tum, tum-tum-tum, tum, tum-tum-tum-TUM!

so, in carrie-world that's funny. y'know, like dum, dum-dum-dum. in the movies or tv where somebody's solving a crime?but, um, about my tummy right. anyhoo.

man, I really feel like I'm getting the run-around in this whole medical-advice department. it's kind of infuriating. and if my tummy weren't already hurting, I'd say it made my tummy hurt. but, well that's redundant. oh, and TMI alert, but I find it INCREDIBLY unfair that I am having the privilege of dealing with weird stomach issues and cramps at the same time. damn womanhood. love it, but sometimes? wanna scream about it...but at least I'm not a maniac this time. :)

so, all day today I've been REALLY excited and doing the yay-i'm-going-to-tulsa-tomorrow-and-matt-is-going-too-happy-dance. it's a good thing too 'cause if I hadn't been in an uber positive mood I might would've e-yelled at my project director. he's totally trying to break my crayons. and you know how I am about my crayons.

ps, aren't these COOL?!?

but anyway, I'm pumped for t-town. this trip promises, in addition to the fine company of my friends and family, deeelish food: tex-mex, spaghetti warehouse, yummy brunch, hobby lobby, mazzio's pizza (vedros I'll have some for you!), and, most importantly, this:



BECAUSE IT'S IN SEASON! WOOOOOO HOOOOO!

I. Am. Extra. Excited. (especially after my last ration of bluebell was accidentally squandered at an afternoon event.) so it's nice to know I can have more by this time tomorrow if I want!!!

also, right now I am extra thankful that matt is a movie-fanatic and a fellow science nerd. it's quite splendid, really. because he brought this little gem over to his still-on-the-mend-carrie, and he still enjoyed watching it even though he's seen it a dozen times, AND we got to talk nerd the whole time. it made me happy.

oh and one more little great thing from yesterday. For the trip I was told I could use my granny's car instead of getting a rental--which is great, except that, well, it's not the most reliable car, it's a wagon, which=hard to maneuver, the back passenger door doesn't open and the window is permanently down so it's covered in plastic, and using her car meant that my mom would have to come get us at the airport and then take us back there on monday, which is a lot for her.

but, it's always good to save money, right? so I told myself if I could get a rental car for less than $50, I could do it, since it's more practical, fuel efficient, more reliable and it would let my mom relax instead of exert herself. and I was able to priceline one for $49.23. :) but this isn't the best part of the story--no, the best part is when I told my granny about it, and she was telling me how spectacular of a deal that was, and how I was definitely my granddad's granddaughter--moreso than any of the rest of the grandchildren. And seeing how my grandfather is one of my favoritest people in the world, this totally made my day.

i'll be taking my computer to tulsa, but no promises on blogging. depends on the fam. but wish us luck! and if you have any oooh-matt-should-see-this ideas, let me know. though it's kinda lame, I think we're going to venture to the center of the universe, for the pure scientific joy of it. maybe I'll take my siblings with us....

ps-yes, I have a new layout, and I'm glad you like it. it's simpler and easier to read, no? me like-ee.

whatever that means...

so, the nurse just called. I don't have appendicitis, which is great news. and, um, also, DUH.

apparently I have local/regional irritation. which might be due to a viral illness. and if I want to I can go see a gastrointerologist (or a GI specialist, which is soooo much easier to type). which, um, I'll be doing pronto, incase this is more than a virus, as I don't want to have this happen again, and my tummy is still upset.

I am glad to know that it doesn't seem to be *urgent* or *serious,* but I am frustrated that this is all the info I've got. I imagine my doctor finds it bothersome too--wouldn't it be great if you could always tell exactly what was wrong? I sure think it would be.

but, I'm glad to know, and glad I'm feeling mostly better, and thankful for all of your warm thoughts. :)

caffeine and other things I've neglected to tell you about since everything has been more or less about my tummy

just now I had the first caffeine I've had since sunday afternoon. everything else has been all ginger ale and gatorade and water. i just reacquainted myself with my old friend coca-cola. it's a nice change of pace.

it's kind of surprising to me that I didn't even realize I hadn't had caffeine until this morning when I thought "coffee sounds good. 'cept my stomach would prolly be none too pleased with me." I told Sterling of my realization and he was a-friggin-mazed. Most people who go caffeine-free end up in a haze for a while. Of course all that sleeping might've had something to do with it (okay, whoa...42 hours over the course of 96 hours, geez). But anyway, yeah. caffeine.

and I kind of want this mug. not that I need anymore coffee mugs. but that doesn't mean I don't want it.

so. I think I'm gonna backtrack a little...Friday night we made enchiladas at Sean and Kara's house, had margaritas, got in an arguement about spades and played cranium. And Matt saved the day by having a deck of cards in his car. :)

Saturday I slept a lot, cleaned a lot, ran errands and then Matt and I had dinner and went to see The Bourne Supremacy, which I really liked. It was pretty cute too--at all the cool parts he kept elbowing me (gently) in the side and being all "didya see that?!?" kid in a candy store, I tell you. and, well, matt damon is hot.

and then Sunday was churchy churchy churchy. Lucinda and I sang a duet at the 830 and then 1100 services, and we did particularly well at the 1100. People kept saying how well our voices blended, and some people couldn't tell who was singing which part. It was a lot of fun. :) I went home and napped and ran errands and came back to church for a youth party and a soultypes workshop (kind of like myers-briggs for your spirit, and I liked it so much it'll get its own post later).

and the rest of my time has been spent as a sickly gal, but you know this.

