I let the drawing bug bite at 1am! :D I'm forcing myself to bed after I type this. There's an unfinished sketch of Reilly sitting on my desk. I'm trying not to look at it lest I grab the sketchbook and pencil again.

I keep watching the video of Lola I posted on YouTube, which leads me to watch Oliver's video since it always comes up in the suggestions. I miss my baby. ^^; Lola's not really mine, you know? It was Mom's decision to get her from the Figueroas. I mean, Lola slept in my room the first couple nights and all, but I didn't find her, I didn't pick her out, I haven't been responsible for her. Oliver was my baby. I'm not sad about him anymore, though. I'm at peace with it. I can watch the video now without feeling like I'm going to cry, and that's a good thing. Now I just laugh at how adamant he was that Mom always had food. XD; Next dog I get will definitely be another Lhasa. I really like that breed. Ollie was a stubborn little bastard, but he was awesome.

Oliver!icon just because his underbite still amuses me and makes me "aww". ^_^

Lola broke out of my room yesterday. XD I'd blocked part of my room off for her to stay in before I came back to the college, and Mom and Craig both had to leave the apartment yesterday... and when Craig came home, Lola greeted him at the door. Needless to say, Mom bought her a nice-sized crate to stay in when they have to leave. ^^;;

Been staring at a Java problem for the past few hours, tinkering with the code to fix a bit of an error I'm getting. Not an error, more like a miscalculation. It's something very simple, I'm sure, but I haven't been able to figure it out. It's a problem to do with compound interest. I got the yearly amount to come out right, but the monthly and daily amounts are off, and nothing I do fixes the problem. The program is due tomorrow, so I think I'm going to hold off on submitting my files, and ask John about it after class, before I submit them. I'll run it for him so he knows I've done it. The loops work, and I think that's the most important thing. The issue is that we have to have the program give us a balance, after the user inputs an initial balance and interest rate, with interest compounded over 10 years, and the interest has to be compounded yearly, monthly, and daily. We can't use math to do it, though. It has to be done through loops. Right now I have two loops, an inner and an outer. (Was originally three inner loops, but I realized it wasn't necessary and I could just consolidate everything into one while statement, which got rid of a couple variables. At least, I've done that and there's been no change to the result, so I'm assuming it's valid.) The outer loop was the first thing I did, and that's just a sentinel to tell the program to stop. Easiest part, right there. And the rest, I'm stuck. Yearly comes out perfectly (John sent us his results, so we know what we're supposed to get), but the other two are off.

Rediscovering old music! So glad I brought the 2TB HD with me. I was able to put ALL my old files on, including all of my music. Sometimes I get the urge to look through the really old stuff, plop some music onto the laptop so I don't have to have the HD connected, and just remember. This band was one of my gateway groups in terms of Japanese music. I think it was them, GLAY, and Chisato that dragged me into it. I still have the Chisato stuff I downloaded a good ten or rmore years ago. (Was it that long ago? Napster wasn't targeted for infringement then... but I didn't use Napster. I used to get my Japanese stuff from Audiogalaxy before the RIAA screwed everything up. And then AG became Rhapsody.) I need to find my GLAY stuff. I don't recall seeing it on the drive, and I have a bad feeling it was a casualty from the laptop crash of 2004.

Tomorrow, hanging out with Heather again--she wants to play more Sonic. I whupped her ass last time we played. XD Of course, I am much older than she is, and I've memorized so much of old-school Sonic it's ridiculous. I've lost all my skill at Sonic Spinball. I only got up to the very beginning of The Machine before I died. Hate that level with a fiery passion. -_-

Okay. Bed. Two classes tomorrow morning, and I am done. This weekend I have to glaze three cups for Clay, and maybe fix up my vessel a bit more. I meant to take a picture of it before I left today. We had our critique, and everyone liked my design, but it did have some flaws I needed to deal with, like the horrible rim and the handles. Those were the last things I did last night, so I was TOO through with the entire process and didn't really do as well as I should have. I stayed behind after class to fix the issues, and it looks much better now. I can't wait until it gets fired. :D I'll probably go back this weekend and fix the coloring. I needed a much smaller paintbrush than the one I was using, so the slip is really messy in some places. Not terrible, but I drew figures on the surface and I want them to look good.

