Graduation Day--We Take Back Everything We Said About You

It's been a week (or more...who's counting, really?) since my last update, but I have a really great reason for why! This was my last week at Owens Community College, and it was also the week that my husband became an Owens graduate! This Fall, I will be a student at Lourdes College in Sylvania, Ohio.

It's been a little bit hectic. Thursday, the learning centers that we work(ed) in at Owens threw a going away party for us. It was really nice to know that we'd be missed. We exchanged information with the important folk and reassured others that we'd still be in touch. (Hey, if nothing else, there's always Facebook, right?) It was lovely. I feel good about the time we spent at Owens and having worked there. I'll miss all of our friends!

JJ's graduation was yesterday. His family, my in-laws, came in from Indiana to watch him walk at commencement. I was a little incredulous, but it actually went really well. JJ's parents got along, despite their divorce. JJ's aunt and grandmother came with his mom and brother. His father came with a cousin of his, Barb, and her husband, Dennis. Every one got along and had decent things to say about and to each other. I was so glad it went so well!

Commencement was long, but worth it. The key not speaker was somewhat interesting. She gave some tips about how to stand out in the business world. The speaker from the class of 2010 was just pathetic. Her speech basically consisted of a series of regurgitated cliches. The douche who sat behind us wouldn't stop talking during 80% of the ceremony (he left for the other 20%, which couldn't have made me happier.) He also had a child who wouldn't stop touching my father and myself or sit down and shut up either. Needless to say, my patience wore thin quickly. Happily, my composure was kept. I was just thrilled that they left before JJ walked so that I got to actually hear his name called.

We went out with the family yesterday to celebrate. Tonight, we went out on our own to celebrate. We decided to have dinner at Koto Buki and see a movie afterward. Before we hit the restaurant, JJ wanted to stop at Game Stop and spend some of his hard-earned graduation money. He bought Left 4 Dead, a subscription to Game Informer Magazine, and 12 months of X-Box Live. Sadly, upon our arrival home, we discovered that our X-Box 360 hates us and gave us the Red Ring of Death. At least we had a great dinner...

Dinner consisted of several courses, in fact. First, we started with edamame and hot sake.

Our hot sake and a random glass of water.

Though my husband prefers cold sake, he still enjoyed it hot. He doesn't like it as much as I do, though, so he let me have most of it.

View his enjoyment of sake!

Needless to say, of course, I was disappointed when the sake was gone. I was actually really looking forward to the sake. It had been over a year since our last trip to Koto Buki, so we were really excited about the sushi/sake combination.

Gone, you say?! NO!!!!!! Behold, the face of sadness.

The sushi, sadly, I didn't have the foresight to get a picture of. In fact, we're lucky there are even stories to tell about it because it was gone very quickly. We ordered salmon sashimi, tuna sushi, eel sushi, and something called a Ninja roll. The Ninja roll was crap, cucumber, and avocado with some kind of yellow sauce in a roll that had salmon and tuna on top. It was fantastic. After that, we got our salads and miso soup.

Delicious Miso!

Then, we got our main courses. I ordered a Korean dish called Dolsot Bibimbop. It consists of rice, beef, egg, sprouts, cucumbers, carrots, and sundry other veggies (I think bok choy was in there...) which get mixed together with a special hot sauce. It comes served in a stone bowl which is what it's been assembled in. The stone bowl comes out hotter than fire, so you have to spend the entire meal being extra careful not to touch it. Needless to say, I had a few singed-pinky finger moments. Also, I was rather surprised at the amount of hot sauce I was able to add to my food tonight. Normally, I'm a pretty big wuss, but, despite my wussiness, I actually put quite a bit on my food. I probably could have gone hotter, but I didn't want to go too far and not be able to eat my delicious meal. I'm not sure if the sake just dulled the pain for me or what, but it was a great meal regardless. My husband had a bento box for dinner, which was full of an assortment of crazy things. He loved it, so I'm glad.

Dolsot Bibimbop. The tiny pitcher is full of fiery goodness.

