Happy Birthdays!

Oops!

Happy belated Birthday to my sister Amy! She turned 25 on October 21st!

Happy birthday to my Dad today! He's ......actually, he'd probably appreciate it if I didn't type out his age........ ;)

Catching Up

I know, I haven't updated in like a month, but I've been super busy.

Mags came to visit me over Columbas Day weekend, and it was loads of fun! I showed her the Kingston campus, Narragansett Bay, Newport (the cliff walk, I felt like I was in a gothic novel even though it was daytime and I was wearing jeans), and Cooperstown. I took pictures but I still haven't finished my roll of film, so they won't be going up here anytime soon. Mags has some up on her blog though. Anyways, I had a great time, and it was fun getting to show Cooperstown to somebody. I think before this month I was the only member of the family who hadn't brought up at least one friend to see it. We trespassed on my family's old farm (don't worry, the new owners are just summer people), checked out the Cider Mill (Mags, did your wonderful jam survive the trip?) and Farmer's Museum, and bought lots of stuff at the local bakery. Mm mm good. Plus it was great to see Mags again, I hadn't seen her for a year. It'll be great to see everyone at the wedding, which is rapidly approaching.

Not much else of significance going on right now, I've mostly been working. Reading a billion papers for my Ecology of Marine Fish class, studynig for a midterm in same class, teaching new labs every week, submitting a proposal (which I just got back with comments.....yeah, definately some revising and more paper hunting up to do) , and now I need to start researching the term paper for my fish class, as it is due the first week of December and I've done absolutely nothing yet, except for pick out my topic: electroreception (in all fish? in sharks? as relating to behavior? who knows....). I've also been running around for the last 3 weekends in a row, attempting to find a place that sells dyeable shoes and an alterations place that does not consist of a single person who looks scared when she looks at my dress, or a store that will do alterations on dresses not bought in the store. So far I"ve not been too successful, so if anybody reading this has any suggestions, feel free to comment. Actually, I did find dyeable shoes at David's Bridal, but they were all minimum of $55 and most had rhinestones on them (I was hoping for cheaper and no rhinestones). Still, if no one else has any suggestions, that might be what I end up with.

Hmm..what else? Oh, I finally saw Brick. Most of my friends probably haven't heard of it, unless they're obsessed with movies like me (i.e. Whit and Mike). Basically, it's a film noir set in a high school, complete with 30s/40s slang, femme fatales, and the world-weary detective. It was a pretty good movie, I think it did well at some film festivals but didn't get released on the big screen, or something weird like that. Anyways, definately check it out. And if you've never seen a film noir before, you may wanna bone up on some classics first so you can understand the lingo. Here's some suggestions: The Maltese Falcon, To Have and Have Not, The Big Sleep, Out of the Past.

Surprisingly Swift Service

So when I left my car at the shop on Saturday the guy said they'd get to it Tuesday, and might be able to squeeze it in on Monday, if I was lucky. So I was surprised when my phone rang at 11:30 this morning and a guy at the shop told me that they had already checked out my car. Maybe someone unexpectedly worked overtime this weekend?

As it turns out, there's nothing I can do. They can flush out the transmission, which may help the problem or make it really really worse. It's a $130 gamble, and one I'm not going to take. The guy said that it's possible that, with the age and mileage of the car, the transmission might be starting to go, and that the car is not worth putting a new transmission in. However, I am going to get some new brakes on the front of my car. It sorely needs them, even if they do cost $300. Still, I was impressed by the fast service. The guy even said he'd try to get my car done by the end of the day. Of course, I've already cancelled my physical therapy appt for tomorrow, but maybe I can reschedule it? And, more importantly, me and Mags can have our fun weekend! Yay! Are you excited yet Mags? Oh, and I hope your surgery went well, I haven't talked to you in a while, so hopefully you're healing nicely. :)

P.S. Check out how often I'm posting now! Go me!

Rainy Day Blues

When it rains, it pours. And I'm not just saying that because it's actually pouring outside. Nope. Just as my back is starting to really improve (I'm down to 1 physical therapy session a week instead of two), a new problem crops up.

Yesterday I went to the Warwick Mall to try to find some boots. Not nice boots, just plain, lace-up boots that I can wear everyday in the rain and mud without worrying if they're getting messed up. I could not find a single pair of boots in the mall. Every store that had boots had fashionable boots with 4 inch spike heels, made of leather, and available in an assortment of colors. So that was a wash. As I was heading home, doing a cool 60 mph on the interstate, my car decides it doesn't feel like going 60 mph anymore. All of a sudden the mph drop and the rpms shoot up for like 1-2 seconds, than the car fixes itself and everything is alright. Still, that freaked me out, since me and Mags are supposed to go to Cooperstown this weekend, and that's a 5 hours drive.

So as soon as I get back, I take my car to a local car service place. Good thing I got there at 1:45, because the place closes at 2:00 on Saturdays. Weird huh? I've never heard of a car place closing so soon on a Saturday. I mean, that's when the people who work all week long have a chance to bring their cars in. But whatever. Anyways, the guy can't even look at it until Tuesday, although I left my car, since he said he might be able to squeeze it in on Monday. I'm supposed to pick Mags up from the train station on Thursday. So you see the dilemma. Of course, I can get a ride to pick Mags up. But I'm gonna be crushed if we can't go to Cooperstown this weekend. I was really looking forward to going, and showing it to one of my closest friends. I guess I'll just have to hope and pray that there's nothing seriously wrong with my car, and that it won't take long to fix it. Or much money, because I've already spent $500 this semester on my physical therapy.