Somehow, from where I'm sitting right now (mentally, if not physically) my life seems significantly more interesting than it has for the past few weeks. I would hate to think that this opinion stemmed from any of the changes that have occurred or will occur in the next few weeks to months. On the other hand, some of it is rather new, as far as my life goes. For the sake of tabulation, I shall now go to wicked awesome bullet form.
- Steve is getting a new car. This really shouldn't be on the top of the list but I thought of it first, and it should be pretty neat. He's sizing up the 2006 Scion TC, starting with this week's trips to Dover and Easton dealerships. He likes the horsepower, and is even considering a manual, despite the practicality of an automatic for city driving. However, it's pretty much between that and a Corolla S, which is too similar to his current '94 Corolla for his liking. On the other hand, the Scion TC is about the same price, and only slightly less practical in terms of back seat room, trunk space, and gas mileage. Since he has done his homework (and the TC is a pretty cool car anyway) I hope he goes for it. And not just so I can ride in it.
- Related: my own car-buying odyssey continues. I did a search online and came up with a '99 Corolla with about 90k miles for $4600, which is pretty close to what I wanted. I certainly do like the RAV4 that I use now, but it's not fair of me to take it from Mom. She got a good deal, and I might capitalize on it when she's ready to move on, but not before. Thus, assuming the car remains for sale and I get a job soon, I'll be looking into that in the next few weeks.
- Too much cars. Hm. Well, Dad left. Not much to say about that. He hasn't yet said goodbye to me once (if you don't count a "I'm leaving sometime soon" over lunch like a week ago, which I don't). I haven't bothered to keep count but it's at least the fifth time he's gone, maybe more. Mom takes it better each time in terms of outward emotional distress, but also gets more grimly objective in a way that kind of scares me. I got more pissed over the fact that he left while I was at work than his actual leaving, but that might just have been the focal point. Regardless, I ended up on a sort of autopilot that only let me dwell on it for a little while before moving on. I started thinking about how to make Mom feel better, and I lifted weights for a while, both of which are healthy ways to feel better (and I didn't even plan it!). This will probably take more coming-to-terms in the next few days and weeks, but it will be same-old again by October or November.
- Now I've got myself in a bit more of a bummer than I intended, so it's on to something better. Jobs! The NIH seems to like my application significantly, especially since most intelligent people who want work in the fall don't apply in the middle of the summer, but rather the early spring. Still, a lab contacted me a while ago (from whom I have subsequently heard nothing, but that's ok) and I have interviewed with a second. I am waiting on notice from the head researcher whether he will have enough money to fund another student, but in the meantime, a third lab has expressed interest in me, and asked me to interview. I hope I continue to be this popular with admissions people when I apply to grad school, or to jobs after grad school. Which reminds me, I need to look for grad schools starting soon. Rats. Anyway, it looks like I will get to put my talents to use this year, instead of working at Acme or something. Three cheers for NIH!
- Quite conversely, I have to deal with my current fabulous job ending soon. It happens that today was warm and sunny, though the water was a little too refreshing. A student's teenage sister also came along today, and spent an hour or so sunning in a bikini on a chaise lounge. I was quite honestly too busy to get out of the pool for most of that time, as today was the testing day to see if the students pass their swimming level, but a certain friend who hung out at the pool yesterday (and who is allowed to look!) might have appreciated it. I will miss being able to get away with spending two to three hours in a pool four days a week, and I will also miss getting paid for that time. However, I think I will most miss the unique teaching opportunity this job represents. Most people have to dedicate significantly more time than one evening of training to teach elementary and middle school students, and most of them have to dedicate more than just 8 weeks to teaching. Most teachers also have somewhat less interesting material that students must learn, whereas it is hard to single out any one thing that we did all summer that wasn't fun somehow. (I might argue that the breaststroke was a waste of time, but then learning the elementary backstroke and sidestroke made up for it.) Besides providing novel teaching experiences, this job also made me a better swimmer, gave me a fabulous tan (with no shirt lines this year!), and has probably left me in better shape. Sure, I'm poorer than I've been in months, but it was worth it. Swimming Instructor Aide fo' life.
I was going to think about what electronics I need to buy (or replace) once I start making actual spending money, but this post is plenty long enough and I think I would like to waste my time on something relatively brainless for a while. The only question is, where to start?
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