Ten Random Things

1. We're still crashed in the shell of Walt's house, but now we have a REAL BED so we think we're all fancy. No more waking up on the floor with a deflated air mattress around us. We're big time now. We'll probably stay here, in the House of No Kitchen Appliances/No Furniture/No TV/No Internet/Etc, until we come back. It's just easier.

2. George Foreman is a genius. Without his grill, we'd be starving.

3. The cats are FINALLY adjusting. That said, they'll be going back to Philadelphia as changed animals. Bourre, for one, is twice her size now that she doesn't have steps to climb up and down or a backyard to play in. Her newest nickname -- and she pretty much has a new one every week -- is Tubbles, as in "Tubby who is Double her size." (Jordo is pretty good with the cutting cat nicknames. She was "Whiny McTubbs" earlier this month, when her screaming kept us awake at night.)

4. Don't hate us because the weather here is beautiful. Sure, we don't have snow or ice or even the hint of cold, but we suffer sometimes, too. Like earlier this week, I was working with a gutting group that insisted I wear a spaceman-type suit and a 9/11 respirator while working. I thought I would die of heat stroke. (Which really bummed me out, for multiple reasons, one being that that would be an unglamorous death. If you're going to die young, either go 1) Noble, like saving orphans from a burning building or 2) Vaguely Cool, like totalling your Porsche while speeding on a California highway or 3) Mysterious, like Amelia Earhart-esque but involving - instead of an airplane - Brad Pitt, a yacht and a missing diamong necklace.) (On a more positive note, if I were to die of heat stroke now, at least I have a tan so I'd look good at the wake.)

5. I'm in a minor panic about baseball season starting with me out of NY radio range. Do I get an air card for my computer? Satellite radio? I can't miss a game, especially as Carl Pavano may actually pitch an inning or two. (Hate him.) (Speaking of baseball, the other night, Tubbles was whining in the early a.m. hours and I just got so irritated that I began throwing random things at her, like clothing, pillows, etc. The next morning, Jordo said, "Yeah, you were like Curt Schilling with that aim." Do you see how how cruel he can be? He knows how I hate C Schilling with the burning passion of a thousand suns. He even insisted on the CS comparison after I offered more appropriate pitchers like Ron "Louisiana Lightning" Guidry.)

6. Philadelphia thinks it knows potholes. It knows nothing. There is no stretch in the world like our section of State Street Drive, which is more off-road than the Grand Canyon.

7. I still can't believe I went to a Justin Timberlake concert. True, the ticket was free, but really. I almost started a riot in the auditorium when I asked if Justin had been with Backstreet Boys or N'Sync. (I still think this is a legitimate question and does not deserve the mockery/shock it garnered.) It was an experience akin to the time I took my sister and cousin to see New Kids on the Block at MSG one Thanksgiving. Tricia maintains I had a good time because she saw me clapping. I maintain I was clapping because the show was finally over.

8. I'm on my third cell phone since moving here. I am a technological black hole.

9. During the St. Patrick's Day parade, we (including guests Dave and Amy) caught cabbages and carrots as well as assorted beads and flowers.(Getting flowers required kissing strangers. I got mine legitimately. Jordo said the clerk in his court just happened to be there and just happened to give him one. Sure.) Jordo also ended up in possession of a racy green thong. I have now planted that among his belongings and am waiting for it to reappear at the most inappropriate of times -- in court, at the gas station, during a family meal. (It could be anywhere at this point. Good luck, friend.)

10. Fun food facts: Snowballs are a poor man's Italian ice. It's OK to give up BYOB's when your drinks are $3 each. You can't eat too many beignets.