TVs, Toenails and Other Such Things

So, a few things.

We had our last bit of painting done last week. We repainted our lime green wall with a more subtle olive color and had vertical stripes painted in our bedroom. Looks much better. Will post photos soon. We had to move the tv out from the wall so they could paint the green wall and when Cory went to plug it back into the power converter, he mistakenly plugged it into the power strip instead. He then heard a bit of a "pop." Sure enough, tv no longer worked. Surprisingly, neither of us took it too hard and were able to find some repair guys who could fix it for $100. Quite expensive for here. Amazingly, we got them "down to $40" and the replacement part was no larger than a piece of Nerd candy. The guy also said it would work for 6 months to a year, but then changed his mind and told us, "no, no sir, it will work for long time. It is my own personal parts, sir." Right. And how much did you pay for that little doodad? Oh yes, you did not pay for it, but you'll charge us an atrocious amount for it! Oh well. The tv is fixed, Cory feels better and I'm just glad it was a relatively harmless experience.

This last weekend was good. We got a lot of "stuff" done. I scrapbooked with Elly on Friday night and finished a wedding coffee table book, my first wedding album so far (after five years, I know!). We drank some wine and had a nice chat.

On Saturday, I went to the framers to frame more photos. A few engagement, a few wedding and a few family shots. I also went to the Bazaar they hold at the Fort every two weeks and bought a dress, some comfy pants and a top. I went to the Adidas close-out store and bought a new pair of desperately-needed running shoes. Yes, I really did need running shoes with all that treadmill walking I do! I did all this while Cory played paintball. He was gone for about the same amount of time (five hours) and only got in about 12 minutes of playing time. Such is the way with the lack of common sense and efficiency people here sometimes hold. Afterwards, I went to the mall and picked up some things we'd been meaning to buy for awhile now: a cd player, a blender, a new mixer (it also "blew" up as most of our electronics we shipped from home probably will at some point or another), some tupperware, some hangers, some platters (for our SLURP coming up!) and some drink glasses. Then, Cory and I decided to go out for dinner and a movie. We had thin-crust pizza and some very decent beer at Grappa's. And although there was not much playing, we saw "The Savages," a realistic comedic drama about a brother and sister who are forced to reunite to take care of their ailing father. We enjoyed the flick (but not the guy who sat hawking loogees into his cup behind us or the kid who couldn't and wouldn't stop laughing over something very mildly funny). We then went home to eat homemade ice cream and go to sleep.

Sunday was our day to sleep in and I went in for a hair appointment at 10. I chopped off my hair once again and went blonder. Third time was definitely the charm. Up until meeting Rose, I had had horrible experiences at various hairdressing establishments and came to the conclusion I would just have to grow my hair out in order to avoid wasting six hours of my day only to leave upset and ugly. I was encouraged to give Rose a chance and not only does she listen and do what I want her to do with my hair, but she works about three blocks from my house and is a third of the price of other hairdressers who are, no doubt, much much worse. I also got a pedicure and am happy to announce that the blood blister that I obtained at the beginning of the year by some distracted nail salon person who cut into my big toenail and made it bleed, has finally grown out. I no longer have a huge black spot that I thought would become infected and would have to be removed. We finished the day by completing all the little tasks that add up to major stresses and are feeling good about getting things done before we leave for the summer. This includes planning our October Break (already), buying a car and setting up some retirement options, among other things.

So, there you have it. Interesting, I know. Can barely contain yourself. Monday is already down and we've only got three more days to go this week. Thursday is Labor Day in the Philippines, so no work for us. Woohoo!!

Hope all is well in your part of the world!