Earl and I have been very busy today planning our trip to the Great Plains in June. We’ve made a couple of modifications to the itinerary and are leaving the “desert run” off. Instead, we’re concentrating on Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and Nebraska. We’re hoping to make this our “Americana Trip”, where we see the sights and sounds of the good old Midwest. Enjoy some country fair blueberry pie. See some cows. Admire the corn fields. Frolic in a wheat field. Maybe spot a severe thunderstorm or two. I know it sounds terribly simple, but we are really looking forward to the trip.
Being vain and all, I’ve already begun preparations by letting my goatee grow out so that it can be hacked down to a fu manchu the week before we leave. (For those with a J.P. facial hair score card, please make the appropriate notations.) It’s was around 45 pounds ago that I last had the fu manchu / handlebar type mustache going on, and I think it will be a welcome addition to my thinner face. And besides, it seems to fit in with the Great Plains vibe we’re looking for. I’m glad Earl is tolerant.
I’ve been on this simplicity kick for the past couple of days. It seems like life is becoming way too complicated with the ringing and singing of cell phones whereever you go, barcodes replacing price stickers in the grocery stores, twelve combo meals to choose from at the restaurant, etc. I’ve even been overwhelmed by my computing experiences flinging myself from Windows to Linux to Mac to Linux to Windows to Linux to Mac to Windows. I feel like I’m in sensory overload or something, so I’ve settled down onto Windows (since I’m trying to squeeze two more years out of this computer); I’m shunning combo meals at McCrappys and opting for a Subway salad and I’m just trying to take it nice and easy.
Earl and I decided this morning that we have become completely domesticated (house trained?). The washing machine decided to fling itself apart during it’s high speed spin, which was rather inconvenient, considering the washing machine is only 123 days old, and was quite pricey. It literally scared the shit out of the cat, who was in his litter box when it happened, which is situated next to the washing machine. Hopefully, Frigidaire will get their little butt out here soon and fix it because it’s still well within it’s warranty period. It’s quite amusing how much drama this washer breakdown introduced to our household. “How are going to wash clothes?” “Are you going to the laundromat while I’m in Ohio?” The washing machine has been the topic of conversation all day. We’ve spun old washing machines tales from our youth. “My dad wouldn’t buy us a new washing machine to replace the broken one when we were kids so my mom dragged in the garden hose through the window to fill it.” “We had a washing machine that weighed clothes so you knew when it was full.” We’ve discussed the reasons we bought a front loader instead of the traditional top loader. We’ve tried to figure out why the washer broke. “Maybe I put in too much bleach.” I’ve threw out my useless knowledge about how Hotpoint washers were really made by General Electric which were made by Frigidaire which is really made by Electrolux. To an innocent bystander, it would be terribly underwhelming.
To us, it’s simply home.
