Even more random than usual

The endless monsoon rains of the past few days must be having an affect on my brain – I have little or nothing new to say. Let’s see…

...someone at the American Legion is mighty confused about who my husband is and what he has done in his life. They just sent him a direct mail piece that asks if he is taking full advantage of the benefits available to him as a war-time veteran. He’s never been in the military. Now, he does have the same name as his dad, and his dad did fight in World War II…but not for the Americans. So no matter who they thought they were mailing, boy are they barking up the wrong tree.

...when we were house shopping, I did not want to move to Frederick. I really, really liked where we lived in Rockville, and wanted to stay closer in. Alas, there were literally no houses in our price range in Rockville, and the few other houses we saw in Montgomery County in our price range were unacceptable to me. And then there were the houses we saw up here in Frederick County, which had everything I wanted. So, we ended up here, and I have come to love it. Sure, I have a long commute, but it is so pretty here. And life really is better just a little bit farther out in the country. The stores are less crowded. The drivers are less insane. We can see more stars in the sky at night. And luckily for us, we ended up on the best street in the best neighborhood on the best side of the city. Or so we think, anyway. But for all the bonuses of living here, there are a few drawbacks. #1 – we desperately need a decent Indian restaurant. There are a couple, but they are bleh. A nice Thai place wouldn’t hurt either. #2 – the shoe store problem. There are a bunch of cute shops in the old town part of Frederick, but they are more gifty/boutiquey kinds of places. There are two malls. I’ve never been in one of them, but I had visited the other one a few years ago for some reason, and I was not impressed, so I haven’t gone since we moved here. But, I need to get a new pair of shoes for work. So on Sunday, I thought to myself, “Maybe it isn’t as bad as I remember it being” and went over to check it out. What I should have remembered is that my pal Becky once described this mall as the one she goes to when she gets homesick for West Virginia. And while West Virginia has many fine qualities (producing Becky and my grandmother, for starters) no one has ever gone on a shoe shopping expedition to WV. I didn’t see one pair of shoes in the whole mall that I even thought was worth trying on. I did pick up some buy one get one free stuff at Bath and Body Works, but other than that, the trip was a complete bust. They are putting in a Barnes & Noble, so I’ll probably go back again once that opens, but I sure won’t be going for shoes. Nordstrom, you are desperately needed in Frederick County!

...I was in the elevator at work the other day with a guy who had a cell phone, a Treo and a pager all clipped to his belt. He didn’t work in my office so I have no idea who he is or what he does, but all I could think was, who needs to be that in touch all the time? And what would it mean if all three of them went off at once? The apocalypse?

…and that’s pretty much all I’ve got tonight.