Birthday, Binder and Robot News

Soo.... my birthday went well. My parents have told me to think about what I want from them. I going to wait until the end of the week to decide. There's something I'm saving up for (a GP2X) There's a chance I might have a job for the next two days, at $10.00 and hour, which would make it so I can afford it. If I don't then I'll ask for some help in buying it. If I can afford it on my own, then I'll think of something else at that point. There's a really good chance I won't have the job, because it's tomorrow morning and I didn't hear back from the guy who's hiring people, which means I'm on the list of people to call if someone doesn't show up tomorrow. Maybe I'll get lucky.

I went back to school shopping yesterday. It was nice for once to go without my brother. I didn't need much this year, as almost everything from last year survived. I just replaced my old mechanical-pencil/pen/other-pen-or-stylus-your-choice all-in-one multipurpose writing utensil with a nice, simple, quality mechanical pencil. It was really the only part of my last "device" that I really ever used. I got the usual refills of stuff: paper, lead, and erasers. I got a new lunch bag and a new binder-type-thing. It's not really a binder.

With the exception of grade 9 French (where a binder was a requirement) I haven't used a binder since starting high school. In grade school I tried using binders, but they just didn't work for me. When I tried to write in them, the pages would tear out, so I had to take the paper out to write on. I've always been a bit lazy when it comes to organizing that kind of thing, so instead of putting pages back, they would end up it the front inside pocket of the binder. That's right, all the papers for all of my classes were kept in the same pocket of one binder. Not the best way to stay organized. When it came to grade nine, I had an Idea: Just forget the rings, and get a folder with a pocket for each class. I managed to find something very close to what I was looking for. It was plastic, had no rings, folded open with a notepad inside, and had three tabbed pockets to put papers in. Lucky Three pockets was enough, cause the school I go to is semestered, and I had one class each semester that didn't need a folder (gym and French). I ran into problems though, with the way it held the notepad in place. Actually, that was the problem, It expected a notepad, which I bound at the top, whereas for schoolwork, I needed a notebook, bound on the left side. It just meant that the book wasn't firmly attached to the folder, also, at the end of the year, when it was getting full, it started cracking. When I started grade 10, I got a new folder. It was bigger, and had 5 folders, one for each subject, and an extra folder for stuff like newsletters and a pack of grid paper. It had smoother plastic then the first one, meaning I could use it as a lap desk, but it still expected a top-bound notepad, instead of a side-bound notebook. It lasted me through both grade 10 and 11, but it has some pretty bad cracks in it. So this year I've gotten a new one. It has 7 folders, six of which are labeled, and also a pocket that could count as an eighth folder. It's made mostly made out of fabric, with plastic for the folder dividers, and some cardboard reinforcement. Best of all, it is designed for a side-bound notebook! The fabric should be more durable then the plastic, and it's lighter and more flexible. I like this new folder.

In robot news, I just finished the hand a few minutes ago, which means all I have left to do is attach the hands and feet to the rest of the robot, and make a head. That will be the hard part. I have no clue what to do for the face, I'm thinking of trying to make it look like a mechanical version of my own...

If you missed the Themed image yesterday, and still want to see it, It's in a photo album called "Themed Pics". Any themed images I use on this blog will end up there, so feel free to check them out, just follow the link on the left to my photo albums. Well, that about wraps it up for this post

for some reason, I really enjoy back-to-school shopping. And cheesecake, that's what I had for my birthday.