many thanks

Many thanks to jax for listening to me ramble on last night into the wee hours of this morning, and especially for managing actually to follow the winding and twisted turns of my mind. [for the record, there is positively No One on our tail; our baffles are clear, sir.] i'm slowly unpacking, bag by bag. each bag is fetched because of a single item (first one: coffee; second one: face scrub. such are the priorities of my world.)

weird note: it seems my hair got noticably longer while i was away. or maybe my neck got shorter?

cut short, but not soon enough

I should have known the trip was a bad idea when I threw up. Less than an hour after crossing the North Carolina border, I turned to look at Phillip and tell him I didn’t feel well. I didn’t get that far, and ended up spewing all over myself and the seat. Gross.

That event started The Converstaion, which might be the shortest in history: a couple looks, and then stony silence reigned until we hit the motel. We unloaded, and old routines took over: check-in, a quick visit to the beach, a snack, sand everywhere. We didn’t get to make a first castle that night as the sun was setting, but we did make a bit of a sand mountain. [Confession: while Dragon and I were mounding it up, visions of Close Encounters kept coming to mind and I was hoping mashed potatoes wouldn’t be on the menu.]

Passive agression, arguments on the beach, avoidance off the beach, withdrawl, weird bug bites, riptides, total freak-out experiences, bickering. By the time Wednesday afternoon rolled around I had had more than enough. And that was just the adults. In fact, the boys were excellent and seemed to tolerate the adult shenanigans with a stoicism well beyond their years. The only real part of the vacation I enjoyed were the two trips to the Aquarium. It still manages to fascinate me.

At lunch I asked the boys how they would feel if I packed everything up, headed home and took them to a nice, civilized, over-populated, wholly-commercialized water park sometime next week. Cheers resounded and we did the dishes on our way out.

Storms aplenty raged on our drive back, taking frayed nerves and pushing them to the ludicrous point. Country music, funny phone calls, and dumb jokes helped, but let me assure that we are all of us qute glad to be back in Virginia and at home. The rest of our vacation is going to be spent laughing about That Damned Vacation.

Vacation Ernesto

i know that a few weeks ago i was practically begging for a hurricane, and now it looks as though i might get one. According to the National Hurricane Center, Hurricane Ernesto is predicted to take a sharp easterly turn once inside the Gulf, heading up the coast to visit the boys and me at the beach. it could be fun.

N.B: The National Hurricane Center noted that any predictions so far in advance are subject to a wide margin of error.

Last night i had weird and bizarre Lake Dreams, reflective, i suppose, of how my head isn't quite where it ought to be these past couple days. i was about to write in my journal just as Artsie brought in Yet Another Cicada, this one still flapping and buzzing about, albeit woundedly. Little Nibs thought this was grand and the two of them played with the poor thing until it finally gave up the ghost, somewhere under my bed. i confess i haven't gone in to fetch it just yet; i'm waiting for the ew! factor to diminish.

yet another reason to love iTunes

hey jules! i have found our song and have been blaring it (yelling Turn it up!) and thinking of you and of our men. it is high time we got together, sister. And i guess the men can come too, as long as they bring their pick up trucks.

Ladies love country boys
(This is for all you sophisticated ladies out there)

She grew up in the city in a little subdivision,
Her daddy wore a tie, Momma never fried a chicken,
Ballet, Straight A’s, Most likely to succeed

They bought her a car after graduation
Sent her down south for some higher education
Put her on the fast track to a law degree

Now she’s comin home to visit
holdin the hand
Of a wild-eyed boy
with a farmer’s tan

And shes ridin in the middle of his pickup truck
Blarin Charlie Daniels yellin, “Turn it up!”
They raised her up a lady
but there’s one thing they couldn’t avoid
Ladies love country boys

(You know its true)

Yeah, you know momma’s and daddy’s want better for their daughters
Hope they’ll settle down with a doctor or a lawyer
In their uptown, ball gown, hand-me-down royalty

They never understand
why their princess falls
For some camouflage britches
and a southern boy drawl

