$18,858.16

Yes, Johnny is no more. Eighteen thousand, eight hundred fifty-eight dollars and sixteen cents is the total amount of the settlement on offer from the insurance company. This is more than I had expected, since the value for my car that we found online was $17,975. So this is nice. I have to sign a bunch of forms, and then they will pay off the rest of my car loan and send me a check for the remainder of the settlement amount.

$12,474.16

Twelve thousand, four hundred seventy-four dollars and sixteen cents. That's the repair estimate on my car. (Now relocated, apparently, by the insurance agency.) To be considered totaled, the repair cost needs to be 70% of the value of the car. According to what I've found online, my car has a retail value of $17,900 give or take, which means it's close. Very close. The insurance company should be letting me know tomorrow what they think the value of the car is, but it looks like it's totaled.

Daylight Saving

I'm in a bit of a mood today, and I blame the weather. It's raining and cold, which is to be expected for November. I even like rain. So the weather in and of itself is not so bad, but it's so dark all the time! Daylight Saving time ends in October, which usually elicits no complaints from me because it means that day I can sleep in for an hour. However, this year it's really thrown me for a loop. It's dark when I get up, it gets dark at about 4:00 . . . I've been leaving work pretty early all week (though still not technically early - just not horribly late like I normally do) because I look out the window at 4:30 and think it's 6:00 so I pack up to go home.

It's just hard to be cheery when it's dark all the time! And it's overcast all week . . . sigh. I guess it's time to adjust to winter.

OK Go

Listen to the OK Go album "Oh No." Buy it on iTunes (It's only $6.99 for the whole album!). I like the songs "Invincible" and "Here it Goes Again" the best.

Even better, go to YouTube and watch the video for "Here it Goes Again." I'm sure you have already, but it's worth watching twice. It's "on demand" on Comcast right now, too.

Vegetables

My brother Clark recently posted on his blog about the finicky eating habits of Shannon and myself in regard to vegetables. I have been known to be a picky eater. I am still a picky eater, though slowly I am growing out of some of my food phobias.

One help in this regard has been peer pressure. I never would have eaten fried coconut grouper with pepper jelly, (MMM!) were it not for peer pressure. Another reason I have tried more foods in the last few years is my vacation rule: you do things on vacation that you would not normally do at home. I'm not talking about things on the level of "Spring break! Woo!" or, you know, skydiving in Namibia, but little things. Ordering something off the menu that you wouldn't normally order. Trying something you wouldn't normally try. This policy had led to my eating the following items:

• the aforementioned grouper
• Maryland! crab cakes
• crocodile (a definite must-not for your next tasting menu)
• veal sausage
• sukuma wiki
• okra
• calamari
• pickled mushroom
• camel
• the schmutz you dip the calamari in (I think they would call it aioli in a restaurant)
• eggplant
• goat
• a sip of red wine (tastes like burning)

Most of the items on that list are very tasty. Crocodile, the mushroom, goat, wine and eggplant are not. To me. Please, sample them yourself! (Except the crocodile. Trust me.)

Anyway, the main reason I have for disliking foods is the texture. I have mouth texture issues. I know I'm not alone in this. My mouth doesn't like squishy things very much. No slimy things. The list of things I will not eat because of texture includes:

• squashes (except pureed in soup form)
• tomatoes* (all right in sauce and salsa form)
• avocado (except in smashed-up guacamole form)
• clams or clam chowder
• canned peas
• sukuma wiki
• pickled mushrooms
• mushrooms or fungus of any kind, really
• things that look like they may be smooshy or slimy (i.e. oysters, which I have never tried)

*Tomatoes, I have developed a laissez-faire attitude toward. I will pick around them in salads, but I will eat them in sandwiches. However, if a tomato falls out of a sandwich, I will not retrieve it. Anyone I cook for should not expect to find tomato in the salad. Or sandwich.

Foods I will not eat just because I don't like them:

• blue cheese
• Brussels sprouts
• green Jell-o
• cauliflower

This is not a comprehensive list.