Bowler

Lil' Bit Nervous

2009-04-13T22:58:42Z

I'm usually one of those "avoids seeing the doctor" people because:

A). Most health issues I have involve common colds and viruses, so the trip is almost always a waste
B). Seeing a doctor, even with insurance, always seems to be expensive.

So I have a doctor's appointment for Thursday, since I've got two things bothering me right now. One is potentially more serious than the other, but both are bothering the shit out of me right now.

First: I have either spider bites or cysts or horrible bacne on my right shoulder blade. I have no idea what they are. All I know is that they hurt a bit if I raise my arms up (and thereby compress the skin a bit). It's been 3 days, and they are showing signs of growing together (there's 4 of them in a constellation) rather than going away. Need to get that checked out.

Second: Two weeks ago I noticed a "chafing" sensation in my right armpit, and thought maybe my dry-cleaned dress shirts just had some extra starch in them I wasn't used to or something. However, the sensation continued, even when I woke up in the morning and hadn't had a shirt on for 8 hours. Now, it feels like I have something constantly held in my arpit, like, fold up a cloth and hold it in your armpit by holding your arm against your side. Kinda like that. It's definitely under the skin, and I can't find it. So, something awry in my arpit and me approaching 40 (in two years!) = no fucking around and go straight to the doctor and get this checked out. Maybe it's just a pulled muscle? I hope?

I'm hoping that these two things can be fixed with coritzone and more cortizone (bug bite and inflamed glands or something). I'll also accept but not enjoy antibiotics. I'm just reeeeallly hoping that neither requires surgery.

/fingers x'd.

FYI Mother Nature...

2009-04-06T01:22:39Z

It's APRIL 05.

Maybe you missed the memo that it's Spring? No, honest, it's Spring now. Birds singing, trees budding, wind's not freezing cold, etc. So now that we're both up to speed, do you think you could CUT IT THE FUCK OUT WITH THE SNOW?

No Love,

The guy who has to scrape snow off his car April 6th before he heads into work early on Monday.

Why I Don't Have Bumper Stickers

2009-02-13T04:00:24Z

Really, the following is why I just think anything of any kind of permanence is stupid, be it a bumper sticker, or a tattoo, or whatnot.

I saw this on the way into work this morning, and didn't get my phone out in time to get the picture. It was on the wheel cover of a Jeep (Hi Rick!) in front of me. The woman obviously was stacking bumper stickers on it, working from the middle out as she found new ones to put on. The Obama one there was "offset" from the middle, so it was probably the most recent one and crammed in awkwardly.

I'm pretty sure if she stopped to read all of her stickers and ponder them for a bit, she might want to get a new wheel cover and start over:

Gauging the Gouging.

2009-01-28T17:24:32Z

So far, this has been at least a 5 gallon winter, and there's no signs of it stopping. What kind of gallons? Windshield wiper fluid.

Today I had to stop at the Oasis on the highway to get some more as I only put in a 1/3rd of a gallon (what I had left) last time I ran out, and I knew I was getting low.

So I pull in, walk inside, and figure that with four bucks in cash, I should have enough to buy the fluid, and have plenty left over for chips, drinks, and snacks in the vending machine at work. No need for the charge card.

Oh, was I wrong.

It rang up to $3.64 for the gallon. For some blue tinted water with an anti-freeze agent in it. Let's review some other things that come in gallon sizes.

Water (distilled): $1.49
Gasoline (89 octane): $1.94
Milk (2%): $2.99

This shit used to cost a buck. ONE DOLLAR. They're only charging this much because they know we'll pay for it, or the car is undriveable.

Sick to Death

2009-01-20T16:46:32Z

In just ten minutes it'll all be over, and I won't have to hear any more about "historic firsts" again. HA HA HA OH GOD WHO AM I KIDDING?

Since all I have to cope is comedy, I give you this:

Because seriously, if the media could, they would.

You know what's awesome?

2009-01-14T06:10:13Z

Reading your old blog posts and realizing you used to be funnier than you are now.

But really: learning your Dad doesn't have cancer.

It's been a pretty decent day.

