And Beginning Again

Yesterday was my first day back at work tutoring at "L*ast Chance" Community College (as it is affectionately dubbed), and it was a lot of fun to see old friends again and catch up. Out of the people I used to know there, Ed, Lisa, Damien, Stacy, and Mr. Malozzi are still around, as is Michelle, who has now been promoted to Director- a lady named Deb took her old job of lab supervisor. A lot of things were different (renovations, additions to buildings, new picnic tables, a "totally smoke free campus" [how do they pull that one off...? Wow. What do smokers do?] etc.) but many things haven't changed. I was amazed to see my file folders of handouts just where I left them two years ago... and walking across the courtyard oustide the tutoring center I saw Steven G., who, when I was there a few years ago, took pre-algebra four times before passing (onto Algebra I!) He's still around. Wonder if he's passed Alg. I yet...? Good times.

On Sunday, to celebrate Mother's Day and my status as a mother-to-be, Nate and I took a leisurely-paced 4 mile hike at Lehigh Gap (along the AT); I asked him to pick an "easy" trail but what we ended up with was uphill and rocky. Still, it was really nice because we took our time and the weather was perfect (sunny but cool- it was so windy at the top that I got cold.) I took pictures but since we haven't bought a digital camera yet, I don't have any to post here... okay, searching my photo archives reveals that the only picture of me hiking on our computer is from our 2005 camping trip, but I was wearing an orange tye-die shirt and green plaid shorts in that picture, so you don't get to see it. Wait, Nate says he will draw a picture of me hiking for you all:

Observe: 1) there is a white blaze on the tree, showing I am following the right path.
2) my stick figure is Pregnant.

Ahem.

We stopped at the store on the way home and got stuff for sandwhiches, then came home and watched Phantom of the Opera and had ice cream. A happy day together.

Today I have been very busy doing odds and ends- returned library videos and bummed around Walmart for awhile (stocking up on things like laundry detergent and a few little luxuries like bubble bath and new sunglasses and two shades of [glittery] nail polish- my inner 6-year-old couldn't resist!) Then I came home and figured out some financial stuff (yes! we CAN take all the money we've put into our IRA's out without penalty! and, yes, Nate's student loans are now with a new company) and finally went through the big stack of paperwork that's been accumulating, unfiled, while I've been busy with school. [Do any of you guys have any tips you want to share about the Care and Organization of "important papers"? Specifically, what constitutes an "important paper"? I know you need to save photocopies of old tax returns, and I want to have available records of our savings accounts and student loans and car maintenance, but what about things like old paycheck stubs, credit card statements, checking account statements, receipts for charitable giving, etc...? How long should we save all this stuff? A lot of our things are strictly online now, which cuts down on the clutter; and I have a filing box with our current year's papers and manila envelopes holding previous years' stuff, so it's not terribly disorganized, but I have this feeling that we really don't need to be holding onto old utility bills from our first apartment in Wheaton...? Am I right?)

This afternoon we went to Lehigh and dropped off various pieces of paperwork so that I can graduate. Some of the paperwork at Lehigh doesn't really make sense. Months ago I filed a "Master's Degree program" form showing all my courses and grades, which had to get signed by the math dept. advisor and the dean's office and then given to the registrar's office. When I decided I wanted an incomplete in statistics, a lady from the registrar's office emailed and said I should file a NEW "Master's Degree Program," with the statistics class left off, but then a lady from the dean's office (who was informed that I was getting an incomplete) said she would put through the paperwork change for me. But apparently she forgot, because Monday I got an email from a different lady in the registrar's office saying "you have to get the incomplete removed to graduate!" and I was like, "No I don't, it's not a requirement for the degree!" and she emailed back and said "you need to file new paperwork by Wed. morning!" So that was my running around today to get all the signatures again. What I don't understand is: why can't the registrar's office just look in the stupid catalogue and observe that without the statistics class I've STILL met all the degree requirements? Why do they want a new sheet of paper with the incomplete class left off? *sigh* I guess bureaucracy is not designed to make sense. It was funny, though, because today's experience was so much like the bookened of what happened when I applied to Lehigh two years ago: both times I had less than an hour to get a Very Important Form to Mary Ann H. in the College of Arts and Sciences office. Kind of weird.

On the way home we stopped by church to drop off our camp applications for Pastor L. to sign, and then Nate stopped at our local polling place to vote in the local primaries. (I couldn't bring myself to vote when I don't know a thing about a single person running.) And since coming home I have just been vegging in the AC with a pudding cup (and a slice of cheese and some apple juice and a mini snickers bar... I'm almost third trimester, okay? we like to Snack now...)

Oops, there was a Yawn. Time for Coffee.

Love, Neb

PS This was a boring post, wasn't it? Looking back in the archives, two years ago, I was funny once in a while. It must be the Aging process...