bekeeblog

so, i have a black dodge caliber as my rental. it's not so bad, really... it's just higher and there's more space between me and the front of the car than i'm used to. i'm super-diggin' the rear windshield wiper, though.

i'm paying $13 a day for insurance; which i know is a scam, but wtf if some a-hole decides to get in an accident with me? i do NOT want to deal with twice the insurance hassle, really. that's all insurance is for. it's like paying for not having to deal with things.

i've found that state farm is on top of their game, and they've actually been really cool with me. i mean, they're paying for the rental and my car to sit in someone's lot, and not being jerks about it at all. it kinda makes me want to switch? but i won't. i pay so little for car insurance, it's nutty.

so, i will hopefully find out tomorrow whether i need to continue to get used to this weird car in my driveway, or purchase the car that i really want. which is yet to be determined.

Posted by bekee at 9:42 PM | permalink

a co-worker coined the phrase "day spa" for our jalopy of a back porch. up until last weekend, both kurt and i were convinced we were going to tear it down and build a huge deck.

well, we've since decided that we should keep it, fix it up, get new (better) windows and build a ground-level patio down below it. it should cost significantly less than a full demo and rebuild.

you'll get more info when we begin.

Posted by bekee at 1:22 PM | permalink | licks (0) | tracks (0)

sorry readers, i left out the fact that i'm okay because i thought it was evident in the fact that i had enough energy to blog; but i guess not. :)

everything's fine with me. the car's status is up in the air until the other claims adjuster can get over to where my car is (the funny part is that there's a state farm office across the street, but that's an agent, not an adjuster. semantics, i know). also, enterprise doesn't have a car for me, so i'm still without wheels until tomorrow, hopefully. so it's all up in the air now... i can't shop for a new car (though i have), and i can't go anywhere (but i did).

i don't wanna sound all high and mighty, but i think i could make it without a car, as long as my buddy would get me to work and back (the bus routes suck). it's an intriguing proposition. i'm very fortunate to even consider the possibility; i know that. but it's still a possibility to consider.

Posted by bekee at 8:35 PM | permalink | licks (2) | tracks (0)

i'm now the proud owner of no vehicle. i (more than likely) totaled it on the way home today...

starting at noon, i tried to get my boss to let me leave early. he seemed to think it was some sort of principal that we should all stay it out. well, finally at 4:30, the big kahunas gave everyone the go ahead to leave. so i did.

so did another co-worker, who is from oklahoma, and admittedly has a hard time driving in these conditions. well, she managed to go sideways and end up straight in front of me as my car came to a halt; the front end under hers.

i put it in park, but the car kept moving... the hood was all crumpled up. my radiator was leaking all over the ground, my left headlight was pointing at the sky, and i was freezing.

so, now i have to get a new car.

and i am currently blaming my boss for not letting me leave early.

Posted by bekee at 6:43 PM | permalink | licks (4) | tracks (0)

last night, i hung out with my cousin beth and her hubby, nic, and new(ish) baby, lola. she was almost 100% smiley. and the dogs licked her toes. we made fun of the state of the union and generally just passed the baby around the room.

Posted by bekee at 8:34 AM | permalink | licks (1) | tracks (0)

mattel made fortune's top 100 places to work list (number 77). so they're giving us next friday off in celebration.

Posted by bekee at 2:14 PM | permalink | licks (1) | tracks (0)

we knew we had mice when we bought the place. there was evidence of them under the kitchen sink... so we thought, "we'll just see how long we can live with them." then noises in the attic got to be quite annoying... so we got that poison stuff that dries them up so they don't stink. well, they proved to be some sort of supermice that wouldn't die.

so, we got some covered traps and put some peanut butter in them and within an hour, one mouse succumbed to the temptation.

two days later, we got mouse number two.

it's my opinion that we killed the parents of the horde and i have evidence that the babies are in jeopardy. there was one little one barely running across the diningroom floor this morning that nora was sniffing. i lost it when i went to get a plastic bag to pick it up with...

Posted by bekee at 1:25 PM | permalink | licks (1)

so, my back has been really bothering me. both the lower right pelvic (dull, throbbing pain) and upper left shoulder (like a knife cutting into muscle). and i've decided to try yoga again. my buddy, jim, teaches a class over on main st. for pretty cheap. if i remember to bring appropriate clothes, then i'll be stopping there on the way home from work next wednesday.

so, be aware of my future propensity toward yoga and core-strengthening. cuz as soon as i see results, i'll be gabbing about it... but i'll try not to be preachy about it.

Posted by bekee at 8:32 PM | permalink | licks (0) | tracks (0)

it took me over 1.5 hours to get home last night. not commuting is the one factor that i would be willing to exchange current for new even if all other factors remained the same.

i also need a kind reader to let me know when the next home badger basketball game is so i can take the northern route home.

Posted by bekee at 2:57 PM | permalink | licks (1) | tracks (0)

the perpetrators were attempting to withdraw £10 ($19.56) from an ATM... apparently more attempts were made, but the bank blocked those transactions from happening. i'm not yet sure if i'm going to have to cover the amount... but i have t wait 7-10 business days from today to receive a new card, which has already resulted in two transactions needing payment modification (i.e., a different card or cash). annoying.

