1. Currently, what television commercial is your least favorite?
I don't watch commercials. I own a Tivo for a reason.

2. And which commercial is your most favorite?
See above.

3. Of the sitcoms that are on during "prime time" how many do you watch on a regular basis?
None. The only network/semi-network shows I watch are BSG and Studio 60.

4. Is there a television series that you enjoy watching that is ending this season?
No. Alias and West Wing already ended.

5. Is there any type of program you'd like to see more of on television?
Less stupid programming would be nice.

6. Is there any type of program you'd like to see less of on television?
Get rid of the reality shit. Get rid of all the crime shows. There wouldn't be anything on the air then, but it certainly would be a significant improvement!

7. Is there a series that is no longer aired that you wish would come back?
No. Everything ends sooner or later. Sometimes, it's just time.

8. Do you watch re-runs of anything on television?
I love old cartoons from the 50s and 60s, and some of the old shows like The Munsters, but that's about as rerun as I get.

Well, this is the beginning of the third week in a row where wacky shit keeps happening. First it was me getting butthurt that my admin wasn't showing up....people were acting kooky in general in public, but I tried my best just to ignore them and go on with my day. Last week prooved to be even more Twlight Zone-ish when I had to fire my first employee and take on another full time job temporairly. No true big deal, I'm just very busy all of a sudden. The week finally ended, and I've been doing a whole lot of nothing this weekend, which has been very nice. The Sharks got a spanking yesterday from the Red Wings, but they'll redeem themselves tomorrow night.

And even tho I totally love entropy that doesn't affect me, the whole Maze offramp melting thing is just more proof that this week will prove to be as challenging as the last two. And so since this is my last day before I have to deal with the madness again, I'm staying inside again for the second day in a row. Josh is going to go visit his parents, but I've opted to stay inside and not deal with anyone. There are very few things that could get me out of the house today.

I think lying in the recliner watching movies sounds like a plan. I got up at 10 and watched the news for a bit, and now Josh and I are playing w0w. He's leaving for his parents in a bit, so I will lock myself in the house like the little hermit I am.

And, brace myself for tomorrow :P

Goddammit, this made my morning! Seems as if a section of The Maze (which is the freeway that connects the Bay Bridge to 580 and 880) literally melted due to a trucker taking the corner too fast. From what the news says, the tanker flipped on it's side, a fireball ensued, and remarkably enough, the driver walked away with 2nd degree burns.

Now, I don't like the fact that the driver was injured, but the fact that the freeway *melted* is fucking awsome. And the best part? Already bad Bay Area traffic is going to get *way* worse! This means longer commutes than usual (and they already suck), flaring tempers, potential awsomely bad road rage....I can't *wait* to see what this week brings!

Of course, none of this affects me directly so I can laugh. My suggestion? p-u-b-l-i-c t-r-a-n-s-p-o-r-t-a-t-i-o-n. I'm sure BART will be going 24/7 for a little while very soon now. So, here's your warning to actually stop and use your brains for a little while, and we'll get thru this!

d0h!!! I missed an appointment! An acupuncture appointment, even! And to make matters worse, I even put it in my Google Calander....*wrong*. Dammit. I rescheduled the appointment for next Wednesday, but I feel like a dumbass. *shakes head*

*Awsome*

We got to the Fillmore around 8:30p, just in time to see Pigeon John take the stage. This guy is a total breath of fresh air for the genre of hiphop. It's *clean* hiphop, which I'm not sure I've ever really heard much of. So much of it that hits the airwaves is so lewd and deprecating that I refuse to listen to it. This was the exact opposite of that stuff. It reminded me of the late 80s/early 90s. He was able to get the crowd into his show, and a good time was had by all.

And *then* Mike Patton took the stage. His on-stage ensemble consisted of Dan The Automator, Butterscotch (who was quite good), Imani Coppola, Dub Trio, and Keefus Ciancia on the keyboards. A *way way way* over the top, talented group of wacky musicians who totally fit Patton's style. And Patton himself was in a really good mood last night. He didn't do anything majorly crazy, but he was having *so much* fun! At one point, he fucked up his lyrics because he was laughing so hard. I've never seen a music performer not be able to keep his composure like that before. It was pretty funny and cute to watch. And at 39, he looks just as good as he did 17 years ago when I was 14. No kiddin! Yum yum. Anyway, it was a great show. The audience was totally into it. And we got posters too! I'm totally framing that thing.

We didn't get to bed until 1am, so I'm dragging today, but it was well worth it! I heart Patton.

It's been busy busy at work lately. I'm having to go back and do all the work that my admin didn't do, which turned out to be *a lot*. I have lots of piles of stuff to do, but at least it's 'organized' in such a fashion as I know exactly what needs to be done. Yesterday, I had no idea where to begin!

There's a Sharks game at 4:30p today, and then we're supposed to sign our new lease tonight. Josh noted a few 'wierd' things which we'll address with the lady, but I don't think it's anything too major.

