SKOOOOWLZ OWT 4 SUMMAH!!!

Exam heck is over.
There as a terrible scare when the computer ate both my last paper and the takehome portion of a final exam last night.
There was much furious typing today but both were turned in minutes before the deadline.
The day is saved :)

The rest of the week will be consumed going to a welcome to America/going away for some exchange students.
LOTS of yardwork.
Taking care of some Coast Guard matters.
The long neglected trailer repairs.
...and sleep.
Blogging will become less intermittent by weeks end.

In the meantime, I found this on my hard drive recently, and though I don't know the source....I must say it cries out for captioning.

Have at it kids.
UPDATE: Well, that took no time at all to jump the shark. Yeesh!

Bad News...

My grandmother fell on Wednesday breaking her arm.

When asked how badly it hurt, she said..."a little".
Either she is astoundingly tough or she is having difficulties with adjectives.
Her bone splintered and jammed into the shoulder socket, two days on, it was determined that she needed a joint replacement in her shoulder. She's 87 years old.

Fortunately, the surgery went well and the prognosis is that in a month or so she will be able to reach the top of her head with her hand.

Fingers are crossed.

So How Was YOUR Friday the 13th?

Mine was interesting...


I went to work and was moved from the sort aisle to the "pick off position", the idea being that they hoped that I could keep the belt running. Now the internal arrangements of a UPS building are proprietary, but to understand what this entails one need only know that there is a belt with parcels on it moving past this position...the parcels in question each need to go into one of 5 chutes top go to the correct trailer. If the pick off person misses a parcel it goes down the belt to the WRONG TRUCK....this is bad....if the belt goes off then the whole system of what we will call "box tubes" backs up.....this is worse.
Now this seems like a simple enough job except that the quantity of parcels is rather higher than the particular industrial engineering marvel was designed to take. So high that at times they are stacked multiple deep and completely across the belt...which I can just barely reach across...and I'm just over 6 feet tall. Now the belt has been being shut off periodically and this is causing problems...I'm upset because the late down times have eaten into my classes...so I'm the one guy motivated to get the building down on time...hence the management decision to put me in this spot....not that I mind, I need to burn some calories and this is the place to do that.

Well the day progressed and I'm furiously holding forth against this box Balrog determined that none shall pass...at least into the wrong truck...and then the sweat streaming down my face sufficiently lubricate my glasses that they fell into the river o' boxes...."crunch" the left lens of my glasses fell out and fell 9 feet to the floor. I shut the belt off as I went looking for it...to no avail.

A few minutes later, as I sorted with one eye closed to avoid double vision a helpful employee handed me the rather scratched lens....boy lucky me! About an hour after that the belts all got shut off for some operational reason....no biggie, given that the stream of boxes had jammed in a nearby chute I hopped on the belt to break said jam.

Now one of the outstanding safety features of this elevated belt is that only the pick off sorter can cut this belt on. It makes for backups if the guy is not especially motivated but is absolutely necessary as the belt is out of view of the control panel and from time to time the sorter must get on the belt to break jams or deal with an open box or whatnot....sooo I hop on the belt begin breaking the jam and boom the belt starts up....'seems that somehow the recent construction has bypassed the safety and cutting on the primary belt cuts EVERYTHING on....

Well, that was a good thing to find out, now it's been corrected, It was likely corrected before noon yesterday (UPS is pretty good about this sort of thing)...this was of little consolation as I was carried along by this cardboard tsunami and scampered back into the sort position face down on the metal grate...and heard the sickening "tink" of my lens hitting the floor below an ricocheting into parts unknown.

I then made various pithy remarks mostly synonymous with "oh darn!".

