Space Heaters

It's cold at work. Whether it's hot, mild, or cold outside it's always cold in the building. Why do the temperature controller people do that? Not too long ago though I had an idea thrust upon me. (Yes, I wrote that sentence so I could use the word thrust.) I was sitting at a coworkers desk assisting with a very rude customer she had on the phone when I realized it was not so cold in her cubicle. My cold feet were finding warmth. It was an amazingly wonderful sensation. I looked down and found a space heater. Why hadn't I thought of that? Now, I'm sure there's some rule in very small print of work policies that says no space heaters allowed but who ever reads the fine print? As luck would have it I needed to pick up some Fiber One cereal, Fiber One granola bars, and Fiber One pop-tarts that night (I'm not advertising Fiber One I swear) and as luck would have it they had the above space heater for the low price of $10. It was completely weird how that space heater just accidentally fell into my basket. I've heard you're not supposed to argue with merchandise that falls into grocery store baskets so obviously I had to buy it.

My cubicle was now warm. My supervisor asked if that was a space heater under my desk and the word "no" just popped out of my mouth. Two wierd happenings in two days. I guess he believed me though because although he sometimes complains about how hot it is in and around my cubicle the actual space heater seems to remain illusive.

One other thing I'd like to point out. I happened upon a second use for my space heater.....

It serves a dual purpose! I was really busy one day (as many days) but craving to eat my hot pineapple salad. The name of the dessert, or salad if you want to argue about the name, cleary has the word "hot" in it which means that eating it cold is just not as tasty. So while I was busy with my work, my space heater warmed up my food. It was quite brilliant.

So, the lesson, or suggestion, of this story. For those who work in a building that is cold all the time, and who's break room doesn't have a microwave so you have to walk across the building to the next closest break room to wam up food I recommend stopping by the space heater section of the store and see if one falls into your basket.

A plan.

I have a plan. Unfortunately I cannot reveal said plan for another month or two but just know... I have a plan.

Isn't this the most exciting blog ever? Hee.

It's November already?!?

I just went and viewed my blog. According to the preview I haven't posted since July! What happened to the 10 or so other blogs that I wrote in between then and now?!? I think someone hacked my blogspot and deleted them. I hope you got to read then before they were deleted. And don't worry, I have full intentions of finding who did this horrible deed.

I really don't have anything of much excitement to write about so I'll give a life lesson instead. This comes from a phone call that a lady at work received recently. The nice gentleman on the phone had ordered a set of golf clubs online, I didn't take the call so I'm not sure what site he ordered them from. Just for the fun of it let's say he ordered them off of ebay. Now, I don't golf, but according to this gentleman they were a very nice set of clubs... and amazingly inexpensive for how good of quality they were in. Seemed like a deal too good to pass up. Let's now take the opportunity to add that they were coming from China. I must say that they do send over some nice knock-off Kate Spade and Coach purses, but golf clubs? Let's get real here. If the clubs are half the price then they are normally worth that should be a hint to not buy them oh innocent golf club buyer gentleman. I'm just sayin. Needless to say that the bank could not do anything for him as he couldn't find where to ship them back to (ooh, suprise there). Goodwill might accept them though. Maybe.

So life lesson. Things, or sometimes even people, are not always what you hoped for or expected. Get over it as best you can and move on. (Although if we're speaking of people, please don't drop them off at Goodwill) I'll also add that 9 times out of 10, if an item is coming from China and the offer is too good to be true, then don't buy it!

The Dentist.... oooooh.

I went to the dentist today. This was my first visit since 2000 something. I had three different dental people ask me the date, as well as the paperwork. I gave my paperwork a question mark and the dental people a question mark look with a response of... uh... I'm really not sure.

Let's then conclude that it's been awhile. I made the appointment because I started to develop an ache in my upper gum area... the very back. My only, non dental expertise of an idea was my wisdom tooth bothering me. But the ache wasn't bad so I scheduled my appointment for August... no biggie. And then it really started to hurt. I called the office yesterday and *poof* they suddenly had an opening for this morning. Funny how that works.

