Tonight I find myself sitting here with nothing to do.
Correction: I find myself sitting here with nothing I
wish to do. I have work that needs to be completed, but now is not the time for such busy
malarkey. Of course, it would be good to know what exactly it is time for.
As always, it's been a while since my last daylog. In all fairness, I have written two since, but never completed or posted them. There's nothing wrong with them, it is only that I fell behind and the material they speak of became out of date.
Current news: I have come to the realization that my poor car, as much as I love her, is becoming a liability. I recently sunk money into her for a complete front brake job (rotors, shoes, and pads) and new front tires. The drivers side lock broke sometime mid-January after being stubborn in cold weather for two years and change, and the passenger-side door mechanism has a tendency to stick and not want to close and I lack the patience to rip the door apart and grease everything. The power seatbelt for my passenger has developed a minor gremlin and only works after much cajoling, lighting candles around the car, and begging for mercy from the seatbelt gods. This, combined with a door that won't close, make for a perilous journey for anyone who wants to travel with me. There is also a slight tic from the engine that appears when I accelerate. I thought this might be the valve springs, and checked the oil: no such luck. All of this, has led me to the conclusion that she is getting old. I passed 134,000 miles the other day on my way home. I must admit, I'm impressed that a car this old still starts up reliably and runs smoothly, even on a cold day.
So I bought a new car. Just like that. I was home this weekend, as it is Winter Break for my students and, consequently, for yours truly. I have been researching this for some time, and I looked around, did a little shopping, wheeled and dealed, and may have found something nice. Can't talk about it now: might anger the Gods.
I must admit, I am giddy as a German schoolgirl about this new car, but I would be lying if I was to say I was happy to see my old car go. I currently drive a '93 Ford Escort LX, Red. She was and is my first car. Thinking about the miles I have driven and the things I have seen through the windshield of that car causes me to drop into full-tilt nostalgia mode and nearly go a big rubbery one. There is something about the particular characteristics of your car that make it uniquely yours, and you come to appreciate how the seat feels after you’ve put your butt down in it a couple thousand times, or when cleaning out the back you realize what happened the last time you were in the back seat, and you're still back there, twenty minutes later, lost in a reverie, a bottle of Windex in your hand. I appreciate my car not in spite of her problems but because of them. I don't know, perhaps it is a guy thing.
When I was home this past week I saw old friends that I miss madly. Took Binet out to dinner as a belated birthday present: SUSHI! I actually wanted something a bit more substantial (gasp), but she was the boss as it was her birthday. I also traveled west and spent a couple days with James, my good friend, sometimes sidekick, and the only guy who can cause me to laugh so had I cease to make noise. This time we were in a Pizza Hut, noshing on a stuffed crust and swilling root beer. Somehow, the conversation got to talking about bad jokes, and times where we have made a scene by laughing uncontrollably, and in recalling these events we were once again sent into fits of uncontrollable giggling. We remembered one event that happened over four years ago, in a small strip-mall diner that was our home-town hangout (they have excellent French toast). Don't ask how we remember stuff like this, it is simply how our minds work. It was a particular phrase that sent us into hysterics, and as we remembered it, we received glances from the other Pizza Hutters:
"Princess Poupoli has plenty papayas, and she likes to give them away."
Even now, I'm not sure why it is so funny to the two of us. Perhaps the fact that our princess likes to give her fruit away tickles our funnybone.
I guess you had to be there.
Tomorrow I start up work again, which means rising before the sun does. Currently, the wind makes threatening noises outside the window and tries to find ways into my house, which I can feel moving during particularly strong gusts. Considering the size of this place, it is strange to feel it shake in the wind. While I know it ain't going to blow away, it's enough to make one a little nervous.