The End

Here is a picture of the first line the last section of my graduate school evaluation:

....and it felt so good.

Stoopid Question

Subaru sends me surveys from time to time. One of the questions on the most recent one:

If we could go back and magically remove the All-Wheel-Drive component from your current Subaru and replace it with Front-Wheel-Drive - (additionally you would receive $1,500 cash and your vehicle would get a +2 MPG increase) - would you be happy?

No, I would want my AWD back immediately

Possibly – I would drive it a little and then make a decision

Yes, I would be happy to make this switch from FWD with slightly better MPG and some extra money back


OHMIGOD people are you serious?!? Would ANYONE with a WRX in their right MIND take a paltry $1500 and additional two (TWO. Not five or ten or twelve, but TWO) mpg for the loss of all that makes a WRX what it is--fun to drive, capable of driving in snow or turning corners at 30 mph, among other things??

I reamed them later in the commentable sections of the survey, after choosing the obvious answer to this particular question. Personally, I think they have die-hard fans right now. And if they get rid of AWD standard on all vehicles, they are taking a gamble--that their cars will become more mainstream. BUT. With that, they are also risking losing their die-hard fans, who see Subaru as different, independent, and a ridiculously great value for the money--but probably won't if they have to pay extra for their AWD.

I guess, to me, it's tantamount to a sellout move, and that makes me nauseous. Why can't you be happy with your extremely dedicated following instead of resorting to watering down your brand image/changing it entirely in a bid to gain market share? Maybe they won't. Fingers crossed.

Why higher education is going to hell in a handbasket...

Tuition USED TO BE 867.00, including all fees and such, for one class (which in and of itself is ridiculous)...but now, NOW, it is....wait for it....



1136.00


for one stinking 3 hour class. Fuck that. I am so glad I'll be done in December.

Hideously Charming

Everyone should have a squirrel lamp:

squirrel lamp



You could terrorize small children by turning it on suddenly in the middle of the night!

The author of this site does NOT condone terrorizing small children.

Rut

I'm in a food rut. I need to find new (moderately priced) restaurants and try them instead of going to the same places all the time.

Ideas? I'm in Atlanta and will eat pretty much anything except olives and Taco Bell.

Other Blog

Also, check out my new-ish blog:

www.engineerwoman.blogspot.com

The Squarrel is Angry

What the $%*& is this???

SQUIRREL MEAT??

"...Just add some water to our (exclusive) dehydrated squirrel, let it sit overnight and, next day, sit down to a delicious, non-gamy rehydrated squirrel.

These little beauties are raised on a certified organic farm in Tennessee, are carefully eviscerated and skinned (choose from bone-in, the more expensive bone-out, or from the deluxe squirrel filet) and they're certified rabies-free by the FDA. (Since this is such a new product, FDA inspectors are onsite constantly and they inspect the meat much more closely than beef or pork.) Each carcass is inspected twice by line workers to be sure it is hair-free."

I seriously thought it was a joke. But it's not. I mean, people in my family have eaten squirrel before, and I've made peace with the fact that other people do eat it and enjoy it. But oh...my...lord. Dehydrated squirrel carcasses? If I ever came upon one of these I think it would make me cry.

CONFESSION

I bought a pair of leggings. So I didn't last a whole year without buying any clothes.

HOWEVER, it was a lot less than I'd have bought otherwise (usually averaged 3-5 pieces of clothing per trip before) and it allowed me to make an entire winter outfit out of a summer dress. So I'm forgiving myself, and continuing to not buy clothes till next August.

Also, I thought about and wanted brown leggings for a good three months before I finally caved. I think this mindfulness is what I SHOULD be doing with every purchase. Hopefully I will evolve to think long and hard about each and every purchase I make.

And they were only $12.51. Great deal. :)

work

i NEVER blog about work. but there is always an exception. and i am so frustrated right now i want to blow something up. something being software.

ladies and gentlemen, PLS-TOWER SUCKS BIG FAT HAIRY SWEATY UNWASHED BALLS.

if any of you PLS engineers are listening (IF the last one of you who actually updated any damned thing about that shitty-ass software is even still alive, cause IT DOESN'T APPEAR TO BE ANY BETTER THAN IT WAS UPON CONCEPTION IN NINETEEN AUGHT SIX), how do you even still have jobs??

