It really is a crappy Prius. I do not know the details yet and won’t until at least Monday. My 2002 Prius had some sort of electrical short which completely drained the battery, according to the mechanic I had the car towed to today. The special hybrid battery probably isn’t under warranty anymore and will cost a couple grand to replace. Even if the worst-case scenario does not come to pass, the fix is liable to be expensive. I will seriously contemplate purchasing another vehicle over the next few days.

I’m renting a car tomorrow. I did a kayak.com search and then Pricelined for a few dollars a day lower. I kinda need to get around, especially considering I’m taking Friday off from work, and in less than two weeks, I’ll be having surgery which will render my unproductive for who-knows-how-long. I need for the next couple of weeks to be productive, so I need a vehicle.

I’m off to a New Year’s thing now. I will briefly try to forget that I just went through a year in which my grandmother passed away and I went through three surgeries, and that I’ll be entering a year in which my body is likely to deteriorate further and absolutely nothing about anything gets at all easier.

I’ll have happy thoughts some other time. I realize the fact that I refer to a Prius as crappy says just about everything you need to know about me…

I have an automobile emergency (well, it’s safely parked in the driveway; just doesn’t start), and I’ve been trying for an hour to call the nearby repair shop that often gets recommended. Unfortunately, I keep getting a recording:

“Lines are temporary busy”.

I do not want to deal with a Toyota dealership and paid twice as much as the parts and service needed warrant. I finally want to give this local shop some business, and their phone line is screwed up.

So much for a Crock-pot surprise. I don’t really have the time or mindset to deal with it. I’ll have to do the lame thing and go to Costco or Whole Foods and get something that someone else made for this potluck I’m going to later.

I’m being facetious with my subject. My Prius has been mostly great. I’ve taken pretty crappy care of it.

After an 11-month hiatus, I shall be using my Crock-Pot® again in the morning, for what I believe will be the sixth time in just over two years.

I have no idea what I’m going to attempt.

Past attempts:

#1, November 2006. Some variation on German potato salad that turned out quite well. I was pleasantly surprised with my ability to make something edible.

#2, January 2007. Mahi Mahi chowder. While it made a mess in my car, it was tasty.

#3, February 2007. Queso dip? I don’t remember.

#4, May 2007. Some sort of chicken with way too much vinegar and garlic. I think it was a variation on a Filipino recipe. It was actually ok, but I felt sick afterwards.

#5, January 2008. A variation on a Tuscan bean soup or stew. I made it for people who are true foodies, and they genuinely liked it, so I must have done something right.

So I almost never cook…and I when I cook for myself, I make some horrible things. But if I’m cooking for someone else, I somehow manage.

Toastiest 4.0 isn’t quite done yet, but I figured I’ll be more motivated to finish it if it’s already in production. I’d been trying to resolve a huge bug for two weeks that I finally figured out, so now I’m just putting it out there as a work-in-progress. Objectively-speaking, I think I may actually like the old theme better, but I get tired of looking at the same thing after awhile. And you probably just look at the feed, so you don’t really care what theme I use.

Actually, just a scene from Arrested Development, season one, circa 2003. My Arrested Development DVDs have been my favorite entertainment of 2008.

Ormond. She’s in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which I saw today and perhaps will say something more about some other time. For now, I’m reminded of how much I enjoyed her in the 1995 film Sabrina. I have not seen the original with Audrey Hepburn, and I even if I did, I wouldn’t dare try to compare them. In any event, I was listening to an old mix tape in my car, and it had the lovely theme from Sabrina, as composed by the legendary John Williams.

I envy the talent of the guy playing in this clip. If I knew how to play like this, I’d try to get a job playing piano in a Nordstrom’s. Seriously. There’s a potential answer to that horrible question that people ask, “What would you do if you could do anything?” There. I’d play piano in a Nordstrom’s. Heck, I’d settle for playing piano in a Marshall’s.

The holidays are a funny time. One remembers things such that he is only two degrees separated from ___ ___.

I have very few living blood relatives, but among them is a second cousin whose $100,000 Bar Mitzvah I attended at a posh New York City hotel some twenty years ago. In recent years, until very recently, he was romantically linked to one of the biggest superstars on the planet.

Somehow I had forgotten this. Not that it matters in any way whatsoever, other than having a ready anecdote when asked that question, “What celebrity connections do you have?”

I won’t fill in the blank, because that would result in a bunch of unnecessary Google traffic. But damn, it’s quite odd just how juicy it all is, and how it had completely slipped my mind.

I’ll listen to this. For the past couple of years, I’ve listened to Tori’s rendering.

I had heard that Jehovah’s Witnesses don’t celebrate holidays. Boy, they sure get into the anti-celebratory mood. They are touring my neighborhood handing out pamphlets warning about how Satan rules the world and offering advice on how we can resist wicked spirits. Fun. They should learn how to go to the movies and eat Chinese food like Jewish people do.

I should’ve asked them what to do about my loud neighbors across the street.

This post is not in the spirit of the holiday season. It’s just a post to vent so I can go back to trying to relax, which I have not been able to do for the past three hours or so.

My neighbors across the street have insisted on playing their stereo with bass and party-level tonight. Until ten minutes ago, they had the front door open. I’d have tried to comfort with myself with the thought that “it’s Christmas”, but the fact is that they were doing this because it’s sixty-something degrees outside and they have consistently behaved as if they’re the only ones on the block with rights worth considering.

These are not apartments. They are not renters. They are homeowners I’ll potentially have to live near for several years to come. I know from other behavior that the slightest hint that I am pissed at them will make me their enemy for life.

This is similar to the problem I have at work and the street music…except I’m HOME. I’m off from work. This is supposed to be my turf. But my bleeping neighbors don’t care.

Even now, with that front door closed, the thumping is constant. The fact that there are three children in the house makes it all the more upsetting, because these kids are learning that this is acceptable.

12:30 in the morning now. No change. The kids are 3, 6, and 12. It’s a party over there.

Whenever I feel like I need to have earplugs to have peace in my own home, I feel like I’ve picked a shitty place to call home.

I was pretty much fine sitting home on a night typically associated with togetherness. But my tolerance for this stereo shit is zero.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all, a good night, except for my neighbors. I hope their power goes out.