The Jumpseat Therapist

For anyone who is interested in seeing my new digs, here are some pics...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/31628368@N00/sets/72157600218560447/

Moving sucks. I am officially living out of boxes. I just can't wait until Thursday to get all of these boxes out of here and into the apartment. I have a million things to do before Thursday. I'm losing my mind...

We signed the lease today. We move in April 19th. I'm pretty excited. So much to do...

Well, we were approved for the apartment a few days ago. Today I went and looked at it for the first time - I really liked it and immediately "saw" us there. Rob's going to put the deposit down tomorrow, and Thursday we plan on signing the lease, probably to move in shortly after that.

WE'RE MOVING IN TOGETHER... FINALLY! (Fingers crossed, stranger shit has happened.)

Rob is so excited, he was glowing (Can men glow? Anyways...) He showed me all around the apartment since he had seen it before, telling me where the couch would go, where the entertainment center would go, telling me where Cooper's dog food dish would go. We're both pretty excited!

Now it's time to shop.

After 7.5 years together (16 months of which we have been engaged for), we are finally really looking at apartments. Well, actually, it was Rob looking at an apartment today, totally surprising me since I usually do most of the searching, and practically have to tie him down to a chair and shout at him to get him to help me. As it turns out, he went and checked out a place today (the first apartment to ever actually be "checked out" in person, I might add) without me even asking him to. Wow. We're finally going to be moving forward, and it's Rob who is taking the foot off of the break!

1. Do you have any pets? If so, how many, and what are their names?
I have a dog named Cooper. Although I've always considered him my dog, he's actually Rob's dog, but he "officially" became my dog as well when Rob and I got engaged. He's a brown and white mutt with the cutest face. I also have a zebra danio fish named Jack Sparrow. There isn't much to say about Jack.

2. What was your very first pet? Do you remember its name?
It was a goldfish. I don't remember it's name, but it was something very unoriginal, I know that for a fact.

3. Is there an animal you would never have as a pet?
I would never have a cat.

4. What common pet have you always wanted but never had? Why not?
I guess there really isn't anything out there that I've always wanted but never had. I want a dog and fish and I have them both. I would really like a big, authentic aquarium with a filter, bubbles and a light, and a bunch of cute fish to put in it. Someday...

5. What wild animal (extinct or not) would you own if you didn't have to worry about its adjustment or the cost of captivity?
A giraffe or a Thomson's gazelle. They are so darn cute! The Thomson's gazelle is small and would be easier to have in reality, so I'd probably have to go with that.

This one's for you, M...

Today I went to the Disney Store to get the Disney Dollars that I plan on giving my parents as a gift once we get to Florida. I was all excited about getting them. Then I come home and realize that I got 2006 Disney Dollars and not 2007 Disney Dollars, and that the 2007 Disney Dollars come out on Friday. I'm so pissed off. I wasn't going to get them until next week, but then I got off of work early today and decided to get it out of the way. If I would have waited, I could have gotten the new ones. But the old ones are just as cute, and will my parents really care about the difference as much as I do? I don't think so. But for some reason, to me, they seem so... old.

Son of a bitch.

It's supposedly going to be 80 degrees in Orlando on Saturday. I leave a week from Saturday! I have no clue what to pack for.

This exact same thing happened two years ago - we packed for weather in the 60's, and it ended up being in the 80's the whole week. No complaints, but the second we got off the plane we broke out in a sweat, it was so hot! We had to go shopping for short-sleeved shirts, it was so hot! We went swimming outside at midnight, it was so hot!

Last year at this time, it was cold - I packed for weather in the 60's, but should have packed as though I was still at home. Most days, I wore the coat I wore on the way to the airport, it was so cold! I almost paid the $8.00 they were asking for the $0.99 gloves, it was so cold! It was borderline uncomfortable at night, it was so cold!