Later, after dinner, my husband and I took in a movie. We ended up seeing Kick Ass. JJ wanted to see Clash of the Titans 3-D, but he ended up forgetting that the movie time for that was 9:40, and we didn't get to the theater until around 9:50. Reluctantly, he agreed to see Kick Ass with me.

Kick Ass movie poster. Yes, that's an awkward mirror/flowers
combo you're seeing there. That was at the theater. Can't make
that shit up.

I thought that it was an enjoyable movie. It was funny and violent--a very good combination for a super hero movie. Plus, the guy who played the super hero who is the namesake of the movie, Kick Ass, is super cute.

All in all, we had a good night. Moreover, we got to come home and know that we can actually sleep in for once, which is something that we haven't been able to do since spring break. I'd say that makes this a very good thing. Hooray for graduates and sleep!

Pre-Finals, Post-Sanity

Just thought it was time for me to toss out a quick update here. I'm going to be all silent on the home front for the next two weeks or so since it's pre-finals week. I'm super busy!

Today is Spring Fling, the last huge event for Student Government this year. Gay Prom, the GSA's event, went incredibly well for us, and we made about $700! I'm just ready to be done with this semester! I need a break in the worst of ways. At least, after today, all of the major events will be out of the way.

Meanwhile, JJ and I are seriously contemplating moving. We're looking at Executive Towers in Toledo. The price is really good and the space is great. It's 800 square feet and the price is ranging from $450-485. Not bad for a one bedroom in downtown Toledo. Plus, it's just a block or two away from the art museum--walking distance. It's on the bus line, which is good if we have no car or have car problems. This would be affordable for us. We have some money saved and we could probably pull it off, but we're thinking of waiting until after we get our pain and suffering settlement from the car accident.

I will not get into the reasons for our contemplation for moving. I feel like it would be inappropriate right now. I will, however, say that this needs to happen soon.

In other news, due to the accident and the fact that I have gotten sorely behind, I will be taking an incomplete in one of my classes. This makes me incredibly sad. I have until June 7th to finish the paper and outline that I'll need for completion of my class. I'm glad my instructor is working with me. I'm just depressed about not being able to be superhuman and catch up on my own.

Lazy Days and End Times

As usual, here I sit procrastinating when I could be doing something productive. Yikes. This is a terrible pattern! Yet, despite my procrastinating ways, I decided to toss out a quick update.

This morning, JJ and I got to sleep in for a change. We almost felt guilty. My family has resolved to have family brunches on Saturday mornings, so I had thought perhaps our sleeping in might have brought trouble to those plans. The good news was that it didn't! We had plenty of time. I showered and JJ went downstairs to help with preparations--table setting, getting stuff out, whatnot. Our spread was a good one consisting of the following: salad, baked ziti with an Italian six cheese blend, sausage, scrambled eggs, hash browns, yogurt parfaits, orange juice, coffee and donuts. We had a lovely and pleasant brunch.

After that, JJ and I retreated back upstairs to nap. I know that we've slept an awful lot today, but I like to think it helps us to make up for the fact that we hardly get enough sleep to function during the week. It's our way of sort of making it up. When we woke up, it was basically dinner time. We went downstairs, had a few left-overs, and watched Moon.

Moon is a movie that my brother and father happened upon when they were looking through the listings on OnDemand one night. It's a really great movie. It follows the life of a man who is stationed alone on a moon base, harvesting alternate energy sources to sent to people on Earth. I can't say much more than that or it would ruin a lot about the movie, but what I can say is that it's suspenseful, interesting, and entrapping. It has ethical and philosophical connotations, but they don't slap you in the face with them. It's just something you're left to consider. It was a very good movie. Sam Rockwell was excellent. Check it out.

I am resolved now to watching the Tudors and working on a my Art paper. Seriously, I'm working on it this time.

Transfer Preparations

Today, my husband and I had to jet on over to Lourdes College after my class ended so that we could get to my meeting with my nursing adviser at 2:30 PM. Morning classes went well, despite my lack of time to study for my psychology test. Even though I didn't do as well on it as I had hoped, I know it was my own fault. My grade was still an A, but it was a little close for comfort. Luckily, my grade is still fantastic, so it's okay.

