soco 100, lime, and coke

i just got back from night class.  in the last 5 minutes i've had 2 stiff tumblers, so that's probably an indication of how the night went.

let me tell you:  jeanne was at it again!  she began the class by saying, "professor, i have a question.  how do you expect us to write up our two assignments and submit our term project by december 8th?  you're not giving us enough time to complete it."

as i sat in my seat snickering to myself, i couldn't help but think, "wow, jeanne, get with the program.  i know you're still stuck in 1997, but really, this is ridiculous."

i am by NO means an over achiever.  but even i already have one of the assignments and the term project completed.  seriously, this class isn't THAT difficult.  but maybe that's just my ripe old 22-year-old body talking.

i don't have class on wednesdays, so i'm looking forward to sleeping in as late as possible tomorrow.  i basically just have to finish a term paper for my other class and i'm essentially done for the semester!

i just wanted to take a moment to rant at the weather gods.  i think only a handful of people know that i'm originally from fargo.  i lived in the area until i was 9 years old.  but really, i completely forgot what a harsh winter here is like.  it's so much different than anywhere else.  we've been under a winter storm warning here for awhile, and let me tell you--it's nothing like winter storm warnings in any parts of minnesota.

what separates the fargo area is the wind.  sure, brainerd (and even minneapolis) had blizzards.  but those "blizzards" just consisted of copious amounts of snow.  do you know what happens when you add a 40 mile per hour wind to 12 inches of snow?  you get disastrous conditions.  cars won't start, streets don't stay plowed, and accidents happen.

my class this morning was in barry hall, which is located in the heart of downtown fargo.  it's only about 2 blocks north of my apartment.

it took me fifteen minutes to walk there this morning.  the wind blew head on and at one point literally pushed me backwards as i was standing on a sidewalk entirely covered by ice.  by the time i opened the door to the building, my face was frozen and i greeted my graduate advisor with a snotsicle.  i'm sure he appreciated it.

so for those of you hours away from here thinking you "have it bad" this winter, just be glad that you can at least walk forward.

bockmed, i love you and am glad we got to hang out over thanksgiving.  i cannot wait to be reunited with my blogging buddy.

oh, and for the record:  level 18!

a little envy never hurt anyone

dear blogosphere,

i apologize for neglecting you for the last few weeks.  but i have been on break!

one of the perks of being in grad school is that we don't have nearly as much class as during undergrad.  (well, at least in my department.)  i mostly do research, so most of my "class" is done at my own pace on my own time.

because of this fact, my "class" really consists of meeting with my professors, discussing the progress on my research, and then submitting updated papers and projects.  granted, i do still have lecture on tuesdays and thursdays, but the majority of my time is spent researching anything from flooding to economic development.  it keeps me entertained.

as my luck had it, on tuesday (november 16th) my night class ended at about 8:45 pm.  and class for the rest of the week was canceled as well.  and then both of my professors decided to cancel class during the entire week of thanksgiving...and so i ended up with over 2 weeks of thanksgiving vacation.  score!

this coming tuesday (november 30th) i will have night class only.  that is my last class for the semester.  i just have to submit my 2 research papers by december 10th.  and then i am on christmas vacation until january 11th!  so, to summarize: i had a 2 week vacation, class for 10 days, then another month-long vacation.  feel free to be jealous.

i don't know what else to tell the blogosphere other than i did somewhat miss fargo.  i have great friends here--and let's be honest--the prices of everything from groceries to rent is unbelievably cheap.  it's good to be back.  ahmed vows to never go that long without posting ever again.  until next time.

No-Shave November 2010: November 26

Adios

dear blogosphere,

i apologize for neglecting you lately.  but i am on break!  i will certainly post more later once i am finished compiling needs assessments, indicating satisfiers, finishing my research, preparing a literature review, and eating copious amounts of thanksgiving food.

until then, i'm going to enjoy my first lengthy break in a long time.  i shall post more later, i promise.

forever yours,

that one ahmed who used to post often.

ps: goodbye, chilly.

