Panic....and definetly not at the disco

Today has been a bit of a hectic day. One of those in which nothing seems to go right. I didn't get nearly as much done as I had planned packing wise. But I did pack a lot. And run errands. And talk on the phone for four <4> hours. To four <4> different people. Yikes! I'm uber popular! Anyway, so my panic moments. Two so far. I say so far because there are still 44 minutes left in today for something to go wrong.

Panic #1: After we signed our lease, I was under the impression all was well. We could move in whenever, just bring the rent check. So Christine and I decided to meet at 9am tomorrow to move in. I called the Complex to tell them and to double check on the rent amount. And the lady (whom we shall cal Snappy) was like uh no...you have to wait for your CO. At this point I so remember the other lady (Talkie) specifically telling me we had our CO. So I'm like...oh. When doesn't the inspector come? Snappy replies..oh well anytime really but usually between 10 and 2. We'll call you. I respond, "But we live a half hour away." Snappy pauses for a moment and retorts, "Well you don't have to move in tomorrow." No silly but I was PLANNING on it! Then I'm like but wait! The gas people are coming to turn on the gas. And she's like but oh, you can't get a CO without gas, so that could create a problem. I'm like AHHH! So I call Christine who is like AHHHH. And I'm like AHHH. And we're like AHHH again for good measure. So then I call the gas company who after some confusing arguing is like but you're on the schedule for the morning and we'll be there as soon as we can. So needless to say AHH hopefully we get our CO and can move in at a reasonable time.

Panic #2: I go to pick up my health forms at the Doctor's today. They grumble and complain and hand them over. Minus half the stuff I needed! Which was annoying enough since they've had them since the 15th. Then I find out the hospital has STILL not faxed them something. So now I have to call the hospital AGAIN to have them re-fax the papers I don't even know where for my drastically over due health forms. Grrr.

And finally the general panic is...packing! Still not done. But at least there's some stuff in the car to take tomorrow. So that redeems me a bit I suppose. But still...stuff to pack. But since I'm not leaving at 9am I can get up early and work on it tomorrow. Yay! I thought you might enjoy some pictures of the packing process. This, keep in mind was the beginning of the process. And remember I'm not really moving out, but kind of splitting my life.

Note the randomly barren walls and the opened drawers. I hadn't even started packing clothes at this point.
The irony of this picture? That's not packing mess. That's what my room looked like all summer.
Packing of the beloved shoes.

Perhaps the most overwhelming thought of all of this is knowing that it must all be unpacked and put away. I wish I was Samantha on Bewitched...

All the cuddly critters

Today is very uneventful day. Yesterday, I got my BRAND NEW LAPTOP. That's right. BRAND NEW LAPTOP. It's shiny. And fast. And wonderful. I've been spending most of today transferring files, syncing browsers (I heart Google and Firefox!), downloading applications, and hating Apple in general and iTunes and iPod specifically. Tonight I'm going to a Pampered Chef Party. Because every student in debt up to their eyeballs and living in an apartment they can't afford needs over-priced gourmet kitchen gadgets! Mostly it's about the free food. And the opportunity to stare at and caress the over-priced gourmet kitchen gadgets. And dream about what you buy if Sallie Mae had a category on their loan application to send money to "Caitlin's Over-Priced Gourmet Kitchen Gadgets Fund." Oh the ecstasy.

In my endless quest to make you adore me, I thought I might share with you a little slice of the farm.

1. My puppy. Name: Jersey Age: 14 1/2 Nicknames: Jerz, Waz, Elvis, Fang, Yellow Dog, Jun Blotz, Bookie, Shatzie

2. Cat #1 Name: Sarai Age: About 3 1/2 Nicknames: Black Cat, Missy, Pissy, Princess, WhyWhy, Little Feet3. Cat #2 Name: Mesa Age: 2 years Nicknames: Miss Mesa, Mesa Pesa, Badger, Stinky
4. Guinea Pig Name: Pumpkin Age: Stinking old Nicknames: Piggie, Pig Pig
5. Fish Name: Mwenge Age: 1 year Nicknames: Fish, Whatever the hell your name is

Ei Aye Ei Aye Ohhhh

Pet Peeves

Pet peeves . . . People that don't know what chicken salad is.

