If I'm gonna hang myself on someone else, he's just enough rope

I thought Friday would be a short day at work; it was actually quite long. Well, long for someone who hasn't worked full-time in awhile. I got to my boss' house at 9:30 (and beat him there; I tried not to be too early, but I always am. Ah well) and left for home at 4:00. I did leave once at lunchtime, but that trip also involved going to Staples.

My boss is funny. I needed money to buy supplies, and he gave me a $100 dollar bill. "Don't you have a twenty?" I asked. "No." Oh, okay then.

Saturday, I woke up early and met LT and JS at Peet's. At 8:30. I was kind of awake. I don't know how much caffeine is in an iced chai, but it must have been a lot, because by the time I finished it I had the jitters. I did eat a slice of banana bread, and it must have been filling, because I was not hungry for super hours.

After Peet's, we went by Trader Joe's and browsed... I'm so going back this weekend, when I actually have money, and buying everything. We looked around a bit at the nearby Halloween store, which was very amusing. I kind of miss dressing up, but all the ready-made costumes they have for women (even plus-sized women) are way too sexy. Oh wait, they did have a nun costume! Next year, perhaps.

JS left us after Kohl's, and LT and I went on to Taco Bell and then the movies. I had only a soda at Taco Bell, which did not do much to improve my over-caffeinated condition. We saw "Catch a Fire," with Tim Robbins, which was really good and hella deep. The thing I like about seeing "serious" movies is that it keeps out a lot of the dumbass kids. I think there were only three or four other people in there.

I finally did eat more when I came home. I can't remember what exactly, but it was probably a sandwich. Dinner was cool - my mom turned some leftover steak into steak and rice, and I made a saute with my delicata. I added craisins, walnuts and mixed in two tablespoons of maple syrup to take away some of the weird squash taste. Delicata smells almost exactly like pumpkin, and has similar (but smaller) seeds inside.

Yesterday was a bad, bad, bad, bad PMS day (did I mention it was bad?). The first half of the day, I was murderously ravenous, and for the second half, I was all nauseous and evil. But mostly evil.

I half-watched this movie on... the crime channel? Whatever it's called - starring Dylan Walsh as a farmer whose wife (Andrea Roth, who it took me forever to recognize as Janet from "Rescue Me") takes his kids to join this white supremacist cult led by - wait for it - Tom Skerritt. Oh, good times. I would have enjoyed it a lot more if Dylan Walsh hadn't been wearing these coveralls that look exactly like a set my dad has. Creepy.

Last night we made some Halloween sugar cookies, but they're almost all gone (surprisingly, not due to my eating rampage), so my mom baked some cupcakes earlier. They're orange flavored, and we're using orange-tinted white almond chocolate frosting. This is way more delicious than it sounds, believe me.

Poor Pepe had an upset tummy last night. I woke up around 12:30 to hear him gagging, and tried to lead him outside. Poor thing - I could tell by the way he was scuttling that he was trying to get out there, but he spit up in the hall outside my room. I put him outside while I cleaned up, and when he came back in he looked so guilty and sad. He almost always runs up to my parents' room when this happens, but I said, "Aw, come here, Pepe!" and we went back to sleep. He hasn't eaten much today, but other than that he doesn't seem sick - certainly, nothing is stopping him from running outside and barking at the new puppy next door.

Tomorrow night, I'm going to school for some activities with KA and the old improv group - first, improv (obviously) and then scary stories. Ooh. I should try to find one... I don't have many of my own, and even if I could think of them, I'd tell them badly. I might just look up some of the better urban legends... creepy.

Oh, I did have a creepy time at the movies on Saturday. I kept seeing people sitting in seats, out of the corner of my eye, and when I'd look there'd be no one. Ew. This is probably due to weird shadows/reflections in my glasses, but I'd rather to pretend that the theater is haunted.

I hope we get it on cause I'm ready to love somebody

Yesterday morning, my alarm went off at 7:00 AM, totally interrupting my hot dream about making out with Bruno Campos. And you know what I decided? Waking up sucks!

My fave hottie of the day: Agent Wonder Bread. (Wait, is "Wonder Bread" one word or two?)





For those who don't watch Showtime's "Weeds," I am referring to Martin Donovan, not Mary-Louise Parker, though she is pretty cute.

I would type more, but I was up and about way too early this morning, and also my wrists hurt. I think I'm getting carpal tunnel. That would suck.

She's guilty by design cause it's better than nothing

Yesterday, I worked on an insurance project for my boss - that is, I wrote down a list, and took pictures of everything in his house. It boggles the mind. I thought my family had a lot of crap, but my boss is rich, so they totally win in the crap department. I don't mean their stuff is actually crappy; just that they have a lot of really shiny, fun, useless things.

I also started some on organizing the closet in the home office, but I've got to go back tomorrow morning. Hopefully it won't take more than a few hours, and I can come home and wig out to bad TV and junk food, as usual.

