Rantings in Assorted Shapes and Colors

SAN FRANCISCO! You scored 71% Style, 36% Climate, and 72% Culture!

You are San Francisco, California. San Francisco, the fourth-largest city in California, is coextensive with San Francisco County. It is located in the northern part of the state between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay on a narrow arm of land that embraces San Francisco Bay, the largest land-locked harbor in the world. When gold was discovered in California in 1848, the city's population jumped to 10,000, and it experienced turbulent years until order was established by Vigilance Committees, first in 1851, and again in 1856. Then followed a period of more orderly growth, and the foundations of the great commerce and industry of today were laid. A vital part of the economic and cultural fabric of northern California, the port of San Francisco covers 71/2 mi of waterfront. The port is home to a broad range of commercial, maritime, and public activities. Its major shipping terminals serve shipping lines from around the world. Fisherman's Wharf, Alcatraz, Hyde St. Pier, and Pier 39 all make the port of San Francisco one of the world's leading visitor destinations. The electronics and biotechnology industries are well represented throughout the Bay Area. With nearly 30% of the worldwide biotechnology labor force and 360 biotech firms, the Bay Area has been appropriately called �Bionic Bay.� Tourism is one of San Francisco's largest industries and the largest employer of city residents. In 2000, more than 17 million people visited San Francisco, and visitor spending was $7.6 billion, providing 82,000 jobs. Interesting, right? To you, probably so. You are one hell of a cultured person and you prefer city life to anything else. You love to be surrounded by people and activities of all sorts. While you do like nature and sunshine, a spot of rain isn't going to keep you down, at least, not for very long. You're one to get out there and soak up everything your environment has to offer. You love your arts, including film and theatre, and you want to make sure lots of that stuff is around, as well as some good restaurants to hit during your down time. San Francisco is a great city to have gotten and you're an exemplary person if I say so myself.

My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 94% on Style You scored higher than 41% on Climate You scored higher than 70% on Culture

Link: The Which Major U.S. City Are You? Test written by weeredII on Ok Cupid

Oatmeal.

Here are some more things that made me feel better today.

1. My rent bill is $58 less than I thought it would be.

2. My power bill is $15 less than I thought it would be.

3. My boss is still awesome and funny.

4. It's a beautiful day (70F, clear, cool and sunny).

5. I just had a REALLY good sandwich.

6. I'm going to have my car cleaned today. :-)

7. My language history class was interesting.

8. My cell phone is working perfectly.

9. I got rid of the funk in my garbage disposal. :-D

and...

10. My cousin is really cool.

All in all, a nice day.

-P :-)

Here are some things that were bothering me, but went good today and helped me feel better. In order.

1. T-Mobile customer service was AMAZING and everything worked out with the switchover.

2. The Math Instructor at the DATC is very helpful and willing to work with me one on one to pass Math.

3. My boss is awesome and funny.

4. Saturn had no problem with me backing out at the last minute (the car, not the planet).

5. My eDiet plan is going to be fun.

6. My boss is awesome and funny.

7. My loveseat came and I now have a place to sit.

8. My old cell service provider is not going to add money without my authorization anymore.

9. I FOUND MY NOTEBOOK AND...

10. My boss is awesome and FUNNY!

Today was a lot better. I'm still concerned about how I did on my Language History quiz, but it's done now so there isn't a need to worry. Russian Lit is Russian Lit, and the more I get into it, the faster it will be done, and my practicum is just a seminar thing so I don't have to worry about assignments.

All of that may be moot anyhow, as I am wavering between finishing my B.A. or cutting it short two years and finishing an A.A. for the time being as I have been in school for 7 years already, am burned-out like a motherfucker and need a break. Classes shouldn't make you cry (see previous entry).

We'll see what develops.

-P :-)

Today didn't start out so great.

