Scraps (n. ,fem., singular)

Seriously, y’all, I didn’t think I’d have a big problem with it. I mean, really, it was only a three hour time difference and I pretty much kept to my normal sleep times even over there so what was the deal? Well, aside from my lack of stamina in general… that probably had a lot to do with it!

Anyway, so California was good. The locale itself didn’t really impress me since, well, I really like the trees and greenery that we have here versus the scrub and rocks they have there. Mom told me that she (or was it my boss? can’t remember) was afraid they were going to get a call while I was gone that
a) I had gotten married while there (uh, no!) or
b) that I loved it and wasn’t coming home (again, uh, no! lol).

Mr SoCal and I had a great time at the Zoo (that, I loved) and then on Friday we went driving around San Diego county to various points of interest (nothing like the FBI’s people of interest I assure you). Julian was fun, though it seemed very out of place. It was a little B&B resortish place and some of the shops and stuff seemed like they would fit more in upstate New York or Canada or something (like the one called In the Pines that has black bear and moose decor and items and such… how bizarre?). But poking around the little shops were fun regardless of how out of place some seemed. The we drove up to Mt Soledad (La Jolla) where you could see the bay and the ocean and the downtown skyline (through the smog-haze) then back down to La Jolla cove to see the beach and the sea lions that hang out down there. There weren’t many of them but I did see a couple out swimming! That was pretty cool.

Saturday and Sunday we mostly stuck around the apartment which was okay because my energy level was just about gone anyway. Sunday night Mr SoCal’s best friend has us over for dinner and part of a movie but we had to call it an early evening, relatively speaking, because we had to get up so early to make sure I got to the airport in plenty of time.

Oh, and speaking of the flying bit. I had though that if there were upgrades available for the long portion of the trip (ATL to SAN) that I would pay for one and go first class. Well, just my luck, they were booked full so it didn’t happen. But it wasn’t so bad: the flight from TLH to ATL was not even half full (it was 6am, I mean, really) so I had my row to myself and then, even though it was supposedly a full flight, I ended up without a seat-mate from ATL to SAN so I lucked out both ways there. I did a lot of knitting on the way to SAN, about 6 inches or so on the armwarmers, so it was productive, too. The flight home I did have to share space but we were on one of the planes Delta had converted from their Int’l line so they had the monitors in the back of each seat complete with several channels of DirecTV! What was a bummer though was that you had to pay for the movies. The movie they would have show for free otherwise if we’d been in a more standard 767 was payperview here. Sigh… I saw no point in paying $5 to see Marie Ationnette when I could come home and trade in one of my Blockbuster rentals essentially for free. So I channel-surfed for a bit and then watched Flower Drum Song til we reached ATL. I had a seatmate from ATL to TLH, too, but he was quiet and non-creepy and it was only a 40 minute flight so I read my book and life was fine. And no accidents!

This week after I got home I was totally walking under water or something, I guess that was jetlag, and it wasn’t until Friday that I seemed to perk back up to normal.

Those who know me, know I love movies. Growing up, broke as we were, a Summer Sunday afternoon would find us at the dollar show for the complimentary AC. Much later I would date a self-proclaimed movie buff and my horizons broadened. Now I happen to be a part of a group of friends who enjoy getting together from time to time to watch (and mock) movies we love and those we love to hate.

Palmie and I have had several 8-hour movie marathons, always on some sort of theme, in the recent past. Such evenings are rife with mockery and semi-related chit-chat. But when alone I still like to watch movies for the pure enjoyment of them, suspend disbelief for a while, and bliss out with ‘old friends.’

This past weekend was one of those times. When I’d had enough of staring at the computer screen (I still <3 my mac very much) or need to work on knitting or just veg, I popped in a video. For some reason I felt like watching one of the few (perhaps the only) Nicolas Cage movies that doesn’t make me scream in frustration: National Treasure.

Now, the thing is, it’s appeal lies not with its talent, I care little for any of the actors/actresses, but in the ‘treasure hunt’ storyline. I love things like this. Which, it occurred to me, is why I enjoyed the Davinci Code movie–I really didn’t care for Tom Hanks’ performance by and large, but I loved the scavenger-hunt mentality of the movie. Same with Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Granted, IJatToD has a lot more going for it, but its the same sort of thing, same general premise. Apparently, this appeals to me greatly, as it also describes the type of games I like (yes, I really liked playing Myst, sue me). Had I had another 4 hours to kill in front of the tv I might have been tempted to dash to Blockbuster for those two films.

