A new experience

Car sales people fighting for my business. This is a totally new experience for me, and I love it! Didn't have the green color I wanted in stock without the sunroof, then I guess we'll have to give you the one with the sunroof for the same price. Oh, but wait, says the other one, I can get you a lower payment, and no documentation fee. Looking very Carmy, the color of my winter coat, with the sunroof, and the seriously nice floormats. What more could a girl want?

Can I take it home with me?

10 days later, still don't have a car. Why does it have to take so long? Thinking, planning, driving, negotiating, picking a color, new or used, buy or lease, it all just takes time.

Right now we're down to a Toyota Camry, or a Honda Accord. Both new. Is a sunroof a want or a need? Aloe Green or Metal Grey?

My head is spinning, and my mother in law wants her car back. Can you blame her?

Actually ate a burrito on a salesman's desk at 7:30 the other night. That's how desperate I've become. Sad, very sad.

It's a love - hate thing

My hair looked better when I woke up this morning than it did after a shower and blow dry. I really hate my hair. The color's fine. The cut needs freshening, but isn't bad. Hard to say what it is I hate, but I do. Had a dream last night that a friend had alopecia, where all your hair falls out. Mine's thin, but it's still hanging in there. Guess I should be thankful for something.

Games people play

"Hi, my name is Kris, I'm a compulsive gamer."

That's the opening to the speech I'll be giving in class next week. Most people think that 18-year old boys play online games more than anyone else. That statistic has changed dramatically. I am a solitaire junkie. Current variety is Queen of Italy. Hours speed by when I'm at the keyboard. Is acknowledging the problem the first step to recovery? I can only hope.

Speaking of games, I'll be returning the car I bought Tuesday. It's a nice car, but not what we need right now. Wonder how that game will play out. Hmmm

Cars, gotta love 'em

Driving to a speaking engagement in central Nebraska when a new light appeared on the dashboard of my 1997 Honda Passport. I was used to the 'chk engine' and 'chk trns' lights, they'd been blinking for almost a year. But this light was red and equally cryptic, 'chk at tmp' like someone was texting from under the hood.

I ignored the light and kept driving. I was barely going to make it to Hastings in time to speak, what was I to do? The Honda was running fine, at least from the driver's seat, so I kept driving. When I got off the interstate and came to the first stop light I realized that something was seriously wrong. There was a serious "CLUNK" when it finally dropped into gear. Made it to the parking lot, dashed in, changed clothes, handed music to my accompanist, and smiled through the lunch until it was my turn to sing and eventually to speak.

After the presentation I tried the car. Nothing but reverse, and even that was questionable.

The remaining details of the next 24 hours are almost too painful to recount, so I'll spare you the details, and share only the highlights. Spoke and sang that evening and then spent the night in Grand Island with a dear cousin who took me in. The Honda was pronounced dead. I bought a car. Learned afterward that I agreed to pay entirely too much money for the car. Spoke in Aurora. Drove my new car home. Spent today on the phone with my 'sales consultant' who happens to be the son of a dear friend. Had to finally say -- look sweetie, I know you've only been selling cars for two months, and I know you haven't made your quota for the month, but I'm returning this one. Still have the car, it will be Saturday before I can return it. After that I will have no car again.

Does it get any more fun than that?

February Snow

February snow is better than January snow! Less than 12 hours after it snowed 5+ inches I can see pavement out the window. The warm, happy sunshine is making the streets that were plowed just this morning all melty and nice. Yeah for February snow!

Making Sense of the Symbols

I find myself driving down the road making mathematical equations out of license plates. Do any of you, or am I alone in this? It's this need to create order out of disorder. Sort of like the nonsense text verification that appears when leaving a friendly message on someone's blog; jsqsspd, or klbxmz. I will look at those letters just scratching my brain trying to come up with a sentence or word. Rarely does anything emerge, but I try. This explains why I quit doing word scrambles at showers a long time ago. Most people would just be getting rolling and I'd be done. Kind of embarrasing. What does it all mean?

Txtng -- evl

Txtng by phn shld nt b uzd 4 mssgs mor invlvd thn: "hm sn?" or "brrto plz"

Aftr tht thngs jst gt mddy.

What do we expect?

Saw a hillarious video of a woman on "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader." She was pretty sure that Europe was a country, but had never heard of Budapest. She did NOT win money that I know of. Turns out the woman was country singer Kelley Pickler. Poor Kelley. Obviously she skipped school for guitar lessons.

Sort of begs the question: Why do we expect entertainers to do anything but entertain us? While I'm on this subject, since when does being an entertainer make you any more adroit at understanding issues than the average Joe? Who cares what the Baldwin boys think about what happens in Washington, or anywhere else for that matter?

Note to the media: stop asking performers what they think about anything, we don't care! We just want them to make us happy, not tell us what to think.