Mr. Teacher

Oh man have I been busy!! Lots of crap to finish up with P school before Thanksgiving, and bonus! Mike started his new job today!! OMG EXCITING! He moved from Benzonia back down to Lansing on Friday, where he'll stay until we can find him a good place to live in Ionia. I helped him move all his schoolish things to his new classroom, so I got to see his new school for the first time! :D It's awesome!

It's ultra big, with two levels, a courtyard, and carpet in every classroom! I was very impressed. I took a ton of pictures and a really long video, but the video was too large to upload to Flickr. :( I had a blast helping him put together his classroom to get it ready for today, which was his first day.

I couldn't fit the whole thing in one picture! I think Benzonia could fit inside it.

Oh man, tomorrow is Tuesday, and I get to GO HOME AND SEE MY FAMILY OMG *FAMILY-GASM* I can't wait! I haven't seen them since before I moved back in August! I'm going to eat SO MUCH food, play hours of Mariokart, and snuggle with my puppy as much as I possibly can in four days. :D :D :D

Eye-ballin'

I guess winter is here. *humbug*

Next week is Thanksgiving, which means two awesome things!! 1) I get to see my family! and 2) Only a few more weeks left in this semester! WOOO!

Friday I got to see Mike's best man and best friend, Nick, and his girlfriend Colleen (who is one of my lovely bridesmaids! :D). Colleen is about to begin her third year of pharm school in January, and Nick just purchased their first house in Grand Rapids! Mike and I got to tour it and hang out with them for a while, and then we went to go see the new James Bond movie! I'm not an enormous James Bond fan, but it was great times to hang out with them again. :) Afterwards we had dinner at a Japanese restaurant where they grilled the food up right at our table!! The chef was awesome and it was quite entertaining. I had never been to one of those before. :)

Saturday I had an eye appointment, and apparently there are all kinds of things wrong with me! My eyes have been very dry and red lately, but I was mostly blaming it on my contact lenses. After careful examination by the doctor, however, it was discovered that I have:

• Chronic dry eye
• Insufficient tear production (and hence the dry eye)
• Protein buildup (which makes my contact lenses dirty)

Because of these things, I now have to use artificial tears every day, and soak my contacts in this cage-contraption in hydrogen peroxide for six hours every night. Yikes! I've been doing this for two days now and already my eyes feel better though, so I'm glad I'm finally doing something to help fix them. They've been a cause of worry over the last several months, and I'm just happy that I don't have some crazy infection that will make me go blind.

Mike moves to Ionia this weekend. *EEEE* :D

What A Week(end)

First of all, it snowed on my way home from up north today A WHOLE LOT, and I am not ready for the fluffy white shit. Not ready at all.

Secondly, I have great news!! Mike just took a new teaching job!!! *SQUEE* It's an English position at the high school in Ionia, Michigan, which I guess is about 30 miles east of Grand Rapids. He just gave his two weeks notice to Benzie last Friday, so he'll be starting his new job before Thanksgiving. As you have probably already guessed, this makes me incredibly happy, because he will be less than half the distance away from me! OMG!! Still about an hour and twenty minutes or so, but pfft, that's nothing!!

He actually interviewed for a position at this school in late August, but they went with a different teacher for the job. However, when another teacher left Ionia partway through the semester, they contacted him themselves, before he even knew of the vacancy! They liked him so much that they didn't even interview anyone else! My man is so damn good that great opportunities like this just line up for him. ;) I know it will be challenging for him to switch schools right now, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it's a change for the better. Hopefully he will be really happy in Ionia, and he can make the difference he hopes to make for the students there. If he does end up liking the position and the location, there's a good chance this will be my home too after we get married. Only time will tell, but I'm optimistic. :) Yay for Mike! You're just stupendous!

Of course, leaving Benzie will mean leaving behind the awesome ski lodge/house that he and his roommate Blake live in, and also leaving behind Blake, who has been a great friend (along with his girlfriend Sonya). The four of us went wine-tasting on Saturday all afternoon, and it was great fun! It will be the last weekend Mike has up there that he won't be moving, so we thought we should do something special. :) Afterwards we came home and made some hot apple/cherry wine and made a great fire. I studied periodically during all this of course, but at least it was more fun than studying alone in my apartment. >_<

In other news, I had a near-death experience on my way home tonight!! After driving for three hours in the first snowfall of the year without a hitch, I'm less than a mile from my exit when I come within feet of hitting a guy head-on! OMG! I've never been so scared ever. A truck had turned sideways in the right-hand lane on US 131, so his headlights were facing the median and his taillights were facing the woods. In other words, I pretty much couldn't see him at all, until my own headlights lit him up. I was so close to him I had to slam on the brakes and swerve into the other lane! I had no time to check and see if I had room, I just had to do it. My tires squealed and my rear fish-tailed and everything, but I got passed him without getting hurt of crunching up my car. I seriously almost burst into tears immediately afterwards, I was so freaked out, and I hyperventilated the rest of the way home (luckily, I had less than two miles to go before I got to my apartment). *whew* That was the scariest moment I've ever had in my car.

