Moving On, Moving In

This will be my last entry before my move. As you can see from the above entry, I did manage to get Abby trapped. Tomorrow is the big day. There is still so much to do! I need to get back to packing. I hope and pray we get Abby to the apartment safe tomorrow, and that the move is smoothe. God be with me! I will see you all at the new house!

The phone was supposed to be turned on today, but the Direct TV won't come until Thursday. :-p I'm going to demand a credit for those days. The movers are supposed to be here at 11 a.m. I hope they are on time. Before we leave I need to call Nick and tell him we are on our way. He said he would meet us there with the keys. I have $440 in cash to give to the movers. I think that should be enough. It better be!

Abby, Still Wild

God, this hurts. I'm on my second glass of wine because I feel so bad. I managed to get Abby in the cage for the trip tomorrow. I have a bed, litterbox, and food already in there. She is busy trying to get out and pulling (hard!) at the cage bars with her claws. She is also meowing mournfully. She is so scared and unhappy. I feel terrible. *I* know it's for the best, but she doesn't realize that.

Pray I get her there safely and that she doesn't find a way to get free.

Here's a page with old pics of her back when she was still known as "Momma."
http://xenakidden.home.sunlink.net/html/feral8mom.html

And here's the cage she's in. It's large because I can't handle her to put her in the carrier. She is still very much wild. The setup of the cage is different. The setup in this picture is for a small kitten. The cage no longer has the ramps, the two perches are together,and the hammock was removed.
http://xenakidden.home.sunlink.net/html/xenastart.html
I got her into the cage by feeding her all her meals there, and then just closing the door on her.

The New Apartment

I should probably describe the apartment, shouldn't I? Well, like I said, it's a large studio on the third floor with a view of the city. When you walk in the door, you enter a hallway. On the left side is the bathroom. On the right side is a vanity. If you turn right into the vanity and then turn left, you enter a large walk-in closet. I'm planning on using this closet for storage.

As you walk down the hallway, there is another small closet to the right. I plan to keep my clothes in this one.

At the end of the hallway is the living room/bedroom. On the far side of the main room, off to the right, is the kitchen. On the back wall of the main room is the window.

And that's about it.

It's all carpeted except for the bathroom and kitchen. Cats never used to be allowed in the building, but it just came under new ownership and the new owners allow cats.

He also said it would be okay for Abby to run around outside a bit, as long as I let the neighbors know she's not a stray and is mine. I felt I needed to be upfront about that because, while I can keep her in most of the time, she does get stir crazy eventually.

Xena I'm NOT going to let out. Tough toenails.

Anyway, I'll be offline for a bit during that time. My only Internet access will be from work.

I move this Sunday morning.

Monday I went to a Public Storage and splurged on some boxes. I'm short and I'm tired of using dumpster boxes. So I bought 10 good quality ones. Getting them to work and then home was difficult at best.

Tuesday I dragged the vaccuum cleaner onto the bus, got it fixed, then had to drag it to work and back. I got the belt replaced and a new bag put in. When I move out I will need to clean the room. There's a thick layer of fur on the carpet from the cats. Last Friday I bought some carpet cleaner that you shake onto the rug and it's supposed to help make the fur easier to vaccuum.

Today I was so exhausted that I slept a solid 9 hours last night. I feel best on 9 hours, but don't usually get it. Of course, I was up until around 2 a.m. last night packing.

Please pray that I get my deposit of $100 and my two weeks unused rent of $250 back. I don't think Lou will give me any of the money because he never has any money and he will consider the two weeks' rent simply forfeited.

INDirectTV

Excuse me while I scream.

I HATEHATEHATE Direct TV! These people are messed up and EVIL! I rue the day I signed up with them and decided against basic cable.

Now they are telling me that I can either pay $25 and sign up for yet ANOTHER year of their "service," or pay $99 and keep my current contract! [rolls eyes] I tell you, neverNEVER*NEVER!!!* sign up for (in)Direct TV "service." You'll be doing yourself a DISservice.

