Tag: minneapolis

A housewarming gift only I could think of…

When I last left off about my visit to Amy & Rachel’s, we had just received the Jakeeno’s Pizza we’d ordered. We ordered a regular pizza with Italian sausage and also ordered one of their specialty pizzas – the Spinach Special. I gave Amy a bit more money so we could also get their artichoke dip. The pizza was tasty and the artichoke dip wasn’t as cheesy as we were expecting, but it was all good. We watched Willow while we munched (and drank – mmm mmm tasty amaretto sour). Then we decided to call mom & dad for a little bit. We started Tron as well, but Amy finally crashed so we went to bed. (Well, I worked on college stuff then turned in.)

On Monday, I worked on Amy’s laptop looking to see how best to speed it up. But it was cleared out pretty nicely, so I decided to start looking at RAM prices for their laptop (a Dell Inspiron 5160). Although I found some good prices online, I got to thinking that, if I could find a local store I could install the RAM for the girls. I asked Rachel if she thought a gift of 2GB of RAM for their laptop would be an appropriate housewarming gift. She thought so (especially coming from me) and told Amy, who also approved. I found a Micro Center which said they had the RAM in stock and it had a rebate attached (which I still need to send in). Rachel figured out how to get there, so we decided to go there, get some lunch, then get me to the airport. Sounded like a plan.

I researched how to install the RAM on the laptop and it looked pretty straightforward. Amy found a Phillips screwdriver that fit the screw in the back, so we packed the laptop up with the screwdriver in tow. I packed all of my stuff up (conveniently forgetting my jacket – whoops!) and the three of us headed down to Micro Center. Despite it being a Columbus, OH company, I’ve never been to one. Ah, I must go to one again. The salesman who helped us found two 1 GB sticks of the RAM and they confirmed the price for me and the existence of the rebate. And while in the checkout I saw they had a 16GB flash drive for $40, so I put that on my tab as well.

Amy & Rachel decided that Patrick’s would be ideal for lunch. It’s a French Patisserie which was on the way to the airport. I ordered a fruit tart (my favorite thing from any patisserie) and a ham & cheese croissant. Yummy! I installed the RAM once we were seated and the laptop started up without a hitch. Hopefully things are going a little faster for the girls now when they’re on it.

Rachel then drove us to the airport and dropped me off at the terminal. I hugged ’em both tight and thanked them once again for letting me stay. I’d had a blast visiting. Check in went smoothly and I was soon sitting and reading up on nanotechnology (from PDF files I’d saved to my laptop while at the girls’) in order to write my essay which was due by midnight that night.

During my Milwaukee layover, I wrote most of the essay. And when I finally got home, I looked after the kitties (they’d done well during my absence but they seemed to miss me), had supper (McDonald’s from the drive home), and then read through my essay, made some changes and finished it, then turned it in. Yay! Best of all? I got the highest grade so far on an essay for the semester with that one. Heh. 95%.

When I got to school the next day I found out that the sub had not destroyed my classroom, always a good sign. The week was a busy one with an egg drop contest in the middle. And yesterday the Fisher’s had several of my coworkers (and former coworkers) around for steaks. I brought two funny cakes (recipe from justspies) which I’d baked in the morning (very tasty – thanks justspies!) There were so many desserts that one was unmolested, so I brought it home and have it in the fridge hoping it’ll last until mom & dad get home Wednesday.

Today is laundry day. I’ve cleaned the kitchen and will soon need to bake brownies for a Information Fair & Social we’re having at the school tomorrow. I also have another essay to write (due tomorrow by midnight) and some stuff to read for college. So a busy day for Trina! We have only a four-day week this week (with kids) and the first quarter ends Thursday. Friday is a teacher work day to get grades and stuff done. So it’ll be a busy week! Will be nice to catch my breath next weekend (which I’m hoping I get to do).

Minnesota Geeking

Heh, after a good start to my July LJ posting, I sort of went off the rails again. Since judiang returned to Chicago, I’ve just been working during the day, pulling carpet & playing City of Heroes in the evening. The good news is that the living room carpet (which is really 3 rooms worth & a hallway) is now completely up. There are spots which are dark due to Leo, but most of the floor looks gorgeous. (Why they ever covered it with carpet I’ll never know!)

Anyhoo, yesterday after work, the folks drove me to Dayton International Airport and I flew to Minneapolis. (There was a layover in Detroit that lasted longer than it should thanks to a big thunderstorm cell, but I got to MN just the same. I thought about elsaf while I was waiting in her city.) Amy met me just outside the airport & drove me home. Rachel was already in bed (she had to work a little this morning) when we arrived, but she said “Hi!” and “Welcome” to me all the same. Fruvous (two dots over the first u) was not happy to see me, but he is a grumpy cat. Amy stayed up some to chat and then we both buggered off to bed.

I was still wired from the Coca Cola I’d had at lunch (not a caffeine person) when dad & I treated John, the county tech guy, to pizza at Al’s Pizza. So I lay there listening to Sleepers, the third album by GRIMMS. For 20 years or so I’ve been trying to get my hands on that album. I’ve been a Neil Innes fan for a LONG time and this had always been the Holy Grail of my record collection. Even when I became independently wealthy and scoured eBay, it always elluded my grasp. I’d think “OK, I’ll bid up to $40” when one would come up. It would go for more. Then I’d think on another one “OK, $50 this time!” and it would go for more. But thankfully, the album is now on CD! Yay! So I ordered it from amazon.co.uk and it arrived this week. I put it on my iPod and now I’ve listened to it. It’s quite good. Worth the wait? Haven’t decided yet. I’m just glad I have it now. 🙂

I didn’t sleep well last night (thanks caffeine) and got up when Rachel did. She headed off to work while Amy made me breakfast. Scrambled eggs with garlic, Swiss chard, torpedo onion tops, and a little mozarella. Home fries with torpedo onion bottoms, garlic, chard stalks and seasonings. Toast with an assortment of preserves. Juice and milk. Yum! Amy’s quite the gourmet.

The plan for today is to shop for wireless equipment (my belated birthday gift to the girls) and then do a stint in Ikea (my first time!) so I can look for furniture.