i am NOT substituting reading with the lectures, by any means. i’ve got the SYBEX book, CISSP for dummies, shon harris, ISC2’s official guide… i have too many books. i used the SYBEX book for my CISSP/Sec+ class in college–it’s easy to read and i’ve read most of it already. shon harris’s book is the one everyone raves about, and a lot of people said the CISSP for dummies was all they used. i’m kind of stuck. and the lecturer stressed how it’s not always a good idea to use so many books because they might have different information from what ISC2 currently uses. the ISC2 book itself is NOT an easy read.

i also have the pass4sure test bank of practice questions, which is over 2300 questions. plus the practice quizzes from the lectures. plus smaller study guides containing key points from each domain.

i think i’m set on material. my boss came by and dumped even MORE books on me today, which i have not listed, because i’ve just given up on those. i need to pick 2 and stick with them. and the lectures. seriously–a godsend. i’m going to burn them to a CD and listen to it in my car. that man’s voice is going to haunt my dreams by the end of march.

and i know this post’s title stresses how good of a day it has been. the lectures are actually kind of fun (i’m aware of how dorky that sounds), but today was also the day my TAX RETURN got deposited into my bank account. i really needed to replenish my savings after paying for the exam ($550) and the dental work ($700+), so a load has been lifted. and replaced with a nice chunk of change.

something else spectacular happened today, which i am not going to write about until it is a done deal. it will be soon, however, and i could not be more excited. i do not want to jinx myself.

PLUS… UFC 109 is tomorrow. and the super bowl, of course, is sunday. i’m counting on lots of celebrating, lots of sleeping in, and steak. and i’d REALLY like a whiskey sour tonight.

oh, and my resume/portfolio can now be found at www.WhitneyPowell.com. i splurged a bit with my tax return and dropped 10 bucks on a domain. finally.

except for at work, because if i bring my iPhone in here they might kill my first born. well, probably not. but i would most likely lose my badge. perhaps a limb. definitely my iPhone.

i did actually bring him to work, though. i must stay prepared for a potential adventure.

so i will take pictures of him everywhere except for work. all his adventures can be seen here. i am contemplating naming him something other than ollie, but it says that on the box he came in, so i might be stuck with it.

if you have a request for a specific stupid-plastic-bird adventure, tell me! this is assuming it does not involve boobs. or nudity of any kind.

when i lived with my mom, i rarely turned on the TV in my bedroom. i actually had to pull up a picture of my old bedroom just now to see if i even had my TV in my bedroom in high school because i couldn’t remember. that is kind of sad. i didn’t even bring my TV to college my freshman year.

my sophomore year, i lived in a tiny studio apartment. my TV was the focal point of the apartment, and it was on 100% of the time. but i didn’t have cable. or a game system. so… basically it played under the tuscan sun on repeat, because that was the only feel-good movie i had in my collection of 9 DVDs. that year, i was too depressed to watch anything else.

and the rest of college? the TV stayed in the living room. i can probably count the number of times i sat on the couch in the living room and watched it. i was always in my bedroom on the computer.

UNTIL RECENTLY. maybe something finally clicked. maybe i’m getting sick of staring at a computer screen all day AND night. maybe it’s because we like getting cozied up on the couch after dinner together. more than likely it’s the latter.

in the last week-and-a-half/2 weeks we’ve watched…

• sherlock holmes
• up in the air
• zombieland
• where the wild things are
• the hurt locker
• kill bill
• house of the devil
• avatar
• shawshank redemption
• the prestige
• the book of eli

SO EXCITING. i need more movie suggestions. i have a netflix account and i need suggestions for my queue. HIT ME.

i love the idea behind throwboy, but i think $30 is far too much for a felt & polyfil pillow. still, it’s cute for valentine’s day.

really–i’m not kidding.

one day, when i was probably 6 or 7, i left the light on in my bedroom closet. it was not the first time, or the last. i could practically hear my mom yelling at me seconds before it even happened, knowing good and well what she was going to start yelling about. not that i cared, because what kid that ages cares about, or understands, the importance of conserving energy? or minimizing an electric bill? before i even got a word in, she told me to come home and turn it off. so i had to leave my best friend becky’s house, walk stomp all the way down the street, go upstairs, and turn off my closet light. words can’t express how mad i was.

she’s always been the same way about turning lights off, and unplugging everything, and turning the A/C off. that’s just the way she is, and that’s something i picked up sometime after i opened my first electric bill this summer. let’s just say–i get it now.

so i leave all my kitchen and bathroom appliances unplugged unless they’re being used. i leave the A/C off while i’m at work. i leave the lights off except for a couple lamps. since then, my electric bill decreased significantly. WHO KNEW?

