I don't just comment

I figured I should actually do a post since I haven't in a long long time.

Exam mode engaged. Two down two to go. Without going into detail, they're pretty tough. I think I'm doing better this semester.

Good news everyone, I'm getting married. No, seriously. Oksana and I were deprived of our church wedding because of immigration. We finally decided to do our church wedding in Atlanta (Conyers, GA, actually) this summer. I'll let you know when we get a date nailed down.

I am torn right now by the possibility of getting a high paying job in NJ for the summer. The problem is Oksana can't come to NJ. I might make 1200-2000 per week working at my old firm. It would be nice too since I don't have a legal job lined up in Nashville. Except I have to be away from Oksana for so long. It sucks. I haven't been offered the job yet, so we'll see whether it is even possible. In the mean time, let me know if you think it is worth it. It'll probably be 10-12 weeks (which means I could make 10-24,000 just this summer). With that kind of money, I could afford to fly Oksana in every few weeks. Is it worth it? The alternative is working two jobs here (one temp job and Kroger).

Hooray for Colorado!

Hey hey hey. Well it's snowing here. Yep it has been lightly snowing on and off for the past two days. And it's almost May. A perfect example of Colorado weather. Life pretty much goes on as usual. I am moving out of the house I am living in currently and into an apartment over Memorial Day weekend, since I'll have 3 days to do so. Thank you U.S. government. My apartment is pretty nice, is 2 stories, and has a pool/BBQ area close by. I may get another cat, but that remains to be seen. I saw Closer the other day. Very good, but depressing. I'll probably see Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy tonight. I'm really looking forward to Family Guy on Sunday. Don't forget to watch!

josh goes to the movies

i went and saw Kung Fu Hustle today (thanks billy) and it was so awesome! i highly HIGHLY recommend it. it was just so much fun to watch and the action/fight scenes were really great. if you dont believe me, rottentomatoes gave it an 88%! thats HUGE.

and then right after i finished that i watched Aliens of the Deep... in 3D! i dont even remember the last time i saw a 3D movie, much less and IMAX 3D movie (i dont think i've ever seen an IMAX 3D movie). it was spectacular. but you better catch it soon, cause it's about to be gone from opry mills.

awesome day.

Q and A time with Scoot Jerka

Scott: MY official title here at JVC:South is Development/Former Volunteer Coodinator. Mostly, this means that I am in charge of the finances before they go to the office manager for deposit and dispersion. I enter the donations into our huge client database and keep up with the financial breakdowns and percentages per group after each appeal (appeal=letter asking for money seven times yearly). I write, proof and customize the appeals, as well as figure which groups would be most effectively targeted... and therefore, would feel inclined to give more $$... for each appeal.

I work directly under the Executive Director, and I am also in charge of coordinating grant work with her, and keeping in touch/maintaining records/updating information for all of our 1005 former volunteers. Because I wanted to work directly with a non-profit (not a school), I am doing the job of two people for less than 30k/year. Two weeks after I accepted this job, I was offered another similar development job with Rice University for 4k more. But, this place more than make up for the financial difference with the super-flexible hours, very casual dress and overabundance of vacation, retreat and sick time. An decent place to gain experience before graduate school...

hollaatchaboy

Alright… its go time… and by go time I mean its time for me to write in this blog.

I gots NO CLASS tomorrow!! That is so amazing… sniff sniff… I’m getting kind of emotional over here…it really makes me happy in a kind of warm and tingly/squishy way…

hey Bryan, what kind of finals do you have? Is it kind of like papers, or long essay-type tests? Is law school just like it is in legally blonde? Do you show up in pink bunny costumes to parties? Do you OBJECT to these questions?

Hayley- what do you do at your job? I mean… I think I know WHERE you work, and what type of profit (non) the company is for, but what do you really do? I want to know like what a typical busy day is for you… do you think its something that you feel you can use your creativity with? Is the “Real World” as exciting and not exciting as it is fabled to be?

My good pharmacy friend Ryan Moss just got engaged last weekend. It’s a really great story how he did it and I plan on consulting him one day when I need to do some proposing because he certainly had a way with things… I mean… I think its great to have plans and stuff, and they did, but I think some element of surprise is a must for the big question… she didn’t even know he was in town, and had this big elaborate night planned out with roses, and a scavenger hunt, and a scrapbook he made… the hunt eventually led her to the church they are going to get married at and he was down front in a suit with the rock… I say kudos to that… I think Mandy got a little choked up when I told her the full story and she doesn’t normally get that way about that kind of thing…

