Mindless Bloggings of a Crazed Beaver

New and Improved

2005-08-13T09:43:00.000-07:00

Hey all!

Sorry I haven't updated. I've been too freaking busy updating my new webpage!

The link is here. Because of the ease of updating my journal there, please delete this bookmark and add the above one instead. You'll notice I've been updating on and off over the summer, and I'll probably update that one more often. In addition, so you don't have to run back and forth to reminisce, I'm in the process of moving ALL of these journal entries over to the new site.

You can still leave comments, although the protocol is slightly different. Just click on the "comment on this "Is it raining?". That will take you to the comment page where you can post anonmously (PLEASE leave your name) or, if you have a LiveJournal account, you can log in and leave it as your name!

If you have an LJ account, my username is jessis. Otherwise, bookmark me, and hope to hear from you all soon! And your comments on the webpage are much appreciated! It's not 100% up and running yet, but the journal is (pictures are on schedule next).

Love, Jess

Home Again, Home Again, Bliggity BLOG

2005-06-16T12:54:00.000-07:00

Well, I made it home at last. I travelled by plane, train, and automobile, and man am I glad to be back in the hand state.

Nothing too exciting is going on. I took Ethel, Rachel, and Josie (Rachel's dog) for a walk today. Josie had eaten/lost/sold her leash, so I let Rachel borrow Fred's old one. The people seeing me walk home with Ethel on one leash and "Fred" on the other must be calling local psychologists for me at this point. I didn't realize how goofy it was until I was walking in the front yard and the leash swung and hit me in the leg. Nothing like a ghost dog.

Speaking of which, the dog is on the mantle. That's right, the mantle. Pretty soon his ashes will be spread across the lake and in all the other places he loves. It's hard not having him home, but I can't help but giggle when I give a "what's up Fred?" to the mantle everytime I walk upstairs. I like to think he's equally as amused.

Cedar Point with the family this weekend, and then I may be headed to Canada next! Woo hoo! Anna Nalick (one of my favorite singer/songwriters) is playing, and the whole trip will cost me about $150 Canadian (which is only ... $38 US, right?).

Hope all is well. If you're in Michigan, call me! I'll come see you! If you're in Oregon, know I miss you.

Love, Jess

P.S. I got straight A's this quarter! WOOT!

Last Week

2005-06-06T14:04:00.000-07:00

I have never been so happy for a quarter to be over in my LIFE.

Next week I head home, and I am incredibly stoked. I miss my family and my friends so incredibly much. I can't wait to see all of you guys!

This summer constitutes a bunch of me trying to get my things in order. I'm taking integral calculus and multivariate/matrix calculus, working at the physical plant, bowling league, hanging with my friends and sister, and a bunch of other CRAZY stuff.

I want to see everyone when I get home, so let me know what your summer plans are. I just can't wait to get done with my finals (Tuesday and Friday ... the Tuesday one's going to rock me probably ... REAL hard) and COME HOME!

Lame update, I know. Just wanted to let you know I'm still alive. :-)

Love, Jess

Brother

2005-06-01T12:47:00.000-07:00

I love my entire family, but sometimes they frustrate me a little bit.

Here my brother redeemed himself for every time he's ever made me want to beat him up. :-)

Jess: I really feel like I'm never going to see Fred again so I'm freaking out.
Jess: I didn't even say good-bye properly.
Ben: i explained to him very carefully that jess misses you
Ben: i even got a pic out
Jess: Really?
Ben: yeah definitely
Jess: I talked to him on the phone for a second.
Jess: Mom said he perked up.
Ben: he knows our voices
Jess: Yeah.
Jess: I'm just ridiculously sad and not dealing -- this has been a horrible month.
Ben: speaker phone sounds like crackles to me, but dogs recognize people by the inflections in their voice
Jess: Mom just put the phone up to his ear.
Jess: I could hear him panting.
Ben: haha

Sure he could be lying ... but at least he's a good liar. :-)

---

In other news, I decided I 100% support the homeless. Why you might ask?

Well, here in Corvallis, we have quite a few of them, probably because of the mild climate. When you see someone who is homeless, you'll notice that they always have dogs with them. And when they have food, they always make sure the dog eats first.

It's especially touching to know that those who don't have as much still take care of man's best friend.

2005-06-01T12:43:00.000-07:00

Freddie (Hubbard) Sonday

2005-06-01T12:40:00.000-07:00

Having a hard Fred time today ... here's more.

