Since my life is more than shoes...

I thought I'd share it with you

Tuesday, August 31, 2004

September 11

Well, some people haven't forgotten about 9/11, as evidenced by some toys that somehow got into clear plastic candy bags without anyone noticing that they represented the 9/11 attacks. The toys were labelled "plastic swingset," but as you can see by the photos, these were no swingsets. The MSNBC article gives a brief overview. Wow.

:(

If this doesn't make you depressed, nothing will.

Friday, August 27, 2004

Buy one get one free ... Cars?

Apparently... A dealer in NJ is giving away a free car when you buy a new one. Check it out!

Email Addresses

Ok, so if you change your email address, please tell me so that I can update my address book! I sent out a little "life update" email today, and so far I've gotten quite a few returned emails because accounts no longer exist. Now, I'm not surprised by some of them, since I haven't talked to a few people I keep on my list since high school, but I know some of you out there have emailed me recently. Maybe you really don't like me, but you're afraid to tell me. Ok, I get the hint. But otherwise, be kind and send out a mass email when you change your address. That way, I can send you a mass email when I change mine :)

Thursday, August 26, 2004

yikes

Well, my life has been pretty busy of late. I had my first MA Public History class on Monday. 20-25 page paper = 70% of your grade. yikes. welcome to graduate school. I spend about 6 hours of my day training students. We have about a gazillion EE Master's students from India. Apparently only one or 2 Americans want to work in the Media Center. Oh well, at least they appear to catch on quickly. Here's something that I just thought of this week: we're the only country that uses the Library of Congress call # system (since it's our Library of Congress that made it up). So, if you're training students from another country, assume they don't know how to find PN1997.99 .A37. Just a tip.

Other than that, I'm just sort of holding on. The interview went well, but I don't want to get my hopes up. One way or another, though, I will be working part time before the year is up.

Tuesday, August 24, 2004

Class

So, I went to my first ever master's class last night. I'm scared. A 20-25 page paper worth 70% of my grade is a little daunting, especially because it's not your standard research paper. We're supposed to write about any aspect of public history that we want. 20-25 pages about a giant topic. Wow. I'm scared. Anyway, big changes might be in store for me... please pray for me tomorrow morning - email me if you want specifics, because I can't broadcast it to the whole world until everything is set. But don't worry - they're all good changes, and Andy and I are still very happy.

Friday, August 20, 2004

It's an age thing... I think

It's getting so that I can't stand to watch any sports unless the commentators are muted. I think everyone knows how Andy & I feel about the Fox commentators, but even these NBC people are getting on my nerves. Rowdy Gaines yells through the last half of every swimming race, Elfi Schlegel has to tell all of us that "this dismount will use the whole length of the beam" (when almost any dismount worth a good score does), and then there's Jimmy. I can't remember Jimmy's last name, but he does all those people's interest stories about the history of whatever field they're using. Now Jimmy, I'm a history major, so that stuff does interest me, but do you have to take 20 minutes to tell me all this? I really turned on the TV to see some sports, not another story about how the first Olympians competed naked and, gasp, there weren't any women. I'm not going to go into the nakedness, but anyone with any brains wouldn't be shocked that women didn't compete in the Olympics 1600 years ago. Heck, I'm surprised they let women compete when they did. But that's another story...

Anyway, I guess it's an age thing - now I know what most of those gymnastics moves are, I can tell a Lutz from a Loop in figure skating, and I can certainly tell you that when the guy's hand hits the wall first in swimming, he has won. Unless he's Aaron Peirsol, in which case he will win by 2 seconds, then lose, then officially win. But that was a judges thing.

Thursday, August 19, 2004

I'm supposed to write a book

Well, that's what I was thinking while I was on vacation. Before I left for VT, I even checked 2 books out of the library about writing books for kids. I always wanted to be Judy Blume when I was younger, so why not go for it? Well, I think that will probably end up being easier said than done. I have a title, but I don't want to give it away, since that's really all I've got right now. I'm thinking a 4th grade character with Ramona Quimby-like appeal. Either that or something about dirt bikes. People asked me for those books ALL THE TIME while I worked at Barnes & Noble. Maybe it's a southern thing, but I bet you could make some money with books about dirt biking, four wheeling, etc. Just in case you're interested.

Tuesday, August 17, 2004

If only we were independently wealthy

I truly wonder how many people would be so cranky. I'm not talking being independently wealthy and being obnoxious about it, I'm talking being able to work and do the things you enjoy. Of course, then there'd be no one to work the check out at Target, because, let's face it, I don't think that's anyone's idea of a fun job. Sometimes I just wish that everyone could have a job they really liked instead of settling because either they don't have the right degree, or they really need the money. Basically, I fall under category A. I am pretty sure that I want to be an Education Curator, or at least be involved in education programs at a museum, like when I worked for the Cumberland County (PA) Historical Society, but those kinds of jobs are few and far between, and you have to have a master's degree to get them. I know I'd learn A LOT by getting my Master's, but I think I know enough now to do the job. RRRR I start my first class on Monday, and I'm excited, but I'm also mad at myself for not just applying to go to school this fall. Now, even if I weren't working full time, I can't take more than 3 (or 4 - I have to check on that) classes before I'm admitted to the program, or they won't count toward my degree once I'm in the program. This wouldn't be a big deal, except that the program only lets you enter in the fall semester.... so, I have to wait until the fall. RRRR Anyway, that's a little venting. On a more positive note, we had a nice vacation, and we didn't even have to eat at grandma's, where the food lacks some flavor (they came to my parents' house instead, and we got to have yummy macaroni and cheese).

