Back in the World of the Living

Yes, it has been quite a while since I've posted.  I really didn't have much to say in March; I was too busy with work, my museum class, burying my mom, and grieving.  Not to mention saying goodbye to an old friend and welcoming a new one.  Yes... we have a new car!!

Our van's registration expired at the end of February and I've had the paperwork since December, but due to my mom's decline and death, I kept forgetting about it.  Finally, I got the smog check done, only to find out she had failed one section.  Instead of pouring more money into a 20-year-old vehicle on its last legs anyway, I decided that our money would be better spent going toward a newer one.  Thanks to California's "Vehicle Retirement" program, we got $1,000 for bringing the van to a dismantler that will recycle her parts and sell them.  This ended up being our downpayment on the new one.

My son and nephew picked us up from the dismantler, and off we went to look at cars.  We had no idea if we would actually find a car the same day, but we were lucky enough to hit the jackpot at our local Hertz rental car lot.  It was more than I wanted to pay initially, but it has less than 44,000 miles on it (we still have 17,000 miles of factory warranty), and the monthly payments are just under $200!!  And it can fit two guys over six feet tall in the back, and I can STILL see out the rear window, although that window is a LOT smaller than the van's.  I miss that huge panoramic rear view.

Behold, our 2014 Nissan Sentra!! 
 
(This isn't actually ours, but it's the same year, model and lovely silver color.)

And this is the interior (minus the GPS; we have the radio/CD player in that spot and the heater/AC underneath).  Also, think black interior and fabric seats instead of silver:

We are now in the market for a StarTrek license plate cover and some vinyl stick-on bats for the side windows, heheheh...

In addition, I've been working on my online Museum Certificate course.  I finished the 'Introduction to Museums' class in January, and am two-thirds of the way through 'Museum Artifacts: How They Were Made & How They Deteriorate'.  I finish that one on my birthday!  And I'll be on vacation that week as well, the first REAL vacation I've taken since 2013.  Then in May, I have a two-week course on 'Gallery Guides'.  I'm glad I finally had the opportunity to afford this program AND convinced myself to jump in and do it. 

AND I almost forgot to mention that my first published short story, "The Second Time Around", came out in February, not only online but also IN PRINT!  I bought a copy of the paperback (Women in Horror Annual, $20/new), and it's really good; I recommend it highly, and not just because I'm in it.  I got a "like new" copy from alibris.com, but they are available on Amazon and in bookstores as well.

I hope you all had a wonderful Ostara/Easter/Spring Equinox!