Happy Birthday too ME!!

Saw this saved as a draft and can't believe I never came back and finished this post. HELLO... it's almost a year later, but naturally I will change the date to this post to reflect the actual time this event took place. For the big 3-0, Jay took me to on a road trip to central Cali. We stayed at a hotel I have been wanting to stay at for a very long time -- the Madonna Inn. Jay had planned out the entire weekend. He picked out which the room we stayed in and scheduled a couples massage when we got there. Each room is different and he picked one with a fireplace. It was outside and we had a private patio to enjoy it.

We just arrived and he's a little camera shy.

The places is so beautiful!

It was really a magical weekend. We enjoyed some local Thai food for dinner and some of the award winning desserts from the hotel's bakery. What a perfect romantic get-a-way!

student pains

I can't believe my 3rd quarter is coming to an end. It feels like so much as gone on during this short period at school. I love my study groups and all the cool people I've met here. Although I love the campus and the friendships, I'm hoping to be out of here in 6 qtrs (2 years). I signed up for Fall qtr and am taking
- biometrics lecture and lab
- genetics
- chemistry
- scientific communication

I'll be here M, W, F.... which I'm not a fan of. I like to squeeze all my classes on Tue and Thurs, so I am here during club meetings and only have class 2 days a week. That third day of class just makes me feel like I'm seeing my teacher too much and get burned out quickly. I have a 4 hour break on Wed, so am thinking of adding a physics lab and lecture, but am just at the thinking of it stage. It would put me at 16 units and not sure if that is too heavy of a work load. I'm taking Trig over the summer, which is a prereq for it, so I have some time to think about it. Originally, I wanted to take chem over the summer, but the college is only offering one class and it is full. All these budget cuts are getting on my last nerve! It's definitely getting in my way of getting the classes I want and need.

Well, as this quarter comes to an end, I realize I'm not doing as good as I was hoping. While I have received many A's and B's, there are a few C's in there too. I can't get into vet school with many of those darn C's, so need to FOCUS! Or come to the realization that I won't be applying to vet school.

What it took

Back in October I filled out an application for an on-call/part-time police dispatcher position at my school. What followed was a lot of tests, $, and time! I really didn't it would be such a lengthy process.

The first process to be considered for the position was a 4 hour POST test that was a bubble in questionnaire as you listen to a recording. Passed it and was off to the next phase which was a panel interview. I passed with flying colors and got compliments from the interviewer about how well I was prepared and polished I was. Word got around about me, because when I came in for my second interview the Chief's assistant gave me the "I shouldn't be saying this but" people were impressed and there was a buzz about me. It was a nice compliment and I was happy she shared it with me. I had an interview with the Chief and finger prints the next day. After all that the pain in my ass "fun" began. I had to fill out a damn near 30 page application with so much detail about y life, family, friends, places I've worked, current places my references word, things I've done, etc, etc. It had to be accompanied with my transcripts (from 3 junior colleges mind you), copy of my birth certificate, credit score, H.S. and A.A. diploma. There was a page that had to be notarized, too. After it was submitted there still needed more info! Ugh! I had to provide them with a copy of my SS card, driver's license, reason why I don't have DD14 and proof of automobile insurance. The private investigator took almost two months to "clear" me to the next level.

My physical entailed meeting the doc and him checking my medical history and oddly enough being able to touch my toes and do a squat. I had to laugh when he asked me to do it. The place also took a urine sample, preformed a hearing and eye sight test and took some blood work. You would think I was being hired for physical intensive job! A dispatcher sits for almost 12 hours straight... was this all really necessary?

Any who... next was the psychological exam. 4 hours of IQ test, more bubble questionnaires, and fill in the blank crap and I was told that I needed to come back for my one-on-one with the shrink. I thought it would be done all in one day, but seems like I would have to back the hour drive once again. When I went back for my mental clearance check I was in the room a total of 20 minutes and all done. Seems like I am good to go and started training this passed Monday. Seems like a chill job. The only thing I don't like is that I am a one-man show and when I need to use the restroom, I need to find a police officer, my boss of someone to cover for me. That can get annoying! But other then that, things seem like a good decision.