Anyway, after switching with one of the loaders for about 5 minutes to go look for my lens....in vain...I went back to work and sorted with one eye closed until the last trailer was unloaded...Then I asked for and got permission to leave before cleanup was finished and hightailed it to school...where I found I couldn't write in Japanese worth a damn with double vision. After class I reminded the Japanese teacher that the Japan America clubs' sushi party was Saturday and she pointed out that I was bleeding from the elbow (I hadn't noticed)

Anyway I went to McArthur Mall and refrained from doing harm to the exfoliation fanatic mentioned below, got an eye exam and new glasses and generally stunk up the high class mall as I utterly looked like ass.
I then went out and bought a few items for the next days sushi party as the club officers for various reasons (some legitimate) had pretty much bailed and left me in charge of getting supplies....

I went to my parents house to check on the cats, who had declared shenanigans on their litterbox, the contents of which were over a wide area of the family room. I then got a much needed shower, went back to school...or tried to, as I was stuck in traffic forever. I spent the rest of the evening studying and working on a writing project.

The clincher of the day however was receiving via Email....knowledge I absolutely did not need and did not want....but is now burned into my retinas.

**************************************************************************
Today I arrived at the appointed place for the Sushi party with my pile of things, met the Japanese teacher, and after we compared notes we realized that not only had the officers not shown up....and left me holding the bag on buying supplies....the very large list of what the Japanese teacher was to bring had not been passed to her.

Note that this list included the...fish.

Well...dang.

There was much frantic extemporizing, and a drive to Tokyo Market, but thanks to 3 Japanese class students desperate for extra credit, the unbelievable culinary skill of the head of the ODU Japanese department, the fact that I did not botch my first attempt at curry......(and a mercifully small turnout) the night was a qualified success, some money was added to the club coffers and I succeeded in not making a complete ass of myself.

************************************************************************************
3 weeks to the end of the semester...

Living the Walter Mitty Lifestyle......

I hope everyone had a pleasant holiday.

Saturday, I went to Clifton to see some friends for what is likely to be the last time for several months. The plan was we were going to watch Lon Chaney movies starting at 1.

Saturday morning it was, astonishingly, snowing quite heavily, so I didn't actually leave until I was sure it was going to be clear. I left rather late but expected to get up to the DC area between 5&6.


On the way I drove the Pickup of Peril. Now, the P.O.P. is a slooow accelerator. It's a verrry old diesel. So, as I was getting on the on-ramp a very rushed young man in a car decided to pass me....on the ramp. His zippy sports car handily left me in the dust as he floored it. He then handily slammed into the crash barrier head on at about 50mph and handily spun like a top (well a 3 wheeled, 1 bumper ed top) directly in front of me.

Naturally, I pulled over to render assistance.

Fortunately no one was hurt.I helped direct traffic until the police arrived and then started to leave. However the passenger in the car turned out to be a USN sailor who had to get to the Norfolk Navy Base ASAP or he would be in danger of being in considerable trouble. So, after the police arrived, We left the driver to ride home in the tow truck and I took him over to Norfolk and being in the Coast Guard was able to get on base and take him directly to his ship before he missed a movement. Then I started back....total time lost round trip....roughly 1.5 hours.

Oh well.

The trip was quite successful otherwise and other than arriving 6 hours late was really enjoyable. I was late getting back Sunday due to traffic and missed church but had a pleasant Easter dinner with the family.

Looking ahead, I've got the last 3 weeks of school and my classes are kicking my ass. Apologies but blogging is going to be quite sporadic.

I have to work extra hours at UPS and I frankly need to get back on the weight loss wagon. From now on I'm going to post my weight once a week. ....today, after FAR too much Easter dinner, 281 pounds.


I've got a huge amount of work to do on the trailer still, but I'm holding off for a few weeks to concentrate on school. (I have swept the roof:) .

I still can't access blogger from my Mac at home and I don't have the time money or inclination to really do a lot about it until May.

Much yard work to do this week. I'm waiting for my passport to come through so I can confirm I'm going on the trip to Japan this summer....the deadline is rapidly approaching.

I'm almost paid up on my medical bills from the knee and back problems of the last few years (yay!). At this rate I'll be out of debt again by June, at that point, I'm going to start putting my entire reserve paycheck into the military401K and maxing out the thrift plan.

