How to spend $270 without really wanting to

This morning, I got in my car to go to Delaware.

Why? Because I had bought a hard drive at Best Buy ($135, 80 GB) in Deptford. However, the Concord Pike Best Buy had a better deal ($110 after rebate, 120 GB). So I thought a Friday morning road trip would be in order.

It was a fine idea. Until the brakes broke.

Luckily I was able to drive back to Jersey without incident (and with the new hard drive). I did very little damage to the brakes on the way back, but the last block killed them for good.

So now I've got a new hard drive and new brakes. And all I have to ask is...

...was this trip absolutely necessary?

More to [errrrrr...] come...

A quick question...

Every media site I peruse these days goes on and on about the brilliance of HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and "The Mind of the Married Man". The raves for CYE are nauseating at times- this guy thinks it's funnier than Seinfeld, Larry David's former show.

I don't get it.

CYE, for me, is a show that at times is very funny and at times is mindlessly dull- a decent show, but I'm not setting my clock to make sure I catch it. And "Married Man" has to be the worst show I've ever seen- the characters are horribly unlikable. The whole show seems to be predicated on marriages that would have no chance of working in the real world, so why should I care that they're failing on TV?

I love HBO- the Sopranos has been turning in fine episodes for the last two months, and I can't wait for the final season of Oz. And CL, the beautiful Amazonian redhead who shares my apartment, heart, and life, is a Sex and the City nut (we have all three DVD sets). But this quarter's Sunday night rotation is a bit of a clunker to me; after the Sopranos, it's either Adult Swim or football for me.

If anyone wants to take a shot at telling me I'm wrong, feel free.

More to come...

I have some combination of Seasonally Affected Depression and anxiety disorder. Every fall, they both act up, and my system goes haywire, unless my medication is under control. This year, that didn't happen. SInce my doctor was, and I quote, "in surgery" (and since he's not a surgeon, I'm wishing him the best), I was told to go to the emergency room.

No problem, except my doctor and I have a rapport from years of doing business. I don't have that with the ER docs. Forgetting that, I answered their questions a bit off-the-cuff, to their dismay.

Bad idea.

Never answer the ER doc's question of "Are you hearing voices in your head" with "Yes, but after they told me to invest it all in Enron, I use a broker instead."

Never answer the ER doc's question of "Are you seeing hallucinations" with "No, but when did you start treating pink elephants?"

Never answer the ER doc's question of "Do you suffer from multiple personality disorder" with "Nope...and neither do I".

And whatever you do, when the ER doc asks you "Do you have any thoughts of hurting yourself", don't even LOOK at the scalpels. Not even in jest.

I did eventually get my med change, and I now feel right as rain. But I admit- being asked those questions was unnerving. Glad it's all over.

More to come...