Another new one :)
Things are going well. And that makes me excited. I’m not entirely sure what I’ll go on about in this post, but I’ll go on, anyway. 
I have been reading for fun again. It’s such a great feeling. My only problem is that when I get into a book, I GET INTO the book. I can’t put it down. My new friend Susannah introduced me to Twilight by Stephanie Meyer (I believe that’s correct). I was going to use her copy (or her sister’s actually) and read it after she finished. I had a couple of days off and I was just itching for something to read, so I went and bought it and the second book in the series. I read Twilight in 2 days. Front to back. It was incredible. Not only was the book great, but the feeling of reading simply for fun is nearly indescribable.
My friend Susannah, the one mentioned above, cut my hair the other week. It’s gorgeous. I love it. Short. Red. Flirty. Bangs!! Super exciting. Just so you know.
Her birthday is Friday and she has invited me out for some fun with her and a few of her friends from her home. I’m excited to get out and do something with people other than radio people. No offense, the 94.1 crew is fantastic, but I still haven’t quite found my niche with them. And when we go out with 94.1 people, there’s always drinking. Susannah doesn’t drink and thus, no drinking involved. It’ll be good times.
Work is going well but I’m still in a tough spot. This last week was a great week between me and my manager. We had good discussions about the store. She wants to confide in me as her second person. Which is a great compliment. But deep down, I feel bad accepting that because it’s likely that I won’t be there as long as I had originally intended. It’s just not feasable for me to stay at $8.50 an hour… when I know I could be making more. My entrance counselor from University of Phoenix e-mailed me and asked me to e-mail her my resume. She wants me to work for the school which would mean free tuition. And I’d likely be making $36,000 a year or so. Which is more than Justin.. and more than my mom, honestly. I’d love it, but I don’t know… something is holding me back. SOMETHING. What is it, though? I haven’t a clue.
Part of me wants to get in touch with my uncle who lives here to see if he knows someone who knows someone. That’s all this city is. Networking. I know no one.. basically. The people he knows in the casinos could get me a fantastic job. But would he be willing to do that for me? Is it worth it to even try?? I mean.. in the 7 months that I’ve been out here, he hasn’t tried to contact me once. I called him within the first 2 weeks. I guess I’m a bit bitter. And I shouldn’t be. I mean.. he has his life. But he’s never been a part of mine.. and it would sure be nice to have someone here that I can run to for holidays or if I need just someone to talk to. *shrug* Eh. Whatever, I guess.
That’s a bit of a bummer side of this post. Hm..
Justin bought Wii Fit the other day. It’s totally awesome. I had such a good time trying it out. I was completely surprised when it really worked me out. I am looking forward to getting good use out of it. It even keeps a goal tracker and such. It won’t let you put more than a 3lb loss each 2 weeks, but that’s a start. And to be honest, I’d prefer more to tone than anything.
Well.. My battery is almost dead. So I suppose I’ll end this for now. Friends and family, please e-mail me and let me know how YOU are doing. I miss you all!!
LOVE,
Jackie
Uncharacteristic of me…
For many reasons.
The last post was horrible. I apologize to those family members who want do disown me now. I apologize to my friends who thought better of me. I apologize to Justin for risking his and my life. I apologize to everyone. Really.
Also uncharacteristic of me to be posting so often. But I thought after that horrific post, I should probably make it a little better.
Last night was Justin’s birthday celebration at this bar called RoadRunner. We had a few friends who are underage who we thought would probably serve as DD. However, we didn’t ask before leaving. We just assumed. So we drove to the bar and had a good time. Late comes around and I figured I should probably text the friends to see if they would pick us up in a bit. That would determine if I would keep drinking or not. No response.
I really should not have driven home. I wasn’t as drunk as Justin, but I was in no shape to drive. But.. I did. The one nice thing I can say about myself is that I sober up really fast. I have always (almost anyway) played the mommy role at parties. I always take care of Justin. Even on my 21st, I was taking care of him. I should have been better and not drank at all or only had one with my meal. But… I didn’t. Thank god I made it home and everyone was safe.
Again. I apologize to anyone who thinks less of me. I don’t blame you. I really don’t. I think a bit less of myself right now, to be honest.
Much love, if you’ll forgive me.
