Life changes in a flash

Soooo, I'm a bad blogger. But I have come up with some relatively good excuses. I've ordered them from least credible to most credible:

Reason #10
I apartment shopped for about 2 weeks nonstop. I looked at a bajillion places before deciding on a one bedroom in Ashburn, VA. So that took up all of my free time when I was unemployed. Hence the lack of updating.

Reason #9:
I got a job. With Loudoun County Public Schools in the Office of Special Education. I'm a Program Asssistant, and there are a lot of people in our department (I'd say at least 50 personnel) who just work in Spec. Ed. for LCPS. We are based in this huge 5 story building in Ashburn VA right off of the toll road. If any of you have driven to the Leesburg Outlets, look for a large brick building full of windows right next to the Greenway. That's my building! We're really busy there and I'm sure they wouldn't approve of me using their internet to update my blog.

Reason #8:
I moved into the Ashburn place. Which is still happening. Had to pack up stuff from Ashburn and stuff from Winchester. And then move it to Ashburn. And then unpack it. And then get rid of all the trash. And then buy a trashcan and other crap to put in the new place to store all of the moved crap. And then sleep.

Reason #7:
We lost to Boston College. Which I wasn't really surprised about. We haven't been great this season and we weren't playing at home and we were a team that apparently has some bad voodoo out on us. I'm hoping Florida State's voodoo has run out on us. Because that could turn out pretty crappy for us too. I'm not sure why this stopped me from updating - I bet BC put some voodoo on all Hokie fans that stopped them from being able to do normal things, just like our football team.

Reason #6
Project Runway was on. And I couldn't stop watching it to update - I would miss something. Especially with Kenley the dumb biatch. WUT WUT!

Reason #5
The Office was also on. 'Nuf said.

Reason #4
I went to the Washington International Horse Show last night. Although this doesn't seem major, just WAIT! You know Carson Kressley, from Queer Eye and How to Look Good Naked on Bravo? Yeah, he was at the WIHS. Riding. An American Saddlebred, which are some of the sissiest looking horses ever. Of course. He was wearing a blue sparkle one-piece pants and western shirt combo, a giant cowboy hat, and his horse had it's hooves painted silver sparkle. It was hilarious and wonderful. He is very flamboant. I was too distracted after the show to update (obvi).

Reason #3
I'm a procrastinator and lazy. So if I see the computer across the room from where my butt is firmly planted on the couch, I'm not going to get up to get it.

Reason #2
My weekends have been filled with trips to various places (Blacksburg, Nashville, Arlington, Charlottesville wedding, etc.), so I really didn't have any down time to update.

Reason #1
The new apartment doesn't have internet and cable yet! Thankfully they're coming Monday to hook us up. Which is good, because Patty and I are getting tired of watching movies and talking to one another as our only thing to do once we get home from work. I think this is my best excuse. Hence it's status as #1.

I'm a master of laziness

List of things I meant to do today:
1. Do 2 lessons on Microsoft.com about MS Access 2003
2. Take the dog on a walk
3. Work on my quilt
4. Apply to 2 jobs
5. Make phone ring telling me I got the Loudoun County job
6. Organize the crap in my room
7. Drop clothes off at GoodWill

List of things I actually did today:
1. Ate breakfast
2. Read part of my book
3. Stalked (of course!)
4. Made lemon bars
5. Took the dog on a walk

In case you weren't keeping track, I got one thing done. Yup, ONE. Bah humbug. Unemployment is boooooooooooooooooooooring.
On the bright side, I'm the dog's favorite person now because I stay home with her when everyone else leaves. But she's kinda a whore for attention, so I'm not super excited.

August

So far I've played tennis, kinda organized my room, job hunted like Elmer Fudd for Buggs Bunny, and visited Patty every weekend. I have an interview on Thursday with Loudoun County Public Schools to work as a Program Assistant and would really like to get that job. I want to move to and work in Leesburg - it's the right mix between Washington, DC and Blacksburg - just the right mix of bars and cows.
I miss my friends at Tech, band (for the socializing), and the carefreeness that comes with being a senior. But life moves on with or without me, so I guess Ima gonna have to jump on the train regardless of if I'm ready or not. Bah humbug.

Hey look, an update!