so some happy things to end on
1. I am now enjoying the tunes of four different musical groups:
a) stephen kellogg and the sixers (thanks sterling)
b) au revoir simone (thanks laura)
c) peter bjorn and john (thanks sean and kara)
d) ted leo & the pharmacists (thanks otto, and previously, thanks matt r.)
2. in forty-eight hours I will be in t-town. with matt. we will be at lunch with jessica and cody. if you'd like to go to the spaghetti warehouse with us that night, gimme a shout.
3. it is thurdsay.
4. i am smarter than the guy on the phone at the AE store last night. I was trying to exchange some stuff online, and he got my email, then my name, then asked me "do you know your address?" dude, what am I, four years old?!? yikes.
5. i am now able to eat eggs. and turkey sandwiches. and grapes. and my tummy is tolerating it nicely. it still hurts, but it's much more livable.
6. i have wonderful friends. what I lucky girl I am.
7. gobi and hazel are good kitties who love their mommie and who cuddle with her when she's sick. and she likes that.
8. this list could get way longer but I think I should stop.
9. I finished a painting last night and I really really like it. you will see it in good time. like once I figure out a title for it and once I've given it to its receipent.

okay, that's it. i'll let y'all know if there's any good/bad/whatever doctor news. i'm very curious about what's going on...

pep talk

dear stomach,

we can totally get through this, you and me. just one bite at a time, okay? I'm sure the doctor will call us back real real soon to let us know what's going on. in the meantime, we've got to stick together.

now let's just eat our simple turkey sandwich, so good, so yummy!

see how easy that was?

before you know it we'll move on to taco salad or sushi--but only if you feel comfortable. we'll take baby steps, I promise.

give my love to the rest of your abdomen friends.

-carrie

whoever said no news is good news...

clearly wasn't speaking about medical things.

I am at work right now. I don't feel awesome, but I'm eating, and that's good.

I've read about appendix troubles and stomach issues and ulcers and I really just want them to call me and tell me what the CT scan said so I can stop wondering. I also want to be able to start eating more normal food. On Monday Matt-the-Wonderful brought me my fave soup from Jason's Deli--the tomato basil soup--and it nearly killed my tummy.

Today I've had water, rice, toast, a banana, some raw veggies, canada dry ginger ale and gatorade. lots and lots of gatorade. which has so. much. sugar. and, y'know, carbohydrates and electrolytes, which I NEED, but still...I would really like to give my body some protein. I think it needs it.

after I get some work stuff going I'll provide that non-medical blog for you. I think you'll like it. :)

so either my appendix has ruptured...

or it's something else.

whatever it is, I'm feeling somewhat better. not do-cartwheels-play-softball-eat-sushi better, but I did feel up to going to target to get food and OTC meds today. well, that was AFTER my three hour nap, which was after my four and a half hours at the radiology place.

I still don't know *what* they found, just that it's not anything extra urgent or they would've already gotten the results to my doctor.

so now I'm going to eat some plain rice, perhaps then upgrade to some chicken soup, lounge in these comfy shorts that kara introduced me to (and I also picked up a pair at target) and watch kiss kiss bang bang with matt. and go to bed early.

and maybe, just maybe, I'll have a non-medical-related blog for you tomorrow. :)

so, let me get this straight...

I woke up this morning with terrible stomach cramps.

I went to the doctor and she thinks I maybe have appendicitis.

On the basis of her examination she had the referral lady call my insurance to have a CT done, and they say "yeah, we want to talk to her doctor directly"--I mean, yeah, it's not like they didn't already know that she'd TOLD the referral lady to, y'know, call them with this info?

I hate my insurance company.

I get that they want to approve tests and make sure they aren't superfluous. but seriously?!? ugh. so I sat in my doctor's office for an hour waiting on the referral lady to come and tell me to go home, that they'd call me later.

I'm really hoping it isn't appendicitis. I'm only showing some of the symptoms, and the surgery and recovery sounds like no fun. And it's possible that if it isn't appendicitis then it's just a weird reaction to something I ate last night.

but really, do doctors routinely order CTs for shits and giggles? and it's not like appendicitis is some ultra-random thing. one site I saw said that six of every one hundred people will have it. So anyway, NOW it's approved, but I'll have to wait until tomorrow morning to go instead of doing it this afternoon. which is dumb.

happy note though: I did not faint when they took my blood. I didn't even feel woozy, much. maybe some day they can start taking my blood like they do a normal person...

additionally, thanks for the support/input on my last post. :)

a proposed or tentative project or course of action

last night, over beer at bub o'malleys (which I thought I'd never been to but I actually have, except the people I went with just called it bub's) matt and I had a very good chat about my job. and my career path. and grad school. and being happy. and not limiting myself. and how we'll figure *us* out, but I've got to figure stuff out for me first.

and as any one of you who have been reading this blog, or who have ever talked to me about my job knows, I am not happy with it.

It pays pretty well (for a person my age anyway, but not for an engineer, actually) and it will look good on my resume, but otherwise? It's a bust.

It is not challenging.
It is not rewarding.
It is not interesting.
It is not what I want to be doing.
and it is not somewhere where I am learning, growing or gaining experience or skills (or even contacts) that I feel will help me later in my career.

and that makes me ever-so-slightly sick to my stomach.

I know that all in all, being an engineer is probably never going to be what's rewarding in my life. Some of my friends who work for non-profits, or who teach, or who are therapists or who work with kids or whatever, often feel like their job is a rewarding experience. To be honest, the best I can hope for is feeling like I'm helping people, somehow (it's actually a requirement I try to adhere to) and making sure that I'm helping myself in the process as well. And I feel like I'm capable of being an engineer, that my ability to be one was a gift to me, of sorts, and that I should use it. In the same way that musicians should make music and philosophical people should wax philosophical and mechanically-inclined people should utilize their mechanic inclinations, I should be an engineer because I've got the right skills for it.

but see, the thing is, I'm still not sure what I want to do next.

I know I don't want to move, but I also know that's not really a practical limitation to put on myself. I think I can say "I don't want to move far away" and that's much more reasonable.

