Yesterday was a LONG, interesting, but fun day. The interesting started in the morning. I went shopping for some stuff at Walmart and had to lay on the horn twice within a span of a couple minutes while I was leaving the parking lot. People need to pay attention when they drive. Then I stopped at Home Depot to get a chair for my balcony. I had planned on getting a couple of those stackable plastic chairs, but I sat in an Adirondack style chair, and decided to get that. I’ll probably be the one person sitting on the balcony anyways. And if someone does come over and we sit out there, I have my fold-up chair. Getting that chair into my car proved to be very challenging. I thought it would fit in my backseat, but the plastic wasn’t as flexible as I hoped it would be, and the base was too wide to fit through the door. Luckily, a guy saw I was having trouble getting it into my car and stopped to help. Not sure what made him stop, but I’m glad he did. He tried to get it in the backseat, but couldn’t. So we ended up putting it in my trunk and tying the trunk down. I guess Good Samaritans do still exist.

The rest of the afternoon was pretty much lazy. I watched some stuff I had on tape from the past week. That’s about it. Then I started getting ready for the concert. Robin and I went to the Daughtry/Bon Jovi concert last nite. We took a shuttle bus from Big D’s. I’m glad we did. It saved the headache of getting to the Dome and finding a place to park and having to get out afterwards. But it made for an interesting experience. But more on that later.

I met Robin at Big D’s a little before 6pm to hop on a bus. I was afraid they’d leave before we got there, but we were fine. Had plenty of time to spare. The bad part of taking the bus … they dropped us off on the west side of the Dome but our seats were on the east side. So we had to walk all the way around to get to our section. And walking through that mass of people sure was interesting. The show was sold out. They said there were 25,000 people there. I think about half of them were in line for the women’s bathroom. Geez! Why is it that there is always a huge line for the women’s but never a line for the men’s?

Our seats were basically at the top of the Dome, but there were up front almost right on the side of the stage. So, while we were way up top, we could still see the stage really good. And they had video screens. So we didn’t miss anything. And those video screens, they were cool. Leave it to a geek like me to notice them. I first noticed that they were moving up and down. Then I saw them kinda pulling apart. Apparently they were made up of some sort of strips of video. They were separate screens and they morphed into a single screen and it was just cool. And the back of the stage moved too. And had video on it as well. Very geeky and cool. I wish I had my camera with so I could have gotten pics. I tried to take some with my cell phone, but that doesn’t have a very good camera on it.

As for the concert itself. Awesome. I love Daughtry. And he was basically the main reason I wanted to go. He didn’t disappoint. And damn if the man ain’t HOT!!! He put on an awesome show. And as for Bon Jovi … I don’t know all of their music, but I know enough to enjoy the show. I missed the first few songs because I was in line for the bathrooms (grrrrrrr). But the rest of the show that I did see was awesome. At one point, he was out on a small stage basically right in front of us. If I had my camera, I could have gotten some good pics.

Getting back to Big D’s after the show was where the interesting REALLY began. Read the rest of this entry »

The past couple nites, I’ve been trying to figure out when I wanna take my vacation. I was thinking of the end of June or the beginning of July. Maybe the week of the 4th of July. I really don’t know. All I do know is that I wanna go somewhere. I haven’t been on a REAL vacation since June 2002. I went to visit my friend Melissa in Kansas. I’d go visit her again, only she’s living in Germany now. Her husband is in the military and stationed over there ’til 2010. I don’t have the money to go THAT far.

But I do wanna go somewhere. The past few years, I’ve taken my vacation during the fair. I don’t plan on doing that this year. The lineup isn’t as good. Only 3 concerts, and I really only wanna go to one. But don’t know that I’ll spend $20. I mean, I’ve seen them (32 Below) before … many many times. Yeah, I’d love to see ‘em again. But to pay $20 to be smooshed around by drunk people. No thanks. They are having bull riding a couple nites and races a couple nites. I’ll probably go to both of those things … at least 1 nite each. But that’s not what I wanna do with my vacation.

I really have no idea where I wanna go. And with gas prices the way they are (and probably getting worse), I don’t know that I’ll travel far. Unless I could get a really good deal on a plane ticket. But then again … I haven’t flown since before 9/11. I don’t know what I’d be in for.

