pcthegreat's Xanga

An inspiring story...

Mon, 11 May 2009 06:47:13 GMT

Sunday afternoon thoughts

Sun, 26 Apr 2009 19:58:43 GMT

Well, the work week is over and now the weekend is more than half over.

At work we got a decent amount of orders on Thursday and Friday, which is good. We now have five things scheduled for next week, plus three reports from last week to finish. Friday the office is going to be closed.

Matt and I are probably going to Yosemite next weekend. I am having a harder time planning this trip then I have had with most other trips. I am kind of disgruntled that everything around Yosemite is so expensive to stay in. It is probably a bit too cold to go camping there at this time of year. I think KOA is the cheapest option with staying in a kabin for $60 a night. Even that seems quite expensive to me. Even kamping at KOA is $40 a night. Holy cow.

------------------

Today Matt and I decided to try out the church that is nearest to us. It was interesting. The sign says the service starts at 11:00, but we were not late so I think they started at like 10:58. There was a lady in the entrance way who knew we were new, and wrote down our names. After the church sang the first song, the entrance way lady came in and pointed out the visitors and said their names. That was pretty shocking.

This church actually sang 100% of their songs out of the hymnal with a piano and organ. And the pastor spent like the first 10-15 minutes of the sermon telling about events from his life. And they had an invitation at the end with more hymn singing and the pastor talking above the singing urging people to come forward. They also have a Sunday night service and a Wednesday evening Bible study. It has been a long time since I have been to a church like that. Reminds me of my long-time attended church in Vegas when I first started going there (though over the years they have changed their style and are not like that anymore).

The people who were sitting on either side of us were friendly to us, and the one lady said she hopes we will come back. Then on the way out the entrance hall lady had Matt write down our address. I told Matt to only give them our PO Box, otherwise they would most likely come to visit us. I am not so fond of uninvited visitors.

After church we went to Qudoba and talked about the video games that are on sale at Best Buy that we should buy. How romantic.

And now Matt is off to spend the rest of the day at his friend's house in Carson City. Hopefully I can be productive today. I wish I had some fairies to do all the laundry and unpack all my boxes for me. We have been moved for two months now and still over 50% of our kitchen stuff is in boxes. I would also like to set up our outside area. Currently everything is just haphazardly placed on the patio. It would be nice to like have the patio furniture arranged in a way that one could actually sit there and use the table. I am a bit worried though that by unstacking everything that I am giving it the potential to blow away. The wind in northern Nevada is quite strong, and especially in the outer laying parts of town where we are now.

Have you had enough of my rambling thoughts yet?

A-Z 2009

Tue, 06 Jan 2009 09:45:11 GMT

Here is a fun survey to start out 2009 (I suppose)

A
- Available: No, married
- Age: 22.- Annoyance: people who don't listen to my questions over the phone.Aaaaaaaaahhhh
- Animal: Princess

B
- Beer: yucky
- Birthday: April 4 - the best day of the year!
- Best Friends: none
- Best feeling in the world: having someone do something nice for me
- Best weather: sunny and hot... is winter over yet?
- Been in love: I suppose
- Been on stage: Yes
- Believe in Magic : Sure
- Believe in God: yes
- Believe in Santa: not really

C
- Candy: do you have chocolate?
- Color : Pink
- Chocolate/ Vanilla: Chocolate!!
- Chinese/ Mexican: depends on what we are having
- Cake or pie: Cake if it is yummy
- Continent/ Country to visit : Greece

D
- Day or Night: Night
- Dance in the rain: I'll stay inside, thanks.

E
- Eggs: soft scramble
- Eyes: greenish with a brownish rim
- Everyone has: annoying habits
- Ever failed a class: sort of, but not really.

F
- Full Name: Catherine Moody Cochrane
- Food: something healthy would be good

G
- Greatest Fear: I don't know
- Goals: to lose 20-25 pounds this year.The Curves adds that are everywhere are tempting me
- Gum: none
- Get along with your parents: ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
- Good luck charm: uhm?

