Not content with wrecking friends' cars, I had to go and one-up myself a couple of nights ago. As I was winding up a late-night visit with a (different) friend, I drove through a construction zone where some (*&$#%ing idiots had come along and thrown the battery-operated flashing lights all over the pavement. I managed to miss two...but took the third smack down the center of my undercarriage. Sounded AWFUL, but, i figured, meh, I've run over alligators before...it can take this!
Long story short...right after I dropped my friend off, the oil pressure idiot light started flashing erratically at me, and I knew I was in trouble. Since my Daddy didn't raise no engine-seizing fools, I got the heck off the road into the first open gas station. Got out and peeked under my car, and what do I see? Why, it looks like I've removed my oil drain plug! Oil is just pouring out. Needless to say, I didn't try to start it again. I called AAA, and waited the 2 or so hours for them to show up (sheesh!). The good news is, since I've been polyphasic for a while now, I at least had some night-owl friends I could call & chat with while waiting. Probably the best company I've ever had while waiting for AAA.
The really bizarre irony of it is....Mom had used her AAA towing just that morning! Apparently the selector cable for her automatic transmission snapped when she pulled into her parking space at Wal-Mart, so she had to have her car towed to the garage. Her bill, unfortunately, will be far more than mine, though, on account of the parts only being available from a Toyota dealership. :( Well, assuming I don't find anything else wrong with my car. I looked the undercarriage over yesterday before ordering parts, and, aside from the fingertip-sized hole in my oil pan, didn't see any other important pieces missing/holed, so hopefully my luck will hold out.
Sunday, September 24, 2006
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Aaaahhhhhh!
Finally! As a long-time resident of Florida, this is the day I so eagerly await each year...the first cold front! OK, well, the first cold front that actually has a bit of cold air behind it, anyway. And what a wonderful way to shake off the morning groggies after my core nap! Tooling around on my bike for the better part of an hour in air that's actually, FINALLY dipped below 70 degrees. :D I can't wait till this becomes a more regular occurrence.
Happy, happy!
Happy, happy!
Saturday, September 16, 2006
Would someone PLEASE turn off that tap?
Ever since I tried to wreck my friend Rob's car, the great car spigot in the sky has been sending streams of GTIs (and their lookalikes, at least from the front, Golfs and Jettas) across my path. Just driving BACK from the gym today, I saw three GTIs, and I don't know how many of the other two. What the? You know how when you buy a new car, you are suddenly attuned to it, and so you then see it everywhere? I wonder if the guilt I now have buried within me is managing to pull off just that trick...just a bit.
On a much happier note, I somehow managed to get an "A" grade on both my first Logic test (no real surprise) and my first Precalc test (HUGE surprise)! So, I guess all this #&%*+@ homework I've been doing hasn't been for naught...
Cheers,
Auri
On a much happier note, I somehow managed to get an "A" grade on both my first Logic test (no real surprise) and my first Precalc test (HUGE surprise)! So, I guess all this #&%*+@ homework I've been doing hasn't been for naught...
Cheers,
Auri
Sunday, September 10, 2006
Migraine - Note to self
I just wanted to note here that I am currently experiencing a migraine. For those of you who do not know me well enough, I shall elucidate a bit. But my primary purpose is simply to log the date, time and surrounding circumstances of this occurence, should I want/need to be able to recall this information later. I cannot think of anything specific which may have precipitated it; it happened quite suddenly. I awoke from my three-hour core a little before 9, Mom had left a message on my phone, and when I went outside to return her call, it apparently struck then, because when I came back in, it was in full swing. A bit different from the slow creeping I've noted in the past. It is actually now dissipating, even as I type. When I came back in, I actually had to wait a minute or so to confirm that this was, in fact, migraine, rather than simple blindness caused by my irises closing down in the bright sunlight outside. General life conditions leading up to the time of affliction: experienced initial pre-menstrual cramping yesterday, have been consuming unfortunately high levels of caffeine for the past 3 weeks, had a mildly stressful event with a friend around 3:15 am, woke up from my 3-hour core and stretched quite a bit, but did not do formal yoga poses , "skipped" a workout yesterday, in the attempt to bring myself down to a Sunday-Tuesday-Thursday schedule, instead of the harder-to-plan-for every-other-day schedule. Last thing I ate before the attack was a really crappy Banquet meal of chicken strips, which was around 1:15 am (note to self: never again, no matter how many Jeff brings home by mistake!).
For everyone who may be concerned/sympathetic: Thank you, but do not fret. My mother and I experience a type of migraine that involves no pain. It's almost as if we get the preliminary symptoms, and nothing else, of what folks typically consider a migraine. Essentially, a buzzing, fuzzy, multi-colored light field moves across our vision, and eventually clears back off. It would be unsafe to drive when this is occurring, and it makes it extremely difficult to read or do anything else visual (such as computer use, ironically :), but in the end it is little more than a temporary nuisance.
