New Look and Wonderful News

Tuesday, February 26th, 10:23 am

SWEET :D I love the look of this new layout. It's been sitting finished on my hard drive for I don't know how many months, but I finally got up the mental energy required to put it up. Didn't take too long, either, since I had everything basically done and laid out for me. "Full Moon Rising" is a beautiful design, but the full moon has always had personal significance for me as well (I don't go crazy at the full moon, but I've always liked it).

Also, I have some wonderful news... :) As of the Sunday after Valentine's Day, I'm in a relationship! It was kind of unexpected, but this guy and I have been acquaintances for about 3 years, and really close friends for almost a year...and I really liked him a lot, but wasn't sure how to tell him. He's 28 (nearly 29), and he teaches English composition at the local community college. Really smart guy, decent, honest, and a true gentleman. Not to mention the fact that he's verrrry sexy. Well, to me, at least :D *SQUEE*

We got to know each other playing Magic: The Gathering and Hero Clix, mainly (strategy games are our thing, apparently!)--we hung out and played games, and he taught me a lot about constructing strategies and thinking through my builds, since I'm kind of a "fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants" gamer sometimes. But even though we spent a LOT of time together, especially over Christmas break, I figured he just liked me as a friend, and nothing more could ever be.

Well, he gave me a Valentine's Day present--a cute kitty card and a little bear holding a heart. (He's the first man not related to me by blood to give me a Valentine's Day present!) Then on the Sunday following, we went to church, and went to dinner with his parents (who are both really cool). Afterwards, we intended to go to the local coffee shop and play a bit of Magic and Clix, but we ended up sitting in his car in the church parking lot, talking for nearly three hours. And it alllllllll came out...the fact that I liked him, the fact that he liked me, and how we had both been so scared to tell each other for fear we would screw up the friendship. It was much cuteness...it was seriously straight out of the ending of a fairy tale. And now, it seems, we are at the beginning of a new fairy tale.

Both my parents and his parents are glad to see this working out--I think they were all sitting there like "OK, when are they going to admit they like each other?" I'm actually his first real girlfriend, because he's not really wanted to date before now. His philosophy was that God would lead him to the right girl when it was the right time. Since I can't tell the future, I don't know where exactly this is going to go, but I hope for the best. I already cared about him so much, and this relationship is offering us the opportunity to develop lasting feelings for each other.

Now, I kinda can't wait to graduate from the Masters program so I can head home for good and be with him (he's from my hometown...which is kind of ironic, lol). But for now, I content myself with going home every weekend for visits and much gaming, hugging, and quality time. *squee*
 
Current Mood: bouncy
Current Music: "You and Me" - Lifehouse

The "Poor Little Car Chronicles," part II ... *sigh*

Wednesday, December 5th, 10:37 pm

Thought little Sydney was fixed, didn't 'cha? Well, unfortunately for me, on Saturday evening the "Check Engine" light popped on. Needless to say, I was quite concerned. But I read in the car manual that when that light pops on and stays on, it means that there is a temporary condition (like the gas cap isn't tightened down, or poor fuel quality) that will usually be resolved after refueling and driving around a while.

So I "fed" Sydney on Sunday morning, drove around a little. Light was still on when I got back.

Did some errands Sunday evening, drove around a little more. Light was still on.

Went to class Monday evening, drove to the grocery store afterwards for foodstuffs. Light was STILL...ON. :(

Finally, Tuesday morning I heeded my parents' advice to go to the local Ford dealership for them to run a diagnostic. When I got there, I let them know that I had just gotten Sydney back from being fixed less than a week ago, and that the light had popped on and stayed on just two days after being fixed.

Apparently, when the mechanics popped the hood to start plugging in the diagnostic machine, one of them said, "Good Lord! That EGR valve ain't on right!" Turns out that the replacement EGR valve had been put on so shoddily that it was bumping around a little. Not much, but just enough so that Sydney's onboard computer knew something wasn't right, and that it looked out of place. If I had driven her home this coming Friday in that condition, I might have been hitching a ride with Dad on Sunday morning to come back to school.