Jackie
Justin’s Birthday
Justin’s birthday was the 16th. Tonight we celebrated. I was hoping to have a DD home. The DD didn’t respond to our text. Sad. I shouldn’t have driven… with the beer and lack of license… hm…
Needless to say, Justin is passed out on our bed and here I am, writing to you.
Please don’t think less of me. It was safer than him driving home, which he offered. Oy. I didn’t expect to drive, otherwise I would have stopped after the first. *sigh*
I guess the moral to this post is: PLEASE prepare a DD before you leave. Make him or her come with or be prepared to come. Don’t assume that they will pull through if you haven’t talked to them.
A long time coming…
Wow… I am no good, friends. I am no good at all. I got lost in the hustle of big city life… or something of the sort. Here’s an update. I promise I will get better at this. I promise.
Minnesota: I went home from the 13th to the 30th of June. It was incredible. Sorry if I didn’t get to see some of you. I tried to spread myself too thin. I was exhausted the whole trip. And am still recovering, I think. I spent most of my time at home with mom and Rachel. I got there a week before Justin. When he finally came, we had his brother’s wedding in Jackson. That was a really nice wedding. I enjoyed the whole thing. The reception was a bit low-key, but I enjoyed it. It ended pretty early, but I think everyone had a good time. Brian-Paco was my date to the wedding as Justin was in the wedding. It was a grand time ‘crashing’ it. Then I left Justin to spend time with his brother and I returned to Canby. I spent more time at home and saw Dad and Lori a bit as well. That Wednesday I went with Kerrie to Mankato and had a great night on the town. After that, I spent time with Justin and his other brother, Brandon (who is soon to be our roommate – more on that in a bit…). That weekend we made our way to Rollingstone/Winona for his aunt’s wedding. That wedding was absolutely beautiful. I hear the pictures are up, but I have yet to view them myself. I truly felt a part of his family that weekend, which was a huge relief and reminder as to how much I love Justin and his family. We made our way back to Mankato and then to Canby. We spent a short time in Marshall that night to say goodbye to our friends. It was a hard night. I felt all out of sorts. Sorry if any of you felt I was brushing you off. I was just sad to be leaving so soon.
Back to Vegas: We left early that Monday morning with Rachel in tow. She came to spend some time with me out in Vegas, which was great. It was her first plane trip. I felt honored to be a part of that. We had some great time bonding as sisters. We shopped and enjoyed her first sushi as well. I had to go back to work shortly after we got back to Vegas. On the 6th, however, mom and Ben came out to visit as well. It was also Mom’s first trip. I was so excited to get her out here. There aren’t enough words to describe how great it felt to be able to show her my ‘new’ life. She got to see where I live and what I do on a daily basis. I know it will be a while, but I can’t wait for her to come visit again. While they were here, I took Ben out to one of the casino’s near our apartment. We were literally there for maybe 30 minutes before he was up nearly $600. It was incredible. He, out of the goodness of his heart, gave me $200 to help with bills. I was speechless. I tried not to accept it, but he wouldn’t have any of that. We all decided that since the Strip is actually very affordable to stay on, we would spend one night in New York New York. It was just under $100 for us. It was really decent, I’d say. Anyway. I spent time with Rachel doing the arcade and we road the rollarcoaster, too. While we did that, Mom and Ben went gambling. I don’t think Mom enjoyed it much, but you can’t NOT gamble a little when you come to Vegas. Again, Ben put in a few bucks and came out nearly $250 ahead. After Mom and Rach went to bed, Justin, Ben and I went back out to gamble a bit more. Ben and I actually headed to a bar for a bit, but it wasn’t sitting well with me, so I left early. I put in another $20 in a penny slot and ended up winning $500 of my own! AHHH. Incredible. I gave Ben back the $200 that he gave me and played some more. Ben left for a bit again and texted me saying that he won $2,500…. NO WAY. I almost didn’t believe him.. but he wouldn’t lie to me about something that big. I told him we’d be right over, but we had to wait for our drinks. By the time we walked up to find him, the casino clerk was counting the bills into his hand. Oh my gosh. That was probably the best view of my life. All those big bills… AMAZING. Needless to say, he gave me back the $200 and also gave Mom some money for paying for the trip. All in all, their trip was a huge success. It was really hard to say goodbye. I did my best not to cry, but I’m sure a few tears were lost.
