Pendantic Parking

Right now we pay something like $300 a year for the right to park in the college's semi-premium parking spots. These parking lots are apparently so good that many of the spots are metered. If you have a parking pass, and the only spot left is a metered spot, you still have to pay a quarter for every 15 minutes you'll be using that spot.

Most times the only spots open are the metered spots. Even those might be full.

Or I can go 15 feet to the side of the road and park at a city meter, which costs me a quarter for 20 minutes. Think about this for a moment.

I pay $300 a year to park in lots that are almost always full. I could pay $1 to park in the lot if I want a metered spot, so that's $1 per hour on top of the $300. If my class lasts an hour and I have 30 classes in a semester then I'm paying $420 a year (4 semesters) for parking.

Or I could just park at a city metered spot that costs me $0.75 an hour for every class and pay $90 a year for parking.

Granted I do find a non-metered spot about once a week, but I still think I'm getting screwed here.

Remind me not to re-up the parking pass. Thanks.

5 Things In 5 Weeks

I haven't done this in a while and I'm thinking it's time to do it again. My recent life has lost a little focus, just jumping from one cool thing to the next but not really getting anywhere, so I need to rein it in a little bit, find focus.

So over the next 5 weeks I will work towards 5 semi-large goals. Each day I will focus on what I have to do in order to get these goals completed before I focus on anything else. I already have my 101 things in 1001 days list, but that's just a hodge-podge of stuff, no real final goal in mind. The point of 5 In 5 is to come up with little things to do each day that add up to one final big thing being done at the end of 5 weeks.

So, my 5 Things In 5 Weeks, starting today and ending February 19th, 3 days before my birthday:

1) Pass Linguistics 101 with an A
~I'm well on my way to doing this already, as I've actually gone to class and done all my homework every day, but I need a reminder, and I need to keep focused.

2) Get a part time job that pays a minimum of $1000 a month
~This will entail going out and handing in applications. I'll have to go back to the temp agencies. It'll be a pain in the butt, but we need more money.

3) Be able to do 3 full push ups
~I'm a weak guy, and fat. I can't do one full push up without my knees under me. I'd like to be able to do at least 3, so this means I'll have to start training. I can use Wii Fit, or just the floor. I can lift weights or just myself. Lots of different things I can do, and hopefully I'll see results relatively fast.

4) Bond with dogs through training and obedience
~There's a bunch of sub-set goals to this one: teach them each a new trick, get Monster to stay off the counters, teach them to greet guests politely at the door as opposed to jumping on them, etc. I'd like this to be a "do something every day" goal, which is why it's so general.

5) Sell the big screen TV
~While #5 seems as though it would be easy, it also means I have to find a monitor for my old computer, figure out where to set it up, etc. Plus finding a good price for the TV, where to sell it, and all that goes along with that. Not a big deal, but it may take some time.

So there's the list. Not too crazy, but I have to push myself for most of it. What do you think?

Whew

How often do you start a post and you end up erasing it for whatever reason?

I do it quite a bit, often because I'm unable to make it come out right. It doesn't "sound" right and I don't know how to fix it. Sometimes it's because I realize I don't actually have anything to say; that I just want to blather. Other times I realize that I'm just being petty.

It's not just me, is it?