Okay, so I spent $465 on all new belts, timing belt included, and a new water pump two days ago so that my car would be good to go for the next two years until I can afford to buy a Fiat 500. That brought the total car repair bill of the past month to about $950. My car has been kind of swaying side to side a little since I got it back from the shop but I didn't think a lot about it. Until I walked out of work this afternoon and noticed an almost flat front left tire. SERIOUSLY??
It had enough air in it to get me home rather than riding on a seven year old, dry-rotted donut. I got Chris to look at it as soon as I got home to make sure that I wasn't imagining things. Nope, the tire was almost flat, damn. We managed to get it across the street to the tire place by 6:15. By 6:20 it was determined that the nail that was the culprit was too close to the tire wall to be repaired. $100 later I had a new tire and three old ones. It'll drive a little funny, but you know, for having spent $!,050 on my car in the past month I don't care. It runs, and it shouldn't leave me stranded on a busy road in the bay again.
I'm seriously considering moving a few miles to Dunedin where they just legalized the use of golf carts on most roads. At the rate my car is going I could pay for a new golf cart in a month or two. Alright, well tomorrow is the shake down cruise, Say a prayer or two for me and Maryanne. We're still planning to go to Orlando on Saturday and we're taking my car. It could be an interesting drive. Honestly, the weekend cannot get here fast enough! Whoever said that a boat is a hole in the water that you pour money into never owned a car! Until the next...
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Coming Soon
I haven't forgotten you! We've just had so much going on here that finding a minute for myself has been difficult. Just some basic updates in no particular order:
The new job is getting busy but is also going really well.
My car got a new radiator a month ago (not planned) and new belts and water pump yesterday (very planned).
I survived my first ballet/tap recital!
Chris' new car sprung a leak and both doors seized shut - we panicked and got in after about four hours! The leak is now a drip.
Seeing a classic movie (i.e. The Godfather, Casablanca, The African Queen, Some Like It Hot, etc.) at the Tampa Theatre is now my favorite way to spend a Sunday afternoon.
My best friend, Sara, graduated from Northwestern with a masters in bassoon!!
I went sailing for the first time in two years! Thanks, Dad!
We're probably going to Orlando on Saturday for kicks, I can't wait!
That's about all the excitement I have for now. I'll start writing more again soon. For anyone who still checks this, thanks, you're a saint! I know how annoying seeing the same post fifty times is, sorry about that. Have a great night - two more days until Orlando!!
The new job is getting busy but is also going really well.
My car got a new radiator a month ago (not planned) and new belts and water pump yesterday (very planned).
I survived my first ballet/tap recital!
Chris' new car sprung a leak and both doors seized shut - we panicked and got in after about four hours! The leak is now a drip.
Seeing a classic movie (i.e. The Godfather, Casablanca, The African Queen, Some Like It Hot, etc.) at the Tampa Theatre is now my favorite way to spend a Sunday afternoon.
My best friend, Sara, graduated from Northwestern with a masters in bassoon!!
I went sailing for the first time in two years! Thanks, Dad!
We're probably going to Orlando on Saturday for kicks, I can't wait!
That's about all the excitement I have for now. I'll start writing more again soon. For anyone who still checks this, thanks, you're a saint! I know how annoying seeing the same post fifty times is, sorry about that. Have a great night - two more days until Orlando!!
Monday, January 17, 2011
Burger 21 and True Grit
First of all, Rachel, if you're reading this, know that I finally bought my bride's maid dress yesterday! Thanks for the reminder. They said that it should come in by March 31st at the absolute latest, which the lady reassured me was soon enough to have it sent away for alterations and received again in time for me to take it with me to the wedding. Always good to know.
In other news, Chris and I went to a really cool burger joint in Westchase (nice part of Tampa) that was opened by one of the best chef's in the bay area. I haven't had a burger in a year since my dad's bypass surgery, and while my barbecue, bacon, cheeseburger was definitely beef and certainly good, it wasn't as appealing as I thought it would be. I guess if you don't eat a burger for a long enough amount of time they lose their tastiness. The Blue Moon cheese fries were awesome though, and Chris had the best banana fosters milkshake known to man. I don't like bananas very much, but I was ready to order my own.
