Taxes
I did my taxes today. Got $1389.51 back from the federal gov't and $46.75 from state. For some reason, I didn't feel like $1389 was real money, it's just gonna get deposited into my bank. But when I saw $46 I immediately thought of what I was gonna buy with that money. So in the future, if I just send all my paychecks to direct deposit, maybe I won't spend any money.
Anyways, I was just thinking about what to spend money on. Electronics are the most tempting. The next purchase will either be the Toshiba Pocket PC or a nice little TV for my room. I was picturing that commercial when they have the flat panel and mount it on the ceiling. That would be pretty cool, but I don't think I wanna burn that much cash right now.
It's kinda bad, cause this is the kind of stuff that brings more recurring costs. Like if I get a PDA, I'll end up buying memory cards and add-ons and stuff. And if I get a TV, I'll probably eventually get a PS2 or GameCube, or a DVD player, which means I'll buy more DVDs.
Which makes me think, my life is pretty simple right now, and I consider myself a pretty happy person. Do more possessions really add more to life? I remember watching a video in Leisure Studies 100 (which I took one summer and I recommend to anyone still at U of I), and it was comparing people's standard of living in the 50's to how it is today. In the 50's, people were told that the technology advances in the future would eliminate the need for us to work, and that everyone would be able to relax all day.
Well, it turns out that technology is indeed more advanced today, but the opposite has happened to the typical person's lifestyle. Instead of having more free time, we are statistically busier and more stressed than ever. We work more, and make more money, but we also spend more and have less time to enjoy what we have.
What to make of this? Should we live the life of a Buddhist monk, get rid of all our possessions and live on a mountaintop reciting chants all day? Well, I don't think that's the answer either. I still like my possessions. I still love the feeling of opening a new toy. And I don't know any Buddhist chants.
I guess I don't have a point to sum up all this stuff I just wrote. I started out just writing about doing my taxes and ended up writing about Leisure Studies somehow. And now I am too tired to write a conclusion.
Laters.
Tuesday, April 08, 2003
Monday, April 07, 2003
Jerry Krause resigned today. With the war going on, this SARS business, Columbia exploding, etc., this is by far the best news I have heard in a long time. It's too bad he didn't resign 3 years ago before Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Phil Jackson all left.
I didn't know Bone Thugs were Phil Collins fans. That new song ("Home") is kind of catchy but it's just not the same without Bizzy Bone.
Olivia cut her hair yesterday after she went back to school. I'm almost afraid to see what she looks like with short hair. Over the past couple years, I grew more attached to her hair than she was. I have a healthy obsession and a fond love for long black hair. And now it's all gone >:-O
I'm setting this Sunday, April 13th as my official move-in date. This whole thing has dragged out way too long and it's time to nail down a day for good. I should thank everyone who offered to help me move in, but I don't know if I'll end up needing too much help. But if anyone wants to join me for a dinner afterwards, to celebrate a successful move-in, that would be great.
I didn't know Bone Thugs were Phil Collins fans. That new song ("Home") is kind of catchy but it's just not the same without Bizzy Bone.
Olivia cut her hair yesterday after she went back to school. I'm almost afraid to see what she looks like with short hair. Over the past couple years, I grew more attached to her hair than she was. I have a healthy obsession and a fond love for long black hair. And now it's all gone >:-O
I'm setting this Sunday, April 13th as my official move-in date. This whole thing has dragged out way too long and it's time to nail down a day for good. I should thank everyone who offered to help me move in, but I don't know if I'll end up needing too much help. But if anyone wants to join me for a dinner afterwards, to celebrate a successful move-in, that would be great.
Sunday, April 06, 2003
Yesterday I ended up driving all over the northern suburbs. Stopped by the townhouse in Palatine to see my room and measure its dimensions, then went and looked for some furniture. I think I've decided to bring a queen size bed from home, and maybe half of my desk too. Which means one of these days I'll have to rent a U-Haul or something and just take everything there in one trip.
After furniture browsing, I stopped into the Borders by Woodfield and did some book and magazine browsing. It's something I haven't done in a long time and something I should really do more of. When I was younger, there was a Super Crown right by my house, and me and my sis would ride our bikes there during the summer and read for hours. I think the first thing I need to read up on is cooking. Maybe I will buy "Chinese Cooking For Dummies" when I have more time to experiment and stuff.
***
I was looking at pictures from my mom and dad's trip to Italy and Switzerland, and it suddenly made me a little jealous that I didn't get to go. There's so much cool stuff there. The Colosseum, Leaning Tower, Sistine Chapel to name a few. I'm not a big expert in art, but I think the painting in the Sistine Chapel of God and Adam is unbelievable. Michelangelo was a pure genius.