So like I said. It's been awhile since I've gone. That was back in the days of clean the teeth, shuffle around that bubble gum flavor cleaner with the water from the paper cup, and spit in the little sink that they have pulled up to your chair. Clean, rinse, spit. Easy enough. Ok, today was a little more complicated. Or not really, but something foreign and confusing at first. Okay, really it's not confusing either but at first I was like... WTH... what is going on and how does this work? New method. Clean, have water sprayed around and use the Grey's Anatomy "more suction please" way of taking out that yucky supposedly cherry cleaner.

Apparently the dental cleaner lady figured I'd done this before because I had no instructions of what was going on. She stuck that suction thingy in my mouth, I said a silent "what the crap is this" and promptly had half of that "cherry" teeth cleaner on my blue dental bib. Uh, embarrassing. I consider myself fairly smart though and I was able to figure out what it was by my next try. That part was mastered.

And then there were the videos. While my x-rays were being processed they had some videos to watch while I waited. Holy scary teeth and procedures being done for those teeth batman. Wow. I will definitely be brushing even better now so I never have any of those problems. I'm even going to floss. Maybe. Hopefully. We'll see.

The dentist came back. I got some praises for my nice teeth and the problem with the ache was something was stuck in the gums near the very back tooth. That's it? How do we get it out then? A cleaning? That's it? Well, apparently that was because my mouth no longer hurts. A deep clean and *bam* all better. Spiffy.

I might add that at the age of 25ish, lack of dental visits, let's knock on wood before I make it public, I still don't have any cavities. My implant looks great. And the only suggestion was to have my upper right wisdom tooth pulled as it most likely will start to push against my other tooth.

And then I worked until nine because of the time I missed due to the last minute appointment. That was no fun.

ETA: I'd like to mention that this was written at one in the morning after a very long day. I think you can tell.

What the...?!?

This is a picture of 12 year old Michael Jackson. But WHAT are those on his shoulders? Rodents. Hamsters? No wait, RATS?!? There are rats crawling around on him. And FOUR of them. This was before the cartoon movie Ratatouille folks, these are the real deal. Crazy.

Although. The most amusing part is that the two on his right shoulder are all content and happy with the world of shoulder riding, while the two on his left are all like... sitting on a shoulder whatever... running around this kid is way better then a wheel!

Four rats on two shoulders... pretty impressive Michael.

What a day!

The most exciting... I got most of my Chase systems online so I can start getting away from those old school WaMu programs, systems and policies. It's a simple sentence but it's so much more exciting then it sounds.

Other noteworthy happenings of the day... in order of how they happened.

1. Farrah Fawcett died.
2. Michael Jackson died. Notably a couple weeks before his London comeback tour.
3. I catch up on the news and find that Governor Strickland is trying to cut library funding by 50%.
4. I email Governor Strickland

Normally I wouldn't add such negative or sad happenings in a blog but it's a memorable day that should be remembered.

Also. Have I mentioned how odd Texas weather is? Here's something new. I walked out of work today and find it to smell AND feel like a rainy day in Ohio. Combined with a very hot sunny sky. Got that? Sunny. And hot. With a strong smell of rain. Apparently it did rain though so at least it explains a little bit. Texas is wierd.

The rest of NYC

Last year I went to NYC two times. We all know why. Or should. In those two visits I had seen Spamalot four times, not to mention hanging out at the Shubert theater stagedoor many more times. That being said, I know you'll be sad to hear that the Shubert has been taken over by a show called "Blithe Spirit". Whatever that is. It's not Spamalot though so it really makes no difference.

I'm not going to go through every hour of each day, which I'm sure your thankful for, but I will mention some highlights.

