Something Scary

In the News:
July 19, 2007

Bush Outlaws All War Protest In US
In one of his most chilling moves to date against his own citizens, the American War Leader has issued a sweeping order this week outlawing all forms of protest against the Iraq war. 


President Bush enacted into US law an ‘Executive Order’ on July 17th titled “Blocking Property of Certain Persons Who Threaten Stabilization Efforts in Iraq."

It says: 

”By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, as amended, the National Emergencies Act , and section 301 of title 3, United States Code, 

I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, find that, due to the unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States posed by acts of violence threatening the peace and stability of Iraq and undermining efforts to promote economic reconstruction and political reform in Iraq and to provide humanitarian assistance to the Iraqi people, it is in the interests of the United States to take additional steps with respect to the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13303 of May 22, 2003, and expanded in Executive Order 13315 of August 28, 2003, and relied upon for additional steps taken in Executive Order 13350 of July 29, 2004, and Executive Order 13364 of November 29, 2004.” 


They've already started arresting protesters and taking their stuff. Like, all of it, guard your flip flops people! I'm waiting patiently for the day when some other government will step in and bring democracy to the United States...what?...we have that?? Wait...did you just say that we are in fact "setting an example of democracy" for the rest of the world? Pshhaw who are you kidding??

I Apologize in Advance

Because I don't really have anything to say, but feel that I should post something, since it's been nearly a week. I may end up rambling so feel free to zone out at any time.

Enjoy the gratuitous picture of Nikaia practicing her island dancing

My ankle is somewhat better, badly bruised just below my ankle, kind of deep dark purple, and then a larger, fist sized bruise up further just below my calf. I think the ace bandage has caused this, but Justin disagrees and says that that sort of pressure wouldn't cause this sort of bruise. I don't know why he knows that. I'm still supposed to go get an x-ray to make sure there's not a hairline fracture, but I'm hesitant to do this, as we have not yet met the deductible on our insurance so the cost will be out of pocket, and we really can't afford that right now. Besides, if it is a hairline fracture, won't they basically just make me do what I'm doing now ie: staying off of it, wearing a splint etc?

My sister has asked me to be a bridesmaid. I agreed to do this, thinking that it would cause more problems to decline, I don't want to insult anyone or anything, but the thing is, I'm having a really hard time finding a dress that a) fits b) is the correct color (brown) and c) is even remotely affordable. Her other bridesmaid (who I don't know) snagged one at JCPenney for around $35. Unfortunately, JCPenney hasn't carried anything in my size since I was in high school. I dunno, there's a month and a half til the wedding, but I'm starting to wonder if I should bow out.

If we can scrounge around enough money I think we're going to see Harry Potter tomorrow, or maybe Hairspray if my aunt goes with us...that's all for now. I guess I did have something to say...

About Once a Year

I sprain an ankle. Last year it happened a few weeks before the wedding, so I guess it was due. We went to my parents for dinner last night (where, I might add someone finally put up a picture of me and Justin), and after eating my sister and I were going to come over here to my house to get her some antacid and the perfume I got for her for her birthday. Stepping out the front door, which has a small step down to the ground, I'm not sure what happened but when I put my foot down my right ankle just sort of crumpled up. Luckily there were a whole handful of people around with several different levels of medical training to give me ice and radio for an ambulance and keep me from hyperventilating. This is the worst sprain I've ever had. It feels sort of like nothing is holding my foot on except skin and that it's just sort of flopping around down there. I'm in an ace bandage and an aircast for extra stability and D'Liesa is bringing me some crutches later today. I don't usually ask for pain meds, and I didn't last night either, but when I got out of Xray they had sent Justin to the pharmacy so I've got two different pain killers, both of which make me drowsy. I slept amazingly well last night. They think I might have a hairline fracture but I'll have to go for another xray when the swelling goes down later this week... I'll let you know.

A Failure.

Upon further consideration they decided not to give me the job.

I feel worthless.

I don't want to talk about it.

Sniff Snort Sneeze

Today is the local "festival" known as Early Settler's Day. I usually get really excited and want to go downtown to watch the parade and eat the junk, and buy some stuff, but this year I'm just totally not motivated. I actually slept through the parade, due to an overdose of Flonase, Claritin, and and alcohol. (Just one drink, nobody panic.) Anyway, none of those things seemed to help the horrible allergy attack that I've been having for the last 3 days. I feel like my whole body is just full of snot. It's not pleasant.

