Car Update:

My car had a bad battery cables and corrosion of the battery. The nice Saturn doctors...er...mechanics have made her better and she's staying with my parents for a few weeks. I have Mom's car, which is nice because it has magical door-opening buttons. Still, no offence to the Century, but it's a boat (that has a better turning radius than the Super Saturn).

Thanksgiving was great. I went home Wednesday morning and then up to DC wed. evening. We (mom, dad and I) spent Wed/Thursday at the condo w/ my Aunt and did turkey dinner there. We played in the pool and hot tub, went down the water slide, and even all played volleyball in the water. Mom and Dad played too, and dad stubbed his toe and probably broke it :(

Friday Mom and I braved the malls to get a few deals, and then made cookies all afternoon. That will probably become tradition (the cookies, not the shopping -eep!)

Saturday we had my mom's family over for dinner - ham and cheesy potatoes because we were all tired of turkey. Saturday evening I went over to visit Jenni and Chad and tried my hand at that guitar game they like to play. I wasn't overly bad for one try and I see how it could be addicting and tiring.

Sunday I went to church and had dinner with my parents and then drove back in the rain and fog in a different car. By the time I was back to MN the Century and I had figured eachother out.

Hm, now my tummy is crying for leftovers, I had better answer it's call.

VROOOOM....putt putter....click hiss...cough arrrggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg

Just when I thought my problems had ceased, it being Thanksgiving Holiday and all, I get a nasty wake up. My lovely Super Saturn is at it again. She loves a good practical joke, but this one is going to cost me. Last year about the middle of winter, she started playing the ‘lets turn off all the gages and then turn them back on while Tricia is driving’ game.** Not so amusing, but as she only did it occasionally I learned to live with it. At the beginning of this winter she decided to begin the game again, but like a two year old with a new toy (or the box from said toy) she will not give it up. It’s exasperating I tell you! Yesterday she played the game 10 times in the time it took me to get from my house to the highway (roughly 5 minutes) and then a few times on the highway just for good measure. During one of the highway times, she actually shut off the radio along with the gages. It only shut off for a moment, coming back on with the rest of the stuff, and the time was short enough that I didn’t lose my programming. Still, we are getting progressively more extensive in the game.

**Explanation of game: Super Saturn takes the gas gage, the odometer, speedometer, and tachometer and turns them off, they all go to zero as though the car was not on (we are usually driving while she does this, but she will do it in the parking lot while warming up just to practice). Then the brake like comes on and a second or so later (after they have slowly floated from wherever they are to zero) they will go back to normal. The car clicks and all is normal until the next instance of the game. Occasionally if she is feeling really fiesty, she will turn off the cruise control when you turn on your blinker. She's only tried that version of the game twice though, and we hope it doesn't catch on. It would be damned pesky trying to change lanes if you constantly had to adjust the cruise...

I called Saturn today to find out just what the game might be called. After all, I have to drive to Green Bay tomorrow for the Holiday and don’t want the game to progress to “sitting on the side of the road waiting for the tow truck”. The nice mechanic told me it’s probably not a fuse or short (like I thought) but rather loose or corroded battery wires. Hmm, now this I can probably deal with, yes? I didn’t get a chance tonight to go look at the cables, and it’s dark now. I will take the car into the Saturn Mechanic in GB to have them fix it permanently, but tomorrow before I leave on my journey I will check the oil and the cables. I just hope if they are lose they don’t require a metric socket to fix. I have English ones, but the Super Saturn is eclectic and cannot decide if she prefers the English or metric system of measure. Consequently, as I recall there are both types of bolts under her hood.

Oh, and before you yell at me for looking under her hood, I had her permission, and she had her Serpentine Belt on!