EVERY SINGLE TIME I have called, their computer system has been DOWN, and so we've been playing this charming game of phone tag for the past several days.

Oh, and they don't do installations on Sunday. What the hell is a major company doing only working 6 days a week? Can you understand why this is frustrating for a Sabbath keeper whose faith tells her that she can't ask them out Saturday and so she has to wait until MONDAY to get anything done?!?

Please, if you guys hear nothing else I say, DON'T EVER BUY DIRECT TV!!!

I am so frustrated at this stupid company that I could just cry!

Missed the Last Bus Home

It was a mess last night.

Tony said he'd be there at 11:30. I knew he'd be a little late, but I figured leaving at 11:25 would safe. I caught the 11:30 58 bus and took it most of the way home. At midnight, with Tony still not at work (I called and got no answer), I decided to head back. At about 12:15 or so I got ahold of him at work and so headed back home.

But by then I'd missed the last bus. I took the 58 as far as I could to the Seranader bar, then called for a cab from there. It was $5 for the cab ride home from there and I called Tony and told him that I expected him to pay for it. It's not my fault he overslept, and it's not my fault that traffic was heavy. *He* needs to think these things through.

When I told him he I expected him to put $5 in my box at work, he asked if I could wait until the next pay day. I asked him why he couldn't pay now - we were just paid last Thursday. The call ended with no clear resolution. I also told him that from now on when he was late and I missed the last 57 bus home, I would expect cab fare from him. I could be fired for leaving early and I don't want to do it anymore.

Grrrr...don't these people understand? Or do they drive so they don't care and can't comprehend that some of us are at the mercy of the public busses?

How To Piss Off Victoria...

...be late to work so that I have to make a choice between leaving my post early (punishable by firing) or missing the last bus home. Thanks for the great choices.

Grrr...

My relief, Tony, overslept again and called to say he'd get here as soon as he can. And so I end up breaking the rules and leaving my post before he gets here to catch the last bus home. He drives. He doesn't understand. I already know I will have to leave early tonoight because he called me at 11 to say he'd be here in a half hour. (Yeah, right...make me laugh.) Anyway, I have to leave at 11:25 to catch that last bus home. :-p

I am hopping mad about it. He can't leave HIS post to drive me home, and I can't afford a cab, even if I took the 58 bus as far as I can to the Seranader bar and called from there for a cab. It's still a couple miles and still costs money.

Ok, let's see.

I was on the phone with Direct TV for the better part of an hour. I spent the first half hour just trying to talk to an actual person. The auto system kept asking for my zip code at my new residence - something I don't know. I *finally* just entered my work zip so I could get through to be put on hold. There I sat for another half hour before talking to a person who told me that someone would have to call me back - their computers were down and they could do nothing.

I also called PG&E to start electric and gas service. That was the easiest thing I've done all day. Too easy. I know something will go horribly wrong in the process just to frustrate me.

I have the move-in cost for the apartment, but I got the wrong amount. He wanted $1390 and I only took out $1300. He called and asked if it would be okay to take my $100 deposit check and cash it and then he would own me $10. I said yes. I will mail the $1300 tomorrow. It is in an envelope and everything. At his request, I faxed him the money orders so he would see that I do have the money and that he will have it soon.

I'm going off now to make a list of things to do, both those that have been done and still need to be done.

Why, when I am using so much energy every day, am I getting so little done? I still haven't started packing; I have rarely been home all week except to sleep. :( I miss my babies. They need their Mommy. And they don't even care if I'm an emotional basket case. They love me anyway. :-D

More Credit Crud

Grrr... It only gets worse. I got my verification code from TrueCredit today and followed the instructions to the letter. Steps 1-3 went fine, but when I hit submit on step 4, it STILL refused to give me my dang credit report! I'm obviously going to have to call them tomorrow.

ARGH!!!!!!!!!

Moving Day

Looks like I'll be moving August 29th. It's the Friday closest to the end of the month and my day off.

