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knightdt
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Name: Logan
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Occupation: Student
Industry: Engineering
Message: message me
Member Since:
4/24/2004
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| I'm taking a class in Calgary CA now, and now that isn't CA for California. Just figured out how to do the internet thing but I've been here for a couple days. Got in Sunday night around 1am (technically Monday).
Haven't really been having a great time actually. My flight was delayed in LAX for about 1.5 hours. The people on the plane were pretty nice though, Canadians who were very interested in hearing about America and my homeschooling and all that good rot. We then arrived in Calgary at the peak of their cold spell just after a fairly small snow and were forced to wait on the tarmac for about a half hour for no apparent reason. Customs was no problem. Got the rental car and proceeded to try to find out how to get to my hotel since I forgot to print off directions. Not fun driving in the snow covered roads of a foriegn country in an unfamiliar car late at night with all the street signs in meters and having unfamiliar street arrangements (where the heck do you turn? Is that a turning lane or oncoming traffic lane? I thought I just passed that street... oh wait, that ones an avenue - 9th st AND 9th ave). I got into the hotel around midnight and the garage was closed. They did at least have a room for me - but no indication of much civilization. Much coldness and not very much quality. This isn't exactly the most upscale hotel.
AH, but I am meeting some people to go outside into the deep freeze soon and hang out. So I will be off to do that and back to give more of an update later.
A full accounting of how bad everything seems to be here will be given then. But, things are seeming a little better... now that I found the internet and have settled in just a little more. Will be here until Saturday... | | |
| Here is a place to see my FSAE car run: http://www.ur.ku.edu/broadcast_video.shtml
It just doesn't feel right for me to not be there... | | |
| I have my car now - in fine condition, just needs to be gassed up before I leave for my first day of work on Monday.
All my stuff still isn't here and won't be here until Tuesday IF it actually arrives in the time they say it will. If it is any later than that then I will make sure someone hears about it...
Otherwise, Sarah is bored out of her mind and me - I'm just not wanting to start work before I move into my house! Still, the sooner I start the more money there is on that first paycheck, the sooner Sarah can spend it all... er... something like that anyway.
Both cars passed smog though, so Sarah and I have done just about everything we can. The next time we are both able to go to the DMV we will get both cars registered in CA. Once that is done and I start work and we get our stuff... we will be pretty well set. Our cable and internet get turned on this week and we will have to make our first trip for groceries (the perishible kind this time). Then we can actually start to settle in. So far the place certainly seems livable. A little under-developed, but definitely growing in the right direction --- and we are on the growing side of town.
P.S. gas is about $3.03 at the cheapest around here - just off the highway it is up to $3.40 or so... gotta know where to look to get the best price, but it looks like it won't be much different than home. Can't wait to see the first of the utility bills though... that should be fun... | | |
| Things seem to be going better now. Yesterday Sarah and I were able to get our driver's liscenses with minimal trouble - we got in line without any wait and were able to get everything started. Passed the driving test; although I warn you all that the California driver's exam is NOT as easy as any other state's exam! There can be some wacked out questions on that thing! Still, we passed and got that out of the way. I also did some clothes shopping, more than doubling my 'business casual' wardrobe (which isn't saying much...).
Today Sarah and I got her car passed through the smog test successfully so she can finish getting it registered. We also got some non-perishable groceries. Tomorrow I am supposed to get my car in the morning! Yay! Since my tags expire I was able to get a temp tag from the DMV to be able to drive mine around and get is smogged. Soon Sarah and I will have California plates! Interesting side note: if our vehicles were on a lein to an out of state bank we would be unable to register them in California - either we would have to pay it off to get the title or I don't really know how it works... thankfully, I own my car and Sarah owns hers so THAT isn't an issue for us. Now my car just has to pass smog. Tomorrow we also hope to go into Oxy and start on some of the initial paperwork stuff for the insurance programs and savings programs etc.
So things are looking up in that regard. In another regard, we didn't get a call about our goods today which means that I will have to start work living out of this very hotel room. They call a business day in advance which means the earliest they could call is tomorrow, and then they would be calling about delivery on Monday. I start work Monday. While that is discouraging, all the stuff we can do right now is pretty well done. Plus, I will at least have a car to start work in and be able to leave one behind for Sarah to drive around if need be.
We shall see how things continue as the weekend approaches... | | |
| Land of the extra laws...
No, seriously, there is so much extra crap in this place I feel like we moved to Europe or something. THEY'RE TAKING AWAY OUR FREEDOM!!! California sucks, they have so many stupid tedious laws that the rest of the country does without and has done without for some time - and I was pretty well satisfied living in that REST OF THE COUNTRY; even my time in Houston was satisfactory.
So we get our lease for the apartment and have to sign about twenty pieces of paper that say we acknowledge all sorts of legal mumbo jumbo. I think we know better than to oh, say, produce drugs in our apartment or anything else that is obviously against the law wether we sign something or not. Twenty isn't an exaggeration either.
Then our car has to go through the smog test thing --- which aparently covers more than just smog... our car didn't pass because the check engine light comes on occassionaly. So NOW we have to go to the dealer and get it fixed. The check itself covers over a half hours worth of testing.
Additionally, you have to have multiple forms of government issued ID to do things like open a bank account - not only that, but the bank account may not be available until three months after you open it (technically 90 days, but keep with me people). On top of that, every time you use a credit card you must show photo ID - generally, that includes gas stations - you can pretty much forget about the pay-at-the-pump concept unless you know just the right gas stations to go to. Thank goodness we found one of those quickly --- and CHEAP too! Barely over three dollars, which I'm guessing isn't too much of a jump from the midwest.
And as a bit of fun, Sarah and I were told at least four times today from people working at places we visited that they were very sorry we were moving here and wanted to know why in the world we would ever come here. A couple even went so far as to say that they were getting out as soon as they good... the bell boy at the hotel is planning on leaving the city within weeks.
But things are kind of familiar to me... in an odd way. This place has a VERY small town feel to it. It is definitely NOT a transition to a larger town (despite the larger population) - this town is more of a small town than Lawrence. The technical term is 'podunk.'
For future plans, we have ten days upon arrival to get new driver's liscences so we have to do that soon; Sarah plans to get her last named changed to Johnson and I personally expect several days of utter chaos trying to figure that out.
But before I forget, I checked the tracking numbers for my car that is coming here and found that my car is basically on the border of Arizona and Mexico in a town with a population I could count on one hand. Okay, that time I exaggerated... checking the tracking number on my household goods I find that they were reported in St. Louis at a time when I happen to know they were in Des Moines... and that was the day after it was packed... no report since or anywhere west of there. We shall see when I can live in my new apartment.
Wait, you guys don't know that Sarah had her purse packed on accident! So she doesn't have anything to be able to do anything here...
Yeah... things aren't exactly going smoothly... | | |
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