Home-cooking++;

Mom came in last night for a visit. She spent a few days in SF with Euni and Bob, and will be going next to see Alex (who went to Oberlin with a decided shortage of clothes). She has helped me finally figure out how to deal with the half-prepared Korean food that's been languishing in my freezer for years. I might even be a downright guru-in-the-making here with all the new knowledge I've gained. Hmmm, maybe I should write some of this down.

Last time she visited, she introduced to me the magic of higher quality (and more esoteric, at least to my prior mindset) prepared (aka "instant") foods. I've been working that into my rotation (not to imply there is anything regular about it), and in fact even in turn introduced the magic to some friends. Last night before picking up my mom, J and R came by for a quick (Japanese-style) curry and rice (with Indian hot lime relish -- trust me, this stuff rules as a phenomenal complement). Now I've got some more tricks up my sleeve. w00t

Today was a DMV/SSA adventure, as I spent the better part of the afternoon and late night making sure my mom was in the clear for her upcoming stay in Ohio. My brother has basically been nowhere to be found, apparently gallavanting around endlessly. By the way, if you ever let your Illinois driver's license expire (say, by living overseas) and you plan to eventually renew it, I suggest doing it within a year -- after that you have to retake all tests, and to boot you can't use your old license for your IDs (i.e. better make sure you have your Social Security card with you). If you want to get another SS card, expect a 7-10 day wait. If you were not naturalized or a citizen at the time your SSN was issued, better know where your Certificate of Naturalization is. Fortunately, none of this mattered in the end -- but perhaps this info will help someone someday.

Jen stopped by here on her way back to Chicago, so we did our (now mostly defunct) tradition of Tuesday evening wings at the White Horse. This time it was just her, me, and my mom. Never realized that the two of them had never met... (Wait a second, I'm almost positive that's wrong -- my huge birthday bash at Alexander's was at least one previous encounter). Anyhow, that worked out quite well -- I love it when that happens.

Wow, thought this was going to be a short entry. I'll have to work on tightening up my observations and musings.

Random Note of the Day: the night manager at Schnuck's (nearby grocery store) must think I'm a ring-up nightmare. As he came into his shift, his relievee was voiding a 79.99 (+tax) accidental charge (!) off our grocery bill from earlier that evening. At least this more recent fiasco didn't involve me obtaining free merchandise. I've previously picked up easily half a dozen different items on as many occasions for free as a result of ring-up/posted price discrepancies... usually around the 2 o'clock hour. Somehow I seem to make my mark wherever I go... Heh. [05:11]