A Bouquet of NO

2009-01-02T03:32:31Z

Okay, I come upstairs due to el_bow 's insistance that she's smelling skunk (through a sealed up winterized house, but hey, I smell it, too), turn on the porch light, part the blinds, and there's a 20 lb possum eating the Japanese cran-apples on the deck.

WTF YO.

This.

2008-12-11T22:39:23Z

This is the world's greatest Dad.

Happy Thing Day 3

2008-12-08T20:30:16Z

Today I'm happy that when the fucking tree fell over, that the super ancient glass acorn ornaments that belonged to Liz's Grandmother didn't break.

Although I'm not thrilled that the 60 year old spun glass angel got a little bit damaged and two of Liz's old ornaments broke.

I'm sorry if I'm not really good at this happy thing lately.

Happy Thing Day 2

2008-12-08T03:26:41Z

Today's happy thing: Having a little bit of time to keep the family tradition alive of going and getting a Christmas tree together.

I feel bad I wasn't there to decorate the tree with el_bow and the kiddo, but at least we managed to pick one out today, cut it down, and bring it home. And we got some fun looks as the tree (strapped to the roof) was almost as big as the car.

Also: house isn't blown up yet.

100 Things. 44 Bolds. The Memening.

2008-12-02T04:46:30Z

I'll bite. 100 Things. Bolded if I've done them. Stupid commentary on pretty much everthing.

1. Started your own blog. Uh, I think there's been three total. This is one of them. One of 'ems a secret.
2. Slept under the stars. I sure hope camping counts.
3. Played in a band. Woo band nerds unite!  I've also played in an Orchestra.
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower. It was wet.
6. Given more than you can afford to charity. I can't afford to give anything to anyone. So yeah, any gift is more than I can afford ;P
7. Been to Disneyland (and World) Rick's parenthesis, but I've been to both.
8. Climbed a mountain. In a car. Hey, it doesn't say how!
9. Held a praying mantis. Was waiting overnight to buy INXS tickets if memory serves.
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm. Every storm here is a lightning storm. I should get to bold this one infinite times.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch. I learned how to draw before I received instruction, so I hope that counts.
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning. Never officially diagnosed, but yeah, I'm pretty sure every other Tuesday is food poisening day for me.
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty. It's fucking scary. The stairs are like a 60 degree up angle.  No joke.
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France (well, if I haven't done #12 I sure haven't done #19) <-- Again Rick's awesome wit, and it's appropo.
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
24. Built a snow fort. Bitch I've built HOTH motherfuckers. Blizzard of 78', holla!
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping. I lost my shorts while tubing, so I'm counting it. The fish saw everything. They're writing a tell-all book.  It's short.
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset. Same trip as the skinny dipping!
31. Hit a home run. A bunch of 'em. They're satisfying. I've also been to home base if y'know what 'm sayin'.
32. Been on a cruise. Fuck. No.
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person. Does driving really near them count?
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors.
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language. Does learning a few phrases of Klingon count?
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo's David
41. Sung karaoke. I'm counting Rock Band.
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted by your mother
48. Gone deep sea fishing. It was at sea, and it was deep as far as my definition goes.
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person. No, but god do I want to badly.
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud. I've played football in the mud, so I'm counting it.
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie. Does animating in movies count?
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business. Technically I was self employed, so BAM counting it.
58. Taken a martial arts class. Fencing.
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen. Does food service for rich old people count? How about poor college students?
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma. HA HA HA HA HA HA HA NEEDLES = NO.
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check. Fixed that stupid british spelling so I can say I've done it. I haven't bounced any cheques.
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle. 90 mph with shorts and a t-shirt and no helmet. Wasn't my idea.
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper. It involves the multiple home runs above.
85. Read the entire Bible. I don't remember even half of it, but I've done it. It's probably the most boring entry on the list.
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox. In before vaccine!!!
89. Saved someone's life. I swear I've done this but if I can't remember who or what then I don't deserve to bold it.
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous. /shrug they're no celebrities, but they're famous in certain circles.
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby.  I'm counting fatherhood.
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a mobile phone. Um. Who doesn't?
99. Been stung by a bee. Seriously, these last ones are gimmies.
100. Read an entire book in one day children's books ftw!!!