I was sad, I went to Raley's today in hopes of getting an eggplant for my baked eggplant appetizer, but all of the eggplants were really ugly. (Do you like how I used the word "eggplant" three times in one sentence? I'm awesome.) Instead I bought a couple Delicata squash (squashes?) that I think I'll use in a saute. Mmm.

Last night, LS and I hung out for awhile. We had In-N-Out (I got the Flying Dutchman, which is just two hamburger patties and two pieces of cheese - no bun, no nothing else. It was so rich and good that it was actually gross) and browsed around Target for awhile. We had too much fun looking at the cute bath poufs and powder puffs. I love squishy, fluffy things.

Today was simple and mostly fun. I had writer's club, but I ran into an interesting situation half an hour before the meeting when my printer ran out of ink. I've been wondering for months when it would - and of course on the one day when I wait to print until the day of the meeting, instead of the night before, that's when it happens. My dad's printer is also a copier (like mine) so I ran upstairs and used that. There was supposed to be a reporter from a small, local paper at the meeting to write up an article about our group, but she didn't show. Whatev.

Speaking of newspapers, I'm totally bummed that there's a picture of me in the latest edition of my school's newspaper! I went by campus a couple weeks ago to pick up a present from a friend, which she turned out not to have, but before I left she took a picture of me looking at some art in the gallery. I'd seen her photograph a group of cute, skinny girls so I figured I was pretty safe on not being featured. But my brother brings home a copy today, and guess who is there on the third page? Me. Ugh. I don't look that bad, but I still don't like it. I'm odd that way.

Okay, I've got nothing else. So I'll point to the latest edition of Karla's El Papi Chulo list. This one features some very noteworthy hotties, such as Chris Meloni, Gary Dourdan, Adrian Grenier, and Julian McMahon. These four men alone by far outweigh the more questionable guys, such as Justin Timberlake. Grody.

I don't know what you thought, I'm not your astronaut

Last night there was the most horrible, can't-look-away episode of Dr. Phil. He stuck six really obnoxious, prejudiced people in a house, and pretty much let them have at it. Okay, check out the "cast:"

- White guy who hates black people
- Black lady who hates white people
- Skinny girl who hates fat people
- Fat guy who hates skinny people
- Straight girl who hates gay people
- Gay girl who hates straight people

It hurts my head to even try to begin to comprehend the sheer ignorance of all of these people. I don't know how people can even live with so much hate. Just being angry at one person really takes it out of me; how do they have enough energy to hate giant groups of people?

In a way, I kinda feel sorry for people who are severely racist/homophobic/what have you. They're missing out on so many great experiences, and on having some really good friends, because they just flat-out refuse to open their minds. Anyway.

In other news, I've got pretty much no news. The job hunt is still on, hardcore. I think I could recite my resume without even looking at it. I'm positively sick with typing the same info into online applications over and over.

And though it's still weeks (if not months) away, I've been going crazy the last few days on getting stuff prepared for my new site. I get kind of obsessive about things sometimes (as if you didn't know that).

On either Saturday or Sunday night, I got freaked out because I was in bed and heard the "Halloween" theme on in the living room. That music is so scary to me - as a kid, I couldn't even stand to listen to it. I just wish I had known the movie was going to be on, or I wouldn't have gone to bed so early (I think it was around 9:30); I would have stayed up to watch it. With the lights on, of course.

I did watch "The Evil Dead" on Saturday. As something of a horror movie buff, I've been meaning to for a long time; it's supposed to be one of the classics. My thoughts? Just... ew. It was gross, had obnoxious characters, and... did I mention it was gross? Plus, Raimi totally broke the rule about there needing to be a heroine (or at least one girl who gets out alive). And I'm not only saying that because I'm a feminist - there are just some traditions you shouldn't mess with! Ha.

I need to stay up late for "Nip/Tuck" tonight, so I'll probably write what I need for Thursday's club meeting. I'm very excited about what's coming up next. Katrina's obnoxious colleague Arnold finds out about her ex-con boyfriend, and intends to blackmail her into having sex with him, or he'll tell her really nice, sweet boyfriend (also a teacher at their school) about Malcolm (aka Prison Boy). Will she put out? You'll have to wait and see. You'll probably wait a long time, because I haven't posted any of that story here yet.

UPN - I mean WB - I mean the CW (what does that stand for anyway?) is showing the "Treehouse of Horror" eps of "The Simpsons" this week. I love those stories. Some of them really did scare me as a kid when they first came out, especially the one with Bart as the raven. "Nevermore!" And the openings with the disclaimers make me laugh every time. Mostly because they remind me of George Carlin's thing about disclaimers: "If viewers had more discretion, most shows wouldn't be on the air." Word.

I'm still way too full from my dinner - this frozen Safeway Select sweet-and-sour chicken meal that I do not exactly recommend - but I think I'm going to start my brownies now. They have to cook for like a whole year (well, almost an hour). I'll be hungry for them by then. Mmm, chocolate.

"That's Sar-do, no 'mister', accent on the -do"

YouTube is a site that would not cooperate with my old computer (actually, it was the other way around). Prompted by JH, I went on the site last night with my new computer to check out a video - and I can now watch something in one straight shot instead of with all the stops and starts!