Fred

2005-05-26T13:19:00.000-07:00

It's weird to write about Fred in the past tense. I kind of thought he'd always be around. Forgive me if I speak about him in the present.

No one knew we were getting Fred. My brother and I (maybe my sister ... I don't quite remember) had been begging for some sort of pet besides stupid fish for quite some time. When my Grandma's dog had a litter of puppies, we hung out with them non-stop. I distinctly remember there being two white girls, and a bunch of black and brown girls and boys. I wanted a white girl, but my Mom had a feeling about one of the black and brown ones ... and so we brought home the Fredster. He was part Chow, part St. Bernard, and part German Shepard. Because of the weird genetics, he usually had one ear up and one ear down, especially when he was intently listening.

The black wire cage we got was WAY too big for him, so my parents stuffed it with boxes so he'd feel more comfortable. Not that he needed the cage. My brother and I slept downstairs on the couch, and as soon as the parents hit the bed, Freddie was on the couch sleeping with us. The man probably never did used to that stupid cage, which is why he dreaded it so much. :-)

Fred had a very distinct voice, which only Ben, Becca, and I could emulate very well. My Mom tried sometimes, but she just never was good at voices. He also had a very distinct haircut, as my Mom thought she was being helpful and sometimes shaved all his fur off if he was too "hot." Never have I seen a dog more embarrassed (we weren't allowed to mention the haircut in front of him ... it was always SO bad)!

Fred would join us on various adventures, including riding under the car all the way to Niagara Falls (we just missed him, so we pretended he was there hanging on ... we never let him "off" the bottom of the car). He also took several REAL trips to Fort Wayne with us to visit my Dad's parents. My Grandpa (and Grandma) really took to him, and he became another grandkid.

When we'd come back from long trips, my brother, sister, and I would lie in the front yard on our knees and cover our heads. My Mom would let Fred out of the house and he'd go nuts, trying to get to our faces to lick them and say "hello." Finally we'd hug him and say "hi." He was always so happy to see us.

We'd also run around the house. Back before I could drive, my brother and I would put him into a blanket and run him around the upstairs of my parents house, dragging him behind like some sort of sled. He really hated hitting the linoleum and tile, but he played along. He'd also do this great pounce thing that Ethel (the yellow dog) really could never get down.

Mom and I or Ben and I would play monkey in the middle with him. He had a favorite blue ball that we claimed he could see (dogs are apparently colorblind). I haven't seen that ball in years ... I wonder if he remembered it right when he was going down.

Back when we still had a speedboat, he was boat dog. It was really funny when someone was skiing off the back. The skier would yell "READY." Guess who thought his name was getting called? One ear would go up and that tail would start to thump, and it was one of the funniest things in the world.

He wasn't without his faults. I remember one Easter, he was walking around the block and apparently knocked some lady over with his big dopey tail. He was probably just happy to see her, but she didn't take it that way, and said if we ever let him out again, she'd call the police. I was SO mad at him. After I cooled off, I came back and hugged him and realized I'd never stop loving him. He was such a great dog.

When I finally got my license, Fred became my partner in crime. I still took Ethel on a lot of road trips, but something about a big brown and black dog in the front seat on long trips was comforting.

When I came home at Christmas, Fred couldn't hear as well as he used to. Spring break was especially bad. The boy wasn't running around like he used to, and if I jumped on the floor and slapped my knees, he wouldn't pounce like he used to. He still rode in the car with me, but he spent a lot of time laying in the back instead of riding shotgun, his face out the window, swallowing bugs. We knew he was getting old. I rubbed his snout an extra time before I left, but I never thought I wouldn't see him again.

We were so lucky to get such a great dog and friend in our life. When things weren't going right or I wasn't getting along with my family or a boyfriend dumped me, Fred was the only one who really understood. Ethel's too damn hyperactive to sit still to listen, but Fred would be there with his patient brown eyes and seemingly infinite wisdom. He didn't even have to say a word.

I love you Fred, and I'll miss you forever. Thank you for being such a great dog and listening, one ear up and one ear down. I'll never be able to look at another dog again without wishing they were your eyes.

Love, Jess

Freddie (Hubbard) Sonday

2005-05-26T13:08:00.001-07:00

Freddie (Hubbard) Sonday

May 6, 1995 – May 26, 2005

Freddie passed on this afternoon, following a short illness. He went to a place of tick-free grass and always swimmable waters, surrounded by ice cream.

