Sunday, March 22, 2009

Okay, forget the car...

I want this instead.

I have been using Wojtek's camera (which I love, don't get me wrong) for the last 3 years because the last camera I owned, which broke about 5 years ago, was a cheap 35mm that took crappy pictures. I've never owned a digital camera.

But man do I want one!

I would say that I have a pretty good eye for photos. And lately I've gotten more into working with Photoshop and I kinda like it...a lot... and would love to be able to mess around with it more. I'm kind of low on free time these days because of school, but when I don't have a gazillion projects going on at once it would be a great hobby some day.

So, if you want to give to the "Emily really wants her own digital camera and this camera is freakin' awesome" fund, go right ahead.

Thursday, March 19, 2009

The JLBEM has returned

She's back! Good as new....well, kinda.... as good as she's gonna get maybe?

Still looking for a new car though. I've started the craigslist stalking already, and have even moved on to cars.com and autotrader.com. Who knows, next time you see me I may be in a whole different ride.


Oooh, and I'm pretty proud of myself -- I fixed the squeak in my bike. Of course, it took 3x longer than expected and I tried cleaning every part OTHER than the part that needed lubing to get rid of the squeak....but the upside is that it's bright and shiny and works great! All that's left is replacing the bar tape (note to self-do not get white bar tape unless you are really good at keeping things clean) and it'll be like I just bought it. Looking forward to lots of riding this summer!

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

I'm dreaming of a white.... Subaru.

Lately I've been getting the itch for a new car. Wojtek is in the works of purchasing a car before he leaves for Denver, and I'm starting to feel like maybe it's time to start looking for myself.

I've had the JLBEM (you know, the white 1996 Corsica) since junior year of high school, and don't get me wrong, it's done me well over the years. So many memories from high school and undergrad come flooding back when I think of all the good times surrounding that car. For a while it even had a name -- "white smoke" (yeah, it didn't last very long...). My friends and I used to pile in and go cruising down the "strip" in Litchfield. One night in particular that I remember, a couple of us with our middle-of-the-road nothing-special cars stopped in a parking lot and popped our hoods like the show-offs down the street were doing with their souped-up little Mazdas and Hondas. We thought it was pretty funny.

But lately this little car has been giving me more trouble than I think it's worth. I even admit that I don't even lock the doors or roll up the windows when I park it in the city because for one, I don't leave anything worthwile in it for someone to steal, two I'm pretty sure no one wants to steal the actual car, and three even if someone did take off with it I might get a decent check from the insurance for me to go and get a new one! So it's a win-win situation. Or maybe not from the poor person who thinks they're stealing a car that they can actually make a profit from...'cause let's face it, they won't.

I'm definitely going to need a car in Montana because they don't have a bus system like I use here, and the winters will require a car that can handle subzero temps and also mounds of snow. I have always loved Subaru's, and have been on the lookout for a good deal on one that I can afford (yay student loan debt). But hopefully the next time you see me I'll be in a new ride!

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Legs. hurt. really. bad.

So Wojtek and I went on a bike ride today.

Turned out to be a bike marathon. But twice as long as an actual marathon. 55 miles to be exact.

It started with Wojtek asking, "Do you feel adventurous?" and ended with extremely sore butts, thighs, arms, and necks. And numb toes.

In between included such highlights as riding through a completely sketchy town on the east side of the river that looked stuck in the 1940's, passing through the SIUE campus, eating copious amounts of candy from the vending machine at the Lewis and Clark museum, having flashbacks of my infamous fall while going down a gravel road, and barely being able to pick up my bike and go up the stairs to my apartment. Good times.

But I was actually pleasantly surprised at my ability to keep pace the whole time. If it hadn't been my first real ride of the year I would have kicked butt. But right now my butt is kicking me for putting it through torture for 5 hours. Yes, 5 hours on that tiny bike seat. Padding doesn't do much for ya after that long.

I had thought about riding to school tomorrow but it's definitely looking like a bus day now!

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Oh say can you see..... well, no I can't.

Going back to the eye doctor today to get the rest of my contacts. I've gone for nearly 6 months on a single pair of contacts. Now, mind you I rarely wore them and wore my glasses pretty much all the time, but I am so much more a contact fan. You can't wear sunglasses or ski goggles with glasses on very well, which puts a bit of a damper on the stuff I do outside. So I'm really happy to be back into a fresh, clean pair of contacts. Ones that I can actually see out of, too!

I've been a glasses girl since I was little - 4th or 5th grade, I think. Started off with the teal and purple swirled plastic frames, worked my way into pink metal frames, and finally now ended up with some sleek black rectangle frames. I went a whole 2 years without even owning any glasses, too, after I switched to contacts in high school. I'm pretty sure that's about the time when I started bumping into corners and doorways.... I'm at least smart enough now to use both. :)

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Long time, no blog

Yep, been a while. Surprise, surprise... I can't keep up on voice mail much less a blog.

Fail.

But lo and behold, I have returned. Back in school this week after being off for spring break. I spent that time in Keystone skiing with the fam plus James's fam (the guy my mom is seeing). We had a blast! Great weather, great food, great game-playing (Oh Hell anyone?)... good times. Hit up my Picasa page to see all the pics because I'm just too lazy to post them.

I will, however, give you a little treat I made --



(This was the result of me giving up on schoolwork for the day. Apparently my creative side only comes out after my studious side is exhausted.)

But anyway, here's to hoping that I'll be a little better at posting more frequently than every 2 months.