Lianhua.nu

Soapbox & Kittens

No, I don’t have a rant to share, and no, I’m not standing up for some random cause.

Soapbox is my new job!

I’m not going to link it or give the real name, for privacy reasons (and because I don’t want to jinx it), but I am now an “Associate Producer” for a small, NYC-and-LA-based webdesign company focused on the design and development of websites for non-profit organizations, many of whom are focused on making this world and its environment a healthier, better place.
At the moment, it’s just part-time, up to 15-20 hours per week… but eventually it could turn into something bigger, I think. At the very least, it will be a great experience for me!

I found the job through a friend of mine who has worked for them for a while now (also as an Associate Producer). She has always raved about how much she loves working for them, and about how great the people are, so when she said they were looking to pick up another associate producer, I pounced! (Especially because, as I won’t be a student at SLC in the fall, it’ll be difficult for me to keep my job at SLC as I know it now — same hours, etc. — so I needed another job anyway.)

I’m really excited!! They’ve already set up my accounts and things and have told me to start exploring the CMS they use… Yay!

In other news… our friend Kimmie’s kitten Moses (who is a girl but was found in a bush and therefore has a symbolic name) is staying with us! Kimmie is moving back on campus in the fall (er.. next week!) and can’t have her kitty there, so Mosie is staying with us. She’s feisty! It’s such a change of pace to have a kitten in the house again… So much energy!
But when she settles down for a few minutes, it’s the most adorable thing in the world. Today she laid with Sean for a good hour or so and took a nap on him. I snapped some photos on Sean’s phone, but I’ll have to get them later — it’s in the bedroom charging.
Toby and Oscar are taking to her fairly well… Of course it’s a little difficult since they’re used to being (very) large and in charge… They like to challenge her quite a bit (and vice-versa) but they’re dealing well. It should be interesting during this next semester…

Anyway… Just a quick update here… I’m going to be opening a new (and separate) blog at some point, with more “generic” content — less personal, more reviews and things like that — so keep an eye out…

Autumn in New York

Okay, so it’s not really fall yet, but it might as well be.

The summer’s pretty much over now — classes start in just a couple of weeks. And I’m a little bit of petrified. But I know I’ll get through it; I’m just nervous being at a new school and having to make my way up there and all that.

I’m also nervous about my class registration again. One of my classes (the Physics of Light and Sound) was canceled, so I have to register for another one… I’m considering a creative writing intensive, which is actually taught by a Sarah Lawrence MFA recipient, but I’m not sure if SLC will accept it, or if it would be way too easy for me. I’m waiting to hear back from the registrar on it.

I had to get a physical exam this past Friday because SUNY Purchase likes to make my life hell needed another one done for health requirements or something before I start classes there. I guess they just want to rule out the idea that I might spread some kind of Sarah Lawrence crazy hippy germs communicable disease across their campus, but it was a pain. Literally. I happened to get a General Practitioner who specializes in internal medicine, so instead of just saying “okay, your blood pressure used to be high but it seems better now” she wanted to do ANOTHER blood workup… and this time it caught me off guard, and so I kind of almost passed out, broke into a sweat and nearly threw up freaked out… slightly. They also hooked me up to the EKG to make sure that the previous blood pressure bouts hadn’t enlarged my heart or something. Whatever, no big deal, except for the fact that instead of the female doctor seeing me bare-chested and hooking up the machine, it was her slightly nervous, very apologetic, probably-gay-but-no-less-awkward-around-boobies male assistant/receptionist.
He saw my boobies. /dies.

SUNY Purchase damn well better appreciate everything I’ve done for them. I never want to go to a new college again. (Okay, that’s not true, but I don’t want to go to one anytime soon.)

So anyway, I’m back in NY. Photos from the cruise are still going to come, I promise… I just have to stop being lazy. And take care of a few other things first. Ack!

Cruise Gush #1 of 500,000…

Well, my darling Sean is on his way back to New York, and I’m still here, on Sanibel. Who will I snuggle with tonight?

Oh that’s right, I have my Cody Bear! He’ll keep me full of snuggles and not too lonely… I hope. You just never know how much someone influences your sleep until they’re not laying there next to you.

I have over 300 photos to go through from the cruise… I know there are probably at least 25-50 that will be cut from the list, but that still leaves over 200. Aiya.

But I think the number of photos is a testament to how absolutely fabulous the cruise was. I can’t even begin to gush about everything that happened! Some highlights:
I went snorkeling for the first time. And second and third times. The first time was in Shipwreck Cove off the coast of St. Maarten (on the Dutch side, I believe). We went around to six different sunken ships, saw tons of fish and got to feed a couple as well! I have photos from it, that I’ll be uploading soon… Then the second and third times were on a reef at Princess Cays, off the coast of Eleuthera, in the Bahamas, and they were two of the most breathtaking and surreal experiences of my life. We bought a bag of fish food with our snorkel equipment rental, and Sean and I went out on the reef and fed the fish… They came up within inches of us! There were tons of them, swimming all around! Sean took our underwater camera down there and took a ton of photos of them… Emily is getting them developed for me, so watch for those later!
I got my hair braided. It took FOREVER, but a local girl on St. Thomas braided my hair! It looks woooonderful! :D And it’s so amazingly freeing to not have to worry about my hair tangling! Although, while we were on St. Thomas I managed to get some sand in my hair/braids, which has still not washed out completely! But that’s okay, because it happened on the best beach on St. Thomas!
With the help of a taxi driver, we found one of the greatest beaches on St. Thomas, and it was practically deserted! It’s called Morning Star Beach, and it was fantastic. Beautiful, crystal clear water, soft white sand, big waves! It was so amazing! We have a ton of photos from there…

Photos photos photos galore! They’ll all be in a special collection on my Flickr called Cruise 2007 – Eastern Caribbean.

So far, I’ve got the first snorkeling photos up, from St. Maarten! Goooo check em out! :)

I’m going to miss being able to go on vacations like this, if I ever get a “big people” job… I think we’ll just have to be super careful with our planning, though… I think we can do it. At least until we have children, if ever. (I’m still dead set on adopting…) I don’t ever want to be so tied down to life that I can’t go somewhere beautiful like the islands we visited last week… If I do get that way, someone come smack me and make me buy tickets for another cruise!!!!

Anyway, I’m going to get a little snack, watch some TV with my parents and sister and wait for my sweetheart to call me and tell me he’s home and he, my kitties and my chinnie are happy and waiting for me! :)