Transitus Tiber

Over the next week or so, I will be doing some major site maintenance. I am hoping to minimize the downtime that may come with such maintenance, but if it happens rest assured it will be brief. Nothing will be changing with regards to site addresses, so if downtown should happen, keep checking back until it's resolved.

I won't be making any more posts until the maintenance is completed so that I don't have to be constantly exporting the database that my blog runs on. I hope to be back blogging shortly!

I am so incredibly drained.

Friday was our last day in the University Town, which involved finishing packing, loading up the trailer, cleaning, and getting checked out from our old apartment. We made it up to our new city, and unloaded what we need while we live in our temporary housing. Saturday involved driving back to the University Town, going through graduation ceremonies, and coming back to home. A long day (had to wake up early) coupled with Big Life Events (you mean I'm actually done with school?) will wear you out. Elise was oblivious to everything, except that halfway through the graduation ceremony she started kicking my bladder as her way of saying "Mommy, do something about this!". Sadly, not much could be done until afterwards. Hurrah for weird TMI goodness!

Today has also been a long day - Greg and I went to Mass with his parents and all the moms received a special blessing. Greg and I then went out to visit my aunt, uncle, and my mom (who stayed with my aunt all weekend) and hung out. And ate a lot of food. After that, we met up with Greg's parents and bought a range for our up-and-coming apartment, which will most likely come with us to the New House. The goal is to get the apartment done by the time Dad comes back from his business trip (end of June-ish). I really hope so - that would be grand.

Tomorrow my goals include sleeping in and researching the seismicity of the area. I know what the geology is for the New House Lot, but don't know how deep down the bedrock is nor where there are faults. And yes Virginia, we do live in an active fault area. Greg's Dad has earthquake straps on his house, but I'm investigating to see if earthquake straps + quake insurance would be a good thing or not. I don't know I need to get a hold of the state seismology lab or the city's emergency planning and preparedness people for fault maps. I actually did a project on the probability of another major earthquake in the area where we now live, but I don't think it's very accurate anymore, nor do I know where that paper is at. :S

At any rate, I'm drained and need sleep. But my final grade round-up was very good, thanks in part (I'm sure) to St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Joseph of Cupertino. I'm sure they're happy to have a rest from interceeding for me. For this semester I ended up with:

Biogeography: B+
Anthropology: B
Computer Science: B-
Statistics: C+ (which means I actually did well enough on the final to raise my grade, who would have thought THAT?)

Here's some pictorial proof of graduation:
HAPPINESS ABOUNDS.

(Totally unrelated: happy birthday to the Church!!! And happy Mother's Day to all mommies, including Jesus' Mommy).

Bedtime for me!!

I have three of my four finals completed. Statistics was due Friday, I handed in my Anthropology paper today, and finished my Biogeography final at 4:35p this afternoon. All that's left is my Java programming class (tomorrow at 8a, cheat sheets allowed) and I am done with my undergraduate career.

Naturally, anyone who knows me well can expect that I am joining the ranks of Compulsive Grades Checking, which I am. I just need to see what Statistics came out as - the other classes I am confident in passing and am not stressed out by them at all.

I am spending my downtime from studying packing up our apartment. Greg will be doing all the heavy lifting, my lifting will come from stuff like the sheets and towels. Since the majority of our stuff will be in storage for a while, I'm wrapping up delicates like our crucifixes, statues, and candles so they survive the move up. We're hoping to be settled in an apartment shortly - we just have to wait for it to be finished. Greg's parents have so graciously offered to convert their basement into a self-contained apartment until our house is ready sometime next year. This takes a lot of stress off of us in trying to find an apartment, show proof of employment, and all that stuff. I have no problems with Greg's parents and will be quite happy to have them nearby for when the inevitable questions come up with Elise. It will also be cheaper for us in the long run.

I still have no job and we have to wait three weeks to hear if Greg got the job he interviewed for last Thursday. I'm thinking about going to the Cathedral and seeing if they need a pregnant volunteer to help with stuff this summer, like Vacation Bible School or stuffing envelopes or something. I need something to keep my mind and hands occupied - the thought of spending the entire summer doing nothing scares me. I'll be spending a lot of time resting - which is good - but I have to do something. If that makes any sense.

Nothing new on the injured family friend. I suppose this is a time when no news is good news, but we do know that the doctor's have told her parents anything, so that may not be such good news.

