You're not going to believe this.

Well, I've got good news and bad news. (Hm... that sounds like a joke...) Bad news first:

I don't know what's going on here, but it looks like my car might have been keyed? Or at least scratched by something.







Sorry about all the reflection. *sigh* As far as I know, I haven't made any enemies. There's a girl at work who doesn't like me, but it's just because (as far as I know) I remind her of somebody she doesn't like. So I don't think she would go as far as to scratch my car.

I don't think it was there this morning, which means it would have happened at school or work. I'm really sad about it. It's just not worth it to have a new car! I'm not getting this fixed. My mom helped me with the deductible from the first problem and I'm not asking her again. Especially if this is going to be a trend. I'm sad.

Okay, now the good news:

Last term (my first term at school), I took Writing 121. For the final exam, they had us show up and they gave us a subject to write on, for example, we could write about if we thought people in extreme sports should be responsible for themselves or if other people should... OR... we could write about a moment in our lives that affected us greatly, where we would change something about it and the reasoning for changing that something. It's pretty broad, so there was a lot you could write about.

Well I didn't realize it, but they took any and all of the essays that scored a "perfect" and chose the best two. Those two people won $100 and I WAS ONE OF THEM!!! I won a hundred bucks for my essay! I guess I can get it put in the online arts ezine (online magazine?) too, but I'm not sure if I'll do it just yet.

Anyway, I was kind of proud of that. :D

Oh, I'm doing the low-carb thing right now... I'm hoping it will help me lose more weight. Right now I'm inching down by about 0.2 lbs per week. Grrrrrr.

On Being a Waitress

Sadness upon sadness, I have no pictures. And it's hard to get any pictures unless it's of a classroom, work (both which would be hard to explain) or the inside of my eyelids as I sleep.

School is going okay... however... I have exams coming up this week. One in math and one in geology. I'm not as worried about geology (which reminds me - I need to go print out the study guide.), but math is another matter altogether. And it's a strange way to take a test in my opinion. The exam is due BY Thursday. So we get our homework signed off (that we turned it all in) by the teacher, go to this testing room where they also have tutoring and stuff, sign in and they give us the test there. On our own time! Hmph.

Work is interesting. The really raunchy guys have been nicer to me for some reason. I guess they got tired of trying to "break" me. Either that, or it's the eye of the hurricane. Last night was fun (sarcasm! sarcasm!). After being told that I looked "really, really beautiful", another guy told me he knows lots of single guys that he works with. It is his mission to find me a guy. And he said they all make good money because they are carpenters. Hmph. I am, of course, skeptical. Him and his wife and her parents are regulars there. Something to aspire to.

When I left work last night (well, this morning a little after 3 a.m.) I saw a car parked near the door with their lights on and the driver's door open. I am careful, so I stared at the car while the bartender was waiting for me to leave. The I heard, "Ooooh, hoo-hoo-hoo...." She was sobbing. I told the bartender (who was holding the door open still), "There's somebody crying over there, do you want me to go over?" I figured if it were a girl, it would be better for me to go. He said, "Wait, is that Jenny (one of our waitresses)?" Then he went over and started talking to her. She had been drinking after her shift was over and got polluted.

An assist. manager came to the bar and started yelling for the bartender to get in there and hurry up (because she was late on her duties), so I shut the door on her. She had been pissing me off all day and that felt great. It might have shut kind of hard. hehehe.

She was compelled to come to the door then, cigarette hanging out of her long-nailed hand. She then starting yelling for Jenny to come in.
"Jenny. Come in. Jenny. Jenny! Jenny! Come in here! JENNY! We need to finish and get out of here! Jenny! Jenny!" AAAAARRRRRRGGGGG@!$@#)!
I wanted to turn pirate on her really bad.

Jenny would say, "I'm okayyyooooooo-hoo-hoooooo...."

She ended up going inside and I (finally) went home. Oh, the joys of waitressing. I only work until midnight tonight, thank goodness.

Weather, Roger... But wait, there's more!

Pretty ice patterns on my car... I think it really brings out the blue.



It's been cold lately.



