Averygoodun's Personal File

I be brain dedded at the mo. No good reason, either. Just - poof. brain went all dedded.

Worst bit is that with the son grounded, I can't really turn on a show to watch, as he'll inevitably come down and join in, which is against his grounding.

And I'm out of frivolous children's books to read.

*sigh*

( This hasn't been a very good week so far, to be honest. )

Good stuff. There's gotta be good stuff...

( Pluses and minuses )

But I think that's enough bitching. Life is good overall. Even without caffeine.

ETA: Just to top things off, one forgotten > at the end of the lj-cut html equals a formatting horrorshow. Bleh. Too much computer nonsense in my life! Bleh!

Horrible, nasty, vile, just... awful dreams last night. So many things were wrong, and wrong in such awful ways. ( Some minor details )

It was a relief to wake up and find that ALL of it, including the bits in which I had supposedly woken up (with relief), was a dream.

So. Need good things to counteract all that... nastiness.

Good thing 1: Gardening is a joy. It really, really is. I've been sneaking bits of time here and there to go take care of things (usually when my eyes have started burning from reading too much), and I always come back in beaming. It's difficult to limit myself, time-wise, but even ten minutes outside weeding will perk me up. I think it helps that the sun has been shining, so I'm getting my vitamin D. :-)

Good thing 2: Impromptu invites. In exchange for an aloe cutting (I recently repotted a few of my plants, and ended up with two aloes from one massive one), we were invited to dinner at a friend's house. It was lovely. It's been a long time since I'd seen any of them, and it reminded me of how much I do miss my friends. Almost enough to rejoin the church choir. Almost.

Good thing 3: There's only three days of school left. I will be studying for my accounting final today (I'd really like to ace it), and I am actually well on my way to getting prepared for the biology tests, whatever doubts and frustrations I spouted yesterday.

Good thing 4: It seems I was correct about the old car's driver's seat being the cause of my hip pain. I realized this weekend that my hip hasn't hurt to the same degree in a few weeks. In fact, my hip has been pretty much complaint-free. It's gotten to the point where I'm considering starting up walking again! I miss walking in the woods...

Good thing 5: Page picked up his legos from the common areas yesterday. You have no idea how much of a difference that makes to me.

Yes, (real) life is pretty good.

Hum.

The car went in for inspection yesterday, but the place my husband took it to couldn't decipher the codes that came up for the check engine light. So, I was to take it to the dealership to get the codes. (And we've have paid for this "inspection". And Geoff wonders why I don't like that garage!)

They handed me a bill beforehand with an estimate of $140. Needless to say, I high-tailed it out of there.

So now the question is, do I wait until Monday to go back to the school to see when I could maybe get the proper codes to report to the lame-ass mechanics so they can pass or fail us, or do we just go buy a new (to us) car this weekend. Some of the trade-in leverage will be gone by not having the inspection completed, but I'm not sure it would affect it any more than not passing the inspection would. Which is sure to be the result of this mess.


Whatever decision will have to wait till tomorrow morning, I think. I am tired enough right now that my vision is blurry.

*yawns* So tired. And queasy (and not just from stress). Blergh.

We have such shit timing...

So, Page was called into the vice principal's office today for hitting another kid. He did apologize to the kid, he briefly explained what happened to me over the phone (from the veep's office) and when he came home he was as sweet as could be until he took something I said the wrong way and assumed I meant I didn't like him (the conversation was about my troubles, and how I wasn't going to talk about them with him as it's just not appropriate. I said I talked about those things with friends. His face crumpled). I explained to him what I meant (he's my son first, then my friend), which took about ten to fifteen minutes of crying for him to accept enough to come back down to me.

And then he bawled - straight-up bawled - for ten minutes after crawling onto my lap with an apology for being so mean to me.

OMG. My poor, poor son!

Before the meltdown happened, I managed to get a fairly detailed story of what happened today. There wasn't any of his usual grandstanding or embellishments, so I think he was telling (his version of) the truth.

This is my letter to his teacher in response to what he told me:

( Another long letter to the teacher. Oh. Yay. )


Anything I should add? Take out? Rephrase?

