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24263. arkymalarky - 7/22/2008 4:04:19 PM Also, people talk about how friendly the south is, and in a casual sort of way, in stores, etc, it's true. Getting involved in friendships and socializing, though, can be very difficult. People tend to be insular and cliquish. The college town I grew up in was like that, and my dentist, who moved in from Louisiana, even asked me about it during an exam once. He and his wife were having a terrible time developing a social life. He has since gotten into a Christian motorcycle club and now has a braid halfway down his back, so I guess he found his social niche. Work, church, and family are the three main ways people socialize in the South. If there is a synagogue nearby, even if your wife doesn't normally go, or a community group to join--it's probably too late for that now if y'all are leaving in the fall, but it might help begin a diversion, or like Thoughtful suggested, a gym. If you bought a membership for her, would she go? They have exercise classes in most gyms, and those are a great way to interact without creating social obligations. 24264. Wombat - 7/29/2008 3:52:37 PM Grind up Prozac in her applesauce! (that's a joke, son.) 24265. alistairConnor - 8/2/2008 11:22:40 AM The mail's all good today. All backwards.
First envelope : the cops. Ah crap, this will be to inform me that I've lost another point off my license? A speed camera I didn't notice?
(We have a points system for drivers' licenses - you start with 12, and lose one or more for each infraction. I was down to 5 - you have to stay clean for three years to get all your points back).
But no! They announce that I've been clean for one year, so they are giving me back the last point I lost... now I've got six lives.
Second letter : the electric company. A bill I need to pay? But no : they are inviting ME to bill THEM. My solar electric panels have been under contract for a year now, I need to read the meter and bill them for the three or four thousand kilowatt hours I've generated this year.
I'm now confidently awaiting a letter from the tax department, telling me they owe me lots of money. (seriously. by my calculation they owe me a substantial amount -- not just a refund but an actual credit.)
Hmm what else could I hope for in the mail? Any suggestions, while I'm on a roll? 24266. David Ehrenstein - 8/2/2008 2:19:06 PM You can find an excerpt from my memoir on Dennis Cooper's Blog this weekend. 24267. iiibbb - 8/2/2008 2:19:48 PM Let's just hope you don't get one from Ed McMahon. 24268. judithathome - 8/4/2008 7:06:22 PM We had a great time at the Arky's, as usual and I came home with an excellent souvenir: a new car!
2009 Hyundai Sonata Limited...it has everything! GPS, X/M radio, CD player, heated seats. It's this weird color...Metallic Cocoa. In the shade, it looks black but when the sun hits it, it's dark, dark brown. Tan leather interior with burlwood accents.
24269. vonKreedon - 8/4/2008 7:45:11 PM AC - How about an insurance rebate? Or maybe a letter from a lawyer informing you that some aged asshole relative has died and left you money? (the asshole part inserted to stay with the theme that the mail should at first seem ominous before becoming good news.) 24270. anomie - 8/4/2008 9:37:09 PM Congrats on the new car, Judith. Was it cheaper to buy in AR? 24271. anomie - 8/4/2008 9:39:58 PM AC, You might have an overage in your escrow account you don't know about...(or it could be a notice of a shortage).
Those insurance rebates are a pain really. Thye could just as easily credit my next bill, but instead I have to spend 45 cents and the time to mail the check deposit to he bank. 24272. judithathome - 8/4/2008 11:41:15 PM I think it was cheaper in Arkansas although I will still be paying sales tax from Texas which is 2% more than Arkansas. However, Arky and her husband are good friends with a great guy who is retired but still works at the dealership part time and I trusted him to "steer" me to a good deal and he did!
I loved my Jag but its ideosyncracies drove me mad...not to mention its repair bills. This new car I absolutely ADORE. 24273. arkymalarky - 8/5/2008 1:17:45 AM It really is a beautiful car. I'd never seen the color before, and the features are fantastic.
It was a great weekend all around. We had a blast, lots of music and really relaxing and low-key. And of course topped off by another unbelievable breakfast. 24274. anomie - 8/5/2008 2:48:08 AM I understand about the Jag. My BMW has been problem free, but maintenance is expensive since the warranty expired. Good luck with the new one. 24275. anomie - 8/5/2008 2:50:18 AM I remember reading that someone there makes great biscuits. I wonder if there's gravy also involved with that breakfast...sausage gravy... 24276. arkymalarky - 8/5/2008 5:04:31 AM Oh, yes. Keoni's biscuits are divine. 24277. marjoribanks - 8/5/2008 1:16:53 PM Greetings Motards.
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Responding to Wonkers. Dear Wonk, thank you for the offer of Obama trinkets, which I will decline at this time. It might interest you to know that Obama has an excellent outreach staff for expatriate Americans. They alerted me (and countless others) via Consulate mailing lists about registration, etc. Neat roll-out of information, actually, and in their self-interest since Americans abroad are more likely to vote for Obama given the steeply declining stature abroad of the US under Bush.
Now, aren't you going to take a trip to India to check out your in-laws, etc? 24278. judithathome - 8/5/2008 3:37:19 PM Anomie, of course there was sausage gravy! 24279. magoseph - 8/5/2008 3:47:04 PM Hey, marj, how are the kids? 24280. anomie - 8/6/2008 12:53:56 AM I'm trying to be good, but just talking about biscuits and gravy is getting the best of me. It's one of the few things I miss about South Carolina.
24281. concerned - 8/7/2008 3:41:27 AM Something strange happened to me a couple weeks ago at work. I walked into our break room one morning to get coffee, and saw a new contract employee standing near his coffee cup which was in the coffee maker.
I should mention here that this coffee maker brews one cup at a time and needs a new packet of grounds added each time. This contract employee withdrew his cup from the coffee maker, and without thinking about it, I noticed that the coffee maker was signaling that it was full of grounds which had to be removed before it could brew more coffee.
So I proceeded to do that, and then make a cup of coffee. I was quite startled to hear this contract employee then exclaim: 'You're trying to make me look like an idiot!' or words to that effect.
No, I wanted to get a cup of coffee, during which process I had to throw out the grounds of about 20 people who came before me, and so I wasn't paying any unusual attention to him. In fact, I'd never said one impolite word to him, and still haven't. 24282. concerned - 8/7/2008 3:47:31 AM In fact, I've never even looked at the guy funny, and when we meet in the halls, if any greetings are exchanged, I've always been the one to initiate them.
Sometimes, people try to put you in such a box, you know? Politics included.
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