My new wheels

The new 'mobile! It is growing on me, most definitely, even though it's a boring grey color (err-wait, my aunt says "silver" sounds better. She's another proud owner of a "silver" car).

Slow Progress

I am slowly establishing myself back in the US. I started out the day buying a printer. I was holding out and going to Kinkos to print resumes, but that was getting old. This morning, I called Sweetie and he said, "I think we can afford a printer." Well, yes. We can (at least we could at that point in the day. Read on). But, but, but...I have this problem. Buying a printer is my most dreaded shopping experience. It's so incredibly stressful, because I know that whatever I get, it's going to be a lemon AND it's going to consume mass (and expensive) quantities of ink cartridges. That's just the way it goes. Basically, it is cheaper to buy a BRAND NEW PRINTER (which comes with a fresh set of ink cartridges) than it is to replace the cartridges in your printer. Seriously. The old guy at OfficeMax didn't believe me, but the price tags on the cartridges back me up on this.

Anyway, I bought one on the spot, spinning the roulette wheel of the printing world. And sure enough, when I got home and looked it up on the Net (big mistake), that particular model is completely panned by virtually everyone who owns it. Lovely. Not only that, but the customer service number is a TOLL number. Can you just imagine -- being put on HOLD at YOUR EXPENSE for 30 minutes before finally being connected to some completely incoherent service rep somewhere in New Delhi? Ayeyeye. Oh well, I hooked it up nonetheless and printed out a resume.

My next shopping experience



I have also determined that I need to buy a car soon. I have been sharing a rental with my mom who is temporarily back in town, but when she leaves, I need wheels and renting indefinitely doesn't make sense.



I wanted to get a hybrid, but guess what -- three-month waiting list. I don't have three months.



Plan B -- smallish car with great gas mileage. I read a few things about the Honda Fit and when I read that it has twice the cargo capacity of a Civic (my other top choice and what I previously owned before moving to Japan 5 years ago), I was intrigued. After all, I have another 61 kg. of luggage arriving tomorrow via DHL. I need to transport that stuff to my next temporary dwelling somehow and UHauls are not my forte.



I submitted some quote requests for the Fit last night online, and today ran down to the local dealer to take a look. Well, it turned out that they had already sold the ONE Fit they had in stock. I was able to take a peek at it as they prepped it for the owner, but it wasn't even the model I wanted, so it wasn't entirely helpful.



After further discussion with the dealer, I realized that my chances of getting a 2008 Fit were fast disappearing and that they were selling them even before they arrive on the lot. Not only that, but Civics are in extremely short supply as well, as scads of people try to replace their gas-guzzlers with more economical vehicles.



My mom convinced me that I HAD to immediately drive up north 21 miles to a dealer who had three in stock. So, we did. And guess what, they were all sold. The salesman said he had one "on the way" that day. But, when we walked out to the lot, I noticed a rogue Fit Sport and he said, "Oh! Maybe that's it!?" It was -- had literally just arrived.



Long story short, I took it for a short test drive (first person EVER to drive it) and though it felt VERY SMALL and not as sexy as the Civic and was not at all the color I wanted (there are only two in blue in the entire STATE and those would have been sold before I ever got to them), I decided to buy it on the spot. No negotiating possible, sadly. These things are selling themselves. Every review by an actual owner that I have read has been most favorable, and in the end, it's $2,000 cheaper than a Civic.



Sweetie will have to be the one to get the sexy car! I'm sure he will not protest:-) I've gone for practical!

The Interminable Job Hunt
I am persevering with the job hunt, but it is getting exhausting and demoralizing. I am not taking the rejections personally (and in fact, in most cases, I never know if they ended up hiring someone or not), but I'm just getting bored and tired. I often go back to my grand idea to start a company with all my brilliant, underutilized friends and seek world domination.