I mean, we don't have inches upon inches of snow, but it's cold! Last night I woke up to the sound of rain. I knew it would be freezing rain, and when I got up in the morning I was right. Here's a close look at my car:



A little more?



So anyway, I thought this would be a good time to take Roger out for a drive. Now, I haven't driven Roger in a while because his battery (which was about six years old! Yeah!) had finally cranked it's last start and I hadn't gotten to a store to get another. After finding out school had been cancelled however, it was time. I got the old battery out and went to a parts store for a new battery. No problemo. I took it back to Roger's house (aka "the garage") to put it in and go.

Problem.

Let me first say that I hadn't had a cup of coffee yet because I wanted to go get one in Roger so I could drive him around a little. So I was hurting. But I thought it would be a quick thing, even though I've learned that with Roger, nothing is a quick fix.

I tried to cinch the retaining bracket down when suddenly, "Kink!"



As you can see, the J-hook on the right is considerably shorter than the one on the left. The threaded bracket broke. It had corroded quite a bit on that side and was just too far gone. So I went to Les Scwab, Knecht's, Napa, CarQuest and finally the Jeep dealership. The dealership was kind enough to inform me that the part was discontinued. This was not helping my lack of caffine!!! So I went back to one of the car part places and bought what I knew would fix something on a Jeep... besides duct tape.

And here ya go:



Oh yeah... can't believe your eyes?? Want another look?



Oh, it's REAL Baby!!! Those are indeed zip ties (or wire ties as some call them)!

We drove around - first stop: coffee. Of course. Then we got gas and headed over to the grocery store for nothing in particular. I just wanted to spend some time with Roger. As I drove and sucked in the precious aroma of gasoline, grease and oil, my love affair for Roger bloomed anew. I love my Jeep. That's right, I said it! When we got home, I didn't park him in his house, I left him outside. Because by golly, I'm driving him tomorrow too! Heater cranked up!

I couldn't wait.

I just couldn't do it. I couldn't wait any longer. Once I get something in my head (like Taco Bell), I have to get it or whatever. I'm just not that good at being patient or something. So after some deliberation (and obsessing with my Sis), I decided to find a place to get my hair cut. Today.

I went through the phone book, but that doesn't tell you much. I found a place that I knew where it was, so I went there. They have a lot of things you can get done there including tanning. The lady that came to my assistance needs to admit she's a tan-aholic. Her leathery skin was literally sagging from her skinny body. She looks like she's probably around 60 years old or so, but I wonder... When I went in, she offered to set me up with Connie at 2:00 p.m. and asked if I wanted to come back. I wondered where I could go for only 15 minutes, but said sure. I scanned the room quickly and saw Connie in the background, I'm guessing around 50 years old. The Leather Lady was setting an old ladies hair with tiny rollers. I could guess how it was going to turn out.

I stepped out their front door and back into this century. Thank goodness! I had 15 minutes to find a new place, or I wouldn't know where else to go! I drove downtown and couldn't find anything. I thought I saw a salon, but it turned out to be a bead store or something. My 15 minutes ticked down quickly. I thought to myself that it wasn't a tricky style, and they should be able to do it with so many years of experience... hehe?

I finally had to head back, not knowing where else to look. Wouldn't this be better than StuporCuts? About a half mile or a mile before I got there, I saw a salon on my left! I cut across three lanes of one-way traffic and turned around, went across a few parking lots and screeched into a space.

When I went in, the lady that helped me had short, spunky and very curly hair. She was dressed hip and she looked fun. I asked if they had any openings and she asked if now was good for me. I said that it was PERFECT and sat in the chair. We discussed the three styles I brought with my in pictures and decided on one.



Sorry about the flash, but it's hard to take a picture of myself by myself! Also, it's still a little damp because I took a shower to get rid of clipping and hairspray. Why do hairstylists love hairspray so much? Oh, Buddy wanted to know what the hubbub was all about.



One really cool thing that I like is that the curl toward the bottom is natural! I put a little stuff in it to keep it from getting frizzy, but it's natural! Yay! I didn't even use a flat iron on any part! Ahhhhh, an easy do! It's not exactly like the picture, but my hair texture and whatnot is different and I expected that. I was actually a little relieved when it was finished.