Work: When I came back from Minnesota, I started at a new store. This will be my final Payless. I am hired as a full-time associate (just picked my benefits package, actually…). That means no more driving a half hour a day. I have only filled my car once since getting back from MN. That feels SO GOOD. The bad news regarding Payless… I talked to the District Manager while she was in last week. I asked about getting into the SMT program as no one has ever been able to give me answers. She informed me that although she thinks I would be great for the position, she can’t offer it to me as there are no positions available. She went on to say that turn over was basically zero as far as managers go, which means there is no need to hire SMT’s. When she first started in the Las Vegas District, she was told the turn over would be high and so she hired a bunch of SMT’s. And now she has all these SMT’s with no stores to go to. My dreams with Payless were basically shattered. I have started to look for jobs. Not overly actively as I want to give it some time before I give up on Payless. I’m hoping that my talking to her made her look over my file one more time to see if she can find me a position. My new manager just got back from vacation as well. I plan to talk to her about my concerns. I hate to give her an ultimatum… but I am afraid that’s where I’m at. Knowing that there are a ton of great paying jobs in this city really puts a strain on me staying. If I can’t get promoted, what is the point. I mean, I love my job… I love my new coworkers. I am totally happy at this store (and it’s only been 2 weeks!!)… but again, I know I can get a better job with better pay and better benefits… It’s super expensive to be living out here. At the rate I’m making, all I can afford is to live. I am racking up other bills because I can’t afford them. Boo-urns.
School: I’m at a stand-still. Financially I cannot afford University of Phoenix. Although I like the premise of the school, it is just not working out. The staff has not been there to help me find financial options. I have been in contact with as many people as I can get my hands on and it is just not affordable. The positive note on this front: College of Southern Nevada (CSN) is located literally 3 blocks from my apartment complex. I can walk there in 10 minutes. They have a business program AND a photography program. It is significantly cheaper. When I am a Nevada resident, I will be able to go there for approximately $100 per credit hour. Most classes are 3 credits.. thus $300 a class.. MUCH more affordable. Plus financial aid. Not to mention a real-life, sit-in-front-of-me representative.
Living: Justin and I will be moving in 2 weeks. Not far, though. It’s literally a minute walking from where we are now. It’s in the same complex. Just a 2 bedroom apartment instead. We will be moving in with Brandon, Justin’s brother, and his girlfriend Candace. I’m a bit nervous about the whole roommate thing, but I know it will work out just fine. Brandon is totally laid back and Candace and I get along just fine. I’m sure it will be great. Not to mention about $100 less than I am paying a month now. And significantly less for Justin. It will really make our lives a lot easier. And, when/if I get a better paying job, it will really make a difference. I will be able to make huge strides towards my bills.
Cleo: Our kitten is becoming a cat. She has started to go into heat. Poor baby. The first time she went into heat, I contacted the local humane society. Because she is a stray, they have given us the option of a reduced cost spaying treatment. We can have her spayed for only $75. This is a huge difference to what Justin was quoted at the vet he had been taking her. As soon as we get moved into our new place and get semi-settled, she will have her operation. She is doing spectacular otherwise, though. She was a real trooper while we were gone. Vince and Lisa, our friends out here, took care of her and came to play with her. She really enjoyed that and we are ever indebted to them… or at least until we return the favor this coming October.
Life in general: Well… you get the gist of it through the rest of the blog, but I’ll expand a bit more. While in Minnesota, I was really questioning if this was right for me. Being out in Las Vegas and all. I think it was a bit overwhelming as it had been so long since I had been home and then being there for 2.5 weeks. Now that I am back, I am happier than ever. I hate being away from the life I knew, but I’m starting a new life and learning to deal with ‘adult’ things. I am learning to deal with relationship issues (though I am not perfect.. I’ll admit it now). I am learning to make friends (yay for new friends!!). I am learning to love myself. Believe it or not, I haven’t been as happy with myself as I am now… well… ever. I am okay that I am not skinny. I am okay that I don’t feel gorgeous all the time. I am okay with my feet that I constantly have to file because the dry heat hates them.
I am happy.
But I miss you all.