Disconnected

My heart is literally racing as I sit here at work. I should be focusing on work, graphs and follow-up emails, but instead my mind is bombarded with thoughts of the last few weeks and this morning. I went for an individual counseling session today to work on me, what I want from my romantic relationship, to understand Jay and the areas that I can improve on. Jay and I have been rocky and a week long break-up and then make-up have us back at square one. The square gets claustrophobic at times with all the thoughts, comments, conversation and uncertain future. Our definitions on compatibility are way different. My counselor for my individual session was good. Very productive first session, she is honest, straight forward and could read me like a book. She said she couldn't get a sense of "who I was" and asked me to describe that person. I went blank. Normally I hear that question in interviews and have a answer, but outside of an interview I didn't know how to answer that. Is that weird? I mean was she asking hobbies? Likes or dislikes? How I view my personality? Time was running out and she gave it to me as a homework assignment to come back with an idea/answer next week. I am normally one who is very upbeat about self-help/improvement but right now I don't feel so upbeat. I feel beaten up and like I want to throw up...literally!!! I fear the worst and get discouraged. *sigh*

Jay and I also had our "intake" for couples counseling where they get to know us, our backgrounds, issues that brought us there, to discuss the program, etc. I hope that we both start seeing eye to eye, establish common goals, communicate more clearly and decide to work on "us" long term.

puke

Trust is an interesting beast. It can blind you, open you up, make you vulnerable, or close you off to the world. Walls are back up, I have doubts, confidence is lost, worry is here and skepticism blanketing my every thought.

Mini B-day Celebration

I got to my sister's house to carpool to the TAO: Martial Arts of Drumming and here is a lil preview of what the show was all about. I was surprised with a lovely and delicious ICE CREAM b-day cake. My nieces, her friend and my sister sang to me.


I hear this chipmunk voice and it was Lizzy singing on behalf of her 7 Zoo Zoo hamster.
It was too cute!!! The cake was yummy and off we were to the show. My Mom was giving a speech in LA that night, so was meeting up with us at the theater. The show started with some stick fighting, which totally blew me away. I kept thinking "wow... and I thought I knew some moves with sticks" or "oh...so that's the way it's supposed to look!" The show was on point! These people were is excellent shape and at one point they did drumming for like 5 minutes with their backs facing the crowd. All we saw were muscles flexing with each stroke. Made me want to go to the gym immediately. Haha... but I didn't. All in all, a great night!!

Rays of sunshine

Right when I start complaining and thinking "why me?!?!", rays of sunshine start pouring down. I got an email that I passed the 4 hour long, written, P.O.S.T. exam to proceed to the next step in the hiring process. It's for a dispatcher position at the PD on campus that I applied for not too long ago. I scheduled a sit in with the current dispatcher for next Thursday and interviews will be the week on the 22nd. Since my research assistant position is temporary and the project is coming to a close, I was searching for a position that paid higher then minimum wage and flexible with my school schedule. I hope I pass the interview panel and background check (20+ pages mind you) and get offered the position.

Then, I got an email with work to do. Not homework, but work that pays you the green. :)Originally, my current job didn't have any work for me for two weeks, as my supervisor was busy interviewing potential student candidates for the coming year. But seems like my student leader who is supposed to oversee this research project didn't code all the surveys she was supposed to, so I was asked to do them and some other admin work that popped up. Perfect timing as I need $$ for my aunt's wedding/vow renewal present and for Santa's baby shower gift.

I started reading my school paper and good thing too. There is so much information on school events and offers that I was oblivious to. One of them was an offer to have your taxes done for free. The event is put on my the accounting department at my school. How cool is that? It's definitely a money saver and on my student income, I need to save every penny! The rays of light are plentiful this week.

I also got news from my uncle in Nicaragua saying he will pay us (my sisters and I) the remaining money from the sale of some land down there on Feb. 19th. Awesome news!!! We were going to put the money towards remodeling our kitchen, but Jay wants me to put it towards my debit. Not a bad idea.

And finally... my poor lil heart was broken when my sister want to cancel or reschedule my b-day celebration with the family. She text me not too long ago about a martial art drumming show in LA titled TAO that she wants to take me to. This is TOTALLY up my alley! She ordered the tickets for us to go tomorrow night. Awwww.... I felt so special!!! What a great way to start a weekend!

Tomorrow, Jay is picking up Jayla and we get her until Tuesday. Her b-day is tomorrow, but since she will get home late, we will be celebrating it on Sunday. The tentative plan is to head to Scooter's Jungle, a bounce house with my lil niece Lizzy. :) If we don't go there, we will definitely hit up some kid friendly place.