Summer Starts Today

Hey Cooterinos, despite the 18" of snow/sleet we got yesterday and the single digit (Fahrenheit) temperatures we are experiencing, today marks the first day of the Second Annual Summer of Todd.

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A Closing We Will Go

At 4:00 Eastern Time, I will be waltzing into the attorney's office with a big fat smile on my face. You see, today is the day I close on my refinance and officially close a rather long and unpleasant chapter of my life.

For those of you who have been keeping your fingers crossed for me, please continue to cross them until 5 PM this evening. Unless, of course, you have been losing circulation in your fingers or have been experiencing a tingling sensation in your hands. If you are unsure whether or not you should continue to cross your fingers and have any sort of medical reason to uncross them, by all means uncross them. I just ask that you cross your toes or eyes until the official uncrossing time (5 PM Eastern US Time).

Coincidentally, The Second Annual Summer of Todd begins at precisely the same moment my last signature dries on my new mortgage papers. BooYEAH!

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We Don't Take No Stinkin' Personal Checks

I'm not a check writer. Some people will write a check for a pack of gum, but not me. I knew I was going to have some sort of money due at my closing and prepared for such an event by transferring a buttload of money into my checking account. Yesterday I received a call from the paralegal at my attorney's office who told me the exact payoff amount and mentioned that I need to bring a cashier's check.

I forgot that I had to do that the last time, and it brought up an interesting question. The bank happily accepts a personal check from me every month. The bank is also lending me many, many thousands of dollars. The bank will not accept a personal check for closing costs. Why is it that my money is good for some things and not others? I'm sure there's a very logical reason, it's just sort of humorous.

As I mentioned, I transferred money into an account so my checkbook would be plenty plump when I walked into the office. Now that I need a cashier's check, I figured I'd just hit the credit union here at work.

Unfortunately the credit union at work isn't the one I transferred money into. I have enough to cover it, but I'll have to move some cash around. That's all fine and good, EXCEPT today is the day they change over the check-printing system at our particular branch, so I can't get a cashier's check anyway. Now I have to leave extra early and go to the other bank to get a cashier's check, then drive back across town to the closing. Foolishness I tell you, foolishness.

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Doctor's Warning

If you enjoy eating but have trouble maintaining a healthy weight, I don't suggest you read this...

Last night I was all set up to make a nice, healthy tuna sandwich. I had my can of tuna opened and drained (of course it sprayed tuna water in my freshly showered face and hair), onion and green pepper chopped, and mayonnaise out on the counter. I opened the mayo and noticed it looked a little "off". The date on the jar read December 2006, which is normally close enough for me, but with mayo I wasn't taking any chances.

Lacking any other mayo-esque substance, I opted for bleu cheese dressing. OH MY GOD! It was the most delicious sandwich I've ever had. I even made another batch for lunch today. I will no longer be using mayo in my tuna sandwiches, ever.

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Ice Pellets to the Grill

Yesterday, it was far too blizzarous to drive to work. In celebration of such an environmental day off, I drove to a local park to go snowshoeing. I was properly dressed so as not to overheat, yet also stay warm. The only exposed skin on my person was on my face, where I was repeatedly pelted by ice pellets flying horizontally in the 30 MPH wind (gusts up to 50 MPH). If it hadn't been for the ice pellets I could have been out there indefinitely, but instead I had to cut it short and get my ass out of the wind.

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An Advertisement for My Feet

Let me tell you about my feet. While snowshoeing yesterday, I was wearing hiking boots (which I love) and some nice hiking socks (which I also love). If someone was to make a TV commercial for how good my feet felt, it would involve an attractive couple wearing thick wool sweaters, complete with turtlenecks, sitting next to a fire on a bear skin rug sipping the finest hot cocoa. The wind would be howling outside as snowflakes filled the air. From their laughter, it would be obvious that they couldn't be more comfortable. That scene is what was going through my head as I enjoyed the comfort afforded to my feet by my footwear.

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And that's what I have to say about that.

Over and Out,
Old Coot