Milestones

Well, due to my previous news I'm not dancing around as I post this news today. I wish I could.

I found an apartment yesterday and am signing the agreement today. He sent me a fax of the agreement and it's fine with two caveats:

1) (And he will send a new page for this.) The dates for the first month's rent were wrong. He will correct those dates when he re-faxes that page.

2) The agreement said the cats have to be boarded somewhere while I am on vacation. Not only will this cause stress on them to be taken from their familiar environment, and I don't have that kind of money, but also no place will take Abby because she's not tame. He said it was okay to just have someone look in on them. That should help quite a bit. I did note that on the agreement in my handwriting. I also crossed out the original lines, as the owner said to do.

He also faxed me a mold addendum to sign.

When I looked at the place yesterday, there were two apartments, #2 and #27. Number 27 was slightly bigger with a nicer view and on the third floor (which I don't mind at all). There is a small elevator in the building. #2 is on the ground floor and slightly smaller. Both are very nice and spacious as studios go.

Originally I was told that #27 might already be taken. I expressed that I would prefer #27 but that I would take #2 if #27 were already taken. But the owner called me this morning to say that he would give me #27.

The cats probably would have preferred the one on the ground floor, but tough.

Anyway, I should be happy and dancing around. This is a landmark day in my life, the realization of a year-long dream. But I am worried about the whole situation with the doctors, so I'm not happy and dancing. Instead, I am peeved, exhausted, and numb.

Doctor's Orders

As most of you know, I have to take a prescription medication to be able to function like normal people. Well, I tried to call my doctor today to make another appointment. The receptionist said they don't take psych patients anymore and that they are referring them out to psychiatrists. Well, psych docs charge a lot more and insist on seeing you once a month, AND my company only pays for half the cost, not 80% like with a regular doc. Oh, and the yearly cap is lower. It wouldn't work. I can't afford both my medicine AND to see a psych every month.

Besides which, it's MY disease and MY body and I'm an adult - I can decide how often I need to see a doctor for reevaluation.

Anyway, our health person here at work, Lupe, thinks the real reason the doc won't see me is because I was late once paying my bill. The receptionist on the phone tried to tell me that they really aren't seeing psych patients anymore and that she told me all this at my last visit. NO SHE DIDN'T. She's LYING and thinks I won't notice?!? I liked the doctor, too.

So now I have to start over AGAIN (for the third time) with a new doctor. Lupe said not to mention anything when signing up for the initial appointment and to only mention it once I'm there. I have an initial intake appointment scheduled for Sept. 17 at the cost of over $150 that I don't have.

Needless to say, I'm highly stressed, pissed, and upset over this whole game.

God promised me a long time ago that He would make sure I could always get my medicine and not to worry about the money, but each time I have to start over I worry that He will fail me and that I will go without. Life off the medicine is a living hell, and to be honest, God means little in that state. I would kill myself sooner or later. That's not a threat; it's a sad statement of fact.

Anyway, your prayers on this would be appreciated. Remind God of His promise to me.

I don't know how I will get through this, especially seeing as how my rent is going from $500 to $700 next month.

Keep On Trucking

Ok, let's see. Two appointments today and two more tomorrow. (Managed to scheduled another one this afternoon. Originally I had only one appointment tomorrow.)

The first apartment is a second floor walk-up in a converted hotel. People would stay in the hotel for long stretches, hence the reason for the full kitchens.

It's SMALL, too small, and has no storage except a large closet which may or my not be large enough. The windows open onto a large ledge which connects to the stairs of the building next door, so Abby can get out and run around. The kitchen and bath are nice, and the price was lowered from $695 to $650. They said I was the first person to apply for that apartment. There was a $25 credit fee. I made out the application and paid the fee on the spot. They said that MAYBE if I signed a lease I'd get the first month free. I told them I was interested in that.

The second place was larger and nicer. There were also a TON of other people who had already submitted applications.

