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Jennifer D. Wade Journal

Welcome to my online diary, enjoy your stay!

Blog posts December 2008

Apropos of Nothing

Don't ask me why, because I don't know.  But, I'm quite certain that this New Year's Eve calls for David Bowie. 

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Merry Christmas

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Merry Christmas Eve

Song by the Waitresses. Video not by the Waitresses, but sort of entertaining.

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A Modern Holiday Classic

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The Choir Boys

"The Holly and the Ivy," recorded at WINCHESTER CATHEDRAL in England.  Winchester is southwest of London and east of Salisbury.  Jane Austen's tomb is in the cathedral.

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Let It Snow

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Back on Schedule

The snow has ended (for now), so I'm back home and ready to continue the musical march toward Christmas.  And, you know, nothing says Christmas like a holiday light display synchronized to the music of Mannheim Steamroller!  Enjoy!

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In Case I Get Snowed In ...

... here's Friday's offering.  A triple play of "Frosty the Snowman."

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Holiday Mode

With nary a student in sight, it seems one of my favorite radio stations is officially in holiday mode.  From now through New Year's Eve, you'll hear nothing but holiday tunes on Marywood University's VMFM.  I must say, I am likin' it.  Although, I am a little skeptical about the hour or two of holiday-style polka music that's set for Sunday!

Nevertheless, listening to all those tunes has put me in the holiday mood.  So, in that spirit, I'll post a song a day from now through Christmas.  We'll start with The Corrs performing one of my favorite carols.

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Berated by Junk E-mail

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House Rules

Live in a house for a while and you get to know its quirks and idiosynchracies - especially if you are the one in charge of maintaining said house.  I've owned my house for 4+ years now.  Early on, I learned that it's not a good idea to use the microwave and the toaster or the microwave and the tea kettle at the same time.  The circuit breaker doesn't like that.

Today, I learned that the heating system is crap.  By that I mean that it works like it's supposed to work, it's just not very good.  My choices seem to be:  a) accepting the fact that the second floor is going to be colder than the first floor; b) turning up the heat to a ridiculous level so that some of that heat will make it to the second floor.  With my budget in mind, I choose a).

I also learned that steam heat eats away glass.  The handyman who explained the heat situation also gave the furnace the once over, and I asked him to clean out the sight glass because it had a lot of dirt on the inside of the tube.  He took out the tube and showed me the difference in thickness between the top end and the bottom end - the bottom end being much thinner.  So, he replaced the tube before it got any thinner and started leaking.

Incidentally, one of the first things I learned when I bought my house is that it's good to have a handyman. 

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Thanks for Nothing!

The other day, I went to a certain store to look for a certain item.  From past experience, I know that this item is not actually carried in many stores - it's easily available online, however - but, I thought that if any store might carry it, this would be the one.

So, I go in and wander around for a while, stopping occasionally to wait for people to move their shopping carts out of the aisle so I could pass.  I found another item that I needed, but the certain item that I had hoped to find could not actually be found.

Did I miss it?  I didn't think so, but I also didn't have my glasses on.  So, to make sure I didn't overlook the item, I broke down and asked one of the store employees.  Just as she was about to answer, a manager-type came by and the following conversation ensued:

Me:  Do you carry (name of item here.  Actually, more of a description since I don't know if the item has as actual "name")?  I looked all around the store, but didn't see any.
Manager, in a cheerful manner:  No.  Everybody's always asking for them, but we don't have them.
Me, in a cheerful but sarcastic manner:  Well, if everybody's always asking for them, maybe it would be a good idea to carry them. 

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Money Matters

Along with the first two Christmas cards of the season, today's mail brought some financially-related material.

I received a check from my mortgage company.  Seems I paid a little bit too much into my escrow account so I get some cash back.  I already know where I'm going to spend that, though the tax situation in Luzerne County makes me wonder if I should.  Whatever.  I'm gonna spend it.

I also received a renewal notice for the mine subsidence insurance on my house.  Believe this - the rates actually went down!  So, I signed up for a little more insurance at a price less than what I paid this past year.

Then came the statements from my investments.  I pretty much knew what to expect from my stock fund, but I looked anyway.  Down about 30-40% for the year so far.  Ugh.  But, on the positive side, I did earn about $0.21 in interest on my cash account this past month.  That's some real money right there.  Yessirree.  Real money. 

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Cars

Well, it looks as though Congress will do SOMETHING to help the Big 3 automakers get from here to January 20 when they'll become Obama's problem - along with everything else W left in his wake.  Yikes.  I suppose a bailout or a bridge loan or whatever you want to call it is probably a necessary evil.  Now does not seem to be a good time to have a major industry fail, especialy when so many other businesses are dependent on it. 

Coincidentally, I heard this song on the radio earlier this week.  Takes you back, doesn't it?

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So Much for Suspense

So, I'm watching DEXTER last night, right?  We're down to the final few episodes of Season 3.  It actually started off kind of slow, but has picked up in the past few weeks as our Dexter became more and more involved with Miguel (Jimmy Smits), the dangerous A.D.A.

Anyway, last night's episode ended with Miguel in league with a creepy killer nicknamed "the Skinner."  And, said Skinner kidnapping our Dexter!  Tied him up and threw him in the trunk of a car to take him to a fate that we can very well imagine.  Could this be the end for Dexter?  I guess we'll have to tune in next week to find out.

Oh, wait!  No we won't have to tune in to find out.  Because right after the preview for next week, Mr. Voice came on and advertised an upcoming preview of Season 4!  So, I guess Dexter manages to escape from the Skinner.  Surprise!

Thanks for that, Mr. Voice.  Just ... thanks.  

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15 blog posts