He was born in 1995 at Corey Lake Orchards and moved to Schoolcraft as a puppy. Soon he was “the man-dog”; he spent his life with parents Tom and Charlotte and siblings, Jessica, Benjamin and ReBecca. Over the years he was joined by Rudy, Ethel, Melvin, Snortles and Sundae, but he was always the favorite and undisputed head pet.

Freddie pretty much defined the word “loyalty”, especially in his relationship with Charlotte (he still thinks she’s the queen). He went wherever she did, moving from room to room with her, even swimming in the lake for miles.

Freddie was not without his fears. For example, he didn’t like seeing empty suitcases and would usually stop eating for a couple days when Charlotte traveled. Also, he didn’t like thunder and would become a 100-pound lap dog during storms.

Freddie enjoyed having fun and had one of the best grins ever. Often noted amongst the neighbors as that dog who rides the raft, he caused many a Sugarloaf boater to take a hard second look. We’ll never forget him licking peanut butter from Ben’s face, riding in the sailboat or canoe or car (riding shotgun with Jessica as she took him to visit Grandparents.) He also had a mischievous side which led to his “relaxed silhouette”, because of his interest in a couple pounds of ostrich from the kitchen counter, the extinction of all the Rice Krispie treats that Grandma sent home from Christmas dinner, Charlotte’s birthday cake, a box of truffles, and cat food whenever possible. Fun memories are ample, as are the friends – human, canine and feline – left behind.

Freddie had a stellar career, working as Director of Security for Prima Communications, Inc. He steered the growing company through the increased security risks of this age, and leaves with a spotless record of no break-ins or leftovers in the trash cans at HQ. (He also worked on the side as a part-time dishwasher.)

We like to think we gave Freddie a good life, he certainly made ours far better.

Good dog, buddy, rest in peace.

PICTURES OF MY BOY BELOW!

2005-05-26T13:08:00.000-07:00

Fred and Ethel ...

2005-05-26T13:07:00.003-07:00

Sleepy Boy

2005-05-26T13:07:00.002-07:00

Classic Fred Pose

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Fred

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Dogs!

2005-05-26T13:05:00.001-07:00

Fred and Ethel the Protector

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Fred and Ethel

2005-05-26T13:04:00.006-07:00

Vegging

2005-05-26T13:04:00.005-07:00

The Ethel

2005-05-26T13:04:00.004-07:00

Blurry Fred (ha ha, nice Mom). :-)

2005-05-26T13:04:00.003-07:00

Fred

2005-05-26T13:04:00.002-07:00

Fred

2005-05-26T13:04:00.001-07:00

Fred

2005-05-26T13:04:00.000-07:00

Fred (I love this one)

2005-05-26T13:03:00.001-07:00

Fred

2005-05-26T13:03:00.000-07:00

Fred

2005-05-26T12:38:00.000-07:00

Love you pal ... and I'll miss you terribly.

My Students

2005-05-18T13:47:00.000-07:00

I know I've spent a lot of time talking about this, but I think it's important.

Yesterday, I went through thefacebook.com (a college community you can join if you're in college) and added as many of my old students as I could find. I also changed my profile to read something along the lines of "and if you're one of my old students, know I have your back."

It's really important to me that all of my students know how much I care about them. Like I have said here, I can't believe Gina killed herself. It's absolutely tragic. I wish I would've taken the time to let her know how much she mattered to me as a person. I see her pictures strewn across the Internet, and they're all of her and friends, smiling and happy. She HAD to know someone cared about her personally. But maybe that wasn't enough.

I want to be able to tell her that after I read she fought fires, I strongly considered doing it for the summer. When I got the Fire Corps job (stupid training limited me from being able to do it) doing urban-wilderness interaction mapping, I thought of how cool she'd think it was. It's not often that a student enters my mind when I'm looking at job opportunities -- in fact, she was the only one. I always wanted to thank her for all of that, but never did, and now it's too late.

I think that's part of the reason I added all my students in thefacebook. All of the ones who have added me back (about 24 or 25 at this point) were ones who impacted my life. A lot of them have sent emails since then. I got an especially nice one from my old student Sonny and my current student Tiffeny. I also got one with the subject of "The Hottest T.A. on Campus" or something to that effect. It's nice to know they're thinking about me.

