A bargain before I knew it was a bargain...

About a year ago I was on a layover in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic (Caribbean) and had forgotten to bring shoes, other than my work shoes. I desperately wanted to go downtown and have dinner with the crew and hang out at the pool. I headed to the hotel gift shop and found a pair of flip-flops for $12.95. I kept thinking it was a total rip off, especially since things there are really cheap. But on the other hand, I needed the shoes. I sucked it up and bought them. They've been good to me ever since... comfortable, they've stayed in good condition and haven't broken. See the one's I have here.

I was reading in Steven Cojocaru's Style Watch section in the September 1, 2003 issue of people magazine that these very flip-flops, Havaianas, are being given to celebs in their gift packs at the MTV Video Music Awards. Retail price: 50 bucks! They're all rubber, the kind that look really cheap. $50? And I thought I was getting ripped off at $13. Gotta love a bargain, even the ones you didn't know you had.

Speaking of magazines, I was also reading the September issue of Maxim yesterday and found in the "Circus Maximus" section an article called, "Found Porn." The mag challenged its readers to find something sexual in nature that others may see as innocent. The winner: Bob the Builder Tool Shaped Soap by Kid Care. Yeah, it's tool shaped, but not the type of tool kids should be playing with. The soap is shaped like a hammer, but the ends on the hammer head are both round, and the bottom of the handle is round, and a little thicker than the top. Check it out here and see the runner-ups.

Crunch time, again...

Our appraisal is today at 3:30, and although Bethany made a lot of headway yesterday, it's my turn to kick it in high gear and finish up. We aren't real sure how dependent a clean, good looking house is on an appraisal, after all they're there to check out upgrades and the overall condition of the house, not necessarily how it is decorated or that the carpet was freshly vacuumed. But it can't hurt. The loft and our bedroom have been disasters. When we re-furnished our office, all the old went into the loft until further notice, and now notice has been given... it has to go. Same with our bedroom. We've stored some wall hangings on the floor in there that were to be hung eventually. Well, eventually has come, too.

Of course there's always the tops of our dressers. I don't know how they've evolved to this, but it seems everyone uses the tops of their dressers to put the shit they never know where to put. It's a collection of all things vagrant. And those damn pennies! It usually comes to the point of shuffling shit from one place to another, but never really getting rid of it. And oh, yes, you do generally come out lighter after such a clean-up, but there's always the stuff you can't get rid of but don't know what to do with (hence the dresser)... that's the stuff that gets shuffled, until the next time you deep clean/organize. The circle of adult life with responsibilities.

Then of course there are the things we've wanted to do with the house, and are actually hoping to accomplish over the next two to three months, but haven't. Like landscaping the backyard, tiling the downstairs floor and putting Pergo-like wood floors in the loft, hallway, master bathroom and office. We'd also like to build a half wall in our loft with a built in bookcase, decorate the loft and install new carpet on the stairs... all of which would significantly increase the value of our house, but would also significantly reduce the bank account and our time funds. Oh, and, we haven't quite finished painting yet. Eek! If anyone has about three weeks of free time and around $4,000, give me a call. I'll pick-up the transportation to get you here, provide free coffee every morning and home cooked meals (when I'm here). If this is an offer you can't refuse, dial down the middle. I'll even pay for the call!

(sound of whip cracking) "Back to work!"

Order pizza online?

You bet! Beth and I got on to Papa John's website to see what they have to offer, since neither one of us has ever ordered their pizza before. To our surprise, we could order it right then and there, complete with free delivery! I love it! Now it remains to be seen how good this mainstream pizza is. I must remind myself it started out as a 1-store operation and made it this far for one reason - it's good! We'll see.

Beth and I are frantically cleaning, straightening up and rearranging getting ready for our appraiser tomorrow. As part of our home refinance we must have it appraised to ascertain it's current value. We are both excited about the prospect. Fortunately, our appraiser won't be looking at mud soaked floors and water stained walls -- we were not affected by the massive flooding that hit Northwest Las Vegas (Summerlin) on Tuesday. The National Weather Service confirmed today nearly three inches of rain fell in 90 minutes, totaling over 1.25 billion gallons of water. No wonder it flooded! Some areas received two inches in as little as 20 minutes.

Quotable quote: My mother is often making me laugh with her one-of-a-kind one-liners, and her new one tonight was no exception. "I have a photographic memory, but I'm out of film." Laugh out loud funny! ;-)

Cheap is good, free it better!

Tonight Beth and I decided to go to the closest local's casino, The Cannery, for some south-of-the-border dinner fare. We arrived about 4:40 and found the resteraunt did not open until 5. We headed off to the nickel slots to pass the time. Beth hit two sevens and a double for a nice little jackpot... thirty bucks! After putting in only a buck, we made twenty-nine.

We were really excited since we knew now dinner was going to be free. We headed off to the resteraunt, ordered up some margharitas and enjoyed the two salsas and bean dip that were brought out with the chips - all were awesome! Bonus #1. We hadn't eaten here before, and were excited that bean dip was a standard and didn't cost extra! Bonus #2. Althought the margharita flavors were limited, the one I had was good, although a little stingy in the alcohol. We discovered reading the menu that either sopa de albondigas (meatball) and sopa de tortilla were inlcuded with every dinner. Bonus #3. Dinner was good and we decided to try their fried ice cream for dessert. Guess how much dinner was? 22-bucks! Drinks, entrees and dessert to boot, all for 22-bucks! And, of course, it was free for us thanks to Beth's winnings.

All said and done, we walked away with three dollars more than we had when we entered (after tip and original $1 slot investment). Not a bad night at all. Hooray for easy wins and good, cheap, casino-style Mexican food!

I feel the earth, move, under my feet...

Tonight the UNLV Seismology Department is setting off nine blasts around the Las Vegas Valley to help determine what kind of damage may occur if the "big one" hits. The mini-bombs will be detonated below the surface, starting shortly after midnight; there will be one blast every 10 minutes lasting almost two hours. Are you ready to rumble? Supposedly residents won't feel or hear the blasts, and they "should" not trigger a larger earthquake. Hmm... that's satisfying. Since it's midnight now, I guess I'll just have to sit, wait, and see, or... feel.

Done!

After a week of nearly all-nighters finishing Math, it's done! Excitement and relief are the words for the day. Beth, her Grandma and I flew to El Paso yesterday for Beth's cousin's wedding. We'll be returning home on Sunday. Last night was the groom's Bachelor Party. Although the groom was skeptical, we headed off to Platinum, a totally nude strip club here in El Paso. It was dead, being a Thursday night I suppose, but nonetheless we had a nice time.

I knew it'd be long...

Started yesterday AM at nine and just called it quits, at 5:22 AM for a few hours before it all starts again! Gotta love a college math class all rolled up in to two weeks.

Drowning.

Beth and I spent from 8:30 yesterday morning to 10:30 last night working on Math, and are about to do the same today. I spent nearly the same amount of time on Friday, with even more help from Beth then, too. I am very, very thankful she is willing to sit through this with me and help me out. The support is awesome! I just have to remind myself... it'll all be over Wednesday!

I'm bAAck!

Or so that's how American Airlines would say it! A thousand thanks to Jenn for helping get things back up and running! I just returned from a nine days stint visiting such exciting places as Columbus, Ohio and Des Moines, Iowa. Gone are the days of talking about Paris, London and the Caribbean. Huh, sigh. I do miss international flying, but I am rather enjoying the shorter commute and more simplistic flying. It's easier, every way you look at it. Hopefully I'll make it back to international within a year though.

I am home now working feverishly to finish this Math class I am taking. I have nearly a semesters worth of work to do in a week, but shouldn't have a problem finishing. It just means 100% focus, and no deviations, like this one. Back to work!