How Was Everyone's Week?

I hope I do this right!  There's so many buttons!

This week's topic is "How Was Everyone's Week?"  I miss you guys lots and lots, so it'll be nice to catch up  =)

As weeks go, I've certainly had better.  For those of you who have not been privy to the entire story, I started an online profile on PlentyofFish.com about two months ago, and I met a man named Matt.  He was the first guy with whom I initiated contact instead of allowing others to contact me because of everything that we had in common.  He's a police officer, so there's the criminal justice similarity, and he goes to at least one anime convention a year, using homemade cosplay (good homemade cosplay, too).  We met, and I knew I was in trouble...the good kind of trouble.  He's friendly, easy-going, understanding, funny, and very easy to be around.  After talking and going out on dates for about a month, we started dating.  Three days into our relationship, I could tell something was wrong.  He was distant, and not nearly as affectionate as he had been.  Turns out he had learned that, because he's a drill sergeant for the U.S. army and has just been promoted to Staff Sergeant (I think), he is being deployed to Afghanistan.  He didn't know how to tell me, and that's why he was so distant.  We broke up because he didn't want a girlfriend while he was gone, but we have agreed to continue being friends because we have come to care about each other.

So it kinda sucks.  I've been pretty unhappy since I learned about it.  It's only been a few days since I learned that he's going, but it seriously feels sooooo much longer than that.  I miss him as my boyfriend quite a bit, and I keep getting really upset over everything that we planned on doing together that isn't going to happen anymore.  He was going to invite me over to the anime con he usually attends in Pennsylvania, there were movies we wanted to see together, etc.  I miss cuddling up with him and talking about everything and nothing.  (Woohoo, sappy shtuff!  All done, I promise).  But he doesn't know when he's leaving, just that the beginning phases of deployment begin in early June.  He's away on duty this weekend in NY, and is hoping to get some answers, though he isn't very confident in that.  So, I'm hurting, and it's coloring the way I experience everything right now.  You all know me well enough to believe that there are a hundred thoughts, questions, and doubts going through my head, but I don't want to burden him with them, so they're mostly staying either bundled up inside me or getting jotted down in my journal.

Other than this issue, life is pretty good and normal.  My little sister is working at Giant Eagle behind the deli counter and going to school for accounting, while her boyfriend is working at a furniture shipping store and taking his final class for his criminal justice degree.  They're talking about moving out within the next couple of months because his grandmother has severe dimentia and is being put in a home, so her house is going to be vacant.  It's paid off and everything, so all they would have to pay for are bills and any renovations they want to do.  I'll miss them when they go, including their little dog Scout, but I'm excited for them to get out on their own and start their lives together.  It'll also be nice to have my own bathroom, lol.  I love them, but they're not nearly as neat, clean, or organized as I am, and it tends to drive me a little bonkers.

I have decided to attend Lakeland this coming fall for my paralegal certificate.  The program is two semesters long if a student goes full-time, or up to four if a student  goes part-time.  Classes start this coming August, and I am really looking forward to it.  It'll feel really nice to be back in the classroom again.  I have decided to quit my job while I go so that I can concentrate on my studies, so I'll be going full-time.  I'll be done and a certified paralegal in May of 2014, when I'll be looking for a job!  Ideally I would get something in the criminal field - a prosecutor's office or defense attorney - but the program trains students for all sorts of positions, so I should feel comfortable no matter where I'm hired.  It'll feel very nice to finally have a "real" job where I'm earning more than a dollar over minimum wage and where I'll be working full time, without Saturdays.  I want a consistent schedule and a salary so that I can start being more independent.  I hate how dependent I am on my mother.  I am working as a bank teller right now, and although I like the position and the I love the people I work with, it's just not enough for me to think that I'll enjoy making a career out of it.

The animals are all doing great.  Saloona, my female cat, is as old and ornary as ever, sleeping most of the day and bitching at me when she's awake.  My dog Oscar is looking extremely scraggly right now, so I'm really looking forward to getting him groomed next weekend.  For those who don't know or who don't remember, Oscar is a Shih Tzu, and they don't actually have fur.  Technically it's hair, and it doesn't stop growing, so he needs to be shaved down about every two months.  The nice weather has been great for them, since they now want to go outside and run around, so they're less rambunctious (sp?) while they're inside.  Then there's "the boys" - our cats Blitz and Jack-Jack - and they're the same as always.  Blitz is a shit causing trouble and Jack-Jack is his usual demanding, antisocial self.  The latest adorable story is that Mom opened up one of the windows behind the loveseat, and Scout was sitting on top of it, looking out.  When the wind would blow, his floppy ears would move in the wind, and it made it look like he was flying.  It was so cute and hilarious because Scout's ears are huge compared to his head, so they did look like little wings on his head  =P

Kinda like this  =P

So there you have it!  There's the kickoff of our Hexad of Awesome!  I put the topic in the "Post" field so people can see it without going into the blog topic itself if they want.  Thankfully everything is pretty self-explanatory, lol.

Have a good night everyone, and a great weekend!  Signing off for now!