The Clam Rampant

Kasia April 28th, 2008

Skype’s working. I now have a basic AT&T land line, AT&T voicemail, AT&T DSL, and SkypeOut for my long distance (which basically means anyone I want to call, with the possible exception of local restaurants for take-out).

Caller ID screeners: if you see a call from 000-012-3456 on your caller ID, there’s a good chance it’s me. That’s how it’s shown up on The Canuck’s caller ID so far, anyway.

And I’m going to stop by Best Buy sometime this week and do some actual physical looking at fridges. There are two Sears appliance outlets in the Detroit area (I’m hoping those are Kit’s “scratch and dent” warehouses), but they’re on the other side of town, so I probably won’t get there for a week or two. Maybe I can work in a trip to IKEA to get a small bookcase while I’m there…

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Kasia April 28th, 2008

I had the dream again. Only this time, I remembered having had it before. So this time I was doubly steamed: first, because it was my wedding day and my dress wasn’t altered, and second, because MY SISTER was supposed to MAKE SURE this didn’t happen!!!!!

Too funny. Like it was her responsibility to make sure my dress got altered anyway. But that’s the way of dreams; they’re not rational.

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Kasia April 26th, 2008

I’m miffed. And I’m confused.

I’ve decided to spend my tax rebate on a new fridge/freezer. I was going to get a chest freezer, but then I thought more about it, and realized that I could get more bang for my buck (so to speak) by replacing my current fridge. After all, it’s 25 years old. I ran the numbers through the Energy Star site, and by replacing it with a comparably-sized Energy Star model, I could reduce the power costs for my fridge by quite a lot. I think it was close to 75%, but I don’t remember  exactly. Anyway, it was enough to make me sit up and take note.

So I started shopping. TBS had very generously printed out some Consumer Reports information on freezers (chest and upright) that I was extrapolating from to get an idea of what brands I might want to avoid or steer towards, and I found a GREAT deal on a Frigidaire top-freezer on Best Buy’s site. But then I realized it was 3.5 cubic feet  larger than what I currently have, so bigger than I need, and my kitchen is already chummy quarters for anything more than one person. Seriously, one person and a cat starts to get awkward. So even though this would technically FIT in the space, it would jut out into the already minimal moving-around area of the kitchen, block part of the window…yeah. Just not a good idea.

No problem, I thought; I’ll just start looking for 14 or 15 cubic foot fridges.

There don’t seem to be too many choices out there!

Best Buy has a couple of 14 – 16 cubic footers, neither of which are Energy Star qualifed. IKEA has some 14 footers, for which I haven’t found Energy Star information. I’m sure as I hunt around I’ll find a few more options.

But I find myself wondering:  are apartment-sized fridges really THAT much out of demand? I know the American dream is to have a house with a yard and a big stainless-steel fridge with a subzero freezer and so forth, but…

Anyone got any insights? Anyone buy a fridge recently and have any ideas? Has anyone ever owned an Energisk (that’s the IKEA brand) fridge/freezer? (Nina? I know IKEA’s Swedish and you’re Norwegian, but you’ve probably known more Swedes than I have…)

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Kasia April 25th, 2008

So it’s a late epiphany…or my epiphanies do not necessarily correspond with the Church calendar. It’s a Pentecost Epiphany…

I’ve been way bogged down in my giving-away stuff. Seems that I get so caught up in how well I’m documenting things for the hypothetical IRS bogeyman that I’m not actually giving the stuff away. Well, I AM, but it’s taking me forever.

Then tonight, as I was slogging through checking and logging a pile of books to pack into a box, with my ultra-auditor-friendly Excel spreadsheet of title, author, publisher, year, condition, and description (i.e. “Hardcover; 394 pp.”), it hit me.

I have a lot of books.

I have always had a lot of books.

In fact, if anyone were to ask my family and close friends to name a few defining characteristics about me, the fact that I have a lot of books/am a bookworm/am a packrat would probably either top the list or hover near the top.

So, I reasoned, IF the IRS decides to come knocking at my door and question my deductions for the 2008 tax year…

I will simply send them to one of the friends or family members who helped me move my 8 tons of books, 52,000 outfits, and excess of furniture from my apartment on Forest to my current condo, or from my apartment on Prentis to my apartment on Forest.

