Spring is Right Around the Corner...I can FEEL It!!!

Today it was pretty warm! I had to work at JCP today from 2-9 and we were SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO busy. Thank God I work tomorrow from 11-6 because I still have retail to fill on the shelves, we were THAT busy and I had THAT much paperwork to do. We have to do tons of stuff each day before closing and the busier we are, the more paperwork just piles up and up and up. We had over 30 new customers today. That means inputting addresses, ringing up new customer status if it got missed during payment, and recording each new person on our mail-out sheet. Not to mention I sold a bunch of retail today too. So, busy busy busy!!!

On my way into Fargo to day, it was soooooooooooooooo warm! Windy as hell, but warm. It smelled like spring when I went out to my car this afternoon!! I wonder if my roof will cave in though because all morning I could hear snow or something settling/falling down on the roof. Have I mentioned I live in the Ada Ghetto? I hope I won't have to use my fine renters insurance...but if I did, that would completely back up my nickname of this apartment building. I can't wait to move.

First I need a job. I have a feeling I may have needed a new job whether I had quit or not...I think the ASEC board of directors are considering closing my program due to lack of funds. However, if Obama's education secretary guy has his way (and Obama himself I think too), they will boost up federal funding of the special ed law (Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act or IDEIA....or just IDEA -what is was before it was revised in 04). So students with disabilities are protected under federal law in education. Schools must do certain things for students with disabilities. Historically, even though the feds mandated that all public schools (even if kids go to private schools, public schools STILL have to pick up their tab even though they are not enrolled in the public school...I had a very early blog in which I ranted about that), they only provided enough money to cover about 30% of the cost to the states and local school district. Bumping that money up more will alleviate some of the cost to the local school districts (i.e. less schools asking for levies) by allowing them to stop using general fund dollars for special ed programming (which by law MUST be done cuz special ed programming is mandated and MUST be done no matter if the district "has the money" or not). So, hopefully you can see my hope with this new administration. If the feds boost up their funding and do what they SAID they were going to do way back in the day (in the 1970's), that means more efficient school budgeting (hopefully) and more funding for my program, which is run with federal dollars.

It's interesting to me lately how politics affect our lives. I'm hopeful that kids with special needs will finally get the funding they deserve and schools won't be crippled financially for doing what's right.

Whew. Done with my soapbox there! -and now back to my original thoughts when I started to post. Today I actually felt like winter will NOT last forever and spring is soon to be here. Even with the sloppiness that comes with spring, I sure do like the season. I enjoy the change of seasons quite a bit. As soon as I get sick of the season, the next one comes. It's great.

So now I'm off to watch SNL. Steve Martin hosts and I'm hoping he's funny!

This Blog Is Lame

I've been re-reading some of the posting I've done here....and I have to say, I think this blog is pretty lame. Why anyone tunes in is beyond me. I'll have to do some thinking on how to spice things up again so even I don't think some of this stuff is lame.

Anyone have any suggestions?

tuesday!!!!!

So I've been trying to transcribe my notes from my study. I say "trying" because I get going but then have to quit because of something. I had absolutely no time today to spend on it, when yesterday I had time while my students were doing their independent seatwork. Today I had to spend most of my time with a student processing some stuff. I strongly believe in individual attention and helping kids process their thinking (cuz wow, most kids I know have huge problems with reality and how to deal with life problems!!), but it takes so much time. HOpefully tonight I can get some transcribing done.

Last night I went to bed at 8:30. It was great and I got up at 5:00, before my alarm went off. I didn't get out of bed until the alarm went off, but nonetheless, I got up quite early and was to work by 7:15am. I got a lot of stuff done. I'm kinda swamped right now with the study stuff, my "real" job, and filling out all of these job applications. Applications take a lot of time!!! Holy man!!! I've also decided to apply to places that are not advertising right now but might be. So many people are telling me I'm crazy to resign my job without another lead for next year, but I'm not concerned. Not at all. I'm at the point of my life right now that if I can't find a "good" job in MN I'll definitely look out of state. Maybe that's where I'm meant to go. Only time will tell.

Well, gotta go help students figure out the law. Long story. :-)

So nothing is new with me. Pretty much nothing. I still can't believe I actually resigned from my job without having another one lined up. I'm ok with that though, because it was like the Holy Spirit whispered in my ear and said, "it's ok. you can quit today." Gotta go with that encouragement.

