Weekend Update

Well, another week has passed in the Southland. This was the week of Responsibility, mainly having to do with the car.

Now, I have been a resident of California for more than half of my life. One of the things you have to do with your cay\r 9Unless it is very new r\or very, very old) is to get the car ìsmogged.î Once every other year you take your car to someplace (I go to AAA downtown) where they hook it up to some magic beans or something and it will tell you A) you are free to roam two more years unfettered, knowing that you aren’t pollutants that will stunt the growth of flowers and cause bees to drop out of the skies due to your chocking fumes, or B) You aren’t. If you get B) prepare to go into hock. Or move.

Now if you remember last week’s column you will think to yourself ìgoodness, how did Tom ge his car all the way downtown with that shredded tire?î Well, let me tell you. I found that Goodyear will actually come to your house and replace your shredded tire, mount, balance, say hosannas and all that jazz for the same price as taking it into the tire place. Since I didn’t want another tow and my lst tire change involved the car falling off the jack and ripping off a shock thingy I was happy to let them take care of it. (note- I am not receiving anything from Goodyear other than the tire I paid for) I was also happy to have the car actually pass the smog check.

So I decided to buy myself (and the car) an early birthday present. One of the newer ìspecialtyî plates available in CA is a reissue of the 1960’s ones with gold numbers on a black background. So I indulged myself. Only to be told that (after I paid) the plates would be ready in 6 months. The quote was ìwe will be calling you just about at the exact time you’d forgotten you ordered the plates.î So I guess it’s an early Xmas present.

Once again I spent most of the week enjoying Youth Dew, but I was also meeting some people who might not have appreciated the, shall we say ìdefiniteî quality that it has so on those days I have defaulted to lighter fare such as Malle Eau d’Hiver or Lutens Gris Clair. Both have a touch of oddness that I like, but aren’t going to scare the horses.

As for what I ate? I’ve been pretty good about the smoothies, playing around with various veggies but always sticking to blueberries and raspberries. Thankfully, Trader Joe’s has the former frozen for $1.99 a bag and the latter for not much more. But what I have been really eating too much of are Altoids. I just love them- I can power through a box or two a night. Of course, I am pretty much just pounding ugar, and sadly it is showing up in my waistline. So I will have to pump the brakes on the minty-freshness.

So what have you been wearing in preparation for the summer? Let’s discuss in the comments.

One of these days I will figure out how the new “improved” wordpress will let me upload images..