the arcane subject lines of my posts are like the code keys to my life

I have my Things back. The total damages to my car amounted to about $999.50 (oof), about $450 of which was parts... and I have reason to believe that figure is only as low as it is because my kindly old family mechanic endeavored to keep my total cost under a thousand dollars. But its running beautifully and it warms my heart to have it back. My adventures in computer repair did not go nearly so swimmingly... around $40 later I have a new processor fan and an assurance that everything in my computer works, except the wireless network adapter, which inexplicably does not. Given a little more messing around with the computer I probably could have figured that out myself. I will probably have to purchase and install a new one before I can resume my regularly scheduled full-time internet presence.

For those of you who haven't heard (and I'm assuming that's basically all of you because who've I told?) my temporary work for Zimmer got extended another week. So instead of last week being my last week, this week is my last week instead. I'm grateful for the money in the wake of my recent unexpected expenses, but I have to admit that I have absolutely zero enthusiasm to go to work every day. I'm just dragging my carcass around trying to muster the effort to not piss anyone off or get fired. Some part of me suspects they will once again offer to extend my employ at the end of the week, and I'm really dreading that... I shouldn't turn them down, but I'm not sure I have it in me to keep doing this any longer.

In other, happier news, the dates of my visit-slash-triumphant-return to Chicago are set at February 18th through March 4th. It would be earlier but I'm spending the week before babysitting for my younger sister while my parents vacation in Anguila. I haven't done nearly the amount of prep work with regards to job search as I had hoped to have completed by this stage, but then I was also expecting to have nothing else to do starting yesterday morning. I will get my act together about this if it kills me, because its my life, y'know? Its all that there is.

One final thought for the day. Jon S (or sleetfall, as he will likely henceforth be known in this journal) is officially my hero today for bringing this to my attention. I'm glad to see that the space nerd wing of the Tribe has not been totally handicapped by NASA's blind preference for planetary exploration, and also that there are people as excited about this whole anomaly thing as I am. Space... its big and full of stuff.