Graduation was too long.  Ah, well.  My parents also managed not to succeed for the third straight time in not being able to take one salvageable picture of graduation.  <sigh>  <more sighs>  Drat...  I was serious when I said I wanted a picture of this graduation.

Anyway, I now have a Master's in "Information Technology and Management."  I now need a job either creating web applications with a company and/or taking pictures professionally.  I'd prefer both, though.  I wonder if companies are just not hiring for these positions in the Triad or if I just haven't emailed the right company.

Before the start of graduation, someone at the body shop called me about my car, which was hit by someone two days prior.  He stated the adjuster said the car was totaled mainly because the paper s/he was referencing indicated the car was salvaged before.  My car's title does not state this.  My father put a lot of work in the car, so it was in very good condition and had few miles on it anyway (116K for a 1993 Honda Accord).  The adjuster will most likely pay $3500 for the car, sell it back to us for $500 (what they think they can get for it), and we can repair it with the body shop's estimate of $2300.  That leaves an odd $700 profit from the ordeal.  Is this what they called "Pain and Suffering"?  (Ha!)  Well, I would have paid more than that to have it repaired because I can accelerate quickly in the car and perform turns other cars cannot due to blind spots and a higher center of gravity.  When I get a "proper" car for the activity, what do I hope to do with it?  Just reference my license plate of "Initial D" and find out.

The only bummer from having the car in the shop is that I must re-teach the car's computer how I want it to shift.  Normally, the car shifts to the next gear around 3000 RPM.  I "taught" the computer not to shift gears until I let up on the throttle about half an inch.  Normally, that means it shifts at 4300 RPM, which gives me more power.  The more I played with the car, the better it became.  Or, perhaps, it was the opposite--the better I became?

Onwards and upwards!