Monday, July 25, 2011

Time Flies...

My biggest apologies for not posting an update in about 7 or 8 weeks! My last post was about my moving in to my new apartment. Since then, I did get moved in and settled, and also left the world of the Internet--with the exception of using my phone. So.....I have not necessarily had immediate access to the Internet from my computer, making it a little harder to get online and update. I cannot say I didn't have any access because that would be false; I could take my computer and go the the library, or to the USAO campus and use their wi-fi. I just never got up and around to doing so. Sadly, my roommate and I still have not signed up to have Internet. Secretly--and only temporarily--I have access on my computer so I thought I'd stop by and let the world know how the life of this post-graduated lady is going!

For several weeks now I have been settled in to my apartment. It is extremely comfy and works great for my roommate and me. It is 2 bed/2 bath and doesn't cost much to keep cool in these days of extreme heat. For the first time in many, many years I have my own bedroom to keep my own stuff in and to hide away whenever I feel like it. That's nice. =) I have also had to create some cooking skills to feed myself, since in college I either had microwavable dorm food or went to the cafe to eat. That has also been entertaining but not a struggle; I am enjoying cooking some great-tasting dinners!

As far as building my life on my newly-acquired degree, I haven't quite started that yet... I know, I know, I need to begin a career and build up my life and be successful and..and..all these great things!! But I don't think I'm in a big hurry right now. I am finally able to enjoy the extra time of relaxing and having to find things to do! All through college I was constantly working on something, be it homework, Student Government, clubs and activities. Finally I just have to go to work, then come home and decide what I want to cook for dinner. I have a decent (and rather professional...) job that is paying me enough to keep me on my feet. I'm making it. =)

Recently, I have sent in my application to be a part of the Oklahoma City Symphonic Band. I am super thrilled about this new experience because I love playing my saxophone with other musicians. It would also just be weird to NOT be in a band for once, haha. The band consists of about 90 members and performs various concerts throughout the year. The levels of musical skill ranges from amateur to professional. I thought this would be a great experience for me and also good to help me stay up with playing. I'll let you know how that goes as the year progresses.

This is all for now. I cannot tell you when a next post will be because I am not sure how often I'll be online. But keep a lookout; I'll be back at some point. Until then, take care and God bless! And thanks for stopping by. =)

-Beki

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Something New

As of this last weekend, I have gotten everything moved and settled and I can finally enjoy my new apartment. The funny thing is, I don't know what to do now! I work, yes, but not enough hours to keep me so busy that I don't have time for anything else. When I get home from work (I like the sound of that), I try to find something to do. If you didn't know already, let me tell you a little something from my past four years at school: having free time to do whatever I felt like was an extremely rare thing in college. I was always working or had school work to take care of. Now, I'm beginning to find myself bored! This is not a good thing. Fortunately, I have a few projects that I can work on!

Last summer, after going on an amazing vacation on a cruise to Mexico, Matt and I began a scrapbook of the trip. I was able to put together a few pages over the summer, but once school started, I never took it back out. Today was the first day since July that I was able to work on it. I have several pictures and pages that need to be made to finish the project, so that's one thing I can do!

Just recently, since graduating, I started making a "T-shirt quilt" out of my many USAO school T's. Making the move hindered progress, but now that I am settled, I have tons of time to begin again on this project.

Another something I look forward to beginning is cooking! Currently, my cooking skills go no farther than putting together Hamburger Helper or throwing a pizza in the oven. Hopefully I can pull together recipes and experiment in the kitchen. I'll need to learn this much-needed skill eventually, so why not start now when I don't have other kids or adults to feed!? :)

Lastly, there are always books I have yet to finish reading. Maybe a good reading every now and then wouldn't be so bad (ha ha).

That's all for now, until next time!

-Beki

Sunday, May 15, 2011

This last week.

Hello again! I apologize for the lack of posts in the last week. I have not been around internet access all week due to moving, and moving into a place with no internet yet! However, I think that my roommate Nina and I will be looking into this and getting it fixed...soon. There's hardly much else to do around the new apartment, haha.

Speaking of the new apartment! YES! I am finally moved into my new place and, for the last week, I have been organizing and placing everything in its own spots. Saturday evening, with the help of my wonderful Matt, we finished unpacking; everything (in both my room and bathroom, and some of my kitchen stuff) is in place, and it is such a great feeling. After this weekend, anytime I am back "home," it will be time to start my hobbying and find things to do. That, I am definitely looking forward to!