For everyone who may be concerned/sympathetic: Thank you, but do not fret. My mother and I experience a type of migraine that involves no pain. It's almost as if we get the preliminary symptoms, and nothing else, of what folks typically consider a migraine. Essentially, a buzzing, fuzzy, multi-colored light field moves across our vision, and eventually clears back off. It would be unsafe to drive when this is occurring, and it makes it extremely difficult to read or do anything else visual (such as computer use, ironically :), but in the end it is little more than a temporary nuisance.
Saturday, September 09, 2006
She will take it back...
Yes, that title's a Pink Floyd quote, for any one who cares.
What I'm referring to is my body's ability to take sleep when it needs to, regardless of what alarms/precautions I set in place. I had another oversleeping event last night (from a little before 11 to almost 5am this morning), and managed to let down not one, but TWO of my friends in the process. Crap. Usually I have some sort of warning, like, I've been sitting at my computer microsleeping for the previous couple of hours, when I wind up oversleeping. This time, however, I was just the normal level of tired. I'd put my 10pm nap off because I'd not taken my 6 until 8pm (OK, so maybe my schedule is just a leeetle screwy), so I had no clue that I would be needing an extra-strength kitchen timer alarm to wake me. Thus, none was set. Thus, I overslept like a crazy woman. Come on, peeps....6 hours? That's a full night's sleep where I come from! It's like my body is trying oh-so-hard to put me back into monophase. Perhaps I should listen to it?
The biggest reasons I have chosen to stick with polyphase even though I could not make the full 6x20 schedule adaptation are social and homework-related. I really enjoy being able to go out with my friends at all hours of the day and night, and I also appreciate the flexibility to do my homework during the times when no one else is awake, so I don't feel as though I'm missing out on anything. I can't say it has cured my procrastination, but it has definitely helped a bit.
So, I suppose, if I were to return to monophase, it would only be the social aspect of my life that would suffer. There would be some friendships which I would have to let go completely, because they are entirely predicated upon the fact that I can hang out at odd hours. And there are others which would probably lose steam and die as well. I'm not sure I like that idea. Good people are too few and far between (especially within a reasonable driving distance) to let go of a handful of them in one fell swoop. So, I have my catch-22...return to monophase, and dismiss certain of my friends by default, or keep up with the polyphase, and occasionally screw them over when my body decides it knows better than I. I don't really like either option, especially given that, ever since I got my driver's licence, I've prided myself on being the World's Most Reliable Friend (tm). Always there when she says she'll be there, or at the very least courteous enough to call and say she's running five minutes late. Hell, up until '99 or so, I considered myself late if I wasn't at least 10 minutes early.
What to do, what to do...
What I'm referring to is my body's ability to take sleep when it needs to, regardless of what alarms/precautions I set in place. I had another oversleeping event last night (from a little before 11 to almost 5am this morning), and managed to let down not one, but TWO of my friends in the process. Crap. Usually I have some sort of warning, like, I've been sitting at my computer microsleeping for the previous couple of hours, when I wind up oversleeping. This time, however, I was just the normal level of tired. I'd put my 10pm nap off because I'd not taken my 6 until 8pm (OK, so maybe my schedule is just a leeetle screwy), so I had no clue that I would be needing an extra-strength kitchen timer alarm to wake me. Thus, none was set. Thus, I overslept like a crazy woman. Come on, peeps....6 hours? That's a full night's sleep where I come from! It's like my body is trying oh-so-hard to put me back into monophase. Perhaps I should listen to it?
The biggest reasons I have chosen to stick with polyphase even though I could not make the full 6x20 schedule adaptation are social and homework-related. I really enjoy being able to go out with my friends at all hours of the day and night, and I also appreciate the flexibility to do my homework during the times when no one else is awake, so I don't feel as though I'm missing out on anything. I can't say it has cured my procrastination, but it has definitely helped a bit.
So, I suppose, if I were to return to monophase, it would only be the social aspect of my life that would suffer. There would be some friendships which I would have to let go completely, because they are entirely predicated upon the fact that I can hang out at odd hours. And there are others which would probably lose steam and die as well. I'm not sure I like that idea. Good people are too few and far between (especially within a reasonable driving distance) to let go of a handful of them in one fell swoop. So, I have my catch-22...return to monophase, and dismiss certain of my friends by default, or keep up with the polyphase, and occasionally screw them over when my body decides it knows better than I. I don't really like either option, especially given that, ever since I got my driver's licence, I've prided myself on being the World's Most Reliable Friend (tm). Always there when she says she'll be there, or at the very least courteous enough to call and say she's running five minutes late. Hell, up until '99 or so, I considered myself late if I wasn't at least 10 minutes early.
What to do, what to do...
Monday, September 04, 2006
Apartment life
I've been apartment- and cat-sitting for my mom for the past few days while she's in the hospital recuperating from abdominal surgery. All went well, and, as of yesterday, the Docs thought she might be coming home today. For the sake of her sanity, I hope that is true...she HATES being in hospitals, even as a visitor!
