MNXMFan's Blog

So, living in MN, I am getting anxious for winter to be done.  This seems like the longest winter on record, at least recently.  And the worst part is, we were teased with 60′s and 70′s this past week.  But, as the weekend looms ahead, they are calling for sleet/snow tonight (yes, it IS almost May!) and cooler than average temperatures this weekend.

Those of you who have to sit in an office from 8-5 like myself have no fear!  The beautiful sun and warm temperatures will return just in time for you to not have the time to enjoy them .

Here’s hoping NEXT weekend is nice so I can get the car cleaned out!  I just realized that it’s been 7 monhs since the last “good” clean out (school distracted me long enough to not have the time before winter set in).

So here I sit on Monday morning, and we are kinda busy.  I’m not complaining about being at work.

I just can’t believe how fast the weekend went by.  The weather was better, so I had planned on getting my car cleaned out but that didn’t work out so well.  Friday night I had movie night with a bunch of friends from school, which was alot of fun.

Saturday, another friend of mine called me up and said that he was going to be in the neighborhood around 3PM, and we ended up going out drinking (and I didn’t get home until about 3AM).  Now I realize I could have gotten stuff done before 3, but I was tired, got up around 11AM, and just felt like being lazy.  Nothing wrong with that, since Thursday and Friday I was busy and hadn’t had much me time.

Sunday, not only was I very tired, but I was also busy with other stuff (laundry, shopping, etc) so it just didn’t work out.  Oh well, my intentions were good at least!  Maybe I’ll get to it some night this week, or next weekend.  Perhaps it’s best for me to do it in stages, as I’d really like to get the inside scrubbed down and vacuumed.  Minnesota winters make cars a mess!

In other news, I’ve started looking at options for an apartment, just to make sure I consider everything that is available to me.  I’m also starting to keep my eyes open for “steal of a deal” furniture on CL (thats the only way I’ll buy it and store it for a little over two months, otherwise I’ll just wait).

And as I am just getting into my own first apartment, a friend of mine who graduated a few years back just let me know he put an offer on a house, so best of luck to him.  I’m not looking for a house right now, for two reasons.  One, houses up here are more expensive (he lives in Omaha and got a house for 84,000, whereas I live in the Twin Cities where they go for 200k+), and two I’m not really looking for the work associated with having a house.  I’d rather get used to the work associated with keeping up an apartment first, and graduate to a house or a townhome later.

Anyways, thats all for now. 

So, I have been driving to work now for well over a month at this point, and this is the first time I have had to jump on some sort of freeway to get there.  I realize that I am going to be sitting in alot of traffic, and by now I have learned some back roads to avoid some, but not all, of the traffic backups.  And honestly, its not the stop and go that bothers me so much, but I do have a line.

Here’s the scenario… I am driving along 494 from CR5 towards 169, so I am going eastbound.  169 is a bottleneck (that they plan on fixing later) that has a signal at the exit.  I would say about 70 percent of the people using 169 are using it to go north in the morning, and south at night.  So this is naturally my commute home, which involves going south.  494 at that exit has a dedicated lane for the 169 Ramp, which often will back up a mile or more.  So why, when I am doing what is right and SITTING there waiting for sometimes 20 minutes or more do some people feel the need to RIDE UP THE SHOULDER to get on the ramp before you AND THEN PROCEED to go the SAME WAY as everyone who is waiting?  I REALLY DON’T GET why some people feel so much more important and entitled than the rest of us. 

Well be warned, next time I won’t stand for it.  I’ll park my car on the shoulder if I have to, but that is just crazy.  And don’t get me wrong, I have more patience than most, and still I won’t tolerate it.

Hope you can sense the sarcasm, so did you owe this year or get money back?

So far, I really like the backend, but not much new on what your seeing.  It’s version 2.5, so if you have a wordpress blog, I would HIGHLY recommend the update.

They have COMPLETELY rewritten the admin/backend to look better, and make more sense.

So, its absolutely amazing how time files whe your having fun.  Its hard for me to believe that it has already been a month, and yet I am still just as excited about it as I was on day one.

Not much else to report, I’m keeping a fairly low profile in my personal life these days.  Just trying to save as much money as possible, so I can meet my new goal of July 1st for a move out date.  See, I go permanent with this company on June 13th, and I didn’t want to move out until I can stop paying this nearly $400 COBRA insurance payment every month. 

The weather here in MN has been kind of crappy, but I am hoping that next weekend it is nicer outside, so I can get my car nice and sparkily clean and get the trunk cleaned out.  Its not bad, just space I would like to take back.  In May, as part of the plan for moving out, I am going to start shopping Craigs list for furniture such as a coffee table, kitchen table, and maybe even a recliner or entertainment center.  And I’d also like to start picking up the little things like silverware, pots and pans, dishes, etc.

I’m so excited!

With that said, I am definitely still getting out and being social where I can, but after a hard week at work, it sometimes feels good to just come home on a Friday night, mix a few drinks, and turn on a good movie.  These days, I don’t seem to make it much past Midnight, and I can never seem to sleep in past 11AM either.  I guess a day job will do that to ya!