My Mom's correct when she says I'm motherly. Even though a lot of my students were my age or older, I still want to take care of them. I hate when I hear that I'm the only (or one of a very few) T.A. they've ever gotten that from. I know I'm just the T.A., but I feel like that's more of a reason to care about them -- it's not like the professor's paying attention. Often I'm the only link they have to their grades or anything related to the class.

Okay, I'm done venting about this now. What it comes down to is, if you're Gina, know I loved you as my student and admired you as a person. If you're one of my students, know that you have touched my life in more ways than you can ever imagine. If you're one of my friends or a member of my family, realize how incredibly happy I am that I have had these people touch my life and how much I love doing what I do.

Hope you're all doing well. My Mom and brother are in town tomorrow!

Love, Jess

Hey

2005-05-17T19:26:00.000-07:00

All right, so here we go.

I want to spend about two seconds on the Gina subject, first of all.

My Dad had the crappy job of informing me she'd killed herself. I shook for about 10 good minutes. I'm still not sure what to think. She was absolutely beautiful, intelligent, and had everything going for her. It doesn't make sense. I don't want to dwell on it, but I do want to make it abundantly clear that no matter who you are or if I know you or if you stumbled upon this by accident, YOU MATTER TO SOMEBODY. Here I am, her T.A. We're barely related in the grand scheme of life. But this has shooken me up more than I actually thought possible. I'm beyond shocked. I just hope she didn't suffer more than was necessary, because she didn't deserve it. Keep her family in your thoughts and prayers, and keep her boyfriend there as well -- I can't even begin to imagine what they are going through.

In other news, my Mom and brother are coming into town this weekend, and I'm psyched! We're going up to the McDonald-Dunn Forest on Friday (where I take my kids on their field trips). Saturday sees us hanging around Corvallis. Sunday we're headed to the beach (it's supposed to be nice weather!). For all you Oregonians, don't laugh at my title of "the beach." I understand you people don't call it that ... it's just an actual BEACH where I come from, not the coast. :-)

I fell a little bit behind in work the past few days because of what's been happening, but am mostly caught up. Want to send a special thanks out to all my friends and family who have supported me as I fell apart. I love my students, I hate that Gina had to suffer.

I'm sure I'll update more ... at some point. Hope you're all doing well, and I can't WAIT to see (half) of my family this weekend!! :-D

Love, Jess

P.S. The pictures below are from the Disco Party a few weeks ago and my trip to Silver Falls with Josh and his family.

2005-05-16T13:48:00.007-07:00

Waterfall

2005-05-16T13:48:00.006-07:00

Forest

2005-05-16T13:48:00.005-07:00

Josh taking a picture of me (I didn't realize it, that's why this one's blurred b/c I was laughing)

2005-05-16T13:48:00.004-07:00

Stream

2005-05-16T13:48:00.003-07:00

Fern Gully

2005-05-16T13:48:00.002-07:00

Tree trunk you can see through

2005-05-16T13:48:00.001-07:00

SStream

2005-05-16T13:48:00.000-07:00

Stream

2005-05-16T13:47:00.007-07:00

Waterfall

2005-05-16T13:47:00.006-07:00

Waterfall

2005-05-16T13:47:00.005-07:00

Waterfall

2005-05-16T13:47:00.004-07:00

A cave

2005-05-16T13:47:00.003-07:00

Josh "reflecting"

2005-05-16T13:47:00.002-07:00

Waterfall

2005-05-16T13:47:00.001-07:00

Waterfall

2005-05-16T13:47:00.000-07:00

Waterfall

2005-05-16T13:46:00.004-07:00

Silver Falls

2005-05-16T13:46:00.003-07:00

Waterfall

2005-05-16T13:46:00.002-07:00

Waterfall

2005-05-16T13:46:00.001-07:00

Randi and I

2005-05-16T13:46:00.000-07:00

Adele and I looking horrified

2005-05-16T13:45:00.003-07:00

Sarah twirling flame thingies

2005-05-16T13:45:00.002-07:00

Sarah and I conquering

2005-05-16T13:45:00.001-07:00

The other Jess

2005-05-16T13:45:00.000-07:00

My cousin Sarah (we're playing Crazy 8s)

2005-05-16T13:44:00.003-07:00

Sam conquering the universe

2005-05-16T13:44:00.002-07:00

My friend Sam. He's obsessed with Lord of the Rings.