I know I want to do something where I'm able to (and expected to) do a lot more thinking. Honestly, I've kind of stopped trying to put so much thought into my work here. Every single damn time I make a suggestion or offer an idea I have a moment much like those fed-ex commercials where the guy says the same thing but moves his hand while he says it. I've even tried emailing, so my ideas and suggestions have a record, but that doesn't help either. Matt keeps telling me that I should make a set of notecards--one that says "I just said that." and another that says, " again, I just said that." and another that says "are you f*cking kidding me? I just said that."

they would eliminate about 70% of the work related speaking I have with my project director.

except I've never said f*cking to him.

well, except for maybe under my breath.

but anyway, I'm off topic. so. my newest plan. you'll notice it's proposed and tentative. plans change. think whatever you like (or think I can never make up my mind) and that's okay, you're probably right. but I'm not one to go into a new course of action all willy-nilly, and I want to do what is best for me, what will make me happy. (which, as I already said, will never actually be my job, not as an engineer, but not having a job that I hate will do loads for my overall happiness, dontcha think?)

so I think that I'm going to bait a couple of hooks, cast a couple of lines and see what I catch.

I don't want to do more ChemE. It's too much math, I've gone through a plenty. And I'm not 100% sold on Materials Science and Engineering, but it's a much better option than what I am now. I know that my passion, as far as Engineering goes, is in chemistry and the environment, so an Environmental Engineering degree with a focus in green chemistry or environmental chemistry could be just what the doctor (or master!) ordered. But I am having a hard time with the idea that getting a mastering in Environmental Engineering would actually put me lower on the engineering totem pole...but then again, if it'd be better for me, who cares where I am on that totem pole? I mean, I'd still be on it, right?

But I also know that I'm really really really scared of not having a job and of not having dental insurance. All getting-to-Oklahoma-to-see-my-family money fears aside, the cost of my teeth is quite a limiting factor for me. And I kind of like being able to afford things I like. Not that I couldn't do it, I'm up for sacrificing, I'd just have to be confident that it was what's best for me.

So maybe I need a new job instead. You can work as an environmental engineer if you're a chemical engineer--I happen to kind of be the most versatile type of engineer there is. Or maybe I just need to work in a different type of field. Maybe energy? Maybe process development? I dunno.

I've got the right tools to start this. I may be young, but I'm nearly up to four years of experience (which is what a lot of jobs want if they don't want a newbie), I've got a strong research background, a good variety of job experience and I have the GRE under my belt. I feel like those factoids, along with my graduate classes and my people skills mean that maybe it's okay if I leave it kind of up in the air about where precisely to go. Why put all my eggs in one basket? And why not see what opportunities I can cook up?

so, um thanks for reading this little soliloquy of sorts. I feel a bit better just for having typed it. and I've looked up a few schools, and this weekend I'll update my resume, and I'll start the process. because now I at least know where to begin. and I'll keep you posted.

proud as a peacock!

so today? it's a good carrie day. for starters, because today I am twenty six point eight three repeating years old. and I like that. but that's merely the tip of the iceberg. I'm proud as a peacock, but not all overly so--proud as a (reasonable and humble, at least as peacocks go) peacock. better? goodie goodie gumdrops.

a lot of the good-day-ness comes from last night. I played softball right after work, and we kicked ass. the final score was twelve-three, we only let seven of their runners get on base, I did quite well catching thankyouverymuch and I was even applauded for my running my heart out to get on base.

but the best part was actually the catching, and here's why...

so, we're in the fourth inning, and paul, the "meister" is pitching. and he's doing well, so I start saying something different and positive after each strike--"ooh, that was pretty!" or "just lovely!" or "fantastic!" and it turned into a game...every strike got an adjective. so paul was focusing on wondering what I'd say next...and he moved from pitching "well" to pitching "incredibly"!

another fun part of this little event was that their first baseman was a real mouthy guy, and as I started saying the words, he said "you better be careful. you're gonna run out of adjectives!" I informed him, politely, that I didn't think he knew who he was talking to, that I could spout 'em the whole game, thanks. and know what? I sure did.

never get involved in a vocabulary duel with Carrie. or, you know, a land war in Asia. one or the other. ha!

and today I got an email thanking me for having done so, telling me he's never had so much fun pitching ever before. :)

yaaay carrie!

next, after a lickety-split plant-watering-showering-hair-drying-clothes-changing event (which took about 20 minutes, yikes!) I scurried off to church to practice with Lucinda. We're singing the offertory on Sunday, and we're doing a duet (we're singing Come and Find the Quiet Center for those of you who know it, which is prolly just Renee). And it was nice to see the people at my church (a lot of people were there painting, we're doing a mini-makeover) and hang out with Lucinda and hear how her daughter thinks I'm "the bomb" and sing. There was a Bible study thingie going on in the sanctuary, but they let us practice with the mikes and they said it was quite pretty.

the only bad part is that we were then bamboozled into singing at BOTH services instead of just the later one. boooo. oh well, at least they said I can just show up at 900 and come knock on the door and Joe will slip out and practice with me. :)

so today I am proud of my copious adjectives, my singing, the rocktastic softball team also known as toxic was, and (I'm opting not to tell the whole stories but) I'm proud too to have my friends, like Marla and Mary Alise and of my family and I'm proud to have Matt, too. and it makes me all smiley. :D

also, sidenote: did you know that some people consider peacocks bad luck? interestingly, they do.

i think that anything you want to, you can do, and no one's gonna tell me just who the hell I should sing to!

~stephen kellogg and the sixers

(ps, that band is GOOD and you need to check 'em out el pronto. they're on myspace. or itunes. and i'm glad sterling told me about 'em, for sure!!!

today for lunch I'm having a pb&j, red bell pepper slices, baby carrots, strawberry yogurt, a dr pepper and fritos with bean dip. it is waaay less food than it sounds like...

and I realized that I have a small problem. in general I don't like to eat something for dinner and then have it for lunch the next day. two days later? sure. and I'll eat it the next day if I have to. but I like a hot lunch, or at least one that isn't p,b&j.

and I feel like I need some ideas.

usually for lunch, specifically, I'll make one of the following:
taco salad with doritos
chicken, feta and basil pasta
salsa pasta

and then if I've got leftovers I'll be happy eating chicken enchiladas, mexican casserole or bean burritos for a few days. I'm only up for re-heating chicken breast a few times, plus a lot of my recipes pack enough punch that after eating it twice I'm tired of it.

