I think I'll keep my day job...wait I don't have one

Before I went back to Wisconsin, I bought a home haircutting kit so I could give Matt haircuts. Last night I made my first attempt at doing so, and it didn't turn out quite as well as I had hoped. It doesn't look bad, it's just a little shorter than he had wanted. Oh well, live and learn hehe. I did have fun doing it, though. It came with a really lame instruction DVD, and I would never ever want my hair cut like they were cutting it lol.

Today we went to the bank and signed up for a joint account. We both figure that we're going to be together for quite a while, and a trusted friend suggested it, so we did so. It's really not a huge deal to either of us. We figure that we will have enough for a very large downpayment on a house plus enough to take care of us while Matt goes to school after he's done with the Navy. We have put me in charge of our finances, which is good since I am the more organized of the two of us.

After that we went to the mall, grabbed something to eat, and went ring shopping. No, we're not getting married quite yet, but we both think it would be nice to wear rings so it at least looks like we're more serious than "boyfriend/girlfriend." We saw some matching sets that we like, but we're really leaning toward the unique styles on this site: http://www.titaniumera.com. We haven't decided what we're getting yet.

We also went shoe shopping but neither of us found anything that we really liked. We each did get a PC game, though. I got Roller Coaster Tycoon 3 and he got the third Medal of Honor expansion pack.

Back in the warmth

We're all back home in Hawaii. Matt, the cats and I had a fairly uneventful trip back here. I was supposed to have a window seat on the long flight back, but Matt and I were separated, and the old lady next to me wouldn't trade with him. Fortunately, he was the only one in his row of 5 seats, so I moved next to him and was able to actually lay down and take a nap for some of the flight.

When we landed in Hawaii, we grabbed our bags and headed to the animal claim area. I had done my homework, got all of my paperwork in, and getting the cats home was flawless. I have to give Northwest airlines an A+ for their handling of the cats. They have a "priority pet" van that transports them at the airports. They even went as far as letting me know when they were onboard.

After catching up on some sleep yesterday and today, I got back into my cleaning routine. The cats adjusted almost immediately, and as I type this they are trying to knock my new printer/fax/copier/scanner/coffee maker off the dresser. One of my concerns with them was them jumping off the balcony. Buffy likes to sit out there, but far enough back that I don't worry. Nite, on the other hand, likes to hang her head over the ledge. I need to keep my eye on her.

I really enjoyed my time back home, and I want to thank my parents and Tony and Chris for letting me be a leech during my trip. I love you all and really appreciate the fact that you are always there for me. I'm not sure when I'll be back, but Matt's boat goes out for two or three weeks in the next couple of months, so don't be surprised if you see me then. It might fall around Christmas, and I was hoping to come back then, anyway. Maybe I'll keep it a surprise :P

It's been a while

I've been busy back at work, and the best part is that I'm getting paid! I have picked up right where I left off, and it feels really good to be productive again. I have seen my parents, brother, and one of my sisters, and it was fun to catch up with them again. My mom is having a rummage sale this weekend, so last weekend I started going through all of my boxes and tagging things. I have more to do this Friday.

Just about everything is all settled with the kitties. I haven't seen them yet, but I am hoping to see them tomorrow night. I have to take them to the vet next Tuesday. I miss my Matt, but he will be here next week. :)

It feels like nothing has changed

I'm back in Wisconsin, and it feels like not much has changed. I had a fairly uneventul trip. I was hoping that I'd be able to get a lot of sleep, but I was seated next to talkative people on both of the long flights. The first guy was an old man that had lived on the island for 30 years and this was his first trip back to his origin of Oregon in over 10 years. He was excited about seeing his daughters. His cat died recently after 18 years as his pet. He's not ready to replace him, though.

The second guy was a 19 year-old kid named Justin. He looked like Justin Timberlake, so I called him Timberlake the whole flight. He really liked to talk. He told me about how he just joined the Air Force and he loves it and we got into some debates about the Navy vs the Air Force. He was recently in a car accident and had a collapsed lung, and the doctors told him that there was a slight chance that his lung might collapse again if he flies. I had fun throughout the flight telling him that his lung was going to collapse upon descent. He was a nervous wreck by the time we landed. It was obvious that he hadn't flown much. He was just a good old boy from South Dakota going home to see his fiance.

Tony picked me up at the airport. It was COLD. I am not used to this frigidness. We stopped at Target so I could buy some bathroom stuff. I didn't pack any because it always seems to end up all over my clothes during the flight. We just hung out, watched a movie, checked out a few video games, and talked. It is awesome to see him again. I tried to stay up long enough to talk to Bret, but I hadn't really slept for 24 hours so I ended up crashing before he got home. We'll probably go out to our old stomping ground tonight and shoot some pool. I miss pool, it's hard to find a table in Hawaii.

Today I am back at work. It is nice to see everyone again, but there are so many faces that I don't know! It's funny, I'm picking up right where I left off. I am answering employee questions and stuff. I have eased my mind on a couple of things already. I have made a doctor appointment so I can get more Lexapro. I have filled out some forms for the cats. I will probably stop at the vet tomorrow and get some documentation that I need. I will be hopefully seeing them soon.

All my bags are packed...

Yes, I am anxiously awaiting my departure in 8 hours. This is the part of traveling that I really don't care for. I get so antsy about it beforehand. I'm not really nervous, but I do worry about things like making it to the airport on time, making sure that I get on the flight on time, making my connections, and stuff like that. Once I am in the air, I'm usually pretty good.

I leave at 9:30 tonight, get to San Francisco around 5:30am their time, leave there at 6:30am, get to Minneapolis sometime that I don't remember. I finally get into Madison at 1:55pm. It's a long trip lol. I am really looking forward to seeing everybody back home. I am going to miss Matt, but we'll see each other soon enough.

I am about to finish up some last minute things like burning some new music CDs and stuff. Then I'm ready to go! See you all soon :)

Preparing for the kitties

Today is a day devoted mostly for preparing for my cats' arrival. I need to do stuff like get a litterbox, food, etc. I can't wait to have them back home with me. I am nervous about how traveling with them will go, and I do have a lot of stuff to do back home to prepare for their arrival here. I wish Hawaii was a little less anal about importing animals. It has been a big stress on both me and them.

I haven't done much else the last couple of days. I have been spending as much time with Matt as I can before we're apart for a couple of weeks. He has duty tomorrow, so today is my last day with him. I am going to miss him.

Pains of furniture assembly

I have determined that whatever my next career choice is, it will not involve manual labor, specifically furniture assembly. While I can do it, it takes me forever since I am so meticulous and have to follow every direction to the last 't'. I would also be an insurance liability since I always manage to hurt myself in the process.

We ordered an office chair and desk for Matt from OfficeMax earlier this week and it was delivered today. I thought that I would be helpful and try to assemble it before he got home (he worked another 40 hour day). I got the chair assembled with no problems. The desk, however, contained about 300 pieces. As I was getting all of the pieces out of the box, I dropped the box on my foot and nearly severed my pinky and other toe. Yeah, I'm exaggerating but it did hurt a lot and bruised my foot :P

I got a good start on the desk, and three hours later Matt came home and it's nearly finished now. Long story short, leave the furniture assembly to the man :P