A rant on society

It's extremely frustrating to me when people gossip about me or my family. I understand not everyone is making the greatest choices in the world, but do we have to harp on them every single time? And multiple times in one visit?
It kills me when all I hear about my brothers are the bad things they've done. Yes, perhaps they need to make smarter choices, but still. What happened to having the support of your family and friends? Isn't it our job to help them see their wrongs? To help guide them into making more accurate choices? To teach them the laws? Why do we tend to abandon people when they turn 18? How is that supportive?
Is it our own fault? I know when I turned 18 I couldn't wait to move out of my parents house. I was so excited to leave them, but I still call then for advice and support. Are we being taught that once "you become an 'adult '" that's all the help you get? I don't know if that's the way we need to be doing things. I get that young adults need to make their own mistakes, live on their own, pay their own bills etcetera, but what makes us think that we can do all of those things right away?
How do people not learn from their mistakes? One of the things that kept coming up in he conversation that sparked this post is that my brother had 5 pages of tickets printed from the state website. He wanted to know why he hadn't received his permanent fund dividend check yet. It was because he had so many outstanding tickets that the state garnished his PFD. This breaks my heart. Why is it so hard for him to follow the laws? If you can't afford to keep your snow machine registered or you're underage (or were), or you don't have insurance, don't do the things that you can't do!!!
I usually try to give my brothers a few dollars for their birthdays, but I couldn't handle sending them money that they'll just use for drugs or alcohol. The older of the two just turned 21 and the younger is now 18. It breaks my heart to see them spending their money on such useless things.
Yes, I am a hypocrite because I enjoy a good drink about once a week or so, but I typically only have one or two drinks and I never, ever drank until I was 21. And I never, ever drive after drinking.
All in all, I want to know how my brothers are doing, but don't chew them out while they aren't their to take it. There isn't a whole lot I can do because I was the "goody-two-shoes" of the family and they really don't want to listen to me. I'll love them unconditionally, but I won't be bailing them out of jail or letting them move in rent free.

Stockings!

I finally convinced Britton to exchange stockings with me this year!! Since he doesn't read my blog, I can tell you all about it :)

I bought two different card games - Would you rather! and Scrabble.  Last year, I bought the book with the same title and Britton talked to Rusty on the phone for hours! So, since we'll be in Kenai and actually at Rusty's house, I thought it might be fun to play!  I don't know anything about the Scrabble game, except that it is supposed to be like Scrabble, Word-Up and Word Twist?

I bought a bunch of candy.  Most of his favorites, Snickers, Reese's and Whoppers.  I always remember having the best candy in my stocking, so hopefully this will be just as awesome for him.

I'm giving him new boxers. Just because they're super awesome.  Cookie Monster is on the front and then on the back it says, "Someone say cookie?"

Britton's grandma, Mamas, used to work at the Hallmark store and so she was able to get TY beanie babies on sale. While wandering through the Christmas section, I found a CUTE little reindeer, named Harold.  He was "born" in November 2011.  

While I was in Oregon, I found washcloths that grow in the water.  I love them, and they're kind of insignificant and Britton will probably think I'm lame for putting them in his stocking, but I don't care!

And the last really tangible thing is a little Nerf football, because it will fit in the stocking and to be honest, I love playing with them too. 

And last but not least, I made some coupons that will get him out of doing dishes or some other sweet, sexy things.

Fun times at the library...

Not!
When all the students go home for the holidays, the university library is quizzically quite quiet. 
Since classes aren't in session, there are frequently WAY TOO MANY PEOPLE WORKING! Ha! I think our employee to patron ration is 2:1... Okay, maybe 1:2.  or 1:4, based on the employees at the circulation counter and the number of patrons recorded at noon for the entire library.  But, if you were to tally up ALL the employees currently here, I'd say there is a 3:1 ratio!
This leaves the really, really boring tasks, like measuring how much empty space on the shelves there is on a floor, and shelf reading (making sure all of the books are in order.) Oh joy! I'd rather watch ice form or water boil.  That's how boring those tasks are. 
The beginning of the week was not so bad, because there were all of the books that were returned at the end of the semester to take care of, but now, since there have been 4 students on times 8 hours a day, all of those books have been shelved. 
Supposedly there is a new shifting project that the director wants done.  Rumor has it that a new office is going to move into the back area of the 2nd floor.  Or as we call it, Alaska.  Funny tangent: Sometimes when a coworker is down on second floor, or in Alaska, and a friend of their's comes looking for them they ask "Hey do you know where _____ is?" And without thinking about who we are talking to, we'll just say "In Alaska" expecting them to comprehend our thought process.  Most of the time they think we're being sarcastic, and like, "Yea, I know that, but where?!" and then we realize they aren't familiar with the lingo of the library and send them on their merry way to the second floor.  