I could write better software USING AN EXCEL SPREADSHEET. Argh.

thank you. thank you very much for listening. i feel much better now. going back to bang my head repeatedly on a cement floor--i mean, work on that tower some more.

moving and stuff

we moved on september 6th. my family came up to help (well, most of my family--brother, sister in law, their two kids, mom and daddy. and of course, caleb. his family had to go to a funeral in BF alabama that weekend).

i'm still not sure how i crammed THAT much stuff in my apartment. the HOUSE is pretty full, and even though mom and daddy brought some stuff from carrollton, they didn't bring much. no wonder the apartment was always such a clutter pit. it wouldn't all fit in the 16' truck that my parents brought up (which had three pieces of furniture and maybe six boxes from carrollton already in it, the rest was all in the apartment). so caleb and i made several trips in his truck that day and in the days following. i finally got completely out on tuesday the 9th (a whole day early from my lease perspective! yay!)

my family and friends are awesome. they came over, they helped move (and pack the last remaining stuff), and they unloaded. and then my dad fixed my hot water heater and built shelves for my linen closet, and my mom and two best friends picked up where terri and jesse had to leave off and began unpacking and taking boxes to the rooms they belonged in. my brother, sister in law and niece helped unpack/arrange stuff too. please note: i hadn't wanted to ask my brother (much less their whole family!) to help, since they have two small kids, it's an hour drive for them to get here, and he already helped me A LOT by closing and finding a better mortgage lender for me and a whole lot of other stuff. but he came anyway and amie and the kids did too, and i feel like the luckiest person ever. with the greatest family ever. (my sister wanted to come too, and was disappointed she couldn't, but she's kinda swamped right now with work and phd stuff and puppies and a husband). so anyway. i felt very loved. it went well. i have a house!

after, i apologized to my brother for them having to drive so far and, well, sweat their butts off (we did have air in the nick of time, but it was still a VERY hot day)...and he was all, 'i wouldn't miss it for the world.'

happy sigh.

so now the kitchen is relatively unpacked (it was first) and i cooked at home all last week. i find that now that i have a kitchen again, all i want to do is COOK! MEALS! THAT TASTE GOOD! I HAVE ROOM IN MY KITCHEN TO DO THIS AND IT'S AMAZING, LOOK AT THIS! (a sample of my inner thoughts as i look at my cute kitchen). i had my college roomie over for dinner thursday night, a couple friends over for dinner last night, and i have no plans to slack off the dinner hosting anytime soon. i figure it's fun for me to cook, having someone over lets me be sociable without spending too much eating out, it's healthier, and there's STILL usually plenty leftover for lunches at work. win, win, win, WIN. yes.

i finally feel like i am returning to some semblance of internal balance. before the apartment, i'd never lived anywhere other than a house. (and only two houses, at that). in athens, i cooked most of the time (ate out once or twice a month) and was generally a homebody, inviting friends over a lot, but rarely "going out" at night or on weekends. i absolutely cannot wait to return to that, and so far it has been wonderful. we actually thought about going out to eat friday, but nixed it in favor of eating at home. eating out is just not as appealing anymore, when i can have fun, create something, and have leftovers that i can repurpose (ex: roasted whole chicken for dinner becomes chicken salad for lunch and seasoned and cooked, filling for quesadillas the next night). yaaaaaaaaay food!!! and kitchens! and washers!

i think i am secretly very much a homebody.

the flip side, though:

it will be significantly more money than renting. however, it remains to be seen whether cheaper food makes up for that. (even if it doesn't, my reduction in stress has ALREADY been worth it. i truly HATED it at that apartment and didn't even realize how much).

the gutters need cleaning and our ladder wasn't tall enough this weekend, so it has to wait another week.

the grass needs cutting and we don't have a lawnmower. i think my brother is giving us one of his extra ones though. thank heavens. lol.

two closet shelves have collapsed. stupid cheap brackets. so i have to fix that (we can reuse the shelf but not the supports).

there will always be a to do list. but i'm ok with that (and used to it, even)...there's just A LOT on it right now.

it has yard drainage issues. we have to fix that relatively soon (like in the next year).

none of these were surprises, so that's good i guess, but yeah. we have a long way to go. :) yay home improvement/maintenance!

summary: i'm LOVING life in the house. and my family rocks. and my friends rock too :)