H
- Hair Color : Brown
- Height: 5'3"
- Happy: sometimes
- Holiday: Nevada Day
- How do you want to die: In my sleep, without me knowing... amen!

I
- Ice Cream : Chocolate
- Instrument : Guitar?

J
- Jewelry: pretty things
- Job: too many of them

K
- Kids: not yet
- Kickboxing or karate: none
- Keep a journal: in my head

L
- Longest Car Ride: Disneyland
- Letter: what about it?
- Laughed so hard you cried : I guess

M
- Milk flavor: chocolate
- Motion sickness: sometimes... has greatly been helped by chiropractic care
- McD’s or BK: neither, thanks

N
- Number of Siblings: 1
- Number of Piercings: 0
- Number: 3

O
- One wish: to have no debt

P
- Perfect Pizza : pepperoni with not too much cheese and enough yummy sauce
- Pepsi / Coke: Pepsi, but I will drink either

Q
- Quail: some come around my house

R
- Reason to cry: hurt, pain
- Reality TV: The Amazing Race... I would love to travel the world
- Radio Station: country or christian
- Roll your tongue in a circle: can't
- Ring size: 4... I have long, thin fingers

S
- Song: Peace on Earth is my current favorite
- Shoe size: 6.5 or so
- Salad Dressing: ranch
- Skipped School: once on a half day when I thought there was no point in going. turns out that was the only day I missed and I could have had a perfect attendance award.:(
- Slept outside: Yes
- Skinny dipped: No
- Shower daily: no
- Sing well: maybe
- In the shower: not so much
- Strawberries/ Blueberries: Strawberries

T
- Time for bed: Whenever... usually late
- Thunderstorms: bring back the sun!

U
- Unpredictable: yes

V
- Vacation spot: Hawaii!
W
- Weakness: good Food
- Which one of your friends acts most like you: none
- Which friend makes you laugh the most: none
- Wanted to be a model: not really, though once when I was younger a lady who worked at the thrift store asked me if I was a model. Uhm, no.

- Where do we go when we die: depends...
- Worst Weather: snow and cold

X
- X- Rays: back and teeth

Y
- Year it is now: 2009... duh
- Yellow: bright

Z
- Zoo animal: anything fun to watch

Updates on Life

Sun, 23 Nov 2008 09:48:58 GMT

Hello,

I thought I would post a blog and let you know about our updates for this year:

Me:

- I finally received my Real Estate Appraiser Intern license!! Yay!! I have been working towards it for the past several years, and was starting to think that it wouldn't even happen. The state made a mess of my paper work when I applied, sent it back to me twice, and thought my name was Christine. But finally on October 30th the state decided to issue me a license! I anticipate my internship will take about three years.

- I applied to get my General Studies Associates Degree. What does that do? Nothing really, besides for allow me to say that I have a two year degree. Real estate appraising does not have its own degree, and there is nothing else I desire a degree in at this time. I applied for the General Studies basically so I could be done with school for this point in my life.

Matt:

- passed the certification test to become a Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator. This is a nice thing to have in case he ever needs to look for a new job, and also his current job is supposed to give him a raise at the beginning of next year.

Douglas:

- joined the Army three months ago. I am really proud of him, and suddenly my patriotic heart has grown three sizes. ;) We leave tomorrow to go and see him graduate from basic training! Yay!

Well, that is it for now. Hope you are doing well.

- Catherine

Pushing Daisies

Sun, 23 Nov 2008 09:17:22 GMT

Have you ever watched "Pushing Daisies?" If not, then you should! It is a very cleaver show!

ENNEAGRAM Test

Sun, 12 Oct 2008 08:48:49 GMT

http://www.helloquizzy.com/tests/the-quick-painless-enneagram-test

Wow, this is scary accurate

6 - the Questioner

"I am affectionate and skeptical"

Questioners are responsible, trustworthy, and value loyalty to family, friends, groups, and causes. Their personalities range broadly from reserved and timid to outspoken and confrontative.

How to Get Along with Me

Be direct and clear.
Listen to me carefully.
Don't judge me for my anxiety.
Work things through with me.
Reassure me that everything is OK between us.
Laugh and make jokes with me.
Gently push me toward new experiences.
Try not to overreact to my overreacting.

