Feeling South Dakota

That's right, this weekend I will be braving the elements to see some people back in my hometown of Sioux Falls. So if you know me, and I know you, and you read this entry give me a call. I'll be in town from Friday afternoon until Monday morning.

This week marked my return to college. I'm now attending Park University for a journalism major and public relations minor. Well, eventually on the PR minor. We'll see how the rest of this works out. My classes are quite interesting. Let me explain.

I haven't been to school for over six years so I thought it would be best to part-time it this semester and only take two classes. Not only that I'm taking day classes Monday through Friday. My Monday, Wednesday and Friday class is Interpersonal Communication. My professor in this class is, well, interesting to say the least. She's a bit of a dunderhead, but she seems like she'll be interesting and somewhat entertaining. My other class is even more offbeat.

Since I'm attending a liberal arts university, I have to take liberal arts classes. Of course every university has electives that one must take, but this one is a little out there in terms of class requirements. It's a music appreciation class. It's an intro class of course, but get this. No tests, no written essays and the syllabus is still to be accepted and approved by the department. The professor is obviously gay, which is fine by me but it obviously freaks some of the other students out a bit. This makes for some entertainment value for me.

Ah, the students. Most of them are like me, but younger. I feel quite old and I'm sure I look old to them. I'm married and I'm going bald. I look like I'm 35 but I'm only 27. At least to them anyway. I'm sure things will work out fine, I have a good feeling about my classes for the spring and that I'll do well. Plus, the company I'm working for is paying for it as long as I get a C or better.

Let's see, what else. Oh yeah! Now that I'm a proud member of the Nebraska Cornhusker Touchdown Club it is opening new doors for me and my Husker obsession. Being a booster now, I was invited to a club function in Lincoln, Nebraska on February 7th that involves the new head coach, Bo Pelini, and the rest of his staff. It's social hour, dinner and a presentation on the newly recruited football players!

I won't be attending this year because no one else will go with me. And it's in the middle of the week and an hour and a half away. Oh well, maybe next year. My season tickets should make me feel better for this next season.

Happy New Year

Out with the old and in with the new. In our case, meaning my wife and I, we are out with the old door and ignition switch in her car and in with a new one(s). You see, the night before New Year's Eve, New Year's Eve Eve, her car was broken into with the intention of it being stolen.

My wife was going to buy cat food in the afternoon while I was going to sit on the couch and play a rousing session of Super Mario Galaxy on my Nintendo Wii. She ran back into the apartment stating that someone tried to steal her car to which I promptly responded in true idiot form, "what, like right now?"

I went down to discover the ignition switch on the passenger floorboard of the front seat and the drivers side door had been pried away from the car to gain entry (as shown above). What the would be thief did not realize is that Neon's after the year of 2002 or 2001 had chips in the keys with the expressed purpose of not being able to hot wire them from the inside. Would it kill car thieves to subscribe to Consumer Reports to learn about theft deterrents such as this?

So we spent most of our New Year's Eve afternoon filing the police report, calling State Farm (our insurance agency) and getting the car up to the local Dodge dealership. The rep from State Farm said two other clients had their Neons broken into over the weekend. The tow truck guy said he just picked up a Neon a couple miles away and the only difference is that it was black.

Now the car is checked in at the dealership, but the body shop is backed up. It is winter in the Midwest after all. At least we only have to pay our deductible rather than upwards of $1000 for the cost of the repairs. So we ended 2007 with a bang, so to speak. Hopefully the year of 2008 doesn't involve any more destruction of our property. Who knows, it is Kansas City. Maybe this is karma for my last post of 2007?

Goodbye for now, sweet Neon!