ip 88

This isn't me.

my leg is still dead

For those who have been wondering, I did go to health services to get my leg looked at. It was a disappointing experience. I went expected to have a clear diagnosis and prognosis.

I expected to hear something that I didn't know. Instead, I found myself trying to convince the doctor that I didn't get kicked on the back of my leg. He termed my injury "unusual" because there usually isn't any bruising by the skin if it is a hamstring pull/strain. OK. Great. (He actually tried to talk me into thinking that someone hit me "in the heat of the moment." Then I recalled that I wasn't running, I was jumping... more on that later)

So what does all this mean for me? Nothing. All I was told is that it's a bruise, it should go away in a bit, and don't do anything with the leg for a couple of weeks. Um... great. I asked him whether I should be concerned that I can't really walk right... whether I should be concerned with the pain that I get when I stand up after sitting or lying down for a while. For each inquiry I got the evasive "it's a bruise... it will go away" response. Eventually I got him to dish out the "if it's still bothering you in two weeks, come back." I am awed by their wisdom. Thanks. At least it was free.

I'm still at a loss to explain how this all happenned. I don't really need something to pin this on, but it would be nice. Here's my latest theory: I recall this happened when I jumped, and the doc mentioned that another possible cause why hyperextension. Sure, he also said that I would have destroyed my knee in that situation, but I was jumping. Jumping! Those medium-height ultimate frisbee players who have been unlucky enough to jump against me for a disc know that I have hops. (Tall people are just tall... they can push me aside while I'm in mid-air... or I might collide with their elbows) I'm 5'6" and I can touch the rim of a 10' basketball hoop. My goal was to dunk, but I guess if my jumps are too powerful for my hamstring, I should give it a rest.

And apartment F3 is working out just fine. How's the project going?

update

A few updates... so last night I was over at the Yale farm just down the street from where I live picking tomatoes for some freshly made pizza.

What else? I'm going to Costa Rica in January. Yes, it's part of school. Paid for by student loans!

Pulled hamstring

To prove that I wasn't making up the story as an excuse to not go to the gym.

hammy, half.com hijinx

I've been busy. I've been trying to balance school, social, athletics, etc. Tough? It just got easier. On Sunday I pulled up lame while playing ultimate frisbee.

Hopes and fears? Hey, as long as I'm healthy enough to ski this winter, I'm happy. I missed out last year due to the whole hernia fiasco and I wouldn't want to waste what could be a perfectly good winter because of some freak injury. (Yes, freak injury. I've been doing conditioning and strength training... it's supposed to shield me from this kind of stuff, right? If it could only be that perfect). In the meantime, it means that I'll have another few hours a week to do other stuff since I won't be playing ultimate on Sunday and I also won't be going to the gym. No, I'm not going ot the gym. There's no point in going unless it's to do a leg workout to save my knees. But since my leg is screwed up, I can't do that. I'm not going.

OK... so half.com hijinx. I like half.com. I've saved a ton of money getting books there, and I wanted to do the same thing this year. However, this time around I ended up dealing with this jackass who advertised a book as "Like New." Here's the quote: "Like Newgreat book." I ordered the book On August 15th, plenty of time for it to get here by the end of August when classes start.

Long story shorter, I finally got the book today. I e-mailed the guy on the 8th and he said that he'd send it later that week or early this week. I guess I was happy he even responded because in the listed he said "FAST SHIP SAME DAY." He mentioned that he was out of the country for a week and a half. Fine. I finally received the book today, almost a full month after I initially ordered it and paid for it. Now for the next part of the saga....

The book is in shitty condition. That's my opinion though. Let me me know what you think. The cover looks worn. It has had several stickers placed on the cover that have been fully or partially removed. There is writing on the inside of the cover. There is highlighting (pink and yellow) in chapters 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7. The corners of the cover are worn to the point where you can see the cardboard. Is this "Like New?"

One of the concepts we've talked about in the Economics course that I bought the book for was the concept of a substitutable good. I was looking for a New or Like New book. This book was being sold as a substitute for a book of that condition and it wasn't. Not a substitutable good. I want me $8.70 back. I'll even send the book back, but I want them to pay for the shipping. Jerk.

In the meantime, I've decided to buy a 6th edition book (in full color). Should be here in a few days.

gas

I haven't bought any gas since August 13th, 2006. And that was in Pennsylvania when I was moving to New Haven.