Another movie watched (different day) was Bring It On III: All or Nothing. Okay, yes, teeny bopper feel good flicks are another of my guilty pleasures. I mean, really, how can you not just love the simplicity of glossy teen problems when the world exists only for their enjoyment and torture? But I hate sequels. With a passion. Most sequels are just drivel and even worse when they swap talent within the same character, etc. (Note: this does not include trilogies and series and so forth, no, what I’m talking about are movies that did awesome so the studio decides to find someone to write another movie with a smiliar storyline or a continuation of the characters.)

The goodness of Bring It On was just such that I was willing to take the chance and buy the sequel when it came out. Eh. Bring It On II was not overly special. It had some things going for it, but not enough. BiOIII, on the other hand, is the epitome of adorableness with Hayden Paniterre and crew. III gets a lot closer to the original premise of the first BiO and I think the setting plays the biggest part. II takes place in college. College is still very insular for many people, but it’s a little harder to feign ignorance of the world outside (and the relative triviality of cheerleading–oh, come on, at least in high school cheerleading can get you a scholarship TO college, pro cheerleading squads are so few and hard to get onto…; plus, I and III showed actual classroom involvement, even on a low level, II was cheerleading and outdoor socializing, I don’t recall any classes ever or homework crisis or exams, etc.) on any college campus compared to the possibilities of high-school comedic drama.

What does all this have to do with the price of tea in China? Absolutely nothing, I just thought I’d share!

Flying to California WAY too freaking early tomorrow morning (6am flight… I am insane), so don’t expect an update til at least Thursday, and even then, well, who knows.

Y’all, I was so impressed with my shopping karma Friday night that I almost broke my unwritten rule about blogging on the weekends! (but then I figured the weekend might be pretty boring so I should save the post for today, I was right to do so, trust me)

Anyway, so, shopping karma. You know how it works, it’s a good sign when you find a parking spot close to the front door, a better one when there’s an unexpected ‘SALE’ sign in the window. Those things are all helpful but actually played no part whatsoever in this little trip.

Honestly? I was on my way to Wal-Mart, some place I’ve successfully avoided for a couple of months I think. Unless I go at midnight or something, I really detest Wal-Mart, but I felt like shopping, had nothing specific in mind, and I knew if I went on the way home from work I would actually do it whereas if I put it off I’d find reason after reason not to drive out that way during the weekend.

First, though, since I was passing it, I decided to stop in at Beall’s Outlet just to see. Sometimes I get lucky in there, and Friday night was no exception at all. Bouyed by my luck I drove the small block but in the general direction of ‘out’ to Cato semi-nextdoor and was, again, touched by the bargain fairy.

Between the two stores I spent a total of $60 and brought home:

• one pair of the cork-soled suede mules in pink, very ‘not me’ in style, but cute in their clunkyness and fitting for the upcoming air travel
• 2 skirts, one filmy panelled ivory and one ivory twill button fly
• 2 tank tops, one pink and one khaki-floral with built-in bra-shelf
• 2 shirts,one long sleeve sweetheart-ish neckline white knit and one coral-pink henley-style with beads/sequins instead of buttons

People have asked before how I do this. How do I come away from an hour of shopping with 7 items and spend what, in some cases, one would cost regular retail. Well, honestly, I never pay retail. I don’t make deals or anything like that, I just know what stores have reliable sales and decently timed clearance racks or stick to the overstock/outlet style stores. It helps, I suppose, that I do not strictly follow trends and feel no need to have what everyone else is wearing. If I like it and it looks decent on me, I buy it… but only if it’s on sale.

Now, granted, sometimes I really do luck out. I went into Catherine’s (whose sales I usually consider too expensive) in early December only to have looked at one thing and decided while heavenly it was still too much and then have the cashier tell me that starting the next day all clearance was an additional 40% off, etc. Suddenly that suede-finish skirt with the bronze rivets was much more do able. Sometimes you just have to be in the right place at the right time and I’ve worn that skirt so many times in the last two months… in fact I think I’ll wear it today!

When I left Cato it had started to rain. I decided that my shopping jones had been sated and headed home without setting a single toe inside Wal-Mart.

So, next week I’ll be in California (I believe I may have mentioned) and one of the cool things I’m looking forward to is a trip to the San Diego Zoooooo (yes, the ‘o’ must be elongated and accompanied by child-like bouncing in my seat).

So what is the deal with going to the Zooooo? Well, I’m actually not sure.

I guess it’s because we just don’t have one of those here. Granted, we don’t have theme parks either and I still get excited to go there although the novelty has worn off a smidge. But we don’t have a lot of things here in our version of a sleepy Capitol town.

