I am not participating in the Blog-A-Thon.

I feel left out!

Of course, it was my choice. It is a holiday weekend, we have a houseguest, and I do not feel like tying myself to my computer.

Unfortunately, in trying to read all my friends' blogs, I have tied myself to my computer.

In LOTR: TTT News...

How is it possible that I didn't notice before just how attractive Eomer is? Oh, right. Because he isn't. The actor, however, is the cat's meow.

Being a good person is HARD.

For example, the DVD of The Two Towers has been sitting next to the TV since 4:00 this afternoon. That's almost three hours! I could have watched the whole movie! But did I? No. Why not? To prove that I love Will more than Tiny Sam.

I wonder if we will have time to watch it before we pick John up at the airport.

Me? Fickle? Nah.

You know John? My friend who is visiting us this weekend that I am so excited to be seeing? I hate him.

He mailed my birthday present and ordered me not to open it until he is here. This is so unfair. It is sitting there, mocking me. Also, I don't have a gift for him (his birthday is about two weeks before mine) and I feel guilty.

In other news, Capitol One is retarded. They send Will about seven million credit card offers a week. We replied to one of them, because it was a good offer. He was turned down because of some crap or other. Then we received a new offer for an alternate card that was not quite as great a deal, but still an improvement over our current credit card. We applied for it and were turned down because we'd applied for another card from them in the last two months. That was last week or the week before. Today we received another offer from them.

They have killed a few too many trees on their mail campaign to keep rejecting us for pre-fucking-approved cards for such questionable reasons. (Yes, I know that pre-approved no longer means anything. But it is really ridiculous.)

Perfection.

In May, Will's father visited. While he was here, he bought me a fuchsia plant for the front balcony. I wanted a fuchsia specifically because there are some hummingbirds who hang around the trees outside of our building and I was hoping to lure them to my yummy plant.

This morning, as I was watching The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, I glanced out the screen door and saw a hummingbird flittering about my plant. It actually ate from one of the few open blossoms! I almost died of happiness.

Tomorrow, my friend John arrives at LAX for a long weekend of debauchery. (By debauchery, I mean that we will watch The Two Towers and a whole lot of Buffy.) We haven't seen each other since I was last in Chicago, about 13 months ago. I am So. Fucking. Excited.

I laugh in your face.

Yesterday we met duskfire from the WD. Anyone who knows who she is may now proceed to be incredibly jealous. If you don't know who she is, you are either blind or not a member of the WD. Maybe both.

Today was good.

Will and I had a date today. It was truly excellent and I doubt I will do it justice in my description. Oh well -- I was there.

I woke up and made myself coffee, which unfortunately was a disaster. My plan was to use the espresso machine and just run a little extra water through, but somehow I fucked it up. I was determined to drink it, though, because I've done that before and had it work, so I was angry at myself. About two (disappointing) sips in, Will got out of bed and kissed me good morning. I cried about my coffee and he took it away and came back with a cappucino for me. Then I played with the computer and he made himself bacon. (Um. He cooked it. It was already bacon.)

After a brief chat with my mom, Will and I both showered and got dressed. I know that isn't very exciting (except maybe to Matt), but as long as I am writing about the day in detail, I figure it's worth mentioning.

We drove to the library where I dropped off our books and paid the late fees (oops), and then we drove over to Larchmont and went to our favorite sushi restaurant. I ate all of the Unagi on the west coast, and Will had...I don't know, I was preoccupied. But I'm sure it was good.

We wandered around window shopping for a bit, then drove to the ArcLight Theater. We checked out the cafe, where Will had a bourbon and I had a cappucino and some creme brulee. The we settled into our seats just in time for the previews preceding Open Range. We both loved the movie, though I don't recommend it unless you enjoy westerns.

After the movie we ran home, because I am not organized enough to take my pills with me when I might not be home by 7:30, and then went grocery shopping. On the way home we picked up fast food. We pride ourselves in our eccentricity. Sushi for lunch, Popeye's and Taco Bell for dinner. Shut up.

Now I am sitting at the computer, feeling fat and happy, and Will is watching the special features on the House of 1000 Corpses DVD. He also feels fat and happy. And what more could anyone ask for?

I miss my babies.

My mom just emailed me some pictures of our friend Melanie's children. Radha, Everett, and David. Her fourth child, Henry, died of SIDS 5 1/2 years ago. That makes David nearly 6 (he and Henry are twins), Everett 7, and Radha 8 1/2.

