Shopping

Trip Home

So, Friday I went home to see the family. Was rather uneventful actually, sat around and not much more.

Saturday I met with Dan, Jeremy, Dave, and Matt at Hooters around 6, had some food and a rather craptastic waitress, then headed to Hooligan’s around 8. We sat there until close at 2 having drinks, singing Karaoke, and bullshitting. You can view Dan and Jeremy on YouTube actually, I posted videos of their attempts under my account. Since I had not been drinking, I gave Dan and Jeremy a ride home, as Dan’s mom is just a few blocks from my mom’s house.

Sunday I awoke on the couch and called my mom as I was alone, and found she was at Rudy J’s just finishing breakfast after standing in front of Circuit City and Toys R Us, and had gotten a Wii. Once she got home, I spent most of the day playing Wii sports, and ran with my brother to Target to get WiiPlay, where we found out they had had 60 Wii systems come in that morning. If anyone wants a Wii, they seem to be getting easier to get, especially if you show up early Sunday morning.

Todd came over later Sunday and played a few games with me. He had been at Hooligan’s too, and met up just by chance. After he left, Chris and Brandon played some game till Chris went to bed, then Brandon and I spent a few hours playing WiiSports some more. I was really getting good at baseball and golf, and decent at bowling. Tennis and boxing I was consistently sucktacular.

Monday I woke up, packed everything, and headed back here. I spent the day with Jenn who had it off doing not too much. Tuesday jenn worked, but only until 3. I made Chicken Kiev and cheesy potatoes. Wednesday we got up, she packed, we made a frozen pizza and did some laundry, and then she left to Ann Arbor to be with her dad for his surgery. I have just sat around and enjoyed the nothing since. Her dad was scheduled to go in today at 2:30.

We planned on me going to Bay City tomorrow, and she would meet me and spend the night there, then meet up with her parents in Alpena Saturday. however, the current word is her dad won’t be released until Sunday, so we are holding Christmas off until next weekend.

I got some Christmas gifts while in Bay City. A set of CorningWare from my Dad, a Chicago Cutlery knife se from my mom, and a set of glasses from my Mom to Jenn. Out gifts to them I didn’t take, and are waiting until next weekend, along with whatever I get from my Grandma (a pair of Dockers gloves, just like the ones I got 3 years ago but I had to send back for repair and never saw again).

And I think that is all.

nick

Shopping and Snow

So, the shopping trip went OK. We went into Nordstrom’s first, and saw a few things we kind of wanted, but no gifts. Jenn bought something for her aunt at Lane Bryant, then we went for lunch.

First, we went to BD’s, but were told about a 20 minutes wait so we went to Grand Rapids Brewing Company. The two beers I tried were so-so, but their sausage plate was very good. Homemade polish sausage, onion bratwurst, sauerkraut, potato pancake, whole grain mustard, and horseradish.

After that, we went to the Woodland Mall and shopped Eddie Bauer, the Apple Store, and Macy’s to name a few. I got Jenn and my Mom’s gift then while we were in JC Penny I thought of getting a throw blanket for my grandma, however they had a very poor selection. So, rather than walk back to Macy’s, we drove to the mall in Grandville.

We found the throw I wanted at Macy’s, then as we walked through the rest of the mall we quickly got irritated by the thousands of people and decided to get out of there.

On the way home, we stopped at Rosie’s Diner in Rockford. I had the chili cheese fries and a slice of dutch apple pie a’la mode. it was all really good, but the chili was really coney, but still good.

Sunday we went to Meijer, Lowe’s, the Dollar Store, and the Old Pioneer Store downtown.

Yesterday was my Statics and Strengths exam, today I turned in a lab and our project for Industrial Engineering and my CNC project, and tomorrow is my Statistics exam.

Snow has been falling here all day, probably about 5″ by now. It’s really wet stick snow too, which is good for snowmen and snowballs, but quite slippery. The fact that they seem to be waiting for it to stop snowing to plow isn’t helping either, especially because it doesn’t seem to be stopping.

OK, that is all I have to say. I will leave you with a pic from about 4:30.

nick

Snowy Trees

Thanksgivings

I guess I am a little late, so alot to go over.

