This afternoon, Lisa and I went to see the new Woody Allen movie, Vicky Cristina Barcelona. While I thought Match Point was quite good, I not the biggest Woody Allen fan. His movies aren’t spectacular, but he’s one of the few filmmakers that does something different.
We sat through nearly 20 minutes of previews and I almost finished my gargantuan “small” popcorn by the time we were over. The last preview was Richard Gere’s new gem, Nights in Rodanthe. I’m sorry, but this just looks like a two-hour tampon commercial. Decide for yourself:
Yesterday I purchased one of your Badger 5 garbage disposals and went on to spend three frustrating exhilerating hours last night installing it. I applaud the practical joke of your installation instructions. Nowhere on the box nor in the instructions did I read any warnings that installation should not be attempted by someone with an MBA, or who otherwise has no real practical life skills. Nor did you state that installation is only possible if you have a small gnome living under your sink that can help to hold the flange as it gets attached to the snap ring. Thankfully, you correctly assume that anyone just happens to have a jar of non-hardening plumbers putty on hand at any time. Otherwise, an unknowing amateur installer might be forced to make a dashing run to Lowe’s at 8:55 PM just before they close. It was also thrilling to see that you decided to use flat-head screws. I find phillips-head screws and their accompanying drivers to be haughty, what with their superior efficiency and reduced tendency to slice open your hand.
Here’s a great submission by a buddy back in Baltimore.
Feel free to use this image as a reminder of all the things you find slightly scary about Baltimore. This guy was sitting here the entire time I was caught at a light. He wasn’t in distress unless you count nodding immaculate as distress, in which case, he was in severe distress.
Heroin is bad for your posture.
That’s great! Thanks, Dan.
He kind of reminds me of the ripped homeless guy that roamed Federal Hill. He pushed around his belongings in a wheeled trashcan and was shirtless 90% of the time. But, I’m telling you, the dude was ripped! He also had a lovely habit of keeping his hand down his sweat pants in a manner inappropriate for mixed company.
I have a decision to make. When I started Blogimore.com, it was meant to be catharsis for my homesickness and not exactly being thrilled with my new living environment. I thought it would be a way to make the best out of living in Baltimore. It has been here when I needed it, but due to infrequent updates, the site has never really taken off.
So here’s my question: do I try to sell Blogimore.com and move my bloggings to another quiet little corner of the internets? Or, should I stay and change the focus of Blogimore from life in Baltimore to my life as a work-from-home (not stay-at-home) dad in the heavily Republican, Bible-beating Texas suburbs?
Now is your chance to weigh in, readers. Please let me know because I want to hear opinions from both of you.
Things weren’t chaotic enough before we left Baltimore, so I decided to put Lisa’s car up for sale. We loved our little Jetta, but it just wasn’t enough to accommodate an infant seat in the back. When we kept our nephew several years ago, we had to pull the driver seat up so far that I couldn’t use the clutch. The phone started ringing shortly after I placed the ad on Cars.com. I had a solid offer within a week and we sold it the Tuesday before we left town. It was great not having to tow a car back to Texas. However, this left us one car short.
While on vacation in Rhode Island, we test drove the Volvo V50, Audi A4 Avant and BMW 328 wagon. We loved the A4 and were not impressed by the Volvo and BMW. I started looking. I started researching. I started building out models online. I started asking friends for the opinions. During my research I discovered that the Volkswagen Passat wagon had the same engine, the same body and similar options than it’s luxury-class cousin, the A4. Yet, it came with a much sweeter price tag. We test drove one last Saturday and brought one home Monday night.
We got a silver VW Passat Wagon Lux with black leather interior. It’s packed full of “mom” features: push-button start, a power lift gate, rear door sun shades, and among other things, an “Auto Hold” button. When the Auto Hold is engaged, when the car comes to a stop, it will not move even if you take your foot off the brake. This will let us easily turn around and comfort (or beat) the kid without worrying about the car rolling away.
Today was my first day to drive it and I’m quite impressed. Click on the pic below to go to the .Me gallery.
By the way, that’s our house in the background of one of the pics. We’re loving it, too.
I ran across this old (antique?) analog gas pump at a station off of I-59 outside of Gadsden, AL. I haven’t seen one of these since I was a kid. It was quaint, yes, but making me pre-pay for gas? What is this, the third world? Come on, Alabama. Don’t make all the stereotypes come true.
In case you thought I was kidding about the bullet hole, here’s proof:
My brother speculated that it was the result of a nasty indoor hunting accident. So if you’re ever in Christiansburg, VA, be sure to check out the EconoLodge. It’s really just lovely.
Yesterday was our last day in Baltimore and it couldn’t have come sooner. Thankfully, Mom and Dave came to help us pack and drive the truck down. There’s no way we could’ve gotten the house packed without their help. Mom has an amazing ability to focus on the task at hand and subtly direct others into what they need to do. Unfortunately, Mom’s sense of depth perception isn’t so keen. While bringing a basket of greenery from the 3rd floor down to the 2nd, Mom missed the last step and took a nasty tumble. All we heard was a crash. It knocked the wind out of her and so initially she couldn’t respond when we called out to her. She immediately laid down, but in true Mom fashion, got up shortly and continued to pack. It wasn’t until later in the evening that she really started to hurt. We convinced her to go to Hopkin’s urgent care clinic where she got some X-rays revealing a broken rib, and thankfully, some pain meds. She’s quite sore, but doing better.
A little while after Mom’s tumble, Lisa overdid it and started having some cramping. Contractions. She called her doc and was told to lay down (lie down?) immediately and drink lots of water. The cramping quickly eased and Lisa stayed in bed the rest of the night. Carter’s already making his needs known.
Dave and I went and picked up the truck first thing Monday morning. It’s a bit old and the key doesn’t really work. A panel fell off the dash on the way back to the house. After we got the truck, we got a call from the movers, Superior Care Movers, saying they’d be about an hour late. They were two hours late. They also took twice as long and were 3x more expensive than I’d budgeted. But, the guys were hard-working, diligent and professional. They did a great job packing and loading our stuff. Most importantly, it wasn’t me doing the loading. Overall, I can’t complain.
We didn’t leave Baltimore until just after 6:00. After a couple of stops, we finally made it into Christiansburg, VA about 12:30 AM. When traveling with pets, your hotel choices are limited and so we had to stay in an EconoLodge. The air in the room was stale, and I’m trying to figure out if the bullet hole in the window originated from inside the room or from the parking lot. But, it had a comfortable bed. After a decent night’s sleep, we’re about to hit the road. Next stop: Birmingham.
With my wife at an out-of-town conference, I decided to nerd-out this weekend. I left at 11:00 this morning and took the three-hour drive to Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s estate outside of Charlottesville, Virginia. It was a beautiful day, and I arrived just in time to get a ticket for the 3:00 tour. The walk up the hill to the house reminded me how out of shape my rather prodigious ass is. The house did not disappoint. Jefferson’s vision and designs were amazing. I got to see Native American artifacts from the Lewis and Clark expedition, his private library and study, his rotating book stand, desk and chair, as well as his alcove bed. The view was amazing and the variety of his garden impressive. Overall, it was a great day for a drive in the Virginia Piedmont.
I snapped this pic on my way to dinner at The Helmand on Wednesday night. I can’t figure it out, is this guy an escaped convict or an Oriole fan? Or is that redundant?
