The day before I came to Minnesota, I had talked to Aaron, and he'd been complaining of pain in his abdomen and left side. He'd been helping some friends of his move out of their apartment, but said he hadn't lifted anything heavy. But later that night, he was in great amounts of pain, and very close to having someone take him to the hospital. Eventually, the pain subsided, and when my parents and I arrived, he was feeling fine, and able to help us move everything.
That was about a week and a half ago. Then on Monday the 10th, Aaron calls me around 10am saying that he's in a lot of pain again, and coming home from work. He also had me start looking up clinics in the phone book (not that I was much help there), so he could go to a doctor that afternoon.
We got him into a clinic at 1pm. After a round of questions, exams, and even a tetanus shot, they sent him over to the hospital, just across the street, for a CAT scan of his abdomen. The CAT scan confirmed kidney stones, well, one of them, at least, 4mm in size. That's a little less than half a centimeter in diameter. Pretty big, if you're asking someone to push that through his urethra!
He got some pain medications from the doctor at the clinic (who probably thought Aaron was the weirdest, funniest kid with kidney stones to come in), and we went home. The next day we were back at the clinic for a urology exam. Let me tell you, he was the youngest guy in there by about 40 years. The doctor gave him some anti-inflammatory medication and something else to help things, uh, flow.
Basically, they said to go back to work and do things as normal; if anything happens and he's in pain, he needs to go back to the urologist, and they're going to shove a tube up his urethra and laser the stone to bits. Oooh, fun. I've heard that passing a kidney stone is worse than giving birth.
Thank God all the times I have been in the hospital have been self-inflicted injuries. So he is at work right now, and seemed to be doing just fine last night, so hopefully...no more pain.
In other news, I am looking for a job still. I'm going to call back the employment agency I talked to on Friday to see if they have any updates, and also contact another agency in town as well. Gotta keeps as many irons in the fire as possible, if I want this to be a quick procedure.
I'm looking for a job that is more clerical in nature, as opposed to retail and cashiering. When I work retail, I find reasons to dislike people (customers) on a daily basis, and am generally not the happiest person all the time. I think a different type of job would be better for me. So we'll see!
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Monday, September 10, 2007
Connected with the world again!
It all started on Saturday, September 1st. We drove to Spearfish from Gillette at 6am so we could pick up the U-Haul that we had left at Aaron's parents' house, along with the television, computers, and random other pieces.
This was my view of Dad's truck on the way in. Now, imagine a U-Haul trailer attached to it, and stare at it for 12 hours while driving 80mph on the Interstate. Yeah. That was Saturday. We arrived in Robbinsdale, a suburb of Minneapolis in the evening, too pooped to unpack. So we found my parents a hotel, went out to dinner, and would meet again in the morning for some breakfast and unpacking.
This is our tons and tons and TONS of crap that we brought with us from Spearfish. Mind you, not everything made it to the Twin Cities; some things were left behind. And after much unpacking, moving, and rearranging, we found that some things will have to be taken back; we just don't have the room for it. This apartment is a one bedroom, while the one in Spearfish had two. It's got just about the same amount of square footage in it, but we're just missing a closet to store all of our crap in. Sheesh. I don't remember buying this much stuff.
Here's the bathroom, bedroom, and kitchen.
And here's the living room. It was the biggest pain, because we'd added a new piece of furniture, the brown chair.
I've been driving on the freeway, which is a much different experience when you are the driver instead of the passenger. All of the other times, it seemed so nerve-wracking to me to have to drive on this thing. Of course, all this was while Aaron was driving and I was looking around at EVERYTHING that was going on, not just looking at what I needed to see; the car in front of me. I still have no sense of direction and am easily turned around and confused unless Aaron is with me to navigate. There are so many damn roads here!
I'm still looking for a job, but have gone to an employment agency with my resume' for help on that; there is so much to do here, it's easy to become overwhelmed with the possibilities.
Everything has been going very smoothly. Up until today, that is. And I will tell you about that in the next post, so this one doesn't get so long.
This was my view of Dad's truck on the way in. Now, imagine a U-Haul trailer attached to it, and stare at it for 12 hours while driving 80mph on the Interstate. Yeah. That was Saturday. We arrived in Robbinsdale, a suburb of Minneapolis in the evening, too pooped to unpack. So we found my parents a hotel, went out to dinner, and would meet again in the morning for some breakfast and unpacking.
This is our tons and tons and TONS of crap that we brought with us from Spearfish. Mind you, not everything made it to the Twin Cities; some things were left behind. And after much unpacking, moving, and rearranging, we found that some things will have to be taken back; we just don't have the room for it. This apartment is a one bedroom, while the one in Spearfish had two. It's got just about the same amount of square footage in it, but we're just missing a closet to store all of our crap in. Sheesh. I don't remember buying this much stuff.
Here's the bathroom, bedroom, and kitchen.
And here's the living room. It was the biggest pain, because we'd added a new piece of furniture, the brown chair.
I've been driving on the freeway, which is a much different experience when you are the driver instead of the passenger. All of the other times, it seemed so nerve-wracking to me to have to drive on this thing. Of course, all this was while Aaron was driving and I was looking around at EVERYTHING that was going on, not just looking at what I needed to see; the car in front of me. I still have no sense of direction and am easily turned around and confused unless Aaron is with me to navigate. There are so many damn roads here!
I'm still looking for a job, but have gone to an employment agency with my resume' for help on that; there is so much to do here, it's easy to become overwhelmed with the possibilities.
Everything has been going very smoothly. Up until today, that is. And I will tell you about that in the next post, so this one doesn't get so long.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
waiting...
Yesterday Aaron faxed me all the forms I would need to fill out to apply to live in the apartment complex he found in Minneapolis. I got them all filled out and sent in before 5pm. This morning, I called the apartment complex's office to see if they'd received my faxes yet. Sure enough, they had, and they'd started on the paperwork that evening.
Now, all they are waiting for is for our criminal background checks to come through (sqeaky clean, of course), and we're in! The gal said everything else for both of us looks good, and that as long as nothing pops up on the background check, we should expect to be able to move in on Saturday, September 1st!
I'm really excited, but now I have to tell Pizza Hut that I'm leaving, and I've only worked there for two weeks. Of course, that was the plan all along, and I have made it a point not to try to form any friendships while I worked there. Not that I was a jerk or rude to anyone to keep them from wanting to be my friends...I was just quiet and kept to myself mostly. I'll tell 'em on Wednesday, because I don't think I work on Thursday, and I'd like to try to visit Deadwood or maybe some friends from Deadwood are going to come and visit me here. Not sure. Either way...no more pizzas!!!
Now all we have to do is figure out if all of our crap is going to fit into the Uhaul trailer! I reserved the biggest pull-behind trailer that they offer, which I think it smaller than the trailer. We also have a couch, both of our computers, and the big screen TV at Aaron's parents' place that need to be packed, as well. I hope we can fit it all in, Dad seems confident that it can because we will have the trailer, his truck, and my car. I guess we will see on Friday!
Now, all they are waiting for is for our criminal background checks to come through (sqeaky clean, of course), and we're in! The gal said everything else for both of us looks good, and that as long as nothing pops up on the background check, we should expect to be able to move in on Saturday, September 1st!
I'm really excited, but now I have to tell Pizza Hut that I'm leaving, and I've only worked there for two weeks. Of course, that was the plan all along, and I have made it a point not to try to form any friendships while I worked there. Not that I was a jerk or rude to anyone to keep them from wanting to be my friends...I was just quiet and kept to myself mostly. I'll tell 'em on Wednesday, because I don't think I work on Thursday, and I'd like to try to visit Deadwood or maybe some friends from Deadwood are going to come and visit me here. Not sure. Either way...no more pizzas!!!
Now all we have to do is figure out if all of our crap is going to fit into the Uhaul trailer! I reserved the biggest pull-behind trailer that they offer, which I think it smaller than the trailer. We also have a couch, both of our computers, and the big screen TV at Aaron's parents' place that need to be packed, as well. I hope we can fit it all in, Dad seems confident that it can because we will have the trailer, his truck, and my car. I guess we will see on Friday!
Saturday, August 25, 2007
HOPE!
Aaron called me today to let me know that he'd looked at two apartments, and was letting me know how they were. One was small and cramped, and a pain in the butt to get to downtown. The other was pretty spacious and a nice drive to downtown. There's a one bedroom and a two bedroom available in the spacious unit, and I don't see the point in paying over $100 extra for the two bedroom, so I told him to go for the one bedroom.