Dear DC

2008-11-28T23:24:58Z

If you "kill off" Batman, either by actually killing him, or give him "a secret from his past" so awful that he can't fight crime anymore, or in other words, pull a "Bane" on his back, I promise you, I will never, EVER give you another fucking penny so long as I live.

Your Bane gimmick was one of the worst things ever to happen in the history of comics, and I kept my promise: I haven't bought an issue of Batman since. If you pull this bullshit, I will make sure to never give you another dime for anything as long as I live. If your writer can't find any good stories to write about him, then fire him and hire another. I know of a few people who have some ideas.

I might have to convince someone else to pay for my ticket if Depp plays The Riddler in Nolan's newest, but you won't get my money, god damnit.

Damn Birds

2008-11-10T19:09:49Z

So yesterday the local red tailed hawk (he's about two feet long, seriously huge) caused another bird to strike our giant kitchen window. Earlier this year a smaller bird that the hawk was chasing hit it, probably at an angle, because when we looked up all we saw was the hawk radically bank and change angles about two feet away from the window and chase after a small bird that was flying away from our back deck that the window looks off of.

But yesterday, it sounded like a tympani drum when the bird hit the window. I knew this couldn't be good, since the loudness of the strike meant that it had to be a larger bird than before, and probably so much velocity that there was no way it was going to recover from the hit. It didn't help that there was a ball of tiny feathers stuck to the glass at the impact point, either.

I approached the kitchen window cautiously (I don't like being surprised by dead animals, even on the other side of the glass), and first noticed the hawk taking perch on the railing of the deck (about 10 feet away from the window). The fact that the hawk had perched and wasn't chasing anything anymore told me that whatever it was chasing had stopped moving, so I crept closer so I could get an angle and see what was on the deck below the window.

A robin was laying on the deck, on its side, wings and feet not moving. Its beak started to open and close, but nothing else moved, and I knew instantly that it had at the very least broken its neck. At first I thought I saw that it had dropped a berry from its beak, but then I noticed that the berry was growing bigger, and realized that it was bleeding out of its mouth. And then it stopped moving altogether, and I realized I just watched it die.

The hawk was either intimidated by our presence even on the other side of the window, or it gave up interest in the robin, so it retreated to the swingset in the backyard and perched there while it either waited for us to leave the viscinity of the robin or it was hoping the robin would start moving again. I guess the act of "playing dead" works on predators that don't eat carrion, as it probably tricks their instinct to lose interest in the now dead meat. There's probably no good way to encode "only eat dead stuff if it doesn't smell funny" in DNA, so they get an on/off switch. If you killed it, eat it. If it was dead when you found it, don't eat it. I guess they don't process "it died while you were chasing it very well."

Eventually the hawk just gave up and left, which I was a bit cheesed at. I'd rather it at least took the robin and ate it, because now there's going to be two dead animals and only one of them is going to be eaten, whenever it catches its next meal. If it hadn't left the backyard I was going to go fling the robin out back with a shovel so it could reach it easier. Instead I wound up having to bury the robin next to the bush in the middle of the yard, since I don't have any yard waste bags ready to be thrown out that I can put it in.

Oh well. There's no good ending to this other than I didn't have nightmares about dead robins bleeding out of their mouths last night.

Thanks For Nothing, Illinois DMV

2008-11-04T17:58:15Z

Once again, for like the hojillionth time, the Illinois DMV has fucked me in the ass.

This time, they never put my Motor Voter registration through.

I distinctly remember being asked the last time I got my license renewed (it was when we moved to the new house 4 years ago), being asked about Motor Voter, and my saying an emphatic YES so I wouldn't have to vote at the wrong polling place this time around.

Evidently, they never sent it through. The Dupage Election Board never got it, and so now I was stuck voting on only the Federal ballot, when there's an Illinois Constitution Convention at stake. The Election Judge at the first polling place told me to go vote at the second polling place (where I was registered under the Federal ballot), and then at the 2nd polling place, the Election Judge told me, encouraged me, almost mandated that I "just vote on your Federal ballot."