No-Shave November 2010: November 22

No-Shave November 2010: November 14

no really

one of the classes i am currently taking is ecological economics.  in terms of a graduate level class, it is one of the bigger classes i've had.  in total, 41 students are in the class.

i think this has more to do with the function of the class.  in all, it counts for agricultural MBA grad students, natural resources management grad students, and us community development kids.

i am definitely the youngest one.  that being said, i'd estimate that about 35 of the students are between the ages of 23 and 26.  about 4 are between the ages of 27 and 30.  and then we have one lady who is about 50 years old.

now don't get me wrong.  i have nothing against middle-aged people who decide that they want to go back to college and earn a more advanced degree.  i think it's actually pretty cool.  plus i understand that most people choosing this path are looking for a job promotion or to perhaps increase their income/salary.  i think that's a smart decision if you can find a way to make it work.

recently the professor decided to split us up into small groups.  each group has roughly 6 individuals.  as all luck should have it, the 50-year-old lady is in my group.  one of our small group assignments was to collaborate and write a paper.  so, the six of us each chose one part of the paper to write.  rather than meet in person to go over our rough drafts, we just decided to e-mail them to each other in order to avoid the time and hassle that it takes to coordinate our schedules and meet in person.

shortly after i e-mailed my group my portion of the paper, i received this reply from the 50-year-old:

"andrew, i have to go through way too many hoops to open a word 2007 document on my computer.  i'd appreciate it if you save your attachments in word 97."

ummm, what?

i'm sorry that 13 years ago when you were finishing your degree that was "top-of-the-line" computer technology.  i also apologize that you are still using the same technology i used while in second grade.  

i really didn't want to waste any of my time politely apologizing for my obvious mistake.  so i just decided to copy and paste my entire portion of my paper into the e-mail.  the way i figure: if you and your computer are capable of reading an e-mail, i'll just e-mail you the stupid thing instead.

Every time I see "your"

when what they really meant was "you're," a little piece of me dies on the inside.

why i love fantasy football

heading into the monday night football game, i was down by 34 points in my PPR league.  i had 3 players in the game tonight and my opponent had 1.

in general, 34 points is hard to overcome...but not impossible in a PPR league.

however...two of my starters were hines ward and heath miller.  i mention this because the one player my opponent had was ben roethlisberger.  in other words, pretty much all of the production from hines and heath gets negated because big ben is throwing to them.  at the end of the matchup, big ben had 11.45 points and heath and hines combined for 14.10.  so, it was basically a wash.

so, in order to win, i needed over 31 points from my third player.  i don't care what format you play...31 points is asking for quite a bit.

so just who was my last starter for the evening?

none other than TO.

10 receptions, 141 yards, 2 touchdowns.  throw in the fact that he got a tackle on the interception...and he ended up with 36.60 points.

guess who has two thumbs and is still in playoff contention??  this guy.

start me up....

this is a picture of my car from an old manly mustache blog post.  if you don't understand the arrows, just go back and re-read the original post.  but this isn't the point.

i love my car.  i really do.  we've been through a lot together.  i can't tell you how many miles i put on that car during both high school and college.  i've taken so many road trips it's ridiculous.  that car and i are attached at the hip.

lately i've been having a ton of problems with it.  as with almost all neons...at the 150,000 mile mark i had to replace the water pump and timing belt.  about 6 months ago i also (finally) had the rear struts fixed.

i don't want to admit how much i had to pay for all of that.

what can i say, i'd rather rebuild a neon than buy another car.  i mean, even if i have a bionic neon, it's still a neon...right??

so about 6 weeks ago i had the strangest problem.  i would put the key in the ignition, turn the key, and nothing would happen.  if i held the key in (for literally upwards of 10 to 15 seconds) it would slowly begin to "chug" until at last it "caught" and the car started.  needless to say this was pretty inconvenient, so after about 6 different times of this happening i took the car into the shop.

the car gods must have been smiling on me that day...because it turned out to be the stupidest problem: my battery cables were simply corroded.  this makes sense since i do not have a garage--i just leave the neon outside on the street year-round.  i'm sure the combination of rain, snow, sleet, sun, and whatnot caused the cables to turn to crap.  so, for $36, i got the cables replaced and the neon started perfectly every single time.

but now, about 6 weeks later, i am starting to have a similar problem.  only this time when i put the key in the ignition and turn it, it "catches" immediately but at a very weak level.  after about 1/2 second, the car just dies but all of the electric remains on.  i don't know what the problem could be.  there is no "clicking" noise, so i'm almost certain that it's not the starter.  the cables are still in great shape, so i know that there isn't any new corrosion.  the battery is not that old, so i'm sure it's not dead yet.

i'm hoping (very much so) that the neon isn't on its last legs.  that would be all i need right now.

so tonight, right before you go to bed and say your prayers, be sure to say a little one for lenny.  lord knows i need him alive in my life.

until next time, keep it toasty.

It's been one week

Whitey

This afternoon, as I was loading groceries into my trunk, a somewhat rusted out, green plymouth voyager ca. 1993 pulled into the spot kitty-corner from me. 3 adults emerged: 2 men and one woman. The woman appeared to be overweight and middle-aged, with a 6 year old boy for a hair stylist, a gap in her front teeth, wearing a mismatched sweatsuit, a pair of glasses that was also most likely from 1993, and a bluetooth headset in her ear. As these fine people walked past the compact Smart car next to my old Buick, this woman said to the man I assume is her unfortunate husband, referring to said Smart car: "Isn't that an ugly car?"

Op/Ed 11/06/10

i'm not gonna remember this.

this isn't really an op-ed piece.

but kasey chambers has like perfect pitch in the song "million tears."

also, 5 cent taps are dangerous.

also, this isn't really an op-ed piece.

also, bockmed is the shat.

also, does anyone else notice this perfect grammar?

also, does anyone else notice i've used the word "also" a lot?

also: goodbye.

Wow

I know the Twins had a pretty good season, but goddamn, Minnesota sports teams are embarrassing.

Decision: 2010

I don't usually like to be the one to start political discussions, and I don't plan on talking a lot of politics here at The Bun, however there are some things I'd just like to touch on for a moment.
It's too bad fellow BHS alum, Tay Stevenson won't be representing in St. Paul this year.
It's too bad my fellow Minnesotans re-elected Michele Bachman. I have serious difficulty understanding how anyone can defend a vote for this woman. Have you not listened to the insanity that comes out of her mouth?
It's too bad my home district failed to re-elect Oberstar. He was such an asset for Minnesota.
It's good that Emmer won't be our Governor.
It's too bad Dayton and Horner were the best alternatives.
It's too bad politicians will most likely continue to sing the same old hypocritical song and dance, accomplishing little, all the while playing a delicate and childish blame-game, stalling any sort of progress of the other party's ideas, even when they were in fact their own to begin with. We probably won't see a reduction in spending and certainly won't see a reduction of deficits any time soon, at any level of government. Republicans will continue to stall on their talking point pet issues they use to win votes from the religious majority (see: abortion). Both parties will continue to play to the extremes of the political spectrum and special interests in their endless battle to stay in office rather than serving the moderate majority's interests.

On the bright side, only 40% of Delaware voters were crazy enough to vote for Christine O'donnell.
I'll bake a dozen buns for anyone who participated.

debate

which happens first:

alicia comes home (december 10th)

or

childress gets fired.

i've been debating this in my head, and i legitimately think it is a tossup.  maybe i'll get an early christmas present and childress will be fired on the day she returns.

let's make it interesting: i'll buy 1 drink to anyone who correctly predicts which occurs first.  

Well that was short-lived