but I feel like I've been eating the same few things for lunch over and over and over and over. little help?

also, I'd like you to picture a girl in a tshirt, jeans and flipflops. it's raining outside, and it's just started, but she noticed that her right front tire was waaaaay low on pressure, and her gas light has just come on, and she figures she's asking for trouble if she doesn't fix both of these issues pronto.

so she is in the rain. trying to hold on to her umbrella and air up the tires at the same time. and the umbrella won't stay open. and then she realizes her feet are kinda warm, and she notices that there's a little river o' rain running by the curb, and she's standing in it, and the water is all iridescent from the oil. once her tires are finally all at the correct pressure and she's safely under the awning that protects the pumps, it ceases to rain. just in time for her to be under a dry spot.

this girl, of course was me. and I went home and showered pronto. hooray for car maintenance. and also, icks.

at least my night of ravioli, asshole, gin rummy and laughing was a good way to enjoy being clean and dry afterwards. :)

stupid comment spammer people

i'm turning on comment moderation now. it's annoying and I hate to do it, but I hate having to delete ten comments from some spammer even more...so, um yeah. i'm bothering to tell y'all this since I think that most of you who read this and who have blogs are linked over there in the nice little sidebar, and they might visit your blogs as well...

yippee.

and he ain't seen me crazy yet

~miranda lambert

so, I feel like I should tell you about the rest of my weekend, because, well, it was splendid. amongst other things...

I bought four kick-ass tickets to the shins. just like I expected to. ticketmaster is slow, but the tickets are awesome, so I'll let it go. i. am. pumped.

I gained a new respect for mothers. I know that sounds like a hell of a statement, but I did. I finally got to meet Mr. Samuel (see pictures of his cuteness here), and he is a precious, wonderful baby. I didn't mean to stay so long, but after he smiled and watched my bangs (and cried) he fell fast asleep in my arms. But now, and even later that evening, I have to admit that my arm and shoulder HURT, 'cause holding a nine plus pound weight-in-the-form-of-a-child is a waaaay harder task than you'd think. I mean, I held Harvo when he was a baby, but I was eleven, and I never ever held him for nearly that long...this is a shout out to all you moms out there. wowzers.

saturday evening was a busy one. I made some of my (in?)famous homemade pizza for ten ladies and gents. and now I have OODLES of wine. and i'm so not complaining. :) I bought some, people brought some, it was splendid...and once dinner and social time was over we went out to meet some of matt's friends downtown (and stayed out waaaaaaay too late) and I got to wear my dino shirt--we figured we'd even out the extra dressiness from the night before...

and on sunday marla came to church with moi, and we saw something we'd never seen before (dude, this man got vicious in the middle of the service, he's upset about the mini makeover for our church or whateve and he was ANGRY and spoke up during WORSHIP and proceeded to keep speaking even when our pastor jay politely asked him to wait until after the service. it was a SCENE. if you think I ever say things at the wrong time, this man makes me look like the model speech giver). after church we enjoyed a deelish brunch at bogarts (yes, that's twice in one weekend) including mimosas--yum!

then came the panhell meeting--which made me waaaay less freaked out about being president, and then I went to matt's. and do you know what's funny? and then not so bad? these two things, I'm hoping you can figure which is which.

and tonight, after a youth meeting, talking to my aunt candi and a trip to wally world (WHY can't I go there without buying crap I don't need?!?) I am pleased to say that I located my glasses. which I've been looking for for days. which were oh-so-conveniently placed atop--get this--a pair of going-out jeans (I have work-jeans and going-out jeans) in my closet. because they soooo belong there. but at least I found them!!! I was kinda freaking out!

oh and, I downloaded some good music.
1. miranda lambert (gratia tibi, melissa)
2. stephen kellogg and the sixers (et tu, sterling eagle eye, gattlin' gun, lying g.a.t.e.s.)

right. bedtime. and, um, maybe some reading. yeah, that's it. fifteen minutes of reading before eight hours of sleep. also, was it subliminal that I just typed eighteen hours of sleep?

oh oh AND. I think I finally know what my "pregnant" dreams are about. i've a hunch they're about my relationship with matt. I had a dream saturday night that I was pregnant and he and I were playing scrabble and it was one of those boards where you end up with a whole glob of letters spelling three or four letter words all in one block. and he played the word "hoe." and after looking it up, it seems that my dreams are all about laying the foundation for our relationship, and doing things that aren't *normal* for me (but are quite good for me and for us, I believe) and things like that. so yeah. nice to have those figured out. :)

okay, my kitty cats are already asleep, so I'm hoping they'll just crash and not wake me up...we shall see, eh?

hopefully this week gets less hectic. I'm extra excited about friday. and it's only tuesday. this will likely be a long long long week.

cute.

cutecutecute.

I like it that that's always what people have to say about Matt and me--that we're so cute together. Last night, at the Bloomsbury Bistro, as the hostess sat us, she said "you two are the cutest people that have come here ALL night! you're so adorable, and the way you're dressed? so cute!"

awwww.

it was a good way to celebrate. the food was yummy, the atmosphere was romantic but not too sappy, and we enjoyed talking to each other, too.

matt doesn't like these pictures as much...

but he thinks these are pretty damn cute. and i have to agree. :)

after dinner (and a mini-adventure in the parking lot) we went to bogart's since it was somewhere quieter and we wouldn't look out of place being dressed up AND 'cause it wouldn't be as crowded (since it was only 1030) so the likelihood of having a co-bar-goer spill something on us was small. and I had yummy gin and tonics (they're my fave, if you didn't know) and matt had his beer. and since our friend justin works there as a bartender, he introduced me to a yummy gin-hendricks gin. it's preferred by 1 of every 1000 gin drinkers, apparently. it's unusual, and it's infused with cucumber, which is kinda refreshing. I don't think it's going to be my new favorite, but I am probably going to procure a bottle and have a little taste test--tanqueray ten v. bombay sapphire v. hendricks. it's a new level to the previous taste test, eh?

more oklahoma facts

11. Bob Dunn a musician from Beggs invented the first electric guitar 1935.

12. Choctaw is the oldest chartered town in Oklahoma. Choctaw gained status as a town in 1893. (and I particularly like this fact since that’s the type of Indian I am, just a teensy bit…)

13. Oklahoma has 43 colleges and universities.

14. Belle Starr one of the most famous women outlaws is buried in an isolated grave southwest of Porum, Oklahoma near the Eufuala Dam.

