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Beth was there.
May. 7th, 2012
12:07 am - Thirty-six down, three hundred twenty-four to go
Another mortgage payment has been made. There are 324* to go.
*With extra paid towards my principle, my calculations show me having 318 to go, but I'm going to continue with the original schedule for these calculations.
I now own 7.76% of my house (91.02 square feet, so I own my my kitchen, my den closet and my utility room closet) and have paid off 6.06% of my loan. I paid $1.04 more** towards my balance than I did last month.
**This is not including any extra paid towards the principle. This is the amount of principle from the regular payment.
In under 27 years, I should own a house! That's right, folks, three years have been complete of my 30-year obligation!
Tags: house, mortgage
Apr. 21st, 2012
02:44 pm - Reality can be more entertaining
Let me set the scene. Steve is in charge of warehouse business, Sara works under him. Steve is new to candy, having mostly worked with non-food items prior. They are meeting with a broker regarding Valentine Candy. This particular broker deals mostly with food vendors, as evidenced by the random food product surrounding the room (candy, baby food, snacks, etc.). As the meeting ends, the broker is offering if they need anything. Sara decides she needs to bring something back for the higher-ups at the warehouse. She thinks they like almonds. She turns to Steve.
Sara: You'd know better than I would what they'd want.
Steve: Actually, no. They didn't really ask for a lot from my vendors. It's not like they come by and ask for back-scratchers.
Random Guy Walking By, popping his head into the room: Did someone say "back-scratchers"?
To make a short story even shorter, this happened in a meeting I was in this afternoon. I now own a back-scratcher. The guy came back in about thirty seconds with at least ten back-scratchers. He gave us each one. We don't know who he is or why he had back-scratchers. (Clearly, the broker we work with knew who he was, but we don't know. Nor do we know why he had back-scratchers. But I do know that now I can scratch my own back. Score!)
Valentine's Meetings are now over with (woo!). In many ways, meeting with vendors is the coolest part of the job. I like it. I learn a lot, and hey, it's pretty awesome when they expect you to eat candy for your job! On the other hand, it's a week straight away from my desk, and since I don't have a laptop, I really am out of the loop on life in the office.
Another fun fact is that my boss doesn't do "cute." I *know* when they show us a box of candy with googly eyes, he's going to roll his eyes. Stuffed animals, same thing. I did learn in these meetings that he is more tolerant of Disney Princesses than Hello Kitty. I think Hello Kitty is the bane of his existence.
And another fun story: We all know the box of candy that comes in a heart-shaped box that's covered in lace and ribbons and has a fake flower on it. In a meeting today, my boss referred to the box as "the prostitute box." I do love my job!
Apr. 17th, 2012
09:29 pm - Baker Presser Guesses
On April 11, 2012, it was announced late in the afternoon that Twins pitcher Scott Baker and Twins General Manager Terry Ryan would hold a press conference.
Baker had been having elbow problems dating back to the previous season, and had just gone for a second opinion MRI on said elbow. We all knew it wasn't going to be good news. After wailing and gnashing of teeth, someone jokingly suggested that maybe it wasn't bad news! Maybe it was something unrelated to the elbow...which started a whole Twitter hashtag about "Baker Presser Guesses." (Hashtags on Twitter are simply a way for people to show their writing is related to a topic in general.)
While it was a tragic moment in my life, because I love Scott Baker dearly, this added some awesome levity, recorded here for me. This will bore you, but it made me laugh.
Seth Kaplan: Scott Baker is taking his talents to South Beach.
Seth Kaplan: Scott Baker won the MegaMillions jackpot. (Note: this was within a few days of the announcement that two people had won an outrageous lottery jackpot.)
David Hermann: Baker is what Willis was talking about.
Parker Hageman: Scott Baker has found Bigfoot.
Seth Kaplan: Scott Baker is going to be a greenhorn on the Cornelia Marie for this season's "Deadliest Catch"
Adam Chose: Scott Baker respects Castro too (Note: this was also within a few days of Ozzie Guillen getting in trouble with Miami for saying he loved Castro. It should be noted that he just respected the fact that Castro stayed in power so long, not his politics. But the people tended to ignore that.)
Trevor Jepma: Baker's grandpa died and he's inherited Target Field and the Twins. Going to name himself manager. (Note: Watch Little Big League.)
Parker Hageman: Scott Baker is accepting a position as the new CEO of Best Buy. (Note: Best Buy, a Minnesota-based company, had just announced that its CEO was stepping down; not long before they announced major layoffs, as well.)
Pete Scholl: That Baker is the new starting RF
David: Baker is Romney's running mate.
The Bat Shatters: He's going to announce he was the first to throw a perfect game in MLB 2K12
Travis: He and Terry Ryan are announcing a brad new local craft beer called "Moonshot Scott" (Note: in reference to new local beers being announced as for sale at Target Field, as well as Scott's propensity for giving up home runs.)