After the dinner we went to see True Grit, the western that originally starred John Wayne. It was really good for a western, but it was still a, you dragged me behind my horse so I shot you, western. It was like watching one of Shakespeare's tragedies; everyone fights trough the whole thing and everyone except the narrator dies at the end. Sorry, I'm not a fan of westerners. It was a fun night though either way.
Last weekend we took Bogart to the dog park by our apartment. We usually only go into the park if it's empty since he has a habit of not always getting along great with other dogs. Last week though there were five dogs in the park, and he was wagging his tail when they sniffed him through the fence so we took him in to see what he'd do. We kept him on the leash for ten minutes, and when he sprinted after the other dogs when they ran off to play, we took him off the leash and let him go, too. He was the happiest dog in the place. He ran and jumped with the other dogs almost all of whom were as big as him. He did great. He played for an hour before he started having trouble with his legs. It was a lot of fun to watch.
Well it seems as though we've made it to the end of Monday. I have a feeling tomorrow is going to drag since i have Wednesday off to go to the dentist and for a follow up Dr. appointment and the day before a break always seems extra long. We'll see. If you're up North, stay warm, and if you're down here, then stay dry. I couldn't tell what was rain, sea, or sky on the causeway going to work this morning. Unfortunately for some people in the more northern regions they have that problem with snow. Glad it's not me. See you later.
In other news, Chris and I went to a really cool burger joint in Westchase (nice part of Tampa) that was opened by one of the best chef's in the bay area. I haven't had a burger in a year since my dad's bypass surgery, and while my barbecue, bacon, cheeseburger was definitely beef and certainly good, it wasn't as appealing as I thought it would be. I guess if you don't eat a burger for a long enough amount of time they lose their tastiness. The Blue Moon cheese fries were awesome though, and Chris had the best banana fosters milkshake known to man. I don't like bananas very much, but I was ready to order my own.
After the dinner we went to see True Grit, the western that originally starred John Wayne. It was really good for a western, but it was still a, you dragged me behind my horse so I shot you, western. It was like watching one of Shakespeare's tragedies; everyone fights trough the whole thing and everyone except the narrator dies at the end. Sorry, I'm not a fan of westerners. It was a fun night though either way.
Last weekend we took Bogart to the dog park by our apartment. We usually only go into the park if it's empty since he has a habit of not always getting along great with other dogs. Last week though there were five dogs in the park, and he was wagging his tail when they sniffed him through the fence so we took him in to see what he'd do. We kept him on the leash for ten minutes, and when he sprinted after the other dogs when they ran off to play, we took him off the leash and let him go, too. He was the happiest dog in the place. He ran and jumped with the other dogs almost all of whom were as big as him. He did great. He played for an hour before he started having trouble with his legs. It was a lot of fun to watch.
Well it seems as though we've made it to the end of Monday. I have a feeling tomorrow is going to drag since i have Wednesday off to go to the dentist and for a follow up Dr. appointment and the day before a break always seems extra long. We'll see. If you're up North, stay warm, and if you're down here, then stay dry. I couldn't tell what was rain, sea, or sky on the causeway going to work this morning. Unfortunately for some people in the more northern regions they have that problem with snow. Glad it's not me. See you later.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Promotions and Such
Okay, so I admit it, I've been a terrible "blogger" the past couple of months. Honestly though things have been so busy around here that I haven't had time to think about it. All kinds of things have been happening here with everything from getting furniture and finishing up the apartment to promotions at work.
About a month ago my boss came to me and told me that I was going to be a legal assistant for an attorney at my job until his new LA was trained. I got thrown into a forest fire when I took over his files. After a month though the new LA was ready to roll out, and that left me wandering what I'd be doing next. My boss had lovingly already thought about that and asked me what my thoughts were on being the "trial guru" for the lit department. I agreed and over the past week I've been promoted, received a small raise, and taken over the 95 plus trials and calendar calls that my department has right now. I'm finally an LA and I'm thrilled! Now I just have to get a system down and get through a trial or two and I'll be on my way.
