Friday, May 30, 2008

Ta Da!

I just emailed "the paper" to Yale! Yay me! I will need to do some additional tweaking to it to get it published (right now it is an unpublished paper for presentation at Yale) I may as well take it all the way and get it published, likely in a Nursing Ethics Journal.

I have other homework to begin work on, plus I need to get my ass down to financial aid today and see about a student loan for my tuition. My funding sucked big time this term and there is no way that I can get my tuition paid as it stands, so I believe that I will take a student loan to get me through this term. Not what I was hoping to do, but necessary.

Things are going well. My Program Plan (a large document that details how I plan to complete my degree) is ready for approval by my committee and so I am working on arrangements for that. (Another HUGE hurdle complete!) Research is coming along, things are a bit slow right now as I wait for the data to be collected. Once the data begins to come in it will get much busier.

Next week I start my other class, which is a Stats class that meets every day for 2 hours (M-F) for the entire month! UGH!

"The boy" got his work scheduled changed starting next week, so we will be on a similar schedule. (he worked crazy hours!) I am looking forward to that.

I did put an ad in a local magazine to clean houses, just trying to think of ways to make some cash! I don't have time for a "real" job so I keep searching for things that I can do "here and there" so to speak. "the boy" has a lead on a quick and easy type thing I can do as well......so, if I can just get my tuition paid for, I think I can scrape together enough cash to live through the summer. (without taking more of my retirement)

Ok......I may not have been awake enough ...... hopefully I made sense! Later!

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Remember......

"the paper".....yeah....it is due to Yale tomorrow. "the boy" and I worked on it until late last night. (How lucky am I that he is so smart??!!) Now I need to fix up a few things then I think it will be ready to send!

Today is the day that I begin the "diet". Oye. Carbo withdrawal here I come!

I am excited though, particularly since "the boy" entered the picture, I really would like to get my ass into shape.

Short update, I don't want to get too side tracked from this paper......why I spend so much time on something is beyond me, it will be good to get this off my plate, I have other homework to worry about!

Peace.

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Ahhhhh

Yesterday was about as perfect as it could get! "the boy" took me to my meeting in downtown Detroit, then we went to the Detroit Zoo, then to the Casino (where I won $31.25...hee hee), then to Fishbones for dinner, THEN a stop at the fabulous Bakery for a few goodies......then we met my friend and his girlfriend down at "the scene of the crime" (the bar where I met "the boy") played darts, pool and generally had a wonderful time!

Of course my phone rang off the hook with my kids, parents and siblings wishing me a happy birthday!

I must admit......I am falling for "the boy".....fortunately for me he is falling for me too :o)


Now.....to keep things balanced! Remember..... this little thing called a PhD......yeah.....can't forget about THAT!

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Happy Birthday to me!

I am still trying to wake up........

A full day today.......I will report later! :o)

Monday, May 26, 2008

How much fun......

.........Can one person cram into a few days? Well.......I certainly am working on cramming in more fun than I have ever tried to before! Chrystal and Jeff came to visit and it was incredibly fun to have them here. "the boy" gave them a condensed tour of the campus and town and then took us to Blimpy Burger......for the best burger in town! I so enjoyed them visiting!!

Today "the boy" and I were going to take a picnic to the park, those plans may change now that it is thunder-storming!! He has to work later today, so that will give me time to do some school work since tomorrow........

Tomorrow........well.......I have no clue what is on the schedule for the day (except for a meeting with the chief of staff in down town Detroit (which "the boy" is driving me to) He has the day planned out........the ENTIRE day..........as in......he is planning to celebrate my birthday ALL day. How fun does that sound? I don't know if I can stand that much attention, however I am willing to try!

Saturday, May 24, 2008

Last Revision

I sent the paper off to the other authors and now have my final list of revisions to complete then I send the paper to Yale. I am so relieved and will be fully relieved once it is sent.

My daughter and her boyfriend are coming today to visit for the weekend. I am looking forward to that!