One of the first things I watched was my favorite episode of the old Nickelodeon show "Are You Afraid of the Dark?" This one, called "The Doll Maker," was about a girl who discovers her best friend has disappeared into a tiny dollhouse. This terrified me as a kid, and it's still creepy to me now.

But you know what the scariest thing is? I think Michael Jackson got the inspiration for his look from the girl-turned-doll in this episode. Check it out:



Little girl from "The Doll Maker"


Michael Jackson's 2005 mug shot


Look at those pics, and tell me the similarities aren't horrifying!

I could post more, but it would be boring. Over and out.

We want to stay right where we are but we can't hold on

Last night's episode of "CSI" revealed that our favorite bug-boy Gil Grissom is a Catholic. I so called this five years ago! Actually, I didn't, but it makes perfect sense to me. I can now add him to my list of favorite lapsed and/or conflicted Catholic TV characters. Others include Det. Bobby Goren (Law & Order Criminal Intent), Ryan O'Reily (Oz), the Gavin family (Rescue Me) and the Sopranos (uh, The Sopranos).

Writer's club last night was pretty good. Everyone is really interested in what is going to happen next - I ended with Evie finding a letter from serial killer Ed Hailey to her mother. Now all I have to figure out is what the letter is going to say. I know I have to make it good, or disappoint the group (and myself) terribly. I often seem to end my weekly contribution at a "Oh my gosh, what's next!" point - not because I'm that good, but because I often don't know myself what's next.

I wanted to go to the new Trader Joe's today, but I'm pretty much broke. Naturally that didn't stop me from buying other things this morning. After I picked up my check at work and stopped by the bank, I went to:

- Staples. I bought my mom one of those "easy buttons," and found a few cute, cheap notebooks. The cashier saw the button and went into this big rant on how she resents (she actually used that word) the buttons, and that she was trying to fall asleep last night when one of the commercials about them disturbed her. Um, interesting, give me my change now.

- Target. I wasn't going to get anything, but I found some Christmas cards that I loved, and I knew if I waited, they'd be hella gone next time. They were only $5. When those of you who receive Christmas cards from me, receive them this year, you'll totally understand why I had to get them - they're so me.

Tangent: I love all the Halloween stuff at Target, and want to buy a house just so I can fill it with said decorations. There was a cute, chubby little boy who was walking around that section with his mom, and he was so happy to see all the pumpkins! Makes me wish I was a kid again, almost. Halloween is a great holiday for all ages, but it's extra special when you're young and when being scared is kinda romantic. As for my Halloween this year, I've read about some different "haunted houses" in Oakley, so I might check them out.

I miss this guy in my old neighborhood who would, every year, dress up like a scarecrow and sit on his front porch, really still and quiet. Though everyone knew it was him, you always had to wonder if he decided to put a dummy out instead - that's how still he could sit. I couldn't do it. I mean, I don't fidget a lot, but I'm not good at looking like I'm not breathing. You had to walk up on his porch to get the candy, and he would always scare you (well, he always scared me). Now that I think about it, he was (is?) kind of Pittsburg's equivalent to Bushman, ha ha.

(end tangent)

- Best Buy. I still had some money left on my gift card, so why not use it right? I got the Twilight Singers "Powder Burns."

- 7-Eleven. I'm telling you, they put some kind of highly addictive narcotic in those tacquitos.

I can make mix CD's again, now that I have the new computer with a good burner. It's actually a DVD burner, which would be great if I had any practical use for that. I chose the songs I want to put on my next CD but I haven't burned it yet. This one is based around the song "Alone" by a group called Hi Pass. That's how I make CD's, usually - I have one song that I really love and want to use, so I start with that and choose the other tracks around it.

I just wish Hi Pass would put out a CD. I e-mailed them like last year, and they had said they would probably set up a dealy where you pay to just download the songs, and you could burn them yourself. That wouldn't be the way I'd want it, but I would take it if they'd offer - and they still haven't! C'mon, help your one American fan out (they're from Brazil).

Figi's mailed us their new catalog yesterday. God, I love that catalog. I know that most of the sausages and cheeses don't really taste that great, but I love to read about them. I want to try their Bridge & Nut mix, though - chocolate covered peanuts, raisins, cashews, brazil nuts (my new love), and so on. I would also marry the person who invented the chocolate covered potato chips.

Blogger is being weird right now, let's see if this actually publishes.

Just for the record

I can not add. That is why, in the previous post, I refer to the time between 2000 and 2003 as being five years. I'm not smart. Maybe this is why I'm unemployable?

I'm hungry. I want a quesadilla, but there are no tortillas. Hey, that sorta rhymed. Yes, I'll go now...

Don't try to stone me, you don't own me

Though I only bought it last week, I think I'm already warming up to Nina Gordon's new CD, "Bleeding Heart Graffiti." It took me a lot longer to get into her first album, "Tonight and the Rest of My Life." Like, five years. Seriously. I bought TATROML in 2000, when I was in Chicago a month after my high school graduation. I listened to it a few times and was not at all impressed. Then in 2003, I was going through some various bad stuff, and something just clicked, and I was in love with the album. It's still one of my favorites.

