Tuesday, December 20, 2005

Home for the Holidays

We're leaving in about an hour and a half to head home to Kansas for a week of family and Christmas. It's always nice to go home, though making sure we get to see everyone as much as we want and that no one feels left out is a bit of a challenge. It's worth it, though. Since last year we had to stay here in Pennsylvania for Amelia to work, it'll be nice to get away this time around.

Our plane leaves at 7:05 am tomorrow from Pittsburgh, so we're staying overnight down there and still have to leave for the airport at about 5:00 am. That's ridiculous. On the plus side, we'll get into town at 8:00 am, leaving the rest of the day free. So I prefer that. Plus, this way we can leave our car in the hotel parking lot and not pay for airport parking. Good fun all around.

I did almost have a heart attack this morning, however. No, it wasn't the random dream I had wherein a high school friend had aneorexia and told me her goal was to weigh 64 lbs. (But where the heck did that come from anyway?) It was the ridiculous process of trying to replace the headlight on my car. I bought a new bulb a couple of weeks ago, but haven't had a chance to put it in. I figured since we were going to be driving tonight across the state, it would probably be good to have two headlights. But lo and behold, it turns out to replace the left bulb on my car you have to remove the battery. Which sucks. And which I am not sure how to do. So I call up a friend who knows a thing or two about cars, and at 7:00 this morning (he had to be someplace by 9:00) we're outside trying to figure out why Hyundais have the stupidest engine design ever. In 20 degree weather. And because we're working with little screws and bolts, we have bare hands. In 20 degree weather. And after fiddling with it for 45 minutes we replace the bulb, only to find that the car now won't start. In 20 degree weather. Needless to say, it was a long morning, and I'm very much looking forward to a cushy hotel bed tonight. As far as I know, the car works now. Let's hope that's still the case when I finish blogging and go pick up my wife from work.

By the way, the link above allows you to download three Sufjan Stevens Christmas albums. If you don't know Sufjan, you really should. Folky, mellow, hip stuff. His "Illinoise" CD was one of the few discs I actually purchased this year. Give it a listen.

No comments: