I'm back in Arizona after spending a week in Wisconsin. The weather there was pretty nice, though a bit warm and humid a couple days. It was nice to visit with my parents' cat, who used to be mine.�When I took a nap one afternoon, he jumped into bed with me and snuggled up with my feet. This is very, very uncharacteristic behavior for him. So it was a nice surprise.

I took a tour of the Medical College of Wisconsin library, to get some idea of career possibilities in medical/academic libraries,�where I might want to seek a career after obtaining my library degree. It was a nice visit, and I learned some things.�

One evening, I went to dinner with�a former instructor from my master's degree (in history) program.�It was a nice dinner. Afterward, we drove around a bit in a nearby park so I could savor the lovely foliage, the likes of which we don't have in the Phoenix area. At one point we saw some deer�in the park - a mother and a baby. It was pretty neat.

I ate a bit more during the visit than I probably should have, so I need to get back on the diet bandwagon now that I'm back home.�

Murray was happy to have me back last night. He spent the night in bed with me, which he hadn't been doing much since we moved to the new apartment (probably because he likes sleeping in my nice walk-in closet, and perhaps because he doesn't like the fact that the air-conditioner blows directly on my bed, making it kind of chilly�). I guess he misbehaved for the pet sitter, swatting at her hand when she tried to brush him, and grabbing her leg with his claws out. I hope he didn't hurt her too much! I guess he was just upset that I was gone, and he took out his aggression on her. I hope she'll be willing to come back in the future when I need a sitter!

On our midterm exams for my IT course, we were allowed to go back and correct the items we missed (which was easy, since the system showed the correct answers) - we just needed to find documentation (in our readings/lectures or on the Internet, or wherever, didn't matter) for why these answers were correct. We were able to earn a half-point back on each of the one-point questions. I missed seven questions, so I got 3.5 points back, which rose my grade from 82.5 to 91.5 percent. Which is an A instead of a B. Woo hoo! So I might have a shot at getting an A in that course after all... I had pretty much resigned myself to getting a B. But supposedly the hardest part of the course is over, and hopefully I will be able to get good grades on the remaining assignments; if that happens, I should be able to swing an A.

"Borrowed" from a user on another blog, customized
with (mostly!) my answers (I stole some from her
that I liked, too).

Where is your cell phone? in my purse
Your boyfriend/girlfriend/husband/wife/partner?
don't have one
Your hair? reddish brown, curly
Where is your father? in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Cheesecake? love it - plain

Your dream last night? don't remember any
Your favorite drink? New Orleans Hurricanes
Your dream car? yellow Ford Mustang
The room you're in? cube without windows
George Bush? WHAT A MORON

Nipple rings? ow no please
Who did you hang out with last night? just my cat
What you're not good at? working with hands
Your best friend? the lovely Lasairan
Student loans? getting higher always

Where did you grow up? in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
The last thing you did? forwarded an e-mail
What are you wearing? t-shirt and jeans

Tattoo on the lower back? no - on arm
Ketchup? usually no, thanks

Your computer? Sony Vaio laptop
Your life? pretty good overall
Your mood? just fine, thanks

Missing? a significant other
What are you thinking about right now? nothing in
particular

Your car? 2007 Kia Spectra
Your summer? lots of work
Your relationship status? just my cat :-)
Your favorite color? purple, teal, blue
When is the last time you laughed? I don't remember

Last time you cried? I don't remember
Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow? I'm always evolving
High school? was a geek

My Sears supervisor was understanding when I asked to cut back my hours, and I will be working only on Sundays in the near future. (I'm already on the sked for this Saturday, but he will give me Sunday off to compensate.)

Meanwhile, my group is putting the finishing touches on the group project (on blogging) that is due in my IT class by 8 tonight. It will be a relief to get that over with.

I really hit the wall yesterday - had to go home from work early because I was dead tired, and I needed to rest in bed for a while to get my energy back. I've just been pushing myself too hard, between work and school. So it's a good thing I'm cutting back my Sears hours.

I got my hair (re)done last night. The stylist stripped out the black color, and put on a brown that turned out kind of reddish-brown - similar to my natural color, only redder. He also put in a few subtle highlights in the front. In the future, he will add more highlights, and we talked about possibly straightening my hair down the road - but he advised waiting a while because of all the processing my hair went through last night to be stripped and re-colored. I think it turned out pretty good. And I got it done for FREE (except for the tip), because he did it in exchange for future pet-sitting service.

Not much else happening in my life. I guess no news is good news!