Ben Collins: Scott Baker was also on Bobby Petrino's motorcycle
David Schubert: Baker to accuse Liriano of stealing his toiletries on a daily basis in Florida.
Dave_MN: Scott Baker is going to announce that he just doesn't like Surly's new Target Field brew very much. (Note: Surly is one of the local beer makers.)
Bob Bohland: Scott Baker was faked his birth certificate and is actually only 14 (Note: This is in reference to Baker's youthful-looking face. He's 30, but he'd fit into the average high school class in looks. Incidentally, someone asked if the doctor added 10 years to his face when he was under the knife.)
Bill Grant: Scott Baker is the one armed man.
The Bat Shatters: During his 2nd opinion, his right arm fell off
Bob Bohland: Scott Baker wants to bat, demands to trade to National League.
Bob Bohland: Scott Baker says he can play middle infield better than Carrol or Casilla
Ben Collins: Scott Baker said he liked Kevin Slowey and now has to apologize
Parker Hageman: Scott Baker will announce that he did not kill that woman.
Logan Patrick: Scott Baker will now pitch left-handed.
Chris Schad: Maybe they're announcing he's on the cover of Madden.
Helen Fagrelius: Baker and Terry Ryan announce Michael Cuddyer will return to the Twins pitching staff. (Note: Michael Cuddyer left the Twins for the Rockies in 2012. Cuddyer was the Twins right-fielder (and first baseman, etc.), but did come in to pitch for one inning in 2011.)
Dave_MN: Scott Baker is going to announce that he was "going to get a cold pop" when he hurt himself.
Bob Bohland: Scott Baker to announce that he is eligible for the NHL draft, hoping the MN Wild draft him.
David Slifka: Scott Baker will announce he's giving up Spam.
The Bat Shatters: Baker to announce he was the one who kidnapped Wilson Ramos (Wilson Ramos is a former Twins catcher who was kidnapped in his native land and held hostage for a while; he was safely returned).
Pete Scholl: Scott Baker will announce that the Pavano stache will be making a triumphant return.
Newbie: The Scott Baker press conference has been cancelled. He just didn't feel comfortable in the pre-presser.
Seth Kaplan: Scott Baker has raised the money to build the new Vikings stadium.
Nick Nelson: Scott Baker is dropping out of the GOP presidential race.
myjah: Scott Baker has bilateral arm weakness.
Jed Philips: Baker is announcing he was the lone gunman in JFK's assassination.
Ben: He's giving up baseball to be a dancer.
Damon Kimble: He is the Limdbergh baby.
Karlee Kanz: Scott Baker announces he's actually LHP Scott Baker. (Note: Scott Baker in question here is a right-handed pitcher, but Karlee often jokes about a pitcher from years ago who was also named Scott Baker, but was left-handed. This was probably my favorite one, just because of the history of it.)
The surgery announced was some sort of cleanup on a tendon or something. No big deal. Lost for the season (6 month recovery), but he should've been back easily by next year. However, today it was announced that while the doctor was doing the surgery, he discovered the UCL was damaged and performed Tommy John surgery, which has a 12-18 month recover time. As my friend Ryan Henning said, "Also, a surprise Tommy John surgery is the most Twins thing to ever happen."
Apr. 9th, 2012
09:53 pm - Thirty-five down, three hundred twenty five to go
Another mortgage payment has been made. There are 325* to go.
I now own 7.59% of my house (86.84 square feet, so I own my my kitchen and my den closet and my linen closet) and have paid off 5.90% of my loan. I paid $1.16 more** towards my balance than I did last month.
**This is not including any extra paid towards the principle. This is the amount of principle from the regular payment.
In under 28 years, I should own a house!
Mar. 19th, 2012
08:34 pm - Worst Zombie Movie Ever
I think we're all aware of the music shuffle games often played by teenagers/college students. It's a variation on games we played as kids (i.e., MASH. I'm sure my parents' generation had their own similar silly games, too). The idea is that the descriptors are given, and you put your iPod on shuffle, and as the songs come up, in order, that's the song that goes with it. For example, if the theme was "your wedding" one might be "song as the bride walks down the aisle". No matter what song is next is the song you'll walk down the aisle to, even if it's the Impirial March from Star Wars*.
Well, I came across one today, and wanting to procrastinate, I decided to do it. However, this was coming up with your Zombie Movie Soundtrack. I did it. Let's just say when it comes to zombie movies, mine would be the weirdest zombie movie ever. This is probably for the best, because zombie movies are scary, and I'm scared by pretty much everything. I sincerely doubt no matter how great the script and acting are, they can't cover the comedy value of the soundtrack. So, without further ado (because there's been enough already)...