2005-05-16T13:44:00.001-07:00

David shaving in the movie line

2005-05-16T13:44:00.000-07:00

David and his stupid Titanium Turbo in the movie line

2005-05-16T13:43:00.004-07:00

More of my golf swing

2005-05-16T13:43:00.003-07:00

My golf swing

2005-05-16T13:43:00.002-07:00

My golf swing

2005-05-16T13:43:00.001-07:00

Adele eating soup at the best Chinese restaurant ever!

2005-05-16T13:43:00.000-07:00

My friend David at bowling

2005-05-16T13:41:00.002-07:00

My dog Freddie wearing my mitten

2005-05-16T13:41:00.001-07:00

The sky, from the airplane (I think)

2005-05-16T13:41:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of a mermaid inside the Bellagio for my Mom

2005-05-16T13:40:00.002-07:00

Red Rock Canyon (outside of Vegas)

2005-05-16T13:40:00.001-07:00

My other bruise from dirt biking

2005-05-16T13:40:00.000-07:00

One of my bruises from dirt biking (SWEET!)

Weird

2005-05-12T14:39:00.000-07:00

Well, I figure I should post more than just links.

I'm somewhat devastated by Gina's death. At this point they're saying it looks "suspicious." They found her on the island, which means it was not her "just wandering off." My only hope is that they find who did this and allow me a kick at them. Hopefully that can also shed some light on the other attempted abductions of small, intelligent, beautiful, personable blond women in the Willamette Valley (i.e. Brooke Wilberger).

Gina ... what can I say about her? If you knew her, you'd like her. I spent approximately 10 hours with her (she skipped the first recitation). She was always a good sport when I picked on her to say something. She S/Ued the course, so I'm not a good judge of her ability to complete an assignment, but I do know that in her write-ups, she was incredibly opinionated and eloquent.

She wrote a lot about how much she loved fighting fires. It was with her in mind that I tried to get the Fire Corps job this summer (as some of you know, it fell through because of the quarter system at OSU). Gina will be missed like crazy, by those who knew her for 10 years or 10 hours.

Devastating

2005-05-12T13:17:00.000-07:00

http://www.redding.com/redd/nw_local/article/0,2232,REDD_17533_3772702,00.html

Realization

2005-05-09T13:22:00.000-07:00

Today I realized how much I really do care for my students.

I had a fabulous weekend, and literally went to bed with a smile on my face. I woke up, went to econometrics. I came back, checked my OSU Barometer headlines (the local paper), and found this:

http://barometer.orst.edu/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/05/09/427f836eda4d0

Gina was one of my students last quarter, and to know she's missing is somewhat heartbreaking. She is absolutely a fantastic person. In addition, it hits at a personal level too, considering it happened on a lake.

I knew I cared about my students, but I didn't realize to what extent until my stomach dropped this morning.

Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers. I will update with pictures from the weekend in a bit.

Love, Jess

I Love Sunshine ...

2005-04-27T15:11:00.000-07:00

Yesterday ...

75F. Big test to study for.

Today ...

78F. Big test to study for.

Tomorrow ...

65F. NO TEST TO STUDY FOR.

What the heck did I do to deserve that? At least I'm not at home where they got a bunch of snow over the weekend ... hee hee hee.

Anyway, updates galore. My Aunt Sooz came into town last weekend and we had a fabulous time (well at least I thought so). We went up to McMinnville and went wine tasting. It was FABULOUS. It was nice to spend one-on-one time with her ... I probably haven't done that in about a million years.

She brought me back Sunday and I spent 12 hours solid studying for environmental law. You'd think this would be enough, but alas, it was not. C'est la vie. I went over to my friend Josh's on Sunday night and watched CLOSER (NOT a romantic comedy) which was fun.

Monday was more studying for me, and that's about it. I did some grading as well. Tuesday I should've been studying all day, but I only studied until about 8:30p. Afterwards I convinced Josh we should go out on the town (it was extremely nice in Corvallis) and so we rode to Fred Meyer's and got ice cream and went and sat on the top of a building for an hour or so. We tried to go bowling afterwards, but it was closed, so we went elsewhere and then he took me home.

