12:50 a.m. Our journal friend Anna (of Lucidity) may be a married lady tonight, and if so, I am very very happy for her and her new groom, Rob. And forgive me for being all mushy, but -- sniff -- it's just so romantic. Good old marriage ...

I could weep for joy because tonight I finally saw a good movie, one that was all about marriage and romance and deep, true love: American Beauty. What a pleasure. A movie that treats all its characters with some degree of respect. How rare is that?

No real villain, except time and mediocrity and the pressure to achieve a $4,000 silk couch at the expense of the people who must sit on it.

Shifting gears, if I can. The movie is staying put, right in the front of my brain, messing with my ability to write an entry that's not a movie review.

Consider those little stars the literary equivalent of sorbet and perhaps we can change courses here on the plate. If I can stop staring off into space, we'll be fine.

Otherwise, we'll just wait. Or maybe I should go to sleep and finish this entry in the morning. (Cheating, cheating, cheating.)

Ok. Here we go. I was the best little wife today, visiting several used car lots as we looked at sturdy, multi-passenger vehicles. I asked perky questions, rode around the block a couple of different times behind two different big stickers that completely blocked my view, and even measured the things to see if they will fit in our driveway.

We often need to haul things, including extra people, and car rentals are very expensive. So, a nice used utility-type vehicle is in our future. We test-drove a Jeep Grand Wagoneer, which I didn't like very much. We also looked at a Range Rover that I liked a whole lot more. It had a CD stacker way back in the trunk. Pretty cool. It seems to be right over the wheel, so how can it not skip when you try to rove over a rocky range?

I maintained a pleasant, supportive, wifely demeanor even when we couldn't find a parking spot at the ever-popular Costco and thus I couldn't go in there and buy ruffled things as my compensatory reward for looking at dusty old cars.

Marriage. It's all about compromise.

I wash out the coffee maker the night before and Igor grinds the beans and makes coffee before I wake up. See how easy it can be?