This place was first floor, private entrance, and it's own garage space that could be used for storage. It only had a shower however. It also had no washer/dryer and the closest one was too far to walk, necessitating a bus ride. Large enough for all my stuff and the cats, though.

Two more appointments tomorrow before work. We'll see. I'm not making any commitments until I've at least seen the two tomorrow. Not that anyone is begging to have me as a tenant.

A Moving Experience

Well, almost. I have 2-4 weeks to move. I am looking at two apartments today, one on Tuesday, and one on Friday. Surely somebody has to want me. I'm praying for God's help.

And now...I have to be up early so I better get going. *yawn*

*beats head against wall*

I'm TRYING (unsuccessfully) to get a d*mn credit report. No one can identify me.

Yeah, there were a couple student loans. They were PAID OFF by my parents YEARS ago. I don't know who they were with or how much they were for or anything.

And so I'm having to jump through hoops and have passwords and user names USPS mailed and e-mailed to all different addresses I've had, and then run around and try to collect it all together and log back into the sites and CONTINUE their little game. It's a mess, a royal MESS. And I'm $50 in the hole for playing their games.

So now I have 3 appointments to go to and no credit report to show them for at least a week, probably longer. And by then someone ELSE will have my apartment!

Grrr.....

I need prayer BAD and NOW! It's a dog eat dog world and I'm getting ripped to pieces.

The fun continued last night getting home. The 11 p.m. bus just simply never showed up. The 11:30 one was right on time however. :-p This led to much grumbling on the bus and LOTS of kevetching among the passengers. I must admit, it was more than usual.

When the driver spoke loudly to get our attention over the ruckus, I thought she was going to castigate us for complaining about things so much. But she didn't. Instead, she handed out a petition and some other info. to us about the upcoming cuts in service and raising of fares. We all passed the petitions around and signed them. I ended up with two partially filled sheets that I intend to get fully filled and then, as she said we should, give them to another driver to turn in. The drivers are against what is going on because there will be so many layoffs.

I arrived home a half hour late at 12:30 a.m.

The phone wasn't back on yet, so I couldn't get online. I got ready for bed and relaxed in front of the TV, going to bed around 3 a.m.

I woke up sometime around 10 or 10:30 this morning by Lou calling to me that the man from the phone company was here. I was dreaming at the time. :-p After looking around he said that when Lou's phone was disconnected, someone must have accidentally disconnected mine, too. He said that with the way the lines were, it was an easy mistake to make.

At any rate, I'm back online now.

In other news, SimpleText isn't cutting it for this blog. I think I will have to start using ClarisWorks. SimpleText documents just don't hold enough text before I have to move on to a new blog page. I'll have to run some tests, but it should work.

One of Those Days

Well, today has been One Of Those Days (tm). Murphy's Law has been in full swing in my life. Everything that possibly could go wrong, has.

I got to stay late last night at work (overtime, yea!) and got driven home. Because of this, I accidentally left my punch card in the back pocket of my jeans. I got home about 12:30 a.m. About 2 a.m. my little reminder to give the cats their flea treatment started flashing. I dug the treatment out, but Abby could read my mind and wasn't letting me near her. Oh well, wait until morning.

I tried to set up the new aquarium I bought, but after setting everything up it just sat there. I carried it into my room to test it in a different plug just in case, but nothing. I'll have to call the company later, maybe send it back.

I managed to get Xena's flea collar off, but was too tired to put the new one on. That would also have to wait until morning.

A program about Lord of the Rings was on, so I stayed up until 3 to watch it. Learned some cool stuff about the books and movies.

As a lay in bed I suddenly remembered that I had forgotten to take my vitamins and medication. No big deal. I would just do it in the morning. Being 12 hours late with my medication has never been a problem. I was tired and only wanted to sleep at that point.

Slept in until 11:30 this morning. Before I got up, Abby settled down on my bed and put her back to me. I took the flea treatment and squeezed it on her neck. I managed to get most of it on before she could react and run off. She wouldn't let me near her for the rest of the morning.