Holy crap, 1:36. All right. Good night.

He's not pulling as much on walks. He tends to pull when we're coming back home. I was going to get a head collar to stop the pulling and keep him from having to wear a muzzle, but Mom doesn't think that would fly with security because it wouldn't restrict his mouth. We got him a kennel to help with housebreaking, although he's not very found of it yet. I took it apart and took the door off of it, and I'm hoping that he'll crawl into it tonight. Whenever I closed the door on him, he started barking. Speaking of barking, Mom was watching Cops last night and one of the cops turned on his siren, and Sherlock started up again. He ran to the door and just barked and howled his head off. It was pretty funny. Mom even rewound it to see if he'd do it again. Yep.

He was sleeping on my floor a while ago. He seemed to want my company, but I was in my bed and I don't think he was comfortable all the way up there, so I sat on the floor. He curled up next to me to sleep. I was tired and didn't feel like sitting up, so I dragged two pillows off the bed and just lay on the floor with him. 

We're gonna give him back to North Shore tomorrow, though. He's a lot of work, more than Mom and Craig are willing to put in. I'm not a factor since I won't be here most of the time. His attention span is pretty much nil and he's kind of stubborn, so trying to train him is tough, and I'm not sure I'll be able to do it. He needs something more experienced and with all the time he needs. It's been an expensive experiment on my part, in terms of the adoption fee, but I wouldn't change it for the world. He's a real sweetie. He's lucky he's going back to a no-kill shelter; someone will take him home, because he's awesome.

We were going to wait until the end of this week, but we've decided it's probably better to do it before we get TOO attached, and we had to go out there tomorrow anyway to have his sutures checked, so we're just going to go in the morning instead of in the afternoon. As much as he likes Sherlock, Craig isn't too enthused with him because he wants a more subdued dog, like Oliver was. Sherlock's likely still a puppy, so that's a problem.

So, next dog we get will be trained, or at least trainable. Doesn't have to know sit, but I want to be able to teach it to sit. Sherlock's attention span is too short to get him to sit. Oliver was stubborn, but I taught him to sit and lay down in pretty much no time. Housebroken and easily trainable are the requirements for next time.

I'm kinda nervous about how he's going to react when we leave him at North Shore. Hopefully he's too busy being his silly self to notice us walking out. When we'd leave Oliver somewhere, like the groomer, he'd stare at us and then start barking, like, "Where the hell are you going?!" And then he'd be mad at me when I picked him up, even though he HAD to have felt better because he was clean and clipped. XD;

So yeah. No more Sherlock after tomorrow morning. I will be telling the North Shore team that we've been calling him Sherlock and he's kind of started responding to it. It's better than Burt.

HOW MANY INFOMERCIALS CAN YOU SHOW IN ONE DAY?!! I'm thinking I finally have something decent to watch, and they throw regular programming out for a "special report" that turns out to be someone trying to sell some freaking skin cream. This has to be the only place in the world that shows infomericals at every waking hour. It's bad when the most entertaining thing is the Weather Channel. I wish I were joking.

In other news, my laptop? I got my new battery, charged it overnight, and tried turning it on this morning. It didn't come on. I used Dad's laptop to e-mail Gateway support (I'm far out of warranty, but still was worth a shot) and said I'd looked at the manuals and replaced both the battery and the charger, and done a power reset, and nothing worked. Support sent me back an e-mail saying because I was out of warranty, I could only get very basic support. Basic support turns out to be exactly what I needed. They sent me a link to their notebook support page regarding powering on. Before that, I'd been looking at the user manual for convertible laptops, because that's what mine is, so I looked at the notebook page instead. It mentioned the power lock switch. I was like, "Power lock switch? WTF?" and I looked down, and right next to the power button is a 1/4" switch with a lock symbol beside it; the switch was in the lock position. I flipped it up, pressed the power button, and boom, we had liftoff.

