Guinness for Strength: A Day Early and Many Dollars Short

The recent run of Thursday night posts has been interrupted by this Wednesday night early edition.

First things first. Comments have been pouring* in regarding my hardware. Things like, 'This is sooooo amazing! How do you manage this phenomenal blog?!'

Brace yourselves... here it is - a 'self-portrait' of the machine that allows it all to happen. My laptop :

I picked it up just over a year ago - and just in time, as those of you that remember my frustrations with my desktop PC may recall. It's held up well (it should've, it's only been about 15 months). I've got to get my arse in gear and get a backup program going, though. No way in hell I want to go through that nonsense again. Especially with everything I've dumped onto this puppy.

(Dell, please leave a comment if you'd like to use this photo for promotional reasons. Otherwise, I will own you if I find this anywhere near an advert)

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Other than whoring out photos I find enjoyable, this post comes to you as the very first that's post-apartment and entirely home-owned. That's right. As mentioned last week, yesterday was the final day of my paid days at the old apartment. It's all mortgage ball-and-chain from here on out, baby! Bust out the pot noodle and let's celebrate...

One thing mentioned as I was going through the whole process was the timing. It's still working out pretty well in that regard. The upcoming weekend brings two, well-appreciated things. One - no previously scheduled events (visits, dinners, et al). Two - a Monday holiday. That's right. A three-day holiday weekend with no extracurricular activities to lend distraction. The opportunities are endless, as far as three days will take you, anyhow.

How much actually gets accomplished is up for debate but the stakes are high.

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For one (here comes the Many Dollars Short portion), I stopped at Lowe's on my way home and put in an order for a new washer/dryer set. It was a bit more than I was hoping to spend - but their utility will prove invaluable in short order. Not to mention, the Lowe's Chick hooked me up by taking the 10% discount from my USPS coupon package without taking the coupon. No, I don't remember which Lowe's store it was. It may have been in New Hampshire? Sorry, can't remember... much too long ago.

Anyway, they're scheduled to be delivered sometime on Saturday, installed, and (best of all) the old units will be removed. Paah-tay! Can't wait.

I suppose these are the mundane things that home-owners get excited about. Washing clothes. Brilliant. It may seem like an inconsequential thing but, over the long haul, it definitely makes the day-to-day grind that much more simple. Clears the schedule for the more important items and events. And that's a fine development in my eyes.

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Something else I'll have to learn to live and/or battle with is... the bugs. About two weeks after moving in, the stray black ant has been spotted. Sometimes by me, sometimes - as noted by the fixated stare - by Spinny. I've probably 'napkined' about 10 of them at this point. Nothing overwhelming - just something I never really dealt with in the apartment. Perhaps being on the second floor was they key. The folks on the first floor probably dealt with the brunt of the assault.

Tonight, however, was different. I found one of those slick, fast, creepy-looking silverfish looking things. Ewwww! Ugh - something about those filthy little critters gets to me at the instinctual level. They really creep me out.

Once I've got everything put away and the place is cleared out, it's gonna be bug-clearin' time. I can hope, anyway.

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That's about it at this time. If anyone has any bug-killing tips, feel free to enlighten me. Other than that, a few more pics of the house from before I deposited my junk (and one in progress) :

Mudroom