There are functions for the Japan America Club this week and next. A movie week and sushi party, the officers have bailed, or are out of the country on overseas study, so my Japanese teacher has nominated moi to oversee these....which I really don't need, but, hey, extra credit is always good.

All in all, I'm doing pretty good, minor frustrations notwithstanding.

Dove-Tail

So this dove has nested right outside my parents front door, on the porch light.

Of course being a dove, she's skittish, and whenever the door is opened roughly panics and flies off....at one point being so startled she wiped out into a bush.

THUS...

Everyone who goes to my parents house must walk slowly up to the porch, make eye contact with the dove, gingerly open the door WITHOUT BANGING IT AND SCARING THE DOVE AWAY FROM HER NEST...and gently close the storm door and slowly....gingerly close the main door.

I want a key to their back door.

Picture Unrelated

I felt terrible this morning and went to bed instead of school after work....slept 9 hours, wow...

Anyway, I've got 2 Papers due next week. My hours doubled at work.(yay!...er... ) Japanese class is reaching critical mass and I'm about 2 days behind. The trailer has enough issues I may put a fork in it...(no water for one thing) and I'm going out of town Saturday.

Thus blogging will be light till at least Friday, so here is one of those kick-ass-magical-warrior- type Pilgrim-looking chicks from Disgaea 2. :)

One of THOSE Weeks...Banality Blogging follows.

UPS decided not to pay me last week.
Actually "decided" is likely too strong a word but the result was the same. I got the issue resolved today.

As it was a drill weekend I stayed at my folks house, which is walking distance from the CG base. I had one of the busiest drill weekends I've had in a long time. Between that and issues with the parents cats which managed to invert their cat box, I ended up going straight to work Monday morning and then got out of work so late I missed Japanese class.

I got called in early Tuesday...and was quite incoherent in class...and had to go to class without the benefit of a shower, so I was basically playing the role of the old retarded guy who can't bathe himself...although I have an extension on my bill 'till the end of next month, I have a lock on my account which keeps me out of the school gym.

I missed Japanese class Wednesday too for the same reason (getting out of work late).

I got my first speeding ticket in 10 years on the way to class Thursday. This means I can't fill in as a temp driver at UPS for a year.

My GI bill benefits were denied which doubles the amount I have to pay to the school that closes it's library at 5pm on Saturdays. Given that my tuition assistance was denied this does well and truly suck.

The computer lab at school blocked Blogger....but not AIM...go figure.

On the interstate, I took a rock in the windshield.

For some months now I've had a medical bill bouncing back and forth between the orthopedist and the insurance company. Tuesday, I got the statement from the insurance company....~90 dollars. No biggie, I'll pay that posthaste...of course I also got a letter from the orthopedist that they had sent it to collection.
@#$%!
If I can't work this out, this will be a problem for my credit rating which I've been trying to build back up after all the no-pay/reserve-call-up followed by 4 months with no work fiasco coupled with hellacious medical bills in '05.

The state sent me a bill for about a grand in unpaid taxes from 2005.
This is bunk as I not only paid taxes, but I owed additional taxes (which I paid). I still have the W2s, the filled out tax forms and check stub....this will be easy to resolve but is time consuming. It is also the third time this has happened. I wonder if the Dept. of Revenue isn't just trying to double dip...bastards.

Some considerate person blocked me in at school and I had to back the pickup of peril out through a mudpuddle between some construction debris, a lightpole and a fence. I snagged a protruding piece of rebar and bent my front bumper all to hell.

OTOH, given the general condition of the truck, I don't think anyone will notice.

The water at my trailer was off as of Thursday. This is not uncommon as they are replacing a lot of the waterlines in the trailer park, but it is aggravating. In related trailer news I was recently informed that the whole park is going to a month to month lease. There have been rumors that the park may be sold or eminent domained into oblivion....A nearby trailer park has already been bulldozed and turned into an office park. This as I'm just getting into the home stretch on the 2 year long repairs following the waterheater bursting.