I just wish she was still in Veruca Salt, though. They kicked ass so much. It's like, Nina Gordon is so girly, and Louise Post is so psycho, so together they made some pretty neat music; but separately, they're too... girly, and psycho. And they're both really self-referential, which is kind of annoying. I still need to get Veruca Salt's new album too; they didn't have it when I was at Best Buy or I would have. Meh.

I'm pissed. I was going through my computer earlier trying to find these files I had worked on for my new website and they're all totally gone! I hadn't really done anything new, but I had fixed a lot of problems in pages that are going to be on the new site. Ugh. Either I deleted them before transferring everything to my new computer, or I didn't save them on my website zip disk as I meant to. I had a lot of problems with the zip drive on the last computer, so maybe that's it. At least I have all of my writing OK (stories, attempted novels, etc). But I digress:

Yes, new site, but don't look for it until early 2007, or December at the earliest. I'm looking forward to starting from scratch. It's a lot like moving into a new house: When you first get in, you can organize everything exactly how you like it, and you have room for everything. But as you start actually living, you get too much crap, and nothing goes where it should, and you don't even remember half the stuff you own. And it gets to be such a mess that you can't clean up; you have to move to a new house, again! So... yeah.

Because my headache would not go away yesterday, I took some Excedrin around... I don't know, evening time. Whatever. It worked so well (or the caffeine in it did) that I was super-awake, as opposed to falling asleep at nine-ish. I read more of "The Love Machine" (I finished it today), and stayed up for "Nip/Tuck." I read on IMDB this morning that everyone likes Rosie O'Donnell's character, white trash turned millionaire Dawn Budge, so much that she's going to get a spinoff show. I'm a Rosie fan myself, but I'm like, "Huh?"

As I was telling JH the other day, I wish Quentin Costa/The Carver (Bruno Campos) was back. Not because I'm a fan of slashing rapists, but because he just made me laugh. He was such a jerk. And he had no dong. That's hilarious. I wish he was the one stealing kidneys, instead of Jacqueline Bisset. Oh well.

I'm actually going to cook something tonight: Cheesy potatoes. Mmm. I need some comfort food. I ate pure junk all through the weekend, and I've for some reason been consuming mainly sandwiches for hella days. I need something different and good, or my tongue will reject my taste buds or something. Though last week, I did have a great lunch of sauteed zucchini and bell pepper.

Besides the necessary ingredients (cheese, chiles*) I purchased at Raley's, I also got some neat mini spa stuff they had on sale. I keep meaning to have a relaxing home spa day (it's been awhile), so I am now more amply prepared. I bought two face masks (one is strawberry and passionflower, the other is strawberry and jasmine - mmm!) and two hair treatments. They were only a dollar each, and Montagne Jeunesse is a pretty good brand, so I'm totally jazzed.

*Typing this, it dawned on me that I bought the wrong damned kind! I need the regular green chiles, and I bought jalapeno. But checking the cupboard, we already have the kind I need, so I'm saved on that. Whew. I like jalapenos, but they're a tad too spicy for my mom - at least, in the quantity they're going to be used. Hehe.

I was craving a jalapeno bagel earlier. I should have gone to Safeway, because they have them there. But I hate Safeway. I'm a grocery store snob, and proud of it. I also snub Save Mart, Winn-Co, and Centro-Mart. Yeah, Raley's is more expensive, but it's always so clean, the produce is great, and there's a cute produce guy there now. Tee hee. My mom always makes fun of me because she has never seen him, and thinks I've made him up (like George Glass?). He was there today, for some reason all bent over in front of the Odwalla fridge. It was pretty hot.

I called my hairdresser's new salon today, to make an appointment for Friday. The first couple times I tried, the phone just rang forever. When I finally got through, through the call, I could hear the kind of clicks that meant they had calls coming in on their other line. Damn, I guess that place is popping off. It will be nice to have pretty eyebrows again. I forgot to ask what her rate is - if I moved to a new, nicer salon, I'd totally up my prices - but oh well, I'll just make sure to take extra cash.

I have been wearing the neat Halloween charm bracelet my godmother got me for my birthday. I would like to do something special for Halloween, but I don't know exactly what. It's kind of a bummer that it's on a Tuesday - I mean, I love Tuesdays myself, but it's just more fun to have holidays on a weekend. LT will probably be working, so that's no good. My friends and I always (or at least sometimes) used to Halloween parties, but somehow it stopped and never started again. Then EC and I started our "Exorcist Pizza Party" tradition (we would watch "The Exorcist" and eat pizza, basically), and then she moved, which kinda ruined the whole thing. Sniff.

Wow, near five already? I guess I'll start dinner (it needs some major baking time).

Wake me when you're gone, cause I don't need to sleep tonight

I hope I'm not getting sick. My face feels really warm, but the rest of me is cold. Yugh. I had a sinus headache for most of today, until I broke down and took some Sudafed (the good pseudoephedrine stuff, not the does-nothing-phenylwhatever). The sinus pain is gone, but I still have a regular headache. Boo.

