I made the RSC VP's honor roll!!!

Now, don't go saying you knew it all along, that I'm a smart cookie, etc., etc., etc.

Because this is a BIG FREAKIN' DEAL to me! Because for this former underachieving (according to some) student, it means a lot. I wasn't always the best student who ever graced a campus (anywhere), and it concerned me greatly that I would fall flat on my face academically.

This proves that I didn't.

And, yes, I will post all the certificates I get for making the honor roll.

It's all been worth it: the walking in the snow and ice, the troubles with Babydoll, the late nights I spent losing sleep because I was worried about a test, the lack of sleep in general. And, this laptop was the best investment in my education I could have ever made with the limited funds I had.


I'd like to thank the academy...

Okay, okay... even I know when to stop.





That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

Running the gamut of emotions from A to Z

First-- I didn't sleep in much. I got up at 8am, and started in with my studying. I was doing really well with that, and I think I'll do really well tomorrow.

Then-- I had a wonderful afternoon. And while it was wonderful, it left me with a lot of conflicting emotions. But, I think I got those straightened out. So I feel better.

Then-- I went to WalMart to pick up a few things and get gas for the Beretta. After I brought my stuff to the car, I decided to wait until tomorrow to get gas. I was feeling pretty good.

Then-- it all went to hell on a sled.

The water pump on the car died. Water was spraying everywhere!! I'm thinking, oh great! This HAD to happen the night before my last final...

But, wait, there's more... as if it couldn't get any worse

Something in the steering column broke as I was parking in the parking lot at my apartment. I could take the key out of the ignition, but the engine didn't shut off. I had to borrow a wrench from one of my neighbors to disconnect the battery so the engine would shut off.

Then-- I called Jeff and asked if he and Daniel could come over and take a look at the car. I don't know if there is anything they can really do at this point. The steering column thing has happened twice before when I was in Massachusetts (once when I was on a long distance drive), so I know that it needs to be seen by a mechanic.

I need to borrow a car or get one from somewhere. I'll probably walk to school tomorrow (it won't kill me after all), but I need to make some arrangements to get to school for Summer Session that starts June 4th.
=====

Also-- it's my friend JC's birthday. Happy Birthday!


That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

Daniel will L-O-V-E these!

I saw this car in the parking lot of my local neighborhood WalMart:

This is a 1968 Ford Mustang California Special. Only a limited number of these cars were made and were only sold in California (hence the name). Daniel tells me that Ford is bringing out a 40th anniversary edition next year that will be available everywhere. I've only seen two or three prior to this, but that was a long time ago in a land far, far away (um, California...LOL).

I had to take these quickly, because some people are real weird about others taking pictures of their cars. I didn't want to have to explain that my son is a car nut.

I better send these pix to Daniel. Then call him to remind him to look in his email.


That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

The Post wherein Stef rants about the way people drive

so... you have been warned!

--begin rant--

I went to WalMart this afternoon, after my trip to IHOP. When I was leaving the parking lot, I noticed I was parked next to a rather large pickup, so as I am backing out, I honk my horn several times in case there was someone approaching that couldn't see that I was backing out.

There was someone. Her response to my warning was to honk back at me and mouth the word "bitch".

And here I thought I was doing a good thing by letting her inattentive ass know I was backing out of a blind spot.

But that wasn't all...

I finally get to the way out of the parking lot and there is someone stopped just before it to let me out (a good driver! yay!!!); There was no traffic in the other lane, and had to wait for the traffic going in the opposite direction to let up enough for me to get in, because that is the direction that I need to go.

Finally, there is someone going in that direction who wants to get into the parking lot I want to leave. I thought that they were going to let me pass so I can merge into traffic. Their response was to make their turn anyway, which, had they completed it, would have taken out the entire passenger side of my car. They decided to let me pass, and honked their horn-- and it wasn't a friendly gesture either.

Maybe I was wrong, I don't know. But I know that if I get into an accident in the Beretta, then it's bye bye Babydoll. And, the other person will not have either of these two things that makes you legal in the state of Oklahoma: a driver's license and/or proof of insurance.

That's just way that my luck runs. So I'd be out one car and no way to get a new one. Not to mention a trip to Midwest Regional with the resulting injuries, and by some stroke of bad luck, I'd see Dean there (he practices out of that hospital).

--end rant--

So, how was your day? :)


That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

Jeff decided not to buy the Camaro

He says he chickened out, but then he told me that he didn't feel comfortable about making the purchase. He feels bad because the guy selling it had come all the way to Edmond from my neck of the woods only to find out that Jeff changed his mind.

