There is no place like home.....

The good doctor and I spent the weekend hauling various things into the house and a lot out. The living room is coming together with the addition of the Susan's futon and my coffee table. The find of the weekend was a roll top desk from Craigslist. When I was ten years old I begged for a roll top desk for Christmas. I cut pictures out of a catalog and tried to convince my father that every ten year old girl needed a roll top desk. He did not fall for my pleading (and frankly, I don't blame him). So, now twenty years later I have purchased my roll top desk. After bringing the desk home from Wichita Falls we went to Lowe's and purchased new hardware for the drawers. This gave the desk a much more modern look.

This is a before picture of the desk that I yanked from Craigslist. I will upload a new picture of the desk when the house is complete and we post pictures.

I am headed to Midwestern with Susan tomorrow to solidify my registration for the fall semester. I recently had the opportunity to interview for a language arts position in Wichita Falls. This would have meant stepping away from my current course toward pharmacy school. When the call came in for the interview I was conflicted because if I were to take the job (this assuming it was offered) it would mean a more secure financial future. It would also mean we could buy one of these insanely cheap houses currently available in Texas (seriously....a four bedroom, three bath house, with an inground pool for $150,000....you can't buy a single wide in Lexington for that much!). It ultimately became a question of instant gratification verses long term goals. I've always known that I was destined to complete a PhD of some sort. I knew it wouldn't be in education (as in teaching), and after completing a master's in counseling, I knew it wouldn't be in counseling (I really have zero desire to be a professor or clinical psychiatrist). However, my mother (the genius that she is) has been saying to me for years, "Jennifer, you should look at pharmacy school...seriously, job security, the money....look at pharmacy school." After working in the counseling field for the last three years I have seen the true inadequacies of psychotropic medications and how people are affected by the fluctuations of medication. The one way I feel I can make the most difference is to study these medications and help to develop more effective pharmaceuticals. Hence...pharmacy school. However, to complete this, I have to complete a year of pre-reqs (stuff I never took as an undergrad...like chem, calc, physics, etc.). So, tomorrow begins my trek toward pharmacy school. My fall schedule will consist of calculus, physics, botany, zoology, and chemistry. Twenty credit hours, an insane schedule. But, when you have only a set amount of time (and a set amount of money) you have to cram as much in as possible.

I pray I am making the right decision. Education is the one of the few things that cannot be taken away. However, I hope I am not putting us in a bad financial position by taking a year off work (and potentially four years if I am accepted into pharm school). Sometimes you have to follow your gut instinct (and the advice of your mother) and eat Ramen noodles (and cat food) to make dreams happen.

Venturing Out

Since arriving in Oklahoma/Republic of Texas three weeks ago I have not left the confines of the house/Wal-Mart/nearest repair shop for air conditioning/plumbing/car. And, since the air conditioning gave out exactly one week ago (during the hottest day of the Oklahoma summer...113 degrees) we have been holed up in one 10 x 10 bedroom in the back of the house with a window unit and Aero-Bed (mind you it has to re-inflated every 10 minutes because Zinger used it as a cat scratching post) attempting to stay cool. So, on a day when no repair men were scheduled at the house we decided to venture out to the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge. We needed a little piece of home (mountains) mixed with a little culture of the area. We took the dogs because I refuse to travel anywhere without them for fear that the air conditioning in the house gives out and I come home to carnage. So, with out any further adieu I give you our venture through the wildlife refuge.

We drove about fifteen miles outside of Lawton through fields of what I believe were soybeans (or maybe marijuana??) to reach the wildlife refuge.

Radleigh (the terrier) was terrified that we were going on another 23 hour car ride through Virginia,

Tennessee, Arkansas, and Oklahoma. She is not a fan of anything with four wheels.

The "mountains" here look dramatically different than the MOUNTAINS at home (and dare I say they pale in comparison). We are used to the Peaks of Otter, the view from Susan's land; however, for the time being these bumps will provide some comfort (but seriously, are they really mountains???).

Both Whitey The Truck and Susan wanted their picture taken with the wildlife refuge as the back drop. Whitey has been quite the trooper during this whole process. He hauled two dogs, two cats, and three fish all the way to Oklahoma without a hiccup. Mind you, when he arrived and we put Fluffy's Discount Liquor Gas in him, he balked, coughed, hiccuped, and demanded the high grade gas. Susan was just thrilled to have the opportunity venture outside the confines of academia and wanted to mark the occasion with a picture.

There are many beautiful lakes (ponds?) that dot the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge. Kira very much wanted to get out and swim but Dr. Harvey wouldn't allow it. She was afraid Kira would leave wet doggie prints on Whitey's interior.

My favorite part of the whole trip was seeing the bison that roam free in the wildlife refuge. It has been since I lived in Kansas since I last saw a bison (or anything other than a bun...ummm...BISON BURGERS!).

Apparently this was Radleigh's favorite part also because she decided to attempt to launch herself out of the truck via Kira's back.

But...she didn't know what was up ahead!!

PRARIE DOGS!!!!

The entire Prairie Dog clan was upset because one Prairie Dog escaped and found a piece of bread (it was the fat one....always leave it to the fat one to find extra food).

Thus ended our tour of the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge. We would like to go back again sans dogs (once we have air conditioning). There is a museum, hiking trails, Mount Scott (not really a mountain...but someone did get lost hiking on it and made the local news the other night), and a gift shop!!!

It can only get better from here....