ANYWAY, bottom line–brett and i had company this weekend. a couple of our friends came to visit. one of which decided to get blackout drunk. so drunk, in fact, that he couldn’t come out to the bar with us saturday night. we left him at home while we went to halligans, a bar a few miles away. i played designated driver saturday night while they drank and played pool because, evidently, whiskey doesn’t sit well when you’ve already had 2 glasses of wine. i stopped drinking hours earlier. MY BAD, stomach. my bad.

we came home and were pleasantly surprised to find him passed out on the couch, and the apartment, and the animals, were in tact. and then i glanced at the toaster oven.

he had taken one of my three cheese ziti marinara smart one’s (still in the black plastic tray) from the freezer, placed it in a NON-MICROWAVEABLE PLASTIC DISH, and put it in the toaster oven. not before seasoning it with ground mustard (omg, gross), garlic pepper, and whatever else was in the spice cabinet. i’m guessing he just passed out while waiting for it to “cook”, which didn’t happen, thanks to my mother, because i always leave the toaster oven unplugged. luckily, in his drunken stupor, he didn’t notice. i’m fairly certain the non-microwaveable plastic dish would’ve turned into a hot, melted mess and caught fire by the time we returned home.

thank you, mom–there’s one more horror story to add to your collection.

brett and i went to the lunch buffet at our hotel one afternoon. neither of us had tried it before, and i don’t think i’ll ever visit it again. not just because of what happened, but also because my enchiladas were much like cheesy rubber. brett only ate fruit (smart move) and was facing a different direction, so he did not have to witness the awful sitting behind him. it’s safe to say he lucked out that day.

the table behind us consisted of 3 women who looked to be asian. or something along those lines. i really suck at discerning a person’s nationality if it’s not blatantly obvious. each of them had to weigh at least 350 pounds. LET ME FIRST SAY that i have nothing against overweight people. at all. there are many factors that contribute to obesity.

i think the main factors in this scenario, however, were the egg rolls, cheesy nachos, hot dogs, and ice cream, piled high on each of their plates. i had a tommy boy moment–”i can actually hear you getting fatter”. it was more than uncomfortable to watch, as none of the 3 women had any table manners. so you literally could hear. the food. and the smacking. and the squishing. also, what is it about larger women who insist on wearing clothing 2 sizes too small? it’s unattractive, sure. but that’s also got to be seriously uncomfortable.

anyway, i have this thing about chewing with your mouth open while eating. maybe it’s because my dad always told me to chew with my mouth closed when i got sloppy as a kid. maybe it’s just me. but the sound an open mouth makes while chewing something (like egg rolls… and hot dogs… and nachos… and copious amounts of cheese) thoroughly grosses me out. i can’t stand it–i just think it’s nasty, and it makes me want to puke.

i tried to put the image (and the sounds) out of my mind, and i took a look at their kid. he was maybe 3 or 4 years old and he was adorable. he was also eating cheesy nachos and ice cream (surprise), with a huge smile on his face, but i guess he thought he needed to 1-up his mama and her friends.

he actually picked his nose, put it on his ice cream, scooped up a spoonful, and ate it. HE ATE IT. i watched in horror as this all went down in slow motion, hoping, just hoping that he wouldn’t go through with it. and he did. honestly, i’m not sure which was worse.

has anyone else ever witnessed something this disgusting in public?

the place i went to, charleston endodontics, was hands down–amazing. the dental assistant over there is so sweet and she’s probably about my mom’s age. she’s my height, and we wear the same size shoes. i say that because she wanted me to try on her sketcher shape-ups, but i’m really not a foot person. feet freak me out. i politely declined. she talked and talked and talked. i tried to talk but i had a bite guard in my mouth, along with a rubber thing covering half my face, and x-ray trays, and drills, and the whole 9-yards. it was a pretty 1-sided conversation.

anyway, the dentist came in and he’s a really young guy and he says he went to OSU to become a “root canal specialist”. and that is definitely what he is. because i didn’t feel a thing. except the novocaine needle. he actually waited a bit longer after applying the numbing gel, which i very much appreciate. usually they swab it on and then stick me with the needle without giving it any time to take effect. that is just mean.

it didn’t help a lot, though. he said part of it was because it’s so close to to my nose and upper lip (being the front tooth and all) and that area is really sensitive. i have to agree with that statement. my eyes welled up again, and i was holding back sneezes for all 3 injections. i did the like… half sneeze, where you kinda jerk a little bit and your face looks really weird, you know? so embarrassing. i also gagged on the x-ray trays–all of them. that was attractive.

