-----Original Message-----
From: Unable To Read  [mailto readnoti@somecollege.edu]
Sent: Wednesday, September 03, 2008 4:31 PM
To: Service Desk
Subject: Re: Webcast Thursday afternoon

Do  we need mikes or cameras?
- Unable TO Read
Seriously?  (For the record: yes, he was, in fact, serious.)  You're a librarian - how are you not literate? 
READING COMPREHENSION - YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG.

*Names changed to protect the unattentive.

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!

I passed my HDI Support Center Analyst Certification Exam!!
(My trip to Vegas wasn't a waste!)

*dances*

This is so awesome!

So, the day after graduation I'll be leaving for Las Vegas.
Staying at the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino from Saturday until Thursday.
WOO HOO.

A fantastic day was had by myself...or something like it. 
I've cooked something like three pounds of chicken and a pound or so of deer/hog burgers.
Also, I just finished my first batch of mini-pseudo-quiches.  TAS-TAY.

I started working on restoring the tabletop of my dining room table. 
Work's been lean, to say the least.  So that's positive.
Crazy as it sounds, I'm excited to go back to work tomorrow.
Crazier still is the fact that I am super stoked to begin classes this term.

I got my grades from last term.  I'm not terribly pleased.
Two "C+"s and one "B".  *sigh*  Not really what I wanted to have whilest heading into graduate school applications.
Then again, not all together awful.  I just hope my cumulative GPA is still over a 3.0.
Next on the list - tackle the GRE.  I need to get my paws on a test prep book/program.

My ass is kinda numb.  I think I've been sitting down too long.
Oh, I also have a fantastic new lunch bag.
Because I'm not a big enough geek as it is.
Let's throw a LUNCHBAG into the mix.
It's a cool lunchbag, though.  So I'm stoked.

I just realized that work tomorrow will involve my being there at 8:00 am.
This will be the first 8:00 a.m. day I've had since... July?  Eeew!
Guess I should sleep soon.  Heh.

YES!  I'm done with "official" work for the rest of the YEAR.
*DANCES*
Goin' out tonight.
CELEBRATION!

Last night's party was lovely.
Barry and Pharrel threw a wonderful shindig with an amazing spread.
Choice wines, liquor and food.
Everything from tuna tartar with caviar and proscutto wrapped breadsticks to brie and real honeycomb.
Barry made me lovely Cosmo Blancos (based on the Melting Pot's drink).

I was complimented on my dress many times.  So that was fun.
A good time was had by all.  =)

• Finish working
• Get notes from Roslyn
• Find hard copies of Journals for Minorities/Crime/Social Policy
• Study for two final exams
• Purchase baking necessities
• Bake two cakes one more cake
  
• Buy two pairs of shoes/socks for 2 little girls
  
• Wrap and drop off presents for little girls
  
• Breathe
• Study more
• Try not to throw up
• Put icing on cakes
• E-mail Chapter 14 notes to Roslyn
• Study on campus
• Take Minorities Final
• Pick up finished cakes from house
• Go to work
• Study for Criminology final

Then, by 5:30pm Thursday:

• Take Criminology final exam
• Breathe
• Crash

*snort*

So yeah.  Still at working.  I think it's lunch time.  Now...where to go for lunch.  Hmmm...
What to do, what to do.... I'm not sure.  But I know, that as I go, I go in style.
As I have just complied a fantastic "mellow mood" CD.
*dances*

I have been at the Service Desk for a year and two days.  My official anniversary was October 3rd.
Next month will make two years with the organization.
Wow, time has really flown by.  So much has changed in the past few years.
I've changed a lot in the past few years.

I wonder where I'll be in a few more years...

I get so caught up in everything sometimes, that I forget to stop and see what's really going on. I am so blessed right now! So, Self, take note of the following:

Dear Myself,

I know you're busy and all, but it's time you hear me out. Self, sometimes you frustrate me. Especially when you take for granted all that is good around you.

You have a fantastic job. There are stresses involved, yes. But it's a fantastic job, none the less and there is stress in any job. So suck it up, smile, and remember - you're doing better than you ever thought you'd be at just over 23 years of age. Maybe it hasn't happened in accordance with your old "plan" - but that isn't what's important.

You've almost finished your Baccalaureate degree in Criminology (with an Undergraduate Certificate in Public Administration). Sure, classes are stressful, especially going full-time while working full-time; but so what! You're almost done! You had the opportunity to even go to college. You will be the first person in your immediate family to have beyond an Associates in Arts degree. I know grad school is a little uncertain right now. But, do the best you can. Fight that crazy witch on your summer grade. If you win the battle, fantastic. You'll go into you grad school application process with a 3.5+ GPA. And, if you don't win...well, shit happens. Then you go in with a 3.3 something. You explain what happened in an appendix to your application and have faith. Study for the GRE and score well there. Oh, and get to work on requesting those recommendations please. But all in all, it's almost done. You're finally going to finish what you started. And I, for one, am proud.

You live with your best friend - again! Twice you've been lucky enough to live with her, and this time you aren't too bogged down to enjoy it. So live your life with zeal and revel in each moment. Good times will always come with some bad - but that bad should never negate the good.

You've always been the one who says that "quality is better than quantity" in regards to friendships. Well, now you truly do know who your friends are. They are fantastic, loving, kind, understanding and wonderful folks. Remember to recognize them often. Remember to make time for them, be that on the phone, e-mail, in person, road-tripping to visit, however; just make time for them. Because the love you get from them should be reciprocated ten-fold.

Okay, self. This was just a pep-talk. Being sick had you down for a while, I know. But I see the old you coming back. That, and now I don't hear you from a mile away because your chest-rattling cough has let up some. Take care and re-read this whenever you feel bogged down.

Love,
You



p.s.
To the following people - Darlene, Ben, Julie, Sheri, Grace, John, Joey, Evvy, Ariel, Sara, Christie, Jessica, Katie -
If you see this post, please leave your pertinent contact information; I'll screen the comments. Phone numbers, e-mail addresses, Birthday, Address, Schools attended/attending, Profession, etc. Why, you ask? Well, when certain holidays come up (i.e. - Nurses Day, Sys Admin Day, etc) I'd like to celebrate you. Also, my address book is woefully out of shape (as it got tore up during the move). Thanks, folks! I love ya!

I'm gonna want to kill people by the end of Fall term...

"Beauty is in the behind of the holder."
- Brenda Ferris