I finally got my driver’s license.  And I finally got a car.  And damn it’s expensive.

I have a small late ’90s model Mazda.  It’s nothing fancy, but it has a good stereo, great AC, and decent gas mileage.  I usually get 28-ish miles in town, and can hit 33 miles/gallon if I’m doing highway driving.  My tank holds a tad more than 14 gallons.  Now, if I would just drive to and from work (12 miles, more or less), and the occasional Target/grocery store trip, I could easily make a full tank last me an entire paycheck.  I haven’t hit $50 per tank yet, I usually pay around $45 per full tank.  However, I drive.  A lot. 

And everyone told me I would drive around a lot, which I understood at the time.  However, I took that to mean instead of driving to the local Kroger’s, you’d head up to the fancy one on Rt. 60 instead.  And I’m guilty as charged.  I got my license on May 18th, and in the roughly three and half months I’ve been driving, I’ve racked up some craz-ah stats:

• I’ve driven to the Huntington Mall and Ashland Town Center (KY) more times in the past three months than in my lifetime.
• I’ve driven to Charleston an average of three times a week.  However, my sorority sister/best friend/former roommate Jeannette (yes, that Jeannette) got married, and as her wedding coordinator, I had to do all sorts of stuff, like getting introduced to the sheer delight that is Yogurt Mountain.  YUM.
• Columbus several times
• Lexington twice, mostly to peek at the Paris TB Hospital:
  • 
  • You can’t get in, they’ve got it locked up pretty tightly. HOWEVER, take a 4 foot step ladder…you’ll see what I mean.

Moonville, Ohio (not too far out of Athens)

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• TAKE BUG SPRAY. Also don’t go alone, despite the fact there’s some pretty heavy hiker traffic, my sister and I were trailed by people who were tailing us. We’d turn around to see who was there and we could see people jumping behind trees.

• Knockemstiff, Ohio:
  

  Not much there, mostly farmland. And the setting for a Donald Ray Pollack short story set which I have yet to read.

• Somewhere deep in Southwestern Virginia.  A friend and I spent a few days hanging around Lewisburg.  While she had to go home to study for the exam that allows you to become a LPN, I took a jaunt through parts of Virginia.  I ended up towards Staunton before realizing that, shit, I had to go to work the next day.  A shame, as I’ve been wanting to see Staunton’s historical district.

You might have noticed I have yet to head to DC.  That’s mostly due to my hours being cut at work and being too broke to afford going to DC. 

I do have some other roadtrips in mind.  Next weekend will be Utopia, Ohio, with my friend Shane, and then San Toy, Ohio, before the weather gets too cold.  I’ll probably take my little sister along with me to San Toy because she goes to school up in Athens and will actually be on the way up.

I’ve been insanely luckier than most people to have a steady job during the recession.  This leads me to wonder if that will actually help me any should I present a resume to a potential professional job giver (this blog probably won’t help me any…Hi potential professional job giver!  Please hire me!)  By the time I’m all wrapped up with my college stuff, it’ll probably be next spring/summer, in which case I’ll have damn near 3.5 years at Lowe’s.  Will it actually count for anything?  God, I hope so.

For the past two springs, I have purchased bedding from my favorite store, Anthropologie.  Even though it’s not yet spring, I did make a purchase in a post-Christmas sales madness:

It’s the Paper Birch collection.  I got the entire collection, quilt, shams, etc.  What I really like about this collection is that it doesn’t use the same voile fabrics a lot of the other quilts use.  The voile is beautiful but damn it’s fragile.  In 2009, I purchased my Quintana Roo, last year I bought the Torch Ginger on a trip to DC (I love it, it’s linen and wonderful for summer), and this year, Paper Birch.  Also for the record, I haven’t really boughten anything for my room since I’ve moved back home.  My room is only 7′x9′, and I just don’t have the room. 