In other awesomeness of the library, one time the power went out.  The electronic lock system on the doors doesn't work when the power is out, so we have the glorious job of sitting in front of the doors making sure no one comes in.  Apparently, there is a safety issue when there isn't any power in the library.  

I have no other stories off the top of my head.  Perhaps I'll update again later. 

Stats of my blog posts...

During the summer of 2010, I took Anatomy and Physiology with Dr. Jill Russell.  She was an entirely fabulous teacher and I loved the course.  Since I worked 8a-10a, went to class from 10-12, and then went back to work (unless I had lab) until 9pm.

I decided to type my notes to try to help myself learn the material better.  Since then, more views have been to those entries from the course.  Some day, I hope that people will read my entries for what I have to say instead of the science notes.  But, to all of you who found my blog through searching for mitosis, welcome.  I hope my entry helps you learn it better too.

3/5 posts are strictly related to my class.  The other two, I promoted, either on Facebook or via Google+.  If that's what I need to do to get more views to my blog, I suppose I will do it more.  

I miss living on campus...

I miss staying up late hanging with the people in my dorm. But then, that would specifically be Skarland Hall, since I almost never left my room in Stevens Hall.

I miss buying the vending machine out of energy drinks and stacking our cans into pyramids in the lounge.

I miss removing all of the cushions from all of the furniture and piling it into the elevator and then riding for hours, playing cards and listening to someone play guitar.

I miss someone doing my daily dishes for me and not having to prepare every meal if I didn't want to.

I miss free laundry.

I miss the convenience of being able to just walk to classes, instead of having to wake up and start the car every day.

I miss feeling like I could go to the comedy shows without wasting too much time.

I miss RLC and RHA meetings.

I miss my first year RA's.

I miss free laundry.

I miss the programs the RA's would put on.

I miss knowing all of my neighbors.

I miss working evenings instead of during the day - which allowed me to sleep in a little later.

I miss being so close to the swimming pool.

I miss free laundry.

I miss being able to go back to my room between classes to change out what I need for each class.

I miss having a bed to nap in during the day. 

I miss having somewhere to store my skis and the convenience of being to go skiing during the day without the hassle of bringing everything to campus.

I miss not having to worry about maintaining the structural components of my place.

I miss free laundry.

Case of the lighter fluid

If you're my friend on Facebook, you may have recently found me complaining about the stench of lighter fluid.

Let's go back to Starvation Gulch 2010.  After we were done building fires for the day, we were on pile watch.  Since that gets a little boring, we decided to have a barbecue.  The grill was charcoal, so we opted for a bottle of lighter fluid to help get things rolling.  Of course, with just one grill, there wasn't a need for an entire bottle and since I purchased it, it went into the backseat of my pickup truck.

Where it remained for at least a year and a half. With no problems.

Until recently, when I went to start my truck after our vacation and noticed it reaked like lighter fluid.  Ugh, the smell is terrible.  And I'll never say that I like the scent again! Ever!
I don't know what made this year different from last year, but I accuse Harold and Monica of stepping on it during one of our car rides together.  And thus, the greasy fluid is now all over my truck.

I have a bottle of febreeze that I am spraying on it every time I get in, but I don't know how long I can keep that up.  Oh and by the way, febreeze doesn't burn when it gets in your eye.

New favorite neighbor

Last night, as Britton and I were scrambling to figure out which extension cords to use to plug in my truck across the parking lot, a gentleman came walking through.  He asked, "Which rig are you trying to plug in?" and I pointed to my truck.  He then says, "If you'd like, you can park in spot 66 until the first of the year."  And at this point, I'm squealing, "Are you sure?!?!"  He replies, "Yep, not a problem, I'm headed out of town in the morning and I have a garage space here."

Oh my gosh, he made my night SO MUCH BETTER! It really isn't even that big of a deal since we really only need the extra space when we have three cars at the apartment, but it makes life so much more convenient when you don't have to wind up 50-100 feet of extension cables.  Though, I might use it next week, since Morgan will be here and Britton's car will be on campus.  Our second spot is a few parking spots away from our plug in, and the one that our neighbor is letting us park in is super duper close!

Thank you neighbor of spot 66!  You will have fresh cookies or bread when we return from our respective vacations.  I have no idea where you're going, but you were even kind enough to let us use it while you are back and we are gone for a few days.  That, my friends, is true holiday spirit.

I know I haven't ranted about it on here before, but parking at Jillian Square is rough.  There is only one parking spot, since the complex was built in the 80's, which seem to be a one-car-per-family decade.  The front of the building is technically guest parking, so cars are supposed to be moved every 24-hours, though they don't check it as often as they should, and sometimes if you park in the same spot every time, they'll flag your car :-/ And the "overflow" lot is WAY TOO FAR AWAY to string extension cords to from our parking spot.

So again, neighbor residing in apartment 66, THANK YOU!