Friday, June 29, 2012

Best Email I've Gotten in FOREVAR.

In my inbox a few minutes ago:

Dear Christina:

The WPE Appeals Committee accepted your appeal and overturned the original grade of Retake, or Void, to a Pass.

I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate you for passing the June 2012 WPE and meeting the Writing Proficiency Requirement. Your pass will be posted on your WISER account, but I advise you to print and keep this e-mail notification from the Writing Proficiency Office until you graduate; it will be your only paper copy and proof that you completed the requirement.

Again, congratulations and all the best in your future endeavors!

 I'm so stoked right now! I ruptured everyone's eardrums with my screaming, and now I'm hoarse. I also did a happy dance, and thankfully nobody had a camera handy. 

What a relief.

Thursday, June 28, 2012

WPE Update

I had my meeting with a counselor and it went very well. I'm not as disheartened as I was going in, that's for sure!

I got a score of six on my exam, and seven is passing, so she advised me to go through the appeals process. As she put it, the worst that can happen is that they say, "No." I'd be no worse off than I am now.

Also, she definitely recommended doing the portfolio option if at all possible. She told me to go ahead and take any written assignment I'd completed at NBU, regardless of whether it was graded or not, and head over to the WPE office to get an opinion. While I'd still have to write a new essay for the portfolio, there are workshops and I could get my drafts vetted ahead of time. We'll see how it goes.

As of right now, I'm working on my appeals letter, which is due no later than 4 PM today...*gulp*. I guess it's another chance to show my writing chops. It's a delicate line to walk, having to show confidence in my writing without tipping into arrogance and entitlement. Hopefully I'll nail it!

Again, wish me luck!

Please. :)

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Hunger Games Week X...backsliding!

Me: -8 (ARRRRGH...)

SCI-FI: -12

Two steps forward, one step back. For ME, anyway. No worries, I just had a couple off days (meaning, OMNOMNOMNOM...). I'll be back on track tomorrow.

Generous Tippers

receive forgiveness from the Grammar Nazi.


Loser

That would be me. I failed the WPE. I have one more chance to pass (the retake date isn't until next January) in order to be permitted to continue in the nursing program at NBU.

Well, I have an appointment to see my WPE counselor tomorrow and we'll go over my essay and where I missed the mark. Hopefully I'll get good feedback. Wish me luck!

Monday, June 25, 2012

Silver loves taking pictures...

whether the subjects of her pics love her doing so or not!


Charlie('s Angels?) on the T!

Friday, June 22, 2012

No, no I'm not.

As I was about to put my shoes on before heading out to work, I told myself, "Oh, I guess I should probably put some pants on. I'm not Robb Allen..."

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Hunger Games Week IX Update:

Me: -9.2

SCI-FI: -11

We are rockin' now!

Dear Lord help us...

the twins got their learner's permits today...yay? ;)

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Car Bleg

So, anybody in the general Boston area know where I can get a RELIABLE used car? Or does anyone have a used car for sale? Or know someone who does?

Looking for a car that's up to ten years old, but not completely run-down. Automatic and A/C is a must, other than that, I'm flexible. It has to be able to get my girls from MA to ND and then putter them around Grand Forks for a few years. I'm willing to shell out up to four grand.

THANKS, Y'ALL!

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Very Special Day

Today is a very special day, it's the day 21 years ago that I got EXTREMELY lucky in the daughter department:

IT'S SILVER'S BIRTHDAY!!!!!

She's strong, beautiful, intelligent, and yet she doesn't seem to be aware of any of that. It's something she definitely needs to work on. I want her to know that despite any setbacks, she WILL succeed. And I'll be cheering her on all the way.

Love you, Sweetheart.

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Thanks...I think?

Me: I just have to put some makeup on, then we can go.

Daughter-who-shall-not-be-named (DWSNBN): You don't need makeup, Mom!

Me: Yes,  yes I do.

DWSNBN: *I* don't wear makeup.

Me: You don't need makeup, you're young and fresh, I'm old and worn out!

DWSNBN: You are NOT old and worn out! Okay, well maybe you're old, but definitely not worn out...

Me: Uh...thanks?

Monday, June 11, 2012

Hunger Games Week VIII

Me:-8.2

SCI-FI: -6.8

Yay, the decrease in calories is working (duh...)!

I "only" have 18 pounds left to lose...but I can do it! And SCI-FI needs to up his game, just sayin'...:D

(I love you, bro...you know I'm just kidding, right?)

Now I've seen everything.

"Hide-a-Wipe" camouflage toilet paper.

Let the apocalypse commence.

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Gemini 1993...

has landed! The twins arrived safely and are now ensconced in the living room, playing Super Smashbros Brawl with their older sister. Life is good.

Saturday, June 09, 2012

I was a little worried.

I massaged a new client yesterday who was a dead ringer for a (younger) Ben Stiller. I was slightly concerned, considering that Zoolander is one of my all-time favorite movies. But luckily, THIS didn't happen.


