Monday, July 27, 2009

The list...

ok i have a little bit of time to avoid doing any school work (although after todays lecture I should really go to library to figure out what the hell she was talking about) all well, i digress.

as far as the list.
1. shopping: i need a new pair of jeans. all my jeans are stretched out and are falling off me. There is a trend here for skinny jeans (the ones that taper at the ankle) and I tried them on but just could not wrap my head around purchasing them. I remember in high school looking at people that graduated 10 years before me and they all dressed like they were still in high school fashion...now i think i fall into that category. I am not fashionable at all...i lived through the eighties already, i dont want to again. something i would have worn as a 10 year old is "trendy" now...i just cant do it. but i still need a new pair of jeans.
2. girls: meeting some cool girls. wanting to find a small group but finding it difficult because the church they all go to is on north end of Brisbane and I am situated on south end. I am sure there are groups and churches closer to me, but I also really like the girls I have met (just dont want to get up at 7am on sunday to get to their church an hour away). I already have enough early mornings. I hung out with new friend Felicity a couple weeks ago. I hope to hang out with her again soon, but its hard to find the time that we both are available. She is super cool though. I am excited for Danielle and Hans to come back in a couple weeks. It will be cool to hang out with them again. Felicity and her husband invited us to AFL (australian football league?) but we already had plans.
3. school: school has been keeping me pretty busy. I have all these classes with "assumed knowledge" -- like i should have taken such and such a class because this class builds on that, yet i didnt have such and such a class. kind of hard to follow gastrointestinal tract if you dont know what it is...so bascially i have a lot of catch up work. hopefully i will get all caught up this semester to that next semester i will be on top of things. I am not the only student struggling though, pretty much all the graduate entry students feel really overwhelmed not only with all the new material, but all the material we need to know to understand it. At least I am not alone! I have to wake up at 5:30AM at least 3 days a week...makes for a TIRED girl at around 8pm. poor Nat doesnt even get his lunch made anymore.
I have made some friends with classmates. Of course I have not hung out with them outside of school but its only week two. They are very diverse and I am ending up hanging out with all the old ladies. the age range is very diverse, from fresh out of high school to grandmas. makes for interesting conversation. I pretty much have all my classes with the same people so we tend to sit together and i think eventually we will be the group that the lecturers will yell at to keep quiet! =)
5. sand volleyball: Nat started playing volleyball on Tuesday nights. The first couple nights was pretty entertaining but lately I have been "babysitting" one of the other players kids. They are pretty cool kids, but I am over worrying about them falling from climbing everything,getting kicked and spit on (especially by the boy)--i could deal with the girl, she is civil. With school, I dont think I am going to go anymore to watch, just sorta a hassle to get there.
6. I really do miss all of you! not as much as when before school started, but still i do. i hate missing out on your lives and being able to be there. possibly a little resentment setting in...trying to fight it.

other news:

We went to see a movie on Saturday. I read and studied all day and Nat got to pick the movie--wouldnt you know he would pick a SUBTITLED movie...ugh. It was beautiful movie (Red Cliff) but sorta slow moving and hard to follow the characters. They all looked the same so I couldnt tell who was bad guy and who was good guy.

Should be receiving shipment in Mid-August! YEAH MORE CLOTHES...i am sick of wearing same outfits. May be getting a discount because it is running about 2 months late. I just really want my bed...my neck and back are suffering.

Girls will be here in Australia in Mid-August...then 30 days quarantine. time is flying and we miss them TERRIBLY. Cheryl has been taking great care of them and getting them to all their vet visits. less than 2 months!! YEAH!!

I think that is all I can sacrifice for an update. I have ALOT of reading to do and I am starving! need to eat to read!

Love you all
Chrissi

Monday, July 20, 2009

Things to write about...

1. shopping for clothes
2. girls
3. school
4. girlfriends
5. sand volleyball
6. how much i miss all of you!

Sunday, July 05, 2009

Getting Better...

So tonight I made chocolate chip cookies from scratch. They arent bad but would be SO much better with real chocolate chips. At least this time they are gooey and not hard as rocks! Flour lesson learned! I also made Chicken Divan and it was awesome!! The cheese is a little different, but overall it tastes the same...so I guess I will be ok here.
I went to to Tupperware party on Saturday afternoon, after I talked to mom, Cheryl Carol Hope and Steve on Skype. It was pretty good. Always awkward meeting people for the first time. After the party I stuck around a little longer and had some good conversation with Sarah, Felicity and Wendy. I think that was more fun than the party. I ended up getting home later than I intended, but I also put myself out there. Monday night there is a group of girls (from same general group) to that going to see a movie. Felicity is a God-send, as well as Hans and Danielle. I wish Danielle was here to play with us. I am hoping that there is a woman's bible study/small group that I can get involved in. So far so good...met two girls...and they are both awesome!
I have been having this issue with DirecTV. We left DirecTV connected so Cheryl and Carol could use it. They pay the monthly but its in our name. Well they decided they didnt want it anymore so we needed to cancel it. They wanted to charge me $280 cancellation fee. It was RIDICULOUS. I wouldnt recommend them to anyone. It took me like 3 phone calls, and 5 emails (apparently they took me seriously when I asked for the address to report them to BBB). They cancelled my service on Friday night (even though I had not asked them to) and I got an email this morning saying that they wouldnt charge the early cancellation fee. I explained to them that I moved out of the country and they STILL refused to waive it. It finally got sent to a "specialist" that "apparently" waived it. We will see with our final bill! The emails were pretty heated. I could not fathom a company refusing to waive a cancellation fee, especially since they couldnt provide service. They just kept telling me that we signed a contract. In one email they said "we must assume that they (being me) have considered all other options and circumstances that might transpire while they are still under commitment." Thats right, because when I signed up I looked into my magic crystal ball and said "oh yes, we will be here in 2 years..." RETARDED!! Anyway, in the end I "apparently" got the fee waived...so YEAH!
Nat has been pretty hermit-ish the last couple weekends. We tend to stay home and veg out. Not all that bad, but there is so much to see and do. He does work all week so it is sorta his only time to unwind, so I understand.
Also I would like to introduce you to FLUKE. He was rescued from a pound on Friday. He was to be euthanized so we saved his life. He is absolutely adorable and very gentle and calm. He has made himself right at home. I am not sure what kind of dog he is, but definately some kelpie (AU Sheep dog). We are supposed to have him up to 6 weeks or until someone adopts him but I am very allergic to him. I have to call the lady tomorrow and tell her she will have to take him back. I have been drugged up on anti-histamines and asthma meds (and using inhaler 4+ times a day, which is unusual) plus my nose is a mess. He has a lot of dander and I cant bear it! I hate to give him back, but I cant breathe and I kind of need that. Hopefully she can find someone else that can take him.


well i think that is it for now! The girls will be leaving USA in 6 weeks! HOPEFULLY we will get out crate in 2 weeks and I start school in 2 weeks (OH DEAR!!)
Love you all!! Keep on writing!

c.ALIce

Wednesday, July 01, 2009

There is a distinct difference between family and friends, but the line gets blurred when your friends are like family....missin you.