snow...sigh

The snow is falling, and no matter how hard I try, I can't wish it away. Every time I turn around in my chair and look out the window, I see it - big wet snowflakes, collecting on the trees, the buildings and the ground. I knew I shouldn't take the hood off of my coat before April, but I did. It's all my fault.

Yesterday was gorgeous. I got an HOurCar and went to breakfast with Niels, then drove around the lakes with Joe. We checked on my bike at Sunrise Cyclery, but it isn't ready yet because he is having trouble finding the right kind of gear shift (apparently I chose a bike that HAD a really cool gear shift mechanism, but it is broken and he can't find one just like it to replace it. Oh well, I didn't even know when I picked it out). So, I guess that is for the best, because I couldn't have ridden it to work today anyway. hmmph.

March is going out like a lamb, but with any luck, next week will bring April Showers...

Computer Woes

Well, I had a stressful couple of days! On Monday, about an hour before I got off work, my computer died. When I say "my", I mean of course my work computer. So, basically the monitor turned off. The computer was still whirring away, but I couldn't see anything!

Now, maybe you only use a computer at home for personal use, and it doesn't feel like the end of the world when your computer dies.

Or maybe you work for a big company and are therefore are in a situation where a technician will pop up to your office while you go get yourself a cool drink from the vending machine. No biggy.

Well, I work in a church office. And it's Holy Week. And next week the newsletter goes out. And people who know nothing about computers (*cough* 90% of the congregation *cough*) tend to blame computer problems on me, the lowly secretary.

But God took pity on me today. In her infinite wisdom she saw fit to guide me toward the computer fixers about two blocks from the church. If you ever have computer problems in Minneapolis, may I please recommend General Nano Systems on University. They had me in and out in less then half an hour, for less the $100, and with a smile on their faces (haven't there been studies done about how the act of smiling can calm people down? I think it works).

So, my baby is fixed and all is right with the world!

Soon I will pop out of here and go to Campus Pizza to eat and chat with my friend Joe-joe about bike buying. Then I am heading out to happy hour with my screenwriting group to work on our screenplay presentation for a while, and after that it is off to meet up with Joe-joe again for bike shopping! That's right, the next time you hear from me I may be the proud new owner of a bicycle!

What's this Spring Break I always hear college kids talking about...?

Half Day Off

Today I do not need to Work at the Mall, which is good because it is TOO NICE OUT!!

This morning was chilly, but in true Minnesnowtan fashion, I chose not to bundle, and have been rewarded for my courage. The sun has melted the clouds as well as the thin layer of ice that appears each morning now.

I also had a nice treat this morning in that the treasurer's wife came in and hand delivered my mid-month paycheck. Having my student loan funds almost entirely still intact, it feels so good to put even more money in my bank account!

So that is my next stop, the bank, which is actually a co-op credit union, and then I am going to Target.

I can hear you now. "No! Elinor! Stay away from the big red bulls eye! Remember how good it feels to have money!? Don't go in there!"

But fear not, my foreboding friends, because I have a list. I realized last night when trying to watch my recently rented dvd of LittleBritain that the battery for my dvd remote is dead, which makes it hard to navigate the menu. So I need the battery, as well as orange juice (there are nasty things going around and I am determined not to catch them!), tall socks, and spinach. So, you see? I will be in and out in a matter of minutes!

Then back home for a relaxing evening cuddling with Winifred, perhaps some cleaning, and definite dvd watching!

I hope your day is going half as well as mine!

Friday Five

My mom invited anyone who wanted to to blog on the Friday Five:

Mother Laura Writes:

"Can you believe Daylight Savings Time is here already? It's hard to get used to the new, earlier onset. My family has been getting up and out a little late and a little sleepy in the mornings.

And can you believe that in two days it will be Palm Sunday for Western Christians? Our Lent is almost over, while our Orthodox sisters and brothers, whose liturgical year follows the older Julian calendar, are just starting theirs. Nicholas did a recent book report on George Washington, and we were surprised to find out that our first President's birthday was originally Feb. 11, since he was born just before the change to the Gregorian calendar. Apparently the change almost caused rioting, as some indignant people were sure that they were being cheated out of eleven days of their lives!

To help you adjust--and enjoy the process--here's a Friday Five about time and transitions...."

1. If you could travel to any historical time period, which would it be, and why?
Hmm, this is a very tricky one...the things that interest me most about history are the tiny, day to day life things. I guess if I had to choose only one I would go with sometime in the early 1800's. My brother and I were just talking about how cool it would be to have seen Lake Harriet (the lake we grew up near in the City of Lakes) before the parks and recreations board got a hold of it. Back then it was much more of a wetland then a lake, as I believe most "lakes" were in our city back then.

2. What futuristic/science fiction development would you most like to see?
Transporters! My former roommate and I would lament about the lack of transporters daily; if only we could just transport to the video store two blocks away!

3. Which do you enjoy more: remembering the past, or dreaming for the future?
Definitely dreaming of the future! When I can't sleep at night I daydream about what my daily life will be like in five, ten and sometimes 30 years!

