Right to the point. I'm not going to do a deep dive into the 11 months. As ,uch as I can remember, I don't want to type it all out.

I'm still working at my university. It's been roughly 10 months and 8 days. Lots has changed, but I'll get to that later.

The fall semester was August 21-December 5, 2025. I took my usual 4 classes: 2 in session A and 2 in session B. Life was lifing, and I developed GAD (wasn't diagnosed until Feb of this year!) and suffered with a 16 day headache/migrain from September 30-October 15 or October 16! I also developed an outer ear infection in my right ear (I think it might have triggered the headache/migrain) and that lasted for about the same time.

But through it all, I got all As and made the Dean's List!


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So yeah, I think that's everything. See you in a year, or something like that! LOL

Quick and dirty.

I was let go from Walmart on May 10. No biggie. They'd been giving me crappy hours. Like two weeks in April, I wasn't scheduled at all despite being free Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday between my trips at the end of April. So I looked for other work. They let me go because when I was actually scheduled, I called out 2 days because of orientation for my new job. *shrug* I just wish they would have let me work my full shift on May 10, but whatever.

On April 28, I started working with a company that does before and after-school programming at various elementary schools around California. I'm scheduled for 3 days a week, the days don't matter, but I HAVE to do 3 days. They're on summer vacation right now. Supposedly, they have summer school options, but not at as many schools, so I'm not penalized for not working 3 days. I've been checking the app that has our schedule just in case, but I haven't seen anything.

During all of this, around May 22, the school that I attend posted job listings for 3 or 4 student leader positions. During the spring semester, ASU had a hiring freeze, and my success coaches said, "If we get funding to open more student leader positions, we will." When they did, I applied to one of the jobs...then promptly forgot about it. LOL On June 10, I was offered an interview, June 16 was my interview, and June 18, I was told I got the position! I haven't received my official offer letter yet. I think they are waiting until I return from my vacation on July 7. For the position I was hired for, I'd be working with my fellow peers as well as working behind the scenes for the program itself, helping set up for events, putting together slide decks for our weekly sessions, printing out any needed handouts, boosting activity on Slack...just trying to get the students involved again.

School-wise...I made the Dean's List again! Just barely, though. A+, A-, B+, and B, if I remember correctly. I was elected Secretary for my Sorority. DS has taken up more of my summertime than I expected, and I know once the school year starts, it will be even busier.

For the church, VBS starts this coming week. Wednesday and Friday are for the whole family, and Saturday morning is just for the kids. And again, the person in charge waited until the last minute to prepare. Last Sunday, she used the supplies to make the decorations, and on Saturday, we decorated. We couldn't put much out because the room that we will be using is also used for the adults on Sunday.

It's also election time again. I've been the Children's Sunday School Ministry leader for 6 years. While I do enjoy it, no one wants to be a teacher or helper, so I do it all every Sunday, and during the week, I'm putting together the lesson. Actually, I put the lessons together in 6-month increments, so I just have to print them out monthly for the nursery and weekly for the elementary level, since that's what I cover. All that to say, I'd like to continue on, and will if no one else steps forward, but I need to ask the Pastor to ask the parents to step in and help me. The reason I have to ask the Pastor to ask the parents is because for a lot of them, there's a language barrier, and I'm not about to put their children in the position to be my translator. Elections happen in August.

Saving the best for last. VACATION!!!!!! My niece and I will be flying to Baltimore on Saturday for a cruise on Sunday. We'll be in the Bahamas for a week and return on July 6. I haven't been able to spend as much extra as I wanted (new clothes, hair, and nails done). As it is, I'm struggling to find the needed money to cover anything NOT covered in the cruise fare (pictures, eating at other restaurants, soda/alcohol, and souvenirs). Still, I'll make it work, and when I return, I'll have a new job, just in time for the start of the new school year, and I'll be saving for a car.

I think I covered everything. If not, I'll catch it in the next update.

I'm still at Walmart! According to them, I've been an associate for almost 5 months! In that time, I've gotten a $0.18 pay increase due to cost of living adjustment...and my hours have decreased. I know it's not just me as I've heard co-workers talking about having 2 or 3 days a week (or in one case 4 hours!) I don't know if it makes them as anxious as it makes me, but when the most recent schedule was released, April 5-11, I was only scheduled for 1 day! That's 7 hours! I won't know my schedule for April 12-18 until this coming Saturday and on top of that, April 18, 19 20 and 21 I'll be in Detroit with my family (more on that later). We should be gearing up for Mother's Day (May 11), Labor Day (May 31), Father's Day (June 15) and Independence Day (July 4) and just general summer madness. I'm trying not to think negatively, but it's so hard. Thankfully I already put in my request for time off at the end of June/beginning of July for the cruise I'll be taking with my niece.

