j3lackrose

Me n Charles went to Dallas and Co. to get masks for the party. It was a pain in the butt because we both have glasses, and masks just don't work while wearing them. He ended up settling on a very thin and cheap one which he could just barely wear his glasses over. I found a fancy one that is perched on a stick, so that I'm never actually wearing it, just holding it over my face. It needs some alterations; I like the black and white parts, which will match just fine with my dress, but the gold parts need to be covered up somehow.

After that we got dinner at Steak n Shake. Our waiter was quite charming, but I hate not being able to tell how old guys are sometimes. He could have been anywhere from 19 to 25; a real baby face. Charles always seems like he can read my mind, and sent a text to Mel to complain "Kari wants to jump our waiter". Mel types back "well hose her down!" *eyeroll* Gee, I love my friends...

After dinner we headed over to Walmart so that I could get another itunes giftcard, and see if I could get a car adapter as well. The card was an easy find, but the selection of itunes car adapters was depressing. I could either get the 8$ tape deck version, the 25$ mini speakers setup, or the 100$ actual fm radio adapter. I went cheap and got the tape version.

After Charles dropped me back off at home, I purchased some more music, but it on da 'pod, and tested out the car adapter.....Holy shit, this thing is awful. The sound quality is poor, and far worse than that, the tape interrupts the song every half second with a loud *click!*. Oh no no no, this will not do at ALL...:( So I'll be returning that tomorrow, along with the very-pink-pajamas that Grandma got me this year. I guess I have no choice but to wait until I can spring for the 100$ version. And considering that my next big purchase must be to get my car looked at, I think that won't be for a very long time. :(

Nothing else going on. I work tonight. I've recorded all my music onto a flash drive and played it last night in the office. Made the time seem to go by faster and staying awake a lot easier. :) Plan on doing the same tonight.

Buying:

Yesterday I got my monthly Maurices credit card e-statement. They raised my credit limit from 500$ to 730$. Cue the shopping spree! I got myself new jeans, a black hooded jacket (not to be confused with a hoodie, though they are very similar), a blue long sleeved top, some bad ass heeled boots, and a smexy new bra. What a haul! I've never gotten so much in one go before. That was seriously the most gloriously girly moment I have had in a looooong time. And all of these are things I've needed for awhile, especially the jacket and the heeled shoes.

Bravery:

Yesterday night was our staff get together at C Street. I was the first to arrive, but I figured I would be since nearly everyone else showing up didn't have to work that night, and I did. Next to arrive was Tom. I had decided that if he was the next to arrive, I'd try to say what I had meant to say at his party. I made small talk, trying to find a good segue, but nothing was presenting itself. So finally I got fed up and took the "Hey, I know this is totally out of the blue, but..." route. And I said something to the effect of "I think you're really cute". -I figured that I just plain don't know how to flirt with a preppy guy, being that I always found them to be downright terrifying in HS. So being subtle was out. But a "will you go out with me?", on the other hand, was just too bold for comfort. I have to work with this guy, afterall, and people talk. So I thought that this would be a nice happy medium; a way to test the water without getting burned. (that is one very mixed metaphor I know...)

He smiled and said "Thank you" a couple times. And then the conversation continued like nothing had happened. I'm interpreting this as "I'm flattered and your comment has been duly noted". It's not "I'm going to run away screaming now you weirdo", sure, but neither was it what I was hoping for, something like a blush or a "oh really...?" that could go places.

*sigh* So yeah, that answers that. I'm honestly not surprised at all. I get the impression that he and the new girl would be like white on rice if she suddenly became single. I just had to try, ya know? I'd like to think that I've evolved from that timid little person who would throw in the towel the instant competition rears its ugly head, into someone who can say "Hey! I may not be a size 2, I may not shop at Ambercrombie, but dammit I'm FUN, I have a BRAIN, and you're missing out!" ha ha ha

But anyway, like I said, things were fortunately not awkward at all. Amber, Joe, and Leeanne showed up and we had a great time gossiping about work and other random things. All too soon I had to leave for work. I had drunk enough at that point to become loud and a bit stumbly in my wicked new boots. Even so, the drive there was safe and uneventful.

