wahlstrom visit

I went out to St. Peter with Craig and Virginia today. We went and had dinner with their Mom, then off to see Wahlstrom and for the decomissioning ceremony thing. There were still seniors in the dorm as tomorrow is graduation. We got there a bit early and wandered through the dorm. We went in the front door, and over to 202. There were some nice gamer/computer geek boys living there. We talked with them about having lived there, well Craig lived there, I just visited a lot, and how it had been gamer geeks in there for as far back as anybody we knew remembered which was the late 80s. That's an eternity for them, since they all started kindergarten about then.

I also trotted up and looked at 203, which is where I lived my sophomore year, and then we went down through the lounges and the kitchen, breakfast room 007, the laundry room. It was all very much like it was when we were there. It's been painted white everywhere since then. The sections and hallways still had a bit of color when I left, but the white was spreading. Apparently it's the plumbing and other mechanicals as well as the asbestos in the construction that is causing them to close the dorm. However it's design is being used to influence the new dorm SouthWest Hall, which is right over by Olin.

Also we got a little lecture on the history of the dorm. Most occupants per room ever 2. It was originally started as a women's dorm. Then when funding faltered, and the government was giving loans to build dorms for returning solders they took that money to finish it. So the first year it was occupied half was still under construciton. The year it was done it went to being a women's dorm. So all those stories about 3 or 6 soldiers to an 8x10 room are just wrong. That the design was Army, also wrong. There were a LOT of early occupants on hand as the class of 1955 was having it's reunion, and there were people there from classes as far back as '47.

I'm glad I went. Craig recorded most of the audio, and took the pictures, so we'll see what he's got available.

chore update

1: go place order for carpet, there was a clear winner when people were given the choices.
2: rent rug doctor, clean my bedroom and traffic areas in the rest of the house
3: remove the rest of the baseboards in the room getting the carpet
4: replant shrubs out front
5: plant some flowers in the beds out front
6: pretty up the front step
7: place order for cabinets (which means deciding on cabinets)
8: fix finish nailer
9: nate's gaming party
10: wahlstrom decommissioning and lunch with C and V
11: install all white outlets, switches, wall plates, and switch plates in the blue room
12: buy and install white toilet in brown bathroom.
13: any remaining touch up painting in the blue room
14: hem toad's pants
15: do laundry
16: Go see CW and perform random bits of woodworking


Well today wasn't really as productive with house stuff as a person could hope, but I did get to go do some fun things. Tomorrow we'll see if I get to the hardware store or not. I'll definately get the carpet cleaned.

Shopping list:
10 outlets, 3 prong white
10 outlet covers white
2 white light switches (maybe the glowing kind)
2 white switch plates
1 toilet white
carpet, pad & installation for back room 13x19 roughly
cabinets for back room
18 patio bricks for front step

Serenity

Serenity The trailer is here!

Last night I went and saw a prerelease showing of Serenity. Joss Whedon's new movie. When it opens in September GO SEE IT! It's in the Firefly story line. If you haven't seen Firefly yet and know me in person ask I have it on DVD and I loan it out. Yep that's me pusher of Firefly.

Ron Glass who plays Shepard Book was in at the showing and signing little promo posters.

There was also an opening bit with Joss talking about the movie and how it shouldn't exist.

How did I get to see this showing? Betsy got tickets. She rules. I don't know how she did it. I do have to say I reconginzed probably 1/3 of all the people in the theater as local fans though.

This website has information about the movie.

While I was at the green house today I met a really nice greenhouse employee. She was perky and friendly, and helpful, and gave me her number. Hmmm.

chore update

1: go place order for carpet, there was a clear winner when people were given the choices.
2: rent rug doctor, clean my bedroom and traffic areas in the rest of the house
3: remove the rest of the baseboards in the room getting the carpet
4: replant shrubs out front
5: plant some flowers in the beds out front
6: pretty up the front step
7: place order for cabinets (which means deciding on cabinets)
8: fix finish nailer
9: nate's gaming party
10: wahlstrom decommissioning and lunch with C and V
11: install all white outlets, switches, wall plates, and switch plates in the blue room
12: buy and install white toilet in brown bathroom.
13: any remaining touch up painting in the blue room
14: hem toad's pants
15: do laundry

chores

this weekend's chores...I don't expect I'll get them all done. But it'd be nice if I did. some of these strictly speaking aren't chores so much as things I want to do.

