Wednesday, June 28, 2006

go your own way

I've been going to the pool in my complex several days a week. I rather like night swimming, mostly because there are no screaming kids at 9p, but also because it reminds me of living on Maui and how we used to swim all.the.time, especially at night. I spent a bit too much time down there on Saturday after tennis, and got a bit burnt. But I wanted to stay as long as possible, if you can believe it, there was not a soul down there at 11a! I ended up sitting out for about two hours, alternating reading and cooling off in the pool.

Then.

Then the kids arrived.

You know the ones that scream and yell and splash and are generally annoying when you're trying to relax? ("Oh, how you forget you and your sister were once those kids too," my mother says to me when I relayed this story.) The ones that use the life saving device on the fence as a pool toy? The ones that use their boogie boards (a complex no-no as it is) as surf boards? The ones whose parents always seem to be looking the other way, or screaming at them in a foreign tongue (not that there's anything wrong with that)?

Yeah, those kids. Whatever happened to the days of "adult swim" when it referred to more than a block of shows on the Cartoon Network?

---

Speaking of my condo complex, I noticed signs posted several places around the property:



(camera phone pic)


I think they forgot to add "no fun" while they were at it. As if the "please" helps that they're outlawing fun.

But who am I to talk after the curmudgeonly rant on kids at the pool? Apparently this complex has a lot of old folks like me.

Sunday, June 25, 2006

lo que pasó, pasó

I had it out with Best Buy again today, the latest in the series of events concerning my laptop. I've hashed it out so many times that it seems pointless to spend time typing it out, but suffice to say I'm effed off at them. Short version: they've had my laptop since May 29 and were supposed to do a data backup, for which I paid $90 for, before sending it out for service. They didn't, and requested the HD be sent back separately so they could do the backup. HD was not sent back, my laptop was returned to me two weeks ago without a) an OS, b) a HD, thus, useless in its form. Brought it to Best Buy and they promised to remedy the situation ASAP. "ASAP" is a relative term. So is "I'll call you back in an hour," because if I hadn't continued to ride them about it, I know I wouldn't have received a phone call back.

So some jackass from the Geek Squad calls me today and says my laptop is back (HD and OS installed) and the data backup is done. I get to the store, and they claim they never called me, because they don't have my laptop. But! They've done the backup. Which is good, but I had already requested the money from the backup be refunded, because I was promised this service would be completed on May 29. The clerk refuses to refund my money, and at my insistence, calls a manager. The manager shows up after a half hour and also refuses to refund my money. I told him that another employee had said I could get a refund, and the manager says, "Well, without anything in writing, there's nothing I can do." Bull-ish! I just happened to have something in writing from an employee, but then the manager says he cannot do the refund without the receipt. I present my receipt. The manager says it's past the 30-day time limit -- the receipt is dated May 28, and today is June 25. You see where I am going with this? This jackass "manager" was trying to act like he was doing me a favor my refunding my money for a service that was promised nearly a month before. Long story short (too late) I got my refund and (most of) my precious data (they'll only backup 9 gigs), but my laptop is still MIA. We'll see how this progresses.

---

Before heading to her BBQ yesterday, I made a stop at Whole Paychecks Foods to grab something to bring to the shindig. I made a stop in the beauty products aisle, cause I like to check out the newest froofy organic and organic-type products. As I'm scoping out some lotion, this random BIG guy comes out of nowhere and says, "Wanna look like a million bucks?" I say no and look away, because no matter how many times it's happened, I can't seem to avoid the crazies and end up talking to them longer than I want to. This guy immediately invades my personal space and starts to go off on his "beauty routine." He grabs a bottle of Burt's Bees toner and pours about a third of the bottle into his hand and then splashes it all over his face and bald head. He's pontificating on the wonders of toner and following it with a particular brand of moisturizer, while also telling me about how he spent the whole day at the spa being pampered, after working out. At this point, I can tell there's something not quite right with this guy. Fortunately, at this point an older lady comes up and joins the convo, leaving me free to back out.

The bummer? I was so intent on exiting the convo that I didn't grab the lotion I was wanting to buy. I headed back to the aisle after picking up some "picnic carrot cake" to bring with me, only to find the dude was still there, yapping away. I headed to a different WF today in search of the lotion, but they don't carry it. And! The product website claims the product I was looking for doesn't exist! Weird, wild stuff. Maybe I imagined the whole thing.

---

It's been ages since I actually bought a CD, I find it more convenient, and often cheaper, to download, even if it's from iTunes. While I was waiting (and waiting and waiting) at Best Buy today, I browsed their music section, as there've been some CDs I've had my eye on. After leaving Best Buy, I headed to Rasputin to see if they had any used copies of the discs I was looking for. I lucked out with a copy of the Black Album used, but bought Donovan Frankenreiter's older CD and some reggaetón, (I know!) CDs. It was nice being able to listen to them on the way home instead of having to burn them onto a CD before I could transport them. Is this regression?

---

My father bought my mother a new car for Christmas last year. But he didn't really buy it, she had to pick it out at a later date. So we went today, exactly six months later, to pick it out. While we were there, my father spots a car that he thinks would serve me well, since my '97 Jetta is wearing down. I need to figure out if I can afford it first, but at a hair under $21,000, it's quite appealing.



'03 C230 Kompressor Coupe

Most of me knows it's not likely to materialize, but hey -- a girl can dream.

Monday, June 19, 2006

express yourself

This meme is making the rounds, so here goes:

Post a pic of your desktop.


(click for larger image)

How exciting is that?! :)

Saturday, June 17, 2006

play the ponies

I fear I've become one of "those" people.

The kind that actually like to go...

...to the track. As in, horseracing.

I know! Who'da thunk it?!

So for the second time in as many weeks, I spent my Friday evening at the track. But it really sounds worse than it is, I spent a total of $25 for admission, several beers, a couple of hot dogs and various wagers from $2-$5 per race. Where else can you spend this little for a full evening of fun and laughs with your favorite friends?

I can honestly say it was one of the best nights I've had in a loooong time, and I'm looking forward to doing it again soon.

The following pix are from the first time I "played the ponies," none of the ones from last night turned out well.




Upon arrival




Starting gates




Poor lighting, but you get the idea


Startin' 'em young

grandstand
The great unwashed masses


They all look healthy to me!

thataway
The ponies go thataway


These guys really are tiny in stature!

in your jockeys
In your jockeys


Getting ready to race

Tuesday, June 06, 2006

snakes on a plane (really!)

I almost spit out my juice (I love juice!) when I saw this article:

Snakes on a plane



p.s. -- this has nothing to do with this

Saturday, June 03, 2006

more fun than watching paint dry

It's been a long, hot day.

So what did I decide to do after waking up ridiculously early after a late evening, then trekking to the outlets and then baby-sitting for 6 hours?

Why, paint an accent wall, of course.

Isn't it what everyone decides to start at 9 on a Saturday evening?



accent wall, part deux






p.s. -- the outlets sucked (or maybe that's 'cause I could only stay for two hours). And! I raked in the cash baby-sitting and all I did was play a little catch, ride some bikes and shuffled them to a birthday party at a pool where I got to lay out and catch some rays.

I can say right now that...

Life Is Good.