THE PO' HOUSE

I've been on a small hiatus after having my wisdom teeth pulled last week. I had preempted the experience with the waxing, which, by the way, turned out to be a bust. Yeah, without revealing TMI, let me just say I believe I've ended up with a "botched wax job." It figures, with the kind of luck I've been blessed with. I just tell myself that, although I have super crappy luck when it comes to the smaller things, nothing really that horrible has ever happened to me. And I think I'd prefer it this way than the opposite. To keep from totally losing my marbles, I have two mottos/mantras:

You live, you learn

Onward and upward

Whenever I make a poor decision, I have to suck it up and tell myself that at least I've learned from the experience. And the longer I live, the more I'll learn, even if I may have completely screwed myself for the time being. Then, once I'm screwed and have told myself "you've learned something, blah blah blah," it's time to move on to bigger and better things. Onward. Upward. Two prime examples are grad school and the purchase of my electric car.

I'm going to be honest and admit that the reason I tried my luck at grad school was most likely just because I wanted to be the holder of a master's degree. That in itself is NOT a reason to do it, just in case you're as dumb as I am. Also, it helps to know that what you're going to school for is actually what you want to be doing with your life. "I think so; maybe?" is NOT good enough. The reason this completely screwed me over is because I had money. For the first time in my life, I actually had money. Surplus. Savings. A vague degree of actual comfort. Before applying to grad school, I spent precious time I could be at work volunteering. I also took expensive tests, and had to take time off to study for them. Once I got in, I had to cut down my hours at work significantly. It was actually impressive, the speed at which my bank account dwindled to nothing, then less than nothing. And now, after one semester (4.0, thank you) and realizing teaching high school art is NOT for me, I am in debt and am constantly struggling. You live, you learn.

Once I started saving up again (while concurrently paying off my new student loan), I decided it would be smart to invest everything I had in an electric car. Sadly, I was wrong. Again. It was a fun and novel way to get around over the summer, but a three-wheeled plastic egg does not make for a reliable mode of transportation in the wet 'n' wild Pacific Northwest. After listing multiple grievances and having them "fixed" by the dealership, talking to the head honcho at ZAP headquarters, and freaking out a bunch, turns out I'm screwed. And broke. I need to unload this thing. I have the car listed on eBay for the 5th time. Wish me luck.

So, onward and upward. I currently have for sale one Zapcar Xebra; one Dell Inspiron 1000 laptop; one karaoke machine with 45 CDs and two microphones; one ping-pong table for a pool table; one mountain bike; one Playstation 1 with DDR and two dance pads; one rusted bar table with two stools; one large carpet remnant; one small area rug; and a bunch of other crap. Let me know if you want to buy anything. I did sell my great little electric fireplace that looks like a woodstove for $100. It's a start.

Don't you just love when the economy collapses? Here's to better times. *Clink.*


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R.I.P. Donald Westling, Jr. October 1948–December 2008. Also R.I.P. John Lennon, killed 27 years ago today.