Bitchery:

This morning I went to go check my balance after work. Today is normally not payday, but it is this time because of the holiday. On the way to the ATM across town, my car was running sluggishly and the check engine light flickered on and off many times. In exasperation I yelled at my car "I know there is something wrong with you! But I'm BROKE, so tough it out wouldya?!"

I did not realize just how true that statement was until I got to the ATM. I literally had enough to pay rent, with like 20$ leftover. What???? But I just got paid! How can this be?!

All I can figure is that there was some sort of mixup involving my two monthly school loan payments. One I mail out, one is auto-removed from my account via their website. They are due the 20th and 21st respectively. For whatever reason, my balance from the 19th through the 21st was exactly the same. I thought maybe they had taken it out earlier in the month for once, and I just hadn't noticed or something. But the way the numbers look now, they apparently waited to take them out of this latest paycheck instead.

Either way, now I have to hope to God my Christmas Haul this year is quite hefty, otherwise I'm going to be living on pasta and walking to work until Jan 8th. :(

So I bought some Coffee-Mate at the store the other day (thankfully it was on sale from nearly $5, to $2), because I stopped buying Starbucks every day. I also stopped buying coffee at the cafeteria at work every morning, because I finally brought in a coffee pot to make my own! And I need creamer. I have been keeping it in the large communal fridge. But, while the FRIDGE is communal, the food inside of it is not - unless so labeled.
I brought this new coffee creamer (Belgian Chocolate Truffle) in YESTERDAY. This morning HALF of it is gone. And yes I did use some yesterday, but not HALF of it! I did not tell anyone else in our group about it, or offer to let anyone use it. So why did HALF of it disappear in one day? I am inclined to blame people OUTSIDE my general group that also share the fridge.

I have determined to try to avoid this in the future instead of accepting it, or getting non-liquid creamer and keeping it in my drawer:

Step #1 - I put a post it note on it to explain "If you MUST use this, please replace it. This shit ain't cheap, and I ain't rich."

Step #2 - If this ever happens again, I will take the bottle home and replace the contents entirely with liquid laxative & maybe some food dye and a little vanilla flavoring. Then I shall place it back in the fridge as a decoy.
THEN we'll see if it ever happens again!

Yesterday was funtimes. I got done with my shift and headed back over to Katey's to resume hanging out with the chicago gang. We goofed off there for awhile, I took a nap, then the girls made us a breakfast themed-lunch. Katey made this amazingly wonderful hot cocoa/amaretto concoction, yum! After eating Miranda needed a ride to work, and Mel asked to come along. Ryan offered to drive. We took her and then Ryan got gas. We hung out at my place briefly so we could get some stuff and then headed back to Katey's. There, Katey asked us to participate in a ritual to celebrate Yule and bless the new year. We were awfully giggly for parts of it, but overall I think it was a very good mojo moment, heh. I got to write a recurring woe on a slip of paper and then burn it up in Katey's cauldron. Say what you will, but I definitely did not imagine the lifted-weight feeling when that sucker burnt into dust. Ahhhh...:)

After that we all went our separate ways since Mel and Erin very much needed to get back north. It was around 3 o'clock. Back home I took another nap and did some internetting. Then it was time to shower and ponder how the heck I was going to put together a holiday-themed costume on some very short notice and very limited funds. I'd riffled through my closet, trying things on and changing my mind several times. "This is cute, but I'm too chubby for it now. This is cute, but I'd freeze to death in it....This isn't cute at all, why do I still have this!?" and so forth. I eventually realized that I have a nice pair of brown dress pants and a nice sparkly brown top. Black shoes + little black shrug to keep the arms warm...all I need is the antlers and bingo, a really cheap reindeer!

I didn't feel like braving the Champaign shopping mob trying to fight my way across town to Walmart, so I called the local Schnucks and asked them if they had what I was looking for. They did. Yay! In the store I called up Miranda and conferred with her about her choices: Two types of antlers or a Santa hat. Choose. She wanted to be a deer too, and we ended up with the same style of antlers. I also picked up some Jack, coke, and some batteries for my camera. I picked up Miranda around 7:30p. We followed the google directions to Tom's quite easily, as he lives a mere 5 minutes from my apartment. The roads were very icy and we missed the turn trying to get onto his street. Sliiiiiide....I didn't hit anything/anyone, thank goodness.

