New toys, new season, new place?
Yes, it’s been another busybusy week.
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This past weekend I had a couple papers due for my English class. On Friday night, the first draft of paper #2 (topic “an issue in my field of study”; I went with “is Wikipedia trustworthy?”) was due for peer editing. On Sunday night, I submitted the final version of paper #1 (topic “My Place in My Field of Study”), along with a peer reviews of a couple classmates’ papers and a weekly journal entry. Needless to say, I spent most of the weekend in front of my beloved Thinkpad, getting sidetracked in LexisNexis (which is ENTIRELY too easy) and trying not to get too verbose.
This coming weekend will be pretty similar; the first draft of paper #3 (a biography of someone in the field; I’m thinking Alan Turing) is due Friday night, then peer reviews of classmates’ papers, another weekly journal entry, and the final version of paper #2 are all due Sunday night. Weekend after is the same story. Ick.
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We also had our very first chorus rehearsals of the season. Fred was on the Membership Team, and they managed to get 17 newbies to the first rehearsal. He’s most excited, though, about the fact that 15 came back to the second rehearsal. It should be an interesting, if mildly schizophrenic, show; the director has a very eclectic selection of pieces, from the Hallelujah from Beethoven’s “Christus am Ölberge” (lovelove the arrangement) to a selection of carols performed in the style of Elmer Fudd (yes, I know).
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New place hunt has slowed down… we went to an “open house” for a local mgmt co on Saturday. As it turns out, that was the same group who managed my first extra-parental apartment (in an old schoolhouse). From the look of things they purchased a bunch of places in the early to mid-80s and renovated them all at once then for people who never ever ever cook. Skeery. We also drove past a place with a promising ad on Craig’s List, intending to stop in for the open house there, but as we pulled up Fred noticed the bars on the windows and we wordlessly agreed to move on.
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Fred got his passport application in, and I think part of the reason was my constant hinting. (C’mon, the problem ["but I don't have a passport"] presents its own solution ["Let's get you a passport"]; how am I supposed to resist?) A long-awaited vacation may be forthcoming once we can figure out schedules.
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I got a new laptop, finally. It’s a MacBook Pro, and it is teh sex. I spent much of the day yesterday giggling about little details, like the magnetic connection on the power cable (so that if the cable is tugged it pops out instead of pulling the entire laptop along) and the translucent Apple logo on the lid that glows from the backlight. Upcoming projects include geting Parallels Workstation going so I can change OS quickly, and getting the sudden motion sensor to talk like a keyboard.
Along with the laptop, Fred got his early birthday present, an iPod nano. (Rebate for concurrent purchase with the laptop, dontchaknow.) It’s slick, and he’s probably gleefully playing with it even as I type this.
The Thinkpad (named “dash”) will probably get re-worked into a picture frame or something, if I ever have time.
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Over the weekend everybody’s favorite new department store monopoly hosted a charity fundraiser-cum-big sale; since the chorus would benefit, Fred and I sucked it up and shopped a little bit. We got a comforter and some sheets, but the most exciting part was that I found clothes that fit me off the rack.
I know, it doesn’t sound like much. But normally when I shop,
- pants will have the right length, but will only be available for waist sizes at least six inches larger than mine
- pants will have the right waist size, but will only be available with inseams at least six inches longer than mine
- pants will have the right waist size and inseam, but will only be available in superskinny “what’s a squat?” cuts, such that I almost split seams when pulling them over my thighs
- jackets will have the right chest size, but will only be available as ‘regular’ or ‘long’
- ’short’ jackets will be there, but only for chest sizes a foot six inches too small
- there will be ’short’ jackets with the right chest measurements, but with absolutely no room for my arms or shoulders
ad nauseam. So you can probably imagine why, when we saw an employee we knew, the conversation went something like this:
M*: Hi, Fred and Jim! How are you!
Jim: OH MY GOD, IT FITS.
Fred: We’re doing pretty well, how are you?
J: SWEET JESUS, IT FITS.
M: Not bad. Kind of upset I have to work on such a beautiful day.
J: IT FITS. IT FITS. IT FITS.
Alas, the jacket I was trying on just then was just a smidge out of our price range.
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Workouts are starting to get challenging again, but that’s a good thing. After a little experiment last week, though, I think I’ll throw in some dedicated cardio time on my non-weights days.
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Yup, still looking for a new job. Have a few apps pending, but it’s difficult some days to keep from checking Monster every five minutes.
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Shout-out to Bastique, who really needs to post something. (hint.)
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I can’t discuss details, but wow, there are some thick heads in the world.
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… and that will have to be all for now. The weight room beckons.
Tags: chorus, Fred, School, Wikipedia