Posted by bekee at 12:05 PM | permalink | licks (0) | tracks (0)

luckily, my bank's customer service was open today (i wonder why they don't get the day off?). they seemed to think this was a completely random attempt at stealing money. some number generator happened upon my pin with my particular card. i guess it's to be expected, i've had the same card number for 5+ years and been using the same pin for longer.

i think i read somewhere that you should request a new card more often than the expiration date would lead you to believe, and change your pin even more often. i wonder what's worse, having post-its all over your desk with passwords and pins or just remembering them and hoping this doesn't happen to you?

Posted by bekee at 10:39 AM | permalink | licks (0) | tracks (0)

i got a call from my bank this morning checking on some suspicious activity from my debit card. so, i called the security department and canceled my card. they told me the transaction took place in london! which is probably why they wanted to know about the activity.

so now i get to try to figure out who to get upset at.

Posted by bekee at 2:02 PM | permalink | licks (1) | tracks (0)

sorry it's been so long since i rapped at ya! i was really busy at work this week. i have several tasks under my responsibility and it was hard juggling them around in my head so i couldn't even think of blogging.

i haven't knitted much since last weekend, the colorful waves throw i've been working on for what feels like a hundred years is now twice as long as last winter. the socks i was working on frustrated me to the point of frogging them. i think size 1 needles aren't for me.

i also just applied to become a chacha guide; it's a human-powered search engine currently in a free beta. they're getting people addicted to it before they start charging.

a friend of mine bought my old ipod for $100. he hadn't previously been interested in carrying music around with him, but i think he's going to love it.

i have a four day weekend to look forward to, one day of which more than half over.

Posted by bekee at 3:46 PM | permalink | licks (0) | tracks (0)

i've wanted to call in every day this week, but i haven't. mostly because it's a new year, and i never got quite sick enough, and things are going okay. but there's that underlying feeling that i wanted to, but didn't so they owe me something for my dedication. that's about the best i can explain it.

it's completely irrational anyway. i'm supposed to crawl out of bed and come to work and do my best and go home.

too bad kurt stopped playing the lottery when we bought the house.

Posted by bekee at 8:30 AM | permalink | licks (0) | tracks (0)

this new ipod is great. i am marveling at its grandness. it's almost hard to fathom how they could make it any better. i'm just thrilled that i won't have to pick and choose and delete stuff that is even slightly undesirable just to make room for new stuff. and i can now consider getting podcasts, movies, and tv shows from the iTunes store.

the cover art is a little slow to appear in some views, but i think it's because of the amount of data the software has to sift through to put the right image to album.

Posted by bekee at 7:43 PM | permalink | licks (0) | tracks (0)

just over a year ago, i exchanged my crappy black-and-white 4th gen ipod for one of the newfangled color screen ones.

and now i find myself having to make decisions, and take notes, about which albums to delete to make room for new ones. this morning, i spent over 10 minutes doing this since i had obtained some new tunes over the weekend which i forgot to transfer. i then had to choose which albums weren't worth carrying around in order to make room! i've been doing this for over 6 months and have decided not to do that anymore.

i just ordered a 160gb black ipod classic from amazon.

Posted by bekee at 1:00 PM | permalink | licks (0) | tracks (0)

the drive in was awful. i could hardly see hwy 113 on the way to hwy m. i almost turned around and called in, but i'm not quite sick enough to lay in bed all day. that'll probably come in the middle of the week; which is decidedly less convenient since today is the only day that i don't have a meeting.

Posted by bekee at 8:24 AM | permalink | licks (1) | tracks (0)

i think i caught kurt's bug. he's been sick since new year's day and i managed to avoid it until yesterday. my sinuses are all full up.

i think jones got it, too. his eye has been gooey for a couple days. :/

Posted by bekee at 8:44 AM | permalink | licks (0) | tracks (0)

i've come across a couple of awesome things today.

woot has a ceramic heater, which i bought.
chacha is a personal search engine for which i may apply to be a guide.
the human calendar looks like a handy little tool for htose of you who haven't purchased a 2008 calendar yet.

Posted by bekee at 10:20 AM | permalink | licks (0) | tracks (0)

i keep having work-stress dreams.

last night, everyone had to come in on a sunday to hear some weird presentation during which a lady who works on the floor below me volunteered to sing "lovin' you" (by minnie ripperton—also made famous by a burger king commercial a while ago).

i've started doing crunches before i get out of bed. it's about the only time the dogs will leave me somewhat alone while i'm laying on my back. now i need to train my stomach to make me sit up straight at work because my back's been bugging me ever since coming back to work.

on a happier note, kurt bought me mitch all together and it's hilarious.

Posted by bekee at 8:17 AM | permalink | licks (0) | tracks (0)

the first day back after 11 days off hasn't been too awful. there has been quite a bit of cleaning up from the updated yesterday, and now i can get to reading through articles that i skipped for later over the break.

thank goodness friday is almost upon us.

Posted by bekee at 4:11 PM | permalink | licks (0) | tracks (0)