Thanks for pounding that point home, mom.

Anyway, I was fortunate enough to recover the majority of my entries through the caches of msn and yahoo and I’ve moved to blogspot. In addition to saving these files in about four locations, maybe I should consider publishing a book of my entries. Now you might be saying, “Stacey, don’t get ahead of yourself. You’re not that good.”

Well, with the assistance of the new Book-Smart software from Blurb, I don’t have to be. This tool automatically downloads and reformats your blog into a book that you and your friends can purchase through the Blurb online bookstore. Pricing is very reasonable — $30 for an 8×10 full-color hardcover with dust jacket of up to forty pages.

I know what everyone is getting for Christmas.

Right, so I’m not the first, I won’t be the last. I think a few of my fellow authors have been through the same situation. It doesn’t make me feel much better, though. I just got my car two weeks ago, he’s a baby still. I thought I was parked in a pretty safe area (2nd and Hancock, just a block from my friend’s apartment) but I was wrong. I never had any issues with my Grand Am…I almost wish I wouldn’t have turned it in.

DPD told me the Jeep Liberty and Dodge Ram are two of the most stolen vehicles around the area. Great. Glad I knew this ahead of time.

More of the saga below.

Two thumbs up to:
1) Detroit Police Department — thanks for being so nice and helpful
2) Boulevard & Trumbull Towing, Inc. — wonderful people, they took care of everything and helped put my mind at ease
3) State Farm — hooray for vandalism = no deductible
4) Southfield Chrysler Jeep dealer — fixing my car up nice-like
5) My friend for his support — you’re the best

Two middle fingers to:
1) Uh, the person or persons who tried to steal my car
2) TCB Towing — you wouldn’t believe my conversation with dispatch:

Me: “So would you be able to let me know how much I’ll have to pay up front for the tow?”

Lady: “No, you don’t understand, the insurance company pays. You don’t pay anything.”

Me: “Oh, I know. But I have to pay it up front and then I get reimbursed later. So I want to make sure I know how much this will be ahead of time so I can put this on my credit card.”

Lady: “NO. Listen. You’re not understanding me and you’re not trying to understand me.”

Me: “No, I do understand. I’m just trying to find out how much I’ll need to put on my card initially.”

Lady: “Ma’am. MA’AM. You need to calm down RIGHT NOW. Ma’am. CALM DOWN.”

The worst part is that at the end of the conversation, I found out that 1) I had to pay $85 up front and 2) they don’t take credit cards. So I wasted about fifteen minutes on the phone with this moron.

My Top Three:
1) Hidden Bud Lights
2) FedEx: Caveman (because sometimes I’d like to punt my dog like the caveman punts the dinosaur) (not really) (but kind of)
3) Hummer: Giant Monsters

Okay, I should also mention that I really loved the Dove: Self-Esteem commercial. It made me want to give every little girl a hug.

Anyway. So Eminem was married at Meadow Brook Hall, on Oakland University’s campus. I’ve always wanted to have my wedding reception at Meadow Brook Hall. It’s a beautiful 110-room, 88,000-square-foot Tudor style mansion and the fourth largest historic house museum in the U.S.

Did you fall asleep just now? Fine. Maybe the virtual tour is more interesting.

Please don’t start booking this place for your weddings, I’ll be very angry. I wonder if Eminem’s wedding will spread the word about it…if so, I’m up for other suggestions. A friend said the Henry Ford Estate is pretty amazing, too.

It’s a little frustrating sometimes and not just because I do not work in the industry nor do I ever plan to. Of course, it would be nice to experience more diverse subject matter, but I understand these programs are catering to their customers. My problem is that so little of what we learn is timely or practical; we are on the brink of some major changes in the industry, yet there doesn’t seem to be any effort to update the curriculum accordingly. It’s severely lagging. Lean manufacturing? Supply chain management? Yeah, I get all the concepts. Let’s talk about what’s going on now and what we can do about it.

Fortunately for MBA students at UD-Mercy, someone over there gets it. They’ve developed a business-turnaround curriculum with the assistance of the Chicago-based Turnaround Management Association. The new MBA and certificate program is the first of its kind in the nation, covering issues such as business and bankruptcy law, crisis cash and accounting management, motivation, negotiations management and corporate restructuring (see the January 2nd Crain’s article for more information). I hope other schools start implementing similar programs — I can get on board with this type of curriculum.

According to the 2004 Michigan Automobile Theft Prevention Authority report, I should avoid purchasing a white 2004 Pontiac Grand Prix and, if I do, keep a close eye on it on Mondays in July. (Go here for more auto theft data.)

AP calculus students at Andover High School in Bloomfield Hills are currently partnered with Williams Bay, a high school 50 miles southwest of Milwaukee with enrollment of 185 students. With the help of a video camera, television monitor and microphones, Williams Bay students are able to learn with those at Andover. Despite initial technical concerns, school officials say the class has worked out well for both schools. Students say it’s interesting to be learning with students from a different state (see The Oakland Press story for more info). It would be great to see more Michigan schools working together on these types of learning opportunities and sharing the resources of schools like Andover with those that may be smaller or underfunded.

Anyway, ordering on Amazon has definitely kept costs down. I just get angry with the new editions that come out every year with minimal changes — perhaps the colors of a graph have been modified or some useless CD-ROM has been added. Last spring, I purchased a textbook that had just come out. I hated paying so much but figured maybe the buyback would be decent (yeah, right) since the course was only a couple months long. Nope. When I tried to sell it back, the manager told me a new addition was about to come out in the fall, so really, my new textbook was old. Two new editions in one year?! What kind of racket is this?

I know it’s tough everywhere and schools like Oakland Community College are looking for solutions. The Board of Trustees has requested that the College Academic Senate create a task force to explore ways of bringing book costs down. It’s about time that schools take a serious look at this problem — it’s a shame that these ridiculous textbook costs are preventing student enrollment.

Depending on my textbook costs, I may be selling one gently used kidney. I’ll let you know.