Everything's falling apart

So I had a wonderful weekend in my hometown over the weekend, where I went for an early 30th birthday party. Some friends put together a barbecue, and a swell time was had by all.

On Monday, the actual anniversary of my birth, I came down with a sore throat. Earlier today, it morphed into a full-blown cold, which is lovely in the 95-degree heat and high humidity we're having this week.

Also today, I went to the DMV to attempt to get a driver's license. I say "attempt," because my application was denied when the clerk declared me blind. (OK, not really, but I was failed on the vision test after I couldn't read one group of letters.) I contend something was off with the machine, but I dutifully went off to the eye doctor to get certification that I can, in fact, see.

I did learn, though, that I need glasses, which is a nice belated birthday present. The doctor was nice enough to say I probably can hold off for a month or two until my vision plan at work kicks in.

So now that my body has decided to completely shut down in the couple of days after my 30th, I expect that by this time next week I'll be dealing with incontinence, hypertension and osteoporosis. As this relates to you, the reader, you might want to start sucking up now so I'll include you in my will.

Not one thin dime more!

I rejoined the ranks of the home owners Monday, closing on a sparkling new (albeit itty-bitty) condo in D.C.

As it turned out, the amount I was asked to bring to the closing was less than the amount on the final settlement documents. So, this led to an interesting scene in which the parties attempted to find out how this happened. (Turns out, it was a change in rounding.) Which led to an amusing scene in which the parties each offered to make up the difference out of their own pockets.

This all was resolved when the lawyer said her firm would make up the difference. (Which, no doubt, will endear her to the firm's accountant at some point down the road.)

So, I managed to get an even better deal than the one I already had negotiated. (Suck it, seller!)

Oh, the difference?

Ten cents.

It is, indeed, a buyer's market.

+2 for me

I got a bonus state this weekend. And with a little effort, I could've added a third one.


Also, I should note that I showed some remarkable restraint today. We took the students to a water park, and at one point I went on the bumper boats ride. I was planning to just float around and maybe bump a few folks, but this little bastard decided he had it in for me and was just laying into me with his water cannon for a good minute or two.

So the bad news is I got a lot more soaked then I was planning to. The good news is it was a hot day, so I dried off quickly. That, and I'm not in prison on homicide charges.

A series of unfortunate decisions

I was a bit sad when I returned to the East Coast and had to deal with humidity again.

So then I moved to Washington.

I was pleased to get out of the humidity in Washington for a few days.

And I went to visit the humidity in South Dakota.

Conclusion: Six-plus years in the Northwest pretty much seals your fate as a weather wuss for your remaining time on this planet.

Initial impressions

* Driving in South Dakota is easy. You make a couple of turns out of the airport to get onto the interstate, and then you drive in a straight line for X miles until you reach your destination. The speed limits are 75 on the interstate and 70 on state highways, but it's a big state.

* Even here, a college town is a college town. The cafe where I had lunch today offered a full slate of vegetarian meals and had several varieties of oolong tea available in bulk.

* Working with a group of sharp, motivated college students does a lot to restore your faith in the world. (Also, I do surprisingly well in front of a class on one hour of sleep.)

Out of sight, out of mind

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Presentation leaves a lot to be desired

I've always thought that even at their best, a lot of fast-food ads don't do much to make sure their food looks, you know, appetizing in TV ads. Examples: Carls Jr., KFC's bowl thingy.

Now there's a site that proves these meals look even worse when you order them.

As an aside, I went to a highly touted local burger joint yesterday and was once again disappointed because it suffered from thin-patty syndrome. You know, the burgers that are the thickness you might find at a fast-food joint or in one of those packs of 20 in the supermarket freezer.

The burger tasted decent enough (it was "Virginia Kobe," whatever that is), but I was reminded of a similarly exalted place back in Portland that suffered from the same problem. I guess some people enjoy their burgers on that scale, but I prefer the ones that you almost need a fork and knife to eat. (But you must NEVER actually use utensils to eat a burger.) Actually, I have a whole thing on burger rules that I really need to get to one of these days, but I won't bore you with that right now.