Sarah Harrison's Journal

Yay!
For many reasons I won't go into since it's not professional of me, things have gotten really bad at my current job, so I went to a personnel service a couple weeks ago to see what I could get. I went for my first interview today, and within a half hour after the interview I got offered the job! Yay! I even got a start date from them, 3/24. Pay's about the same, but as soon as I get hired there's lots of excellent benefits, and my mom's very excited that I'll be working at a company that doesn't have hookers literally outside their door, or indeed in the neighborhood at all.

Yay!

Current Mood: ecstatic

Ketchup

Sorry it's been a while again. Anyway, another quick update post of Things Going On:

Dad had spinal surgery on Wednesday. The surgeon went in through a 2-3" incision to the throat (better angle for this than going through the back of the neck) to remove two arthritic discs, shave a bunch of bone spurs that had been poking his spinal cord and causing horrific constant pain, and then screw in a few titanium plates to shore things up. He used Allen screws, in case anyone's wondering (one of Dad's pre-op questions). He came home on Thursday after spending the night in ICU, a day earlier than most patients, which is really amazing considering he's got Parkinson's. Speaking of which, if you ever go to the hospital for surgery and the nurse tells you you should bring your own medications in case the hospital's pharmacy, bring them in the bottles they came in. Very important, and the stupid nurse didn't specify that, so despite Dad already having everything parcelled out in his two pill-a-day containers along with a list of everything he takes and when, we had to make a trip home and back. Stupid nurse. Good thing we weren't going to a hospital that was hours away or anything. Anyway, now that he's home he has a neck brace he can wear for comfort and this little machine that's about the size of a cell phone with two sticky pads that attach to his neck. It creates a magnetic field that encourages bone growth (but won't grow back the spurs). He's moving slowly and still has pain from the surgery, but we're hopeful that things will go better now.

Cathy's getting married in July and I'm the maid of honor, yay!

I have to look for another job because my current one eliminated overtime and now I'm out hundreds a paycheck. Bastards. I'm hopeful I can find a better-paying one, but it's not a great time to be looking. I could also do another part-time job like I was doing before, but it's so hard. I don't want to spend my entire week working or sleeping, it's no way to live. So anyway, that's been a real killjoy this holiday season.

Well, off to send the final couple of Christmas cards. Hopefully I can get them in the mail in time, or else they'll be late.

Current Mood: busy

Aaaaaaugh

I fell at work on Monday afternoon. In the chemical plant. Luckily, not into a puddle of chemicals, but my bottom half hit the concrete floor while my top half fell on a nearby pallet jack. I stepped on a cart handle that was negligently left in the pedestrian walkway, and there I went. Two guys were there and helped me up. So, after limping into the office, limping out with my boss to show him what happened, and limping over to the safety dept, I got to go for a ride to the hospital for a drug test. Yay. Especially since I had to do it in the presence of a nurse. Awkward. Anyway, I was treated for a knee contusion and given super Aleve. I can only take 1 every 12 hours, and they don't cut it. Stupid Aleve. The knee still hurts, but more as a don't touch hurt instead of a walking hurt now. It'll be a miracle if I don't end up with a huge scar, though.

And my fall resulting in knee injury? 11 years and 1 day after the first one. If I have to injure myself, I think I prefer a hill in Scotland than a dingy plant floor...

Current Mood: sore

Burn Notice

Has anyone else been watching this show on USA? It's awesome. Hot leading guy, spy stuff, Miami, violence, comedy, Sharon Gless, and Bruce Campbell! Yay!

Current Mood: bouncy
Current Music: Spider-Pig, Spider-Pig, does whatever a spider-pig does...

Info Dump
Very often I feel that if I don't get things out of my head as I think them, I will forget. So a lot of things just come out at random.

Disney is going to marketing an official chardonnay because of Ratatoille. I hope I spelled those right. I liked the movie, but Disney wine? Isn't that just grape juice?

There is a cat named Oscar that lives in a nursing home that knows when people are going to die. When they're a few hours away, he lies on their bed purring until they go. He's so accurate that the staff call the relatives to tell them to come say goodbye. Luckily the residents don't know he's a harbinger of death, but still, I think it's comforting that those people won't be alone.

Finished Harry Potter last night, and I am satisfied. Now I'll probably read the series straight through. Haven't seen the movie yet.

Have one more episode of 1st season David Tennant Doctor Who left. I wanted to finish both Rose and Harry in the same night, but got a phone call and wasn't willing to stay up later than usual twice in a row this week.

Sad that mightygodking's gone. Hope he pops up again soon.

Michael will be back on Lost, but no word on Walt. I'm guessing more Lost news will surface with ComicCon.

Chicago's comiccon is the week after my birthday this year, so I'm going to the Bristol Renaissance Fair instead. I used to go there for my birthdays before comics. I have a wench costume, but I will not be wearing it. I hope there's lots of hot knights hanging around calling me their lady.