LOVE,
Jackie
UPDATE-ATHON
Yahoo. Here it is, friends and family.
Work – Work is good. Sort of. As far as meeting with the DM, Kiko told me wrong. I thought I was supposed to see her last week, but as I said, Kiko explained wrong. He’s Brazillian, and sometimes gets confused with his English. So then it was moved to this week. The DM sent out a notice to the store managers, and is out all week with a death in the family. My heart goes out to her and her family, but I’m getting impatient. hehe. I’m really looking forward to meeting with her and discussing my opportunities with the company. I’m nervous but so very excited. I supposed the time is okay because it gives me time to prepare.
As far as the Blue Diamond goes, work has been interesting. There are 4 employees including me. Kiko, me, Person A and Person B. Person A is a lot like me. She works full time at the store and is a big worry wort. She is not happy when we come up short in the register or when things are done incorrectly. I don’t blame her. Person B is young. Younger than me and so much more immature. She has had a very hard life. I don’t blame her for being the way she is because of the life she has lived, but some of the things she does I definitely do not agree with. Money has been short in the register several times. The only constant in every night where there is a short is her name. Up until last week, she had been taken off the register and the combination to the safe was changed to see if we could make it work. Kiko took a vacation with his family, so it was just the other 3 of us running the store. Because we had to take breaks and the like, Person B had to be allowed back on the register and the safe. Every night we came up fine, but one morning after Person B had put the money in the safe for the night, there was a short. Again. The only crappy part is that we didn’t catch it until the following morning, obviously. And that day she didn’t work. So it looked like I and Person A had to be the culprit. The feeling was awful. Thankfully, Kiko called this as the last straw and Person B will no longer be with us as of tomorrow. I am a bit nervous as I will be there when she comes in and Kiko fires her. EEK. Although it will make us a lot more safe as far as the money, this puts us in a real bind. We had two people in yesterday to start the interview process. And several people from other stores are helping us in the next two weeks. But it’s likely that I won’t be able to have my birthday off. Which is a bit of crap.. but… I’ll live.
School – School is good. I have a 3.17 or something very close to that. I had an A- in my first class and a B- in my second class. My 3rd class is rolling now. I’m excited to be in the process of getting my degree and am very confident. It’s so fast moving, which makes it hard, but at the same time, it keeps me in check.
Home – The apartment is great. Justin and I are doing great. I’m happy to be here with him and Cleo. Cleo is getting so big. She’s a big runt. Sometimes I really wonder about what’s wrong with her as far as her hyperness, goes. But she’s pretty fantastic.
Me, in general – I’m happy. I’m home-sick, but happy. Everyone was home last Sunday for Rachel’s confirmation. I didn’t know all the boys would be home, too. It was a really eye-opener as to how hard it can be out here without everyone. I cried, a lot. I wanted to be there, so bad. But I know that they all love me and miss me. I wish I could be there, but hopefully I will be home to see everyone soon enough.
My birthday is close. Sunday!! EEK. I’m so very excited. I think the plan is midnight bowling at $1 a game and $1 bottled beer. I think the only people who are going are me, Justin, Steph (his sister), Juan (Justin’s co-worker), and maybe Drea (Justin’s other co-worker). After I get off of work on Sunday, if I work, I think Leady and I will probably go have a drink. I’m so very excited! Not that drinking is a huge part of my life, but it’ll be nice to be ‘of age’ to go to Justin’s dart games and his concerts for Mix that are 21+. Etc.
Anyway.. It’s my day off and I have to enjoy it. I’m going to get some school work done. I’ll talk to you all soon.
MUCH LOVE,
Jackie
A big thank you…
To everyone who keeps checking in even though I haven’t written anything. Happy day, I did. 
Just going to update on a few things. Life in general is okay. I’m feeling great. I have officially lost 20 lbs since I’ve been out here. And yesterday, one of my coworkers and I put a bet together about losing weight. So that’s some great motivation.
Justin and I are doing well. We have our moments, I think everyone does. But I am so glad to come home at night and give him a hug. It’s about the only thing that makes ‘everything’ okay these days.
Work is alright. I’m a bit bummed/aggravated.
Chris just called.. and I have to get ready to go to work. I will write again soon. I promise.