Tonight was supposed to be my last night at my current job, I had actually planned to just not go in, since they didn't accept my two week notice as an actual 2 week notice, thanks to the jerk that took my paperwork, and I'll be considered "not rehire-able" anyway. However, the hospital (and everyone involved in this process) seems to be dragging their feet. They haven't gotten the results of my drug-test and background check back yet, and the HR woman is out of town so I won't know anything 'til Tuesday. I don't want to be potentially jobless, so I've extended my notice by another week and I'll continue slaving away until then. Assuming that everything is clear. If not (which is a possibility), then I'll have to slave away for the crazy deaf people indefinately. (Please note, I don't think all deaf people are crazy, just the ones that I'm dealing with.)

Ugh. I'm actually starting to get really worried about this so everyone think good thoughts or say prayers or whatever your particular kind of help is that everything works out and I can start at a new and wonderful job sometime next week.

Also, for anyone who might be wondering, my TB test was, as predicted, negative. Have to go for another one on Tuesday just to be extra sure.

Poked and Prodded

Today I went to HR to fill out the applicable paper work for my new job. On the way I stopped in the bathroom. Hospitals are the best place for that sort of thing because unless something terrible happened the moment before you walked through the door, they are generally clean.

Anyway, filled out the paper work and then headed to Employee Health to get my TB test and drug screening. Damn. Shouldn't have gone to the bathroom. After three tries I was finally able to um...produce. bleh. While we waited I went ahead and got my pertussis (whooping cough) vaccine, they were, after all, free. I have to go back on Thursday for them to look at my TB arm and then the next Tuesday to get it tested all over again. Hopefully by then I will already be working and it'll just be a short trip down the hall. I have no idea when I'll actually start, but my last day at my current job is Thursday...so hopefully Monday. I also don't know how much I'm getting paid. I assume they'll tell me at some point, but right now, no one seems to know so I'm not the only one in the dark.

I have to go to bed now. My whooping cough arm really hurts.

Just an added note, I have never seen anything that color in a syringe before. Are any IV drugs neon blue? Must be Kool-Aid.

An Orphan

So, as most of you know, we live next door to my dad, step-mom and younger brother and sister. In their living room is a table that is covered with family pictures, the whole thing, there are probably 15 or 20 pics there. Over the weekend they had some friends in town staying with them, and one of the friends is a photographer. She took some pictures of my step-sister in her wedding dress and some pictures of her two kids, Hannah and Hunter, and she was going to take some pics of my dad, Sussan and my brother in their fire department regalia. So today I was over there and the pictures on the table have been updated with the new pictures. There are pictures of my dad and Sussan, pictures of Hannah and Hunter, Pictures of Stacy and Steven and pictures of D'Liesa and James. There is not one picture of me. There is not one picture of me and Justin. I know that they have some. I gave my dad a framed picture of him walking me down the aisle at my wedding. They also have a non wedding picture of me and Justin together that looks like the other 700 pictures of me and Justin, several of which have been posted here. And, if for some reason they have lost those, like I said, there are lots available all they have to do is ask. So, I asked about it. I said "Hey the new pictures look great, but there's not a picture of me in there." I didn't make a big deal about it, just mentioned it in passing while looking at the other pictures. Immediately Sussan went defensive saying that she wasn't "finished yet" putting the pics on the table. Trust me, there's not room for another picture there, besides, what was there to finish? They already had the pictures, in frames. So my feelings were really hurt.

But it gets worse. I was flipping through the albums of their new pictures from over the weekend, and there is a picture of D'Liesa, Sussan and Stacy. Sort of an "all the girls" pic, but um, I'm not in it. They said " oh you're not in the pictures because you weren't here," but I was there yesterday. If they had planned on taking family pictures I feel like they should have told me. I feel like I'm not a member of the family anymore and it really really hurts my feelings.

It's not just the pictures either, their friends don't know about me. I know that seems like a weird thing to say, or to feel bad about, but the thing is, they all do know Stacy, Steven and D'Liesa and her kids. When I went to the party at the fire station on the 4th of July people didn't know who I was. I'm now "Stacy and Steven's sister" instead of "Susan" or "Bobby's daughter." At a community function with my dad a few weeks ago, a woman actually said something like "oh I didn't know you had another daughter."

