Andy’s Blog

So I’m looking to become an “official” resident of Arizona in ASU’s eyes, but apparently that’s not going to happen.  I must be completly self sustaining which I am, but according to ASU being independent means making enough money to pay tuition (the out of state tuition by the way) AND enough money to reasonably live.  This means I must make $18,000 PLUS an additional $8,000.  Add those together and I must make $26,000 a year and the real kicker is that the $18,000 for tuition CAN’T come from student loans.  Working a full time job for 52 weeks a year @ 40 hours I must make $12.50 to come up with $26,000 a year.  Factor in the fact that I’m taking 18 credit hours it’s virtually impossible to work 40 hours a week.  Alright so lets do some more math for funsies.  Assuming I work 40 hours a week for the summer and winter so about 5 months and 20 hours a week for the school year working a same job I must make $17.50 an hour which now as I’m writing this doesn’t seem too unreasonable, but still that’s assuming I can work 20 hours per week and balance 18 credit hours.  The thing that frustrates me the most is that I can’t use student loans to pay for tuition.  That shouldn’t matter how I’m paying my tuition because even residents use student loans to pay for their tuition if they have to.

So I’ve gotten a lot done as far as the move is considered.  Everything is packed up except for dishes in the kitchen which will probably be a last minute kind of thing.  I got my new mattress and I must say it is so comfortable I’ve slept on it two nights so far and I slept so good both those nights.  Next I’ll probably get the bed frame, but of course my loan hasn’t been processed yet so this is setting me back a little bit more than I wanted too.  At least I got September’s rent covered so I don’t really have a problem there.  Just thought I’d keep you guys posted on the move and I’ll write again soon!

Alright so for my 9 months of living in South Phoenix (and the 5 months I spent working in South Phoenix a few years ago), I’ve seen some pretty ghetto things.  This, however, tops them all by a long shot.  So I’m heading home from Subway after getting my spicy italian sub which, by the way was average at best, I see this kid walking down the street.  This kid is wearing a basketball trophy around his neck.  If that’s not ghetto enough the “necklace” was made out of shoe laces.  I’m pretty sure that’s one of the most ghetto things I’ve ever seen in my life.

 Loading ...

So anyone that knows anything at all about the 2008 Olympics has heard about Michael Phelps.  I’ve read a really interesting article about his eating habits.   He eats 12,000 calories that’s right 12 thousand calories per day.  What I find even more interesting about this 12,000 calorie-a-day diet is that it is in no way “health” food.  Check out the article here http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2008/aug/14/michaelphelps.swimming1

I can’t wait to get out of here seriously.  Everyday it seems to get worse here and I’m not sure why.  Perhaps it’s because the sliding door to get to the backyard is really messed up, or perhaps it’s because the toilet clogs EVERYTIME you don’t pee.  Or maybe it’s because I so desperately need a new bed, and can’t wait to get a new one.  Either way I can’t wait to get out of this house in 8 days.  I’m so excited I don’t know how to describe it.

So yesterday I pretty much worked on the cars all day.  I started by working on my car thinking maybe there was something wrong with the clutch fluid and/or the master cylinder (this makes it easier to depress the clutch similar to power steering makes it easier to turn the wheel).  So I completly cleared the fluid lines and replaced the fluid.  This seemed to solve the problem of the clutch not being able to engage at all meaning I can now shift my car into 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and reverse.  But now when trying to take off there is virtually no power to the wheels.  There is about enough power to go 1 m.p.h. in first gear, no bueno.   So now I’m pretty convinced it’s a bad clutch which so far the cheapest place I found is $550.

Next I started working on changing the oil in Joe’s Explorer because I told him I would.  Everything is going too until I finally get the bolt holding the oil in the oil pan.  I had misplaced the bowl I was using the collect the oil (since both of our other oil pans are full) and of course the bolt was mounted sideways so the oil started spurting out sideways versus straight down where I had the bowl so I got oil EVERYWHERE on the driveway.  It was a pain in the ass to clean up even though I didn’t clean it up fully.  But anyways after I let all the oil drain now into the bowl like it should have, I went to go take off the oil filter but somebody decided to make it so tight I couldn’t unscrew it.  So now I had to wait for Kendra to get home to drive me over to Autozone since I now did not have Joe’s car to drive.  So I get the oil filter wrench and finish up.

So this morning we get some cops at the door saying we can’t park our cars on the street when the school across the street is starting or when it’s getting out because it impedes traffic and forces cars to drive into oncoming traffic endangering the lives of the children.  Where the hell are we supposed to park our cars?!  Looks like we have to be extremely ghetto and park them on the lawn well at least one of them.

So I was randomly thinking about the future when it comes time to buy a house.  Yes, I know that is way down the road, but if I’m anything like I am now I’m not sure if I will.  I think I like changing things up too much.  Like even with the new house that we’re moving into.  It’s not like I was miserable in this house but I like to change it up into something new every once and a while.  I know this is way down the road but it was one of those random thoughts you have

So I decided to goto Ikea to look for stuff for my room at the new house and this is what I got:

• Bed Frame – $139 - http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/S79849900
• Mattress – $199 - http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80139951
• Dresser – $80 - http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/30053921
• Desk – $129 - http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/90103678

So I was looking through my Xbox today (whenever I mention Xbox I mean 360).  I found the original Doom game…yeah that’s right the one from 1993.  Me and Aaron are stuck on this huge rocket shooting demon guy and when the rocket flies past you it’s all pixelated and kind of funny.

It looks like everything is a go…The background checks, credit checks, and everything else seemed to have cleared with them.  Joe is going to turn in the deposit after work today and after that it will be offical.  I’m really excited for this move and honestly I don’t know what I’m more excited for…moving or turning 21.  I am having dreams about turning 21 already though.