Thanksgiving and later

So I went home for Thanksgiving and my car got me to the airport. The battery light was on the whole drive, but I made it there for my flight, so I was pretty excited. The first plane that I was on was really small. And apparently at some point during the flight the windshield cracked. So when we got off the plane we could see the cracks. It was pretty bizzarre.

Thanksgiving was nice. Our oven wasn't working, so it was lucky that we never cook our turkey in it anyway. But making pies and stuffing was tricky. It worked out though. The next day was baking day and that would have been pretty bad without an oven, so Dad rigged something up to make it work. Sara, Jonathan and Michelle all came. We frosted cookies, made buckeyes, and I burned myself while making fudge. Later that night me, Mom and Sara went to see Enchanted. It was really cute.

Saturday I went up to Appleton to see Sara and Heather. It was really fun. We went bridesmaid dress shopping and found a really cute one. So hopefully the other girls like it too. Then we went and saw Heather's wedding dress at her apartment. Its really pretty. We all went out to dinner with Joe, Heather's fiance, and Amanda and Brent. After dinner we went back to the mall to get old fashioned pictures taken. We did the 20's because we've done all the other ones except the Boarding House Bathtub and they didn't have the bathtub :(

Sunday I headed home and me and Mom went shopping. I really want a long wool coat so we looked all over for those. I finally found one that I liked, but they didn't have the right size. So we called around, but none of the other nearby stores had it either. So that was sad. Then on Sunday Dad brought me back to the airport to fly back to Hays.

My flight was uneventful, but when I got in my car the battery light was still on. So I hoped to make it back to WaKeeney. I got to about the highway and decided to try fixing the problem one last time. It didn't work and when I pulled out of that parking lot the battery meter in my car started falling. So I headed for another parking lot. Then my ABS light came on followed by the airbag light. Then all of the lights started to fade as I pulled into a parking spot. I was pretty distraught, so I called home and was crying on the phone. Then I had to call my boss and she had to come pick me up.

The next morning I worked a half day and then went to Hays to get my car taken care of. I took it to the Ford dealership and told them about the light and they said it sounded like an alternator problem. So I was kinda skeptical. Then they called me later in the day saying when they tried to turn the car on it started right up and the battery light wasn't on. I was again annoyed. Then even later they called me and said I need a new $350 alternator. So I said fine, but was still skeptical.

So yesterday they called and said that my car was fixed. I had asked for the old alternator back though and they told me that would cost me an extra $70. So I was pretty pissed about that, but when I talked to Dad he said that was pretty standard. So I paid it and now have it in my car. But the good news was that when I picked up the car they told me that they had also replaced the plug that plugs into the alternator. (Which is really what I've thought was wrong the whole time) So I think my car problems may actually be solved. So that's exciting news. I drove home using as much electricity as possible and it got me all the way here. WooHoo!!

And that's what I did on my Thanksgiving break.

Airports

So everytime I've been at an airport in the last 2 years or so (and that's a lot of times), the announcement is that the terror alert level has recently been raised to orange. I don't think I've ever been at an airport when it wasn't orange. So it begs the question: Do they just leave it at orange all the time and just try to scare people by saying its been recently upgraded, or am I some sort of terror threat that I'm not aware of and they raise it only when I fly? Hmmmm......

Thanksgiving!

Its almost Thanksgiving!! I have one more day of work tomorrow and then I leave early Wednesday morning for the airport. My flight is at 9am and I get into Milwaukee around 3. Then Thursday is Thanksgiving. Then Friday is baking day!!! We're making all kinds of delicious stuff such as carmel corn, fudge, cookies, chex mix, buckeyes, and other things. And Sara and Johnathan are coming over. Anyone else is invited as well. We'll be at it all day, so whenever you are free. Then Saturday I'm going up to Appleton to see Heather's wedding dress and go bridesmaid dress shopping. So that should be fun. Then I think I'm spending the night there so we can go out and do something. Sunday its back to Mishicot to hang out with the family. On Monday its back to Kansas at about 3:45pm. I get into Hays around 9pm and then have to drive back to WaKeeney. Then its back to work on Tuesday....

Stupid Car!

So my car has been stupid for awhile, but its just recently really gotten bad. The cord that connects the alternator to the battery I guess doesn't connect quite right. So sometimes the battery light inside the car comes on while I'm driving. Since I know what the problem is I usually just pull over and jiggle the cord a bit to get the connection right again. But recently this hasn't really been working. Before I left for Dallas last week it took a really long time to fix and when it finally did it was fine the whole time I was gone. But then with only a few more hours to drive on the way home it came on again. And it hasn't gone off since except for a few minutes after I pulled over one time. But now tonight I tried fixing it again and it didn't work. It was dark and hard to see though, so I gave up. I'm going to try again tomorrow morning, but its going to be cold then. So hopefully it will go off. I'm getting really angry about it. And my car needs to be running for Wednesday when I have to drive to the airport to go home for Thanksgiving. So hopefully that works out. Boo to my stupid car!

Dallas!

Dallas was soooo much fun! Getting there was a really long drive, but it was really easy. Getting going was not so easy, however. The battery light in my car was on when I left and I couldn't get it to turn off. Finally after a call home and about a half hour I had the problem fixed and was off. The expressway in Dallas is really freaking high, so at that point I also thought I might not make it. I'm not a huge fan of bridges to begin with and this was stories high above other roads. Crazy. I don't think there was really a need for it to be so high up. But eventually I got to Kylie's house and met Leland. He is too adorable. And he was super excited to see me. (He's a dog, by the way. If you were thinking he was a person that last part could have been a bit confusing. Not that people aren't generally excited to see me, but......)