HG, hows that face going, man? If you don’t mind me asking, what drugs are they giving you (and no I wont say or discuss anything about them online, I’m really just curious)? And did they say that the trauma to that nerve was due to an infection, or like physical trauma/pressure on that nerve? Just curious…

I got a call from the district manager of Kmart Pharmacies for middle and east Tennessee and he told me about an intern position that he would want me for this summer in Nashville and it sounds really exciting… I’ll actually have a regular work schedule (4 10-hour days a week) and he is taking care of the raise that I get for completing my first year… I’m actually a little scared because in the intern position they make you wear the white coat and dress shirt + tie every day to work and the white coat is just like a question magnet, I mean… people assume that since you have a white coat on you know the meaning of life… so far at the pharmacy here in Memphis I’ve got all kinds of crazy questions and most I can answer, but there are still so many where I have to just say “sorry but I’m just a student… let me get the pharmacist for you”… its just kind of scary to me because I like to kind of stay cool and under the radar so to speak… I guess I’ll have to get over that.

(for those of you who were asked questions, feel free to respond in a separate post instead of a comment… I don’t necessarily just want the 5-second cliff notes- but its up to you)

For the love of Jeff....

It is not necessary to delete your post. I was just giving you a hard time.

How much is that doggie in the window?

Here! 


Ok, Jack and I are adopting a puppy. He is an affenpinscher (a very rare and expensive breed... puppies go for $1000-1500, but we get him for 50 bucks!). We are getting him from a woman who does puppy mill rescues, and he, along with three other brothers and sisters we rescued over the weekend from a mill bust. Name suggestions are welcome!
We should get him next week....

Wisdom Teeth and Charity Auctions

I am totally cheating and adding this post to my own blog as well...

I survived the wisdom teeth experience, though it hurt like HELL. I think I have a relatively high pain tolerance (especially when given dozens of Vicodin!), so the pain wasn't as bad as everyone's horror stories predicted. I was a bit afraid of my face being swollen.... we all remember what happened to CBryan after his. I experienced no puffiness, but was on a very limited diet. That's right... DIET. Soup, yogurt and pudding. I had an M&M, but I had to let it melt on my tongue first, which was TORTURE! I hope I never have to do that again.... I would have killed a man in front of his own mother for real food.

Saturday night I attended a black-tie charity auction for Jack's high school. I was really nice to get dressed up, sip champagne and schmooze with other people. We were some of the youngest people there.... and there was an open bar, three-course dinner and a live auction that carried on throughout dinner. Sadly, I was outbid during the silent auction for a turquoise necklace. Damn.

Everyone got completely wasted, spent THOUSANDS of dollars on donated vacations, cars and sports packages.... one week in Aruba went for 40K. I am not kidding. Forty thousand dollars.

By the end of the evening these events had transpired:

1. I was told I looked like a "more curvy" Audrey Hepburn... I was wearing a replica of her black "Breakfast @ Tiffany's dress".
2. Jack's mother told me I "better be" her daughter-in-law.
3. I was given the sliding-hand-over-the-butt-in-passing by the Principal of Jack's school.
4. Jack's mother told me that Jack and I "better be quiet", since our hotel room was right next to theirs.
5. To this, Jack's father replied... "Barbara, we're going to be louder than them... Jack and Hayley will hear all KINDS of noises coming from our room!" Eeek.

I had a blast... was groped, flattered and mortified on more than one occasion.

I would say I had a great time... though the next day I felt like I had been hit by a truck. A really big one.

Johnna... I am going to see Wilco this coming weekend. Should be awesome!

8's too much

so i took my EIT exam today. it took 8 hrs and was ...rather challenging.

i'm pretty sure that 8 hrs is too long of a period to take a test over. but then again, hindsight is 20/20. i studied more for this than i did my whole college career i think. and lucky for me, it only takes them 4-6 weeks to run the scantron through, so i'll have less than instant reassurance of my performance.

that's it, i guess. none of you know anything about engineering, so to write anymore would just bore you.

wankers.

Where is everyone?

Where the F is everyone?

Quick update

Ok..

L.A. was great! It was wonderful to hang out with Jack, meet his producers/engineers for the record. Archer Avenue is set to record in late June, and I will fly back to L.A. for the weekend to see him and get a peek at the recording.

My wisdom teeth... specifically one tooth.... is KILLING me. Also, because of this, my ears are throbbing. Apparently, your ears adn wisdom teeth are on the same nerve. I've been chewing tylenol for days, and I have an appt. on Thursday for a cleaning/check up. Hopefully I can get a referral to an oral surgeon then, but I don't want my face to be all bruised. Eek.

