A conversation from last night:

ME: "Hi, Mom. The Camry died again. I just called AAA for a tow."

MY MOM: "What?!! Again?!! After you dumped all that money into getting it fixed?"

ME: "Yeah, I know. Uh....er...hmmm...there's smoke coming out of the hood. I think the car might be on fire. Yeah....I'm pretty sure it's on fire."

Needless to say, it's been a helluva week in my neck of the City of Roses. It could be another day or a week before you see me around here again.

Meanwhile, "The Storm of the Decade" is raging outside my office window.