15. Garth Brooks was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He grew up in Yukon, Oklahoma.

16. Oklahoma's state wildflower the Indian Blanket is red with yellow tips. It symbolizes the state's scenic beauty as well as the its Indian heritage. The wildflower blooms in June and July.

17. Oklahoma ranks fourth in the nation in the production of all wheat, fourth in cattle and calf production; fifth in the production of pecans; sixth in peanuts and eighth in peaches. (And have you ever had a Porter peach? Yowza!)

18. Oklahoma is the third largest gas-producing state in the nation.

19. Oklahoma has three primary mountain ranges: Ouachitas, Arbuckles and the Kiamichis.

20. The YIELD sign was first used on a trial basis in Tulsa.

your liver pays dearly now for youthful magic moments, but rock on completely with some brand new components.

~cake

do you know what warms my very cockles? cake.
not the ooey-gooey-icing-bedecked-confection-with-yummy-sugary-embellishments (if you're lucky) and not of the carrot or german chocolate or vanilla or layer or lemon persuasion...no, no.

y'know, cake.
like, the band.
mmmmmm cake.

my lovely local indie station, 88.1, had their song on this morning. what a brilliant way to start the day.

and please excuse 1. my exuberance and 2. my verbal rambling, as I am quite tired from last night's festivities. amongst other things, like water and electrolytes and a better sense of direction, I need more sleep.

last night, as aforementioned, we went to the durham bulls game as a send off for my friend/teammate/coworker paul. here's all the members of my are-tee-eye group that attended, a picture of paige and me and our undeniable cuteness and another of me and the mattness.

we had fun. the bulls lost, and lost badly, but we still had a blast. and told some laaaaaaaaaame jokes. including one jewel that many of you haven't had the pleasure of hearing, but was told to me by my friend matt, who lives in DC.

ahem.

did you hear about the chemist who quit his job and became a gravedigger?
his favorite element was barium.

(say it aloud if you don't get it.)

ha!

right. so anyhoo, we went to tyler's after the game, hung out and had more beer, including some icky octoberfest one. and then went back to my place to select where we'd go to dinner tonight. y'see, it's a monthiversary, specifically our 5th. and since we both like to be saps sometimes, we celebrate them. (might I also say, I really like this one because 1.we're dressing up and 2.we've now been together for 42% of a year, and you knoooooooow how I like the number 42.) we're going to eat here, well, as long as I can get a reservation. i will let you know how it goes, particularly for those of you who live in or around raleighwood.

um, I think I'm done with the bumbling and rambling and all that jazz now, it's time to straighten up my cube (matt is coming to lunch today and I'm going to show him my office which is more than slightly disastrous (see?). and by the time I'm done (in like ten minutes) my tube will be cool in the furnace, so basically it'll work perfectly. :)

and a warning: size of cube is muuuuuch smaller than it appears.

also, do a little friday dance people. it's friday, it's raining here (ps, why does my hair always style the best when it's rainy and will likely be ruined and soaked-rat-like as soon as I step outside?) and I have an excellent weekend planned.

and while being silly, this picture was taken. and I kinda like it.

nerdy-nerd-nerd

so, kim sent me this little gem. and I liked it, so I flipped through, and behold:

wonderful, no? If you don't get it, google the chemical symbol for tin. :)

other fun facts:
1. it is thursday.
2. i just hit the top of my head on a steel bar on the skid i'm working on. thankfully, the ibuprofen I took will not prevent me from enjoying number 3
3. i am going to the durham bulls game tonight, and it will be extra fun. and it's thirsty thursday, which means good things, no?
4. tomorrow will be a good friday, I just know it.
5. i have lots of new music i might just have to get this weekend. including some miranda lambert. :)

...she was like a precious flower...

~keith urban

my my my.

I think Matt is doing his darndest to turn me into a country-lover. As a friend of mine would say of his own country taste, I'm "discerning" when it comes to country. Waaaaay long ago I was a lover of all things JoeDee Messina, Shania Twain and Deanna Carter. (and of course Garth Brooks, because, well, he's from where I'm from) And I have a special place in my musical heart for the Dixie Chicks and their honesty. (man, their songs have made me laugh, cry and want to dance!)

but I wouldn't say I like country. that's never been a blanket statement I'm willing to make. And even during that waaaaay long ago I was still rockin' out to the Pearl Jam or the Beatles much more often than their more-twangy-but-not-too-twangy counterparts. I don't know my Tim McGraw from my Kenny Chesney from my Brad Paisley, but I may just have to learn.

last night after a not-as-bad-as-the-day-before workday and a more-fun-than-I-expected time at VBS, I talked to Marla and ended up having sushi at an impromptu birthday celebration for my friend Kim. see, isn't she cute?

anyhoodle, after some sushi and beer, matt and I went to my place and proceeded to (slowly) drink jack and cokes and watch country music videos on yahoo music. until. nearly. two. in. the. morning. what?!? um, I think we watched videos for like three hours. and now? Now I really like Brad Paisley (especially this song) and I realized that there are a lot of songs that I already know--some old, some new--like the one about when you think Tim McGraw and about a little dust on the bottle and the one about don't take the girl or tequila making her clothes fall off. And the videos? They just make the songs even better, and often put an unexpected twist on them.

i might become a slight convert. but only slight. I'm still an indie rock kind of girl. And I still don't like twangy country.

speaking of indie rock, did I tell you what's happening on October 19th? Well, so, I'm getting excited waaay too far ahead of time but.

1. it is the friday of the weekend before my birthday.

2. both sterling and christina will be coming into town. this makes my day already.