Other Adventures:
-About two-three weeks ago, I got my hair highlighted for the first time in my life.  I have dark brown hair, so I’ve never really bothered doing much to is, color-wise.  But I did some research, talked to some people, and decided to go for it.  I told the stylist I wanted something very natural looking, subtle, nothing dramatic.  I left with bright, brassy gold highlights that eerily looked like Kelly Clarkson’s zebra-stripe do from back in ’03:

Everyone told me they looked good, but I didn’t share their opinions.  Frankly, I thought they made my hair look cheap.  I was advised to wait a bit, as they do fade some, or it might grow on me.  The highlights did fade, but I wanted them to fade to about 90% of what they were.  I ended up visiting Sally Beauty Supply, got some advice, got some supplies, and spent 2-3 hours redoing my hair.  My friend had told me to go a shade darker for best coverage, but the woman at Sally’s told me to go my original color.  I’m glad I followed her advice, because my hair came out in damn near it’s original shade, and my highlights are exactly what I wanted in the first place.  Everything will grow out, and it won’t look horrible doing so. 

-The same day I got my highlights, I fell in love.  No, not with an Anthropologie quilt, but with a couch:

Yes, it’s a very retro floral couch.  It was love at first sight.  So I bought it on a Saturday, and arranged to pick it up on Tuesday.  My mom said I could borrow the van to bring it home.  So Tuesday comes and I ask to borrow van.  Well, my mom needs it to get to work, and she doesn’t trust my car to get her to Kentucky.  Well, shit.  So, I arrange with my dad to have it delivered to my new storage unit.  They come to deliver the couch, but the storage units were closed for the night, despite what I had been told by the leasing agent.  Shitty shit.  So me and my mom continue to argue about when I could borrow the van.  It was a week after I had purchased it, the following Saturday, before my dad and I could get the van.  But it’s in storage now, and I’m planning my future apartment around it. 

But for now, that’s it.  Good night, folks!

I never got to wait.  After three partial weeks of training, my operations manager told me that the position had been eliminated.  I’m still pretty heartbroken about it. Don’t worry, I still have a job, just a cashier.  Again.  But there’s a few things about this whole mess that pisses me off:

1.  Anytime a new position at Lowe’s is open, they have to post that it’s available.  At the time they hired me as the overnight coordinator, they made a new position for a second pricing coordinator, a position which they should have posted.  They didn’t.  But they cut my position due to “budget and payroll,” but not that one, the one that was never posted?
2.  As I mentioned, they told me it was payroll when they cut the position.  I’m not 100% sure of that.  At Lowe’s, we have these large ladders that look like staircases that we can move around.  If you step down on the bottom step, it lifts the wheels up so the ladder becomes stationary.  Most of the time, the ladders work fine, but we still have a few that are broken and will still move on you while you’re trying to use them.  I refuse to use these.  Of course, they were always the ones that were hanging around, and I’d have to cross the store to find one not in use, only to get yelled at by someone in millwork/plumbing/whatever for using “their” ladder.  There was a reason they were trying to keep it in their department.

The second part of this concern was the fact I would have to get up on displays to change prices.  Again, okay, part of the job.  However, the displays in questions weren’t safe at all.  A couple of planks laid across some metal shelving isn’t exactly OSHA approved, if you know what I mean.  And yes, I did have to walk on those planks (I asked a manger how to change the prices on that display.  I was told to “step lightly”).  I just couldn’t–and can’t–get kosher with the unsafe aspects of the position.  I’m now afraid that this will keep me from getting a position on the floor. 

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So, other than that, not much has been going on.  I work, I sleep, and that’s pretty much it.  I did start back to school yesterday.  It’s too soon to tell how it’s going to go.  The only thing that is really rubbing me the wrong way is that I have to take an online College 101 course for online learning, since all my classes are online this semester. 

For the record, I hate anything that’s labeled self-help.  Self-help books, self-help movies, motivational speakers, I hate ‘em all with the fury of a thousand burning hells.  I won’t doubt that they can and will help some people, it just doesn’t work for me.  Somehow, I feel like my intelligence is being insulted.  If I need inspiration, guidance, or whatever else it is people need when using the self-help section at Barnes & Noble, I find it in alternate ways.  Typically, I like to turn to biographies to see how people have handled things. two of my favorite biographies to turn to are Debra Dickerson’s An American Story and Ben Bradlee’s A Good Life. How did they handle things?  What kind of attitudes did they take?  Etc.?  I like real -life examples, none of this touchy-feely Eat, Pray, Love bullshit.