Girl: What's chicken salad?
Panera Bread Worker: It's....chicken...with mayonnaise.
Girl: Does it come on...like a wrap or something?
Panera Bread Worker: We don't have wraps. It comes on bread.
Girl: oh

I heart you!

I heart you . . . when you call me swell.

Less Cash, More Splash

As move in day looms closer still and I begin to stress about packing, I figured I'd share my passion for decorating with you. I don't claim to be a good decorator or anything, but I'm thinking that I'm pretty ok at putting together a cohesive room on a budget. I have to say that Kim's kitchsy oriental room looked great and was remarkably cheap. We ended up using a set of bamboo patio blinds spray-painted black and trimmed in chopsticks painted red as her head board. How fun is that? But now that it comes time to do my own room, I'm getting a little anxious. I don't have much of a plan. Aside from colors. Brown and turquoise. I pulled them from my lovely ikat quilt from Target. The pictures just don't do it justice. Other then that I think I'm trying to get an ethnic look, although no particular ethnicity. My furniture situation is a little interesting. I bought this bed and the matching night table from Walmart, which is great, perfect, and exactly what I was looking for. It and the desk I got are, however, a bit modern. Do modern and ethnic go? They're going to have to. Then the real problems start. I have this great antique oak dresser that's just sitting at home not really doing much and instead of buying a dresser, I'm going to bring that one. But in my head it SO DOESN'T WORK. So hopefully either a) it won't look as bad as I think it's going to b) it will fit in the closet or c) I can come up with some fabulous way to make it match. I'll let you know how to goes.

My next major concern is a lack of flat surfaces. I want to keep them relatively clutter free. I'm trying to get more of a simple, clean look here. A lot of the pieces I want in my room to give it that ethnic flare, however, happen to need a place to go. Fortunately my desk comes with that nifty little shelf. I just hope that'll be enough space, along with my night table and possibly dresser top unless it goes in the closet.

Anyway, as I'm sure you're aware, I'm super excited about moving. I've been doing really well on my budget considering I had to buy furniture for my room, everything for my bathroom, etc. My whole living space is pretty much courtesy of Walmart, Target, and Value City with the exception of a few items. It's the way to go.

Things I most love about my new apartment: hardwood floors, ginormous window in my bedroom, dishwasher, washer & dryer, roommate that comes with a bunny :)

Huruma Who?

As I frolic, head-on, into a new stage in my life I decided that it was time for a new, more sophisticated blog. I think I've done a lot of growing up in the last 4 years. So here I go.

Why this blog? Well, I was kind of inspired by my lovely friend Megan on this one. While we were both back at our Alma mater, Asbury College, for graduation, Megan made a comment about her mother and her interesting nursing stories and how she should write a book. I am about to enter nursing school (my first day is the 5th) and I thought the world-at-large might appreciate some tales from the inner sanctum of the hospital. And while I don't think I'm quite book writing material, a blog!, now that I can manage. I'll try not to talk about poop too much.

In addition to being about to enter nursing school, on the 1st I will be moving into my very first, post-college, off-campus, no rules just right apartment. I'm too excited to even begin to tell you about it. I will be rooming with a lovely person named Christine who I met at a financial aid night. So far we seem both really similar and really different. I enjoy contradictions.

So what can you expect from this oh so stereotypical blog? Well, lots of stories about icky gross medical things. Tales of two single 20-something post-college girls learning to make it in the big bad world alone while incurring something like $50,000 in student loan debt. Annoyingly opinionated tirades on politics, religion, current events, and humanity in general. And probably a few book reviews thrown in for intelligent post-modern free-thinking woman cred. That's me in a nut shell.