Apartment Woes and Holiday Deception
Well, today didn’t start out that great. We found out that, in fact, we didn’t get the apartment for which we had been hoping. My wife was inconsolable. However, after working through it with her grandparents, we managed to work out a new deal with the leasing office and will be moving in next week. Things may not have worked out as planned, but at least they worked out.
Following that, I was wrangled into going on an ill-fated trip to the local mall for some last-minute holiday shopping. It doesn’t take a genius to know that this was an exceedingly bad idea. My only thought, however, was that I’d soon be going back to work and wouldn’t get to spend as much time with my wife and son. So, common sense aside, I decided to go anyway.
To those who don’t believe that human beings are greedy, inconsiderate creatures by nature, I challenge you to go to drive around the mall right before Christmas. Everyone shows their holiday spirit by cutting each other off, blocking intersections, uplifting middle fingers at their fellow motorists, and generally making asses of themselves by worsening an already bad situation. It took my wife and I 40 minutes to get out of the parking lot, but only about 10 to actually drive home.
Perhaps the most enjoyable part of the day, however, was completely faking out my mother. Speaking with her on the phone after our mall debacle, I insinuated that we might have some special news to share with the family this weekend. My wife, of course, was perturbed because of our agreement to secrecy. Thus, I opted to continue insinuating that we might have another baby on the way.
I fully expect that this deception will earn me a throttling at my mother’s hands, even though our actual news is just as good. Whatever the case, I’m sure everyone will be happy for us when they find out that I got the job. They might be somewhat less happy when they get enlisted to help us move, but I’ll wait to spring that on them until later.