tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74757013327540503542024-03-13T10:30:50.288-04:00Living Life On My OwnAs of July 1st, 2007, I officially have my own apartment. Not a dorm, campus housing, rented room, or space in my parents' house. My. Own. Apartment. Some experiences will be new, and some will be old hat, but either way - I smell adventure!Catherinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06216567752678925641noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7475701332754050354.post-29918418448706511572007-10-29T12:10:00.000-04:002007-10-29T12:13:03.901-04:00The Programmable ThermostatThis past Wednesday I went to Home Depot and bought a programmable thermostat. I was going to install it, but made the mistake of e-mailing my landlord about it as a courtesy. To which he freaked out. I was seriously regretting forgetting that it is easier to beg forgiveness than ask permission. *sigh* However, after some e-mails back and forth, he was over today to look at it... and he Catherinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06216567752678925641noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7475701332754050354.post-25133181929282406982007-09-13T13:27:00.000-04:002007-09-13T13:32:39.343-04:00The iRobot Service DepartmentWhen I finally opened the box to my Roomba, I was really excited to get started. I wanted to set up the invisible walls and get my living room vacuumed because it NEEDED to be vacuumed. As I'm checking the Roomba's moving parts and making sure that I know how to clean the brushes, one of the pieces snaps. Broken. Arg.I registered my Roomba on their website and then placed a request with Catherinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06216567752678925641noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7475701332754050354.post-16262679540745332452007-09-11T14:24:00.000-04:002007-09-11T14:53:16.656-04:00The Bakery Discount StoreI'm not really sure where this sort of store comes from or how you can search for one near you, but if you can find one, they are really amazing. My experience is only based on going to 2 different stores in 2 different states, so your mileage my vary.On to the tale!I have never been one to pass up a deal. When I lived in Rochester, Minnesota I was lured into the local Bakery Discount store by Catherinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06216567752678925641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7475701332754050354.post-23104322357124940992007-07-25T09:54:00.000-04:002007-07-25T10:06:19.187-04:00The Mail, a follow-up(Note: This post is a follow-up to the post entitled The Mail. You may want to read it first.)I brought the bag of mail to the post office and the postal worker behind the counter said he would do what he could. The next few days, the mail for the previous tenant stopped, but then it started up again. I did some research and found that not only is it a federal offense to open someone else's Catherinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06216567752678925641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7475701332754050354.post-9546285063188943722007-07-24T11:26:00.000-04:002007-07-24T11:37:01.654-04:00The FedEx Problem (and the Solution)Last week, there was a Woot-Off at Woot.com. For those of you not familiar with Woot, they normally sell one item a day until it sells out. At midnight CST, they put a new item up for sale. Items for sale range greatly, but usually are electronic in nature. During a Woot-Off, when an item sells out, a new item is put up for sale. Sometimes items sell out within a matter of seconds. It can Catherinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06216567752678925641noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7475701332754050354.post-78934343802006056622007-07-23T15:52:00.000-04:002007-07-23T16:57:08.715-04:00The WaitingYou may have noticed my lack of posting in the last week (or maybe you haven't). This was due to the fact that I went completely off-line so as not to be spoiled before I received my copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I ordered my copy from Amazon.com and it was to arrive on Saturday, July 21st - money back guarantee! The only catch - my mailbox isn't exactly huge, and there is no Catherinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06216567752678925641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7475701332754050354.post-28101663942605360462007-07-17T09:58:00.000-04:002007-07-17T10:11:08.557-04:00The Pots and PansLast night, my boyfriend and I went to Kohl's because I need pots and pans and they had them on sale. This was listed in the circular for the week:Farberware® 15-pc. Classic Cookware Set plus Bonus $99.99 Reg. $199.99thru Jul 22 BONUS 11”/4.5-qt. DEEP COVERED SAUTE PAN with the purchase of a Farberware® 15-pc. Classic cookware set. A $79.99 value.Now, in this case, "BONUS" is synonymous Catherinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06216567752678925641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7475701332754050354.post-1266885772396795342007-07-12T12:10:00.000-04:002007-07-17T10:11:25.892-04:00The WalkOne of the reasons I chose to move into the apartment that I did, was due to it's close proximity to my place of work. Ever since I left college life, I have missed having the option of walking places. I'm not really one for walking just for the sake of walking, but to have a destination and a purpose makes a big difference for me. Unfortunately, the HEAT here lately has been rather unbearableCatherinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06216567752678925641noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7475701332754050354.post-18424689186316841192007-07-11T10:20:00.000-04:002007-07-11T10:19:59.624-04:00The 3 foot receiptLast night after work, I went to one of the local grocery stores. I had seen the circular and there were a lot of buy-one-get-one-free deals and I wanted to check it out. The problem with buy-one-get-one-free deals