Well, "mondschein" is German for "moonlight". I'm half German in lineage, and particularly fond of the night and gazing up at the moon. The "jen" part is an abbreviated version of my first name. I don't want to change my username to something else. I like it just the way it is. Nothing deep or mystical, really. 

Do I really have to pick just one? Tough decision, since I grew up in the 80's with a bunch of strangely awesome toons. I used to sit in a daze for hours watching Saturday morning cartoons while eating cereal so slowly it turned into mush regardless of the flavor. Cap'n Crunch so did NOT stay crunchy....the box and commercials lied. But really, I honestly can't remember too much from the early childhood. I'll just go with the earliest memorable show....Ren & Stimpy...but not the bull they're airing on Nickelodeon now. I'm talking the original, old school MTV Ren & Stimpy, where they didn't censor it and my mother would inevitably catch me watching it and flip out on me. I was in elementary school, in the 4th grade I believe. I used to watch Beavis & Butthead, too. And let's not forget, MTV's Liquid Television, with Aeon Flux and Spy Vs. Spy. Ren & Stimpy was always the favorite one, though. 

Yes, in fact. I used to watch The Little Mermaid (the Disney one) over and over and over. It was to the point that I would pretend with my cousins that we were characters from the movie.  Now, when one of my other cousins' little girls wants to watch it, I shudder and hope that I can change her mind into watching something more modern and less annoying. Its not that the movie is really annoying, its just that it got "played out" during my childhood. I honestly can't think of any other movies that I watched so much.

The definition of a "true friend" obviously will vary from person to person. My personal definition of such a friend would be someone who accepts you for you, always and unconditionally, and knows how to tell you whats on their mind. They trust you completely, and expect you to trust them completely. They always tell you what's on their mind, even if they know its going to upset you. They don't judge you, though--just give you a piece of their mind if they think you're going off the deep end. True friends keep each other in check, and always have each others' backs. This being said, I've only ever had 2 "true friends" in my life. One of them is from the Richmond area, and the other is local and also family. I would love to be able to count my boyfriend as a "true friend", but he's guilty of judging me at one point when I was really down about my life. Its not that he didn't try to stick by me and help me as much as possible... I kind of wouldn't let him. I suppose that I can, in fact, count him as a "true friend." 

As far as what would lead me to end a friendship, I have ended many with people who I thought to be "true friends." What it has been thus far is someone telling me that they had quit doing something that they had been, and knew they shouldn't have been, and then me finding out the hard way that they were still doing whatever it was--whether it be hard drugs or cheating on their significant others. Both are things I don't like to be around. Cheating is absolutely unnecessary...if you're no longer interested in your partner, break it off, move on, and find someone who makes you happy. Don't think with your dipsticks, guys (or your hormones, for the ladies). People who just can't seem to be themselves tend to make me end a friendship, too....but usually it ends before I get attached to them. If they're not being true to themselves, how can they be true to anyone else? Hard drugs, or any illicit substances for that matter, are unnecessary as well. They don't do anything but wear out the body and corrupt the brain, and no one "needs" them. Sure, people want them, and get ahold of them everyday. But those people are not my friends--those that I know are acquaintances at best. 

There's my two cents. 

 Things really haven't changed all that much. I had my gallbladder removed during the last week of June, right before exams for the quarter in which I last posted. I had it out on Saturday and was sitting exams on Monday. Recovery has been a bitch, though. Getting used to the dietary restrictions--which are different for everyone--has been somewhat of a struggle. I've cut my hair rather short to attempt to relieve the migraines. I was told by a nurse practitioner that the weight of one's hair can make migraines worse, so I had to give it a shot. Its just hair, it'll grow back. I've gotten mixed reviews on my new doo but I think its cute so to heck with what people think. It's also much more manageable, and the headaches seem to have been relieved at least a little. Win-win situation, I think. The quarter following the surgery, I didn't do very well, as I was sick for the majority of the time and didn't manage to get good grades in most of the classes. This quarter should be different. I've only got 3 classes, and don't have any classes which start before 10 A.M. or end after 3 P.M. However, there is still a significant amount of homework to be done. 

On to matters aside from school...I had a lovely Thanksgiving and Christmas with my grandmother in N.C. I don't get to see her as often as I would like, which is something that I'd love to be able to rectify soon. I don't get to see my aunt as often as I'd like either, and she only lives about 5 miles away. That is something that needs to be fixed, as well. 

I have been thinking a lot lately about whether or not I'm wasting my time getting this degree because I'll probably not be able to get certified unless I can get my record expunged, and that isn't a possibility until the fines are paid off and I submit the request to the court. I'm not even certain that I'll be able to get it expunged. I'm thinking that perhaps I should try to get into another branch of the medical field before it's too late to turn back, but as someone pointed out to me, the degree won't go away and eventually the charges will be off my record. I'm not too sure about all that, but I know one thing: I wish certain things never happened, so that I wouldn't be in this mess now. It sucks ass, and I feel so powerless sometimes. 

Well, I suppose thats enough banter for now. Maybe I'll remember to update this thing at some point sooner than the last time. 

Well, this quarter has been interesting so far. I've had to contend with missed classes in Emergency Procedures due to my poor Honey having back surgery, but I've still got an A in that class. The teacher is working with me because I've been keeping her abreast of the goings-on and making sure that she knows why I'm not there and getting the work turned in that needs to be turned in. I'm missing a couple of students I started with, who've had to drop out of college temporarily for personal reasons. They were actually more appropriate to be friends with, in my opinion. I've got to try and not get attached to anyone else, because I don't want to become dependent on having a certain group of people around me in all of my classes. There might come a time when I don't have anyone familiar and I'll have to get used to the new people. Its always good to start this process early so as to better deal with it when the time comes.

On another note, they Really need to stop showing all of these fast food commercials while I'm trying to study and get homework done. I'm afraid I might start gaining weight instead of losing it if the incessant ads don't let up.

Jessica's Spring Chorus Concert was quite lovely. Honey managed to attend it with us despite having to stand in the back of the auditorium.

Personally, its not necessary to fight this. We DO own our pets. Any animal with a pedigree comes with papers, much like a Title or Deed. We also have agreed to take care of them with food, water, shelter, grooming, and medical needs. If it comes down to saving the pet, or saving the newborn baby, most people would save the baby first, and THEN come back for the pet if the situation wasn't too dangerous. I'm sure there are some people who'd prefer to use the term 'guardian', and more power to them. There's nothing wrong with that. There's also nothing wrong with the term 'owner'. Both are correct, in my opinion. I love my dog, she's a member of the family, and I would consider myself her guardian--I just wouldn't be likely to call myself that in front of too many people.

Well, I don't know whether to be excited or nervous. I'm a tiny bit worried about the two classes I'm lacking books for. Both classes are to be held on Monday for the first time, and they ran out of those books by the time I got through the line. I'd been waiting for 2 hours in line before I ever got up there, and was told to check back when I came to class Wednesday and Thursday. I'm most likely going to be working as close to 20 hours per week as possible this quarter, because I'm afraid that I've not earned nearly enough money to keep myself afloat in the past quarter. Here's to hoping that I'll find enough hours to give me 20 per week so that I'll be able to pay the tuition, and the court costs, on schedule, and keep gas in my car.

The classes I'm taking, times not given here, are as follows:
Monday - English Composition 1 & Medical Orientation
Tuesday - Emergency Procedures
Wednesday - Anatomy & Physiology 2
Thursday - Emergency Procedures
Friday - no on-campus class, planning to work as long as possible every friday unless able to get in 20 hours before then
Online - Word Processing, will have to work on this throughout the week in order to get maximum participation points.

This, in a nutshell, is just how busy I'm going to be. Between working on-campus up to 20 hours per week, and getting all the work for these classes done, I'm not going to have much free time at all. Will be nice if it pays off by helping me to get a bunch of money saved on my GreenDot card instead of having to spend every last cent I've earned on payments. I'm confident that I can maintain a good GPA, though. I'm thinking that the English class will be a piece of cake, the Word Processing as well, and the Medical Orientation I could likely do with my hands behind my back. This leaves two classes that I'll have to focus on more than those. I'm just hoping nothing will be suffering and I can manage to get 5 A's this time and make sure my GPA is even better than it currently is (3.54). If I do manage this, my GPA will then be 3.75. I will be very happy with that GPA. I'll likely be much more easy to be around, too. Now that I've gotten Math and Medical Terminology out of the way, I think I'll be able to get A's from here on out. If not, then I'll likely seek a tutor for whatever classes I'm not doing quite so hot with.

I guess I'm done now. Sorry for the wall of text.

Hmm, the 3 proudest? Well, I'd have to say that finishing high school was a proud moment, but I'm not sure if it would rank in the top 3. I know quitting a couple of habits would be something I'm proud of, and in the top 3 for sure. Completing my C.N.A. class was in the top 3 proudest moments awhile back, but it's since been replaced with the decision to go back for an associates degree in Medical Assisting. So yea, there's 3 of the proud moments plus an extra for good measure. Now for the "why they qualify"...

Of course, who doesn't understand why you're proud at your high school graduation? You've been through hell, your own personal version of it. I know most teens seem to be perfectly happy, but the reality is that they still have demons to face in one form or another, and they may not even realize they're even creating the demons that they'll have to fight later. Many have to deal with people being insecure and jealous of them, for reasons unknown most of the time. So, I guess that would be why I was much happier when finishing my C.N.A. Quitting those aforementioned habits would likely be the 2nd on my list, and going back for an associates degree is the 1st. I must say that I really did need to replace the habits with the education. My opportunities were starting to waste away to nothing, so I'm glad I jumped on this one when I did. I'm glad I haven't gone too far to spring back to life as the person I was at one point.

Does this answer the question completely?

I recently took my laptop with me to a Sci-Fi convention. I was staff at the convention, so I thought perhaps I might need to create a document or upload pics. The main reason I brought it was in order to do some homework, but I managed to get the homework done beforehand and didn't wind up needing it for that purpose. For future events, as if I'd ever be able to take a real vacation, I will probably be bringing it with me. It is necessary to have the access sometimes, and I like to keep my emails in check so they don't pile up on me.