Friday, February 17, 2012

When you know, you just know.

Since the last time I updated my blog, I have settled into my new night shift spot, continued to work any extra hours I can snatch, and trying to get into my own groove.
Valentine’s Day was fun, kind of.  Patrick and I celebrated on Sunday by going to dinner at an Italian restaurant in uptown Charlotte.  The food was excellent! – Just as we suspected/heard it would be.  We both had to work on “Love Day” and only saw each other for a few hours total.  Patrick did send me a beautiful arrangement of flowers to work *surprise!* even though we agreed to be on a “card-only” basis for V day.  He truly is the best thing that has ever happened to me and I would be totally lost without him in my life.  I told my mama when I first started dating him that it felt like we were meant to be; as if I’ve known him forever and we had to take separate paths for awhile, but that we could finally be together now.  It may sound stupid and corny, but it’s the only way to describe how I feel about him…totally meant to be.  I definitely understand what so many people told me when I was little “when you know, you just know.”  It’s true. You do know. *Awww* 
Just to take care of a few updates, I am no longer working my part time job at the doggy day care due to my schedule change.  It’s almost impossible to leave one job at 6am after working twelve hours and be ready to roll again at 1pm.  And, yes, I do have other days off, but I would like some time to myself and to spend with my fiancé.  So that’s gone. 
For those of you who do not know, Whitney Houston passed away.  My condolences to her family.  I will refrain from any bad jokes or comments until further information is disclosed regarding the cause of deat1h – let’s not assume anything.  Regardless of how she died, the fact remains that she did pass and we should remember her as the talented person that she was.  I will say that I am having an internal debate with myself regarding how much time the media should focus on the death of a celebrity.  As a disclaimer, let me say that I do not condone the deaths of military members, but I have to mention that the media spends more time “glorifying” if you will the death of a celebrity than giving the airtime or sense of gratitude to those military members who have lost their lives fighting for our country.  I don’t necessarily consider Whitney Houston or Michael Jackson to be a hero of mine, but these military members certainly have a place in my heart because they are doing a job that I could not/would not want to do – and their serving allows me to have the option to not join the military.
Onto a happier note, my dad and stepmom came up to visit the day before Valentine’s day and we went horseback riding – fab time! – And then went out to dinner after tootling around my town for a bit.  I got to see my dad’s new truck; it is awesome!  He got a brand new Toyota Tundra and I had to make it known that I definitely would not have picked that vehicle out for him, but he loooooves it.  And since it’s white, I think car wash gift certificates are now an appropriate gift for him from now on. J
Lately I have been spending a lot of time thinking about upcoming events and trying to sort tasks out in the order they need to be completed.  I purchased an agenda to help keep myself organized and so far it has been working out really well for me.  I am on new medication and it helps me to write down when I take it, because sometimes I can’t even remember what shoes I wore, much less the events of my day.  I also have to keep track of birthdates, weddings, showers, doctor appointments, my WEDDING and HONEYMOON, as well as when I’m working. J
I have been toying with the idea of getting myself a new phone.  I have the original Droid by Motorola and it is about worthless at this point.  I’ve had it for almost two years, mind you; this is my third one – thanks to insurance!  The sensor keeps going bad and I continue to request a “new” (refurbished) one.  This is where the tough decision comes in – iPhone 4S or Droid Razr?  I have even gone as far as to make a compare/contrast chart to see which one I like better and it all comes down to this:  It doesn’t matter which phone I get, because as soon as I purchase it Apple or Motorola or whoever is going to come out with something more awesome than whichever phone I choose, thus making whichever one I purchased cheaper.  That thought alone makes me want to cling my money and never buy a new phone again because it is a TRAP.  For all I know, somewhere someone is making my life miserable by intentionally making my phone worthless to me, thus making me want a new phone.  Lest I forgot to mention all the things wrong with my current phone… 
·         It has to catch up with whatever it is that I am trying to make it do and by the time it has caught up, I am calling someone and I wasn’t even trying to make a phone call – at which point, I throw the phone across the room. 
·         Just about every app I open just aimlessly turns its wheels for an unannounced amount of time before asking me if I want to wait or force close the app. (I am told that Android has since fixed this problem on all new Android model phones.)
·         My battery cover doesn’t quite fit all the way – and I can forget asking my service provider to send me a new one, because even with every refurbished phone I’ve received  I have to keep my battery cover and battery from the old one.
·         Oh yea, the sensor is messed up (of course).  I can’t even scroll through my picture gallery without zooming into the current picture I’m on – which is not what I intended to do.
·         Every now and then, instead of playing the designated ringtone, I will get a fizzing sound and then half a ringtone along with a message that says something along the line of “your audio isn’t working right.”

