I cannot stop sneezing!

I don't know what to think about marriage lately. I have two married friends who are expecting a baby, and just bought a house. TDos and I helped them move the other day, mostly by playing with their dogs so they could actually get things done. That sort of kind of made me want to be married, just for the house and the Christmas tree and seeing TDos more than twice a week.

But then I have another friend who just recently broke off an engagement and a five+ year relationship because of it. That, in my mind, is unquestionably brave and smart. I think marriage has become a means to an end for a lot of people in this world, and after x amount of years together, they feel obligated to get married. Or, when people reach a certain age or are surrounded by married or engaged people, they feel like they almost have to. This is probably the reason that the survival rate for marriage is 50%.

However, my two friends that are married with the house are totally compatible, and I have other friends who are on the cusp of getting engaged that will totally rock at being married. But I just don't understand the culture of marriage that is so dominating. I can name a bunch of people I went to high school with that are married or have kids AND are married. I completely understand that people want different things in life and just because I'm not ready to be married that doesn't mean everyone else is insane for doing it sooner.

TDos met up with some old college buddies the other day, and among them was this one girl. She is TDos's age (26), and is currently getting a divorce. She has three kids. Thuh-ree. She thought getting married in college was the best idea ever, and having kids right away was even smarter. I'm sure she doesn't regret her children, but she's 26, and already divorced. That's super duper depressing. I can't imagine having an ex-husband before I turn 30. I don't want to have an ex-husband--period. I want to do it right, and I feel like if I did it soon, it would be all wrong and end in disaster.

I'm not even ready to commit to a hair color, which probably means I cannot successfully commit myself to TDos in the sense of a marriage. I like being an independent person. I like marking "single" on my W4. I think the furthest I'll go in the near future is rent a house with TDos, and get a Corgi. Because Corgis are the best, especially when they wear harnesses.

So, in conclusion, don't expect a wedding invitation from me this year, but also let me know if you want to go try on wedding dresses at the store. Because that could be fun.

Whaaaaaat?

So, apparently I'm engaged to Rupert Friend? I wish someone would have told me.

iPod iUpdate

When we last left KP, she was going insane trying to fix both her computer and her iPod. On Monday, I got home from school at 3:00 and until 7:30, I was on the line with various tech support people from both Apple AND Gateway. Turns out I needed an Apple specialist to go into my laptop (or, rather, take me into my laptop) and the inner workings of it. We FINALLY updated iTunes. Yay! Furthermore, iTunes 7 automatically went through my computer and found all the music I had and uploaded it for me. Yay, right?

WROOOOONG. I plugged in my iPod and still nothing. I called Apple again and it was an Indian guy. I thought, "Indian guy, yes! They always git-er-done faster and better than the other tech specialists." (More on my fixation with Indian people later. I just love em. I love em so much I decided to keep one.) So this guy walked me through toggling my iPod and then restarting it and blah blah blah. Then he said what I had been dreading since this whole thing started. "I think it's your computer. You might need to bring it to a Gateway store to get it repaired."

NAAAAAAAO! That was the absolute, no no no, last thing I wanted to do. My laptop just expired its warranty and it would cost me a fortune. Crossing my fingers, I went on Gateway support again and allowed a tech to remote access my computer. He did a few updates and found out my USB ports were outdated (just like, um, EVERYTHING on my laptop--thank you very much, Bridgewater State College and your lame antivirus software) and that's why they weren't responding to my iPod. So he clicked and clacked, and asked me to replug it in. I did, and I held my breath.

Long story short, I'm sitting here at UMass, rocking out to my lovely new 30G iPod. I'm really glad I kept calling tech support people and ignored their attempts to sell me stuff. I still want to buy a Mac though, but the pressure is off to do it now. Which is good, because I have no dough.

SomethingKaty and myself are going to lunch today to celebrate our very own Thanksgiving, as we won't be together on the actual holiday. I blame that on this dream I had, that I went to her house and her husband just did not like me at all. And he wasn't secretive about it. So I'm pretty sure that's why I won't be celebrating Thanksgiving with the Achesons. Because Ryan dream-hates me.

I'm think I'm going Christmas shopping tomorrow, and I have a list, so I will hopefully get a good chunk of it done. Keep in mind, all, that I am a poor graduate student and cannot afford to buy stuff for everyone. (Ignore the fact that I just bought an iPod.) Ho, Ho, Ho!

My iPod misadventures.

Okay, so if you know me at all, you know that my old 4th gen 20G iPod is like a good friend that I jam into my ears and listen to. I've had it for about two years now, and it's been a very good iPod. Lauren got hers around the same time and it crashed twice, Chris dropped his in a puddle, so by comparison mine has been pretty good.

Now, after I left Adams, I left a good chunk of songs on my computer there, and chalked it up to the fact I was too lazy to burn them because I had them on my iPod. So a few weeks ago, I thought I would remove them from my iPod onto my itunes, you know, just in case something were to happen to my iPod. So, I plug 'er into my laptop and wait. And wait and wait. iTunes is not recognizing my iPod. I got annoyed and realized I was about 78 updates behind, and that iTunes 7 was ready for downloading. So I did. I downloaded and downloaded, and Installer kept screaming, "CORRUPTION, UNABLE TO CONTINUE INSTALLER!"