3. the shins are playing in raleigh. THE SHINS. The Shins who I love, who I know all their songs, whose song is my ringtone, whose music makes me happy when I am sad, whose album was the first one I'd ever preordered, who rock my world (pun so intended, it's the shins!) And I am buying tickets on Saturday to go see these bad boys l-i-v-e. Can I tell you how excited I am?!?

yippee!

additionally, I am going to try to make my weeks a leeeetle less full-o'-stuff, because really, I will have had something to do every damn day from last sunday until a week from tomorrow, and I need a break.

"you look like a comic kind of person."

~the nice lady at the company store.

yeah, we have a company store at work. y'know, with logo emblazoned items--tshirts, coffee cups, letter openers, and the like. and they sell stamps. which is extremely convenient. :)

this is like the third or fourth time I've asked the kind lady for a book of stamps...so here's how our convo went:

me: "I'd like to buy some stamps, please."
nice lady: "oh, a whole book then?"
I nod.
nice lady: "you want the forever stamps? ooh, or do you want the comic stamps?"
me: "yeah, I want the comic stamps!"
nice lady: "oh good. I'm glad I asked. I don't ask most people, but you, you look like a comic kind of person."

ha.

um, and sterling? that's entirely your fault.

really, I'm less excited about these than the old ones, but I do like it very much that they say "chapter two" on the bottom. clever people.

and I want these. it makes me happy to put pretty stamps on the mail . and I hope it makes you recipients happy, too. :)

where have all the [junior mint]s gone?

~paula cole.

okay, well maybe she was talking about cowboys...but I think it's possible she might feel just as strongly about junior mints.


so, let's back up.

friday was the homemade gourmet--I got to see a bunch of my sisters, which I do enjoy. always. and then marla, anda and I went back to my place to enjoy some yummy wine. yaaay!

saturday I ran errands. (aka went shopping) and went with marla and kara to see hairspray.

it starts off a little slow, but once it picks up? yaaaay! um, except for one part kinda sucked, but it had nothing to do with the movie...y'see, saturday I went to the grocery store to get the fixin's for some yummy taco salad, and while there thought to pick up a few snacks for the movie (against the rules, I know, I know, but I soooo don't care). anyhoodle, I was craving some yum-tastic junior mints. they're a movie theatre staple, after all!!! and lowe's foods did not have them...

I called marla, who was on her way to my house, and who was stopping at a gas station along the way to pick herself up some treats, and asked her to grab me some. strike two.

so, I resign myself to paying $2.50 for a tiny box of junior mints when I'm at the theater. after a little bumpy adventure we find that they don't sell them either! wtf?!?

york peppermint patties are a decent substitute, but they still aren't better than the real thing (not coke, junior mints).

anyway. more about sunday later...

longer than my forearm.

oh, lenora would be proud. lenora, one of the kd founders, that is. not like you knew that, 'cause, well, most of you readers aren't kds. but you get the idea.

so me? today I've spent a good portion of the day working with, nay wrestling with this membrane reactor doohickey that has these GIGANTIC fittings on it. you know, of the kind that would require a forearm size wrench? riiiight. I totally need a massage. and a glass of wine. and I'm sure that my wrench-wrangling totally qualifies as striving for that which is honorable, beautiful and highest. as do the grunting and the curses I was shouting at the top of my voice saying under my breath. faboo, I tell you, faboo.

over the last two days I have learned that one of the guys next door to me (whose name may or may not be lewis--there are two guys, one of 'em's named lewis and the other I pretend to know his name and I spoke to the guy's brother so I'm not really sure but anyway) has had his car vandalized and then his apartment broken into. I know this beacuse Lewis or NotLewis's brother came aknocking on my door and inquired if I'd seen anybody doing anything suspicious, and explained the car/apt sitch. I politely said, "No, I haven't. Um, do they know who it was? Was it malicious?"

and at that very moment, my friends, is when hazel dearest rushed straight out the door. glory.

a she-cop rolled up, asked the dude some questions and tried to help corral hazel into my apartment despite my repeated explanations that NO, if I just open the door and ignore her she'll come in--it's the attention she likes. but I look occasionally to make sure she hasn't run off. thanks for your help though--no PLEASE don't shine the flashlight under my car--you're ENCOURAGING her!

it is hard to appear to be an upstanding citizen (even if you are one) when explaining that your solution to having your cat escape is to let her hang out until she makes up her mind to come in.

did I mention that this was the same evening I accidentally took a two and a half hour nap and that I'd only woken up twenty minutes before? glad I'd bothered to change into no-I-didn't-sleep-in-these, really! clothes. yikes.

and yesterday, when my apartmentmate came home she said that the crime scene investigation people were there--but no Grissom--all checking the place out. thank goodness it's not random. sorry, I know it's selfish, but I'd be waaaaaaay more freaked out if I knew that my apt was more at risk. you know you would too, don't hate.

I am so glad it's friday. I've been doing the yay-it's-friday dance all day. If not in person then in my head. I even made somebody's day by telling 'em it's friday today. If the weekend were tangible I'd give it a big ole sloppy kiss. And soon, very soon, it shall be here... :)

[two] hot to handle, [two] cold to hold. or or one million, fifty one thousand, two hundred minutes...

as of today I have officially been working at are-tee-eye (I no longer type it out 'cause it's google-able) for two years. Two whole years. Which kinda sorta freaks me out, ever so slightly. Mostly because this job is sooooo not what I expected it to be. Not even a little.

but at the same time? I'm also kinda glad for the experience.

yesterday, for the first time in a looooooooong time, I enjoyed a game of putt putt. most of you don't happen to know that, in general, I loathe, hate, detest and abhor the game. because I usually lose. and while I'm a pretty good sport, I'd like to think, I don't enjoy playing games where I know I'll lose every single time, especially if I usually lose due to a)frustration, b)people being jackasses or c)people being jackasses. natalie dee sure did put it in good cartoon-y form for me, see?