I went to class (Russian Lit) and we talked about the Gulag. Actually, the professor talked non-stop for nearly an hour and nobody got a word in edgewise. I'm getting pretty sick of that. Also, once again, I had to sit on the floor in the doorway because the class is still overbooked. After The Gulag, he mentioned Milgram's Experiment. Basically, they took a nice looking older man and hooked him up to pretend wires. They asked various groups of people how far they would go (in voltage) before they would stop shocking him for answering questions wrong. There was a script the man would read while being "shocked," and the professor read it out loud. The students laughed. The script was fake and the man wasn't really being shocked, but it just hit me wrong. It seemed so cruel. And to laugh at it...I left class and cried.

I already have problems validating our existence and finding a fucking purpose to live and breathe and give a damn. Each class period the professor takes a little bit more of that away from me. If that kind of evil truly exists in this world, and will continue to exist, then WHAT THE FUCK are we doing in classrooms arguing over what a poem means? This is BULLSHIT. I know this is NOT where I need to be and NOT WHAT I NEED TO BE DOING RIGHT NOW. It feels WRONG.

I made an appointment to see a counselor on Friday. I really need to talk to someone. I have three math classes left and then I can get an Associate's Degree. That's probably a good idea for me. I can't take much more of this. It just isn't right.

Hi.

So I have some online friends I met awhile ago, and we decided to use or three-way calling features and talk on the phone ALL AT THE SAME TIME.

Despite my phone's refusal to cooperate, we still all got on the phone and it was awesome. I went to the store while we were talking and realized there was a woman in Canada, a woman in Texas, three people in Alabama and me in Salt Lake City at the SuperTarget looking for bread. All talking at the same time.

I dunno but I find that cool.

We had a REALLY funny conversation, the details of which will follow soon. It's just amazing how much one can learn about the world around them when they have a cell phone and an internet connection.

That is all.

-P :-)

Rove Is Paving Way for Guest Worker Program

Well that headline damn near jumped out and bit me. What do y'all think?

Here's something to read. I tried to make it short.

1) What color are your kitchen plates?
I have two kinds. Bright colored plastic and beige ceramic with cobalt blue and light green stripes 'round the edges.

2) What book are you reading now?
The Gulag Archipelago by Alexsandr Solzhenitsyn. It's for my Russian Lit class and it makes me very sad. I just finished The Fixer by Bernard Malamud with much the same effect.

3) What’s on your mouse pad?
The Three Stooges and they're golfing. Seriously.

4) What’s your favorite board game?
Scrabble. Though it makes me feel stupid every time I play it.

5) Favorite website?
Homestarrunner.com because sometimes you need to laugh at something corny. :-)

6) Favorite smell?
Anything citrus.

7) Least favorite smell?
Diesel fuel. It makes me very sick.

8) What is the first thing you think of when you wake up in the morning?
WHAT TIME IS IT??!!

9) Favorite color?
Anything with a deep, cool hue to it. Silver or cobalt or something. It changes with the week though.

10) What type was your first car?
A Mazda 323 hatchback I named "Ellie." That car was so damn fast - I  swear the previous owner had something done to the engine.

11) Favorite alcoholic drink?
Vodka Collins

12) What is your sign and your birthday?
Pisces/Aquarius: February 19th.

13) Do you eat the stems of broccoli?
Yes.

14) If you could have any job, what would it be?
Jetsetter.

15) Is the glass half-full or half-empty?
I dunno. I broke it.

16) Favorite music genre?
Late 80's pop! Whoo! (SHUT UP IT MAKES ME HAPPY)

17) What screen saver is on your computer right now?
Hey! I forgot to set that! Thanks for reminding me!

18) Burger King or McDonalds?
McDonald's. I know.

19) What did you want to be when you were little?
Possibly every career there is. I remember wanting to be a translator for the Foreign Service for awhile but it changed so much it's hard to say.

Just to let you know, I feel better about things. I'm still not up to posting a whole entry, but I feel better and happier now. I haven't made a final decision on what to do yet, but I'm looking at it in a more positive way.

-P :-)

Hi.