Wednesday the book I ordered (and paid for) in January for the paper that was due at the end of February finally arrived....

Amazingly, despite only making Japanese class 3 days this week (well 2, the teacher was out today) my workload has increased as I furiously try to catch up. I have 2 papers due in Chinese History class.

The small, one serving, bags of popcorn do not require 3 minutes in my microwave. I'm not sure how long they require but 3 minutes + a small bag of Food Lion popcorn= fiery smoke alarm activating drama.

I'm at a friends comic shop doing a few chores for him and abusing his high speed speed internet.

Which is depressing right now.

There will be blogging soon, but now I've been up just over 24 hours....I'm going to sleep.

Kanji Coming Out My Ears

I'm studying over spring break which involves much internet work as the answer key to the homework is online. I'm going back and re-doing ALL of the Japanese homework of the semester thus far. I did pretty well on the exam but I'm actually nowhere near where I want to be. Embarrassingly, Katakana, even more than Kanji is giving me trouble. The second year in and I haven't flexed my katakana muscles enough. While Kanji has visual cues that I can use to help me remember, Katakana still looks like random scribbles to me.

This was a bit of a shock when I actually began read Katakana heavily again a few weeks ago. I'd forgotten quite a bit. Anyway there is studying in my future. I'm twitchy enough on the basics of what we're doing now that I could easily see myself getting lost in a few weeks.


My grandmother is recovering in the hospital from the flu and a kidney infection. My folks are in North Carolina with my Grandmother, so, yesterday I spent all day at my folks house waiting for the washing machine repairman...when he called....4 hours late...to say he was going to be 6 hours late, he asked what the issue was and I informed him that the washer was spontaneously emptying.

He informed me that this was a problem resulting from improper installation causing a vacuum to form and as such it was not covered by warranty. I went into the garage and broke the seal my dad had put on the drain hose and rejiggered the washer installation. The washer then worked fine. I canceled the service call as the repairman was seriously late. 300+ bucks saved with a screwdriver!
Woohoo!!

Tripod, the 3 legged cat of chaos, has re-learned that he can make things happen if he pushes the "ON/OFF" switch on the TV.

I got the old lawn mower to start!
(this...you cannot appreciate....that mower...sooo rusty).



Basically nothing at all exciting to alter my Walter Mitty lifestyle.

Exams Are Over....

I did much better than I had feared on the Japanese exam, the last few minutes of the exam were spent second guessing myself wondering "How could it have been that easy? I'm missing something!"

The oral exam on Tuesday, which is usually my strong point did not go well....I staggered in from work tired and completely forgot the word for Saturday.....1st years stuff! ghaaa!!
Nothing else worried me though I think I did especially well.....as in aced the Chinese History Exam.

Next week, I'm on spring break which means I'm studying Japanese, working extra hours and redoing the last of the floor in the...er....manufactured home.

Plus as spring arrived with a vengance this week, I'll be doing much yardwork.

Tonight, I'm taking some of the exchange students out to dinner.

I may blog a bit more late tonight. I've got a couple of drafts that'have been sitting for several days, but mostly I'm gonna sleep! :)

Admiral Spoor is Bored...

....but that's to be expected.

The problem is that the Brickmuppet's legions, er, dozens, er....(insert realistic unit) of adoring fans are bored by the general lack of posting.

Alas, this is exam week so there will be little posting until this weekend.

Yes Wonderduck, there will be science babes.

On the banality front...

I think I aced my Chinese History Exam. 1 more big one (Japanese)

I've got the clutch to work again, it still consists of 2 pieces of wood, a bolt and lots of twisty ties. ;)

Next week is spring break, which means trailer repairs and yardwork. Then hopefully, a roadtrip.

Now I'm going back to study...right after I stare at Admiral Spoor for a bit.

Oh....That Week

UPS has changed my hours.

