Another day, another month.

Time really flies too fast. But at the same time, I'm not the best at time management. I wonder how much I would have accomplished right now if I always managed my time effectively. Even just managing my weekday time effectively. Hmm. Kind of depressing!

The last month has been mostly dominated by 3 things: health, dog-sitting, and school.

Health:

I was sick for a few weeks with a fever, aches, and headaches. Lame. I also visited the Student Health Center for a couple routine things and ended up having my blood pressure medication changed, and my blood drawn. I'm glad my medication was changed--this new one actually helps my blood pressure stay down and it doesn't affect my heart/physical activity. yay! I got my blood drawn cuz I had these funny pink dots on my ankles and my doctor wanted to make sure it wasn't some disease with blood vessels. Anyway the results came back and apparently I don't have that disease, but my blood iron levels were extremely high (3x the normal amount) so this morning I went in for a retest. The results should be back in a week. We shall see!!

Dog-sitting:

My brother Chris and his wife Di have taken 2 trips out of town and I've taken care of their dogs and cat for them. The first stint was like Thursday-Monday and was perfect because I didn't have school that Monday. This last time, however, was 3 weeks. First off, let me say the pros:

1) House to myself

2) Live in SLC/get out of Provo

3) Constant companionship of dogs and cat (very adorable)

cons:

1) Live in SLC, work and study in Provo (commute = not cool)

2) Constant companionship of dogs and cat (very needy)

All in all, I'm glad I did it. It certainly made time go faster! And I got some great use out of my UTA pass. I love riding TRAX (Utah's light-rail system)--it reminds me of Europe and the tram in Nottingham. I also love those dogs and that cat. It was also good because I got to see how much work it is to have pets. I probably won't ever have a dog as a pet, but I might have a cat. Especially if its like my brothers'--it just comes inside to eat and cuddle but otherwise stays outside. I also enjoyed the use of a huge flat screen tv, surround sound, and Netflix. There is one somewhat humourous story I would like to share. It is about Duncan. A dog. A yellow lab to be precise.

One night I went to a BBQ with some friends. When I got back home (to my brother's) Duncan ran over to the door to say hi. He then started gagging like crazy. This was followed by quite a lot of barf. To make a long story short, Duncan barfed from when I got home til about 1:30 in the morning. Towards the end he was just gagging, but he was obviously not feeling well. Having seen the movie "Marley & Me," I was scared that his stomach had flipped or something, which is life-threatening. After a couple calls to the vet, I took him in. Yes, I took him in, at 1:30am. The vet and his technicians were nice and helpful. Poor Dunc knew what was coming as soon as he saw the technician take out the "silver bullet" (thermometer). They took x-rays and gave him a shot for nausea and then sent us home. Duncan was more or less fine after that, although the gagging persisted a bit through the next day. However, he was able to eat and keep things down. A few days later I discovered the culprit of the whole problem in the back yard--it was a strangely shaped poo. Upon slightly closer examination and after use of the garden hose, I discovered that it was a sock!! Duncan had eaten one of my socks, digested it whole, and pooped it out. Ah, what a dog.

School:

School is going fine. Busy as ever. Midterms, assignments, reading, tests, quizzes, labs....it goes on and on. I'm afraid it will never end. I'm not quite seeing the light at the end of the tunnel yet...maybe someday.

A personal accomplishment: mastering Access!!

Access is a very complex program that is part of the Microsoft Office Suite. We teach it at work and over the summer til now I've been slowly learning how to use it. Well, it is really starting to make sense!! Yay! I've taught 2 Access classes...and am teaching another tomorrow. Also teaching/assisting 4 more over the next two weeks. So, its lookin pretty good :)

Other news:

1) Sarah (my sister) is prego with TWINS!! I'm really surprised and excited (especially since I don't have to take care of them!

2) I took a little foray into Southern Utah this weekend with friends, and it was lots of fun. A highlight was visiting Colorado City, Arizona. For those of you who don't know, it is the home of Warren Jeffs, the FLDS leader. It was an interesting (but kinda creepy) city.

Well I think I'll quit for now. Let me just say that I am grateful for my many great friends and family. I couldn't do it without them!!