Corner and I are mostly moved into our house now (though we still have to procure a microwave, washer, dryer, and a few other miscellaneous items). Now, to work on making some friends in the area and we’ll be all set. I think that’s the hardest part about moving to a completely new place: having no one to hang out with in the evenings and on the weekends. That and not knowing where anything is. Not just location-wise, but not knowing where to go for lunch and knowing how much it will cost. Not knowing if you have time to make it to Place X during your lunch break, or where is open 24 hours, or where has free wifi, etc. It’s a bitch, but I definitely don’t regret the decision to move to California.
Thanksgiving weekend was fun and somewhat relaxing. Corner and I drove down to Palm Desert, which was about a 7 hour drive (on the way there; on the way back it was almost 10 hours!). We hung out with his parents and Darrin for the long weekend. Oh, and most importantly: WE GOT NIGEL BACK!!! Corner’s parents were watching him for a few weeks while we went to Michigan + got settled into our new place. While he was gone, Corner and I installed a doggy door in our backdoor (that leads to our fenced backyard). Nigel has been using the doggy door successfully, so that’s good news.
I’m working on some cool projects at work:
- Helped Pilar brainstorm a set of logos for the different IT departments
- Redesigned our iTunes U page
- Submitted our iTunes U site to be considered for inclusion in the public iTunes Store
- Claimed the Monterey Institute of International Studies page on Yelp
- Conducting initial research with the web redesign team that will be redesigning the main MIIS website before next September
- Designing a new Moodle theme to be rolled out during J-term next month
- Rewriting the MIIS Wikipedia article (it had previously been tagged for “sounding like an advertisement”)
Being around all of the graduate students REALLY makes me want to go back to school. It’s really weird reading everyone’s Facebook status updates about final exams and knowing that I am done with finals FOREVER (if I so choose to be, that is). I still plan to return to graduate school at some point, but I want to pay off at least most of my student loans from undergrad first (in fact, I made my first payment today!). And the degree program remains to be decided. I’m thinking Human-Computer Interaction, but Non-Profit Management is starting to sound interesting, too. I love that life plans can change no matter how old you are. It’s fantastic.
I am really stuck on what to get everyone for Christmas. So far I have only bought a gift for my dad. I think most of the problem stems from the fact that it’s still 60-70 degrees here in northern California, so I’m not even in winter mode, much less Christmas shopping mode.
As for me, I really want some new plugs and video games. But I know I’m going to get practical shit and I’ll just have to buy myself the cool stuff with my tax refund money.
I am still a Britney Spears fan (has everyone listened to the new “Circus” album yet??).
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
I am not even really in the Christmas mode, either, and there are about two inches of snow on the ground here. I bought some presents, put my tree up in my room, and am currently listening to Christmas music, but so far, no real “Christmas Spirit.” :( Maybe when I go home…
I was just thinking about you as I was listening to Christmas music, too, because it has to be weird hearing songs about snow when there is little to no chance that it will snow in the near future in CA.
Glad to hear you’re getting more settled into your new place and glad to hear that you have Nigel back!
Are you coming back to Michigan during Christmas at all?
My roommate got Circus, and we listen to it all the time, haha. Don’t tell Brando, he’d make fun of me.
heyyyyyyyyy girl hey!
just applied for a job in LA.
I am still a Britney fan and I love Circus! I just started paying back my loans too … woo, fun. I agree that it is weird to be done with school! Except I am pretty sure that I am done, done. I’m glad things are going well with your new job!