Recently I've been re-visiting the Harry Potter book series as I picked up the last book on cd from the university library for a trip up to Minnesota that was, as always, refreshing.
As I was talking with Beth about the things I had forgotten since I read the book I said that the trivial (or huge) thing I forgot was merely because I had been reading a different series of books with the main character of Hermione Granger.
This then put me on a tizzy of re-naming the books off of things that seemed most appropriate at the time on the phone:
Hermione Granger and the Logical Conclusion
Hermione Granger and the Polyjuice Potion
Hermione Granger and the Time Turner
Hermione Granger and the S.P.E.W. Affair
Hermione Granger and the Order of the Phoenix (this I just couldn't see changing)
Hermione Granger and the Potions Rival
Hermione Granger and the Perfect Accessory
Granted... I think they all could really be called Hermione Granger and Hogwarts, A History.
Ah, to have seen the books from her perspective.
Ceasing Ramble.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Scary Adult Things
I opened another savings account tonight.
I was reading my finance book (it has a five month plan and things you should do and it's directed towards women) and then I saw it, the words I knew, but for some reason couldn't make myself really hear:
A checking account is only for the monthly bills it is not to save money in at any point, even if your checking account is interest bearing with a little research you can find a savings account that has better interest and no monthly fee.
Because savings are for emergencies.
Your checking account is not for spur of the moment spending.
So I have now: A checking account, a bank savings account for my sanity, a purely online savings account with high interest bearing for the bulk of the 'under budget' money, and a CD that will mature in October.
I'm scarily becoming more and more adult, but that passage in the book made me get up out of bed to see how much was in my checking that I don't need for monthly bills and a spending allowance for the month. I was amazed at how much I was able to put in the new online savings account (and of course still kept an amount in the checking for my sanity for this trial month).
I may not be able to 'afford' shiny things right now when I'm building up my emergency funds, but it is nice to see that I might actually be able to do the big life changes that I was hoping for in July.
That life change isn't actually a cruise around the world. That... will be later.
Ceasing Ramble.
I was reading my finance book (it has a five month plan and things you should do and it's directed towards women) and then I saw it, the words I knew, but for some reason couldn't make myself really hear:
A checking account is only for the monthly bills it is not to save money in at any point, even if your checking account is interest bearing with a little research you can find a savings account that has better interest and no monthly fee.
Because savings are for emergencies.
Your checking account is not for spur of the moment spending.
So I have now: A checking account, a bank savings account for my sanity, a purely online savings account with high interest bearing for the bulk of the 'under budget' money, and a CD that will mature in October.
I'm scarily becoming more and more adult, but that passage in the book made me get up out of bed to see how much was in my checking that I don't need for monthly bills and a spending allowance for the month. I was amazed at how much I was able to put in the new online savings account (and of course still kept an amount in the checking for my sanity for this trial month).
I may not be able to 'afford' shiny things right now when I'm building up my emergency funds, but it is nice to see that I might actually be able to do the big life changes that I was hoping for in July.
That life change isn't actually a cruise around the world. That... will be later.
Ceasing Ramble.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
It's all Kenny's Fault
I've been meaning to write about my trip to San Francisco to visit Bryce, but apparently I'm lazier than I had originally thought.
This summer I was pretty sure I would not be going on any trips until Bryce waved a voucher for Southwest around in a movement comparatively like that of a snake charmer. So I snapped at the opportunity to visit him and take in some Bay area sites.
My first surprise is that Southwest Airlines is better than I remember. I felt very much at home on each of my flights. The attendants definitely can make long or short flights countless times better by having the humor that those I encountered had.
I will say that the overload of the Las Vegas airport was almost too much for me. I walked off the plane to the sound of a casino and was greeted with machine after machine. The sparkling lights of wonder made me quite glad I did not bring cash with me or Bryce might never have seen me actually arrive at the San Jose airport.
The eats at the airport were not too exciting, but I was smacked on the head by the audacity of Burger King jacking the prices to those who were trapped in the flashy casino of an airport.