I hear it's supposed to get really cold again. Well, what's new. That's what I get for living in MN, except apparently, Bob in Mankato says it's 70 degrees and sunny there. AND, their Target store has a vast 50% off sale going on. Are coffee shops giving away free coffee too? And are the gas stations having a $.01 a gallon sale? If so, I'll move there without a job. :-)

I'm really looking forward to applying for jobs. How fun!!! I had better get my butt in gear and get my study done. I have to submit most of it by March 1st to my advisor....so I need to quit "thinking" and start "doing".

And yesterday we got a new president. I'm looking forward to watching this administration implement their changes. I got pretty sick of all the hoopla around the inauguration, but now that it's over, I want to see people get down to business and live up to campaign promises. Do you realize, many of the younger people in this nation have no idea of any kind of leadership but what Bush exuded? I remember the Clinton years. I was in college when he was elected and I was privileged to vote in that election (my first one I think). I remember when Bush was elected and right away the tone was set with the "hanging chad" controversy. Oh well. Too much BS.

Let's see, what else do I have to say? I've started using this really expensive shampoo and conditioner and it is EXCELLENT. If you can afford it, buy Pureology. I'm using the hydrate line and also have the volume one. I haven't used the volume one yet though. The neatest thing about it is that you need only a nickel size of product on very wet hair and it lathers like you dumped a whole bottle of Herbal Essence on your head. The conditioner is minty and kinda tingly on your scalp and you only need a nickel's worth of that too. Gotta make sure the hair is VERY wet and saturated cuz there is no water in the formula....just good stuff. The line is phosphate free and completely vegan. So if you're into stuff like that, Pureology is a good brand for you -especially if you color your hair. Did I mention it's expensive? -it will also keep your color from looking like crap only month after you spent all that money to get it done. I also bought two sets of liters (shampoo/conditioner) of Redkin Color Safe during JCP's liter sale, another VERY good product for colored hair, so I think I will have shampoo and conditioner FOREVER. And EVER. :-) I found liters of Pureology from a hair salon in MT that sells some of their inventory on eBay (I double checked to find out if they were diverted products and they are genuine), so by just using barely 1/4 of an ounce each time I wash my hair, that stuff will last months!!

That reminds me. Do NOT buy "salon" products at Target, Walmart or anywhere else that is NOT a licensed hair salon. These places CANNOT order from the product distributors directly and very often they are even more expensive than what you pay for in a real salon -especially when that salon has awesome sales like JCP has many times a year. They order "diverted" products that may or may not be genuine because they are bought by a distributor that did not get the products directly from the manufacture. You might be buying yakk semen from Uganda for all you know!! That's also why in most salons you can't buy more than 3-4 of the same thing at once. Typically, those who do buy that much at once are "diverters" who resell the stuff online or through retail places that aren't licensed. More than you wanted to know, huh? It's amazing at what I'm learning at the ole JCP!!! :-)

ok, that's it. I suppose I could go on and on about any other given topic. But I'm tired and I need to go to bed. Adios!!!

Unemployment, Here I Come!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I quit my job today. My real job. I told my boss that this is my last year teaching at the transition school. He knew it was coming and we had a very nice chat. Now it's official. I am moving. Where to, you ask? Well, my criteria is this: somewhere that has a Target store. I've got some leads on some advertised positions right now, but I know that come March, April and even May, there will be much more to choose from.

I almost started bawling my head off when I was talking to my boss. THAT took my by surprise. I guess it shouldn't have because I can be a huge crybaby about absolutely nothing. I guess I could say that I know it's right for me to leave because of all of the emotion tied to it. Yes, I'll miss my friends up here A LOT and I'll even miss my job with the "naughty" kids -who are the coolest kids you will ever meet I think. But I've got to go. I don't know where I will end up and I'm not picky...just has to have a Target store. The only thing I know for sure is that I'm leaving here. It will be soooooo very awesome to put my notice in at my apartment!!!!!

Maybe I won't even find a new job. Maybe I'll have to work at JCPenneys full time. I doubt it, but you never know.

I better get my ass moving and get some of my study stuff done. I have to call my advisor tomorrow to talk about my progress so far and he'll probably chew my ass for being such a procrastinator. Good stuff is coming out of it though, so I'm not too concerned yet. I also have two more months to write the thing. If my committee doesn't like what I've done, they'll suggest changes and I'll just work on that and try my oral presentation/defending/disposition (I can't remember what they call it when a field study is presented) again in the summer. The hardest thing was the portfolio last June and I managed that ok. I have my administrator licenses, but it would be nice to have the specialist degree in progress and practically finished during interviews. At least I can get a Masters +36 additional graduate credits salary placement, if applicable.

