new list of things immediately concerning my life

well, i just spent the entire day at the mechanics. i will have you all know that the huge accomplishment of being no longer in debt (besides student loans) is now null and void. the diagnosis on my car was that all four of my brake pads were completely shot. they had to be replaced as well as some other parts that i don't remember the name of now. also, my check engine light was indicating that my camrod shaft sensor is broken. i do understand now what this sensor does thanks to the patient man explaining it to me but i cannot relay to all of the nature of this device as i will muddle it all up. suffice to say that it is a little important but not a necessary repair because the crankshaft sensor is the one that really matters. if that ever goes, i'm screwed. oh, the reason this was not repaired is because it's virtually impossible to get parts for daewoo cars. and, this particular part had a crazy amount of recalls because cars were catching on fire. thankfully my car was not part of the recall. the guys at the shop amazingly got the stupid bo bice cd that was stuck in my player out. hallelujah! and they rotated my tires for free. all in all, they comped me a lot of stuff but i am still $550 poorer.

yesterday i got the estimate for the body damage to my car. almost $1000. but the insurance company shall pay for that. so, really, all i need is another $500 to repair the things that weren't caused by the collision with the guard rail and i should be all set. alas, all these car expenditures are making my vision of going to italy in march less and less viable. but i have not lost hope of that yet... i just have to be a lot more resourceful.

my friends sarah and tsetso made it to see me. and i was so glad to spend time with them, as little as it was. they drove from maine to d.c. in one shot. slept in the car, then toured the capital and drove to princeton to have dinner with me. then we got up and had breakfast with penny at p.j.'s pancake house. then we were off to new york. they were leaving for boston later that day so we decided sarah would drive to the city and i would take a train back. it was a good time. we went to the serendipity cafe and then around central park. then they had to go. i meandered through new york a bit more and then went to see avenue q. it was before i went to the show that i realized my car was not at the train station like usual when i go to new york and i would have to take a taxi to witherspoon since it was going to be fairly late when i got in. i had no idea a taxi from princeton junction to witherspoon would be $14! crazy... speaking of insanity, did i mention that after sarah and tsetso were going to boston, they were flying to puerto rico for the weekend, then driving to chicago from boston, then to minnesota and back to boston so tsetso could fly back to bulgaria by wednesday. tomorrow. i'm telling you my friends are insane in their travels. part of the reason i love them so.

i was feeling a bit stressed about work. this weekend past i spent $30 on parking just so i could work. that was not going to work out. i couldn't pay to be able to make money. luckily, my very generous owner (owner of the store, not of me) gave me a parking pass to use on the weekends and i will share the manager's pass for the weekday i work. that took a big weight off my shoulders.

i feel absolutely and utterly behind on schoolwork. although i did get to spend 5 hours reading while at the mechanics. i'm fairly nervous about the presentation i have due on friday. mostly i don't want to disappoint my group members because i know they have worked extremely hard. i think it's all going to turn out well though. i feel bad that i have missed so many classes lately. i missed all my classes on thursday so i could go to new york with my friends and i missed all my classes today so i could take care of my car. from now on, i vow to be the model student.

i'm also feeling very behind in my correspondence. i love so many people very dearly and am finding it extremely difficult to keep in touch with even a few of them adequately and i know i'm ignoring a vast majority. if you read my blog dear friends, please know that i think of you often, yearn for you much, and send love constantly.

what else. i should clean my room i suppose. but that's not a surprise really. actually, i should finish unpacking the last little things i have boxed up. really these are the things that make me happy. all of my necessities are out and the things that are still hidden away are the flourishes that really make my life happier. things like pictures of friends and family, keepsakes, knick-knacks with sentimental value and the art i need to hang.

i think that might be all that is on my mind presently. peace to you.