I managed to get Xena's new flea collar on, though she put up a fight. I also put what little remained the the flea drops I couldn't get onto Abby, onto her.

I had to wrap my sister's birthday presents and get them out. I had no birthday wrapping, so I put them in Christmas wrap. I ran out of tape as I finished wrapping the last one, but I knew where more was and reloaded the dispenser.

I turned on my computer to do some quick surfing before work. My modem couldn't detect a dial tone. Since I only have my modem hooked up to that line (I don't even know what the number is), I went digging through my closet for a phone to plug in and test. I hooked the phone up - nothing.

I got into my e-mail and found an old e-bill they had set me and called the repair number on my cell phone. They asked for my number and I didn't have it. Neither is it listed in the bill. They said they couldn't help me, that they'd have to transfer me to customer service and THEY could give me my number. I was transferred and got the number, then transferred back to the repair center. I set up an appointment for tomorrow morning. I do have insurance so hopefully I won't have to pay. (Never trust a landlord; they are slow on fixes. I always pay for the insurance.) I talked to my live-in landlord before I left and he said he'd see what he could do. He said it was because he canceled his AOL. (Huh? And that matters because...?) I checked his phone and it was also not working.

No time for coffee this morning, and no time to call the aquarium company.

So I leave for work, late. I get an energy drink on the way because I hadn't had coffee.

I'm already at the bus stop when I realize I forgot my punch card and my medication. Too late to go back, though.

I get on the bus and am tipping my head back drinking the last of the energy drink when my sunglasses start slipping off. I jerk my head up to keep them from falling, smashing my lip into the can. (The glasses fell off anyway.) I cause several tiny cuts inside my lip.

I stop to copy the bulletin for church, then go to the grocery store to buy a bus pass. This is the last month I can use BART Plus; from now on I have to pay for everything separately. I start by buying the bus pass. The express line at the supermarket is slower than molasses in January, but eventually I get through. I arrive at work 10 minutes late.

Because I left my card to clock in in my other jeans, I have no card. I talk to my boss and he says to send him an e-mail about it so he can manually add my punch. I do so.

I go downstairs to our mail room to mail out my sister's presents. The guy assumes I want Priority Mail and doesn't ask. Parcel Post was over a dollar less and I would have gladly done that, but he's already printed out the sticker and everything and it is "too late." By now I am in a very bad mood and make a snarky comment on my way out.

I haven't eaten so I ask my co-worker Brad (yes, OUR Brad) to go to the burger joint next door and get me a burger and a diet Coke. I give him the money and he goes down. He comes back with a regular Coke and I nearly have a hissy. He goes back down to get the right drink.

So, that's my wonderful day. So if I'm more curt than usual it's because I haven't had my medication (I need it to be normal), and have had everything go wrong.

What Herb Are You?

What herb are you?

Victoria's Vacation Updates

These were all posted at once, assembled from electronic "postcards" written over the course of the week.
Victoria's Vacation updates

