My pee passed,
we're going to England, we have new light bulbs, etc.
--Yesterday afternoon I received word that I’d passed my
background check and pee test, and my long weekend is officially over.By the time you read this, I’m probably already back to work;
I have to report at 8 am,
which seems like the middle of the night to me.But I’m not complaining, God
knows
I’m not complaining.
I haven’t been writing about this much, because I was afraid I’d
jinx myself, but I REALLY wanted this job.When I went on the interview it just felt right.Ya know?You can usually
get a general vibe from a place, and the people and their attitudes,
and this one seemed like The One.
Apparently they agreed, and I’m happy they did.
I hinted at this earlier, but I received TWO job offers on the same
day.How bizarre is that?Nothing for eight months, then two in a single day.
But, it wasn’t a difficult choice:one
I wanted badly, the other I couldn’t have given a single dingle
about.The decision-making
process took exactly the same amount of time as it takes a person to
say, “Well, I appreciate it and everything, but I’ve decided to
accept another offer.”Good
times.
I’m going to be “training” for the next two weeks, working a lot
of hours, etc.The Surf Report
will probably not be updated every day during that period.But starting December 3, everything should calm down, and
we’ll be back to normal.The
schedule I’ll be working is right up my alley, and nothing should
change here.
I’m serious, this is good stuff.…I
think.
--And speaking of secrets
I’ve been keeping, want to hear another one?OK, good.
Back in August Toney and I booked a weeklong trip to London,
for late March.All four of us
are going, we’ll be traveling on British Airways and staying at a
hotel in Kensington.We’ll be
taking two day trips outside the city: one to WarwickCastle,
and another to Oxford/Bath/Cotswolds.And
I’m utterly psyched.
We told nobody about this, because we knew they’d think we were nuts
– booking European
vacations while unemployed.But Toney inherited a little money when her aunt died this summer,
it was a great deal on the trip, and we rolled the dice.I told my new employer about it yesterday, and they don’t
have an issue with me taking the time off.
So we can officially exhale now, and allow ourselves full-excitement.Holy crapshaft, Batman...It
was a huge risk, but you only go around a few times.
--In our kitchen we have three
floodlights over our counters, in some sort of recessed kind of setup.Those bulbs are not cheap, and seem to burn-out every few
weeks.It’s a frustrating
situation, and makes me go grrrr.
Attempting to stop the bleeding, Toney purchased three even
moreexpensive bulbs that supposedly save energy and, get
this, have an estimated lifespan of five years.
I wasn’t involved in any of this, and when she was telling me about
it, I liked what I was hearing --except
for two things.I didn’t care
for “even more expensive,” and was highly suspicious of
“saves energy.”These are
terms that send up red flags inside my brain.
On top of that, they’re really weird.Toney installed them on Saturday, and they seem to have a mind
of their own.I haven’t
figured ‘em out yet, but sometimes they’re incredibly dim, and
other times they’re super-bright.The
things freakin’ fluctuate.
What’s the story?!Is it
based on how bright the room is at the time?Is there a sensor built into them, or something? Is that how
they work?So the bulbs are telling me
how much light I need?It knows
better, huh? Because I'm simply too stupid to know the proper
amount of illumination required?
I don’t
think I care for that...It has
a slight John Kerry haughtiness to it.
And I don’t believe the five year claim, either.I was born at night, but not in a turnip truck – or whatever
that phrase is.
So I’m going to keep track of it.I’ll
post details on the homepage, and we’ll see how it goes.How much you want to bet we don’t get anywhere
near
five years out of ‘em?
The bastards.
--Rule of Thumb:Every national election is one of the most important of our
lifetimes.Never is one described as
just eh.
--My opinion:People who follow speed limit laws should be arrested and thrown
in prison.
--Something I recently
witnessed:a man filling out a
credit card application using a hand that resembled a Burger King
Croissan’wich, with a pen shoved through it. I'm just sayin'...
--Before I hit you with
the Question of the Day, can I please remind you to use our Amazon
links while doing your online shopping this holiday season?
I can?Well, I appreciate it.
There are plenty of links to choose from, and any will work.If you’re going to buy something from the good people at
Amazon, just
go through TheWVSR, and they’ll pay me a small percentage of
whatever you spend.
It’s an easy and painless way to support The West Virginia Surf
Report. And heck, since I'm whorin' myself here, don't forget to pre-order
a few dozen of our Smoking Fish caps, as well.
Thanks, folks!
--Now, the Question…This is actually from the Stealing Clive
Bull’s Topics Desk.A few
days ago Clive was asking folks to call in and tell him what lines
from movies they’ve incorporated into their everyday lives.
The callers were saying things like, “Show me the money!”But I have a feeling Surf Reporters are a little more hip, and
a lot less obvious. I mean, I'd rather put a bullet through my head
than say, "Show me the money!"
Got anything on this one?Use
the comments link below.