1: go place order for carpet, there was a clear winner when people were given the choices.
2: rent rug doctor, clean my bedroom and traffic areas in the rest of the house
3: remove the rest of the baseboards in the room getting the carpet
4: replant shrubs out front
5: plant some flowers in the beds out front
6: pretty up the front step
7: place order for cabinets (which means deciding on cabinets)
8: fix finish nailer
9: nate's gaming party
10: wahlstrom decommissioning and lunch with C and V
11: install all white outlets, switches, wall plates, and switch plates in the blue room
12: buy and install white toilet in brown bathroom.
13: any remaining touch up painting in the blue room

Well the painting's done. Save the spot under the ceiling fan which I'll be taking down later today. The room looks pretty good. Well save the horrendous chocolate brown carpet, which is now speckled with blue and white paint as well as the wall paper paste.

On the cabinet front sadly I don't think any of the in stock cabinets anywhere in town come with bookshelf tops. There are cabinets with bookshelf tops.. but of course the ones I can get the base cabinets on NOW aren't among them. grrr. I still need to run up to Fridley to check Lowe's though. And of course anything I can buy in stock is cheaper than anything I can order.

I also made the marshmallow recipie that I made reference to last week. That was fun. I'll know some time this evening after they're cool how they taste.

Well the color is a pale blue. I like it a lot. I still need to do the bits by the ceiling and close to all the doors and windows and such.. I was out of pads for the edger. Also I need to take down the fan and paint the ceiling. I have a new fixture to put up. So Saturday morning the fan comes down. Ceiling gets painted, the new fixture goes up, and the last bits of the wall get done. Then.. shopping for cabinets. If I'm lucky I'll find most of what I want in stock and I can just do the 1hr truck rental thing and bring them home.

It's time for another back room update. Tonight right after work I got the last of the wall paper paste off the wall. Then I had dinner with Toad during which we discussed paint colors. She left for stitch-n-bitch. I left for Menard's. $100 later I had paint for the back room, primer for same, a light fixture for same, roller covers, and a box of fluorescent light bulbs for all the ones in the house that need replacing. I got home about 8:30, sane people do not start a painting project at 8:30PM. Guess I'm not sane. The whole room was primed by a little before 10PM. Now I'm showered and done for the night. Tomorrow COLOR!

Zack's Birthday

Today my newphew turns 4. It's hard to believe he's 4 already. I could gush forever about him cause he's so darned swell. I think I need to get a newer picture of him on my desk though. His sister, also quite swell. My brother and his wife, they make swell kids.

Well let's see, since I last posted I've written three papers. Taken a final. Been visiting over in Wisconsin again. I'll likely be heading back to River Falls to help my friend pack. I really regret not having gotten to know her better in the three years I've lived in the twin cities. Oh well. The internet will keep us in contact I'm sure.

I've also found somebody crazy enough to start building a boat with me.

CTV.ca | Response to scent linked to sexual preference

I'm not at all suprised at scent being linked to sexual attraction, nor sexual preference. I've long argued that boys smell funny.

Today is the day of endless epidemiology reading. Maybe if I'd read anything since the last quiz I wouldn't be so far behind. Oh well. Soon I'll be done. I decided a break was in order before the last chapter on the prof's favorite subject, lest I get all glaze eyed and miss the content.

Ok this might be the height of narcissism I just used the blog this button to make a post about an old post in my blog. My own blog. Anyhow what I wanted to drag back up to the top is a really funny poem. Happy as a clam my @$$.