First Thanksgiving was at Jenn’s parents last weekend. We left here Friday afternoon and took 10 across to Clare, then 127 up to Gaylord where we stopped at Jays for a look around. From there, we took 32 across to Alpena where we arrived after 7. Friday night was mostly sitting around, played Trouble with Johnny, and went to bed.

Saturday we ran to Staples for no particular reason, had lunch at Applebees, and spent time with her family. The neighbors were up from Detroit and their son shot his first deer, and a friend of Jenn’s family and his wife came over and she got her first deer as well.

Sunday we had our dinner, mostly appetizers and the like. Jenn’s sister and boyfriend and her 2 were over as well, and it was fun. Around 2 or 3 we left for home, and decided to take 33 down to 72 and across to Greyling. We missed 72 though, and ended up going through Rose City and having to take 55 through Houghton Lake to 127. It really wasn’t out of the way, as there is no good route, and going south then west or west then south makes no real difference. All told, it is 4 hours, 200 miles between, plus or minus a little depending on the route.

Monday and Tuesday was class, that’s about it. Jenn was off both days, and made me Beef Tips and Noodles Monday, then we went to Bungalow for all you can eat spaghetti Tuesday, which was a good deal at $6.95. By 8:30 I was in bed with a headache, and quickly asleep.

Wednesday morning Jenn did work, so got up at 5, and out the door by 5:30. Having been to bed so early the night before, I was up with her, and unable to fall back asleep. I managed to wait until about 7, then got antsy and left for Bay City. I made a stop in Evart at McDonald’s for breakfast, then continued on arriving in Bay City about 9. Most of the morning I spent with my mom, then went to visit my dad for a while, then shopping with mom. I installed a new blind, new thermostat, and fixed her stereo that wasn’t working right. While we were out getting everything, we had Old Great Wall too.

Thursday I helped out some with dinner, then my Dad came over and we ate. The standard dinner, turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, dressing, squash, sweet potatoes, rolls, cranberry sauce. The stuffing was pecan and dried cherry, I rather enjoyed it. After dinner, we watched Happy Feet on one of the premium channels, then Live Free or Die Hard that I had rented with my dad the night before. Both movies were good, but Die Hard was freaking sweet. While we watched, my mom brought us some shrimp and cocktail sauce that was held back from dinner as we decided there had been enough. The sauce was made with very fresh horseradish, and we had to add more ketchup 2 or 3 times to get it right. Strong is good, but for eating a lot, a little weaker is better. After the movie, I headed home, about 7:30 or so. I got back to Big Rapids a few minutes before 9. While in Bay City, I picked up our Christmas Tree and a few other things, so Jenn helped me bring those in.

Interestingly, I turned on Z93 while in Bay City, and it actually came in all the way here, not going out until, I swear, I parked my car. It works somewhat around town, but just barely. For some reason though, where I park my car, I just get silence. Weird.

Friday morning, we went shopping: Staples, Menards, Big Lots, and Meijer, plus Family Video. Then we came home, watched I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, and set up the tree. After adding the lights we bought, we realized we needed more, so out to Lowes and Meijer again. Back home, we finished the tree, had some drinks, ordered a pizza, and watched part of Shrek 3.

Saturday, Jenn worked and I sat around doing nothing. When she got home we finished Shrek, which I returned afterward and that was the night.

Today, same as yesterday. When Jenn gets home we will have dinner (pork cutlet, squash, augratin potatoes) and watch Ocean’s 13. I will do some homework soon too.

While shopping friday, we got memory cards for our phones, an inflatable coleman mattress that converts into a king, double high twin, 2 twins, or a couch, some glasses for Jenn’s sister, a japanese rice bowl set for my dad (2 bowls, 2 pair chopsticks, and 2 soup spoons), ornaments, lights, candles, and a wreath. We kind of wanted the digital photo frame from Meijer, for $29, but were long gone when we got there.

So, I think that is it. I am off to do my homework, and get ready for the second to last week of class (this week and next week of class, then 3 days of exams).

Scott, aren’t you done soon? You never called back after I called about forgetting your birthday.