There in front of what is obviously a very nice house, we decide that there aren't nearly enough fellow guests there yet, and perhaps it would be a good idea to come back after having some dinner. So we went to Jimmy Johns's and ate subs and tried on our antlers. Some random patron said we looked cute. :)

The roads were no better on the second attempt to get to this party, and we slid by the turn yet again, this time scaring a little squeal out of Miranda. Again, no harm, no foul. We put our antlers back on and rang the doorbell a couple times. Tim, Tom's uncle, aka Elf, answered the door. He welcomed us, took our coats, and directed us toward the rest of the party. My first impression was "Holy crap, that guy does NOT look like anyone's uncle...." He was very tall and very young looking. Without the eye crinkles, he could have easily passed for my age, not his late 30s. I quickly found out he also acts like he could be Tom's brother; fun guy.

Tom looked pretty funny in his "Bad Santa" garb. I introduced him to Miranda and fixed myself a drink. The party had a fairly small turnout, maybe no more than a dozen people plus us. Almost all of them were Tim's friends, and were roughly his age. Even so, the conversation was fun, random, and easy to participate in. Topics included the recent death of Brittany Murphy, the Champaign "Enema Bandit", Microwave carts, and whatever else came to mind. The people were plenty welcoming and I didn't feel awkward at all. :D

I drank. Aaaaaa lot. I had three tall jack n cokes to start, did two carbombs with Tom, had three mugs of his special spiked cider, and I lost count of how many vile sips of beer while playing Flippy Cup in their heated garage. Ahhhh, Flippy Cup...seriously fun times. I was already tipsy by the time we started playing that. There was another gal who happened to be named Kari too, but she was wearing a red apron and a Santa hat. She happened to be on my flipping team, and I remember shouting at her in encouragement at one point: "C'mon! C'mon Home Depot! FLIP IT!!!"

A sudden stomach pain, combined with the room beginning to tilt suspiciously, convinced me that I needed to take a bit of a break from the flipping and drinking. Me and Miranda hung out in Tim's little sitting room while I drank some water and tried to recover myself a bit. Tim came in the check on us and ended up standing there talking to us about his lovely house and family for a good ten minutes.

I started feeling much better and decided to start drinking again. I migrated back to the kitchen and there Miranda told me that she was very tired and was thinking about going home. I told her that I was still having a great time, and didn't feel like leaving yet. I didn't want to be a total douche though. She had to say goodbye to her horse earlier that day, and frankly I owed her one for even agreeing to come out with me, feeling as sad as she does. So I told her that if she wanted to go, she could take my car and she could pick me up in the morning. Now that I think about it, I should've confirmed that it's be ok to stay the night with our hosts, but it didn't even occur to me. She said goodbye, took my car, and left.

So yeah, after that, I honestly don't remember what I fixed myself, but whatever it was, it flipped the switch from "let's party!" to "let's pass out"... I sat in the doorway of the garage next to Tom and just kind of spaced out for awhile. Realizing that I was no longer really participating in anything anymore, I ambled over to the couch to see if I could get comfortable. At some point someone put a blanket on me and I mumbled some thanks. Then, later, Tom woke me up to ask if I wanted a bed. I said something to the effect of "That'd be nice..." and blearily went to the guest bedroom I was shown, aka one of Tim's daughter's rooms. I remember thinking "Ugh, sleeping in a fancy top, this is weird..." and then conking out for good.