I'm thinking that the school's response to this (second) letter (including how quickly they do respond - vacation is next week) will determine whether I look into some of the charter schools around. I don't really want to pull Page out of the neighborhood school, but third grade is the beginning of the truly vicious behaviors, and he's different enough to be a target.

*sigh* God, this has been a fairly shitty fortnight. And, to top it off, tomorrow I have what's looking to be a difficult test. And then a three hour make-up lab. But at least then the week is over. I will only have to catch up on cooking, cleaning and shoveling (another snow dump is scheduled for Sunday). Yay.

Sometimes being a grown-up is no fun.

Ach well. There are rewards. Eventually.

( Read more... )

I'm tired. I woke up at stupid o'clock (too early to get up, too late to make going back to sleep a worthy endeavor), and I'm grumpy because it seems like my body has been wanting to wake up then, even though it kills productivity for the rest of the day when I do get up then. Even with naps. Bah.

I did get back to sleep, but I'm not sure it was the right thing to do.


Hmm. What else?

Test drove an Elantra on Saturday. ( Thoughts )

I think this coming weekend we'll test drive a Ford Focus. It's the only one that we're guaranteed to be able to find in manual transmission, so that's got me excited (and a bit nervous; I haven't driven a 'standard' in more than a decade). On paper, it also looks to be the best deal. But, well, I'll reserve judgement until after the test drive.

Aaaaaaaaaand, I think that's all the stalling I get to do this morning. Unfortunately.

And I'm not going to have any tea to brighten my day, either. I'm trying to repair my stomach, which has been objecting to the brew. <--- blatant pity ploy

;-D

Hope you all have a nice day, if it's at all possible.

Those who live in this house seem to be on the mend, thankfully. Page still has a nasty cough, Geoff is still tired, and my fingers and back still hurt, but otherwise, we're all doing much better than expected.

We're all well enough that I got us out of the house for another test drive. Last week we drove a 2010 Corolla around for a bit. It was okay, though I certainly wouldn't get that specific car as it had a loud driver's side window. Given my experience with our Camry's driver's side window, I know issues when I hear them. I also am not enthusiastic about the idea of getting another automatic when there are manuals of the same model on the market. And I know there are 2010 manual transmission Corollas out there. I've looked.

Today we test drove a 2008 Prius. ( Read more... )
The plus side to this search is finding out how luxe we've been living with our poor junker of a Camry. It really is a junker, but it's a very comfortable junker. Much like our '94 Cutlass Supreme was before we traded that in for the Camry in 2004...

In completely unrelated news, I'm rather (belatedly) upset with ITV for canceling "Kingdom". The show veered much more toward the silly side for the second and third seasons, but it was still lovely. that they ended it on such a cliffhanger is rather unconscionable. *tuts* Ah well.

Unfortunately, that end also puts Geoff and me at loose ends again for the time being. We don't watch all that much TV, but we do like to sit down together to watch an episode of something most nights. But we're running out of available-for-free shows that we're both interested in. And I don't want to pay netflix because their streaming selection is... unfair.

Anyway. Enough of my trivial first-world problems. I need to start considering bed now. I don't know if I'm going to go to church tomorrow (most likely not, seeing as I had practically no alone-time this week AND I was ill), but I should at least be open to the possibility by getting enough rest. Beyond the fact that rest will help with what actually ails me. ;-)

Hope ya'll have a lovely Sunday. *smooches*

Especially when it's the second cup?

ION, today has been rather nice, in-between having to bully the youngster to do his bit to help out, that is. Woke up at the usual wake-up time, heeded nature's call and managed to get back to sleep for another two hours. Had a lovely, lazy rest of the morning hours, during which time the postal worker delivered our Christmas boxes we mailed ourselves last week. Which made Page very, very happy. And it made us happy that Page was able to take receipt of the packages while we continued lazing in bed.

Last night I proposed to Geoff that we spend one hour (timed) on cleaning today. And while I was in favor of putting it off another day because of the chaos caused by the boxes, Geoff was a good husband and insisted we continue with the plan. Which means we now have a house that is a lot cleaner (and even a little tidier) than before. Not much can really get done in an hour, but enough was done to make a positive visual difference. Seeing as all three of us were helping. Mostly. (At least Page wasn't hindering. That's something, right?)