I cannot attend Japanese class with any frequency.

I've asked to do independent study but the language department requires a minimum number of days attended, you can only miss 8 days and its a 5 day a week class so....

This is the THIRD attempt to take the second year Japanese class...reserve mobilizations and work conflicts have thwarted me before.....I'm miffed.

OTOH It looks like I MAY be allowed to audit it and sit for an entrance exam into the next class.

My blood pressure medication is beginning to have pretty much ALL of the side effects on me, from nausea to dizziness to persistent cough to insomnia and others that are just rude to blog about.

Without it I'm just about at a normal BP level now, but I'm supposed to keep taking it till June...suck!

A book I needed for a paper I'm turning in Tuesday has not come in yet...I PREORDERED IT a month ago. Friday I finally found a copy and paid for it....AGAIN.


The clutch died in the Pickup of Peril....this is not a cause for legitimate complaint as I'd gotten it working for 4 months with twist ties, 2 pieces of wood and a bolt. :)

I threw my back out Monday....ouch. Wearing brace to work.

This and next week are exam weeks. I took off from work for my Japanese exams Thursday and Friday....but my oral exam was rescheduled for Tuesday so getting there is an issue.

Nothing life threatening or really bad especially given what other people are having to deal with right now. But it is aggravating nonetheless.

pooh

What could make the week more aggravating?

Oh yeah.....
...evil machine gun-toting loli-goth NAZI cyborg maids in thigh-highs on a train.
I HATE those galz.

*Does anyone have any idea WTF this is from?

Update: Stephen DenBeste seems to have nailed down the source as nekoboard.net but the artist remains uncredited for now as I can't read Korean at all. Meanwhile, Andrew links in the comments to another less SFW piece by the same artist.
Yes, I'd missed the thigh-highs first time around....post has been fixed.
What is the appeal of the NAZI thing? I mean this goes well beyond "bad-girl" fixation, it's practically like devil worship, though not much worse, I suppose, than the Che' or Mao chic on college campuses.

Damn....More Banality....

Sunday, I succeeded in not getting crushed by a falling lifeboat on my second boarding as a boarding officer. I revel in my accomplishment.

Actually, the ship was very squared away, it appeared to be a metal fatigue issue and it was obvious the crew was well drilled...

Well anyway, it was a long day, made longer by the news that my aunt had broken her hip, (she's getting a bionic hip this week) and having to go to work all kinds of early because all the parcels that had been delayed by weather the past week arrived this morning at UPS.
By the time I got off, my first class was well over and I'd been up 31 hours.

So I was a slacker, blew off my afternoon class and slept...

I was indeed a bad Brickmuppet....but I'm rather more coherent now...

Picture Unrelated...

Warning....Banality Blogging to Follow!

The Macintosh now will NOT interface with the blogger dashboard at all.

There are several possible fixes.
Get a REAL domain...
Get a new computer,
Upgrade the E-Machine
Get Firefox to work on my E-Mac....somehow.

None of which are likely to happen any time soon. I'm up to my earlobes in homework, my hours at UPS have just doubled....which is most awkward given school. I'm now leading a study group in my Chinese history class and as my Tuition assistance and FA did not happen I NEED to work these extra hours to have the money to pay for the semester. I still have to lose weight to stay in the Coast Guard's good graces. My heat died again and I'm still having electrical problems. The pickup of peril needs to go into the shop.

Japanese is kicking my ass. I had to drop this class twice previously because of mobilizations and work schedule changes, so I got lulled into a false sense of security as I coasted along as the class know-it-all...until I got back from being sick last week...when I realized..."Oh God...I have no idea what she's talking about!" There was much benkiyoshimasuificating Saturday afternoon and this morning. OTOH I should be caught up by midterms if I keep the nose to the grindstone.
I have Math test tomorrow.
I have a Kanji test on Wednesday.
I have a Japanese grammar test on Friday.
I have a History paper due in 2 weeks.
I Drill with the Coast Guard this upcoming weekend, and as I'm now a boarding officer I'll likely be quite busy training others and leading boardings.