All I know is that I wanna get out of my apartment … out of town. Even out of the state if that’s possible. I mean, I do live like 10 minutes from Minnesota (depending on traffic and how fast I drive ) and only a little more than an hour from South Dakota. I just don’t know where to go. And I’d probably be going by myself. Robin has Dannilynn, so I don’t think she could travel too far for too long. And she’s been really really really busy at work (I think she’d say that’s an understatement). I could probably get my sister to go with me. But I’d have to pay her way since she doesn’t have a job (hey putz … move up here … ). I don’t know how much fun I’d have by myself. I guess it would just depend on where I’d go.

So … this is where you come in (all 2 or 3 of you readers that I still have … LOL). Where should I go on vacation? Give me some suggestions. I’m serious here. I really wanna DO something for a change. I just don’t know what. So I need some help. Help me brainstorm for places to go on vacation. I’d really appreciate it.

I have become such a bad blogger. But then again, I haven’t been posting regularly for a while now anyways. But I have become a mad Twitterer. I’ve become addicted. So if you don’t hear from me around here for quite some time, just checkout my Twitter feed or check out the sidebar. There’s a REALLY good chance you’ll find me there.

I’ve been meaning to send out an email to some friends to try to brainwash talk them into using Twitter. I just haven’t sat down to do it yet. But I really need to. I need to find some Twitter-ites outside of Houston to follow … LOL.

I have a feeling I’ll be “tweeting” from my phone tonite at the rodeo. I’m going with Robin, Mona, and Allen. And then to Pete’s for the rodeo dance. Rodeo … that means COWBOYS!!!! And if you know me, you know I like cowboys. It’s times like this where I wish I had a fancy cell phone (a PDA-type phone) so I could follow along with Twitter. I can get notifications on my phone, but that would be a lot of text messages. But most of the time, I have no need for that fancy of a phone. So I’ll just have to live with it.

I’ll try to start blogging more again. But I can’t promise anything. After working on the computer all day for work, I just don’t have the energy at nite. And working from home and not leaving my apartment that often means I have a boring life. Not much to blog about. But I plan on doing some more work on my websites soon. So maybe I’ll get some techy posts up that I meant to when I registered this domain and set up this blog. But only time will tell.

I’d better get going. I have 2 hours before Robin gets here to pick me up for the rodeo … I need to figure out what I’m gonna do for supper and eat early so I can get ready. I already know what I’m gonna wear. I just need to fix my hair and makeup and change clothes. Then I’ll be all ready for all those cowboys … So many cowboys … so little time.

Today is the first day of spring … the spring equinox.

Folk tales from various European countries claim that only on the March equinox day (some may add the September equinox day or may explicitly not), one can balance an egg on its point. However one can balance an egg on its point any day of the year if one has the patience.

From Wikipedia

I know that you can do this any day, but I thought I’d give it a try. I don’t think I ever have … unless it was when I was little. Well … it was a success …

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Even though today is the first day of spring, and even though we’ve been having spring-like temps, winter is NOT yet over. We’ve got a pretty icky storm system in the region. Some areas can get up to 6 inches of snow or so. And of course … the areas that are supposed to get the worst of the weather is where I am planning on heading for Easter. If it gets really bad, I hope Mom has a backup plan for Easter dinner. Her ham is in my fridge. They’re cheaper here than there. I have a ham in the freezer as well. So the weather better be nice enough on Saturday so I can head home.

Times like today are where being an independent woman could get me in trouble. LOL My desk was finally delivered this morning. Unfortunately, due to its size, the delivery guy wouldn’t bring it up to my apartment (on the 3rd floor). He delivered it to my garage, leaving ME to find a way to get the monstrosity up to my apartment.

