July 31, 2003
Want In One Hand...
Now that I have a job and a couple paychecks under my belt I figure its time to sort the things I need from the things I want. Part of the problem is that I can't get them all at once - I have loans and things to pay off. Hence the prioritizing.
Things I Need
- New Glasses: mine are over two years old now and I'm sure my prescription has changed. Its more obvious now that I spend even more time on the computer.
- Tires: with about 38,000 miles on the current pair, I'm definately in the market. Since I'm not putting very many miles on them, I think they could wait until September.
- Sofa: because my freebie loveseat barely seats two.
- Small Vacuum: We only have one large rug in the apartment, but we also have one very hairy cat.
- Birthday Presents: Jon and my father are both celebrating birthdays later this month, so I need to plan for their gifts.
Things I Want
- Work Clothes: because I'm too fat for all the size 16 khakis I bought on clearance last year, leaving me with very few professional-looking options for work. Obviously this won't be an issue if I manage to lose 10-15 pounds before it gets too cold to wear my summery skirts.
- Jean Jacket, Fleece Vest, and button-down shirts: I held out last year because I knew my chest was going to get a lot smaller. A year later, I still want them.
- New Mattress: because my three-year-old futon could really use a little extra support, along the lines of a cheap firm mattress to put between it and the bed frame.
- Kitchen Equipment: I'd love to start assembling my set of All-Clad cookware. Its expensive, so I'm thinking a pot/pan or two a year.
- Console Table: for the living room so we have a good place to set bills and things like that. I'm not willing to spend more than $30 though, so it'll probably be a while before I find one I like that fits my budget.
- Plants: Tia has demolished a good number of mine, but I still want more. Preferably large ones that can't be tipped over by a curious cat.
Posted by criminal at 09:33 PM | Comments (3)
July 30, 2003
Rent Check
I realized several things today as I wrote my rent check.
- That I have been living in my new apartment for nearly three months, which really means that it isn't new anymore. And that we have to get a couch.
- Rent and utilities haven't been as bad as I expected. Its eating out and wanting lots of fresh fruits and veggies that are going to kill my bank account.
- I don't miss the old place at all. Well, other than being able to leave my windows open all the time. I guess that goes for the roommates and their baggage as well.
Posted by criminal at 04:08 PM | Comments (0)
July 29, 2003
Press On
In Amy's stead, I'm going to a meeting at the Bioengineering Institute this afternoon. Now I'm glad that I took the extra ten minutes to iron my clothes this morning. Its not that I care a lot about how I look, but I know how hard it is to take people seriously when they look rumpled. There's just something about the "I just rolled out of bed" look that implies low standards.
Posted by criminal at 11:37 AM | Comments (1)
Hang Up and Drive
I was on my way to work this morning, driving along Route 12, when some jerk decides to ignore his yield sign and move into my spot. I honked and slammed on my brakes, narrowly missing the back corner of his minivan as he moved in front of me and accross the other three lanes of traffic. He was completely oblivious to the world around him because he was yapping on a cell phone. I don't normally scream obsceneties out my car window, but I couldn't help it. And can I just say that it felt good? He was a clueless prick. I try not to use my phone when I'm driving, and when I do have to take a call, my focus stays on the road, even if it means asking people to repeat themselves. Its amazing to me that there aren't more accidents caused by idiots on cell phones.
Posted by criminal at 09:34 AM | Comments (2)
July 28, 2003
monster
There's nothing sexier than a sweaty woman with a jackhammer. [Steve, Monster House]
Posted by criminal at 10:47 PM | Comments (0)
Getting Tired
Its not even the end of the working day and I'm already tired. I mean I'm seriously dragging my butt. Maybe I shouldn't have stayed up so late watching the Red Sox beat the snot out of those Yankees. Ehh. It was so worth it.
Posted by criminal at 03:55 PM | Comments (0)
July 24, 2003
Kitty Krap
I'm not the kind of pet owner that likes to have all kinds of cute animal things. That means no cute kitties, other than the live one, decorating my apartment. Well, there is that retro Chat Noir print and the Puppy-A-Day calender that Debbie Rackliff gave me. I'm weakening though: I think this clock at the 9 Chickweed CafePress store is great. Not to mention my love of Get Fuzzy. The next thing you know my relatives will be buying me all kinds of silly kitty knick-knacks.
