updates from afar

I've been having a great time at Princeton. I'm learning a lot and making new friends and contacts. It's also been really fun spending time with Matt and Rebekah. Today, the four of us are taking a day trip to New York City. It will be by Sarah and my first time there. There's lots to do, and we everyone keeps telling me that I have to put on pants before we can go, so I have to start getting ready. More to come!

I'll get right on that

Saw a job posting today for a job at an overseas university. Here's all they're looking for:

The chosen candidate will teach a general mix of Communications and Humanities and Social Sciences courses including Written Communication, Oral Communication, Technical and Corporate Communication, Research Writing, World Civilizations, International Relations, Sociology, Media Literacy, Psychology, Critical Thinking, Professional Development, Leadership & Teamwork, and Assessment Capstone Courses.

Well, when I finish this PhD, let me go out and get 7 more, and then I'll hurry up and apply.

it seems unlikely, but...

If you haven't seen the news, the heat here has been ridiculous. It was 107º yesterday, and it wasn't a dry desert heat either. It was a burn-your-butt when-you-get-in-the-car-and-drench-your-clothes-when-get-out-of-the-car-and-walk-four-steps-to-get-to-the-house kind of heat. And no one gave me any free food today, so double annoying.

I've been busying inside, trying to get all my work done before our trip to the Northeast starts next week. I hit a setback on Monday when I came down with some sort of mystery ailment. It started with some muscle cramps when I took Barney for our daily jog. Later that night, I developed a high fever, headache, and muscle cramps. I've been through all those things before, but for some weird reason, it was probably the most uncomfortable I've been in my whole life. That includes breaking my face and all of the times I've thrown out my back.

It's really weird. No one else around was sick, and I didn't seem to have passed it to anyone. The worst of it lasted for about 36 hours, but my temperature regulation is still off. I'm sweating a puddle into the couch right now, and I just feel really off. Because I got eaten alive by mosquitos while I was working outside about a week before I got sick (probably 50 - 100 bites), I kept (half) joking to Sarah about how I must have gotten Malaria.

In reality, I just figured it was the flu or food poisoning or something, but then tonight something I saw on TV that reminded me about West Nile Virus. So I looked it up. One of the variants of the virus is something called West Nile Fever. It fits my symptoms very well. Add that to the mosquito bites, the fact that West Nile been found in our area, and the fact that no one else is sick or getting sick. It really makes me wonder if I actually got it.

If I did, it's good news in a way. Sure, I was really sick and uncomfortable, but there's a pretty good chance I'm now inoculated against any future outbreaks.

there's no such thing as a free lunch

It's 6:16 PM. It's 106º. It's so hot, in fact, that I'm going insane. Let me outline the evidence for you.

1) Today is Chick-Fil-A's annual "cow appreciation day."

a) If you dress like a cow, they give you free a free meal.
b) Another way of saying this is that they give you a free meal if dress like a jackass.

2) I have a long history of refusing to be a jackass (or a cow).

a) For example, I refused to do this last year, even when Sarah went without me.

3) Today, I did not refuse.

They say the food is free, but that's not true. There's a social cost. Oh, also, a little part of your soul dies.

more adventures in manland

Before about two weeks ago, I knew approximately nothing about car maintenance. I take that back. I knew that I had to take the car in to an auto shop for regular maintenance and a wallet-emptying procedure. At the shop, manly, grease-stained men would do things to my car that I couldn't. But no more. Now, because of the internet, it is me who is grease stained.

When Sarah's car turned over 100,000 miles, I figured it was time for a major tune up. Instead of taking it to a local shop, I took it to Google. (Figuratively speaking, of course. As far as I know, search engines don't actually do the car repair for you. If you figure out how to get them to, please let me know ASAP.). Then I went to Amazon and bought a bunch of parts. Then I went to Autozone and Wal-Mart for more stuff.

All in all, I ended up changing the spark plugs, oil, transmission fluid, fuel filter, fuel pressure regulator, air filter, and accessories belt (the thing that powers the air conditioning, radio, electronics, fans, etc.). I also fixed a broken muffler strap, checked the freon level in the air conditioning, and later I'm going to flush and replace the radiator fluid.

Although I had to buy a few new tools, I probably spent less than $100 on actual parts for the car. I'd guess that the same services a shop would have cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $500-1000. So all in all, I spent (much) less than I would have at a shop, and I get to keep the tools. I love the internet.

Just as long as I did everything right that is. The day the transmission falls out of the car, I'll probably be singing (screaming) a different tune.