After I dropped her off, I went to IKEA and looked around for some living room stuff. I was hoping to get an ottoman, but I decided on a sleek coffee table and side table. They're glass-topped, which I didn't originally want, but they go really well with the entertainment center I bought awhile ago. Not as good to put up your feet, but they look good, which is most of the battle.

I got a tiny side table for the leather recliner in what Laurie called my "reading corner." It's almost an outside patio table, but it works really well.

To round things out, I bought some neutral curtains and a bunch of colorful items to cheer things up. Since the room is beige and wood tones, I decided that the only accent color could be...every color! I bought some glass spheres in red, purple, blue and green, as well as some bamboo sticks that have been dyed bright jewel tones for a vase on the art show table right by my doorway.

This way, I'm free to get any accessory I want, as long as it's bright. Like a rainbow!

It's totally gay.

Laurie and I took our friend Jenn out to dinner for her birthday tonight. We went to The Outback in my city, which is great, because I had no idea there was an Outback in my city. What I know about my city is limited to a 3-block radius, something I need to remedy pretty soon.

I managed to find the place, but not after making a wrong turn on a street that isn't exactly a road, and isn't exactly a highway. There are a lot of businesses and office parks along this area, but I've never gotten comfortable with it.

We had a good dinner, and then I meandered the three of us back to my place. I think I have it down now, which means I have another single pathway through my new hometown.

After Jenn got to see the house and we watched TV for a bit, I drove them back to their cars. I decided to go driving around to familiarize myself a little better with the area.

The city is really nice; downtown is pretty, and the river is lovely. There are old mill buildings and quite a number of interesting shops around.

I then drove up to New Hampshire, which is about 10-15 minutes away from my house. There's a mall up the street, which I'll probably hit tomorrow since I'm in a shopping kind of mood. I need more colorful accessories for my hip, sleek living room.

Oh, and I got a $280 speeding ticket today.

I was pulled over, and the officer insisted that I couldn't have been keeping up with traffic (which isn't any excuse, but still), because I was "passing cars left and right."

The only real problem I have with this is that I don't pass people all that often. Laurie gets annoyed with me because I stay behind the same person for miles and miles. (She calls it "tailgating," but I stay at least a couple of inches behind.)

I'm contesting the ticket, because the speed he estimated I was going is ridiculous, and his observations about my driving behavior were completely wrong, so I think he was thinking of a different car. I don't know if I'll win, but I've heard that it's better to contest every ticket than to pay them immediately. We'll see.