Things are going very well with "the boy"........every day just feels more "right"........hopefully it will stay that way for at least a little while. I have never had a "boyfriend" for my birthday. ("D" doesn't count, as he never even remembered my birthday, let alone get me a gift!) So, it is sort of a fun feeling knowing that someone is in my life and thinking about what they want to do for my birthday! I am pretty easy to please, so I sure that I won't be disappointed!


Now......to get that paper finished..........then I can play a little this weekend!


Peace.

Friday, May 23, 2008

So close

I am so close to having this paper finished. I am so sick of it. It needs more depth, so this morning I am going to try to add a bit to it. Then it needs to go to the other authors for review. I have a class at 1pm, after which I need to do a few things and then prepare for my "date". (I also need to review school work tasks to be sure that I have them on target) I get to play a little tonight though, which will be nice.

I am a tad bit sore from working out, nothing too bad.

My daughter called and she and her boyfriend are trying to see if they can come visit for the weekend, so I am hoping that happens. I haven't mentioned it here, but my birthday is Tuesday, so I think that is the push for her to come visit to celebrate my birthday! Nice :o)

Ok.....the paper............

Thursday, May 22, 2008

It is official

I am officially smitten. "the boy" knows just what to say to melt away my fears.......they will probably return at some point, but somehow I think he might be able to handle that.

Just when I gave up........I meet "the boy"....... certainly I don't know where this will go, but I am wiling to take the ride to find out.

Now....if I wish to spend time with him, I need to accomplish a LOT today and tomorrow morning.......so I am a busy girl today.


Oh, in case you were wondering....."the boy" doesn't have my blog addy yet........it is just one of those things that I must protect for a bit longer.......although, he could easily have found it........hmmmmm......well if "the boy" is reading this then......Hi Handsome! :P

Peace.

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Oh Boy!

Ok, so "the boy" is pretty cool. We have had a wonderful time together the last few days. I find it a bit odd that I am getting a strong sense of fear. Maybe that shouldn't surprise me. Hmm. Anyway, I could really screw this up. I think I should slow down, but how do you do that when it feels so good to be spending time with someone that you like?

I am not good at this stuff. I am not sure what the sense of fear is. It seems difficult for me to categorize it. Relationships with significant others are not something that I am good at. Oh, I know how to care about someone, it isn't that, I think that I don't know how to let someone care for me. And as soon as I find someone that can care about me......I become frozen with fear?

Meh. I am not quite sure what to do. If the fear is that I might not like him and then I will get myself into a sticky situation, or if it simply is fear to find something that I want and worry that it will disappear.

What I am doing at this point is legitimate, I have things to take care of for school so for the next few days I don't have time or "the boy", so that in itself will give me a little space to get a better sense of what I am feeling.

That said.....I have things to do.......I need to get moving!

Peace

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Nice!

"The boy" whom I have a date with tonight, called yesterday to see if I wanted to stroll around downtown. I of course said yes and we proceeded to visit many of the museums and libraries on campus. It was such a sweet day! We had some lunch, played some cribbage and talked A LOT!

Today is major focus on my paper before dinner and a movie.

The rest of my week is very busy, I am not sure when I will fit in more time for "the boy", hopefully a few moments here or there. He is quite smitten with me, and I must say, I am a tad smitten myself. Time will tell though, I am trying real hard to NOT get carried away.

Short update, I need to get back to the paper!

Monday, May 19, 2008

Here we go!

Another week! I have a fairly busy schedule this week. #1 thing that I need to do is reorganize my Yale paper (revise the draft), I have a assorted list of appointments and I need to finish my program plan. I also have the meeting with the big guy at the big health system that I need to prepare for. Also funding requests that I sent out last week need to be followed up on. Oh......and a date ;o)

The roommate is moved in and all is well at this point.

I will start working out with my workout partner this week (she cancelled last week) and I am going to order the Medifast diet this week and hopefully begin that next week. (although next Tuesday is my birthday, so I may have one day of a little bit of cheating! (meaning a few drinks)

Basically, I have a plan and I am working my plan. And I am damn excited about it!