Fast forward to this morning and I met Mark at the Beanery for more studying at 8a (hello 6 hours of sleep!). Took my econometrics midterm (which I did ... okay on. She kind of mislead us about stuff, but I definitely did well enough to beat the curve), and have been studying for environmental law ever since. I spent about an hour outside laying in the grass and studying (and getting a sunburn), but have been "in office" ever since.

The next few days should be fun. It's The Nathan's birthday tomorrow, so we're going up to his parents' house (I think) for his party Friday. On Saturday my cousin Sarah is picking me up in Portland and I'm going to Salem until Sunday for Wulapalooza. She spins fire (not twirls, she SPINS) and so I'm going to watch her do that and probably enjoy my time hanging out with hippies.

That's about all that's going on right now. Should you come across this today (Wednesday), wish me luck on my midterms. :-P

Love and miss you all.

Love, Jess

P.S. I'll be in Michigan on June 14th for the summer.

Update

2005-04-11T13:00:00.000-07:00

First of all ... HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO MY PARENTS! They hit the big 24 today!

Anyways ... hey guys!

You may be wondering why I haven't updated. It's because I don't even remember my own name right now! Regardless ... what's been going on in the past few weeks?

First, I dropped Advanced GIS. If you want to know the reasons why, then email me, but I'm not going into it over the Internet. Second, I picked up an Environmental Law class on the advice of my mother. IT FREAKING ROCKS. I get so ticked because I have to sit on my butt for two hours every Tuesday and Thursday, but I am absolutely rivetted. I only look at the clock about four times during those two hours. Trust me, this is an absolute record.

In other news, I'm not sure how I'll actually get through this quarter. I tried to audit calculus, but got a little bit behind in the whole "get to the registrar's office on time" thing. I'm only taking three classes, but they're all four credits and so it's a bit crazy. I have so much reading to do! And an econometrics assignment and four calculus assignments all due this week. PLUS I still have to grade for my class! WHOA!

I hung out with David, Jimmy, Rebekah, and Sam all weekend. It was good times. We tried to go jet-skiing, but my allergies were really bad, so I just sat in the car with Rebekah. Saturday night we played Nintendo for a while. It was good to see Jimmy. He lives in Portland for the summer, so him and David don't stop by my office every 45 minutes like they used to. It's weird to think that all my current friends are about to start their lives. The ones in Michigan AND the ones in Corvallis. David, Nathan, Sam, and Rebekah are all graduating or have graduated. David and Rebekah are moving to Utah. Nathan will probably go to Portland. I have no clue what Sam will do. Then Jennie got into law school (yay pal!) and Kim's going to have some fancy-schmancy job in Royal Oak. WOW! I am so proud of all you guys!

Okay, I should go do homework. Hope you're all doing well. Miss and love you!

Love, Jess

Update! Finally!

2005-03-31T11:26:00.000-08:00

Hey ya'll!

My Grandpa told me to quit apologizing for not updating. As you all know, I was in Vegas and home in Michigan (well, everyone but my Dad knew ... ha ha) and so I've been rather busy.

Vegas was INCREDIBLE. I did have one day where I was under the weather, but I brought home some extra cash and got to spend time with my family, especially my Pops. Most of you who know me probably realize I'm a bit of a Daddy's girl (we got bowling! C'mon!), so it was nice to hang with him for a few days. Then I flew home and surprised him (he thought I was going to Vancouver). It was AWESOME because the man had NO IDEA.

Home was fun, although I'm still strangely jetlagged. I'm really tired and my Mom got me sick. As she said though, I'm young, so I'll get over it.

School's going all right considering I'm on day 4. It looks like it'll be the least thrilling quarter of my life. Integral Calculus, Econometrics, and Advanced GIS on tap ... I've slept through most of them already. :-) At least I get to play with numbers in two of the three ... that makes me happy. Plus I'm taking Bowling I with my students from last quarter -- I absolutely love bowling AND them, so it makes me happy.

I had my first class of the quarter to teach last night. They're funny. Hopefully they'll be as good as last quarter. I also got my last quarter evals back. I averaged high in marks again, which is good news. I also got an evaluation that said I was the hottest T.A. he'd ever had. It was ...
interesting.

So anyway, that's the beginning of my quarter. I'll update more later.

Love and miss you all (unless you're in Corvallis ... cough cough Ryan cough).

Love, Jess

2005-03-13T13:20:00.000-08:00

Kim in the party limo (half of Danny to the right, David in the picture behind Kim, Jimmy driving).