4. What do you find most memorable about this year's Lent?
Well, there is a lot I will remember about the past few months, but about Lent in particular...one thing would have to be deciding to give up pop (soda) and then going out on Ash Wednesday (after services) and ordering a Whiskey and Coke! Ha! So, I changed my mind and decided to commit to walking more and drinking less pop, which has been going very well.

5. How will you spend your time during this upcoming Holy Week? What part do you look forward to most?
Holy week is my spring break, but since I still have to work, it is not that big of a deal. I will be scrambling to prepare the Prospectus and getting at least three bulletins made, hoping to catch my boss long enough for her to proof said bulletins, and catching up on school work. I think what I look foreword to the most is that on Palm Sunday my friend Stephen will be in church and I have not seen him in a few years. Then Lydia comes home for her spring break on Easter Weekend, so that will be great! I am hoping to get a few of the old youth group together to hang out, although where I don't know since my apartment is to small for more then two people!

springtime, redux

We are having beautiful weather again today, and I am stuck inside, as usual. But, only for another ten minutes! It has been a very slow and boring day today, as I was actually very productive on Monday and Wednesday. My boss was at a capital hill thing, so she wasn’t here to make more work for me, and the mail hasn’t come so there is no sorting and bill signing off on to be done either. Sigh.

I spent my day downloading some new tunes (only two that cost money as the others were “download of the week” selections). So I got Kanye West’s “Stronger” which has the wonderful lyric,

“You know how long I've been on ya?

Since Prince was on Apollonian

Since OJ had isotoners

Don't act like I never told ya”

Ok, so I don’t exactly understand the whole song, but these lyrics and the beat make it worth it!

The other song I got was Kate Nash’s “Foundations” which I absolutely love! I think I listened to it about ten times in a row trying to get the wording, beats and accent down (she is British, I am not, you see my problem). If you like Regina Spektor and Lilly Allen, you will probably enjoy Kate Nash. She adds a wonderful dark side to this otherwise run of the mill losing-love song.

So, I am going to leave work right at 1 today and walk slowly to the bus stop where I can enjoy the spring air (which will most likely make me sick from allergies) while I wait a little longer for the bus. Then I have to be at school early to meet with some classmates about a screenwriting project we are working on, and then my three hour screenwriting class.

Busy Spring Day Ahead! Yay!

the cool clip art

Well, if you ever read the Prospectus, the newsletter I put out every
month at work, then you may know that I love fun clip art! I found a
really awesome website that other clip art junkies may get a kick out of!

There are a lot of fun free ones and there are also ones you can purchase. The children
and goat from my last post are from this site, as well as this one!
Enjoy!!

Belinda never lies...

for you out-of-towners, Belinda Jensen is the KARE 11 (our local NBC
station) head meteorologist, and she is very good! The weather today is
just what she said it would be, gray, but still feeling like spring. We
will probably even get rain this afternoon! If you read my last post, I
said I was elated. well, here's why...

IT'S SPRING!!!

Yesterday I walked to school (as always) wearing only my bright yellow spring jacket, instead of the semi-puffy red winter jacket I got in January (thanks mommy, it is an awesome jacket, but I hope not to have to wear it again for several months!). On the
way home, I didn't even wear that, and I was only sporting a t-shirt and jeans! Today, even though I knew it would be a little chillier because the sun won't be out, I wore layered spring jackets and my new keen sandals!! They are so awesome and this is my first day wearing them, so that makes me really happy.

The other reason I am so happy is because of my clothing. On Sunday I went shopping at Steve and Berry's. Now, I admit that I was hesitant about this excursion, because
I am verymiddle class and I have this semi-subconscious notion that if it is cheap it most look cheap. That doesn't mean I don't love a good deal, on the contrary, I love finding things at savers (like my yellowjacket that cost 7.99 - but it is originally from Gap) or even target. But I got myself to go to S&B's because they have a Sarah Jessica Parker line that goes up to my size and has really basic jeans.

I fell in love right away! I found two pairs of jeans, two cute t-shirts and a cute headband for about $47!! Let me break that down for you - they were having a sale where nothing in the store was over $8.98! Now, these are not the greatest jeans I will ever wear (so far, that title goes to my Dickie's) but they fit well, the butt pockets are spaced nicely, and they were hella cheap. What's not to love?

The other thing that makes me happy is the way my week is going. I talked with one of my teachers yesterday because I am doing very poorly in her class. She is giving me an amazing opportunity to redeem myself, and I feel like sending her flowers! I am getting more comfortable with the film camera (vs. the video we were using before) and am now more excited to do the actual film project. On Monday night I rearranged my apartment, which always makes me feel fresh and ready to face anything! Tonight I am going to babysit for theMadsen's again, who are one of my favorite families to see (The oldest is ten or eleven and listens to led zepplin and local music as well as playing the guitar himself, and the younger two are super cute ladies with tons of 'tude!) after that I'll head over to Market BBQ for some food, screenwriting
time and then Karaoke!! I love spending my Wednesday's this way!