I am sure TBS will be MORE than happy to tell the nice auditors that I’ve been a horrible packrat and book hoarder ever since I could say the words “NO!” and “MINE!”, and that I have in fact gotten rid of a whole lot of stuff since moving here. Naturally, to satisfy her big seester-ish desires, I do not object if she spends more time talking about the former than the latter. I know she’ll enjoy it more anyway.

So I’ve just packed up the books that were sitting in piles on my desk and floor. I still have some piles to go through, and a small pile for my sweet aunt the next time I see her, but yeah. Definitely not bothering with the cataloging any more. I’ll keep what I’ve done, and maybe once I’ve gotten through the thick of things I’ll start again, but I’m not going to let perfectionism keep me immobilized.

Today’s what, April 25th? OK, here’s the deal. I aim to get the clothes/housewares and books/VHS tapes that are already slated for giveaway (probably one small load of each) hauled down to the Sally and the library by…May 5th. One load per week. That should be more than manageable.

Huzzah!!! I feel lighter already!!!

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Kasia April 25th, 2008

The Canuck has finally gotten all of his pictures of the Papal Mass up on his Flickr page – go check ‘em out! 

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Kasia April 23rd, 2008

Our bookkeeper, upon learning that our boss sent her, me, and our receptionist flowers for Secretaries’/Administrative Professionals’/Whatever they’re calling us now Day:

“Shoot. That means I’m going to have to do my work…”

ROFL.

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Kasia April 22nd, 2008

I alluded in my last post to the fact that New Jersey charges you a toll to leave the state. Which I happen to think is both obnoxious and funny (the latter probably at least in part because at least the toll is less than a dollar. It’s easier to laugh at cheap extortion than expensive extortion).

However, I called AT&T today to downgrade my service. I had had a comprehensive package that gave me unlimited domestic long distance, which I didn’t really need except that it was required for the Canada Plus package that gave me unlimited calling to Canada (and thus my beloved) for six dollars a month. I also have DSL service through them.

But I’ve decided to try SkypeOut. I ordered a phone from Amazon today that can work with both my land line (so I keep 911 access) and Skype. The particular model is more expensive than I would normally go with, but my current phone battery was giving me trouble anyway, and this one has a better type of battery than my current one.

So then I call AT&T to downgrade my service. The DSL part was pretty painless; I wanted them to knock me down to the cheaper, basic service instead of charging me an extra five bucks per month; they offered me my current download speed at the price I’d been paying guaranteed for two years. OK. I’m happy.

But would you believe that my decision to knock long-distance service off of my plan is costing me almost ten dollars?! They can CHARGE YOU MONEY for deciding NOT to do business with them any more!!

I’m still doing it. (In fact, after I heard that, I considered cancelling ALL of my service. Then I came to my senses and realized that I needed to find a different provider before I could do that.) But how ridiculous is that?! It’s like charging someone a toll to leave the state!

I asked the (very nice) woman what AT&T’s justification was for that fee. Her reply? A somewhat embarrassed “They…don’t give us a justification.” I translate that as “I have no idea why they do it; I think it’s stupid too, but I will lose my job if I say that.” What do y’all think?

So I thanked her and said I’d like to discuss the fee with a supervisor. I’m still waiting for a call back from the supervisor (I will be shocked if I get one).

Trouble is, I rely on DSL to give me my Internet service. Cable’s too expensive for me right now. I can find another phone carrier, I suppose, but it’s unlikely that I’ll find another phone carrier that can provide DSL to my area. And if you take that out of the equation, I may as well stick with AT&T anyway, because I can’t use Skype without internet access.

I’m so not amused.

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Kasia April 21st, 2008

Well, our merry band of five decided to drive through the night last night instead of doing something sane like, say, getting a motel room in eastern Pennsylvania. So although the Canuck and I got home late this morning from the Papal Mass, I have had no energy to even think of posting on our exciting tales of travel. And now, though it is two hours before my usual bedtime, I promised my beloved that I would not stay up much beyond the end of our phone call ten minutes ago, so it’s off to bed. Until tomorrow, then, I leave you with this one teaser thought:

I always heard Jersey was bad, but I didn’t know they actually make you PAY to LEAVE!

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Kasia April 17th, 2008

I know Pelosi, Kerry et al. planned to receive the Eucharist at the Papal Mass. Does anyone know if they were denied or permitted?

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Kasia April 16th, 2008

I can’t believe we’re going to see the Pope!!!

VIVA IL PAPA!!!

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