A girl sits at a desk, sneezes, and looks around. “Where has the last hour gone? Have I really been checking email, writing email and going though various paperwork for that long?” she asks herself? The clock doesn’t lie, and neither does her empty tea cup. Sighing, she gets up to go start more water in the cheap coffee maker that serves as her quickie version of a tea kettle. It’s fast and easy, but it doesn’t whistle when it’s done. Disappointing, that. So is drinking tea out of a cup that isn’t the normal ‘tea mug’. That’s what happens when one leaves one’s mug in an inaccessible location. Resourcefulness, that’s the ticket. Back at the computer, the girl looks over those things in front of her. A stack of CD’s recently ripped to her computer for her listening pleasure sits in one corner while a pile of scrap paper for taking notes on, including one full of notes from this afternoon’s environmental chemistry exam, has exploded over the writing surfaces. “It was good of me to leave them on the desk this morning, where they’d really help me study.” She thinks sarcastically at herself. “Not that they would have done any good. They were wrong material all together. Good thing most people in the class thought the same thing. Not that the professor curves or anything, but maybe she’ll realize it wasn’t the best of tests and take that into consideration while assigning final grades.”

She sighs again. The stapler, stack of post-it notes, random pens, and various receipts taking up the back of the desk don’t respond. The phone to her right remains silent as well. “There’s nothing for it, I guess. I’ll have to do my biostats homework. Though what’s the world coming to when you have nothing left to procrastinate with and have to do your homework?” The biostatistics texts, wisely, remain silent as well. The rest of the room beckons. A stack of papers in the corner practically screams for organization and the state of the dresser surface doesn’t even bear mentioning. A random pile of clothes on the bed needs to be sorted into the ‘laundry’, ‘clean’ and ‘wearable around the house’ categories, and then sent on to their appropriate destinations. The floor could use vacuuming and the surfaces dusting. All this she sees and dismisses with a quick glance around the room. She gets up again to see if the coffee maker has finished producing hot water for her third? cup of tea. Is it really three when it was one cup, half drank, reheated, sipped, forgotten, reheated with more water and another teabag for reconstitution, forgotten again, and reheated a last time before consumption? Who knows? All that is a travesty to the marvel that is hot tea with honey. Ah. The faithful little coffee maker has done its job and a green tea has been selected and left seeping in the kitchen. The biostats books are looking faintly miffed about their continued state of neglect. How can one student be so cruel? They were created for that single purpose, to educate and inform, and they sit dejected on the corner of the desk. They hold down the stack of scrap paper (should it be in the mind to wander), and gather dust.

Hoping to procrastinate just a little more before tackling her homework, the girl goes onto the internet to check the weather. Her favorite weather site states that tomorrow will be warmer than today was. Enough that the miniscule amount of snow that fell on Tuesday night will turn to slush, melt, puddle, churn with mud, and eventually just become a sloppy quagmire of filth. No surprise there. Fall has not yet given over completely to winter. The warm breezes vie with the icy wind and one is as likely to be hit in the nose with a snowflake as a raindrop. One dresses in layers, Alaska for the morning and Florida for the afternoon. Ok, maybe not Florida, but at least a balmy mid-to-lower Illinois. “Sheesh” The girl is now exasperated. She has plenty of good books to read, just on the shelf behind her. But her conscience states that she just finished a book and if she wants to start another, she must first at least review her biostats lesson online. She tells her conscience to get stuffed and leaves the computer yet again to go get her green tea, add honey, stir until ‘just right’ and then return to the computer.

Nothing seems right to her. She’s been doing various levels of procrastination – all useful things – for the last hour and a half, but she’s just too restless to sit down and begin work. That she is already sitting down, at the very same computer she will need to use for her homework, is irrelavant. No, it’s not so much the sitting on her back pockets that is important as the state of mental being required to begin such a dry topic as this set of biostatistics homework problems. If she didn’t want to do that, she reasons with herself, there is always the economics paper, the other biostats homework (rather un-doable until the first is completed, but it's really the thought that counts), or even more research for her Master’s project. There are many avenues open to her; she has but to choose one, set her feet upon the path, and begin. If it were that easy, noone would procrastinate, there would be no world hunger, war, or disease, and the question needed that results in an answer of 42 to the life, the world, and everything would have been determined. Another gargantuan sigh is the result of this current line of thinking, and the tea begins to be consumed; it’s a bit heavy on the honey side, but still good.

Finally, she makes up her mind. Biostats just isn’t worth doing at this juncture. The tea is hot, her mind is fairly aware and alert – though not in the mood for scholarly thought, and the bookshelf beckons. She gets up, walks over to the bookshelf to find a suitable title for her mood, and goes back to the futon, overstuffed pillows, and blanket that were her companions earlier in the evening. Sometimes, one just needs a night off.

