I apologize for not updating this more. Things have been pretty busy around here, as many things have transpired since Thanksgiving. At work I'm well on my way to getting bonus this month. I will be very happy if I make it(knock on wood). At our bi-weekly meeting, we came up with a plan to have a potluck dinner for our next meeting on the 22nd, and I've offered to make my famous fruit salad, and bring some egg nog. It was kinda tough getting people to offer up, as most of our team are nerds who don't know how to cook anything but toast. In fact one guy offered to bring s'mores pop-tarts, and he was serious too. The other guys did manage to come up with something they had a specialty for, and it looks like our main course is going to be chili, with a taco dip and other stuff. I think it'll turn out pretty good.

So work is going rather well, but on my way home Friday night, my car decided not to shift into 3rd gear. Previously, I was having trouble as my car would sometimes not shift until I revved to 3000rpms. I took this as an electrical problem as it was eerily similar to a car problem I had a year and a half back. Turns out that no, the car wasn't having an electrical problem, it was a leak in the transmission, and by the time I took it to the shop, I was down by 3 quarts(of 15 total), which wasn't bad, but bad enough to do damage. What did this event do for me? Well, the guy who looked at my car said he couldn't do much for me until Monday, but he'd do some research and try to find me a used transmission that had a guarantee. I had no way of getting to work, so I ended up calling in sick. I emailed everyone on my team at work to see if I could get a ride on Sunday... no such luck. No one lives near Lockport I guess. So I had to call in sick on Sunday too.

Monday rolls around, the day of my final chemistry exam, and I find out from the guy who checked my car that the best offer he could find was a transmission that had about 80k miles on it, good condition and it was guaranteed for 3 months or 20k miles. However, it would cost about $900 and with labor it would come to a total of $1600. The guy also told me that with all the other problems with the car(broken seat, oil leak though minor, and apparently a bad water pump), I was better off getting a new one that was inspected and ready to go for much less thank $1600. He said that his business was slow lately and he could have used my business, but he couldn't honestly recommend fixing the car up for what it was worth. I took his advice.

I stayed at my sister's place Monday, Tuesday, and part of Wednesday for several reasons. 1, she was dutifully unemployed and could run me to my exams, which she did. Also, her husband was a good mechanic and had connections to get good cars. Apparently he found a really good one, one that fit me well, and was in good condition, all for $1350. If you know me, you know how much I loved my Mercury Grand Marquis. That car was built like a tank, drove like a tank, and damn it plowed through several cars like a tank. Well my brother in law found me a 1997 Ford Crown Victoria, the Ford version of the Grand Marquis, and I tell you I fell in love with it. Turns out it's a former trooper car and you can see where the bubble gum lights and cage rack were uninstalled. It needs a console too(cup holders etc) but it is really nice. It accelerates like a beast and the speedometer goes all the way up to 140mph! So my sister helped me get the paperwork for the car loan, the plate transfer, and the insurance switchover. Things went rather well, and the car loan was for more than the car was worth, so I am planning on reinvesting that money back into the loan. Spiffy huh?

As for my exams, my final in Chemistry was an A+, missing only 1 point. How cool is that? For Oceanography, I have to wait until our esteemed professor returns from a seminar in California before I will find my grade for it, but I'm sure I did well.

In other news, remember that girl I mentioned before? The one who blew me off several times but still kept asking me to call her? Well she offered me a ride home after the exam, and she even gave me a Christmas card. Perhaps she is worth a second glance after all.

Stay tuned!