Un-fucking-believable. When I met Melanie, she was about 6 months pregnant with Radha. I first held Radha when she was a week old. She had very long fingers. I didn't meet Everett until he was 3 or 4 months old, because I was living in another city when he was born. We fell in love instantly. His first word was "Annika," at only 4 months. The first time he held out his arms to be picked up, it was to me. I lived with them for about a year, and while I'm certain he knew Melanie was Mommy, he had practically no preference between us unless he was hungry (he found out the hard way* that my breasts weren't useful). David and Henry were born while I was away at college, and I met them at Christmas, when they were 2 months old. My mother and I went with Melanie and all the children to Sam's Club, and I had David in one of those snuggly baby carriers, like a backpack on your belly. People kept coming up to me and complimenting me on my beautiful baby, and being shocked when I pointed out his twin brother. I reluctantly explained that they weren't mine.

When Henry died I got a phone call at 8:00 in the morning from my friend Emily. I went into shock - absolute shock. I couldn't eat, or do anything really, all day. I somehow made it through my classes. Sometime that night I got sick of my friends trying to be helpful and sympathetic, and went off to see this boy I knew. He and I had recently amused all of our friends by announcing our engagement, despite not being involved with each other. It was...I don't know. It was funny at the time. He gave me a drink and told me a joke and kissed me. I slapped him. Then I kissed him, and wound up sleeping in his room. He was (mostly) a perfect gentleman. Bless him.

The second-to-last time I saw Everett (he and I were closest, though I love all of my babies), he spotted me from across a crowded room and came running. He was probably 3 at the time, and hadn't seen me in a year. When he turns 18 I just might marry him. Except, you know, ewww.


*I was bathing him, and the easiest way was to just get into the tub with him, because he was so tiny and the kichen sink was, well, full of dishes. Man alive, was that ever the strangest sensation! When a 6 month old baby latches on, there isn't much you can do about it.

Blah Blah Blah

I haven't updated in a few days because I have been (in theory) writing a longish entry about respect.

However, because I get annoyed when my friends don't update, I thought I'd write something here in the meantime.

Will and I have a full weekend coming up. On Friday evening we're hosting the second meeting of our writers group. I am both excited and annoyed about this, as I am still not sure which of my five million projects I feel like working on, and therefore showing to the group.

On Saturday we're going on a date. This is, of course, assuming that we aren't too lazy. We kind of suck. The plan right now is to go to a matinee of Open Range and then go out for sushi.

On Sunday we're having lunch with some friends, for Roxanne's birthday. Then we're meeting Duskfire (from the WD) and I'll cook dinner. I still don't know what I'm going to cook. She can't eat spicy foods! I will have to be creative.

In other news, the number of posts lately at the WD about people wanting to have sex with Beth are starting to piss me off. I saw her first, damn it.

Thank you. That is all.

BETTIE SMASH!

I've decided that actually writing out my thoughts in complete sentences is a total waste of time. Taking a page from THE INCREDIBLE HULK, I will from now on only write the pertinent words.

Weekend good. GREAT! Movies, movies, movies, pizza. Cassie. Chris Melissa HAMMER MOVIE. Geoff cowboys leftovers. Geoff like food I cook. YAY.

Will nice. Will sunburned. Will GREAT.

THE END.

Can I be a gay boy? Please?

Last night our beloved friend Sean came over. We made a ridiculously good dinner and tried to weasel some Everwood spoilers out of him. He stuck to his guns and only told me stuff that's already been in the trades. The WB has, apparently, approved a ten-year-old girl using the word "shit" during primetime. I am SO PROUD. Also, my beloved Abbots will be having more fun, and Rose will have more screentime. This may be the only series I am excited about for the fall.

However. After Sean left I turned on the TV to see if New York had power yet - actually, on the assumption that they didn't, to see what the skyline looked like. ABC was in commercial so I flipped over to NBC and what did I see, much to my surprise? Queer Eye For The Straight Guy! A full hour this time! I NBC. It was the episode with the urban cowboy who wanted to propose to his girlfriend. Neither Will nor I shed any tears at the end, I swear!

I hate being a girl! I want Ted! Or any of the others, for that matter. Except Carson. I adore Carson, but there is no way I could live with him. He can visit.

In totally unrelated news, today Saren is six. I love you, Saren.

Still hot. A little less grumpy.

To be fair, I am not as hot as before. (We are obviously not discussing my looks. Yowza! I'm hot in that department.) My darling boy left the clip-on fan with me today instead of bringing it to his office. He says he has a "plan" to stay cool at work. He wasn't specific.

I went to the post office this morning to pick up a parcel that turned out to be a copy of Andrew Bird's Weather Systems from Beth. This is very exciting, and will be even moreso when I get my computer to work so I can play the 8 minute documentary that's on the disc. Thank heaven for DSL - it's making the updates to QuickTime much less annoying. (I hate QuickTime, incidentally. It constantly puts itself in my startup menu, and I have to manually remove it to make the computer function at all.)

