Memorial Day weekend

I've discovered how to give myself little vacations here & there.  I have a little bit of a commuter relationship (Adrian lives in Moscow, Idaho, which is a whopping 8 miles away from Pullman), and it's now summer time, which means that a day off work could constitute a full day of adventure.  Therefore, it just makes more sense for me to load up part of my week with a busy work schedule (in other words, still get my 40 hours, but compress them into 4 long days, rather than 7 short/medium days), then take the rest of it off.  It's even possible to maximize my "vacation" by loading up the first half of one week, then loading up the later half of the following week.

That's what I did this past week so as to really enjoy some time with Adrian before he takes off for his summer travels.  He'll be in Arizona this week, and then it won't be long before he's flying off to Alaska for a month of commercial fishing.  I've definitely enjoyed the time away from work, just sleeping in, and knowing I don't have anything looming over my shoulder.  Ahh the beauty of being the Head Guard of scheduling.

Yesterday, I helped some future roommates completely empty out their apartments.. into their new house! My house.  It's nice to be making progress with the roommate transition, but it was a bummer that the moving process was a full 11-hour day of work on our holiday off.  I definitely get the impression that beautiful Ann is feeling intruded upon & pushed out with the arrival of new roommates (they aren't living in our house until Ann moves out, just their stuff is), so I'm sad to do that to her.  I just don't have a lot of alternatives, because I needed roommates for next year,  they needed some storage for all of their things, and frankly I didn't want to help them move twice.

There have been a lot of fun things going on too during this time.

Making delicious breakfast with my man

A few parties with good friends at my place

And right now, I'm babysitting Adrian's reptiles.  So cute!

Start work again tomorrow.  I'm looking forward to just being able to focus on my manager duties & doing a really great job of them.

Good lookin' & cookin' ; )

The weather has been GORGEOUS, very hot.  This life, I can definitely do.  I looove walking around town with the "lazy dayz" atmosphere, drinking a nice bottled beer fresh out of the fridge, lounging around my deck with Baker or the Lambda Chi house with some of the brothers... Even my old nemesis, getting into a hot car after it's been baking in the sun for hours, doesn't bother me right now.

Not having school weighing on my mind is a huge load off.  I am kicking butt at work, and then get to actually enjoy some extensive downtime with my friends & loved ones.  This is just what I needed right now.

I've been missing my parents and wish that I could hang out with them down in the desert.  It's really cookin' down there, but it's the perfect time to use the pool & relax.  I'm jealous that Timothy is just a 2 hour drive away.  I wish that southern California wasn't on the opposite part of the West Coast from me.  Mom wants me to come join everyone at their lake house rental in Minnesota this summer.  That'd be really awesome, but even working full-time, I'm still stretched thin right now financially.

I got a guinea pig back in April, Theodore, who was a really awesome little guy.  Unfortunately he developed digestive complications last week & died at the WSU vet hospital.  Now I have his vet bill, my own doctor's bill from when I got my foot looked at (a fruitless x-ray that the nurse recommended, and now I have to pay for - stupid), a late fee on my rent because my paycheck came after the due date, etc.  I'm looking into ways to generate some additional income beyond just my pool stuff.  I'm sure it'll all even out soon enough; at least my August when my fam has the rental.

Sunshine, feelin' fine

My readers all know of my warm-hearted affinity for autumn & winter activities, smells, beauty, etc.  As spring & summer merge together, however, you simply can't help but feel your spirits rise with the toasty warm sun.  I am definitely a fan of the more laid-back, less-dressed arrival of summer.

I went on a long, 8-mile run the other day, way out on the Chipman Trail, which follows the highway over to Moscow, Idaho, alongside the warm, rolling wheat fields.  It was a most delicious hour of dusk, when the air is still warm, the sky is turning pink, and the fields around me look more and more golden brown.  It reminded me of the love I've developed for this place over the past 4 years.  I don't want to stay forever, but I truly do love living here.  It's an incredible place.

With the ending of school, it is time to start working 40-hour weeks (really only a short step up from my 30-hour weeks during the semester).  At least my schedule is much more open now, so I can hand-pick the most ideal hours I would like.  Oh, the advantages of writing everyone's work schedules (including my own : D).

On that note, I have some big news.  I have made the decision to not return to school in the fall or spring next year.  I have an enormous weight over my height with bills, loans, and all the while trying to save up to go to China.  My priority needs to be the lattermost of those.  Even if I got my degree now (which has a lot of ridiculous redtape standing in my way), I am not fluent in Chinese.  I can barely hold a solid conversation.  I am tired of learning it in a classroom; any true linguist would agree that is the worst, most frustrating way to go.  Instead of taking bogus classes, which are not even relevant to me, my intention is to save up enough money to attend Beijing Language & Culture University for two semesters of intensive Chinese language classes.  By the end of that year, I will be quite fluent, and ideally a lot of my work there will transfer back to WSU & satisfy some of my remaining credits.  I can work & take a semester to finish up whatever else the university requires, and then I'll be set for the workforce.  If possible, I'd like to follow up my return to the U.S. with an intensive summer in the International Chinese Language Program in Taipei, Taiwan.  SUPER good program (but much more expensive)!

I still have all of my Chinese textbooks, as well as the textbooks for the next 3 levels, which I can use to continue my learning and practice.  I also have a number of native Chinese friends, with whom I've recently regained contact (much easier now that finals are over), who would be more than happy to help me.

It's interesting how many opportunities there are, even here in Pullman, for the line of work I'm interested in.  A friend of Adrian's recently asked me if I would be willing to translate some legal forms for his father's law firm, as they frequently receive Taiwanese clients with poor English, and he would pay me for my services (at this time, it is slightly beyond my scope of abilities, which brings me back to my point that I just need to get my butt to China).  One of my professors asked our class if anyone would be willing to serve as interpreters for a business conference.  These are just a few examples of ways I can acquire experience in my field, especially given the large Chinese population Washington State University draws in.