2005-03-13T13:19:00.000-08:00

I took this picture for my friend Jeff ... for obvious reasons.

2005-03-13T13:17:00.000-08:00

A jellyfish and I hanging out when Kim and I went to the coast with Jimmy and Danny.

2005-03-13T13:16:00.000-08:00

This is what I found on my door when I got to school Thursday morning. I LOVE my kids. Sorry if you can't see it that well ...

Quick Update

2005-03-13T12:02:00.000-08:00

Hello all. Hope you're all doing well!

Just a quick update as it's finals week and I have a LOT of stuff to do. I've had a FABULOUS weekend. Friday night I went out with a guy I'm dating to the Indian place for dinner and then we went and shot pool. He's great and I really like him ... plus we talk about books and the future ... kind of nice and a welcome change.

On Saturday, I did something that I heard my Mom might be mad about me doing. So I'm going to tell you what I DIDN'T do instead.

I DID NOT go dirt biking up in the coastal range. Since I didn't go, I of course didn't have a wonderful time. And I did not crash more than two times. And I do not have two AWESOME battle wounds from doing it. And yes I wore a helmet. (If you want to see pictures of my not-bruises, just email me ... THEY'RE not AWESOME!!! Okay, they are.)

The rest of Saturday was quite royal -- filled with Dairy Queen and Burger King. I went over to the new guy's place and we watched basketball for a while and then met one of his friends downtown. New guy leaves for Asia for two weeks on business today, so I probably won't see him for a while.

I also confirmed my spring break plans yesterday. A bunch of people are headed up to B.C., Vancouver, so I'm going with them. It should be nice and there are about 8 of us so the gas will be cheap. The only thing that stinks is we're only going for 4 or 5 days since I don't get back from Vegas until Monday night. Still, it'll be fun to go to a DIFFERENT COUNTRY (okay, it's not that different, I know).

Today I have to do so much homework my head will spin. I will be in Vegas in four days, however, so my life is somewhat happy. I just can't believe all the stuff I have to complete in the next 53 hours. WOW.

Hope everyone is doing well. I miss and love you guys!

Love, Jess

Amended ...

2005-03-03T00:08:00.000-08:00

Okay, okay. I didn't want to worry everyone. SHEESH.

Listen, I'm sad about Daniel. But it's not going to kill me. Anyone who knows me knows that I'm a rebounder. I'm strong. I can handle it. I was so sad, but I' am feeling better now. I just needed some time to think things over.

The night I wrote that we had broken up not long before. I really was the saddest person ever. But I'm definitely happier now.

Tell you what. I'm going to finish writing my paper, and then I'm going to update you all on the last two weeks, okay? I'm going to do it properly because I think you deserve it.

Life does weird things to us sometimes and hands us strange things. But we're always fine in the end.

Talking Points

2005-02-24T10:31:00.000-08:00

Things that excite me:

1. Kim is coming into town today
2. Jennie has put in every away message on AOL Instant Messenger for the last 24 hours something about how she loves me
3. I'm done with my research proposal
4. Alvin wrote in an email that he loved me
5. The yoga instructor told Daniel and I that we were "cute" this morning
6. I get to take integration and econometrics next quarter
7. Tonight Daniel is taking me to a fancy-schmancy restaurant in Portland and we're going shopping
8. 3 WEEKS UNTIL VEGAS!
9. It's been at least 6oF and sunny everyday for the last week
10. I'm about go to hot chocolate and bagels with my favorite girl

Things that make me hate my life:

1. I still have to do a bunch of math homework
2. I have to write my presentation for my research proposal
3. I still have to grade maps
4. I still have to research and write a 12-page paper on the economic efficiency of ANWR
5. Daniel has to leave in June/July
6. The thing I'm most allergic to in the universe is mold. GUESS WHAT WON'T LEAVE ME ALONE IN OREGON!!!

Love and miss you all.

Love, Jess

Woot!

2005-02-21T22:04:00.000-08:00

WOW!!!

THIS GIRL HAS A COMPLETED RESEARCH PROPOSAL!

Well, of course it's not COMPLETE. My lovely mother is proofing it for me. Then I'll read through it once or twice more. THEN it will be complete.

If you want a copy of my proposal so you know what the heck I'm up to, email me (I don't want to post it here ... lots of knowledge stealers out there!). I AM SO HAPPY.

