Happy Mardi Gras! I didn't even realize that is was today until I received J's e-Card! (Thank you darling! It was lovely, and hysterical, by the way).

And here's where I point out another difference between Philly and Charleston. I knew when Mardi Gras was every year. Because it was another big party day in the city. There were a few years where we had bad riots in the city because people would leave the bars on South Street and get rowdy. And it made the news the last couple of years when the Mardi Gras celebrations actually went over rather quietly. That was partly because of restrictions the police placed on the partying.

Regardless, Mardi Gras was a fairly big deal in the city. People would hit the bars early in the morning and drink all day. Even in the suburbs, where I lived, people made plans for celebrating. Of course, it was no where near the degree of New Orleans, but it was a big deal.

Here in Charleston, it passed quietly. Maybe it's just because we haven't made really good friends yet here. Or maybe it's because this isn't a city that uses any holiday to celebrate and drink.

We know Mardi Gras to be a drinking holiday. In all reality, it's an over elaborate day that developed from minor celebratory feasts and the need to use up perishable goods before the Lent season and fasting started. And perhaps that's another reason why it's so much more prominent in Philly than here.

Because tomorrow is Ash Wednesday. And if I knew when Mardi Gras was, I definitely knew when Ash Wednesday was. Half of my entire workplace up North would have the ash on their forehead by the end of the day at work. Almost the entire town walked around with these. Catholicism always seemed to be the major religion in the area I lived in. And it doesn't seem like it's as predominant down here. So I wonder if I will see as many people tomorrow with the ash on their head.

On a different note, but still discussing North versus South. I'd like to admit that the one thing distinctly Northern about me is my driving. And I'd like to apologize to any of my local readers if you been in an encounter with me and shook your head muttering or swearing. I'm sorry! I can't help it. I learned to drive in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. There is no being nice or considerate. You try that, and you're going to get killed. I drive fast because I spent almost everyday going at a normal speed limit of about 60 or 70, due to the fact that every place I went meant I got there by a major interstate (mostly I-95). I tailgate, well, partly because I have no patience and partly because you should not be doing less than 60 on a major highway nor should you be doing it in the left lane of the highway. I also tailgate because if I leave enough space in between me and the car ahead of me, some jerk is going to try and cut in to that tiny spot and almost kill me. I can swerve like a champ because of crappy potholes and have had so many mess up my car that the slightest hole in the road will send me into another lane to avoid it. I can change lanes like a pro and parallel park like it was nothing. And I can't be nice. Like I said, being nice up North is guranteed to get you killed or severely taken advantage of. I won't let you in, I won't wave you through a stop sign where I have the right of way, I won't let you go before me if I'm turning left with no stop sign and the right of way and you're going straight.

I'm working on it. Honest! And I'll make a deal with you. I'll promise to be nice about my driving if all of you damn people who are making a right at a stop sign when I'm trying to turn left or go straight STOP PULLING UP SO FAR I CAN'T SEE THE ROAD THROUGH YOUR CAR! There is a line on the road for a reason and I am stopped at that line for a reason. When you pull up next to me, halfway into traffic in a nonexistent lane (because you are trying to go around me and make a right turn from a one lane road) and I miss three or four opportunities to go because your damn vehicle is blocking my view, I am going to shoot you the nastiest Northern driver look I have. I don't pull up - I stay at my line and give myself enough leeway to where I can see through the windows or over the hood of your car without completely blocking you view. You should do the same.

And until those damn people learn that, I'm going to keep cutting them off! We're nasty, us Northern drivers, but we're vindictive as hell too!

This past weekend, we headed up to Myrtle Beach to give my brother a little help with his car, which has completely shit out on him. It's not the first time this has happened. But since it's about an hour away, it was no big deal. Just an impromptu road trip.

The car, as it turns out, is completely dunzo. So we spent Saturday afternoon searching around for vehicles on used car lots. Didn't see much worth buying. Most of it was crap and the stuff that could pass for less than crap was kind of overpriced. I'm sure he'll figure it out but I feel for the kid, you know. We've all been there and feeling like that is not a fun thing.

Him and his girlfriend had to work Saturday night so Steve and I hung out. I poked around on the Interweb and updated my Flickr pictures (I know, shocking!) while he played XBox. That game console has become a serious addiction in our house. I even bought a strategy guide for my Elder Scrolls game. I know, geek alert, but you know what - that's a huge game and I need some help ya'll.

