camarogrl86's Diaryland Diary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2007 in a large nutshell... And so I went all of 2007 without diaryland on my mind. How can I abandon the site that holds my memories for the last 6� years?! So much happened, it's unbelievable. I am still with that wonderful amazing man who's swept me off my feet and caused my heart to learn what intense, true love is. We rang in 2007 quietly on the couch, with a midnight kiss. We bought a white 1992 Acura Integra LS on the 10th and sold our Honda Prelude a few months later. Our two year anniversary was on February 5th. We went to Applebee's for dinner, and then drove to Isle of Palms to walk the beach under the stars (even if it was 40� out!). We walked up and down the beach and talked about how we knew each other was the person they wanted to spend the rest of their life with. He dropped our blanket on the ground, and when he went to pick it up, he got on one knee, presented me with a beautiful diamond solitaire ring, and asked me to marry him. Of course, I said YES. Supposedly, he asked my parents for permission to marry me during Christmas break a few weeks earlier when we were at their house. We set the date for our three year anniversary - 02/05/2008 We celebrated a nice Valentine's Day with sweet cards, and a dinner at Roadhouse. My 20th birthday was a few days later. We didn't go out for it, but had dinner and cake at home. Rob bought me a beautiful amethyst "Circle of Love" necklace from Kay's and had it waiting for me on the couch when I got out of the shower, in a lovely little gold-wrapped box. He started a new job the Monday after he proposed, and has been working at a transmission rebuilding shop since, learning how to build various transmissions and how to diagnose them. In March, we set up a 55 gallon fish tank Lew gave us for free. It now has a pink kissing gourami, two Australian rainbow fish, five black-skirted tetras, a pleco, two baby mollies, a rainbow shark, and a few guppies. My favorite fish, Mr. Blue, a powder blue dwarf gourami, unfortunately didn't like the water conditions. My boss at the time, Pete, offered me a different position that involved taking courses. I would be partnered with a guy named Mike and we would deal with hazardous samples and waste being received and shipped. He figured Mike and I would get along fine, due to the fact us New Jersey-ans know if we brush each other the wrong way, that's just how we are. And because his hometown is the same town my grandparents live in and I was raised for two years. I turned down the job due to 1. no raise; 2. had to sign a "contract" telling the company I would stay for "x" amount of time, or give them $2,000; 3. had to work 6 days a week (where Mike would only work a normal five day week). Eh, no. So my boss called me selfish and said I wasn't serious about moving up in the company (my idea working at GEL was to get into a laboratory, I'm not going to give that up for some crap ass offer!). He acted like I owed him something for hiring me, even though I already had friends in the company who pushed for me to get hired as well. A few days later, they laid off 3 people, and one of them had been offered the same position as me. Due to him not accepting, they told him he would have to leave (after 17 years of service as a project manager.) In April, we discovered an AMAZING Italian restaurant near our house. It does not get any more true Italian than that! They even speak Italian. Their calzones have me drooling by the mere mention of them. (Like right now, I'm salivating...) My mom and I went to Carowinds for a day while Rob and my dad hung out at home. It was cute, as it approached 7pm or so, Rob called me and asked me to come home soon, because he missed me. The park closed at 8 anyway, and we left not long after the call. I took my mom to get Dunkin Donuts coffee in Rock Hill first, since she hadn't had DD since April 2006. The next night, I got my second tattoo and Rob got his third at a small tattoo shop in Kannapolis (that was gone a few weeks later). Crazily enough, the lady who tattooed me lived in Hopatcong, NJ also at one point. I got a blue butterfly with a ring of vines around my ankle, and Rob got a winged sparkplug. In May we didn't do too much. We got a second 55 gallon fish tank to set up for $50 from someone off FastGM (the car forum to replace SCFYB, although SCFYB is still running, albeit slowly and pathetically). Our neighbor Chris had a Memorial Day / Birthday party at his house. I drank a liter and a half of white zinfandel, and attempted to get some beer from the keg but it was nearly empty. Some guy tried to fight Rob for me, telling him I was too good for him, yadda ya (after pretending the guy had no idea I was even WITH Rob... guess he thought I was a party slut, considering I was sitting on Rob's lap, went back to the house with him for an hour or so, kissed him, etc.... You'd think it was obvious we were together. Nevermind the friggen diamond ring on my left ring finger, eh?) In June, we took a spur of the moment trip to Evansville, Indiana to pick up an 87 Fiero GT Rob won off Ebay. We decided the night before at 6pm that we were going to leave for Indiana at 1am the next morning. We drove straight to Indiana, picked up the car, spent an hour or so talking with the guy and his wife, before driving back to Tennessee before stopping for the night. I towed a car for the first time, in the mountains nonetheless. Of course, when I started towing, we reached the biggest incline of the entire trip! We stayed in a hotel in the mountains for the night, before leaving at 8am for Charleston again. I towed the car halfway through South Carolina in the rain, before Rob started towing again. It was quite a roadtrip! I started a shot glass collection - I got one for