1. Wicked! This is definitely the most important, exciting part of the trip. My sister, Linda, came in to the city from New Jersey on Saturday. Neither of us had seen the musical and both were dying to. Clearly we're really bad, last minute planners though because every time we went to buy tickets they were sold out. On my last trip, we attempted the lottery that they have every night to win tickets. And lost. We would have to wait until our next trip to NYC. So this time, again, because of last minute planning the show was sold out. I went to the theater in the morning to try to get tickets but all they had were two tickets, separate sides of the theater, where one was more of a partial view. Dang it. But we were on a mission. Again, we tried for the lottery. And lost. Grr. Hopes lost again, we walked off to get some food but it just so happened that we had a combined epiphany on the way. Maybe we should try for some cancellation tickets! Do you get the vibe that we were on a quest to see this show? We turn around and walk the half block back. And what do we find? A cancellation for two amazing seats dead center of the theater! Ok, so the price was a little more then we wanted to spend but it was SO worth it. Amazing show. I recommend it to everyone. And if you need someone to go see it with I'm here for you. :)

2. Visiting the Statue of Liberty. Um, or waving to it. Having previously been to NYC I already had the skillz of getting downtown to buy tickets for the ferry over to visit the very tall famous green lady. Previously we never actually visited the island though because once we got down there we didn't want to wait in line. But no matter. This time however my friends really wanted to go, so downtown we headed. For some reason we took some sort of short cut, or long cut, or different route or something, but eventually made it to the ferry. This was free, which seemed odd, not to mention that the name of the island we would be going to didn't really match up with my memories and/or my apparently not so well founded knowledge of geography and US history. Staten Island, Ellis Island, same difference... with the exception of the Statue of Liberty being on a different Island then where we were traveling to. Clearly it had been a long day. Or we're just stupid. But on the bright side we got to see her closer then being on Manhattan and I had the opportunity of having a creepy guy ask for my number. Seriously. What is the point of asking for a girl's number when you've already asked where she's from? Long distance relationships never work. For most. I'm pretty sure I could make it work out between me and Zac though... I'm just sayin. Moving on.

3. Chinatown. I didn't get there last time so I was definitely getting there! My friends were a little iffy on going, mostly because they're not really purse girls, but they were excited to share the experience. I think. Doesn't matter now. Just like my first trip I was after Kate Spade purses. Simple enough. As soon as we stepped out of the subway we see a nice girl who looks like she means business. I start out our not so much of an english conversation, "Kate Spade? Kate Spade? Kate Spade?" We get the signal to follow her and off we go. Our first stop had a nice selection and everything was cheaper then my last visit. It's always better to shop around first but I couldn't help it. After nearly tripping a few times down the scary staircase we get to a scary room filled with wonderful purses, I talked the lady down in price and off we went with my new purse. Almost. We weren't allowed out of the building until given permission by the lady in charge, I'm assuming she had to do a street check for cops. It would be a shame to have a cop raid on so nice of people. My next purse was picked out on the street by guys carrying around suitcases larger then I knew existed. While I was picking out my second purse, Tia ran into a guy selling "new" ipods. Maybe I was wrong to talk her out of buying electronics from Chinatown but nevertheless I did. It was just a hunch that it wouldn't last long. Kind of like the perfume that I bought. I knew it wouldn't be that strong but I was hoping that the scent would last more then five minutes. $15 gone, but a priceless experience buying it. We didn't travel too far into Chinatown, partly because the streets are named as opposed to numbered and I'm directionally challenged, and partly because I didn't bring enough cash. Note to self for my next time.

4. Of course we ate at Junior's. Even though there is no longer a sign in the alley pointing to "the funniest show on earth" I've labeled it a new tradition of going whenever I'm in NYC.

There are of course other fun experiences but I'm sure you're tired of reading... if you even made it this far. But just like every other New York trip it was fun and exciting and I'm ready to go again!

The hotel

Back in May of 2008 I wrote about my adventure to Southbend, Indiana. In the post I commented on the motel room we stayed in. The weird carpet, broken cups, etc. It was the Econolodge for the record; I couldn't remember the name at the time of writing the blog.

That motel room had nothing on Hotel Alexander in the upper east side of Manhatten only a few feet away from the 1,2, and 3 subway lines. Perfect. The cost for the Alexander was about $130 a night... not bad for a clean, well reviewed, Manhattan room. We were looking for cheaper, but either everything was booked or they had complaints of bugs, smells, uncleanliness, etc. When we, as in I, found Hotel Alexander one problem that we ran into was there were three of us going to the city. For the $100 range rooms we had a choice of two twin beds or one double bed. Someone was sleeping on the floor! (and it would not be me since I found the hotel.)