Does anyone else work with as many doofuses as I do? Jeez...

Current Mood: aggravated

Alive

Kate finally guilted me into posting. It's only been something like 147 weeks, jeez!

Lessee, in that time I picked up another additional job and then dropped it after a year due to added stresses at job #1. I added another cat, Maia. She's 1 now and Alice is 3. Maia is a grey/brown/black tabby with a big 'ol M on her forehead. She's generally more easy-going than Alice, who is pretty high strung *cough*psycho*cough*. They wrestle/fight all the time.

I am going through major Lost withdrawal. Why are they waiting until December for the DVD? Jerks. I ended up Netflixing a couple of movies with Mikhail in them to compensate. Was then treated to the sight of him wearing speedos at a luau while stroking his weiner dog (not a euphemism). I'm not complaining, mind.

I am midway through the first David Tennant season of Doctor Who and am very much enjoying it. Love the glasses. Christopher Eccleston was my first Doctor. Speaking of which, hopefully the first season DVDs for Heroes will be coming out soon.

Love Hell's Kitchen, as always. Makes me laugh. The best moment of the season (so far) is JP's run-in with the wedding planner. Ha!

I would be looking forward to Harry Potter's last book, except that I have to spend the weekend at my brother's installing the new kitchen cabinets and such. Woo. So I'm not sure when I'll be getting it. Still have to see the 5th movie, too.

How's everyone else doing?

Current Mood: working

Yay!
I got my kitten on Thursday! She is named Alice, and is a dilute calico, which means she is white with grey and buff/orangy patches. Poor thing has an infection of some sort, so I've already been forcing pink stuff down her throat, but she seems in a good mood and adventurous despite that. As of now, she is snoozing under my recliner.

Current Mood: cheerful

Class Reunion
My 10-year class reunion was this past weekend, but I didn't go. $60 for a poorly-planned, last-minute drunkfest at which I couldn't even get drunk since I'd be a designated driver didn't really appeal to me. Plus, the "organizers" never identified themselves, which is sinister. So I'll wait 10 more years. The changes in everyone will be more dramatic that way anyway.

Still don't have a kitten. Stupid national pet supply store chain employee told me to give her the application rather than leave it in the envelope in the kitty cage room, so I missed my chance. And now with my candle business going into full swing next week, I'm probably screwed again in terms of not being able to spend enough time with a kitten if I got it. I've half a mind to go to the place down the street, despite the exorbitant price tag and paranoia-inducing 6-page application, but I'm sure they probably have a wait period while they perform background checks. Whatever happened to free animals at the humane society? It's probably easier to get a gun and name it Fluffy.

Bands Reunited on VH1 is reuniting New Kids on the Block, which is hilarious. Does that mean they'd be practicing their dancing instead of their instruments, like the other bands?

Can't wait for Lost. Woo! And Resident Evil Apocalypse, which I'm sure will scar my mind for a few weeks like the first one, but I still have to see it anyway. Still, it'd be nice to have a boyfriend so I can see these movies without scaring the bejeezus out of myself at night. Though I suppose I'd still be concerned that he'd turn into a zombie and eat my brain while I'm sleeping...

Current Mood: cold
Current Music: your cheatin' heart

Kittens!
Mike and Leah got their kittens yesterday, two boys, one black and one grey. And they discovered that kittens can get carsick, and they can also very easily climb a babygate. :) I have to wait until after my Partylite party to get one, sigh. Well, I don't really, but it'll make things a whole lot simpler. Hmm. Need to add "wash windows" to my to-do list, I see.

Current Mood: amused

Over a year in review, maybe
I am 28. Doesn't seem too old, but I'm hurtling towards 30 and feeling it. I blame my little brother for getting married. I figured I'd be married by his age, and start having kids by 27, but it's a bit late now. :) Oh well. I did have a lovely birthday this year, despite going to work. You know you're getting old when getting a vacuum cleaner doesn't bum you out. Mom tried to surprise me with a surprise guest at my birthday dinner, but didn't quite manage it. :) And for once I enjoyed being sung to in a restaurant. Buono Fortuna!

Can't remember all the things that happened the past year (I've been told I remember things 10 years ago much better), but here's a sampling:

- Blackie passed in January, rip. He was a great kitty.

- I had a root canal. The pain that led to the discovery of the need for a root canal was the worst pain I have ever experienced. I have a fairly high pain tolerance, so I've been told, and I just wanted to crush my skull against something to make it stop. Luckily, Dad had some Vicodin (see below), so I was able to be knocked out for a couple hours' sleep before I could see a dentist. Now I have to get a crown. Stupid crown expenses.