I think I've put all my recipes into my new recipe box. I really don't have that many! One of the things on my 2007 list is to cook one new dish a week.

I really need to make an appointment to see my hairdresser. She moved to a new salon awhile back (at least two months ago), and I'm looking forward to checking it out. It's a lot closer to me than the other one was, which kinda rules.

I hung out with LT for awhile yesterday. His dad is in the hospital again, which is a real bummer (could I sound more flippant?). But I talked to LT this afternoon, and I guess his dad won't be in for very long, which is a good thing. It was really ridiculous, both Kaiser Walnut Creek and Oakland were full, so they put him all the way out in Fremont. They moved him to Hayward today, though (still far-ish, but better - I think. Me + local geography = still stupid).

LT and I had dinner at Pick Up Stix - so good! They have this new honey chicken that I tried, and by tried, I mean I ate all my damn chicken because it was awesome. I could do without the green onions, though. We had a drink at Peet's, vaguely lusted over the new Trader Joe's (grand opening on Friday! I'm so there, but unfortunately so poor) and browsed at Barnes and Noble for awhile. I was going to get a book for a friend, but the only copy they had of it was kinda tore up, so I passed on that. It's going to be a Christmas present anyway, so no rush.

I was completely torn on what great book to get myself, so I got something I haven't read yet: Jacqueline Susann's "The Love Machine." I'm already about halfway through it (yes, I have no life). It's pretty interesting, but I don't like it as much as "Valley of the Dolls" or "Once is Not Enough." It's just not as naughty, and I don't like any of the characters much. Still, it's classic trash, and suitable for a day as gloomy as today was.

Now that I think about it, I must be getting sick; I went by Target and this little country store I love, and left both places without buying a thing!

If you see me falling asleep, please don't wake me from this dream

The weekend passed by; how, I'm not exactly sure...

Claire's rant about stupid political ads reminded me: I hate this commercial for Prop 87. It starts out images of some Middle Eastern people burning an American flag and a disapproving female announcer saying, "We buy their oil... they burn our flag!" Every time I see this commercial I yell, SO WHAT? There's no law against flag burning; not here in the USA, and certainly not over there. Who cares? It's our own fault we're dependent on other countries oil supplies anyway.

Oh Netflix, we barely knew ye; that is, my free trial is over. Sniff. I could have gotten some more days out of it - maybe even a week - but I wanted to cancel it early just in case they tried to charge me before an exact month was over. I don't think they're shady or anything; I'm just poor. When I'm not, I'm looking forward to getting back in. I saw so many great things. I did manage to finish season one of "Twin Peaks," but not season two of "The Shield," sniff. There are so many great BBC shows I want to buy now, such as "Bad Girls" and "Footballers Wives."

I think the only movie I rented that I really disliked was "Boxing Helena." WTF? Sherilynn Fenn is hot, though, or at least was; I haven't seen her in anything recently.

Wow, I ran out of stuff to talk about very quickly. I continue to:

- Apply for jobs
- Try to organize my room
- Debate over whether I should officially join NaNoWriMo this year

Oh: I had a really funny and stupid dream last night, where I was going to "hook up" with a former teacher of mine, but we kept getting interrupted. By the janitor, no less. I don't even want to try to interpret what that means.

Yesterday, I started a list of stuff I want to do in 2007. It's not really a list of "resolutions," because those usually don't last, but different goals and things I want to do. Maybe I'll post that sometime, it'll be good for a larf.

He doesn't look a thing like Jesus but he talks like a gentleman

I've been putting off writing this post for days - not because I don't want to, but because I know it will take so long! But now, fortified by a Naked fruit smoothie, I will attempt to recap the zany birthday adventures of... well, me.

Thursday

6:30 - I wake up early so I have enough time to get ready and do any last minute cleaning before going to pick up EC, but by the time I'm dressed, my dad tells me that EC's flight has been delayed from a 10:40 arrival to 2:50. D'oh.

2:00 - Already running late, my mom and I spend 15 minutes circling the BART parking lot because there are no spaces open. Eventually someone leaves and we yoink the spot. On my way to the ticket machines, I run into DS and talk to him for a couple minutes. No parking problems for him; he takes the bus. Hmph.

3:30 - My mom and I finally arrive at the airport, almost an hour after EC's flight was to arrive. But since we haven't heard from her, we think that her flight was delayed again. Knowing that she was being routed through Denver for some inane reason, we check the board and see one is coming in at 4:25. Plenty of time for us to have a snack, right?

No. Even as I devour my delish Twix bar, my dad calls us and says that EC is at the BART station, looking for us there! Back on the damn shuttle.

3:50 - We find EC at BART, yay! And on the train, endure a really long, crowded, hot ride. Ugh.

6:30 - Dinner at home. Chinese food. Yum.