Anyway, unless I do something with them, those piles are just going to sit!

(Yall know me...they ask for 3 answers and I give 4! Always the defier....)

What are your 3 favorite types of music? Why?

1. First and foremost, heavy metal is my all-time favorite kind of music. 80s metal is my specialty. I'm not a big fan of today's metal (it lacks imagination for the most part) tho. Metal just makes my blood boil in a good way. It just seems more down-to-earth than anything else to me.

2. I'm also a fan of the gray area in music. The more 'alternative' stuff, which is relative. I love the 80s new-wave stuff. I'm also a fan of the 90s lesser-known music. Stuff like Depeche Mode, Jane's Addiction, Throwing Muses, Belly, Sleater-Kinney, Sonic Youth, etc. Stuff that never really had a catagory or was hugely popular, but it's all still really good. Some people may say some of that is mainstream, but I grew up in a place where that stuff was never on the radio. And most of it, I didn't get into until the late 90s when metal took a hiatus.

3. These days, I'm also a fan of electronica music. Down-tempo triphop is a favorite, but there's always a time and place for breaks, glitch, and the in-between stuff.

4. We mustn't forget the basics! I *love* old jazz and old blues. I prefer the stuff from the 30s to the 60s on a daily basis. Sometimes it's good to explore and think outside the box, but people have goofy ideas as to what constitutes as a certain genre. For example, I do not believe in any way, shape, or form that Tina Turner's 'What's Love Got to Do With It' is "jazz".

In reference to Axl Rose....

Quoth Mike Patton: "No one can teach that guy anything. He's a perfect prick."

hehehe...yaaaaay! I heart Mike Patton :)

I had a pretty busy and meh day, but my evening made up for it. We finally finished 'Once Upon A Time In America' and also ended up finishing 'Miller's Crossing', had broccoli & asparagus for dinner, and basked in warm water. I didn't get to sleep until around midnight, but it was worth it. *happy grin*

Josh and I got the place in Piedmont that we wanted! w00h00! We sign the lease tomorrow and I think we could move as early as a couple of weeks. And we'll be able to tell the current property managing company to go to hell! Yay for us! I'm certainly not looking forward to packing up the house or unpacking it when we get there, but I think we're going to hire movers this time around, which will take some of the stress off. So....we know what *I'll* be doing this weekend! :P

I get to go see Mike Patton tonight! w00h00! And since it *is* Mike Patton we're talking about, I have absolutly no idea what to expect, but I suspect I won't be bored!

Tomorrow is the Detroit Red Wings vs. the San Jose Sharks game, and then I think we're signing the lease at 8p. I have no plans this weekend, so I'm sure it'll be a lot of packing and re-organizing. Life is more in 'grind' mode right now (working extra, gotta move, etc), but I suppose that's a good thing. Keeps me out of trouble and such.

Oy vey. So, I'm not sure what happened really, but I have to hire a new person which means I'm back to doing 2 jobs again for a little while. This means that I have to use my time wisely. This also means that my unmotivated streak has abruptly screeched to a halt.

Oh well...at least I'm not bored, right? :P

"Ah, see good in bad. I like!" - Mr.Kim

Well, I survived my hell week last week, so that's good! Friday came and went pretty well. Josh and I had been fighting for like 2 weeks, but we *finally* figured out the problem Friday, and things have been pretty smooth sailing ever since. I went back to the dentist Friday morning because the space where my tooth was pulled was hurting more than I wanted. Turns out that I had some food stuck in there, and it was preventing things from healing the way they were supposed to. It's been better since, so yay! I got thru the rest of the day and left early so I could clean up the house before people invaded it. Ben, Lorraine, and Tony all came over around 6 to watch game 5 of the Sharks-Predators game...which they won! Yay Sharks! So, they go on to the next round! After the game was over, we spent the rest of the evening playing GH and shooting the shit. I coma-fied myself and went to bed around midnight.

I woke up at noon on Saturday, made some tea (I think coffee is starting to kill my gut, which *sucks*...on an elimination diet atm) and proceeded to go OCD on my back porch and courtyard. It was rainy/windy on Friday and all the leaves collected on the back porch. Then all the smokers proceeded to track leaves in and out of the house all night. Obviously, that was way too much for my sense of order! I took all the stuff off the porch, got all the leaves off, ran Domo on it, and put everything back. But where do the leaves come from? Mostly the courtyard from which they fall, so, I took a broom to the area and made a nice pile. I also took the opportunity to hack and slash the two jade trees that are in planters. I can't get the landlords to take care of them and they are way overgrown, so I went in and Missy-fied it. They do look better. 5 trash bags of leaves and branches later, everything was nice and pretty again. I took a shower, and then Josh and I went and looked at an apartment over by Piedmont Ave. We totally want it (it has *tons* of storage space), so we filled out applications and hopefully we'll know sometime this week what's going on. After that, we went to Lafayette where we had Chinese for lunch and then went Safeway and TJ's for groceries. We got home and put everything away and then made our way over to Alasdair's to sample the yummy Belhaven he got on tap. Kind of a wierd vibe in the place that night, but I still had fun and managed to get stupid...like I wanted to :P. I think we were in bed around midnight again.