RESULTS:
Well.. Everyone.. I’M HEALTHY!!!!!!
Yes. It’s true. I am healthy and my doctor is happy with my progress and yay!! Actually, the culture from my breast showed no infection or bacteria. And the ultrasound just showed inflammation. She was about as confused as me. However, because I break out a lot in the chest area, she assumes that is all that it was. Nothing out of the ordinary. It just didn’t want to surface and wanted to stick around. However, it is now nearly completely gone. She asked about it and asked if she could double check it and was so impressed by the progress. She scheduled a follow up ultrasound in 6 months to make sure all of the inflammation is gone. Yay.
I am so very happy with results and I wanted to let all of you know as soon as I could. I took a long nap this afternoon since it was my day off! Yay for that, too.
I will write soon and let you all fill in on little things.
LOVE YOU ALL,
Jackie
Quick update:
Isn’t my blog pretty now? Yay!!
I am going to be going to the doctor tomorrow to finally get results from my ultrasound. Should be pretty interesting. I’m glad to be going back finally and I am feeling pretty confident about it.
As far as my kidney infection, I am feeling loads better. There was a bit of a set-back, which actually makes me think I was passing a kidney stone instead, but.. eitherway… I am feeling so much better. I lost like 10lbs and going since I’ve been sick with this damn infection. I can’t complain about it. Except that my pants are fitting a bit loose and I can’t afford new ones at the moment.
Mom informed me that I had to pay in on my taxes this year. SAD day. And I’m sure that the next few years will be the same if she continues to claim me. I guess that’ll be a decision we’ll have to make semi-soon, however. I’ll be getting my license changed to NV in less than a month, and I think with me changing residency, I’ll have to be on my own that way. But I guess I’m not sure.
School is going well. I am really tired of my current class and the situations surrounding it, but as I said in my last post, I have a post coming up just about school. I promise it’s coming. I’ll probably work on it tomorrow as it’s my day off. But, we’ll see.
Yep, that’s about it. I’m going to for sure post results from my doctors visit. I’ll be eager to get in touch with everyone to let them know. I’m assuming most of you will be glad to hear the final results. If you’ve got an extra minute, say a quick prayer that it’s good news. I’m strong enough that I can deal with a bit of tough news, too… but I’m seriously hoping for something good.
LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!
Jackie
Medical Expenses Part 2
First, Happy APRIL! I’m a big fan of the month, as most of you know. I hope it’s good for everyone. Soon sunshine will be everywhere and snow will be gone. Rain will start falling (probably not here). And the grass will turn green (not here either). I are excited!!!
I miss everyone a lot! I’m so glad that people are still interested in reading my blog and in keeping up with everything going on in my life. I am ever so happy that I can stay connected with my family and friends.
So, part two on the medical stuff.
Where to begin.. haha.
Saturday morning I woke up and thought I was going to throw up. I tried, even tried to force myself thinking that might help. Nothing. I had incredible amounts of pain in my right lower to mid back. I woke Justin and was going to go pick up some extra strength tylonal. He called his mom, who is going to school to be a nurse, and she though instantly that I had a kidney infection. Being that it was a Saturday there wasn’t much I could do about it unless I wanted to sit in a line at the ER for up to 8 hours. I didn’t realize that out here they have Urgent Care clinics that are a bit faster. Anyway.. we did the tylonal for the day and it helped. The pain actually went away within an hour or so of taking the medicine. I couldn’t call into work because it was my bosses well deserved day off. I would have felt awful calling him in that day. I did call to talk to him about it and we worked something out for Sunday so that I wouldn’t have to be there.
Good thing, too. Sunday I woke up with the same pain only the tylonal couldn’t even help this time. I told Justin I wanted to go to the ER. He called his mom, who told us to go to an Urgent Care. We tried the one right around the corner, but couldn’t find the entrance or anything. So we made our way towards the closest hospital hoping we’d find a clinic on the way. When I was still looking for a job, I had to take a urine test at a clinic and Justin thought he remembered there being an Urgent Care on the way. And there was. Thankfully he has a very good selective memory. We got there.. as I was signing in I knew I was going to lose it.. I ran outside. And the trashcan got a nice little piece of me.