Two days after booking the hotel we arrived in NYC. Because we booked everything so late I had a different flight then my other friends; Tia and Leah. I arrived at LaGaurdia airport, successfully got to the correct subway stop and knew where I was headed. Get off at 96th street and walk a block down or so. I walked down 96th street. Where's the hotel? A stop into a apartment complex cleared that up. The hotel was actually on 95th street. Alrighty then. I move over to 95th. Ok seriously, where's the hotel?! A stop into another apartment complex and a call to my sister and learn the hotel is actually on 94th. For the love of... It's a good thing I packed light or there would be some cursing going on here.

I finally arrive at the hotel, get checked in and unenthusiastically drag my luggage up to the room. Um. Ok, did they steal hotel room pictures from another site? Here's a discription of the room, next to which was a nice picture.

"Twin beds, a bedside table with a telephone and lamp. Ample closet space and a dressing mirror. All rooms have a work desk with chair, internet access (at a fee) and Cable TV."

I was quite amused with the room and couldn't wait to show it off to my friends. We'll get back to that. Since it took forever to actually find the hotel, by the time I got there I had to turn back around to go pick them up. This was their first trip to NYC so I thought I'd serve as a tour guide. :)

Friends picked up, back to the hotel, and now for the tour of the room. I tell you what. This is not what was in the picture or the description. Twin beds - check. Bedside table, telephone and lamp - check. Ample closet space - where? Oh, is that the aptly name "scary room"? Seriously, why is this "room" here? It can't be the closet space as there are no rods or hangers or shelves. So what is it? You could fit an entire bathroom in this room; or at least a toilet and sink. Or knock out the wall and give a little more walking space maybe? Anyhoo. Next - work desk with chair. Say what? Where on earth would they even find room for that. Except for in the scary room maybe. That might work.

So on to our three day living arrangements. We had a hard time voting on who was sleeping on the floor and, although good friends, I had a hard time accepting the idea of spooning with another girl in a twin bed for three nights. Taking a closer look at the room this problem was soon remedied! In nicer hotels I believe the beds are usually permanently fixed to either the wall or floor. I think. I could be wrong. I've never really tested it as I've always slept in a double bed with no need to be moved. This was a special circumstance though and upon taking a closer look at the beds it was clear that these were not fixed to anything. Problem solved and rearranging the furniture became number one priority. As there was no desk or chair it made it even easier. Slide the night table to side, bed over a couple feet, and *poof* One large bed. Some quick thinking on Tia's part and no one had to sleep in the middle either. As opposed to sleeping vertical we were going to start a trend, or not, of sleeping horizontal. Simple enough!

Ok, easier said then done, but none the less it was done. We had the perfect $130 a night hotel in NYC. At least if you don't mind a shared bathroom, creepy stairwell, and an elevator that fit about one person and one suitcase.

ETA: This blog was started a couple weeks ago after my trip if you were confused about why I'm randoming writing about a hotel room. :)

I'm Melanie. I'm 25

    'I am ninety. Or ninety-three. One or the other.
    When you're five, you know your age down to the month. Even in your twenties you know how old you are. I'm twenty-three, you say, or maybe twenty-seven. But then in your thirties something strange starts to happen. It's a mere hiccup at first, an instant of hesitation. How old are you? Oh, I'm - you start confidently, but then you stop. You were going to say thirty-three, but you're not. You're thirty-five. And then you're bothered, because you wonder if this is the beginning of the end. It is, of course, but it's decades before you admit it.
    You start to forget words: they're on the tip of your tongue, but instead of eventually dislodging, they stay there. You go upstairs to fetch something, and by the time you get there you can't remember what it was you were after. You call your child by the names of all your other children and finally the dog before you get to his. Sometimes you forget what day it is. And finally you forget the year.'

I am Melanie. I am 25. :)

(That was an excerpt from Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen)

I got to work friday and found this. The words "Washington Mutual" have been erased to a much more exciting CHASE! I screamed and shed a tear of happiness. :)

so this is what [mild] Texas weather is like...

It was a crazy day at work yesterday and I longed to be outside in the fresh sunny air of Texas. Finally six o'clock came and as I walked out the doors I took a deep relaxing breath of... not so fresh air. It was a shock. If you would like to experience the sensation...