(On a side note, I'm a retard because I can't stop saying strategy like stragedy, rhymes with tragedy. Seriously, I get tongue tied and don't realize I'm saying it. Anothey Kristy-ism apparently.)

To make matters worse, Steve went ahead and bought a years subscription to XBox live, a headset and a 50-ft CAT-5 cable (so we could hook it up - paying a C-Note for the wireless adapater just ain't happening right now). I spent the past two evenings attempting to get it wired correctly to our network. On Sunday night, it just keep dropping the connection. We had five minutes on and then boom, nothing. Last night, we had a solid connection, but couldn't get into any matches. After a ridiculous amount of configuring on my router and a firmware upgrade, things are gold and working beautifully! The configuring wasn't for the light of heart, as my devices were intially all static IP's because of my Vonage modem. Seriously, don't ask with that. That was another pain in the ass to set up.

Eventually, I was able to turn DHCP on and now my laptop and the XBox pull their IP's while my desktop and the Vonage router have the consistent static IP. And it all works, something it didn't do before. I'm assuming the firmware upgrade helped that but I'm not going to complain because Steve can play XBox while I surf the web and anyone who wants to can still call in.

So yes, I'm an XBox Live widow now. Apparently, you need to separate Live accounts if two people are going to use their own profiles. I did not know this. I thought I'd be able to sign onto mine and he sign onto his. Since he bought it, he uses it and now he sits there playing with the headset in his ear. And it's funny because I can't hear the people he's talking to so it's like he's holding a conversation with himself. Every few minutes or so he'll bust out laughing or yell 'I keep it real, son!' or some other mantra like that and I have to control my laughter because it is too funny.

This weekend, we also had one of the worst fast food experiences ever. I don't know how many of you have ever been to a Hardee's but their whole selling point is that they bring your food to the table. It's like any other fast food restaurant where you order at the counter and fill your own drinks. But the workers bring out your food.

Well, we stopped at one in Conway and after placing our order, waited close to a half an hour for our food. And when the girl first brought it out, the order was completely messed up, despite the fact that I saw it being inputted correctly into the register when I ordered. After finally getting our correct order, we sat around livid and wondering who had spit in our food.

But seriously, I think of the fuss caused by K-Fed's SuperBowl commercial where he's in that music video rapping and acting all bling-bling but in reality, he's flipping burgers and only imagining it. And some fast food workers association got all hyped up about it because it's degrading to fast food workers. Because who even know there was an association for fast food workers?

And here's an idea. K-Fed's commercial doesn't degrade you nearly as much as you degrade yourselves. And I don't say that to mean you make yourself look bad because you work in fast-food. I say that with the meaning that it's very, very rare these days to go to a fast food restaurant and get anything but sub-par service. I can count on my hand the times in a year that I've gotten the correct order, as specified. Every time I walk into a place like that, I'm faced with a cashier who either ignores me, is rude to me, acts like I'm wasting their time by frequenting their establishment and doesn't even bother to listen to me when I order.

I was in a Burger King once and witnessed as two customers complained that their orders weren't right and the women behind the counter started an argument with them. And I'm not talking a spat. I'm talking an all out yelling and screaming match that caused the entire restaurant to stop what they were doing and watch. I seriously thought they were going to start ripping off earrings and pounce on each other. But it's like, come on, how are you going to start an argument with a customer because they pointed out that you fucked things up?

I'm not the biggest fan of the "customer is always right" saying, because frankly, I think that gives people way too much liberty to act like assholes. But at the same time, I don't like being treated like I'm wasting people's time or like I'm bothering them just because I want to get some food. And okay, maybe you're only making minimum wage and who really wants to put that much effort into a minimum wage job. But think about this - it's your job. You're getting paid to do it. If you do it well, you may not have to work at a minimum wage job all your life. Shitty employees don't go anywhere in this world.

And to those of you food service workers who have made my visit friendly and enjoyable and gotten my order right, I say a million thank you's. Because while you are few and far between, you redeem my faith in mankind every once in awhile.

Ending rant. Sorry, I meant to write just about the shitty service at that Hardee's but ended up going into a rant that's been brewing for days.

I think I'll leave it at that. Time to calm down, surf the web and listen to Steve chatter with his newfound friends.