What I Like About Being a SIX

being committed and faithful to family and friends
being responsible and hardworking
being compassionate toward others
having intellect and wit
being a nonconformist
confronting danger bravely
being direct and assertive

What's Hard About Being a SIX

the constant push and pull involved in trying to make up my mind
procrastinating because of fear of failure; having little confidence in myself
fearing being abandoned or taken advantage of
exhausting myself by worrying and scanning for danger
wishing I had a rule book at work so I could do everything right
being too critical of myself when I haven't lived up to my expectations

SIXes as Children Often

are friendly, likable, and dependable, and/or sarcastic, bossy, and stubborn
are anxious and hypervigilant; anticipate danger
form a team of "us against them" with a best friend or parent
look to groups or authorities to protect them and/or question authority and rebel
are neglected or abused, come from unpredictable or alcoholic families, and/or take on the fearfulness of an overly anxious parent

SIXes as Parents

are often loving, nurturing, and have a strong sense of duty
are sometimes reluctant to give their children independence
worry more than most that their children will get hurt
sometimes have trouble saying no and setting boundaries

Renee Baron & Elizabeth Wagele

The Enneagram Made Easy
Discover the 9 Types of People
Harper SanFrancisco, 1994, 161 pages

Frustration of the Month

Sat, 27 Sep 2008 17:18:03 GMT

So, as some of you know and some of you don't, I have now finally gotten to the point where I am ready to start my internship to become a real estate appraiser.

As part of the application, you have to get fingerprinted. The Real Estate Division says you have to have it done on cards provided by them. I call and ask and they said they would get some in the mail to me that day. Nope. I waited for a week and they did not come. So I just decided instead of calling again and hoping maybe the next person would *actually* mail them, I just drove to Carson City and picked up the cards myself.

I sent in my application the first time on August 22nd, and they received it August 25th. On August 29th I got my application sent back to me beause the background investigation fee is no longer $45, now it is $51.25. The application I filled out said $45, but a bulletin posted elsewhere on the site said $51.25. Uhm, yah, couldn't someone have corrected that? I wrote a new check and went to a post office open late so my application could be back in the mail the same day. They recieved my application back on September 2nd

So I spend most of September waiting and hoping and check the RE Division website to see if my license is in their system yet.

Then comes September 25:

- I got some certified mail yesterday address to Christy (correct last name) from the State of Nevada. Uhm, alrighty then. So I went to the post office the next morning (Sept 26) to pick it up, greatly hoping my license was inside.

No such luck.

- They sent me back my finger print cards because it says I did not make out my check to the Department of Health and Wellbeing and Blah Blah Blah. What?!?!?! It said before to make out my check to the Nevada Highway Patrol. There is a page attached with the letter from whoever was running my fingerprints with a stamp that says "no personal check attached." Yes, a personal check is attached, but apparently I must have forgot the bribe money or something.

- The letter that the State sent to tell me this is addresed to Christine (correct last name). Why do all these government places in Carson City think my name is Christine?!!?! (I also had this problem with Western Nevada Community College) I do not understand. My name never has been and never will be Christine. If I was going to change my name to anything else it would be Genevieve.

- So I go and get a money order since I used up my book of checks and have no idea where the unused blank ones are and apparently the check I wrote is inadequate. It was a good thing I did.

- I decide that I will drive to Carson City and hand them back my stuff in person so they can verify that everything is correct because I do not want it sent back to me a third time.

- I get there and I tell the guy working at the front desk what is wrong. I said, "So when did you change it from writing checks to the Nevada Highway Partol to the Department of Health and Wellbeing (or whatever it is called). He said, "Oh, they are the same thing, they just don't take personal checks." Are you kidding me?!?! The stamp says that I didn't attach a personal check. Why would they even get a stamp that mentions personal checks if they don't take them?!?!?! Why not order a stamp that says "We don't take personal checks, please send a money order."

- My name in the system does in fact say Christine. The guy who was there changed it in the system and then turned the monitor around to show me that he corrected it.

