Last week, I shared the good news that I had a new car. Despite predictions that I’d be driving the same car until retirement, I actually got a newer Accord.

Long-time readers are familiar with the car saga that I’ve had with Baby, my beloved ‘89 Accord for the past few years. It’s been breaking down regularly for a while, so the car has been in the shop for a few weeks. I just called the repair shop, and they told me nothing could be done and advised me to sell it.

While I’m unbelievably thankful for God’s providence in providing me with a newer car at the point when Baby can’t be fixed, I’m sad that my little car has reached the end of its life.

Other Honda drivers understand the attachment that comes with these cars. They’re so reliable that it’s a terrible shock when they actually break down. I remember the first time I had trouble with Baby. I was a junior at UT, and the clutch went out while I was driving home one weekend. I called Dad crying in absolute shock because my car had never broken down before.

I guess I can’t complain that we got almost 20 years out of the car. My parents bought it in 1991 when I was second grade and used it as our main car for several years. This is the car that we took on family vacations, and the one in which my terrified parents taught me how to drive a stick. After I turned 16, Maven Mom gave it to me (I inherited it with name Baby), and she got the new Accord. How many people get a decade out of their first car? I lost track of how many times it’s been resuscitated.

If anyone wants a classic 80s car with a perfect body and a not so perfect engine (it won’t idle and keeps stalling) in the DC Metro area, e-mail me at 89honda4sale (at) gmail.com.

Baby on the Blog:

Liberals Piss Me Off!
8.30.2004
My Christmas List
12.14.04
What a Week!
7.31.05
The Biggest Scam in Hamilton County
8.13.05
200,000 reasons to celebrate.
6.19.06
Blogcation
8.1.07

Internet Scholars Lack Direction.
IPDI. 11.27.07
No duh.

Marketing Challenge: Can We Profit from Poverty?
Marketing and Strategy Innovation Blog. 11.27.07
Ever since my VISTA days, I’ve wondered what would happen if the free-market fought poverty rather than failing government programs.

Get Rid of Junk Mail.
New American Dream
Whether you want to save a tree, protect your privacy or eliminate snail mail, it’s challenging to get off of mailing lists.

Had Beka not put up a Facebook message about my trip home next week, I would have forgotten that I’m flying out of here on Tuesday.

Despite the hopes of some liberals, I haven’t fallen off the face of the planet. Work has just be supremely busy. I mean busy in an incredibly serious manner, and not my usual melodramatic exaggerations. I’m sure all my co-workers who read this blog now (thanks to Facebook or the WaPo Express), would back me up. A few days went by when I actually forgot that I had a blog.

It’s all good though. When I enjoy it, I don’t mind being a workaholic.

I’m pretty psyched to get home. It’s been about 4 months since I saw the family and Chattabuddies. Coco, the dog from the South has forgotten my existence, and I’m looking forward to a brief respite from the Beltway. The thought of shopping at Wal-mart makes me happy!

This weekend, I must have felt college nostalgia. Saturday, I wore an a Volunteer orange polo shirt with a Tennessee zip-up hoodie. Since I never get to pull out the Vol wear, I paired it with my Power T scarf, gloves and purse. (The Crocs stayed home.) Of course I ended up running into my friend Sarah from college. She’s now in an SIS grad program at American, and laughed at my Vol fever. It did look like I was leaving Neyland Stadium sans alcoholic beverage.

Sunday, John stopped by from a visit on his way home from New York. It was great to catch up with him and hang out. We ended up taking the Monument March of Death late Sunday night. My two favorite times to see DC are at night and when it snows. The WWII monument is breathtaking at night. The lighting and fountains are amazing. It’s my favorite monument.

All the college friends are so spread out now that I don’t get to see everyone very often. John, come back and visit, and Nathan–I’m expecting a visit sometime soon. Philadelphia isn’t that far from here.

