I did my taxes this afternoon and realized I'm getting a quite sizable refund this year (being poor and in graduate school pays off, woo hoo!), so I've been dreaming of spending it. Some of it will go toward paying off my credit card, but I think I can also afford to buy a new camera this year after all without breaking the bank. I've been ( Read more... )

My laptop has been giving me trouble for a couple of months. It wasn't anything serious, really, I thought. The programs were all running fine and I had plenty of space on the hard drive. It was just the power adapter. It took some finessing in order to get the durn thing to charge. In the last couple of days it has become even more finicky, ( Read more... )

They got it right this semester. I've been worried that I'd have to spend a day this week sorting out financial aid misunderstandings (like I have the last few semesters, it seems), but it's all good. My check came through, my tuition is paid, and now I just sit back and wait for the remainder to reach my mailbox.

Winter is coming (supposedly), which means coat weather. My old coat was a thrift store find from a few years ago (I got it for $10 in the middle of the summer and was so proud), but it finally reached the point of being too ratty to wear and too tired to be refurbished. So, in need of a new coat, I headed off to the thrift store. I had no ( Read more... )

Every now and then I find evidence that most people are basically good ( Read more... )

Herzlichen Glückwunsch!
[hairz-likh-uhn gluek-woonch]

Félicitations!
[feh-lee-see-tah-syoh(n)]Three sets of good news came in the mail today ( Read more... )

Pense bien a prendre beaucoup de photos.
[peh(n)s(uh) bee-ih(n) ah preh(n)-dr(uh) boo-coo duh pho-tow]

Vergiss nicht viele Photos zu nehmen.
[fair-gihs nihkt feeluh foh-toes tzoo naym-uhn]Okay ( Read more... )

This is an interesting reflection and exploration of Americans' ideas about social class. I've really only checked out the Games section. There are 3 games, but the first one, "Chintz or Shag?", might be the most interesting. You get to decorate a room and the game tells you what class your decorating taste reflects. The 5 class categories they ( Read more... )

It's kind of a crappy gig. It's easy, but it seriously cramps my style. 3 cats and a dog that have to be fed, let out, moved from part to part of the house, let in, cleaned up after, etc., all AT LEAST 3 times a day if I'm really doing my job. I like the animals and I don't mind spending time over there to keep them company, but I hate having ( Read more... )

I thought I'd just share a few of the random things I've thought about thus far today.

**I really like science fiction, even when it's a bit silly. The Stainless Steel Rat Wants You, for instance, was very enjoyable. li-kao says he read this series by Harry Harrison as a kid and it mostly seems suitable and quite entertaining for a young lad. But ( Read more... )