Wanted: Sanity and a Larger Monitor

I Now Have DSL

And because I have DSL, the world's a much happier place.

Actually, I got it last night, but I'm lazy and haven't posted until now.

So, yes, I'm still alive. And moved into my apartment. And having bought two bookcases, I now have room for all my books. All 246 of them. And even room for library books!

Since moving in, I've mostly spent my time getting a bad cold, going shopping with a bad cold, trying and failing to sleep with a bad cold, eventually getting over the bad cold, and being very glad I no longer have a bad cold. Personally, I blame numerous small children living somewhere in the vicinity of Ackley.

On the bright side, I have reasonably full-ish cupboards, and only a few random things left to get. Like, silverware, saucepans, and a vacuum cleaner. Oh, and furniture. Pretty much all the usual furniture except for bookcases and a bed. But everything else is extraneous anyway, so it can wait until I start getting paid.

A funny story from putting my bed together. As a graduation present, my folks paid for most of the cost of a SelectComfort bed. It was shipped out in all its unassembled glory, and I spent about an hour yesterday putting it together. Most of this time was spent putting together the foundation that the matress sits on. This foundation primarily consists of pieces of shaped black plastic which fit together very tightly. I read the directions, like a good little girl, and it says that they are made to fit tightly and that it might be necessary to step on the piece I'm pressing down in order to get it to go in all the way. Which I proceed to do, knowing full well what will happen.

Absolutely nothing. They don't make these directions for little 5'1" girls to follow, obviously.

And this is where I decided to go get my hammer out of the toolbox. Much noise and happy pounding later, the bed was fully assembled. I slept very well, needless to say.

On a slightly more embarrassing note, they don't post any signs or anything for where the laundry room is. I know it's on the ground floor... hmmm... I haven't checked on the other end of the building yet. Oh, well. I'll hunt around when it becomes absolutely necessary, and if worst comes to worst, I can always knock on the door of that nice older lady downstairs. I'm sure she'll be thrilled to help me. I'm such a sweet and engaging young person, after all. XD

In short, nearly all the basics are taken care of. I have a new phone number, which I'm giving out to people who IM and ask for it, and I have a cell phone which I am not giving the number out for as I think I'll need to change it pretty soon. They gave me the wrong area code, so it's long distance for me to call my cell phone from home. Such is life.

Oh, and if anyone asks, I did not actually splurge today and buy myself a long-awaited copy of Uru. I painstakingly handpainted the cardboard box that is sitting on my desk in hopes of impressing the neighbors. After all, just think how many potatoes you can buy for that money!

Almost Moving

Well, I guess I should make one last post as a college graduate still living under my parent's roof. I move tomorrow into my loverly apartment in Cedar Rapids. Not quite so loverly, is the fact that my DSL doesn't get in until Friday. So I shall be temporarily disconnected from the world at large, once again.

Quite enough time to unpack everything. That's quite a thought. I'll be able to have everything I own unpacked. For probably the first time ever.

*considers this shocking idea*

Anywho, I should also have plenty of time to hit up the local library. And buy stuff. Like dishes. And carrots. And paper towels. And maybe treat myself to one new computer game. To test my new video card, of course. My GeForce FX 5200 which I acquired for cheap off my brother.

*sings happy tune*

Welp, off to watch a little TV, and then off to bed. 'Night, folks. Don't let the piranhas bite.

You're Not A Well-Rounded Person Until You Write An Advice Column

I should start an advice column. I've been handing it out right and left tonight anyway, and since I have finished my To-Do Before Moving To Apartment List, I feel eminately qualified. My only caveat is that I will not give out advice on the construction of volcanoes.

Meanwhile, the only other thing I have to do before moving is decide how much old furniture I want to borrow/take from the house. I have currently decided on an unused television and the old microwave. That and my computer are all that's really necessary, right?

To-Do List

New Apartment - check
New Bank in Cedar Rapids - check
Insurance Agent in Cedar Rapids - check
New Cell Phone - check

Still to do:
Call electric company.
Call telephone company.
Call cable company for broadband.
Call insurance agent to have proof of insurance faxed to landlord.
Get stuff for apartment (really long list here).

It's quite a nice apartment, actually. No, let me rephrase that. It's a really nice apartment, at least by my standards. Out on the edge of town, too, so it's nice and quiet. And since I don't mind driving a bit longer to work, that's a good thing. Two bedrooms, so there's plenty of room for my current 200+ books and the others I'm sure to acquire. Also room to put visitors up for the night or something. It's up on the third floor; extremely good for my ego, I'm sure. The only bad part about that is the two flights of stairs I'll have to cart my stuff up. But I can deal with that. I sign the rest of the paperwork, and can move in next Tuesday.