7:30 - EC and I go to Safeway (our first mistake) to buy supplies to make lasagna. We end up in a line that isn't open, behind some dude who is buying the biggest bottle of Jack Daniels ever invented - and when we get into a line that is open, I drop one of the huge glass bottles of Ragu. Miracle of miracles, it doesn't break!

11:00 - Eventually, we fall asleep.

Friday

9:45 - I stop at the office to pick up my check, where SC gleefully tells me that RH is out for the day because he had a "really rough night" the night before - a bachelor party at Chuck E. Cheese. HA!

10:15 - EC and I hop on BART to the Embarcadero, then make the really long walk (we both have blisters at the end of the day) to Pier 39 and all the tourist-y stuff. EC buys souvenirs for her friends and fam; I buy myself a really tall sandwich. I'm tempted by the perfume store, though, and spend way too long talking about Tinkerbell perfume with the cute flamboyant guy behind the counter. We pass by Bushman on our way to the Aquatic Park, but he can't scare anyone because these three older ladies are flirting with him. Seriously!

At the aquatic park, EC collects some real California sand for her boss, and I take a picture of her with her bare feet in the water. To get her shoes back on, she has to sit in the wet sand, and gets a sandy bum for her trouble. Ha ha! Also, her stigmata thumb* opens up again. Ew, biohazard.

*She injured her thumb somehow, and it kept re-opening every once in awhile. Ow...

6:00 - I take another shower, because I'm gross from all the walking, and also the San Francisco weather turned my hair into a near 'fro.

8:00 - EC and I arrive at Coldstone, where we find four of the invitees already there. We also find that it's way too cold for ice cream, but order some anyway, and eat it inside the Starbucks. Everyone I invited shows up, except for AG (another cousin), RH (heh, Chuck E. Cheese) and his fiancee, and... oh, JK, a guy I went to school with all the way from elementary through high school. I'm a terrible person, and forget that he was coming at all until he sends me an apology the next day. We did miss you, though!

10:00 - Having neglected dinner, EC and I grab some snacks from Jack in the Box and take them home. Mmm, cheesy potato wedges.

10:30 - EC looks over each and every bean from the bag of beans she bought, to make... you know, beans, which I don't eat, but I appreciate (in theory) her pickiness.

Saturday

12:00 - Lunch with the family commences. Besides us, there's my grandpa, my godmother, and my grandmother. I dive face-first into EC's homemade lasagna.

1:30 - I requested napoleons for my b-day dessert, and napoleons I get. Custard rules, I wish I was smart enough to make it.

2:00 - I get the best presents ever! Everyone knows me way too well. Lots of cute socks, PJ's, lip balms, stuff from Bath & Body Works, a neat Halloween charm bracelet, soaps, and on and on and on.

3:15 - EC and I take our grandmother home, then go to JH's to meet up with the girls!

5:00 - Dinner at the Elephant Bar, mmm! Five of us share the platter of the best appetizers ever (chicken tenders, potato skins, garlic bread, nachos, shrimp), and I discover the best drink ever: Mai-tini's, a cross between (obviously) mai-tais and martinis. I'm the first to finish my drink. I'm also the first to finish my second drink. Tee hee.

5:40 - I have a hilarious phone conversation with LS's friend Erica (I'd use initials, as I tend to, but I'm so drawing a blank on the last name) where I can't hear a thing she says. I tell her, "I can't hear you... I suck." She says, "Aw... yeah, you do suck." But she said it so sweetly that I had to laugh for like, ten minutes.

6:00 - We go to this sex shop that is empty at first, and then all of a sudden there are other people in there. Ew. Even with me being the lightweight that I am, my two drinks were not enough to prompt me to buy something... from a sex shop... in public... with friends watching. We leave, but only after we hang out on the sidewalk for a few minutes so I can open LS's present: a really CUTE recipe box that has some recipes inside, and more blank cards, and a birthday cake flavored lip balm. Awesome.

Brief (well, kinda) interlude where NJ takes us back to Pittsburg, since she has to go home, so we can get into JH's car.

8:15 - Go to MH's (LS's boyfriend) apartment and play two games: One with shocking (literally) handles that try to kill me, and then Apples to Apples. I totally lose, gathering only 8 or 9 green cards as JH wins like, 25, and everyone else is close behind her. (I only beat M, one of the roommate's girlfriend's, by two or three cards, and she came into the game an hour late.)

10:14 - EC forgets to re-enact the actual moment of my birth. This is probably in everyone's best interest anyway.

10:30 - JH, EC and I run back to JH's house, then out again to meet up with PD (high school friend) at a bar in Antioch. As he said to JH: "I haven't seen these girls since... the last time I've seen these girls!" He tells us about how he was sent back from the front door because he's not allowed to wear a baseball cap in the bar:

PD: "The guy told me, no baseball caps, no doo rags, no bandannas... did he think I was going to go back to my car, take off my hat, and put on a doo rag?"

Me: "What if he says something about your skinhead mohawk**?"

PD: "I don't know, I guess we'll see!"

**He's not really a skinhead, but I thought this was a really clever remark at the time. Actually I still do, it was hella funny.

