The joys of convertibles

Texas being Texas, it's usually too hot or too cold to drive a convertible with the top down. Today was one of those exceptions: sunny but only in the low 70s. I was glad I had my hair cut short a few weeks ago, otherwise I would have arrived at work looking like a redhaired version of Krusty the Klown.

To add to my unusual state of cheer, my kung fu instructor has complemented me during the last two classes (my 15th-16th hours, you sign in for every class). Said I was much improved over my first couple of classes, but then I could barely walk out of the first few. Still need to work on the pushups and dreaded horse stance though.

For fans of yakuza movies who don't have enough dolls

One of my favorite Shinichi Chiba films is the second installment of the Yakuza Papers series, aka "Battles without Honour and Humanity". The film's name translated into "Deadly Battle In Hiroshima", in which Chiba played and up and coming psychopath named Otomo. Otomo enjoyed whacking people with a stick and dressing like JJ from Good Times.

Now you can get your very own Otomo doll - that is, if you live in Japan. Here's a photo:

If truth be told, I don't think this doll looks much like the character, or like Chiba for that matter. But I doubt it has the same price tag as the Alfrex Jubei Yagyu doll - the one I'm lusting after, but too cheap to buy:

Why I talk (and write) kind of weird

A few readers have noticed that I don't always talk American English. This is because: a) my first husband was English; b) I spent about 12 years overseas, including time in the UK and Australia. So I occasionally drift back into those countries' slang.

I don't do it on purpose or to be a smartass. I think it's to keep myself from becoming bored - remember, I do spend office hours cranking out financial stuff like annual reports, press releases, and the like.

Back to practicing my shaolin kung fu stances. I'm tired of crawling out of each class in a puddle of sweat. I need to bump up my fitness level some more. And my crane stance stinks, especially when I'm standing on my twice-broken left foot.

Car trouble

If it weren't so amusing, I'd be really pissed off about it.

Basically, we bought a nice used car last weekend, took possession of it Wednesday, and then the transmission totally packed up Friday night. We went out to dinner, and when leaving the restaurant parking lot we thought the car's reverse gear was a bit jumpy. But then it ran flawlessly until we got to the bank's ATM. After I deposited some checks and grabbed some cash for the weekend - we were planning to head to south Texas the next morning to visit my stepson - we attempted to leave. But the car was having none of it.

We bought a 2000 Cadillac Catera a week ago. It looked like a new car - low miles, perfect interior, nice leather seats, even some pinstripes (what I like to refer to as "go faster stripes" as my friends in the UK would call them). The UK had a Vauxhall Omega version. The car is actually built by Opel in Germany.

When dickering over the purchase details, I went for an extended warranty, and the dealership threw in a 90-day "no questions asked" warranty for good measure. Which was good, as they had to tow the car 15 miles from our house to the dealership.

At least we should get a car with a new transmission. In the meantime, the dealership has loaned us a very nice Hyundai sedan with a sunroof. But it's still a bummer to have your new car die on you in less than a week.

The SADness has dissipated ... at least for now

This is my least favorite time of the year, as it almost always brings on a fairly severe case of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). The short, sunless days drag me down in all sorts of ways: I eat too much, become depressed, act withdrawn, can't sleep well. (Hence no recent blog entries until today.)

However, the sun has been out yesterday, and today was truly pleasant. A bit cool, sure, but at least it's not freezing. I survived my 14th hour of shaolin kung fu class and even caught up on my sleep afterwards.

A couple of years ago, my husband bought me a "SAD light" in an attempt to alleviate the symptoms. But it didn't work - instead, it made me nervous. It cost quite a bit of money so I should probably just eBay it.