Bill Pay Bath

PNC really wants me to start using their bill pay system. All the most useful features of VirtualWallet require it, and they're gonna pay me $15 if I make two bill pay transactions by the end of September. Now, I don't think I've ever actually sent out a check to pay my bills, but neither have I ever used bill pay - ever since my first cell phone bill, I've paid through the website of the company in question. And there's just so much that makes me feel nervous about bill pay. I feel so much less in control of the payment: whether the check will arrive at the right place, whether I'll schedule the check to be sent at the right time... Not to mention I still have to go to the damn company's website to find out how much I have to pay, so it's really not saving me any time anyway.

But. I'm trying it. All my bills for the next month are set up through bill pay, and we'll see how useful it is to me if my discomfort eases.

Doctor's appointment at 3:45 to get my first thyroid hormone prescription (as well as a lorazepam prescription). Yay! ^^; I'm guessing he won't put me on any long-term anti-anxiety medicines until my TSH levels are at a normal level and I feel I could still use them. I was thinking I'd buy my textbooks after the appointment, but a part of me wants to wait to see if the rest of my financial aid will become available by Friday so I don't have to pay anything out-of-pocket.

Gotta mop the upstairs before I leave, though. But of course I can't do that before synching my podcasts. ;)

I just about have things sorted for my birthday. I think I'm going to go with the Rainbow after all. For all that I think I would enjoy a picnic at Como, I really don't want to deal with the logistics of it (gathering washable picnic-appropriate plates and utensils, planning where to meet, finding and preparing a cooler, making or buying my own food to bring), when I'll only be in town for less than 24 hours before it starts. The only thing to figure out now is if/when we'll be meeting at Carlson beforehand to just hang out and possibly watch anime, and I'm waiting on eurohybrid62 for that. So, yeah, there's a heads-up on my general plans.

One last thing: the work schedule for 9/1-9/7 was posted yesterday, and my schedule's super easy to remember: I don't work! (Which isn't to say that I won't be getting any income for that week: I'm using two vacation days, since I'll still be technically eligible for them.)

Alright, podcasts are synched - time to do useful things.

Bad brownies!

Dialogue changed to protect the innocent because my short-term memory is crap:

Me: I need to get some breakfast.
Mary: Haven't you had anything to eat yet?
Me: Ummm... I had a brownie?
Mary: Those are good, aren't they?
Me: Oh, they're awesome.
Mary: We'll have to have Marcy get some more of them.
Me: No, we need to have her not get more of them, or else I'll eat them!

My neck has become quite sore over the past half-hour. Stupid neck.

[EDIT: I think maybe bill pay was designed for people who have bills that are the same amount every month...

Also, "Curious creature roams Minneapolis lake".]

Wonderful rationalization for distrust and potential racism

Listening to a BBC story on (some) Tea Party members who are gathering to protest the planned mosque near Ground Zero, etc.:

"I consider Muslim immigration into this country a threat, I do. So we have to pay close attention to those folks if they want to come live in this country. Not because I have a problem with Muslims, but because those are the, that is the trend that is being set by that particular group of people. I don't see Christians going into mosques and blowing themselves up."

Oh. My. God. So, because all radical Muslims are Muslim, we need to be extremely wary of all Muslims. WTF IS WRONG WITH YOU?!

I can honestly see why people don't want a mosque built near Ground Zero, although I tend to lean towards the idea that it'll build more bridges than it will destroy. However, the fact that this is making general Islamophobia (Islamaphobia?) come further out of the woodworks than it already is... That makes me extremely uncomfortable, and I'm not quite sure what to do/say about it.

I hate being without a camera...

I'm thinking of buying a new camera before going back to the Twin Cities. I lost the one I was using the night before I moved here in May '09 (i.e., lost it before arriving in Champaign and never had a chance to get the pictures I took in those last couple days off it), and I'd kind of like to be able to take pictures from my birthday party, the Fair, etc. They have some cheap ones at Walgreens, or if Elizabeth can't find her TI-83 to lend to me I could buy it with my calculator when I go to Best Buy (I have an 89 but one of my classes requires an 83 or 84, and right now there's 18 month financing on purchases over $249). I just... As much as I'm not very good about having my camera with me when memories are being created, I know from my trip to Japan that I really value having pictures to strengthen those memories when I do.

Well, I have 2.5 weeks to decide.

Trying to tidy up my desk area and get some ACC 101 note-taking done tonight. I'd really like to finish that before I start 102. Not to mention read chapter 14, which I shirked last fall to focus on finishing my research paper.

*** BIRTHDAY PARTY ANNOUNCEMENT ***

Things have finally been sorted out, and I know when and where birthday stuff is happening!

I'm leaving this unlocked since A) all my other posts about my birthday have been unlocked and B) I have friends without LJ accounts whom I want to be able to read this, but if I have you friended and you'll be in the Twin Cities at that time, you're invited. Don't worry about presents or anything like that - I'll just be glad to see you all since I don't get to do that much anymore.

First, I should warn everyone that there is a possibility that I won't be going to Minnesota at all for Labor day weekend. However, I am planning to be there, and you can plan on me being there too.

Anyways, things are going to go down on Saturday, September 4th. eurohybrid62 will have a room reserved in Carlson for general goofing off and anime watching from 1:30 to 6:30. The "main event", as it were, will be at Rainbow at 7 PM, lasting until whenever it lasts, but I'm guessing not later than 9 PM.

I don't need an RSVP for meeting at Carlson (although it'd be good to have some sort of an idea in advance in case we'll need to make different plans for too large of a group), but I would like to receive and RSVP for everyone on the restaurant by August 27th so I can make a reservation. Also, feel free to drop in or out of Carlson at any time, or attend just Carlson or just the restaurant. (For those who aren't used to LJ, click on "Reply" in the lower right corner of this page, enter your RSVP information in the "Comment" box (making sure to give your name so I know who you are), and click on "Post Comment".)

Also, it'd be helpful to know if you're in need of a ride to/from anything so rides can be figured out.

You mean I have to actually look up definitions?

Argh, boo. I already lost access to my accounting course on Aplia, which'll make it a bit harder to make my end-of-chapter vocab lists. I thought I had 12 months of access. Although... I guess I started the class last August, so that puts me at just about 12 months, doesn't it. Stupid me. I was counting from the end of last fall semester.