New neighbors....

So, in the apartment complex I live in, there are 4 apartments, two upstairs and two downstairs. I live in one that is downstairs. Last semester there were mostly girls living here, we were all quiet, and no one really had any problems with anyone else. Now, one of the girls moved out while I was in Washington, and the other day I came home from work and there was a U-Haul in the parking area, so I knew someone was moving in. Little did I know, they'd be the loudest, most annoying people I've ever not met in my entire life.

Now, you may think I'm being over dramatic about all of this, but I can assure you I'm not. Above me now lives a couple, a young child (I'm assuming around 1 or 2), and a dog. The couple argues constantly, the child cries every now and then but is quickly screamed at, and when the family goes out, the dog won't shut up. I've also been talking to the other upstairs neighbor about this (via facebook lol), and she said the new tenants also make the entire upstairs smell...

I've thought about going about this several different ways. First, I called my mom and she said I could go up there and let them know I heard there baby, and that I just thought I'd let them know that if they need a break or a babysitter, that I'm just down stairs and if I'm not working or in class, I'd gladly help out since I'm the oldest and have plenty of experience babysitting. Now while that sounds like a great idea, I don't want them to fire back something about their child being none of my business, or even having them accept it and abuse the fact that I offered to babysit and dropping their kid off at my apartment constantly.

Another way I think this could be handled is by leaving a polite note on their door asking them to please keep their voices down and their yelling to a minimum since they're surrounded by college kids that work late so they would like to sleep in. And also asking them not to use swear words like "GD" and dropping the F-bomb every other word at their child, and also requesting that they figure out a way to make their dog stay quiet while they're not home, perhaps by keeping a television or radio on, so it gets use to others making noise, or opening doors.

I'm really not sure how to go about this, but if I wake up one more time because of their incessant arguing, I'm going to pitch a fit, and alert the landlord. The biggest thing that bothers me is them yelling at their child, and not trying to resolve the issue. I feel so bad for that poor kid. I'm not even sure what to do...

ANY IDEAS?!

Help!

Is it at all possible that someone could give me a ride to Seattle Airport on Monday the 29th?? I have to be there by 11:30pm, but if you'd want to drop me off earlier than that so you could make sure the passes are open, I'm down with that too. I don't care as long as I'm able to make it over there. I'll pay for your gas...

I really was prepared origionally, I promise! It's just stupid stuff happened and so it sucks, and now the person that was going to give me a ride, there car broke and it isn't fixed when it was supposed to be.


So please think about it, and let me know A.S.A.P.


Thanks,
KaTrina

It's our turn....

It's our turn to be proud of the teacher instead of the teacher being proud of us. My 8th grad biology teacher has had a rough 18 months, but has done an amazing job being positive and coping with everything, and I couldn't be more proud...

Kennewick man to run miracle mile
By Sara Schilling, Herald staff writer

One of Tony Greager's doctors once called him the "unluckiest" man he'd ever met.

The 50-year-old teacher from Kennewick fell ill during a family vacation in Florida in 2007 and has spent the last 18 months fighting for his life.

He endured paralysis, open heart surgery and months of uncertainty.

Just weeks ago, he was using a cane to get around. Before that, he needed a walker and a wheelchair.

But today, he plans to walk a mile on his own during the annual Cable Bridge Run.

It's a triumph that has him feeling pretty, well, lucky.

"I dreamed about being in the position where I could talk about this in the past (tense)," he said.

He's so close now.

Greager was on a family vacation at Disney World with his wife, Kaye, and son Kevin, 14, when he noticed numbness in his toes, then his hands.

That was June 2007. He went to the hospital and soon couldn't move his arms or legs. He eventually was airlifted back to Washington.

Months in Seattle, Spokane and Richland hospitals followed. Greager was able to spend Thanksgiving and Christmas at home, but in January he needed open heart surgery to replace two heart valves. The heart damage possibly was from medication he was taking to help with his condition.

He then dealt with more surgeries, infections and abscesses.

Doctors determined Greager had a neurological disorder called chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy. It's considered the chronic form of Guillain-Barr syndrome, in which the immune system attacks part of the nervous system, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. There's no known cure.

Greager had never heard of either condition before he became sick. It was difficult to go from being a strapping 6-foot-1 man used to taking care of his family to someone confined to a hospital bed, he said.

He tried not to be angry and instead tried to believe he soon would be OK.

He got to come home for good at the end of May. He now has regular physical and occupational therapy and has been walking laps at the Columbia Center mall to speed his progress.

He's often outpaced by mall walkers who are much older, but that doesn't bother him, he said. Neither did a question from a man who spotted him doing his laps the other day.

The man asked why Greager -- who takes slow, stilted steps -- was walking so funny.

"I said, 'You should have seen me four months ago,' " Greager recalled, chuckling.

That positive attitude has inspired family and friends.

"He has outstanding character and unbelievable motivation," said Kristie Wellman, his physical therapist. "He's one of those people (who believe) if you put your mind to it, you can do anything."