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My sister is coming up this weekend to help me put the desk together (and I’m assuming do some shopping too). I could have left the desk in the garage until Friday nite or Saturday morning and brought it up with her help. But noooooo. I didn’t want to leave it in the garage that long. So I decided to bring it up on my lunch break. Due to the size of the box (look over to the left … and YES, it is a filthy box) which I believe is larger than my kitchen table (or pretty damn close) … I decided to bring it up in pieces. I brought up the biggest/heaviest pieces to make the box a more manageable weight. When I thought I had it down to a manageable weight, I decided to drag the box in. Well … I figured a little wrong. I should have taken out a few more pieces before trying to bring up the box. Have you seen the episode of Big Bang Theory where the guys bring her furniture to her apartment? I had that thought when I got to the steps. LOL But I got it up.

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It doesn’t look too scary for putting it together. There aren’t as many pieces as I thought there might be (check out the image to the left). And unlike the shelf I bought recently, it’s put together with actual metal hardware. The shelf is held together with plastic hardware. I’d put it together myself tonite, but I know it would be too heavy for me to move around by myself. So for that, I’ll actually wait for when my sister is here, and she can help me (if she’s recovered from her 8 games of bowling by then). But I am going to put together the drawers tonite. Those can be put together separately from the rest of the desk, and they’re small. They won’t take up too much space once they’re put together. I believe there are 2 small and 1 big drawer.

And to think … it’s gonna end up looking like this …

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Last week (on Tuesday), I decided to get the desk that I had been contemplating getting. It was on sale at Office Max for $119.99 (regularly $199.99). Since I was considering getting it when it was full price, I would have been a fool not to get it $80 cheaper.

Since it was furniture, the store didn’t have it in stock. They put in the order and were going to have it delivered directly to me. I called them on Friday to see what my order status was. I was told that it was actually out for delivery … that it should be delivered between 8am and 5pm, and if it wasn’t, to call them back. Well, 5pm came and went … no desk. So I called them back. They put a trace on it. Since I really didn’t expect it until this week, I wasn’t too upset. Although, I would have liked to have gotten it so that I could have set it up over the weekend. Now I have to wait until this coming weekend to put it together (if I can get some help … Lisa?? Robin??).

I got a call this morning from the shipper asking if it would be okay to deliver it tomorrow. Kinda surprised that they called. She told me that they had attempted delivery on Friday at 10:05am. ’scuse me? No you didn’t. I work from home. I was home ALL DAY. No one tried to deliver anything. I should have asked her why they weren’t trying to deliver today if they had tried on Friday. Oh well. I don’t plan on putting it together ’til Saturday anyways. I have a feeling that I’m gonna need more than a couple hours to get it together.

I can’t wait until I have that thing set up. I just hope I didn’t overestimate the size of it (I did measure, and I don’t *think* it will be an issue). To have all of my computers fit on the desk will be nice. I can get rid of the lappy power cord stretched across the room. And to get my printer off of the floor … that’ll be nice too.

Ever since I got out on my own, I’ve basically lived paycheck to paycheck. And it’s not fun. It sucks when it gets down to a few days before payday and you don’t have enough money in your checking account to get groceries.

It hasn’t been that bad for some time now, but I’ve still been living paycheck to paycheck. I have managed to have money for groceries and other necessities, but when it comes to “fun money” … there’s not a lot of that sitting around. My main problem is the credit cards that I had and used during college … for books and food and other things that I didn’t need to use them for. I only have 2, but that’s bad enough.

The past couple years have definitely been better … ever since I started working as a web programmer. I’ve been make larger payments to my credit cards … definitely over the minimum payment. And I’ve gotten really close to getting one of my credit cards paid off. I actually made an extra payment today. My scheduled payment isn’t due until the 18th. I should be able to get that sucker paid off over the next 2 months. That will leave me an extra $200 a month … that’s what I’ve been paying for the past year or so. When that’s done, at least $100 of that will go toward the other credit card … maybe $150 of it. That would mean $300 or $350 payments on that sucker. And according to my calculations, I could get that one paid off in 7 or 8 months … depending on what I decide to send them. When both of those are all paid off, I’m getting rid of the second one but keeping the first for emergencies (and hope to NEVER have to use it).

This month, something has happened that has never happened before. You see, when I started the new job at the beginning of the year, I got a pay increase … a pretty decent one as well. My paycheck for Feb. 15th had 96 hours on it … so it was rather nice. And around that time, I got my tax refund back (not real huge, but still good enough). Those 2 things combined to leave me quite a bit more left in my account at the end of the month than I’m used to. Enough that I’ve been considering getting a new desk. I had thought about getting a new camera, but I’m not sure any more. It’s been so long since I’ve taken pictures. But I have enough in my account after bills to be able to get a desk and a camera.