It's going to be so much fun. XD

Graduated

Mmm-hmm. Lots of stuff has happened since I last posted. Here, allow me to distract you with this link. Make sure and look at the poster you can download, print out, and past all over your domicile. I especially enjoy the uncanny mental connections to "Thought Police."

Now that you've been sufficiently distracted, and are either in an uncannily good mood or an incredibly depressed one, on to my recent past history.

I graduated, of course. Although I don't think I ever completely relaxed until I had the actual diploma in its envelope in my hand. After the after-graduation party, during which Moore managed to awe several of my family members by finishing off two pieces of cake followed by the remainder of the jug of lemonade, it was back to the apartment to finish cleaning up. By 'finish cleaning up', I mean 'finish packing, cleaning, and tossing stuff in the car'. All followed by instant departure to the wedding rehearsal. Needless to say, I slept very well that night.

Scholl and Anna's wedding the next day went off without a hitch, except for a slightly recalcitrant veil. I did not catch the bouquet, so all's well that ends well.

Two days' driving back home. I realized that I was really back in Iowa when I went to Grundy Center for my pre-employment drug test on Thursday, and overheard a tractor ride being advertised on the radio. Going through several towns of population greater than 500, it was quite the event.

The rest of this last week continued to be productive, as I ordered my new cell phone, narrowed apartment choices down to three, picked out a bank to sign up with after I have a permanent address, and fixed the printer at the house yet again. This of course lead to me feeling completely justified in spending most of Saturday afternoon and evening playing old SNES games in my emulator.

And if you think it's sad that I spent three hours engrossed in planting crops in Harvest Moon, just think of the small children gathered around my desk who were so enthralled that it was nearly impossible to get them to brush their teeth before bed. It's really incredible how entertaining feeding hens can be.

And In Other News...

I am packing up my computer tonight in order to stash it in the car. So I can put other stuff on top of it. Of course, this means that I will not actually be able to be in contact with anyone, even my parents, unless they call me. And tomorrow morning I'll be at the Senior Breakfast from 10 to 11. The end.

Ardith Packs Books

And for easier packing in the car, I used some of the million Walmart bags we had in the pantry, and duct tape.

End result:

Heather seems to think it looks like nothing other than a very large stash of crack cocaine.

Ardith Turns 22

Well, it's a few days after my birthday, so I think I can safely talk about it now. So, without further ado...

It actually started the night before the 28th. In the lab at Glaske, where I settled in for what I knew was going to be an all-nighter. I had my Microcomputer Design presentation the next morning, at 8am sharp, with a Program Translation test after that. But I had my 16 oz. of Caramel Mocha Latte, and I was ready to go. And by 'go', I mean 'spend hours and hours reburning EEPROMS and coding in assembly'. Fortunately, by 5am I had enough ready to present. So I spent the next 3 hours preparing my Powerpoint presentation, and running madly back to my room to take a shower and try to get to the point where I looked like I'd had at least four hours of sleep.

The presentation actually went pretty well. Oddly enough, I was the only one presenting that day; almost everyone else had either gone on Tuesday, or elected to present on the next Monday morning. And since hardly anyone was presenting, hardly anyone showed up for class. Which meant that I had a nice small group to present to, taking some of the pressure off of me. This also meant we got out early, so I was able to cram for my test for half an hour. I think I did fairly well on the test, too.

By this time I was past the point of feeling like I'd pulled an all-nighter, and into the period where adrenaline kicks in, and I felt semi-coherent again. Off to the IT building for lunch in honor of graduation seniors. Oh, yes. That means me, this year. It also meant free pizza, and a chance to talk to some of the people I never see because my shifts are all lab duty.

And then it was naptime. I fell so soundly asleep that I didn't hear Heather go in or out. And I didn't wake up until 4:30, when I had to clean and mop the floors. Work for the day accomplished, I actually got to read for the first time in a week or so. Then the girls and I all went out to Texas Roadhouse, where I had a decent steak for the first time in over a year. For any siblings that might be reading this, yes, Ardith had steak on her birthday. And no, she didn't save any for you.

Then we came back to the apartment, had cake, and watched a movie. All in all, it was a rather nice birthday. And it didn't involve any pondings. I was very happy about that last bit.