New Car @ MindSay

I'm getting a new car. It's "dark sapphire blue", has XM radio, power locks and lots of space and is adorable. *Sigh* I'm kinda in love.  Those shifty car salesmen tried to get us to buy a car of the same make (Hyundai Accent) that was Charcoal Grey and didn't have all the features we wanted, so we left to go look somewhere else. By some MIRACLE, they just HAPPENED to find one (after much annoying questions by people who weren't even listening to us) that had all the features and was BLUE! Yay... stupid jerks. It didn't cost as much as the original car, which is why they didn't want to sell it to us, so that's a second YAY, too.

 

I deposited my first paycheck (EVER!) today. Hehe. I feel so accomplished, even if I am getting a dollar less on hour than I thought I would (grrrrrrr!) and even if my job (at a daycare, as a teacher for 3 year olds and, more and more often, 1 year olds) makes me want to pull my hair out sometimes.

 

I'm so ready to go back to Athens! We'll have our apartment, I'll be able to further explore my archealogical ambitions, I'll be around boys (my age! haha... *cough*Kayla*cough), and Sis and I will be bellydancing again. Plus, I'm psyched about Georgia football season and Ice Dawg hockey season.

 

And that leads me to the passing of our beloved mascot Uga VI ("Uga V's Whatchagot Loran?") this past weekend.  He'll always be my Uga, a strangely significant reason for me coming to the University of Georgia, and the most victorious mascot in UGA history-- leaving Georgia ranked preseason #1. A damn, damn good dog.

 

To Uga VI... Rest In Peace.

I decided that, as I sat here and absorbed yet another episode of American Idol with my suite-mates, I would update here in my dear, stress-relieving blog. The last time I posted was Friday, but a lot of things have happened. Life at Binghamton seems to sit in the fast-lane; something is always happening here, something that tries the soul mentally, physically, or emotionally. I went home this past weekend and I feel I was hit on a dual front: home presented fights with my family, while back at school, I would have been presented with fights among my floor-mates and worries about one of my suite-mates (though those have been discussed tonight as well). I suppose I ought to start at the beginning, like always. This post may be long.

First things first: I've created a four-point to-do list for the rest of the semester. I was trying to think of some interesting and witty away message for AIM, and failing to do so left me with a list of what I'd like to accomplish this semester.

1. Quit smoking - it's already been a couple days and I know that's a drop in the hat compared to my lifetime, but I'm determined this time around. Since I moved to Binghamton, my smoking has gone down by 75%, or so I'd say. Not many people here smoke, and the people I've met so far (my friends and roommates) are all either non-smokers or very light, occaisional smokers, so my pack-a-day routine has become about half-a-pack a week, if that. I bought a carton of cigarettes two weeks ago when I was home and in Pennsylvania and since ten, I've managed to smoke maybe a whole pack, but not before the cigarettes when utterly stale. I've always known how bad it is for my health but just didn't care to quit before. I don't particularly care to quit now, but I figure that, since I've already been weaned down to such a small amount of nicotine, there's no reason I can't wean myself completely off it. No time like the present, they say, and I feel my approach to this is logical as well as healthy. I've become indifferent to smoking, so I might as well be indifferent, a non-smoker, and healthy than indifferent, a smoker, and risking emphysema.
2. Catch up on all my reading - the first week of school, I diligently read every word on every page of every book by the time it was due. Needless to say now, a month into the semester, I've stopped doing this. Up until last week, I was at least keeping up, even if I was skimming every now and again. Now, I've failed to keep up and am behind in my reading in all my classes. It wouldn't be such a big deal, but reading is absolutely instrumental in my Legacies of (Post)Colonialism class (we read, we analyze, we discuss), I have a test in psychology next Tuesday that I will have to study for (especially considering my last quiz grade was a 50%), and I have to do the reading for my German History discussion or my TA will know that I've been slacking (she's not really a Nazi about it [pardon the pun], but I really like her and I want to impress her and actually prove I'm capable of keeping up). All in all, I'm failing at this one so far, but I'm determined. If I can get back into the groove of reading instead of playing on my computer, I'll be all right. I've got about 70 pages to read in my novel by Wednesday and I've definitely got to read my psychology textbook before the test (at least the appropriate chapters). I'll have to do some magazine reading for that, too, and watch a few videos on the book's CD. Then... oh God, German History reading. I don't want to think about it. I suppose it's good I'm not going home again until Easter. I don't do work when I'm home.
3. Make the important phone calls I've been neglecting - I have to call my doctor's office back home to work out paying off my bill (or else bad credit report for moi!) and I have to call my community college back home so I can talk to someone about consolidating my loan there into my loans here. Otherwise, I'll have to start paying on that loan this summer, and I can't afford to do that right now. If it turns out that's what I have to do, I'll have to take out extra money for my loan in the fall to do that. I'm living very cheaply right now, with $450 to last me until May, and I can't afford any budget slip-ups. Having to repay that loan at this point in my life definitely constitutes a budget slip-up. Dear dear...
4. Sleep as much as possible - I've actually done very well at this, considering how much I have to do, but not for long. As soon as Daylight Savings Time goes into effect, I will officially die and never sleep again, at least not until the end of the semester.