I did get my Statistics final finished up and handed in, so that's a relief. Now I just get to sit and wait and see if I did well enough on the final to pass the class. My professor said I'd have to work hard on failing the final to bad on it. I hate being this paranoid about things, it's just the fact that my entire Bachelor's degree hinges on this one class.

Greg and I are going to a Parkinson's Disease treatment seminar tonight for my mom. The topic is deep-brain stimulation and it's something that her neuros have talked to her about as a possibility for her. I've been researching the clinical studies and stuff, mainly for instances of hardware failures and side effects from the procedure and stuff.

If anyone has any personal experiences with the Activa Deep-Brain Stimulation system, please let me know. I'm looking for good experiences, bad experiences, OK experiences ... any experiences. You can leave me a comment or email me at blog at hekhet dot net.

Between the family friend's car wreck, Statistics, and this Parkinson's seminar; I'm feeling a little stressed out. I have to write an Anthropology final over the weekend and then have 2 more finals (one on Monday, one on Tuesday). Then, I'm done and can help Greg pack up our apartment and move. Ugh. Pray for me, as well.

This is NOT the kind of post I want to be posting, but some close family friends are in extreme need of prayers. One of their daughters has been severely injured in a car wreck in their city. Her dad called my mom, trying to get a hold of my dad (they are military buddies). My mom called me, as Dad has his cell phone shut off for the night (he's on a business trip) and was trying to see another way of getting a hold of him.

Anyways, if you could remember the family and the injured daughter in your prayers, that would be awesome. There were 3 other people injured who also have severe injuries, please pray for them and their families, as well.

I received my Statistics final today - it's due Friday. So, I have about 48 hours to do this thing and be done with Statistics. I also have an Anthropology final due Tuesday, so these next few days are going to be busy for me.

I am pretty confident I will pass my Statistics class. I have a 78% on homework and a 75% on the first exam. This final is worth as much as the first exam (35% of my grade) and the homework is the remaining 30%. Regardless, prayers are always beneficial.

Greg has his job interview tomorrow, so prayers for a successful interview and a job offer if that is where God wants him is also appreciated.

Time to get working on that final! I'll be back sometime next week!

I'm currently up at my in-laws. Greg and his parents are working on de-shrubbing the vegetation on the lot where our house will be built. I took pictures that I'll post later on - some of the de-shrubbing and some of the house. Being the carrier of Elise means I'm forbidden from helping apart from bringing juices and water over (and carrying stuff like rakes around).

Greg's exam yesterday with a potential employer went very well. They said that if Greg got higher than a 70% on the exam that they would call him within the week for a job interview. Sometime between my Statistics class and the 90 minute drive up to the Capital they called him and wanted to interview him! So, his interview is on Thursday. I am praying it goes well and they want to offer him the job. It has full benefits from day of hire for Greg and his dependents, which is exactly what we need.

I applied for yet another job and have heard nothing back. Is this a new trend - to just leave people hanging and not even send them rejection notices?

Elise is currently kicking around. Earlier today she had the hiccups, which was incredibly cute. I cannot wait to meet our little girl - but I can definitely wait until August to do so!

Next week is "Dead Week" - the last week of classes before Finals Week of Doom. For once, my professors are not waiting until Dead Week to make things due, but rather are wanting things due this week. I'm sure I will enjoy Dead Week better this semester as opposed to semesters past. However, it means that writing will be even more spotty than it already is. I only have some Java programming and a Statistics homework left to do, sadly those require a lot of time to focus and concentrate (especially Statistics).

Greg was called by a prospective employer and on Friday he needs to travel up to the Capital for an exam. His results on this exam will determine if he continues on the hiring process or not. Please say some prayers! He also applied for what's basically his dream job, hopefully he gets that or the other one.

Finals Week is also moving week for Greg and I. We'll be moving permanently to the Capital, so things will be crazy for the next couple of weeks while we move to a temporary location, then as it gets closer to August/we find a good deal on an apartment; we'll move again to get ready for Elise's arrival. It's hard to believe that May is almost here. May 11th is the start of the third trimester. I am so grateful for the intercession of the various Saints I've been talking to over this pregnancy, particularly Our Lady of Guadalupe. Not only has things been going textbook for Elise, my anxiety and worry level has been pretty low, all things considered. Deo gratias!

At any rate, it's time for lunch and get ready for the rest of today. Hopefully I can get on some sort of regular posting schedule once school simmers down!