Goin Skiing!

My bro called the other day to ask if I want to go skiing w/ him and his girlfriend and his girlfriend's sister this winter. Sure. Why not? Send me the info. Aparently my bro got the hookup for a trip through LifeStylez who hosts winter and spring break college trips. So, for a total of 348 (including all applicable taxes and fees, but not including food or transportation) I will be headed to Aspen to spend 6 nights/ 5 days at the Aspen Hotel and skiing for 4 days at Aspen/Ajax, Snowmass, Highlands, and Buttermilk. Dude, usually 4 days skiing at Aspen would be close to that. Sounds like fun to me. With driving our own car, and splitting gas 4 ways, that shouldn't be more than 50-60 bucks a person for gas, plus food for 6 days and I can pack lots of snacks and PBJ. Sweetness. Loads of fun and some QT w/ the bro and such.

Now, I just have to lose 20 to 30 pounds, get into better shape, go skiing a few times before then so I remember what to do with said long sticks attached to my legs, and find the money to pay for said trip. No worries, right?!?

I would have extended the deal out to my other skier buddies, but as it is, I have to mail this by Friday to make mine count. Next year, we'll do it again, and get all the peeps involved.

Note to self: Learn how to ski moguls.

Emotions...

I just recalled that I used to have an imood indicator on this page. It's back. Woot

Oh, and Happy Day-of-going-door-to-door-to-hunt-for-sweets.

Rustle, Rustle? Boo!

I am sitting here listing to the sound of my computer humming, the coffee maker puttering out my tea-water, and silence. The sound of silence really is deafening. Noone else in the house is home right now…

I had just started typing this entry, had a whole bunch of things to say, and was contemplating the emptiness of house and discombobulation of my thoughts when my phone rang. I just changed my ring-tone too. My phone now plays the Super Mario Brothers theme song. Bu bu bu, bu-bu BUH bu….do do do, du do do do…Well, you get the idea. Off goes the phone and I sat here and sort of imaginary-bopped my way though the beginning of board one until I decided I really should answer my phone instead of letting the board play through to Voicemail. Not only am I a geek, but I’m now in a totally different mindset that when I started this post. It was Katie on the phone, and we were discussing this evening’s entertainment. I believe it will involve some tea or hot cocoa (it’s a hard call, but if we’re baking cookies and/or eating cake, it may have to be tea to cut the sweatness). There will also be the watching of that wonderful Halloween tale - Hocus Pocus. I just love that movie. One of these days Katie, me, and one other female will have to be those three sisters for Halloween. I want to be the one who bounces around sing/saying ‘amuck amuck amuck…” Good fun.

That will have to be some other Halloween though. This year we were characters from InuYasha. I was Kagome, and Katie was Kikyo. I will add a nice picture of the two of us in all our splendid glory. We had two Halloween parties. Friday night was to go to, and Saturday night was here. Both successful I think. Katie and I took live bows as part of our costumes, and many people were impressed. I think, though, that the bows helped to confuse people as to who I was. Katie looked her part in her Hakama and Kimono, and so not many people confused her even if they didn’t know what she was supposed to be. I, however, was called Xena, Legolas, Robin Hood, and Zelda before the night was over. Only a few people recognized me as Kagome, or as someone from an Anime. I was also called Sailor Moon once, so at least that person had the right genre. Still, everyone applauded our costumes. Saturday night at our house we were joined by Miroku (aka Lance). All we needed was an InuYasha, a Sango, and a Shippo and we would have been set. I think we did just fine on our own though.

I’ll have to write more about our Halloween party here and such later. I just realized that I’m quite hungry. I am going to go get a bowl of cereal before Katie and Chris get back and then change my laundry.

Kikyo and Kagome get ready to shoot demons. In the house? Working together? Something is obviously not right here...

Here's Miroku making a play for Kikyo (don't let InuYasha see you trying that!) Kagome is holding onto Kirara for Sango, who's off finding a very big rock to hit Miroku over the head with. She's a bit jealous, you know. 

I went outside just now and it was snowing. SNOW!

I'm going to bed.

I walked outside just now, and it was snowing. SNOW!

I'm going to bed.