Nowhere did the manual for convertible laptops mention that thing. I could've had my laptop back ages ago. I'd have had to replace the battery, but argh. Why wouldn't you put that sort of thing in the manual? How'd the switch even get down in the first place?

Trying to draw, but failing badly. I might just leave everything until I get home tomorrow.

Oliver seems to be doing better already. He's not happy about the pills, but he just has to deal with it! He's still trying to get tastier food out of me, too. I'll put his dry food down and he'll look at me funny, but eventually he goes over to it and eats.

Doctor Who = yay :D Dad and I have already seen it. We don't get BBCA here, so downloading had to happen.

Took him to the vet, because I noticed a lump under his tail. I'd seen it before, but back then it was small and flesh-colored. Now it's big and angry-looking, bluish-purplish-red. The vet wasn't sure what it is. They did a radiograph and bloodwork, and gave me medications (thank GOD they're all pills and no liquids!) for his heart and his collapsed trachea, and we have to go back in three weeks. Definitely going back, because I'm worried that lump is going to burst. They won't know what it is unless they biopsy it.

$338 this week, and an estimated $500 when we come back. That's actually going to be more, because they have to give him anesthesia to remove the lump, and I figure while he's under, they might as well clean his teeth, too. This is the time to get it done. I'm also switching him over to a dry-only diet and buying him a harness to replace his collar.

It's a GOOD thing I took out that deferred comp money. -_- Between this, the $1000 that just went to MICA, and my health insurance, I'm gonna be broke again in no time. But whatever, it needs to be done. I don't like that lump. It doesn't appear to bother him, but it doesn't look right at all, and it's growing, so it's gotta go.

I'll get word on whether the Dept. of Labor's approved my schooling within two weeks. Someone just called and interviewed me, which really wasn't much of an interview at all because it consisted of the same questions asked on the application. The woman didn't seem to understand the whole accelerated aspect of my current school term and put down that I'm taking six credits, and I tried explaining to her about March-June. The whole time, she kept saying I had to be willing to work full-time, and if I'm not, don't certify the benefits. Do not know what that means right now. If I can't certify, then things are going to get VERY tight here. Like impossible. Mom's job screwed up again and she won't be getting any money (except this one check that they're supposed to be sending, if I remember correctly) until the end of March. We're running on my UI. Craig's already been told he needs to get into a GED class NOW and get some kind of job.

Thing is, if I WERE to get a job and had to quit in March, that'd be the end of any chance of getting help.

Seriously, this is pissing me off. Tuition's paid for, at least, but no telling what it means if they don't approve me. Money's already tight because the MTA keeps messing around.

I have stuff to do for school, and I'm gonna be gone for half the day because I have an appointment to find out about the internship and there's a Phi Theta Kappa meeting at 2:30. Tempted to reschedule the counselor meeting (again) and skip the PTK one.

Something's up with Oliver; he's both made and peed on the carpet this morning.

I'm not going to get anything done. I was already aggravated. I need to just go back to sleep and it doesn't make sense to, because after I eat, there'll be no point since I'm supposed to be leaving at 12:15.

Sigh.

This one. It's either that or have him continue to sit on my lap, which isn't really safe for him, or have him continue trying to get up under Mom's feet while she's driving, which isn't safe for anyone. ^^;; We had to block him off with her CD book or her bag, because he kept trying to get down there. I like holding him on my lap, but I get worried when I start falling asleep. Mom says I keep a good grip on him even when sleeping, but every time she has to hit the brakes harder than normal, I kind of freak out. There will be a picture taken of him in the seat, haha.

I keep looking at my MICA viewbook. They sent me a nearly 500-page book. I doubt I'd get in, but I wonder if I should apply. I started filling out the forms for it. I don't know, maybe I'll send it in... and I'll ask Prof. Segre for another recommendation if she's okay with that, since she was my painting teacher and I'd probably major in painting. Probably.

