WART!

For anyone out there who, like me, is tired of warts on their fingers and toes, just let me say this: Try some Mexican over-the-counter wart removal stuff.

Chemically -- if I'm translating my pidgin-Spanish correctly -- this stuff we've been using for the past few weeks is no different than the paint-on, salicyclic acid-based stuff we've used domestically for more than a year. But this stuff is killing off the warts like nobody's business.

Believe me, I've tried everything. First with the paint-on stuff. Then with the home-freezing kit. I even tried the duct tape technique. The only thing that seemed to work was a six-hours-long plunge into a chlorinated hot pool at Heise Hot Springs, though I didn't spread the word lest the folks there didn't want it known of the pool's curative qualities.

The pool got rid of all but four of my more than fifteen warts. This Mexican stuff is now getting rid of the final four. And it's working on the kids, too. I mean on the kids' warts. It's not making them disappear. Ha ha.

Eh? What's that?

Vacation is going splendidly, except that for the past 24 hours, my left ear has been completely blocked by earwax. I've always had excessive earwax in that particular ear, but this time around I've managed to get completely blocked. I got a little relief last night after a very hot shower, but overnight it plugged up again and I wish it hadn't.

In the past few days we've:

• Followed a GPS-equipped Honda Pilot through the spaghetti bowl that is the Los Angeles freeway system
• Crossed the border into Los Algadones, Mexico, with a bunch of snowbirds intent on buying cheap alcohol and prescription medicines
• Been shoved around a tiny hotel breakfast room by a bunch of Japanese and French tourists

We did go last night to see the Crystal Cathedral, which was actually pretty interesting. It's kind of hard to pin down what religion, exactly, the ahderents there ahdere to, outside some kind of evangelical Christianity. I do know that if I were putting together a brochure about the place and wanted to put up a statue of Norman Vincent Peale and then brag about said statue in the brochure, I'd sure make sure Dr. Peale's middle name were spelled right. It was weir to see the statues of these guys up in the building. Sure, they're great guys -- but on par with Moses and Jesus? That's a little odd. Of course, I'm Mormon, and probably am several miles to the right of odd myself. But it was still weird.

It's nice to have a wireless connection here in the hotel. We suffer with dial-up at home, and I've struggled to find a convenient wi-fi spot. There are a few signals I could jump onto at home if they were just a wee bit stronger, but then I wouldn't want people doing that to my signal, so I don't do it to theirs. So I'm taking advantage while I'm here. Updated all the anti-virus stuff I could update last night. Probably should look to see if there are other updates I need.

I'm going to have to get some mineral oil for this ear. It's driving me nuts.