On Halloween, Jim and I went to a new local cafe that had just opened up down the street.  I’m a fan of the “shop local” and we decided to see what they had in the way of coffee (for Jim) and hot chocolate (for me).  They didn’t have hot chocolate and their coffee selection wasn’t up to par, but I thought it would be weird to just leave after staring at the menu so long.  So, I ordered a fruit smoothie for $5.

When I paid for it, the clerk offered me a raffle ticket to fill out for free – grand opening sort of thing.  I filled it out and took my half – the prizes to be determined later.

The smoothie was pretty good, but not “we have to go back every day now”.

The day we were set to leave for Las Vegas, I got a call from the cafe telling me that I’d won a $10 gift card.  Sweet!  I didn’t need to bring the ticket in, I’d just need to tell them my name when I ordered and I’d get $10 off my purchase.

Okay, so that’s not quite as cool, but still – I won just before I boarded a plane to Vegas?  Sounds pretty auspicious to me.

I only put a dollar in the slot machines in Vegas and lost it with 4 pulls of the handle, but I still had that win waiting for me when I got home.

Yesterday after work was the first chance I had to go to the cafe to redeem my winnings and I told the clerk I was a winner in the raffle.  She seemed unsure how to handle that, but suggested that I go ahead and order and then she’d look to see if the discount was in the system.  I checked the menu and saw that a turkey sandwich and a smoothie would put me at $10 and that sounded like an early dinner to me.  

Except, now she couldn’t find me in the system.  Not by phone number or my name.  And I didn’t have the ticket with me.

So, I paid for the items anyway and did some origami while I waited.  I took my sandwich to go and ate when I got home.  It was okay and so was the smoothie – but I bet they would have tasted better if they were free.  And if I was a winner.

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I had kind of a difficult day at work today – freaking JSON file wouldn’t validate properly (you know how that goes, I’m sure) – and we finally had to call it quits for the day.  As I rolled out the door I remembered that I planned to get my vehicle registration done today.

Now, this isn’t due until January and I’d only gotten the notice on Monday.  But I hate to put things off like this and decided to do it ASAP.  I’d done the eCheck a couple weeks ago – again, very early – and so I had everything I needed.

So, off to the BMV.

Now, the BMV has a bad reputation for being a little slice of hell on earth and at least one of the clerks there was in a mood – but there’s a trick to it.

Have your shit together.

It blows my mind when people walk in there without the paperwork they need, or with no ID, or some weird-ass problem/story/whatever about how their car was attacked by ninja alligators and that’s why their social security number is wrong. Seriously?

While I waited in line, I signed my registration form and checked that I had the correct eCheck form.  I got out my driver’s license and insurance card – just in case – and filled out most of my check except the amount.    I was ready.

When it was my turn, I told the clerk that I was there for a registration renewal and set out my form, eCheck, and driver’s license.  I asked about the proof of insurance and she said she didn’t need it, but thanked me for having everything ready and in order.

She verified that my car was still silver and and that I still lived in the same place, then gave me my total.  I filled in my check and handed it to her – she handed me back my paperwork and my new sticker.  Bam.

From the time I got to the counter to when I walked away was under 2 minutes. Ka-blam.

My shit?  It’s together.  

It’s always together.

And now – Rick and Morty: