Black Friday

I did something very much not in line with my personality -- I got up at 5:30 AM to go shopping.

I went to Lowe's, though, so that makes it not as bad (in my eyes.) I got a storage cabinet for my tools for $60 less than its regular price. I got a ladder for a similar discount. And I also picked up some storage bins so I can store things. Granted, the bins are very Christmasy -- red with green lids -- but they were like five bucks, buy one get one free.

I wasn't surprised to see a line outside the store when I arrived at 5:50 AM. I was, however, very surprised at how extremely polite and civil everybody was inside the store -- both employees AND the early bird customers who, I presumed, would have dollar signs in their eyes. Nope. Everyone was pretty polite.

I guess it's that holiday spirit. And the fact that Lowe's is NOT Best Buy. As I was getting ready, there was some dude being interviewed on TV who had been outside of one particular store since Tuesday.

That's right, Tuesday. What the hell? I wish I had that kind of time.

Wait, no I don't.

Turkeymas Eve

It's Turkeymas Eve. Also known as Skanksgiving.

Anyway, I just went to the grocery store to get some stuff for tomorrow's family feast. This year, I've been told I'm bringing green bean casserole. This, in spite of the fact that I have never made green bean casserole. Ever. I've eaten my fair share, but never made it. I'm sure it can't be too tough, though.

Apparently Turkeymas Eve is a big day for French's fried onions and Campbell's cream of mushroom soup. Both were nearly gone, although I'm sure the fine folks at Schnucks have ample supplies in the storeroom.

In other news, I got a dog. He's somewhere between 10 and 15 years old, partially blind, mostly deaf, and flatulent.



His name is currently Doc, but I'm thinking of changing it to something else. I mean, shit, it's not like he will actually hear me calling him. He uses his nose to get around. Although he does like staring out the window -- I often see his little head between the glass and the curtains when I return home.

He snores. He snores louder than me. Sometimes it wakes me up at night. Speaking of waking up, I have to wake HIM up every morning. It's a process that takes a while, given his near-blindness and almost-deafness. And when I'm waking him up, I can't just do it by calling his name (he won't hear) or petting him (he'll get startled and his heart might quit) -- no, I have to tap my foot gently on the floor near him until he feels and decides to roll over. This morning it took me about a minute of tapping.

Because of his advanced age, he doesn't do stairs too well. I mean, he does fine going down them, as he showed me the one time he followed me into the basement. He then showed me a few minutes later, that he can only make it about halfway up the stairs before he does a reverse otter slide back down to the bottom (which makes a disturbingly satisfying "plop" noise when he gets there.) So, basically, if there are more than a few stairs, I need to carry him up.

He barks like a beagle at things he probably can't even see or hear. Have you ever heard a beagle bark? It's very annoying. And loud. Oh so loud. He pees on the sidewalk (but thankfully not inside the house), and he left a turd there once too.

So, all-in-all, he seems alright.

On Being a Homeowner

I've had no shortage of odds and ends to take care of as a homeowner. In the last few weeks, I've done the following:

- Painted all of my unpainted interior doors to match the others.
- Hung a really neat curtain rod over the front window, complete with some thermal panels.
- Installed a towel rack in the bathroom.
- Replaced a glass slat in the jalousie door that serves as my side door. Side note -- what kind of idiot uses a jalousie door for an exterior door in Missouri? I'm guessing it's the slumlord kind of idiot, since this was a rental property, occupied by approximately 47 people at once, judging by the mail I receive...
- Replaced the mostly disintegrated weather stripping on the front door.
- Had the furnace cleaned and serviced (It's nice and toasty in here right now).
- Installed a light in the laundry room.
- Installed a similar light in the kitchen, under the cabinets.
- Transferred some paint from the huge buckets I had into smaller quart buckets to be used as touch-up paint.

In the last month, I believe I've made no fewer than a dozen trips to Lowe's and/or Home Depot. Also, I stopped by Linens & Things on my way home from work on Friday. They've got some super good deals right now. That's how I got a nine foot wide curtain rod for $15.

Being a homeowner is alright so far. But I still have so much to do...

This Week

It's been a good week. A really good week. At least for me it has been. And for all my Obama-supporting friends.

I listened to President-Elect Obama's first press conference today. It was vague, but I thought it was good. He answered the question of the presidential puppy with the same serious tone as questions about the economy and Iran, which I found humorous.

Of course, the press conference interrupted Talk of The Nation: Science Friday, one of my favorite NPR programs. Late in the show, callers were asked what they thought President-Elect Obama should focus on (in terms of science) in his first term.

That's when something occurred that, without fail, annoys the crap out of me. Some guy called in to recommend a particular individual for the role of science adviser within the Obama administration.

I don't even remember who the person "recommended," so that's not what I found annoying. What I found annoying was addressing a topic via an unrelated channel. A better example of this is whocallsme.com, where people log unsolicited commercial phone calls. And then people complain.

While many of the entries on that site are helpful descriptions of the nature of the phone calls (and sometimes, even a company name), there are always a few where people write, "I want my name off your list," "stop calling me!" or something similar, in which the author of the post will address the company making the phone calls.

Do you see where I'm headed with this?

Complaining about something on some random website isn't going to change anything. If you're on a government no call list, there are forms to fill out to report unwanted phone calls. And I guaran-damn-tee you that posting on the aforementioned website will not result in action by your attorney general's office (they're the ones who act on no call list complaints) and it's even less likely that your comment will actually accomplish anything with the company.

So, really people, if you're going to complain about something, do it so it means something. If you're going to suggest someone to be President Obama's science adviser, tell his transition team. If you want someone to stop calling you, talk to your state's attorney general. For Pete's sake, folks, make sure there's some sort of logical connection in place when you make a suggestion or complain about something. A good general rule for this -- the ease of making a complaint or suggestion via a particular medium is inversely relative to the effectiveness of that medium's ability to make sure the right people are hearing your voice.

Complaining on a random website about telemarketers calling you is easy, but it won't get results. Complaining to the attorney general will require that you fill out forms with detailed information, but it is more likely to yield actual results.

That's all I've got.

Oh, by the way, I still can't entirely believe that this campaign is over, and Barack Obama won the election.

Sarah Palin, I'll miss you the most.