This past week I have been absent from classes at the U. The reason? My training as an Emergency Responder-technician level. It's a 40 hour class that covers everything from PPE (personal protective equipment) to Air monitoring, to the rules governing hazmat in general industry - namely one 20 CFR 1910.120, to the laws passed in our illustrious country such as CERCLA, SARA, RCRA, etc. No, I will not spell out said acronyms, look them up. Monday was all lecture, and as it was 95% review of what I've learned in the last year during my IH classes it was quite a challenge to stay alert to catch that nugget of information I may not have gleaned. Tuesday we got to move around some, and wednesday even more. Wednesday we practiced "Decon", or the process of un-messifying a person before they get out of their protective gear, so as not to re-messify their much more sensitive skin and lung bits once out of the 'hot zone'. So off we went to don our PPE, some in fully encapsulated level A - full hazmat suit, SCBA (read SCUBA for those of us needing to breath clean air on terra firma), and nonslip, chemical resistant boots; some in level B - tyvek (cool material, except that it doesn't breath, so you get really hot) suit, double gloves, same type of boots, full face respirator and that wonderful SCBA -and duct tape which plays the vital role of shutting up seams in the suit; there were level Cs - same as B but with an air purifying respirator instead of a cumbersome air tank on their back; and then some level Ds - those in normal work attire. We set up our scene, including make believe spill out of 5 gallon bucket. The scenario was those in level A went out to survey the scene, but were unable to fix said spill by themselves (our bucket was really a metaphor for something much bigger) so they call for help. Our backup team in B (who should have been in A but were playing in B for varieties (and material scarsity's sake) went in with tools to help. They contain said spill, and then head to decon, where those in C clean them with water and scrub brushes, and then get out of said suits.

Let me say, being scrubbed on whilst in (I was in B) clothes by others is an odd feeling, and makes you laugh. Getting out of your suit is also fun. Today there was a much smaller group of us, so we played in level A suits in the afternoon after spending the morning doing air monitoring labs. We had great fun. We played with an actual drum full of chemical (H2O) and patched a hole and then put it into a much bigger drum. The drum weighs about 200 lbs, and I think my partner and I were maybe 260 together, 300 if you add the tanks of air and suits which really only hinder...so maybe that is 220 as a negative effect? Anyway, we had trouble just tipping our leaking drum on it's side to get it into the nice bigger drum. But, we are stubborn, and we figured a way. After which, we all (mostly) had some air left, so we played catch in our level A's to get used to moving and trying to communicate. We did this til our warning bell went off indicating low air. Let me tell you, if you have never gone SCUBA diving or been in an SCBA, you probably won't be able to appreciate the anxiety of hearing that bell, feeling the vibration saying 'you have maybe 5 min of air left'. Recall than in a level A we are fully encapsulated, and the only way out is if someone else lets you out. Talk about trust. You put your arms up like you are under arrest, then grab your buddy and go to decon, hoping to have enough air left to make it though decon so you don't die of chemical exposure instead of lack of air. It's good to go through that warning bell situation in practice though...it can get the heart going, and it is good to know if you can handle that stress before there are chemicals added to the mixture.

Tomorrow is the last day of that class, and then I'm going to head back to GB with Katie and Chris for the weekend. I'm exhausted. I just finished my biostats online exam, I'm going to pack, read a bit, and go to bed. I'll probably sleep all the way home if I don't end up driving.

Looking for a housemate...

Jenny found a house to buy, so I'm in the process of finding a roommate from now until at least June 1 of next year. Possibly longer, if I get a job around here, or if I have to finish thesis work, etc. Believe me, it's an interesting game. I had two people come and look at the place last night, and they were both very nice. Unfortunately, I'm not sure either will work. One only needs the place until Mid-January, and the other just might not be a good fit. I placed another ad to Craig's List and I've responded to another post there this morning. It's only the seventh so I don't feel like I have to take the first person to respond to me. After all, I'll have to live with this person for the next 7 months.

If I can't find anyone, I guess I'll have to start looking for efficiencies or 1 br apts in the area. I really don't want to do that at all. I like it here. So, anyone know anyone who is looking for housing in the Twin Cities area, I have a bedroom available at my place! My only hardcore requirement is that the person be a non-smoker as I'm hugely allergic to cig. smoke.