In other news, my best friend, Rachel, got engaged last weekend!! She had to have had the coolest 25th birthday of anyone I've ever met. Being Rachel she's included me in her wedding (which is still an unplanned mess right now) and she is even sweet enough to give me a say in my dress. I just want her to have the wedding that she wants and deserves. And Rachel, if you're reading this, for the love of God bring Adam down here so I can finally meet the man!! Rachel's engagement definitely trumps the promotion and so here is to my best friend what I hope will be a lifetime of happiness.
A ton of other things have been happening recently, but I can't even remember it all. I've covered the important bits. Oh, there was one more, Chris and I both have this Friday and next Monday off for "vacation." We're not going anywhere, just Disney for a day, but I can't wait! We never have extra time off together, and Bogart is going to be thrilled when the weekend comes early and he gets his "parent time." I need to run. I'm working some OT at work, and I didn't get home until almost seven tonight. At least it's a paycheck. I can't wait for Friday!!
About a month ago my boss came to me and told me that I was going to be a legal assistant for an attorney at my job until his new LA was trained. I got thrown into a forest fire when I took over his files. After a month though the new LA was ready to roll out, and that left me wandering what I'd be doing next. My boss had lovingly already thought about that and asked me what my thoughts were on being the "trial guru" for the lit department. I agreed and over the past week I've been promoted, received a small raise, and taken over the 95 plus trials and calendar calls that my department has right now. I'm finally an LA and I'm thrilled! Now I just have to get a system down and get through a trial or two and I'll be on my way.
In other news, my best friend, Rachel, got engaged last weekend!! She had to have had the coolest 25th birthday of anyone I've ever met. Being Rachel she's included me in her wedding (which is still an unplanned mess right now) and she is even sweet enough to give me a say in my dress. I just want her to have the wedding that she wants and deserves. And Rachel, if you're reading this, for the love of God bring Adam down here so I can finally meet the man!! Rachel's engagement definitely trumps the promotion and so here is to my best friend what I hope will be a lifetime of happiness.
A ton of other things have been happening recently, but I can't even remember it all. I've covered the important bits. Oh, there was one more, Chris and I both have this Friday and next Monday off for "vacation." We're not going anywhere, just Disney for a day, but I can't wait! We never have extra time off together, and Bogart is going to be thrilled when the weekend comes early and he gets his "parent time." I need to run. I'm working some OT at work, and I didn't get home until almost seven tonight. At least it's a paycheck. I can't wait for Friday!!
Friday, May 7, 2010
Happenings
Okay, so it's 10:00 and I can't wait for midnight to get here because hopefully my best friend, Sara, (read family) will be arriving with it on a flight from Chicago. She's currently working on her Master's in Bassoon performance at Northwestern and she's auditioning in Orlando on Monday. This is going to be a terribly short and fully packed visit, but any visit is better than no visit at all. Her flight was supposed to get here at 11:30, but keeping with tradition, it's been delayed until 12:10. At least she's on a flight to Tampa this time and not calling me in a panic because her flight has been cancelled and she doesn't have a clue that Sarasota is only an hour away. That happened a couple of years ago when she came down for spring break. Chris and I had to pick her up at midnight, and then we woke Tia up when we raided her fridge once we got back to Tampa. It was an adventure to say the least. I'm hoping that this trip won't be quite that exciting. I just want midnight to hurry up and get here! This whole day has dragged and that seems to be continuing even now. Regardless of all flight complications and delays, today is Friday and I have a fun packed weekend with Sara ahead. Alright well I don't have much else to say.