I'm dreading the end of my vacation. :( We're heading back tomorrow morning sometime. I really don't want to go back. It's been fun up here, although the lack of a driver's license kind of kicked me in the butt and had me stuck at home for two days straight. Really, it was more stuck at home without good TV for two days straight--the stations up here suck. They run informercials during the day. Sometimes between two non-infomercials. The city's TV is so much better. But yeah, up until yesterday, it was just me, Craig, and the dog. And without Mom around, the two of us were a lot better about cleaning. Craig actually offered to do dishes on Friday when we made spaghetti and Italian sausage, as long as I put the food away. I guess he and I will make another batch of brownies. I'd said we could, but we waited too long, and I didn't feel like making anything. It's not like Craig can't do it himself, but he always has me line the pan with foil. The brownies stay warm that way.

Mom had a talk with Craig about his temper, which he blamed on lack of socialization. (Craig got mad at Dead Rising yesterday and tossed the disc at the window, breaking the already-broken slat on his blinds further.) He said he was fine (ha) when he was going to school up here, but now that he's down in the city with no friends, he gets angry more often. Never mind that he essentially let it happen. He can't say Dad didn't warn him. I don't think it should've been handled the way it was, but Dad warned him at least three times.

Is it wrong for me to say that sometimes I wish Mom and Dad had stopped with me instead of being concerned that I was an only child? -_-

Dad's down in Oklahoma with Grandma, because the rest of the family down there went on a cruise. He's supposed to be staying for a month, but might stay an extra month since Aunt Cheryl is going to Africa after she gets back from the cruise, and Grandma doesn't really trust Aunt Lisa (whose mind isn't right anymore after encephalitis) to take care of her.

Got the application for apartments on 42nd and 10th, and told Mom about it. She said looking for an apartment is good reason to keep my current job, because people are looking for stability, not "I just got a new job and might not keep it." I don't want to hear that, damnit.

Oliver is eating Chef Michael's wet food. This is significant because it's been ground food. Mom got some containers of chunky food and some pates, and he's eaten absolutely everything I've thrown at him. This morning he had filet mignon, haha. We went out yesterday and bought like 15 more containers. Oliver does not eat ground food, so for him to stick his nose in the bowl and not come up until every piece of wet food is gone is something wondrous. They must do something different with this stuff, or Oliver's gotten less picky.

There's a history class I'm sort of eying. Good news, teacher's supposed to be great and it would eliminate the Saturday morning class. Bad news, it'll bump me up to three nights a week of getting home past 9pm: The class is from 8:05-9:35 two days a week. There's one slot open, and getting it would require going to the school and getting the F1 stop temporary lifted. (Yeah, I know I keep bouncing around, but they put all the professors' names back up on the class schedules, so now I can actually see who's teaching.) Speaking of school, I am SO disappointed that I didn't keep my registration for the creative writing workshop over the summer. I took it off once I registered for Communication, because that was an online class and I didn't want a conflict between that and anything else. Turns out there wouldn't have been a conflict, I could be three credits closer to graduation, and I wouldn't be looking sadly at the current creative writing sections I can't take because of new actual conflicts. It sucks. The classes in the Fall II term overlap with the Fundamentals of Professional Advancement course I want to take. BOTH of them. One runs into the beginning of the class, the other takes place at the same time. I'll have to get lucky in the spring, I guess.

So Blackboard's been down pretty much ALL DAY. I feel for the people who haven't uploaded their assignment yet. I imagine Prof. Lucca knows about it being down. Really, people are supposed to have their assignments up BEFORE Sunday, but maybe he'll give them an extra day. Then again, maybe not. This is college.

Still have a mouse running around, and it's aggravated Mom a couple times because she's seen it, called me/Craig up to help her get it, and of course, it's been gone before she could get it. I went into the kitchen a little while ago and heard it scurrying around, and walked out and meowed so Mom would get the hint. XD

... Oliver's sitting nearby staring at me because I have salami. He can't have salami. Last time I gave him a small piece, he threw up whatever was in his stomach. Actually, I just looked over, and he seems like he's falling asleep while patiently waiting for a piece, haha. I love my dog.