is that if the item's price is way too high to begin with, you aren't really getting much of a deal. I grew up in a family where we didn't buy anything unless it was on sale AND we Catherinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06216567752678925641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7475701332754050354.post-17982756552422530282007-07-10T13:45:00.000-04:002007-07-10T13:44:45.765-04:00The Outlet SituationI am having a bit of a problem figuring out the best way to light my bedroom. There is no overhead lighting, and the outlet that is attached to the light switch is in a most unfortunate place. I understand why they did it this way, of course - it was the cheapest way to wire the room.Right now, I have no lighting attached to the switch-controlled outlet because it just doesn't make any sense toCatherinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06216567752678925641noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7475701332754050354.post-13244605301119019722007-07-10T11:55:00.000-04:002007-07-10T12:03:22.479-04:00The LaundryI did laundry in my apartment for the first time last night. It wasn't all that exciting, but I did learn a few things.During the spin cycle, my washer vibrates the entire apartment building. (This is only a slight exaggeration)The washer does not beep when the cycle is completed.The dryer beeps for 5 minutes and then starts a "wrinkle release" tumble cycle and then beeps for 5 minutes and Catherinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06216567752678925641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7475701332754050354.post-58342774967539072412007-07-09T16:12:00.000-04:002007-07-09T16:12:28.165-04:00The Previous TenantWell, I talked to my landlord about the situation with the previous tenant's mail. Turns out, the previous tenant (from now on known as PT) skipped town. He owes money to my landlord, and considering the number of overdue notices in my mailbox, he owes money to quite a few people. Having these bills and letters in my possession was making me very uneasy. I went to the post office this Catherinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06216567752678925641noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7475701332754050354.post-50867224258783429412007-07-09T11:45:00.000-04:002007-07-09T11:53:22.237-04:00The Shower headEarlier this week, my shower head broke. It wasn't the absolute end of the world, because I could still use the hand-held part, but I couldn't hook it to the wall anymore to take a normal shower. Taking a shower the past few days involved lots of picking up and putting down the shower head. Not exactly the fastest or easiest way to take a shower. I decided that, rather than have the landlord Catherinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06216567752678925641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7475701332754050354.post-83234871254059509152007-07-05T09:44:00.000-04:002007-07-05T19:59:36.505-04:00The MicrowaveEditor's Note: I have told this story twice so far, both times in long-winded detail. I have a feeling that this third time will be no different. Brace yourself.Pre-move, I purchased a microwave from Best Buy. I did this without considering the size of the space that I had to put the microwave. Thus, the microwave did not fit. It was too large in all directions. Bah. Of course, said store is Catherinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06216567752678925641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7475701332754050354.post-77819089540729844072007-07-03T12:37:00.001-04:002007-07-05T19:56:21.452-04:00The Frozen Food AisleFirst, a bit of advice, if you go grocery shopping around midnight and you plan on lingering in the frozen food aisle, consider bringing a jacket.I'm almost convinced that my local store turns off the heating (as well as most of the lights) in the frozen food aisles at night. Makes sense since there are way less customers and it is a good way to conserve energy, but freezing customers are not Catherinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06216567752678925641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7475701332754050354.post-34648632576408482492007-07-02T14:42:00.000-04:002007-07-02T15:02:06.678-04:00The MailYou would think that checking your mailbox for the first time, on the day before your lease starts, would prove to be rather fruitless. However, if neither the previous tenant nor the tenant before him stopped their mail, you may find that there is a month's worth of junk mail, free newspapers, bills and tax documents in the mailbox so that it is almost bursting at the seams.I don't mind the Catherinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06216567752678925641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7475701332754050354.post-6981224924542402562007-06-29T12:47:00.001-04:002007-06-29T14:15:49.370-04:00The Cable GuySadly, he arrived in the designated window for my "appointment." This means that I don't get the nice $40 credit that they promise if they are late. Normally I applaud people for being on time, but this was not one of those cases. It was a rather silly exercise due to the fact that I have no furniture, and certainly no TV. I think all he did was plug in the cable box (which I only got becauseCatherinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06216567752678925641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7475701332754050354.post-63093471000079996202007-06-28T14:48:00.000-04:002007-07-03T15:44:20.108-04:00The KeysHolding these shiny keys in my hand makes my heart leap. And my stomach twitter. I don't know exactly why. Probably due to the fact that this is my first space that I can call my own. It's not just an extra room in someone's house. I get each and every room to myself. Unless I feel like letting someone in. Ahh... the feeling of power, independence, and privacy!Catherinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06216567752678925641noreply@blogger.com0