spacealien_vamp (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
spacealien_vamp) wrote2018-11-11 03:25 pm
spacealien_vamp) wrote2018-11-11 03:25 pm
Do you hear the people sing?
It has been a pretty full couple of weeks here, starting just before Halloween, when I was scrambling to finish Brooke's costume. I received an email notification on the 30th that Tesla was finally taking orders for the shorter-range battery version of the Model 3, so I was finally able to put together my build and submit it. Since I hadn't expected to be able to get my car until next spring, based on the estimates last time I checked in June, this was an exciting development (and slightly budget-busting).
You see, I had just finished getting most of the windows in my house replaced with more energy efficient ones, anticipating that I would be able to pay off a big chunk of the bill before I would have any car payments kick in. Slight miscalculation there. Fortunately, we have a lot of holiday bonus pay coming up over the next two months. Still, I immediately signed up to work some overtime to make up for some of the expenses, and that added to my full schedule.
The same day I ordered the car, I went shopping for a smart phone. I've been using a basic flip phone since forever (I think I got my current model 9 years ago, shortly after I moved to California). The Tesla will have a lot of features that rely on using a smart phone app, so if I want to get my money's worth out of the car, I pretty much need it. Side benefits of the phone include banking apps, transit apps (realtime bus location info--yay!), and being able to check my email without wifi.
Oh, and music. I pretty quickly started downloading a bunch of songs that I used to listen to from my audio cassette collection. Now I can listen to music while I'm running errands on my bicycle, which is nice...but it comes with a down side. You see, it's incredibly difficult not to sing along with the music, but I can barely get a couple lines out before I run out of breath and have to pant heavily for a while. An inconvenience, certainly...but sometimes a person just HAS to belt out "One day moooooooore!" and damn the consequences.
Anyway, that was all on the 30th. I also did manage to get Brooke's costume finished, though the bonnet was slightly too small because I didn't compensate for having to put her ears inside it. (Here's the Ravelry page for the sweater for anyone interested in the details.)
Last Monday I was able to go to the local Tesla showroom (or whatever they call it) for a short test drive of a car like the one I ordered. I love how adjustable everything is, and the screen has a ton of useful information. I can tell it's going to take me a while to play around with it and figure out what all it can do.
Thankfully there's not much left to accomplish in the garden, because I don't have much time to spare for it. I have some late-season tomatoes left, plus winter squash and the second-crop chili peppers. Surprisingly, it has been so warm this month that my winter peas are already starting to produce. I don't think I've ever gotten peas earlier than February before. As a bonus, my baby lime tree looks to be the happiest it's ever been; I might actually get fruit from it next year.
I was able to invite my neighbor over for a ladies' movie night with a tray of fancy cheese and crackers and my homemade jam (a selection of fig, quince, and kumquat marmalade), accompanied by hot chocolate and Bailey's. I recently discovered Catherine Disher's Good Witch series, thanks to a Netflix suggestion, so I showed my neighbor the first DVD movie of that. (She's now hooked.)
You see, I had just finished getting most of the windows in my house replaced with more energy efficient ones, anticipating that I would be able to pay off a big chunk of the bill before I would have any car payments kick in. Slight miscalculation there. Fortunately, we have a lot of holiday bonus pay coming up over the next two months. Still, I immediately signed up to work some overtime to make up for some of the expenses, and that added to my full schedule.
The same day I ordered the car, I went shopping for a smart phone. I've been using a basic flip phone since forever (I think I got my current model 9 years ago, shortly after I moved to California). The Tesla will have a lot of features that rely on using a smart phone app, so if I want to get my money's worth out of the car, I pretty much need it. Side benefits of the phone include banking apps, transit apps (realtime bus location info--yay!), and being able to check my email without wifi.
Oh, and music. I pretty quickly started downloading a bunch of songs that I used to listen to from my audio cassette collection. Now I can listen to music while I'm running errands on my bicycle, which is nice...but it comes with a down side. You see, it's incredibly difficult not to sing along with the music, but I can barely get a couple lines out before I run out of breath and have to pant heavily for a while. An inconvenience, certainly...but sometimes a person just HAS to belt out "One day moooooooore!" and damn the consequences.
Anyway, that was all on the 30th. I also did manage to get Brooke's costume finished, though the bonnet was slightly too small because I didn't compensate for having to put her ears inside it. (Here's the Ravelry page for the sweater for anyone interested in the details.)
Last Monday I was able to go to the local Tesla showroom (or whatever they call it) for a short test drive of a car like the one I ordered. I love how adjustable everything is, and the screen has a ton of useful information. I can tell it's going to take me a while to play around with it and figure out what all it can do.
Thankfully there's not much left to accomplish in the garden, because I don't have much time to spare for it. I have some late-season tomatoes left, plus winter squash and the second-crop chili peppers. Surprisingly, it has been so warm this month that my winter peas are already starting to produce. I don't think I've ever gotten peas earlier than February before. As a bonus, my baby lime tree looks to be the happiest it's ever been; I might actually get fruit from it next year.
I was able to invite my neighbor over for a ladies' movie night with a tray of fancy cheese and crackers and my homemade jam (a selection of fig, quince, and kumquat marmalade), accompanied by hot chocolate and Bailey's. I recently discovered Catherine Disher's Good Witch series, thanks to a Netflix suggestion, so I showed my neighbor the first DVD movie of that. (She's now hooked.)
no subject
And yeah, I used to sing while on a bike in Japan. "One Day More" especially requires full belting out no matter the lung capacity!
no subject
One of the things I've been able to load on my phone is the Hunter × Hunter Best Song Collection, which includes all the songs from the first musical. That really brings back memories of Japan.