Awestruck

Here's an email I sent to Clarissa:

Ohmygodohmygodohmygod....

AAAAAAAAAH

Okayokay FREAKING OUT!!!!!

Agh call me call me except i'm about to have dinner but any time after 6:30 CALL ME!!! Cuz i'm SPAZZING OUT


Okay, guess what happened? Like two seconds ago?

I got home from violin lesson and was putting my violin away and Benj was like "I need an idea for a comic in art class" and I was like "Day by Day :P" and he was like "Blargh" and stuff.

Then Mom was like "Julia, there's something for you from Uncle Steve!" (sounding a bit puzzled). (Uncle steve isn't actually my uncle, he's mom's uncle and my great uncle, but whatever. We call him that.)

It was this little card with a bowl of fruit on the front. 

The card said:

Dear Julia,

Perhaps there is something "permanent" but too clear you've wanted which you'd like to use this for, but howsoever you use or save it, I hope it adds some small measure of happiness to your life.

My hope is to see you again ere too long.

Love,

Uncle Steve.


And guess what was in it?

A check.

For.

Freaking.

FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS.


...


AAAAAAAH!!!!

And he didn't even know about the lap top! It's not on facebook or anything... I don't even know how to respond! We're not THAT close or anything... how do I say thank you for something like that.

I had seen the check folded in a square and I was like "Huh, that looks kind of like a check, but nah, it can't be, it's a square!" (Clarissa moment :P) then I assumed it was some weird dollar bill from New Zealand or something that he was sending for my coin collection... I opened it and I was just like OH MY GOD and then I tried not to be like showing it in front of Benjamin so he wouldn't feel bad but he got really excited and ran and told mom.

OMG I CAN BUY THE LAP TOP RIGHT NOW. I COULD GET A NEW ONE IF I WANTED TO. BUT I DON'T. SO HA.


Yeah.

See that email up there?

It's TRUE. I won't say much because I'm tired and it's late, but tomorrow a certain MACBOOK PRO is coming my way...

Woopee! Thank you so much Uncle Steve!

Cat Sitting Hath Ended

Hark hark hark.
Yeah. They came home today while I was at book group. I went over to turn in the key. Kathy was very very nice. She gave me a wad of cash in an envelope. I gave Benjamin a 10.

I was like "Hey Dad, could I put this on my lap top account?"

And dad said something like, "Um, would that not perhaps require that such an account exists?"
Only not quite like that. He said it in a funny way that signified that he indeed knew he had been held responsible for the creation of this account. It was silly.

Anyways, I was like "Daaaaaaaaaad!"

So yeah. $160 down. In two days it will be $230. And guess what? Kathy asked if I might be free over Thanksgiving. And I am! That might really speed up my savings! Especially if they're gone the whole week... Saturday to Sunday? That's eight days... $160! Depending on how much Benjamin tags along. Thing is, now he anticipates $5 as his rate, because I boosted the price up to 10 to soften the blow of small earnings.

But I really had planned to give him $4... :(

How much I end up paying him doesn't really matter, because all that cash will be an unexpected bonus anyways.

Yay.
~Julia

P.S. I'm so glad you posted the list of albums in order! It makes me feel SO much calmer when it comes to wanting to buy. I don't feel rushed and panicked. I'll just amble down the list...

Should I make a whole extra Wishlist tab? It'd be basically the stuff on the side right now, but I could go more into detail of the purchases and stuff? Color coding? Numbers? More manageable lists? It might be worth it...

Technology

I have an iPod nano, 8G. It's just this tiny thing with a touch screen, but it's super useful. Emma had one like it. It was orange, mine is blue. Then Emma's dad lost hers and replaced it with this super cool new thing - much taller and spiffier. It can play and upload videos. Hers is now this sort of turquoise-y blue. Anyways, mine can create playlists (but not name them) and upload pictures. It has a radio and a fitness app. You can change the wallpaper from 9 selections.
It's really awesome, and it gives me a bunch of music, but I wish it had slightly more space. They also come in 16G. Also, music videos would be cool.

Okay, so here are pictures of my type of nano:

Then here's Emma's: (She has the weird blue one in the front of this first picture)

These new iPods being released now come with the weirdest earbuds ever. They're really effective, though.

Then while picture surfing, I came across these other "nanos" that would be unbelievably awesome as well.

So that's that. One day I'll own them all. Every one of them. One day I'll have them.
God, I'm so greedy.

Moving on...

Benjamin and I share a desktop. It's a samsung monitor, but the console is a mac. I don't know how it works exactly. Benj is always on my neck about spending too much time there (partly just to get me in trouble), and I feel self conscious back to back with mom.

At school, I'm using Dad's old lap top from like 2002. It's clunky and big and slow. I can't watch videos on it. Safari crashes. Downloads don't work. iTunes can't connect. For some reason iPhoto can't open, yet is in the applications folder. It didn't come with word. The scanner and printer drivers don't work.
Blech.

That said, I know how lucky I am, and how rich my life is. I'm not taking this for granted (well maybe a little bit). This is a place for me to be selfish. I am perfectly aware of my benefits.

Technology I want:

iPod 6:
The iPod 6 is a bigger rectangle, like Dad's, only slim and white. It has music, pictures, camera, video, iMovie, and skype, plus more memory. Kind of a non-trashy iPhone without the phone. No stupid games either. Thumbs up! Mainly I would want it for iMovie on the go. $166, I think.

iPod nano 5th generation:
Like the kind Emma has - really cool. I don't feel any particular need to get this, and if I had the iPod6 I wouldn't, but it's smaller and portable with video. Thumbs up in general. (Although, it has been previously noted there are like a bazillion awesome nanos out there. Any one of those would be dreamy.)

 

Nexus 7:
Unbelievably cool tablet thing! Better than an iPad, because it's smaller. Not sure how that would compare to mini ipad though :). It's just the right size, and it feels cool and private. Many neat apps, and it runs smoothly. Way awesome! Only $200.
(NOTE: Drawback - no front camera, unlike iPad. Good for taking self-pictures, not so good for documenting others)

Lap top:
My ideal lap top would be a MacBook pro. 13 inch I would think, except maybe 15 inch runs faster and has more space? Casey uses a 13 inch, so I'm sure it would be fine. Super epic screen quality, way fast, and newest iMovie and iPhoto and Word. It's primed to use these way epic new picture and video editing programs - Aperture and Final Cut Pro - but you have to pay like $70 to download them. At my level of expertise; not worth it. It's fast, light, and snazzy. I could carry it back and forth and use it for school and home!