These updates are arranged backward chronilogically and were written during my vacation in Newberg, Oregon at the Seventh Day Baptist General Conference. Pictures from Conference can be found here. Monday, August 11, 2003 This will be my final update. I'm still tired from my trip, but I will attempt to make this something resembling coherant. - Friday, August 8 The evening service was good. It had a mixture of traditional and contemporary music, though all was played on the piano and organ. It was interesting hearing contemporary music being belted out of an organ. I was able to get into it a little bit and raise my hands in praise. (Indeed, Conference is one of the few places where I feel totally free to do so.) We did communion which was cool. I just love taking communion with a few hundred other people. The closing song was very special. It was "Wonderful Grace of Jesus," which included this: Chains have been torn asunder, Giving me liberty; For the wonderful grace of Jesus reaches me. He has indeed removed my chains and set me free. I don't deserve it; it's all grace. - Saturday, August 9 We started off with Sabbath School. I went into Stephen James' class when I saw Jane Mackintosh and Dave Johnson there. We studied the Helping Hand lesson for the week on Joel and repentance. After Friday night I was expecting Sabbath morning worship to be a let down like it was last year. But it wasn't. There were some good contemporary songs played like they should be - with guitar and drums, as well as the more traditional hymns done in the contemporary manner. I was able to praise God with raised hands. Our closing hymn was "Great Is Thy Faithfulness." This is one of those songs that God has used to tell me to look back - it makes me thankful for how far I've come. I remember singing it in the choir at my old church when the Billy Graham Crusade came through town in 1997. I flashed back on that, how much time has passed since, and where I am now. Thank You, Father. You ARE so faithful. After that was a very nice Sabbath "dinner" (what we left coasties call "lunch"). I spent the afternoon resting until it was supper (dinner) time. After dinner and before the last meeting I packed my stuff up. I was late to the final meeting, but it wasn't a worship service so I didn't miss anything except the instalation of the new president. The new president, Pastor Dale Thorngate, gave a short speach and unveiled his theme for next year, "Seeking God With All Your Heart," based on Jeremiah 29:11-14a and Matthew 6:31-33. Next year Conference will be held in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Sunday, August 10 I was up, as usual, at 7 a.m. But my roommate had gotten up at 5 and I had a hard time going back to sleep. I ate breakfast and turned in my key then. Then I went back to the room and finished packing, then dragged my bags to the auditorium where we gathered waiting for the bus. The bus trip to Portland airport was uneventful. I took my hairclips off (the ones that hold my covering in place) while going through the metal detector. It didn't beep this time so it must have been the clips that set it off on the way out, causing me to have to go through the wand search. They checked my shoes going both ways, too. I don't know if my shoes would have been checked on the way out, however, if I hadn't set the metal detector off. Our bus had left on time, about 10:15 a.m., and I got to the airport, checked my bags, and through security by shortly after 11:30. I had THREE hours to kill before my plane took off. I went to a bookstore in the airport and bough a book and a couple other items, then had some lunch (a hot dog and a beer - haven't had a drink in over a week), and finally ordered some lunch to go at another restaurant there. I also had another drink there, which turned out to be one too much. The flight was uneventful. We were only a few minutes late. When I got home I scooped up Xena and she licked me, but no purring this time. Abby had hidden under the bed, but came out as she realized it was me. I'm still working on the pictures page. I just have to go back and make sure things are (mostly) in chronilogical order. Then it will be ready to share. That's about the extent of things. I'll probably add more as I remember things I forgot. Sorry this is so long. There was just so much to tell. There was lots of really good fellowship this week. Mealtimes were chances to talk with others. I love being around people and talking, but I must say, I got so little alone time this week. Even my room wasn't a haven because it had to be shared. I am looking forward to catch up on being alone now that I am home. 14:39 Friday, August 8, 2003 Well, this will be my last update. I have found that there is no lab open on Saturday, so I won't be able to write tomorrow. - Thursday, August 7 The evening worship service was nothing but music (non-interactive), but I got some good pictures. I'm getting bolder about creeping right up to the stage during the service to get the pictures I want. Some member of our little choir sang a song last night. At that moment I wished I was in the choir. I