He was a perfect gentleman AND an excellent tipper. :)

Friday, June 08, 2012

I love living in the future!

My BABIES have graduated high school and their sister and I got to watch! Yep, thanks to the wonderful Intarwebz (and Al Gore!), Silver and I were able to watch live as Chaos and TallyAngel walked across the stage to accept their diplomas. I'm so proud of them! And they'll be here in two days to spend the summer, then it's off to college with their big sister.

Happy, happy day. :)

And then there was...

the douchenozzle in front of me on Route 1 who decided to go to McDonald's. Which would be fine, except he decided to slow down and come to an almost complete stop in the TRAVEL LANE of the highway before making the right turn, instead of getting onto the shoulder (or "breakdown lane", as they title it here quaintly...).

Front-mounted RPG launcher. Just sayin'.

Wednesday, June 06, 2012

Close Encounters of the Curb Kind

The lovely Nearby Big University (NBU) I attend has a requirement for my major of either completing a portfolio or taking a Writing Proficiency Exam (WPE) to demonstrate one's, well, writing proficiency. I guess writing an essay to get INTO the program and getting A's on all my papers isn't enough.

Because I'm a transfer student, I couldn't choose the portfolio option (all papers submitted have to be from NBU, and I didn't have enough), and since I have to fulfill this requirement before taking a specific class this fall, I had to take the WPE yesterday.

So, after a day spent at the emergency vet and dealing with my injured kitty and shelling out hundreds of dollars instead of perusing the reading set and taking notes for my exam, I got up yesterday morning at 5 AM and headed to the campus super early to beat the traffic. I parked where I usually do, in the lot, and started re-reading the articles and taking notes.

Around this time, I started feeling grumbles from my gut. I tend to be a nervous test-taker, and my nerves affect my belleh in a bad way. Plus, I had eaten a LOT of watermelon the day before, which in hindsight I really regret. I realized I should head inside and find a bathroom, stat. It was pouring rain, and I didn't have an umbrella or bag with me, because we were not allowed to bring anything of the sort into the exam with us (I didn't know at the time that they had a room set aside for a bag/coat check...grrrr.)

So, for the first time since being a student at NBU, I decided to take advantage of the convenient parking garage and head inside, out of the rain.

Since I'd been sitting in the car for over half an hour, all my windows were fogged up. I adjusted the vents to blow on the windshield and rolled the windows down, but the windshield wasn't completely clear as I inched my way carefully through the garage. The lower level was pretty much packed already, so I decided to head to the upper level, which was closer to the exam room anyway.

As I swung around the curve onto the ramp, I heard a horrible grinding sound and my car shuddered to a halt...the gray walls and gray floor and gray windshield had conspired to hide the existence of the low (GRAY!) curb which divided the up ramp from the down ramp. And I had managed to drive up said curb and firmly lodge my tiny car on it. I was pinned like a bug in some sadistic entomologist's collection and wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

After a circus involving using the emergency call box to get campus police out (no cell phone service in the garage), campus maintenance, the crappy jack that came with my car, and my mega-awesome, gigantic maglite, my car was un-stuck, deemed safe to drive (no pieces/parts falling off, no suspicious leaks or puddles), and I finally found a bathroom. I also made it to my exam with time to spare.

Honestly, it will be a miracle if I passed.

P.S. once the curb was car-free, it was shown to have a round hump at its end, with a hole in it. You know, a hole perfect for a pole with some kind of SIGN warning about the existence of the fucking curb?! I wonder how long said pole lasted before some poor sap in an SUV mowed it down...



Monday, June 04, 2012

Hunger Games Week VII

Me: -4.6

SCI-FI: -7.2

*sigh*

At least I lost what I had binge-added over Memorial Day weekend.
And now I'm down to 1500 Cal. per day instead of 1800.

We'll see how it goes. I'm frustrated.

Diagnosis:

Wound of unknown origin.

Eight hundred bucks and several stitches later, Pipsqueak is home and well. On antibiotics and pain killers, wearing the Cone of Shame, and quarantined for 45 days. Ah, the joys of having an indoor/outdoor cat.

*sigh*

Poor kitty wants to go outside so badly, but it AIN'T HAPPENING. He'd just better get reacquainted with the litter box, ASAP.

Pretty Prom Princesses!

My girls are not only beautiful, they are intelligent, talented, and wickedly funny. I can't wait to see them...only SIX MORE DAYS until they're here!


Sunday, June 03, 2012

Overheard during a chair massage...

"It feels like my face is dancing!"


*snerk*

Silver has a new website!

It's still under construction, but she ported her other blog's archives there.

And here it is:

Systems Ready

Even though the main page says there are no blog posts yet, if you click on the "blog" button on top, you'll find her latest entries.

Enjoy!

Saturday, June 02, 2012

Real.

I received a package in the mail the other day. It contained my uniforms and badge for clinicals in the fall.



Now it's real. And it scares me and exhilarates me by turns. Either way, it's been a long time coming.