Now … I’m not gonna get both … not even sure I’ll get one. I’m so used to NOT spending money. I’m always waiting for the other shoe to drop … either my car is gonna completely die or I’ll lose my job or something will happen. Yep … I’m a pessimist.

Where it’s most notable that I don’t spend money is grocery shopping. It’s gotten to the point that I HATE going grocery shopping. I just don’t know what to buy … especially when it comes to meat. Everything seems so expensive. It seems like the only meat I end up getting is hamburger or chicken or the occasional roast if they’re on sale. Now I actually have money available to buy better cuts of meat and better quality produce and other stuff. But I don’t. I look at the prices and leave it on the shelves. But I don’t have to now. How does one break a habit like that? I love to cook. I have money available to buy ingredients to make recipes that I’ve been dying to make. But I don’t. I think I need a financial attitude makeover … LOL.

I do know one thing that I’m going to be doing once the first credit card is paid off. I’m going to open a second savings account that is earmarked specifically for a house. I am so sick and tired of apartment living. I want my own house. I want to be able to paint the walls any color I want. And I want to be able to wash clothes any time I want to and not have to worry about the machines not being available. I want a SEPARATE room for an office since I work from home. I know that I’m probably at least 2 years away from being able to get a house, but at least I’m starting to plan for it. I also need to put more money in my current savings account. Getting my lappy depleted it somewhat. I want to build that back up for emergencies … so I don’t have to use a credit card. The biggest thing for that account would be car repairs. I really need to get my car looked over in the next couple months so that it lasts me a couple more years. I plan on doing that once the weather warms up.

Boy … this post ended up more rambling than I had planned … sorry. I guess I shouldn’t post when there’s NASCAR on tv … LOL.

A while back, I decided to join Twitter. Now that I have, I’m completely hooked. I even downloaded Twhirl after Mace suggested I use a Twitter client and after seeing Christine posting from it. I’ve been using it ever since. Makes it much easier to keep up with the new ‘tweets’.

I’ve been starting to follow more and more people. It makes it easier to follow conversations when they’re not one sided … LOL. And it jut so happens that most of the people I follow live in Houston. It’s all Christine’s fault. I started following her and Mace and started adding people she follows. Since she lives in Houston, she’s bound to follow people from there. Following their conversations makes me wish it was more techie up here. I know that there are geeks up here, but I just don’t know where to find them. I’ve done some searching from time to time for blogs from the area. But the only one I know of at this point is Mace. Maybe he knows of more. Or maybe I just need to get out of my apartment and start hanging out at coffee shops. LOL

But even if there a lot of geeks up here, I don’t think they’re as social as they are down in Houston. I was really jealous reading about the Twitter meetup they were having this past weekend. I would love to go to something like that. To meet people who blog and have Twitter accounts and are geeky like me. But until I find people like that up here, I’m living vicariously through them.

What really makes me jealous about following all these Houston Twitterers (is that a word? LOL) is their talk of coworking. OMG … I would love to be able to do that. While I don’t work for myself, I do work from home. I could really work anywhere that had wifi (I’d need a power source too because I have an external hard drive with my work laptop that would need to be plugged in). Being able to do that would solve my space issue and it would give me some much needed social contact. I did find out that there are people doing the coworking thing in Minneapolis, but that’s too far away for me. Maybe I should try to get something like that going up here. But I don’t know if there are others who would be interested in it. And I’m not the kind of person who would be good at getting it going. I’m too much of a follower.

I know … I sound like I hate living up here. Well … only during the winter. Other than that, it’s not a bad place. That’s why I still live here (that and ‘cuz my family and friends are here). But I do wish I knew more techy/geeky people. I wish I new the people whose blogs and Twitter feeds I read. So … if you live up around here (the Fargo, ND area) and you happen to be reading this and have a blog or Twitter feed, leave a comment with a link to it.

Now I have to go. It’s almost time for General Hospital (I love having SoapNet on digital cable …