Ok, bye!

nick

Happy Halloween

So, whats new…

Jenn and I ventured to Traverse City on Saturday. We were bored, and we have been meaning to go since we moved, so figured lets go. We ventured to Cadillac first, where we went into Peebles, but found nothing. So, on we went to Traverse City, trying to snap photos on the way. I have nine pics, but because of the dreary day it was, the color is very off of what we saw, particularly of Grand Traverse Bay. Once on Traverse City, we went to the mall, and to the outlet strip mall. We didn’t really need anything though, so we didn’t get anything. Next, we went looking for Boone’s Long Lake Inn. I had called my mom to look up directions, and we followed, but missed that we had to turn from South Long Lake to East Long Lake rd, so went too far down and had to come back. Still, it was rather far out of town. Was it worth it? Yes, for me anyway. The 10 oz New York Strip was well over 10 oz, pushing 14+. Jenn’s shrimp were big, but not worth the price, should have ordered the lobster. Whether we will go back is unknown, it was $60 for the 2 of us, and is out there, but was pretty good. Plus, they had Ayinger October Fest, my new favorite beer.

We had an SME meeting today to discuss our trip to Ludington for plant tours next week. We will leave school at 11, tour Whitehall Industries and Great Lakes Casting, have dinner, then return home around 5 or 6 ish.

Jenn is in Saginaw with her Mom and Aunt Mary right now, shopping and what not. She left this afternoon, will return tomorrow sometime.

I think that’s all.

Till next time…

Happy Halloween!

Nick

Untitled 12

Tuesday after class Jenn and I went to Grand Rapids and got new cell phones. Our contract with Sprint had expired and with AT&T buying Cellular One, they should have the best coverage in the state around Christmas. Plus, rollover is pretty darn cool. Our numbers did not change, and you shouldn’t notice any difference, although I need to dial 989 to call people now. We both got RAZR v3xx, mine grey and hers red. I managed to get mine to mostly sync over USB while Jenn’s is syncing better over bluetooth. I needed a plugin to get it working, though Leopard is supposed to have native support when it comes out tomorrow, but it won’t run on my computer. Oh well.

The tree line is pretty well bare now, and with no leaves you can hear the river now. It’s kind of weird, having not heard it before being a good 100 yards away and the leaves insulating the noise since we moved in. At the same time, it would have been cool to hear while sitting outside over summer, rather than only hearing at night when it’s quiet now, and 20 degrees out.

Speaking of weather, low 28 Sunday night, and the dirty 4 letter S word was mentioned on the news (“I’ll take Swords for $400 Alex”, lol, hah!).

OK, when i start doing that, it means nothing else good.

nick

Five Hundred!!!!!

It would have been cool to name it ! (500 times), but that would be really long and time consuming to count.

So, for the 500th I figures something good was in order. After much thinking, I came up with it, then put it off, then put it off more. But, now, I am here to do it. For the 500th, I will do something that was a fundamental part of the founding of this blog, and it’s first several posts. Sadly, I have not done it in a while, and that needs to be remedied. Yes, I am going to bitch.

For anyone who has ever lived in Big Rapids, a fundamental flaw in the area is the radio stations. Somehow, they all suck. Not like “ehh, there are 20 stations and I only like 1 a lot, but there are 5 I will listen too” like, no, no this is “there are 10, and I will listen to 2 sometimes, but end up flipping more than listening to any of them”. I hadn’t really noticed for 5 months because I had no radio in the neon, but it is now a major pain in the ass. Yes, I have a 6 disc cd changer, but I don’t want to listen to one artist for 12 straight songs, and I don’t want to burn 20 discs. I should be able to listen to decent radio. And, worse, Ferris has a radio station that I really like, but it isn’t actually a radio station, it is on a TV channel and online only, not over actual radio. WTF?

Of the stations that there are, the vast majority are country. There are also 2 top 40 and 2 oldies (I think). The top 40 stations literally only play 40 songs, if that. Maybe they are each top 20 stations and thought it would work out, I don’t know. The oldies stations had a chance, as I will listen to some oldies, but they just rather suck. Maybe I grew out of it, maybe Oldies 96 was just a better oldies station.

Either way, I wanted to bitch about that.

Also to bitch about, is the people who go 35 down Perry, which is a 55. Why did they even make it a 55? The right lane everyone goes 35, the left there are people going anywhere from 45 to 60. Yes, I am more pissed at the people that go 35 than the road engineers, but maybe it would be better if it was a 45? I doubt it will change though, and until it does, I am going to be cussing at people going 35 up the hill because their K-car can’t make it.