I initially told her no, that I want to vote on the Con Con, and walked outside to call the DuPage Election Board. After waiting on hold for over ten minutes, I went back inside, where the Election Judge once again encouraged me to go through with "just vote on your Federal ballot." So I did, thinking I could resolve this and get a provisional ballot for the local.

Turns out that even if I could have resolved the Motor Voter issue (HA HA HA HA oh man hang on I gotta take a breather after thinking the Illinois DMV might ever get their heads out of their collective butts), because I already cast my Federal ballot, I would not be allowed to vote on any local issues, as I already cast my ballot.

I hate you Illinois. You are incompetent, pathetic, and criminally corrupt (an issue that's completely aside from this incident).

How in the flying fuck am I registered to vote on a Federal level, but not on a local level, despite both of my addresses being located within the same state, nay, the same god damned county.

The First And Only Time I'll Discuss Politics.

2008-11-03T04:24:59Z

No, really, I'll keep this entry short. I'm not going to convince you to vote one way or another, nor do I have any intention to do so.

For the past year I've expressed (in person with friends, at least) the desire to fully reboot congress; to kick everybody out and start over. Then, I got caught up in the stupid election races, listened to the pointless rhetoric from each side, decided I'd vote for one side, then was breifly courted by the other, and then went back to the original.

Just now, I had a brilliant conversation with my Dad that lasted for two hours about politics, life, carreer, you name it.

But after talking to my parents, I realized that their early voting strategy was fulfilling my desire from the previous year, and I've come to the epiphany that I'm also voting this way come Tuesday.

If you're an incumbent, you're fired.

Why So Srsly?

2008-10-26T02:32:10Z

Ten years ago I bought this awesome purple tuxedo jacket at the greatest costume store that ever was (or at least in our area) just before they closed, with the intention of doing a Joker costume "done right."

It went largely unrealized (okay completely unrealized) until I saw The Dark Knight, and like probably every other ~~nerd~~ guy in America, decided to go as the Joker for Halloween. We got invited to a co-worker/buddy/esteemed professional acquaintance's costume party, which was last night, and after a lot of last minute grabs, had enough pieces to put the costume together.

First, I had to make sure I could do some decent cheek scars.

These didn't turn out too badly.  I used this stuff called Collodean, and jeeeeebus is it hard to find/get ahold of. It is basically nail polish for your skin, and it smells like wart remover. You paint it on your skin, and as it dries, it hardens and shrinks up, so it pulls the skin in on itself like a scar/scab might. While it looks pretty great in this (and the two subsequent) photos, I think I should have used the liquid latex I bought to build up the scars around the recessed areas more with some raised bumps.

One realy crappy part about using this stuff (and why I just should have sculpted with the latex) is that it makes your skin so tight that if you smile in your normal range, or try to open your mouth wide enough to eat you'll detatch the scar/scab from your skin.  It makes your cheeks so tight you can't even whistle.

Next came the makeup. This was my first time applying stage makeup, so I guess I picked the right face for it, seeing as it's supposed to look messy. I learned a lot putting this on, like, making makeup look messy is actually just as hard as making it look good.  I wanted it to look worn like it does half the movie, and that just proved impossible for my skills.

I think I may have made the red part over the scars too thick, but shit, once you put down red, you're done. There's no erasing it and starting over.

Note: The first step in putting on grease based makeup is: WASH YOUR FACE FIRST.  I didn't do this, and the makeup wound up flaking off four hours later. Like any good cooking show, I made the wig the night before (just go with it), using a diva wig I had to cut almost all of the hair off of, and then used brown and green hairspray to color it.

It looks overly green here, but I think the flash isn't helping. It really looked more brown than green in normal light. Also: Holy JEEBS is it THICK.  I wish I had thinned it out a bit before hand. The "illusion" breaks down a bit here because of the hair thickness (and because neither I nor the wig have a widow's peak). The real joke here? That is almost exactly what my hair would look like if I grew it out (again). And dyed it green.

