Slow Week

Very, very little is going on this week. I tried to sand my floor last night, but the newest sander I borrowed from Dad is just too heavy, and it didn't have any belts anyway. I worked with my cheap, way-too-weak Black & Decker sander for a while, but it was just too slow. I'm officially off work for the next two hours, so I think I might sneak to Home Depot before class starts and purchase a new sander. And some GFCI outlets. I need at least five for the bedroom. Maybe I need to make a shopping list -- I'm bound to need more than just the GFCIs themselves.

I should work in the garage on Friday, but I'm not sure I can talk myself into it. So much to do, and so little energy! At least I have a goal -- I must move back into the bedroom before it starts getting cold. I have about two weeks, I think.

(later)

Mission accomplished. I made it to Home Depot and Starbuck's between class and my office hours. I spent $79 for a three-pack GFCIs (thought I'd try these before purchasing more), sand paper (fine and medium) and a 3x18" belt sander. I hope the sander is tough enough for the job. It's a five pound sander, which sounds about right, but I'm afraid it will be too lightweight for the job. I really wanted a Mikita (buy quality!) but settled for the in-stock Ryobi. Tomorrow night we'll see if I made a good choice.



More work interruptions -- I've been notified that Saturday is annual Halloween photo day. That means I get to spend the afternoon taking pictures of Robin the Pirate, Ryan the Fish, and Lily the I Forget What. It will be a fun day filled with pictures and NO HOME IMPROVEMENTS!!! I miss the time, but it will be worth it. Last year's pictures were adorable. I hope the weather holds out for us.

(even later)

Gods, I wish I was somewhere else. Usually I'm content to be at school, but today I want O-U-T in the worst way. It's 6:25 PM, and I have one student in lab. He has a fairly easy project to complete. If no one else is here by 8:00 I'm outta here. (Please, please, please . . . . . )

Joined a new Internet service today -- booksfree.com. It's Netflix for books. They ship me two paperbacks at a time, and when I'm finished I ship back in prepaid mailers. No overdue fees, no remembering to drive to the library, no nothing. The bad news is that the selection isn't exactly overwhelming. They don't have Pulitzer-prize winner The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, or anything by David Sedris (Me Talk Pretty One Day), or even Like Water for Chocolate, which I thought was a sure hit. They do, however, have all the guilty-pleasure books I devour like chocolates and hate paying full retail for. Books like Robert Jordan's impossible Wheel of Time series. All David Webber's Honor Harrington books. All the Anita Blake novels. I'm sure I'll save at least a little money doing this -- it's only $8.99 a month, which will help me kick my $100 a month Barnes and Noble habit.

Another book-y thing -- I'm trying to get the division to sign up for InformIT's Safari bookshelf. It features online technical books. We can have up to ten books out at a time, and actually print chapters we find helpful. I'm hoping this is something our group at school will actually use, and that eventually we can get it for students as well as instructors. I've signed us up for a thirty-day trial, and hopefully we'll find it useful enough to continue using.