Woke up feeling just fine, albeit with a desert gulch for a mouth...Until I rolled over. *PAIN* I had a pretty intense headache. I gingerly got up to use the restroom. I poured myself a glass of water and sipped it while checking my phone messages. Started feeling really nauseous and went back to the bathroom to evict the water I had only just drunk. The headache was not going anywhere anytime soon and the guys still hadn't gotten up. I didn't want to bug anyone, but I really needed some meds. I knocked on Tom's door until he got up and asked for some asprin. He gave me three ibuprofen, which kicked in surprisingly quickly. :)

We hung out watching tv for awhile and then he made breakfast: eggs, biscuits, and hashbrowns, yummo. He complained that the kitchen was a mess. I had to roll my eyes. You haven't seen a mess until you've seen the aftermath of a Nate and Jen's Halloween party. This mess was NOTHING, haha. We watched a sit com in which Rascal Flats were the guest stars. They played an acoustic version of the entire song "God Bless the Broken Road". Bear in mind, most country music makes me want to cut my ears off, but I happen to like a handful of these guys' songs. Hell, "What Hurts the Most" makes me cry like a baby. So that was an unexpected treat to hear. :D

I was enjoying myself and was half tempted to offer to help clean just to hang out more, but I didn't want to seem creepy. I contacted Miranda and told her I was ready to be picked up whenever she was available. She arrived around 1:30-2ish and picked me up. I thought I had packed up everything, but I ended up leaving my Jack, swimsuit (which never got used), and my spare camera batteries behind. Oops. Tom promised to bring them with when we all meet up Wednesday night at C Street. I talked to Amber about it and she (reluctantly) agreed to tell everyone to be there at 8p. We know that bar is notoriously dead until about midnight, but if we went with her original suggestion of being there at 10p, I'd only be there an hour and a half before having to duck out to go to work. :( I figure the group of us can just hangout on the bar side until it gets late enough for more people and dancing.

So yeah. I had a heck of a fun weekend. Now I've got this shindig coming up, along with seeing the fam' for Christmas. Megan says that she has her costume ready for the Masquerade on New Years. I can't wait, it's going to be a blast.:)

http://www.myspace.com/longviewtheband - "Further" by these guys is just beautiful. *happy sob*

So via some research, I found that there actually IS a local store still selling swimwear out of season, a boutique called "Confidentially Yours" not far from my apartment. They specialize in lingerie and underwear, but have a back section with a small variety of mostly one-pieces. I was hoping to find a nice two-piece, but the only one I found that I liked had this bizarre bra-like attachment that made it look like I was wearing one under the suit, with the clips in back peeking out. Taaaaacky...:(

Then I tried on a simple one-piece, black with green stitching. It deals well with my belly, although it shows off a lot more chest than I'm used to. Eh, minimize the negative, maximize the positive, as they say. Frickin' thing was 72$, that that was after they took 30% off. *cringe* I have never ever paid that much for a suit before. :(

Dear Facebook,

I am not sure right now whether or not I should even deliver this letter to you, but I feel that I need to get my feelings written down and out on a social network where I feel secure (like lj).
The terms of our relationship have been in constant flux since our first I laid my weary, dry, and tired, eyes on your goofy page features. Since that fateful day you have found a special place in my heart, and I came to rely on you more and more. You even have become very dear to many of my friends and family members.
Still, I am not sure how comfortable I am with the fact that our relationship has been in flux all this time. You constantly expose me, my information, my pictures, to security changes - which leaves me wide open for all sorts of abuse (identity fraud - as if anyone would really want to be me, though, certainly not when it comes to my credit!) and embarrassment. I feel it is unfair for you to do these things without first discussing the changes with me. I feel like you only take my feelings into account after the fact. I feel like you would go on just fine without me and probably not even notice if I was gone.
I realize that this might make social gatherings more awkward when people ask about you and I say I "broke up" with my profile. But I have to let you know that I am very seriously considering that it is time in my life that I moved past such fickle social networking and settled on something with more rock solid designs, something that will grow and change with me if and when I want it to, but not something that will force it's every whim upon me and sell me out for profit.
I know how popular you are Facebook, and that's why I think you will get through this separation unscathed.
I regret that it has come to this, and I would still very much like to maintain our relationship. But you only have so long to comply with my needs before I end it all and click that "delete" button terminating our relationship.
If and when it does come to that, I would just like to let you know that I appreciate all the time we spent together and how close you grew to my family and friends - and how you brought us together in new ways. But I just can't continue going on faking that I accept all the changes you've made. Heck, it might take me a few months to navigate your changes fully, and by then I suspect you will be a different creature altogether.