1. start your dishwasher. (With no dishes would probably be best)
2. After it's finished washing and gets about halfway through the drying cycle
3. open the door and stuff yourself in.

Hot and very humid. Can't wait 'til summer...

Everyone needs a little creativity in life.

I signed up for a writing course today with Gotham Writers. They're based out of NYC but have online courses as well. Although I'm sure it's not the cheapest online writing course, they have good ratings on Yelp.com and a "test class" to see how the course works. Now, you may be wondering, if I graduated from OSU as an English major why the heck am I paying more money for a writing class. That's a valid thing to wonder about.

I decided that since I have to work a mundane 9-5 job for at least a couple more years, I need a little something else in life. Something to spark creative juices; if I have any that is. So I decided a writing course was the way to go. Hopefully. If not I just threw away some money that could easily go towards a couple months of Texas rate car insurance.

The class starts May 5th and is a ten week course. If my blog writing improves, we know it's working as I will be learning (or relearning) writing skills. Although if my blog gets worse, it could also be working since I'll probably put more time into the required coursework. I'll keep you updated.

In other news: I've been home sick in bed all day... I bet you were wondering how you were so lucky to get two blogs in the same day.

This blog is for Just you!

In 2005, Clay Aiken had his Jukebox tour. Which if you recall I wrote a blog about my experience there. During the tour he "tested out" songs that might be on his then upcoming CD "A Thousand Different Ways". Although everything was new to me, it was fun to hear music that was not yet on a CD, and no doubt even more enjoyable for those who had been fans from day one of American Idol. He did not sing each song every night, Clay likes to switch things up a lot. (Have you noticed how many hair styles and colors he's gone through?!?) I'm sure this was just fine by fans that went to more then one show, but I only had access to watch the other songs not performed in Columbus via internet downloads. One song in particular that I missed was "Just You".

Unfortunately it was never put on the CD and we were left without a great song.

Let's jump to Friday (as in 3 days ago). Clay got online at the Official Fan Club and started a "Questions FOR Clay" thread. He was online from 1:37 to 8:41pm (not sure what time zone) answering questions ranging from silly topics such as owning a pair of orange crocs (His answer: "UNEQUIVOCALLY, ABSOLUTELY ... NO! NO! NO! NO! So ugly!") to more serious questions about being bullied and Unicef. May I also add that we both share the same favorite song from his newest CD "On My Way Here". :) At 8:41 (OFC time) he mentioned that it's a shame his homework in highschool couldn't keep his attention for so long, he was signing off, but to check his blog for one more answer.

During the course of the day someone had asked the question "Clay, will you ever record... Just You?" The surprising answer... he already had, it was one of the first songs he recorded for his CD "A Thousand Different Ways"! He stated, "It was recorded before the label asked me to do the album of cover love songs and before the budget was officially approved, so I actually paid for it myself." Apparently though it did not fit the concept of the CD and was left out. To his knowledge Clay owned the one and only copy of the song. Crazy right?

And then what happens, this amazing entertainer GAVE us the song. He writes,

"Since I didn't write it or produce it, I can't sell it to you... but I hate to encourage getting music for free. You all have always been SOOOO ethical when it has come to downloading music. I know my fans are probably some of the most scrupulous in the country..."

For example, I bought FOUR copies of his last CD. :)

There was just one stipulation. He was in fact giving this to us for free but he wanted it to count for someone. He encouraged us to make a donation towards the Bubel/Aiken Foundation. Only if we wanted to and/or could afford it. (even 5 cents helps!)

The studio version is amazing, which you can download (right click, open in new window) here and you can also donate here.

Thank you Clay! You're an amazing man who no doubt loves and appreciates your fans.

Whoa, that's a long way down!

I realized the other day that I never actually wrote down my fun and exciting adventure of being on the roof of Hughes Hall. Or maybe I have and lost it. Or I lost it but you've already read it. If that's the case leave a comment and let me know where you've seen it.


But Hughes Hall. One of the oldest buildings on THE Ohio State University's campus. Hughes is one of the two buildings for the School of Music. Obviously this story is from quite a years back because at the time of this story I actually was a music major.

