Grumble grumble

I have a cold, and am miserable and pretty pissed about it.



This song is brought to you by my trial Sirius XM subscription.  My usual favorite station is Soul Town (OF COURSE), but The Joint is also a good one.  I don't know how weird it is that some suburban white mom is blasting reggae out of a station wagon.  Granted, reviewing the channel guide for Sirius XM is quite suggestive of their target demographics.  Not anyone under thirty, to be sure.

So the reason that I have a trial subscription is the same as the last time I had one:  we have a new (to us) car!  The TDI buyback scheme is tedious and involves a lot of back-and-forth with forms--but even with all the forms submitted, we still had to wait TWO MONTHS for an appointment.  In the meantime, a car became available, and we were able to swing it, so we jumped.  And it's probably the car we should've gotten in the first place:  a 2013 Prius v.  And it's blue!  Hooray!  Learning to drive a hybrid is a bit of an adventure, but you get the hang of it fairly quickly.  You definitely sacrifice responsiveness for fuel efficiency, which is annoying in a hilly area when you have to quickly accelerate to 45 mph out of a turn or traffic light, but I suppose one must drive safely, regardless of mpg.  Anyway, yes, Yuppie Car #2.  But I'm averaging 45mpg every day, so I'm satisfied.

Speaking of which, I must pick up the child soon, but I do have a crafting update.  Inspired by the pussyhats, I've decided to keep some charity items in the mix.  I am working on a mistake-rib scarf for the Knit Your Bit project (one of my usual recipients, when I feel like crafting for charity).  I finally finished a black lace scarf, and started another black scarf.  Typical.

Gratitude

Dear Obama family,

Thank you so much for your hard work, sacrifices, and class.  I hope you can take a few days off!  I would be honored to have you all over for dinner sometime. I suppose you could easily access my contact information if need be. Give the NSA something positive to do for three minutes!

I am actually serious about the invitation.

Lots of love,

Jennifer

(I did make Pussyhats. Six going to DC with a friend, and one for me out of some crazy scratchy wool. I did get recognized in the wild last weekend - at Cheesecake Factory, of all places. Here R. models one of the sparkly acrylic ones.)

And now I'mma be morose again for a few minutes. The George Michael binge continues...

Well, actually...

I have not really been in the best place lately, but I did feel like I needed to post. I don't know if it's just the Seasonal Affective Disorder--which has not really been that bad in the 17 years I've lived in the South, but still is an annual thing--or that the election has broken my heart, and my husband's heart as well, but yeah, just not feeling all that hot... Anyway one of the things perturbing my brain is, of course, George Michael dying, on Christmas even. (Not that I'm the biggest fan of the song "Last Christmas", not really my thing, but y'all know my love for George Michael. Even when it wasn't cool, I was into George Michael.) I have been listening a lot, just enjoying his voice, and developing new respect for some surprisingly complex pop songs.  This one, though, is just for fun, and because it cheers me up I've been listening to it a lot. This video, though. Top of the Pops, 1984. Lip-synched, Princess Diana hair, Miami Vice outfit in black... So many colors... (Please don't watch this if you are prone to motion sickness or seizures. Oh man.)

And if you are not smiling at least a little after that, well, I can't help you.