Arriving in California I fell into C's car and whined about anything from sleepiness to children being miscreants of society. Getting to Bryce's apartment I fell onto the couch and tried to keep small talk, but really felt vaguely awake, an almost zombie-like state, until I begged to go to sleep.
The next day was the intrepid use of almost every possible form of transportation that the Bay area has to offer. We walked, we Caltrained, we BART'ed, we bussed, and bussed and BART'ed and Caltrained some more. It was not until later that we realized how much we had in fact walked while strolling through the Haight/Ashbury district of San Francisco where we encountered:
1. A record store with too many things for me to look at ADHD kicked in full-time.
2. People who thought they were hippies, but were not quite hippies (they did have amusing signs though).
3. Some yummy Indian food, although not the Best of India.
4. A nice bookstore and a cluttered bookstore with a very opinionated co-owner. She went off on a poor potential customer about why they don't carry LGBT books. She focused on how LGBT books are only erotica (she's wrong about that) and then segued into why they also do not carry Lolita. I was so close to yelling at her that we had to leave. I mean she could have then talked about video games leading to violence.
5. A group of friends who couldn't find the right amount of money for the bus they were waiting for, but smelled like they belonged on Haight/Ashbury forever. Luckily the bus ride was free due to the need to enter from the back. Lovely.
During the evening we went to the Giants game and I bought a stocking cap as I was cold (already). This was also the rebirth of the Crazy Crab this character is so fascinating that I acquired two bobbleheads of him. He filled Bryce and I with much glee.
As we left the game because I was a) cold and b) the Giants were losing to the Brewers with their newly acquired, at that time, pitcher C.C. Sabathia. We got to the train and plunked down into a seat. It was in the next thirty minutes that we realized that everything that could ever be and ever shall be faulted to someone is Kenny Lewis' fault.
Kenny, if you ever find this... you need better friends.
Poor, poor Kenny, but yet it was fantastically funny to yell at him when the lights went out and when they came back on and during the rest of the weekend.
Then came Saturday. Bryce and I were supposed to get up and walk to the music festival and then catch Batman. It was on this day we realized that our legs hurt and we were not looking forward to walking "two miles" these two miles are actually about three and a half miles.
We finally set off so I could see Mates of State and after almost breaking down into a puddle of whiny mess we got to the festival. I was especially pleased with The Whigs. Very nice set. It was nice to lay out and listen to live music.
Then came Batman. This may deserve it's whole own blog.
The best part of the movie is that C came to see it with us and drove us home. I told her as I fell into the car that I would have curled up in a ball and cried if we had to walk the "two miles" back to Bryce's place. She felt used... where really appreciated is the best adjective.. possibly praised.
Sunday we were in pain, legs hated us, some Rockband was meagerly played on the Wii. We then attended the San Jose Giants the A league team of the SF Giants and it was pretty fun and nice. We did encounter:
1. The absence of electricity so no Churro Man. No scoreboard (instead people stood out on the warning track toward the foul line holding the pitching count on large pieces of cardboard). No well cooked any-food.
2. A non-plussed teenage girl reading Oh My Goth! and texting inside the book as to hide it from her family. There was another to our left doing the same thing, but I didn't catch her book title.
3. A boy who should be the soprano of the Vienna Boy's Choir. His scream was what a sci-fi superhero's debilitating superpower could be based on.
4. St. Paul Saints fans who liked my hat.
5. A young toddler who enjoyed holding onto my arm like she knew me. She did not, in fact, know me.
So visiting Bryce was fun and after I typed that out I guess we did do things besides hurt our legs horribly. There were good breakfasts, jokes about how I talk like an old man when commenting on Sara Ramierz, and lots of indecisiveness.
You can always count on me for being complacent.
Ceasing Ramble.
This summer I was pretty sure I would not be going on any trips until Bryce waved a voucher for Southwest around in a movement comparatively like that of a snake charmer. So I snapped at the opportunity to visit him and take in some Bay area sites.
My first surprise is that Southwest Airlines is better than I remember. I felt very much at home on each of my flights. The attendants definitely can make long or short flights countless times better by having the humor that those I encountered had.