In exchange for $219, the mechanics took the frontal body portion off the car, got up in the engine, and reattached the part correctly (then, of course, replaced the body portion, lol). They also cleaned off the carbon deposits that had accumulated in the engine parts while they were at it. An hour after arriving, I got my baby back, good as new, and she's been fine since. :D

(I feel bad that I left it so long...I just didn't think that the other place had screwed up her repair job so badly. But at least we caught it before her engine pulled any more "I don't feel like starting today" business. THAT is something I hope I don't have to deal with again for a very long time.)
 
Current Mood: chipper
Current Music: meep...random Guitar Hero tracks

The "Poor Little Car" Chronicles

Thursday, November 29th, 8:16 pm

Okay. So, Tuesday morning about 11:00 AM, I headed out to my car to go grocery shopping...I was in dire need of drinks. (When I don't have anything to drink, I don't eat, and when I don't eat, I get pissy. So! I needed drinks. ^_^)

I got in my car (her name is Sydney :) ) like normal and started her up--but instead of the normal "VROOOOOOMMmmmmmmm..." she made this awful "VROOOOMMmmmmVROOMmmmVROOOMMm"...it was like I was revving the engine, but my foot wasn't even touching the gas pedal. The worst thing was, I couldn't even let her run or put her into gear without her just dying.

I called my parents, crying because I'm two hours away from them and I was by myself, not sure what to do about my car. And of course, it was one of the only Tuesday nights in the semester where I actually had to attend class. :( POOOOOOP.

So, after being on the phone with Mom and Dad for about an hour, we finally figured out who to call--a local auto repair company who had done work for Mom and Dad's oldest car about a year ago. I called them, then they set me up with a tow truck guy to get her from my apartment complex to the auto repair shop. The tow truck came about 15 minutes later, and I watched as the driver hitched little Sydney to the truck and drove away. I felt like a mama watching the ambulance driving away with her little girl inside. :( :(

Two of my roomies were kind enough to drive me to class Tuesday night and Wednesday night, but by Wednesday afternoon I had gotten the call saying "Your car is fixed," which was happy news. I couldn't go and pick Sydney up until this morning because I was in class until after the shop closed.

So, this morning (or afternoon...slept kinda late :P) I headed out in a cab to the repair shop, where I traded $202 for my little fixed car. Turns out a part had gone bad--it was the EGR valve, which regulates the emissions that my car makes. When that valve screws up, the car basically doesn't run anymore, and the valve can only be replaced, not fixed. So, for the tow truck fee, the part, and the labor, I think that was a fair price! :) I got back from the place okay, and little Sydney has done fine the rest of the day. Thank God that the valve didn't screw up while I was in transit coming back from Thanksgiving Break! :D

* YAY I AM SO HAPPY * *dancedance*
 
Current Mood: accomplished
Current Music: Killer Queen, from Guitar Hero

Woo. I am BACK.

Sunday, November 4th, 9:54 pm

Wow. Been a looooooooooooong time since I posted anything. Grad school ate my life! D: :(

But luckily, I am back just in time to tell all you fine folks that I am updating the look of my journal, and hopefully am going to be able to link it to one of my websites so that I can use the journal for site update purposes as well as a life blog. The new look is AWESOME...still have a few tweaks to make on it, but I think it will be gorgeous when it is up and running. Also, I have to find a script that will help me put the headlines of my LJ posts on an HTML page without me having to go in and update it every time I post something new.

In grad school, I am over 1/8th of the way through my degree now (as of Midterms about 2 weeks ago), and so I'm driving hard for the end of the semester. Lord help me get through all these dang papers! :D
 
Current Mood: thoughtful
Current Music: My own

When A Grad Student is Bored and Doesn't Wanna Work...

Thursday, September 6th, 10:11 am

...you get posts like these. :D Enjoy the linkage and stuffness!

Video:
Einstein the Parrot - From a show on Animal Planet. This parrot's sound imitation is freakin' hilarious.

Game:
Eskiv - Get the boxes!! Highly addictive. :P

Funny Pictures:
Great Ads

Funny Site:
IParkLikeAnIdiot.com (There should be some people from my school on here...XD)
 
Current Mood: bored
Current Music: "Hey There Delilah" - Plain White T's