krisis

Power Bloggers is still down, though the rest of Torrez appears to be running just fine. I’m a bit lost without P.B because, aside from the petty competition i imposed upon it, it allowed me to meet and interact with other active and intelligent bloggers like those linked from the side bar. And now what? I suppose i can just monitor the “recently updated” list on blogger, but that’s not particularly informative or fun. And who wants to blog in a vacuum? In space, no one can hear you whine or mope. P.B was truly providing the community with a great service (and good free publicity), and i do hope it comes back soon. Until then, i invite you to send along suggestions of other places where bloggers hang out so that i don’t fall out of the loop (not that i’m terribly in it).

What a great line…

The [2000 Emmy awards] ceremony included considerable talk about the trend toward so-called “reality” television, popularized by the recent CBS hit “Survivor.” [Host Gary] Shandling opened by saying, “I think that real people should not be on television. I think it’s for special people like us.”

Today i wrestled with a stamp machine for nearly ten minutes. 10! Stamps were $4.95, and i only had dollars in my wallet. I fed two semi-new dollars into the machine without incident, but the next two were rejected repeatedly despite my heroic efforts to flatten and smooth them. I tried to get my first two dollars back only to be informed by the machine that no change would be given without a purchase. Flustered, i mounted another assault on the dollar slot and it finally accepted dollars 3 and 4. Now i was down to my last dollar, and it would have to go into the machine. However, the machine seemed rather set against this. After spending three minutes trying every method i could think of with my last good dollar, i desperately turned to ask passers-by for a crisper dollar than mine. While i did this, the stamp dispensing machine began beeping madly. I spun on it and was informed that my four dollars would be forfeited if i did not immediately buy something, insert more money, or press the ‘yes’ button. Not trusting my dollar to save its four friends i lunged for the ‘yes’ button after searching for it for a few nervous seconds. Several more tries with my dollar were unsuccessful, but finally the nicest woman i’ve ever met offered me a crisp new one dollar bill that worked on the first try. I gave her my slightly-crinkled dollar and my profuse thanx before turning back to the machine to select a fetching book of a stamps adorned with berries.

In the best news i’ve recieved in years, it turns out that getting an apartment turned the frown created by my financial aid situation upside down. Without delving too deeply into my own personal finances, i can say that my tuition bill is now low enough (after various grants and scholarships) that i could pay it with half a year’s tips from the coffee shop. Of course, i don’t have to do that, since i’ve got a bit more than half a year’s tips in my bank account (which isn’t really all that much). This means no post college debt, aside from my first year loans!!! Never have i been happier to not be at an Ivy! Now all i need to do is keep up my 3.5 (actually, a bit higher) GPA so i don’t let any wonderful awards slip away… who would have ever thought that my family wasn’t lying when they dotingly told me i would pay for college with scholarships when i brought home A’s in second grade.

You know those signs outside of new apartment buildings that read “If you lived here you would be home now”? I hate them. I wish i could smack whoever thought of them in the face. More blogs to come.