As a music major it should be assumed that you have to practice a lot. And if it's not assumed now you know. I don't remember how many hours a week you should practice, or I did, but it's a lot. Anyhoo. The fourth floor of Hughes hall consists merely of practice rooms. Every practice room has a piano, music stand and chair. Sometimes a mirror to make sure you're standing up straight and your hair is in place. Ok maybe not so much for hair placement but more to work on your embouchure. And if you don't know what that is I provided a nice wikipedia link for you.

So one day I was upstairs for my daily practicing ritual. Good times. When I was finished I packed up, and was headed out the door. Now, let me digress for a moment. Remember how I said Hughes is one of the oldest buildings on campus? To make the rooms "sound proof" the only extra step taken was to put two doors on the rooms. One opens inwards, the other outwards. As of my time in the music school, no updates had been made to those doors so they were about 1000 or more years old. Give or take a year or two. Because of the age, the doors can be difficult to close and/or open. And in one circumstance, not to open at all. As such was the case on one sunny afternoon. But no worries. It was just a little stuck. Let's try again. Not opening. And again. Um, the door was seriously not budging. Now what? I heard someone practicing a couple rooms over but I knew banging on the door would be pointless and who knew how long it would take for someone to walk back to where I was practicing. Great.

I had only one option. Maybe there could have been other ones but I had the idea of only one option at that time.

The window.

I was on the fourth floor but there was a pretty nice gutter that i could crawl around on to find someone to assist me to get back in the building so I could continue on with life. So out the window I went. They make that type of thing look so easy in movies! Geez. But I got out. I decided to head towards the sound of another saxophone player. Thankfully it happened to be one of my better friends in my saxophone class. I knocked on the window and seriously thought I might have scared her to death. I was rather grateful I didn't though or else I would be stuck outside in the gutter of this stupid ancient building.

I gave a two second explanation of what happened. The sooner I was in the building the better. Amazingly enough, I think, it was harder and more of a pain to get back IN the building then out. It was probably safer to be inside though so I gave up on trying not to get bruises and stuffed myself through.

Once I was inside and both my friend and I were composed I went back to the room that I had been securely locked in. It opened with no problem from the outside. That was quite annoying.

I must say though that the experience made for a very interesting, scary, yet fun story to tell.

And now you know.

I should live where?!?

I was on facebook the other day and noticed a friend had taken a "quiz" to see which state he should live in; or which state best suits you. I decided to take the quiz. Maybe it would confirm that I should be in Texas, or maybe I should be moving to California, or NYC. It was only a five question quiz. And I end up with...

OHIO?!?

What the heck does that mean I wonder.

Laundry

We all hate doing laundry. Admit it. I've never known anyone that looks forward to doing the never ending chore. Some put it off by stopping by the store on their way home from work to purchase a new shirt in order to put the dreaded chore off another day. Others have a two month supply of underwear and socks... just in case. Sometimes clothes end up scattered around furniture and floors because there is no more room in your hamper. I'm not saying any of these circumstances apply to me but I've heard from friends and such. The following case however was something I felt needed to be share and with permission I do so. It was a completely random instant message sent to me from a friend at work the other day.

---

okay. This may be TMI. I have to vent.
It's time to do laundry. So I'm wearing my last resort panties. They're HORRIBLE! There's this GIANT hole under the waist band that tears just a little bit more every time I pull them up. Then there's the fact that really is no point to pulling them up (or wearing them at all for that matter) because by the time I walk from the bath room to my cubical they're already down around my thighs. The ONLY thing that holds them up at all is the the crotch of my PANTS! so now I'm wearing some kind of weird mini skirt w/ giant holes in it..... *sigh*

---

Moral of the story. Don't put off doing the chore for TOO long. Either that or keep a three month supply...

Please don't run into me.