Thursday, August 05, 2004

How do you know it's going to be a hot day?

When it's 80 degrees at 7:45am. I will admit that I am getting used to the heat, and I am a little worried that I will be cold when I go home and want to wear pants the whole time (since I already start putting on pants when it's less than 80, but that's mostly because it's in the evening, and if we're going somewhere, it's probably to an air conditioned restaurant, store, etc., and the worst thing in the world is being freezing cold while trying to eat your dinner). So, I guess we'll just have to see.

Tomorrow is my birthday, which I am quite excited about, although not for the reason you might thing: I have the day off! Since I scheduled my vacation in February, long before I had actual plane tickets, I just took the whole day off. Technically, I could have worked in the morning before the flight, but there are lots of things to do before we leave, and it is my birthday. The exciting note is that I got an appointment to get the Saab inspected, instead of waiting for a gazillion hours at Jiffy Lube downtown, which we did the last time. The place I'm going to is called "European Performance," and they have a significant number of Porsches in their parking lot. I tried the "lower class" West German Auto Repair first (and by lower class, I mean VWs, Audis and Volvos, so not exactly a Ford dealer or anything), which is across the street and about 100 yards closer to our house, but they didn't have any slots open on Friday and suggested I try European Performance across the street. I have to tell you, these people were nice. I think that's why I like driving a Saab more than say, a Focus - those Saab mechanics are the nicest people I have ever met.

Maybe you get a little more respect when you drive a car that, when new, would have cost more than I make in a year, let alone what a new one would cost now (probably 2x as much as I make in a year). I don't know what it is, but I've never met an obnoxious Saab mechanic or salesman, and I've been to a lot of Saab dealers in my day. If they recognize that you have some knowledge about cars, they will explain it all to you if you want, and if you have no knowledge (like my mom), they just write it all out so she can show it to my dad (which she likes, because she doesn't have to listen to it, and my dad likes, because he doesn't have to figure out what she's trying to say). In any case, I've been to a few Toyota dealers in my day, mostly to test drive cars, and even though Camrys are "The #1 selling car in America," I'm not all that impressed with the dealerships. Not a nice bunch. I thought the whole, "talk only to the man" thing was dead, but that was quite naive of me to think, now wasn't it?

Anyway, the people at European Performance sure helped me out. I guess they don't normally make appointments for inspections (people just drop off their cars in the morning), but when I explained that I really couldn't just drop it off, they got me an appointment right at 9am. And, I'll be supporting a local business instead of a chain. Maybe they'll let me test drive a Porsche while I'm there. Probably not :)

Wednesday, August 04, 2004

SPAM!

I'm not too familiar with SPAM for a reason I do not know. Somehow, my email address has managed to remain SPAM free since I was 16. Maybe I just signed up for the right things and didn't sign up for the wrong things. In any case, I will probably never get rid of that email address for that one reason. However, here at work, we have a general email address that is clearly posted on a website (that's a mistake that someone should have corrected right now) and we get a lot of spam. Here's what I want to know... am I really going to click on that link because "Ron" sent it to me? How many people even know anyone named Ron? I think I know 1, and he is about my grandparents' age, so I doubt he is sending me any account information that requires me to click on some link to who knows what. But people must be clicking on this stuff left and right, or they wouldn't send it out. What I want to know is, why haven't these people who are clicking on these spam links figured out that they're not real? It's really getting annoying.

Let's talk politics...

for just a brief second... I think that Andy has said "Flush the Johns" on numerous occasions. I hope that you have all heard that one in reference to Kerry & Edwards. Now for one not nearly as funny, but quite original in its placement. "Dump Bush" Now, this, in and of itself, is not creative or particularly original. However, when placed on a trashcan next to a busy walkway here at NC State, it becomes humorous. A "Dump Bush" sticker right there where you dump your trash. Anyway, I laughed this morning when I saw it.

Tuesday, August 03, 2004

Insert Interesting Title Here

So, I'm kind of at a loss for intelligent words, but I haven't written in a while, so I thought I should. Yesterday was a wonderful anniversary that included 2 cute necklaces as my present. Andy noted that he had considered a real diamond necklace, but the price was a little more than he bargained for. I, being the abnormal girl that I am, said that I wouldn't have wanted the diamond necklace anyway, because I'd be too scared to wear it. I'm not exactly what one might call coordinated, and I wouldn't want to risk getting it caught on something and ripped off my neck. Before you think to yourself, that's hard to do, think about the fact that I have lost a number of necklaces from that type of breakage (although none were actually ripped off my neck), and I feel much more confident about a $20 (or even $5 - I have a number of necklaces in this price range) necklace around my neck. If you drop the stone down the toilet, well, that's sad, but it's replaceable with less than a week's pay (for me anyway).

My birthday is on Friday. We'll be spending the evening on airplanes and in airports on the way to VT. I'm glad we had a nice dinner last night :) Even though Taco Bell is one of my favorite restaurants (second only to Friendly's), it is nice to dress up on special occasions.

Also, there have been some big changes here at The Office, one of which was a huge move in the Media Center yesterday. Lots of things were switched around. The most important thing of all, though, is my new computer. I get my own computer that no students can download junk onto and ruin, and it's brand new. No one has touched it! And it's fast, unlike the one I have in the Microforms Room, which could be older than I am (not really - the box actually says it is a P3, but it's a little short on RAM). I've also been training all the other full time people to work over here. That has been interesting. I guess it's a little harder for some people than others.