I hate school. I really, really, really hate school. I know it's a good thing to challenge yourself and learn but right now it's pissing me off and giving me the feeling I'm wasting my time and that a whole, wide world is out there passing me by. It's nothing new. I've hated school since I was a child. I used to fake illness (to the EXTREME) so that I wouldn't have to go. I used to beg and plead with my mom and bawl my eyes out if I had to go.

Now I'm spending (and incurring debt worth) thousands of dollars to go do that very thing I hated so much as a child. You can dress it up and prettyfuck it to death all you want. I can ignore how I feel for a time, but when you take all the shit away, that's really what it is. Something I hate and I'm paying to do it.

You know what? I'm tired of ignoring that. I'm just going to say how I feel. I hate school. I'm sick of the readings (which I never get done), and the useless, stupid debates over how to edit a fucking sentence while people in cities around the world are blowing themselves up and waging wars. I sick of the professors who could give a rat's ass if you live or die. I know this is the daily crap you have to deal with in "The Real World" but at least you get a fucking paycheck in exchange (albeit a small one). In college, you are shouldered with the unbearable workload and given nothing but a letter on a piece of paper after 16 weeks IF nothing goes wrong in the grading process.

Grading process? Fuck you. I'm not meat.

Some people can do it. Some people go into college and emerge unscathed and emotionally sound after 4-5 years. You know what? I'M NOT ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE. I have been in college for 7 FUCKING YEARS and I STILL have almost TWO YEARS LEFT. It has been grinding, agonizing, embarrassing and both mentally and financially draining. I don't see a light at the end of the tunnel BECAUSE THERE ISN'T ONE.

What am I going to do now? I don't know. I just don't know. Each semester I have stopped caring earlier and earlier. It's the third week and I've already missed quite a few classes and I just don't care. I've emailed my professors and watched then open and immediately delete my emails through Groupwise Notify tracking. They don't care so why should I?

I AM NOT TRYING TO CAUSE A STIR. Simply put, if I never say anything about how I feel, my anger will swallow me whole. I can't stay silent about this anymore. If nothing else, at least it feels better to get it out. Once I figure out what I'm doing here, I'll let you know. I just had to say something.

-P

Hi.

Is anyone else glad FEMA Director Michael Brown resigned? He was probably asked to by our Lord and Master to save (what is left of his little beady-eyed) face, but I'm still glad. Imagine another disaster (God forbid). Do you really want THAT guy in charge? Not me.

Moving on to inane chatter...

I'm eating Italian Ice. I LOVE Italian Ice. Almost as much as I love chocolate. It's Luigi's Lemon flavored and it's so delicious. Mmm!

Umm...what else? Oh yeah. My cousin found a job! Woohoo! She's been out of school for a year and was getting really discouraged until the day before yesterday! It's going to be awesome for her and I am so excited! She asked me if I still wanted to move back there - of course! I think it's more than a coincidence that one of the colleges that bought the software I edited the help files for is down the street from her new job site. Not to mention the fact my grandma lived in that area forever and I have tons of happy memories of hanging with grams all over the valley (Inland Empire).

Well...maybe it is just a coincidence. But isn't that cool? Down the street! Plus I'm going to visit in October and I get to help in her classroom! She's already asked the principal and gotten the green light and everything. It's so cool too because many of her kids speak Spanish. I can finally use all those years of grammar tables and worksheets. Fantastico. :-)

Hopefully all goes as planned and I'm moving there in 19 months.

Now we play the waiting game.

...
...
...

The waiting game sucks! Let's play Hungry Hungry Hippos!

(Come on, you were thinking about it too!)

-P :-)

You know, after hearing about how disaster relief funds from non-profits are getting skittered all over the place and not necessarily put where they need to be, I'm kinda glad I bought rice.

Remember Café du Monde? Buy the beignet mix. Get some coffee and chicory too (if you can handle the chicory).

In fact, I'm going to suggest we all start supporting the relief efforts by buying products from the area. If you research the businesses, many of them are not affiliated with national corporations so the money will go to the actual victims of the hurricane. They live in New Orleans because they work there.

