Stupid macho-ism and (gasp) fennel!

Lots of new stuff going on here! I wanted to post before things got too crazy this weekend with Abba and Pat coming and us getting the house ready for their visit.

First of all, our new couch and chair are coming on Friday, just in time for the visit, which is good because we were told 8-10 weeks. But since we didn't have room for our old couch anymore we had to get rid of it, which we thought was a shame since we got it for free and it was pretty comfortable - a perfect basement couch for the day when we actually have a basement. So on Sunday I got the only single guy I know here to help me, and I rented a U-Haul and brought it to my office. So now I have a place to nap there! It ended up being a lot more expensive than I thought it would be. The rental is only $20 but at 79 cents a mile it adds up. And you would never guess how much gas I used (you have to refill it before returning it or pay a $40 refueling fee, plus $4 a gallon! They REALLY want to discourage you from bringing it back not full). The drive to work is probably about 18 miles, so both ways was somewhere between 35 and 40 miles. So how many gallons of gas do you think a 14-foot U-Haul would use up? I figured it would be no more than 3 or 4 gallons. Well, I put in almost 9 gallons! How insane is that? So the whole adventure cost more than I expected, but it was still worth it to be able to keep the couch, especially considering that the movers who bring the new one would probably charge us ~$30 just to haul it away.

On to Monday: Rachel and I had been planning on going out to dinner for my birthday, but we decided to go Monday instead because she got off work early. So she picked me up from work and we went to one of (not many cities require that qualifier here) the kosher vegetarian chinese places, which is about 5 minutes away from work. It looked pretty interesting, and people say it's good. They have a pretty large menu, so initially I had a hard time choosing, but I figured I'd get the best value by choosing a combo meal, of which they only had about 5. It was soup, side and main for like 13-16 bucks. Anyway, I chose the basil "beef" and rachel got the sweet and sour "pork." When mine came I knew I made a big mistake the second I smelled it... One whiff and I knew it contained my most feared food - even more than raisins! - the dreaded fennel. It was that overpowering black jellybean smell. I thought I was going to vomit, and I certainly knew I couldn't eat it. So Rachel and I switched and I ate the sweet and sour pork, which is not the kind of think I would normally get since I don't really like sweet entrees. So neither of us particularly got what we wanted, but the food at least looked good.. and looking back at the menu there were definitely other things that I think I would have liked. And the sweet and sour pork was not bad, it just wouldn't have been my first choice. Anyway, the bottom line is that we can't really judge based on the experience we had there and we will have to try it again sometime. I think on Saturday night we will all go to the other veg chinese place that's closer to our house and I will make a better decision. The most disappointing thing for me was not the meal itself - it was the fact that I did not live up to my (well earned) reputation for ordering the best thing on the menu. It was that whole "combo is the best value" line of thinking that really messed me up. I will not be falling for that one again soon. Also I'm really not used to ordering vegetarian food. I think with real beef things are much more straightforward. But I guess the lesson here is to just get back on that horse - there will be other meals to be had...

So then on the way home there was a certain point where we had to choose a route. I wanted to go one way and as the driver I chose it. Rachel thought the other way was faster. I told her I thought we could be home in another ten minutes on the route I had chosen, and she did not believe me. So, being the stupid typical guy that I am, I was speeding, weaving and trying my hardest to get us home in ten minutes. We were going to make it, when literally 2 blocks away from our house I got pulled over for speeding. The cop is like, "do you know what a police car looks like?" Apparently, at the last red light I was pulled up right next to him and when it turned green I peeled out at about 50 in a 25 zone. Not smart, but I was distracted talking to rachel and feeling good about being right. Anyway, thank G-d I still have an Illinois license, so he asked how long ago I had move out here, so I told him and he let me go with a warning, although he also told me that I have 90 days from becoming a resident to get a Washington license. Is it like that in every state? Why can't I drive on a valid Illinois license until it dies (or expires) a natural death and continue to get off scott-free for speeding because I'm just a dopey out of towner who doesn't know all those fancy "traffic laws" you people have out here? Guess I answered my own question there, but I still think I should be allowed to. But even with the stop we got home only 14 minutes later than when I said It'd be 10 minutes! (I guess some lessons are better left unlearned)

And my final piece of news is that I'm announcing a new contest here on the blog. We are going to have a contest to name Chammie and Dovid's turtles! Right now they are just called "turtle'eem," which I think is just not right. They should have their own names so they can express their individuality. I know you all must be brimming over with excitement, trying to think of clever names like "winky and blinky" (Itchy and Scratchy is already taken by our late newts, may their memory be a blessing. Besides, it's not original). Anyway, submit your entries in the comments section, and someone (TBD) will decide which are the best. The prize will be in a similar vein to prizes for previous contests here (i.e. nothing), but think of the respect of your peers! The years (or however long turtles live) of gloating! The prestige! I hope I'm motivating you here. So good luck to all of you! By the way, nobody knows the gender(s) of turtle'eem, so try and pick something neutral, like pickles and yum yum. Or something... Anyway, if Cham or Dov sends me pictures I will post them so you can try to pick a name that really captures their essence - something that says, "I was purchased from a bucket in chinatown. Please don't make soup out of me."

So that is the news from here. Will be busy the next few days with Abba and Pat's visit. PRIME RIB! Almost makes me forget about the (shudder) fennel...

Ari