Did my taxes and got a nice little refund. I hate that about 1/3 of it went to paying the tax person who did my taxes, but I know that if I would have done them on my own, I probably wouldn't have gotten anything back and would have owed. Apparently there were education credits could have been claiming to off-set my education expenses. I also learned that because I've been making more money, that was the reason for no longer qualifying for the Earned Income Credit. All this time I've been blaming the Orange Menace and the stupid crap he did his first term, but the EIC is for people who make below a certain amount...but I'm still considered "below poverty". Make it make sense!

School-wise, We started the second term of the Spring semester. I don't know if I mentioned it last time, but I made the Dean's list for Fall 2024. That's 2 semesters in a row! From the first term of spring 2025, I got an A+ and A-. I'm on track to make Dean's List for this semester.

ALSO, I was able to register for Fall 2025 classes (and eventually Spring 2026 classes) because money was found somewhere and I haven't reached the end of my student federal loans amount like I was previously told! I submitted my financial information to the school, and boom! They tell me I have about $17,000 to split between Fall 2025 and Spring 2026...and wouldn't you know, that just about covers my tuition for those two semesters and BTW, I'll be graduating May 2026!

I still haven't fully comprehended that I'm nearly done. TWO MORE SEMESTERS AND I'LL BE DONE! I'm waiting to tell my family until I'm 100% sure, so like around Thanksgiving or Christmas.

In Sorority news...we are electing the new Executive Council for the 2025/2026 academic school year. I threw my hat into the race for Chapter Secretary. March 4-11 was when sisters could apply to run for a position, March 12-19 was campaigning, March 20-22 was for speeches and q&a sessions. Voting started today, March 23 and ends on March 25. The results won't be given until March 30th at the next Chapter meeting. The thing is, I'll be working when the meeting is going on (too afraid to ask to swap days, plus I need the money). Thankfully, the winners are told beforehand, but the general sisterhood doesn't find out until March 30. So I'll find out on March 29 as I'm currently on the Executive Council and we have a meeting that day. So yeah. I'm nervous and excited. Nervous because there are 2 other candidates so I'm not a "shoe in" for the position and excited because being a secretary is something I did for 12 years at my church. I know my shit. Excited because being the Secretary is more responsibility and looks amazing on my resume (so does Sisterhood Director, but I felt like I did a lot of nothing until there were conflicts).

Now for the reason I'll be in Detroit (again). My mom's birthday is on April 20. That also happens to be Easter. I've been wanting to surprise my mom for her birthday, like those videos on social media, but work never allowed for it. I mentioned it to my sister and niece and my sister took over the idea and extended an invite to my brother. I get it. The more the merrier to surprise mom on her birthday but I also feel like it's no longer my idea and has become more than I can participate in. Specifically staying longer than Easter weekend. But yeah, that's happening.

The weekend after that I'll be going to Las Vegas for my (Sorority) Sister's wedding. This will be my second time to Vegas. I'm excited and nervous (again). I have my hotel booked, but I need to book my transportation; Greyhound was the cheapest.

I can't think of anything else and I have to be up early for school, so ending this here.

I love quora and reddit.

Today's digest from quora gave me some fic ideas and im itching to get home from work and at least type the idea out.

In the meantime, thank goodness for voice notes!

That's how long it's been since my last update.

I don't know what I planned to journal about that I didn't cover in my last entry, but... whatever.

On 9-9, I turned 42. The day before that, I went to an Argentine Steakhouse with my niece (who turned 28 on 9-6) and a couple of friends from church. It was nice and fun. I forgot to get a group picture, but one of my friends got a picture of my niece and me. I really liked it.

My actual birthday was on a Monday, and I went to school. I was all jazzed about it and had planned to take cupcakes, which turned into donuts, which I ended up not getting because I'm broker than a joke. Again, that was okay, too. One of the success coaches brought cake bites, and there was red velvet! So I got a chocolate bite and a red velvet bite!

I got some gifts. Money, a couple of Amazon gift cards, a wireless mouse, a book (The Client by John Grisham), a travel charm bracelet, a giant pineapple squishmallow (I have no idea who sent that one), a purse with my name on it (that arrived last night). The one free birthday item I took advantage of was a free drink from Starbucks, and then I also got another discounted item, which was two items for $4.25!