Now to get ready for an 8 am meeting (why would I schedule a meeting at 8am on Monday? So I can get my ass moving at the start of the week!)

I wish you all a joyous, peaceful week!

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Wake up!

Good Lord I am having trouble waking up this morning. I came back to Ann Arbor late last night because I wanted to be able to get a start on things this morning, and at the rate I am moving, I may as well stayed back home and drove home this morning!

My new friend got in touch with me and we are making plans for dinner and movie type of thing on Tuesday. I am nearly giddy about the whole thing. I have not felt that way in a long time. Recently all of the men that I have been "seeing" start out as friends without much potential to be much more than that, this is starting out much differently. At the very least, he is emotionally available (which NONE of the other men in my life ever have been) Of course he is also cute, intelligent and fun, so he seems to be the package that I have been looking for! Time will tell. I am working on taking this slow.

Ok, Maybe a hot shower will get my ass in gear!

I am hoping that you all are having a wonderful weekend. I loved seeing my kids and spending time with them, it really was a breath of fresh air!

Peace.

Friday, May 16, 2008

Shhhhh!!

After Zen training last night, I went out to have a few beers with my friend "B" and while sitting at the bar with him, I sat next to a guy who was doing a crossword puzzle. I asked him how he could concentrate in that atmosphere. He said he does his best thinking in noisy rooms. I then turned back to my friend and talked to him for about an hour and told him that I thought this guy was cute. He told me to talk to him, so I turned back and began a conversation (nope, I am NOT shy...lol) Fortunately "B"s girlfriend showed up so I didn't have to feel too guilty for ignoring him from that point on!

Long Story short, I met a really cool guy! I need to get to know him better, but at this point, I think that he is someone that could be fun to hang with (as in more than friends)......maybe....we shall see. He is cute, funny, intelligent and after we started talking, he was telling me that when I sat down he checked my hand for a ring (none of course) but was disappointed because I was with a man. It was sort of fun to know that he had been checking me out prior to me striking up a conversation. That probably sounds dumb, but it was flattering!

The shhhh part is for the headache that I have this morning.

I have MUCH to do today. I am heading back home for my niece's wedding (which is tomorrow) but leaving today after class (if I can get my ass into gear)

Ok, I suppose I should start with a shower........uh, yeah nearly 11am and not even showered......latersssssssss

[Ed. Note: So I have been freezing all morning and a nice long hot shower sounded so good, and it was good until half way through my water shut off!! Through the dribbles coming out of the spout I was at least able to get the conditioner out of my hair, but I was left very frustrated. Now of course it is back on (some maintenance issue) but I am out now, so I am opting for a warm sweatshirt instead of getting back in the shower......talk about disappointing!]

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Staying on top

My goal this summer is to stay on top of everything. Each day I review what needs to be accomplished. I am doing fairly well considering! At the moment I only have one class, this is helpful as I also need to get my program plan finished and approved, I need to find funding and of course there is the research project AND my Thesis (in doctoral school you must complete a Thesis and THEN your dissertation) My Thesis is the pilot to the research that I am conducting this summer. My Thesis should be complete by December (hopefully the majority of the work will be completed before September). This summer is in some ways a "clean up" term for me, I will be in much better shape by the start of my second year if I can get all of this extra stuff tied up in a nice little package.

Needless to say I have a few irons in the fire. I am feeling really good about it all though. I just sent my draft to my advisor for the Yale paper and I feel good about it. I know that she is going to rip it to shreds, but I at least feel like I sent something worthy to her and I haven't thought that about anything that I wrote in the last year.

Ok, time is a wasting........

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Budget

Oh boy, I completed my budget for summer and I am nearly $9,000 short ha ha!! (no, it is not funny, but at this point, all I can do is laugh!) So, my flabby ass is hitting the pavement to see what funding I can scrape up. Oh the joy. You do realize of course that I could be homeless in a heart beat? oye!

Working on the paper today as well then tonight I get to party a little (as cheaply as possible of course!!)

