November 3, 2004

    Hmm, well, happy 29th birthday to me.  And it sure has been an exciting day, hasn't it? 

    I could consider today to be a bad day--and of course it is--but I've grown tired of negativity and pessimism, so I'm not going to go on too long about the grand historical downer that is today.  I've come away from the election with a few insights:  Hating your opponent is not enough.  Logic and facts are definitely not enough.  The democratic party needs to give people something to hope for and feel happy and proud about if they ever hope to regain the moderates of this country.  They need to encourage a moral compulsion to take care of the little guy, because that's what liberalism is about.  Because we are a huge, powerful country, and we have this amazing potential to create the most fair and just society that the world has ever seen, and we should to that.  Because it is the right thing to do.

    Yeah, anyway.  I'm not crying today, because I believe that there is that power within the democratic party, and that it can be unlocked someday.  Life goes on, tomorrow is another day, and we have to just do the best we can.  Because it is the right thing to do.

    Oh, and every one of you must have eight kids and raise them all to be liberal intellectuals.  I know this violates my feelings on the the population issue, but I think it's a worthy cause, to flood the world with young progressive thinkers voters.  The religious right is doing it, why shouldn't we?

    Anyhoo, as I was saying:  Been and exciting day.  I woke up today with a lot on my mind.  Not only was there that whole election debacle that they insist on having every fourth year, but I also had the weight of the DMV on my mind.

    Today's lesson:  If you move and don't ever file for a change of address with the DMV, they will not know where to find you to send you your renewal letter, and you will forget about it until the last minute because you don't have a letter to look at, and you will not be able to renew online because you won't have a pin number, and you will have to go stand in line at the DMV and you will put it off because it sounds so miserable, and then you will end up standing in line in DMV on the morning of your birthday because you're a silly loser just like Wil Wheaton.

    So, you'd think that 29, four more years, and a trip to the DMV would be enough of a trial.  But no!  I came downstairs this morning to discover that the refrigerator was busted! 

    I knew as soon as I opened the door, because there are few things as distinctively unpleasant as that "warm refrigerator" smell.  It was one of those "A HA!" moments:  So that's why the ice cream was so mushy last night!  And then the corollary:  How long has this thing been busted?  I racked my brain trying to remember when I had last heard the compressor kick in, but I came up with nothing.  I made myself some coffee (the milk was still cold, and smelled okay, so why the hell not?)  and resolved to deal with the refrigerator crisis after the DMV.

    My day went as thus: go to work, after submitting myself to a government agency for an hour (no problem--I had my beloved Ikea catalog to keep me company), and I called my landlord.  No answer.  Okay, hang up, call cell.  No answer.  Leave message, instructing landlord to call Shorn (he's closer to home).  Call Shorn repeatedly during the day to learn that landlord had not called.  Call landlord home number again, leaving a message this time.  Continue to call Shorn.  Fret. At five o'clock, call landlord home number to leave message with our home number, instead of Shorn's work number.  Go home, learn that Shorn has meticulously cleaned out the refrigerator, but has not heard from landlord.  Go out to Hawaiian fast food joint for dinner (SPAM!!!).  Come home, listen to message from landlord's wife (hallelujah!!).  Call landlord's wife, learn that landlord died two weeks ago, and she's trying to get all of the paperwork in order and deal with the rental stuff.

    Um, excuse me?  Suck.

    Does anybody know the proper etiquette for dealing with the grieving spouse of your landlord when you really would like to have an operational refrigerator?  Honestly, I don't recall this subject ever coming up before.

    I extended my condolences and took down her work number, and she promised to find out if the fridge is under warranty.  Less than what I initially hoped for, but considering the circumstances, it somehow seemed sufficient.