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Saturday, July 1st, 2006 03:32 am
when it beats fiction, hands down
The thing I have learned is that my understanding of credit is a little screwed up sometimes. In that, while yes, it's good to desperately rush to pay off anything you owe in overpayments to your cards every month? It kind of sucks when you are overpaying to the point where you have to *use* said cards for things like gas and lunch.
Basically, I'm controlling myself from buying a new TV. Mine did this--thing? Where it stopped working? There are like, two others in the house, but they are not *mine* and though in fact, I only used mine for a.) watching QaF DVDs b.) watching Farscape DVDs, c.) watching SGA--wait. It was Fangirl and Child's Playstation TV, with a scary number of s-cords and random hookups abounding. It was where Child and I crashed on my bed and acted three years old. It was the first major appliance I ever bought all on my lonesome.
So. No TV yet. Because the one I want is the one at Frye's, that is kind of in that price range usually reserved for people who aren't me.
On the third hand, SGA starts in two weeks. Hmm.
On the fourth hand, plane ticket to be bought this month. Huh.
Early Afternoon Adventures
So, on the way to Central Market, witnessed a girl with major cojones chase down a mustang that put a serious ding in her back fender. And by chase down, I mean, all the way to the stoplight, got *out* of her car, towered *over* the guy's car, and basically bullied him right out to give his information.
Let me say again--this may be just me, but I'm not sure *I* could chase down two adult males after they made their escape from dinging up my car and *scare* them into giving their insurance information. Right on, Random Austin Girl. May your premiums never go up.
Anyway, invaded CM, bought a pound of Cherry Chocolate Cordial and La Vida Dulce, added small amounts of Cherry Blossom, something else, and Chocolate Creme. I'll report on the tastiness when tried. Basically, I spent most of the journey between CM and Parmer clutching the coffee to my chest and making soft sounds at it. To say I love it is an understatement of epic proportions. Did some grocery shopping, got a grill for Dad, bought more lettuce for the Warren, and cookies. Mmm. Cookies. And some other stuff that isn't as interesting as cookies.
Random Moment Off I-35
We stopped at a light before taking our exit back to Lamar. For those who live in Austin, you know exactly how hot and thick it is; breathing is like being trapped in a sauna, and the sky keeps making weird swirly motions like it wants to rain. If you don't live in Austin, thank God fasting. This isn't the hottest it's been, or that it's going to get, but it's not terribly pleasant. Loaded down with food and grills and lettuce and omgmycoffee, we stare blankly at the light and study the people around us.
We're those kind of people. We get bored easily.
Behind the guardrail is a small swarm of activity of two mid-twenties males and a ten year old kid in summer khaki and what looks like one or more styrofoam coolers. Usually, in this area, we might occassionally see a few panhandlers or random advertising people, but not often, and one emerges carrying three deargodisthat*iced*?Dr. Pepper cans and walking to cars. Goat'eed guy ducks back over the rail with Ten Year Old and does something archaic with cooler lids.
Mom looks mournfully at her hot, flat leftover Dr. Pepper and rolls down the window to ask how much. We're those kind of people. We buy soda from the side of the road. The slimmer of two guys come over with a hopeful smile and Mom opens her mouth to ask the price.
"Free pop," he said, smile widening, before Mom could get a word out. Leaning over, he cheerfully shoves two ice cold Dr. Peppers in the window and into Mom's surprised hands, dripping crushed ice into her lap and the seat.
Pop. Hmm. Northern boys.
"Why?" Mom asked, because--seriously. Why?
"I'm practicing generosity," he says, jogging backward for a second and tossing us the widest grin I've ever seen. Then he takes off to the next car and Mom stares at our acquired sodas in amazement. We're those kind of people. We don't often believe in things that come without a price.
We watch them go from car to car, skidding between three lanes and racing the red light, offering up soda and happy smiles on a miserably hot day. Some people refused to so much as look at them, standard operating procedure on intersections with people on foot. Others rolled down their windows, asking the same thing we did, taking the offered kindness with thanks of their own, and then the light changed as they scrambled off the asphalt to watch us pass until the light turned red again.
I'd like to be those kind of people, I think.
Basically, I'm controlling myself from buying a new TV. Mine did this--thing? Where it stopped working? There are like, two others in the house, but they are not *mine* and though in fact, I only used mine for a.) watching QaF DVDs b.) watching Farscape DVDs, c.) watching SGA--wait. It was Fangirl and Child's Playstation TV, with a scary number of s-cords and random hookups abounding. It was where Child and I crashed on my bed and acted three years old. It was the first major appliance I ever bought all on my lonesome.
