In an infinite multiverse, there's no such thing as fiction

Alright.

Obviously I need to talk about a few things.

Yesterday was my final interview with SARA. I feel pretty alright about it, but not so confident that I think I nailed it. Allen spent all of last night telling me not to stress out about it, but it's not like I'm going to listen. Let's be real. That job is right up my alley (she even gave me a list of what I'd be doing, and I would get to create so many new systems for things like OSHA compliance and the inventory warehouse...oh my gosh, I'm mentally salivating just reliving that list), and I loved the environment. The women there are absolutely amazing, and I want that in my life. I have to wait a week at best, a week and a half at most, to know if they  hired me. I'm already slightly disappointed about it, because I can be very pessimistic, and that's just how I roll sometimes. So it goes. Tune in next week.

Moving ON TO THE HIGHLIGHT OF MY FUCKING LIFE.

Last night was Neil deGrasse Tyson. I went with Stevie, Allen, and Zanna. We drove down to Zanna's new house, and then braved 6:00 Denver traffic, and still made it in about an hour and  half, so not that bad. We laughed the entire way up (do yourself a favor and don't look up truffle butter) and talked about everything. I had a blast driving up there. I also made yesterday a cheat day, since number one, I hadn't really eaten all day, aside from a banana and two apple slices, and B, I was with my friends and I knew we weren't going to stop anywhere that would cater to my stupid, non-carb, low sugar habits. And I can't blame them, it's boring and weird. We get to the venue, and it's SO MUCH NICER than I anticipated. I didn't know it was going to be in a performing arts center. none of us wanted to risk getting lost in the huge crowd, so we opted to not buy over-priced boozes and treats for ourselves, and my tummy kept rumbling, but I didn't mind so much. It was 7:35, and the show was to start at 8, and finish at 9:15, with the meet and greet (!!!!!!) at 9:30.

Enter, stage left, our excitement:

 Allen does this thing where he will not take an actual picture with you unless you bribe him, and I had nothing of value on my person. So he's looking into the rafters. For angels. I can't do this with him. My best friend, you guys. He's a peach. However, if you look over my shoulder, you will see a man sleeping very aggressively, which makes me giggle every time, and over Allen's shoulder, a man either yawning or screaming. Not sure which.

 Stevie and I hamming it up in the name of science and all that is good in the world.

Again, Allen will not smile. Not even for astrophysics, life, the universe, or everything. Stevie, Zanna, and I are super stoked, and Allen needs a reality check.

They made us put our phones away, which means I didn't get to take a picture of the attendee that wore a space suit (I'm pretty sure he wasn't an astronaut, though), or the ushers that were very pushy with their flashlights. Anyway, remember that time frame? 8-9:30? The show started a few minutes late, which is ok. And it didn't end until damn near 11. Which would have been 100% amazing, but it meant my meet and greet got cut super short. Like, super, super short, because he still had to sign books and things like that. But let me just give you a little taste of how this went down, because I was so on my "be cool, bitch" game (spoiler: I was NOT):

(Neil deGrasse Tyson walks into the room I'm in)
me: SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
Neil: Hi, thanks for coming and being so patient.
me: OH MY GOD.
(Neil extends his hand)
Neil: I'm Neil.
(I bum-rush him)
me: CAN I HUG YOU????
(as I'm already hugging him. And crying. Visibly)
Neil: .....I'm huggable.
Me: *sobs*
Assistant: Ok, stand on the 'X' and smile into the camera...
(I hug Neil deGrasse Tyson again)
Neil: Do you need a minute?
Me: I'M SO HAPPY!
(camera snaps)
Assistant: Great. That was great.

Then he signed my book, and he got ushered off. And I wouldn't trade any of it for anything in the world. I knew I wouldn't keep my cool, I knew I would cry, I knew I wouldn't be able to talk to him about the MHD wave energy conversion project like I PLANNED on doing when he mentioned that humans aren't taking the initiative to harness the cyclonic energy of things like hurricanes...I knew I wouldn't be able to muster up the cool-headedness to tell him I hail from Ithaca, I grew up in the shadow of Carl Sagan, and Carl Sagan's work was some of the most meaningful, insightful stuff I'd ever read and the reason I gave Neil deGrasse Tyson a chance was personal endorsement from Carl Sagan...I knew that there was a huge, HUGE chance I would make a complete and total fool of myself. And you know what? I don't fucking care. It was perfect. I got to give him a hug, whether he wanted one or not, and my copy of Origins has his signature in it (another thing I wanted to do was ask him to sign it with a quote I heard on StarTalk, but I couldn't do that, either. In fairness, that was due to time constraints, not my inability to form coherent, acceptable thoughts and say them aloud), AND  I got to hear him wax rhapsodic and poetic for three fucking hours.

