The color of infinity inside an empty glass

It's been a looong, depressing week. I haven't posted because there's been nothing TO post. I'd stay home, look at the snow, shovel, come back inside and watch movies. No gym, no going out, nothing.
Today I have alot to report.
Today I think I experienced the highs and lows life has to offer: from the beginning (birth.. well.. not fully.. but you'll understand) to death to everything in between.
Well, probably not everything...

The day started early. Woke up, look outside and there was SUN! The sun WAS OUT! Wooo! Woke up, got dressed, posted to livejournal etc. I took some pictures of the snow outside. I plan to shrink them and post them so that all you bastards wishing for a white christmas can see what it REALLY means... at least in Buffalo.
The driving ban had lifted, we were all in the midst of major cabin fever and we needed things.. so we made a list, checked it twice, but didn't bother figuring out who was naughy and nice.. and we headed out.
Before going out, however, I started to scour the house. My MP3 player is missing and I'm not certain where it is. At this moment, I'm pretty certain it isn't in the house. HOPEFULLY it's in my car (which is at the mechanics.)
Did I mention my car? Let me tell you.. Wednesday (in the middle of a snow storm), we brought the car into my mechanic. My first time driving in the snow... I hated it. It was NOT fun. Mom says I did a decent job of it.
Anyways, he called me Thursday. There was problems with the electrical system. Electricity was arcing and he wasn't certain why. Problem: Thursday afternoon and Friday the city shut down. The city is STILL in a state of emergency and not dug out (as you can tell by reading phinnia's livejournal. So, as far as I know, he hasn't been able to locate the problem yet, forget being certain how to fix it and how much it will cost. So the car is at the mechnics and HOPEFULLY the mp3 player is in it. Otherwise, I need a new one. I can't work out without it... it's just waaaay too boring to do cardio without SOMETHING to listen to. The radio may work for a day or two (and I may try it tommorow), but I'll probably get bored of it quickly.
Life lesson #1: Shit happens. It just happens. You make the best of it and move on. I don't really want an extra expense to get a new mp3 player, but I need something, so i'll get something.
So... anyways... we need to go out.
First stop... Tops Supermarket. Got some stuff for homemade spaghetti sauce, some milk stuff like that. Nothing special. Just keep in mind we have frozen onions and milk in the car.
Stop two... I KNOW I mentioned my mom is hell-bent on getting a kitten, right? So she drives all the way to the SPCA (luckily, it's open and accessable) to A) get pre-approval so that when she FINDS a kitten, she can adopt it no problem and B) look for kittens.
I (silly me) figure there's absosmurfly no way that there will be kittens. The SPCA has been closed for a couple of days.. how would they get there? I was wrong.
There were 7 kittens there when we came in. Not all of them were "good enough" for us. Two were longhairs and we prefer shorthair breeds (partly because brushing kittens is not easy nor fun and partly because we just like the way they look better. When we think of cat, we think of something along the lines of an american shorthair, applehead siamese or russian blue. Not a long-haired persian or even a Maine Coone with the big fluffy tail.), one was a hisser... there were three that got out attention, though.
One was a little orange and yellow striped kitten (you'd probably call it tiger) who was happily chasing a toy mouse around the play room. I had dreams of calling such a cat Spitfire or FireBolt or something akin to that.
The next was a little grey cat who reminded me of Smokey without the white in his fur. He was trying very hard to get the ball out of one of those toys where the ball is in a circular track. It kept trying and trying and we thought it was very cute (We like playful troublemaker type of cats.)
The next was a little mostly black cat who LOVED the teaser I was shaking around. It jumped and lunge and was too cute.
So mom was like "we need to decide." and it was a difficult decision. In the end, I think it was when I lifted the little grey one and it put it's head on my sweatshirt and looked sweet that decided it for us. So we got the little grey one.
When I say we got, I don't mean we brought it home. Tommorow they're closed. Monday, he'll get fixed, Tuesday they're closed and Wednesday we'll bring him home.
