3/366 - Unhappy Pooper

apache :: da’ brook :: part of the once a day group on flickr :: 01 15 08

Apache decided he wasn’t a big fan of the shoulder deep snow.  Instead of wandering around the yard like Arsey, he sat down and wouldn’t budge an inch until I told him we were going back inside. 

Children!

*sigh*

Work is good.  Keeping busy and wondering how I’m going to get my homework done if I don’t start cracking down.  I did manage to sign up for my last two classes.  I won’t be walking in May due to a technicality, but I don’t really care.  I’ve already had a graduation ceremony and I don’t feel like waiting until ‘09 to walk with all the honor regalia.  Oh well. I’ll still be holding a graduation party at some point this summer.  Save the date cards will be in the mail soon.  Maybe.

1/366 - Plum Island, MA

somewhere on rt 1 :: plum island/newburyport, ma :: part of the once a day group on flickr :: 01 13 08

I’m about a week away from using New Hamster’s lemon law… Martin the Merry Mazdamobile the 2nd has decided he doesn’t like to keep his wheels balanced.  I got him in March and he was at the dealer in September and October to get balanced.  Then this week I spent $100 to have my favorite tire place look at them… the guy told me that if it’s the 3rd time they’ve been that out of balance I should really have the dealership take the car and keep it until they find out what’s wrong with it.

I was all set to just let it go as long as the car stayed in balance.  Until Friday morning.  I was getting onto 95, just about to shift gears when my steering wheel jerked to the right.  Like someone just gave it a good yank. I called the dealer I bought the car from and they were giving me a hard time scheduling an appointment.  Then the guy was like, oh you just drove through a puddle and lost control.  Yeah, it was raining, but do I LOOK like that kind of moron?  There was no puddle on the road.

I brought it to the dealership I almost bought the car from* and dealt with the owner today. I know he can’t replicate the jerk, I don’t even know if it’s related and I have no idea if the car will go out of balance while they have it, but he promised me they would do everything he could to repair it.  His dealership has never had a problem they couldn’t fix. While I’m not keen on the idea of yet another new car, I’m starting to look around.  If they can’t fix it, I don’t want another Mazda. I think I’ll go back to driving a Subaru.

*sigh*

* I didn’t buy the car from this dealership because the sales guy was a complete jerk and wouldn’t budge on the price or my trade in.  I got a better model for the same price plus a couple of grand extra on my trade in… at this rate, it probably would have evened itself out, though.

While I’m thinking about it, I still wouldn’t recommend them.  The owner’s attitude about the other dealership, while understandable, was a turn off. That was before he flipped the bird.  Yeah.  Exactly.  If they can fix it, great. But it still won’t change my mind about them.

Happy new year!

from my most favorite coffee mug :: da ‘brook :: 2007

There isn’t much I can say about 2007… I made up with my very best friend in the whole world.  How the heck do you top that?!?!  You know, you make these friendships, they end and life goes on.  Maybe you know what you’re missing, maybe you don’t.  One day, life gives you the much-needed kick in the pants you didn’t know you needed, and all of sudden you find yourself wondering why things were the way they were for so long. I lucked out—I got my family back together.  It’s my first holiday season in several years where I didn’t get all maudlin over who I was missing.  Instead I thought about the people I had back in my life… A much better way to spend the holidays.

So yeah.  I’ve had a mostly wonderful 2007 and I don’t feel like dwelling on the parts that sucked. 

2008 may see a lot of things.  And it may not. I’m not even a full day into the year yet- I have no idea what I want for myself this year.  In the past three weeks, my little 5 year plan got completely derailed and I’ve had to start all over. It’s not been easy and I certainly don’t want to just decide on some random things so I can feel good about putting together a stupid list.

I’ve got my ubiquitous capture tool, clothed in a beautiful hunter green leather coat, and a wonderfully scritchy fountain pen.  I’ll be just fine.

Christmas lessons

apache and arsey :: da ‘brook :: christmas eve 2007

I haven’t liked Christmas in a very long time. To me, all the gift giving is such a hassle.  Wrong sizes, wrong colors, gift cards to places we’d never go…never mind that on our end we have lost gift cards and mispicked orders sent to us.  I’d much rather spend the time just being with my family and friends than worry about whether or not they like the contents of the boxes.  But every year, I get a little better with it.  This year, I’m actually listening to Christmas songs.  Granted, it took me until 3 PM today to fire up the iTunes playlist, but they’re on.

Every year, I also tend to learn a valuable lesson. Normally, they’re of the personal sort and related to my status as an orphan, but this year I actually learned some lessons worth sharing.  Enjoy!

Things NOT to say during your Christmas vacation:

1) One more game! (Said during hour 2 of a 6 hour Lego Star Wars marathon)

2)  Holy cow, is this sweater fugly!  (Yeah.  It really is.)

3) Do I look like a girl? (Wonder Hubby ofter opening a package containing a very feminine looking Halloween t-shirt.)

4) C’mon,  you wuss, let’s go! (Wii Sports - Boxing, after I won a match, and lost the next two.)

5) I don’t need a level! (Apparently, I DID need a level to hang the corkboard.  Whoops.)

Things not to buy with Christmas money:

A freakin’ Nintendo Wii.  That thing is such a major time suck.  Plus the active games, like Wii Sports, are really ACTIVE.  We’re still sore after a few games of tennis, baseball and the previously mentioned boxing matches.

Things to buy with Christmas money:

1) A Keurig B60  We have one of these at work and while I love it,  I was never going to buy one - I mean a buck fifty for a freakin’ coffemaker?!?! I became converted after 4 days in a row of washing out a coffee pot for one cup of coffee.  It should be here soon!!!!

2) A Circa Zip Folio  Since I’ve finally decided to become a true grownup (wearing suits to work every day creates a different mind frame than my usual jeans and sweaters…), I decided to buy a nice cover for my beloved Circas. 

 

Obligatory year end post

me with my d40 :: da ‘brook ::  september sixteenth two thousand seven

My life has always been this incredible ride - some years more than others.  This year, I’ve seen The David twice, mended fences with old friends, made superficial contact with old friends and family members, hung out with people I love dearly and don’t see enough of, dropped more balls than I can count, made new friends, lost some, did a very good deed, started watching football (!!!!), went to Ohio and changed jobs (which included changing the 5 year plan).

Normally I do a silly new year’s resolution list and I probably will again this year.  It’s the joy of the fresh start, not the actualization of anything on that list, mind you… I do want to do one thing and get it done before I go back to work on Wednesday and that’s finish this stinkin’ design.  None of the back pages are finished and that bothers me.  I hate leaving things undone - I’ve come to learn that its not the end of the world & that I’m doing more important things with that time (homework, Wii, family, sleep) but that doesn’t make it any less grating. 

I have also closed up shop on my other blog.  I didn’t like where it went after I had a pretty good breakdown and I wanted a fresh start - without my name attached. I’ve got a new domain, privately registered, and I’ve begun using that persona in a couple of forums.  It’s not as comfortable as “Matty”, but since I’ve been a Mat for a long time, I’m sure the new name will grow on me. Whatever.  The whole point is, I miss my daily rants full of language I do not wish co-workers and other random googlers to find. This here is nice but very stifling.

I did a lot of stuff this year that I wasn’t planning on and discovered, for the zillionth time, that my father was right. I can survive.  I am strong.  I am independent.  I am me, and that ain’t such a bad thing lately.

It’s funny that everything that happened this year was never on my 2007 list of resolutions. I guess we’ll just have to see what winds up on my 2008 List of Things That I Want To Do But Will Probably Never Get To.

Have a happy and safe holiday weekend, no matter how you plan on spending it.