- Mike got married July 10th. The first (and possibly last) wedding I've ever been in, so I can finally say "always a bridesmaid, never a bride." :) I love my new sister. Also enabled my grandest creation, a family cookbook. The thing is massive; it could easily injure someone. Funnily enough, I never really learned to cook.

- Dad is officially disabled by Parkinson's. Also, he sold S&M Products, so now there is no company named after me in existance. Sniff. Oh yeah, and he had kidney stones, which are apparently much more painful than childbirth. They've done studies.

- Patches is still going strong, despite the lack of a left eye, intermittent blindness, and daily heart medication. 18 years! Thankfully, everything else seems to be going fine for her, with no return of the hyperactive thyroidism.

- My 10-year high school reunion is this year. The existance of a "payment plan" does not bode well for my attendence, however.

And finally, I will leave you with an indispensible piece of dancing instruction:

"Get in the box!"

Current Mood: nostalgic
Current Music: squirrelly wrath

No faith in humanity
"With Sarah, I think it's fairly normal to be an on and off contributor. I do sometimes wish there was less from her about random one-off incidents, purchases, or short-term plans. I struggle to understand what meaning, if any, she's interpreting from her life. But I understand too that ups and downs are normal for her, that she may very well be spending a lot of time thinking about those things, and that it's generally safe to assume that she'll pipe up if there's a significant change."

Found this in Kate's journal, Stacey speaking. I haven't been able to reply to anything on livejournal without the browser freezing, so I'm doing it here.

"Random one-off incidents": brother getting engaged, cat losing eyeball. Yeah, those random incidents have absolutely no effect on my life whatsoever, eh? Nothing that could possibly be worth commenting on by my friends. The total lack of response I get here and onlist whenever I have anything to say discourages me from bothering.

During the last year, I have been forced to relive 5th and 6th grades by people that are older than me. I don't trust people, because they do nothing but stab me in the back. It's been very easy to retreat back into myself, because except for four people, my friends haven't talked to me in months.

If anyone wonders how I'm doing or what I'm up to, try emailing me. It'd be great to have some human contact. Better than speculating about crap like whether my life has meaning.

Current Mood: disappointed

Me, me, me
It's been a while since I last updated. Sorry about that.

Since I seem to be having trouble commenting on journal entries, I want to quick recommend Easy Spirit shoes to Stacey. Kinda pricey, but not Birkenstock pricey (who ever heard of rich hippies?), and comfortable. They started with comfortable pumps and now make just about any style, including sneakers. They're quality too, so they'll last a while. Unlike anything at Payless, which usually looks cute but self-distructs in a couple wearings (or are so uncomfortable that you burn them).

Am spending the weekend at my parents' while they spend the weekend at Grandma's. Have to give Patches her blood pressure medication. Mike will spend part of it playing Enter the Matrix with me. Fun game. The rest of it he'll be playing at a wedding and studying for boards.

Am half-deaf. Sucks ass. Hopefully this is a temporary condition as a result of a horribly nasty sinus infection. Came on really fast last Friday. Started at 6 PM with a sore throat, developed cold symptoms and a fever in a matter of hours. Progressed to an earache on Sunday, was in so much pain that had to get prescription for mega-antibiotics over the phone. Went deaf as a result of quack Dad idea about earaches. Mike checked the ear with his doctor ear checker thing and said the drum is intact with little wax, and it doesn't appear to have any pus behind it, so it'll probably clear up soon.

Getting sick so fast wasn't helped by fact that I've recently read the Cobra Event, watched a show on the Black Death, and Chicago had a mock pneumonic plague outbreak. Still find that stuff fascinating. If there wasn't my squeamishness over bodies and things in them, and lack of study skills, I'd think about being a pathologist.

Work's still sucking. Am being forced to work 10-hour days because my boss has no time-management skills whatsoever. The woman literally makes twice the work for herself. Argh. If my pay was halfway decent, I wouldn't mind so much.

Saw Matrix while in sick stupor last weekend. Loved it, but should see it again when fully conscious, if only because felt bad I couldn't act like an excited dork during fight scenes as usual.

Well, must get back to fixing giant box of strawberries for strawberry shortcake. Ï

Current Mood: accomplished

Big things
First, the good non-monetary drain news: finally found my pictures from Muircon and Whatevercon. Found a lot of other pictures too. So now I can finally complete my travel scrapbook that I got for the main reason of showcasing my Muircon pictures.

Learned to knit, sorta. I'm not very good at it, because I knit and purl too tightly. You'd think a lazy person would have no trouble relaxing, but I probably haven't truly relaxed in the last 20 years.