Here's a shot of the shirt and vest and tie (wish I could keep the vest; had to rent it at the last minute from Men's Wearhouse because I couldn't find anything else as "designery" even on eBay beforehand). I was trying to emulate that Variety cover where he's sitting on the jail cell bench but it looks like epic fail from the waist down so I cropped it.

And finally, the full look. I'm not a fan of this particular photo. There's better ones of me from the party; I'm more in character and don't look so "stuffy," so I'll post it later after I've gotten it from folks who were there.

I had to go with my grey pinstriped pants here; I couldn't find any designer purple ones that looked like they were from the film, and I know his shoes are supposed to be grey, but honestly, I had spent enough on putting this together, and I wasn't about to buy a grey pair of shoes I'd never wear again.

In all, it turned out pretty successful, as people who didn't know who I was coming as didn't recognize me, and some folks were honestly creeped out by it once it got in character a touch.

But y'know what sucks? TAKING OFF THIS MUCH GREASE MAKEUP. Even after washing my face with two girly disposable make-up removing cloths (trashed both of 'em) and taking a shower with the express intent of washing my face (again with makeup removing soap), I STILL had black shit up in the top of my eye cavities there, and was wiping some remnants off of my eyelids down by the eyelashes the next morning.

Final Note: We went as an accidental "team" costume. el_bow  went as Sandman's Death. No, really, just think about that for a few seconds and let it simmer for a bit.

POTUS DANCE OFF

2008-10-23T20:03:01Z

OH GOD, IF ONLY THE DEBATES WERE LIKE THIS

http://www.break.com/index/unbelievable-mccain-vs-obama-dance-off.html

Dear God,

2008-10-01T01:45:50Z

Why did you make spiders?

And okay, I get it, you made them to eat other bugs, but I have to ask a followup then: Why did you make them so DUMB?

I've got like 18 spiders in the basement, AGAIN. THERE ARE NO OTHER BUGS TO EAT DOWN HERE.

I'm not sure what makes me more afraid, the idea that there's that many spiders in the basement, or that I've gotten so used to them that I'm merely content that they're not crawling down my face and generally staying away from me.

Hooray For Eyeplugs

2008-09-19T03:06:31Z

Okay, I have an eyecast on right now. Yes, you read that right. It's a cast. For your eye. Your eyeball.

My stupid cornea tore again in my sleep last night (the one that my daughter jabbed her fingernail in 3 years ago).  I thought it was fully healed, and didn't need drops in it anymore, but evidently during the night my eyelid stuck to it and tore it back open again. It's done this countless times before, but this was probably one of the worst times since the original injury.

At least now I'm so used to the pain that it's more of a constant irritation than anything else.  It still feels like there's a fingernail floating around my eyeball when it happens. It just doesn't hurt that much. I didn't think I'd ever get used to that. When it first happened the irritation had me wanting to claw my eye out (try feeling like you've got something coarse and gritty stuck under your eyelid for 3 straight days without sleeping), and the pain would wake me up screaming in the night when I'd get the occassional stabby pain. Now it just wakes me up and I think "WOW that hurt a bit. Maybe I should go get some drops and put some pressure on this."

Oddly enough, I'm now wearing a contact lens over it so that it can't stick to anything, and have constant pressure on it to keep it glued down while it re-heals, and this thing is bugging the shit out of me.  I've never worn contacts before, and this one isn't fitted for my eye.  I'm lucky it's at least such a mild/non prescription that it is only mildly throwing off my vision (just enough to give me a headache!). But UGH it's like constantly drifting around in there and I can feel the edges almost all the time.

The fitting for it was hilarious. They sent in Moose Und Sqvirrel nurse from Yookraine to fit contact. "Loook down. NO, loook DOWN. You steel lookeeng up. Yoo must open both the eyes or dees not verk right. Loook DOWN." It was hilarious, she was treating me like I'm some lifetime contact wearer; that I know how to put one in my eye, and here I am with a TORN CORNEA and someone putting a contact in that eye for the first time, and she's giving me shit like I'm an idiot for having a nervous system that's attempting to fight off the foreign invasion of objects it thinks are pouring into my eyeball. Lady, I'd LOVE to be able to look where you're indicating, but right now I feel like you've just dropped a nickel in my fucking eye. Give me a minute here.

