After the sun came out yesterday, the snow melted a little. It was enough that I was able to dig out my truck and go to the mall. I had some Christmas shopping to do still. I went to Arundel Mills Mall. The parking lot there was not completely plowed yet. I was nervous as I jammed my truck into a snow-covered parking spot. Would I be able to get out again?
The mall wasn’t very full at first. It was rather pleasant. I found a new wallet, I got a Christmas present, and I had some lunch. Lunch with meat. Mmm… meat… I also did some window shopping that included going into the new Lego store. It was fascinating and beautiful. I couldn’t believe how many loose Lego pieces there were in the store. One whole wall was just bins of pieces you could scoop into a cup like candy.
When I headed to the parking lot, it was already 5:15pm. I didn’t realize it had gotten so late. I was a little worried the melted snow might have started to re-freeze. I got out of my parking spot with a little tire-spinning. But getting out of the lot was another story. I took the “inner loop” to get out. Mental note, Brad: Always, always use the “outer loop”. Always. Getting out of the mall took an hour and forty-five minutes.
I think it’s stopped snowing. The landscape outside looks sort of like a post-apocalyptic desert. Dunes of white cover everything. No one is in sight.
Last night was sort of like that too, but I was really craving meat. I usually order carry out when that happens, so there was nothing in my house. I thought I had some Spam, but I didn’t. Earlier in the day, I saw someone walking by with a CVS bag in their hand. I know for a fact CVS has Spam, so I started walking there. It was interesting to walk down a deserted Harford Road. But before I got to CVS, I saw a magical sight: beautiful yellow and green light was streaming from the “OPEN” sign at Los Amigos restaurant. THEY WERE OPEN! (cue music)
I had beef fajitas. Denis had come with me. There was also a table of twenty-somethings who kept saying they hoped school was canceled on Monday. (Is there any doubt that anything that can be canceled will?). There was also an army kid and his grandmother, a quiet guy, a drunk woman, and Rosita. Rosita was our server and also I think the owner. She’s nice.
Their fajitas never tasted so good. Mmm… meat… I will now and forever give Los Amigos the most enthusiastic recommendations I can. Thank you, Los Amigos. Thank you, Rosita.
Happy Birthday, Lloyd!
Today we are predicted to receive a LOT of snow. Last night we already got a couple of inches. Through today and tomorrow, the current prediction is for a total of about two feet. I’m very excited for the snow. We have only had a dusting so far this season, so a nice, heavy snowfall should be fun. I had planned to go out for a little shopping this weekend, but now I’m thinking I might just stay in.
Here’s what it looked like at 7am. I’ll try to post some updates throughout the day if I’m not too busy playing Xbox.
I went out to shovel the sidewalk at 11am. The snow is fluffy, but a little wet. It stuck to the shovel. By the time I was done, there was already a light covering of snow on the sidewalk again, but at least it’ll be easier to clear off later. I was admiring my work from my porch when I saw a guy go past on skis.
It’s almost 2pm and I just woke up from a post-lunch coma on the couch. I stumbled outside for an update picture. The sidewalk doesn’t look shoveled any more. Maybe I’ll go out and shovel it again after some Xbox time. The current prediction for total snowfall is 26 inches.
4pm update: I filled the bird feeder this morning. It’s hard for the birds to find food when everything is covered with snow. Usually the sparrows pick the seed from the feeder, and all the bigger birds collect it off the ground. Today, there aren’t too many birds on the ground. One turtledove was huddled on the fence watching the sparrows eat from the feeder. Poor turtledove.
At 5:30pm, I went out to shovel the sidewalk again. I’ve gone a little stir crazy. Usually on days off I make at least one trip to the store or I go out to eat or something. Being in the house all day wasn’t as fun as I thought, so shoveling was nice.
I’m really craving meat. The only meat in the house is a frozen turkey. I can’t wait for that. Wait! Do I have some Spam? I think I might…
Happy Birthday, Mom!
I made Christmas cutout cookies last night! Yay! I’ve been craving cookies for the last couple of weeks. I made chocolate chip cookies Monday night. They were delicious. I ate some dough and a few cookies and took the rest to school. Since they were all gone, and I was still craving cookies, I decided to make more cookies!
This is a fond childhood memory for me. They are most delicious, even if rolling them out takes a while. I haven’t quite figured out how to make the frosting not be lumpy. There were undissolved lumps of powdered sugar all through the frosting. It only matters for the sake of looks. It certainly tastes okay. It takes forever to frost them, but it’s kind of fun. Until you get to the last ten cookies. Then you’re just slopping frosting on to get it over with.
Here’s one of my favorites:
Denis helped. Many of his cookies had an Impressionist/Surrealist slant. Here is his Philippine flag snowman:
Happy Birthday Lauren! Yay!
I went to get my replacement license yesterday. After visiting the MVA website, I decided to take along not one, but two of the things they said I should have as proof of identification. I took my original Social Security card, and I took my birth certificate. I don’t know why, but I giggle every time I see the heading on the birth certificate. It says “Certificate of Live Birth”. I guess I should be glad I wasn’t hatched from an egg. It also seems weird to me that my parents’ ages are listed at 28. What? They were younger than me?
The people at the MVA didn’t ask for any I.D. – not even a passing glance. The guy who helped me was funny and chatty, but he didn’t ask me any questions. He kept clicking through everything without asking, so my weight is still listed at it’s 1996 level: 160 lbs. He did at least ask if I wanted to be an organ donor. I said yes.
I had to take a new picture. On my last license, I decided to look a little scared in my picture because that’s how I’d look if I was pulled over. This time, I decided to look a little pleasant. More cashiers see my license than police officers.
