Today was just strange. I guess it technically started yesterday though. John and I went to visit my parents in Lincoln for dinner (another fun story about that later though). We returned to town later than expected so I didn't go up to get my computer from John's (I've never left my computer anywhere). I just dropped him off and went home. I woke up this morning and it looked like my router had broken overnight. No lights came on other than the power light. But I couldn't test it because I didn't have my computer. I gave up and went to work for the day. When I got back, I unplugged my modem and my router to take to John's for testing. He called to say he was home so I should come over, but when I got there, I couldn't get in because he wasn't answering. It turned out that he forgot his phone in his car (which he rarely does), so I had to wait 10 minutes before he realized it and came to see if I was there yet. I showed him my router and we tried a few tests and decided the router was dead. We found another router on Best Buy's web site and I was going to order it online for in-store pick-up. I got my wallet out and decided not to order online. We left to try a few places in town and on road down Dodge. We saw a car with a Hawaii license plates. I wanted to take a picture, but I hadn't put the card in my camera so we couldn't. Then, I realized I forgot my wallet at the condo. So, John said he'd pay for it and I could pay him back when we got back. We arrived at Best Buy and there were two guys outside on a blanket (camped out for Halo, I think). No one else was there. Just the two of them and they were getting funny looks. Again, I wanted to take a picture, but I couldn't. Best Buy's in-store price was higher than the online price so we tried Nebraska Furniture Mart and Office Max but no one had the router I wanted so we ended up buying it at Best Buy. We got back to the condo and John stopped by his car to grab his phone. Then, on the way upstairs, the elevator wheezed. Yes, wheezed, like you'd hear an old man do in his sleep. It was really weird and we were glad to get off the elevator. We finally made it upstairs and John cooked dinner and we sat down to watch Heroes. It was good. However, there were a couple minutes when the feed cut out. I really hope it was just Omaha and someone has a full copy of it somewhere. So yeah, generally a weird day with some frustration and some just very strange things. I wonder if those guys got their copy of Halo...

Yes, that's right I said "Poke Cake." I'm sure there are some of you who are more culinary or baking inclined than I am, but Sunday was the first time I'd heard of it.

John and I were at my parents' house for dinner on Sunday (I mentioned that in my previous and less exciting post). Anyway, we finished the meal and my mom asked us if we wanted some dessert. So, as per usual, I asked what was for dessert before deciding. She said "poke cake." John and I just looked at each other trying to figure out if one of us knew what that was. I certainly hadn't heard of it. So, I asked "what is poke cake." John, of course couldn't help himself and said "is it like *poke* cake?" He always pokes me. :-P My mom started laughing because apparently I've had poke cake before but didn't know it. So, folks, if you want to make poke cake apparently you just make a white sheet cake. You take it out of the oven, poke it with a fork a bunch of times and pour flavored Jello over the top and it will seep into the cake. Then you let it cool, cover it with whipped cream and fruit and there you have it: Poke Cake. Which is definitely worth making just so you can have a poking contest and a strange conversation with someone else who hasn't ever heard of poke cake before.

Note: The picture has toothpicks in the cake, but that's so it would travel well because my mom sent a few pieces home with us. It's not necessary to poke the cake with toothpicks after it's done, but if it makes you feel better, by all means poke away.

This week apparently just isn't my week. Monday was just strange and I had to spend money I wasn't planning on spending for a new router. Fortunately, the new one is working great. After researching my router problem, I found that plenty of other people have had the same problem. This was particularly frustrating considering that the one I own is one of the most expensive and supposedly the top-end of Netgear's home networking. I reported the problem using their online system only to have a reply to my ticket say that it sounds like a hardware problem, but I'll have to call a technician (most likely in India) to have them "troubleshoot" the issue to determine whether it is actually a hardware problem. The stories online don't provide much hope that I will talk to someone competent or even in the U.S. Which will definitely mean at least a very frustrating hour on the phone. I've been putting that off...maybe I'll call them tonight so it doesn't ruin my weekend. The only fortunate part is that buying a router isn't going to break me like it could have in college when I didn't have a consistent income.

Last night I took my car to the dealership because it's being serviced today. They have those envelopes you can fill out and put your key in for "early bird drop-off." Which worked well. Unfortunately, I was using the dome light in my car to fill out the information on the envelope and when I finished, I put my key in the envelope, locked my car and dropped it in the slot. Then, I turned around and realized my car was locked with the dome light on and I had no way of unlocking it and turning it off. So, we'll see if they call me to tell me I have a dead battery. I felt pretty dumb after that one.

However, the icing on the cake is definitely what I managed to do to myself at volleyball. I had been having back pain for the last few weeks, but it was steadily improving because I was making a concerted effort to stretch everyday. But, Tuesday night I played volleyball again and I stretched afterward (like you're supposed to) and I was driving home when I started to get really weird tingly feelings in my stomach and lower lungs and my back felt like I was being stabbed. I figured I had just pulled something so I took a hot bath and then tried to get my back to relax by putting my feed up and letting gravity even things out. That was a bad idea because it definitely hurt. I gave up and tried to sleep but didn't get much. When I got to work, it was still hurting and the spot felt twice as wide as the rest of my spine, which made me worry. So, I went to see the trainer at work (Thank God we have one here!) and she told me I managed to rotate a vertebra and get it stuck while I was playing. She tried popping it back into place, but my back wouldn't pop so she gave me a massage around the area. I'm told that it should rotate back into place on its own, so I'm hoping. Last night I was doing a couple stretches she gave me and my back popped and it moved over about half way. It doesn't feel like I'm being stabbed when I sit against stuff anymore, so I'm going to mark that as a significant improvement. Now instead of feeling twice as wide as the rest of my spine, it feels about 1 1/2 times as wide. However, John was still a little freaked out by it when I showed him so it's at least providing some entertainment value. I've never managed to do this before so it's been an adventure. Ice and ibuprofen are my new best friends. Oh, and for those of you who think I should stop playing volleyball, keep dreaming.

So I answered an interesting phone call last night. My phone rang and I didn't recognize the number but decided to answer it anyway:

Caller: Hi, Sarah?
Me: Yes...
Caller: This is Dennis. I slept with you on Tuesday.

Immediately I'm trying to figure out how who would start a conversation like this. I'm pretty sure I'd remember if something like that happened. Surely he has the wrong phone number. Right? Except he knew my name...crap. Who do I know named Dennis? If he's starting a conversation like this, I don't think it will end well. Maybe he's calling to say he has an STD. Well, I know he didn't sleep with me so I know I'm fine. Oh, I should stop him before he tells me something I don't want to know! What's a polite way to respond?

Me: I'm sorry, what?
Caller: This is Dennis. I subbed with your on Tuesday.

OH! Subbed! That makes things much less awkward. Wait, subbed what? Oh, I get another person's e-mail from time to time and she's a teacher. Maybe he thinks he's talking to her. But she lives in Chicago. How would he get my number. Well, maybe I can see what he wants and I'll figure out how he thinks he knows me.

Caller: In volleyball...

Crap, I waited too long. OH! Volleyball! He's the guy who played with our team because one of our guys was going to be gone!

Me: Oh, Dennis! Hi! What's up?
Caller: Well, we were looking for a sub for Sunday night and I was wondering if you were busy.

So, the conversation wasn't actually as exciting as I originally thought it would be. And Dennis wasn't trying to deliver bad news to a one night stand. However, the few seconds spent trying to figure out how to politely tell him he had the wrong person definitely provided some laughter later. Honestly, if a conversation actually starts that way, it can only go downhill. It did make for a good laugh given that I just have a hearing problem.