Numerous people have mentioned to me that my journal is rarely updated. For the lack of posts during the last two weeks, by even myself I have been upbraided. Well, I've been very busy. And while for most people this would be a reason to post, sharing trials and tribulations, that's not what my journal's for. It's different than most, because I want to make sure what I post is funny, or at least won't drive you away. And I fear if I posted when not inspired, they'd look like the entry from yesterday-- but lest you think that I don't want to share my life, or you want to know how I've been doing, I will here provide you with a brief summary of all the trouble that I have brewing:

    After quitting the bookshop, I got a new job. Now this job started out as part-time, but the idea was that I could increase my hours. However, they can't spare a dime, so it looks like although my hours have been increased, salary is not happening soon. This is a shame. Especially since even though I have been working there back since June, people who they hired after me get better pay, or have better jobs. This is not fair. And yet it's much better than the bookshop, so I should probably be glad that I'm there. So that's work.

    Now as for my housing situation, things aren't going quite as I planned. You'll remember at first I lived with Tom. He left, for reasons I still don't understand, to go live in a tent. Then another girl moved in, and said she'd commit for a year. But when the lease came, she didn't sign it. Instead, she left. So Mandy and I were stuck here with no third roommate. Then another friend of mine said that for one month, she would move in with us. So she did, but she does not like when I have guests, and her patience has worn thin, so at the end of the month she'll be moving out. So will Mandy and I. And it's sad to say goodbye to the Moldy Mansion, by far the most illustrious house I've had, if not the cleanest. So Mandy and I found a new apartment a bit further out from the Williams campus. It's much smaller, but it has much cheaper heating, no doubt.

    This alleviates the pressure from my parents who were up visiting last weekend, when they told me that I should buy a house. Yes, not rent, but buy. All last week they would send me emails saying, "This makes sense, this is a good idea." Well, I think it's not the best idea. After all, while I know real estate is supposed to be a good investment, the fact of the matter is I can't afford it. And while it may suck paying rent, because it's wasted money (especially if, like Tom, you want to live in a tent), buying a house is a big deal. But I thought I would try, so I went all over town looking at houses, told by the real estate agent, "Buy now while mortgage rates are down, it's the perfect time!" But the one site that I really liked already sold. It was neat, a full acre near my friend's house facing the lake, but the sale was already complete before I could see it. Places in the next city were cheaper, as you would expect from a town with a high incest rate. There were some I could afford, but I would suspect that many of them would need repairs, so I just rented a place with Mandy. I guess that it's probably better, because frankly, owning my own house would just be a mess.

    Though it's still intriguing. This weekend my brother was up visiting for my last chance to see him before he disappears next semester (he's taking a term out in France, and possibly another all over the world). So we got to go for a walk, hit a party or two with a lot of my friends, play a few games, sit around and talk, and so on. Now he left, but some other friends are visiting me who I have lent bedding and a place to stay, meaning I can't host some other folks who are all in for the wedding of my friend, an event for which I am departing in approximately one hour, and is set to occur in a forest, despite the forecast of scattered thundershowers.

    And that's all the news from Lake Woebegone. And I'm sorry if my news wasn't terse, but I tend to ramble. I'll stop now, for if yesterday's post was bad, today's is verse.