hmm...

so october is almost almost dead.

there are five weeks left. yes, five weeks from now i will be packing up my life and driving it home in my little blue honda. i really hope little blue honda makes it all that way... she needs her oil changed and after hitting that deer her poor hood could use some plastic surgery.

but more importantly, i hope to be able to visit many/most/perhaps all of you fellow-alumni along with my plentous relatives in utah, as i'm passing through. i've got the week of dec. 4 blocked off for miscellaneous travelling and nostalgia. mark your calendars.

this is me in my alien costume. am i not adorable? (don't answer that)

this week was magazine torture again. i will have callouses from the papercuts. thank heaven it's over.

it hasn't snowed here yet. mostly we get rain. lovely bucketsful of rain all day long... wonderful midwestern rain. today the sun came out again. i love the autumn. no doubt there will be frost in the morning.

unrelatedly, national novel-writing month begins in a few days. i'm lazily toying with the idea of if not writing a whole novel in a month, at least finishing one i've already started. but we'll see how that turns out.

I woke to snow today.

I love fall. I hate snow. Here its been perfect fall weather for over a month. But that's over now. Snow has arrived. Why didn't I move to a place where it doesn't snow while I had the chance?

Party

Come!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's after the howl. If anyone needs a place to crash, we have room!

Come. I miss you.

Chicago

First of all...they are not lying when they call this city the windy city. It was constantly windy! And have you ever tasted Chicago style pizza? It's crazy! It is the deepest pizza that I have ever seen or eaten..and the cheese is underneath the sauce. I might have gone to three different restaurants to try the different styles...and they were all amazing. I went to the Art Insitute of Chicago--I love art...I really really love art, the John Hancock Observatory--the second tallest building in Chicago, the Field Museum & Underground Adventure--home the the famous Sue T-rex and many other very cool things, Shedd Aquarium VIP--komodo dragon and lots of fish...very cool, the Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum--I thought that one of the guides was going to keel over.

One of my favorite Chicago moments is when we were getting an impromptu walking tour of downtown Chicago. We were crossing the street and one of the guys we were with was honked at by a trolley. So he yelled, "Hey we're walking here!" in the most quintessentail chicago manner and with the Chicago accent. It was great. Like something from a movie and I loved it!

Millenium Park has a giant reflective bean....which is awesome. This is a picture from underneath it.

We also went to two plays (musicals) while we were there. The first one was called Madame X and whitney and I changed into skirts while in a car with three guys. That was interesting...and the play was very well done as well. Our second night we went "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" which was done at a spa. And we walked through New Orleans to get there. And at the begining of the second act we were mooned by one of the actors...also great.

The view from the top of the John Hancock was amazing...but my camera was mostly dead so I couldn't really get a very good picture....which makes me sad.

It's so sad...I did a ton while I was there but I still feel like I didn't have enough time to do it all...and I might want to go back. Why can't I find a job were they would pay me to do what I want? Gr...

See pictures!

Hey, I finally really updated my daughter's site. See more pictures. PLUS up-to-date coverage of the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition thing going down here. Yes, I'm totally a dork, but totally on top of things! Sort of.

www.spencersrock.com/Liesl

Good luck everyone. It sounds like you all need some.

Also, I deleted my blog, Abourneman. I was paranoid about privacy, and I also didn't update it often enough. Besides, Liesl has her own webpage. She doesn't need a blog on top of that!

"Destiny is no matter of chance. It is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved." ~William Jennings Bryan

I'm glad that I have such funny friends.

So remember how awhile ago I said I might be dating somebody? Well...I broke it off with him on Sunday. I should be in love with him maybe cause he is really sad right now...we are trying to be friends. I don't know if that is possible...cause I kinda want to jump him sometimes but I'm sure that I shouldn't be dating him right now. I don't know. Life is weird. I should stop talking about boys because it never sticks.

I am leaving for Chicago tomorrow! It's going to be AMAZING. We (whitney and I) leave early early morning and arrive in Chicago by noon. We are going to all sorts of museums (like 5) and the Art Institute of Chicago and a play every night that we are there. It is going to be so much fun that I will probably have to take a vacation from my vacation. It is going to be fantastic. I'm headed to the windy city baby!