I've promised myself that at least once in my life I will go to Italy myself and visit all these sites. I want to visit China sometime too. It makes me sad that my homeland is today ruled by Communist dictators. China has such a proud history in ancient times but look how far they have fallen. Although I still think Chinese people have preserved the rich tradition and culture throughout the years to be successful wherever they go.
But thinking about how the great empires fell, not only China, but Roman, Egyptian, Mongolian, British, and every single other dominant power in world history, we in America should take it to heart and not be so cocky and act invincible in world affairs. Even though our military power is head and shoulders above any other in the world, it doesn't mean we can never lose our position as the dominant superpower.
Donald Rumsfeld especially pisses me off, it's hard for me to imagine a bigger jackass than him. I can't even imagine if I were living in another country, how much I would hate that guy.
After furniture browsing, I stopped into the Borders by Woodfield and did some book and magazine browsing. It's something I haven't done in a long time and something I should really do more of. When I was younger, there was a Super Crown right by my house, and me and my sis would ride our bikes there during the summer and read for hours. I think the first thing I need to read up on is cooking. Maybe I will buy "Chinese Cooking For Dummies" when I have more time to experiment and stuff.
***
I was looking at pictures from my mom and dad's trip to Italy and Switzerland, and it suddenly made me a little jealous that I didn't get to go. There's so much cool stuff there. The Colosseum, Leaning Tower, Sistine Chapel to name a few. I'm not a big expert in art, but I think the painting in the Sistine Chapel of God and Adam is unbelievable. Michelangelo was a pure genius.
I've promised myself that at least once in my life I will go to Italy myself and visit all these sites. I want to visit China sometime too. It makes me sad that my homeland is today ruled by Communist dictators. China has such a proud history in ancient times but look how far they have fallen. Although I still think Chinese people have preserved the rich tradition and culture throughout the years to be successful wherever they go.
But thinking about how the great empires fell, not only China, but Roman, Egyptian, Mongolian, British, and every single other dominant power in world history, we in America should take it to heart and not be so cocky and act invincible in world affairs. Even though our military power is head and shoulders above any other in the world, it doesn't mean we can never lose our position as the dominant superpower.
Donald Rumsfeld especially pisses me off, it's hard for me to imagine a bigger jackass than him. I can't even imagine if I were living in another country, how much I would hate that guy.
Friday, April 04, 2003
Lunchtime Blog
Well, here I am at my desk, eating a quick lunch in while we break from our daylong design review. Read some news, checked my baseball team, made the blog/xanga rounds, and I still got a half hour left so why not write a lunchtime blog?
Some news - and this is probably old stuff for many of you readers by now - Jennifer Garner split up with her husband, the guy from Felicity. What's his name again, Mick Foley? haha just kidding, I know his name is Scott Foley.
That makes me mad. Who does Jennifer think she is to give up a guy like Scott? I mean sure, she's the big Alias star now and everything, but up until last year I only knew her as the older girlfriend from Dude Where's My Car. As for Scott, he's so perfect and yummy. She's gonna regret this decision someday.
Ok, just kidding again. I do not think Scott is yummy. I don't even have a clue what he looks like. I have never seen Felicity in my life, and only part of one episode of Alias. I could not care less about this breakup. I have, however, seen Dude Where's My Car and highly recommend it. Jennifer Garner is not bad but, truth be told, I have eyes for only one woman in my life.
So it looks like I'm gonna be working at least a few more weeks of OT. But, this weekend I still plan to start moving my stuff up to Palatine. Too bad I don't have any real furniture yet. Some of you North people may be getting phone calls from your favorite friend soon (me) to help me look at beds, desks, dressers, and maybe curtains too. I think I already decided on which curtains though. There's this satin number with rose designs at Marshall Fields that is calling my name.
Well, I need to use the bathroom. Laters.
Well, here I am at my desk, eating a quick lunch in while we break from our daylong design review. Read some news, checked my baseball team, made the blog/xanga rounds, and I still got a half hour left so why not write a lunchtime blog?
Some news - and this is probably old stuff for many of you readers by now - Jennifer Garner split up with her husband, the guy from Felicity. What's his name again, Mick Foley? haha just kidding, I know his name is Scott Foley.
That makes me mad. Who does Jennifer think she is to give up a guy like Scott? I mean sure, she's the big Alias star now and everything, but up until last year I only knew her as the older girlfriend from Dude Where's My Car. As for Scott, he's so perfect and yummy. She's gonna regret this decision someday.
Ok, just kidding again. I do not think Scott is yummy. I don't even have a clue what he looks like. I have never seen Felicity in my life, and only part of one episode of Alias. I could not care less about this breakup. I have, however, seen Dude Where's My Car and highly recommend it. Jennifer Garner is not bad but, truth be told, I have eyes for only one woman in my life.
