Car Closure

As you know if you read my blog regularly (and let's face it, you probably don't) I traded in my 1992 Honda Accord for a shiny new 2001 Honda Accord about a month ago. Now my old Honda has been cleaned up and put up for sale (see link in title). I'm really glad they didn't just send it to the junk heap. It was a good car and I hope it will be a good car for someone else. :)

And since I usually use my consumer feedback powers for evil rather than good (I whine a lot) I thought I should shout out to the company that gave me a great deal on a great car and good service in the process: Stone Auto. The car buying process can be a nightmare- especially for a chick- but they were really great and I'd recommend them to anyone, but especially for used car deals.

PS- for a before and after photo comparison jump back to 'Ode to my Honda'.

marit's week in review

I'm a little behind so here's the week recap.

Weekend: 'rents had the annual Oktoberfest. Tasty beer, tasty food. Neighbors brought over a 1961 bottle of Crown Royale which, other than making my dad a bit sad to stop drinking beer, made my parents very drunk and happy.

Conference in the ATL: here's my consumer report-- Sheraton Buckhead was not good. Power went out at the hotel (only the hotel, thank god the bar down the street was unaffected) for 8 hours. Whether because of that or something else the lobby and basement (where the conference sessions were being held) was without AC for the second day of the conference. No internet access (hotel and host companies fault) so I purchased the access for my room, but even when there was no power for 8 hours they didn't discount or pro-rate the bill. Really disappointing, especially for a Sheraton.

And work: I've never heard of, let alone seen, so many people lose faith in a place so fast. I've heard of turnover where the staff all got fired. This staff all wants to quit. Myself included. I actually like my job most of the time. And I love my boss. But I can't watch my department let good people go-- all but force them to go with bad decisions and a lack of support. I don't want to be left in that mess, so I'll be updating the 'ole resume this weekend. I'm angry though. Really, really mad about it all.

The Word is Re-Run

After watching, and posting about, part of the MSNBC re-airing of the news on the morning of 9/11 (see the 'As It Happened' post) I found Stephen Colbert's take on it particularly amusing.

hodgepodge: pick n' choose

My professor referenced an obscure Bare NakedLadies song in order to make a point today in class. I seriously doubt that anyone in that room other than me had even heard of the song. This class has some terrible readings (think 120 pages of stereo instructions) but this prof does a good job of explaining things and he's Canadian so occasionally I get these hilarious and strange references.

My weekend was GREAT- thanks for asking. Both my teams won and the hockey game went to overtime and was wonderful. The weather was incredible, the food and beer plentiful and tasty and the friends didn't make fun of me as much as usual!

I went to lunch with a friend who is moving away in a week or so, to Rhode Island. He was a proprietor of a favorite local hangout and also happens to be gay. He told several stories over lunch of people, recently, who informed him they would not go to a gay-owned store or who actively tried to convince him to renounce his evil, godless ways. It's a tragedy to me that in 2007 we still have so many intolerant people. Even if I didn't approve of the gay lifestyle, what happened to common decency? Why do you purposely seek out and offend people? -any people?

Wednesday Evening, 10pm

I broke my rule a little bit. The 9/11 post was long so here's a quick update my day-to-day shit:

This weekend looks perfect. Football (State) on Saturday and hockey (Canes) on Sunday! Next weekend is the Oktoberfest (yes, I know it's not October- not my decision!). All I have to do is get through the week overflowing with work and class readings.

Speaking of work, I'm getting to do more stuff I want to but not getting to drop the other stuff I have to. I haven't cracked yet but I think the strain is beginning to show.

Roommate is in the throes of new-relationship joy with yet another guy. This one takes her to watch sunsets which I think is probably boring, somewhat suspicious and definitely cheesy. I hope neither of them read this blog.

Several coworkers who have moved since I have are now planning house-warming parties. I think that means time has expired on mine and I haven't done anything to the place since painting part of the stairway 2 months ago. :(

5 points to anyone who correctly guess where I stole my blog title from.

9/11 As It Happened

So yesterday was the 6 year anniversary of 9/11 and I came across this show, "9/11, As It Happened" on MSNBC. I'm trying not to watch anymore 9/11 stuff. It's not good. Like watching a car accident only it's the biggest one EVER.

However, I broke my rule and turned it on because my 9/11 experience was actually spent far away from a TV. I walked into the office and heard about the first plane. Heard about the second plane at the coffee shop. Heard about the Pentagon 2 seconds before I went into class (and I still don't know why I went to that class because at that point I thought the country was completely under attack- and well, it was). And I saw the towers fall as I walked into my local pizza place.

So I turned on the show and was instantly sucked into the Today Show (love ya, Matt; miss ya, Katie) at around 9:00am on that fateful morning. Of course 9:00am means pre-second plane and it was interesting to experience that world- the one where we still assumed that anything that terrible had to be an accident. The second plane- oh, I knew it was coming and I still almost missed it- the shock was unbelievable and no one knew what to do, what to say.

After that, it got really interesting. Bush gave a speech (I never knew that) and said "we'll get these guys" but since it came before the crash in Pennsylvania or the Pentagon hit, it had the ring of failure (never mind the fact we still haven't gotten these guys). The FBI said they "never saw this coming". The media freely announced the airline and flight numbers of the planes that crashed and all I could think about was the people watching who knew- or maybe worse, suspected their loved ones were on that plane. And then there was the mis-information. People being interviewed on the ground who thought both planes hit one tower or worse, that the second plane was just an explosion in the first tower. These are the things the firefighters thought too. No one knew what was going on.

And the show never mentioned but in passing the heroes of that day. A brief comment here and there about the firemen and police on the scene. No one realized or thought, at least not right away, how many of them were in those towers when they fell. My thoughts are with their families now.

The joys of nature

Camping review: excellent. No puking or flooded tents. The mountains were awe-inspiring and thought-provoking. Lots of fun with friends. Hope to have the chance to go again soon.

Weather was supposed to be upper 70's but I swear it was hotter than that. I ended up sunburned and sweaty. Add to that a short hike through the woods, crawling under a barb-wire fence and diving to hit the birdie (badminton- no animal cruelty) and you can understand how happy I was to see my shower. I think that's the secret joy of camping: the coming back to civilization.