Re: Re: My First Day

I've finished my first day of school and I'm beat. I'm overwhelmed and I'm questioning whether or not this makes any sense.

I had three classes today: Ancient Civilizations, Modern Civilizations, and Algebra and Trigonometry. I haven't taken a math class in six years; I'm freaking out a little bit. The history classes both seem like they're going to be so much work. Tomorrow, I'll have History of Photography and Thursday I'll have the three classes I had today again.

Oh, and, when its all said and done, books alone will total around five hundred dollars, so that's awesome....

Sheesh.

Son of a Bitch

Some son of a bitch threw some shit (rocks, maybe?) off an overpass that I was driving under. My windshield is chipped (although thankfully not cracked) and the paint on my hood is chipped in a dozen or so places. This happened last night, less than a week after I finished the repairs on my poor Subaru. The repairs totaled $4500.

Poor, poor Subaru and poor me. That jerk scared me.

Subie

My Subaru is broken. The problems include head gaskets, rear calipers, exhaust, alignment, cracked motor mount. Its going to cost thousands of dollars and I am scared. We've recently moved into a new apartment which is less money and more room. We're supposed to be getting ahead financially in preparation for our future (our own house, pets, offspring!) but this will be a huge blow.

I try to believe my friend Katie's wisdom: "everything that happens is perfect" and often it is a comfort. But how could a $4,000 car repair be perfect? This is really frightening.

I suppose this is as good a segue as any other: I am planning to quit my awful job and go back to school in the fall. I'll take some classes at the local community college at first then, if we're still in the area, try to get into Cornell's Department of Horticulture and finally finish my Bachelor's degree. This giant, forthcoming auto repair bill makes me very nervous to take such a huge risk.

75 Days 'til Christmas

J and I are cutting back on our Christmas budget this year ::muffled sob::. Probably most people are doing the same thing. Because of the tight budget, we have to be much more discriminating about our purchases. I've started "window shopping" via the inkernet. Today, I came across the following disturbing item available for purchase at A + R:

Baby Hand Soaps in a variety of skin tones

Despite their creepiness, I kind of love them and want to gift them to equally snr people on my list. Hilarious!


images via A + R

Jon Stewart: "Those who do not study the past get an exciting opportunity to repeat it"

In My Secret Life

I smile when I'm angry.
I cheat and I lie.
I do what I have to do
To get by.
-"In My Secret Life," Leonard Cohen

Hers:

Today we hear that Palin has requested, and received, a four day extension for the disclosure of her personal finances. The new release date for these forms? October 3rd, the day AFTER her scheduled debate with Joe Biden.

His:

So it’s rather surprising that as the general election hits the homestretch, the McCain campaign has effectively squashed efforts by journalists, medical experts and the political class to fully examine his medical records.

The most recent review of McCain’s records cannot be described as independent or thorough. In May, the campaign gave a limited group of reporters only three hours to review thousands of documents. Aside from the time limit, the selected reporters were “ensconced” in a cone of silence, as CNN reported. The campaign banned the use of cell phones or e-mail for journalists, who might have consulted with experts while assessing the medical information. It’s not clear why so many news outlets consented to such terms.

This news ires me to no end. What, do you suppose, still lurks in their cache of deception? I'm scared to learn....

via Slog

Why is McSame in Such a Rush to Flake on Letterman?

Especially since the fundamentals of the economy are strong?

From Drudge Report:

David Letterman tells audience that McCain called him today to tell him he had to rush back to DC to deal with the economy.

Then in the middle of the taping Dave got word that McCain was, in fact just down the street being interviewed by Katie Couric. Dave even cut over to the live video of the interview, and said, “Hey Senator, can I give you a ride home?”

Earlier in the show, Dave kept saying, “You don’t suspend your campaign. This doesn’t smell right. This isn’t the way a tested hero behaves.” And he joked: “I think someone’s putting something in his metamucil.”

“He can’t run the campaign because the economy is cratering? Fine, put in your second string quarterback, Sara [sic] Palin. Where is she?”

“What are you going to do if you’re elected and things get tough? Suspend being president? We’ve got a guy like that now!”

via Slog

Pinched: The Day I Took My Family to a Soup Kitchen

"Pinched" is Salon's series of personal essays about life during the recession. August 18th's essay was written by Heather Ryan who has a masters degree, a job and three kids. She wrote about swallowing her pride and taking her kids to a soup kitchen in 2007.

It had been a hard decision for me to go in the first place. We had a house full of food, mostly from the food bank, and some staples friends who were moving had given us. I was employed as a secretary for the county, a job that didn't make use of my graduate degree or my intelligence but had let me keep the kids in the same school and city after my divorce. I made a decent wage. I had health insurance and dental insurance. On my desk was a packet of new retirement and savings options. But summer child care was $1,800 a month for my three kids, and the child support I received from their father was a paltry sum mandated by the state. It didn't even begin to cover the cost of one kid's child care for a single summer month. We didn't qualify for WIC vouchers or food stamps. The previous week, I had swallowed my pride and driven my old Subaru to a local food bank. The women there were kind and gave me a box filled with cans of tuna and bags of pasta. I was only allowed to get one box per month, though, and what they gave me would last a week, maybe 10 days. I was looking into weeks of hunger....

Ryan's story is incredibly poignant and honest, especially after I mentioned how fortunate Jesse and I have been while subsisting on a single income.

A few months out of the crisis, and with a little money in my pocket, I bought a $3 wedge of brie. This is laughable, I know. I'm a goddamn parody of myself, with all my bougie aspirations and affectations. But when I unwrapped the cheese at home, I remembered suddenly the soup kitchen: the thick smell of beans and onions, the hard light coming through the naked windows, Ivan taking a bite of day-old Danish and spitting it out because he was used to better. I had to fight the urge to return the brie. It felt wasteful and indulgent. When I did eat it, I thought about all the things food means to us, all the things it stands in for. We may joke about brie, or expensive wine, or organic tomatoes, but food reminds us of who we are, who we're supposed to be. Brie says, I'm not poor and I'm well educated and I'm responsible, a good mother. I will never be hungry. We try to believe all these things don't matter, but it's like closing your eyes and believing no one can see you.

Read the complete essay at Salon.


image via Salon