I have pictures, but I don't know what's going on with my laptop. I've been getting these error messages and "out of memory" messages for a little bit of time now. It is interesting (NOT!) that it started happening after I got an email from Lenovo that said it's been about 45 days since my warranty for my laptop expired, and I should really renew it. You know, Lenovo, I'd like to, but I don't have an extra $70-$100 lying around. If I did, I'd use it for groceries or to pay for my classes.

Anyway, I'll have to find a way to upload or sync my pictures from my phone to my laptop and share them in a separate entry...maybe before Christmas.

I still haven't found a job. I nearly lost my unemployment. I don't know what the hold up was, but I'd been looking for work 3-4 times a day and applying to at least 1 job a week (but I was actually applying to 2-3 jobs...it would be more if I had a car and could apply to jobs that are further away, but I'm not about to take, as required by UE. I called the office and waited on hold for about 40 minutes to talk with someone, only for them to ask me all these questions that they asked several weeks ago. Once that was sorted, I was told I needed to look for work and apply to 2 jobs a week.

School-wise, I'm doing well in my two classes this quarter. I have an A+ in both of them. The next quarter begins on October 14, and I will have two more classes. I'm getting more involved with ASU Local. Rather, the program is adding more ways for students to be more involved to make it feel like we're in school, I guess. A Black Student Union is forming. ASU and the different physical campuses already have a Black Student Union. I'm a part of the one on the main campus, even though I'm an online student. So, I think it would be great for ASU Local to create this organization. I don't know yet if it's just for my location or if it will encompass multiple locations. I will find out on Monday. We will also have a Dean Advisory Board. I don't know what it's about, but I was asked to join, and this is the first meeting...so I joined. The first meeting is on Tuesday. Wednesday is Crochet Connection. This is self-explanatory, lol. It's held with fashion and design students, but it is open to other ASU Local students. Thankfully, these meetings are being offered virtually and in person. I could go to downtown Los Angeles and participate in them in person, but 2.5 hours there and 2.5 hours back eats up too much time...time that I could spend doing homework.

There's a lot going on with Delta Sigma, too. I know I'm slacking there in both my Chapter and my National Position. But other people have stuff to do that directly affects my work. If they aren't doing their part, I can't do mine. I'm not going to stress about it too much. I'm waiting for Big/Little Week. I believe we have it scheduled for September 30-October 4. I'm hoping for a Little or two. I didn't take one last semester, but this semester, there are a couple of new Sisters I feel like I've clicked with, and I'm actually excited to bring one or both of them into my Unicorn Family House. LOL. There's other stuff with the Sorority that I've taken the mantle on (of?), but it's still in the planning or dreaming stage as I'm not sure I actually want to commit to it because it's a lot of added work...but my other EC members think I should. I'm thinking about it.

It's 12:20 am. I need to go to sleep. My alarm for church goes off in 7 hours and 41 minutes.

I've lost some of my hair due to anxiety (it wasn't noticeable, but LOTS was coming out when I did my hair).

I applied for unemployment, and it was granted.

I updated my CalFresh (food stamps) and was given a recertification interview date.

I've moved, and I'm slowly getting settled.

I've applied for jobs as a condition of getting unemployment benefits.

I've possibly lost of food stamps because I was honest in my application (it asked if I was in school and I said yes, they then denied my benefits because I didn't meet the qualification as a student receiving benefits. going to school shoudn't disqualify me from getting benefits. I'M UNEMPLOYED AND CAN'T FEED MYSELF OFF 740/MONTH WITH THE BILLS THAT I HAVE!) but I put in an appeal to the denial.

I signed up for CPR/First Aid certification. a lot of jobs I'm looking at wants someone with that certification, and it's something I should have done years ago while I was caring for KW.

Online classes start in 10 days. In person programming starts in 14 days. I still don't think I've talked about changing my major. It's not really a change, so much as it's combining my major and minor into what's called Interdisciplinary Studies. Interdisciplinary study is an academic program that combines two or more areas of study, such as scientific, artistic, or academic disciplines. I combined my Health Care Coordination major with my Counseling and Applied Psychology minor and if I'm able to continue funding (I find a job that allows me to pay out of pocket) I will be done in 2026 (May or December), otherwise I will be done, for the time being, when Spring 2025 semester ends.

That's about everything that's been going on with me.

In 28 days, I get to to see if 42 really is the answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything 🤷🏾‍♀️

My client, well former, is still in the hospital, but I heard from the case manager that a permanent, skilled nursing facility has been found!