Finally, the good monetary drain news: bought a car today. So now I will have a car payment, which was something I was very happy to never have. It was bought solely on the strength of my excellent credit rating and my parents willing to put down some money for me since I have no savings. It's a used 2003 white Pontiac Vibe. Only 9K miles on it (dealership car). I think I was probably outwardly the least excited person ever to buy a car. :) So, now I won't have any more worries about my car breaking down or weird engine noises, but I'll have more money worries. Thank god I refinanced, or there'd be no way I could do it. The weird thing is, Dad's the one that made the final decision about putting down the money they asked for.

I drove it home today, though technically I don't actually own it yet (once again, my excellent credit). It feels very strange, since I sit up much higher. And some guy waiting for the bus was totally checking my car out, which felt good (I did make sure he wasn't staring because I was going to hit something).

Anyway, if there's a moral to this, have good credit. How do you get good credit? Have tons of credit cards, but PAY THEM OFF EACH MONTH (or don't use them; apparently the more you have with zero balance, the better your credit is). Make sure you only spend what you actually have.

And now, off to mop my kitchen floor.

Current Mood: excited

Interesting Times
Ah, March 19th 2003 is a day that will live in infamy. Mike's 24th birthday, war, and his engagement to Leah. Very excited about this. And now we don't have to watch what we say to her anymore. :)

I saw Patches tonight. She looks very weird with the swelling and the shaving. No visible sutures, but I wonder if the eyelids will always look sewn together. She doesn't trust Mom and Dad, but she lays on me with no problem.

Work's been extra sucky lately. It's not sneaky to order in time to avoid a price increase when everyone in the freaking country does it on the same day. At least I think I'm past the verge-of-tears constantly stage. Though there's always tomorrow.

Current Mood: indescribable

One Hour Photo
Saw that the other weekend. Very creepy. Tons of "Oh god, no!" moments. I was very good at guessing stuff.

Tons of idiots are dumping French champagne as "protest." Not a very good warmongering attitude. If they were truly patriots, they'd conserve it. Nobody does Victory Gardens anymore, I guess. Better yet, give it to poor Americans who would appreciate free French drinks. Don't get me started on the retards who think French fries are actually French.

Y'know, this is my home, and I don't know if I'd ever want to move out of the country, but I really wish Americans weren't such boneheads. It's mortifying.

Current Mood: disappointed

If you were funnier, they never would've cancelled our show on ABC
Was in the concert. We sounded better than I thought we sounded at practice. We were shoved in a small room with not much room for us, let alone listeners. Plus, there was a Neil Diamond impersonator on before us. Wearing a silver spangly shirt. I wasn't sure if I should poke out my eyes or eardrums first.

Speaking of eyes, Patches will have the cheap disfiguring surgery on Tuesday, because I have a shitty job with no pay. No friends either.

Current Mood: despondent

Mmm, shamrock shake time
In general things have gone to hell in a handbasket. Again. Patches is not doing well. I'm very worried about her. Nobody else cares of course. There's a community band in Round Lake, which I joined yesterday. Unfortunately, it's half flutes. Depending on the cost, I may be able to take up bassoon again, and be loved by all. The first concert is Sunday. I saw 6 deer at the school last night. I haven't been getting much sleep, resulting in the muscles around my eyes constantly twitching. I hope nobody's noticed. Though I did sleep very well last night in my bathrobe. Go figure. I bought a cute little yellow stuffed bunny at the store tonight. It's so soft.

Current Mood: worried

Nothing can kill the Grimace
In honor of being head-over-heels attracted to a guy for the first time in years yesterday, I will present the first 22 of my List of Desired Traits.

1. 6'2"
2. dark hair
3. blue eyes
4. loves cats
5. uses his turn signals and lights while driving
6. good cook
7. age 22-32
8. likes burning candles
9. is handy around the house
10. is good with electronics
11. likes anime
12. is as comfortable in Toys R Us as he is in Home Depot
13. looks good in a tux
14. wants 2 kids
15. has private pilot's license with instrument ratings
16. good masseuse (or is at least willing to learn)
17. always remembers my birthday
18. is a musician
19. loves the Christmas special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (the one with Yukon Cornelius)
20. close to his siblings
21. is impressed by my Pizzazz pizza oven thing
22. can fix cars

Current Mood: giggly

Pretty!
Friday morning was sunny, but was snowing a bit as I drove to work. It wasn't the big fluffy sort of snowflakes, it was the tiny dry sort that you only get when it's very cold. When the flakes came into beams of sunlight, it looked just like glitter was softly falling down. Almost lovely enough to make me forget I was driving to work.

Current Mood: quixotic

Yawn
Am so tired. Had mortgage lady coming over tonight, so had to make place presentable while also finding various papers. Didn't do anything constructive last night, so finally went to bed and decided to get up early. Didn't sleep. Kept having weird dreams about reality/game shows and Bob from the Bachelorette, and woke up every few minutes. Found almost all the papers though, and will soon be down to 6.0 percent. Must...find...freakin' 2001 W2s...

Current Mood: sleepy

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