am, however, considering joining the Conference Choir next year, if they will have me. - Friday, August 8 The other computer was messing up, so I hopped on this one. Those laptops are so tempermental. Techie companies should make them WORK and not concentrate so much on making them SMALLER. :-p Anyway, Bible study today was good. It was calling "Sharing in Christ's Riches," and put paid to the "Name It and Claim It" movement. Instead of asking God for a Rolex (we don't NEED it), we should sell our Rolex if we have one in order to help the poor. God takes care of our needs, not always our wants. I really wish Wolf...er, Doctor...was here. I think he'd get a lot out of studies like this. Hey, Conference will be in Kalamazoo, MI next year! Want to come? No? How about West Virginia the year after? Hey Kathi, how close is that to you? As it's Friday, we have some free time this afternoon, so I showered for Sabbath and now I'm here. Last year we did communion Sabbath morning; this year we are doing it tonight, so I sense this will be the big, important service this week. Oh, one other thing I forgot. At the Wednesday service, a man gave his testimony of all he's been through on his job to keep the Sabbath. Over and over he mentioned how he compromised his beliefs to keep his job, and yet I was struck by how God kept working with him, kept growing him in other areas...such grace and forgiveness time and again! He is truly so good. I guess that's about it except that I really wish some of you were here, not just for the fellowship, but because some of you could really learn a lot from the daily Bible studies and worship services. (((Hugs))) all. Sorry I won't be around tomorrow. I'll miss you all. I fly back Sunday afternoon assuming I make my plane. Please pray that there are no lines and I do. 14:02 Thursday, August 7, 2003 Skipped "morning worship" after breakfast because it's really just a musical performance of whatever group and not interactive. I went and laid down in my room and just rested until it was time for the Bible study. After the Bible study I again went back to my room while Committees presented reports. Then some other business which I did attend, lunch, and more business. I think someone switched the leaded coffee this morning for unleaded - I had a hard time staying awake all morning, and felt no caffeine rush at breakfast. At lunch I drank a bunch of Mountain Dew and now I am ok. Anita from church arrived, bringing the total number of people (including children) from my church to 15, 7 of whom are adults. This is Anita's first Conference. We finally got her to come! Afternoon business was interesting. Reference and Counsel finally got their report passed, but not without much debate. Feelings are still raw from last year's problems relating to the Alfred, NY church and so many amendments were proposed and voted on before the report passed - R&C is trying to get into place a procedure for dealing with problems like this in the future and we were haggeling over the specifics of the language. It's good to be a delegate and be able to vote on stuff like this. I even got up and briefly (VERY briefly) spoke a couple of times about my committee's report, which included stuff about upgrading the General Conference Web site and moving in the direction of online registration for Conference. The moves we made this year will pave the road for that at a later date. There's a lot of old people here who don't understand just how important the Internet is. The younger generation has more vision. I did have to be moved to an earlier bus on Sunday. Somebody put me on bus #4 as if I could check in and get through security at the airport in a mere hour. The earlier bus is still pushing it, but will give me two hours to do all that. *hugs and kisses* I'll try to get on tomorrow for another update. Hope you don't mind my little vignettes. I'm hoping to turn this into one huge blog entry when I get back. 15:37 Wednesday, August 6, 2003 Tuesday the 5th was okay. We had young adult interactive worship in the morning. In the afternoon, the skies clouded over and we had thunder and lightening and a shower. (Typical Oregon weather - lots of rain!) My interest group meeting lasted THREE long hours, with no break. :-p But we did get proposals together to bring to the Conference floor, including upgrading the main Web site (for non-SDBs), and, in the future, online Conference registration (for current SDBs). That last one is still a ways off, though. Evening worship had little music and included a lengthy presentation about a lady's short term mission trip to a foreign country, something that's never interested me. Wednesday the 6th was better. The sun came back out, and intead of interest groups, we had a choice of seminars in the afternoon. I attended the one on Islam and Muslims and it was quite enlightening. I minored in religious studies in school, but Paul (the presenter) had a bunch of material that I didn't know. The seminar lasted three hours, with a short break. But I found it interesting, which mitigated the boredom. I came to this mini computer lab right after. The Women's Banquet is