"Rar!" I said. And then I forgot about it. I should mention here that my iPod was not holding a charge. A 4th gen should hold a charge on a full battery for 12 hours. I was lucky if it made it to two hours. So, I made an appointment at the PVD Apple store to get it looked it.

Long story short, they couldn't fix the poor battery at the store, and if they did, it would cost almost as much as a new iPod. I got frustrated and called Pete. Pete is TDos's best friend and roommate, and happens to work for Apple. He recommended that I ask about refreshed iPods. The clerk looked peeved when I suggested that, like it was something they had but wouldn't bring up unless directly asked. But he got me one. A refreshed iPod is an iPod that the store puts out as a floor model. It's a perfectly fine iPod, but because it's handled and molested by patrons, Apple reduces the price. So I told the Apple guy that I wanted a 30G black video refreshed one. He asked me who I was talking to on the phone and I told him Pete. Well, that was a horse of a different color, so I got an additional 10% off. Yay! I got, like, a three hundred dollar ipod for close to $200. Yay!

No yay for long. I went home and plugged it in, expecting itunes to shut its stupid mouth and open up. It didn't. So I spent like, three hours on the instant message tech support with Gateway trying to figure out why my computer wouldn't let me freaking download iTunes. So, the tech guy tried to figure it out, couldn't, then decided to try and sell me something instead. I cut that off at the pass and called Apple. The goofy girl I talked to told me to shut down norton anti-virus and try downloading it again. Stee-rike three.

Even longer story short, I have a beautiful new iPod thatI can't do anything with, and a laptop that won't let me download iTunes. So my dad goes, "Jesus, just buy a Mac."

So, I am going to buy a freaking iMac for $899, but until I freaking do that, my beautiful black 30G iPod video is going to collect dust. DAMN TECHNOLOGY. I can't exactly go out and buy a new mac, especially since I just blew two hundred clams on a new iPod. Plus Christmas is coming up and I cannot in good conscience spend that kind of money on myself, only to turn to my family and friends at Christmas and tell them I couldn't afford gifts for them. That would be teh lame. So I'm at a crossroads.

I have no problem using my old iPod until I can afford a Mac, but I'm super impatient. Super duper impatient, especially when I have a new toy to play with. My mum sat here for like twenty minutes while I was on the line with tech people playing Pong on the 30G, screaming, "THIS THING IS GREAT!"

I KNOW IT IS. GAH!

Wednesday's child is sleepy peep

This blog is already a harsh mistress. One post up and my readers (Katy) are already bloodthirsty for more.

This past weekend was excellent, aside from Imogen Heap, which you can read about in my previous entry. T and I also went to Newbury Comics. Now, I know some people that can't go into Newbury Comics without spending at least fifty balloons on CDs, posters, or what have you. I don't usually have that problem, because all the music I want I have, or can easily borrow, or would just assume download the track from iTunes for a minimal cost. So there you go.

But anyway, after much poking, I found Go! and Wholesale Meats and Fish, two amazing Letters to Cleo CDs for like, nine dollars together. I couldn't resist that, so I bought em then and there. I felt a little buyer's remorse until I heard the studio recording of Awake from Wholesale Meats and Fish. Then I got over it.

Time to get emo for a minute. I work with people who are either married or in serious relationships, and live with their significant others, and it makes me jealous that I can't see TDos whenever I want to. Distance is a tyrant; we are reduced to weekends and the off mid-week sleepover. Hopefully, we can remedy this soon and buy that puppy (a Corgi) we've been talking about. Here is a Corgi puppy:


I want a girl puppy and I'd name her Bellatrix Lestrange. But if he were a boy puppy, I would not love him any less, and I would call him Harry James Potter. Someday, we'll have a house and a yard and a Corgi and TDos will tend the rabbits. Or something like that, ya da ya da ya da American dream.

To boldly blog where I've never blogged before...

At the recommendation of Katy, I've created a blog. And yes, it certainly did take me long enough. It was the name that was hindering me. I figured it had to be something awesome, something that totally and completely encompassed me as a person, asbolutely everything about me in this one teeny, tiny, bloggy name. Then I realized that was stupid and decided to just go with KateSawStars, because it has sentimental value as a screen name, and additionally it reflects me living my life in the clouds. I see stars when other people see nothing. Tah dah!

I saw Imogen Heap this weekend and she was amazing. Amazing. TDos is so jaded with shows that he's rarely impressed anymore, but he was captivated. For those of you that might not know, Imogen does her own loops and bytes or whatever right there on stage. And she's really awkward and British and foppish with her banter, which made her all the more endearing. Check her out if you can. http://www.myspace.com/imogenheap

Now, should I get Panera for lunch or not? I think I might.