(y'see, the last few times I've played have been at the beach, and the folks I went with were ever so slightly ruthless about it and wanted to hurry hurry hurry and putt putt is not a game to play when you're in a hurry and if it's in the daytime I'm too hot and getting a sunburn most likely and anyway...icks.)

but on to more positive things...not only did I ENJOY putt-putt, but I actually did WELL. like, I only lost to Matt by three strokes, which truly isn't anything (I'm used to losing by waaay more than that). I would play putt-putt again, and do so happily. It probably helped that he decided to balance the golf club--on his finger, his hand, his foot, his chin, his chest. silly boy.

and then we watched half of Hot Fuzz. I know Turner loved it, and I'm looking forward to the second half. It was 1150pm when we turned it off, and I was about to fall asleep on the couch. We're still trying to figure out when we'll be able to watch the rest since he goes out of town tomorrow.

and speaking of hot...it's a scorcher here in NC. So hot that they called off our softball game. dude, call us pansies if you like, but at least we're not going to be wilted pansies. and, I mean, when the company policy states that you can't play if the heat index is over 105 at 230 pm on gameday, you really have to take them seriously when they call it off.

today's heat index in 27709? one hundred and fourteen degrees. that's a temperature with FAR too many syllables, methinks.

"get out of my dinner!"

~eloquently and amusingly said by heather blagg. (the other option would be gross to you, not funny, trust me.)

yesterday was awful busy for a monday, and today? well, today's a friggin' weird day.

let's begin with yesterday, shall we?

~kara and I got pretty pedicures. both kinda orange-ish-pink-ish. we're too cute for words now. ;)
~I went home, changed and I, be-spectacled, met my be-mohawked boyfriend to go to dinner at lilly's pizza--which has the most amazing crust you've likely ever had in your whole life. I'm just saying...and, I should tell you, we went there to meet Heather Blagg, a TU alum and fellow popcorn distributor (picture of which you never saw but are below--from june) and her friend Andrew who lives here.
~we went to the flying saucer of raleigh, where we sweated our all the beer we drank, discussed the relative sizes of the waitresses (which really varied quite a bit, surprisingly), terrible pick-up lines (such as "do you like muffins?" "yes" "well, that's good 'cause I'm a stud muffin!" or another one I can't remember but will have to add later, or "I know where I live, wanna see where I sleep?), giving blood and my terrible habit of absconding with pint glasses (though it my defense, I've asked about most of them).
~got home far, faaaar too late. and talked to my mommie on the phone before going to bed (which is unusual, but I had to tell her some exciting news...)

...which is that Matt and I are really truly a-comin' to Tulsa over Labor Day Weekend, yippee!

and then today--we shall list these with letters, 'coz that sounds good to me.
a) I woke up before my alarm feeling all awake and stuff. (um, and then went right back to sleep and snoozed twice, but whatev)
b) I went outside to take pictures of my daisies and water my plants and all (aside, why do my plum and beefsteak tomatoes fruit but my cherry tomatoes do not?) and I walked through a spiderweb. icks.
c) I get to work, start doing stuff and manage to get rather soaked due to a miscommunication between my project director and me. I was right, though. And I had to go home and change. PS, that's what I get for wearing a UNC shirt (even if it is a KD shirt)
d) later in the afternoon, as I am moving a gas cylinder my boss's boss's boss is the one who holds the door for me. that was awkward.
e) I made paige look silly because I looked at a picture and didn't say what she said... there's a picture on my work's photo archive that is of someone smoking crack. he looked like john lennon (which was what I said) but that wasn't what she was hoping for. oh, and I forgot to mention--this all transpired in front of our boss!
f) also, the heat index today is One. Hundred. And. Ten. Degrees. what the hell?

I'm kind of looking forward to today coming to an end...and, um, sorry for all of the parentheses...hope they weren't too bothersome.

oklahoma facts one through ten.

I'm going to do these in lumps. mostly because it's easier that way. and? I might have to put 'em up early, so if I do...just hold your horses. I bet you'd rather have 'em sooner than later, huh? ha!

1. and incase you didn’t get that pun…Originally Indian Territory, the state of was opened to settlers in a "Land Rush" in 1889. On a given date, prospective settlers would be allowed into the territory to claim plots of land by grabbing the stakes marking each plot. A few of these settlers entered to claim land before the official start of the land run; these cheaters were called "Sooners".
2. An Oklahoman, Sylvan Goldman, invented the first shopping cart.
3. Oklahoma’s State Motto is Labor Omnia Vincit (which is Latin for Labor Conquers All Things).
4. According to the EPA, Oklahoma has the most diverse terrain in the United States.
5. Oklahoma also has what is officially considered the highest hill in the world, Cavanal Hill, at 1,999 feet (609 m); this is considering the fact that a "mountain" is anything 2,000 feet or higher. It is located in Poteau Oklahoma.
6. Okmulgee, OK owns the world record for largest pecan pie, pecan cookie, pecan brownie and biggest ice cream and cookie party.
7. Oklahoma has the only authentic Indian city in the United States, Adadarko, OK.
8. The world's first installed parking meter was in erected in Oklahoma City, on July 16, 1935.
9. Oklahoma has more man-made lakes than any other state, with over one million surface acres of water 2,000 more miles of shoreline than the Atlantic and Gulf coasts combined.
10. Oklahoma has a land area of 69,919 square miles and ranks 18 in the nation in size.

preggers, vernacular and coifs.

so let's just get this out of the way: I'm not pregnant. got it? good.

okay, moving on.

this weekend I realized that the South has caught me with its little accent o' doom. I was already a little irked by the way I'd gone from saying "North Carolina" to "nourth care-uh-line-uh" and I'd noticed that I've picked up some peculiar sayings, like "half-in-the-bag" and calling getting ill "booting." But now? Now I've started saying "might should." In sentences such as "you might should consider blah blah blah."