- Soooooooooooooooooooo, maybe in another couple weeks they will send me a license and not some part of my application rejected for another ridiculous reason. If not, I think I may have to strangle someone.

I'm going to Disney World!

Fri, 30 May 2008 19:01:25 GMT

Tomorrow (Saturday) I leave for Disney World! We will be at the various Disney World parks Sunday - half of Friday. I hope we have a great time! I love Disney Land three years ago.

Have a nice week everyone ;)

Five Things About Me

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 22:53:03 GMT

No one tags me for things since I almost never blog anymore, but I will do this thing that has been going around on all the other blogs I read.

5 things I was doing ten years ago:

1. Going to church all the time
2. Going to school five days a week
3. Probably fighting with my brother
4. Being glad summer vacation was starting soon
5. Wishing I had different parents

5 things on my to-do list today

1. Go through the ginormous stack of mail that has not been dealt with in many weeks
2. Go to Baskin Robins for 31 cent scoop night
3. Have dinner with Matt
4. Go to Wal*Mart for new GameCube controller (dogs destroyed one of them)
5. Drink some water as to not get more dehydrated

5 snacks I enjoy

1. Cheese (the real kind, not the processed slices)
2. Brownies
3. Fancy desserts like Pepperidge Farm cookies
4. mixed nuts
5. Rice Crispy Treats

5 things I would do if I were a billionaire:

1. Buy a new house somewhere that is not Reno.
2. Hire a maid, cook, dog walker, and other service people so I could be lazy and not feel bad ;)
3. Not go back to work at my boring call center job
4. Travel wherever whenever
5. Buy stuff for people I love

5 bad habits

1. Being bossy
2. Being lazy
3. Assuming I am smarter than everyone else
4. Letting the mail pile up
5. Forgetting the answer to a question I just asked someone

5 Paces I've lived

1. Las Vegas, NV
2. Reno, NV
3. Sun Valley, NV
4. temporarily: Yuma, AZ
5. various hotel rooms ;)

5 jobs I've had

1. Hallmark sales associate
2. College Book Store cashier
3. Secretary
4. Odd Job Specialist (I heard this on TV the other day and thought it was hilarious)
5. Call Center Associate

I tag anyone who wants to do this ;o)

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 22:31:44 GMT

For those of you who miss reading about my life, here is a post for you

Tuesday was a full day for me.

Went in and worked at my appraisal place from 1 - 5:30 PM. There was quite a bit to do, and I didn't get everything finished (I am a lot slower than I used to be since I am out of practice). I am already scheduled to go again next Tuesday. This is not a bad part-time job.

After work Matt and I went to Ben & Jerry's to get a free cone (was Free Cone Day). I got cheesecake brownie and Matt got something that was really, really chocolaty. Matt pretty much always makes the better ice cream decision.

Then we stopped at the store and I bought milk, cream cheese, and tomato sauce.

Then we went home for a short while. I mixed up part of a lamb meat loaf and stuck it in the fridge.

Then we went to our accounting class. The last two weeks we were supposed to have a substitute while the teacher was out of the country, but neither of them showed up. She started out her lecture on chapter 10, though I am not really sure why since we already had to do the homework and quiz on chapter 10 last week. Then she started on chapter 11, but did not get all the way through it since the teacher started coughing too much. We were there a lot longer than usual.

Then we came back home. I finished making the lamb meatloaf, put it in the oven, then we left to go get my truck that I left at the appraisal office since I rode with Matt to ice cream/home the first time.

The lamb meatloaf was OK. I liked the loaf itself, but the sauce that the recipe directed me to make tasted just like sweet and sour sauce, which it turns out I do not like on meat loaf. Matt said he liked it, so I hope he enjoys eating the leftovers.

I have "The Best of Price is Right" on DVD from Netflix, so we watched some of that. The original Price is Right with Bill Cullen is really boring to me. I think the revised version with Bob Barker is a lot better.

Went to sleep at 1:30 AM, which was much earlier than I intended to, but I was having trouble staying awake.