Anyway, not much going on in my world. I have four math assignments to complete before Thursday, a math test on Monday, a 12-page research paper that I actually haven't started researching due in 2.5 weeks, and my friend Kim is coming into town this weekend! So I'm pretty stoked.

The one thing I'm not stoked about is Daniel didn't get into the program. Which means he has to go back in June/July to Germany. I'm not sure if I'm going to Germany now. I'm not sure if we're staying together. I'm a little bit sad about it, and not quite sure what to do. But as my Mom and Ryan both told me earlier today (so it must be true), I'm resilient and will work through it.

Anyway, that's about it. How is everyone? I don't get comments from you all anymore!

I love and miss you all. 23 days until Vegas!

Love, Jess

Update

2005-02-15T14:09:00.000-08:00

Hey all -

This will be a quick update because, as always, I've got a little bit too much on my plate.

I studied like crazy all weekend for my AREc test, and think I ended up doing pretty well. The downside? I'm way behind on calculus, ProSeminar, and grading. I'll live through it, I'm sure ... just feeling a little stressed about it.

In addition, everyone is pretty sick right now. It definitely is going around. What "it" is isn't exactly defined at this point, however. Daniel's been in bed for two days now with a horrible headache. Adèle and Uli both had it, but to a lesser degree slightly. I just hope I don't get it. I'm sure that my full immersion in germs since Thursday will not allow me to escape, however. I have been sleeping a lot lately though, so maybe that'll help.

Not a whole lot else going on. My friend Kim gets here in a week and a half, so I'm pretty psyched about that. And then in a month and three days I'll be in Vegas! Which means this heinous quarter will be over (not sure which I'm more excited about if you want the truth)!

Love and miss you all!

Love, Jess

2005-02-11T14:05:00.002-08:00

Notice the similarities between their two outfits.

2005-02-11T14:05:00.001-08:00

Klaus trying to flip pancakes.

2005-02-11T14:05:00.000-08:00

Daniel washing dishes (this was such a monumental moment we had to get it on film).

2005-02-11T14:04:00.000-08:00

Daniel and Klaus cooking dinner.

2005-02-11T14:03:00.001-08:00

Daniel at the laundromat (wearing a sheet).

2005-02-11T14:03:00.000-08:00

So this field trip, a few of my students took me up to the forest in a limo. Tha's right, a limo. This is David driving (Jimmy's to my left ... you can't really see him obviously).

2005-02-11T14:02:00.002-08:00

A clearcut in McDonald Forest (where I take my class on their fieldtrip).

2005-02-11T14:02:00.001-08:00

Adèle and Uli

2005-02-11T14:02:00.000-08:00

Adèle and Uli

2005-02-11T14:01:00.000-08:00

Another view of the College of Forestry building (again, I'm inside but outside ... weird, huh?).

2005-02-11T14:00:00.000-08:00

This is the atrium-type thing of the College of Forestry building. More of a courtyard I guess as there is obviously no roof, but it's in the middle of the building.

Dang!

2005-02-10T16:41:00.000-08:00

Hey guys -

I tried to post some photos so you could see what I've been up to. Unfortunately, the poster kind of crashed, so I have to wait for it to reboot. Regardless ...

Things are going okay here. I have a lot of work to do, but after next week I should be able to relax for about two days before it starts all over again. I have an AREc test on Monday that I'm extremely nervous about. I've been studying like crazy though, so we'll see how it goes.

Expect a better update from me after Monday, I promise. Just wanted to let you know I'm still alive.

Love and miss you all!!!

Love, Jess

P.S. In one month and one week I'll be in VEGAS!!!

2005-02-10T16:32:00.003-08:00

If you can see the mountain back there in the center-left, that's a clearcut (read: no trees).

2005-02-10T16:32:00.002-08:00

There she is! Mary's Peak across the soccer field.

2005-02-10T16:32:00.001-08:00

A little better shot of Mary's Peak than the one below (but not much).

2005-02-10T16:32:00.000-08:00

That peak in the background is Mary's Peak (sorry, kind of small here). It's the tallest point in the Coastal Range (between Corvallis and the coast).

2005-02-10T16:31:00.000-08:00

Reasons why I love Oregon ... look! It's green in January!!

2005-02-10T16:29:00.000-08:00

Daniel, looking happy because he doesn't realize he's about to lose a game of Scrabble by about 60 points.