Or why she’s ridin in the middle of a pickup truck
Blarin Hank Jr. yellin, “Turn it up!”
They raised her up a lady
but there’s one thing they couldn’t avoid
Ladies love country boys

(oooh, get country with it)

You can train ‘em
You can try to teach ‘em right from wrong
But it’s still gonna turn ‘em on

When they go ridin in the middle of a pickup truck
Blarin Lynyrd Skynyrd yellin, “Turn it up!”
You can raise her up a lady
but there’s one thing you jus can’t avoid
Ladies love country boys

They love us country boys
Ooooooh yeah
It's that country thing you know

The Lunch Box Crew

this morning jffn received his care package at work. I wasn't as early as i have been before, but i still figured i would get there before he did, so i was a little stymied to see him not only there, but actually sitting at his desk.

me: uh. mornin', jeff.
jeff: morning.[type-type-type]
me:you're not supposed to be here yet.
jeff: i'm not?
me:nope. Hey, look! It's Elvis!!
jeff: [weird look right at me] Huh?
me: never mind. just ... um... close your eyes.
jeff: [closes eyes] Why? Am I going to get a surprise?
me:[exasperated] uh. no! [places care package on desk]
jeff: Can i open my eyes yet?
me: nope. [leaves office, giggling]

later he told me that i am "the coolest lady ever." i confess that when i was putting it together, i had laughed and smiled and gotten all sortsa frustrated until i found Just The Right Shirt (and in the right size, too). I told Dave that i was pretty certain that i was having far more fun putting the care package together than anyone would have in receiving it.

i think perhaps i was wrong, and it feels quite fine.

and, did i mention that i'm a ninja? cuz i am. just ask jffn.

it's funny. laugh.

Last night the boys and i went to see Barnyard, a movie that i thought i was completely uninterested in. Frankly, i was more in the mood to watch Snakes on a Plane, but i didn't think that taking them to a movie filled with SamuelJacksonLanguage was really the ticket. Barnyard turned out to be truly funny, and we laughed out loud repeatedly along with the other two families in the theatre. Miles the mule (voice by Danny Glover) was my favorite.

Bubonic plgue

"Researchers found that the bacterium that caused the deadly disease became more widespread following warmer springs and wetter summers." You mean, kinda like the spring and summer we had here in Virginia this year?

happy tuesday

A guy i worked with at GE pointed out one of the great truths of the universe: You give a girl flowers, and she smiles. No one knows why this is so true, but it is anyway.

on a funnier note, many thanks to shane for sending along this story. I don't care if it's true. I laughed so hard I almost spit out coffee.

I was buying a large bag of Purina at Wal-Mart and was in line to check out. A woman behind me asked if I had a dog. On impulse, I told her that no, I was starting The Purina Diet again, although I probably shouldn't because I'd ended up in the hospital last time, but that I'd lost 50 pounds before I awakened in an intensive care ward with tubes coming out of most of my orifices and IVs in both arms.

I told her that it was essentially a perfect diet and that the way that it works is to load your pants pockets with Purina nuggets and simply eat one or two every time you feel hungry & that the food is nutritionally complete so I was going to try it again.

I have to mention here that practically everyone in the line was by now enthralled with my story, particularly a guy who was behind her. Horrified,she asked if I'd ended up in the hospital in that condition because I had been poisoned. I told her no; it was because I'd been sitting in the street licking my gonads and a car hit me.

I thought one guy was going to have a heart attack he was laughing so hard as he staggered out the door.

Why shouldn't i join the NSA?

It's just the sort of day i'm having, one in which the duality of man (you know, that Jungian thing) seems so apparent.

laughing at tea time

The Thanks for Reminding Why I'm Gay post had me cackling out loud at the desk. It didn't hurt that it was only ten minutes before quitting time. Or that I was wearing a red clown nose. (Don't ask.)

what am i doing listening to this again?

back when i was an involuntary inpatient at one of the fine psychological wellness centers (read: committed), there was one album i listened to repeatedly that helped: Suzanne Vega's title album. I don't think there's anything particularly special about it other than that for some strange reason it really spoke to me at the time. It helped me remember there was a rhythm of life beyond the locked doors, the iron barred windows and the orderlies with their medications. Back then, my theme song was "Small Blue Thing," even though my favourite song on the album is bar none "the queen and the soldier."

that and coloured pencils.

