Library update

Quick update from the library: My move is still underway. All of my stuff is in the new place, but I'm still calling about hooking up the phone, electricity, etc. And now I need parking. Who knew that moving 3 blocks would be so time-consuming.

I have taken pictures with my new camera. I'm excited to learn how to upload them here.

Moving

I picked up the keys to my new apartment today. I have made absolutely no plans for my move. I don't have a truck. I have asked none of my friends for help. I may be in trouble.

All this and a Bag of Chips

My bag of potato chips (new open pit bar-b-q flavored) is set to expire in mid-November - on my birthday. Maybe I should serve them at a birthday party. I thought my birthday was a long time away, but the bag of chips puts time into perspective. There are a good number of things that are planned to happen in the next three months. There will be many occasions to serve those chips.

I can serve them at my housewarming party when I move into my new apartment. Or at Jake’s going-away party when he officially moves to Madison for school. Or Christie’s moving party. Or Katie, or Justin, or Mick. Everybody’s moving.

I could bring them with me when Tom and I visit Raymond in LA. We could eat them on our drive to Vegas. Or I could take them with me for my seminar in Chicago, which is conveniently planned for the same weekend that Adina will be in Chicago for work. (If I could make a guilty-looking, drunken emoticon, I would place it right there) As long as potato chips have not been used in a terrorist plot, I could also take them with me on my trip back to PA, which I hope to make in the fall.

I could use them as a study break as I prepare for my early November exam. Or they could also be served at a celebration after the exam. They could be a late night snack as I plan to work a lot of hours in the next few months. (Did you hear about the Pension Protection Act? It’s very exciting. All of the funding rules are changing. Actuaries across the country are giddy with anticipation.) But I should definitely not eat them before running, as I am also preparing for an 8K run that will be in a few weeks.

In the back of my mind, I am also thinking about all of the things that start up again in September. I want to take Stained Glass again this summer and a few gym classes as well. I’ve already ordered season tickets for the Milwaukee Symphony and there are some shows coming to town that I want to see also. Too many things to do. Maybe I should quit my job and make some time?

My parents visited Chicago

On the phone

Me: Hey, Mom. I'm leaving Milwaukee now. I'll be at your hotel in about an hour and a half.
Mom: What? I thought you were only 90 minutes away?
Me: (long pause)
Mom: Oh. Right. They're the same thing.

Exam

I passed the actuarial exam that I took back in May. Last night my company took us out for dinner to celebrate. We went to a Brazilian Steakhouse. It was the first time that I've ever been to one, and it was quite the treat. The idea is that the wait staff carries around meat on sword that has been slow cooking all day. Every person has a coaster next to his/her seat and as long as the coaster is green-side up, the waiters stop by and cut you a piece of meat. And the waiters are just waiters - they're Brazilian cowboys! Well, they're dressed like Gauchos at least. But I'm pretty sure some of them were Mexican, Eastern European, and Asian. They wore Brazilian boots though.

I haven't eaten as much meat as I ate last night since 2003. And I mean all of 2003. I felt sick after only two rounds of meat helpings. I hadn't even eaten any meat since Saturday. My coworkers though are real troopers. They kept eating up until the 5th or 6th round. Of course, it helped that we were all guys. Gluttony seems to increase when eating becomes a competition. And alcohol helps too. The wine-drinking partner came to dinner with us and he always manages to order some pretty pricey wines. I told him that I'd be fine with just a cheap "shir-azz". But he corrected my pronounciation and continued to order me some fancy cabernet.

Today my coworkers talked about last night as if we had been binge-drinking. Statements like "I can't eat like I could when I was in college." or "I don't know how I drove home in that state last night." were common.

Nice melons.

Friday night is Singles Night at my supermarket. How many crude produce jokes can one make? We easily came up with one for most fruits, vegetables, and dairy products. And we didn't even begin to think about the processed meat section. Which aisle is the best for picking up someone? How's this line: "You like cereal? Really? Me, too."

Milk

This weekend I learned that if one drops a gallon of milk on a hard surface, like a supermarket floor, from a distance that's equal to one's hand to the floor, the plastic container rips at the seams and milk splatters all over. True story.

And I went to the Wisco. State Fair and watched birthing pigs. Piglets are not cute at 3 minutes old.