Bleah.

Overbid...

I decided not to buy the car. It was a really hard decision, but now that I have made it, I don't regret it. That may be the biggest indication that it was the correct choice. I loved it, and will probably get one just like it when I'm graduated at have a real job and my Super Saturn breaths her last gas fumes, but it just wasn't feasible right now. The estimate on financing game back too high.

The gentleman called me again today to tell me that the car was still available for a test drive, should I want to. Why? Why would I want to go reaquaint myself with the car I cannot have. And I do know that. If they were willing to adjust the financing, perhaps we could do a deal. They are not. I told him I'd keep him in mind when I do decide to buy a new car. I will keep his card, but I don't feel any particular loyalty to him. After all, he was just doing his job.

Now, on to more pressing things. Like homework and makeup and daydreaming. NOT in that order.

…A NEW CAR!!!!!

Why is it when I think of my actions in the last two to three days, I am reminded of Wheel of Fortune? I wish that were the case, and the car I’m thinking about was free. It would be such an easier decision then.

It is noon on Monday. Today is the day I decide if I buy the car I ‘sort of bought’ on Saturday(pictured here). To explain: Saturday Katie and I went to the Saturn dealership to get the oil changed in our cars. We were not first in line. So we turned over our keys and went out onto the lot to take a peak at the used cars. Out came the salesman. I got talking with him about what I was looking for in a “new car”. New to me, you understand, not necessarily a brand new with no miles on it. So, there I was, explaining what I wanted and out from his mouth comes the ‘perfect’ solution. The 2005 Vue with all these options and this great pricing…So I take one for a test drive and I like it and I have my old car appraised for trade in and do some preliminary financing and tell them I’m definitely interested. They will hold the car through Monday at the end of business for me. At this point I still don’t know if I want the car for sure. I mean, I love the car, but do I need a new car right this minute? Wouldn’t it be easier to wait until I’m out of grad school to have a car payment? Shouldn’t I start saving for a house and not worry about a new car on top of everything else? I called the insurance people. The new car would cost a grand total of 17 dollars more per 6 months. That is not the issue. Mom and Dad are leery, but they say this is ultimately my decision. It would be so much easier on me if they just said yes or no, or if they gave me a really good reason to say yes or no. They brought up some things I didn’t think about, such: What if I don’t find a job right away? What about the fact that I don’t have a garage? Do I really want to be spending that money on a car payment, or would I rather use it for something else? The thing is, my car has about 2 years left in it…maybe more. I could finish school, get a job, and then buy a car. A new 2006 or 2007 car, or even buy a hybrid car. Do I really need to do this now?

It’s now 1:22 on Monday. I’ve talked with Saturn, they are applying for the car loan for me. It’s not necessary that I buy the car yet; I’m trying to determine my financing. What will my payments be? In the interim, I was talking with Cliff and he told me Missy is looking for a new car, and what will I sell mine for? I tell him blue book, and then tell him about my random electrical gremlin, and give him a price. He calls Missy. He calls me back. They will look at it tonight at 6PM. What they will give me is more than trade in value. Mom is looking for the Title for my current car. It’s still not a for sure yes. If I do sell it to Missy rather than trade it the amount of my down payment goes up. The Saturn Financier knows that I may do the trade in, or I may do simply cash down. He’s pricing both options for me. I still don’t know if I am ready for this. I know I can afford it, but is that the point? I want it, but is that the point?

Why is this so hard for me? I should be able to make the decision. Saturday night I was so gung-ho. Sunday I talked with Mom and Dad and had some doubts thrown in. I talked with my friends some more and was about 50/50. Today I have to make the decision. Now I know my old car could help a friend who needs a vehicle, and I could still have my new car. I had anxiety dreams last night. I feel like this is going too fast. I have til 9PM today. I can still say no. I can still keep the Super Saturn until she dies. Still, the new car is essentially half off, and will most likely never be this good of a deal again. So much to think about, and I don’t have so long. I am tempted to say, put it back out on the lot. I’ll think about it a bit more, and call a credit union or two. If it sells before I call you back, it was not meant to be. Is that the answer, or is that just hedging the decision.