After all, buying a car is a major purchase, even if the car is 16 years old. Maybe Jeff just wasn't ready to make that purchase after all. I told him that maybe he'd feel more comfortable in a smaller car, and to keep looking. The right car will come along.

Meanwhile, tomorrow is Jeff's 21st birthday. He has to work tomorrow, so we're not doing the birthday thing until next week sometime.


That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

Jeff's buying a car!

It's a '91 Chevy Camaro (Chevys are our family's car maker of choice. I have the Beretta, and Daniel has the Cobalt. Jon has had 2 Caprices, but now has a Ford), white with red interior, with see thru t-tops. Jeff is paying the majority of the money for it, and Dean's helping out. Jeff is, understandably, excited beyond all belief.

Now he can drive himself to work! No more dragging his grandmother or his brother out of bed to get him to Johnnie's just down Danforth from the house.

I'll post pix when I get some.


That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

Sing to the tune of "If You're Happy and You Know It"...

There's a hornet in my car, get it out!
There's a hornet in my car, get it out!
There's a hornet in my car, you know I ain't going far
When there's a hornet in my car
GET! IT! OUT!

I hate when flying stinging insects hitch a ride in my car. I am deathly afraid of those damn things. So, somewhere between IHOP and CVS, this little annoyance got in and couldn't find its way out. I heard it buzzing, and it took me back to a time in my past, when all of my boys were young, when one got into this decrepid station wagon Jon had bought (we called it the "John Deere" because it drove like one of those tractors going down the city streets in Virginia). There was a hole in the tailgate where a rear window wiper had been, and the kids and I were freaking out.

Back in the present, I opened both windows (Berettas were two door cars. Four door version was the Corsica), hoping the little bugger would find its own way out. After about ten minutes or so, it finally got a clue that there was a way out and left (at least I hope it did). I drove home, relieved that my little stowaway was gone off to polinate flowers somewhere far away from me.


That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

I'm such a ditz sometimes...

I'm at WalMart shopping, and I went out to the car when I'm done. I go into the wrong row, and think I see my car.

I walk up to it and see that there's something wrong with the back bumper. I'm thinking what the hell happened to my car? As I'm looking at it, I see a Kelsey Briggs sticker on the back window. It's in the wrong place, I think, then I realize that the car I'm at isn't my car! It's another Beretta that is almost the same color as mine, probably the same year (89), and the license plate has the same letters on it, but not the same numbers.

The Kelsey sticker on the car I went to is high up on the back window. My Kelsey sticker is in the lower right corner on my back window.

My car is two rows over in the same position. Duh! And, despite the paint peeling off on just the left side, my car looks better.

The other one probably drives better, though.



That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

So much stuff, so little time

Or so it seems to me the last couple of weeks. Maybe this is the real college experience- tons of homework and little sleep.

Maybe I need that coffeemaker after all.
===

I may have no choice but to replace the windshield on the Beretta. It looks as though the cracks get bigger every day. Who knows if I'll even have a windshield when I go out to the car next. Better get on the horn to the insurance folks and see if my policy covers owner stupidity. After all, it was really stupid of me to open the hood on a windy day like we had last Friday.
===

A nap sounds really good right now, but I have so much other stuff to do. Maybe I can put a nap off long enough so that I actually fall asleep when I go to bed tonight.
===

It's so nice outside, I may just do my homework out there. Let me think on that a while.

Naaah. It's windy again. Don't need my English Comp essay blowing all over Del City. It's due tomorrow!
===

thanx for peeking

That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

What the wind did yesterday (grrrr!)

(above) View from the inside

(below) View from the outside

This kinda ticks me off. And the whole trip to keep that appointment yesterday was all for naught.

That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

If it weren't for bad luck, baby, I'd have no luck at all...

From the Beretta's Being A Bitch Dept.:

I kept my appointment today (the one I postponed from last week), and the car overheated just as I got there. I was there for a while, so the car, I thought, had had a chance to cool off.

Wrong.

I got to the Sunnylane Exit on I-40 and she stalls out. Overheated again. Several people came over to assist me in getting the car out of the line of traffic and into the parking lot of a long closed and torn down gas station. I get out of the car to open the hood, put up the rod to hold it up, and the wind catches it and blows the hood back towards the windshield. This cracks the windshield and tears up one of the wipers.

Oh. Great.