I've decided that I am going to make my life cool...cause if I sit around waiting for it to happen....then it never will. I've been waiting most of my life for things to happen and the never/seldom do. So my new mantra is to make life happen! I'm not waiting around for it anymore.

Vanessa changed her phone number...

hi darlings,

i figure this is a fast way to keep in touch with all of you wild things...my number has changed and it is now 415 963 1334.

call me!

vanessa

Friday the 13th hit me late this year

Bad luck is suppossed to follow us on Friday the thirteen but my Tuesday the 17th wasn't all the great either.

For those of you who don't know, because I'm cheap and want to save on rent, I live upstairs at my parent's house. There's two apartments up there and they're both mine, for free, until I want to move out and get my own house.

My Grandma Street also lives with us because she is no longer able to take care of herself. I've been doing the majority of that since school again because my mother is going to school full time and working 30 hours a week at a real job. She's the type who freaks out if she doesn't get a 4.0 so she's giving herself more stress. My dad is oblivious, and plus because its his mother, I think he's in a lot of denial.

About 2 weeks ago, Grandma started to feel like garbage. I won't go into the symptoms but we were concerned. She refused to go to the doctor and had my mom cancel the appointment that was made (I get my stubbornness from her). This weekend she declined significantly so Monday we got her into the first appointment we could with another doctor in her regular doctor, Doctor Taylor's office. It was at 4:30. My mom and I explained her syptoms and told him we'd been through these symptoms before and what we susspected it was. He blew us off, said to keep doing what we were doing, ordered some x-rays, sent us home, and told that if it was anything they'd call if not just to keep her regular appointment in January.

My grandma has lost her appetite enough that we were begging and pleading to have her drink one ensure for any meal. Those are less than two cups of liquid. We took her home and continued to worry. Then the next day, Tuesday, she had another docotor's appointment for her foot. She's severly diabetic and has developed a foot ulcer that won't heal so once a week since August I've taken her into see Dr. West. All of the CNAs and the Nurse Practitioner know my grandma on sight. Grandma was too weak to use her walker so I had to take her in the wheelchair. When the CNA and the Nurse Practioner say my Grandma they said, she's sick, what's wrong. So I went through all the same things I did the day before with the other doctor. They checked and said she was dehydrated. They were highly concerned, to say the least. They were freaking out enough it started making me freak out. They insisted that I take her to the ER as soon as I left.

So I called my mom as we were leaving the office. She had talked to the doctor who took the x-rays. He said its not a bowel obstruction (which is what we feared it was). She said she got a little bit of the run around but basically was told to keep fluids in her, and keep doing what we were doing. I took her to the ER.

They did a catscan, and after three people tried got enough blood to do blood tests. I got there around 11. I told them all of the information that I knew, what the other doctors had said, what we suspected, what the x-rays told, etc. I even had to give her birth date because when asked she gave the wrong day. Its january 7th and she said january 5th. Her mental state was altered enough she couldn't remember her own birthdate.

Between 1:00 and 1:30 the ER doctor comes in and in the most angry voice I've ever heard a doctor use said, "Who told you that it wasn't a bowel obstruction?" So I told him that which doctor told my mom that. He told me that her bowel was kinked and swollen and nothing about it was right. The nurse came in and informed me she was severly anemic and needed a transfusion. Her veins in her arm were too small so I had to make the decision a central line (which is a operational procedure) or an IV in her jugular vein. Yeah, that's in her neck. I knew that the last time she had a bowel obstruction she wasn't a surgical candidate because of her frail health. I opted for the jugular IV because I knew my parents would want to avoid surgery at all costs.

Between 2:00 and 2:30, the ER comes back and introduces me to Dr. Richards. He starts to explain to me that the nature of the bowel obstruction will not fix itself. The only way to fix it is with surgery. I say, is there anyway not to have surgery. He says, "No, surgery at this point is our only option. We're going to try to get her in this afternoon. I'm not going to lie to you, she is very frail and you need to prepare yourself that she may not make it through this."

I was being such an adult until that point. As soon as he left I called my mom who I had been playing phone tag with all day to keep her updated on what was going on. I let it ring 5 times, hung up and dialed again. I found out later she was with a client at work and when i called the 2nd time she said, I better take this, my mother-in-law is in the ER with my daughter. So as soon as she picks up and says hello. I say, "Mom, she needs surgery. They're going to get her in this afternoon."

