My Golf died with 198k - I didn't have the money to even figure out what was wrong, let alone fix it, or it might have gone further. Poor baby.

Still waiting and seeing on the Passat.

My car history is short.

1981 Isuzu I-Mark diesel (coupe)

1984 Mazda 626 (coupe)

Those are the only two cars ever registered in my name. The last of which I signed over to my brother almost 9 years ago. (Both my cars were of the inherited variety, and the only reason my name was on them was for insurance purposes.)

Other cars in my life have included:

1991 Honda Civic sedan (Paul's). May have driven once or twice.

1998 Honda Civic hatchback (Badtzmobile. Also Paul's, technically). Drove often.

1990 Honda Civic hatchback (Doyle. Drove rarely. Also in Paul's name.)

1998 Saturn SL1. Current car. In Paul's name.

I've never purchased a car. Ever.

Earlier, I couldn't figure out why I kept seeking out John frickin Cougar Mellencamp songs on YouTube. Now I've played Bowling for Soup's 1985 for the sixth straight time.

I think my subtext has rapidly become text.

I hope it gets fixed ASAP and the electric company people (not the equipment) get frostbit and lose their noses.

That's a lovely sentiment for linemen working 18 hours a day.

(Okay, I worked in the electric utility industry for 15 years. I'm a little touchy on subject.)

That's a lovely sentiment for linemen working 18 hours a day.

You're right, Ginger. I'm sure those poor sods are regretting the ice storm as much as the people without power. I was thinking more in the line of the bigwigs who probably won't pay for overtime, or to buy power from somewhere else to supplement what they don't have themselves right now.

Cars I have had:

1977 Toyota Celica (used, sold it to my brother in 1985 and he drove it up into the high 190ks.

1986 Plymouth Horizon (new, only ever new car, totalled in 1994)

1989 Toyota Celica (used, sold it with about 150k on it, one of my coworkers still drives it)

2000 Olds Alero (used, still driving it)

Bailey? I'd be thinking more Ashton myself. Dogs not so big with the subtle, in my experience.

I didn't think he was hiding things. I thought maybe he was eating things.

Oh dear, there is no way I can list my cars. I bought my first one in 1972. It was a Volvo sports coupe, they didn't make them for long I don't think. Quite snazzy. There have been quite a number in the last 30some years. From my 1964 Chevy that I bought for $75 to a couple lovely mid-80's Jaguars. Drive a Jetta and a Ford van now.

Went to Bed Bath & Beyond and spent the gift card we get for charging too much money on our credit card (we basically use it for everything for the points). We got: 1 fancy schmancy towel (just one, for now, to see if it's as functional as it is beeeeeautiful!), 2 bamboo cutting boards, 1 set of 4 silicone flexible cutting boards (they have pictures on them so you know what to use for what- meat, chicken, fish, vegetable), silver cleaner, and a candy thermometer. And of course, my replacement travel mug.

Shopping without the guilt! Fun. Also went to Home Depot and looked at bamboo flooring and quartz countertops. (just for fun). Tried to buy a charlie bar for our sliding door, but our door was an inch too narrow for it. Made Thai chicken soup, and fruitcake, and dinner (roasted butternut squash, sweet potato, and sausage). Drank some homebrew.

Called: my mother, Tom's mother, and my grandma.

In addition to yesterday's making homebrew and Christmas shopping for a bunch of folks, it's feeling like a very productive weekend!

Ooh! Also lots of laundry and food shopping.

And, {{Anne}}. God, I'm so sorry about the shitty weather and the shitty weekend and the cold and the not knowing and the, UGH. I'm really, really sorry. That sucks. I'd have had at least one meltdown already myself. At *least* one. I hope power comes back soon and that things normalize, like, toot freaking sweet.

They have to pay overtime, and every minute the power is out, they're running power plants but not bringing in any money. They have 2,000+ linemen from other utilities working, and they have to pay those workers' companies for them and their equipment. An outage like this is multi-million dollar loss.

The bigwigs probably could be blamed for things like poor planning, not prestaging enough crews and for having poor telephone response to customers.

About the babysitting/child discussion. I can't even get into it, but I feel like it's all I've been thinking about lately. I've been questioning my choices and decisions regarding not having kids, and it feels like I"m questioning the very essence of who I am. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing. I'm actually really kind of... not sleeping at night because of it.