And now the boys have gone off to find a television to watch the game on. Geoff is happily wearing his Broncos' swag (nice but old polo shirt; his new, gaudy jacket... can't remember whether he's wearing his new winter hat or not), and was even happier that I agreed to wear some, as well (his new Champ Bailey shirt). And that means I have a few hours to myself. Haven't quite figured out how I'm going to use the time, either. Fanfic, published fic, movie or nap?

Tomorrow looks to be a busy day, what with everything I haven't done in the past week plus all the social activities strewn throughout the day, but I hope to fit in a test drive while we're in that part of town doing errands. I have no idea what we'll test drive yet, but it's time to get started figuring the car thing out. I hate rushed shopping, especially on important and really expensive items, but if we test drive one or two cars a week starting now, we might have a good idea of what we want (and/or where to look) when it comes time to buy. And test driving now, while we really CANNOT buy, will give us a bit of practice dealing with car salesmen again. *blergh*

Anyway, happy weekend, all. Hope your corner of the world is being kind to you.

So, I told Geoff last night that what I really want for Christmas (after listing and pointing out many things that I would normally like) is a new car. Of course I meant a new-to-us car. And I also meant when the car fails inspection or, should it miraculously pass, next summer.

This morning on the radio (our alarm), I heard how one near-ish car dealership is offering 30 month leases of 2012 Civic sedans for $59 a month (and a rather large down payment of $2900, part of which can be a trade-in).

( Read more... )

So. Is this temptation to "buy" now instead of waiting until the car doesn't pass inspection in February, or is it serendipity. After all, two and a half years would allow for this year's hybrid models to be almost affordable...

Frankenstorm is coming!

I shall not mock the Fates and tell the truth about how utterly and completely worried I am. Suffice to say, we have not been part of the rush on the stores, or even (due to long lines and impatience) gas stations.

I suspect "Sandy" (Frankenstorm's official name) will be very much like Irene was last year, which was more bluster than muster up here. Unfortunately (although I can understand the reasoning), the school district has decreed tomorrow to be null and void. So yay. Page gets an extra long weekend. I don't get any.

( School blather )

( A nice dream, for a change! )


In less inspiring news, Geoff and I may have reverted back to the plan of replacing the car sooner rather than later. There really is something wrong with the front suspension. And the transmission is getting clunkier and more reluctant, too. Those two things, added to the list of things that we know are wrong, might actually negate the financial favor of keeping it. But, I don't know. It's still rather up in the air.

But, to end on a good note, I'm rewatching "Slings and Arrows" and reminding myself about what a wonderful show it is. Seriously, if you haven't seen it, do!

Also, because political season is (fiiiiiiinally!) coming to an end, I thought I ought to report that Joss Whedon has put in his figurative oar and endorsed Romney:

So, I had two big mugs of tea this morning. The first one was as a reward for getting breakfast made and the boys out the door. The second one was encouragement to get out the door myself just after lunch. I finished that one off at class.

Unfortunately, the first didn't really work, from a waking-up point of view, and the second didn't kick in until... oh, about two hours ago? Maybe three.

I would swear, but I'm feeling good enough I'll just smirk instead. I'll swear tomorrow when I have the withdrawal going on, instead. XD


Meanwhile, plans are being hatched and possibly advanced. There might be a summer road trip in the offing... Depends if the current car can pass inspections in February or not, but we're thinking about buying our next car in Colorado. Beyond being a better climate for cars, meaning we'd get a car in better condition for the same money and mileage, there's also at least one mechanic there whom we really trust. And, while we haven't asked yet (plans not having started peeping yet), I suspect Geoff's parents (dad, especially) would be willing to help us out in the narrowing down stage. Granted, we will be doing most of that ourselves this winter as we test drive and test drive and test drive. (Most of which I will be doing by myself, as then I have a built-in excuse not to be pressured into buying, because I will not be buying without Geoff present. He's the money-maker, after all.)

So. Not exactly fun stuff, but I do enjoy the planning stage. It's the paying stage I really hate. ;-)

Anyway, I'd best go so Hubby and I can watch Castle since Page is finally in bed. Yay!

Cheers, ya'll!