How do you feel today?

[Orlion]

How about rent + parking? Would you be parking on the street closer to the University? (I have a cheap rent now, but park on the street... this kinda makes me paranoid, because if I forget to move, I could get a ticket at the least, or towed...never mind that I live on a street of vandals... sometimes, the extra cost is worth it for the piece of mind...)

[lucimay]

Now I need to decide whether or not I should move to Chico.

oh lordy. i'm shocked you'd even consider it. redding is rednecked
enough but...serrously...chico???? girlfriend...isn't there some other
school you can go to????

where the heck are you anyway?? if you're in CA how come you
haven't been to any of our bay area wingdings???

[aliantha]

Congrats on the acceptance, Kaydene! The rest is just details...

Hey ali! Did you get the term 'snowmaggedon' from Obama, or did he steal it from you? Talked to my Dad yesterday, clear skies and not a drop of snow above NYC...

That's just wrong. Whose idea was it to move the snowbelt south from Buffalo to the midAtlantic, anyhow? Oh, and Obama and I both stole "Snowmageddon" from the Washington Post.

[Kaydene]

How about rent + parking? Would you be parking on the street closer to the University? (I have a cheap rent now, but park on the street... this kinda makes me paranoid, because if I forget to move, I could get a ticket at the least, or towed...never mind that I live on a street of vandals... sometimes, the extra cost is worth it for the piece of mind...)

I haven't thought about that. I probably will be renting a room off-campus somewhere. I'll have to factor the parking issue in with the rest of it.

Now I need to decide whether or not I should move to Chico.

oh lordy. i'm shocked you'd even consider it. redding is rednecked
enough but...serrously...chico???? girlfriend...isn't there some other
school you can go to????

where the heck are you anyway?? if you're in CA how come you
haven't been to any of our bay area wingdings???

Haha. I'm actually a bay area girl. More Napa than SF, but that's semantics. I'm in Redding right now and I wanted to stay up north because of the cost of living, really. We're talking the difference between renting a room at $300/month and $1000/month. haha. I'd love to go to college in SF or Sonoma, but I'm looking at cost as well. Redding/Chico *is* redneck, it's true. And a big party-college. But I'm going on 27 now and can't be bothered with beer-bongs and pot anymore. I'm just here to get my work done as quickly and cheaply as possible.

[Cameraman Jenn]

SERIOUSLY! WHY ARE WE JUST FINDING OUT KAYDENE IS A FELLOW CALIFORNIAN WATCHER CLOSE TO THE FREAKING BAY AREA????

Ok, enough yelling. Kaydene, I can tell you from the standpoint of someone in the automotive industry, unless you are commuting two days days or less a week the wear and tear and gas cost will add up quickly. California highways being as they are the wear and tear on tires/shocks/suspension is abysmal especially if you haven't had an alignment recently. It also means more frequent oil changes amongst the risk of breakdowns with extreme mileage increase. If you decide to do it I highly recommend getting Triple A. All of these factors are variable based on the make, model, engine, mileage, maintenance history and year of your car. Unless you have a car newer than 98 or an older toyota, honda or nissan I wouldn't recommend it based on the breakdown factor and the long stretches of NOTHING including patchy cell phone reception along that stretch of I-5. I would hate to read a post about how you were stranded for six hours and finally rescued by Bubba the no toothed sheep farmer who tried to force you into a shotgun wedding before you managed to steal his truck and escape. Ok, maybe a bit extreme but think about how much more valuable that hour and a half would be if it were spent studying rather than driving and then multiply it by the number of days a week you would be making that drive and weigh it against the rent increase. Also, I can't believe you can't find anything cheaper in Chico. That's the cost of a ghetto studio in SF and I can't imagine Chico is more expensive.

[Kaydene]

SERIOUSLY! WHY ARE WE JUST FINDING OUT KAYDENE IS A FELLOW CALIFORNIAN WATCHER CLOSE TO THE FREAKING BAY AREA????

Ok, enough yelling. Kaydene, I can tell you from the standpoint of someone in the automotive industry, unless you are commuting two days days or less a week the wear and tear and gas cost will add up quickly. California highways being as they are the wear and tear on tires/shocks/suspension is abysmal especially if you haven't had an alignment recently. It also means more frequent oil changes amongst the risk of breakdowns with extreme mileage increase. If you decide to do it I highly recommend getting Triple A. All of these factors are variable based on the make, model, engine, mileage, maintenance history and year of your car. Unless you have a car newer than 98 or an older toyota, honda or nissan I wouldn't recommend it based on the breakdown factor and the long stretches of NOTHING including patchy cell phone reception along that stretch of I-5. I would hate to read a post about how you were stranded for six hours and finally rescued by Bubba the no toothed sheep farmer who tried to force you into a shotgun wedding before you managed to steal his truck and escape. Ok, maybe a bit extreme but think about how much more valuable that hour and a half would be if it were spent studying rather than driving and then multiply it by the number of days a week you would be making that drive and weigh it against the rent increase. Also, I can't believe you can't find anything cheaper in Chico. That's the cost of a ghetto studio in SF and I can't imagine Chico is more expensive.

lmao! Oh man, so funny because I've worried about that stretch of I5 everytime I drive it. Yeah, I'm getting my student loans in a month or so here and I'll be getting a newish car (2004-2009). Something that'll last me through college and my first teaching years. I know the commute is quite a big wear on the car, but I'd be able to keep my 13.50/hr job if I did it. =/ I dunno, I guess having less time to study and less time for my personal sanity would be considered a cost to factor in as well...

