Primordial Chaos

It's been a few days, sorry! I've been really swamped with school stuff and making sure all my applications and supporting documents were in line and so forth. Barely had enough energy to drag my ass to bed some nights. But I'm sure you can appreciate school coming before my blog.

So, despite that hellish 5 days, test on Friday, test and paper due on Monday, 2 tests and 2 papers due on Tuesday, I did well. Mid to high B's on the tests (I was so sure I really bombed those) and 97+ on the papers. I get to repeat another set of days like those 5 around April 1st. It's not a joke and I'm not laughing. :( I'm not gonna pressure myself into straight As. I did that last semester and despite pulling a 3.75 for the semester, I paid for it in sanity and sleep. I make sure every evening I do something fun, from video games to reading, just whatever to not get all workaholic. If I get to keep my sanity and sleep plus have fun, but trade in some of my As for Bs, I can deal with that. I love school, but I shouldn't just LIVE school. If I don't grow as a person, then doesn't matter how much I know or what I know, there's no substance to me.

Tonight was the Lobos' last game of the regular season and also a home game. Stupid UNM shafted over 1k students, so I watched from home. Game was against Texas Christian, and we won, which also means we're conference champions too. It was also senior night, and there was a big hurrah for the b-ball team seniors too. I mean senior, we only had one, Roman Martinez. It was kinda sad and touching it was his last game at the Pit, even he was getting teary eyed. But we're keeping everyone else so next season should be good too, but he'll be missed. Our conference tournament starts March 13th, the next day is Selection Sunday and the teams are finalized for the Big Dance. Also, everyone gets bracket crazy and bets money on how many games they got the winner right about. I went and made a free online bracket manager account to do my bracket, if you want in, email me, no gambling, just for fun so you don't have to know a damn thing about what's going on. :P

So, the other insurance says the accident was my fault despite it being impossible for me to hit her with the very corner of my driver's side while she was approaching from the passenger side if I was backing out, I have to back straight out and can't angle cause I'll hit a car next to me since my car is so small. And she even SAID I was backing straight out. My passenger side/middle would be damaged were that the case. What-fucking-ever. Anyways, so GEICO said they were going to jack up my rates for being reckless since the other insurance (who would have to pay for repairs, mind you) says it is my fault. GEICO did no investigating of their own, they just went with what the other company said. As you can imagine, this PISSED ME OFF. They wanted to almost DOUBLE my rates! And I only had liability. So I told them fuck you and fuck that, and left them. They did my mom pretty dirty after her accident, refusing to pay for shit they were on the hook for and such, so that left a shitty taste in my mouth too. So, for, oh, 10 bucks a month more than my original rate with GEICO, and 53 bucks LESS than what GEICO wanted to change my rate to, I have liability, collision AND comprehensive insurance with $100 deductibles. This is including that accident. I'm in good hands, since I changed to Allstate. :) Fuck you, GEICO. No wonder you have a gecko for a mascot, you're a fucking slimy company. At least Allstate has the non-threatening friendly black guy. :P

So I've been doing research into getting my fucking bumper fixed because fuck that mess. I received quotes from 4 different body shops, all about 1100-1300 bucks. Just to FIX my bumper, paint my bumper, and fix my rear light, NOT a new bumper. Because I do not trust car shops of any sort for any reason, AND I have my trusty Haynes manual (I'll explain that in a bit) I decided to Google the cost of parts and such and see just how much they're trying to bend me over the desk. The answer is, A LOT. I can get a BRAND NEW bumper, not patch the one I have, BRAND NEW after market (like the clear tailights instead of the red/orange plastic) rear tailights and replace both of them AND have someone repaint the WHOLE CAR with a high quality paint job and clearcoat, no half assed Maaco bullshit. The best part is I'd even have a few hundred left over. Holy fuck.