My adviser was wonderful. She was extremely enthusiastic about my starting classes at Lourdes. She helped me get some of them scheduled. Some, however, they are waiting to find out if they can start additional sections. I was informed, however, that I would be able to take the two nursing introduction-level courses in the summer. I was really hoping for a summer off, but if I have to do it, I can push through.

Lourdes is a beautiful campus. I was really surprised. I had never been there before, so I was pleasantly surprised. I felt very comfortable there. I'm even more excited than before to be moving over to Lourdes in the Fall. It's going to be great!

After my advising appointment, JJ and I ran a few sundry errands. Then, after all that, we went over to the Toledo Museum of Art so that I could get some notes on a painting for a History of Western Art paper. I'm pretty excited about it, actually. It's going to be good because I feel like I have a lot to write about. It's this painting. In fact, this paper is all that I'll be working on tomorrow. I have two papers due next Friday, a presentation to work on, a wikipedia article to write about a philosopher (what an academic assignment!), and a few other sundry assignments. I have to work a little harder since the semester is at a close. Yikes!

In other, related news, yesterday Nick and I volunteered to be ushers at an Owens event. Garrison Keillor came to our college. I was in a terrible mood because I had to get a tooth filled that morning--something I'm not apt to handle well anyways and is still sensitive to heat and cold--but I had made a commitment and I had to see it through. All that we had to do was seat people, which I did for a few hours. It wasn't as bad as I thought, though I did end up having a terrible tension headache before the end of the night.

Anyways, Garrison Keillor was amazing. He was honest and interesting. He has this great way of telling a story that forces you to think in pictures. I attribute this to having spent so much time on radio. Radio narration forces you to make people visualize the things you're discussing. He had great stories, all of them very funny. He talked about his personal experiences in his hometown. He even made a condom joke. It was a delightful time!

Actually, my whole week has been good. My dentist appointment wasn't as expensive as I thought. I got to see Garrison Keillor for free while helping out my school. My husband got something to help him relax about school. My Fall semester is set in motion. I feel good about it! And now, unlike at any other time during my week, I'm going to go get some rest. We have "family brunch" in the morning, which is something new my family is trying due to our lack of family dinner opportunities.

Tuesday Night Rituals

My life may be taking a turn for the better this week. The IRS notified me that I was eligible for more money than I thought on my taxes and that they automatically adjusted this for me. I also received a notice today from the IRS that I might be able to get even more! How exciting! There have been a lot more things to prompt my notion that we're on an upswing.

My husband's computer finally came from the insurance agent. They ordered him a new one so that he could have it back to finish out the semester--long story short, we threatened that the damages would be a lot more expensive if he wasn't able to finish out his semester. His new computer is gigantic. It's a 17" monitor. I mean, I realize that it's only a little bit larger than mine, but it seems really big! To put it in laptop perspective, most laptops only have the numbers over the keyboard. JJ's laptop has a whole keypad to the right of the regular keyboard! Really big. It also has two little speakers at the front and a subwoofer. Whoa! Jealous!

I'm glad that he got his laptop. I can tell he's relaxed since he got it. I think he doesn't have to worry so much now. He spent all night setting it up. I'm glad that he doesn't have to freak out any more. It'll also be nice to not have to share my laptop anymore. :)

It's funny. I guess I never really considered that we'd be sitting on our sides of the king-sized bed, laptops upon legs, tapping away at the keyboards. When I pictured our relationship, I didn't really picture this. It's kind of interesting though. It's nice to be together, sharing an activity in a space. I mean, we're doing our own thing, but in a pleasant way. I'm sensing a new ritual for us. Movies and computer time Tuesday nights now? Who knows! It's kind of cool though. We'll chalk it up to the progression of the modern relationship.

Reclaiming the Room

I spent the day today reclaiming the hell out of my bedroom. I cleaned for the first time in what clearly must have been months. I now have desk space again! Amazing! I had so sought a place to study and blog. Who'd have thought it would be in my own bedroom once more?