So now I've droned on and on. I'm long winded. Have you noticed?? You'd never know if you talked to me in person!!! I have lots to say, but believe in saving my words and not wasting them outloud. :-)

the back end of january...

Hooray! Today is Sunday and January is 1/2 over already!! The second semester starts this week, so the school year is half over as well!! Hooray!! This year, I've been counting down to the last day of the school year since August. I'm pretty sure this will be my last year at the transition school, so I've been prepping stuff to pass on the reins to someone new. So, whether I find an administrative position somewhere, I think I will still leave and look for another teaching job somewhere. I could stay because I do like the job quite a bit and I like working for the ASEC (It's kept me living in this crazy area for 10 years now!!!), I need to move on and experience something new.

I have to go to a baptism this morning and then visit afterwards. My best friend's baby (who I've blogged about previously) is the one being baptized. I am looking forward to it, except I have a hard time with some of my friends' family members...difficult to describe respectfully.

Well, it's supposed to warm up...it was nice yesterday...IF you didn't have to drive through the country, but it isn't that bad I guess. So, I'm looking forward to the warmer weather.

Well, Gosh Dern It Anyways...

*sigh*.....let me say that again with more feeling, **SIGH**.

Guess who's in the media spotlight again? Yep, Sarah Palin. I don't know what to say. I WANT to say stuff that's not very nice. BUT, I certainly don't want to be one of those "bored, anonymous, pathetic bloggers who lie"....even though since I live in AMERICA and am AMERICAN, I have freedom of expression. Yes, yes, I understand libel and slander and also understand that I haven't seen the entries of these "bored, anonymous, pathetic bloggers who lie" -so I don't know how bad it is. I only know what the lady says.

And I don't like it.

See, this is why I stopped considering the Republican ballot. She's a DramaMama. I've got enough drama with my students...I don't need a vice president of my COUNTRY to perpetuate potshots aimed at her by citizens who enjoy their First Amendment rights and then KEEP the crap flying after the fact (and another thing....being the REPUBLICAN she is, I'm very surprised by the absolute dichotomy of that party currently marvelously demonstrated by her. They want their gun rights and their search and seizure rights, but they support banning books and insist on putting GOD in the government when the 1st Amendment secures the right for every American to have "freedom of religion, press, and expression". It's just silly. You can't pick and choose which parts of the constitution you agree with more...If they ARE ranked, search & seizure isn't until Amendment 4 and the freedom of religion, press and expression is BEFORE the right to bear arms...just silly. Not only that, but women's right to VOTE isn't until Amendment 19. I think that's a pretty damn important amendment!!).

Ok, so I'm not REALLY that liberal. Not really. Not in practice actually. But I am DEFINITELY a liberal in thought and idealism. And I'm sick of the drama! Now, I'm kinda guilty too. By just blogging about this, I'm perpetuating the drama a little longer, but I can't keep quiet!! This story broke last week....and I tried and tried and tried to let it go. It's just too absurd. And another thing: if she can't handle the media attention and the crazy tabloid-like rumors when she LOSES the vice presidency, how in the H-E-double-hockey-sticks is she going to be able to handle the highest office in the country?? Spend all of her time "correcting", blaming, and complaining about how unfair they are being? or do her job?

But, so what if she's right? When HASN'T the media been biased??? I mean c'mon! Who does she think we are?? Sheep?? Maybe. I can think for myself considering several sources before I make up my mind. But I do know people who DO believe everything they hear from their favorite source....or any source. So she's probably right...we are sheep. But geez!!! Didn't her mom teach her that when she points her finger at blame all the time sooner or later it points right back to her?? Maybe they don't learn that up in Alaska. Too many moose to shoot.

Is she the siren's song leading us to get lost at sea? Or is she right? Only time will tell I guess. But for now, I'm sick of her drama.

I've got American Idol drama to pay attention to right now. :D

Christmas Pictures Are Here!!!

Here are some pictures from Christmas. I have more close up pictures of random things in my Grandma's house from someone who commandeered my camera for a bit (Tony, i know it was you...). But nonetheless, here you go:

From the top, left to right:
Picture 1
Aunt Theresa, Mom, Grandma Rotta

Picture 2
1/2 of Albert (brother), Tony (brother) receiving a Jackalope, his best present ever apparently.