So I've run out of other things to procrastinate with, but luckily I have this blog! So, here goes an update:
1. I went to Africa. It was awweeesssommmeeee. I was really sad (like close to tears) when we had to leave, and I hope I get the opportunity to go back again someday. Here's what we did for the two weeks:
Day 1: flew KLM to Amsterdam and then to Mt. Kilimanjaro airport in Tanzania. Over 8,000 miles one way. Two flights each about 8.5 hours long. Luckily they had tv screens in each passenger's headrest. I watched movies and played backgammon with my mom (through the tv system since we weren't sitting next to each other - how cool is that?).
Day 2: First day of safari - we saw a big male elephant walking through the shrub forest, zebra just chillin on the side of the road, wildebest, impala, and some sweet birds. We arrived at camp (already set up for us) in the late afternoon, ate dinner cooked by a chef (lots of yummy veggies and meat), and talked with our fellow safariers. During the night a herd of elephants walked through our camp and you could see their paths the morning after in the tall grass - too cool.
Day 3: pretty much the same, except we saw a female cheetah with 3 cubs (they were hiding in the grass, there could have been more), vultures, and bat eared foxes. we also saw an elephant taking a mud bath
Day 4: we went to Gibb's Farm, an organic farm that supplies a restaurant on the side of a mountain. saw an elephant slide, where elephants sit on their butts and slide down to get to a waterfall (our guide says they climb back up a different side of the mountain). didn't get to see it in action tho. also saw a bush baby.
Day 5: saw bajillions of flamingos on a lake eating smelly algae
Day 6: saw a Maasai village and touched cattle and watched the sun rise. bought some bracelets and necklaces
Day 7: Hiked to a waterfall (up the river it fed) and played in the water.
Day 8: when on a night safari, where we saw an aardvark and spring hare (my second favorite animal after a dik-dik).
The rest of the safari was just day after day after day of seeing amazing animals and landscapes. Here are a few professional pics that show what we saw:
http://www.amani-tours.com/images/ngorongoro1.jpg
http://eatmorecookies.files.wordpress.com/2007/12/800px-topi_rwanda.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2f/Secretary_Bird.jpg
And this picture is a lot like the tents we stayed in: http://farm1.static.flickr.com/52/109149067_a40e49a08a.jpg?v=0

Here's a popular song that captures the spirit of Tanzania:
Jambo, Jambo Bwana
Habari guni? Mzuri sana
Wageni mwakaribishwa
Tanzania hakuna matata
Wageni Karibuni - hakuna matata
Nchi yenye amani - hakuna matata
Ukiwa Tarangire - hakuna matata
Ukuwa Serengeti - hakuna matata

Hello, Hello Mister
How are you? Very well.
Visitors are welcome
Tanzania no problems
You are welcome - no problems
Peaceful country 0 no problems
When you're in Tarangire - no problems
When you're in Serengeti - no problems

New hair

I chopped my hair off and gave it to locks of love! I'm really excited about it :)

America, Africa, and other A words

America: properly pronounced "Ah-murr-ica", celebrates it's day of independence on July 4th. I went out to Winchester for the 4th of July weekend. Played tennis, shot off illegal fireworks, drank beer, went 4-wheeling at 1 am, ate at Checkers for the first time, saw "Get Smart" (funny, but not worth the $9 ticket), drank $4 bottle of wine (La Mancha Merlot - good shit), watched 12098234-hour long most amazingest tennis match ever

Africa: So my family is going on a safari in two weeks and I'm really excited. We're going to Tanzania and going to see lions and tigers and cheetahs and rhinos and elephants and the Ngorogoro crater. Patty's dad thinks we're crazy to go without guns, but I'm pretty sure we'll be safe - plus, all I have to be able to do is run faster than someone else, and there are some old-looking people going with us, so I think I'm good. I just hope I don't get too sunburnt and bug-bitten.

Apples: every time I eat an apple or pear I get a really funky taste in my mouth like 5 minutes after the first bite. It just started happening like 3 months ago, and it sucks because I really like those fruits, but the new aftertaste sucks, so I'm laying off them. Boo.

Well, that's all for my A post today.

Adios. (sorry, I couldn't resist!)