Kat (et al) if I start saying "do what?" you have my permission to wash my mouth out with soap.

also, last night I had my THIRD dream that I was pregnant. third dream in nine days. and I'm really not, just fyi, but it still creeped me out 'cause I don't usually have the same dream over and over. I looked it up (for the third time) and again, it seems like it makes sense but it was vague. ( To dream that you are pregnant, symbolizes an aspect of yourself or some aspect of your personal life that is growing and developing. You may not be ready to talk about it or act on it. This may also represent the birth of a new idea, direction, project or goal.) In this particular dream I was talking to Marla, and saying "who steals a phone from a pregnant woman? I mean RIGHT OUT OF HER HAND?!?" because, well, someone had. ( To see or use a cell phone in your dream, indicates that you are being receptive to new information. It also represents your mobility. )

riiiiight. lay of the pickles and icecream before bed, huh? yeesh.

and, most fun of all...well, this weekend was fun, for starters. a yummy dinner at porters on friday to celebrate taylor and laura's birthdays (who, by the way, are twins, and we had a whole long convo about how twins have HUGE birthday needs and I think laura and I are going to be good friends we kinda pinkie swore on it) and then went out to the bars. saturday matt and I had sushi (which he LIKED! and will willingly eat again! I'm so excited!!! (also, that phrase always makes me want to follow it up with "i'm so scared" a'la jessie spano)) and saw Oceans 13, which was good but Oceans 11 is still the best.

anyhoodle, sunday I go to see Matt's new apartment which is waaaay far away and I arrive to see him looking like this:

silly boy. oddly enough though? I kinda like it. :) I mean, on a temporary basis, of course. But it makes me want to either a)dye my hair a crazy color to match his crazy mohawk or b)look all ultra-conservative wearing skirts and cardigans and hairpins to completely counter his crazy-self. he cracks me up, for sure.

and, we look cute and normal (in the kind of way you can show to your parents) if I just crop it a little, see?

and speaking of my boyfriend, he wants a boyfriend. no, not that kind--the pillow kind, silly! it's so we can sit on his bed to watch movies. but anyway, this is QUITE alarming. (uh, catch that pun?) I mean, the idea itself totally makes sense, sometimes it is quite nice to cuddle with a guy. but the part about getting more practice at washing and pressing shirts? give me a break (in the arm, not the leg). I just can't believe that people actually buy this. And? why aren't the guy's shirts PAJAMAS, huh? strange, methinks. strange indeed.

and, I liked it that yesterday he said something to the effect of "Carrie, anyone who doesn't like you probably is a bitch." I'd told him about a certain someone's mom who didn't like me and who lied and was rather terrible, and then felt bad for saying that she was kinda a bitch. I liked his response. :)

this, by the way, is what I look like in the lab...

and, one last fun thing--at the end of september I'll be flying to Boston (Katie I'll be emailing or calling you ASAP to talk about getting together!) and we'll be staying in Portland, Maine. Which means we'll drive through New Hampshire. Which means that over the past year (let's do it by my birthday, shall we?) I'll have photographed a total of TWELVE states! woooo hooooo! I'm rather excited about that statistic, as I'm sure you can understand. after I go to those three states I'll be up to nineteen states, I'm almost halfway there! yaaay!

you know how sometimes...

you are in a conversation and you want other people to know that you're informed about the subject, so you interject comments/questions that show your knowledgeable? I feel like this is what my project director does to me, and it makes me a leeetle crazy.

also, I heard the coolest thing today. I had lunch with my co-worker/ teammate/ friend Johannes, and he told me about his time in Ghana with the Peace Corps. He said that one of the coolest things about his teaching experience was the names of all the children--names like Confidence, Courage, Wonder, Wisdom and even Perpetual. It made me think of how I used to know a girl named Blithe, and how I thought that was such a wonderful name.

softball yesterday was a lot of fun but A LOT of running. I feel like the heat is REALLY getting to me. I am a big fan of the idea that you should hustle on and off of the field, and I felt like I was just running and running and running. Like, I had to actually sit down and rest for a few. No fun, no fun at all.

and today both my knee and my right arm aren't happy. I am sooooo not an outfielder!

and, I watched a very strange but intriguing movie--Pan's Labyrinth. At first I hated the subtitles, but they were SO WORTH IT. Every review that said it's a fairytale for adults was spot on. I liked the visuals, I loved the plot. And I even found a whole lot of it quite inventive. It's definitely dark and rather gruesome, but so good. A good way to relax after softball, for sure.

I am so. so. so. so. SO! glad it's Friday. Glad indeed.

macroverbumsciolist

um, this is incredible. i am happy as a clam. it totally floats my boat. and you just watch out for some of these vocabulary words to creep into my, um, er...vocabulary.

my new fave: macroverbumsciolist. nonce word 1) a person who is ignorant of large words
2) a person who pretends to know a word, then secretly refers to a dictionary

another good one? dasypygal--having a hairy buttocks.

oh, man, I can't wait to learn a bunch of these!

actual conversation from yesterday evening:

me: so, who's helping you move your furniture in tomorrow?
matt: oh, I've got someone.
me: oh good.

and we go back to moving his stuff.
...about two hours later...as we're eating dinner at on the border (the closest thing I can get to tex-mex [or texican] in this land of *authentic* mexican food, which I find especially disconcerting considering that Oklahoma is waaaaay closer than North Carolina is to Mexico, so you think OK would be the state with more authentic food, and NC would have something that was a hybrid, except then I'd want the more authentic food so I'd be screwed either way, but whatev) and getting craptastic service (well, until we got someone to actually wait on us)...

me: so, what time are people coming to help you tomorrow?
matt: um, in the afternoon, I guess.
me: 'in the afternoon,' you guess? no set time, I see. so, who's coming to help you?
matt: I have a couple of people.
me: a couple of people?
matt: yeah, some people. [looks intently at his food.]
pause...
me: some people like you, yourself and you?
matt: uh, no! more like me, myself and I.

silly guy.

also, I feel like the poster child for all things oklahoma, university of tulsa and kappa delta--and often all three! today I am wearing my cute pink eskimo joe's shirt (thanks jessica) and I've had to explain it to three people. monday I wore a homecoming shirt. last week three kd shirts and my tulsa shirt. it's very funny to me. especially when people don't know where I'm from. heh.