I guess what got me on the aforementioned rant was this book called Learn More Now, by Marcia L. Conner.  I will openly admit I haven’t had a chance to read the entire book yet, but the little portion I’ve read tonight isn’t leading me to expect great things.  The book is more or less about learning styles.  Quite frankly, I didn’t need this book to tell me what kind of learning style I have; I’ve known that for many years. 

But UGH.  I have to write a 200 word essay on a bunch of questions about my “learning motivation.” 

Actually, though, I’m happy to be back in school, even if it means putting up with bullshit books.

I’m headed for a couple of days to the Norfolk, VA, area to visit my friend Jess. We’ve been close friends since we first met our freshman year back at Ohio Dominican U. Thanks to her and her proximety to Virginia Beach, I had to purchase my first swimsuit since 2004. When the hell did they get so expensive? I paid $40 and that was half price. I guess it’s due to the fact there’s pretty much a fabric truss in it, to support, well, you know.

1. I have a three year old point and shoot camera.  For everyday stuff it takes great pictures, but when stuff is more than 30 feet away, it’s not quite as good. 
2. I have Photoshop, and I happen to be a fair user of it (seeing as I went into a good bit of debt to study that sort of thing in college).  However, Photoshop is on the computer that is currently down.  If you know where to find a boot drive for a 10 year old computer, let me know.

And now, pictures: 

Byrd resting in the Capital building around 3 AM

Walking into the North Capital Plaza The best phrase I can think of for this photo is "Presentation of Colors"

 

It's like a "Where's Waldo?"of Congressional members

 

AL FRANKEN.

 

Nice overall shot. The other side of the Capital steps were local folks.

 

Obama, Biden, Clinton The President!

 

 

 

 

 

The President!

 

 

Byrd's casket starts down the stairs

 

The flowers being carried behind Byrd were probably 5 feet long

 

 

 

Vicki Kennedy

Nancy Pelosi

Bill Clinton....who got more applause and cheers than Obama or anyone else that day

Obama

-As far as naming senators goes, I really wish Manchin would have named Anne Barth.  She’s worked for Byrd for years, knows the agenda and how to work in DC and on the Hill.  Also, I really think it would have helped her career tremendously, even with Manchin running for and most likely winning the Senate seat.
-Actually, I’m not too upset about the thought as Manchin as Senator.  I think he’s done a great job running the state through this really tough economic period, and supposedly the state’s in the black.
-Our new senator, Carte Goodwin, looks like Rob Lowe.  Everytime I see him I have dialogue from The West Wing running in my head.
-I could totally get behind Ken Hechler as Senator.  And looking at my Facebook friends talking about all this…there’s a lot of support for him.  His mind is still amazingly sharp for his age (95).  Frankly, I think he’d be a lot more progressive than Manchin on social issues, and in the end, that might swing my vote towards him.
-I’m not familiar with any of the Republicans (except Rease?  Reese?) but I don’t forcast them winning.  Thank effing God the Tea Party hasn’t run someone. 

Gov. Manchin

-Monday, I start a new position at Lowe’s!  Albeit it’s a “seasonal” position, I’m off a cash register and that’s all that matters.  I’m going to become a pricing coordinator.  AKA I change all those little price signs you see on the shelves.  You might be thinking that doesn’t sound like much, but it takes one person to do 200 label changes a day–not to mention she usually has other things to do as well.  Our poor pricing person has been getting up to 1,400 of the little devils a day, so they finally decided to get her some help, which is where I come in.  The biggest thing that attracted me to this position is the fact I’m going to be doing this overnight.  I won’t be there alone (there’s an overnight stocking crew, and I won’t have to deal with stuff distracting me. 

-In April I went to DC so my little sister could look at a college.  Look for a follow up post on this, it’s pretty funny.

-In October, I’m going back to DC to celebrate my birthday.  It’s almost three months away, but you can never plan too far in advance!

-Walmart had some really nice tshirts on sale for a buck.