Monday, May 12, 2008

Official

The paper is officially a draft now. (Trust me that is good, considering). Now I can step away from it for a few hours before I look at it again.

My laptop is spending the night at the Apple store. I am in mourning! 24 hours without my laptop might do serious damage to my psyche! (Thank goodness that I have a desk top as a back up, I would really be nuts without that!) [Ed. Note: Apple called and said my laptop was ready, I went to pick it up and they put an entire new keyboard on it! It is under warranty, so it didn't cost me a dime! All that was wrong was the case had a crack (it is some common problem that they have been working on, it is the second time I had to have the case replaced, but a new keyboard and mouse pad too, SWEET! AND I got it tonight rather than the morning......I love Apple!]

I have a splitting headache. I have had one for a few days. Not sure what is causing it. Not splitting like I might have a brain tumor, but annoying all the same.

Tonight I need to do all of my budget paperwork so that tomorrow I can head down to campus and seek some additional funding.

Tomorrow night I get to hang out with my friend "B". He called me yesterday and wants to hang out and I could use a friendly face and a few beers. We will probably play some pool and have some great conversation.

Ok, I think I am going to take some motrin and see if I can't get this headache to go away!

Peace.

Sunday, May 11, 2008

Shhhhhhh

ACK! This paper sucks! I don't know why I am so opposed to writing it, but it is torture when it takes so much effort! It is coming along and hopefully by this evening I will have a readable draft that I can send around for comments before I send it to my advisor for her to rip it to shreds!

Jordan called me today, he hates talking on the phone, so it was nice to talk to him. He just got back from a trip that he took to North Carolina with his father to go kite boarding. He had a great time and great stories to tell, like.......he stepped on a shark and lived to tell about it! EEKK!! I talked to Ben yesterday so I don't expect to hear from him today. My daughter, that is debatable on if she calls me or not! I talked with my step mother yesterday so that is not a task that I need to complete today. I will call my mother later so she can tell me all about what she did today. I sent them both cards in the mail.

Ok, I suppose I should get back to that damn paper. Once I get all of my thoughts down, then I can go back and organize it better and fill in the gaps. Then print it out and do my first read through before I let anyone else see it. Once I think it is fairly good, then I will locate a reader. It will be really nice to have this off my plate, there are so many other things that I need to be doing!

Peace.

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Happy Mother's Day Weekend!


This Mother Bird has been sitting on her eggs outside of my apartment for such along time. I think I make her nervous. The nest is not close enough for me to touch, but still she watches me like a hawk when I am out on my balcony. I have been waiting to see her little babies and finally this morning I got my first peek!!

Friday, May 09, 2008

Holy Cow!

I am not big on chick flicks, for some reason I decided to rent PS, I love you from iTunes. My kids gave me an iTunes gift card for mothers day and I had a blast buying tons of new songs for my iPod, then I thought, "Hey, I should rent a movie to watch!!" Oye!
2 hours of crying!!! HOLY SHIT! It actually was a good movie, I probably needed a good cry, but DAMN.....I need some Bruce Willis to bring me back to center now! HA!!

Do you all remember when I had Torticolis? (sp?) Where my neck muscles were basically frozen solid as cement? It was around this time last year. Very painful. The last few days I have been getting the same sort of thing and it is soooo annoying. I need to start doing the exercises that they gave me in physical therapy last year to prevent it from getting as bad as it did last year.

I met with my personal trainer this morning and we are starting on Tuesday. I am excited!

My roommate is not moving in this weekend, it will be next weekend! He did not have a car and that is what is holding him up, so he just bought one and has to do some work on it. The more I talk to him, the more at ease I feel with the arrangement. He really is a very nice guy. Maybe this dragging out of his moving in has been good to help me adjust. Anyway, another week for me to enjoy alone!