I will say that the overload of the Las Vegas airport was almost too much for me. I walked off the plane to the sound of a casino and was greeted with machine after machine. The sparkling lights of wonder made me quite glad I did not bring cash with me or Bryce might never have seen me actually arrive at the San Jose airport.
The eats at the airport were not too exciting, but I was smacked on the head by the audacity of Burger King jacking the prices to those who were trapped in the flashy casino of an airport.
Arriving in California I fell into C's car and whined about anything from sleepiness to children being miscreants of society. Getting to Bryce's apartment I fell onto the couch and tried to keep small talk, but really felt vaguely awake, an almost zombie-like state, until I begged to go to sleep.
The next day was the intrepid use of almost every possible form of transportation that the Bay area has to offer. We walked, we Caltrained, we BART'ed, we bussed, and bussed and BART'ed and Caltrained some more. It was not until later that we realized how much we had in fact walked while strolling through the Haight/Ashbury district of San Francisco where we encountered:
1. A record store with too many things for me to look at ADHD kicked in full-time.
2. People who thought they were hippies, but were not quite hippies (they did have amusing signs though).
3. Some yummy Indian food, although not the Best of India.
4. A nice bookstore and a cluttered bookstore with a very opinionated co-owner. She went off on a poor potential customer about why they don't carry LGBT books. She focused on how LGBT books are only erotica (she's wrong about that) and then segued into why they also do not carry Lolita. I was so close to yelling at her that we had to leave. I mean she could have then talked about video games leading to violence.
5. A group of friends who couldn't find the right amount of money for the bus they were waiting for, but smelled like they belonged on Haight/Ashbury forever. Luckily the bus ride was free due to the need to enter from the back. Lovely.
During the evening we went to the Giants game and I bought a stocking cap as I was cold (already). This was also the rebirth of the Crazy Crab this character is so fascinating that I acquired two bobbleheads of him. He filled Bryce and I with much glee.
As we left the game because I was a) cold and b) the Giants were losing to the Brewers with their newly acquired, at that time, pitcher C.C. Sabathia. We got to the train and plunked down into a seat. It was in the next thirty minutes that we realized that everything that could ever be and ever shall be faulted to someone is Kenny Lewis' fault.
Kenny, if you ever find this... you need better friends.
Poor, poor Kenny, but yet it was fantastically funny to yell at him when the lights went out and when they came back on and during the rest of the weekend.
Then came Saturday. Bryce and I were supposed to get up and walk to the music festival and then catch Batman. It was on this day we realized that our legs hurt and we were not looking forward to walking "two miles" these two miles are actually about three and a half miles.
We finally set off so I could see Mates of State and after almost breaking down into a puddle of whiny mess we got to the festival. I was especially pleased with The Whigs. Very nice set. It was nice to lay out and listen to live music.
Then came Batman. This may deserve it's whole own blog.
The best part of the movie is that C came to see it with us and drove us home. I told her as I fell into the car that I would have curled up in a ball and cried if we had to walk the "two miles" back to Bryce's place. She felt used... where really appreciated is the best adjective.. possibly praised.
Sunday we were in pain, legs hated us, some Rockband was meagerly played on the Wii. We then attended the San Jose Giants the A league team of the SF Giants and it was pretty fun and nice. We did encounter:
1. The absence of electricity so no Churro Man. No scoreboard (instead people stood out on the warning track toward the foul line holding the pitching count on large pieces of cardboard). No well cooked any-food.
2. A non-plussed teenage girl reading Oh My Goth! and texting inside the book as to hide it from her family. There was another to our left doing the same thing, but I didn't catch her book title.
3. A boy who should be the soprano of the Vienna Boy's Choir. His scream was what a sci-fi superhero's debilitating superpower could be based on.
4. St. Paul Saints fans who liked my hat.
5. A young toddler who enjoyed holding onto my arm like she knew me. She did not, in fact, know me.
So visiting Bryce was fun and after I typed that out I guess we did do things besides hurt our legs horribly. There were good breakfasts, jokes about how I talk like an old man when commenting on Sara Ramierz, and lots of indecisiveness.
You can always count on me for being complacent.
Ceasing Ramble.
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