Junk, Junk and more Junk

Okay, it's been a while. The Boston trip was successful overall, except for getting strep and my laptop screen deciding to spontaneously stop functioning. So now I've got it rigged up to my old desktop monitor and keyboard. Good thing I haven't sold them yet! Then the transmission in my car stopped working right in the middle of the H1 freeway during rush hour the other day. That was fun. Luckily I was able to get AAA to tow it home for free but now the transmission is gone and I need to figure something out fast. I guess I'll rent a car for a week and figure out what to do during that time. My brother Jon comes from Boston tomorrow for a visit, so it looks like I'll cab it to the airport and get the rental car there. At this point I'm thinking of just buying another car and donating the Aspire. Even though it only has 80,000 miles on it and the car is in good shape other than the transmission, I think that the time it will take to replace or reconstruct the transmission along with the price and stress factor won't make it worth it to keep the car. Overall it would be a few thousand dollars less expensive to fix the Aspire but I think I'll have to just bite the bullet and get a new(er) car. I've been looking at brand new cars, specifically the Toyota Echo and Chevy Aveo, but with the 12-14,000 price tag I think at this point I'll need to go with a car that 's a few years old. I just hope something like this doesn't happen again. At this point I'm most seriously considering a 2002 Echo for 8600 or a 2000 Echo for 6500. We'll just have to wait and see...

Things Are Looking Good

So it seems pretty official now, I'll be teaching French starting next month. I went down and filled out the rest of the papework today and signed on the dotted line... It's going to be a lot of fun I think.

I'm getting ready for my Boston trip next week. That should be interesting. I hope I don't forget anything and I hope that since I'll be flying out at 5:30 pm (instead of 11:30 pm like I usually do) that I'll be able to be more awake and coherent and won't get lost in the newly constructed maze of the Boston freeways. Last time I went there I was really tired and between my fatigue and the new tunnel system I ended up way off track.

I'm thinking ahead to next summer... I'd love to go to Europe again, especially Germany. But maybe I'll take a summer teaching job if they'll offer it... We'll see what this year brings and where I'm at then.

The Demise of Restaurant Row

The movie was pretty good. Especially for a dollar. But the real payment was the general nastiness of the theatre and its new clientele... Sticky floors, large crowds of unruly and trashy people and all the ambiance of a "dollar theatre" made the Restaurant Row experience less than pleasurable. I'm going to bed now.

Kill Bill 2 Tonight

I guess we're going to see Kill Bill 2 tonight. At Restaurant Row. I'm still not over the fact that they sold out to show old and second rate movies for $1, but tonight going there suits me just fine. I yearn for the days when the screens at Restaurant Row were graced with the finest in independent and foreign films. Varsity just doesn't cut it. At least we still have Diamond Head Video to keep us satiated!

I'm trying to get my picture up on here... Maybe it will work if I do this?

The finest in French educators!

It's about time!

Here's my first blog. All the cool kids are doing it so I'm going to give it a go. Nothing too exciting going on. Today Merle called me from the UH LLEA office and told me they were looking for a GA for French this coming semester. It could be fun and I need the money. I guess I'll go for it. If I can be anywhere near as cool as Mme Garneau, I'm sure a fine time will be had by all.

Ciao bella!