From The Oven ... A Comparison

Sometimes you just have to weigh it out.  Like that shrimp I had last night.  Was it worth the hour it took to marinate and cook up while waiting for the rice to cook?  Possibly.  Was it worth all those dishes I had to wash afterwards?  Heck NO!!  

Let's face it ... I've become a 5-Minute cook.  If I can't fix and nuke it in 5 minutes, then I don't eat it.  Occasionally I'll splurge on something that bakes in the oven, but I've become the Queen of 5 minute breakfast, lunch and dinners.  Am I alone?  I would rather go out for a burger than cook it myself, because I don't have to do the cleanup.

It was a nice cool (79 degree) morning as I slugged down yet another bottle of water.  It was truck registration time and I had an appointment.

Let's compare:

California DMV:  Make an appointment, arrive on time, only to be given a number tag.  Have a seat and wait for your number to be called.  What they don't tell you, is even though you had an appointment, you now have to wait 90 minutes for EVERYONE ELSE in the room to be served before you.  Your appointment only gets you IN THE DOOR, not someone to help you.  Truck registration $587.00.

I have to throw in this tidbit.  Remember I was a County Office Auditor?  The County pays welfare to recipients and gets reimbursed from the State.  Where did the State get the money?  From your vehicle registration fees.  That's why they are always extremely high.  It's a money game.  I've been gone for 13 years, so that may have changed .. but I doubt it.

Arizona DOT:  Make an 8:00 appointment. Drive 13 miles to arrive at 7:40 and find the door open.  Go inside and be waited on within 5 minutes.  Transactions complete, walk out the door at 7:50, BEFORE your appointment time.  There's just no comparison.  Truck registration  $33.00 (plus $12 for smog).

California Home Depot:  Wait in line for 30 minutes while the ONE cashier takes returns.  About a 15 minute wait.

Arizona Home Depot:  Walk right up to one of SIX return cashiers waiting for you.  Two minutes later, you have a refund.

California Home Depot:  Walk around the entire store looking for the sprinklers, or a human who might tell you where they are.  Once you find them, you spend 30 minutes trying to figure out which one you need.  If you find it, check yourself out ... which never works correctly ... you have to call someone and wait ten minutes for them to help you.

Arizona Home Depot:  You run into FOUR humans before you even get to the first aisle.  One takes you right to the sprinklers you want, pulls them off the shelf and smiles.  You walk back to the front where SIX associates are waiting to check you out.  RIGHT OVER HERE ... I'M OPEN.  

California:  Go to DMV, go to Home Depot and arrive home 3-1/2 hours later.

Arizona:  Go to DOT, go to Home Depot and arrive back home 75 minutes later after driving twice as far and even stopping at McDonalds for an egg McMuffin on the way home.  

 One thing though ... I may have to pass on Micky D's.  Many moons ago I used to buy my County staff members egg McMuffins about once a week.  They were 2 for $4.00.  

One McMuffin, one hash brown and one small iced coffee was a whopping $12.00!!!  Iced coffee is a thing here, and I admit, it was pretty tasty, especially when they loaded it up with caramel flavoring!  Definitely NOT worth the price, but at least I didn't have to do dishes.

So here's my new sprinklers.  Hopefully if I walk on these, they won't break.  There is always drip line to replace, so I got some extra.

Next up ..... RAT traps.  That should be fun!!   Oh, and try to fix the sprinklers.