We Ogled at Boxes

Whew, it's hard to believe summer vacation is over. I spent the weekend sweaty, tired and sore... moving boxes and furniture, making several trips between houses, trying not to bite too many heads off. I've gotten asked quite a lot so I'll just answer here - no, I don't really like the new house but it's what God provided and I'm trying to be grateful. Maybe it's not so much that I don't like the house, maybe I just don't like that I have to live in it.

Anyway, school started today. Some teachers are better than others but I think I ended up pretty good this semester. All the classes seem enjoyable, actually. History not so much, because of the patronizing teacher, but without a lot of papers to write (no English class!) this semester shouldn't be too hard.

Oh guess what - I randomly decided to buy a new bed on Saturday. :D After taking apart my loft bed to move it, I decided I was really tired of that bed (as nifty and space-saving as it is). So after we had unloaded everything, I went to Target and bought a futon sofa. I have a big closet now so it's ok.

And now I'll stop boring you and get started on homework.

Ballad of the Trigger-Happy

Ho ho! I love deleting stuff.
Emptying my virtual wastebasket
Saying goodbye to 1,534,892 files
that I don't need or use.
What a thrill! To see them go
so unceremoniously, with the
click of a button.
No lasting enjoyment from this
act will come, but nothing else
gives such momentary pleasure as
deleting stuff. Ho!

Actually, this morning I deleted 27 buddies from AIM. Screen names people no longer use, people who haven't bothered to contact me in a year or more, or people I just don't talk to. Felt quite nice, what what, to declutter that small area of my life. If only cleaning my room were so easy.

We got word that we can move this weekend, praise God! And I will mention that this time around, I'm probably moving 2/3 the amount of stuff I moved three years ago. That in itself is a reason to praise God. Beware, Packrat-itis! Thou shalt not find me in thine clutches so easily as my father. Poor soul.

Shameless Media Plug!

So Megan has aptly named me. Yes, this is a plug, but this time it's for me. After my birthday a few months ago, one of the first things I did was sign up for Blingo. And let me tell you, it's the best thing that ever happened to me! Just kidding. If you haven't heard of Blingo, it's a search engine, like Google. Except they give out prizes at random times, so if you happen to search at just the right time, you could win an ipod or a movie ticket or an iTunes gift certificate or something nifty like that. My mom won something, and one of my friends has won twice. Now I haven't won yet, but that's just more reason for you to join because if you win something, as your referral I win the same prize. :D So you could be the lucky dog who makes us both wealthy beyond all imagining (or, you know, wins a movie ticket). It works the same way with friends you refer.

Now that this knowledge has been passed on to you, I beseech thee - journey yonder and check it out.

Shameless Media Plug out.
(Thanks to Rebecca for referring me.)

Of Merchandise and Money

This is a story about textbooks.

One day, on a day like yesterday, a student went to the campus bookstore to get her books for history class. She did not know what books were required. Otherwise she would have ordered them online from the comfort of her home.

A nice employee at the bookstore helped her find the books.

And she bought them for $75, carried them to her car, and gently drove them home.

The student, now in possession of helpful ISBN numbers, found these books online and started to laugh.
"Silly me!" she said. "I could have gotten those books for half the price."
The student smiled and shook her head sadly at the textbooks. "Nothing against you," she said.

The next day, the student returned to the bookstore with a crinkly bag of textbooks in hand.
"I'd like to return these," she said to another nice bookstore employee. "I found a better price."
"We can do price matching," said the employee.
The student smiled apologetically and explained that she had already ordered the textbooks.
Then the nice employee gave her $75 dollars.

The student left campus, went to the mall, and bought a $75 blender with the capability to liquefy orange peel.

It was a good day!

Heavens to Fauntleroy

For those who asked, we're moving again because the owner of the house we rent decided he wants to sell it. Since we don't want to buy it, we have until the end of the month to move out. So no major move this time, thank God! (Though this will be the third time I've moved in this city. Heh.)

My mother and I saw four houses today. A couple of them would work for us, but we haven't been able to find anything in this immediate area - we live pretty much right in-between church and where my dad works. One house was up closer to church (prolonging dad's commute), and the other was closer to dad's office (making it a longer drive to church [and college, for that matter]). Both houses had bugs on the floor. ;) It makes things interesting but gives us plenty of opportunity to trust God.

Wow - I was looking at my calendar and noticed that four years ago I was in Rand, West Virginia. Missions trip. I think my team ended up doing inventory on the 8th. Lots and lots of ladders and paint cans and brushes. Oh my.

Last Friday, Boo graciously invited me to her house for Spanishfest! We spent a few hours reviewing last semester's Spanish (so we only look like partial idiots when Spanish starts again) and then enjoyed Moulin Rouge, one of the more bizarre flicks I've seen. Quite good, though. She's recruited another fan. Later that evening, Rebecca chanced to call and suggested going out to a movie. However, since theaters on Friday nights are comparable to Brussels sprouts in hollandaise sauce, I countered with the "girl's night in" idea. So we rented Rent and went to her apartment. Unfortunately, we disliked the movie quite a bit. But it was fun to get together.

Now I'm off to do more fun things that involve boxes.