It'll get ugly

Here are a couple of random observations from life these days:

1. I'm a week overdue for a haircut. I'm going to be in Minnesota in a week and a half, so I'm going to wait until I'm there. I can save about $750 by getting my hair cut there, and the person cutting my hair will actually speak English. The downside is that I'm going to look something like Bigfoot until I can get it done.

2. Our car is getting serviced today, and the shop gave us a loaner car. Imagine my surprise when I started the ignition and tried to drive away only to have the motor die. It took me a moment to realize that they'd given me a stick shift. Luckily, I know how to drive a stick shift, but there are plenty of Americans who don't. It's still the norm in Europe, and it's just assumed that everyone here can drive one.

3. I put down a deposit for Tanner and me to go to Egypt in February. It will be the most foreign place I've ever visited. In contrast to our usual go-it-alone approach to vacations (other than cruises), we'll be part of a very organized tour. I don't want to try to figure out Egypt by myself. Let's hope that things can stay relatively stable in Cairo.