So anyway, we went out on Thursday night and I got to meet some of the other grad students that go to SMU. They seem like a really fun bunch. We started at a little bar near campus and then went off to an Irish pub. Where I was reminded how disturbing the movie American Psycho was and that I kinda want to read the book, but am sort of terrified by the thought of it.

The next day was Kylie's birthday. So we started the day by going to her ceramics lab where I pretended to help TA. But really I just observed because I was just as clueless as most of the students about what was going on. But it was fun. And I got to see around the anthro building and the archaeology offices. Afterwards we went for a quick tour around campus with Leland and Marty. That afternoon I made cheesecake for Kylie for her birthday and we hung out. Then we went out with a bunch of people for Indian food. After that we went to a bar for drinks. Later we went back to Kylie's place and hung out for a bit before falling asleep.

The next day we went out for coffee and then went to the SMU football game. It was a pretty good game, but they ended up losing. They were winning the whole game and then the other team called a time out with one second left on the clock. They kicked a field goal and won by one point. It was very sad for SMU because the clock had gone down to zero and the team thought that they had won. I felt pretty bad for them. That night we just hung out at home. Then Kylie's neighbor, who is Indian, brought us some food that he had made. It was really good.

Sunday we made pancakes for breakfast and then I packed up my car. I was sad to go, but what can you do. The drive back was fine until I got to about Wichita, KS. Then the battery light came back on in my car. I had to pull over twice to get it to turn off and it was still flickering when I got back to my hotel. Oh well, I don't really have anywhere that I have to go until next Wednesday when I need to go to the airport to go home for Thanksgiving. So hopefully I make it there. But Dallas was great and I can't wait to go back.

Tomorrow!!

Tomorrow I'm going to Dallas to visit Kylie!!! I'm so excited. I'm pretty much packed. I just have to pack the rest of my shower stuff in the morning. I'm going to try to hit the road by 8am so I can get there around 5ish. I got directions off of mapquest, so I hope I don't get lost. It doesn't look terribly complicated, but who knows...Anyway, I'm super excited! (And that means I won't be putting anything up here for a few days. If anyone is even reading this besides me :)

Today I also got a microwave for my room. Me and another girl are sharing a fridge and a micro. She has the fridge in her room. So that's pretty awesome. Other than that, nothing much is new. Still digging holes in the dirt every day. It hasn't gotten too cold yet, but I guess its going to. That's what people keep saying anyway. Well, I suppose that's all. I'll update again after my weekend of fun and excitement.

BOO!

Today I was digging a unit in which we found almost nothing. In almost 200,000 cubic centimeters of dirt we found 1 tiny flake. That is very disappointing. I'm betting we find about 3 more flakes in the whole rest of the unit. And we have to dig down a whole meter because its a profile unit. So to that I say: BOO!

Nothing else exciting really. I'm going to Dallas in 3 days!!!! I can't wait!

Back to WaKeeney

So today it was back to WaKeeney. We had a delicious brunch in Lawrence before we left though. I'm still stuffed from it. Yesterday we worked in the lab all day. It was a bit boring. I pretty much just washed rock pieces all day. After taking out the recycling. We did go to a great Mediterranean restaurant for lunch though. Mmmmm....so mostly what I remember about the weekend was the food

The drive back here was about 4 hours. Not bad. I was going to stop at some weird attraction thing, but I never saw a sign for it. So I don't know if I just missed it or what, but I didn't go. Oh well. Then I had to unpack my car when I got back to the hotel. It took a long time. And I was really worried that my skull had been crushed because it was feeling kinda flat. But then I opened it up and it was fine. So that's good, because I would have been pretty upset if it had gotten broken.

Anyway....my room is now almost exactly the same as the one I had before. But, its a mirror image of the other one. So its throwing me off right now. I figure in about a day it will be okay, but for now I'm being weirded out :)

I guess that is all. I'm doing pretty good with the writing on this. Way to go me! Perhaps its time to tell people that I'm keeping stuff on here. Hmmm...decisions, decisions......

CPR

Today I got certified in CPR. Its really tiring to do CPR. I never really imagined that it was, but we only had to do it for 2 minutes at a time and it wore me out. I was shocked. Not much else is new really. I just wanted to try to see if I could keep this thing going.

The girl who was our CPR instructor had the biggest, shiniest belt that I had ever seen. It was shocking. I just kept staring at it everytime she started talking. It was like the mole in the third Austin Powers movie. I couldn't look away. And I thought that it was just me, but talking to people in the car on the way home, they had noticed it too. She said at one point that she used to be in the rodeo, so I guess that explains it, but we really don't know what she was thinking.

Tomorrow we work in the office in Lawrence. I look forward to seeing it. I'm not planning on moving to Lawrence to work there, but I'd like to see it just so I know what I'm talking about when I say I work for the Lawrence office. I suppose that is all.

Stephen Colbert didn't make the Democratic ticket in South Carolina. That's sad. Ah well. So it goes. (I'm reading Slaughterhouse Five)

First Post!

So I decided to start a blog. We shall see how this pans out, but I'm excited about it for right now. But seeing as I was excited to sew and never finished the dress, we all know how my excitement diminishes over time. Ah well, it will give you something to anticipate (or possibly bet on) about whether or not I will keep this up. I think since I can post pics here I might. This way everyone can see stuff and not just my facebook friends. 'Cause when I post all my pics there, not everyone can see them. Anyway, I guess my point is: we'll see how this goes.
Nothing too exciting is happening right now. But tomorrow I get certified in CPR. So I'm pretty excited about that. And I just got back from Oklahoma. I was in Normal on the OU campus. It was so beautiful there. I want to live there. Hopefully someday I will. If they have a good grad program I would be really excited.
I guess that's it for this first one. Sometimes I have really amazing thoughts that I feel should be shared with the world, but now is obviously not one of those times. When one comes around I will definitely write about it. Later!