Maybe soon we'll be able to have a Bay Area Watcher's Reunion?

[Cameraman Jenn]

Name the weekend and they will come. Lucimay, I had a weird dream that you learned "What a Fool Believes" and taught me the proper backup. I've been singing that song all day in my mind. Kaydene, ok, I still wish to know you have a good shop so pm me the details and I will do the research and advise accordingly. Happy to do this for anyone else who has automotive questions as well. I'm having a weird super critical self evening. Oddly enough it was set off by my uber geeky coworker saying I looked hot while talking to my boobs. Now I have a bunch of questions, when did my hands start looking so veiny and the skin looking so old, like my mom's when I realized she was old about twenty years ago? When did my forehead wrinkles become permanent even when my face is at rest? When did those veins become so livid? My assets are still perky, I thankfully passed the quarter test even with 36 c's and I have no cellulite dimples on my butt. I look old in the eyes and eye bags. .When did my skin decide not to cooperate and why the hell am I getting more zits when I am old than I did as a teenager? I missed something here in the aging guidelines. Oy Vey.

[Avatar]

...But I'm going on 27 now and can't be bothered with beer-bongs and pot anymore. I'm just here to get my work done as quickly and cheaply as possible.

Hopefully school will teach you how to prioritise again. (Except for the beer...leave that stuff alone. )

--A

[Kaydene]

...But I'm going on 27 now and can't be bothered with beer-bongs and pot anymore. I'm just here to get my work done as quickly and cheaply as possible.

Hopefully school will teach you how to prioritise again. (Except for the beer...leave that stuff alone. )

--A

Ha! I have fond memories of the pot daze/days. If it didn't make one so hungry and self-conscious, it may have been damned near crucial to my musical development.

[Kaydene]

Kaydene, ok, I still wish to know you have a good shop so pm me the details and I will do the research and advise accordingly. Happy to do this for anyone else who has automotive questions as well.

Tyvm, Jenn. I sent my area along in a pm. If you need anything more specific, let me know.

[lorin]

Just lost my friend Chris, a close friend / co-worker.

He was a photographer, and a caseworker in the shelter I work. We had just been talking two days ago that he had promised his wife to work ten years at this job and then he was going to go back to the things he enjoyed....art, exploring, photgraphy. He worked 9 1/2 years.

He died suddenly of a heart attack. 48 years old. He did one hour a day on the eliptical and ran 10 miles a day. It just goes to show you..................you never know.



Chris and I

[Menolly]

May you find solace with all the mourners of Zion, lorin.

[aliantha]

I'm so sorry for your loss, lorin.

[Cameraman Jenn]

Lorin, my heart goes out to you. It looks like you had some fun times together though so think on those times to help you get through this difficult time. And as you know if you need us to listen/support/send mental hugs to you we on the watch are very good about being there for our own.

[danlo]

Sounds good, I think...

[Avatar]

Sorry to hear it Lorin.

--A

[danlo]

(And yes Lorin my heart goes out to you as well)

[lorin]

Thank you all for your kind words, it helps, it really does. The agency sent three grief counselors, that was weird. I have been paralyzed all day. But for the very first time in my entire life, ever, I cried. (and boy did I cry) I take this as a sign of emotional growth so I embrace it.

Snow is falling, everything outside sounds muffled and silent(sounds silent?) and peaceful. I am sitting out on the big wrap around porch watching the snowflakes...........life goes on.............

[dANdeLION]

Sounds good, I think...

Yeah, really. I checked my decoder ring, and it appears that '946' and '2217' are store numbers, which means she's temporarily working at a store other than the one that she usually does, and 'CSS3' is an employee designation, possibly meaning 'Level 3 Customer Service Specialist'. 'Jacob' is, of course, the character from LOST, 'Gary' is possibly an alias for some Soviet spy, and 'Gilbert' is apparently the nephew to the dude who invented Velcro.

[danlo]

Didn't Gilbert record that highly annoying song Alone Again Naturally?

I seriously can't believe all the intense and continuous snow fall on the east coast. Tons of people without power and heat, running out of food...and now roofs are collapsing??? I hope all our east coast Watchers are safe and warm-it would suck for Jay to be w/o power with a freaking broken leg...