Work is good... flowing well, and busy. I am planning on taking some time off in June, July and September for various vacations, and I will be in Nashville from July 1st-5th. We need to plan something over the weekend (lunch?) and I will have Jack with me... you all can meet him.

This weekend, I am going to see Sin City, re-watch Closer and lay around in the sun (it's 82 here today and beautiful!). Have good weekends!

PH

---the following paragraph is about pharmacy. Read on only if you are interrested---

SO i've got this patient at Babtist Memorial this week... her initials are PH. This whole process of getting a patient and writing up a report of their (huge) chart for my class tomorrow has been alittle scary. PH has about every problem you could think of, and on top of that a pretty severe case of sepsis/septic shock (aka- she has a bacterial infection circulating through her blood... ). The doctors have written in her chart that her prognosis is not good but they are going to continue with agressive therapy. She has already both her legs removed right above the knees, and has lots of vascular problems due to her diabetes. I get to go talk to her tomorrow before i present her to my class of 3P-1s, 5 p-3s, 2 p-4s, and one PharmD. preceptor. They will ask me questions that pertain mostly to the MOAs, side effects, contraindications, and interactions with her meds which unfortunately happen to be very numerous....... no pressure... time for bed- wish me luck! if you are interrested, here is a link to my presentation notes for tomorrow- its in word format- web.utk.edu/~sburka/patient1


ALSO- I figured out how to rig up my IPOD to my car speaker system. I had before used the FM transmitter, but i found that hard to use and the quality not always 100%- plus there were volume issues and long drives dictated a need to alter the FM station to a less crouded one. When my CD player fell out the other day (but remained connected) i thought of a way to hook up my Ipod digitally with some audio cables- and that didnt work, but in trying the first idea i saw a second way which DID work at the expense of not being able to play any CDs.... so now i have every single piece of digital music i own (plus all my CDs are on my Ipod) at my fingertips when i get in my car and let me tell you- it has revolutionized the way i listen to music when driving. No more fumbling around for CDs... no more wishing i had made a CD of some of the newer songs on my computer to listen to in my car- its all there baby... i love technology.

Funtastic Weekend

Sorry, that title was a blatant lie. My weekend sucked. I was driving with Nina and 2 other friends to see the baby mentioned in my previous post on Friday night, when my car died at 60 mph. So I pulled over, called AAA, and proceeded to wait an hour in a semi-remote location for the tow truck. By the time I got towed, it was too late to see my friends and their baby. Luckily, my car was fixed the next day. Unluckily, it cost $380. I have a lot of money now, because they paid me for the next 2 months (government bureaucracy thing, don't ask). That also means I don't get paid again until early June, so I'd better not run out. Hooray!

Also my lease is almost up and my roommates all agreed that we want to stay and renew our lease for another year. So I talked to our landlady, and she said it was good. I told this to my roommates, and I guess 2 of them are moving out. I'm glad I asked them because I don't know when they were planning on telling me. So I have to move in early June, which means I have to start looking at apartments, and clean our house soon. Also I need to buy furniture since all I have is some dressers, a bed, and a TV. None of this is a very big deal when put in perspective, I just wanted to bitch a little.

sin city

sin city was insane. i know i've seen more graphic movies, but i dont think any that were that graphic throughout the whole film. the movie was just insane. i thought it was rather incredible, but just ...intense. i dont even know what emotions i felt during it. that's how bizarrely intense it was. however, the colors and lighting in the movie were quite beautiful, i thought.

go see it.

elijah wood is really creepy.


oh! i also finished bringing out the dead today. i dont know how much jess liked it, but i really thought it was good. very unique movie. i really liked the subject. i just remember everyone saying how bad it was when it came out. i guess i dont get it.

great lighting. really liked that.


p.s.-dont go to sincity.com. NOT the same sin city.

Too Old For This Shit...

Hey all. Thought I'd chime in with a quick update. This week was kind of weird because a couple of my friends out here had a baby (last night in fact). Very strange considering I am older than both of them. Just really weird. And another one of my good friends is married and has a kid on the way too. AAAAAAGH!!! When did we get so friggin' old? And yet I don't personally feel old, since I spent most of my week stabbing terrorists in the new Splinter Cell game. Lousy enemies of democracy.

I had a chance to see Sin City last night, which was really cool. If you can get into the whole stylized graphic novel-noir-turned-movie feel of it, then I highly recommend it. Word of warning, it is extremely graphic. You have countless limb severings, decapitations, gun-toting hookers, people getting shot, and many other gruesome things I'll leave as a surprise to those that see the film. Although, if you saw Passion of the Christ, it might not seem as graphic. If any of you happen to see it, let me know what you think. Everyone have a good weekend, and try not to have any kids.