It's been averaging 74 degrees for about a month now, so I hope that pattern continues. It's an El Nino, so most likely (knock on wood) it will. I don't mind the heat at all, but I have so many cute sweaters to wear! I threw away most of my spring/summer short-sleeved shirts, so I don't know what I should do about that. Go out and buy a couple more and be comfortable? Wear my cute sweaters and sweat?

I have two weeks.

TWO WEEKS!!!

I was drinking a Tab Energy drink while driving to Rob's place on Friday night. The first few sips were fine and I felt normal, but somewhere around Maple and Woodward, I started feeling really weird and spaced out, almost like I was high. I honestly couldn't concentrate and it almost became difficult to keep my car in my own lane. It was a strange feeling. I'm sticking with Rockstar.

I am finally finished Christmas shopping... the final present was purchased on my way home from work today. Thank God. Now all I have to do is wait for the credit card bills. Joy.

Tomorrow Rob has his first official police officer interview with the Flint PD. He even has a new shirt and tie for the big event. I don't want to move to Flint (or within the mandatory 20-mile radius), but I wish him luck, I really do - especially since this interview could potentially be a very good learning experience. It's always the hardest the first time, right. That is all I have to say about that.

I have the day off tomorrow and will be baking my Christmas cookies. I'm not making anything spectacular... just some Christmas-themed chocolate chip cookies, chocolate and peanut butter cookies, and Christmas-themed brownies. I might also go and get the shoes I want that match my purple and brown Coach purse. Who knows. I'll see how the day goes.

I got my hair cut yesterday - way too short. I hate it and can't get used to it, so I wore it up today after everyone noticed that it had been cut.

I gave myself a major electric shock today. It was honestly borderline electrocution. The room went black for a second (only in my fried brain, not because of anything having to do with the electrical outlet I was trying to use), and I couldn't talk or think straight for a few moments. A little scary.

The season finale of Nip/Tuck is tonight. I'm pretty sad about that. It's my show!

Rob has an interview with the Flint PD next Wednesday. We're having a small fight and I am not talking to him, so I don't know anything more about it.

Well, I requested New Year's Eve and New Year's Day off. I haven't been denied yet, so that's a good sign, or so I think. It's sort of like a late Christmas present to myself, much like my plane tickets to and from Florida will be...

Oh yeah... I'm going to Orlando in January for a week. I couldn't be more excited. I have about a million things planned, and I know I will never have enough time to do everything... like always.

I think I am also spending way too much money on Christmas presents, especially considering the fact that I need two new pairs of shoes, a new purse, two or three new pairs of jeans, and Beverly Hills 90210 Season One on DVD... all Christmas presents to myself, of course... except for the one pair of shoes - those are for work and are in no way money well spent on myself.

... Not to mention vacation spending money!

This is very, very, very early this year, but it is unfortunately time for my "Annual First Snow Time To Move To Florida Weather Comparison"...

Right now in Detroit, although done snowing, it is 35 degrees (and feels like 28 degrees)...

In sunny Orlando, it is 78 degrees (and feels like 80 degrees).

WHY, oh WHY are we here? Please tell me...!

Late last month, Rob got his new tattoo. I was NOT at all happy about the idea. What he had in mind seemed a little stupid, and I protested the idea of having to look at it for the rest of my life. In the end, what he had proposed wouldn't have worked, and the final product is much, much nicer. I'm actually pretty pleased with the way it turned out...

The final product... still a little bloody and mangled.



The proud owner...

Tonight I will wish upon a star, say a prayer, and fall asleep with my fingers and toes crossed. Probably, if there was ever anything I have ever wanted for someone else, this is it. If this could happen and work out, I would be the happiest person in the world. I can't even imagine how wonderful I would feel if it did happen. But like he said, it's best to look at it as a glass half empty. So that's what I will do.

I have so much faith in him. He wants this so badly. He deserves this so badly.

So...