What else can I bitch about? If I can bitch for 9000 words or so, I can get the 150,000 word in the 500th post. That would take forever and be boring as hell though, for you to read and me to write.

OK, enough bitching I guess.

Jenn and I went to Mt. Pleasant yesterday and got ChiChii (notice 2 i’s at end, indicating 2, hahahahahahahah). She is really tiny compared to other fish, but getting along fine. I think is just right size of too small for others to worry about, but too big to be food. We also ate at the Italian Oven, which Jenn had never had and I haven’t had since they were on Euclid about 10 years ago. Thank got they don’t use the noodle straws anymore. They were kind of cool, but tasted funny.

I think that is all.

501, later this week.

nick

Weekend Alone

Well, not Alone, but without Jenn. She left for Arizona Thursday to see her friend Gwen in Phoenix, and returned on yesterday (Monday).

I went to the Job Fair at Ferris Thursday, which she was still around for, then class, which was uneventful. Friday morning I had class and he snuck the lab in too, so no lab later in the day. That left me a few more hours of free time so I left for bay City around 12.

I took all side roads and even managed to become lost north of Midland. Somehow, it is very easy to take side roads through Mecosta and Isabella County, but once you get to Coleman it all gets screwed up. I have always hated Midland’s roads anyway. Anyhow, I finally crossed into Bay County, and got all excited, and then realized I had never heard of the road I was on, so went south a mile to see what one was next. I ended up at the corner of Garfield and Beaver, and finally remembered how US-10 turns south after the mall, and that since I had been north of 10, I would obviously be very north in Bay County.

Anyway, I finally made my way home, and visited with my Mom for a while. Next, I showed my car off to my Dad, then Todd. Back to home then, pick up Chris and my Mom, and we went to RiverRock for dinner. Once done there, I tried to set up something with everyone from the library but all had plans for Saturday, so I talked with Brandon for a while and then drove around for a bit. I ran to Meijer in Essexville and realized I had not been there since May 17th, almost 5 months before. It was a little weird, familiar but very different. As I drove around a little more, it really hit me that I don’t live in Bay City anymore, and as familiar as it all was, it had become a foreign place.

Saturday morning, I went to the Bay City Mall, and then to Rudy J’s with my Mom. Just before, I had helped her unload a shelf from her truck so my hands were rather dirty from it, so went to wash my hands. This, oddly, is important, because it is the first time I had ever been in Rudy J’s restroom. OK, not that important, but surprising I had been there so many times and never “gone”. Anyway, after that Tim came over to visit, then I went back to my Dad’s to see my Grandma, then headed home.

Everyone liked my car, particularly the color. I am amazed I was as lost as I was in Midland. I mean, I didn’t know where I was exactly for alot of the trip, but I think in Midland was about the most lost I have ever been, and I have never been real lost before. I am going to blame Midland and the Sun, for not shining that day. I went to Weidman for some traveling supplies (Jerky, Vernors, and a honey bun) because the sign gave me a choice of M-20 or Weidman, and I didn’t want to take 20.

So, Sunday I sat around mostly, did a little homework, and made some pretty good chilli.

Monday, Jenn returned after both of my classes.

Today (Yesterday now) I had class, we made stew, and visited the new pet store on Michigan. They have a Jack Dempsey Cichlid about 12″ long, 6″ tall, and 2″ wide. Is scary that our little Jill will get that big in a few years. Heck, in the last month we have had her she has gone from about 2″ to 3″.

So, I think that is all for post number 499.

See you next time.

nick

New Car!!!

I bought a new car yesterday. You should be able to look at it for a while here. The neon was being a real pain in the ass.

Tomorrow I need to run to campus safety to transfer my parking permit, go to class, go get new insurance, check the proof of my student business card, sit for a while, then back to class. Yes, I said student business cards. A. They’re cool, B. Student Employment sold me on them.

Tuesday, I get to pick up my final cards, pick up my suit, and class of course.

Wednesday will be standard class only, so far.

Thursday Jenn leaves for Arizona to see Gwen. Her flight leaves at 5:40ish. Also, is Ferris’s career fair. With any luck I might find my summer internship there.

Friday I have class.

