material things

I am determined not to let Best Buy ruin my last few days here.
Laura and I drove out to Ann Arbor yesterday to pick up my computer, which, after 6 weeks, was supposedly all fixed and practically brand new. Bring it home and I put in a CD to play it. The computer doesn't read the CD...at all...which was the original problem all along
Basically, they are idiots. So, last night, after many tears and angry words, my father and I went in to the Best Buy here to make it clear how dire the situation is. After talking to about 30 different managers, they told us that if something needs to be shipped out a 4th time, then we're entitled to a new computer. SO they're shipping it out, seeing that it is in fact STILL broken, and we get to go in next week and I get a brand new computer, all because they were too negligent to fix a simple DVD drive.
All I'm saying is they better stick to their word. I need a computer in Germany and I need one that I can trust. I also need my music on it. I did not buy a brand new Ipod just to look at it.
No more shopping at Best Buy. They have lost my trust.

Home is stressing me out, mostly because of this computer fiasco, but also because my room looks like a bomb went off in it. I have a pile for things to give away, things to leave home, things to maybe take, things to definitely take, etc. I haven't even touched a suitcase yet. Skit also keeps conveniently falling asleep in piles of my stuff.
Skittles Edmund is my crazy cat. When he was young and agile he used to love climbing up to tall places, where he'd often get stuck. So I named him after Sir Edmund Hilary, the first man to climb Everest. Since then, he's given up on climbing and instead likes to sleep. Skittles, I'll admit, is a horrible name for a 21 pound tomcat, but he has grown into his name nicely. He's scared of everything and is immensely overweight, but that just means there's more of him to love. He loves classical music and shoes, so we're all convinced he's secretly gay. He also enjoys laying in sunshine, chasing after imaginary things, and getting brushed.
His sister, Cleo, belongs to Laura, meine Schwester. Even though unusually intelligent, Cleo hates everyone. Occasionally she'll be cuddly and loving, but only for our family. Any outsiders risk losing limbs when they step into our house. When not feasting on small children, Cleo loves watching the chipmunks, growling, and eating people food. She loves sweet things especially, like the brownies I made the other night. As my mom says, she has a "sweet-fang". She also will meow at the bathtub tap for a trickle of water, which is known as "watering Cleo".
Those are my cats. They are spoiled little brats, but we've made them that way. I'm going to miss them bunches.
Talking about my cats just cheered me up immensely.

Earlier, I went through all my old pictures. These babies dated back to 7th grade and were all jumbled up in a big pile. I must have had hundreds from summer camp, choir trips, and various musicals I did in high school. I kept about 20 of them and tossed the rest. It was hard letting go of all of that, but I've got so much crap. Last night I also went through my entire wardrobe and filled up three big boxes with clothes to get rid of, most of them name brand frilly junk. I also went to Old Navy and bought a bunch of layering tees, which will be good for traveling.
Now I just want to put on all my hiking gear and go run around the neighborhood for kicks.

Next week will include major family bonding time, a haircut, and all things American. Wahoo.
My mind is on overdrive, like my senses are trying to memorize everything so I don't forget it all over 11 months. The way Ann Arbor looks when the sun sets, my sister's laugh, how my father smells, how it feels to cuddle Skit, what it's like to wake up to my mother playing the piano...
It's a lot to take in, but it just makes me realize all the small things I've got to appreciate.

Time to go to Costco avec ma mere.