Currently I'm at Web City slinking through the many tubes of the Internet, though mainly to take advantage of their high speed Internet in association with Rikai.com. For a while the cybercafe will be the only way I can blog, until I get my interface issues sorted out, and as I'm busy blogging is going to be even lighter than usual for a bit...especially this upcoming week.

Other things are looking up, my BP is holding steady around normal and I've finally licked the creeping crud I contracted. My weight loss has stalled again, but as my pants are getting steadily baggier, this is probably due to muscle acquisition. This is a good thing.

All in all things are actually going quite good....hectic is not bad...just a sign of progress. Total lack of annoyances are generally a sign of death...so...Yay!
Bring on the bedlam! :)

UPDATE: Art by Ryu.

The Martian Death Flu.....

....just plain sucks.

I've been under the weather all week, but it really hit me hard Thursday night, I barely made it through work (I actually had to pull over and rest on the drive home)...now I've been in bed for 27 hours....

Ouch....

My joints have fossilized...

Ouch...

This is all because of a certain World of Warcraft weasel at the cybercafe Monday night, who was hacking and sneezing all over the place and gust generally being egalitarian with his germs...so he could play WoW.

Asshat...

I'm mobile now and doing OK. This is a minor inconvinience of course, but that kind of utter lack of consideration really cheeses me off.

Of course options such as those on the right are not available yet...

...so I must now return to my hermit-blogger-germ-freak lifestyle...

Hey! Don't knock it! If only I had longer fingernails and money, I'd be just like Howard Hughes! ;)

More Coast Guarding

HA! FINALLY!
I passed my Boarding Officer board today. This would normally be a fairly minor thing as it is only a local certification but it was a quite welcome development.

For my entire reserve career, the needs of the service have moved me from one job category or unit to another...usually just before I was ready sit for my qualification board for whatever it was that I was supposed to be doing before I was moved.

The result was a lot of experience doing a great many cool Coastie things....but no actual certifications in anything technical....which leads to an annoyingly thin resume for a petty officer 4 years in.


The board was unusually long, about 4 hours, but I passed anyway.(A board consists of several experienced petty officers grilling the service member on possible scenarios as well as the various items of operational procedure and maritime law one must know to do the job.) Again it's not really a big deal as pretty much everyone in the CG deals with them but this was my first and it is heartening to finally get a qualification letter in something (weapons quals don't really count).

Now I can work on my Maritime Law Enforcement, Pollution Investigator, Pollution Response, Lifeboat Inspection, Facility Inspector, Facility Security, Boat Crewman, Container Inspector, and Harbor Saftey qual books, which are all 50% or more filled out....I'm Coastie Ken...Jack of all trades...but now at least, FINALLY master of one! :)

I should point out that the minor frustrations of my reserve career, the disruptions of school and the aforementioned difficulties in getting qualified are all a result of there being a war on and the shifting priorities of the Coast Guards many missions, despite them all and in spite of the knee and elbow injuries I am really glad to have signed up. The Coast Guard is a remarkable organization doing a tremendous amount of good and I'm really enjoying being a part of it and if given the chance would do it all over again (except for that knee thing) ....so don't just sit there on an ever expanding bottom and peruse 5th rate blogs..click here and do something really rewarding!

Semper Paratus

Bit o' Banality Blogging

Well, I've lost 10 pounds in a month.

My blood pressure is back to normal, although I've been advised to go back on the BP medicine for at least a month.

I sit for my Boarding Officer and Harbor Saftey Officer Boards this weekend, which is a bit of a milestone because I've been moved around so much that I've never gotten fully qualified in anything other than weapons use...I've got a big stack of sign-off sheets partially signed off...this will be a great relief. I sit for promotion in May or June.