Saturday was an interesting day. And when I say interesting I mean OMG I’m going to die in my new Nissan Sentra that I just bought three days ago. Which I guess we should talk about that first right? My nice little 1998 Honda Civic died on me the poor thing. The cause you ask? Ohio weather. Kind of ironic right? More specifically the winter weather with all the salt on the roads. Three main, apparently important, pipes under the car rusted out and needed replacing. Add that to the 20 other things (give or take a few) that were wrong with the car and I felt it time to get something newer and healthier. So I bargained my way into a 2006 Nissan Sentra. Of course I wanted another Honda but they were just too expensive for my measley income. My new car is nice though.

But Saturday. I had to make another trip to the dealership, Honda if you were curious, for them to adjust one of my headlights and pick up my sad Honda; aptly named Don. They gave him a car wash though which was awesome. He's so clean now! Just in time for me to sell him. Anyhoo.

I was driving to the dealership with one of my roommates. We were almost there and then.... whoa! Say hello to a white SUV coming in my lane about to run over, or into, my much smaller new car! I had a delay in response because I had never used the horn before. In the mean time my roommate and I let out girly screams (thankfully we're girls) as my roommate grabs onto me as if that's going to save us from a car wreck. Thankfully however the lady realized we were there and pulled back over. I thought I was going to have a heart attack directly following the incident. The lady did feel bad though. She decided to not pull over into our lane and instead drove up next to us and waved and said sorry. That was nice I suppose.

So it was an adventure. One I hopefully will never have to make again.

Who ever said compact cars don't fit much?

Granted they have the commercials that say compact cars are incredibly roomy and wonderful and have all sorts of special camera angles to give the illusion that you really can fit seven people in a two door car. We all know it's not possible. However. I have come to learn that you can certainly fit a lot in them. Two particular instances come to mind. Interestingly, or not so interestingly, both of them have been within the last month and both have been for an hour and a half drive.

First:

A drive from Columbus to Cincinnati at the beginning of our 20 hour drive to Texas. I have a lot of stuff ok? Getting rid of furniture was no problem but how could I possibly give away my *nsync cd collection? Or that pair of shoes? Or that other pair of shoes? It's just not possible. So i n the car they went. Ok, not really everything... I had to make an emergency trip to Cincinnati the night before. But that's a story for another day.

The setup was really quite simple. I got in the car and my roommate piled the stuff on top of me. Amazingly enough it wasn't too uncomfortable. I was able to fall asleep and my roommate woke me up in time for us to miss our exit. Oops.

Second:

A drive from Austin to San Antonio. It's a toss-up as to which was more fun really. Again we were driving a two door car. This trip involved Ikea. I had only been to Ikea once before and it was just a quite run through. This trip however... Ikea is like the best place ever! Anyhoo. There was a particular chair that I was looking for and a tv stand my roommate was looking for. We located both and found the chair to be in a very big box. At least too big in the way of fitting into the trunk, backseat, or even front seat of our car. Thankfully though I had already had experience in packing a car with things that don't quite fit. Once out in the parking lot, the chair comes out of the box and we broke that down to save it in case I needed to make a return. The little legs were stuffed in the back seat no problem. But the chair. Hmm. Even out of the box it was rather large for a compact car. But it was going home with me dang it! For a second time I got in the car and my roommate stuffed the chair in the front seat. This time it was a little harder as the chair was wider then a box. My roommate, a new one this time, stuffed it in as far as possible as I sat there getting smothered by cusioning. When it was just about in we gave up and slammed the door as hard as possible. Bam. Chair in the car. Interestingly enough once I got in a position so my circulation wasn't being cut off I was able to sleep through most of this ride too.

They were both fun trips with a lot of laughs but I wouldn't mind it if I didn't have to take another one in the near future.  :)

Let's compare the San Antonio Washington Mutual building to Polaris' building in Columbus shall we?

Columbus:
- 2 cafeterias with incredibly good food. Like, really good.
- Dry cleaners - perfect for those who seem to have a lot of clothes that need dry cleaning
- Post office/UPS/Fed Ex store - perfect for those who don't feel like driving to your nearest unknown location.
- Starbucks - exceptional cheese danish! And I'm sure coffee for those who drink it.
- Small store - with the absolute best gummi bears ever. I'm not kidding. AND swedish fish. How much better can you get?
- DVD rental - which I never used that service but they then put Previously Viewed movies on sale for cheap. Got a few good ones that way.... although they never sold Step Up.
- Massage service - also never used but it's pretty cool knowing that they have one right?

and then we have my new location of...

