State of the State

Now that I've lived in Maryland for about eight months, I can say that it's probably the worst of the three states I've lived in. Not for the weather or anything, but because of some of the bullshit laws and frustrating hoops I've had to jump through since moving here.

First of all, what the hell is up with this bars must close by 2:00 AM crap? Fuck, even Indiana, a state with the most backward-ass liquor laws around, lets bars stay open to 3:00 or 4:00. And this thing against selling alcohol in grocery stores is annoying too, especially since every liquor store I've found so far closes at 10 FUCKING 30! WTF, mate?

And the license plates... oh, the license plates. I've now been over to the MVA three times in an attempt to get a temporary license plate so I can get a state inspection so I can get an actual license plate so I can get a driver's license. Every time I go, they tell me I need something else that they didn't tell me about the previous time. I'm sure when I go back again tomorrow with everything they said I'd need, there'll be something else I don't have. And it's no small trip out to the MVA from where I live -- it's a good half hour.

And the customers I get at my Barnes & Noble here are louder, more annoying, and more demanding than any of them I had in Indiana or Texas. I've blogged about that before, and don't want to go there again, but I still can't believe how bad some people are there.

Anyway, on a good note, I'm finally fixing the story I was working on that had gotten out from under me and I feel good about it again. This will be the third story I've written in the past couple months that's better than any of the stories I had written previously (not counting my novel). Maybe I'm finally getting the hang of this short story thing after all these years, or maybe I'm just going through a burst of creativity that hopefully won't flatten any time soon.

I'm off to try and finish this story, then figure out just what the hell Etsy is for our class presentations. Seriously, I've never even heard of it before....