Today was exciting. Well not really. I called my Mom for Mother's Day, and that was nice. However, I'd just talked to her Friday, so not very eventful really. I got to talk to my brother for a bit, also nice. I went to a gun show. I spent under $4. I got one of those nifty thumb saver things for loading magazines. It makes me happy anyhow. Then I went to Kate and Eric's and hung out for a while, Eric fixed dinner and desert, and I came home and have been doing homework ever since. Well except for when I cleaned the litter box, and put flea and tick stuff on the dogs. Finding a tick was exciting. Oddly it felt just like when I was a kid and we'd find them on Auggie or Schnapps. This time it was trotting up my forearm.. having just abandoned the dog I guess. I need a life.

room update

Well, the ladies from house tamers showed up. The wallpaper did all come down in great big sheets. Then it was just the process of removing the glue. Good lord was there a LOT of glue. It was about 4:30 when the last of the ladies gave up and went home. Toad was a total good sport, running out to the store for us, and getting us new tools, then making lunch/dinner for Deanna and I. There are two sections of the room that still need glue removal both small. One over the closet doors, the other about that same size but over the area where we stashed all the book cases. I'll do the closet area tomorrow.

Everything needs a final wipedown but we got a TON of work done. Hopefully Monday or Tuesday I can prime, and Thursday I can paint. Then I'll return the furniture to it's homes, and work on moving the desks in after that.

Cooking For Engineers - Test Recipes: Marshmallows

Cooking For Engineers - Test Recipes: Marshmallows
One of my favorite websites, makes one of my favorite foods. I especially like the one suggestion in the comments to use cinnamon sugar as a coating. I might have to make a batch of these tomorrow.

the room

Well I'm in the process of shuffling furniture around in the back room again. I know what I'd like to do, and it involves built in cabinets all along one wall, possibly a built in desk, and new carpet.

So today is phase 1: remove wallpaper. I was fearing the process would be much like it was with the duck wall paper. An event only my brother and parents are likely to remember, but it was this really thin wall paper, that I kid you not came down in tiny pieces. I don't ever remember getting a piece off bigger than my hand. Ever. We spent days on one 12 foot long wall.

So far I've taken down one whole width of wall paper in three pieces. This is HUGE! now that I know where the edges are it'll come down really fast. Then it's just glue removal, which is easily enough done with a sponge and a lot of water and some other agent. (vinegar for those who like the acid method, or downy for those who like the alkaline method)

I hope to have an all done post later today. Then the painting! The light fixture removal!

The Everclear Song

Every day in lunch in the High School
All of my senior year
I'd drink my Coca-Cola with a touch of Everclear.
I never had to study math, science or history.
I'd have a chemical flashback to jog my memory.

In my junior year, I swore i loved sweet miss Cherry Ann.
One night I put some Everclear, in her Dr. Pepper can.
I thought it'd make her easy, but she took it pretty hard.
I took her home and rang her doorbell, left her lying in the yard.

-CHORUS-
Tequila dries me out.
And beer just makes me fat.
Whiskey makes me nautious tell me who the hell needs that.
Well if you're thinking about drinking, than the answer's crystal clear.
It's the invisible intoxicant, it's called Everclear.

I remember my church picnic, in the Spring of '89.
Yeah they had four fresh watermelons, sliced right of the vine.
When they bowed their heads, giving grace for the food.
I poured out my bottle and soaked them melons good
They never know what hit 'em, when the potion went to work.
There were grandmas doing backflips, grandpas lookin' up their skirts.
They were singin' ALELLUIA, and Willie Nelson songs.
Preacher said it was the best damn picnic that the Baptists had ever thrown.

-CHORUS-

When I'm drinking Everclear, I think I'm king of this whole world.
I'm bigger and badder than John Wayne and cooler than Steve Earle.
Until I wake up, and I'm face down in the hall.
Hey I'm completely naked, for a reason I can't recall.
Well I'm kinda sorta thinking, that maybe I met a chick.
Cause there's perfume in the air and lipstick on my neck.
Well I hope that she was pretty and I hope that she was kind
enough to leave my clothes somewhere easy to find.

-Chorus-