This weekend I went down to Comanche with Matt to spend time with him and his family, and it's been super fun! We made it in time for lunch, then immediately got started on my car. (If you have not been following me recently, I have had car issues, one to include an oil leak which really needs to be fixed!) Matt's grandpa--who knows everything there is to know about cars, no exaggeration--, himself and his dad, all got to looking at my car's engine, trying to find where this "oil leak" has been coming from. The hypothesis is that it is NOT the rear main seal. If it was, that would involve taking apart the axles and the transmission, and then remove the engine, to simply replace the tiny seal at the back of the engine. And then of course, putting back the engine. That would have taken an entire week possibly. Believing it's a leak with something else, we added an oil solution that is supposed to seal any leaks. We'll see how this works.
On top of finding the leak, the men went ahead and changed out my brake pads. Then we took my car down to the car wash so that Papaw could clean up the engine--which had been extremely greasy for the past several months. He went ahead and gave the rest of the car a bath, too. Taking my car back to the house, he pulled out a mini carpet cleaner so that I could clean the stained floor mat and floorboard in the front seat. All this to say: my car looks fantastic and is on its way to recovery!! A side note: taking my car to a shop or dealership to attempt to fix the rear main seal would have cost me (literally) $1,500, estimated. Thank God for Matt and his dad and Papaw and their help!!

Seeing as this has been pretty long, and how Matt is also bugging me to get up so we can start a movie (haha), I'll let you move on to your next daily task. Thanks for stopping by! Not sure when I'll be back next. Take care until then! God bless.

-Beki

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Frustration...

This whole "real world" thing really is beginning to frustrate me. I know that it is a good prime example of what is to come--that not all parts of life are just so easy-going and stress-free. I realize that things out of nowhere come up and change your plans, or finances in my case. It just isn't easy to deal with at the moment.
This post is going to be more of a personal rant/complaint just because I'm upset and feel the need to express my thoughts. If you don't like one complaining, then you might want to stop now. Nothing personal. And also understand, though, that I usually try to not complain about a situation but rather see everything in a positive light. I just feel the need to share everything about this...situation... haha.

As you may know--if you have been able to keep up with the last couple of posts or statuses on Facebook--my car has been giving me problems. Out of nowhere I am now having to fork out money to get it fix. This is money that was supposed to be going towards buying new things for my apartment. I guess those will just have to go on hold for now.. I can always buy that stuff later, right?? I had to spend $147 on a new radiator and anti-freeze for the car. Fortunately Dad is going to come down this weekend and try to replace it for me. However, there is more than just the radiator to be fixed. I have a pretty good oil leak as well, and this might be more difficult to fix--will probably have to take it in to a mechanic because it is a Honda and, well, we all know how the foreign cars can be a little tricky! All in all, I must fix my car soon before it croaks on me. I for sure cannot afford to buy a new one...not until this one gets paid off. It just came at bad timing because this same week, I'm putting down all the deposits for moving next week. So with knowing that my car needs a lot of fixing which requires a lot of money, I am just frustrated and getting upset. But I know that God is much bigger than any of this and He will see that my needs are met. He's a great God and nothing can stop Him!

On a brighter note: Monday I will be checking in to my new apartment and get my key! :) More on that story will be up very soon. Have a great night/day and God bless!

-Beki

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

A block in the road...

Entering into the "real world" has its many ups, while also having some downs... I have begun experiencing those unexpected mishaps that just pop up when all is going great! And of course, this mishap involves spending money which was originally intended for other things, such as moving into the new apartment and buying things for it, of course. Oh well. Fortunately--and thank God--I have a little bit of extra money to afford the situation. So what happened, you ask? Well, my car is starting to give me problems. And this is expected due to the fact it has roughly 205,000 miles on it. (It's a '98 Honda...) It started when I was driving down the highway and noticed that my temperature gauge read higher than usual and also a little bit of smoke was coming out from the front end of the hood. Of course I pulled over to check it out. I noticed a huge splash of [something]--antifreeze I believe--made it's way all over the front end of the engine. After talking it over with a few people, I think it possibly overheated and the radiator cap popped loose, causing the antifreeze to spray everywhere. I added some water, then antifreeze/coolant eventually, and it seems to be okay for now. Also I have been having issues with the oil; my car is either burning it or leaking it, and I lose it faster than it should be. Basically, it is definitely time for a fine tune-up and I need to get it fixed. That just requires extra money... JOY.... (ha..ha..)

In light of the circumstance, God provides and I will be okay. I have the money needed to move into my apartment and buy groceries; I have gas money; and I also have the apartment coming my way with a very reasonable rent. This is just one situation that happens in life, and I must learn to be prepared for all possible happenings!

Take care and have a blessed day. Count your blessings!

-Beki

Monday, May 2, 2011

A fun weekend with family.

This past weekend I had the privilege of going home (El Reno) to visit my family and spend some time with them. I always enjoy doing this because, since being at college, I haven't gotten a lot of time back home with them. When the time is available, I make sure to go and visit for a few days.