The only catch being is that doesn't include paying someone to replace my bumper. And it won't because fuck that, I can do it. I have 3 different sets of different mechanic's tools, might as well put em to use. :P I mentioned my Haynes manual because what that is is a complete rundown of repairs you can do without a professional based on COMPLETELY TEARING DOWN AND REBUILDING THE CAR. This includes replacing the rear lights and installing a new bumper. :) It even shows you step by step how to do it, which is pretty cool. I mean, for fuck's sake, most mechanics aren't, ahem, Aeris quality smart. I can handle some nuts and bolts. :P I did the brakes and oil changes on my 190, even. Because screw you, I'm independent that way. :P I bought the manual to try and figure out my wiring and why my horn is wired to my headlights and such. There's all kinds of cool stuff in it though, I read it all the time. It also talks about what to look for (and has pics) to see if something needs replacing. Like how to tell if a belt is worn before it gets to the point of looking like dried out rubber and such. It's just a handy guide to have as a car owner, really. I had one for my 190, how'd you think I learned to do brakes and oil changes? :) But even for someone who isn't into that and is just a regular daily driver sort, it gives great advice and tips on how to really maintain the life of your car and spot problems before they're HUGE problems. It's my Blueshift Bible. :P I check everything pretty frequently, from fluids to alignment to my undercarriage (speed bumps are not my friend) to spark plugs and fuses, even regular washings and HAND waxings...that car is fucking BABIED by me. They don't make them anymore, and they're kinda rare as it is. Makes me rather unique on the road in the swarms of SUVs, Camrys and Accords. I like that. The del sol's bigger brother the S2000 is pretty cool, but they stopped making THOSE too. :( Though if I ever have to get a new car, I'd totally look for a S2000 or another del sol. I'm just a huge fan now. :) AND I WILL NEVER DRIVE AN AUTOMATIC AGAIN. Seriously, I will not own an automatic. Hell, I can barely drive one at this point. I keeping looking for the clutch and want to shift as I accelerate. I've almost thrown my mom's car into park while moving her car into the garage or something. Park AND reverse, actually. I get so lost and confused in an automatic. Hell, my brother's Jeep is an auto. As usual, I'm the odd one out in my family and do things differently. ;)

So my brother took me shooting recently. I haven't fired a gun since I was, jesus, 3rd/4th grade at camp, and I'm kinda scared of guns. We went out to the middle of nowhere offroading in his Jeep (that was fun), where we're not supposed to be shooting in the first place. So we have our eyes out for the open space police, who usually don't go out there because it's WAY out in the desert. We pass a burnt out car on our way, and we're half joking we hope we don't find a body. My brother is always teasing me about my hand eye coordination, especially when playing video games. I don't play first person shooters anymore because I can't aim for shit even though I used to be really good at them. Jess is thinking he's gonna get a great laugh out of me. So we gather up some abandoned trash, old tires, a dartboard which really worked out it being a large target and all and an abandoned dishwasher. I'm thinking we're gonna go shoot a basic rifle considering my lack of experience. WRONG. We shoot a .45, which kinda blows my mind. We shoot 2 magazines of 13 each, we start on the dartboard because it gives me a target and I'm noob. We put on our ear protection and he goes first, and all but one hit the dartboard, but not all in the middle. So he shows me how to load and ready the thing, but I shoot lefty, and it's a righty gun so we had to change things a little bit. Of course gave me basic safety tips, then it's my turn to shoot. The gun has a decent recoil, in fact after 2 magazines of 13, Jess' wrist was sore from trying to shoot straight against the recoil. I aim and get ready to shoot, and he says "this should be good". I shoot my first one, pause for a few seconds, and miss completely by a couple of inches, same goes for my second one. He says "let's see if you hit the target at all". I changed my stance a bit since I was standing on uneven ground, and got into position again. I fire the next 11 off one right after the other, no pauses. All of them hit right dead middle of the dartboard. Jess was like "holy shit how did you do that?", because even HE didn't shoot that well. He said I was completely steady like there was no recoil at all. He was impressed. No cheap laughs here, buster. So we reload and go shoot the tires and the dishwasher, we shoot 26 rounds each. Jess' wrist was sore. Mine was not. :) He thinks I'm a secret agent in my free time now, he's still stunned I did so well. Anyways, it was scary, but kinda fun in a doing shit we're not supposed to be doing way with my brother. This is also what got us into trouble as kids. :P It's not really my thing, can't say I'm a huge fan of it, but it was bonding time with Jess' so when he asked if I'd go shooting with him more often I said sure. Shooting up the dishwasher WAS pretty fun though. :P

And so my world keeps spinning and keeps me busy. The week after next is Spring Break, which I'm looking forward to. That means NEXT week is midterms, which I am not. :(

Halfway through this semester already...

~A.