What would really be crazy is if I didn't get any gas until Thanksgiving. We all know that isn't happening. I'll find some excuse to go to Montreal or something...

titan magazines

Wow... Check them out:
http://www.titanmagazines.com

Not only do they have a magazine for the show "24", but they also have a magazine for Bratz. Why doesn't anyone tell me about these things? If I had only known sooner...

price rite

So after moving to New Haven, I've been on a quest to find the best place to shop. I go to Trader Joe's, but that's a bit far away and they don't carry everything that I need. But, I think I've found a solution...

The first place I went to was Shaw's. Big bright store, complete with obscenely high prices. Not for me. Then I went to Super Stop N Shop. Big bright store, complete with crappy prices. Then yesterday, I went to Price Rite, which is on Dixwell Ave by the Wilbur Cross Highway. Crowded, no shelving, pay for your own bags. BUT, they're dirt cheap, and they also a pretty good selection of foods for people with a more ethnic palate. (Let's just say that a third of their products are from Goya, and they sell at least four types of bananas) I love it.

And for those who are in Cleveland, yes, it's even cheaper than Marc's. A quick rundown....

• 1 gallon of skim milk - $1.99
• 96 oz of orange juice (Florida Natural or Tropicana) - $3.49
• Ramen - $0.13
• Pita - $.0.50
• Twin pack of Country Crock margarine - $1.19
• 2 liter of Coke - $0.69

update

Wow. A number of things have happened since the last time I posted. I'll try to cover most of it, but I'll probably leave out half too... (for the sake of brevity)

So last Thursday we went on an excursion to NYC where we visited the Yale Club as well as the New York Stock Exchange. The Yale Club was very nice, and I'm considering becoming a member at least for this year just in case I'm ever in NYC. This goes with my current strategy of outdoing everything for now, just to see what it's like. I did a similar thing with the gym with the platinum locker and the towel service. We'll see how that works out.

But back to the NYSE. We rented out the trading floor for drinks that evening. It was a bit unreal being on the floor of the NYSE drinking Coors Light of all things. Yes, I could have gotten a glass of wine, or at least a Heineken, but I wanted to keep it real so I had a Coors Light. Rocky Mountain cold!

weird dreams

Two actually... the first was that I came back to my blog and there were two comments for one of my posts. One was a scathing comment from a new classmate of mine over my incredibly stupid post. I don't remember what it was that I wrote in the dream, but I do recall that it dealt with repeating some nonsense over and over and over again (occassionally in ALL CAPS). I guess it was supposed to be funny? And the other comment was a quick post that said that I rock.

Second weird dream - I was in a study group with Kate. Why weird? I'm dreaming about styudy groups and class hasn't even started yet!

By the way, great party last night!

day one

So today was my first day back as a student. Got my student ID, yada yada yada.

Some of the more unique highlights of the day:

• The entire class singing Happy Birthday to the youngest member of our class (who was celebrating her 22nd birthday)
• Riding a school bus to Lighthouse Point Park, and riding in the seat all the way in the back (best seat on the bus!)
• Playing a random pickup game of ultimate on the beach (although briefly)
  

Apt F3

For those of you who are wondering (especially all y'all over in Cleveland), I'm happy to say that I've been able to make it over here to New Haven in one piece. Granted, it's not as easy as it sounds. I had a nice potential near-death experience on the way here. I'll get to that later. Orientation starts tomorrow, so I'm about to head over to the "last night of freedom" party a few streets over. And thanks, Sumana, for the text message. (-; (Sadly, I wasn't able to locate any eggplant chutney at Trader Joe's)

More importantantly, the general update. I've moved in, and I'm settling in quite nicely. Busy though, so I haven't been able to upload any pictures. Hey, I haven't even had a chance to upload my Memorial Day weekend pics, much less my Canadian Rockies pics, or even my er... really really old pics from random trips years ago. I'll get around to it... eventually...

Oh... and Marcia wanted me to let you all know how many times I've been to Target in the last week. I think it's been five. Awesome. Sam's Club thrice. Trader Joe's twice. Wal-Mart once (and I still really hate the place.... the one here is just as chaotic... and I didn't notice it being any cheaper than Target either). So yes, lots of shopping. But at least I'm learning my way around.

And I still have half a tank of gas from when I was in PA. (-:

yet another car payment

So I was about to change my oil today when I decided that I should probably check my brakes. Next thing I know, I need new brake pads, new calipers, and a new caliper bracket. Then again, I suppose I should be happy that I discover this now instead of while I'm in New Haven. Now I can continue to exploit the free ethnic labour that I've been taking advantage of the past few years. Sweet!