Picture 3:
Uncle Darrel and Aunt Chris (my godmother on my mom's side)

Picture 4:
The brothers. Personalities completely evident. Andy, Tony, & Albert.

Picture 5:
Albert (brother), Dad, and Grace (Niece, Albert's kid). I think Dad just gave Grace some "monkeyshines" which are drawings on the back of the hand. My Grandpa Doll started this tradition and his drawings are legendary. Dad's continued the tradition, writing on the grandkids' hands, irritating parents because the kids then LOVE drawing on their entire bodies and any surface with magic marker and pens. I think it's his "revenge" for his own kids writing and drawing all over his house and things when we were young!!

So, there you are, four pictures, more possibly coming. Again, ignore the time stamp on them!!

Procrastination Is My Middle Name....Literally....That Is, If I Ever Get Around To Changing It..

I finally downloaded all of my Christmas pictures onto my computer. Pictures are to come in my next post. I've got to decide which ones I want to include as some are very boring. HAHA. Also, pay no attention to the date stamp on the pictures. I must have forgotten how to run my camera. :-)

I'm in Morris right now in my hotel room procrastinating from doing my big plans of getting my study stuff done. It is only just after 5pm though....I've got all night I guess you could say, and I might stay up all night to do it too. I've got to say, however, I thought Morris was a MUCH bigger town. Wow....I did not realize how very rural this place is. I think I can cross this area off of my "places I might move to" list. I did spend some time traveling to some area school districts and have got to say that these folks know their RtI. My study will be awesome.

I'm Thiiiiiiiiiisss Close to Being Done With Winter...

I am going down to the Morris, MN area tomorrow evening to do some interviews for my study on Friday. I was going to go as far as Fergus and stay, but then thought I might as well go all the way to Morris and stay since it's only about 50 or so more miles. Then I have an 11am and a 1pm interview with different districts about 40 miles apart. I'm sort of nervous about the 1pm one, but am ok with rescheduling that one and staying in Morris until Saturday if the weather turns too icky to return to the crazy tundra and lakes of snow covered flatness up here. It might be kind of fun! I'll bring my laptop and all of my study stuff and actually WORK on it. It might give me an opportunity to transcribe all of my interviews so far. Just getting that done would be great. Now I'm excited and I might call the hotel tomorrow afternoon and extend my stay. I haven't been to that area in AGES so it would be fun to experience that area again....even though it will be in the dead of winter!

Winter is getting to be such a pain in the ass. You can pretty much count on 4-6 inches of snow and blowing winds every 4-5 days (usually it's happening on the weekend!!!) -so planning anything and going anywhere gets kind of stressful. Next week is supposed to be super cold. I HATE that. I feel so sorry for my car during time of below zero!!! And I see that gas is increasing, so that really sucks since idling to warm up my car seems to like guzzling gas. I like snow also...but wow...I think we're good now. No more please!!

Tonight I was watching some tv and got a hankering for rootbeer. How strange, huh? I had to drop off my city bill payment as well, so I decided to run up to the gas station and buy some rootbeer after I dropped of my city bill. I love diet A&W rootbeer. I blame my parents since that's the only kind of pop they drink now and their fridge is usually stocked when I go to visit so I often swipe one for a parting gift. :-)

I think I'm going to start a countdown to my car. My "target date" is the first week of March, but I might try to stretch it out until March 15th (actually the 13th) so I can use that payday to pad my down payment a bit more. Also, I am not scheduled to get my taxes done until February 19th and it usually takes about 2 weeks to get my refunds. So let's countdown to March 13th, shall we?? So it's 9 weeks and 1 day....making it 64 days until my new car!!! :-)

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh Olbermann....I heart U

Remember around election time when I ranted about how much I love watching Countdown with Keith Olbermann (I think I was under the influence of something cuz I think I said I wanted to marry him...)? Oh how long I've gone without watching it! I happened to catch an add for his show this weekend while trying to see some informative news about the Gaza Strip stuff going on now and found more useful information on MSNBC (I think CNN is getting dumber each month cuz for a second I thought I was watching Access Hollywood without celebrities). So my DVR now records his show each night at 3am. I'll never miss another one.

And my DVR queue will get super full again.

Tonight is laundry night. Fun fun!! Tomorrow is take out the garbage night. Just in case you were wonderin.

One of these days I need to get my aerogarden going again. I'd like to get the southwest herbs because it has two pods of cilantro and I am finding that I use that herb more than basil lately. If I were a bit richer and had the space, I'd get another aerogarden and grow strictly salad greens in it. The herbs have been great though. One of these days when I've got some spare time, I'll "plant" the southwest herb kit.

