Kyoo 145

Top 5 reasons why I love riding my bike to work:

1. Exercise. An automatic 40 minutes a day.
   
2. I get to park closer to the building than the CEO and all the executives.
3. It's fun to pass stopped traffic really fast.
4. Cross walks are never backed up for blocks.
5. There's no chance that I'll get a speeding ticket.

The only thing I don't like about riding my bike would be the fact that, should I ever be involved in a crash, there is not a solid metal body surrounding my body and there are no air bags to pad my fall.

Minor details.

But I still feel pretty cool when I swagger into the building in my bike clothes, helmet in hand. Take that you high-heel wearing, freshly manicured females. I'm my own definition of hot!

Also, I had pretty much decided to wait until next year to buy a house but I'm kind of thinking that this year might be better. What with the $8,000 tax credit for new home buyers that doesn't have to be paid back. My money. Back from the government.

I like that idea. I just have to beat that random "year end" deadline of December 1st. Here I go.

Have a great day :)

Kyoo 144

I think I've finally gotten the whole "routine" nailed down. For those of you that know me, this routine is ESSENTIAL. I go crazy if I'm not in a routine. But at the same time it's not a same thing everyday type of thing. It's basically my plan of attack for working in all the important things. And once those have their place, I can enjoy all of the other time without feeling like I'm missing something or should be doing something else.

It's very similar to how I handle my finances. But I can't divulge all my secrets.

So, I feel quite accomplished. I rode my bike to work. And got ready there. And I have to say that the locker room really is amazing. Way better than my bathroom. I don't know why I've put this off for so long. And there's a sauna there! I might just be spending a lot more time at work...

I did experience a rude awakening when I sat on my bike for the ride home though. Apparently it's been a while since my derriere has been in contact with a bike seat. And it was protesting. LOUD. To make a long, painful story short, I had to stand up and pedal most of the way home. It was intense.

No news yet on my breakthrough. Hopefully this isn't just hype.

Have a great day :)

Kyoo 143

I rediscovered my love of garage sales yesterday. I bought a 3ft tall artificial Christmas tree for $0.50 and The Step for $2.00. Remember those? The exercise step that is purple and turquoise and pink? And has different levels you can add on the bottom? I do. Now I can do lunges on it or something. I just had to get it. Ode to the 90s.

Maybe one day I'll put on my spandex leggings, throw a high-cut swimsuit over the top, add some bunched down socks, a cut-off sweatshirt, and headband and do some aerobics!

In other news, I'm a pansy. I've been putting off riding my bike to work because I don't want to shower and get ready for work in the locker rooms there. I need my naked time at home! It's not fun to get ready in the morning when you have to coordinate everything. It would be really bad to end up in the shower and accidentally leave my towel and underwear back at my locker. It takes time to get into a locker room routine where you have everything down: a favorite shower, a "decent" dressing routine (if you know what I mean...), timing, and such. I've got a nice room and good speakers. That's way more fun to get ready in.

And I do NOT want to risk starting the morning seeing an old naked lady. It happened several times in the locker rooms at BYU-Idaho and I think Texas would be worse.

But I'm going to do it.

Hold me to it.

Have a great day :)

Kyoo 142

I might have had a break-through at work yesterday. I will confirm or deny this next week.

Also, I fixed the washer today. The cold hose was hooked up to the hot water and vice versa. Not hard but I felt pretty handy.

I love my tools. And no, they're not pink.

Have a great day :)

Kyoo 141

Casper's all better. He spent a couple nights at Cambridge Auto Center and, quite a few greenbacks later, he's a whole new car. I was going to act like I knew what I was talking about and demand that they explain to me why it cost so much but their customer service was just so darned good. And I did get a discount because I work at USAA. And a coupon for my next oil change. And the state inspection sticker so I can get my car registered in Texas.

I might go back. But I'm going to check a few other places before designating them my go-to mechanics. So I can't cross that off the list yet.

Also on the list is finding a dentist, doctor, eye doctor, and hairdresser. Still much to do to get settled.

