there is ALWAYS a Sexual Chocolate. Every strip club. Not that I've been to that many, of course.

Or so I have read on the Internet....

Got keys to new place at the end of the day. Made it to office of old place with 15 minutes to spare, to drop off the final rent check and 30 day notice. Whew. Went back to new place, and gate clicker doesn't work. Went to Home Depot around the corner and got new batteries. Still doesn't work. Little light illuminates, but no gate action. Then I notice there is dip switch settings marked on the case, and the dip switches inside battery door do not match up. Fix that, and BAM! Gate opens! Woot.

While at Home Depot, picked up some samples of paint. M&C swung by and helped me put some sploches on the wall. The silver looks a bit on the white side with CFL light. We shall see in daylight. The Scotland Road looks nice under direct light, but strange under reflective. We shall see with daylight. The bedroom accent color looks great. The ceiling is textured, but not quite popcorn. It's a little drab on the white, so we are thinking a repaint of that is in order. Although none of us is looking forward to the task. Right now, I am pooped. But in a good way. Squee! And so begins home ownership!

Tom Scola, how did the interview go?

Congratulations, o_a! Have fun making the place yours.

O_a- Scola's interview got rescheduled to Thursday.

Can I tell you guys a secret I can't say anywhere else? I'm not that proud to be an American. Happy Fourth!

The silver looks a bit on the white side with CFL light.

FWIW, the lavender we painted in one room looked just like white when it was on only one wall, but once it went up on a second wall, the color suddenly popped and wasn't white like at all.

SJ, good to know.

Nora, thanks for heads up on interview time change. Why so glum about being American? Don't misunderstand me, there's plenty of things our country is doing right now that I am not proud of but I am still proud to be an American.

Why so glum about being American? Don't misunderstand me, there's plenty of things our country is doing right now that I am not proud of but I am still proud to be an American.

I'm just not very patriotic, in general. OK, I happened to be born in this country. I'm not, like, proud of that accomplishment. I'm proud of getting my Masters degree. I'm proud to live in New Orleans. I'm proud to be Tom's wife. I'm proud to be a Buffista. I'm proud to be smonster's friend.

I am not proud, however, to be living in a county that appears to be working to the detriment of everything else that needs attention to deny equal rights to people because they don't approve of who they choose to spend their life with, a country that is moving heaven and earth to strip away my rights as a women to privacy and bodily autonomy, and a country that seems to believe that being poor and sick is a moral failing and unworthy of care, concern, or compassion.

My pride in being a human also wavers from day to day as well, FWIW.

Cereal to add: I do not mean to imply that those who do feel pride in their citizenship in any way support the things I outlined as alienating me. Everyone frames patriotism differently, of course, and that's just how things work for me in my head.

But, you know, I am frightened of admitting to my Facebook/Twitter network that I am not proud to be American and that I am not a Christian. I'm sad that we're in a such a stranglehold in this country that it's so scary to admit to feeling different about God and America than the "party line."

(disclaiming again: this is not such a place- I feel safe here, even though obviously, it's a public forum.)

Whoa, I killed the thread.

AMERICA, FUCK YEAH!