Rentals...

I've been having car problems for the last few weeks, which is especially annoying considering I have a nice, new car. After needing 20 minutes to get it to start yesterday, I decided to take it in to the dealership today. I went to the dealership I bought it at, thinking that because it is a bigger dealership, they should have time to look at it today. The people were rude and not helpful at all. They wanted me to just leave it there for a few days until they might have time to look at it. I made an appointment for tomorrow and started to drive home. I then remembered that there is a Nissan dealership near my new house and thought I should give them a try. They were so nice!! They got my car in right away, and even offered to fix the hubcap for free (apparently hubcaps aren't covered in your warranty.) I waited for about half an hour and the guy told me he didn't have the part, but enterprise rent-a-car was on their way over to pick me up and get me into a rental, completely free of charge. My car would be ready tomorrow. It was kind of funny at the rent-a-car place because they were down to their last two vehicles, so I get to drive around town in a truck for now. It's been a while since I drove something this big!!
Today's Fortune: Your present plans are going to succeed.

Adventures in Dining

My friend Summer and I had some great dining experiences today. For lunch, we went to a little Japanese restaurant near our house. We ordered these cute little "Bento boxes." It was a great presentation! I got teriyaki beef, and it came with rice, salad, sushi and tempura veggies.
For dinner, we kept driving around until we found something that sounded interesting. We finally saw a place called Roy's Hawaiian Fusion. We didn't realize how fancy it was until we got inside, but this was the first restaurant I've been to where the hostess puts the napkin in your lap for you! I ordered Uncle Yomi's shrimp Caesar salad and it was one of the top 5 salads of my life!! What you see in the picture is actually a bundle of lettuce and chipotle Caesar dressing, wrapped with an onion ring and some shrimp on the side. So good...

I am a NERD!!

The last 2 weeks I have been involved in a summer science institute with this years topic being nanoscience. It has been a ton of fun to study the the tiniest particles around and how they work. I think the coolest part was studying self-assembly and how some particles that small are able to put themselves together without any human intervention. Here is a link to an animation put together by Harvard that gives a whole different look at a cell (just click the box to play it):
http://www.xvivo.net/press/harvard_university.htm

Also, with things putting themselves together, it sparks a lot of curiosity about evolution vs. intelligent design. There is a great video by NOVA involving a case in Dover, PA. It is really interesting. Here is the link:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/id/program.html

So, here's a couple pictures. We are making a carbon nanotube out of balloons, that's how cool we are! (This is actually a very cool thing. They are now making buckyballs that can trap nuclear and radioactive particles inside them - making them buckycages, containing dangerous particles!) I know - I AM A NERD... :-)

Housesitting

This is the first time I have ever house sat, and it has been an experience! My friend went out of town for a week, leaving me to watch her 3 dogs (pugs), 2 cats and 2 fish tanks. For those who don't know, I'm not really much of a pet person, so this was kind of a challenge. For the dogs, one was older and blind, one was big, young and hyper, and the other was kind of small and suspicious, always skittering away and barking. For the cats, one was pretty normal but always on the lookout for a way to escape, and the other was the most geriatric cat I have ever seen, it was painful to watch her climb the stairs! Fish tanks are fish tanks, so not much to say there. I have had quite a few restless nights due to dogs barking at nothing and it feels good to be back in my own bed. I will miss the cable tv in the bedroom, but I will be house sitting again in July!

New House

So, as promised, here are some pictures of my new house (just renting!). These are only pics of the outside.
This is the front of the house.

And this is our backyard. We have a porch swing, barbecue and even a bench. It's pretty nice.

I'll have to take some pictures of the inside once everything is all sorted out. With UNLV starting last week and me house-sitting for a coworker, I've had no time to even unpack. The best thing about this house is that it is near my new favorite restaurant, PEI WEI (A PF Changs bistro!) Today's fortune: You will find good fortune in love.

Moving Day

So, Friday I got all moved into my new house. By the way, I am NEVER moving myself again! I hired movers for the first time and it was amazing! They were so fast and efficient, and best of all, I hardly had to do anything! They even put everything in the right rooms, so now all I have to do is unpack. I will have to put up pictures of the new place once I am all unpacked.

I had Chinese food for dinner the other night, and my fortune says a lot. "Others are anxious to get to know you better." Maybe I will have to be more social in the upcoming year!

Moving the World

So, today my friend Patty asked me to help her move the world!! The school year is done and today was the day to clean out classrooms, and for many teachers time to move to a new classroom. Our school is starting a new freshman academy next year, and many teachers had to move in order to put all the freshman classes together in a few hallways. I also had to pack up all my stuff to move to my new office, as I have been asked to be the Special Education Facilitator for next year. I am a little overwhelmed, but I am looking forward to it. I am also moving to a new house tomorrow. Mary moved back to Utah today, and already I miss her. I am moving across town with a few girls I know into a very nice house. All this moving sure makes me tired!!