Archive for the year 2007
How Lucky Am I
Posted on May 26, 2007 by Ching under Life, Poker.
I have the craziest luck in the world. Last December Mo loaned me his Accounting book so I could use it for my Accounting class in the spring. Well, at the end of the semester, I completely forgot that it wasn’t my book either. I ended up taking the Mo’s book along with my other textbooks to buy back. I completely spaced out the fact that it wasn’t my book.
It wasn’t until almost a week later when it dawned on me that I needed to return the book, which I no longer had. I thought about my folly and pondered telling Mo what I’d done. That was option one. Option two involved buying the exact same book and just not telling Mo. I figured that he probably wouldn’t be able to tell that it wasn’t the book he loaned to me.
However, the risk of option two is the cost. Even a used copy of the textbook costs over a hundred bucks. In the meantime, while I was mulling over my options, Mo beat me to the punch. He asked me if I was finished with the book.
I finally had to come clean. I told him what happened and offered to give him the $50 that I got for the book during buy back. Unfortunately, it wasn’t his book. He completely spaced out that it wasn’t his when he loaned it to me. So now he had to return it to Dina, its rightful owner. I begged Mo to find out if Dina would be willing to accept the $50 in place of her book. He told me he would try to get her to accept my offer and get back with me the next day.
In the meantime, I scrambled for a back up plan. I had a feeling she probably would want her book back because Mo said she keeps all of her books. I searched everywhere and finally found the book on Amazon. Much to my amazement, I found someone willing to sell the exact same book — hard cover, US, 6th edition (not the soft cover, international version) — for less than $10. When Mo told me the next day that she really wanted her book back, I asked for her phone number so I could personally apologize for my flakiness and explain to her what happened.
So I contacted Dina and told her what I had done. I also explained to her that I was in the process of getting the exact same book to replace the one that I had lost (read: accidentally sold at buy back). I told her it might be two weeks because of media mail. The book actually arrived in the mail on Wednesday, less than week from when I ordered it, so that was really nice. How lucky is that? Not only did I find the book for less, it even arrived sooner than expected. When you think about it, I actually came out ahead. I got $50 for it at buy back and was able to buy the book for $10. So I unintentionally turned a $40 profit with $0 investment.
I shared my crazy story to April and Corey at poker on Wednesday. April commented that I should just buy a bunch of books on the cheap and sell them all at buy back. Instictively, I agreed. It seemed like a good idea. However, upon further inspection, it really won’t work. Or at least there is more risk involved than I would care to take on.
For one, even if I could buy several books and sell them at buy back, it would seem really suspicious if I tried to sell back several copies of the exact same book or dozens of books that I wasn’t even enrolled in or have never taken. Secondly, new editions are released every time. Who hasn’t gotten screwed at buy back because the new edition came out and now your book is obsolete? If you end up buying several books in anticipation for buy back and then the new edition renders the books worthless. You lose money. Lastly, it always seems that when I plan or intentionally do something it doesn’t work out. My best laid plans are always foiled. So I’m better off just lucking out once in a while.
I wish I could have had some luck at poker that night, though. I got knocked out pretty early. Brian did really well, though. He ended up taking first and winning a free seat to the BCPT. He’s been doing pretty well at poker lately. All we have to work on now is his sportsmanship. =P
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Our Botanica Photos
Posted on May 22, 2007 by Ching under Flickr.
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Sick and Dreaming
Posted on May 22, 2007 by Ching under Life, Travel.
I wasn’t feeling well yesterday but went to work anyway. I probably shouldn’t have because today I’m all achey and not feeling good and my head hurts. Since I don’t like to take medicine (pill phobia), I just have to endure it. Although, I was smart enough to stay home today instead of going to work and being miserable and taking it out on everyone else.
Here it is two o’clock in the afternoon and I’m lstill laying in bed. I should get up and fix myself something to eat but, honestly, I’d rather not move. I must be really sick to shun food. I always eat, no matter how sick I get.
You know how people get sick and they lose weight because they don’t have any appetite? That doesn’t ever happen to me. When I get sick, I actually gain weight because I just stay home and fall into a sleep-eat-sleep-eat-more routine.