There was a terrible layer of dust all over the room, I am ashamed to admit. It's clearly been far too long since I've done this. It's interesting that I can be so organized about some things and so disorganized about others. Dusting is my cleaning Achilles heal. At any rate, I filed, dusted, organized, placed and replaced, folded and put away clothing and several other assorted tasks. I am thoroughly disgusted with my lacking cleaning. Needless to say, however, I am now having asthma fits because the dust is all over in the air. It hasn't settled back down to it's routine place on my furniture yet. Of course, to try and combat some of this dust, I have lit candles and employed the candle warmer. Hopefully, this will make a difference.

Apart from the cleaning, I did basically nothing today. I watched Julie and Julia again. I still love it, even though it differs greatly from the book. Julie Powell still strikes me as witty and amazing, though she is terribly self-deprecating. It's something I can respect, I suppose. I suffer the same thing at times. I can respect that kind of honesty.

I tried something new when we got Chinese take out tonight and regretted it completely. Who would have thought something called lemon chicken would be so incredibly awful? I think I was thinking it would be similar to a lemon pepper chicken and it was not! It was some terrible, fried substance in a gooey, thick, yellowish mess. Horrible! There weren't even any vegetables involved! In fact, I'm fairly certain that my current stomach upset is due mostly to that heinous concoction. Never again! I need to learn to stick to what works--cashew chicken or the "diet plate." Needless to say, I did not finish the abhorrent abomination.

JJ spent the day lounging and relaxing. I have also discovered that he is displeased with my mentioning him in my blog. Pleasantly, though, he did help me set up my charger and under-desk arrangement. Our room being so small and us having a full apartment worth of crap leaves space at a premium. Even the space under our desk is important. We have made some steps to combat this--such as putting CDs and DVDs in booklets rather than leaving them in jewel cases that clutter the place all up.

If only I had take a before/after picture set! Indeed, my results would seem most impressive. And, being that I've spent the whole day on them, I would even call them praise-worthy. Next time! I always think of these little ways to enhance my blog too late. Why am I not more blog-friendly?! Damn!

At any rate, it's late. I'm off to watch a few minutes of The Golden Child with my husband. JJ and I can't seem to resist Eddie Murphy movies from the 80s, even if they are painfully cheesy at times.

Today's Quote

Each day in the Writing Center, we choose a quote to put up on the board for our students to see. This has been going on since the current boss was placed in his position, and it's a practice that I've quite enjoyed. It is thanks to this practice that I share with you the quote that I chose this morning for the board. I feel it is relevant to paper-writing, the blogosphere, and life's decision making in general.

Dear authors! suit your topics to your strength,
And ponder well your subject and its length;
Nor lift your load, before you're quite aware
What weight your shoulders will, or will not, bear

.
This quote is from Byron, found in Hints from Horace.

Vignette of a Morning

Me: *yawn followed by unrecognizable, unrepeatable noise*
JJ: I love you.
Me: I sound like a dragon!
JJ: What?
Me: *hesitantly* I sound...like a dragon...?
JJ: *after kissing Me* I kissed a dragon.
Me: And you liked it!

Wicked Easter Sunday

Yesterday, as it turns out, wasn't as bad as I had initially thought. My husband and I had a reasonable talk on the way to our friend/co-worker's party. The rest of our day went quite well, actually.

The friend, Jim, had a little friendly get-together revolving around the geekiest of Geek: Star Trek's First Contact. It was a most enjoyable time. It was nice to be in a room where I wasn't the only female who liked or had heard of Star Trek. One of our other co-workers was very witty, and it was a good time for all.

The theater handed these out to guests.

Later, JJ and I made our way to the Stranahan theater for the evening's performance of Wicked. We had never been to a show of this magnitude together before, so it was a new experience for us as a couple. (Strange to think that we've been together for five years and haven't seen a stage production together before. My inner drama student is weeping.) We were a little nervous because we'd bought the tickets from another co-worker (did I mention they love us at work?), and they were the type that one purchases online. Despite our apprehension (mostly at where to go and who to talk to), the evening went smoothly.

The impressive stage set up.
The dragon's eyes lit up, and it blew smoke out of
its nostrils!