I was sitting here today, on the computer, when I realized that I miss this place. So much has happened in my life since my last post (and at the same time, so much hasn't). I miss being able to come in here and get everything off my chest (although nothing was stopping me but myself).

Let's see... where to begin...

Rob finally graduated from the Police Academy. I have at my disposal my very own, in the flesh police officer. He graduated, finally, on June 9th. It was a happy, proud day. In other related news, he still hasn't found a job. He thinks he has a job in Detroit, and he thinks he has a job in Grand Rapids. I am really, really, really hoping the Detroit position comes through, as I will NOT be moving to Grand Rapids.

Here's me and the happy graduate after the graduation. It was party time by this point...


In July the family and I went to Disney World. Same thing, same fun, different time. There isn't much to say about that other than that I am still depressed that we had to come home.

Here's one happy girl posing in front of her favorite castle...


Here she is eating her favorite ice cream concoction...


I still work at Target, only I have been "promoted", and I am now the Consumables Specialist for the Troy store. I handle all of the things you put into your mouth and eat, hence consumables, that the store sells. It's not fun, but it pays the bills.

I have unofficially given up on the whole interior design thing. I'm now purusing a career in medical billing... we'll see where that goes.

The wedding plans have gone from Walt Disney World to Vegas and back again. We think that a Disney wedding is what we are going to do, followed by a cruise. We'll see how that goes, too. The way things are going now with me bitter about the prospect of having to even think of moving to Grand Rapids, well... we'll see how that goes as well.

So there I was at Wal-Mart on Saturday. I was there shopping with my mom, and we decided to venture on over to the housewares department to look and see how much the Corelle dishes that I want were at Wal-Mart. So we get to the aisle and I look at the dishes, and they are the same price as everywhere else. Damn. But then my eyes diverted to the bottom shelf, and I spotted a ripped, open box with a big red discount sticker. They were the exact dishes I wanted marked WAY down.

So there we are, sitting in the middle of the aisle, counting the contents of the box to see that everything is there. I'm counting everything and passing it to my mom when all of a sudden this Wal-Mart manager person (she was in a dress suit and name tag, sans the blue vest thingy) came walking by. Now I wasn't doing anything illegal, but this lady insisted on walking back and forth past the aisle. I am known for having a low tolerance for this sort of thing, but it sent me right over the edge when she changed her path of walking past the aisle to walking up and down the aisle we were in. I made eye contact, I gave dirty looks, but she kept on walking past us like we were trying to steal Wal-Mart itself. She did it one last time, and I lost my mind...

"Look," I said as she passed by the last time. "This box is ripped to shreads. The box says that there should be 42 pieces, I am checking to see if all 42 pieces are here, and if it will make you feel better, when I am done you can check and see if there are more than 42 pieces, but I can tell you that there aren't." She gave me a look, and I gave her a look and added, "And if you feel the need to continue treating me like a criminal, I can take my $40 somewhere else and call it a day." At that point, I either changed from a maybe criminal to part of the bottom line, or she just didn't want me to make another scene. Whatever. I have my dishes and I love them.

Rob and I are fighting about my ring. I swear that the damn thing is cursed! It has been re-sized four times, in four different trips, and I still don't know if it is going to be right. I get it back tomorrow.

It's frustrating because he thinks of the whole situation and gets mad. I think of the whole situation and just want everything to be perfect, and don't see why he doesn't. Typical man. He'd rather settle with it the way it is rather than be a little inconvienienced to get it perfect.

... and this is the engagement ring that I will be wearing for years to come we are talking about. Not some Cracker Jack ring.

I just miss my ring and want it flawless.

Is that asking too much...?

... Rob?

In July two years ago, I made a wish during my favorite fireworks show at Disney World, appropriately named "Wishes", that one day I could watch Wishes with my boyfriend. Nearly six months later, I found myself in Disney World, watching Wishes with him at my side. At that same time, I made another wish.

( That wish just came true... )