Tonight, I received a fall care package from Maven Mom with special pumpkin spice soap. I wish that we could send smells over the web. This smells better than a pumpkin spice frappachino. When is she going to start selling this stuff? If I walked into Lush, this bar of soap would have cost at least $10. Maven Mom soap is the best in the world. Who else has a mother who makes organic, homemade soap?

Can you tell that I haven’t read the news or checked my email lately? All I have tonight are updates from GFTS world. At least I’m alive and checking in with the blogosphere. My next post may not be until Chattanooga…

Facebook: Project Beacon
TechCrunch 11.2.07
This is very cool from a marketing perspective and very creepy from a personal use perspective. Do I really want my friends seeing all the nerdy communication books that I buy from Amazon?

Now Is Gone Podcast #1
Now Is Gone 10.29.07
Only 12 minutes. Covers the transition from audience to community.

Have ideas for the TN GOP?
TechRepublican 10.30.07
Bill Hobbs is soliciting ideas to build a better party online. Suggest something.

I was just sitting in a meeting and discussing blogs when I realized that I hadn’t updated GFTS.
Until I become supreme ruler of the universe, marry someone independently wealthy or write a book that parallels the success of Harry Potter, this full-time gig has to come first.

Today I turned 26. Unlike previous years, I didn’t have elaborate countdowns to my birthday or expect a grand celebration. Actually, Maven Mom noted that you can tell when you’re a grown-up because you’re too busy to fuss for a week-long extravaganza. Yesterday, I forgot all about my birthday until my roommate reminded me, so I’m guessing I’m an official bill-paying grown up.

On Facebook this morning, I questioned if 26 was still considered mid-twenties. Everyone agreed that 26 was in the mid-range, but there was some disagreement at what defined late-20s or late-whatever. Is it 27, 28, or 47 or 48? At what point to you enter the late part of the decade? Is the 7th or 8th year of a decade? Furthermore, at what point do you enter the mid years? is the 4th or 5th? This question plagued me all day.

This morning, I talked to Maven Mom, and she offered her official greetings:

Maven Mom: Happy Birthday!
Me: Thanks!
Maven Mom: Enjoy turning 25!
Me: What?
Maven Mom: You’re 25 today. Happy Birthday.
Me: Mom, today I turn 26.
Maven Mom: You’re 26? (shock in her voice)
Me: Yep. You were there.
Maven Mom: Hmmm…I forgot.

If I came from a large family, this would make sense. However, I am the parentals from the South’s only offspring. Someone will be getting some ginseng supplements for Christmas.

In an hour or so, I’m off to Minnesota for my job. Right now, I’m gazing at the pile of stuff that I’m supposed to schlep from DC to the land of 10,000 lakes, and I have to admit that I need help packing.

Normally, I’d call Maven Mom, but she’s the one who taught me how to pack. She’s actually worse than me.

I regularly notice light packers on the Metro and stare at them in awe. How do they do it? These women stand there, thumbing throught their BlackBerries, looking chic in a nice business suit with a small pullman resting on the floor next to her. I’m usually wrangling a suitcase, carry-on, laptop bag and a jacket. Plus, I have the suitcase that will never stand up and falls on everyone.

It’s not like I haven’t tried. I always start out with a detailed list and try not to pack too many clothes. I’ve learned the tricks of stuffing socks inside shoes and packing heavier stuff on the bottom. When I catch a segment on packing during daytime TV, I watch in rapt attention. It still doesn’t work. At the last minute, my mind races and I start thinking of a million things that could happen and throw random stuff in my suitcase.

Plus, I’m the person that people run to when they need aspirin, a sewing kit or band-aids. My suitcase is a small pharmacy/department store. When I near the check-in counter at the airport, all I do is pray that my suitcase is under the weight limit. FYI-blue jeans weight 4 lbs a pair. I found that out the hard way.

Any tips?

This is the most exciting Drudge headline that I’ve seen in a while.

George Lucas is creating a Star Wars TV series!

