If this was Arlington, I'd be smelling West Vaco

One of the main employers in the area of west Kentucky where Gayle hangs out now is a pulp mill that used to be called (and to most, always will be) West Vaco. When it's foggy/cloudy/rainy in Arlington, you can smell the pulp mill most strongly. To anyone who's ever lived in proximity to a pulp mill, you know just how horrific this can be.

Normally I'll load the car as far as I can the night before I head up to Kentucky, just to cut down on the amount of time it takes to get out of Memphis on Friday afternoon.  However, it's raining so damn hard right now I'll just pile everything up, and load it up tomorrow, when it's supposed to be cool and clear.

Mikey has been waiting on the arm of the chair patiently for me to finish this post, only occasionally reaching out to try to take over the mouse. So, I'll click publish and let him flow over onto my lap for his afternoon pets.

What dictionary are you using?

I've been a fan of internet shopping for a long time. It's easy, avoids going to places like malls, and I've generally had good luck with doing so. However, I've started to notice a trend where a vendor posts that they have an item in stock. What this is coming to mean is that they think that their vendor has it in stock, and that they'll ship it to you as soon as they get it from them. What all this means, is that "we'll ship in 3 - 7 business days" means don't hold your breath, you'll get it when we get it to ship to you. No wonder everyone is starting to ship for free...they save money on inventory taxes.

I'm getting into the rhythm of driving to Arlington most weekends, and I'm really getting comfortable there. I'm recognized in the local grocery store, and with as much as I'm buying from them, I should be known at the local restaurant. This weekend I'm taking entree items so that I can cut down on that particular expense, and have the opportunity to cook for more than myself and the cats.

Speaking of my diminutive room mates, Mikey got tired of taking crap from Jules today and beat the living hell out of him.  Jules was trapped under the bed, yelling for help and denying that he'd done anything to have caused such an unwarranted attack. I had to pull Mikey out by the tail to get him out of attack mode, after which he stalked down the hallway, stopping occasionally to glare back towards the bedroom, muttering things like "punk ass bitch" and "wait til we're alone, and you've got nobody to save you". Fortunately for Jules, Mikey has the memory of a late stage dementia patient, so Jules will probably live to torment another day.

Happy New Year...

I was on call this weekend, so I had to stay in Memphis instead of going to Arlington. Being a sensible person, I stayed at the apartment last night, and left the public partying to younger, braver folks. I rang in the new year with 2 idiot cats, and an open chat window to Gayle. Gayle's comments were, as usual, more sensible than anything that Jules or Mikey came up with.

We did watch "Cowboys and Aliens", which is a pretty good movie. There were a lot of cliches, but they didn't really interfere with me and the boys enjoyment of the flick. Of course, watching it beginning at 12:30am with a couple of drinks in me might have influenced my opinion.