My mom is quiet for about 5 seconds, and with emotion in her voice says, "I don't have a car, I will call your dad to come pick me up we'll be there in about an hour." I got off the phone with her and called my older sister who had called before the doctor showed up and started to tell her what my morning had been like. While talking to her, I apparently went into shock because I started to shake uncontrollably and I was so cold I couldn't get warm. Let me just tell you how alone I felt at that moment. Here I was, sitting in a tiny ER cubicle with my grandma and knowing that in 24 hours she may not be alive.

My mom called my aunt Lisa, and they split my aunts and uncles up and started making phone calls. It wasn't just surgery, it was emergency surgery. My aunt Mary thinks the entire family hates her so she doesn't answer her phone when my mom calls. My mom leaves two messages to have her call us. Then my uncle calls and leaves a message as well. It still takes her over an hour to call, but she doesn't call the cell numbers that are left on her machine. She calls my uncle's house and talks to my aunt and finds out what's going on before she'll call my mom. Then she's very rude about it, and says that my mom should have left it on the answering machine what its about. How can you leave a Mary-your-mom-is-going-to-emergency-surgery-which-she-may-not-live-through message on someone's machine?

To make an already long story shorter than I could, at a quarter after 5 they finally had her in surgery and all of her kids knew, her two living sisters knew and my father and this male BYU of I nursing student had given her a priesthood blessing. They had put 4 units of plasma in her because her blood was too thin (one of her medications is a blood thinner), a little morphine for the pain, and an anti-naseau medication. The operation was to take at least an hour, if all went well.

I had gotten to the ER around 11, I was driving home around 6 too tired and stressed out to remain, plus I had started my period the day before and had such bad cramps I could barely stand up. I had my cell phone and waited by the house phone. The call came at 8:35, she was out of surgery, she pulled through it but they were going to keep her in ICU for 24-48 hours, sedated and on a respirator to help her heal and after that would move her to the regular hospital room to help her recover.

So, this could be a reason that I haven't gotten my security clearance and haven't actually started work yet. My security paperwork was sent to the main office in Pittsburgh yesterday and my expected start date is January 20th . I'm going to start applying for seasonal work today because I don't want to hunt for a real job until then and I won't be taking care of my grandma anymore, canning season is pretty much over, and so is my garden.

fedex kinkos needs a better phone system

so today i called kinkos four times.

i was put on hold about thirty times.

i had to explain who i was and what i wanted at least sixteen times.

that was a pain in the neck.


in other news: my car's slightly dented hood opens and closes just fine thank heaven.
however, my car's battery is staging a revolt against me and my life.

yay.


i'm also coming down with a cold. any pity and/or warm soup you have to spare would be everso nice.

Time flies and then some

It's been a month since I've posted. Wow.

So life blurrs on by. I lost track of how many weeks old Liesl is. I just know she's two months, and that's all I say. She's such a charm. I've never been happier in my entire life combined. I love her like the day is long. She laughs and smiles and sings along with me. We often talk back and forth. And no, I don't speak baby-talk. I'm WAAAAAY too sophisticated for that. Really. I'm telling the truth.

Here are some pictures of her in her blessing dress. None of the links work on the page. It's messed up. But the pics are great. http://www.spencersrock.com/Leisl/blessing/bless1.html

Nothing special has happened to me. I splurged on curtains. I listen to Rush Limbaugh and Dr. Laura. I have five loads of laundry to fold. I've called my landlord multiple times since Liesl's been born. Here's why:

1. Broken lightswitch in bathroom
2. Leaking roof in Liesl's room
3. Leaking dishwasher
4. Another broken lightswitch in dining room
5. Broken Mailbox lock
6. Broken doorknob

Gosh, that can't be all. . . there must be something more.

Huh. Well . . .Oh, yeah, you heard me right. I listen to Rush. I'm even becoming a "Rush Baby," or whatever it's called. But mostly I just say that as a joke.

And all y'all should read "The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands." It's a must if you're married or getting married.

Speaking of marriage, my mom finally got married today.

