Ten random things

1. The cold thing seems to be pretty much over. More Kleenex in the world for everyone else.

2. So is this knitting thing I'm into now just a phase or am I actually going to develop it into a lifetime hobby? As of now it seems like the latter. Unlike other handcraft hobbies I've had in the past, this one seems to be something that combines something I may actually have a talent for with being something that I can do without it being too tedious or too time consuming. It's actually nice to be able to knit a few rows while I have the time and then put it down again. Can't do that with cross stitch. Not unless you like dragging the thread out over and over and putting the cloth in and out of the hoop.

I did find a pattern last night for a cowl that looks like it will challenge me to a whole new level without being impossible to accomplish. I'm slightly intimidated by it now but the nice thing about knitting is that if it sucks, you can unknit it or simply rip it out and start again.

3. If I lived in Mainz, I'd be dead tonight. I just know it. I'm convinced that if I lived there that I wouldn't have been able to resist going out on my balcony and a Secret Service sharp shooter (and yes, I'm inviting you to say that five times fast) would have made mush out of my head.

George W. was in Mainz today and nearly the whole city has been in lockdown. Sections of the city have been closed down for his safety - businesses closed, no cars allowed on the roads, people being forbidden to go out on the streets or their balconies or to even open a window. And that's where I'd get in trouble. Just as sure as hell someone tells me not to go out on my own balcony is the moment where I will just have to. Just to prove that they're not going to tell me what I can and can't do with my own balcony.

Tell me it's not ironic that he touts freedom and liberty being spread all around the world (and don't get me wrong - I'm all for every citizen of the world to have freedom and liberty) and then because he's visiting people are being told they must stay indoors between the hours of 7am and 7pm. Freedom's on the march...except when W's in town.

4. One of the sweetest times I've had recently was sitting with my sister in the Cross City Grille having lunch.

5. How did I function before we had a hard drive recorder? Video is dead, people!

6. I love Fossil watches. They've never lasted me and I've even had the hands fall off of them but I love them. Back in my working days when I lived in the US I had a big collection of Fossil watches, most of them being the limited edition novelty ones. Somehow though they got lost. I assume my ex-husband has them or had them anyway. Damn. I'd love to have my pink leather banded Barbie 40th anniversary watch. Or my Flintstones watch with the dancing Fred and Barney.

7. Askme how much I loved Bayern-Münich beating Arsenal last night. Go on. Ask me. I FREAKING LOVED IT!!

8. I'm just going to say it. I'm finally going to come clean with myself and be completely honest and just go ahead and admit it. Most people who have owned Jeeps - and I'm talking about CJs or Wranglers, not Cherokees or Libertys or the like - most people who owned Jeeps tend to go on and on about how they loved their Jeep.

I am different.

While I will admit that one's reading on the Groove-O-Meter tends to go up when they're driving a Jeep, I will go further and say that I really pretty much hated my Wrangler. It's not that I didn't try to love the bitch but there were some pretty annoying ass things about that beast.

Number one, it's fucking noisy. Freaking ragtop Jeeps are freaking noisy. You do tend to get numb to it after a while but I realized how loud it was one time when I was driving a decrepit company car back when I worked for a power company and I was marveling at how quiet it was. The other people in the car with me looked at me like I was insane.

Number two, you go broke replacing the tops. You can take the best care of them but eventually the windows turn into yellowing, murky can-see-dick-out-of-'em nightmares. It's like driving a cataract on wheels. And don't even mention to me the time my window cracked in half on a cold day when I pulled it in to get my arm out to pay a toll. Oh! Oh! And how about the time when I was driving about 60 MPH down a winding-ass road and the top ripped off from where it clipped to the windshield?

Number three, they're cold. Mine had a blasting heater but for the most part, they're cold. Drafty, cold and downright uncomfortable.

Number four, they're a pain to wash. You have to wash the top and the windows just so and forget going to a carwash. Thank God I had a charcoal gray Jeep that didn't show dirt very well.

I just didn't dig my Jeep experience. It was sorta cool to wave at other Jeep drivers but not worth it in the long run. Maybe I'd feel differently had I owned a hard top. I blame my ex-husband for that boneheaded decision. But then I blame him for all boneheaded decisions. My priviledge for him now being my ex-husband.

9. http://www.crimelibrary.com scares the wee out of me. I'll get hung up reading one of those stories and end up being scared of my own shadow. I still get freaked out reading about the Zodiac Killer just like it freaked me out when I was a kid. That guy's gotta be dead now, right? Right? I mean at least he's not anywhere near Germany. Right? Right?

10. My apologies to anyone who has recognized that this blog entry sounds like that lame-ass random thoughts thing Larry king used to write for USA Today. God help me if I'm turning into that dried up old frog.