At some point, either Friday or Saturday, I might head to Bay City. There was mention that my Dad would come over to Baldwin for salmon fishing, in which case I would stick around here and go fishing with him. Otherwise though, i will be in Bay City at some point.

Jenn will be back on Tuesday, at 5:40ish PM also.

OK, more on the car. Friday, while being sick, I ran out for some Hawaiian Punch (2 gallons, which are now gone) when the brake rotor decided to lock up. For whatever reason, it decided to lock up worse than normal and I had to pull over and sit and wait for it to cool down. After alot of shit, I was really pissed off, and decided I would have a new car the next day. Saturday morning, we went to the dealership, asked if they had found a car for me yet (after 1 month of having them look) and when they said no, I asked what kind of deal they could make me on something on the lot in leu. I had liked the green-grey / titanium green colored four door for about a month, and after driving it around I decided it was the one. I brought the neon there, and they decided $500 was the best they could offer. Seeing as how I bought in 16 months ago and only paid $1000, a $500 decrease was not really that bad. I hadn’t even put 5000 miles on it yet, it was at 166011 when I signed it over, and had bout with 161300 something. Still, there was a crapload wrong, and $500 was reasonable.

So, I applied for a loan, got one, and we got all the paperwork signed. We got home about 4 after stopping for dinner, and I ended up sleeping for several hours because I was still pretty sick.

Since I just transfered my old insurance from the neon, I don’t have collision on it until tomorrow afternoon. Because of that, I haven’t actually driven it since I got it home. I would obviously be really pissed if something happened.

What else…

So, the car itself, for when the dealership pulls it from Auto Trader…
2005 Ford Focus SE, 23,000 miles, 6 disk MP3 CD changer, 16″ aluminum wheels, rear spoiler, heated seats and lumbar, working air conditioning, working brakes, working suspension, working transmission, working radio, steering wheel mounted stereo controls, working fog lights, and factory warranty until March 31. I actually bought the extended warranty until 2010, since it was only about $10 more per month. That will last until about the time I have graduated, have a decent job, and am looking for a new car by then.

OK, that’s enough.

Till next time…

nick

Post #495

Yes, we are that far along. Post 500 will be sometime in October, probably about 3 weeks.

So, our weekend was eventful. Jenn and I visited the FSU Bookstore Friday and got some shirts for us and one for my dad. He had asked for one when he was here, and knowing we were going to Bay City over the weekend, decided to pick up.

My Mom and Sue stopped by on Friday. They were in Clare to shop at the Amish General Store, and since that put them already halfway, they continued over to here. We gave them the quick tour of town and enjoyed a DQ Pumpkin Pie Blizzard.

Saturday Jenn and I left for Bay City around noon, and made pretty good time. We began in Bay City at the mall, where Hagen, Dunlop, Labadie, Thelen, and Graff had brought all their used cars for some supersale. There were a few I kind of liked, but nothing great. Next we went to my house for root beer bottles and to visit, then out to Johnson’s Giant Pumpkins to watch their trebuchet and get some donuts and cider. At first I was all “aww, we saw 2x last year, going to be so-so”, but then I did see it, and I was “WOW, I FORGOT HOW COOL THIS IS!!!!”. Yeah. They also had the prototype of the air cannon he wants to build next.

Next up, was Heinz’ fruit market, for some tomatoes and peppers. Jenn really wanted pumpkins, but I made her wait. We then went back to the mall, to see if we could recheck on a car, that was no longer there. We went to Thelen to see if it was back at the dealership, and having finally found it, was informed it had been sold. Oh well.

Finally, we went to the River of Time. We made a quick walkthrough, bought some rootbeer, both independently considered buying an 1800s map of Michigan without knowing it, and left. I have been to like 15 consecutive years of the event, and it really never changes. Maybe we need some new history?

After that, we headed over to Grandpa Tony’s for dinner, then to the Mall again, this time to shop. I bought a $40 shirt for $9, and that was actually all. Next we went to see my dad and give him his shirt. Following visiting with him and my Grandma, we went to see Todd and Ashley at their new house for a quick tour of that. Around 9:30 by then I believe, we headed home.

