sunday

I first noticed my auto insurance policy expired in 3/1/2007 about a month ago… and now it’s almost August. And I’ve been wondering why AAA hadn’t sent me a renewal notice in the mail. I pull out my files, examine my paperwork and policy (yes I read the damn thing) and call customer service. Among my paperwork, I found a notice of cancellation for my policy, which I obviously didn’t think too much of. But the lady informed me that the cancellation notice was for canceling my policy in 3/26/2006. The damn print was so small I thought and assumed the cancellation was for 3/26/2007. So basically I’ve been driving without insurance for the past 16 months. Go me.

(Don’t worry I’m on the phone right now with Allstate buying auto insurance.)

We all know the one-suit, two-suit, and four-suited spin on the classic solitaire (why they call it “spider” solitaire, I have no idea). The one-suit, I think is doable for everyone. The two-suit requires practice and patience, and the four-suit is damn near impossible.

You should be able to win every game. But what if Spider Solitaire is programmed so that you DON’T win every game? If you’re supposed to win every game, that means there is one correct solution for each game, sort of like Sudoku; you have to place the right card in the right position, and make the right number of moves that leads to the end. (I only bring this up in the first place because I’m stuck on this one game and it seems that no matter what combination of moves I make, I’m not going to win.) What if there was some sort of AI built into the game and it changes as you progress through the game, kind of like playing chess on the computer?

In solitaire, when you’re playing with real cards, you shuffle the deck and you deal the cards and whatever comes of the game is based on the luck of how you shuffled the cards. And we assume the same principle is applied in virtual solitaire (on the computer). Well, based on that logic, I guess every game is not meant to be won. What if the cards are shuffled so randomly that you can’t complete the game? I guess that would be true with Spider Solitaire as well. But the game is so patterned that sometimes I can’t help but think it’s rigged (for example, I can never win more than three games in a row). So at what point does luck become skill, and vice versa?

On the other hand, I’ve never lost a game in Free Cell. Is it because of the nature of the game, that there are multiple combinations that lead to the end? Or is it because it’s ridiculously easy to play?

Needless to say, I know I’ve put way too much thought into this, but it irritates me every time I lose a game in Spider Solitaire and that my win rate hovers at 26%.

So, you know how Velma, Daphne, and Fred give Scooby some scooby snacks to entice him to chase after ghosts? So.. how come Shaggy eats them too? Aren’t scooby snacks doggy snacks?

Well I recently just got some money and decided to finally get that xbox 360 elite (and halo 3). But then it kinda dawned on me that I could get an iPhone instead (probably the 4GB version). I’m not in dire need of a new phone, seeing as I got my Sony Ericsson M600i a couple of months ago (but that was thanks to a certain someone breaking my beloved Motorola V600i). I can’t really decide how to spend my money because on one hand, I would get my money’s worth with the iPhone, and on the other hand, I can’t break tradition with another Halo release! Decisions decisions. Any suggestions?

It’s when you stop going along with the crowd and start realizing that there are many things about yourself that you didn’t know and may not like. You start feeling insecure and wonder where you will be in a year or two, but then get scared because you barely know where you are now.

You start realizing that people are selfish and that, maybe, those friends that you thought you were so close to aren’t exactly the greatest people you have ever met, and the people you have lost touch with are some of the most important ones. What you don’t recognize is that they are realizing that too, and aren’t really cold, catty, mean or insincere, but that they are as confused as you.

You look at your job, and it is not even close to what you thought you would be doing, or maybe you are looking for a job and realizing that you are going to have to start at the bottom and that scares you. Your opinions have gotten stronger. You see what others are doing and find yourself judging more than usual because suddenly you realize that you have certain boundaries in your life and are constantly adding things to your list of what is acceptable and what isn’t. One minute, you are insecure and then the next, secure. You laugh and cry with the greatest force of your life.

You feel alone and scared and confused. Suddenly, change is the enemy and you try and cling on to the past with dear life, but soon realize that the past is drifting further and further away, and there is nothing to do but stay where you are or move forward.

You get your heart broken and wonder how someone you loved could do such damage to you. Or you lie in bed and wonder why you can’t meet anyone decent enough that you want to get to know better. Or maybe you love someone but love someone else too and cannot figure out why you’re doing this because you know that you aren’t a bad person. One night stands and random hook ups start to look cheap. Getting wasted and acting like an idiot starts to look pathetic.

You go through the same emotions and questions over and over, and talk with your friends about the same topics because you cannot seem to make a decision. You worry about loans, money, the future and making a life for yourself… and while winning the race would be great, right now you’d just like to be a contender!

What you may not realize is that everyone reading this relates to it. We are in our best of times and our worst of times, trying as hard as we can to figure this whole thing out. Send this to your twenty-thirty something friends…maybe it will help someone feel like they aren’t alone in their state of confusion…

“God will not enlarge your territory until He enlarges you”
I Chronicles 4:10

I got an invite to one of BMW’s ultimate driving event. This was a performance course featuring the 2007 BMW X5 compared to similar luxury SUVs by Mercedes, Lexus and Volvo.

First off, when I drive into DC, I have no navigation sense what-so-ever. I always get lost when I’m on 395 north and always manage going over to Anacostia Freeway. Damn that 395 North tunnel. It’s a good thing I left an hour early, and I KNEW it was gonna happen too. But I arrived at the FedEx field in one piece and amazingly, before 1:30 p.m. Go me.

I checked in at registration and wandered over to the snack bar for some chocolate chip cookies. The course began at 2 p.m. with Morgan giving us an overview of the technologies unique to BMWs, highlighting valvetronic, active steering, and something else. After this overview, we headed outside where they demonstrated the X5’s power over simulated terrain. A driver demonstrated the X5’s power to push with the left rear wheel and transfer the power to the right front wheel. It then demonstrated the power of the X5 going uphill and downhill under control.

The fun part was taking the X5 and its competitors around the closed course. We started off in the X5, alternating between the Lexus LX, another X5, Volvo XC90, another X5, and Mercedes M500. There were three passengers per car and an instructor in the front with you. Each driver took two laps around the course, first through the straight-away, then around some corners, and then the slalom. Of course, the course proved that the X5 was best at handling corners and had better steering around tight corners.

I’ve never squealed the tires in a car so much as I did that day. And the best part was during the second X5 when I drifted around a corner. Needless to say, I’ve never done that either, and who knew you could do that in an SUV? I would’ve ended my day with a Susan G. Komen drive in the 335 and 650 but I thought better of it and left (because we all know if I did get to drive the 335 I’d be whining until I finally got one–what you don’t know you can’t miss). At least I didn’t get lost on the drive home.