I do know where I WON'T go to get my car washed. Valero. I paid $7 and it did the worst job ever. I seriously think my car came out dirtier than it went in. And I wasn't even parked crooked in the stupid stall.

Never again.

I played soccer today. 3 on 3. It was slightly more intense than 10 on 10. Not as much time to rest. I'm really tired now.

Have a great day :)

Kyoo 140

Casper broke down tonight!

Ok, I don't think I ever officially named my car on my blog, so I'm doing it now. My white little Saturn is named Casper.

I was driving home from a pretty stellar band practice and hadn't even gone off campus when I lost power to just a few essential things (brakes and steering) and had to wrestle Casper into an empty parking lot. I had no idea what I was going to do. First, I knew I needed a tow but I didn't know how to get one through security and then how to get it to me once it got on campus. USAA is, uh, huge. Second, I had no idea what was wrong with my car and I didn't know where to have it towed. And I didn't want to have to "demonstrate" what the problem was, if you know what I mean. I feel pretty stupid trying to imitate car noises in public...

So, thank goodness for USAA Security and AAA. I called the auto line on campus and they sent a nice guard to come check out my car and see if he could do anything. He couldn't but he did tell me the procedures for getting the tow truck on campus. Then AAA got me through the rest and my roommate came and picked me up.

However, I'm not out of the scare yet. I haven't talked to the mechanic. If he asks what it's doing I'm going to tell him to just put the key in the ignition and have a listen for himself. I will not imitate it.

On a positive note, I did need to get a state inspection done before registering my car and the auto center Casper's currently residing at can do it. Woot! Killed two birds with one stone.

That's my exciting news for the night.

Happy Birthday Grameez!

Have a great day :)

Kyoo 139

The Shingods were victorious tonight! It was an intense 80-minute struggle but we pulled through 2-0. It is kind of stressful playing in a company league. I have to keep reminding myself that I might eventually have to work with one of the people I'm playing against. Or that I might unknowingly take out an executive. So I still have to make a good impression on the field. That is so against my normal mindset. Usually when I step onto the field I've got a do-or-die attitude and I take it to the opponent like that. Not the case here. If I'm too aggressive I could get a red card and those often times lead to a loss of employment...

So this soccer thing is a balancing act. I can't let the guys think they can get around me without a few bruises but at the same time I have to have a smile on my face and pretend like it was a complete accident and I'm "so sorry" for my "clumsiness".

I've got it down.

On another note, I broke my record last night on the phone with one person. 6 1/2 hours. It was fun. I think the previous record was in the 4-5 hour range.

I actually get a decent tax return this year! That was a pleasant surprise. More money to go towards a down payment. House, here I come.

Sidekick and I are seriously considering applying for "The Amazing Race". I haven't actually seen the show (cringe) but it sounds pretty cool. This season's applications are due next week so we might wait for the next season. It'd be pretty cool to say that I applied for a reality show once in my life. Although lots of people can claim that nowadays....and most of them are quite strange.

Maybe it's not a good idea.

And in case you were wondering, I am still boycotting dance lessons.

Have a great day :)

Kyoo 138

If I actually titled my blogs, this one would be titled "Why I don't go to dance lessons as a single young adult". So here we go.

- You know the guy that you notice upon entering the room for every reason except his stunning good looks and eminent charm? The one who's terribly overweight with pale white skin, weird lips, and unusual amounts of sweat already dripping off of his face and arms? Yes. That's the one I get paired up with E V E R Y S I N G L E T I M E.

- My luck always stops the second I get paired up with said partner. This is about the time I find out we're learning a move called "The Cuddle". NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!! I would more affectionately dub it "The Straight Jacket".

- 95% of men that I've had to dance with in classes can't feel a beat. And I can. Dancing with them never works. They HAVE to be on beat or I start getting ticks and eventually take over and push them around. I've discovered that no man can take this kind of forwardness and apparently it's a blow to their ego. Oh well.