Of course I missed school while getting my CG physical....and UPS stopped paying me again today.... (More birthday woes no doubt.) ...but this has happened before...usually in January, so it's just a nuiscance.

College wise, I'm doing OK. I got moved up one math class. :)

On the subject of Math...

3 Legged Cat+Iron+Ironing Board+Moth=Drama

I have not done the yard at my folks house yet as the weather has been singularly uncooroperative, I'm drilling this weekend, so it won't get done 'till mabey Monday.

All in all pretty a good week but busy.

Superbusy

Next week I'm house-sitting/cat-sitting/bird-sitting/ yard-sitting for my folks, studying for my boarding officer board on Saturday, taking my Coast Guard physical on Friday, taking a Japanese test, working extra hours at UPS, doing the full time student thing, setting the date for the local Art House to show a Japanese film sponsored by the Asian Studies department, (Tokyo Godfathers) working on my bathroom, doing my Coast Guard drill next weekend, giving blood, meeting with and tutoring my conversation partner, and taking a math test.

Blogging may be light....

So here, is a picture of Princess Lafiel from Crest/Banner of the Stars to tide you over....

Oh Drat

So, I took yesterday off 2 weeks ago so I could make sure everything was OK with ODU as far as registration tuition assistance ect.
Of course, yesterday was a day of mourning....so I couldn't actually DO anything until late today.
No biggie, I'm just checking up on all the paperwork filled out in November and early December so this shouldn't be an issue, right?

Well, the people who handle my tuition assistance (the US Naval Institute) are denying it.

It seems that ODU charged them for one of the years I had to drop out of school due to a reserve mobilization.
This is easily fixable (it should have been fixed in December but apperantly fell between the cracks during the holidays). This should get resolved in about a week.

UNNNNfortunately the school has now changed all of its due dates for this semester.

Tuition is now due TOMORROW not the week after classes start.

Currently I'm running off forms and doing online stuff while I await a phonecall from Military Sevices to see if I can get a deferment for a week or so.

There may be a pawnshop in my future....

Grrrrr....

Update:
It looks like I will get a deferrment and the teeninsey ammount that the GI bill pays to reservists (less than a tenth of my tuition). This will still play havoc with my cash flow as the University will NOT honor tuition assistance chits after Jan4, so I'm paying the just about whole enchilada my own self.

Fortunately the deferment will allow me time to compensate. I'm doing some juggling and may yet avoid the pawnshop if I drop a class or two. This is now simply a cash FLOW issue and I should have everything taken care of on time.

I got some "thing" at the university cafeteria which purported to be chicken, succotach and mashed potatoes....it tasted like dog food (this is not hyperbole...I've BEEN that poor). This is most disapointing as the cafeteria buffet has been in the past quite good, if a bit pricey. I rarely eat there due to its expense but I do hope that this is just the pre-semester chaos. Certainly there was very little fixed and, of course, classes don't start until Monday.

I got a parking ticket, alegedly for blocking another car, despite the fact that I was well within the lines. It may be that the Pickup of Peril (a compact Isuzu Pup) is too long....more likely some meter myrmidon is gun-jacking his/her tickets.
feh...

I saw the longest lines at ODU today I have ever seen. One went all the way down a hall turned a corner, went down THAT hall into the fire exit and down the stairs....It seems that the change of tuition deadline caught a LOT of longtime students unawares, nevertheless the ODU staff was quite professional and courteous. They all seemed to be astoundingly on the ball, and the whole process was far less infuriating than usual. For instance, I have little of the burning rage I usually feel after visiting the old administration building.

I have months of enforced frugality, an icky lunch and a parking ticket....every one a fairly minor point. There were NO real problems with my enrollement (which I did in November) , and I have no complaint about the admin staff...

Surely the end times are nigh.

Christmas Crush

Final 2 days at UPS before the nightmare is over. I go to surf the cardboard tsunami momentarily....blogging still light. Picture meant to be representative of current situation but cuter....also to show someone that her orthopedic shoes can indeed be hot. :)