And now, for your random pleasure

But on a more positive note...

'Grimm' has been renewed for a fifth season by NBC.

And then there's this:

:(

Well, I did some checking at the normal rates offered online through the hotel (although there may be a special rate the school can get), and it would be about $190 for the hotel, $30 or so for the museum. Putting in some spending money and transportation costs, and I just don't see how I come up with it at this point. Which is a shame, because I think this is the last year of my appointment. The one time I did have an extra day set up, I got hit by a car and had to cancel the trip entirely due to a broken ankle. Last year I could have used a credit card, but I was only approved for it right before the trip, so the plans and itinerary were already in place. I am beginning to think this is not meant to be.

I've already spent much of my federal refund on bills. I guess that's a better way to be fiscally responsible, anyway. My big splurge was ordering Jin Jin yesterday for lunch, and then eating the other half for dinner. Oh, well.

Whew!

Since I got off work, I have been running errands. I:

1. Went to the bank.
2. Paid my rent at the leasing office.
3. Went to Home Depot and bought a toilet seat (long story that I won't get into. Suffice to say it is very difficult for a girl when a seat pops apart at the hinge while in use. You tend to slide into the bathtub, given my bathroom's arrangement.)
4. Got a small housewarming gift I promised almost ten years ago when my friends moved into their house, and it's one that can save lives.
5. Went to the grocery store and got very healthy food.

Now everything's put away and, most importantly, the new seat is on the commode. (I was going to stop at the apartment when I paid my rent to use the bathroom, and realised that there was no point until that new seat was in place. Guys, really, you have it lucky, with the whole stand-and-pee thing. So I'm sitting down to the computer with some of the Kroger Mediterranean bar items (Tuscany bean salad, mozzarella balls, and artichoke hearts). I'm also eating a bit of a multigrain baguette. Yummy!

I found out today that when I go to Chicago next month, I won't be staying near the University of Illinois-Chicago campus, as I have in the past, but in a hotel downtown, Club Quarters on Wacker at Michigan. Which means I'll be near lots of neat stuff to see in the heart of the city. I really don't see how I can afford to stay an extra day and go to the Field Museum, but I would love to. I'm going to work out the finances and see if there's any way. In the meantime, I've got a query into how expensive the hotel room would be for an extra night. That's the main expense--the flight and the one night at the hotel will be paid for by the regional office. Keep your fingers crossed for me!!!

Yay!

I finally have home broadband and Wi-Fi again. I've hooked up the desktop, laptop, TV, and printer (the phone, tablet, and Kindle only connect when I want them to, but the others either stay on, on in the case of the laptop, connect as soon as I start her up. Oh, and I should do the Roku box in the bedroom, so I can watch Netflix or listen to Pandora, etc.

Again, yay!

And no, I didn't get the TV cable service back. So it's just digital antenna channels and then the streaming services. :) But my bill is a third of what it was.

I was feeling a little like not being alone tonight

for some reason (it's pretty common; for all that I am an introvert, I have trouble with being alone sometimes). So I headed over to the library and its Wi-Fi connexion so I could blog and maybe check out some things. It turns out one of my co-workers is sitting at the table next to me, but I haven't wanted to interrupt her conversation with someone where they're working on some major computer programming stuff. I do miss her; I've always liked her. She is from Thailand and always made things a little brighter at work. I've wondered how she's been doing.

Oh, their tutoring session is over and Upsorn noticed me and we got to talking. I told her all about the new plans for the hospital becoming a outpatient medical center. She was very encouraging. We hugged. It was great to run into her. And her daughter's a teenager now--I remember when she was born. It's amazing how time flies! I'm so glad I came over here tonight.

That seems to have satisfied my need to socialise. I think I'll wrap up here and maybe look through some materials and see if I want to check anything out. I should go home and relax and maybe do something fun. I feel like re-reading To Kill a Mockingbird, to be honest. :) I may just do that. I may blog some more later, but in case I don't, have a good night. And keep your fingers crossed for me--the IRS says they'll deposit my refund tomorrow. Since I have 22 cents in the bank, that would be really, really nice. Especially as I still have some bills to pay and my brakes are starting to make a noise like the pads are wearing down. Mind you, I've had both sets of brakes worked on in the last two years, so I don't know why they would be, but I should check it out. I'm hoping to do so the 16th, as we are actually off work for President's Day this year. Yay!

This made me so happy when I saw it earlier today

Harper Lee to Publish First Novel in Over 50 Years: 'To Kill a Mockingbird' sequel finds an adult Scout Finch returning home to visit father Atticus

After more than 50 years, author Harper Lee will follow up her beloved, and only, book To Kill a Mockingbird with her second novel, Go Set a Watchman, set for release on July 14th, publisher HarperCollins announced today.

The recently unearthed book is a quasi-sequel to Lee's 1960 classic, but as the author explained in a statement, Go Set a Watchman was actually written first and would eventually inspire Mockingbird. "It features the character known as Scout as an adult woman and I thought it a pretty decent effort," Lee said. "My editor, who was taken by the flashbacks to Scout's childhood, persuaded me to write a novel from the point of view of the young Scout. I was a first-time writer, so I did as I was told."

I adored To Kill a Mockingbird, having first read it in high school during a class where we read a story and then followed up with watching the movie that was based upon it (we also watched Franco Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet, the 1946 version of Great Expectations, and The Great Gatsby with Robert Redford, among others). But To Kill a Mockingbird was riveting, both in book and film form, and I did wonder what happened to Scout when she grew up. It sounds like we may finally know.

So mark your calendars for July 14th (Bastille Day, if that helps you remember). And I hope it comes out for the Kindle as well, because Mockingbird finally came out in that format this past autumn, and I do have it. Ooh, it really is a lovely thing that it's coming out soon!!!

Woo-hoo!!!

This morning I used the bonus points Kroger had loaded onto my card out of the blue for being a good customer,  plus the ones I've earned on the grocery runs this month,  to the tune of 90 cents of a gallon.  I filled the car,  which was on empty, but not on the gas light yet, for a ridiculous price--and yes,  I have photographic evidence,  taken right before I did my happy dance.  I actually had to have them refund me the rest of $20 because I overpaid. It was only $16.70 for a whole tank. Yay!  That's the most I've ever saved.

By the way

I didn't watch the 'Big Game' with all its hype, commercials, and half-time show, but I did see this a few days ago, and apparently the folks at Budweiser, given their success last time, decided you can't go wrong with puppies and Clydesdales. And you know what? They're right. Here's their 'Lost Dog' commercial from this year's Super Bowl:

I do love this song

'The Ballad of Accounting', which was written by Ewan MacColl. Here is his version, along with Peggy Seeger:



...and then this is the Scottish group The Battlefield Band, whose music I really like, with their version:



(although my favourite Battlefield Band song, one of their own, is 'The Dear Green Place', as story of Glasgow):



I know, I've posted these before. But they're still great. :)