I am getting back enough from my federal taxes to pay the state nearly $1,000 that I owe and pay the accountant for doing my taxes. So much for the federal return. However the Rebate check will be all mine (errr, all the rent for June...LOL) I probably shared that my funding for summer wasn't enough to cover my tuition, so the research grant that I got will be eaten up by tuition and my insurance premium, leaving me with maybe $500 to live on for 4 months. Not quite enough (to say the least) so I need to figure out how to earn some cash in my spare time (as if I have any of that) I am not going to panic yet. First I am going to meet with the big wheel that I have a meeting set up with and see if I can get some consulting work. If that doesn't pan out, then well, I will figure out something. My goal is to NOT take money out of my retirement (I have taken too much already and it is nearly gone) but I DO have that if I don't have any other options. I do NOT have time for a job!!

I guess that brings you up to date around here. I have a splitting headache and I am not sure why. I think I will take some motrin and rest a bit. The next 2 days are going to be BUSY!

Peace.

Focus

I am not getting as far on my paper as I had hoped I would be by today. I have 3 days to focus and git er done. I also have a boat load of other things to accomplish in those 3 days. FOCUS!

I meet with my personal trainer this morning and I have a class today. So after my personal training appointment I will go to the school of nursing to prepare for the class, get some work on the paper done and go to the class. After which I will head to the laundromat to do my laundry, find something to eat and work the rest of the evening on my "stuff". Saturday and Sunday will be focused attention on my "stuff" and hopefully by the end of the evening on Sunday I will feel accomplished.

Thank goodness my other class does not begin until June. (although June is going to suck big time; a stats class every single day for the month of June! Oye!

It is the behavior of a student that I am working to accomplish. This means that I need to get myself to the Library at least two days a week, I am shooting for 3 days though. It is far too easy to find other things to do when I am trying to do school work in my apartment.

That is the boring life of Catie this weekend. Little posted that he is getting a new car (a Prius) Another friend of mine just picked up a new Prius last night. He names his vehicles. I should name my little Prius, but what, I have no clue. It is probably too late anyway, I have had her for over a year. The poor thing, nameless........

Wednesday, May 07, 2008

Do I know how to network or what?

Ok, so I posted an ad on Craigslist looking for a work out partner. In response I received a gal who is testing for her personal training license in June and wants to use me to study for her exam. Yeah me, I now have a personal trainer for free! I am ready to get this ass into shape (Little of course is motivating me with his medifast diet scheme, and NO, I can not afford medifast, hell, I can't even afford food this summer!) By football season I should be looking mighty fine! :o)

In other news, the stalker seems to be under control. The roommate remains not here. I am far busier than I have ever been, yet amazingly well adjusted to it. I turned a corner and I feel good about it. I am certain that up the road there will be many bumps, but I think I hit the lowest of the lows and it won't be as horrid as this past year was.

At least I can hope for that anyway!

I was seriously annoyed today at my favorite football blog. I don't typically get so bent out of shape about other people's opinions, but OSU fans just seem to annoy the shit out of me. They come to a Michigan football blog and talk trash.....wtf? It is a MICHIGAN football blog, you don't go into someone's house and talk poorly about them, you just don't. It is bad manners. I know, I know, the rivalry and all.....but give me a break, I don't go and trash OSU on their blogs, I could care less about their blogs!!! I think I over reacted .........but really, it just seems very rude and disrespectful to me.

Ok, I should be writing, I never did have that margarita last night, maybe I should tonight ;o)

Tuesday, May 06, 2008

Feel Good Story

The football blog that I patron was talking about this story, I followed the link and it brought tears to my eyes. It is a great story and I thought that I would share it with you all. Look here.


You may remember my friend New Scott, he called tonight to give me a lead, a BIG lead. I CEO of a large health system wants me to call him to see what I may be able to help him with as it relates to end of life care. It could turn out to be nothing and it could turn into something that will get me OUT THERE doing what I really feel passionate about! We shall see!