tonight. I went last year and was not impressed. It's one of those things where EVERYONE goes and shows off their best clothing. I hate that sort of thing. Anyway, that's today's report. There's lots of other things - denomination business, kids from our church and the things they are doing here, and other stuff, but these are the highlights. I'm learning a lot about how the denomination functions on a national level. Last year it was just confusing. This year I'm beginning to assimilate it all. I've been hanging out a lot with Pastor Ray Milalki, a pastor of a small church (4 members right now) that's starting up in Pennsylvania. He tends to be very conservative (religiously), so we have a lot in common. He's been to my home church once, and I also talked with him a bit at Conference last year. Attendance is much lower than last year (400 compared to 800 last year). Most SDBs are consentrated on the east coast and don't seem to want to fly out to the west coast. I honestly think we had a better showing of west coast people at last year Conference in NY, than we have east coast people at this year's Conference. At least us left coasties are dedicated! Still need to get more pictures. I'll upload them sometime after I get home and make up a little Web page. The pictures will be dark. The dang thing is terrible in low light conditions, which all indoor pictures are. God bless you all and I'll "see" you all next week! 16:33 Tuesday, August 5, 2003 - Sunday, Aug. 3 Wake up around 9 a.m. Leave house around 11:30 a.m. Arrive Portland airport, find a boy holding a sign that simply reads "SDB." Wait 60-90 minutes with others but a "tour bus" type bus for about a 1 hour ride to the Conference site. Arrive site around 6 p.m., register, collect packet and nametag, leave luggage at Registration and procede directly to dinner before they close. Go to my room with my luggage after dinner. I am in Pennington #121 with an elderly (80+ year old) roommate. - Monday, Aug. 4 Lock myself out of my room at 3:30 a.m. Have to wake roommate to get back in. Tract and communication Council meeting, 2 hours. Track down computer lab to get online. Nothing interesting for Tuesday yet except that morning worship was contemporary and therefore better than expected. I had some other thoughts to share, but they appear to be in the bulletin, not my notebook, and I only have my notebook with me. Oh, also, I once more forgot the address to my exwitch mail account, so I can't access it unless someone tells me what it is (again) or I suddenly remember it. :-p It's wonderful being able to do so much fellowship and worship and Bible study. Last night after the worship service, which included a lot of readings from Revelation, I went back to my room and read Rev. 4 and 5, then prayed for some of you people here, and then went to sleep. I love God and want to serve Him with my life, I know this is right! He's given me so many gifts, not the least of which is making me his adopted daughter, a princess, an heir. No matter what I don't have, I have Him, and no matter who others think I am, I am His. Let's not just live FOR Christ, but live IN Him! Ok, off to lunch now. I'll try to come on tomorrow. God is good, all the time! 11:08 Monday, August 4, 2003 Don't know how often I will be able to get here this week. I'm currently on a laptap in some building here and the equal sign key is where the backspace should be. Anyway, a quick update from here. Arrived here at George Fox at about 6 pm Sunday night. Since dinner was over at 6:30 we dropped our bags, got our packates (sp), nametags, and room keys, and went straight to dinner. Then we went to our rooms. My roommate (they found me one - yea!) is an 80+ year old lady named Margaret who walks soooo slow. We are late to stuff. She also takes forever to get ready in the morning; I can be out the door on my way to breakfast in 20 min. Lots of meetings today; more tomorrow. The rest of the day should just be dinner, worship (every night - yea!), and then I need an early bed. I can't function on the sleep Margaret seems to get. Perhaps she is taking naps. Anyway, other than being chronically tired so far I seem to be doing okay. Will try to take more pictures. I enjoy the fellowship over meals with various people. Good way to meet people. I've never been shy or had a problem with that. Dr. Who - I did get your IMs you sent to my phone. Thank you. I have also sent you a couple. God bless you all. I'm in Internet withdrawal here and came straight here to get my fix. Victoria Shephard 16:02

Leaving Tomorrow

So here am am just a day away from the start of Conference. I'll be leaving tomorrow, arriving sometime in the evening. This will be my second year going. I won't be updating my blog at all at Conference; I have no way to upload. So I'll be seeing you all on the other side. I'll try to make myself write about it when I get back. I'm trying to rest today because it's Sabbath, then finish packing tonight.

I'm going to miss the cats. I decided to leave them here locked in my room with plenty of food, water, and two litterboxes filled with non-scooping litter. They'll be okay.