So I drive her here to the public library, and she sits outside until I'm sure she's cooled off. So if that means I'm here for an hour or two (or three... who knows at this point), then so be it. It's B Week Friday, so I have no classes today anyway.

If this problem had happened in Edmond, I'd probably still be sitting wherever I stalled while people drive around me and don't even bother to help.

Now I know what Larry means by "snooty Edmond".





That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

Put another candle on my birthday cake, I'm another year old(er) today

Wee.

So far today, the Beretta is being a bitch, and I've had to postpone an appointment for today because I don't know right now if the car will make it there without doing something undesirable (like stranding me in a really bad area or something). I have to write my entire essay for English Comp this weekend, as it is due Monday. I may as just move into the Rose State library, because I'm going to spending a lot of time here this weekend.

Awww, c'mon, man... it's my birthday! Gimme a break, just this once. Any other time of the year, I wouldn't care. Just not this weekend.

It's not even 1pm yet, what else could possibly happen to me today.

Well, I did get out of my last class early, I guess that's good.


I have a little over a month to figure out how to get in 50 swats... hehehehe




That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

First B-week Friday: felt like Saturday

Even though I knew better, it still felt like it should have been Saturday.

I did go up to my mom's in Edmond on Friday, after I put some power steering fluid in the car. Once she steered better, I felt I could go anywhere, so that's what I did. I took I-40 and I-35 with few problems. Even the gas gauge seemed to work right, and I was pleased to see I still had about 3/4 of a tank of gas.

I showed up at Mom's, and as soon as I rang the doorbell (since I no longer had a key), I heard the phone ring. Mom got the call first, because she was expecting a call from her doctor.

Pinky was pleased to see me, and that set her tail a-wagging.

Jeff and I went over to the Goodwill store on 15th and Broadway and he bought the only TV they had. I also bought a lamp. Then we went back home and Mom wanted to go for Chinese. She actually wanted to go to a restaurant and sit. We went to the only Chinese place like that in Mom's neighborhood. I was a little disappointed. They had more stuff on their take out menu than they did on the eat in menu.

I ended up spending the night, and Mom and I went out to breakfast and grocery shopping before I went home.

I had some studying to do.

After I got home, I realized that I couldn't get the TV out of the back seat of my car by myself. It required flexibility skills that, at almost 43 years of age, I no longer possessed. So Daniel drove all the way out to "da hood" (aka, where I live, in his humble 23 year old opinion) and helped me out. I felt kinda foolish about that.

It seems to be my week for feeling foolish. And on it goes...

Four days and counting...

That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

What IS it about this winter weather?

This is the kind of weather I'd expect in Boston. This time last year, it was quite warm, and so dry that there was a state wide burn ban.

So today, it's snowing. Yesterday, I had to chip the ice off my car before I could even leave the Rose State parking lot. Fortunately, someone took pity on me and helped me out.

I was kinda nervous this morning driving BabyDoll to school. I haven't driven her in this kind of weather since before I moved from Lawrence, MA in 2002. But everything went well and we got there with no trouble.

Tomorrow is supposed to be worse, with temps in the teens and twenties. I'm supposed to go up to Edmond tomorrow and see Mom, but if the roads are bad, she'd be the first one to tell me to stay home.

That reminds me, I need to go to the store and get groceries.

At least I have no classes tomorrow (it's "B" week Friday. Next week is "A" week and I'll have classes that Friday... on my birthday, no less!)

Wee.


That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

I feel like I've been driving a Mack truck

...but even a Mack truck probably steers better than BabyDoll at the moment.

I think all that the Beretta needs are the following: power steering fluid and anitfreeze. For right now. Those are things that I can get for her. As I mentioned in the last post, the car needs a lot of TLC. Even I realize that she's probably not long for this world, unless someone wants to help me pay to return her to her former glory (or at least as she was when I bought her in 1999).

The thing with her fuel gauge is driving me nuts! The fuse is not blown. A blown fuse was usually the reason the fuel gauge wasn't working properly. Popular opinion (Daniel and Jeff) seem to think that because the car sat for so long that the electronics that control that and the temp gauge are messed up. After all, BabyDoll is 18 years old!

(I have a car that is old enough to vote and get drafted!)

Then there are other little problems that I need time and patience to work out.

A very auto-centric post today.

(thanx for peeking. hope all is okay with you.)


That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

Dude, are you going to ride that thing, or just push it all the way to Downtown OKC?

I've met some interesting characters in the month I've been in my new apartment, and have seen some interesting things... such as:

A woman in the back of a police car who appeared to be handcuffed. A wrecker had just arrived to tow her car and an attached trailer to wherever they tow those things to here.