We'll probably call him Sherlock (we were bouncing names around in the car and that one came up. Choice #2 is Shadow.) but... who knows, right?
Once I get the kitten home Wednesday, you can all expect pictures of course.
So, with that stop out of the way, next stop was Blockbusters to return some videos and return more. We ended up leaving with Saving Silverman and Scary Movie 2, which my brother wants to watch and I don't care to.
Next stop, Target. Mom is looking for photographic paper and she likes the cheap walmart and target brands which are as good as Kodak and HP, but cheaper. We also leave with a thermal top for myself and a couple of other things.
Next stop, Barnes and Nobles. Mom is looking for a certain book. No luck, though.
By then, it's about 2:00 and my belly is yelling that if we don't eat soon, it'll start eating me from inside. So we go out to eat at the Buffalo Wild Wings.
Finally, we go to Rite Aid and go home.
Listening to the messages, my friend Dave's grandmother, Eva Niles whom I knew from when I worked in Beechwood Nursing Home has passed away. Eva hasn't been the same since an accident a couple weeks back and her health has been deteriorating. I haven't gone to see her because I don't want to think of her as any way besides how she was when I worked there (more on this in a few). So I told Dave I'll be at her Funeral (Monday morning at 11:00).
Issue: Monday is New Years Eve and we were SUPPOSED to have a big New Years Eve bash, but he's not up to it (he wasn't looking forward to it anyways, for a few reasons none of which I'll discuss.) I suggested that we modify the bash to a few small friends and I'd be glad to host. In other words, if he can get away from his family, come to my house... hopefully we can get Carl, his girlfriend, maybe our mutual friend TJ. Whatever. Just a small Friendly New Years Eve party.
I hope it happens. I really do. I don't wanna be stuck spending New Years Eve with my mom. I love her, but.. that's not my idea of a blast of a time. On the other hand, mom says if it doesn't happen, we'll try to go see a movie, so that's cool.
Eva Niles... I remember her very well, even if she never remembered my name, she certainly remembered me. She hassled me and I hassled her (and for people who know me, that's how I treat the people I love. I give them hard times and joke with them.)
I remember that the nurses (who disturbed and angered me because I never felt like they cared a bit... well, most of them.) complaining that she'd take these fortified orange drinks, bring them into her room to drink and forgot about them completely. They went bad and the nurses had to clean it up. She was such a matchmaker. She'd always ask me.. am I married? She'd often point to some of the female workers on the floor and said "I bet she's single. You should ask her." She'd also come and help me put table clothes on the tables. It gave her someone to talk to when her family wasn't here. I remember, she loved to play bingo. (she loved all the activities. Hell, she was jewish and she'd go to the catholic masses and stuff, because she wanted to be out and about and do things.) One day, I was her "lucky charm". I came over (having finished my floor) to help her play bingo and as I sat, she won not once but twice. If I saw her in her room, she'd offer me one of her many peppermint patties her family would give her.
I do remember Eva Niles. She was... definately a personality. (Much like the rest of her family)
Continuing on with the day...
After calling Dave and taking a nap, we went out AGAIN. This time, we started off at Rite Aid (her last prescription had recieved part of a shipment, so she got some.). we went off to the mall and, despite the fact that I figured it would be swamped, it wasn't. We were at the mall to look for thermals for my mom and a snowblower (all sold out. Surprise Surprise, I guess.)
Then we went to Walmart where I got some more thermals, some of my flavored water (yum!) and a bedspread for my mom.
Came home, watched Saving Silverman and then watched the news.
Now they're saying we might want to stay home tommorow due to blizzard-like conditions (not because of new snow coming done, but high wings resuspending the snow into the air and whiting out our vision. Not to mention a REALLY cold Wind Chill.)
Let the frustrations continue.
And so, that's my day... a new family member, the death of a person I liked and frustrations with life.
I guess I'll post this and head to bed. Good night everyone. Have a safe and warm New Years Eve if I don't write before then. And wish me luck in finding something cool to do!

