Licensed!

There is much rejoicing in the household today. Mandy passed her driver's test and is now a licensed driver! Way to go, sis!

Seth's New Car

I did forget to mention that Seth got a new car about two weeks ago. I forget the exact model, but it's used and is like a smaller, five-seat version of a suburban. We did have some issues with it for the first week of owning the car, as it was in the shop most of the time because the former owner admitted it did not some work done. But, it's now been resting on our driveway. It's given Seth the freedom to go hang out with his friends (like when he went camping with them this past weekend) and to go to work early and thus leave earlier than usual.

Happy 17th!

Yes, it has happened; our dear Mandy has turned seventeen. I think we're more than a bit freaked-out at the realization that the baby of our family is only a year away from eighteen. It's quite frightening.

Mandy's birthday celebration began on the 4th of this month with a party. She invited fourteen people, and we managed to squeeze all of them into our little house. We had a lovely dinner of fried rice, teriyaki chicken, and Chinese salad (complete with sliced jicama); and then there was a simple New York cheesecake with strawberry sauce. Oh, and not to mention Mom's first attempt to make wontons, which were delicious and a bit hit among all the guests. After Mandy received presents of shirts, earrings, a mug, and other similar things, we all cleared the living room as best we could and played "Never Have I Ever". Given how "violent" the game can be, I'm amazed that no one was hurt and nothing was broken given the size of our living room. Then we played Wax Museum, where you have to stand absolutely still while "it" is watching you. Seth, of course, won both times; I kid you not, he was so good at it that the guys were able to treat him like a wooden board and push him around at it. I actually caught a video of it here:



After wax museum, people started to leave because it was getting late. A couple of people stayed behind and watched "Inception" with us. The party ended at 2 AM, and we all had a blast.

Saturday night was also special. Dad took me and Mandy to Chick-fil-A for Daddy-Daughter date night that they were having. It was nice to go out together. Then we went home, and Mandy opened her presents. I renewed her Picnik account and bought her earrings, Seth bought her a purple body pillow (which she loves but unfortunately the cat Claws has also fallen in love with it), and Mom and Dad have yet to give her the "big gift" which will come at the end of the month (I believe it will be a new cello case). She also received a nightshirt from Grandma Gail and scissors for left-handers (Mandy was so ecstatic to receive them, and she started laughing at us when we tried to use them). Currently, she is out celebrating with Grandma Linda, which I believe is the last major part of her birthday.

Otherwise, not much else has happened since then. It's been work and school, the usual. I did get my hair cut this week, and I gave about eight inches or so of it to Locks of Love; it's nice not to have to deal with so many tangles and split ends. We're having company tonight over for dinner, which we're all looking forward to. I also started guitar lessons this week, but my loaned guitar Johnny needs some work done before I can start playing anything and sounding vaguely good.

Nauseating....

I've pretty much had it with GGC's food services. This is the second time in less than a week that I've had a major beef with them. And it's not been one of the restaurants on campus; it's been with two separate ones.

First, on Friday, I paid over $9 for a piece of fish, two things of vegetables, and a drink because I didn't order the $6 combo (what's the point of buying the combo when you can't eat all of it?) that has more food in it. I complained via a comment card, and I'm due for a meeting with one of the guys running the thing to explain what happened. I hope it goes well, but I'm not expecting it to. This is GGC, after all, and it never fixes anything properly.

And second, I had a rather nasty experience with GGCity Cafe. I won't go into the horrid details, but let's just say I found a hair in my food. They apologized profusely and gave me a new wrap to eat, but I'm not impressed. Now they've instilled a paranoia in me that I'll find another hair somewhere.

I guess that's what the college gets for using the lowest bidder for food services. Every student has complained about it for years, whether it be the horrible taste, high prices, the inexperienced people working the restaurants, or even the food being horribly made (like when raw pork was served recently). It's rather nauseating, and I've just about had it with them.