All we have to do is get the paperwork filled out, supply the renter with work history (to make sure we make enough money to rent from them), and hopefully, we're accepted! I see no reason for us not to be accepted, because we have excellent renting history from the apartments in Spearfish, and we have no criminal records. Because we're good folk.
So, if we get accepted, the unit is available as soon as possible, which means I can move to Minneapolis and be with Aaron this weekend! HOORAY!
On a less exciting note; my car broke down while I was delivering pizzas today. Which is odd. The car is only five years old, I take great care of it (change the oil every 3,000 miles, never let it run out of gas, etc.), and is in good shape. Why should it stop working all of the sudden?
Before it quit on me, it started making this high pitched noise that seemed to be coming from the radio...but I turned the stereo off, and it was still doing it, every time I accelerated, the sound got louder. I thought it was weird, and was going to tell Dad and have him drive it when I got off work. However, I did not have the chance to do so. After I parked my car and delivered the pizza, when I got back in to start it up, the engine wouldn't turn over, the lights wouldn't come on, and the gauges wouldn't even move. What the crap?
So I called into work to let them know that my car was not working, and one of the managers came out and jumped my car. The first time, as soon as he took the cables off his car, mine died. So we re-jumped it, revved it a few times, and let it idle for a minute before taking the cables off. I called Dad while I was waiting for my rescuer to arrive, and he wanted to meet me at his work shop to check the battery, because it sounded like it wasn't holding a charge.
They let me off early to check it, and sure enough, no charge. The battery was original with the car, but only five years old. Didn't even look corroded or anything, but I guess it had had enough and gave up the ghost. So Dad took me to an auto part store, and I spent all of my tips for the day (and then some) on a new battery for my car. I was hoping to SAVE some money while here...not spend it. Oh well. At least it happened BEFORE the move to Minneapolis. That would have been horrible.
Now all I have to do is get my car detailed before moving so I can get the pizza and hot wings smell out of my car!
All we have to do is get the paperwork filled out, supply the renter with work history (to make sure we make enough money to rent from them), and hopefully, we're accepted! I see no reason for us not to be accepted, because we have excellent renting history from the apartments in Spearfish, and we have no criminal records. Because we're good folk.
So, if we get accepted, the unit is available as soon as possible, which means I can move to Minneapolis and be with Aaron this weekend! HOORAY!
On a less exciting note; my car broke down while I was delivering pizzas today. Which is odd. The car is only five years old, I take great care of it (change the oil every 3,000 miles, never let it run out of gas, etc.), and is in good shape. Why should it stop working all of the sudden?
Before it quit on me, it started making this high pitched noise that seemed to be coming from the radio...but I turned the stereo off, and it was still doing it, every time I accelerated, the sound got louder. I thought it was weird, and was going to tell Dad and have him drive it when I got off work. However, I did not have the chance to do so. After I parked my car and delivered the pizza, when I got back in to start it up, the engine wouldn't turn over, the lights wouldn't come on, and the gauges wouldn't even move. What the crap?
So I called into work to let them know that my car was not working, and one of the managers came out and jumped my car. The first time, as soon as he took the cables off his car, mine died. So we re-jumped it, revved it a few times, and let it idle for a minute before taking the cables off. I called Dad while I was waiting for my rescuer to arrive, and he wanted to meet me at his work shop to check the battery, because it sounded like it wasn't holding a charge.
They let me off early to check it, and sure enough, no charge. The battery was original with the car, but only five years old. Didn't even look corroded or anything, but I guess it had had enough and gave up the ghost. So Dad took me to an auto part store, and I spent all of my tips for the day (and then some) on a new battery for my car. I was hoping to SAVE some money while here...not spend it. Oh well. At least it happened BEFORE the move to Minneapolis. That would have been horrible.
Now all I have to do is get my car detailed before moving so I can get the pizza and hot wings smell out of my car!
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
hurricane
This year was the year of Hurricane Andrea, and I totally forgot about it! I thought it was in another couple of years. Drats.
Good thing I wasn't so destructive that they had to retire my name!