So. No TV yet. Because the one I want is the one at Frye's, that is kind of in that price range usually reserved for people who aren't me.
On the third hand, SGA starts in two weeks. Hmm.
On the fourth hand, plane ticket to be bought this month. Huh.
Early Afternoon Adventures
So, on the way to Central Market, witnessed a girl with major cojones chase down a mustang that put a serious ding in her back fender. And by chase down, I mean, all the way to the stoplight, got *out* of her car, towered *over* the guy's car, and basically bullied him right out to give his information.
Let me say again--this may be just me, but I'm not sure *I* could chase down two adult males after they made their escape from dinging up my car and *scare* them into giving their insurance information. Right on, Random Austin Girl. May your premiums never go up.
Anyway, invaded CM, bought a pound of Cherry Chocolate Cordial and La Vida Dulce, added small amounts of Cherry Blossom, something else, and Chocolate Creme. I'll report on the tastiness when tried. Basically, I spent most of the journey between CM and Parmer clutching the coffee to my chest and making soft sounds at it. To say I love it is an understatement of epic proportions. Did some grocery shopping, got a grill for Dad, bought more lettuce for the Warren, and cookies. Mmm. Cookies. And some other stuff that isn't as interesting as cookies.
Random Moment Off I-35
We stopped at a light before taking our exit back to Lamar. For those who live in Austin, you know exactly how hot and thick it is; breathing is like being trapped in a sauna, and the sky keeps making weird swirly motions like it wants to rain. If you don't live in Austin, thank God fasting. This isn't the hottest it's been, or that it's going to get, but it's not terribly pleasant. Loaded down with food and grills and lettuce and omgmycoffee, we stare blankly at the light and study the people around us.
We're those kind of people. We get bored easily.
Behind the guardrail is a small swarm of activity of two mid-twenties males and a ten year old kid in summer khaki and what looks like one or more styrofoam coolers. Usually, in this area, we might occassionally see a few panhandlers or random advertising people, but not often, and one emerges carrying three deargodisthat*iced*?Dr. Pepper cans and walking to cars. Goat'eed guy ducks back over the rail with Ten Year Old and does something archaic with cooler lids.
Mom looks mournfully at her hot, flat leftover Dr. Pepper and rolls down the window to ask how much. We're those kind of people. We buy soda from the side of the road. The slimmer of two guys come over with a hopeful smile and Mom opens her mouth to ask the price.
"Free pop," he said, smile widening, before Mom could get a word out. Leaning over, he cheerfully shoves two ice cold Dr. Peppers in the window and into Mom's surprised hands, dripping crushed ice into her lap and the seat.
Pop. Hmm. Northern boys.
"Why?" Mom asked, because--seriously. Why?
"I'm practicing generosity," he says, jogging backward for a second and tossing us the widest grin I've ever seen. Then he takes off to the next car and Mom stares at our acquired sodas in amazement. We're those kind of people. We don't often believe in things that come without a price.
We watch them go from car to car, skidding between three lanes and racing the red light, offering up soda and happy smiles on a miserably hot day. Some people refused to so much as look at them, standard operating procedure on intersections with people on foot. Others rolled down their windows, asking the same thing we did, taking the offered kindness with thanks of their own, and then the light changed as they scrambled off the asphalt to watch us pass until the light turned red again.
I'd like to be those kind of people, I think.
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From:I say "pop" in one context (before bottle in "pop bottle"), and that is enough to me unending crap about my accent out of the frigid north. Seriously, I didn't even know it was regional thing until I moved down south. *whimpers*
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From:YES! HE COULD!
She was in a tennnis skirt and tube top and just--this pretty girl, maybe early twenties, but she totally had her adrenaline up and they were *so* not getting far. It was fantastic. I loved it.
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From:I'm still ruminating.
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From:I don't want to say credit is the problem solver for everything, but there are ways to do this while only spending 50ish dollars a month possibly less.
As for the third story...
...I wish I wasn't the type of person who didn't immidiately want to insist you go get tested for all sorts of nasty things. But I remember the tylenol scare and the pepsi scare and it's shit like that, that discourages not only nice people to do nice things but people to react negatively and discourage those people as well.
*is obviously very bitter*
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From:Only I really might need the credit elsewhere for another purchase from them. But if you've got line then I'd say do it, and throw in for the warranty on this sort of purchase. And what's nice is that Dell really does recognize when you're paying more than is due. Unlike mortgages that have it all go towards the interest until that's paid or if unless you specifically say so. Dell will automatically add overpayments to the *principle*. Possibly because they want you to come back and they're not a third party wanting to make more $$$.