OK, well, I best get to work. I hope everyone out there in cyber world is having as good a week as me!

Meme about ME, ME!!

OK, so my mom tagged me for this meme, and I'll do my best, but I can't really do the last part...

Here are the rules:
1. You have to post the rules before you give your answers.
2.You must list one fact about yourself beginning with each letter of
your middle name. (If you don't have a middle name, use your maiden
name or your mother's maiden name).
3. At the end of your blog post, you need to tag one person for each letter of your middle name. (Be sure to leave them a comment telling them they've been tagged.)

Here it goes, bare with me, my parents were cruel and gave me a long name!

Many Faceted
Always singing
Regretfully late
German descendant
Really tired (I don't mean just right now, I could always sleep more!)
Empathetic
Thankful, for everything
Human (Ha! That was easy!)
Elated! (see my next post!)

So, here is the part I can't do without your help. I don't really read the blogs of anyone who hasn't already been meme'd for this, and I don't think it would be right for me to meme strangers (and by strangers I mean people whose blogs I've never even read!) So if you are reading this, go ahead and consider yourself tagged! Feel
free to respond in my comments or on your blog!

Thanks!

and finally, SPRING!

Even if I don't get internet at home, Spring means easier transportation and more of a willingness to leave the house. We have had a very cold winter here and it makes you want to stay in your warm, heat paid apartment, let me tell you!

OK, let me just say, that in comparison, I guess this winter wasn't so bad. But we had a couple of stretches where it was in the -20's with even colder wind chills, which is hard weather for a walker!

Notice how I am putting all this winter talk in past tense? Well, even though it snowed again yesterday, I refuse to commit to much more of this. Next week I have spring break, which will fly by, then Lydia is home, and this will go too quickly as well, as it always does. Then it will be April! It will be chilly, still jacket weather, and maybe still some snow, but by the end of April we will have seen the last of this Winter Business! I know it!

The other upshot of me having a computer will be the pictures of spring I plan on taking with my camera and posting on my blog! I am also going to try and find a way to post my Ellipsis project for Film and Video 1!

loan money!!

Here is more on why I hope to be a better blogger.

In January, I applied for another loan from the Minnesota Higher Education Board. This is and was to make up for the fact that when I applied for my loan last fall, I was not yet in the film making program, and it is more then $600 more expensive in tuition alone, not to mention the supplies and software you have to get. So, I put the request in on January 17th (the school has a record of this). They said to allow three weeks.

After three and a half weeks I called The MHEB to see if they had sent it to the lender for disbursement yet, and they said that they had no record of it. SO! I called the school and they said, give it till Friday.

On Friday I checked and still no luck. So the woman at the financial aid desk gave the number of the woman handling it. I called that woman three times on three different days and left messages which were never returned. I then called her supervisor who informed me that she was working through a pile of a different kind of loan before my kind of loan. It should ONLY take another week. Six weeks had gone by before the loan was certified and sent to the lender. I received my loan in the mail yesterday. In case you weren't keeping track, we are heading in to week 8 of my ordeal. I cannot imagine what I would have done if I did not have an outside job, something many of my classmates don't.

So, how does this affect blogging? One of the things I hope to get with my loan money is a computer and some sort of internet connection at home. When I can't sleep in the middle of the night, I can blog!! Woohoo (for you!)!!

procrastination, lazyness...

...call it what you will. I have been a very bad blogger. However, with a recession looming, loan money in my mailbox, and spring on the way, I hope to be better, truly!

So, let me explain a little of what is going on. First the recession. I work two shifts a week at an expensive children's clothing store. Yes, I said "expensive" and "children" in the same sentence. Now, I love the clothing. Much of it is organic cotton and it is all Oke-Tex certified, which means that it is put through rigorous tests to make sure it has no chemicals in it that could harm your child. Chemicals like pesticides, lead, mercury and over 100 others! The company is also Swedish inspired, and our motto is that "we believe in letting kids be kids", so you won't be finding any hoochie clothes for five year olds in our store!

But, even with these wonderful attributes, we are suffering greatly from the money woes of our fellow Americans. We have been 30-40 hours over payroll every week for the past few MONTHS! Our manager is now asking that we each see if there are sacrifices we can make in our hours. Seeing as how my "regular" job recently added two hours a week on to my time there and I just received another loan disbursement, I told my mang. that if she wants to cut me to one shift a week or even one shift every few weeks I would be fine with that. I can manage. There is even a possibility that I will take a short leave of absence at some point.

So, all this will begin taking effect the week after Easter (when our sales and number of customers will dwindle again after the spring break/Easter outfits rush). This works well for me as that is the week that Lydia will be home for spring break and I will be back from mine with mid-terms and big projects to prepare for. Unfortunately, my coworkers are not in the position I am in and will now be scrambling to make ends meet.

So, please, next time you are looking for something at a retail store, even a giant one, and they tell you something is unavailable, be nice to the sales clerk and don't make a big fuss about how it should be on back order. They can't afford it. None of us can.