Good thing I wasn't so destructive that they had to retire my name!
ramble
Nothing new to report. Just thought I'd stop in and say "hi." Aaron's got a couple appointments to look at apartments this Saturday, and my sister is moving back down to Laramie for school on Saturday, as well. If I can get the day off (not sure, since I just started working), I'm going to go help, even though I'm tired of moving crap. I also want to get back over to Deadwood to visit all my work buddies 'cause I miss 'em like crazy!
The weather is finally cooling down here; we're in the upper 80s during the daytime, which is a welcome relief from the 100s that we were having in the past.
I was hanging out at the hotel Ashley works in when I got off work tonight, and all the people who were coming in to see if they had rooms, upon finding out they DID have rooms were relieved, but upon hearing the price of the rooms, were quite surprised.
"What's in Gillette, anyway? Why is it so expensive to stay here? Is it always this busy in this town?" were very common questions. Well, for those of you who don't know, Gillette is a boom town. That's how it started out in the 70s, and that's what's happening again now. In the 70s, it boomed because of the coal mines. There is a VERY large seam of decent coal that runs through the plains area. Enough coal, actually, that we could power the whole nation for centuries. Not that it would be a good idea to do so, since that would put a TON of pollutants in the air...but hey...it's not like we're perfect right now.
Well, now it's not the coal. It's the coal bed methane that people are interested in. I'm not entirely sure what the deal is about the methane...what they're using it for, because quite frankly, I don't give a damn, and was glad to be getting out of the town when it started. But, due to this secondary boom, Gillette is growing, growing, growing, and there is NO place to put the new people. All of the houses are full, apartments are full (and REALLY expensive), and hotels are full. Heck, I delivered pizza to a campground that had fairly permanent residents living there; particle board set up as skirting to 5th wheels and Christmas lights on.
It's really quite ridiculous, because to the passer-by, there really is nothing to see or do in Gillette (unless you'd like to take a tour of a coal mine!), and yet, they are having to pay $130/night for a crappy hotel room. Doesn't seem right. It's easier to send 'em and hour in either direction to Spearfish, SD or Buffalo, WY, depending on which direction they are going...save 'em a little money on their night's stay.
Well...now that I have found something to fill your heads with...good night!
The weather is finally cooling down here; we're in the upper 80s during the daytime, which is a welcome relief from the 100s that we were having in the past.
I was hanging out at the hotel Ashley works in when I got off work tonight, and all the people who were coming in to see if they had rooms, upon finding out they DID have rooms were relieved, but upon hearing the price of the rooms, were quite surprised.
"What's in Gillette, anyway? Why is it so expensive to stay here? Is it always this busy in this town?" were very common questions. Well, for those of you who don't know, Gillette is a boom town. That's how it started out in the 70s, and that's what's happening again now. In the 70s, it boomed because of the coal mines. There is a VERY large seam of decent coal that runs through the plains area. Enough coal, actually, that we could power the whole nation for centuries. Not that it would be a good idea to do so, since that would put a TON of pollutants in the air...but hey...it's not like we're perfect right now.
Well, now it's not the coal. It's the coal bed methane that people are interested in. I'm not entirely sure what the deal is about the methane...what they're using it for, because quite frankly, I don't give a damn, and was glad to be getting out of the town when it started. But, due to this secondary boom, Gillette is growing, growing, growing, and there is NO place to put the new people. All of the houses are full, apartments are full (and REALLY expensive), and hotels are full. Heck, I delivered pizza to a campground that had fairly permanent residents living there; particle board set up as skirting to 5th wheels and Christmas lights on.
It's really quite ridiculous, because to the passer-by, there really is nothing to see or do in Gillette (unless you'd like to take a tour of a coal mine!), and yet, they are having to pay $130/night for a crappy hotel room. Doesn't seem right. It's easier to send 'em and hour in either direction to Spearfish, SD or Buffalo, WY, depending on which direction they are going...save 'em a little money on their night's stay.
Well...now that I have found something to fill your heads with...good night!
Monday, August 20, 2007
status update
Well, Aaron is still looking for a place for us to live, but it's hard when he can only do it on the weekends, since he works during the day the rest of the week, and I guess it's kinda hard to do anything on Sundays, too. He's going to look up some phone numbers and stuff today on his breaks at work. Hopefully he can get something figured out and we'll have a place to live by September. I don't want to be stuck around here much longer.