Tonight when I count my lucky starts, I'll remember to count that one twice. o_O

"Studying" with Shruti

Shruti: :D Amanda, I am incredibly grateful that you hear me....I've said this a million times, but LITERALLY NO WORDS can describe how incredibly amazing it is to have ONE human being on this fucked up earth who hears you! I wouldn't trade it for the Universe.
Me: Universe: "......pwn'd."

____________________

Shruti: hahaaa Because you're the all knowing truth attractor...OBVIOUSLY, you attracted teh Cosmic Sound of Truth (and holy noise)
Me: and don't forget God
Shruti: OF COURSE
Me: I'm like a supreme being MAGNET
Shruti: but that just makes you..mortal *giggle*
Me: pfft
Shruti: mortal with a lightsaber

______________________

Shruti: sidenote: capillaries are the FUCKING BOMB

_______________________

Shruti: xo...xo. Xanthine oxidase
Me: furfur
Shruti: *jizz*

Vivid Dreams

While watching a Chantix commercial...

Me: Watch, I betcha they'll say it causes nausea and vivid dreams.
Mike: I take it you've seen this commercial before?
Me: ........
Mike: What?
Me: Well, that, or I'm in pharmacy school.


Gotta put $25,000 a year to good use ;)

Only In America

Well, the election is over, and I know I'm not the only person in the world glad to see the political posters leave everyone's front yard. As we all know by now, Obama won America's votes. I voted for him, so of course I was really happy that my candidate came through the victor, but I was even happier for what happened after that.

My brother Chris turned 18 last year, so consequently, he was able to vote for President for the very first time yesterday. I've been incredibly proud of how well he's done his research, the depth to which he knew the candidates and their stances, and the maturity he took in making his decision. He called me at midnight, and for over an hour I listened to him talk about the election. I can only describe his mood as elated, and his excitement was simply contagious. He was happy of course that Obama won, because that was his vote as well, but there was something else there. Something bigger, and far more important than winning.

I heard in his voice what I can only feel inside myself, but never really explain well to others. It was a feeling that he had contributed to history. It was the knowledge that no matter what the outcome, his ballot was part of a decision that changed the future of this nation. He made a difference. It was the reminder that in America the people do decide, and their voices speak louder than the campaign microphones, the money, and the media. It was the sense of pride I feel everyday to be a part of this--to be a part of this freedom. No matter who earned your vote yesterday, you have to appreciate the outcome for what it is: a surge forward. A page turned in history (and it's certainly one for the books!).

For me, knowing that at least one other person shared that same passion was a greater victory than hearing Obama give his acceptance speech. Because it's not about the wars we start, the politicians we elect, or how insufficient our health care system is. It's about going to the polls and realizing it's a gift. It's about knowing that America is many things, but a pioneer she has always been, and will continue to be. It's about believing that hope isn't lost, and that we can still contribute to a better world.

This is what I love about America, the land of opportunity. And only in America, can you dream as big as you want to.

Today

Do something that matters.

*****VOTE*****

Halloweenie!

Bill: Where'd that come from?
Me: Oh, I've had that my whole life. My mom used to say that if I had a mole on my left hand, it meant I was artistic.
Bill: Yeah. That, or you have cancer.
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The other day I burned incense while studying, and even though I've never smoked pot (or anything else for that matter), all I could think to myself was, "People will think I'm trying to cover up the pot smell." O_o

So, yesterday was Halloween, and as usual, it was just a great excuse for every girl in the world to go out looking like a hoe. We even had a girl literally in her underwear flash her boobs at us while we were driving, and I wanted to beg Mike to run her over. It would've been awesome, and without her, the world would've been a better place. :D No, no, I'm only kidding. But the world would be less slutty anyway. And women might be a little be closer to NOT being seen as sex objects. >_<

I actually got to go out and do something fun last night! Our friends Katie and Chuck called us up to go to the Roadhouse with them, and Mike and Mandi came too! I hadn't seen them all in over a year OMG!! It was awesome. I missed them so much, and I had a blast just catching up and laughing like old times. It felt like pre-pharmacy school, when I lived in Kalamazoo and got to hang out with people because I had spare time! Oh man. Those were the days.

I also finished my first Therapeutics class yesterday, and Monday I start my second one. Only six more weeks left of school (I think) before Christmas. I can't wait. :D