The production was amazing. The detail of the set was so intricate and elaborate! The set design was like a cross between what I would expect of vintage fairy tales and a steampunk adventure. The costumes were amazing, and the singing was superb. The Emerald City scenes were just wonderful. There was so much to enjoy about the whole thing! Our Elphaba, Marcie Dodd, was performing her last show with this cast because she was taking a break. What a fabulous show to end on! It went really fantastically well!

Green is Good bag which held our souvenirs.

My only critique comes from what the actual musical itself does with the original work. The book is very different. It's like the first half follows the book and the second half makes everything up because it would be too difficult to stay true to the plot of the book. It's disappointing, but I can see how it might be difficult to parlay the real story into a stage production. Nessarose, Elphaba's sister, sort of gets the short end of the stick in the stage production, as she is transformed into a whiny, heart-sick, bitter little thing. Fiyero's life is completely changed because he's not actually married, but rather he's in a relationship with Glinda. Not only that, but Elphaba and Fiyero live at the end, which is totally different from their fate in the book. I will admit, though, that I really loved Glinda being portrayed as kind of ditsy and self-centered. The actress in our production, Natalie Daradich, was wonderful!

Front and back of my awesome new water bottle!
This is how the Platzs' go green! :)

JJ bought me some souvenirs after the show so that we'd have something to remember it by. He bought me a metal water bottle and the soundtrack. It was a great experience. We finished our night off by having a quiet dinner in a nearly empty Big Boy. All in all, not a bad way to celebrate our distinctly secular Easter Sunday.

I had to have the soundtrack!

Easter

It's Easter. The husband and I find ourselves at school, working as usual. Great.

We're also fighting. He found a friend on my Facebook who was someone that he felt greatly threatened by in the past and had asked me to stop talking to. To my husband's defense and credit, it was someone who I only sort of stopped talking to, so I can understand why he would be upset. The thing is, if that person--we'll call him T--were really a threat to our marriage, he'd have been a threat long ago. I was talking to T long before JJ and I even got married. T, himself, is also married.

Of course, this has sparked a rash of conversation about my being a terrible liar. He can't seem to see beyond how other people make him feel. He doesn't think about how I feel. I wish he'd stop to think about why I do the things that I do. He complains that I don't talk to him as often as everyone else, but when I do talk to him, he gets snippy and nasty with me. He never stops to consider that I wouldn't want to talk to him because he's being so foul and rude.

I feel guilty for lying to him. At the same time, I feel like I shouldn't have to feel guilty. I mean, this is an Internet friendship. I've never even met T. Now he's talking about skipping a friend's party because we need to talk. I feel like our marriage has been coming apart at the seams for a while now because he's been unraveling lately. JJ is in a not-so-great place right now. I feel for him, but at the same time, I don't want to suffer too. I love him and I want him to be better, but I don't want to be in darkness myself.

I'm conflicted. I don't want to be a divorcee, but I don't want to feel like all of my moves have to be sanctioned and chartered by my husband. I want autonomy! I want to be able to sit downstairs and spend some time by myself if I want to. I want to be able to go our separate ways in the mornings and come together again at night. I want to be like a normal couple!! We spend hours and hours and hours together, but all I ever hear about is how uninvolved and unloving I am. The sad part is that the more he pushes me about being unloving or not paying him enough attention, the less I want to be around him. A big part of me thinks, "What's the point?! He doesn't even get it when I'm around anyways. He's going to be bitching if I'm here or away, and at least when I'm away I don't have to hear his bitching..."

Of course I feel awful about this. If it will fix something, I guess I just won't be Facebook friends with T, but I guess I'm just afraid I'm sacrificing a friendship for naught. I don't feel like anything will change at all. This just gives him another excuse to be distrusting of me and accuse me of not loving him as much as he loves me or paying him as much attention as he feels he needs.

We may end up making it to Jim's First Contact party tonight. Hopefully, we do because I'd really like to go, but "talking" looms over my head like an axe. At any rate, I'm not missing Wicked. I have waited far too long to see it! More to come later. We'll see if my Easter shapes up to be as awful as it's feeling like it will be...