On the upside, I'm making a good bit of money while delivering pizzas, so that helps everything out quite a bit. I can kind of recoup what went into the moving costs, and not have to dip into my savings account for a while.
It was another rainy night last night, but I didn't get nearly as wet as the night before. I think today will be laundry day, and maybe buy some food to eat in the empty house day. On my next day off, I'm going to try to head out to Deadwood and see everyone from work. I miss 'em like crazy, and it hasn't even been a week, but usually, I'd have worked three days with them already. Suck.
Well, I'm going to get some laundry started. My jeans are sticky and smell of grease. Mmm.
On the upside, I'm making a good bit of money while delivering pizzas, so that helps everything out quite a bit. I can kind of recoup what went into the moving costs, and not have to dip into my savings account for a while.
It was another rainy night last night, but I didn't get nearly as wet as the night before. I think today will be laundry day, and maybe buy some food to eat in the empty house day. On my next day off, I'm going to try to head out to Deadwood and see everyone from work. I miss 'em like crazy, and it hasn't even been a week, but usually, I'd have worked three days with them already. Suck.
Well, I'm going to get some laundry started. My jeans are sticky and smell of grease. Mmm.
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Thunderstorm
While in my car delivering pizzas tonight, I heard on the radio that there was a severe thunderstorm warning for North East Wyoming. I pfft'd the notion based on the slightly cloudy sky and went on my way. Then, as soon as it gets a leeeetle dark. BAM! BOOM! CRASH! There's a downpour of rain for over an hour.
Power was going out in neighborhoods, and one area even lost power to the traffic lights. Since no one could cook, they all ordered pizzas. And since we're short handed, that turned out really well. I only got "disappointed" at once. So that wasn't even too bad. And it was even by people who know me! They didn't recognize me, though, is all I can figure.
After getting lost a couple times at work last night, Dad devised an in-car navigation system. It included a car charger for the lappy, the lappy, some mapping software, and a GPS device to plug into your computer. All that was left for me to do was put in directions from where I was to where I wanted to be, crank up the volume, and listen to my lappy tell me turn-by-turn directions. It worked fabulously. Sure, it was a little clumpy, and I had to hide it all the time...but whatever. It was great because I didn't get lost any more after that! The only time I ever had troubles was when I couldn't read the numbers on the houses after the power went out.
Whew. I'm pooped. But I'm making some pretty good money, so that makes up for it. Off to bed for me!
Power was going out in neighborhoods, and one area even lost power to the traffic lights. Since no one could cook, they all ordered pizzas. And since we're short handed, that turned out really well. I only got "disappointed" at once. So that wasn't even too bad. And it was even by people who know me! They didn't recognize me, though, is all I can figure.
After getting lost a couple times at work last night, Dad devised an in-car navigation system. It included a car charger for the lappy, the lappy, some mapping software, and a GPS device to plug into your computer. All that was left for me to do was put in directions from where I was to where I wanted to be, crank up the volume, and listen to my lappy tell me turn-by-turn directions. It worked fabulously. Sure, it was a little clumpy, and I had to hide it all the time...but whatever. It was great because I didn't get lost any more after that! The only time I ever had troubles was when I couldn't read the numbers on the houses after the power went out.
Whew. I'm pooped. But I'm making some pretty good money, so that makes up for it. Off to bed for me!
Friday, August 17, 2007
workin' already
Well, I started working at Pizza Hut today. I went in at 4pm like they asked, filled out some paperwork, and started right away. First off; "Here ride with Cameron to see what it's like." Secondly; "Now, have Cameron ride with you." Thirdly; "You're on your own, kiddo."
Yeesh. Quick training. My first two deliveries on my own, I didn't know where they were, so I wandered around lost for like, 10 minutes trying to find them. I actually had to call a guy to see how to get to his house. Whoops! He was cool.
Gimme a break. I know I grew up in this town, but I have been gone for four years, and un-learned several of the areas and names that I used to know. I was always much better with landmarks, anyway.
But, I figure this is going to be good training for Minneapolis; driving around Gillette during rush hour trying to find new places. Hahaha.