Here I thought I had gotten better at being assertive, and at decision-making. If this is what I’m like today, how bad was I in the past? How will I be at buying a house? In this case I even know the car I want. It’s not like I am trying to decide whether or not to buy and what to buy. The longer I think, the more I think I should wait. But will I wait or take the plunge? Who knows. I don’t. I hope to by 9PM tonight.

I am going to go do homework and encourage a 7^th grader. That is from 3-5:30…but in reality from 2:30 to 6 (with drive time). At 6 I’ll have Cliff and Missy and I take my car for a test drive. They can decide if they like it. At 6:45 I’ll be headed to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead. So by 6:45 I have to call Saturn back and say yes or no. I really should decide before I let Missy drive my car. If she likes it, and then I say…but I’m not selling, that would be cruel (though it would answer the question about if she likes Saturn’s…) I have homework to do, I should not be doing this. I really need to not get my oil changed at the Saturn dealership. See what happens when you are not first in line???

My 2nd Northshore Inline Marathon

I had three goals for my 2nd marathon...I met 1 of them. I managed to finish. I didn't finish faster than last year (by 7 seconds), and I didn't manage to not fall down. If you take a peak at the picture below, you will see me sporting a new pair of elbow accessories. I fell twice. The first time I bruised my left hip and took some skin off my left elbow. The second fall was straight onto my tailbone/lower back and took the skin off my right elbow (and a little more on my left elbow. I looked up my condition on WebMD and have what is politely termed, "a high energy fall onto the buttocks". There is a nice purple bruise forming there (no picture included). All in all, I have a very bruised bottom and lower back, and sitting is a pain in the ass. I can't lay on my back in bed either, I have to choose the stomach or side options. Still, I'm getting better each day, and the marathon was still fun, even though I crashed and burned twice. I'm looking forward to next year when I will kick the races butt, and manage to finish faster than 1:47.

Our team probably took 2nd (the team results aren't posted yet). Karin went with me and was also a bit dissapointed in her race/finish, but we're confident in next year's race hopes. Tessa (Lance's older sister)talked about doing it; we should hold her to that.

Now I just have to figure out how I'm going to sit through class tomorrow...maybe I'll bring a fleece sweatshirt just to sit on :) I think I'll ride the bus standing as well.



Me after the race. Notice the nice new elbow decorations I've aquired? Yeah, oops. At least they gave me a wheeled version of an albatross to wear around my neck. My very own 10th year Anniversary Wheel for the NSIM.

Five members of the MPCA Inline Skate Team. We Roll! 

Another year had been and gone.

Yesterday I celebrated my 25th b-day with a whole bunch of friends. It was so great! I figured if you are going to turn a quarter of a century old (or young) you should throw a bash. We went to Olive Garden for food, they have the all you can eat pasta bowl thing going on right now. Good food, slow service. We got there about 7, but they didn't have a table ready. By the time we sat down, ate, and left it was 10 PM. We came back to my place and I got some really cool cards and presents from people...including the InuYasha movie 3...Just wait til that shows up in the mail. Then there will be a watching party for all interested in the genre. (Lance, Katie and I for sure...any other takers?) I also got a most wonderful gift certificate to B&N...now the question is, what do I get there? There are so many options! After all that we ate the cake - a most delicious ice cream cake for Dairy Queen. Between the 16 of us here, we still didn't manage to finish it, but that means there are leftovers for me for today. Yay! Then there was some random games of the trivia persuasion, and then people had to leave.

Over all, it was one of the best B-days I've had in ages. I was surrounded by people who are great friends, and had a great time. Thanks all! Now, the only b-day present I have to buy myself is a new Eeyore. My 9 year old Eeyore has had a stuffing hemmorage that was (and is) unfixable with stiches. Anyone want to go to the Disney Store with me and help me to pick out another Eeyore to love?

Here we all are at Olive Garden celebrating my 25th. All but Amanda, who is behind the camera. Good food but slow service. We kept ourselves from getting bored by chatting and playing Telephone. 

Lee, Elyssa, and Amanda. They all live together next door to where Chris used to live (and Lee used to live as well). Amanda took the nice group picture. 

Here is the wonderful b-day cake in question. Dairy Queen Ice Cream Cakes rock. Oh, and so does haveingt Strawberry Shortcake as the decoration.