Take care, and never forget our time together (but please delete all unnecessary information from cyber-space).

-Pamela

P.S. - This is not the end, this is just a note to tell you how serious I am about ending our relationship if you can't change for the better for once.

Got to hang out with the new girl, Nicole, at work last night. She is really personable; we hit it off right away. We have a surprising amount in common. We are both Psych majors, for instance. She's like a preppier version of me, lol. The conversation swiftly turned gossipy, which was a lot of fun. ^_^

She is very social. Said that she would have stayed and hung out for more of my shift, but had a half hour drive ahead of her to go visit the guy she's been seeing. Even so, saying that was nice of her. We were both invited to my other coworker Tom's Christmas party on the 20th. I told her I was looking forward to it, but had invited a friend (Miranda) along since I won't know very many people there. She said she was thinking about bringing a friend too. I'm hoping to go shopping sometime either today or tomorrow to get a cute new top for the occasion. Tom's uncle (who he lives with) has a hottub. I don't know if that will be in-use for this shindig, but I'll be bringing my swimsuit just in case. It's old and not terribly flattering, but it's all I've got and getting a new one is out unless I want to fork over an ungodly amount to order one online.

In other news, they announced at yesterday's staff meeting that starting the 4th, our houses and schedules will be fixed in place. Marissa is going to become my new main supervisor, with Teri remaining the final say for all three houses. I will be working five nights a week, and attending all of the Wednesday staff meetings from now on. I'm still strictly overnights, and will have Sunday and Monday nights off. Lori and Sarah M. were assigned to the other two houses, which is kind of a bummer. I'll still be seeing them at the meetings at least. Gavin was taken off of the Saturday outings, surprising everyone. Teri mentioned that the overnighters will have a few extra duties, including med audits. I was nervous about that until this morning when I asked Ashley about it. She said that it's not a difficult thing, just tedious. Basically you go through the Drawer and count every single client's pills and document it. Doesn't sound fun, but I think I can handle it.

And all this is, of course, assuming that the Prairie Center Plan falls through, and I have to stay at MHC indefinitely.

Megan's gift was a brand new scanner/printer/copier. I can finally post new art from home, huzzah! I went on a posting spree, which can be seen here: http://karigirl1984.deviantart.com/

Birthday partying was quite fun. It was great to see my friends! This was also my first birthday I've ever celebrated as a non-student. I went and got my hair cut and styled (curly) for the occasion. Ryan, Erin, and Brian met up at my place and from there we all went to Crazy Buffet. There we met up with Muchacho, Miranda, and Jon. After that we made a Schnucks run for supplies and then settled in at Jon's house to party. I had a couple drinks, enough to become pretty cheerful, but not full blown drunk. Then I went to work for the night. In the morning I went home to shower and change, then went back to Jon's to pick up where I left off with Brian and Miranda, while Katey and Erin went and saw the Frog Princess movie. The three of us went to IHOP for breakfast/lunch, which was delightful. Erin and Katey got back. We all hung out for a couple hours, and then just us girls went over to Katey to gossip, drink, and play my new game "Fact or Crap". Seriously fun times; made us all feel like a bunch of smarty pants, lol. I came in second, 50pts., right behind Katey, 56pts.

After finally finishing that game, we went to Lil Ceasars for some cheap pizzas. We brought them back to Jons to share with the boys. Connor has joined the party. They were drinking an absolutely awful concoction that I christened "The Purple People Eater".

Everyone went their separate ways around 6:00p. I went home and got ready to have dinner with Dad and Megan. They arrived around 6:30ish and we went to Olive Garden. We had a wonderful dinner and a very charismatic waiter. Derek came by several times to say hi and chat. I got sang to, but it wasn't nearly as embarrassing as these sort of things typically are, heh. I had a whole lot of leftovers; I'm just not used to eating in such large portions anymore.

They left and then I had the rest of the night to burn. Alas, I couldn't find anything else to do with my evening, so I ended up just going to bed early. Still, I had a hell of a birthday weekend. :)