The bad thing about the Olympics TV coverage being on tape delay is that I keep accidentally finding out the results of high-profile events before I get to watch them. I regularly check the New York Times site for ordinary news updates, but they keep posting particularly high-profile results in highly visible locations at the top of the page. And I keep forgetting this whenever I go to check the site, so the suspense keeps getting ruined for me.

Damn you, New York Times website.

Today I achieved a long-desired goal.

I bought new dishes.

I know, it’s not rocket science. But I’ve wanted new dishes for a long time. For several years I’ve been using my parents’ yellow-and-green 1970s dinnerware with flowers on them, the dishes we used for our dairy meals when I was a little kid, and I’ve been sick of them. I kept wanting to buy new ones, but I never got around to it. So today I finally did it.

I’m taking the week off from work — I needed to take a break, but I had nowhere to go, so I decided I’d just take a week off and do whatever I feel like — so this afternoon I went to Bed Bath & Beyond and bought new dinnerware. I wanted plain white dishes, so I bought some from the Fun Factory White collection: two dinner plates, two salad plates, two cereal bowls, and two mugs. I also bought two wine glasses, because I didn’t own any until now (!). I decided to buy only two of everything instead of four because I’ve never needed to serve more than two people at a time at my apartment. I don’t even have a kitchen table. I eat my meals while sitting on the couch in front of the TV.

I also got rid of a bunch of old clothes by dropping them off at a clothing dumpster near the Bed Bath & Beyond.

Later this week, I’m going to check out the new Target that recently opened in Jersey City. (What’s up with these new Targets all over the place?) And I might see a matinee on Wednesday afternoon.

Plus watch the Olympics, do some reading, and hang out with the boyfriend.

It should be a nice week.

Okay, whose bright idea was it to hold one of the presidential debates on a Friday night? That’s not a very good way to get younger voters interested in the political process.

At least all the elderly folks will be paying attention.