Sunday, after all the excitement Saturday, we sat on our asses. Not totally, we watched a movie (“Wild Hogs”, good, but not great, I think we weren’t in a real movie mood), went to Meijer, pulled out my winter clothes, sorted through my side of the closet for things that I never wear, and watched the Sunday night Fox lineup.

So, that was the weekend.

A few little blog related posts:
This (as mentioned) is post 495.
Post 500 will be in October, even if I need to make 4 posts in one day.
The 150,000 word isn’t real far off (this post should put around 140,000).
For the first time, Firefox outranks Safari among my visitors.
I have plans for an overhaul of the themes, more info on the way.

That should be all.

nick

Of Rodeos and Dress Clothes

Alot to cover this time.

Wednesday, Jenn and I went to Grand Rapids for the SME show. Show wasn’t really bad, but not good. Nobody hiring like I was told, but we got some cool swag. Afterward, we went car shopping up and down 28th street. There were a few cars that maybe had some small chance of possibility, but not much. We had lunch at Red Robin, which was pretty good. We did some quick shopping through Woodland Mall, including checking out the new iPods which have grown on me.

After enough of not finding cars, we went to Centerpointe Mall where Jenn bought a new work uniform and I bought a suit and dress shoes. It was originally marked $550 and I got it for $145, not bad. I need to have the pants tailored, but it should be good. After all that, we headed home.

Thursday, Jenn’s parents arrived around 9 am, and after chatting for a while they left with Jenn to GR for their own shopping (Jenn and I avoided shopping because we knew she would be back the next day). So they shopped around most of the day while I enjoyed a day off because my professors were all at the SME expo. Jenn stayed at the hotel that night, rather than driving home, as she worked the next morning.

Friday, I had my class and lab, then sat around for a little while before driving Jenn’s vehicle down to GR. On the way, a semi blew out a tire in front of me, and I accidentally took the wrong exit, but got there OK. Once at the hospital parking garage, I tried to call Jenn and tell her I was there, but had no signal, so I decided to go into the hospital to check if I had some there. Once in, I figured I could try and find her, not realizing the size of the hospital. I actually managed to find the right building, and take the right elevator, but for some reason thought she was on the 4th floor, when she is actually on 5th. Having signal, I gave her a call and found her quickly.

When she was done, we left and headed over to Van Andel Arena for the Built Ford Tough Series Presented by Wrangler Professional Bull Riders Tour (Yes, that is actually the official name) rodeo. So, we found parking, made our way in, and found our seats. It was actually pretty good, we all enjoyed it. The actual bull riding was not bad, but the show between was really good. When you think that 45 people compete to stay on a bull for 8 seconds, thats only about seven and a half minutes of the 120 minute show. From the rodeo clowns to contests and pyrotechnics and all kinds of other things, they fill the time. They even shot bratwurst from a t-shirt cannon (note: spellcheck doesn’t like the word bratwurst).

After the rodeo was over, we tried to find our way back to the hotel, where we spent some time in the hot tub, then went to Steak n’ Shake for a Caramel Apple Shake, which was awesome.

Jenn left for work before I was up, around 6. Her parents woke me up around 9 for free breakfast, then we drove back here where they left me, and continued to Traverse City, then home. Jenn called me around 6:30 (actual, 4:30, but I was asleep, and she didn’t mention it in the message) to tell me that she accepted OT, and wouldn’t be home until 12 – 12:30. Last night, she was complaining she wanted to call in, and then she took a 16 hour shift? Well, she gets out early tomorrow at 3, 4 hours early, so that’s something.

So, I went to KFC for dinner, and was sitting outside after ward since it was nice out. As I sat, I saw something out of the corner of my eye, jumped startled, and it was a deer. As I stare at it, it just stood there and stared back, then her 3 kids walked up one by one and did the same. After a minute of “Whoa! Look, there’s a dude there. Why is he in our yard?” They decided to walk off into the tree line.

So, right now, I am watching the rodeo again and it is really sucking. If I wasn’t mostly blogging I would have turned a long time ago. All the cool between the rides stuff, is not of TV. No t-shirt guns, no pyro, no Enterprise rent-a-tank, nothing. Oh well.

Fish are doing better, ich is nearly gone. Will keep treating for another week to make sure though.

My dad might be by tomorrow, he is going fishing in Baldwin, which isn’t far away.

I think that’s all.

later,
nick