I have sooooo much to do! My Yale paper is going slow, but I am making progress. My funding came in for summer and it isn't even enough to cover my tuition. FUCK! This of course means that I need to get out there and find some additional funding (another thing to add to the list) The quicker I get this paper in the can, the better! I need to prepare for this meeting with the CEO and prepare for the class that begins on Friday.........and take a stats test for the other class that starts in June....and....and....and....and.......the list goes on. It is starting to pile up, but still manageable. FOCUS........so much for a social life.....that just isn't going to happen.........although I did buy some premium tequila .......just by chance Little stops by for a margarita! (even if he doesn't, hmmm.....maybe I should have one now!!!!!!!! Oh yeah......I think I will.......laterssssssss

Monday, May 05, 2008

No Roommate yet

The roommate brought a few things over this morning, but does not plan on moving in until next weekend. I am not complaining as I get another week alone in my space. He is paying for the entire month though.

I have been working like a mad woman, I am getting so much accomplished. I will probably read through a few articles yet tonight in preparation for my paper, and just relax a bit. I should actually go for a walk. Every day from here on out is going to be FULL!! I am simply trying to keep my pace up and work out a schedule that allows me to accomplish what I need to and still have some time to relax as well.

I am feeling really good about everything. I know that the day will come that I feel some panic, and I am simply trying to position myself so that it doesn't become chaos and drama. I am meditating every morning and working at staying focused and centered. This can only help.

My father's health is not good. I am fairly concerned about him and hope that he doesn't go down hill quickly. He needs surgery to insert a box in his arm for Dialysis (the one that he has blocked up) his kidney function is down to 5%, which means he should have been on dialysis yesterday. The problem is that he is VERY short of breath when simply walking a few feet, this means that his heart probably has some blockages. The problem with that? Well, with his kidney function so low, he won't be able to have stents placed because of the dye that they use, if he can't get his heart fixed, he can't be cleared for surgery for the dialysis, no dialysis, he dies in the not too distant future. Oh, and of course, no kidney replacement either. You can see my concern. Losing my father this year would not be a good thing. Well, losing my father ever, would not be a good thing.......

That pretty much brings you up to speed on the life of Catie........I hope that you all are doing well.....enjoying spring in Michigan, (or wherever you are!) Peace.

Sunday, May 04, 2008

Back "home"

It was great to go see the old gang back home and my children. I was reminded of how "Brilliant" people think that I am. I had not heard that in a long time! (nearly a year!) It was very nice. I got some great tips and continue to build my network, remembering that I have people all over the state and even the country that I am able to draw from. It was a good visit. Now I am back into full swing back here. I feel energized to really do this right. I have a LOT to accomplish in the next few months. Doing it well, will be a boost to my confidence. That is my focus at this point.

My new roommate moves in today. I am a little nervous about it, and looking forward to the financial assistance that it will mean. I have more to accomplish today than I possibly can, but I damn sure am going to try!


I hope your weekend is going well. The sky is blue here, the air is cool, it looks to be a perfect day! Peace.

Friday, May 02, 2008

Going "home"

I am off this morning to head to my children's place , basically for 24 hours. I am too busy to stay much past that. My daughter graduates tonight as a nurse and tomorrow morning is her pinning. I am of course proud of her and so I am going to hang out with them and celebrate. I will return tomorrow afternoon. I am planning to stop by the hospital and the homecare office to say hey to all of my peeps. Sunday the roommate moves in. I am almost ready for him. I still have a bizillion irons in the fire and will likely feel like that for most of the summer. I am using this time to adjust my thinking. I DID learn something in my first year of doctoral school!! Thus the adjustment.

Now I need to finish getting ready and get on the road! Time is a wasting!


Oh, and I have a stalker. Nice huh? Yeah he keeps posting in missed connections with MY name (Catie) in the subject line. All about how he misses me, etc. I had ONE date with this guy. Not sure what to do about it, cept keep my eyes open. He says that he drives by my apartment a lot, etc. He actually is a very nice man, just not someone that I was interested in. Now of course, he is a very nice unstable man. Another reason heading out of town for a day isn't such a bad idea. Another reason why a male roommate could come in handy! Ok....seriously I need to go!

Peace.