Bad Investments / Quiet Around the House / Fantasies of Independence
Not a whole lot has been going on lately. Well, at least, nothing horribly newsworthy. Ryan and I continue our near-daily raids of local second-hand thrift stores looking for dirt-cheap electronics that need a little TLC and can then be sold online for big profits. A few days ago, we made a major purchase of a $90 Macintosh computer made only a few years ago. We thought it was a steal but when we got it home and really began working with it, we realized it was damaged. We took it to an Apple store and after talking with a specialist for half an hour, we concluded that the motherboard inside the machine is failing. A replacement is anywhere from $200 to $500 and even with all that work, the machine is really only worth a couple hundred dollars anyway. We'd always planned on selling the machine off anyway, but now it looks like we'll be lucky to break even by just selling it as parts. There's no possibility to return it, either, so we are stuck with it. Wish us luck in selling it!
It's my father's second week at his new job and his work schedule is crazy. He works 12 hours a day alternating between three and four day work weeks to get 80 hours for every two week period. The worst part is that he works 6 PM to 6 AM and sleeps all day, so the schedule everyone here had has been shaken up a bit. It's not a big adjustment, but I'd forgotten how odd, quiet, and laid back things get around here when my dad isn't running around trying to accomplish a million simultaneous, redundant and rather unnecessary home improvement projects. Dinners with just my mom and Ryan are fun as we finally get to watch some of the movies and TV shows we've got piled up here that never get watched because my dad isn't into them. And now that he has a real full time job again doing what he does best (Electronics engineering), maybe he'll ease up on his need to always be doing something around here. Ryan believes my dad just needed to feel useful while he was unemployed these last eighteen months so that's why every day was an opportunity to work on the house and drag the rest of us into it just because we're here. Regardless, he's back to work and everyone is thankful of that. Maybe the recession is finally over and things are truly getting better!
It's been a whole week now since Ryan and I submitted our applications for full time work at Lowe's. We know a couple people on the inside who are pulling strings and making things happen for us a little quicker than normal applicants, but the waiting game still is nerve wracking. We're expecting a call any moment about interviews or whatever, and we're pretty much golden. I'd be horrified if this doesn't work out. Why wouldn't it? I mean, if they hire people who barely speak English, a kid with a college degree should jump right to management. End sarcasm. But you know what I mean. During the last week, we've been getting more and more excited at the prospect of having real money rolling our way. I've already got plans to move out (Around July 1st) and we've begun preparing people for that. On more than one occasion, we've sat down and talked about all the things we're looking forward to about living alone. Mostly, it'll be nice to not feel guilty when we kill our free time playing computer or video games. That's I think what I hate most about living at home- I feel guilty whenever I indulge in a little goofing off to kill some spare time. My folks don't really care, but I still feel bad. It'll also be nice to have people over. I plan on making it such that friends can come over whenever they want as long as I'm warned about it. I feel I have a lot of making up to do for years of not having my own space to host friends and parties and even women. Yes, I said it!
Ryan has his own plans, too. From what he's told me, it looks like his long-distance girlfriend from Ohio might move this way in the near future as I guess she's being laid off and may as well come out if those two are serious about a life together. Perfect opportunity, no? They'd move in together and get a place out in the up-scale Tanasbourne neighborhood a couple miles from here. It's gonna be a huge year for everyone. I'm looking forward to it!
It's my father's second week at his new job and his work schedule is crazy. He works 12 hours a day alternating between three and four day work weeks to get 80 hours for every two week period. The worst part is that he works 6 PM to 6 AM and sleeps all day, so the schedule everyone here had has been shaken up a bit. It's not a big adjustment, but I'd forgotten how odd, quiet, and laid back things get around here when my dad isn't running around trying to accomplish a million simultaneous, redundant and rather unnecessary home improvement projects. Dinners with just my mom and Ryan are fun as we finally get to watch some of the movies and TV shows we've got piled up here that never get watched because my dad isn't into them. And now that he has a real full time job again doing what he does best (Electronics engineering), maybe he'll ease up on his need to always be doing something around here. Ryan believes my dad just needed to feel useful while he was unemployed these last eighteen months so that's why every day was an opportunity to work on the house and drag the rest of us into it just because we're here. Regardless, he's back to work and everyone is thankful of that. Maybe the recession is finally over and things are truly getting better!
It's been a whole week now since Ryan and I submitted our applications for full time work at Lowe's. We know a couple people on the inside who are pulling strings and making things happen for us a little quicker than normal applicants, but the waiting game still is nerve wracking. We're expecting a call any moment about interviews or whatever, and we're pretty much golden. I'd be horrified if this doesn't work out. Why wouldn't it? I mean, if they hire people who barely speak English, a kid with a college degree should jump right to management. End sarcasm. But you know what I mean. During the last week, we've been getting more and more excited at the prospect of having real money rolling our way. I've already got plans to move out (Around July 1st) and we've begun preparing people for that. On more than one occasion, we've sat down and talked about all the things we're looking forward to about living alone. Mostly, it'll be nice to not feel guilty when we kill our free time playing computer or video games. That's I think what I hate most about living at home- I feel guilty whenever I indulge in a little goofing off to kill some spare time. My folks don't really care, but I still feel bad. It'll also be nice to have people over. I plan on making it such that friends can come over whenever they want as long as I'm warned about it. I feel I have a lot of making up to do for years of not having my own space to host friends and parties and even women. Yes, I said it!
Ryan has his own plans, too. From what he's told me, it looks like his long-distance girlfriend from Ohio might move this way in the near future as I guess she's being laid off and may as well come out if those two are serious about a life together. Perfect opportunity, no? They'd move in together and get a place out in the up-scale Tanasbourne neighborhood a couple miles from here. It's gonna be a huge year for everyone. I'm looking forward to it!