In case you are wondering what the heck I'm talking about, here's a picture and a link to their website. The one I have is black (I have the 7 pod classic) and the herbs really do grow this thick and lush (if you never use them and prune them well). I found that the aerogarden is remarkably easy to take apart and clean up after a growing season. I really like that about it.

On another subject, I've been in a cleaning out/sorting out/throwing out mood lately and tossed about a garbage bag full of junk from my table last night, not to mention rearranging my kitchen counters. I've already got a box of stuff to take to the thrift store and I'm sure once I clean out the office, I'll have more!! How does one person accumulate so much stuff????????????????????? I'm gonna need two or three u-hauls when I move!!!! Ew, I don't want to think about that. Moving is one thing that really stresses me out. I've come to the place in my life where not too much stresses me out anymore...but moving is an entirely different story. Why do you think I still live in the Ada Ghetto after 10 years!!! I won't even move to a nicer, updated, empty apartment across the hall!!!!! That's how much I hate moving. Plus, I'm cheap and don't want to pay hook-up fees I will be charged (yes, even though it's just moving across the hall...I've checked).

So that's about it. I remembered that I haven't uploaded any pictures from Christmas....maybe I'll get to that sometime this week. I don't work at all at JCP until next week (I have a bunch of meetings after school this week so I won't be able to get to Fargo early enough for a shift). That means I have at least 3 evenings this week completely free!! :-) I have nothing to watch in my DVR except Dark Knight and I'll watch that this weekend, so I get kinda bored. Good times!

The Last Day

Today is the last day of Christmas vacation for me. Today I've been pretty productive too. I almost got up at 6am, but then came to my senses and went back to bed. I got up at 9:30 and made a pot of coffee and started cleaning up my kitchen. It was a mess. Then, I made some brown rice since I found my favorite brand at the grocery store the other day. I usually make about 4-6 cups of it, portion it out into freezer bags of 1/3 c each (a serving of brown rice) and freeze it. It makes for a quick lunch with about a cup of frozen veggies (chopped broccoli or mixed veggies are my favorite ones). Throw it together in a microwave bowl, season with Lawry's Seasoned Salt & freshly ground pepper, and in 2 minutes you have a very nice lunch that stays with you through the afternoon.

I decided I needed to cook up some pork loins I had in my freezer, so I had defrosted them the other day for cooking today. I fried them in my grill pan (a rectangular teflon coated pan with raised grill marks) with some Essence of Emeril seasoning, let them rest, chopped them up, and added them and 3 cups of brown rice to my new enamel coated cast iron casserole dish that I had mixed 1 package each of frozen peas & carrots, frozen green beans, and one can of whole kernel corn. One can of cream of mushroom soup, about 1/3 cup of light sour cream, and two cans of canned mushrooms (undrained) joined the mixture with one onion and one minced garlic clove. Seasoned a bit more, stirred it all up, and baked it for about an hour or so. It made about 8 servings. So, I portioned it all up into freezer bags for my lunch this week. I had some for lunch today, it was pretty good. The corn was a nice addition.

Then, I cleaned out my linen closet that I use to store old bottles of lotion, shampoo, otc medications/creams, etc and a bunch of other junk. I threw out a whole 33 gallon garbage bag of junk from that closet!!! I've got room now to stock up on some good salon quality shampoo & conditioner liters that are on sale now at JCP. I don't intend to work there forever, so I am planning on stocking up a bit on my favorite hair products. I also went through my bathroom and threw out all old stuff like hair products, lotions, bodywashes, etc that I've had hanging around for ages.

Next is my dreaded table. That will get done this evening. I will then clear off my BeautiControl items, throw any open things I haven't used in more than a month, and divy up the rest for sale on eBay. BeautiControl is very similar to Mary Kay and I've been a "consultant" for about 3 years now. I haven't done a party in a year and have no plans to be an active seller for those products. I'll keep the stuff I use and want, and sell or throw the rest. I think I'll keep my consulting status because I do use their skin care line, so I can get a good discount on those items in the future. I am stocked up to the end of spring, however. I won't get to that until maybe next weekend, but my table will be my evening project.

Last night I got my DVR down to NOTHING in it. I had 100 hours of memory (my maximum) and only have 3 hours on there right now because I recorded Dark Knight on pay per view this morning. I don't want to spend over 2 hours watching that today, so I'll save it for another day. I did, however squeeze in time this afternoon to watch The Jerk. That's such a funny movie!!!