I think that this is horribly cliche and for that I apologize, but Happy Mother's Day, Mom!! I have a lot of friends at work who have young children, and between their stories and taking care of Bogart, I've realized just how hard being a "mom" really is. So to my mother, thanks for changing all those dirty diapers and for not losing patience on the nights when I absolutely refused to go to sleep or when I woke you up with a panic attack at two in the morning, and thanks for always telling me that I was a good baby, although I've learned that even "good babies" have bad days. Thanks for fixing skinned up limbs, busted heads, and broken knees. Sorry for doing just about everything short of breaking bones. Thanks for helping me get to where I am, and for being so patient and supportive now as I try to find myself in adulthood. Lastly, thanks for always taking on the burden of "take your daughter to work day" those experiences have actually helped me navigate Corporate America fairly easily without too many snags. All of this has been written to say thanks for being a mom who never gave up or blew up and who embodied the essence of motherhood with patience and grace. Thank you. Do something wonderful for yourself on Mother's Day and keep an eye on the mail.
Alright well that filled a glorious 17 minutes, and I still have almost 2 hours before Sara arrives. Chris is playing the PS3 so TV is out of the list of possible options. Maybe I'll watch a movie on my computer or read a little more of, Islands in the Stream, which I'm realizing is probably my favorite book by Papa. It's been a long day and a tough week here - I hope it's been better elsewhere. Okay, well I think I'm going to go heat up a piece of pizza and go from there. Have a good weekend!
I think that this is horribly cliche and for that I apologize, but Happy Mother's Day, Mom!! I have a lot of friends at work who have young children, and between their stories and taking care of Bogart, I've realized just how hard being a "mom" really is. So to my mother, thanks for changing all those dirty diapers and for not losing patience on the nights when I absolutely refused to go to sleep or when I woke you up with a panic attack at two in the morning, and thanks for always telling me that I was a good baby, although I've learned that even "good babies" have bad days. Thanks for fixing skinned up limbs, busted heads, and broken knees. Sorry for doing just about everything short of breaking bones. Thanks for helping me get to where I am, and for being so patient and supportive now as I try to find myself in adulthood. Lastly, thanks for always taking on the burden of "take your daughter to work day" those experiences have actually helped me navigate Corporate America fairly easily without too many snags. All of this has been written to say thanks for being a mom who never gave up or blew up and who embodied the essence of motherhood with patience and grace. Thank you. Do something wonderful for yourself on Mother's Day and keep an eye on the mail.
Alright well that filled a glorious 17 minutes, and I still have almost 2 hours before Sara arrives. Chris is playing the PS3 so TV is out of the list of possible options. Maybe I'll watch a movie on my computer or read a little more of, Islands in the Stream, which I'm realizing is probably my favorite book by Papa. It's been a long day and a tough week here - I hope it's been better elsewhere. Okay, well I think I'm going to go heat up a piece of pizza and go from there. Have a good weekend!
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
750 Words
750words.com is a website that my dearest Sara told me about a few weeks ago. It's a place to do a daily "brain dump" as the website's creator likes to say. Basically, you try to write 750 words (roughly three pages) a day about anything in a stream of consciousness writing style - think Virginia Woolf. You make an account, your words are private, you can share the stats that the website gives about your post or you can choose not to, and once a day you log on and pour your heart out to a blank page. The pouring your heart to a blank page bit is something that I've been doing regularly for about 10 years and I highly recommend it, then again I do have a B.A. in English so it might not be for everyone. Stop by 750 Words sometime though and check it out. Make an account, start writing, and see how far you get. It's completely free by the way. Just a warning though, you might discover more than a really cool website, you just might find yourself in your 750 words. I've managed four days so far and it is challenging some days, but always rewarding. I've linked the title to the website for convenience. Happy writing!
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Coming Together
It's taken us almost three months but we finally got the furniture that Chris has had his heart set on since we decided to move. The delivery people called us on Thursday and said that they'd be here between 7:00 and 9:00 today. I approved of the delivery without a second thought about the gate at the entrance to our complex. The gate is always open when the office is, but the office doesn't open until 10:00 on Saturdays, oops. We realized our mistake at about 10:30 last night. We tried to call the warehouse when we woke up at six this morning, but of course no one answered. Also, we didn't have any money for a tip. So at 6:30 I ran to the Wachovia across the street and took out $20, but I needed change because twenty is a bit large. Thank God for Starbucks. One $2.00 scone later and I had my change, now that's impressive. I got home and left for work at 7:30. I worked from 7:45 to noon, and I called Chris at 9:00 'cause I hadn't heard anything about the furniture.