Another long entry, I fear.
Where to start?
Let's start with Pep Boys, I'll get the bitching done first.
So, those following the saga of my car problems have heard, i think, the latest (and not at all bad) theory that I got a load of bad gas. The bad gas plugged up the fuel filter once already and the new one is, supposedly, already dirty. This support my theory.
Anyways, I was agitated at the first mechanic because despite paying for a new fuel filter, my car was stalling and flooding. Badly. I had to trouble getting the car home three days in a row.
As you may recall, I found out I was law on transmission fluid. So I went to Pep Boys to get some. I explained the problems I was having and they suggested I bring the car into THEM to check the engine.
So I brought it in Wednesday night.
Thursday was the day that wouldn't end. More on that to come. When I called Pep Boys, though, they were like "We had alarms all over. The spark plugs need replacing. The distributor cap too. There was electricity ARCING. By, the way, this will clear up your problem with your Check Engine light."
(note: up to lately, my car's one oddity is that the Check Engine light is on all the time. I've learned to live with it and it doesn't bother me. I didn't want to pay extra money to fix that. It wasn't REALLY a problem. )
Did I mention they wanted $550 ?
Now, I just had the other mechanic look at the car LAST week and he said none of this.
LITE doens't LIKE being taken for a ride!
So... we told them we weren't interested in putting that kind of money in my old car and brought her home. As we picked her up, they mentioned that it was all IMPORTANT.
Anyways, once we got the car warmed up, it drove fine.
That's the key, though, to get the car warmed up.. without flooding it out.
It spent last night at school, in fact, because it flooded out.
At the moment, it's QUITE temperamental.
She's home now, though. So.. *shrug*
Still.. I kept the paperwork from Pep Boys. Just in case the problems persist. I can take it to the first mechanic and see if he mentions anything on the list. If so, maybe it IS legit. if not.. they WERE taking me for a ride.

So... going back.. The Day That Wouldn't End. That was Thursday.
Thursday started up TFE (Too Fucking Early). I had to be at school at 8:00.. And since the car was at Pep Boys, that meant I was walking to school.
And I had to be there at 8:00 to stay there all day to work on the pilot plant.
To fill in more details, this is the last project from the Practicum. The class had to get a Water Treatment Pilot Plant (already designed and put together) operational and run it for 8 hours to see if it works.
So we started the pre-run work (making sure the influent was ready to go etc.) at 8:00.
Let me describe the pilot plant to you. Maybe you care, maybe you don't. I'll tell you anyways.
Here's the basics.. first you need some sort of influent. We used a Kaolin clay mixed in tap water so that the turbidity (def: 1 a : thick or opaque with or as if with roiled sediment b : heavy with smoke or mist from Webster of 20 NTU.
The influent first meets up with a coagulant, a chemical used to bind the clay together into a bigger particle called floc. Since to do that, the chemical needs to mix with the clay, it first goes through a rapid mix (an inline doodad that swirls the water all about) and then through a system of basins called Flocculators. In these basins, the floc is formed.
Assumedly.. if you set your speeds right, the floc does NOT settle in the Flocculators but DO need to settle. hence we have a Sedimentation basin for the floc to settle into.
The remaining material is filtered out in a sand material.
In real plants, the effluent is then chlorinated, fluoridated and sent out to the distribution system. Our pilot plant didn't do that.
So.. I spent near eight hours watching the plant operate.
Plus, it didn't even operate well. We had to keep backwashing the filter because it was plugging up with clay since the settling basin didn't work too well.
Also, in the middle of the day I had to go and do some paperwork. Problem being.. I left the papers at home. So I had to get home. A classmate lent me her car... a beat up old white dodge that makes my car look well behaved.
The seats wouldn't go back.
So i drove in this tiny car with my knees behind the wheel and in 2nd gear since drive kept pooping out.
But I got home.. and I got my papers and came back.