Best. Day. Ever.

Tell me what you're willing to give to me, and we'll go from there

I.
Am.
Meeting.
Neil.
deGrasse.
Tyson.


TODAY.

What the fuck.

This day is going to fucking rule so fucking hard, I can barely contain myself.

Holy shit.

I'm bringing my books to have him sign, and I'm going to see if he'll sign one of them with something super special. I hope I can talk him into it.

But I get to meet him, oh my god!!!!!!!!!

Stevie and I are so fucking excited. This is going to be the second time I've heard him speak. We're also going to go see Levar Burton in April, because our lives are awesome, and being students at UCCS has certain benefits. Like Geordi LaForge. Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!

Today is also the interview with SARA. Fuck. I'm nervous.

I was put in for a paid internship at a retirement home here in town. If I don't get the job with SARA, I'm going to apply for it. Things are pretty fucking good right now. There's also an agent that is inquiring about me being her part-time marketing coordinator, so that's a boon, as well. I also think my current job wants me to go full time, because Elyse is leaving today, which leaves a lot of time for me to fill, and Diane already told me it had been mentioned. I think I'm going to be ok no matter what happens. SARA, my job, paid internship, part time marketing coordinator...it's all ok. And do you know why?

BECAUSE I AM GOING TO GIVE NdGT THE BIGGEST FUCKING HUG THE WORLD HAS EVER SEEN EVER.

I don't know what I'm going to wear today. Crap.

Trick them with a happy ending, riddle them with encores

Holy. Fucking. Shit.

These god damn cats are driving me fucking CRAZY. Galouli is hiding all the time, Spectre is running around the house howling, and Guinness is eating all of the boxes. Guinness also goes and sits in front of Bullet and Spike just so he can hiss at them.

I cannot fucking WAIT to move into my house.

I suddenly have so much shit in my house, and there is nowhere to put it, because surprise surprise, a 1000 square foot townhome isn't conducive to holding eight god damn people and three cats and two rats and my ego. Not to mention all of the boxes, and all of the new stuff, and I just wish I could go hang out at someone else's house and not come back until I take possession of my house. That all of this craziness would magically get taken care of for me.

I have a second interview with SARA, and I am SO fucking nervous. I want this job so very badly, because the company is amazing, and I really liked the women that work there that I would be working along side of if I got the job.

I had a horrible cheat day yesterday, but really, I wasn't THAT bad. I ate the equivalent of a slice of cake, and about a half dollar's sized piece of bread. It was the sugar I ingested that really did it, and I felt awful last night as a result. I feel better today though. I made myself a omelette with chicken sausage, spinach, and feta for lunch (I didn't feel like eating breakfast), and for dinner I'm having chicken, asparagus, and yu choy. I was supposed to go out with Jennifer tonight, but plans changed.

This weekend...Saturday, probably...I'm going to the junkyard with a friend of mine to take picctures while he does who knows what. And then Sunday, Derek and I are going to Denver for the aquarium and some new Korean place. I like that my weekend is already full to the brim.

Next week starts the serious cleaning of the house, and I'm not looking forward to that. I've lived here for four years, it's going to take a long time. I've already cleaned out the office and gotten rid of everything in there that I no longer need, but that leaves three closets and the cupboard under the stairs. There's four years of piled up crap in there that I need to either junk, or find meaning for.

I'm actually about to clean the upstairs closet. Which is a frightening thing, as I haven't stepped foot in there in at least a year, and who knows what's been shoved into that space. There's more bullshit being brought over in the next few days, and I need SOMEWHERE to put it all.

Fuck. I can't wait to fucking move.

The place she feared most

So, to start off by stating the obvious, it's been quite some time since I've cared enough to write anything in here. I'm guessing that my actual blogging will taper off greatly this year, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if I remove everything in here completely by next year. I'm still doing photography and getting better all the time, and I'm still writing, but really, it makes sense to me that, because I'm such a different person now than I was when I started, that I should maybe start a new blog. It only seems like the logical progression to me. Maybe I'm silly for that.

Stevie and I had a blast together today. Check it:

Hot damn, we're awesome.

Getting the hang of this online school thing is surprisingly difficult, but not wholly unenjoyable.

I'm REALLY getting into this low-carb, low sugar diet that I'm on. I made mashed cauliflower and half an avocado for dinner last night, and enjoyed it immensely. Since today was my cheat day (I have a cheat day every two weeks), I had a small piece of cake, and I'll be getting some Starbucks later. I feel sluggish after eating carbs (which may be entirely psychosomatic, but either way, I feel sluggish), and reminding myself of how icky I feel helps me stay on track.