at least they let me listen to rob zombie and wear sunglasses. actually, they made me wear the sunglasses. i don’t remember having to wear sunglasses during my last root canal. i also don’t remember them using a microscope. today was all new to me. either a lot has changed in a short amount of time, or i went to a much better endodontist this time.

i finally relaxed after about 45 minutes. the needles are what get me, which is weird because i don’t mind piercings or tattoos one bit. that makes no sense. but i relaxed, and laid there, and i didn’t feel any of it. except the drill. you can’t not feel that damn drill. the sound of any kind of drill will forever inflict painful memories and send goosebumps down my spine after the last 2 months.

after it was all said and done, she gave me ibuprofen and gave me the run-down on what to expect (pain, obviously, but not too much i hope). she said to avoid corn on the cob and apples. i told her that won’t be a problem. ever.

i have to go back to my regular dentist in 2-3 weeks to get my last filling fixed (the other one he botched up) and for him to replace the filling that’s in the root canal with some other substance. that sounds so gross. and then around may, i should think about getting a crown. depending on how much insurance covers, that may or may not be doable until later on down the line.

today cost me $250 out of pocket. the whole procedure was about $700. the moral of the story is don’t drink and puke. later, you will regret it with every fiber of your being. this i promise you.

recap of the last 2-ish months: i got them filled, and now they bother me.

today was my next dentist appointment since all i got thursday was the fluoride. today they were supposed to actually fix my teeth. after today, my teeth should not be hurting.

i got there early–the receptionist apologized for the power outage last week and thanked me for being patient. i decided that i will accept her apology only if they don’t insist that i pay the bill for the fillings that were complete and total failures. which is like, $150. not happening.

he got the novocaine needle (or whatever it is they use to numb mouths these days) and numbed my bottom teeth. then he numbed the top. while the needle was still in, i sneezed. which i’ve come close to doing before. it’s just so hard not to when that needle makes your eyes well up and your nose tingle. i tried so hard to hold it back but i sneezed.

today was the second time in my life that i’ve been accidentally jabbed with a novocaine needle. i wish i knew why crap like this always happens to me.

he fixed one filling (whoop dee do!) and started on another one–the one that has really been bothering me. he called it “number 9″. i called it, “my front freaking tooth that hits every substance that enters my mouth–it is painful, and i’d like it fixed, please.” i told him it is extremely sensitive. for god sake, i can’t even file my nails because the vibrations from the filing can be felt in my teeth and i am instantly covered in goosebumps.

so what did he do first? he took the air pick thing and aimed it right at my front tooth. COLD AIR. ON NUMBER 9. my eyes watered, one of my legs flew up in the air, and you better believe i made that man jump.

after that, he turned the lamp off, put my seat back in the upright position, and told me that he was sending me to a different dentist in west ashley (an endodontist) because he doesn’t know what’s wrong with it, and, get this–because he doesn’t want to screw it up.

DOESN’T WANT TO SCREW IT UP? dude, you already screwed it up!

so tomorrow, instead of going to jalapeno chicken day for lunch, i’ll be going to the dentist. again. i’m sure you all understand my enthusiasm.

it’s cute. and it’s better than looking at a plain white screen. it looks best in firefox/safari/chrome because of the rounded corners, so if you’re in IE… you will just have to live. ;)

i took a break writing it and we went to dinner. brett and i went to the kickin’ chicken (if you don’t have one in your area, it’s better than it sounds) to watch the game and have a couple beers. and wings. lots and lots of wings. it was a pretty good deal, too. we got 24 wings with 4 flavors for $15. what put us over the top was the dessert (my bad) and the bottled coors light. after realizing they were $3.50, which is so not worth it, we switched to yuengling on draft.

i love getting desserts but i don’t know what i was thinking. since the dentist hasn’t fixed my teeth yet, every bite i took hurt like hell. i even had to drink my beer through a straw. on top of that, the vikings lost. i really wanted to see them in the super bowl.

i tried to get my fillings fixed last week but when i got to the dentist and got settled into the chair, the power went out. and we waited. and waited. and waited. it never came back on, so he put “fluoride” on my teeth. this fluoride was nothing like any fluoride treatment i’ve ever had and i couldn’t get it off my teeth (or any other surface i accidentally got it on) to save my life. it was a mess, and it didn’t help the sensitivity whatsoever.

so i’m going back tomorrow. since mondays don’t suck badly enough, i have to go to the dentist, too. i can’t wait!