Not even 6 months of making larger payments on time and they upped my limit. So it's a thought. If you get one tell me how pretty it is so I know if I want that to be my next purchase after the new computer.
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From:See, I still want to get a second battery for my laptop--right now, it gives me two or three hours before charging, but I'd like to have that nine-cell. I just don't really *need* it, since my flights aren't usually more than two or three hours and I only use it for an hour or so anyway.
But other than that--and a XPS laptop in a year or two, since my Inspiron is fine and I really don't want or need anything else--the TV looks good. I'm liking the looks of the thirty and thirty-two and thirty-seven, and the first and last are also available at the outlet. Pretty flatscreen. Must mull. I'm hoping they'll do one of their random sales soon and make me very happy.
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From:Yeah was a blink blink moment at the invoice as well.
Sadly I need a new laptop, after the "incident that shall not be named" where my laptop had to be sent in to Dell... it came back with other bits broken. LIKE THE DVD BURNER.
...anyway. Am thinking of wiping this one and selling it with the "it's got broken bits" for less monet. It's still useable and anyone with a little time and/or cash can fix no prob. Esp if they spend only halfof what the laptop is theorietically worth.
Also I am suddenly traveling a LOT more and as much as I like the 17" screen... it's too big and heavy. So I'm probably going to get a new laptop soon. And the desktop is coming to its last legs, but that's going to be done cheap and by ahnd by friends I trust.
So maybe tv if I sell the original laptop, because that'll let me do a big ass payment to Dell.
Also my livingroom is smallish, I can't imagine needing anything larger thana 27" so less money as well.
mmm. shiney.
My only issue is Dell keeps not fixing my SSN so I have to CALL them and work it out... AGAIN.
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From:It got up to 110 degrees for all of late August/early September my first year at UT, and I lived at Littlefield Dorm which had NO air conditioning at the time. I don't know whether they ever decided to air condition the place. Anyway, to complicate matters, the grackels swarmed the trees outside the building and made that weird electronic sounding chirp of theirs all night every night so you couldn't sleep with the windows wide open.
In the winter, the radiators ran constantly so you couldn't sleep for the heat. It's no wonder I hated the place. Sleep deprivation will do that.
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well, dang!
From:A pretty good day.
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From:And the guys giving away soda....are my heros. Seriously they deserve hugs, and cookies and squeeing fangirls. Giving away cold drinks to people who are probably overheating.....now that is an utterly amazing move...*staggers off awed*
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From:"Are you tired?" someone asked. I opened my eyes and looked up to make sure they were talking to me - two guys, one carrying a fresh iced something in a Starbucks cup. "Yeah," I said, puzzled. "I just needed a rest."
"Here," guy-with-cup said, handed it to me with a still-wrapped straw, and walked off before I could finish sputtering in grateful confusion.
Kind random strangers are awesome.
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From:Oh, that's such a lovely, happy-making story. ♥
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From:She reminds me strikingly of my old college roommate. 5'2", 125lbs at her heaviest, the friendliest sweetest person you'll ever meet. Until you get on her bad side. And then she'd go up against anyone, and they would back down.
She's an environmental lawyer in upstate New York now. Large corporations are quaking in terror. And if they're not? They should be.
Also? The people with the free pop? Very very cool. I want to be like those kind of people too.
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From:Clearly I lack a true spirit of generosity, but I admire the hell out of it in others :D
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From:As for the TV thing, I understand you, because I'm having a similar situation with my desktop. A few weekends back Edward shut down for no apparent reason -- twice in three days -- and balked at turning back on so that I feared either A) issues with continuous operation in my overly-warm bedroom or B) impending demise, the desktop being several years old. Hence spending the weekend before last copying over files to the much-newer laptop, and hence the desktop spending more time off than on over the last few weeks. And it's been rough, because I was just so used to having it always there to check my e-mail or pull up a file or watch a fanvid or two to fill the time while getting ready for work in the morning. Most of my TV was being watched on the desktop's monitor rather than my actual TV screen -- for one thing, the monitor screen is bigger -- and it's been a pain stretching over things to reach the TV's DVD player rather than watching my Netflix in the DVD-ROM drive, or downloading and watching my BitTorrents on the tiny laptop screen rather than the 19" monitor. And I'm choking back the temptation to go replacing the desktop now before it crashes, because I've got a fair bit of room on the Dell account and I could really use a DVD burner in the desktop...
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