2012 didn't suck

august 2011. that was my last post and the first year to break my tradition of writing a year-end synopsis. it's been awhile; watching certain parts of my life go up in smoke has become a spectator sport for me, and it's been quite time consuming. that paired up with my insatiable urge to fuck off, so i haven't been able to sit in front of a computer for long enough to jot things down. fortunately, i've been able to oust a few proverbial fires over the last year, and i am currently sitting here with a space heater, Eric Clapton, and plum oolong tea. i feel like telling stories.

[pausing progress; i don't remember the first part of the year so i'm checking my facebook...]

found this picture of the beast hail that pummeled the st louis metropolitan area earlier this year

that's right. grad school. i had 4 of 10 classes knocked out only to find out a semester after the fact that one of them was a fail. i tried disputing it, because i don't fail classes, but i didn't keep any coursework and the teacher was cunty so i have to retake the class. i had to do some paperwork to get off my "academic probation" (judging myself even though it's all a misunderstanding)... so naturally i did not do my paperwork but instead wallowed in spite for a semester. i've recently completed the paperwork, and am enrolled for the spring 2013 semester. back to being a winner.

relationship-y shit. long distance relationship. he [allegedly] managed to not cheat on me for 11 months, but then couldn't hold back anymore. how do you "catch" someone cheating from 2,000 miles away? you don't. you let them tattle on themselves by inadvertently sending a text that reads, "awkward question. are you on birth control? we weren't too careful saturday night :-/". my eyes actually focused in on the "well, shit" face. a fucking emoticon to your harlot. enough already. i have since met someone who makes me confident that had i married any of my ex's, i would have surely been settling.

HAWKS!

rugby, because football is weak.

la familia. stacy and chris have moved to stl, and samantha moved in with me. i've had to learn how to share, and that's been stressful for me. turns out it's not 'just like riding a bike'. sam has brought a ton of happiness to my life. it's really nice having a companion and since we are so different, and have had such different life experiences, she has offered some new perspective. i guess i can let her use my ottoman and patio furniture.

he seems like a nice guy.

CARDS!!!

2012 highlights:
-travel. i made six trips to california, a two week rockstar trip to scottsdale for work, a long weekend trip to colorado for family weekend, and had a long vegas trip with megan.
-i met dan aykroyd.
-i wrapped up my six year enlistment in the air guard and am officially a civilian again.
-made it to a few Cardinals NLCS games.
-babies and weddings everywhere.

day drunks

how are we getting home?

i'd say this last year was a win. my recollection of the beginning of the year is failing me, but i can say that it turned out pretty great. the summer was amazing--i was out running stairs and boxing. samantha and i did the fourth and owned oktoberfest as well. this was the best christmas i've had in a very long time. my hard work in the gym is paying off. i'm extremely happy with my new love interest. i'm working on the master's again, and i already have a lot of fun stuff on the books for 2013.

i have my health, a solid job, a great family, fantastic friends, and a sweet new Bears onesie. i'm ready for anything!

da bears.

back to school

i voluntarily signed myself up for school again.

today i went to the campus for a simple prerequisite override and to talk to the VA representative about the GI Bill.

i signed in with advising at 3:50. since there was a whole slew of people in front of me, i walked over to the admissions office to talk to the VA rep. she had left early. what luck.

i went back to advising to wait for my turn. here are some things i witnessed during my two hour wait:

-people (plural) dancing in their chairs when no music was playing,
-people (plural) playing mp3s on their phones aloud as if everyone wanted to hear "because i got high" by afroman,
-a female security guard who walked like she had balls between her legs,
-an old man security guard with a revolver as old as him in his holster,

James Earl Jones, King of Zamunda

-a woman who resembled a frumpy James Earl Jones saying things to the crowd like "let me know if you are still here", as if her speaking to me wasn't enough to let her know i was there?....
-a toddler who was repeatedly hit over the head with a rolled up ad sheet,
-a kid with a bright red mao t-shirt,
-some guy who was so huge i wasn't even as tall as his 'UMC' shoulder tattoo,
-a neon sign above admissions that said "open from 8:00PM til 4:30PM" (i'm not sure what 'til' means, but whatever),
-and many examples of how crack cocaine is one hell of a drug.

the adviser guy stuttered past my first name, as if it gets any more phonetically concise than 'steffany', and just called my last name. this is what happened once i got up there:

"hi, i'm steffany, i just need a prerequisite override done for the "reading proficiency" requirement."
"ok, do you have your paperwork?"
"yep, here's my college diploma."
"um, no, we need proof of at minimum six college credit hours."
"...yep, here's my college diploma."

--awkward silence--

he told me he needed to see my transcripts. i said it stated on the website to just bring in "proof of previous college work, such as a transcript or degree," and that i didn't understand why a "college degree" didn't prove "reading proficiency."

this is where six years of experience came into play. if there's one thing i DID learn in college, it's that when you have an interaction with a neurotic customer service representative who controls your fate in a given situation, you must:

1. be super friendly and cooperative since you are so lucky to have their help,
2. admit fault since you don't know what you're talking about,
3. apologize multiple times for being such a dumb problem for them, and
4. thank them for being so right and for all their time that they wasted on you.

from there, i was done and gone in five minutes. two hours of wait time for a five minute interaction.

i really took having online classes at a Christian university for granted.