They shouldn’t be worried that the series won’t feature original characters. I haven’t read the books, but there is an entire industry of novels, comic books and video games that don’t feature Darth Vader, Luke or Han Solo.

Actually, I’m happy that Lucas isn’t incorporating those characters. Aside from the special effects, I really hated the new trilogy. Lucas is a creative genius, but his plotlines and dialogue are horrible.

Lucas also only works on his terms. When Episode IV was released in 1977, it drastically changed the movie industry. Will Lucas use his power to change television?

There hasn’t been anything worth watching on TV since Alias ended two seasons ago. I’ve contemplated getting rid of cable, but something like this may tempt me to continue putting up with the evil Comcast.

According to Churchill, I’m cold-hearted for being a conservative in my twenties, but I have a soft spot for our furry friends.

Dogsindanger.com is a sick twist on helping shelter animals, but it captures the sad fate of many dogs across the country.

I think that the site is brilliant. Euthanizing unwanted animals is not a subject that people want to discuss, but it happens every day. If the web site helps to save a dog’s life, it’s worth shocking people. I like their rationale:

DogsInDanger.com believes in the power of compassion, and that Americans would do more to help and adopt shelter dogs, if only they knew how many dogs shelters were forced to euthanize. We also believe that shelters don’t really want to euthanize dogs, if they had any other option. Simply put, we have chosen a path of technology as a means of connecting these scared, abandoned shelter dogs with the loving homes they deserve. As a nonprofit organization, we seek no other gain except for the happiness we see in the face of a dog as he faithfully walks out through the shelter doors, in perfect step with his loving new family.

It may be uncomfortable for some to see lists of names and photos of dogs scheduled to be euthanized, but, the truth is uncomfortable. By making it personal, we believe more people will be compelled to help these dogs. Thus dogsindanger.com refuses to present a sanitized version of the truth. Our ultimate goal is to see a day where healthy and treatable animals are no longer killed by their most trusted friends.

The site is easy to navigate with the ability to find animals nearby. I also like the educational resources, such as the top 10 reasons dogs are surrendered. It tugs on the heartstrings without a creating a guilt trip.

Education is the key to solving animal overpopulation issues. I’ve worked closely with a couple of different shelters, and the animal welfare world needs resources like this. Usually, they’re so busy taking care of animals and finding ways to take care of them that awareness and education programs are tabled.

Earlier this week, I was psyched to find The Office memorabilia in Target’s $1 Spot. The roomie and I loaded up on Dunder Mifflin magnetic poetry, note pads and pens.

Now they have Support the Rabid wristbands and t-shirts. Is a Schrute Beet Farm t-shirt worth $26?

So happy The Office is back on TV! This year, I can actually watch it.

Somehow I missed the blogs of Creed and Dwight.

As I mentioned earlier, I’m dog-sitting for a few days this week. Sunday night, I realized that I only packed a complete outfit for Monday. I had a grey shirt with no pants and a blue skirt with no shirt. (Yeah, I’m special that way.) This left me with several options:

a) Call my roommate and ask her to bring my pants on Monday since she works a few blocks from me.
b) Run home after work and retrieve my pants.
c) Go to the store and buy a new outfit.

I hope you put your money on c since that’s obviously the most logical choice. Target has really cute clothes this fall, so I stopped by to find a new outfit. I’ve been eyeing these jumpers, and this was the perfect opportunity to get one. Not only is it a great fall piece, but jumpers have been shunned from fall clothing lines for too long.

When I tried it on, I realized why I liked it so much. It’s exactly like one I wore around 1985 to preschool. It’s only missing two purple applique hearts and my Stride Rite mary janes. Maven Mom could probably whip out a picture. I wore it all the time.

I can’t believe that I’m writing this, but some 80s (kids) clothes really were cute and more classic than adults. I’m digging my new jumper. Frilly dresses with puff sleeves better not come back. I may not have the willpower to resist.