So I get to sleep in it, and I'm going to see if I'm up for driving to work tomorrow.  It's been feeling pretty good all day, except for the whole THERE'S A CONTACT THAT DOESN'T FIT IN MY EYE thing and the lack of sleep from being in eye pain last night. I just have to make sure I don't rub my eye so I don't pop it out.

Uh...

2008-09-11T17:23:30Z

My diet Panini smells a lot like a zoo.

I'm sure this has more to do with the olives in it than the fact that it didn't stay frozen in the freezer compartment of the mini-fridge overnight.

I hope.

Stupid Cars

2008-09-09T03:36:02Z

So I paid to have the AC fan fixed, only to then have them pull the belt for the AC Compressor, because that was what the rattling noise was in my engine for the past 6 months. Turns out the bearings blew in it and what I heard rattling (and shaking out of the car at one point) was the remnants of the bearings.

It's weird, because the compressor still works (the drive shaft from the pulley still turns) so I'd still get cold air out of it, but what it boils down to, is if the bearings stop turning, they'll seize, burn the belt, and then the whole engine's fucked. So I had him disconnect the belt so that it won't turn (and power the compressor) and therefore won't seize and make all of my belts asplode.

So now I've got to decide: Do I have the compressor fixed (and burn $800 to do so) or do I just sell/unload/donate the car in 6 months? It needs new shocks too, and god knows what else is going to die on it. It's got 218k miles on it, and it's going to turn 10 years old in a few months.

It's the end of the hot season, and we're entering the cold season, so it's not like I'll be needing the AC for anything other than defogging (and I can just make sure my windows are clean to avoid that).

Sweet Zombie Jebus

2008-09-08T03:50:52Z

It's our anniversary tonight, and we dropped way too much money on Sullivan's and ate way too much food. Seriously, needed a dolly or wheelbarrel to get out of the restaurant. Not happy about them raising their prices, but seeing as we only eat there about once per year I suppose I can't complain too much.

In other news, I got back on the road bike again for the first time in weeks, and did my usual 9.5 miles. If only I could ever "take it easy," I might be able to use my legs right now. I think I did it in about 34 minutes again (I have no idea what the actual time was as my bike computer needs a new battery), and it was somehow into the wind both ways, and that was some powerful wind. I nearly got a cramp in my left leg on the last leg home, and I've never ridden so hard that I cramped up within the past ten years. Thankfully I at least know my own body enough to know how much to dial it back to keep from cramping up, but it was close, especially on the last hill climb there. I fear this is the "starting to feel my age" thing, and along with the general bone/joint aches I'm not liking this one bit.

But hopefully this will encourage me to get back onto the bike more often (like a few times a week). Unfortunately I have to go rent a car tomorrow morning instead of ride again. Although, I should probably take tomorrow off (from riding) anyway.

i r dum

2008-09-07T18:36:34Z

Wound up getting my car to the mechanic too late for him to fix everything on Saturday, and now I have to rent a car on Monday morning. Unfortunately this means lots and lots of driving me around for Liz.

Drive me to pick up rental car Monday morning.
Drive with me to pick up car from mechanic Monday night.
Drive with me to drop rental car off Tuesday morning.

Unless, of course, I use Enterprise, and they do what they promise, and...(wait for it)...pick me up.

Oh Lawd

2008-08-30T18:21:50Z

I'm playing D n D for the first time in 20 years right now.

Also: almost hit a kid on a bike with my car last week.

They're not related.

How Do I Do This???

2008-07-27T04:50:53Z

Made pizza for dinner tonight. A new one that required using the pizza pan to cook it. I forgot while cutting it (we usually cook 'em on the rack and just cut 'em on a cold pizza pan). So yeah, I grabbed a 400 degree pizza pan with my bare hand and now have 2nd degree burns on two fingers and 1st degree burns on another finger and my thumb.

The good news is that the 1st degree burns don't hurt.

The bad news is that the 2nd degree burns feel like they're still on fire 5 hours later if I take them out of the cool water.