AZgirly

 Ah once again, the adventure of traveling to the ends of the earth has begun.  Sitting at the VIP One lounge in JFK - I wasn't expecting much of the actual lounge but they have a hot food menu cooked to order, mimosas (!!!), and brownies that are to die for. My flights are on the "dry" Saudia Airlines, so I thought I should prepare.  11.5 hours, then a 5 hour Saudi layover - dry country, dry airport, oh joy. Then another 8.5 hours, hooray.   Bangkok will be a delight in comparison!

 For a girl who hates tools, they have become a very big part of my life lately.  Today, we learned that Ashley failed power saw operation 101 in shop class.  Oh wait, I never took shop class.  Clearly I need it.  I cut the first board with a little hand saw which was a pain but worked okay.  Then I got it under the sink and realized that it wouldn't fit under the dishwasher hose at the full length.  But it was just the right size that once I got it wedged in, it wouldn't come out.  God, adulting is so much fun.  So picture me climbing under the sink crouched down on my knees, wedged into a cabinet, trying to cut this thing with a small power saw and not slice off fingers, important plumbing elements, etc in the process.  Then there was the fiasco of the drill.  Seriously, I SOOOOO did not know what I was getting myself into, man.  This is what you get when you have no money and buy a house that was built in 1880.  Welcome...

 I finally got a chance to see the new Little Mermaid movie, with live action but still kinda sorta some animation.  I thought that the representation of sea creatures was actually pretty impressive.  The new songs were a bit of a mixed bag, and as much as I enjoyed watching Prince Eric, his vocals were often a little rough.  There was a great deal of criticism online before the movie came out, but I have to say that overall I mostly enjoyed it.  One notable exception for me personally, however, was the complete disappearance of the grand battle between Sebastian the crab and the French chef.  I know that Disney has gotten over-the-top crazy PC, but like what, were they worried about offending French people...?  Or chefs??  It was just weird to have a featured character completely disappear.  Also, it never occurred to me when I watched the cartoon version - even as an adult - that Flounder is not a flounder.  In this version, he was a s...

 Today I am finally tackling the giant box in the living room which will eventually become a dresser.  In the twenty page (!!!) instruction book, under the section where they specify tools needed:  both kinds of screwdrivers.  What they left out:  maybe an engineering degree.  Or like a carpenters' union card?  I opened the box and after the completely terrifying instructions (ps, throw in a magnifying glass for the diagrams), I found this delightful sight. ICYMI, I am the kind of girl who wants to cry every time she walks into a Home Depot.  I mean, it's one piece of medium sized furniture - how can there be so many pieces of hardware that they almost ran out of letters?  There are only 3 drawers, and the slides are already on them.  So why are there 8000 screws and bolts?  Ugh.  For future reference, if you buy a dresser like this, bring a friend.  My wrist was in very bad shape by the time I finished.  Also it's sm...