When Chris answered, I asked him if the delivery guys had come, and he said that they couldn't get in and had turned around. Luckily, he was kidding. He said that the guys never called, they just showed up at the door. Chris asked the guys how they got in, and one of them simply answered, "Man, I have the keys to the city." We figure that they've been here before. Either way, everything turned out okay. We ordered a cocktail table, an end table, and the media center. We found out a few days ago that the media center (the last one for sale in the entire world we've decided) had several scratches on the top because the store that it came from had stored another piece of furniture on top of it. Well being Adrian and Hudson's, they sent it to have the top entirely refinished before telling us that there was a problem with it. Adrian has been trying all week to confirm whether or not it would be ready by today, and he still wasn't sure when I talked to him yesterday. When I got home and walked in today, I was stunned. Everything was here, and it's all gorgeous but the media center that was the source of so many headaches and let downs was by far the most gorgeous of all. At 60 inches long and about 2 1/2 ft tall it commands attention. The only picture that I've been able to find of it on the internet does not do it justice. As for the top of it, you can't tell that anything was ever wrong with it. After they got everything in the apartment Chris noticed the most minuscule scratch in the glass on the end table. You can't notice it unless someone points it out and even then you have to squint to see it, but being Hudson's their movers insisted that they replace the glass. I don't know when it's coming, but I'm sure that it will be perfect. Lastly, when the movers got here they noticed that we didn't have a sofa, and Chris happened to mention that we'd been to Hudson's to look for one so the movers gave us a $100 gift card to Hudson's. I'm still stunned by the service and by the fact that someone delivers furniture at 7:00 on a Saturday.
The furniture looks a little weird without a sofa, and the end table has red circles on the glass around the scratch but everything is beautiful. I have to admit that this whole three month furniture fiasco has been a big pain in the ass, but to look at a media center that I seemed impossible to find is awesome. Pictures will be coming eventually once we get a sofa and everything else taken care of. Alright well I need to get Bogart out for one last break before bed time. Have a goodnight.
When Chris answered, I asked him if the delivery guys had come, and he said that they couldn't get in and had turned around. Luckily, he was kidding. He said that the guys never called, they just showed up at the door. Chris asked the guys how they got in, and one of them simply answered, "Man, I have the keys to the city." We figure that they've been here before. Either way, everything turned out okay. We ordered a cocktail table, an end table, and the media center. We found out a few days ago that the media center (the last one for sale in the entire world we've decided) had several scratches on the top because the store that it came from had stored another piece of furniture on top of it. Well being Adrian and Hudson's, they sent it to have the top entirely refinished before telling us that there was a problem with it. Adrian has been trying all week to confirm whether or not it would be ready by today, and he still wasn't sure when I talked to him yesterday. When I got home and walked in today, I was stunned. Everything was here, and it's all gorgeous but the media center that was the source of so many headaches and let downs was by far the most gorgeous of all. At 60 inches long and about 2 1/2 ft tall it commands attention. The only picture that I've been able to find of it on the internet does not do it justice. As for the top of it, you can't tell that anything was ever wrong with it. After they got everything in the apartment Chris noticed the most minuscule scratch in the glass on the end table. You can't notice it unless someone points it out and even then you have to squint to see it, but being Hudson's their movers insisted that they replace the glass. I don't know when it's coming, but I'm sure that it will be perfect. Lastly, when the movers got here they noticed that we didn't have a sofa, and Chris happened to mention that we'd been to Hudson's to look for one so the movers gave us a $100 gift card to Hudson's. I'm still stunned by the service and by the fact that someone delivers furniture at 7:00 on a Saturday.
The furniture looks a little weird without a sofa, and the end table has red circles on the glass around the scratch but everything is beautiful. I have to admit that this whole three month furniture fiasco has been a big pain in the ass, but to look at a media center that I seemed impossible to find is awesome. Pictures will be coming eventually once we get a sofa and everything else taken care of. Alright well I need to get Bogart out for one last break before bed time. Have a goodnight.
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