Snoop Dogg

I just confirmed what I thought was true -- I spotted Snoop Dogg on the escalator at O'Hare airport yesterday. I just confirmed that he had a concert in Chicago the next day. Of all the people on the adjacent elevators to notice and recognize Snoop Dogg, I have to say that the white girl from Ohio was quite possibly the least likely person to ID Snoop Dogg. Maybe it was those years living on a military base. Or maybe my college days.

The sighting occurred shortly after my mom commented that it's amazing we had not seen anyone we know at the airport. Well, I don't exactly KNOW Snoop Dogg, but anyway.

[Photo from Snoop Dogg Official website].

Coming Home

A cheetah spotted on our safari at Ngala Private Reserve, which is adjacent to Krueger National Park in South Africa. I was in such awe when we first spotted these creatures. It's just amazing to see such dangerous animals up close and in the wild!

Home

I'm home. It's great to be home. Last weekend, on the sad occasion of my uncle's death, I was able to meet up with numerous family members who I rarely see. We were all so sad that my uncle wasn't there with us (indeed, we planned to get together while he was still alive, but instead the day planned for the family get-together became his funeral), but I cherished the time with all who were there, as I am sure my uncle would have wanted.

I come from a big extended family. You could probably call it huge. When my aunt called for a family photo, virtually the entire crowd from the funeral lined up. I had no idea.

When we showed up at the funeral home, a gentleman standing outside said, "These must be my cousins." He identified himself and all I could say was, "No way!"

It's great to be home.

Today's photo is of a wildebeast in Ngala Private Reserve. I am very grateful now that I did not delete it because it was "blurry," because in fact, it's a really cool picture. Sometimes, you just don't know. Believe it or not -- I did virtually no Photoshopping on this. I believe in taking photos properly in the camera. Which is why I have ordered the $75 Photoshop Elements with my new laptop, as opposed to the $700 full Photoshop version. Get it right the first time and save money.


Moving
Well, the dreaded moving day has passed without much incident, though with international moves, you always wonder if that will be the last time you see your stuff, particularly in this part of the world (Second Lebanon War resulted in a re-routing of my crates when I moved here two years ago). The movers came and packed up the house in about 8 hours and as there were only three of them, it was actually pretty manageable. Hooray.

Question though: why do movers always leave little random items in your drawers and on the shelves? It always happens and it is clearly deliberate, as the items are left in plain view. Maybe they feel like having some control over the process. They feel like they need authority. So, they silently state that they see no reason why I should be taking items such as 1) A New Zealand coin 2) A disposable razor or most-interestingly 3) Pieces of surgical-grade tape for a backless/strapless bra.

Fine, they're all going into air freight.

South Africa pic

Bird of Paradise at Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens in Cape Town. A gorgeous garden and quite extensive - I could have spent all day there!

Garage Sale - the Final Episode

Penguins in Cape Town -- they were sooo much fun to watch -- such comical animals!

Today we held the final garage sale installment. Sweetie's daughter, her boyfriend and I had held one for 5 hours on Wednesday, but with few results and one really, really horrendous incident. Today we had even fewer results. So, that's it. What is left is going to charity or the trash.

Back to the horrendous incident -- during the sale, I went inside briefly to make a salad while Sweetie's daughter Sweedle manned the sale. I was quite a distance away (the garage is detached) and had the house door closed. But, even so, I suddenly heard a commotion coming from the garage. So, I rushed out, and watched in complete horror as this very tall and big-boned middle-aged Israeli lady walked around the garage kicking things and generally wreaking havoc for no apparent reason. I was shocked!! I didn't know what to do. I imagined that if I tried to intervene, she would become even more destructive. At one point, she picked a very heavy electrical transformer off the floor and set it down on some delicate Japanese decorative sushi plates!!! I nearly screamed.

She couldn't carry everything she bought (probably because she shoplifted one item and hid it in the double baby stroller she had with her, unbeknownst to us until she left), and came back the next day to pick up the rest. I had her ticket and knew she would try to have a second go at the garage. So, I had her items ready at the front gate and used them as a barrier when she tried to push her way in. I told her everything was gone.

Horrible.

These sorts of experiences really sour us on life here.