So it looks like I'm gonna be working at least a few more weeks of OT. But, this weekend I still plan to start moving my stuff up to Palatine. Too bad I don't have any real furniture yet. Some of you North people may be getting phone calls from your favorite friend soon (me) to help me look at beds, desks, dressers, and maybe curtains too. I think I already decided on which curtains though. There's this satin number with rose designs at Marshall Fields that is calling my name.
Well, I need to use the bathroom. Laters.
Thursday, April 03, 2003
Post-sick Blog
I'm feeling much better today. Thanks to people who wished me well and also to those who wrote blogs that entertained me yesterday.
For those of you who missed it, my IM away message question was to name where the following quote was from: "Sick as a dog... gonna vomit." The answer was Austin Powers 2, said by Dr. Evil after his mechanical chair spun out of control on his moon base. Congratulations to Oiy and Olivia for scoring the correct answer, and also props to all others who participated. It was a tough one, even if you like the Austin Powers series a lot, that wasn't a well known quote.
By the way, if I ever have any future contests of this type, there's a good chance it will be from one of the following movies:
Austin Powers 1, Austin Powers 2, Home Alone, Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, Office Space, Happy Gilmore, The Fox And The Hound
Haha maybe not the The Fox And The Hound, most people probably have no clue what that is to begin with. In case anyone is wondering, it's one of those animated videos (not sure if it's Disney or not). I think me and my sister stayed with a family with younger kids for a few days, and we watched that video so many times that we knew all the lines. It's pretty amazing that 10-15 years later, I can still quote some lines from that movie. "I'm Copper, I'm a houuund dog!"
Well, yesterday was a pretty good day, other than the splitting headaches, body soreness, and extreme nausea. I caught up on some sleep missed in the past few months. I played craft with Dennis at like 1 in the afternoon.
I also discovered that there was a He-man movie made, with a younger Courtney Cox, and watched about 10 minutes of it on USA (or was it TNT), before realizing that it was a completely awful movie and changing the channel. That's too bad, cause I used to love He-man. One of my few action figures as a kid was a He-man where you stick those red round caps in the back, and when you twist his waist, he snaps back and delivers a powerful punch, emphasized with a loud popping sound (hence the cap). It was cool, except I wish his waist wasn't always crooked. He looked more like scoliosis man actually.
Oh, one last bit of exciting news - CHRAS has started a new blog. Read it here. I'm so proud of him. Way back when I first started this blog, not a lot of other people were doing it. Since then, so many new bloggers/"xangans" have joined us and it brings a tear to my eye. Nina, you are next.
I'm feeling much better today. Thanks to people who wished me well and also to those who wrote blogs that entertained me yesterday.
For those of you who missed it, my IM away message question was to name where the following quote was from: "Sick as a dog... gonna vomit." The answer was Austin Powers 2, said by Dr. Evil after his mechanical chair spun out of control on his moon base. Congratulations to Oiy and Olivia for scoring the correct answer, and also props to all others who participated. It was a tough one, even if you like the Austin Powers series a lot, that wasn't a well known quote.
By the way, if I ever have any future contests of this type, there's a good chance it will be from one of the following movies:
Austin Powers 1, Austin Powers 2, Home Alone, Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, Office Space, Happy Gilmore, The Fox And The Hound
Haha maybe not the The Fox And The Hound, most people probably have no clue what that is to begin with. In case anyone is wondering, it's one of those animated videos (not sure if it's Disney or not). I think me and my sister stayed with a family with younger kids for a few days, and we watched that video so many times that we knew all the lines. It's pretty amazing that 10-15 years later, I can still quote some lines from that movie. "I'm Copper, I'm a houuund dog!"
Well, yesterday was a pretty good day, other than the splitting headaches, body soreness, and extreme nausea. I caught up on some sleep missed in the past few months. I played craft with Dennis at like 1 in the afternoon.
I also discovered that there was a He-man movie made, with a younger Courtney Cox, and watched about 10 minutes of it on USA (or was it TNT), before realizing that it was a completely awful movie and changing the channel. That's too bad, cause I used to love He-man. One of my few action figures as a kid was a He-man where you stick those red round caps in the back, and when you twist his waist, he snaps back and delivers a powerful punch, emphasized with a loud popping sound (hence the cap). It was cool, except I wish his waist wasn't always crooked. He looked more like scoliosis man actually.
Oh, one last bit of exciting news - CHRAS has started a new blog. Read it here. I'm so proud of him. Way back when I first started this blog, not a lot of other people were doing it. Since then, so many new bloggers/"xangans" have joined us and it brings a tear to my eye. Nina, you are next.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)