-In bigger news, I may be going back to college.  I had posted sometime last year about not wanting to go back to school for several reasons
(namely I know a bunch of folks with degrees would cut me for my Lowe’s gig), but at the same time, I can at least look for something better.  I’ve given thought about going to Tech, but I hear from friends that’s gone REALLY downhill.  I’ve been having tons of issues with them, trying to get transcripts, etc.  Also, taking into consideration a lot of things like cost of living, the fact I still don’t drive, etc., I’ve been thinking of taking online classes.  Before you go all diploma mill on me, I have a few friends who did the University of Pheonix thing and are doing better than my friends from Tech.  The big thing that comes to colleges, brick and mortar or online, has to do with accrediation.  To be really considered a “college,” you need regional accrediation.  This is what employers look for in a school, and it allows you to transfer your credits. 

-But yeah, I’m looking at American Military University, which does have the ever-important regional accrediation.  I also know people who are currently taking classes through it, and one person who graduated from there (also another Tech dropout) who got an amazing job just on that degree alone.  I’m not 100% sure of what I want to major in just yet, I’m leaning towards International Relations or Intelligence Studies.  I’m really worried about the financial aid, though.  I still have federal financial aid available, but beyond that, I’ll have to pay out of pocket.  That doesn’t scare me, I’m just afraid I won’t be able to get enough to cover the cost.

My first semester at Ohio Dominican was spent at either the computers on the first floor of Fitzpatrick Hall, or in the library’s Multi-Media lab where I was an assistant multi-medier (I loved that job…hands down one of my best work experiences).  Thankfully, by that time AOL had released AIM Express, which was a web-based AIM. 

My roommate had a monstrous desktop computer that she really didn’t use, nor did she share it with anyone, including her friends.  I never could figure out why she had even bothered to bring it, seeing as she nor anyone else made use of the device. 

For Christmas 2003, my parents presented me with my own computer.  It was an old computer (well, at that point it was 2-3 years old already), but it was mine.  All my friends had what were considered(at the time) sleek laptops, but hey, my computer worked, so why complain? 

The monitor alone weighed 50 pounds, a 21-incher flat screen (which was actually a fairly new concept) that showed colors in wild vividness I have yet to have matched in a monitor (although my new computer’s LED screen is damn close, if not an exact match).  The nice thing about my computer (and most desktop computers) is that I was able to add on to it over the years.  I maxed it out on memory, went through about three CD burners, and god knows how much software.  It crashed all the damn time until I got hold an external hard drive (YOU MUST GET ONE. SRSLY.)  and then loaded that up with 3k+ music library and various graphic design projects.

My computer saw a lot; it went from Columbus, OH, to Montgomery, WV, to Huntington, WV, East Bank, and finally, back home for the last time.  It was the first thing I unpacked, usually on the spot, and the last to leave.  I spent a lot of time swearing at the poor thing, fixing the damn thing, and plain old just hanging out with the loved thing.  After almost seven years, I finally replaced the CRT monitor with a flat screen LCD (it never worked right, I needed a new and better graphics card) last Christmas. 

About a month ago I began having a lot of trouble (okay, more than normal) and my normal hard drive cleanings, defragging, etc., didn’t help.  It finally refused to start altogether.  My beloved’s last words to me were “Boot drive not found. Please try again.”  My dad kep insisting he could fix it, but after a month without a computer was leaving me with the shakes and sobbing quietly in a corner. 

Even though I knew this day had been coming, having to purchase a new computer was bittersweet.  I’ve had my new Compaq Presario laptop for a week now, and its capabilities have already blown my poor old computer out of the water.  (Also, as a future note, buying laptops on your lunchbreak when you don’t have a car present problems on where to store it while you still have to work.)

My old computer is still sitting in my room, and it’s probably time to take it out (which I would have already done if I hadn’t messed up my shoulder.  Ouch.).  My dad also thinks he can save what few files I had left on it (GET AN EXTERNAL HARDDRIVE),  and hopefully he can also get my Adobe products off there, ’cause I don’t have the cash to replace those.  It’s also hard going from Windows XP to Windows 7, but I’m getting to know it better and I think I like it better than XP.  However, ’98 was the bomb when it comes to operating systems.

Goodbye, my sweet friend.  Until we meet again.

Looking at some of my blog stats, people had some questions about who performed at the service, so here they are:
The bluegrass band : Kanawha Traditional
The choir: Martin Luther King, Jr. Male Chorus as directed by Marshall Murray

The dignatary benches are mostly full. The seats for Byrd’s family, Obama, etc, have a few people in them. They’re being passed water bottles now.