Monthly Archives: February 2006

FHI has a Product Quality Control facility (AKA the condom testing laboratory) down the street in Research Triangle Park, staffed by over 100 people. (No, it’s not what you’re thinking. They use *machines* to test the condoms. Haha.) The employees have offered to save me the lab’s condom shipping cartons to use as packing boxes for our upcoming move! Sweet!

Had a laundromat crisis today involving too much liquid detergent. The washer pretty much exploded, and fluffy white suds went all over the floor when I opened the door. The Latino people doing their laundry stopped talking and looked at me when it happened. I just shrugged my shoulders and they shrugged back at me. I really didn’t know what to do, so I just ran the cycle again and again, hoping to get rid of the detergent. I felt pretty dumb. Two hours and $7.50 worth of quarters later, the load was finally rinsed soap free. Just two more trips to that awful place until we have total laundry freedom!!

Everybody please send snow wishes our way. The weather reports say snow tomorrow morning. FHI closes at the drop of a hat if there’s snow. Honestly I need the extra day to sleep. And hey – isn’t it President’s Day tomorrow anyway?

Feline furniture. Have you ever heard of it? Hidy Tidy makes special custom-made wooden furniture that is actually a litter box in disguise. Only you and your cat know the secret. We just ordered one today for our new place, so that I (not really a cat person) won’t get grossed out by the cat’s poop box any longer. Awesome!

It’s snowing and raining in Chapel Hill today! You can check out our local weather here. Clinton and I did not go on our planned Saturday walk to the coffee shop in Carrboro (about 45 minute walk). Instead, we are at home cleaning and working on our own projects.

Last night we went out to eat Chinese/Thai food at the Oriental Garden in Chapel Hill, where an overly eager waitress convinced Clinton not to get what he wanted to order. It was called “Ants on a Tree”. That dish is ‘very Oriental’, she said. I tried to tell her that Clinton is very Asian in his heart, but he ended up scared away from that item and ordered something else instead. I also watched two rented movies lastnight: Millions and In Her Shoes. Both were very good, especially the first one. It had the same director as Trainspotting, and it reminded me a little of Butcher Boy, only not so evil.

Have a great weekend!

- Our 2005 tax returns were just filed today with H&R Block. Peace of mind is worth every penny.

- I got my Master of Public Health diploma from Tulane in the mail yesterday!

- I finally broke 100! (Bowled 112 last night, and our team won. We are now #6 in the rankings, out of 9.)

- Started selecting furnishings for my future new home. See my wish list.

This evening after work, I stopped by the new apartment building to drop off our move-in fee, and our rental application was processed on the spot! As of March 12th, we’ll live in a 2-bedroom apartment on the ground floor of “Parkside at Woodlake”! Hooray!

Dare I say that Crystal’s Adventures has changed from heart-stopping Indiana Jones material to everyday domestic adventures? These days, I no longer crawl through malaria-infested swamps, ride elephants bareback, run for my life from charging hippos, hack through the undergrowth with my trusty machete or eat worms with pygmies. What gets my blood racing now is thinking about a new washer and dryer.

Yes, I despise the laundromat. Ever so dutifully for nearly 13 years now have I lugged my baskets, hampers, sacks, bags and economy size jugs of Tide through its unmerciful doors. I am seriously counting down the loads until I can say goodbye. The stoner kids and halfway house residents with their scruffy shoes and faded sweatshirts have darted guilty looks at me from behind their three-week old newspapers for the last time. The nauseous tumble of towels and socks and other people’s panties will never leave me seasick again. Those wire baskets on wheels, trailing the lint and hair of a thousand moist, misshapen humans have made their last unoiled cry for help. The perpetual sweat and condensation that slides down the laundromat windows will mock me no longer. Used dryer sheets of Springtime Meadow Breeze shall never again flutter about my feet and stick to my shoes. After today, there are only three Mondays until we live in our new apartment and own a washer and dryer! The excitement is enough to leave me gasping for air.

Clinton and I have been married for almost 3.5 months now! I am happy to report that we have settled comfortably into co-habitation and have not murdered each other. In tribute to St. Valentine’s Day, which is tomorrow, I would like to say that I am certain that I married the sweetest and most interesting man on Earth. And that is the best kind of adventure.

New Skin
Today I had my first professional facial done at the beauty salon. It was wonderful. My skin feels so smooth – almost like I was 18 years old again. One part of it was a glycolic peel, which stung a whole lot, but it really made my skin glow with youthful radiance. Another part was the “˜extraction’ – that means letting a total stranger look at your face under a huge magnifying lens and pop your zits for you. Weird!

Valentine’s Day
Because I bowl on Tuesdays, this evening Clinton and I celebrated Valentine’s Day early by going out to a restaurant we had never tried before, “Kanki”, a Japanese steakhouse and sushi restaurant. We ate steak at their hibachi grill and watched tropical fish swim around in a huge aquarium. I tried to get the hostess to take a picture of us in front of the big Buddha statue, but my stupid camera went kaput. Here’s a picture of the Valentine’s Day card I got from Clinton. He ordered them special from the Internet, because he knows how much I love the characters from Law & Order SVU.

Home-buying
Today we found a beautiful 2 bedroom/2 bath apartment at “Parkside at Woodlake” in Durham near where we work, for a very good price. It has a pool, a lake, forests, nature trails, putting green with golf carts, beach volleyball, fitness facility, DVD library, police security, etc Best of all, they offer short-term (6-month) lease options, they welcome dogs, and they have washer/dryer hookups right off the kitchen. We will most likely move in early March. We will be much more comfortable there while we continue on with the (long) home-buying process. The new projected home purchase/closing date is August/September-ish 2006.

Firefly Gadroon
My current reading material is a mystery novel called Firefly Gadroon by Jonathan Gash. The story is set in England and our hero is a slimy antiques dealer named Lovejoy. One minute he’s creating fake “heirlooms” to sell to unsuspecting old ladies and the next minute he’s driving a speedboat to save his friend’s body – the guy had just been murdered by some real bad people – and his donkey (yes donkey!) from washing away in high tide. It’s very exciting. Apparently there’s a whole series of these Lovejoy mysteries.

Have a good week, and Happy Valentine’s Day!