January 11, 2005.

so far, bet I can if I really work at it…

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Man. It’s only 12:30, and thus far today I’ve: exercised, taken a shower, done laundry, had my hair colored and cut, dropped off packages at the post office, gone to get a new driver’s license, rented a couple of movies, and picked up a bunch of school supplies at Staples for the spud. I need a nap. Nothing against the woman who does my hair, but I always hate having my hair done, because it takes an hour and a half, or thereabouts, and I get bored and fidgety. At least I had a decent ‘do for the driver’s license picture. Getting my driver’s license was the least painful part of the morning, because it took literally less than five minutes. I guess 11:20 on a Tuesday morning is not the busiest time at the license place. I was in and out of there in no time. Our neighbor, the realtor who sold us this house, was in there as well, and spent the entire time he was transacting his business on his cell phone. Rude bastard. (Here in Madison, the Department of Motor Vehicles has a small offshoot in the local grocery store, so I don’t actually have to shlep all the way into Huntsville THANK GOD.) Tomorrow, I have an eye appointment because I’m about out of contacts, which means it’s time to go see the doctor and get a new year’s worth of contacts. I hate going to see the eye doctor. After my appointment, I have to hit Target and Sam’s, which means it’s going to be a busy morning for me. And at some point I need to pick up all the empty boxes laying around the house (seriously, there’s a pile of three boxes in the corner of the computer room, a couple by the garage door, and one by the front door) and figure out a new home for them. I also need to vacuum the downstairs and balance the checkbook. I think I need another vacation. It’s all good, though, because at least THIS is not the week where I have my appointment with the gynecologist. That’s next week, and if I’m not looking forward to seeing the eye doctor, I’m REALLY not looking forward to seeing the gynecologist. I’m already dreading it, even though I know it will be fast and relatively painless, but I always dread it for ages and ages beforehand. It’s probably a good thing that birth control pills aren’t over-the-counter, because if I didn’t have to go back and see her to get a prescription for another year, I doubt I’d EVER go see her. At least it’s 71 degrees out right now. But I could use a little sun, too. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ So, the spud started driver’s ed yesterday. When she got home, she told me that the driver’s ed teacher is licensed to give driving tests. Which means that once driver’s ed is up, he can give the kids their test to determine whether they’re ready for their license, which will be mighty convenient since we won’t have to shlep into Huntsville for her to take the test. (Can you tell that shlepping into Huntsville isn’t really my favorite thing?) This is both convenient and scary – because it means that the spud could have her license in just a few short months, which means she will then be able to DRIVE down the ROAD with other vehicles on the road as well. Scary. But convenient for those times when we’ve run out of, say, milk. I can just give her money and send her to the store! And she can go buy her own school supplies! And she can go pick up her own school schedule next August! Still a little scary, but I’m sure I’ll get over it the first time I say “Spud, go to McDonald’s and get me a Diet Coke!” and she DOES. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Last night we watched the first two episodes of 24 we’d taped Sunday night. Toward the end of last season – which we watched on DVD because we hadn’t yet realized the magic of Jack Bauer when it was on TV last year – we noticed that Jack was saying “Okay, fine” ALL THE FUCKING TIME, and Tony was saying “Yeah, sure.” Swear to god, in at least one episode, they were saying nothing BUT “Okay, fine” and “Yeah, sure.” Fred and I decided that the writers had a bet that they could get Jack and Tony to say their respective lines like twenty times each. Chloe: “Jack, I need your permission to floople the doop.” Jack: “Okay, fine.” Chloe: “Tony, Michelle’s on the phone. Do you want me to put her through?” Tony: “Yeah, sure.” Chloe: “Are you sure?” Tony: “Yeah, sure.” Chloe: “Tony’s on the phone, Jack. And terrorists are going to be attacking CTU within the hour. I’m going to run my annoying yet appealingly quirky self into the lady’s room and confront someone and tell them I don’t care what they think about me and whether they believe me, because I’m telling the truth.” Jack: “Okay, fine.” You get the idea. So last night I went through a phase where every time Jack came on the screen and someone asked or told him something, I’d guess that he was going to say “Okay, fine.” But he never said it, not even once. Hmph. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Did I mention that I did a lot of shopping while I was in Maine? I ended up buying a ton of calendars – one more than I actually have space for. When I see calendars on sale for 50% off, I have a hard, hard time resisting. I’m only human, you know! So for now I have two calendars by my desk and one hanging on the refrigerator. I think I’m going to have to put one in the giveaway box, though it’s a Get Fuzzy calendar, and I do love the Get Fuzzy. Obviously I need a bigger house with more calendar-hanging wall space! Anyway, one of the calendars is by National Geographic, and it’s called “Moons“. The pictures are gorgeous, and sitting at my desk I find myself gazing appreciatively at the “January” picture. The other calendar is called Why Cats Do That, and each month has a picture of a cat doing something, and an explanation of why they do it. January’s picture is of a cat grooming, and the explanation (“Because it keeps them clean. DUH. Also, it tones their muscles.”) underneath. And lastly, on the refrigerator hangs the Gary Patterson calendar I get every year because a) I love the pictures, and b) it comes with a magnetic strip for ease of hanging AND a pen with a magnet on the back. And now I believe I’ve yammered on about calendars quite long enough. Plus, I’m hungry as hell. See you tomorrow! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Spanky would like his snack now, please. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~]]>