Good thing because I gave her apartment manager a 30-day notice. She wasn't going to be released back to her apartment anyway because I couldn't safely care for her, and she really needed to be somewhere where she could be properly cared for.

I have someplace to go. I've had someplace to go for the last 6 months. However, as long as KW was still in her apartment (we didn't have the resources to find the proper facility for her despite knowing exactly the type of facility she needed), I continued living with her and caring for her.

Up next, besides packing to move, is finding a job. I'd like to be in a healthcare-type job because that's what I'm going to school for (I changed my major, but that's for a different entry), but I need something that will pay for my education in the meantime. Enter Starbucks! They have a partnership with ASU, which will cover the tuition of the barista as long as they work 20 hours a week. I applied to a few locations near where I'll be living...fingers crossed I hear something positive back from them. I also applied to some office jobs (I did that for almost 13 years).

The Spring 2024 semester ended. Financial aid has been up in the air for students across the country. Universities are getting things under control because my cousins' and friends' kids are sharing their university acceptance news. I will be able to continue at ASU through Spring 2025, and then my federal financial aid will be maxed out. Even for the 2024-2025 terms, my aid is reduced, but there are scholarships I've been applying to, and ASU Local has a lot of need-based scholarships.

Opening even more doors to resources for me is that I found out that I'm a first-generation college student! Yes, my sister has her Master's degree, and my brother has his degrees through the Air Force, but our parents never got 4-year degrees (Bachelor's degree or higher). My mom has an AA degree, and my dad had/has various technical certificates. I will likely find more scholarships and opportunities out there now that I have this extra bit of information.

Also, I finished out this semester with a GPA of 3.75, earning me a spot on the Dean's List for the Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation.

Fall 2024 starts on August 22 for online learning, and ASU Local starts in-person programming on August 26. I still have a nice bit of vacation ahead of me.

From May 15-31, I was in Detroit and Ohio, visiting family and scoping out the area in case I needed to move there (Detroit) to care for my mom (but I'm also looking at Arizona for other reasons [I can't afford to live in California on my own]). That was a nice time.

[caregiver stuff]Then I get back to California, and oh boy! My client had been staying with her sister, and just as she got used to being with her sister, she was back in her own home when I returned. She had to get used to being back home. Well, we were also invaded by ants! During the day, not to be seen, but as soon as I put my client to bed, they swarmed! By the morning, she was fucking covered in them! It didn't start right away like that. June first, they were on her arms, legs, and chest, which, in my opinion, is too far. Over the week, more and more ants came. Bug spray didn't deter them. Windex and cinnamon at the front door where they were coming in didn't deter them. Nothing. My client was suffering, and I couldn't figure out what to do. Things came to a head early Sunday morning, that's yesterday Sunday morning, when my client's sister sent me a text at 1 am (I was away at a friend's wedding) that the ants were all on her face, specifically around her eyes! My client's sister put her in a wheelchair, and they went to sleep. When I got back later on Sunday (around 7:30 am), I didn't see any ants on my client or where she slept (before the wheelchair). Now, my client is okay for a few hours by herself as she sleeps, so we moved the client to the air mattress her sister was sleeping on and went to church. I get back from church, and YA'LL! THOSE FUCKERS WERE BACK ON HER! HER EYES, CHEST AND ARMS WERE COVERED IN ANTS! I rush to the bathroom, drop my stuff in my room, get a washcloth, wet it, and go back to my client to clean her off. I startled her, and she was yelling to stop touching her and was generally not making sense. My client's sister arrived and saw what I was doing. She said, "They're attracted to her," to which I agree. We get her cleaned off and back in her wheelchair...but now she's lethargic and incoherent, and her eyes and chest are red. I told my client's sister she needed to be somewhere safe, and the only place I could think of was the hospital. I ask my client's sister for input, but she's just sitting there on her phone looking up shit about ants. I kept demanding she give me some direction before I finally called 911 because there was no way we'd be able to get the client cleaned up, into the car from the wheelchair, to the hospital, and inside safely. The fire department arrives (they're at the end of the block), checks her out, and agrees that she needs to go to the hospital.

So my client is in the hospital, and I'm working with the management to clean up any areas I think the ants could be coming into the apartment, but since she's been gone, I haven't seen any ants. I also haven't spent much time in the living room, so there's also that.

This weekend one of my friend's got married. Actually she had the ceremony and reception as she and her hubby went to vegas last year and we were legally married. This weekend was so that she could experience all the parts of the wedding and celebrate with friends/family.

That's the highly abridged version of the last 10 days.