What I'm drinking

2002 Kitfox Foxy Red, an 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Syrah table wine, referred to by its makers, as an "opulent food wine, plum garnet in color, with cherry-tobacco and spicy berry notes on the nose."

I just think it's gooooood. And I'm very pleased to see that, while the suggested retail price is $13.99, I only paid $9.99. Nyah, nyah, nyah!

So, is it wrong to break into an opulent food wine and start drinking before the pizza you're supposed to be drinking it with is even out of the oven? It can't be wrong, can it?

A freckle on my retina

Went to the eye doctor today for my yearly exam and, I swear, it cannot be a whole year since I was last there. It felt like I'd just been in that chair, getting the hurricane force air blown into my poor, flinching eyes for that glaucoma test, facing the performance anxiety of reading the letters on the wall across the room, and dropping hundreds of dollars on a year's worth of small pieces of flexible plastic to slap onto my eyeballs each and every morning.

But, it was all in all a good trip, because I found out a few things:

1. My insurance company evidently covers eye exams, with a $15 copay (YAY!)
2. My prescription has not changed (YAY!)
3. My GPC has reduced from a level 3 to a level 2 (YAY!)
4. I can get the lenses in my glasses changed without having to buy new frames (YAY!)
5. And, finally, the freckle on my retina has not gotten any bigger (YAAAAAAAAY!)

Yes, I have a freckle on my retina. Evidently you can have freckles on your retinas just as you can have freckles on your skin. Doesn't that just somehow seem wrong? Anyway, my "retineckle" was diagnosed via use of the Optomap exam, which all the people at the eye doctor are just totally in love with. I had resisted getting a second one because I thought they were about $100 apiece. Come to find out, I'd misheard the eye doctor employee at some point...they're only $25. Now, that's a big discrepancy. How did I go so long without realizing this? Anyway, I had a second Optomap done today, and all is well. The freckle on my retina has not gotten any bigger (in fact, it looked distinctly faded to me).

To celebrate, I'm eating pizza tonight. Hey, I deserve it...I had carrots for lunch. Carrots are very good for your eyesight, by the way. Perhaps they're good for retineckle eradication, too. But pizza is good for the soul. Mmmmm, pizza.

iPOD is loving Jack Johnson today

I brought my iPOD into work today, since I'm without my usual pair programming partner (he's parted this place for Pittsburgh...ppppppbltt). For some reason, though I have all 807 songs on shuffle, the iPOD was just loving Jack Johnson. I heard at least seven Jack Johnson songs in less than three hours. That's statistically significant.

Then, my little white oblong music friend decided to switch away from the Hawaiian chill god and do an ode to Yosh's musical sensibilities, and played both "Black Betty" and "Canned Heat." I made him aware of this via email, and he concluded that my iPOD loves him. Soon he'll be asking for joint custody, which will be summarily DENIED.

I'm just thankful it only shuffled to one of my many Christmas songs. It must know that, in July, that's just silly.

A calypso-green blast from the past

On my way into work today, I passed a Calypso Green Ford Probe, and thought of my Mom. She bought one of those shortly after she and my Dad were divorced, and I remember thinking, "Mom bought a sports car!" It was a fun car to drive, and I think it made an impression on Mom, as she still loves Calypso Green.

New reality show victim: Tattoos

I just watched the premiere of TLC's new show, "Miami Ink," last night. It's a reality show based on the exploits and artistry of five tattoo artist friends (well, four tattoo artists and one apprentice and punching bag named Yoji).

The first show was pretty good, but I swear, one girl who came in wanting the chorus to Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Under the Bridge" requested the incorrect lyrics. I need to find out if that's true or not. If so, that made for TWO user-requested typos in one show. One of them got fixed, but if this one turned out to be a typo, it's just sitting there, wrong, on this girl's foot. Bummer. Makes you wonder how often people get misspellings and miswordings tattooed permanently on themselves...

I was just thinking...

I need to wear more skirts. I think I own two, maybe three, skirts. I wear only one -- a short denim number I got at St. Vinny's for a whole $2.99. Maybe St. Vinny's is the place to go for skirts I'll actually wear.

What I'm drinking

I realized my wine cupboard was getting a little bare of the type of wine I generally reach for. This being a bottle under $10, that I can shamelessly quaff after an ultra-casual dinner of Cheez-Its and leftover curried chicken salad. So, this evening, I headed to Barriques to pick up my Wine of the Month and shop for a few more grapey victims for my ardent thirst.

I found four bottles, all different, and all, except one (the appropriately bold, but not annoying, Ramsay Cabernet Sauvignon), new to my taste buds. The lucky bottle I uncorked this evening was the 2002 Fuedo Arancio Nero D'Avola, a velvety red. I don't think I can describe it any better than it's described on the label's website:

"This grape produces a livery wine with deep colors and zersty fruity characteristics."

You know, I've been looking so long for an appropriately zersty wine. Cheers.

My dog loves Harleys

Ever since she was a puppy, Dakota has related the sound of a Harley-Davidson to the arrival of probably her most favorite person (besides me, of course): Big Daddy. This has created a very humorous behavioral characteristic in this dog. Every time she hears or sees a Harley, she assumes it's Big Daddy.

She has jolted herself out of what appears to be a deep sleep to run to the window as those loud pipes rumble by. She has run to the end of the leash, almost jerking my arm off, to chase a passing bike for a few hopeful steps.

What's even funnier is that she ignores non-Harleys. Good dog! Gooooooood dog!