And yeah, this is the same bar where our aunt was working - hella funny. I have a rum and coke... have it pretty quickly, actually, and this is probably what gets me out onto the dance floor for a song that is apparently called "Gold Digger," and everyone in the world seems to know it but me. Oh well.

1:00 - We go to Denny's in Antioch and eat cheese fries. The waitress is really determined to bring me more water, though I tell her twice that I don't want any more. I guess she knows better than I do, because I get thirsty, and drink the unrequested water.

2:30 - Back at home, in bed, asleep before I can think, "Well that was fun-"

Sunday

10:00 - We stop by a cousin's house so EC can drop off these gross snack things.

12:00 - We meet up with AG, who was missing from ice cream night, at Nation's for lunch. Our cheeseburgers take forever, but are the best ever. AG's little boy is so cute, and amuses us (well, not AG so much) by chewing his food and spitting it out instead of eating it.

1:00 - I drop EC off at another cousin's house so she can visit with them. She spends the day having dinner with them, then seeing some friends; I spend the rest of the day putting some gas in my car, then sitting around my bedroom dazed and unable to nap.

6:00 - Dinner is barbecue (tri-tip and some ribs) and potatoes and rice-a-roni. Chomp!

7:00 - My mom and I catch the second episode of "Dexter." Not as funny as the first, but still interesting, and Michael C. Hall is still babe-o-matic.

9:30 - EC gets back home... rather, our house, and tells us her adventures of the day. She, my mom and I share the last Dr. Pepper in the house, and try to get hyper on candy (Pixy Stix good; cherry candy corn, NOT), but I keep drowsing off, and go to bed at 11:30.

Monday

2:00 - Lots of random stuff goes on before this, but this is when I drive EC to BART. Sniff! There is actually decent parking, which I appreciate. I get on the train with her to make sure she gets on the evil shuttle OK.

4:45 - While waiting in Oakland for the train back to Pittsburg, an announcement comes over the speakers for the BART police to go to the San Francisco platform because of some "domestic disturbance" (I swear that's the word the announcer used) going on there. This excites another guy waiting for the Pittsburg train so much, that he has to run down the stairs to the SF platform to see what's going on. What a dorkus malorkus.

6:30 - I meet up with LT and we go to: 1, Kohl's (he got a gift card, and bought a hoodie), 2, Peet's (I'm now addicted to the iced chai), and 3, In and Out. The stoner dude behind the counter is really confused by my order for a plain double double, and rightfully leaves off my condiments, but also does away with my cheese. I am so hungry by this point that I do not care, and even eat my onion and lettuce.

Though my "birthday week" is officially over at this point, I'll continue with this style for the rest of the entry.

Tuesday

12:00 - I have a job interview at a church in Discovery Bay. Eep. Taking my "not bursting into flames" upon entry as a good sign, I think I do OK in the interview. I answer the, "Do you currently attend a church?" question simply ("No,") deciding that this was not the best time to get into the politics of those wacky Catholics, of which I am one.

1:00 - Since LT left his pound of coffee beans in my car the night before, I drop them off at his mom's store. She calls me "funny" when I tell her that LT thinks I should work at Peet's, but that I can't even make instant hot chocolate. I guess it is sort of amusing (and sadly, true).

Wednesday

8:30 - I go to work, and burn old files onto CD's for three hours.

12:00 - 7-11 has my jalepeno-cream cheese tacquitos again! Two of those, and a bag of my beloved Terra Chips, make my day. Or at least my lunch.

6:00 - Needing to pick up my b-day present (bracelets) from KA, I take my brother to school at the same time. Not having checked my cell phone (my usual stupidity), I don't get her message that she won't have them. I say hi, in any case, and she takes a picture of me looking at art for a newspaper article. I really hope that doesn't make it in.

6:30 - JH kindly got me a Best Buy giftcard, and I eagerly update my music collection with Nina Gordon's new CD ("Bleedingheart Graffiti") and get the new Killers album. I would have laughed at you if you implied that I'd ever do such a thing, because I hated most of the music from their first one so bad, but LT played this one ("Sam's Town") on Monday night and I kinda sorta fell in love with it.

8:30 - I consider working on something for writer's club, but instead keep watching season one of "Twin Peaks" from Netflix.

10:00 - I also try to watch the new episode of "The Nine," but keep falling asleep. I wish they would put it on at nine; not just because I could stay awake through it, but then the name and time would match. Yeah, I'm obsessive-compulsive like that.

And there it is! Or at least, as much of it as you're going to get; so much great stuff happened that I either forgot or can't accurately capture, so I won't try. Now random thoughts:

- Now that my birthday is over, it's time to start Christmas shopping. Whoo hoo!

- I wish a good scary movie would come out, or be playing at all, tomorrow... I love Friday the 13th (the day, not the movies, they suck). It's a lucky day for me.

- This will undoubtedly kill my reputation as a watcher of quality movies, but I actually want to see "The Marine." I'm not into John Cena, whoever that is, but I'm down with Robert Patrick being evil, shit blowing up, and Kelly Carlson.