At least, they did anyway.

I know that without paying administrators and otherwise non-profits would not be able to help, but at least this way we know for a fact the money is going to people who really do live there - and need the help. For sure.

I wonder what eBay has from Louisiana?

-P :-)

I just got DSL installed at home. Woot.

I also bought 7 boxes of Zatarain's rice (the website might be down). It's incredibly good and not too bad for you either. It's made in Gretna, LA which is right outside of New Orleans (though the corporate offices might be downtown). According to the latest Google maps image, they (or at least their warehouse) have not been flooded. I made the "French Market" rice and added it to some vegetables and chicken I made in my new crock pot (thanks mom!). I highly recommend it. You may want to get some now because, due to the railroads and highways washed out, it might not be restocked very soon.

I feel like this helps. Somehow.

Am I crazy?

-P :-)

Hello.

So here I am, waiting for class to start after Labor Day weekend. I have some homework I'll have to do tonight because I didn't do it when I had a bunch of time over the weekend. Meh. Life goes on.

My next class is the weekly meeting of all the technical writing students. We meet to talk about our internships and what we're doing and all that. Since I've actually been hired on as a technical writer here at school, I have to explain to the class what I do at my job today. In the front of the room. On the projection computer. I know what I'm going to do and say, but does any of it matter? Jobs in the field are so varied that it's unlikely anyone will be doing what I am...but who knows? Whatever. I'm just complaining because I think the professor is picking on me (LOOOONG story).

I'm sorry. I was going to try to avoid talking about Katrina save for a link at the top of my page to donate, but I just can't. No matter what I do or where I am, it pops in my head. When Southeast Asia was flooded by the tsunamis I was sad. Really sad. I couldn't even fathom the magnitude of the damage, and even though so many miles separated us all, it was still very, very sad. Now a natural disaster of gargantuan proportions has hit stateside and I seem to have gone into "Pretend It's Not Happening" mode. I thank God I live so far away I can actually do that. But doing that is not a good idea, not for me nor the people affected. Whether I want to acknowledge it or not, 2,000 refugees will be coming to Utah to live at a military base and people are out there needing help. Before I donated to the Red Cross and prayed for the best, now it's a bit more personal. My friend and I were talking about it and she has contacted agencies to let them know her and her husband would take in a family. She also has a social work license and offered her help in that way as well. I don't know what I can do besides giving money but when I figure that out I'll do it. Until then, I'll just go to class and work every day, do the best job I can and try not to think about it. Something tells me the people down South wouldn't want me falling apart on their behalf.

Is it just me, or have we gone through a bunch of unprecedented tragedies since 2001? You know what? I'm done with the stupid tragedies. I want life to be boring again.

-P

Hello.

So I had the ultimate smack from the Karma Department today. I have a math class this semester. It's Algebra and I've never been fond of math so I wasn't particularly thrilled to begin with. Add a seemingly absent-minded, pompous professor and I was fuming. The first day of class was very unencouraging and it seemed like a hopeless case of "The Hated Class You Can't Drop Nor Replace With Another." We've all been there.

Last night, while I was doing the assignment, I was actually CURSING HIS NAME. For real. I kept thinking, "No, stop that. It's bad karma. He's really a good person, etc, etc" but I kept on getting angrier and angrier and starting to actually hate this man. Hate him! For math problems! The dumbest thing about it was that the math was easy! The way he wanted us to do it was easy as well, just unfamiliar and I was clumsy at first but it was easy!

So today in class I did a mental flushing before I went in. I cleared out my thoughts and feelings and told myself "Whether you want to be in this class or not you ARE, you HAVE TO BE to graduate and you NEED to find the benefits of it NOW or you WILL NOT PASS out of LACK of MOTIVATION!"

And Karma helped out. Or schooled me, I'm not sure which.