- Unfortunately, repetition is key when attempting to master any skill. Especially dancing. Which means that I not only have to endure an awkward move with this partner once. Nope. I get to go through the motions 10, 20, 50, er, more like 999 times. Yup, it's mastered. I would have been fine just practicing it once. Or not at all. I could have just watched and felt quite capable.

- I can't stand there like the cute girls and act clueless to flirt with the one or two decent-looking guys that are there. First, I'm not cute by the world's standards, and second, I'm not clueless (about most things...). And while I'm a good actor, it's just not in my genetic makeup to play dumb to get a guys attention. If it works on the guy, then I am NOT interested in that guy.

So, dance lessons are neither good for finding a potential mate or learning how to dance. That's probably why I never stick with them. I give them a try here and there. Apparently I forget how inhumane they are in between. Probably not this time though. That guys hands were so cold and clammy it still makes me want to puke. It was like holding both of my hands in a bag of cold, imadequately drained spaghetti.

I really think I could be a decent dancer but until I find another way to learn, I'll just continue making up moves and expressing myself in the comfort of my own home. Maybe when I'm married and can just dance with my husband.

Have a great day :)

Kyoo 137

PLEASE DO NOT BEND - DIPLOMA ENCLOSED

Lets pretend you're a mailman. Lets pretend that you're holding a stiff, large envelope with those words printed in bold on the front. Lets pretend you have two options: 1) Painstakingly fold and shove the envelope into a tiny mailbox with ledges that scrape it into pieces or 2) Open one of the package mailboxes and neatly set it in one of them. Which would you do?

Me? I would probably take the easier route and throw it into one of the large boxes and enclose the key in the smaller box. I don't know, it just seems a lot less frustrating then shoving something into a smaller space than it should reside in.

But apparently the mailman likes a challenge. He sure did this one well.

And now I have a bent diploma.

Have a great day :)

Kyoo 136

THE TIME IS NOW!!!

I'm officially rededicating myself to blogging. It may not be everyday but if you, the reader, check back often, I will have recent posts. Why? Because I'm moved in.

It's not official yet and there are still things to do (don't look at the bathroom yet), but I'm settled in my room. And here are the pictures to prove it:


My room looks so much better in natural sunlight (which it gets plenty of thanks to the large windows) but there seems to be a shortage of sunlight at 10:30 at night during the "winter" months. This is the picture from the door as you walk into the room.


My bamboo plant! And bookshelf. And mirror. These pictures really don't do the room justice. Especially the wall colors. So very green and fun.


Desk area. I have a paper shredder and printer now! And there's a yucca plant on my desk. Elizabeth, the frame on the right is the one I was working on for hours whilst talking to you. Soon, all my diplomas (including my future Masters degree...) will be displayed in their frames above the desk.


Calvin's corner! I'm in the USAA band now so Calvin and I get to spend quality time together again. It's pretty fun. He's happy. There's quite a story behind the marker board too. It took forever to get the shelf installed on the bottom. I basically had to tear it apart and then painstakingly hammer it back together. It's hard to explain but trust me, I will not be buying that brand of marker board again.


My HUGE closet. Ginormous. Gargantuan. Black hole. It's big. Just perfect to store all of my junk so my room looks clean and neat all the time...haha. Actually, the closet is quite organized. Notice the nice hanging "shoe" rack/makeshift magazine rack off to the left. There's a slot for all my subscriptions! I like being organized.

So that's it. My room in a couple pictures. In other news, I have my first soccer game tomorrow. We're supposed to have thunderstorms though so it might get cancelled. I love thunderstorms! It's still quite warm here. Not complaining about the weather.

Also, the real world hit me when I got my first full paycheck. The real world as in taxes. There are no less than 10 deductions applied to my paycheck before I actually get to touch the money. This results in me receiving just about half of my gross pay. Jealous? You should be. After I meet all my financial obligations (savings, rent, car insurance, etc.) I'm living off of less than I did in college. But at least I have investments! I think my 401(k) is earning all of 2% right now. I probably should change my target fund...

Alright, you've been caught up. Now I can start posting the funny stuff.

Later.

Have a great day :)