- I've been blogging for a whole hour! Ow my brain...

Do you want to be her or don't you, of course you do

Yesterday was my birthday. I am 24 years old now. How... weird.

Because I am sometimes morbid and an idiot, in the last few moments before I fell asleep last night, I had to wonder: How many years do I have left? Am I a quarter of the way through my life? Half? A third? And how does that fraction measure up against the amount of things that I want to accomplish? Damn, I need to get started like yesterday if I want to catch up.

Also, this was my first birthday without my grandma here. I tried not to dwell on it much because I know she wouldn't want me to - but it wasn't easy. Being with family and friends all day helped.

I don't have the time to go through all the neat stuff I have been doing since Thursday, or whenever I last blogged, but I had to share this story because it's such a "my family" story.

Long story short: EC, JH and I go to a bar in Antioch to meet up with PD. EC and I quickly realize this is the place where a couple of our family members had their renewal of vows a few years ago. We go through all the hoopla of getting in, and see one of our AUNTS behind the counter, tending bar. She couldn't talk to us right away because of her customers, but when she can, she points at us and says, "What are you doing here? I thought that was you!" Good times.

Don't box me in

I am trying to do way too many things at once, and not getting any of them done! I'm like 100 words into producing something for writer's club tomorrow night, but I have to be up early to retrieve EC from the airport (yay!), and I'm also trying to watch the pilot episode of ABC's "The Nine." And they had an amusing part that I just had to note:

Annoying older woman: I'm telling you, someone has been inside my box!
Bank manager (I think?): I assure you, ma'am, no one has been inside your box.
Woman's annoying daughter: (snickers)

I'm glad I'm not the only one with a dirty mind.

I probably won't have time to pop in over the next few days. Among other things, I have an ice cream party with friends on Friday night, a family lunch on Saturday, and a dinner with just the girls on Saturday night. Whew! Yay my birthday... even if I'm old... after all, twenty-four is almost twenty-five, and twenty-five is almost in your mid-twenties (thank you, Jessica Simpson for the stupifying quote).

If it makes you happy, then why the hell are you so sad

I feel like I have a lot to blog about, for once - but I have a new computer that I want to hurry and get my stuff transferred onto, so I'm just going to do a quick post about Showtime's new series "Dexter."

Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall) works in forensics, his specialty being blood spatter. He's cute, funny, kind - and also a serial killer who preys on other serial murderers he discovers in the course of his work. "You'd better hope the police catch you before I do," he says to his potential victims, and he ain't kidding; he doesn't just shoot these people and be done with it, he slowly tortures them.

While his enjoyment of this "justice" is hard to stomach, it's still hard to dislike Dexter; he's so damn moral. "Kids? I could never do that," he says before dispatching a child murderer.

We get to see some flashes of Dexter's childhood, which are... interesting. He was adopted at a very young age, and probably traumatized or abused in some way that he can't remember. As a kid, he kills neighborhood pets that annoy him and his family. His father, a great cop, finds out and, when Dexter is a teenager, encourages him to channel his homicidal urges into something good - killing other killers.

In present day, Dexter's life is going pretty good. He enjoys his work (both what he gets paid for, and what he does in his spare time), he hangs out with his police officer sister Debra (Dexter doesn't do emotional attachments, but says "If I had feelings for anyone, I'd have them for Deb."), and has a gorgeous girlfriend.

Dexter will seem familiar to people who have read (or seen the movie version of) "American Psycho." Both Dexter and Patrick Bateman are severely demented human beings who have - by their own admissions - no soul or conscience, and can't interact with other people in a normal way. But where Patrick Bateman was completely amoral (anyone was a potential victim) and an abusive misogynist, Dexter is almost profoundly asexual. His girlfriend, who was "damaged" (Dexter's phrase) by an ex-husband who physically and sexually abused her, is uninterested in sex, which suits him just fine. (Though, previews for the season show that she might be getting her groove back - and good for her, I say!)

Considering the subject matter, and its protaganist, "Dexter" is a funny (as in laugh out loud) show. How can you not snicker when Dexter talks of his foster parents being dead: "I didn't kill them. Honest!" Or when police sergeant Doakes tells him, "Dexter, you give me the fucking creeps!" only to have Dexter meekly reply, "I know, sorry."

The most interesting part of the show, I think, will be watching Dexter try to keep up his facade of being like everyone else. Not one single thing he does or says is honest, or at least not premeditated. He's great with his girlfriend's two children, and knows how to get along with (almost) everyone at the police department (Krispy Kreme, anyone?), but now that another serial killer (who leaves headless, bloodless, butchered women's bodies in seemingly random public places) has recognized Dexter as one of his own kind, things can only get more complicated.

If you can deal with a little blood (okay, more than a little) and can enjoy some black humor, "Dexter" should make a great addition to your Sunday nights. Michael C. Hall is dead-on as a monster who may prove to be human, after all. And talk about daring TV; in its pilot episode alone, this new series already outdoes the subversive "Weeds" (also on Showtime - and that's a whole other post, believe me).