January 2005 Archive
Wednesday, January 26, 2005
I really have some other things I should be doing, but I had a few pictures of Sadie and Horus I wanted to get up. The color isn't as good as it should be on a few of them since I had turned off the flash in hopes of not irritating them. Unfortunately that made everything a lot darker than anticipated. The link is to the right or you can click here to see their new album.
Tuesday, January 25, 2005
I haven't been writing much, but then there hasn't been much to say either. It's been chilly, I have been knitting, reading and watching movies in my spare time. I am enjoying the new job and having potential customers that actually want to talk to me.
Horus went to the vet for his annual and Sadie went too in order to get a bump on her foot looked at. Horus wasn't real happy, Sadie just loved it. Funny how that works. Is it because dogs are just good natured or social that they love the vet, or are they just dumb?
Tomorrow is the last day of my class and my final paper is due. Something I am really not looking forward to. But it shouldn't be too hard, we have already been working on it as parts of other assignments. Then a week from Thursday my last class begins for real this time. Thank goodness.
Finally, it was a long time coming, but I now have a scanner. See the customer satisfaction survey from November's Vanity Fair. The picture is rather large so it might be better to print, but because it was on gray it was difficult to read. If you right click on the picture or the link and 'save as' you can save it to your desktop. Enjoy.
Thursday, January 20, 2005
A lot has happened since I last wrote. The girl who was going to buy the car had her boyfriend call on Thursday night and offer me a price that I didn't fell was fair and couldn't afford. I accepted out of panic since I had been planning to sign over the car the next day. All that night it just ate at me. I felt that I had been taken advantage of and really felt like the car was worth more than that and her boyfriend seemed to be under the misconception that a car was an 'investment' of sorts. Even if he wants to think of it that way, I truly believe that the Altima is a better investment than most. It had super low miles, really looked quite good when it was cleaned up and never had a single mechanical problem. All it needed was the same maintenance that any car requires.
So, I pulled out. I decided that 1. I could better afford to keep the car than to sell it to them. and 2. It would be really stupid of me to sell it to someone that wasn't going to pay me what I thought the car was worth when I had 4 other people that were interested in the car.
One gentleman had already seen it with his wife and daughter and was aware of the accident that it had been in after it was first purchased. He was still interested and was fully aware that it needed maintenance. We had it checked out at his mechanic who checked to make sure it could be aligned and did a compression test on the engine. The mechanic told me that the engine tested around 175 which is about the best result you can get from an engine. I think the engine is one, if not the, most important part of a car. Certainly the most expensive to fix.
I always felt that the Altima was a good, reliable car and it felt good to have my perception confirmed. He paid me $6,500 for the car which I believe was a very fair price and certainly significantly more than what the first 'buyer' was trying to pay at the last minute.
I was really glad I hadn't gone through with the first sale. I really felt that it was the wrong thing to do and felt that her boyfriend was taking advantage of the situation. She was nice though, and I hope she finds a car that does well for her. But I really seriously doubt that she will find another car that is as reliable, looks as nice and has a warranty. Oh well.
I just found out that I am not on my last class for my MBA. The University of Phoenix screwed up my schedule (surprise, surprise) and there is a class that is not listed that I need to take and PAY for. I really hate these people. I will be so glad to not have to deal with them any more. God, that's deflating. I have thought this was my last class for about 6 months now. I won't be able to start until February. That makes my last day 7 weeks later than anticipated. Sigh.
We got snow here yesterday. A dry snow that, of course, caused accidents all over the place and didn't melt off at all since it's so cold. Odd how it goes from 70 to 20. Last Sunday it snowed but the ground was so warm it didn't stick at all. This actually stuck and it looks like there might be some more tonight and again this weekend. I was very glad for the 4 wheel drive vehicle, a lot of kids had to spend the night at their schools and some people slept in their cars. I had to wait in a big line to get home, but at least I was able to get up the hill and around the curve.
Tuesday, January 11, 2005
Well, it seems that I have sold the car. It will be a few more days going through the paperwork but hopefully everything will be taken care of by Friday. The girl buying it is a student at the UNC medical school getting her PhD. I think it's a good car and she will be pleased. I will be pleased to get it off my insurance and only have one car at a time.
As far as everything else goes I am feeling rather overwhelmed these days. What I think I would like is a clean slate. A new life, new friends, new pattern. I have had a tremendous amount of anxiety lately and there are a lot of things in my life that I have no control over that terrify me but really nothing I need to go into detail over here.
I am also really really sick of junk faxes. Those people violate so many laws I can't even begin to list them. Since I really don't get faxes from people that don't let me know in advance that they are faxing, I am thinking of unhooking the fax line for a while. Perhaps if they can't get an answer from my fax machine for a month this garbage will stop.
Friday, January 7, 2005
My Altima goes in the paper tomorrow. To check out some pictures and info click here. Tell anyone you know who needs a car. It's a good car, it was just too small for my new job.
I am making a wonderful smelling black bean soup downstairs. In my effort to be saving money I will be eating more frugally. Certainly bean soup qualifies. Luckily it's really nutritious and tasty as well.
Pamela and Ambiorix leave for Paris on Monday. Hopefully they get nice weather and have a wonderful trip. I would like to get to Europe again. Better get saving.
Have a great weekend.
Wednesday, January 5, 2005
The phone started ringing yesterday and today for the new job. I guess that's a good sign but it was a bit surprising to be asked to do a quote today. Nothing I worked on though, just an 'out of the blue' call. Tomorrow starts week 4 of my final class. We are just coming back from a two week break and it's going to be hard to get back into the swing of things. I am so looking forward to school being over and having the degree.
The house is dirty. I really need to dust and vacuum. I will see if I can get to that tomorrow night - which is trash night. Trash night is a good night to get cleaning done.
Other than that, nothing really exciting. I am working on assembling a budget and starting a serious savings plan. This frivolous eating out has got to stop. Now that I have a job where people want to buy the products I am selling there is no reason I can't get all my debt paid off and money in the bank. Right?
Monday, January 3, 2005
Back to work today. I finished Pamela's scarf last night and started a new one with a yarn I had purchased to see how it looked. I really like the new yarn better than the other ones I have to work with. It comes in small balls though so it looks as if I will need another to finish the scarf. I also should finish the one for Stephanie and do one for mom out of the yarn she picked out. I don't really care for the yarn for Stephanie's though so I might look for something else.
I have been playing Pirates! this weekend and really enjoying it. Although I am having trouble keeping the crew happy even when I have a ton of money...and the objectives keep adding up. I am working on perfecting my sword fighting and dancing skills as I battle with knaves and woo women.
The Christmas decorations are all down and stored. And let me just say I love the pre-lit tree.
More updates later.
Saturday, January 1, 2005
Happy New Year. Went to Pamela's last night for her New Years Eve celebration. Good food, lots of folks. Bryan and I were talking and we really can't remember what we have done from one New Years to the next with the exception of the New Year's Eve we spent in Athens, Greece for the 2002-3 year.
Bryan finally got back from NY on Tuesday, only a day late...and we managed to get his luggage that night. On Wednesday he traded in the MINI and bought a Toyota Tacoma truck. It certainly is a lot more practical than the MINI but it doesn't have a lot of inside storage. While car shopping with Bryan I saw a Highlander that I went back and got a great deal on the next day. I knew I would need a car I could take customers out in and the Nissan just wouldn't cut it. The Nissan will get cleaned up this coming week (it really does clean up surprisingly well) and go into the paper. I have cleaned out the garage so that it will be clean and protected for the duration.