Packing Up

About the only thing I dislike more than going on a long trip with the military is packing for a long trip with the military.  I've been trying to get everything accumulated and centralized in one room so that I can get it put into foot lockers and bags.  Time is getting pretty short, and I've still got plenty of stuff to do.

I ordered a case for my laptop on eBay.  The conditions for the Buy-It-Now listing were that I had to pay immediately.  After I placed my order I got an e-mail telling me that the seller didn't actually have the item and offering to sell me something similar or refund my money the same day.  I chose the refund, but didn't get the refund the same day.  It took a little while.  Then I had to find another case and order that one.  Then I ordered a pair of gloves from a website, along with a few other items I needed.  I noticed after the order was processed that the anticipated ship date for the gloves was a couple of months away, long after I would need them.  So I had them remove the gloves from the order and ordered them from another site.  They sent me an e-mail to let me know the gloves were on back order and wouldn't arrive for several months.  So I canceled that order, too.  Then I found a pair on eBay.  They've been marked as shipped, so I am hopeful that the third time will be the final time.

I spent most of the weekend doing yard work.  There is still plenty to do, but the yard is really a lost cause at the moment.  It hasn't really been a priority for me, so I'm just trying to get it to the point that the city won't come after my wife while I'm away and she won't have to do anything too crazy while carrying around two kids in her belly and keeping the toddler out of the street.  I hate lawns.  It seems awfully wasteful to spend time, money, and water on a patch of grass that does very little for the world.  Maybe if everyone raised a few goats or some edible creature that could graze on the lawn it would be a different story, but I personally don't feel an inner compulsion to care for a patch of grass that I only use as a pathway to my car in the morning and back into my house in the evening.  I've been looking at alternatives to traditional lawns, but I don't really have time to pull out my current yard and install something else (a concrete pad and a hoop?).  I guess that's enough ranting about grass.  I was going to post something about wargaming, but I got so worked up about shopping and lawn care that I forgot what I wanted to say, so you're spared for now.