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Thanksgiving, Playstation 2, Ebay, Finals, and Apartments

So it’s been almost 3 weeks since I did a good solid post.  I figured I’d give you all the pleasure of hearing from me…. as I’m sure you all care deeply…. …. for….. …. uhhh…. me?

Thanksgiving was preceded by a week of hardcore report writing.  I finished about 40 pages in a week time frame.  The following week was spent in Mason, OH (a suburb of Cincinnati) at Sarah’s house.  Don’t get me wrong, they’ve got a decent sized house with a finished basement, but when you cram 12 people into a house plus 1 to 4 friends visiting each day… You run out of space real quick.  Sarah’s Aunt Tish, Uncle Brian, Grandma and Grandpa (Mom’s side), all drove in from Oklahoma.  Then her brother Joshua and his wife Erin and their daughter Hannah (my future Niece) flew in from Boston.  On top of that were her parents (David and Rita) and her other brother Michael, myself, and Sarah.  Even though it was a lot of people, we had a lot of fun and Thanksgiving dinner was GOOD!  I thoroughly enjoyed it! 

When that week was over, we drove the 2.5 hours back north and returned to BG.  The next day classes resumed and so did the Homework!  Sarah finally suggested that we buy a Playstation 2 (since we played her brother Michael’s all week) and I … ….. after changing my pants…. agreed calmly.

Being the cost-conscientious shopper I am… I jumped onto Ebay and warmed up my clicking finger.  Eventually after many stressful hours of fast online auction action, I came away with a pretty good deal.

Brand New Sealed in the Box:
   Playstation Console (w/ one controller)
   2nd Controller (Official Sony Brand)
   Memory Card (Official Sony Brand)
   DVD Remote Control

Used:
   Hot Shots Golf 3 (What Sarah and I played a lot)
   Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (packaged with Hot Shots Golf 3)

This came to a grand total (after shipping and handling) of $202.62.  I can swing that baby!  A PS2 alone retails for $180 plus tax.  In fact, in a store this would have cost around $300.  Nothing like 33% off!  I’m still wanting some games, but I’m going to wait till after Christmas to see if we get them, or if we get money to get them.  On my “most wanted” list is:

Simpsons: Road Rage
Simpsons: Hit and Run
NHL 2004
Medal Of Honor: Frontline
Medal Of Honor: Rising Sun
Super Puzzle Fighter 2 Turbo (PS1 Game)

So if you have and suggestions of games to get, drop me a comment…. tell me what game, what type of game it is (RPG, First Person Shooter, etc.), and why it’s good.

I also finally got our budget into Quicken 2003.  Sarah’s dad gave us that software since he bought the 2004 version.  I tell ya what… I’m a pretty quick guy at picking up software, but this one took me a few hours!  It’s pretty hardcore accounting nerd style.  ANYWAY, it’s done now, so now I can see a computerized printout of how poor we are…. SCORE!

On another note, Sarah and I looked at apartments today.  We put a deposit down on one that we couldn’t see yet, (people are still moving out) but we saw 3 others like it and this one is supposed to be nicer than those… It’ll be open for us to see the second week of January (which just happens to be when classes resume) so we’ll make the final lease agreement decisions then.  With any luck, we’ll love it and know where we’re living in a few months.  Our lease would start April 1st, 2004 and we’d move furniture in that month.  Plus, one of us could stay there and we could use it for whatever we wanted (Sarah’s Bridal Shower Guests).  Then Sarah’d live there for the week that we have between the end of the school year and our wedding.  I’d be living at home for a week, then we’d get hitched and already be settled in…. Who knows, maybe it’ll work out that nice without any problems!

Back in the land of current responsibility however, I am burdened with a few tough take-home finals…. and I give a presentation tomorrow (later today technically) on a final project I made.  Slowly the stress will be fading away and I’ll be on Christmas Break.  Break?  Are you kidding?!?!?  I have to clean out my room at home and prepare my furniture to be moved to an apartment in a few months, format and fix my sister’s computer, work on some software issues at the Creek, update the Creek’s server software, format and install windows and drivers on about 20 older machines, set up an auction system for those machines, take a trip to Mason for the Holiday (probably around New Year’s), pull together the Christmas Eve services at the Creek, and at some point relax enough to enjoy vacation…. and then come back to a whole new set of classes.  God help me.