So that's my super amazing awesome to-do list of doom. Onto the next thing.

The weekend home was... fraught with arguing. I'm pretty sure my dad didn't take his pills Sunday as he was in a ridiculously foul mood and found fault in nearly everything I did. I'm used to the niceties and freedom of school now, so when Dad says something horrible to me now, I don't bite my lip anymore. Now I fly off the handle and downright yell at him. In that case, 50% of all the fights we have are my fault, but I feel that my anger is deserved. He instigates so much and yet, after having raised me not to take any nonsense from anyone, he expects me to lay down and take everything he says and then run off to fix whatever it is that's wrong with myself. That will not and never will happened. The fault of instigation does not lie with me but with him.

Ah... point of importance: The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy is a really confusing and all-around badly written book. It has joined Volker Berghahn's Imperial Germany in its rank as the bane of my existence.

Went to slash participated in the Thinkfast competition in the Union tonight. It was fun, and really interesting. My one teammate was... kind of quiet at first, and didn't seem very friendly, but then things turned out all right. We didn't win anything, but the effort was fun. Ally and Theodora (two of the girls I met at Orientation) came with me to watch, and they ended up contributing to the team effort quite nicely. They saved our asses more than a few times.

Another point of importance: my parents traded in the truck for a new car, a blue 2008 Dodge Avenger. It's a gorgeous car, though I wonder if it was as smart a financial move as my parents claim. Somehow, I fear it isn't.

I've got WHRW meetings and classes out the ass this week. I've got a department meeting Thursday, the Student Association Debates to observe (for four hours), and an apprentice class for two hours on Friday. Binghamton's St. Patrick's Day Parade is this weekend, but everyone in my suite is leaving to go home. I feel like maybe I want to go home too, but I can't and I won't because I need to foster a life of my own at school. I can't keep clinging to home like I have been, especially considering how much my dad and I fight when I'm there. I'm a sucker for punishment.

There's also been a lot of worry about one of my suite-mates; she hasn't been eating properly when she's in our company, and everyone's really scared she's not eating at all when she's not around us. I don't know what to make of it, but I have noticed a big change in her since I moved in. I've tried to help the girls think of things they can do to help her without imposing on her or ganging up on her, but the list is limited. I know they'll figure out what to do; they know her well enough, and she's a good girl. They'll think of something.

Now that I've wasted even more of my valuable time, I am going to go and try to read, though I highly doubt that will happen. God help me; I'm going to die this week. There's so much to do and so little time in which to do it. Fucking aye...

--Snyder

P.S. My mom makes the most ridiculously yummy chocolate chip pancake's in the world. Better than Ever's, the chef down in Iroquois. Fuckin' amazing.

I may in fact be somewhat in love..

With a vehicle.

The long awaited "new"car photos ..... my "new" car is now a "new" truck?  He has a plan ..... I'm hoping it's a good one .... !  Believing the goal here is to have a vehicle all the dogs can ride in .....











There she is  in all of her chopped glory ..... link in previous post of what car looked like before the chop.

He's in making templets right now for the new metal work ...... this should be fun .... !

Have a great evening all ....

Peace.  J.

I was my intention to come in and update you all on my "new" car.  Dave spent about 45 minutes taking pictures and deleting pictures and re-taking pictures so that I could post them.

I proceeded to come in and lose them ..... somewhere ..... somewhere in my computer ..... never, never to be found again.  I have looked everywhere and they just dissapeared.  I'm a bit confused .... but nothing new there.

So now I am recharging the battery and will hopefully get some more pictures today.

http://iliketiedye.mindsay.com/my_new_car.mws

Another link for those who may have missed the first exciting installment of this chronicle in the works.

Something I did manage to save is very strange though (this may be why I lost the pictures .... was totally wierded out by this) .... my camera also has audio recording capabilities and somehow or another Dave always manages to record an audio bite here and there when he is taking photos.  I will usually listen to them and have never really heard anything except Dave talking to himself now and then or talking to me.  This time was different ..... he has a tv in his shop and I could hear that in the background.  He mumbles something and then a voice ..... not mine .... says something which I have not been able to figure out yet.  And he mumbles again almost over this ..... it is most obviously not him.  Wish I knew how to post audio cause I love to share this.  It's wierd.  Anyway .....

Weekend was uneventful.  Our big storm never really hit.  About and inch of snow this morning and for the most part it is gone now.  Supposed to get something tonight .... we will see.  It does not hurt my feelings if the snow stays north of us.  For that matter it doesn't hurt my feelings if it stays south of us.  As long as it stays away.

Well .... hopefully I'll be back with updated photos ..... cause you aren't gonna believe what he's done now.  I couldn't but think it's gonna be good ..... ***crossing fingers***

Have done a bit more shopping .... almost can call it done ..... overwith ....

Peace.  J.