Tomorrow I get back into the grind of work -and I'm kind of looking forward to that structure. When I have extended times off like this, I have extended laziness -staying up late and getting up late while doing nothing but sitting around all day. I'll be going to the Morris area on Friday to do some interviews for my study, so I have to prepare for it during the week. Before I left for Christmas vacation I did all of my lesson planning, so I'll just have to "show up" tomorrow and execute them. WoooHooooooo!

Ringin In The New Year With A Whole Lotta Procrastination!!!

Guess what I've done all day today? NOTHING. Well, I DID clear off my DVR and actually have over 97 hours available!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's so great!! I finally recorded about 7 hours of Modern Marvels and The Presidents onto vhs tapes for school. It was very nice to get that done...that's what has been hogging all my memory!!!!!!!!

I'm still gonna do some organizing yet tonight. It's only about 6:30. First, I'm going to go for a drive and sing to the radio a bit while driving around (one of my favorite past times). This town is pretty darned small, so it's boring, but I have a couple "routes" I take out of town, each different for each season due to roads and scenery. I think from one end of town to the other it's about 2 miles. Or maybe 4...but I sincerely doubt it. Most of town is larger east to west and I do think that it's only 2 miles from my apartment (the east side) to the high school (the west side). Well, how about I go for a drive and check that out? HAHA.

Oh yea, guess what else I've done today??? I've discovered a new site with which to waste my time!!! In the same "family" as the LOLCats is a dog site. Here it is: www.ihasahotdog.com . Welcome to the end of your productivity.

Happy New Year!!!

So it is finally 2009. I've been waiting for this year. I think it will be a good year. Today I worked at JCP until 8pm. We were so dead from 6:00 to 8...I think I fell into a standing coma while there!!! The phone did not ring from 5:45-8:00. That's unusual because usually we get at least one call an hour to book appointments, change appointments around, or some other "customer servicey" call. Then I zoomed into Hornbachers to pick up some stuff and headed back to Ada. The roads were terrible...there was blowing snow and drifting all over. It sucked. Plus, it is so cold that the roads are pretty much a runway of ice. I went to my friend Jami's and played Canasta with her, her mom Connie, and our friend Roxi. It was a good time...but we are all old ladies so it was pretty low-key. I went home at 1:15 tired as hell, but now I'm not too tired.

I've been bored on vacation. I should be doing a lot of things....cleaning, sorting out tax stuff, doing research for my study, transcribing the administrator interviews I've done so far, etc, etc, etc. But instead, I'm browsing www.icanhascheezburger.com. I've seen this website long ago, but somehow I stumbled upon it the other day. Now I've been looking at it for two days straight. Some of the cat & animal pictures make me laugh out loud. It's awesome. And a totally useless way of killing time. If you want to be mesmerized, check out that site. You'll never leave. You'll bookmark where you left off last...I promise. I'm not one to like "cute" animal pictures or anything like that. I don't even have a pet (though I call my parent's dog Buddy "My" dog). It's just dammed hilarious and really, who doesn't like looking at cute cats once in a while!

On another note, I finally got a new faucet for my bathroom sink. I swear to God, this apartment building is horrible. My other one still worked, but just barely. It was all corroded and the sink stopper did not work anymore. The current caretakers are doing a very good job at keeping things updated now (finally!!). They have had a hard time dealing with the owners of this company (Anda Construction Company of Fargo/Moorhead) because they are either super cheap, or don't really care about this property -and things take FOREVER to get fixed/replaced. A couple years ago my fridge stopped working and instead of getting me a new one, they had the caretakers at the time move the same kind of fridge (an old gold one from the 70's) into my apartment. In a month, THAT one quit working as well, so for TWO MONTHS I waited for a new fridge. I had to use the fridge in the apartment building across the hall (thank god it wasn't occupied at the time) before the fridge showed up...at 10pm in the evening. I'm not kidding when I say I live in the Ada Ghetto. They haven't raised the rent in 5 years...that's good because I think I'd have to raise some kind of hell or something...raising rent without maintaining the building doesn't make sense. Now I'll be ok with a rent raise (I have a feeling one is coming). But only a slight one because come-on....this place is NOT a quality building. To bad for me that I hate to move!! :-)

Tomorrow I think I'm going to sort out my table and get my tax stuff gathered up and sorted out....that is, if I can tear myself away from the cat website. HAHA!