Uomini della neve

And so it snowed. About a foot, or so the reports say. These snowmen were on my block and I just thought they were cute. I especially like the sombrero on the Latino snowman, and the other one looks like a grumpy old man.


However, I did not let the snow get in the way of my shopping excursions because, well, what kind of shopper would I be if I did that?! The local weathermen kept saying that it wasn't supposed to start snowing until Saturday afternoon, so I figured I could get out and about and do my stuff before then. I almost couldn't believe it when I turned out to be right!

The highlight of my shopping excursion was looking at laptop computers, without a doubt. Honestly, I haven't seen a brand new laptop in so long . . . and I came to the conclusion that it really doesn't matter what I get, I'm going to love it because they are all so far ahead of what I've had before. Seriously. I bought my first laptop back in 1995, a Toshiba. That was my one and only brand-new, out of the box, never touched by anybody but me computer. And even it wasn't the latest and greatest - I think they had just come out with the original Pentium processors, so I got a 486 because they were soon going to be obsolete anyway. That laptop worked fine for me until around 2000 or 2001, I think, when I started using the internet more. At that point, my best friend K upgraded to a new laptop for her work and gave me her old one free, and it was nicer than my old one by far. I was thrilled! That one worked fine and dandy until I left a glass of wine next to it one night and Buca knocked it over onto the keyboard. RIP, Laptop #2. So then I was without one and very miserable for about 8 months, until I went out with $200 and got Millie, a very serviceable Pentium III IBM Thinkpad 610E. And that brings us up to date.

So with the idea now that anything brand new, out of the box, never been touched by anybody but me is going to be better than what I've had before, I went back to the 3 most reliable, cheapest manufacturers' websites and priced out their base models without most of the stuff I had wanted added on, and had gotten the price down to $500 after rebates. Then out of curiosity, I searched a few store websites, and what did I find? A pricier model, with lots more memory, longer battery life, and better operating system for only $100 more on a special sale, with free shipping. So my choice is made. Come Wednesday, my saved cart is being brought back up, the submit button shall be hit, and in 3-5 business days, a man in brown will deliver my new baby here at work. Then I'll have to think up a new name.

Anyway, I actually got quite a bit accomplished at home this weekend. A certain reader will be shocked, no doubt, when they read that all of my clothes are now unpacked from the move (yes, from 2+ months ago, back around Thanksgiving). Not only unpacked, but washed, folded/hung and put away. I even ironed the wrinkly stuff. It's so satisfying to see everything hanging in its place and to open drawers and riffling through perfectly folded stacks of clothing. Of course, this now means re-organizing and shifting things around until I have reached the optimum logical placement of everything. Re-organization on this scale could take at least another month. And that's not counting organizing the shoes . . .

Aside: somebody here in the office is using Skype. The first time I heard the ring, I was uncertain - I thought maybe they had just seen an ad on a website or something. Nope, I just heard it again. Somebody is Skype-ing. I wish it was me.

Where was I? I forget.

I had the whole apartment to myself for the entire weekend. And I loved it. I waltzed around naked after showering instead of hiding in a robe or trying to make a towel cover the large marine-mammal like body I seem to be inhabiting these days. I peed with the door open. I left dishes in the sink until last night. I slept with my door open. I hogged the washer and dryer all weekend. Every time I opened the door to the freezer or fridge, or looked in a cupboard, I knew exactly what food would be in there, and nothing was missing that I hadn't eaten. Meanwhile, the Cuz has a bunch of job interviews out home this week and, god willing, will get a job there which means the end of our era. Yeah, she'll be back sometimes for weekends, but not as a paying roommate anymore. And as much as I love living alone, and that has now been reaffirmed, I'll miss her. But I want my own space again.

BTW, I'm not very busy at new job right now, so I have lots of time to think. Which will probably mean more posting than usual. Decide for yourself if that's good or bad, because I honestly don't know myself.