My feelings are so hurt. I don't feel like I can talk to my dad about it because I know that he'll just take Sussan's side. I actually did ask him about the picture thing a few weeks ago (there hasn't been a pic displayed of me in about a year), I said "hey, where's that picture of you and me that I gave you? It's not on the family table" and he said that it was on his night stand, but it wasn't, and when I told him that he couldn't think of where it might be.

The worst part is that they made me put a picture of Sussan up on my family picture magnet board. I was resistant to doing that because I don't have a picture of my step-dad up there, so I thought that was fair. Apparently not. She had a fit and so now there's a pic of her in my house, but not one of me in hers. I feel very very rejected. *sigh*

My dad and Sussan have been married for half my life now, and they always pretend that everything is equal and that we're one big happy family with no "steps" involved, but It's becoming very very clear that she's functioning under an "us versus them" mentality. I guess it was clear all along, but she's becoming bolder in the way that she's making her statements and I don't know what to do about it...

Actually, now that I think about it, it's really more of an "us versus Susan" kind of thing. I don't think I'm going to go over any more. My dad can come see me here.

Happy 4th

I enjoy Independence Day mainly because it's the only holiday that can be referred to only as a number. We aren't doing anything special, I'm going to the fire department for a hot dog (my dad's a fireman, I'm not just showing up to crash their party), and then I'll probably go back to bed. We have to work later tonight and I'll need a little more sleep, but who can resist a hot dog cooked outside? Certainly not me.

I put in my 2 week notice at my current job this morning. I dated it July 2, which is a little bit of a lie, but no member of management has been there since then anyway so whatever. I'm scheduled for my TB test on Tuesday. Not that I think I have TB but I'm the sort of hypochondriac that has thought processes like this:

"There was that guy in Alabama recently who didn't feel sick or anything and by some fluke, like a car wreck or something, he had a chest x-ray and they found a lump of TB in his lung the size of a baseball...and here I've been coughing for a *year*!! I'm going to die!!! And lose this job!!!"

And then I have some cake and feel better, with no guilt regarding my neurosis (or sugar intake) at all.

That's a true story by the way, the baseball TB guy. And that's exactly the way I heard it too...does TB come in lumps??

Didn't get the fireworks picture last night. A recent break in my insomnia has occurred at a rather inopportune time and I slept til time to go to work. Maybe tomorrow...anyway they'll be here when I get them. For now, you can pretend the one that is on here is mine, even though it most certainly isn't.

Beverly Sills has died. There aren't many great ones left...

I Got It!

The job that is. Yes, it's been quite the busy week. On Thursday I had an interview at the hospital for a job to be different than what I thought it was. The people didn't seem to like me and I was totally not interested in the job so I figured it was mutual and that I'd never hear from them again. While I was at the hospital, I went and turned my application in directly to the supervisor of the department that I wanted to work in and she was quite impressed. She set me up for an interview on the spot for the next day. Then the supervisor at the cancer center where I thought I might want to work called me and set up an interview for Tuesday (today). My cup runneth over.

Thursday night the people whose job I didn't want called and offered it to me. Apparently they liked me after all. Huh.

Friday I went to interview in the department that I liked and it was *terrific* the best interview I've ever had. One member of the panel hugged me. They told me to wait in the lobby while they talked about me and then a few minutes later they came and told me that they wanted to hire me but had to clear it with the management people and that they would call me.

It was a Friday so of course all the management types went home at noon. I had to wait out the weekend, as you saw, in my previous post. Yesterday they called and offered me the job Yaaay!!! I wanted it so bad. The people there are so great and I really feel like I fit in there and will be happy. I haven't felt like that since I moved away from Canyon 3 years ago. The job is in the admissions office and there are only about 10 people working there so its cozy and they bring a lot of food for impromptu parties. My kinda place, plus they like me...like a lot. Clearly they think I'm much cooler than I actually am.

So, today I had to go to the interview set up last week because even though I got the job I wanted, its good to make connections in as many places as you can. My little (excuse me, younger) brother works at the cancer center and I thought that if I liked the job and liked the people that it would save some gas to work over there. It was not the job that I applied for, and I did not like the people. That made my decision much easier. Not that they've offered me the job yet, but they will.

Anyway I'm really happy and excited and I get to buy some fancy black scrubs.

Justin and I are going to attempt to take some pictures with fireworks tonight so everyone hope that we don't set ourselves on fire.

No Distraction

Post Secret didn't update today. How the heck am I supposed to distract myself until I hear back from my potential new boss??? I really want this job...*sigh*