Beth's Zombie Movie, the Soundtrack
1. Overall theme: Everything's Alright, Sarah Brightman
2. Song played when you kill your first zombie: Blitzkreig Bop, The Ramones
3. Song played as you're chased by the hoard: The Reflx, Duran Duran
4. Song played as you're forced to kill your loved one: Friday, I'm in Love, The Cure
5. Song played as you find a new love interest: She'll Leave You With a Smile, George Strait
6. Song played as you make your final stand: 1, 2, 3, 4, Plain White Tees
7. Song played when you think you've made it: I'll Be There for You, The Rembrandts
8. Song played as you discover the bite mark: Amigos Para Siempre, Jose Carreras and Sarah Brightman
And there you have it. Someone really needs to write the script to go with this. (As an aside, I did this using my iPhone, so my music collection is more limited. Interestingly, as a couple of these songs came up, I was surprised that they were on my phone.)
What other games like this did you play when you were younger, pre-modern-technology?
*I've never seen Star Wars, but if I ever get married, I want to walk down the aisle to that song. Yes, I'm well aware it's not the most appropriate wedding song for a non-Star Wars geek, but it would make me giggle.
Mar. 3rd, 2012
01:21 am - Thirty-four down, three hundred twenty-six to go
Another mortgage payment has been made. There are 326* to go.
I now own 7.40% of my house (86.84 square feet, so I own my my kitchen and almost all of the den closet) and have paid off 5.69% of my loan. I paid $1.03 more** towards my balance than I did last month.
**This is not including any extra paid towards the principle. This is the amount of principle from the regular payment.
In under 28 years, I should own a house!
Feb. 4th, 2012
11:44 am - Thirty-three down, three hundred twenty-seven to go
Another mortgage payment has been made. There are 327* to go.
I now own 7.23% of my house (84.86 square feet, so I own my entire bathroom, plus the bottom of my stairwell area) and have paid off 5.52% of my loan. I paid $1.04 more** towards my balance than I did last month.
**This is not including any extra paid towards the principle. This is the amount of principle from the regular payment.
In under 28 years, I should own a house!
Jan. 7th, 2012
08:08 am - Thirty-two down, three hundred twenty-eight to go
Another mortgage payment has been made. There are 328* to go.
I now own 7.07% of my house (82.89 square feet, so I own my entire kitchen, plus my utility room closet) and have paid off 5.35% of my loan. I paid $1.03 more** towards my balance than I did last month.
**This is not including any extra paid towards the principle. This is the amount of principle from the regular payment.
In under 28 years, I should own a house!
Edited: 2/4 to correct the extra towards the balance. Originally said $1.01 due to mistake on spreadsheet.
Dec. 21st, 2011
11:43 pm - No words.
It was a year ago today I got the call at work from my dad. He was tripping over his words and talking too fast--which is not at all normal for my dad. My cousin committed suicide the night before.
We don't know why. We don't know what made him do it. We can speculate until the cows come home, but since we don't have cows, we'll never know. What I do know is how much his mom and brothers hurt, and naturally still do. As do the rest of us.
One of my favorite quotes about suicide came from a guy's twitter post about his brother's suicide, that said something like, "We don't know how many times he kept going for one more day." And we don't know. (We also don't know if it was a sudden decision, either. He left us with nothing.)
I don't know anything. All I know is that Joe won't be joining us on New Year's for a family get-together. But I wish he were.
And please, if you know anyone depressed, remind them that you love them.
I love you.
Dec. 3rd, 2011
12:52 pm - Failure of Microsoft Help
I'm working on some VBA programming in Microsoft Word. I wanted to know the options of the "paste special" function, because I need something to be copied from one document into another, but it needs to be pasted specially. So I looked it up in the help function, because that's what it's there for. So I looked up the "Data Type" because I need it pasted as unformatted text. Help helpfully tells me that parameters of the Data Type are of the "WdPasteDataType" constant. Perfect. But what's the type that I need?
Do you know that these days with computers, you can insert links to things that are related? For example, if I were talking about Microsoft Word, and you decided you wanted to buy it, I could tell you that you could get it at the Microsoft Web Site and it's a Microsoft Office product. You, having lived under a rock for your entire life and being new to computers, would then have to open a new browser page, search for Microsoft's web site, and then search for Office. However, the cool new feature of the web means I can tell you that you could buy Microsoft Word at Microsoft Word.
Microsoft hasn't worked out links yet. Because in my example from the first paragraph, I can't just click on "WdPasteDataType" to find the data type I need. I have to copy that, and search for that separately. It would be so handy, if even a pop-up box would appear telling me the options. I know it's not a lot of time, but when you're trying to program things, it's taking up extra time and brain resources on mundane tasks that could be better used for logical thinking.
But now I have to get back to work. I want to get this done in the next hour or two.
Microsoft, I appreciate that you have the help function, but making it active would make my life easier. And, yes, it's all about me. It's my blog after all.
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