Project time!

I'm sure most if not all of you have heard about the wonder that is Ikea. I realize not everyone may see it as the magical fairy land that I do, but it's pretty darn neat. It carries inexpensive products that are reliable, functional, and generally go with most decor choices. (Excluding thier textiles, sorry Ikea, maybe it's because I'm not Swedish? Or maybe it's because they look like they should decorate a pshychodelic pre-school? I don't know) In the real world, my boyfriend and I are buying a house, so in my search for inexpensive home decor options I stumbled across something extra fabulousness. Ikea Hackers. This website is a collection of people using Ikea products in somewhat non traditional ways. It's not like they're making sex swings, but refunctioning bookcases, and how many ways you can use Ikea counter tops, and tables. I think it's a really neat website the light on the top is just an example of some of the things people come up with. It's also really neat to see the different types of homes Ikea products fit into.

hey, found a replacement!

So, while reading Brenda's new blog, which I must say, has improved slightly, (either she's found crack, or more motivation, I'm not sure) I found this guy, while looking at "who the heck comments on this stuff?" well the lovely gentleman above is known simply as 'Nagle' I'm assuming last name? he writes his own Music Equals Life blog
Which is pretty well done, and debateably interesting. While he does seem to have stalker tendencies towards a few of the American Idol girls, (and hey, who hasn't?) I think he's in the running for a better Blog than Brenda. And lets face it folks, not a hard contest, sorry Brenda.
It's not just his "school spirit" picture that convinced me, the mans not a half bad writer, and seems fun. Also seems to know when he has nothing to say, and he stops, I'm just saying, that puts him right up there.

ok so I'm a dog freak...

Well folks, I've been wandering around cyberspace again, and have found an interesting gem. There's a fine line between crazy, and being a functioning member of society it seems. Especially when it comes to pet ownership in the current day and age. The internet has become like crack to the crazy cat lady, or the slightly more social, and possibly more dangerous crazy dog lady. Nothing has made this more apparent than the beginnings of my serach through cyber space. Here is a perfect example to be discussed at a later date. However, with all the crazyness, I have found, I also found a site for sane animal lovers to find more information. Petopia is a combination of pet news, product reviews, and pet horoscopes(ok, so a little crazy, but really they're sort of interesting.) I think it's definately an interesting community that is worth a look if you enjoy pets.

you did what?!

Is everyone still sitting comfortably in their current dimension? I have a possibly world changing update for you all. Brenda has actually posted useful information..... There's no telling how long this will last, it may just be a fluke, but prepare yourselves. Brenda has posted useful information......

I know, I'm as blown away as you all. But, as the year draws to a close, and many of us prepare to move from one worn out campus rental to another, she finds her self with a valid list of questions to ask ones land lord, and thoughts to bring up before moving.

Thoughts like…..

Can I have pets?

Did the last people have pets?

Air Conditioning?

What are the heating bills like?

What’s included with the rent?

What do my responsibilities entail when I sign this lease?

Parking?

Laundry?

Do you have loud neighbors?

Is this a party area?

Are there break- ins in this area? (scary thought but it happpened to a friend of mine!)

How many roomates do I want?

How far away from campus is it ( if your planning on going to school)

Do you want outdoor space?

Is there an option for subletting?

What is everything going to cost total?

Can we afford that the whole lease?

Is there mainenance people on call all the time?

Do all of the appliances work all the time?

Does it have storage?

Do you have upstairs neighbors? ( Can you hear them walking around? Does that bug you? )

Would you feel safe walking around at night there?

Are the walls in the apartment paper thin?

How big is it?

And many many more!

While those of us who have moved before are sort of saying, "well yeah, that's how it works" this is the first thing I've seen on Brenda's blog that I feel like should actually be presented to perspective students. And, while I also believe a good Google would have done the trick here, she raises some points some people may not have thought of. So yay Brenda? I don't know, but maybe she isn't all bad...

I've got a secret....

Well folks, I've showed you one of my least favorite things on the internet, time to move on to something I really enjoy!

Post Secret is an on going art project that invites people from all over the country to anonymously submit secrets about themselves via postcards. What started as a simple project has grown into an on going movement of togetherness and sharing.

Post Secret is a photo blog that is updated weekly with a series of submissions sometimes with a theme (like valentine's day) and often not. Check out what's up this week here, or in my list of Alice approved blogs.

I enjoy this blog immensely, and check it when it's newly updated almost every Sunday morning. Every week I find something I can identify with, something that reminds me of myself, something that reminds me of a friend, something that makes me smile, or something that just makes me want to hug the person who wrote it. I've always found this blog very calming, and I hope others can enjoy it as well.

I'm throwing my money where?

Ever have that horrible realization? you're giving money to something, whether it be a charity, store, your own child or a homeless person with questionable intentions, and then you realize they are using it to support clubbing baby seals? or in the case of the homeless person, (and possibly your kid as well) they're using it to buy booze. You feel taken, hoodwinked, bamboozled if you will. Betrayed is probably a strong word, but I have my Mrs.-Potato-Angry-Eyes on at the moment.

I recently found my own bum with a towering pile of beer bottles. My technical college appointed a blogger to apparently represent the student body this year. It is now February, and she's only recently become a blip on my radar, so who knows how well that's going, but I'm not the target market here people. Anyway, dear Brenda has been babbling about campus goings on since July. No true offense to Brenda - I'm sure she's a perfectly wonderful graphic design student, I don't know, it's a pretty big campus - but her blog is horrible. She's representing our school as one that doesn't teach basic spelling, proof-reading, or writing techniques. Her blog, (see it here) lacks purpose, common sense in my opinion, or a clear point for that matter.

As long as I've known about Brenda I've wanted to know how she got her job, and what pool she was pulled out of as the most qualified applicant (or who she's related too.) Recently, through an article about local colleges using blogs to connect with perspective students in our local paper, I found out SHE IS PAID FOR THIS CRAP! While it is most likely not much, a few dollars a week, this is coming out of my bill! All sorts of questions are running through my mind about accountability, accurate representation, and freakin' getting what you pay for! She updates an average of about once a week, usually with spelling errors, often having very little to do with what is on campus. Talk about the cafeteria menu occasionally, campus events, visit student organizations, post work you're doing in class, make it mean something! If I was a student looking into this school, and saw that, I would have a certainly negative opinion of the skills being taught here. Even though Technical College is in the name, as far as I'm concerned the education offered here is second to none, and certainly comparable to any 4 year school. Stay tuned to see if our blog does as well. I have my doubts.