Listening to it again today, I'm enjoying "Marlena on the Wall" far more than I probably should.

puh-LEEZ!

this is just too effin much. apple is cool and stuff, but this is ridiculous. thanks to kn0w1 for sending a little righteous indignation my way. now all i need is a little techno and i'll be done with my work before noon.

A good time was had by all

I listenined to Four Bitchin' Babes while i got ready for the party. I swear they are one of my favorite bands, and yes, i'm such a dork that i was actually laughing out loud at them, with no one else in the house.

I’m still waiting on the pictures from kn0w1, but the Dragon party was a ball. He was tired around the time it all started, and there we were, eating fruit and minestrone soup and talking about how beautiful a day it was. By the time we all walked down to Pop’s for iced cream, I thought Dragon might fall asleep right there in his Birthday Banana Split.

Hits of the day were the laser tag set (we now are under orders to clear out the basement and turn it into a laser tag theatre) and the iPod with batman skin. Dragon is looking forward to being able to listen to everything from Charlotte’s Web to Lord of the Rings without bothering anyone.

Artsie brought butterflies to the pot luck portion of the party, and this morning I woke up to a bird on the pillow next to me. She and I really need to have a talk.

introvert's day

the rain and grey are just what i needed today. i'm finishing up at work and it hit me that in two weeks i'll be leaving for the beach, and i'm ever-so looking forward to it. Dragon's birthday is this weekend, and while i'm not in a particularly partysome mood, i know it will be a wonderful celebration indeed.

i have been talking with my grandmother extensively lately, and last night she was in my dreams, talking and smoking and laughing with me at the dining table in her house, the table that has been donated long ago, and the house that none of us owns anymore, but it still my closest approximation of a hometown. it was a heartfelt homecoming, and at one point i woke up with tears of friendship and relief on my face, right around the time of the thunderstorm.

by the time i woke up this morning, Little Nibs was wrapped around my hair, purring contentedly on my pillow and i went to work with pillows and sheets still marking my face, but a calm stillness in my soul that has been missing for too long.

happy friday.

country matters

Today i made a big honking presentation at work. Thank the gods it seemed to go well. In fact, it went so well that i was done around ten. (think good employment thoughts for me, since i haven't heard anything official yet, even though they are including me in the planning for office space.)

After work i changed out of professional mode and went for a drive in the country, listening to Natalie McMaster. i saw and felt some of the most beautiful, restorive moments i can ever remember, and as much as i love my neighborhood, it was hard to come home and stay. i ended up writing quite a bit, and even though i wa frustrated, i realized that the true beauty of my house is that it is a home.

cat update: Artsie has graduated from bringing in gifts of crickets and moved on to birds. i thought i had finally convinced her that she needed to eat outside (and not on the dining table!). Then i finished writing the above paragraph and realized there are feathers underneath the table. Somehow, i think she would be equally happy moving out to some place with a creek.

I think we all would.

Happy birthday Jaime!

Jaime is the big three-oh!

WIsh i were there to give you a rocking party, darlin.

recharged

what a fantastic weekend. i did what i wanted, when i wanted to do it, and there was an easy pace to reading(books one and two of The Bartimeus Trilogy), napping (frequently), thinking about the thesis (got some good notes, too) walking the neighborhood, visiting with kn0w1 and tree. tree helped me bathe the cats, and they now smell wonderfully fresh and have nearly forgiven me for putting them In The Water.

kn0w1 gave me a new song. It's techno and totally NSFW and i adore it. geeks are the best.

estrogen lunch

Lunch with Karen and Katrina was just perfect today. I found out that Katrina lives mere blocks from me, and we seem to get along even better than we first suspected.

The whole summer seems to be filled with wonderful moments, wonderful people and wonderful days.

The only thing i want for is rain.