Anyway… Sorry for that. I went back in and filled out the sign in sheet. I asked for a bucket or something just in case. We waited… and waited… Finally my name got called. For a urine sample. I couldn’t go. I had nothing in me to go. I tried. Whatever… I went back to the waiting room. My name got called again to fill out paperwork. I did the best I could. Met someone from Minnesota (surprisingly there are a lot of us around these parts). The lady helping me was so nice and so caring. She knew I was not feeling well so did most of the work on her own. Only asking questions that were simple or that she couldn’t answer on her own. Finished that and then waited some more. Finally, my name got called again. Into the doctors office I go. I was asked to give another sample as the first wasn’t enough. I did, thankfully. I was waiting… and I couldn’t get comfortable. Luckily I had my handy little baggy thing with me. I gave them a sample of more than they wanted. haha. The doctor finally came in and confirmed that I did indeed have a UTI or a mild kidney infection. He was going to give me several prescriptions. I of course had to wait a little longer to get the prescriptions.
3.5 hours later and we were on our way to Walgreens to fill the prescription. Yay. We got there and I thought I was going to lose it again. I didn’t. But I wanted to go home more than anything. The guys at Walgreens were very understanding and we left the prescription to be filled. Justin brought me home and got me settled in bed. He went back to pick up the medicine and played nurse the rest of the day.
I have been sleeping off an on since we got home, basically. I haven’t left the house since Sunday morning and am happy that I am feeling better. The medicines are kicking my butt. I thought I had better control over my body than that, but I just better let them do what they need to do.
I can’t explain how wonderful Justin and his mom have been out here. Of course it’s hard to be away from Mom who usually took care of me in these types of situations, but they have been the best replacements I could ask for. I feel so lucky to have them around to take care of me in times like these.
Like I said, I am feeling a ton better. The only downfall about being home so much is that there’s loud, loud, LOUD construction going on in the lot next to our apartment. It’s kind of annoying and hard to sleep through. But I’m sure I will live.
I sent some cards to the angels in my life. I haven’t heard yet if they have received them. I’m going to have to e-mail or call them soon. You know who you are if you’re reading. I hope I touched your hearts as much as you have touched mine.
Anyway. There’s my post. My update. I hope I am not worrying you all too much. I’m beginning to wonder what is wrong with me. I promise I am taking care of myself as best I can. I am going to do even better.
I will be writing again soon to tell about school as I definitely need to unload a bit about that.
LOVE YOU ALL,
Jackie
Bloggity Bloog
Yes. Bloog. Pronounced Blu-ghe.
I miss your faces. It’s true. I’ve been enjoying myself lots here. I am really, truly preparing for my birthday next month. I was hoping I’d have some company from back home; however I will make the best of it either way.
I have been putting in extra hours and have budgeted for next month (my birthday month). By the second week of the month, I will have all of my bills paid for the next month. Which means the two later checks will be totally for my spending. This includes a new outfit and shoes for my birthday night as well as money for going out for my birthday. Woohoo! Yay for budgeting and getting stuff in line. I should have enough, too, to go to the doctor and get everything finalized. Yahoo.
I feel really good about having my stuff in line.
I also got my tax information sent off to one of my fantastic Aunts. When I get my returns, I am going to purchase my plane ticket home in June. Prices are going up fast, so I am hoping that I will get the returns soonish. But I must remember to be patient and ever so thankful to my aunt. She has done taxes for me for many years and I am very glad not to have to worry about them myself. I am going to give her a call tomorrow to make sure she received the letter I sent. I’ll have to call Mom to get her number. Yay fun!
Hm.. What else is up?
School is going. Team projects will be the death of me, I swear. It’s so hard to work in a team of people who are all professionals and most of them parents. We’re working over the internet with limited communication otherwise (though I’ve had some fantastic team members, don’t get me wrong…) and it’s not very successful. Our last project was the worst grade I’ve gotten so far in any of my classes and was also the lowest of all groups in my class. Sad day. We’re aiming for much better this time.
Work is great. As I said, I am working more hours and my paychecks are showing that. It’s very exciting to be getting back into 40 hours +. It’s a place I know and love, unbelievably.
Well, my show is almost over and it’s 2 in the morning. I have to be to work by noon. I should PROBABLY get some sleep.
Love you all and talk to you all soon!
Jackie
