Saturday in Birmingham

Today was the day we were supposed to move into our new home, or the day we were supposed to travel to Nebraska, or the day we were supposed to announce to the world that we had eradicated poverty...

But instead, it will be the day that we sit at home and do nothing.  I hope to play my PS3 for five hours, read for five hours, and eat for five hours.  Liz probably hopes to get out of the house because I'm contagious.  It's not a pretty picture.

Before i get to the REAL update, a story from this morning involves Liz and her pillow.  She got up to let Chango out, and while she was up, I rolled over and coughed right onto her pillow (not on purpose).  It was disgusting.

Oh yeah, the update.  Our mortgage company ran into a MILLION problems with our application.  They had to confirm with NTM Mexico that we were "employed" in the teaching field (praise god for Vonage... if this had happened 10 years ago, it would have taken a month).  They needed to see receipts and stubs for EVERY deposit that cleared our account the last 60 days. Apparently we broke a fairly serious law with our purchase agreement by asking for the chandelier to stay, and this all adds up to NOT closing on our house yesterday.  If it doesn't close by the 24th, we don't get the house, and the seller goes to foreclosure.  My prayer is Monday.

The most interesting house in the world...

While I may not win any competitions concerning "The Most Interesting Man in the World", I submit that this house is a candidate for a similar contest.  It is officially the "skinniest" house in Boston.  It dates back to the civil war.  Legend has it that two brothers were given a plot of land.  One brother left to fight in the war, and his brother built a big house taking up most of the lot, thinking that his brother would not come home from the war.  When said brother surprisingly survived the war, he returned to find his inheritance used up.  To spite his brother, he built this beauty.  It effectively blocked the view and the sunlight.

In related news, I visited DC and attended the Rally to Restore Sanity / Keep Fear Alive.  It was very highly attended (most of whom didn't know why they were there), and I'll give you two take-aways from the event.

1) America is full of nice people.  I was crammed into a subway like a sardine, (Seriously, there was a man in both of my armpits while I was standing butt to butt with some stranger and face to face to another.) and nobody got upset, laughing was the predominant noise, and conversations were struck up between absolute strangers.

2) America is ready for a little more sanity.  There will still be people out there who take advantage of systems, and there will still be idiots who make money from fear-mongering and insanity, but I truly believe that most Americans want to start trusting each other again.  They want to start believing in each other.

In some-what related news, I used to hitch-hike to class.  I lived a mile from campus, and I would walk there with my thumb out.  You could call me lazy, but I viewed it as a social experiment.  Do Americans still do the right thing, even if it poses a threat to their wellbeing.  (Good Samaritan sort of thing)  Probably 7 times out of 10 it worked. (Nebraska statistic - based on 2 semesters.)

I bring this up to mention that it is no different on the east coast.  While I was there, I had to walk to a restaurant, and I decided to walk back to my hotel with my thumb out.  It only took about 5 blocks before a woman in a Lexus picked me up and drove me the rest of the way.  Not bad.

Stay Thirsty My Friends.

If you haven't seen the rest of these, click on THIS LINK to see a few more.  I was recently told that I remind people of this man, so I've decided to start sharing my view on the world.  Today, the packing of a pipe compared to raking leaves.

In my experience, and you may be able to relate, when loading a bag full of leaves, you fill it full of loosely packed leaves, and then you pack it down. (Invariably, they shrink to about 1/2 of the bag.)  Then you refill the bag to full, and then pack down again. (Once again, 1/2 of the remaining space has been taken.)  Finally, you fill the rest, but there will always be a few leaves that are loose and the wind can blow it around.

If you've ever desired a perfectly packed pipe, do the same.  The lighting requires one final piece of advice. Ignite the "sprigs" on top, draw once or twice, use a golf-tee or a tamper to extinguish the flame and compact the top layer in order to relight one more time.  Finally, while holding the tamper over the bowl, but not pressing firmly, draw the flame down into the pipe two or three times.  This should effectively give you a perfect light that can last the entire time.

Long overdue...

Granted, who wouldn't enjoy that picture of my mustache as the top-post for several months?  However, all good things must eventually come to an end, and it is no different with this blog.  I will finally update, and that picture will eventually be shoved out of sight.  (Relegated to the archives...)

Now, what is so important that requires me to blog?  Fair question.  I will answer that question with another one.  Would you rather have a pen shoved through your sternum and then broken off, or have to bite down hard on a metal rasp and then slowly pull it out?

In other news, Liz and I are closing on a house in two weeks.  I only have one picture for you.  Enjoy.