Hi everybody.  This girl was one of my best friends when I was growing up.  She has been married 36 days and has been in a coma for 26 of them.

http://www.berendes.us/index.htm

or http://www.tarajosh.com/  (Same site, different addresses.)

If you can bring youself to skipping a couple lunches next week or going without food entirely (I know most of you are students - $$ is super tight), PLEASE donate.  They have NO medical coverage.  She's being brought back to Valley Med here in San Jose soon and they need money to pay for her care.

She's a totally sweet girl and has done a lot for her community.  Read about her on the websites I listed.

Please help.

Feeling:  Energized. 

I'm killing myself with classload (20 units), but I get a degree in January - so I think I can get through it.  I just got done with my Physics lecture and - I couldn't believe it - I actually knew what was being written on the board for the ENTIRE lecture.  The teacher was also having some computer problems so he asks for some technical help from anybody in class.  Since Macs are not my forte, I really didn't want to say anything, but nobody else was volunteering and that meant we would have an even longer lecture of chalkboard chicken scratch.  ugh.  It turns out that he just needed Acrobat Reader installed, but he had downloaded the wrong thing.  You guys know how Adobe's site is:  many links to get to something simple in order to tempt us into buying something.  So when I realized that I wasn't going to embarrass myself in front of 60 people, I got the program taken care of and lecture moved right along.  Yay, brownie points!

Anyway.  Moving back home, soon.  I get to take Jared with me.    Living low rent is a wonderful way to go.  BTW, he got into the EMT program.  We are officially a great party favor - especially for pool parties.  I'm a lifeguard and swim instructor - he's a certified Red Cross First Responder (it's the highest non professional level of emergency rescue and aid).  Basically it's a really advanced First Aid card.  Makes him sound like a weenie, huh?  'Look at me!  I have a Super First Aid card!'  We laugh about it - you can too.  <cheesy salesman grin with two thumbs up>

omg.  I just had the month from hell.  But I do have a nice news brief about my life not kicking me too hard now. 

August:

My bird dies on the first of the month - my little Snuggers.    My tires almost blew out on me.  Our roommates moved out without notice and didn't provide a replacement roommate.  I went to L.A. and promptly got robbed of my ENTIRE CD collection (replaceable) and my and my boyfriends climbing gear (not so replaceable).  Had to replace my car window.  Got a mysterious dent in my front quarterpanel - like somebody intentionally sat on it too hard.  (Overpriced bodywork).  One of the birds I just got was very sick and we had to shell out $400 for her 'repair.'  (That was after we paid $285 for some vet to say 'yep, this birds dead, but you're other one is fine.')  Lastly, Jared's ex is telling everybody (behind our backs) who will listen that I am the anti-christ just because I was pissed off about her crashing in the same bed that Jared and I sleep in.  She even published her sob story on LiveJournal.  (She said she just fell asleep after a movie.)  When I woke up in the morning and she was on one side of my man and I was on the other - I gave that girl the boot.  <deep breath>

Now:

Everything seems to be fine with school starting.  I'm 3 months away from a General Studies - Science A.S.  I'm starting Respiratory Therapy.  I have 3 beautiful birds and a kitten.  Jared and I are doing very well.  I got offered (and accepted) the lifeguarding position at the Elks Lodge - Redwood City.  I'm a LG/Swim Instructor at the Southwest YMCA.  We did get a rent check from our loser roommates.  Lastly - shocker to anyone who knows me closely - I'm getting along with my parents.

Life is good.