New year, new school, new job, new hair. Now I just need a new guy! :D

I'm Sick

It's quite possible that I'm dying.

My nose is stuffed, my throat hurts and my voice sounds funny. My skin hurts. I worked out the other day so I'm inclined to think that some of the body pain is from that, but not much of it. I'm just achy. I don't work until 7 p.m. tonight, so I will have plenty of time to sleep I think. I caught up on quite a bit of sleep yesterday. Yay!

Okay, I've whined enough. For now.

There are about a hundred birds sitting outside in my back yard. They seem to be finding seeds or some sort of food. I wonder if the neighbors on the other side of the fence threw something over. Buddy and Grace are in stealth mode even though there's no way to get to them. They talked to the birds, I'm sure threatening them. Whatever they said must have worked because the birds flew off together. Oh, my little lion-cats. At least they're not fighting anymore.

I keep forgetting to post this picture:



It was on the side of a log truck where the fire extinguisher goes. If you can't quite make it out, it says, "Fire Putter Outer". Hehe.

UPDATE***UPDATE***UPDATE***

I have heard the battle cry and answered in kind.



This is my arsenal. I tried the Halls Max because I don't like the taste of Sucrets. I thought they might taste different and they have a different pain killer in them. But when I popped one in my mouth, I realized with glee and wonderment that even though it still tasted kind of bad, I didn't care because my throat felt better! I think I have everything. Pseudoephedrine (bought before it went to prescription), night-time stuff, throat spray, lozenges, expectorant, cough suppressant, ibuprofen - the whole shebang. I didn't get any nose spray because I'm afraid of it. I know it will work really well. But I'm still not messing around! I already feel better. Take that, cold virus!

Ahhhhh...

No! Not a cold!

Well. For the first time in what seems like a very long time (two years?), I fear I'm getting a cold. My throat hurts and my nose is continually running. I took some vitamin C thing that is supposed to help you NOT get a cold, or perhaps get over one faster. I think this cold is partially due to all the smoke in the bar, plus the myriads of people that I have to serve - some coughing and whatnot.

A cold.

Dang.

I'm very unhappy about this.

On a nicer note, I went to Goodwill today and got some really groovy clothes. I got two shirts because I couldn't decide between the two of them, but the pants are jeans and suede - and it only cost me $3.49! And the legs are flared nicely. One shirt is psychedelic but tight. I think it shows a little too much fat and cleavage. The other shirt is slit all the way down the sleeves, with ties on the shoulders and just about the elbows to hold the fabric into a sleeve. It's really "flowy" looking. It's actually a very flattering cut for me, so I'll probably wear that one. The only thing I'm concerned about it that it shows my tattoos. I haven't done that at work yet because we're not supposed to. Of course, this is a special situation, but you know. Sometimes showing my tattoos is kind of like showing a part of myself and I don't want any of those people to know anything about me. But the shirt does look good...

I'm going to use the flat iron on my hair, but flip up the ends and feather the bangs. I think I'll even part it right down the middle - usually I part just off to the side. I'm also going to wear my fake eyelashes because that's fun and pretty. Hehehe!!

I bought two different types of insoles for my work shoes. One was cheap and one expensive. I have one type in my left shoe and the other type in my right. I'll bring both to work with me and which ever one doesn't work very well is getting replaced!

Okay, I just took an antihistamine and a decongestant. I hope I won't feel much of my cold tonight. And I hope it goes away fast! Some guys who believed in eating only healthy things once told me that if I got a sore throat and was getting a cold, I should chew and eat two garlic cloves. I have chopped garlic in my refrigerator. I have been thinking about eating some... But then I'll smell like garlic! But what if it works? Wouldn't it be worth it? But what if it doesn't work? *sigh* Maybe I'll do it just in case, and wear perfume. Of course, most of those smokers probably can't smell it anyway. I was wearing a lotion that smelled like vanilla (cookies!) and a guy told me I smelled like coconut. Ah.