No word from Aaron tonight. He tried to call me, but I was inside the building and my phone was in the car, and when I called him back (twice), I never got an answer from him. He's supposed to go look at an apartment building tomorrow, so hopefully that goes well. Mom was excited to hear that they allowed kitties, but saddened when she heard only declawed kitties. Smelly's too old to be declawed. Drats for Mom. Looks like she's going to have to wait it out a couple more years 'til she turns 50 and kills him herself. (Her plan, not mine, don't shoot the messenger!)
Work was pretty cool, a little hectic, and I'm definitely going to need to carry a map around in my car, 'cause I THINK I know where I'm going, and then it turns out I don't. Whoops. The wage is decent, plus you get $1.25 for every delivery you make, and then tips. Sometimes when they send you out to the mines, you are guaranteed $20-40 just for driving out there and a tip. Rock.
Well, that's it for me right now. Just waitin' for Ashley to get home from work so I can chat with someone for a bit, because I just ate something and don't want to go to bed on a full stomach. G'night!
Yeesh. Quick training. My first two deliveries on my own, I didn't know where they were, so I wandered around lost for like, 10 minutes trying to find them. I actually had to call a guy to see how to get to his house. Whoops! He was cool.
Gimme a break. I know I grew up in this town, but I have been gone for four years, and un-learned several of the areas and names that I used to know. I was always much better with landmarks, anyway.
But, I figure this is going to be good training for Minneapolis; driving around Gillette during rush hour trying to find new places. Hahaha.
No word from Aaron tonight. He tried to call me, but I was inside the building and my phone was in the car, and when I called him back (twice), I never got an answer from him. He's supposed to go look at an apartment building tomorrow, so hopefully that goes well. Mom was excited to hear that they allowed kitties, but saddened when she heard only declawed kitties. Smelly's too old to be declawed. Drats for Mom. Looks like she's going to have to wait it out a couple more years 'til she turns 50 and kills him herself. (Her plan, not mine, don't shoot the messenger!)
Work was pretty cool, a little hectic, and I'm definitely going to need to carry a map around in my car, 'cause I THINK I know where I'm going, and then it turns out I don't. Whoops. The wage is decent, plus you get $1.25 for every delivery you make, and then tips. Sometimes when they send you out to the mines, you are guaranteed $20-40 just for driving out there and a tip. Rock.
Well, that's it for me right now. Just waitin' for Ashley to get home from work so I can chat with someone for a bit, because I just ate something and don't want to go to bed on a full stomach. G'night!
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
back home
So here I am, in Gillette, staying with my parents until Aaron finds a place for us to live. I put in an application to the Pizza Hut for a delivery driver position, and I should hear from them by tomorrow or Friday. It would be an evening job, similar to the job I had in Deadwood, so I wouldn't have to change my sleeping (or more importantly, waking) schedule by getting an early bird job.
Dinner with Katie, Corrine, and Bridget was excellent, we had a good time and surprisingly little tears from me. I spent the first hour of my last day at work crying, saying goodbye to people, so I was kinda expecting the same thing from the dinner party, but it went really well, and I might just be cried out about leaving all my friends.
Also, check out my Flickr badge to the right (the one on top), as I have added some new pictures from when Aaron and I had our going away dinners over the last few days.
Aaron's been very busy at work, he told me all about his last couple days last night on AIM, so it was nice to catch up with him, and I get to talk to him on the phone once in a while when he's off work. I miss him a ton, and it's been hard falling asleep by myself the last few nights, but it's getting better now.
Until next time...Auf wiedersehen!
Dinner with Katie, Corrine, and Bridget was excellent, we had a good time and surprisingly little tears from me. I spent the first hour of my last day at work crying, saying goodbye to people, so I was kinda expecting the same thing from the dinner party, but it went really well, and I might just be cried out about leaving all my friends.
Also, check out my Flickr badge to the right (the one on top), as I have added some new pictures from when Aaron and I had our going away dinners over the last few days.
Aaron's been very busy at work, he told me all about his last couple days last night on AIM, so it was nice to catch up with him, and I get to talk to him on the phone once in a while when he's off work. I miss him a ton, and it's been hard falling asleep by myself the last few nights, but it's getting better now.
Until next time...Auf wiedersehen!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)