Amelia, thanks for the pictures. I'm sorry about the deer. Did it do much damage? I hope not. It's a terrible thing. I guess.

Vanessa, I'm glad your exploits at NYU have taught you to be brave about speaking up about something you're embarassed about. Is there anything else going on in your life? I mean, hello! I've never lived anywhere in my life except Utah? What's it like out there?

Elsie, I'm sure you posted something. I can't remember what. I'm tired. I love you anyway.

Hollie, I'll be sending you the bracelets as soon as I'm not lazy anymore. I love you too.

Chelsi, I'm glad we hung out on Monday. Unfortunately you didn't see me at my best: I was a little stressed. However, the thought of your lovely pink heels makes me warm inside.

Okay, I'm tired. I feel the love though.

xo-jeri

frost!

not robert, no--real actual frozen condensation all over the place.

including my windshield.

i found myself wishing for one of those STC ice scrapers.

Elsie, want to steal one and send it to me?

please?

until then i'll be making do with one of the several hotel keys that have found refuge in my wallet. somehow.

yeah.

in other news: i hit a deer on my way to work thismorning.

Might I express my fondness for Berlin Sans?

Hey, Vanessa here: we all have our geeky streaks and one that we share is our periodic adoption of a favorite font...mine is Berlin Sans at the moment. That's something I would have told you all in person over bundt vodka cake had we not graduated and moved on or otherwise dispersed. I'm a nerrrrrrd!!! neehee.

righto. now it is raining.

i've been waiting for it to rain for days.
and now it is, the steady gentle rain that lets you know it's goign to be here all week long.

mm.

when the clouds come way down close like that and everything is wet and gray, every color and every space is more condensed. more real. i love it.

so shae and i got to see our favourite wilson last weekend. that was way fun. the rest of you ought to be very jealous.

today i'm a bit jealous of miss shae. she's off in utah playing with jerilynn and chelsi. okay, that's a lie. as chelsi and jerilynn can attest, we've all be working hard these past two days. it's a bit crazy, really.

anyway. life proceeds. october is very settled in. i almost don't want it to leave... but in fact i have a lot of things to look forward to. even if snow isn't quite one of them.

jerilynn asked for more pictures the other day. so here:

don't ask me what it is, exactly.
a wheel of some sort.

if anyone's really really interested in my silly attempts at photography, i've made a section for them all, using a neat little javascript trick i learned here at my lovely little job. mm. yes.

Happy Misogynistic Chauvonistic Philandering Cretin Day

Yesterday was Columbus day. My best friend Monika sent me an e-mail iwth her thoughts on Columbus and I laughed so hard I've included them in this blog.

"Maybe I could do a lesson about what a misogonistic chavanistic philadering cretin Columbus was, and how all he really did was stumble into Cuba, and not find China like he thought he did. Really? China? didn't he know the Chinese have yellow skin not brown?"

My comment to that is we can add "racist bastard" to Columbus's attributes. All he saw in the indigineous people was that they weren't white and therefore lesser than himself, poor, uneducated, savages. Which isn't of course true. They had a beautiful and rich culture. They didn't have the same technology that the whites did but they were better adapted to living in the land, as proven by the number of pilgrims who tried to make a go of it and were never heard from again. The white settles only managed to survive the winters when they listened and learned from the indigenous people ... coincidence?

Anyway, Happy Columbus Day, or Happy Get Lost and Find Cuba when you think it's China day, or Happy Misogynistic Chauvonistic Philandering Cretin Day, or Happy make-the-most-of-what-you've-done,-even-if-it-wasn't-what-you-expected day!

(Somebody needed to post something)

You can't know yet you have to know

Don't cha all worry. I am now able to use the toilet in my home once again. And don't worry about that whole underwear issue...cause I have a washer and dryer in my house now! Yippee!

You should all listen to the song "Ugly Side" by Blue October....it's kinda how I feel right now. I've been enjoying Blue Ocotober a lot recently. Kelli is doing much better for those of you who have been concerned. She even came to class last week and should be all better now.

I don't really have much that I want to say. I just thought I would post again so that I could shock everyone really.

Chels your pictures are gorgeous. I'm sad that I couldn't be there.

So how did everyone else manage to make it through their last semester? I'm lacking the ambition to want to finish this up.