Sunday after church was my post-graduation party. Only so many were able to come graduation due to limited seating, so we had this party for family and friends to get together in honor of my graduation last week! It was a decent turn out. My grandma put together a pretty darn good buffet of sandwiches and other goodies to snack on--anything consisting of food that she puts together always turns out marvelous! She did a fantastic job on the cake too. I have a picture but no means of posting it yet. Basically what it was was the USAO school logo and it looked exactly like it! :) She's always done a great job of cake making.

The fun part, of course, was seeing what grad gifts I got. My cousins got me A LOT of new things for my apartment which I will soon be moving in to! Things such as a set of kitchen towels/oven mitt that have the coffee cafe design (my kitchen will be decorated with Cafe stuff!), a couple of wall hanging pictures, welcome mat, cookie sheet, mixing bowl with flipper and rubber spatula, an afghan with Psalm 93, and some other things! Getting all of this makes me soooo excited to be moving into my new place this coming weekend!

On a new note, last week was my first week out of school and I must say: I loved it! No worries of anything to do with school was nice. I've also begun a new project that might turn into a hobby. I have several school Ts--too many for my own good, probably--and decided to cut a lot of them up and make a USAO t-shirt quilt! I have never made a quilt before, but I have had some experience with regular sewing and I think I understand the general structure of making the quilt so, we'll see how it goes! This also gives me a lot more room in one of my dresser drawers.

I'm sleep tonight. We shall meet again another time soon. Take care until then, and God bless you. =]

-Beki

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Anticipation

I have been patiently waiting for next Friday, May 6th, to arrive. You ask, "What is so special about May 6th?" Well, let me tell you! That is (well, should be anyway..) the day that my roommate and I get to move into our new apartment! I am extremely thrilled. For the longest time I have been wanting a place to call my own, a place that I can set up to my liking and buy my own "stuff" for it, decorate it how I want. And that time has finally come! I just have to wait for the turn of a new month, the old renters to move out, and the tenants get it ready for the new renters--me! Fortunately, and praise God, that I only have to wait these couple of weeks rather than two to three months like the apartment manager had originally anticipated. Yep, that's what she said: It could be 1 to 3 months before anything opens. But voila! We had one almost instantly. A definite blessing, I must say.

One thing that I am definitely looking forward to is going out and buying the "stuff" which will make it mine! I've been able to set back some money for this so I will get to go and find a new bed set, curtains, bathroom decor, and so on. What girl doesn't like to go shopping and buy new things?! Sadly I can't, or shouldn't, go shop until after I can move in; otherwise I'll have even more stuff to move across town. It was a big enough load getting everything from school to my friend's house!

Every day I am looking forward to next week when Nina (my future roommate) and I can stop by the apartments to get our address and put our name on the electric bill (I guess not so fun--but it still makes it part of my new apartment, haha), and the official date when we get our keys to move in. It just can't get here soon enough! I'll let you know more as it comes!

Thanks for stopping by. Take care and God bless you!

-Beki

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Now what?

So I did it. I finally graduated college, and it's now time to move on another step into the "real world." I've got to say though, that I'm pretty excited about it. For about two years now I have been ready to move into my own place and have nothing but work and simple life to worry about. All that school work, activities, meetings, and so on, were beginning to really get on my nerves. Now, it's go to work, and whatever else I feel like doing! For some that probably isn't too appealing, but for me, it's something I have not had for at least four years--or ever! Hey...I want to at least give it a try. 

Since--and even before graduation--I have been asked by many what I'm going to do now. And I bet you are wanting to ask me the same thing! Because graduating college is supposed to be that key that opens the door to your life-long career and brings you all sorts of success!....right?? Well, not for all. For me, it is receiving a diploma and degree, showing that I can work hard and finish, and also that I can endure sitting through hours of courses learning new and interesting things. I received a Bachelor of Arts in Music with an emphasis in instrumental performance. This is definitely not the degree that lands one a job right after graduation. If I want to use my degree, it might take a while finding a good-paying job, if one at all.
Thank God that I have a good job right now. I am still working in the pharmacy as a pharm. technician. With the license, I should be able to work at virtually almost any pharmacy. For the time being, I plan to just stay with that job while I look around and think about what I can do with music. I already have several ideas, but just need time to get them started. And that's what the next year is going to be about!

I am getting an apartment in town--Chickasha--with a roommate so we will be here together for the next year. After 4 years of college, I want to give myself a break. I deserve the time off. So that's what I will be doing for now!

Thanks for stopping by to read! I tried blogging before, but it didn't really ever work out; time never allowed. Now, with no school in the way, I have more time to sit and work on "non-school" stuff! Keep your eye out for more to come. =]


-Beki