When I started thinking about this, I blamed the pull on the movie Madagascar. If you haven’t seen that movie, oh my, what fun you are missing. But even then, is it really the movie’s fault? Thinking back I know I’ve been Zooooo crazy for several years now, well before I bought that DVD (yes, I bought it sight-unseen because I knew it would be good). Back when I was still with V, I was trying to plan a day-trip over to Jacksonville to go to their Zooooo, but it never happened. I vaguely remember my trip to the Audubon Zoooo in NOLA from when I was many years younger (I think one of my brothers might have still been in a stroller then) and I always loved the safari section of Busch Gardens, so I think the ZOooo appeal has been there for a few years.

And then, well, there’s another reason to blame Madagascar; David Schwimmer. No, no, no. I do not have some fangrrl crush on the Dr. Ross Gellar. But, see, here’s the thing. Who better to voice-act the neurotic giraffe from Madagascar? And I believe it was he who described that where they landed MUST be “San D”iego because of all the sand and open planning. And then there’s Marcel. Marcel the monkey who, when Ross had to give him up, San Diego was the ‘Ivy League’ Zoooo that they’d applied to.

So, okay, it’s a combination of things, but yes, I’m Zoooo obsessed right now. Of course, a shrink would probably tell me that I’m fixating on the Zooooo and letting my inner child play as opposed to giving too much thought to the real reason I’m going to California… Ooh, deep. Could be true, but if so it’s only to keep myself from being nervous about meeting Mr SoCal in person. And if that’s why, I’ll continue to bounce in my seat at the thought of the Zoooo up and until my plane lands in San Diego!

Well, that’s not entirely true but nothing I have to say is at all organized.

It’s 6 days before my California vacation and I have lots to do to get ready, both at home and at work. Busy days ahead and then 5 days of fun! You can bet I’m looking forward to that!

…

Seriously, y’all, I’m just sort of blank today. Try back tomorrow and I’ll attempt to be witty for Friday

Ever have one of those days? One of those days when things start out fine but somehow you end up in the never-ending circle, going 120 mph, but instead of having an engine your foot-powered like the Flinstone’s car and trying not to get run over. Then you finally edge towards an exit only to find yourself tired and worn out and not caring about much and just feeling generally Blah? That is the power and effect of the Blahtobahn.

Yesterday was spent trying to get off that blasted circle. I realized I needed to just accept some things and allow myself time to process. But I also knew that if I went home and did absolutely nothing for the night I would feel even more useless today; not really an option. I picked up a dinner usually reserved for ‘breakup eating’: Tyson barbecue wings, potato salad, and ice cream (the latter soy-based because, well, yeah, the real stuff isn’t so much an option these days; believe it or not, you can get used to it, sorta). So I forced myself to work on two projects, throwing a set amount of time to each, then took myself to bed very early with a book, read for maybe 30 minutes, and then slept for about eight hours.

Wow, I feel better. Apparently I need to do that every now and again. It may not be the best thing according to some blow-hard doctors out there, but a certain amount of self-indulgence costs a lot less than hours on a therapists couch and $$ for antidepressants.

Oh, come one, we all have them: things we do that don’t particularly fit our usual pattern of entertainment or pastimes. I tend to cycle through them. In high school is was romance novels, useful for when I was sick and needed a break from the classics I usually read. As an adult it’s been certain sitcoms and even a brief stint as a fan of WWF (wrestling… I was a HHH fan lol).

Now, it seems, my guilty pleasure is certain reality tv shows. Let me point out that I totally dispise the competition-based shows like Survivor, Amazing Race, etc. The only competition reality show I will watch is America’s Next Top Model and even then I really dislike the way they highlight the snipeyness and hostility of the girls. I occasionally watch Wife Swap, but even then it’s more like a train wreck I cannot look away from if I accidentally happen upon it (it’s the whole pushing conflict thing; yes, most people do come out of the 2 weeks with some appreciation of the other side but the beginnings are just so horrible with the level of intolerance and ignorance displayed). But no, my true guilty pleasure is now The Girls Next Door.

But wait, I haven’t totally lost my mind. For all that it focuses on the lives of Hugh Hefner and his three live-in girlfriends it’s really lacking in the Playboy-esque flavor that I originally thought it must contain. The girls are not snipey at one another, Hef comes across as a pretty good guy, you get to see all the non-porn activities that go around the place and, honestly, it’s one of the best examples of polyamory and co-living that I can think of. And it’s very pink and pretty and cute and even when there are minor disagreements or whatever they aren’t blown out of proportion the way you would expect with a reality show.