The professor began class a little excited. He asked if we were wondering why he was wearing red. Obviously, nobody answered. He explained that his son was treating him to the Utah-I forgot who they are playing (but he knew) tonight and that was why. He continued explaining how his son got the tickets and how he was going to a game with his wife later and how he was really, really excited about it. To be honest with you, it brought him down to a human level. He was just a person who taught math at the university. He had a wife and son and daughter-in-law and life and this was something he did during the day because he liked it. He was human and it was clear my pain was not his priority.

He continued with somewhat of an apology for the elementary stuff we were covering and his insistence we do them the way he asked. He explained that he wasn't trying to make things difficult, but rather show us WHY two negatives create a positive when multiplied and WHY a division problem comes out negative when the signs are different (yes, he's gone back THAT FAR). He wants us to question him and ask him to prove why things work out the way they do rather than just accept the rule and be done with it. When you think about it, most other classes are taught that way so why not math too?

These are words from a very passionate mathematician. I like it when professors are passionate about their subject matter, even when I'm not.

I began to feel sorry for cursing him the night before. I began to understand what was going on and, yes, even get a little excited for what was to come. To finally understand WHY math does what it does would be wonderful. I might even like it (a little).

He continued with a statistic that 30% of people participating in a poll done by a reputable agency awhile ago (can't remember who or when-nature of the beast) hated math to an extreme. They didn't dislike it, they HATED it to the point where difficult math problems made them act out and stop working. He explained that math is really used in many places and so many people out there do not fully achieve their potential or live their whole entire lives in one little boring area they don't really even like because they NEVER LEARNED HOW TO CONQUER MATH.

If I could tell you how many directions I've wanted to take my life but never did BECAUSE OF THE MATH REQUIRED it would take weeks. Alarms, fireworks and sparklers blasted in my brain and I wanted to cry. I knew that class was EXACTLY where I needed to be RIGHT THEN.

Wham. Karma smack.

I will never become a mathematician (nor do I want to be) but I am THRILLED at this opportunity to finally understand something I never wanted to know. A missing piece will be found and placed!

My least favorite class has been moved significantly up the scale.

-P :-)

In my Language History class today, the professor was differentiating between Representational and Iconic language symbols. The discussion was a bit complicated but basically this is how I understand it.

Representational symbols are such that the meaning is completely discernible.

---WOW! my boss just came up and gave me a little container of Tarragon Pesto and Tomato-Basil Butter she made with herbs from her garden! Sweet! I love my boss!---

Back to language...representational symbols are things like photographs and exact drawings where the meaning is obvious (or nearly so) because it is such a good representation of the object in person. Something like a photograph of a tree. Words aren't even needed because most people have seen trees before and are aware of what they're all about.

Iconic symbols are halfway between arbitrary (the way they are just because) and representational. It could be likened to the instrument panels on a German car. Nobody knows what the FLYING BAJEEZUS those damn lights mean (unless they're in Europe). I remember when I had that VW Beetle and the "Trunk is Open" light kept coming on, but I didn't know what it was. I looked in the manual and, while defined, it still was the dumbest icon I could think of to alert you to the fact. It was two small half-circles connected on the tops with an arch. Basically a po-mo minimalist drawing of my car's shape. When lit, the trunk was open.

Yeah, I didn't get it either.

So that's the difference. You said you wanted more updates. I can't help it if I'm boring YOU SAID YOU WANTED MORE! MORE MORE MORE!! AAAAAGGHH!!

Have a nice day.

-P :-)

P.S. Just kidding about that "More" stuff. Hee hee.

Oh my GOD. I haven't had a second to PEE these past few weeks. Right now I'm at work so there isn't much time but I'll just say that I've moved into my own apartment with no roommates (pics to come later), I'm still working at the same job and my first day has been very complicated, hectic and irritating EXCEPT for the fact I have a class with two really cool people I know, and I saw someone else I know on campus which was a welcome ray of sunshine into the academic torrential downpour that has been today.

Speaking of that, did you hear about Hurricane Katrina? Pray for those people. That sucks really bad.

Thank you for continuing to check my page through all this crap I HAVE TO GO.