every state we went through, and continue to collect them. My cousin Marie graduated high school in June, so Rob and I took a week-long vacation to Rockaway and stayed with my grandparents. (We drove to NJ, of course. Why fly when you can drive?) We visited Atlantic City on the Tuesday, and walked the boardwalk for hours. Then on Thursday we rode the train to New York City and spent the entire day there walking and being touristy. It was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. It is like New York City is it's own world. It was exciting. I had a tearful goodbye - I really miss living in New Jersey, but I love Rob more than living in a state, so therefore I accept I won't be living in NJ (at least for awhile...I'd like to have a place somewhere there one day when we are retired...) The day after I came back from vacation, my boss turned into super-douche and told me I could either start working 6 days a week and alternating my schedule again, or I could find another job that suited my lifestyle. He also told me I was pursuing a degree that would prevent me from advancing within the company because it wasn't science related, and that the company wouldn't waste a position on me. I also noticed that Rob had gotten lyme disease while we were in New Jersey. He was trimming my grandparents' maple trees, and got a tick. We didn't think anything of it until a week later, when we found the rash. In July, I interviewed for a position in general chemistry, walked out with a position in inorganic prep (metals, where Rob worked in the lab after leaving field services. He spent about 2 years in metals before going to Immediates in GChem). I was replacing Manny, who got a different position in GChem. Unfortunately, I had to wait until it was convienient for Pete to let me go over to metals. We learned that Tigger had hyperthyroidism due to a tumor on her thyroid. They gave us methimazole tablets, which is like a chemo medication, to temporarily give her until we discussed further treatment options. In August, I started my position in Metals, one day before my 1 year anniversary of starting at the company. A few days later, our tire blew on the interstate while doing about 75 mph. On September 11, 2007, Tigger died after 14 years of a wonderful, loved life. We brought her in for radiation treatment (an Iodine-131 shot) to cure her hyperthyroidism. Apparently there had been fluid forming around her lungs for some time that was never caught (never had any Xrays done). She died the second day at the animal medical center in Mt. Pleasant. Rob wasn't going to tell me until after I left work, but I had called him to tell him our ceremony would have to be limited to 25 people in order to have it at White Point Gardens (aka the Battery). His voice was shaky on the phone and I could tell something was wrong. Of course when he told me, we both started crying, and my boss let me leave work. My awesome co-workers took over my job for me that day. September 23 we came home with two little kittens - a girl and a boy. We stopped at the local SPCA and saw two 8-week old kittens that literally reached out and grabbed us. We fell in love with and brought home little Katina and Monte that afternoon. On September 27, 2007, my one-of-a-kind grandpa, Pepa, died. I had a feeling in June when I visited them, that it would be the last time I'd see him, but I was hoping that feeling was just worry. It didn't hit me right away, but when it did, it hit me hard. He had been in a comatose-like state for almost two weeks before he died, so it wasn't as sudden as Tigger, but it was still really crappy. I regretted not spending more time hanging out at my grandparents house when we were in New Jersey, but Rob assured me that my grandpa wanted me to go out and have fun and see the sights and show Rob around. Nothing of real excitement happened in October. In November, we went to my grandpa's memorial. It was definitely a tear-filled event and I was extremely glad to have Rob by my side, rubbing my hand and kissing my head through everything. On the way home, we took my mom's car back to North Carolina. Driving our Integra back to South Carolina, a tire tread smashed into our windshield and dented our fender. Kinda scary at 80mph. I was half-asleep in the passenger seat when it happened. We spent Thanksgiving with my parents and had a great dinner. After Thanksgiving break, I was moved to Mercury prep, to replace Stephanie. She's pregnant and had to be moved to a non-lab position. December started the frantic wedding planning. We got our invitations printed and mailed, and our reception invitations printed. Although I reprinted the invitations on a different template recently and sent them out yesterday. I had jury duty for the first time, and spent a day on a jury for a case Inmate vs. prison system, that got thrown out that afternoon. I had to go back 2 days later, just to be sent home an hour later! Luckily my boss (a different one than Pete, once I got my job in Metals it's been Jamie) let me stay home and get paid for the day without using paid time off. My dad had his birthday on the 17th, and Rob turned 22 on the 18th. I fought to have Christmas with my family, considering I live with his everyday (and can barely stand it anymore...), but failed. We did Christmas with my parents on the 29th-30th. I had read 62 books by December 31st. We spent New Years Eve at home again this year, watched the ball dropped, kissed, and my excitement for the wedding got bumped up another notch - we are in the year! 33 days from today and we'll be exchanging rings and vows of love. Ahh! Can't wait! Whew, so there is 2007 and the first few days of 2008 in a large nutshell. 4:25 p.m. - 2008-01-03 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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