there's something wrong with the oven -- all of my cookies have turned out flat.

flat cookies simply are not as much fun.

TPOS jr.

ages ago, willie's phone was a TPOS. and then, he finally got smart and bought a new spiffy phone that works wonderfully, takes pictures, and doesn't disconnect every 5 minutes.

awesome!

but now, or rather for the past 3-4 months, MY phone has been a TPOS. it sucks. REALLY REALLY REALLY sucks. it has somehow acquired new-fangled features, at the age of 2, that weren't included in the phone's original description... such as:

1. randomly, the screen goes black and the outer window no longer shows the time.
2. sometimes, it suddenly drops to "no service" and "12:00am".
3. the sound is extraordinarily fuzzy.
4. the battery gets really hot after 6 consecutive minutes of conversation (yep, i'm gonna get cancer.)
5. the battery charger no longer seems to make clear contact with the battery and thus, the phone will stop charging at the slightest movement. sometimes, i spend 10 minutes each night wiggling the battery charger.
6. sometimes, it just doesn't ring. but the voicemail notifier still works a-okay.

gosh, all these extra features i didn't know about when i first purchased my trusty phone. but alas, TPOS jr will be GONE! DONE! ELIMINATED! next sunday when my 2-year contract finally ends. on sunday, don't bother me. i'll be charging around town at different cingular and sprint stores, eagerly looking for a new-fangled cell phone that hopefully will NOT acquire new features as it gets older. i've never been so excited.

note the change in hue.

every so often, i get dissatisfied with the layout and look of this page. but i don't know enough html (or css or whatever) to spend 8 hours and redo everything. but i also don't really feel like succumbing to a strict, provided blogger layout too. oh, what a dilemma. maybe i should focus on other stuff (more important things?) the links are now greener. hahaha.

and the clue points to...

our toilet is 52 years old. no kidding. on the inside of the tank, there's a stamp of 1954. it's an antique toilet!

but there's actually a mystery -- old toilets are supposed to use anywhere from 3.5 gallons (up to like... 6 gallons) per flush. newer ones made after 1992 are high-efficiency, ultra-low-flush at 1.6 gallons per flush (GPF -- yup, there's even an abbreviation for toilet flushes). california law actually dictates that all toilets installed in houses after 1992 must be the ultra-low-flush kind. anyway, so i checked out my toilet to see how much water it uses everytime we pee and poop, and it turns out that... HEY, it only uses 1.6 gallons/flush. so does that mean it's actually a post-1992 toilet? if so, what does the "NOV 1954" date mean?

it's the mystery of the commode. where's sherlock holmes when i need him. or hercules poirot. okay, i've been reading too many sherlock holmes stories...

he's male.

vegas-the-puppy's weinie is getting bigger.

it's strange.

moola sucks

once upon a time, when i was little, i remember thinking that money shouldn't be the focus of everything. and in college, all my experiences reinforced that idea. and during the summers in-between college, that thought always stayed in the back of my mind. and after college, i definitely realized that i wouldn't be willing to trade in my life and happiness for a buttload (or even, a heftier handful) of moola.

so i took a chance, did a bunch of research, took a deep breath, and decided to move to california where there would (hopefully) be more available, exciting, interesting, and relevant opportunities for me in the work-world. and i wouldn't have to succumb to not-so-challenging and not-so-thrilling job options. and i wouldn't have to give in and work for the man because no other possibilities were available anyway.

and it's true. in california, i've found some good stuff. but sadly, the money isn't flowing. it's barely trickling. and.. blah.