So there. That’s my confession. Yay for E! playing back to back episodes several times during the weekend because I can get my ‘fix’ multiple times without having to wait week to week or until March (?) when season three starts.

That’s what yesterday was. Sunday was not Sunday, but Slug-Day. I admit it, I thought of leaving the house… but no. I thought about the errands I could run, the laundry, etc. No. I stayed in my pjs all freaking day. And I think I needed it.  Both days this weekend I slept in really late. I went to work for a few  hours Saturday and that was all I could handle, I was in slug-mode as soon as I got home.

There was an event this weekend but, esp. considering my energy levels in hindsight, I feel I made the right decision not to attend. I do sort of regret not making it to a certain birthday dinner on Saturday evening but, again, I had no energy and could not have waited to eat supper that late so, again, it was for the best. I didn’t get much accomplished inside the home, either, but what little progress I made in tidying up the Abyss was good progress nonetheless. Still a LOT of work to do in there (I could probably use a backhoe and have it done quicker lol) but I managed to reclaim a few feet of floorspace and the only things on the work table are now things being sorted into boxes and bins. It’s going to be a multi-step organize (since I cannot reach half of the room right now) but it’s getting there

Today I get to be made radioactive. Wohoo! The jury is still out on whether I’ll actually glow in the dark but I think there’s a distinct possibility for the emergence of superpowers (hey, I might as have fun with the concept, no?)!

(one thing I’ll say for ready furry comics [mind out of gutter now, tyvm] is that the species names seem to stick more; education through procrastination I always say! lol)

Anyway. Over the last week we had a bit of an invasion at the office. Apparently the cold was just too much for a certain long-tailed something or other and it moved in bringing with it all sorts of bad habits. I mean, it’s one thing for a mouse (or, in our case, a rat) to do its mousey/rattie thing, seek warmth and shelter. I get that. But when ya come in and take over the place, chewing through a wall here and a floor there, and not cleaning up after yourself. Well, then, you’ve just made yourself persona-non-’rat’a in our books and you must go.

Steps were taken, of course, by the more hunter-minded of our employees (I swear, you’d think they were trapping bear the way these guys took to the task). The first night he or she just taunted us, cleaning the trap but not setting it off (and I said it didn’t clean up after itself… silly me!). So the second night some modifications were made and more traps set. Seriously, the glee in their eyes? Kinda scary. The mighty hunters were rewarded, however (and, thankfully, the uninvited guest was not found in *my* office), and though they set traps again, just in case he or she invited friends over or something (another bad house-guest maneuver), I think we managed to ’send a message’ that night: trash our place? we trash you.

‘Eh, Guido and Vito?

well, okay, so I’m not always a bitch, but trust me, it’s always lurking just under the surface

So where did I go? Nowhere, really, I just apparently needed a break from updating the blog while I took care of some of the more pressing issues and took a non-participatory stance as far as the internet was concerned. I’ve still been around, still been deleting the hundreds of comment spam that I seem to get per month, still thinking of things I want to share with those of you who may actually read this. I’ve just been laying low for a bit.

But now I’m back.

Will I ever get around to sharing the New Jersey/New York/Pennsylvannia experience? Probably. Will I tell you about the icky medical stuff that went on in January? Possibly. Will I ever finish the to-do list that precipitated the break but still isn’t quite finished? God I hope so!

Yes, I’m still finishing up the handmade Christmas presents for some of my friends. They know this and are quite unconcerned about it,  but I still want them done. I did get the shawl swap completed in the nick of time and ups’d it off this week to Ohio. I’ve also been working out once a week this month, though I am reminded each week that I am horrendously out of practice and that no, really, I don’t have the energy to do more than a single workout each week. Looks like I won’t be heading back to dance class any time too soon. (minor pout)

Also on the to-do list is a number of web-site improvements. They’ll also get done eventually. I’m trying not to stress out about anything. Ideas seem to be coming at me willy-nilly for all of my creative pursuits and, eventually, they will be dealt with. Until then, however, I do my best to jot them down in my red notebook so that I won’t forget any of them before they get their moment in the sun.

In case you were wondering, things are still progressing between me and Mr SoCal. In fact, today marks T-13 days til I fly out to San Diego for a visit. The nerves haven’t quite started, but I expect them to soon. There’s no real expectations for this trip (other than the Zoo, I must go to the Zooooooo), it’s just a chance for us to meet and spend time together and see what’s what. That’s all. Honest. Really. Anything else is just gravy

So, okay, I think that does it for today. I should be back tomorrow with something interesting to say.