Music

Songs I'm currently obsessed with:
1. I kissed a girl
2. Rehab
3. Just got started lovin' you
4. I'm yours
5. Somewhere over the rainbow/what a beautiful world by that Hawaiin guy.

And in general the new Jason Mraz album. Sounds like somebody's going to be hitting up iTunes!

OHMYGOD there are fish on my computer

So, I just discovered a whole new world. Yup, me, Aladdin, and Jasmine are on a magic carpet and it's taken us to iGoogle. iGoogle is the shit. You can make it pretty with cool pictures, shuffle around various applications/gadgets/feeds, and basically make your own little personalized part of Google. And guess what one of the gadgets is? FISH! They swim around a little box, you click anywhere inside that box and it drops a piece of food and then the FISH COME AND EAT IT!!! You can plop little dots of food everywhere, and they don't poop, they don't get fat, they don't float upside down, all they do is live! It's WONDERFUL!

I also learned what the hell an RSS Feed is. I consider myself to be somewhat computer literate - I'm much better at it then my Dad, but have no clue what coding or anything big like that is. So today, with the advent of a new age (now know as AG - After Google), I learned new technological things. An RSS Feed basically is a mini view of updates on a website - like the little hole at your end of the telescope with the other large end looking at the real webpage. And I added an RSS Feed to my new iGoogle page. And I feel really smart and accomplished. If you're reading this and are laughing at my simple-minded computerness, shut up and go away. I'm proud of my small accomplishment, so there. {tounge sticking out}

In other news, I still don't have a job. But I DO have my very own Google page.

New Technology in Cars

I think they should make cars with dry erase boards in them. That way, when someone pulls a dumb move, you can tell them how you feel. The finger works well, but sometimes a situation needs more than that simple gesture.
In the past 48 hours I have witnessed two (2) fantastic points to support my arguement.

1. I was driving east on 66 and there was a decent amount of cars infront of me. I was in one of the left lanes, and saw that there was a slow car a couple cars ahead of me that people were having to pass on the left or right. Whenever someone went to go around him, the slow car would alternate turning on his left and right blinkers and tapping his brakes repeatedly. Once the car was past him, he stopped. Then he did it again to the next car that came up behind him. Then it was my turn. So I put my blinker on to go around him to the right, and he starts his light show, which is really dumb and pisses me off and makes me want to rear end him. Unfortunately I was unable to pass him, so I had to get back behind slow, light-happy asshole. Then I noticed that he had a couple religious bumper stickers on his car. GREAT, so I can't flick him off or be an ass back because God would probably not like that. Well piss. Ok, so I go to pass him on the left, and he does the lights thing AGAIN! So as I pass him, I stare directly at him and give him my best "What the HELL do you think you're doing?" look. He in turn stares at me in a "God's watching you speed and pass me" sort of way. Great, thanks buddy.

What was he trying to do? Is speeding and passing on a highway a sin? Is this a new form of spreading God's word - through blinkers and brakes?

2. Today my Mom and I went to the grocery store. We drive on our little 25 mph streets to get there, takes about -2 seconds, real easy. Except when special people are on the road. Today's special person really takes the cake. We're at on intersection, and our light turns green. The car in front of us goes, and we follow. However, there is a woman stopped at the other direction's red light who wants to turn right, and did not stop at the line. Well, her back bumper miiight have been at the line, but it was most likely past it. So this woman who wants to turn right is in our way, and we clearly have the right of way and want to get out of the intersection while our light is still green. But eager-right-turn lady is special. So the car infront of us has stopped because we can't get through the intersection, and is probably giving special lady a look (I would too). We are forced to drive around special lady, and as we do so, she BLOWS HER HORN at us, throws up her hands, and starts yelling at us. You can't be serious. There is absolutely no way you can possibly think you were in the right. They draw a line on the road, it's big, it's white, the road is black, everyone can see it. You stop at that line and then you move forward WHEN IT"S YOUR TURN. Duh

Also, if you forget to turn your blinker off after changing lanes or making a turn, you slowly drive everyone insane and they all hate you and want to see you burst into a firey ball of flames, ignited by your forgotten blinker.

Dear Real World, let me in!

