It was the best of times...

. . . it was the worst of times.

First of all, John and I are now engaged. Good times. It's nice to finally take that next step on our journey. I just can't wait until he's done with school and finds a job, and we can just get married. I'm already ready, already.

Second, on a less happy note, my brother isn't doing well. I know what your saying. She has a brother? Yes, I have two of them actually, and I also have two older sisters as well. Technically they are *half* brothers and sisters, but I don't really believe in half of anything, either you are or you aren't. And we are.

Tony has severe blockage in his heart. He's has a few heart attacks, and has basically been having a constant heart attack for a few days now. They can't do the balloon thingy (an-gee-o-plasty, say it phonetically). They can't do the open heart sugery he needs because he keeps having heart attacks. He's unoperable. And they don't know if he'll get better. And while no one will say it, we are all thinking it. We don't know if he'll make it. It's a scary thing to even write because you don't want to even think anything remotely negative. And deep down we all know he's either going to get well enough to do the surgery, or it's going to come to a life and death moment where doing the operation will be that one last chance.

I went to see Tony tonight. When mom and I first went into his room, he was sleeping. You could see him spasm from pain while he was sleeping. Once he woke up, you couldn't keep him quiet. Despite his pain, he was as talkative as ever. But you could see the pain. He's putting on a brave face, like most men do. Angie, Cindy, and Hans are all flying in tomorrow. I will be visitng again after work tomorrow.

Oh dear God, please let him pull through.

January 22, 2007

I took Mom & Tim out for dinner after work. I bought some of these yummy, melt-in-your-mouth peppermints.

January 21, 2007

I was walking downstairs and looked out the window. I thought, "It's white outside," and I kept walking. Before I got to the kitchen, I realized it was WHITE outside. So I went back for a second look. Sure enough, it was still white outside! What a mess.

January 20, 2007

A couple of days later, Milo decides to join in on the fun. He's not that into boxes; he's just afraid he's going to miss something.

January 19, 2007

I am slowly, and painstakingly, teaching myself to knit. I can't purl yet...

Crocheting is so much easier!

January 18, 2007

Zoe loves boxes.

Do I put it in an envelope?

Yesterday (1/16/2007) I didn't have the time to post my picture. I am guessing that this may happen quite frequently. So I'll play catch-up.

After getting home from my 4-day weekend, I decided to unpack and do laundry. Milo kept me company. He's such a little bundle of energy, never sitting still for very long. Here he is in his close-up.

Going to work after a 4-day weekend (or a 3-day weekend for that matter) is hard. It's going to be even harder next week when we have to work all five days! Today I was met with a ton of mail, and not enough time to finish all of it. Okay, so some of the work was technically a co-worker's, but she was off sick today.

I have been doing round robin, sitting with each specialist, getting ready to be on the phones. Not exactly thrilling. Mostly you deal with people who are too lazy to figure things out for themselves. This was a (one-sided) conversation that was overheard:

Specialist: You will have to mail the form in to the address printed on the top of the form. Caller: (ok, so I didn't hear this, but it doesn't take a genious to figure out) Oh! Do I put it in an envelope? Specialist: Yes, you will have to put it in an envelope with a stamp.

It's calls like this that make you laugh. . . and cry. So now for today's picture:

Rejected AOPs that have been/need to be entered.

01/15/07

Day two of Project 365.

Today Michelle took her car in for inspection. John and I went along. To pass the time we went out for lunch at Garfield's, and then we went to Barnes & Noble. We drank our coffee, did some crosswords, and decided to head to Wal-Mart. During this time Michelle keeps getting phone calls about all the work she'll need done on her car.

Poor girl had some trouble with her emergency brake, took it to be fixed a few months ago, only to have her brakes give her more trouble. The second mechanic couldn't find anything wrong. It turns out that the first mechanics put a clamp on the brake line and forgot to remove it. This has in turn messed up a bunch of "stuff" with her brakes. Needless to say, the first mechanic will be getting a visit.

Anyway! We went to Wal-Mart to get some knitting supplies. Afterwards it was time to take Michelle to get her second round of TB shots for her job. Home was the next stop. Upon arriving at the house we find that I have nowhere to park out back, and the other parking pass is on it's way to New York with Erik's girlfriend.

Michelle now sits here in John's room knitting. She's picked it up a bit faster than I have. I'm jealous.

John has announce it's time for him to go to bed. Time for today's picture.

Coffee & a Crossword

Project 365

As I sit here, John is sound asleep behind me. I am once again in State College. My time here always slips by like sand through my fingers.

Once again I have neglected to update for some time. I am almost 2 months into my new job. Saying good-bye to my boss at the cash office was actually kind of hard. He actually gave me a hug good-bye on my last day, and told me that he'd have a hard time finding someone to replace me. Not to sound conceited, but I knew what he said was true. It's hard to find decent people for any position in retail. The hug was a surprise, and hard to take because he was not one to show any kind of emotion or genuine affection. Most people were afraid of him because he has a tendency to bark, and some have been bitten. But after 20+ years doing his job, I'd be jaded, too.

The new job is going well. I don't want to write about it here too much. Nobody wants to hear about it any more than I want to write about it. If you want to know anything, just ask. I really don't mind. If there are any colorful stories, I promise to share.

John and Michelle will finally graduate this May. Both are doing their internships this semester. Graduation can't come fast enough for John. I know he's probably looking forward to it more than I am, but I would come in at a VERY close second!

Hopefully I will be updating here a bit more often. I want to participate in Project 365. I know I am starting a little late in the game. Nevertheless, here I go...

Tonight, John, Michelle, and I just relaxed and watched Talladega Nights:The Ballad of Ricky Bobby and Jackass 2.

Now that I have shared today's photo, I am going to head to bed. I know that once my head hits my pillow, it won't be long before I am asleep. Goodnight, my friends.