Last night, we went to dinner at McDonald's. I know, classy five-star meal but I was jonesing for a Big Mac. (And for all you people that are going to try and tell me that McDonald's is the devil, STFU, on rare occasions, I need my Golden Arches fix!)

So last night we went to dinner. And I say went to dinner like it was fancy. And it was because we decided to go inside and eat, in the fancy new dining room that the local McD's has unveiled. And we do this because trying to eat a Big Mac while driving is a no-no. Trust me! (Though I have mastered the art of eating french fries while driving - Ea-ZEEE!)

We're thinking, fancy new dining room. Cool! We place our order after waiting about five minutes for the one girl behind the counter to finish filling the mini-fridge up with salads and fruit cups. This was after the other girl kept eyeing us up like we weren't supposed to be there and how dare we come into McDonald's *gasp* to ORDER FOOD *GASP!*

No big deal though. We weren't in a hurry and I wasn't in a bad mood so I could overlook that. We ordered and while Steve waited for the food, I filled my drinks, grabbed some condiments and searched for a place to sit.

I picked a booth by the window because it was close and because, well, the ketchup squirter was within a short vicinity and for Steve, who likes ketchup immensely, that might be a perk. That and it was the first place I laid eyes on so whatever, I'm not picky.

Here's where it gets fun. I drop my purse and slide into the booth. And I'm sitting there, with the table pretty much on my lap and I'm having a mini-panic attack because I am NOT FITTING IN THIS BOOTH!

Now, I'm not a stick-thin skinny girl but I'm not fat either. I'm average size. And I am NOT fitting! The edge of the table was poking into my stomach, or rather, my ovaries since that's how low it was. And Steve walks over and I look up at him and say, "We might want to move. I don't know if we're going to fit!"

And his eyes grow wide, like he can't believe what he's hearing. Like I was trying to make some fat joke. Because we were eating at McDonald's, you know. Because Steve is not overweight either. Steve is muscular and built very solid. And if I wasn't fitting, I'm not sure he would fit either.

But he slides in and the first thing he says was "Oh my!". I was right. It was kind of a tight squeeze. But we were seated and hungry and could deal with it. That, and I removed my jacket, so that helped.

So we're eating and then a woman walks up to slide into the booth behind me and her boyfriend is like "We don't want to sit there! Seriously, sit down and check it out!"

And Steve chimes in "I know, right?" and she sits down and says "Oh my!" and she was a skinny bitch herself.

So the guy says something about how they used the old hardware for that section instead of ripping it up and putting new ones in. And he goes on to say that our side of the restaurant should have a sign that says "Under 32 inch waist" and the rest should have "Over 32 inch waist". Because apparently, the rest of the restaurant was fine. We just picked the stick thin people side.

And I'm thinking, who is this guy that knows so much more about McDonald's than we do. Then I see the little gold M on his shirt and realize he works there. Ah-ha!

But seriously, how are you going to put skinny people tables in McDonald's? Kind of defeats the point huh?

On another note, I decided at 11:00pm the other night that I'd try and reorganize my iPod. Not just going through and deleting stuff. But serious reorganization thanks to some articles I found on LifeHacker. This meant bringing all my music off the iPod. Running it through a program called mp3Gain, which optimizes the sound levels to make sure they all run at the same volume, so you're not blasted by the next song after listening to a quiet song. Then it meant using another brilliant program called Media Monkey to fix all the ID3 tags and add release dates and genres.

Needless to say, this wasn't a very brilliant idea to try and do that late. It ended up turning into a two night process and I have yet to reimport all that music back onto the iPod. But it seemed to work out fine and when I get it done, I'll have nicely categorized library with tracks that sound so much better than they did.

The next step is get mp3 copies of the m4a files that couldn't be converted. Or convert them and then run them throug the whole process. Ideally, I'd like to take my entire CD collection and rip them then optimize the files and add them to the iPod. But that's going to take some time considering the collection is quite extensive.

But that one of my many goals for this year. At least I'm getting something done though.

Other than that, not much has been happening. Still working, still playing XBox, still loving my shows. We're going to have a busy spring with a bunch of people visiting so that's something to look forward to.

And wow, about Anna Nicole Smith dying? I wonder if it has anything to do with that TrimSpa she was taking. If that is even a remote cause, I smell lawsuits.

Until later!