walk it off

it turns out if you report a plate as stolen it goes on the stolen list and it can not be used again for a long time (assuming it’s not recovered). that’s not surprising, but i did find it kind of surprising how almost no one seemed to know how such things work. everyone had to talk to a manager, even at the specialty plates division. but in the end i was told i need to submit a new plate application, along with a copy of the police report and a note explaining my plates were stolen. but fortunately i don’t have to pay any new fees. all this means “h4xr” is retired and i need to submit new plate names. i went through a list with the speciality plates division, and after going through a few i figured i couldn’t get (“fsck” — on the banned list, “rtfm” and “l33t” — already taken) i ended up with a couple that were available. once i submit the paperwork (which means i have to go by the police station to get a copy of the report), i’ll let you know what my new plate is going to be.
friday at work for lunch my group went out for our belated holiday lunch. papadeaux was the place, probably 3 or 4 miles from our office. i’m not too excited by seafood, but i was able to order an andouille sausage po’ boy. i got a cup of coffee and split a dessert afterward. as everyone who knows me knows very well, i’m a slow eater. very slow. so everyone got up to leave, including my ride. since i wasn’t sitting with my ride, i figured there was some car shuffling going on. but then the people i was sitting with got up to leave too. i wasn’t finished with my coffee and dessert, and i hate being rushed, so i told them to go ahead. they said “how are you going to get back?” i replied “don’t worry about it, i’ll figure something out.” “what are you going to do, walk?” i replied again “i’ll figure something out.” so they left. i sat and finished my dessert and drank my coffee, talked to the waiter, then decided i was ready to leave. so i started walking. i ended up walking from around main and 610 to fannin, then up fannin to the first rail stop, where i hopped on the metro mail and took it to the med center/dryden stop. all told i walked probably between 1.5 to 2 miles. (which isn’t as fun or easy in cowboy boots as it is in tennis shoes.) once on the rail, i realized i had several messages, and someone was calling me. turns out my ride had waited outside for me about 15 to 20 minutes, then come in to look for me and didn’t see me (i’d either already started walking or i was in the bathroom), then assumed someone else took me. when they got back to the office they though i was hiding, but then they decided they should go looking for me. when they got in touch with me on the rail, i told them i was getting off at the med center/dryden stop and they could pick me up there if they wanted. everyone at work seemed to think it was really funny that i’d gotten left behind, then walked a mile or two and gotten on the rail. my ride was worried i would be mad at being left behind, so this probably made the situation even funnier to everyone. but i made the choice, and i chose to walk. truth be told, it was more enjoyable to be able to sit and finish my dessert and drink some coffee and relax a bit, then to walk outside for awhile. although after about a mile my legs and feet let me know they weren’t happy about the boots.
i watched full metal jacket again saturday night. man, that is one fine movie.