-P :-/

Let me tell you about a trip I took to Wal-Mart.

NOTE: THIS STORY IS ABSOLUTELY TRUE. I HAVE NOT EMBELLISHED ANYTHING. WAL-MART EMPLOYEES ARE SO OVERWORKED AND BEWILDERED THEY ACTUALLY ACT LIKE THIS.

I needed a turkey baster. Never mind why, I just needed one okay? So I went to the local Wal-Mart Supercenter (it was close) for said baster. Upon entering the store it was obvious this was going to be quite a feat to find the damn thing. I went to the grocery section and started looking around. After a few minutes of fruitless searching, I consulted a Wal-Mart employee stocking soda nearby. This is how the conversation went:

Me; Hi! I’m trying to find a turkey baster.
Employee: Um…uhh…hey. You see that sign over there?
Me: (Looking) Yeah.
Employee: The one that says “Deli?”
Me: Yeah.
Employee: Well, go over there and ask those people. They know where they are.
Me: Ooookaaay.

I ventured to the Deli section to find two rather cheery women laughing about something…well…cheery until I came to the counter. You could rot cheese with the glare they gave me when I approached them.

Me: Um…hi. I need to get a turkey baster?
Surly Deli Gal #1: (ICE COLD STARE)
Surly Deli Gal #2: Um. Yeah. I think…they’re over in Housewares.
Me: Housewares?
Surly Deli Gal #2: Yeah. Housewares. It’s-
Surly Deli Gal #1: IT’S BEHIND JEWELRY.
Me: (Eager to get the fuck away from them) Okay. Jewelry? Thanks.

What the bloody hell? Behind Jewelry? The turkey basters were behind JEWELRY?? It's no wonder that first guy, the GROCERY employee, didn’t know where they were! They apparently keep them next to the Panama Jack necklaces and $2.00 sunglasses. What do they think they really are? Earrings?!

“Lookee ma! I gots me sum earrings all purty and theys clean out yur ears tew!”

Whatev.

I arrived in the “Housewares” section, or ‘BEHIND JEWELRY” as Surly Deli Gal #1 put it. I still couldn’t find it. Plastic cups? Sure. Trinitron watches? Yessir. Microwaveable dishes? You bet. Turkey basters? That’s a NO. I didn’t want to, but I figured I’d give the whole “Ask an Employee” thing one last try. I found a woman by the popcorn bowls.

Me: Excuse me, where are the turkey basters?
Woman: The what?
Me: Turkey Basters.

At this point the woman made a face resembling what I assume someone would make while a vacuum hose was forcibly jammed up their anus followed by a Chihuahua and a baseball. After a bit, she came out of her coma or whatever it was and asked me:

Woman: Ahm…are them those squeezy juice things?
Me: Um…sure. Yeah. Those squeezy juice things.
Woman: They’re the next aisle over by the microwaves.

I am not even going to go into the dangers of using a baster in the microwave or how wrong it is to put them next to each other. I’ll just leave that to your imagination.

I left the store with my stupid baster and about a week’s worth of dazed post-Wally World haze. If anyone of you has ever shopped at a Wal-Mart, Wal-Mart Supercenter or Neighborhood Market, you know exactly what I am talking about. If not, consider yourself one of the luckiest people on Earth.

The employees are so overloaded with shit I doubt they even remember their names after work - if they let them off work. I have tried to avoid the store, but I am poor and at times I have no other choice. I just wonder how long the stores can be managed that way and survive. K-mart met its demise so eventually Wal-Mart will too, right?

RIGHT??!!

Oh well. At least it’s cheap.

-P :-)

WARNING...REALLY SARCASTIC RANT TO FOLLOW...

Hi.

It's been in the high 80's since yesterday. For the last two weeks, it has broken 100 every single day. Every, single day. Two weeks. 14 days.

I just love it when Easterners and Midwesterners try to one up me by saying "It's a dry heat" or "Try that with humidity!" I admit it does make things mucky and gross but I have one thing to say to them:

FUCK YOU AND YOUR FUCKING HUMIDITY.

