After eating my lunch, my ears perked up and into a nearby conversation. I asked my co-worker to repeat what he’d just said. repeated it, counting on my fingers – that’s seven I said – stealing it for haiku – thanks! Whipped out my phone and jotted three fabulous phrases down. Fast forward, tonight Grant from NaNoWriMo says:

grantfaulkner: I read a review of a novel that called it “relentlessly competent.” I like the notion that a bit of incompetence and mess is good. #mayhem

Whoa. “relentlessly competent”? Mine. All mine.

I describe your book:
“relentlessly competent.”
I close the covers.

Your world, bolstered with
merciless optimism,
deflects the anger.

Perpetual state
of unstuckness; floating free
unbounded, unlearned.

Most frighteningly
enthusiastic; wide smile
more like pained rictus.

Telltale modern sign
what happened today: outage.
Everything blinking.

I read your novel:
“relentlessly competent”
the pages too many.

Tell me again how
merciless optimism
defuses anger.

You’re staring at me.
Your wide grin, frighteningly
enthusiastic.

I am stymied by
this, your own perpetual
state of unstuckness.

When I click on your links to recipes or info or whatever, I’m seriously not looking for a PDF. If you’re offering me “a printable whatever” ok maybe I’d be expecting a PDF but if every freaking link on your page of recipes and stuff bring me to a PDF I’m cancelling the whole relationship. Done. Kbai.

Yes sometimes you can make a small difference in the world, even if it is just to warn people “BUMP AHEAD!” LOL.

The good news is that nothing was wrong with the mighty Fiat that a new hubcap couldn’t fix. So I’ll submit the bills to the construction company and see what happens.

Trying to get my mind ready for the seminar in NYC on Saturday. I’m thinking of this as my first travels post passport. Yeah that’s it. Mainly I’m just trying to figure out what to wear and what to bring.

This is so true!

Fear is the main source of superstition, and one of the main sources of cruelty. To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom. – Bertrand Russell

This morning very early I took the Fiat to the dealer in order to get regular maintenance done and to have the tires and front end checked after last week’s little encounter with the pot hole. I’m sorry I don’t have a photo to show, but a road construction sign warned of “Rebates ahead at bridges, Go slow, Use Caution.” This confused me enough to make me slow down and make sure it said rebate. It did.

Alas, there was no one at the first, second or third bridge handing out crisp new twenty dollar bills. I thought perhaps it was a moment of compassion: So sorry to have screwed up your travels for weeks now so here’s a little token of our esteem and apology.

All I got was a serious bump as I left each chewed up road portion and bounced onto the not-being-repaved bridge surface. Six bumps later I was out of that area and into the next, “Loose Gravel” zone. I posted about this to Facebook and loyal reader Janet T. used her sleuthing skills to find a mention of road-related rebates.

When I read about this on my break I figured, what the heck and used my recent calls list to call the state highway dept. The same woman I’d spoken to was very puzzled by this rebate sign too – she laughed and asked if they were handing out money. She went to check with someone else and came back to say it was a “technical term” which didn’t make much sense on a warning sign and that she’d call to have it fixed. We both allowed as a nice rebate wouldn’t have been a bad thing!

I also heard that my car’s about ready, new hubcap, I mean, wheel cover and all. Not as expensive to replace the hubcap as I’d expected and I know that it will get submitted to the highway contractor for reimbursement.