And eventually the day ended and I went home to, i THINK, start work on my GURPS character. More on THAT later

Yesterday was.. better. I had the presentation, as you may recall, on desorption during resuspension events. And the car flooded and wouldn't go home. But we had a nice dinner out.
This is a cute story. Let me tell it.
My brother tried out for the musical monday. He wanted the male lead, Horace Vandergelder (the play is Hello Dolly).
So all week, he's been excited and obnoxious and unbearable because he REALLY wants the part and he's got the voice for it and he KNOWS he can do it.
We were ready to kill him.
Anyways, he said that if he got the lead, he wants to go to Pizzeria Uno, his favorite restaurant. And we agreed.
So yesterday comes and, grumpy from the car not starting, I come home and josh is like "Dress nice, cause we're GOING TO PIZZERIA UNO!"
So, he's got the male lead.
Go Josh :)

OK, so Friday I come home and I finish work on my GURPS Char. What the heck am i talking about? trillain, xb95 and draci. I don't know much about the plot, but we get 100 points to spend on "normal self" and 50 more points to spend on becoming another species (elf, winged folk, were, reptile man..) or on MAGIC.
So my character is gonna be a Druidy type of character. Human, Male, lots of magic. Yay magic :)
Not much else to say yet.. I'm excited about roleplaying, tho :)

Can't think of anything else worth discussing it. So I'll finally post this.
Ciao folks!

Start with the Good News. The mechanic called this morning. The problem is that the fuel filter was really badly clogged. It won't cost much to get them to change it (less than $100) and I should have my car back by tommorow.
That IS good news!

Now the Grumpiness.
I got very upset at people on ChaoticMUX yesterday. Not just one or two but a few. People who were being stupid.
One off on some tangent about Jewish people.
One who begged me to nuke someone who (and you know who are) *I* still like, even if you don't. *I* still respect him, even if his opinions are unpopular and disliked (for good reason, but... as nissacrosseyed would say "Hate the Sin. Love the Sinner."), I still liked him.
One who, sometimes I swear, belongs on a roleplay mux where she can vent out her need to screw with others.
And one who has absolutely no problem calling people "hoar" and "anal" and doesn't care what people think about him.
That said, the problem is half mine. On days I wasn't so worried about my car or such, I'd probably be able to laugh this stuff off as just a silly thing _____ does. Everyone has their quirks: some good, some bad. The truly wise person can simply accept people for who they are.
That shows how far away from being the truly wise person I can be sometimes.
To me, I see it as... everyone was just acting out in their own particular way and before the night was over, it was too much for me and made ME grumpy with people in general.
That's the 20/20 hindsight vision, by the way. At the time, I just figured everyone had something up their ass. Maybe they do... while it isn't unknown for a large number of people to act out at once, there's usually some CAUSE for it!
What the cause(s) is/were.. I dunno. I probably never will know.
I dunno.
Truthfully said, if they all start acting out again, I'll abandon my "the truly wise person..." approach and just yell at them because, no matter what their reasons, no one should have to put up with anyone's shit.
Especially if it's stupid shit

My car is having problems. It stalled out on Friday and it flooded/stalled out over and over on Saturday at my friend Todd's house. So tommorow, we're gonna try to bring it to my grandmother's mechanic and see what's wrong with it and get it FIXED!

Yesterday was... OK.
Like I said, I got a call from my friend Todd Freyburger. He is a high school friend who moved down to Pittsburgh with his job.
So... we had made plans to see Monsters Inc. last night.
So I'm correcting papers (I HATE correcting back homeworks, btw. Blah.) when he calls and asks if I want to come over. So I say "OK, when i'm done."
So he gives me directions and I try to get there.
Ladies and gentlemen, Todd's directions SUCKED! I got lost because he told me to go down to the end of Campbell Boulevard which put me in PENDLETON!
FINALLY, I get my map out and find his house.
We hang out for 45 minutes to an hour, watch Iron Chef, whatever.. then we decide to go get coffee and the car won't stop stalling out!
Finally, we leave the car there and go see Monsters Inc.
I probably would have enjoyed it more, if I weren't worried about my car.
Get home, talk to mom, tell her what happened, go to bed and make all SORTS of calls.
Go to the gym, get my car and bring it home (it started! yay! But I think it's driving a little funny.)
Went to take a nap, finished grading papers and here I am.
Altogether a less than excellent day.
I think I'm also kinda bummed because I have classes tommorow too and I really enjoyed the vacation!
On the other hand, I have my visor and that should help keep my ass organized. Hopefully. I'm having so much fun with my visor :D

Not much else to say.

I'll post my weight tommorow. That should be good news for all :D

OK, posting this...