Who Needs the Nanny State

First of all, we're all fine. No tornadoes touched down near us.

So we've had an old couch, that we had to retire to the front porch once a new roommate moved in with his nicer, comfier, couch that is not riddled with holes. It was nice having it out there in the fall. I had a few afternoon naps on it. It's really ugly though, not to mention that keeping it out on the porch conjured regional stereotypes. So we decided to get rid of it. We carried it out to the curbside yesterday morning. I went back inside and ended up napping for 2 more hours. When I woke up, I remembered to call Metro Public Works to schedule a free bulk item pick up. After being on hold for 10 minutes, I gave the information and all was set. They said it should be picked up within 5 business days starting the next day (today). AS SOON AS I hung up, I looked outside to find that THE COUCH WAS TAKEN! Who would have guessed that giving your stuff away for free is faster and more efficient than calling the government?! Actually, it was probably taken by other starving grad students who could use a bed/sofa. Here's a thought, don't subsidize higher education, so you save money on tuition AND on bulk item pick up. Don't under estimate the resourcefulness of graduate students. That's all I'm saying.

Seriously though. I think that Nashville Metro is a very progressive local government. From curbside recycling to the array of metro parks (including the little known Bell's Bend Park - where Meerah and I have been spending Sunday afternoons) and their Nature Centers.