She's going to be at the Cable Bridge Run and plans to seek out Greager to congratulate him. He's supposed to have a large cheering section.

Family, friends and other teachers from the Finley School District are supposed to walk with him wearing T-shirts that say, "Tony is back, baby! Courage, perseverance, determination." A limo ride also is planned.

Greager's older brother, Eric Greager of Richland, said the special reception is a way to show Tony how awed people are by his bravery.

"The things he's had to go through -- I'm really proud of him," Eric Greager said. "I'm amazed at what he's done."

Tony Greager soon will have another milestone to celebrate. He's going back to work in the Finley School District -- where he's taught for 27 years -- part-time in January.

He said he feels good about the progress he's made, and that he owes it to the family and other supporters he has in his life.

He'll also feel good crossing the finish line today after such a long journey.

"It's a goal that I set," he said. "It'll be nice to go out and reach it."

Have you ever....

Have you ever wondered what the 12 Days of Christmas would really cost? Click here to find out It's kinda neat :)

Anyway, today I wrapped all the Christmas presents because we're going to Yakima for family Christmas tomorrow :) It's going to be fun, but theres a winter weather warning so hopefully we'll make it back okay.

Snow snow snow....

Ick. Make it all go away! lol

Theres so much snow! ...When did it start snowing in the tri-cities and not melting by noon?! Ugh. Yucky yucky yucky.

Home sweet home...

We rolled into Finley at about 10:45pm. The trip back home was fairly uneventful, except when we got lost in North Bend looking for a potty... That was bad news bears, but we're better now! :)

I'm home! :) Woo! But my body is still on the 2 hour difference so I woke up at 7:30 this morning with absolutely no problem. ICK! lol

Now to figure out what to do while I'm here...Hmmm....

Minnesota

is cold. I paid for internet I was so bored!!!

So I got to Kansas City Airport at 7:30am because we were trying to beat a big snow storm... When we got about 20mins away WOO here comes the snow! It was bad news bears. I knew that my plane would get delayed if I was lucky, possibly even canceled...So I went and got put on standby on a different flight, and luckily I got out of KC at 9:30am.. They had to "de-ice" the plane before it took off, boy oh boy is that comforting. ANYWAY! I'd rather spend time in St. Paul where they're not under sever weather warnings, and so I can make my next connection. With my connection only being 30 mins, i knew I needed to get on the soonest flight possible because there was a VERY real chance I could have missed that flight and not been on the next flight until late tonight, so I made it :)

Now I get to sit here and people watch. Anyway, I'm off to play on the computer some more and then i need to get on a plane and head to Seattle! Woo!

See ya all soonish!

I'm leavin' on a jet plane....

So I'm packed and I'm ready to go! I leave tomorrow EARLY in the morning to head off for a day full of travel. It takes 2 hours to get to the Kansas City airport, then a 2 hour flight to Minnesota, then a 3 hour flight to Seattle and a 4 hour drive from Seattle back home. Oi vey! It'll all be worth it!

I can't wait to see you all! Just a few more hours!

Scratch that....

I thought I was feeling better.... I was kind of excited about being busy at work too... that didn't happen either.

I puked at work. I got sent home. It wasn't busy anyway. On a day that most of us were expecting to make $80-$100 most of us made $15-30... Horrible.


...Goodnight.

Feeling slightly better.

So I'm feeling a little bit better, which is GOOD, especially because tonight is graduation so at work tonight we will be SLAMMED! (Yay money, boo busy.)...

But, I'm not letting this feeling under the weather keep me down!

Yesterday I:
>Did dishes
>Made dinner
>Did ALL the laundry
>Addressed Christmas cards (both mine and Adams)
>Cleaned my bedroom

Hooray! It's such a stress reliever once all that is done!

Today I get to:
>Return Textbooks to Textbook services (at NWMSU we rent ours for a flat fee each semester, SO much cheaper than buying them) (CHECK!)
>Go to the wellness center before it closes to make sure I'm not dying (CHECK! Sinus Infection...Go figure)
>Buy stamps (CHECK)
>Write/Type Christmas letter (CHECK)
>Stuff Christmas cards (CHECK)
>Stamp/Mail Christmas cards (CHECK)
>Pay Bills/Mail (CHECK)
>Get half way packed
>Shower(CHECK)
>Work at 5 (this is inevitable so it gets a pre-check)(CHECK)


Oh goodness. Lets get off Blogger and get to work!


(Oh and thanks for the get well wishes! Also, I hope to use the "liarface" someday when someone lies to me about a birthday at work!)

Oh goodness...I'm a slacker.

I'm so sorry it's been so long since I've had a post with any substance, this one I promise will not let you down!

Lets start with the week of Thanksgiving:
Thanksgiving Adam, Patches (my puppy), and myself headed to Indiana! It was quite the long drive, but with a book on CD I managed to have some company while Adam and the puppy took long naps. While I was driving I saw some pretty deer out in pastures, a beautiful sun rise (that blinded me) and some horribly amusing signs about how guns kill thieves, are good for protection, etc etc...
Anyway! We arrived in Indiana at about 5pm after dealing with horrible traffic in Indianapolis, as per usual. Once we got there we were mauled by children, but I didn't mind :) I missed them all too!
We had our Thanksgiving Dinner on Thanksgiving, and the next morning, my sisters, adam, and myself went out to face the crowds for some wicked cool savings and got just about everyones presents! We did pretty good. :) Then on Friday night we took my mom and stepdad out for dinner at Texas Road House... Now heres where this gets kind of interesting. Adam and I got there before my mom and step dad and my moms birthday was a month ago almost exactly when we were there so I told the waiter that and sure enough after our meal he shows up with a group of his server friends and uses the lamps as a spot light to announce a birthday for my mom and she goes "NO NO NO my birthday was a month ago!" and I said "well yeah, but I drove 10 hours and I wasn't here for her birthday so will you please embarass her just a little bit?!" and he said no and turned the spot light on ME!!!!! He then announced me as "Liarface", and made me turn all sorts of red. It was funny, but it was even better when he came with the bill and I told him I was paying ;). But he was a great server, and we tipped him accordingly...even if he did embarass the crap out of me.

So after Indiana...It was finals week! UGH talk about stress! But it's okay, I'm better now! :) Because finals are OVER!! HALLELUJAH! But now I'm sick...Ick! But that's okay too! I'm going to be flying 1/2 way across the U.S. on Tuesday so I'd rather get this sickness out of me now, and not have to deal with it while I'm having mucho fun with my family!

So yeah. Sorry I've been gone so much, I hope you understand! I'll try to post more later. :)

My family, the dancers...

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Bahaha.

See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die

Digitools

Hey everyone.

All of my digitool blogs have been transferred to this blog so that my normal blog can remain a little more private. If you'd like to continue reading about the technology I've been playing with, check it out there :)

Thanks!


Also, I'll write about my time in Indiana today or tomorrow, as I don't work both days.

In Indiana

Hey everyone! I hope all of your Turkey Day/Black Friday festivities went better than planned! I'm in Indiana surrounded by friends and family and will definitely tell you all about it later!

Prop. 8

Just incase you're not on my e-mail list!

Well hello hello friends and family!!


I hope all is well with everyone. I know it's been a while since I've sent out an e-mail update, so I just thought it was due. This semester is going really well, and I'm managing to stay very busy. I'm working at Applebee's and Domino's, and taking classes 5 days a week from 9am-noon. It's a lot of fun, and I really enjoy it (most days). It's beginning to get colder than I'm comfortable with here, and people laugh at me when I say I'm cold, and that the weather we have now, is the winter I'm use to in Eastern Washington (A lot of times, they don't believe me.) It's just been that nasty wet, cold and windy. Most of you know what I'm talking about!

I've made more friends than I ever thought possible after moving away from a home I lived at so long, and I love it. I still miss home, and defenitly plan on returning to Eastern Washington eventually.

As per usual, I plan on sending out Christmas cards and such, so if you could e-mail me your address (I don't write them down or save them, for some stupid reason, maybe I'll start this year.) and also if you could e-mail me others that you think I may not get because I don't have their e-mail, that would be great!


Thanks so much and I hope you're all doing well! I would love to hear from all of you and hear about whats going on in your life!

Love you all and Happy Holidays!
-KaTrina Gayken

Addiction.

Super Obama World.


.....That is all.

Amazing. :)

Well hello!

I just thought i'd inform you about my Artsy Friend Mindy!

She has a great knack for making little decorative pieces and interesting paintings that are sure to strike up a conversation! You should check out her website: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5694509

Go vote!

I don't really care who you vote for, just go do it. It's your privilege, right and obligation.


This is a defining point in history, you should be proud to be a part of it!

The Palm Treo

The palm treo is basically a hand-held computer. It is very easy to learn to use, and has a lot of great features. The camera's quality on the palm trio is much better than your average cell phone's camera. It also has a keyboard that is optional to use through bluetooth. I really enjoyed using the keyboard and I can understand how it would be useful during a meeting or other note taking event.

The above picture was taken with the Treo

Once upon a time...

Once upon a time there was this guy, we'll call him Veronica, yes I'm aware that Veronica is a girls name, but you'll just have to deal with it (and so will he). Well, Veronica and I were great friends, then something changed. I'm not sure what. Just something. Suddenly he deleted me off of everything, and also deleted a really great blog he wrote in toast of our friendship. Unfortunately Veronica won't answer my phone calls, but I'd really appreciate it if he did because I'd like to know what happened. This is kind of like the time he missed my friends wedding, and beat himself up about it, so I went over to his house and made him stop.


...But Veronica just texted me and said we're no longer friends. So I guess I should just stop writing this.

..Good bye Veronica.

There are still some amazing people in this world...

Its so amazing the things some people will do for complete strangers...

Look at this:

Abuse of tradition pt. 2

If you want to follow up on others reactions, check here:

http://www.nwmissourinews.com/home/index.cfm?event=displayArticleComments&ustory_id=9d5cc398-2603-495e-a6d1-8eda92230e25