Did You Know That Rubber Can Burn On Ice?
I lucked out and ran into Patguy at the Bryant-Lake Bowl last night. I had a couple and we talked about disappointing books and a possible second trip to Ireland, or a possible first trip to Iceland. We're both kind of fascinated with Iceland. The problem, besides no money, is that there aren't any other countries with one letter difference from Ireland and Iceland. Good thing I'm not obsessive compulsive.
I deposited my paychecks, plus about $12.78 in pennies that I had been accumulating for a couple years. About 10 cents of pennies were rejected due to being overly marred or Canadian. Then I mailed off my bills for the month, and all that money I deposited went poof. Seriously, a balrog exhaling on it wouldn't have made it go poof any faster.
Now the annoying part. On the spur of the moment, I decided to stop in at Hollywood Video and look for something to rent or buy. After a few minutes of finding nothing I wanted, I went back out to my pickup... and proceeded to be stuck for the next half hour. The parking lot was on a slant, and the ice and slush mixture, which was maybe an inch and a half thick, completely stymied me and my tires. I spent several minutes on my hands and knees, chipping away at the ice with a scraper. I cleared away about a yard of ice and slush from the back tires, rolled foward a few inches, put it in reverse, gunned it a bit... and started sliding towards the car next to me. It was tense, it was frustrating, but somehow I got out of there without dinging the crap out of some stranger's car. It was bizarre how perfect the ice, slush, and terrain was to keep me and my truck a helpless prisoner.
But at least I missed any accidental viewing of the Bush coronation. Cripes. Why in heck do we keep treating our chief executives like they're royalty?
And now some more mild disappointment. I won't be attending Cheb's Freaky Movie party, or Ethel's birthday bowling fest, as I will be in central Iowa for a late Christmas with the relatives. I haven't attended a family event like this in a few years, and I feel I'm due. But like all my family events, the timing is really terrible when juxtaposed with my friends' events. I am, however, planning on Rodgercon the week after. A weekend of beer, video games, and movies is always worth making room for.
Should call Mom and Dad, and let them know I'll be down tomorrow afternoon.
I deposited my paychecks, plus about $12.78 in pennies that I had been accumulating for a couple years. About 10 cents of pennies were rejected due to being overly marred or Canadian. Then I mailed off my bills for the month, and all that money I deposited went poof. Seriously, a balrog exhaling on it wouldn't have made it go poof any faster.
Now the annoying part. On the spur of the moment, I decided to stop in at Hollywood Video and look for something to rent or buy. After a few minutes of finding nothing I wanted, I went back out to my pickup... and proceeded to be stuck for the next half hour. The parking lot was on a slant, and the ice and slush mixture, which was maybe an inch and a half thick, completely stymied me and my tires. I spent several minutes on my hands and knees, chipping away at the ice with a scraper. I cleared away about a yard of ice and slush from the back tires, rolled foward a few inches, put it in reverse, gunned it a bit... and started sliding towards the car next to me. It was tense, it was frustrating, but somehow I got out of there without dinging the crap out of some stranger's car. It was bizarre how perfect the ice, slush, and terrain was to keep me and my truck a helpless prisoner.
But at least I missed any accidental viewing of the Bush coronation. Cripes. Why in heck do we keep treating our chief executives like they're royalty?
And now some more mild disappointment. I won't be attending Cheb's Freaky Movie party, or Ethel's birthday bowling fest, as I will be in central Iowa for a late Christmas with the relatives. I haven't attended a family event like this in a few years, and I feel I'm due. But like all my family events, the timing is really terrible when juxtaposed with my friends' events. I am, however, planning on Rodgercon the week after. A weekend of beer, video games, and movies is always worth making room for.
Should call Mom and Dad, and let them know I'll be down tomorrow afternoon.