Washington Mutual:
- 1 ok cafeteria with prices more expensive then Columbus
- um, yeah that's it. :sigh:

I think I might have gotten spoiled at Polaris you think? I especially miss those gummi bears.

Traffic

When Chase first started asking for volunteers, like myself, for relocation to San Antonio a conference call was set up with someone currently residing in Texas, supposedly San Antonio. Some of the attractions were listed as well as geography, housing, and a notable comment on traffic. As far as I remember, and I confirmed with a friend who moved here as well, it was mentioned that traffic was not a problem because of the newly developed highways.

We were lied to.

There is traffic. As in traffic jams. Everywhere. All the time.

The dirty details.

I never really understood that expression but no less. It is the title of this blog. The details you may ask, or you may hope, are about my move to Texas. San Antonio to be precise. But I think I mentioned that part at least.

I'm sure you all read or at least heard about Chase buying out Washington Mutual. And if you didn't hear about it you seriously need to get out more. Or at least buy a radio for your cave if you don't want to go out. But they did and it was a really fast move too. One day there are two banks the next day *poof* only Chase. So because of this transaction they asked people in my department (and others as well) if we would like to relocate to WaMu's Texas location. As an added bonus of getting out of the cold wintery my car didn't even want to start and I had to sit for ten minutes while my window defrosted enough to be able to scrape it the other day weather Chase is paying us $4000. To some who have kids and a mortgage and lots of expensive furniture that's not much. But as I have none of the above it's a fair amount. They would like us to stay there for two years but as long as we remain within Chase we only have to be there for one. I found a roommate there who just bought a house and if I hadn't left my new computer at home after Christmas I would post a picture of it. I google mapped it and it looks really nice.

I leave Columbus early Friday the 29th with my roommie Laura. She's riding with me in and I'm flying her back. We'll probably stay in Memphis friday night and get to my new residence Saturday evening. Assuming all goes well. And if it doesn't then thankfully we have AAA.

As for my car making it you ask? The driver's side window is taped shut making it impossible to go through drive thru's because I rolled it down one day and it decided not to roll back up. And there's a piece missing off the right side of it with blue touch of paint. And it's a two door car so I'm going to need to get those bags where you vacuum all the air out to hopefully make stuff fit. But according to the place where I get my repairs done (clearly the window and the piece that really isn't missing I just haven't paid to have it put back on are not top priority repairs) the mechanic says that it's in good condition and it should make is just fine. Hopefully he's right.

So. There you go. Details. I'm sure I'll have much more to blog about in the coming days and weeks so stay tuned.

Happy New Year!

Once I had a dream ...
or maybe I read it and incorporated it.
Sometimes, memory of where fails me,
but I know it was good, really good.

There was a world,
and we all lived there, together.
There was peace among all faiths,
and all races; opportunity existed for all.

Everybody celebrated,
celebrated the joy of their uniqueness.
Sharing whatever they had with
those who had need, without obligation.

Together we shared
the planet that we were so blessed with.
The environment was nurtured like a baby,
protected from greedy users and abusers.

There was love there,
love for every living thing.
Understanding how creation of all life
directly relates to us on a personal level.

Joy was daily ritual,
joy for discovery of something new.
Not a form of obedience or requirement,
but a beautiful understanding of balance.

War did not exist,
there was no need for a defense budget.
We were all a part of the big picture;
all people had a voice, we were important.

This was a world of honor,
a world of Jesus and Mohammad,
a world of LaoTsu and Buddha,
where all paths have honor and validity.

Education was second nature,
learning became a way of life for all people.
Religion was not a means of conversion,
but a method of discovering ones own path.

May the new year bring you:
success in your business,
sunshine in your love life,
health in your physicality.

May your country bring you:
peace in world relations,
honesty in their rhetoric,
openness in their policies.

May our educators bring us:
freedom in our thoughts,
knowledge of all things,
lessons in how to think.

May you bring your world:
integrity in your dealings,
love in your friendships,
beauty in your creations.

Once I had a dream...
By John Doelman