On day 2 of my stay here, I brought my bike up, in the hopes that I'd be able to begin the butt toughening schedule that would allow me to actually RIDE it once in a while this fall/winter/spring. This morning, however, was the first chance I got to actually go out. I was falling asleep over my Precalc homework, despite (or perhaps because of?) oversleeping on my previous nap by about 2 hours, so I stepped outside to test the temperature, and discovered that it was not quite the boiling, seething mass of air that had been hanging over this place the last few days. Thus I decided to chance a quick turn around the apartment complex. It was still dawn-y, but, being that it was so early on a holiday, there was no traffic to speak of, so I was OK without my front light (which as of right now lies broken in the warehouse). It was very nice, especially given the smooth, tightly compacted asphalt (and pothole-free, I might add!) of the streets hereabouts. I probably put in 20 minutes or so which, while it won't give me much cardio benefit (i was hardly taxing that capacity at only 13 mph or so), will definitely help build up mah butt calluses. :) I actually rode over to the far clubhouse a couple of days ago, to do a little cardio in the workout room here (wasn't wearing proper riding shorts, so, the butt tenderization began then), and doing that, in my walking shoes, reminded me of just how nice it is to be clipped into my pedals. It was a whole different world this morning, donning gloves, riding shorts, and riding shoes. SUCH a secure feeling, being attached to the bike. I've a friend with a high quality mountain bike, and was surprised to see that he just had standard pedals on it. He didn't see the need, given that he doesn't do much technical riding. But man, I'll bet if he ever tried them, he'd never go back :)
On a completely different note...is it just me, or has the Honda Fit taken off like a rocket? It almost seems as if all of the hardcore Honda fans who have been wanting an economical little car were chomping at the bit to get them, and all ran out on the day of their release to get theirs! They are popping up EVERYWHERE. I've watched the Suzuki Aerio and the Chevy Aero gain market share ever since they came out, the Scion xA took off pretty well, being marketed to the Gen-X crowd, of course my Echo has been pretty popular, and I've even seen a handful of the new-to-the-US-market Yaris about. But the Hondas! Having only come out on April 20th of this year, they must have a helluva fanbase to multiply so quickly. I'm just sayin', 's'all.
***update, a few minutes later***
Holy crap! The Fit can be fitted (ha!) with up to 16 inch wheels. I can't imagine why you'd want that, but...it's still kinda impressive. Also, its gas mileage, on an engine that has only 1bhp more than mine, is notably lower, at least on the hwy (33/38 mpg with the manual tranny, as opposed to my 34/41). Amazing what a difference 1hp can make...
auri out.
On day 2 of my stay here, I brought my bike up, in the hopes that I'd be able to begin the butt toughening schedule that would allow me to actually RIDE it once in a while this fall/winter/spring. This morning, however, was the first chance I got to actually go out. I was falling asleep over my Precalc homework, despite (or perhaps because of?) oversleeping on my previous nap by about 2 hours, so I stepped outside to test the temperature, and discovered that it was not quite the boiling, seething mass of air that had been hanging over this place the last few days. Thus I decided to chance a quick turn around the apartment complex. It was still dawn-y, but, being that it was so early on a holiday, there was no traffic to speak of, so I was OK without my front light (which as of right now lies broken in the warehouse). It was very nice, especially given the smooth, tightly compacted asphalt (and pothole-free, I might add!) of the streets hereabouts. I probably put in 20 minutes or so which, while it won't give me much cardio benefit (i was hardly taxing that capacity at only 13 mph or so), will definitely help build up mah butt calluses. :) I actually rode over to the far clubhouse a couple of days ago, to do a little cardio in the workout room here (wasn't wearing proper riding shorts, so, the butt tenderization began then), and doing that, in my walking shoes, reminded me of just how nice it is to be clipped into my pedals. It was a whole different world this morning, donning gloves, riding shorts, and riding shoes. SUCH a secure feeling, being attached to the bike. I've a friend with a high quality mountain bike, and was surprised to see that he just had standard pedals on it. He didn't see the need, given that he doesn't do much technical riding. But man, I'll bet if he ever tried them, he'd never go back :)
On a completely different note...is it just me, or has the Honda Fit taken off like a rocket? It almost seems as if all of the hardcore Honda fans who have been wanting an economical little car were chomping at the bit to get them, and all ran out on the day of their release to get theirs! They are popping up EVERYWHERE. I've watched the Suzuki Aerio and the Chevy Aero gain market share ever since they came out, the Scion xA took off pretty well, being marketed to the Gen-X crowd, of course my Echo has been pretty popular, and I've even seen a handful of the new-to-the-US-market Yaris about. But the Hondas! Having only come out on April 20th of this year, they must have a helluva fanbase to multiply so quickly. I'm just sayin', 's'all.
***update, a few minutes later***
Holy crap! The Fit can be fitted (ha!) with up to 16 inch wheels. I can't imagine why you'd want that, but...it's still kinda impressive. Also, its gas mileage, on an engine that has only 1bhp more than mine, is notably lower, at least on the hwy (33/38 mpg with the manual tranny, as opposed to my 34/41). Amazing what a difference 1hp can make...
auri out.
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