(Please don't take this personally)

One thing y'all don't seem to realize is that in this "dry heat" we have no clouds. No humidity=no clouds. So while the air is "dry," the sun blasts you and everything around you with a UV index rating at a 10+ or "extreme." 10+ is as high as you can go without insta-cancer. People are sunburnt just by running quick errands outside. Trust me folks, I've seen it happen.

While the temperature around you may be 103, everything else you walk on, touch, brush past and otherwise has been heated up another 100 degrees. Have you tried opening a metal door? Walking on pavement in sandals? It ain't pretty. Not at all. Imagine parking your car in the SHADE, with a SUNSHADE in the windshield AND a cover on the steering wheel. Now imagine having to start the car with WINTER GLOVES because even with all that crap, the wheel, seatbelt and everything else is STILL TOO HOT TO TOUCH.

Don't forget, while you're doing all this you have to SQUINT outside because the damn sun is so BRIGHT!

No clouds.

None.

Dry heat my ass. Anything over 100 sucks ass, especially when no clouds are present to shield you from Father Fucking Sun. Don't think I'm speaking without experience. I HAVE BEEN in the Midwest AND the Northeast DURING HEAT WAVES and it was actually NICE to me because the sun wasn't drilling a hole in my head. I even MOVED FURNITURE in Southern Ohio during a 100+ degree heat wave and it was STILL MORE TOLERABLE!! If you are curious, come on over here in August and try walking around campus when you can't see, your feet heat up in your sandals just from the pavement, your face burns and cracks from the light, and you get a third degree burn from trying to open a door.

Then tell me "Oh, but it's a dry heat."

Yeah, go ahead and tell me.

Holy crap! I just wrote a rant! I never do that!

Oh well.

-P :-)

You know how television sitcoms resolve family disputes, relationship tension, etc, within 30 minutes? Well, I had something similar but it took 24 hours. Let me explain how life can be oh so funny.

I went to Target and bought a little portable upholstery shampooer for my car. I was half the price of the bigger one and was cordless. Score! I also found a giant, multi-color pen for $1.00, which was cool. Then, I went to Circuit City and found an inexpensive CD player with a car kit AND CDRW compatibility. Woo hoo! I solved two problems (wanting springtime fresh car upholstery AND a CD “player” of sorts) for half of what I thought it would cost. Yah!

Then, it all went crappy. The upholstery shampooer didn’t work worth a DAMN, and cleaning solution was left all over my seats because it wouldn’t vacuum it up. The multi-color pen was broken, and after THREE tries of opening it up and re-arranging the inks so they wouldn’t smash into each other I finally got it right only to discover the spring for pink had flown off somewhere never to be found. Then, I discovered the CD player was cheap for a reason. It skipped through every song.

BUT…today I went back to Target and returned what is normally an un-returnable item (because it was used) and exchanged it for the nicer shampooer which (hopefully), should work much better. Circuit City accepted my return (shockingly) and credited the money back to my debit card, and I FOUND the spring for pink! Actually my sister found it and put it on the counter. Now ALL the colors in the jumbo color pen work just fine. I still spent the same amount of money because I returned the CD player! Score!

Also, I found some cool tapes at Hastings to use in my car before I decide what to do about the lack of CD player. After driving around a day, I feel fine about it since I have good music anyway and may not do anything about it! $6 total to solve something I thought would cost $200. Wow.

My problems resolved themselves within 24 hours all neat and tidy! :-)

Now for an important message, kids:

When you buy something cool for a low price, ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS retain the receipt AND the ORIGINAL PACKAGING until you are CERTAIN it’s exactly what you need. ALWAYS!!

I cannot tell you how many 24-hour purchase problems didn’t resolve themselves because I lost the stupid receipt.

So…it was a good day! :-)

-P :-)
P.S. I also went to an AWESOME birthday party for my friend Hannah that I will go into further detail with later. It was lovely.