Temporary Lodgings and other Random Observations

I've solved my one week between-old-house-and-new-apartment dilemma finally. I called a corporate relocation company and asked if they might be kind enough to offer any suggestions, even though I'm not technically a client. The lady I spoke with very kindly obliged, telling me about two extended stay hotels in Tulsa that I've never heard of. I looked both up online, and they had mixed reviews - however, a lot of the negative reviews seemed to be people upset over the lack of daily housekeeping services. Well, what did they expect from an extended stay place? One lady griped that no one came to wash the used dishes the entire time she stayed there, and thus she was forced to begin eating out...and I decided she's pretty darn stupid, considering there's a dishwasher right in the kitchen area! Anyway, since both are in Tulsa, I decided it was worth a shot to see if they'd allow me to preview a room in person, and both places did. They both look decent to me - the one I settled on has a full kitchen (including oven and dishwasher), actual living room area, and separate bedroom. It's basically a very tiny apartment. It's the slightest bit more than the other one, but I think it will be worth it to not have to spend all day in the same room as the bed is in. All in all, it's still going to cost me almost $450 for the week, but most of that is accommodations rather than pet fees and I'll be able to save on not having to eat out. Plus, the cats will be completely legal rather than me worrying about being kicked out (most places have a one pet limit), and they don't have rules about not leaving your pets alone ever. Side note for Heidi - it's in that row of hotels just back of "our" Cracker Barrel! :) I decided it's a much better option than being stuck with the cats in a regular hotel room, given that the cheapest I could find of anything was just over $350 with no kitchen facilities.

In other news, I'm nearly as dumb as the lady who expected someone to wash her dishes - I spent 15 minutes stressing out on the drive home because my A/C wasn't working AT ALL. Then I realized it wasn't on.

I'm closing my survey for my dissertation in about an hour - I only have IRB permission to collect data through April, so it's stop now or so more paperwork for an extension. Plus, I have to start analyzing at some point. I ended up with 123 "complete" surveys, which just means that the respondent reached the end and officially submitted it. A few won't be usable because of skipped questions, but it looks like I have enough to go forward. So thank you all who took it and who forwarded it on. I was hoping for some more data, but the blogs I thought I had on-board to post it backed out - so n=123 isn't so bad for a snowball sample. It's been fun to check in on it and see my number grow.

I purchased a new scale tonight so I can begin bonding in skinniness with my female relatives (excluding the ones who are already disgustingly skinny). I picked a black one - after all, black is slimming, right? ;) It seems to be accurate, unfortunately. I read the online reviews for this as well, and was tickled to death by one that first listed the pros as the fact that you can get your weight in pounds, kilograms, or stones (!) - then proceeded to claim it wasn't accurate because she knows she weighs more than 58 pounds, but that's what it said every single day. And then, in further preparation, I ate the rest of my Lindor extra-dark truffles tonight. I'll be sad tomorrow when I just have a bunch of fruit and vegetables to eat, but it sure made tonight fun!

And now I shall head off to bed, because I hear that getting plenty of sleep is essential to healthy weight loss. No sacrifice is too great for my health. ;)