Oh wait... I'm the free ethnic labour. Damn.. I'll report the total cost later. My guess is that it'll be about $250 or so when all is said and done. Hopefully less. I wasn't really paying too much attention to the price when I ordered the parts over the phone today. Either way it's cheaper than taking it someplace to get fixed, and it's probably no less convenient either. I get to work around my schedule, not theirs.

cleveland rocks!

Cleveland Rocks... safely...

weird dream

So last night was my going away bash for Progressive. End result? I got a cool hat, some Superman ballons, and some weird dreams. Thanks to everyone who came out. I had a great time. It's been a great experience working with all of you, and my only regret is that I haven't had a chance to work with some of you more.

So... weird dream?
Basically it managed to combine fruit snacks, Sprite, toilets, and contests. I was totally confused in the dream, so there's no way it'll make sense in reality, but here goes. It was some contest sponsored by the fruit snack people and the Sprite people. To submit your entry you needed to get a can of Sprite (not a bottle), drink it till there's about 1cm of Sprite left on the bottom, chuck three fruit snacks in (I think they were Shark Bites), and then submit them by flushing the can down a toilet.

So how on earth can a can be flushed down a toilet? I gave it several attempts. In one of my earlier, more memorable attempts, I flushed first, then tried to chuck in the can as the water was exiting. Somehow, the can got rejected and got ejected several feet up in the air. Luckily, I was able to catch it. I also tried filling the entire can up with Sprite, which didn't work. Neither did substituting ginger ale for the Sprite... or using a Sunkist can. Obviously some fantastic reasoning skills at work here. Apparently the "real" way of submitting was to push the can down the hole as far as it can easily go, then flush. I never tried this because I didn't think it would work. Yes, fantastic reasoning skills at work. (-:

citibank dividend's card

So Citibank sent me a letter telling me that since I've been such a great customer they'd like to offer me some extra incentives. Great! So what do they offer? A lower APR on purchases, having my cash back automatically credited to my statement, or earning points towards more rewards.

After some thought, I decided to take the additional rewards since the other two options don't give me any additional money in return. I pay my balance in full, and I think I'd rather take a few dollars back and deal with the small inconvenience of having to cash a $50 check every once in a while.

So I call them up. When I talked to the rep, she told me that instead of those options I could get a full 5% back on ALL purchases for 3 months. Hrm... sounds like a good deal to me. So I signed up. I have a feeling this would come in handy when I pay rent... and when I buy stuff for my new apartment. (-:

roi

1 foot of emissions hose replaced: $2

2-3 gallons of gas saved: $6 - $9

Somehow I managed to drive from Cleveland to DC on just 12 gallons of gas, an impressive 32.35 mpg. What's up with that?

ooh... how safe

To Graduate and Professional Students:

I am writing to let you know of an attempted robbery and shooting last night involving four graduate and professional students in the yard of a house located at Mansfield and Tilton Streets. The students were approached by a man wearing a mask with a handgun who demanded money. In the ensuing struggle, the gun was fired and one of the students was injured. He is recuperating in the hospital. Yale and New Haven police have arrested the man, and he is now in the custody of the New Haven police.

While this incident is not part of a pattern of crime, it is most serious, and I urge those of you in New Haven this summer to exercise caution. Call us immediately if you feel unsafe or see anything or anyone that is suspicious, by dialing 911 or 203-432-4400. You may wish to program these numbers in your cell phones.

Sincerely,
Chief James Perrotti

burn cream, part deux

So, days after I managed to burn myself while cooking some pierogies, my finger seems fine. There's a slight mark, but other than that the burn cream worked like a charm.

How well did it work? Well enough for me to burn myself again! This time instead of a small burn, I decided to splatter some hot cooking oil on my hand. About 20 times bigger than the last one!

Really, it was accidental. I clearly lack the experience of those who work at Long John Silvers, as I burned myself while frying up some talipia fillets. I'll um... be more careful next time.

driving news

First of all, I made an estimate of the amount of time I drove during my last trip to Canada. Over 8 days, I drove approximately 40 hours. Nice.

Secondly, I got a letter today from the Ohio BMV telling me that I got a ticket from NJ and that it was going onto my record. Too bad I don't have a license in Ohio anymore!