"My couch pulls out, but I don't."

Yep, it was Trivia night again. Only it wasn't as fun this week, because I can't stand the guy who was running it. He's just egotistical and conceited. He'll ask general knowledge questions, but give the wrong answer. One of his questions tonight was something like, "Who was the eighth president of our nation?" The answer he gave was George Washington, based on I don't know what, but his wording was supposed to be the hint. Also, half of his questions are about Scotland because his family is Scottish, but they'll be stupid questions! "What symbol is on my family's coat of arms?" One of my favorites of all time was when he asked, "Which of these animals have I NOT eaten?" Yeah, those kinds of questions are bullshit, as far as I'm concerned. Luckily, Donald will be back to lead next week (I heart Donald!) and after that there will be the Symphony to keep me busy on Tuesday nights.
Speaking of which, despite my good intentions, I have only practiced once since our last rehearsal. !!!! It was a good practice, but, you know, these things take time.
I finally got a new battery for my car this last weekend. I biked over to a parts store nearby and when the girl at the counter saw what I was buying she said, "Wait, you didn't walk here, did you?" I said, "No, I biked." She gave me rather a funny look for that one, but I thought it was easy enough to strap the battery to the thingy (yes, thingy) on the back of my bike and get it home. It was heavy, but that didn't take long to get used to.
And now I have a running car for the first time since June! Sort of! A couple of times when I've gone out to start it, it hasn't actually started. Both times Shane has started it, it's been perfect. He keeps asking me what I'm doing wrong when I start it, and I'm wondering how it's possible to start a car wrong. We almost had an actual argument about this the other night. But the two times I've driven it, it's seemed a little funny and jumpy to me, so I really don't think it's something I'm doing. Probably it's just because it's been sitting there for three months, it's low on oil, and I should probably top off the gas tank just to be sure. On the plus side, I don't have to rely on it this winter for work. I was planning to walk over to campus and take the shuttle, but that fell through because of budget cuts and them taking away the only convenient bus routes. So I can catch a city bus. The downside to this is that I have to get up about 20 minutes earlier, and I am so not looking forward to it. I have a hard enough time getting out the door as it is. And I don't think Shane realizes that I was content to let my car be dead all summer because that forces me to bike, or use public transport. When my car runs, it's easy to be lazy. I'll just have to keep reminding myself that I'm saving over $400 by not buying a parking pass for campus, not to mention all that gas money.
Shane and I have been talking lately about what we'll do if our roommate doesn't want to keep living with us after the lease is up in Feb. He really doesn't seem to enjoy the pets that much. When we took off for the fair that weekend, I don't think he paid attention to them beyond giving Pepper some food. (Zap had plenty of food, and I asked Lucy to come over to let Pepper out.) The response: Zap used the bathtub as a litter box all weekend. Which pissed Chris off. And I can understand that, they're not his pets. But we still have to think about what we're going to do. He certainly makes enough (in the military) to live on his own, someplace more convenient to where he works (about 45 minutes away from here), and I wouldn't be surprised. He's been acting pretty oddly for the past few months, never coming out with us on weekends or anything. Actually, he doesn't really go out with anyone. He locks himself in his room and talks to his long-distance pseudo-girlfriend. Someone asked if he's depressed, and I don't think so, but I've been trying to keep an eye on him anyway.
The other big news is that Shane's computer had a meltdown. Isn't it lucky that I have a new one? Which he has basically commandeered? With my permission, but still. He's changed things around! That's why it's been so long since I've posted, I haven't really had the use of my computer. And it would still feel weird to me to spend work time blogging. Even though we have nothing else to do. I went to the Chancellor's Convocation today, and loved that it took about two hours. He had some really good things to say, too, about the goals for the University. I guess the theme for this year is sustainability. One of Shane's coworkers got to talk about her project in the greenhouses, growing vegetables for the eateries on campus, which is very cool. And one professor who spoke talked about how we're on the forefront of things like global warming. I really liked one thing he had to say: that the earth has always changed, and so we can't make our planning for the future static. We have to be adaptable to what will be, not what we want it to be. And we need to change our actions so that things change in good ways, which is why a lot of the research done on campus is so important because all of the fields of study are being integrated so that knowledge can be put to practical application. I think that's cool.
And speaking of practical application, the Borough has decided that they're going to impose a 5 cent bag tax on all plastic bags given out by companies making over 1 million/year. I actually think it's pretty cool, and am hoping that this will make me remember to bring my reusable bags more often. The money will go to fund recycling programs in the area.
Anyway, on the way back up to the office (after getting some of the free Hot Licks ice cream, of course; flavor: Nanook Nosh) I checked my mail. Shane had told me that his mom was sending me a thank you card, but he wasn't sure what for. Turns out, it's basically a thank you to me for dating him, and putting up with him. I laughed so hard. She even put in an Old Navy gift card so that I can buy something "frivolous". When I got home, of course I showed Shane. He read it and said, "Wow, thanks Mom. Glad I've got your vote of confidence." But he laughed.