It truly can only get better from here...when we got home last Sunday from our Atlanta Bread Company daily visit we found that the air conditioning in the house had stopped. At first we thought that the circuit was just tripped, or the line frozen. No. Such. Luck. The whole system had shut down and refused to start. The interior of the house was about 95 degrees (this was after a 110 degree day) and the dogs were hiding under the bed. Zinger was spread out of the floor like a giant blob of cat goo airing out his junk (as he likes to do). And the fish were floating lazily around their tank as the temperature began to rise slowly above 86 degrees (boiled fish anyone)??? I immediatly had a panic attack...because seriously...what else could go wrong at this point. My mind immediatly went to, where are we going to move, where am I going to work, how are we going to get everything moved. We don't have the means to replace an air conditioner in a house. one of the main reasons we are living in Lawton is to give me an opportunity to finish my doctorate and Susan a chance to get ahead financially.

After many tears and "holy shits" we finally came to the conclusion that we had no choice but to move. I had found a prospective employment opportunity at a mental health center in Wichita Falls, Texas (near where Susan was teaching) making a grand total of $30,000 a year (why did I get a master's????). We resigned ourselves to the fact that we needed to look at houses in the Wichita Falls area and begin the process of re-packing. I was freaked by this prospect and decided the best way to deal was to hide in the bedroom with the covers over my head.

To make a painfully long story short, we don't have to move. My mom is being gracious enough to replace the unit in the house and replace the defective duct work (please tell me why we are heat and cooling THE GARAGE????). In total it is a large sum of money and I eternally grateful that a team of people has come together to make my attempt at pharmacy school possible. I start classes in a few weeks and need to get my head in the game. I am taking physics, chemistry, botany, zoology, and calculus. All of the things I avoided as an undergrad student (they have come back to haunt me). However, if I can make it through one year of classes a whole new world will open up and I can apply to pharm school this time next year.

So, while the first week in Oklahoma has been utter hell (literally..it is 110 degrees here!) it is slowly becoming more manageable. There have been several times that I have come close to putting my animals in the car and driving back to Virginia....but truly, I don't think my Saturn would make it that far! I am grateful that everything is beginning to come together but at the same time I feel extremely guilty at the amount of money this is costing my mother. But I try to keep my eyes faced forward and moving toward the ultimate goal (knowing full well that when I graduate from pharm school I can repay her many many times over).

Oye! Let's hope it is better from here....

We've made it!

I have officially been in Oklahoma for one week. We pulled in last Friday to a hail of carpet and lanolium pieces. The trip here was fairly uneventful...although we did decide to alter the route about four hours into the drive. Amy spent a significant amount of time on her cell phone trying to find a hotel in the western part of Tennessee that allowed animals (since we were traveling with two dogs, two cats, and four fish). She managed to negotiate a hell of a rate (using what tactics I don't want to know) and we stayed the first night in Dickson, TN. We spent the next day (thirteen hours) driving to Oklahoma City. The one thing I clearly remember at this point (and it has all become a blur) is that the further west we traveled the warmer it became. When we pulled out of Virginia at 10:30 in the morning it was a wonderful 79 degrees and when we pulled into Oklahoma City two days later at 10:00pm it was 95 degrees. If only I had known....

When we arrived at the house I should have known there was going to be a hiccup (everything had gone way to smoothly up and until this point). I pulled up to the house and noticed that there were two work trucks outside. When I walked in the house all of the sub flooring was visable and two guys were standing around discussing where they should start. Mind you, all of this was supposed to be done BEFORE I pulled in to Lawton. The temperature outside was quickly rising (by this point it was 100 degrees) and the dogs, cats, and fish were all in the car. At this point I gave my self full license to have a "Chris Straub" moment and lose my cool. I called the maintenance foreman and calmly (at least I thought it was calm) explained to him that there were MEN inside the house and NO carpet and to top things off there was a refridgerator sitting in the middle of the driveway. And, what exactly did we pay all the money for him to do??? (I think that was the point where I lost my cool). He said he would be right over....

Meanwhile I left the dogs/cats/fish in the car with the air conditioning running and called Susan in New Mexico (which involved her leaving class). She had the task of finding a hotel room (that allowed pets) in a city smaller than the size of Roanoke (for my Virginia peeps) during the ONE weekend that Tim McGraw was in concert and it was the 4th of July. To say the least we ended up promising our first born for the hotel room (the last one in town that allowed pets). The movers ended up showing up on time (the one blessing in all this craziness) and ended up working through 105 degree heat without a complaint (except for the one mover who had Torret's and kept shouting "FUCK"..and frankly I don't blame him).

At this point we are settled (somewhat) in the house. I am very grateful for everyone that has come together to make this move possible. It is an advance for Susan (Dr. Professor Susan Harvey) and a chance for me to return to school to pursue a doctorate. We have spent much of the last week making the house livable (seriously...hot water to the refridgerator and a frozen water hose to the washer). I am blessed to have this place to live (thanks to my mother) except that I look at Susan at least once a day and say "but I've never lived like this before...you don't understand...I am spoiled!!). On our way home from Wichita Falls yesterday I made Susan stop in Burkburnett, Texas to look at townhomes that are for rent. We aren't moving (at least anytime soon)...but it is nice to dream!

We will have internet installed in the house at some point tomorrow (so help me AT&T) so hopefully I can update my blog more often. Susan has already started teaching (and she loves being Dr. Professor Susan Harvey) and I am slowly unpacking the house (even though I SWORE I was going to the Hilton until the house was unpacked...but that would involve having to find a Hilton in Lawton, OK).