I spent a good part of the day yesterday looking over possible short-time jobs. Craigslist is fantastic but most of the listings are dubious at best. Still, it is a huge improvement over the last time I tried to use it. I can't remember if that was before I moved or after - if it was before, I can just assume that the Chicago database is less useful. I must say, though, that I am appalled by the lack of grammar and spelling ability exhibited by the people placing the ads.

Anyway, my plan is to find part time work doing a variety of things so that I don't go crazy. For example, I'd be happy doing things such as copy editor, production assistant, extra, typist, et cetera. I was thinking that I could write bios for struggling actors, if I knew any. (I wrote a bio for the little boy I used to babysit for, when he started going to auditions. I charged $10, because his mom insisted on paying me and I didn't think it was necessary since I was already being paid for watching him at the time.) I could also fix people's resumes, but that might be a tough one to break into since I can't seem to finish my own. Oh, the irony. I would also really like to be an independent contractor for development and production offices, reading scripts and writing coverage, but no one seems to know what companies act as liaison for that sort of thing, though I know such companies exist. Basically, I have tons of skills that I am not putting to use (at least not for money) and I am trying to figure out how to market them.

Hmm. I found an ad from someone looking for a teacher to homeschool her children. I wonder what sort of homeschooling s/he has in mind. I suspect that my idea of 'teaching' is a bit too liberal, but it might be worth looking into. (Ewww. I just described myself as liberal. I loathe defining terms like that.)

Speaking of liberals, which brings me to politics, I suppose it is really time that I looked into this whole Governor thingy. I have until October to figure out what the hell is going on. Thank heaven I have another year to sort out the Presidential election.

I have to cut my nails. I hope this entry is satisfactory as is.

Hot. Grumpy. Apathetic.

Even the AC isn't doing anything for my mood. And I was eaten alive by mosquitoes last night. I live in the fucking desert. The bites actually woke me up in the middle of the night.

I managed to have a very productive hour or so midday, so all is not lost. I guess.

The Weekend In Brief

Not to be confused with The Weekend In Briefs, which I would love to write about but - alas - I have no pants.

• Cooked unbelievably delicious black bean soup, convincing myself with finality to follow through on plan to cook vegetarian more.
  
• Gathered for first Writers Meeting with a group of fabulous and possibly like-minded friends and acquaintances.
  
• Went to first Major League Baseball game - Cubs at Dodgers, final score 6-1 Dodgers. I am a traitor no matter how you look at it.
  
• Did not go swimming, despite rumors.
  
• Made some attempt to analyze and improve myself. Successful. Am now perfect.

I will, probably, expand on some or all of these items at a later time. Right now, I'm beat.

Hee. Heeheehee.

Someone found my blog searching for Sicilian Curses. This is absolutely brilliant. I wish I knew some Sicilian curses. If only my grandparents hadn't turned their backs on our family heritage! Bastard* first-generation Americans! What did they think? That Pittsburgh was something to be proud of? All Pittsburgh has going for it is Primanti Brothers, and they've only been around since the 70s!

Mmmmmmmm, Primanti's. I am suddenly very hungry.


*My great-grandparents were married.

Do Pro-Choice Activists have the wrong idea?

First let me state, for anyone who might somehow not know, that I am pro-choice.

Yesterday I received in the mail a packet from NARAL Pro-Choice America. It contained a long(ish), reasonably informative letter. It was somewhat biased - it gave the impression that all clinics that perform abortions are bombed and all doctors who do the same wear bullet-proof vests (which, by the way, don't exist; Kevlar is bullet-resistant - but I digress). I know better, I understood their position, I moved on. It also contained a page asking for a donation of $25 (or more) and three petitions to Congress for me to sign. I was impressed that everything was personalized - every page in the packet had my name on it. I was not impressed by the petitions. There were three, and they all were identical with the exception of who they were addressed to. Here is the text:

I am outraged that a woman's Constitutional right to choose is under continual attack by a small, vocal minority. I urge you to support family planning and legislation that protects a woman's right to choose.

Please do everything in your power to ensure that abortion remains safe and legal in this country.

Sincerely,
et cetera

The first two petitions were addressed to my state Senators, Diane Feinstein and Barbara Boxer. Both of them are actively pro-choice. The third petition was addressed to Representative Diane Watson, also actively pro-choice. My state (California) has 53 Representatives. 17 of them are anti-choice and 3 are undecided. Wouldn't one of them have been a better candidate for a petition? I'm sure that the pro-choice Senators and Representatives would love to have their beliefs affirmed, but wouldn't it be more productive for me to contact those whose views do not match mine (or the Constitution) and urge them to reconsider?