I have a new favorite song right now. Don't I always?

I can't stop listening to it.

I met a photographer today, and we chatted for awhile and agreed to meet up to talk shop and show off our work to each other. I'm really excited...I peeked at his stuff on Facebook, and he's great. I'm hoping to learn something.

I don't know what it is about reading history books that disrupts my ability to focus so hard, but I cannot focus on this chapter. I've read it twice and I couldn't tell you the first thing about Women in Eurasia before 1000 BC, other than the fact that there were women around. I probably won't be doing terribly well on this quiz. I just...I can't focus when it comes to history. Man. I'm a WONDERFUL student.

Allen and I found a subreddit called 50/50. Shit is stressful. But we played around on it for HOURS last night.

I've been watching Friends on Netflix like it's my fucking job, and I have no regrets about it.

Aside from History, I'm trying to get through all of my Psychology work. If I finish everything by April 17th, I get a shitload of extra credit. And I am down with that. I got all Bs and a A last semester, and the thing that kept me from getting all As was my attendance. But that straight Cs semester a few semesters ago really hurt my GPA, and I'm still trying to bring that back up. Oy.

My daddy had his first surgery two days ago. And I'm a right shit for writing it down as next Friday, so imagine how fucking crap I felt when he called me Friday night, in so much pain and sounding not terribly great. I just called him to check on him, and he sounds much better today, but the pain medication is making him nauseous, and he can't move his leg at all. My poor, strong daddy. I'm excited to see him in about five weeks. It'll be wonderful. I've missed him so much. I won't be able to do much with him but cook, eat, and watch movies, but maybe I can drive with him out to the Dunes and to some of my favorite abandoned places that are easily accessible.

I can't really think of anything else to put in here.

Ha ha ha, that's a lie, I totally can think of things to put in here.

I have no problems with admitting what a magpie I am. It's big, it's sparkly, it's real, and it's mine. I love it so fucking hard. Plus, it was custom made for me. I don't care if I look superficial for saying that I look at it all the god damn time. I love it!

Anyway, I suppose that's all for now. I should probably try and finish this homework. Since it's due at midnight and all.

Conflict and contradiction

My little corner of the world is silent and covered in snow, and the flakes are fat, and still falling.

I feel restless.

Let's break the surface and make a little, happy mess

I'm not sure what possessed me to take a walk through the frozen rain, but I just came back inside. It's 1 am, and the world is asleep, as best as I can tell. I think this is my favorite time to walk around in it. Sometimes, the best thing for you is to feel like there's nobody around but you.

It's cold as balls, though. But me and world don't mind that much.

It's time to join the rest of the world and get a little bit of sleep.

I held on as tightly as you held on to me

I went out on my first photo excursion of the year today, and I'm greatly disappointed.

When I woke up this morning, it was so very, very foggy and cold. I was hoping that the city would be blanketed in hoarfrost, but that hope was dashed. I drove through GoG and watched a hawk circle in a field for ten minutes, but I couldn't get my shit together well enough to take a picture. That's not so bad, I enjoyed watching him. I also watched a herd of deer frolic through the snow, which pleased me greatly. I went to Graffiti falls to try and take some pictures, but they are terrible. Check it:

Meh. Hopefully, the only place to go is up. I'm hoping to become a lot more technically savvy with my camera this year. Maybe then I won't feel like I just luck into photos.

I have a new favorite song. When I say new favorite, I mean seriously. I love this song so much. It gives me all the feels.

Plus, the video is beautiful. And fucking crushing. I really, really, really recommend listening to it.

I've been watching Fringe, Friends, and documentaries on Netflix. It's been wonderfully lazy (except when I'm off running errands, or working out).

School starts again in twelve days.

I've been painting since I got home today. Well, that's not entirely true. I did take about an hour and a half long nap. It was just so warm and cozy on my couch, I couldn't help myself.

I've cut the obviously bad carbs from my diet. Bread, potatos, things of that ilk. I've SEVERELY lowered my intake of red meat, as well, and I've finally kicked the Rockstar habit. Which means I've completely stopped drinking soda.

I don't really have anything interesting to say yet. I will, eventually, because it's been an eventful few weeks (It's been a long time since I've written in here, apparently), and I'd like to decompress everything that's happened in here when I feel ready. But that time when I feel ready is not today. Until then, here's a very rare picture of me smiling, taken in my natural habit, as seen with my favorite of best friends.