Alright, so here's what my general "plan of action" was after graduation....
1. Pack up life in Whipple (sniff sniff)
2. Move back to Arlington (briefly)
3. Unpack
4. Spend a week or two hanging around Arlington, visit friends and family, etc.
5. Get a job in early June in Winchester
6. Go on my merry way in the Real World (RW)

Aw, that's cute Jo. You had a little plan and everything - here's a cookie. Unfortunately, the cookie's not worth shit. And evidently neither are two degrees from Virginia Tech, decent work experience, and a good gpa. COOL! I worked my butt off in college for nothing.

I have submitted dozens and dozens of resumes, created length profiles on a buttload of company and job search websites, and have heard zippo. Bite me, RW.

I'm blaming part of my unsuccessfulness on the crappy economy and the fact that nobody's hiring and that people with more experience who were laid of from another job are getting the jobs I'm applying for. But it still sucks.

Not that I miiind not having to get up early to go to work. But I kinda like work - I like having coworkers and solving problems and going on lunch breaks and coming home at the end of the day to spend time with my family and friends. I don't mind that the new work day is 8:30-5:30, although I think it's cheating if company's are still paying the same but for more hours.

So I'm 4 weeks out of college, and this is pretty much what every day is like for me:
9:30 am - wake up
10:00 am - breakfast: Cheerios and COFFEE
10:45 am - tennis with my Mom
12:00 pm - watch the French Open on TV/job search
12:30 pm - eat lunch
1:00 pm - walk Zoe, the 8 month old German Shepard puppy for $10 a day
1:45 pm - return home, let my dog Sandy sniff me, then appologize for going to see another dog by playing with her
2:00 pm - shower
2:30 pm - more job searching
3:30 pm - get frustrated with lack of job searching success, so either watch TV, do a sudoku, browse icanhascheezburger.com, stalk facebook, or take a nap
5:30 pm - do something random and dumb because I'm bored
6:30 pm - eat dinner
7:30 pm - watch TV
11:00 pm - go to bed

I'm bored and I want a job.

2 papers and 2 finals away from being done done done

Well it's the beginning of crunch time, so as usual I'm avoiding my work. I've just stalked facebook for about an hour, got some good laughs out of icanhascheezburger, read some news on msnbc.com, and now I'm blogging. After this I'll probably play a game of scrabble on scrabulous.com, play a sudoku or two, watch tv, and then go to bed. And then wake up tomorrow and smack myself in the face for doing no work today.

Well I did do a little bit of work today. I found a story to analyze for my Spanish final paper. It's called "Carta a una senorita en Paris" (Letter to a lady in Paris). Sounds relatively normal, right? WRONG. This guy is renting this woman's apartment (they're friends) and he's telling her how he keeps throwing up bunny rabbits and he's sorry that they're eating her books and pooping in her apartment. After a couple weeks of randomly throwing up bunnies, he can't take it any longer and jumps off the balcony, killing himself.

So that's what I get to write a 7-8 page paper on. In Spanish. Personally I can't wait to start.

Not all hispanic/latino people are Mexican!

I just read an article on MSNBC.com about a legislator calling migrant workers "illiterate peasants." Yeah, he's an insensitive jerk, but the author of the article said that he was referring to migrant Mexicans. Do only people from Mexico emigrate to the US and work? NO! There are 18 other Hispanic nationalities represented in the US. Mexico is of course the best of all of them, but I think it's really rude when people refer to any Hispanic person as "Mexican." I'm pretty sure they don't like it either.

Also, I'm procrastinating writing my presentation for senior seminar tomorrow.

A beautiful day

It's April 16 again, but this time the sun is shining, you can hear people laughing, and there is a blanket of peace that encircles VT. We're still sad and hurt and we will always remember, but the sense of hope has lifted us to higher, safer ground. I know we will never make up for the amazing talents that we lost with those 32 souls, but as individuals and as a community we can preserve each of their lives by continuing what they loved to do. Volunteering, academic excellence, being a kind sibling, being tolerant and understanding - all of these describe our fallen friends. As Hokies United we should come together to promote these qualities and our school motto, Ut Prosim. With much love,
Joanna

Welcome!

So the roommates of Whipple Dr. have decided to create blogs to keep up with one another after graduation. Plus, what better way to procrastinate doing our work than this? So here is my contribution to the internet's wide world of wonderfulness.