A mentally challenged man who was pushing a three wheeled bike down SE 15th Street behind me. He told me that he was going to Downtown Oklahoma City. I said that's a long way to ride a bike.

And a number of people who have honked at me and waved from their cars as I walked to places like Wal Mart and the library. I don't recognise any of them in the quick glance I get as they motor on by.

Maybe they realize that I'm new in the neighborhood, I don't know.
===

When I came home from Mom's house the other night, Daniel (who thinks this part of the OKC Metro is akin to "da hood") barely gave me time to get out of his car and get into my apartment before he went roaring off into the night, radio on full blast, bass thumping away.

That boy's gonna be deaf before he's 35 if he keeps that up!


That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

I have no idea what to call this post

The "things I have to do before New Year's"?
"Things I have to do after New Year's"?

Suffice it to say that I still have a lot to do to make living in my apartment, paying my bills, and driving my car a lot easier.

I just shelled out a bunch of cash to get my car insured so I can get the title and tags for it. Actually getting the tags will have to wait until Tuesday now, because the tag agency is just a little too far to walk to.

But at least I don't have to worry about car insurance for six months.
===

I don't have any real plans for New Year's Eve. Maybe I'll go over to Mom's and see her new chair that was a family Christmas gift to her.

I don't know. New Year's Eve partying has kinda lost its cache for me. I don't drink, so that would make me a party pooper in some people's eyes. I'd just like to spend it with a few friends. There is someone I'd like to spend it with, but the chances of that happening are remote at best.
===

I think I'll go home and have some hot chocolate. The weather is kinda drizzly.

Have a Happy New Year! Bring on 2007!



That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

Please give to the Thirsty Van Fund?

"I can't," Jeff said as I drove him to work this morning. "I'm already contributing to the Injured Cobalt Fund."

(What I didn't say is, "and the Cobalt is injured because...?")

I told Jeff that because Daniel's car is in the shop, I have to take both of them to work and bring them home, and that takes more gas than usual. Jeff just shrugged.

"Certainly you're not going to make me and your grandmother foot the bill for this?"

Jeff: (shrug)

Okay, Jeff is very careful with his money (an admirable trait, considering his father is so irresponsible with his), but he has to contribute more to the smooth operation of the household. That means paying for the gas the van needs to go occasionally. Combustible engines don't run on fumes and a wing and a prayer.

So pony up the $2.17 a gallon, kid.



That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

Here's the story, morning glory...

Current temps: 12 degrees at Will Rogers; 9 in Edmond.
===

Re: the previous post, this is what happened...

Daniel and Jeff went to Barnes and Noble. It had just started snowing when they left to come home, so the roads were slick.

Daniel drove around a corner, and the wheels turned, but the car slid into a curb, messing up the suspension. Jeff calls at about 11:30pm and I knew, just knew, that there was some kind of mishap.

Thing is, I asked them not to go because they'd been saying on the news all day that the roads were going to be icy after dark.

Jeff tried to call Dean, but the line was busy (c'mon, the guy's a doctor, he's bound to be getting calls late at night). I called Dean and told him what happened, and he ended going all the way out there to fetch them.

And apparently, Dean tore them both new ones, because they weren't in a great mood when they got home.

Daniel spent most of yesterday morning on the phone with his insurance company, arranging to get the car fixed. I had to take him all the way out to where he had left the car to give the spare key to the wrecker driver, then take him to work.

It doesn't snow like this in Oklahoma City as a rule. So people don't know how to drive in snow. There were some people who were driving fast (and not all were in 4 wheel drive vehicles). What really got me is that the mall was open, McDonald's was open, and people actually braved the elements so they could get their shopping done.

Jeff's work was closed yesterday, but it was his day off, so it wasn't like he got a snow day. Which kinda ticked him off...
===

Lots of places are closed today, too. The storm that brought this stuff is up near Chicago now. But damn, it's cold!
===

Another 4 day weekend... how lucky can one guy be :)


That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

Rain, sleet, icy roads, 100% chance of snow

...perfect night to go running out to Barnes and Noble to check out the latest Japanese comic books, right?

WRONG!

I knew as soon as the phone rang that this scenario would not end well.

It's 20 something degrees outside and a wind chill of 12. What were they thinking?!

What does stupid getcha? Getcha stupid.

I'm so pissed off right now I can't see straight. More on this later when I know more about what the heck happened.

What were they thinking?!


That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--