lenten promise & itunes wish list

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How is your lenten promise going? I am doing OK. Actually, as far as not buying whole albums, I am doing great! I am starting to listen to the singles I have downloaded and realize that I don't really some of them. This is good because I didn't buy a whole album that I might not enjoy. $.99 seems like a decent amount to pay to try something out.


Being at the bookstore was hard. Seeing all those books in real life, wanting to be touched and picked up. But I was good. No purchases for me. Not even a magazine.


Did you know you can set up a Wish List in iTunes? It's not an official Wish List but one you can throw in some songs to think about and perhaps purchase later. The first thing you do is open iTunes. Then set up a Playlist and title it Wish List. OK, you can title it whatever you want, but if you want a Wish List this seems like the most logical thing to do. I'm just saying.


Next, go into the iTunes Store and search for some music you want to buy but can't afford right now. Click on the title and drag it into your Wish List playlist. Now you will have that sample in your library. It's only 30 seconds long which is all they can allow without having to pay a royalty. When you are ready to purchase this track, you can just click the BUY NOW button. If you no longer want a track, just delete it.

hank is gone for another season

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032409-hank

My dad left yesterday to go back home in Michigan. He will stop in Georgia to stay with my sister for a couple of weeks. He will head to Kentucky to see my nephew and take him to dinner. Then he will go to Indiana to see his family. Finally, on to home. His goal is be back in Michigan by April 9.

Every time he leaves, he seems more frail. It really bothered me yesterday. He was torn between staying and going. I'm sure he would love to have his family around with his all the time. But then where would he stay in the winter? ;-)

We worry about each other. I worry that he is eating enough and not doing too much. He worries about our general welfare and my finances. I admit, I am not good at this money thing. I didn't have good examples. I have little willpower.

I read this quote on a blog and it struck home.

"There are two types of people...those who ask for directions and the others who find their way. Both may reach the destination but the satisfaction of the other kind is far greater." Dominik Silver


But I can't ask for help. I want to do it myself. And my dad is the same way.

So we worry about each other.

ben folds way to normal

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I've been listening to this the past week. I love Ben Folds. To me he is a great mix of Elton John, Billy Joel and Joe Jackson. He is a good storyteller and I like his self-deprecating humor. He tackles serious subjects as well as light hearted songs with equal aplomb. I like his range of serious versus light-hearted songs.

I know Way to Normal came out month ago but I just got around to listening to it. I like to burn a disk then listen to it in my car until I know the album back to front and back again. Though I tend to not notice how the songs load and end up burning the disk with the wrong song order. Sometimes it matters. I think it did here since Cologne (seeds version) and Cologne (piano orchestra version) play back to back on my disk. I couldn't figure it out the first time I heard it. Is this the same song? It seems a little different but the words seem the same. (I don't print anything for the CD so I am listening blind.)

After listening for a week, my favorite songs are Hiroshima, Cologne (seeds version), Free Coffee & Effington. Four stars.

arrival

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to read the first part of this story, click here: the decision

There were only 7 of us going on the trip, 6 students and Fred, our professor. Michael, Teré and I took a plane from Detroit to London. Then another to Frankfort. In Frankfort, we met Fred, Lori & Brad. Lori had her 100 pack of xacto blades confiscated by security. The next leg was much different. Even though it was still Pan Am, it looked and felt like we travelled back in time about 20 years. The plane was old and worn. The crew was old and worn as well as Polish. I would soon learn that everything was old and worn in Poland, even the new stuff.The flight was uneventful, the arrival, not so much. There was no jetway so we had to walk down the stairs outside, in the cold. It was February. At the top of the stairs was an armed guard counting the number of people who got off the plane. We walked into the terminal and collected our luggage. There were no carts so we had to carry, kick or drag it all ourselves across the dirty floor. We stood in queues in front of steel gray doors lining a tall wall that did not reach the ceiling. You walked through and realized you were in sort of a no man's land with another row of doors in front of you. This new wall also did not reach the ceiling but was too high to jump. And as the heavy door slammed shut behind you, you got this feeling there was no turning back. No escape until you served your time. Some of the polish professors and students met us once we were through customs. We then got on a bus and travelled to our dorm. I looked out at the gray. Not only was the February weather gray, but so was the city. Most of the buildings were built after the war. But they were falling apart. What did I expect?We pulled up to our dorm and I was happily surprised by this cheery yellow building. It didn't look new, but well-kept and nice. That old saying is true: Don't judge a book by its cover. The memory of the lobby has faded over time. I remember dirty beige. An elevator that mostly didn't work. Some phone booths that usually stood empty. Nothing cheery or inviting.We trudged up the stairs and there were plenty of people to help with the luggage. Bradley & Michael would have their own suite on the second (first) floor. The four of us girls would have a suite on the third (second) floor. Lori & Teré would share a room and I would share with Noppawan who would be arriving soon from Thailand.Each suite contained 2 bedrooms with 2 single beds, 2 bookshelves and one armoire. There was small bath, shower and sink but no toilet, and another room which had a counter and some cabinets. The communal toilets were down the hall to the left. The communal kitchens were down the hall to the right. There were no refrigerators, you had to buy what you needed each day.I should also note that the sheets threw us for a loop. There was a flat sheet and another sheet that seemed more like a pocket. But it wasn't big enough the slip over the mattress. How long did we go before we figured out that it was a duvet and we were supposed to fold those scratchy wool blankets inside and use the flat sheet on the mattress?One thing I regret was not taking more photos of everything. But I only had 16 or 18 rolls of film for 4 months. I had to ration it. Why would I want a reminder of all that gray?

garage sale

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I had a garage sale today. It wasn't my idea. Two weeks ago, my neighbors said they were going to have a garage sale and suggested I do one as well. Luckily, there wasn't much to do since I had most of the stuff still packed up from the last garage sale in late 2007. It's scrapbook stuff, older stuff that didn't sell online.

I emailed a couple of my friends and they told some friends, so I didn't have to advertise. I told my friends it began at 8 am and they told their friends it began at 9 am so they could have a head start. Nice.

Before I started, I needed some caffeine. (I was up some of the night coughing.) I ran to Starbucks and saw one friend waiting for me in the street. It was 7:45. One of L's friends showed up a few minutes later. I was glad I got set up the day before.

For the next 2 hours, it was busy. Then the main group of women had to leave to take their daughters to dance class. A few were going to First Watch for a late breakfast and invited me. It would have been good especially since my dad is here to watch the boys. But it was only 9:30 and I had planned to stay open until noon.

It was busier than I expected. A couple people came back for a second go at the goods. And H came back with a breakfast from First Watch for me. Sweet. (I gave my dad the bacon.)

032109-money



I would have closed up early but one woman, a friend of L's came back and bought a bunch more. I made $310, well $307 after I gave the quarters to the boys.

I will have to make up some more paper packets for the next sale.