Posted by criminal at 01:38 PM | Comments (1)
July 23, 2003
Just a Fantasy
Is the NFL hurting for money? After offering free fantasy football leagues for years, they've decided to start charging. It seems they "can no longer maintain this type of service without the support of our customers." So now I'm in the market for a new fantasy football system.
Posted by criminal at 07:34 PM | Comments (1)
July 20, 2003
A Change
I think my website needs a change. I've had a new theme on the burner for a few months now, but I just haven't had the heart to fix it. Right now, the CSS works beautifully in IE. But for some reason, none of my classes are used in Mozilla and IE for Macs. Any thoughts on what could be wrong? I may have to settle for working on Flogging, my fitness log until I can figure out what's going on with the CSS on the main site.
Posted by criminal at 02:33 PM | Comments (4)
And Again
Millar hit another home run in the second inning. That's two days in a row. I can only hope that he'll come up with another in an odd inning before the end of the game. Maybe the gods of baseball are punishing me for being so indifferent to the game for so long.
Posted by criminal at 02:26 PM | Comments (2)
July 19, 2003
Another Home Run
Kevin Millar hit a home run in the second inning of tonight's game against Toronto. And that stinks. See, Jon and I made a deal a couple months ago. Whenever Kevin Millar hits a home run, a wish is granted. Whose wish depends on the inning. Jon has evens... And while our boy has hit five homers since the start of the agreement, none of them have been in odd innings.
Posted by criminal at 11:10 PM | Comments (0)
Eyes Like a Hawk
A family of hawks in taken residence in Jon's backyard. He spotted them just this afternoon. Steve and I were a bit skeptical at first, but we got a good look at them once Jon got out the binoculars. We saw at least three. They were big compared to most birds flitting aroung the backyard, but I didn't think they were especially large - the largest had a three-foot wingspan at most. We even got to see one dine on another bird. Jon thinks his new mosquito magnet is attracting more than bugs. He has already noticed more large insects, like dragonflies, which make excellent food for birds. And all those birds are enticing prey for hawks. I suggested he bring in coyotes to eat the hawks, and then maybe a bear to keep the coyotes in check. So now the backyard is a little Wild Kingdom.
Posted by criminal at 09:40 PM | Comments (1)
July 16, 2003
Bobby McGee
I caught a bit of the Songwriters' Hall of Fame show on Bravo last week, just in time to see Pink make her tribute. She sang a moving rendition of Kris Kristofferson's Me and My Bobby McGee. And I swear, the woman was channeling Janis Joplin. It gave me goosebumps.
To clarify, I do not have a copy of the song anymore. Nor do I know where you can find one.
Posted by criminal at 03:45 PM | Comments (1)
July 15, 2003
sun
You are my sunshine. [Jon]
Posted by criminal at 08:26 AM | Comments (0)
July 14, 2003
All Dogs Go to Heaven
My mom put Chuck down Friday. It isn't easy to write yet. All I can manage to say is that we'll miss him, a lot.
Posted by criminal at 10:10 AM | Comments (4)
July 11, 2003
Happy Birthday CriminalGrace
What a lousy way to celebrate the first Anniversary of CriminalGrace.com. I'm billed automatically for hosting, and because my host also handled my domain registration, I assumed that was automatically reregisterd as well. My mistake. Like a good customer, I submitted a helpdesk ticket immediately and waited for the better part of a week for a response. I couldn't register the domain myself because CyberPixels was the official contact - the registrar was waiting for them to do it. I couldn't get anyone from CyberPixels to talk to me, so I was perplexed. Eventually I found their form for domain renewal (had to sift through their site and forum to find it because its not actually linked anywhere). Their security required the 3-digit code off the back of my credit card, which was scratched beyond all recognition. The credit card company wouldn't tell it to me over the phone, so I had to wait for them to mail me a new one. The upshot is that I filled out a different form, paying $60 for a year of hosting and the domain, and saving me $15. Although, I would've paid the extra $15 if it meant that my site would've been up for the last two weeks.
CriminalGrace.com's second birthday is already in my calendar.
Posted by criminal at 02:30 PM | Comments (2)