Furthermore, I do not have money to give to any cause. Surely there are other ways I can support an organization whose work I believe in; I haven't decided yet if NARAL fits the bill, but I object to the implication that money is the only way I can help.

Two totally unrelated pieces of information

1. I removed the bandage from my finger this morning. It was healing very well, so I left it unbandaged.
   
   
2. I chew on my fingers.

I lied about them being unrelated. I am eating Rocky Road ice cream for breakfast. Again.

Argh. I'm exhausted.

I've spent all day trying to learn html. Specifically, figuring out CSS and tables. It isn't all that difficult, but man is it tiring. I think I'm going to go downstairs soon and pretend the computer was never invented.

Poor Will had to go back to the courthouse today. Our court date is set for two weeks from today (suing his former landlord for the security deposit), and on Friday we got a letter from the Sheriff's department informing us that 6 unsuccessful attempts had been made to serve the summons. Including several attempts to talk to people at the office who feigned ignorance, and the last one, when they called first to confirm that STEVE FLEISCHMAN was in, but he had mysteriously "stepped out" when they arrived.

This is the same Steve Fleischman who phoned on Wednesday to see if we could settle out of court, but refused to name a figure and talked in circles for about an hour. Steve Fleischman clearly knows that he is being sued and is trying to get out of it on a technicality. He is a worm.

So, Will is headed to the courthouse to find out what the hell we're supposed to do, as they are not required in court unless they have been (successfully) served a summons.

I am so frustrated.

Not to be rude, but please do not attempt to give me advice. West Hollywood has rental laws that are different than everywhere else on earth.

I could use some sympathy, though.

Finally, proof that I am a total girl.

I cut my finger today. Fairly badly. I was chopping an onion and the knife slipped. This has never happened before - I injure myself in the kitchen all the time, but it's always burns. I've been cooking since I was...I don't know, probably 2 or so, and I am very respectful of my knives. I know what I'm doing. I blame the onion - it had shifty eyes.

Anyway, I felt the knife slip, and I felt my fingernail stop it from slicing the end of my finger off. I grabbed the finger with my other hand, applying as much pressure as I could, and shoved it in Will's face with my eyes closed. He walked me into the bathroom, made me hold my hand above my head (holding a cut above the heart slows blood flow to it), and cut some gauze and tape to wrap it up with. I suspect that my carrying on made him a bit nervous, but the bandage was pretty good.

Then I almost fainted.

He got me to the bedroom, where the bed was kind enough to meet me halfway (I fell), and I lay face down until my head stopped spinning and my stomach stopped lurching. I had the presence of mind to grab his pillow and put it on top of mine; I laid my head on the mattress and put my injured hand up on the pillows. You see, they say to keep the injury above the heart, but I've never seen it specified whether that means biologically (by the shoulder or head no matter your position) or in regard to the ground - that is, above sea level, where your heart is sea level. Did that make sense? Anyway, I'll be looking into that. By which I mean "asking Phoebe."

I can't believe I almost fainted. Sheesh. I am a total sissy.

Incidentally, after about an hour I removed the bandage and Will put a band-aid on it. It looks all right. The knife went in at an angle, so the cut isn't too deep. And a super sexy lesbian offered to "cheer me up."

In my mind I'm gone to...Helm's Deep?

To be fair, part of my heart is in (South) Carolina, as my mum and sister are there.

Will is downstairs. It sounds like he's doing the dishes. Gawd, I love that boy. I am upstairs, fucking about online.

The soundtrack to The Two Towers is on the hi-fi. I am reasonably certain that I will die if I don't get to watch the movie again soon. (Incidentally, there is a great article that I haven't actually read in this month's Computer Gaming World that starts off "Where will you be on December 17th? If you said you don't know, you lost all your geek cred." That is a paraphrase.) The theatrical release DVD will be out soon, but I still have months to wait until the extended DVD. More fighting! More...fighting! And - AND! - a flashback to before Fellowship. For those who are unaware, Boromir came to Elrond because he and Faramir had the same dream (that's what he's talking about at the Council); the flashback will, I think, be the two brothers discussing the dream. Or something. Whatever! Sean Bean! *faints*

...Excuse me, I went to the Happy Place.

Speaking of movies, we saw 28 Days Later yesterday at the ArcLight. Best movie theater ever. Really fun movie, too. I might make an entry later about some logic holes in the movie, because I think they're quite common, particularly in horror movies and military movies, and I'd like some input. But not right now, because meh. I'm still full from the humongous breakfast I made for Will and myself.