep
my sweet love
my face it's all wet
'cause my day was rough
don't weep
my sweet love
my face is all wet
'cause my days were rough


and I shall leave you with that. Good night

I Think I Won the War

Ha ha Pablo, I won the war.

Lookie at the Twitter thingie! You should do it too cuz it makes it quick and easy to blog a quick thought. Yaaaay!

Yesterday I was in class and it was so boring that my nose began to bleed.

TRUE STORY!

My Next Quilt

Did I mention I've started quilting? Yeah, I'm taking a quilting class this quarter. It is totally hardcore and awesome. I LOVE IT. I just finished my first project (almost), a wall hanging (picture to come because I suck). The project is supposed to be a bigger, more ambitious design. I like trees. So my next project will be 66 x 42 and it will be amazing. Dig:

I'd Be Pissed Too

I guess Johnny Cash was pretty pissed one of the BeeGees bought his house

Overheard:

At Wegmen's:

Little Boy: "Mommy! Mommy! Look! Fruitloops!"
Mom: "I don't believe in Fruitloops."

Well that settles it.

Me: "Why have you been so grouchy lately?"
Erin: "I'm going through menopause."

I Wish I Had A Fat, Lazy Hamster

I love my hamster Pablo dearly.
But. BUT.
I found out he is the devil. Case in point:

He chewed through his cage. And escaped. The 12 hours he was on the loose were the scariest of my life. I looked high and low for him but alas he was no where to be found. Now I know that when an escaped hamster doesn't want to be found, he will not be found. Remembering that Pablo is a creature of the night (Ha! A sure sign of the devil!) I waited untill that evening to continue my search. I had grand plans of setting a trap and catching him that way but sometimes, beer and drunkenness get in the way.
I laid myself down to sleep that night and was awoken at a rude hour by the sound of scratching. I knew it had to be Pablo. I turned on the light and there he was! I cornered him by the door and attempted to pick him up. He hissed at me and tried to bite my hand off with his mutant teeth. HE HISSED AT ME. Up untill that point, I thought hamsters were silent creatures. Did I mention he hissed at me? Pablo wriggled out of my grasp and ran away into the depths of my room. Note to self: the next time your hamster is on the loose, it would help to have a clean room. Pablo thought he could escape by disappearing into my closet. What he didn't count on was the power of hunger. He was lured out eventually with food and returned safely to his cage.
But! The story is not over!
Sunday I found myself asleep over my Medical Terminology textbook as usual. Waking up around 1AM (apparently the witching hour for hamsters) I decided it would be a good idea to take out my contacts. Opening the door of my bedroom, I discovered a horrible sight: Pablo had chewed through the duct tape I'd put over the hole as a temporary fix and was about to escape again. Thank goodness for boring Med Term books.
Evidence:

The rest of the story is too harrowing to recount. I really wish I had a car. I need to go to Walmart to return the flimsy replacement cage I bought and buy a fish tank. BECAUSE HAMSTERS CAN'T CHEW THROUGH GLASS. At least, I hope they can't.
Right now Pablo is being punished by having to live in the tiny auxilary cage. He made sure to let me know how he feels about it though, by peeing on the wall.
The battle continues.

Dear Modest Mouse,
I woke up at 7:20AM this morning and downloaded your new album from iTunes.
Thank you for rocking so hard.
Love,
Mary

Dear Roommate,
I don't care how hyper being out in the cold makes you, I just want you to shut the hell up.
Love,
Mary

Good Things

Hey! Its 2AM and I can't sleep. Forgot to take my little friend, Ambien. So what does one do? Blog of course! Here are some good things that have been happening lately (cuz focusing on the positive makes me sleepy):

-Working my ass off all quarter + getting good grades = Dean's List! (And I thought I would never understand math!)
-Father-daughter dinner dates
-Egg cups!
-40% off coupons for awesome fabric
-On sale fabric
-Finding out that buying fabric is just as much of an addiction as buying yarn...priceless
-Knit Picks circular needles!
-Watching little neighbors grow up...little Miss Asia is nine years old now and quite the little character. I remember when she was four. She is one of the best parts about visiting home.
-Seeing friendly friends you haven't seen in a looooong ass time.
-Talking to Daddy and figuring out that everything is going to be ok.

Something not so good? Going home and catching the bad cold your mother has. At least I think I have it. Its only in the sore throat stage at the moment - lets hope it stays that way.

What Has Been Going On

It is finals week here at RIT and that means that I finally get some breathing room to write something substantial on this here blog. So here goes...

My father lost his job.

This could not come at a more inconvient nor worse time. My father had been having problems at work for quite some time but my parents kept the true gravity of the issues he was dealing from my brother and I, so we had no idea about what was actually going on. Basically, my father ran a branch of a bank based in Western Wisconsin. He came to the job with a lot of experience, knowledge and business connections. And smarts. Lots of smarts. His bosses turned out to be narrow minded and couldn't handle the fact that he was smarter than them. (This is how the situation was explained to me). So they looked for an excuse to get rid of my father. My dad's expertise is in coporate finance and loans, and after one loan went bad (which was not his fault) he was told that if he made another mistake he would be fired. So time goes by. A family friend comes to my father for a loan. This was a man my father thought he could trust. A man whose work as a contractor had seen our family through remodels and minor repairs. This man did not hold up his end of the deal and my father was held responsible. So, instead of being fired, my father quit.

This is what hurts my heart: my father is 60 years old. He was 1.5 years away from retirement. Now he has to start over again. My father's plans for his retirement included teaching at the University but that job isn't open to him untill he is 62 and fully retired. While severance pay and benefits are going to last my parents untill August, I hate to see them have to go through this level of stress. They keep telling me that it is going to be ok and everything is going to work out. But I can't stop from worrying anyway. That they have to put into motion their plans for retirement sooner than they expected. It hurts.

I am so angry at the men who did this. My father is a good, honest man and he didn't deserve this. I cannot be so far away from my parents and not know what is going on. This is truly unfair to them, to people that did nothing to have this burden put upon them.

Overheard

As I was walking down the hall on the 3rd floor in Building 7...

Guy on cell phone: "Yeah? Are you getting really big?"

I would not lie to you.

A little Belated

I should've posted this on the actual day but....better late than never

Thoughts Whilst In the Lab

- In the spirit of Erin's recent post (I can't link directly to it for some reason) about the name of her first-born female child, I would also like to share with you the names I hope to name my hypothetical children.
For a boy: Ampersand. Only I would spell it "&"
For a girl: Tilde. I would spell it " ~ ".

-Being here for so long kinda makes me want to barf.

-And that's all for now cuz Katie is giving me a ride home.