Then I was freaking out for a while, thinking there was something wrong with me because I still hadn’t received the results of my health screening from two weeks ago. The note I received said the results would be available on the web site in 48 hours. So I’m thinking there’s something seriously wrong with me.
Yesterday I received an email asking me to participate in another health screening. So I emailed back and told her that I had already been screened and that I am just waiting to receive my results back. The good news is there may not be anything wrong with me. The bad news is that I do have to go through the heath screening again because they somehow lost our blood samples. Thus, the delay in getting my results back.
Everyone who went on May 10 has to go through a do over. Which is really crummy for me because it took a lot to get my blood drawn the first time. I really hate getting my blood drawn and going through a health screening once a year is about all I can handle. Unfortunately, I have to go through it twice this year. They’re coming back to our building to complete the do overs next week so at least I’ve got a few days to muster up the courage to go through it again. (more…)
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The Ring
Posted on May 21, 2007 by Ching under Babies, Reviews, Sex, Travel.
I was going to title this post as “The Ring of Terror” but thought it overly dramatic for a post about birth control. As you all know Brian and I do not plan to have children in the near future. Actually, we don’t plan to have children in the far future either. Children are pretty much out of the question.
I have been on the Ortho Evra birth control patch for many years. Aside from it getting gunky, falling off on occasion, and square discoloration all over my body I really had no complaints. I used to get a three-month supply for only $40 through mail order. Not too bad.
However, last year they made a change so the cost almost doubled. Instead of $40, the cost went up to $70. So suddenly, all of the downsides of the patch which were not a big deal before were no longer acceptable. I finished out the rest of my year on the patch but Brian and I decided that we would explore other alternatives.
Oral contraceptives were out of the question because of my pill phobia. Even as small as the birth control pill is, I just can’t do it. I think it tastes bad (this is probably mostly psychological) and it makes me queasy.
I had heard of the ring before but I had never tried it because I thought it was weird. I mean, who wants to shove a foreign object in there? Anyway, at $40 for a three-month supply (like the patch used to be) and being non-oral, it seemed like a best alternative.
This is my first month (I’m on my third week, actually) on the ring and so far so good. Although, I have been reading some weird things about it. Some of the most common complaints include the ring unexpectedly falling out during intercourse or during regular day-to-day activities (which I dismissed as people just not inserting it properly or far enough), feminine itching, infections, mood swings, weight gain, nausea, and blood clots. None of these really bothered me. However, today I read that the blood clots have led to some fatalities. That’s pretty scary. Although, I doubt that the FDA would approve something that is bad for you. (more…)
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She’s a Natural
Posted on May 19, 2007 by Ching under Flickr.
Riverfest 2007 was super fun this year. Of course, it was more fun because I could actually participate in some of the festivities. It always coincides with finals week so in years past I’ve not been able to attend.
This year Brian and I went to the swing concert on Thursday night. The band, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, was amazing! They really entertained the crowd. Brian and I got to do some swing danging which is always a blast.
One of the older guys asked if I wanted a lesson. Not one to turn down a dance, I agreed to dance with him. He showed me some new stuff. While we were dancing he called out to Brian, “She’s a natural!” It was so much fun!
It has been a couple of years since Brian and I have actually gone out dancing so I was achey the next day, but it was well worth it! We need to do that again! =P
Yesterday I took a half day of vacation. Brian and I went to Botanica and then went to the Wichita Art Museum to participate in WAM gallery quest. It was funny watching the other people actually go to the outdoor sculptures.
I found a computer terminal at the Art Investigations Gallery and I just started looking stuff up. We actually found a couple of answers that way without physically inspecting the art installations. It was a shame that the computer didn’t have internet access. Otherwise, I could have looked up all of the answers! Give me the web and I can find anything! LOL.
After that I took Brian to Cafe Moderne for some gelato. Good stuff there. Then poker which was anti-climactic. I got knocked out way early and ended up waiting for Brian. They did start satellite sit-n-go tourneys which was nice. It gives you something to do while you wait for your buddies or, in my case, my husband.
Anyway, if you want to see pictures of some of the festivities feel free to check out the the photostream.
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