I think that pretty much sums up my cell phone rant – but I will say that I am partial to Android.  I did love my Droid from day one, but we are all aware of the fact that electronic devices are just not made the way they used to be and we shouldn’t expect a lifetime for a cell phone to last for more than one year – after all, these manufacturers have to continue to make money and produce a better, more upgraded product.  BUT – it is now technically Friday and I told the fiancé that I would have my mind made up by today.  Well, I don’t.  The only real conclusion I have come to is that I should purchase the Droid Razr – check it out, if I don’t like it, pay the restocking fee within thirty days and go ahead with an iPhone purchase.  Katie + iPhone = doesn’t seem right.  However, I will keep you all posted as to what my final decision will be and how that works out for me! I apologize for how long winded and ranty this post has become.  I’m still trying to decide how I would like to sort out my blog and organize it based on topics – because my posts are apparently all over the place...as are my thoughts.  Perhaps I’ll go with a “Bookshelf Theme” for my blog and separate my posts into different genres. Ha   ~~Goodnight y’all, tootles!

OH - and I do promise to post pictures...eventually.

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

It has been awhile...

Being the grammar nerd that I am, I almost typed “It’s been awhile” because that’s the way I would say it, but I quickly remembered that It’s is a conjunction for It is not It has, and then I changed it.
I apologize; I know it has been awhile.  I have had a few things going on and I am still not totally sure I want to blog about them, because they are a little too personal for a public blog, but I will say that we got good news at work – our dispatch center will be staying open.  THANK YOU COMMISSIONERS!  Woohoo!  And a special shout out to our Chief for the awesome fight he put up for us.  On a different note, my schedule has been thrown for a curve ball – I have been placed on night shift and on the opposite rotation, so I’ve been trying to get all my days figured out and this, that, and the other.  Finally getting settled in even though there will be some changes heading my way. 
I suppose February should be a pretty fun month – my fiancé’s birthday is at the end of the month, we are going out of town for that, and lest we forget, Valentine’s Day is near.  Due to the fact that P and I are planning our wedding, I am really not expecting much this year.  We have enough on our plates and planning this wedding has almost deterred me from ever wanting to plan a big event…ever again.  I don’t think anyone could ever really prepare you for what your wedding planning will entail.  I think the hardest part for P and I is making all of these decisions – and fast.  We have difficulty deciding where to eat on a date night, much less which color napkins we should use on the most important day of our lives.  I now know why everyone says “I wish we had done something smaller – or eloped.”  It is stressful, demanding, time consuming, and all the while FUN!  It is, after all, a once in a lifetime experience.  I think I am most excited to attend the cake tasting.  I guess the next thing on my list of to-dos is to order invitations.  Like I said, we are kind of at a standstill right now, just waiting on time.  I know what I want, pretty much everything has been decided, and I just need for time to pass so I can put our vision to work.  I am ALSO extremely excited for our honeymoon.  I seriously think we are going to need this vacation so badly, I just hope it doesn’t fly by.   We will be taking an 11-night cruise to the Southern Caribbean and I am ecstatic because I have never been to any of the places we are traveling to and who better to see them with than my husband!!! =)
I have also started working a part time job at a local doggy daycare.  Mind you, this was decided before the unexpected shift switch.  I am not sure how well it will work out now that I am working nights, but only time will tell.  The owners seem very nice and have been super flexible with my schedule thus far, so we’ll see how it pans out.  I’ve found myself saying the phrase “only time will tell” so much lately, because I have begun to question so much about the future and, honestly, only time will tell.  I wish I had the answers but I don’t.  I know that in life we will have struggles and fun times and misfortunes and good luck along with the bad, but life would be so much easier if we knew the answers.  Then again, would it be worth living at all if that were the case?  The element of surprise is what keeps our motors ticking and inevitably keeps us guessing as to what’s in store for us. 
Oh, and one day I will post some pictures on here to put some extra fizz into my blog. ;)  Tootles!