We got up at 10a yesterday and Josh left for the Giants game with Kenny around noon. I putzed around for awhile, then took a shower and drove up to El Cerrito to do errands before the mushroom field brainstorming session. I went to the natural food grocery store, where I spent all my money on wheat-free food. I'm on an elimination diet to see if my digestive issues are related to food that I'm eating. The biggest thing to start with is wheat. It's really hard since there's wheat in everything, but the natural grocery store (if you can afford to shop there) is good for that. I've got a house full of wheat-free stuff for me to eat and snack on, so we'll see how that goes. All I know is that getting old sux :P. Even tho I purposefully crawled my way thru the grocery store, I still had half a hour to kill before the meeting, so I went to Target for some things. The mushroom brainstorming session was pretty good! I am way far removed from even thinking about being mechanically inclined, but I'm interested in the project, so I observed while Schreck and NASA Matt fiddled and played with controllers and the like. I probly won't be around for anymore brainstorming sessions since there's nothing for me to do, but I'm sure my services will be needed once it's time to actually put the mushrooms together. After playing with electronics, we had shrimp on the grill, hottub goodness, and then I went home around 10.

So, that was the weekend! I need to do laundry tonight, but I think that's all on my 'to do' list today. Tomorrow we're finishing 'Once Upon a Time in America' (finally!), and then Wednesday is the Peeping Tom show! And I anticipate that the rest of the week will be quiet. Or at least, that is my goal.

Anyway, much to do today.

1. Name a song you know most (or all) of the words to.
Oh jeeze...any of my favorites from the 80s, I guess. Tesla, Guns N Roses, Metallica, Poison, Warrant, Skidrow....pick one.

2. Name a movie that you have watched more than once and would watch again.
Again, I'm the 80s child, so anything like Ghostbusters, Wierd Science, Spaceballs, Princess Bride, Breakfast Club, etc.

3. Have you ever read a book more than once? Please share.
Of course. What's the point of owning a book if you only read it once? The two that stick out in my brain the most at the moment would be 'Snow Crash' and 'Wyrm'. I could read those two over and over.

4. Share an inspirational quote with us.
"Evil will always triumph because good is dumb!!"

5. What day of the week does (or did) your birthday fall on this year?
I got lucky this year. My birthday lands on a Saturday. w00!

6. Have you ever bought a book or cd or movie more than once because you forgot you bought it already?
No way. I'm way too cheap to do something like that.

It has been a Twilight Zone week in general, and I'm glad it ends tomorrow. From people acting more wierd than they usually do to other 'strange things' happening, I just want to hide in my house and not come out for awhile.

Monday I did laundry and putzed around, and that was fairly uneventful. Tuesday, S and I went to see The Shins. It was good in parts, but overall, I think they could have been better. When they were actually playing together, it was awsome. They did a cover of 'Eclipse' that was phenomenal. But as far as their own stuff goes, they literally rushed thru their set, playing things faster than the original tempo, and I think it sorely took away from the sound and feel of all the songs they did that to. It was dissapointing. If you need more time on stage, *get on earlier*!!! But, I'm glad I got to see them once.

Yesterday was Josh's boofday and the Shark's #4 playoff game, which they won! Josh and I spent most of the day arguing, which sucked. We've both been a tad moody lately. And I had a crappy day at work yesterday, which certainly didn't help things. But, things will get better from here. We've decided to stay home tonight and tomorrow night (which is playoff game #5) and then on Saturday, we're going to see the Giants play and then have dinner. Sunday is the meeting for the Mushroom Field we're going to do for Field Day. Where would we be without another project, right? Bored! In trouble! And I get into enough trouble anyway :P. The idea is to have a field of mushrooms that glow, change color, etc. It'll be interesting.

I think the only thing I have going next week is the Peeping Tom show on Wednesday. Other than that, I am going to *try* and be mellow. Life and things are moving a little *too* fast for me these days, and I need a break.

I got a new machine at the end of Feb. at work. It wonks out from time to time, but short of reformatting (which I don't want to do, is a pain in the ass, and would take me out of work for 3 days), I didn't know what to do, so I didn't do anything.

This morning, my machine was wonking out again. I decided to check the system specs. I found out that instead of the gig of memory that I ordered, they 'forgot' to put the extra 512 in. Oops :P. I'm kinda pissed at myself for taking a month and a half to realize it, but at least I finally did. An email to the IT dept was sent, and they're sending me my stick today. Annoying, but oh well, problem solved!

Josh: working without a gig is like
Josh: drinking a milkshake through a coffee stirrer
Josh: sure you can do it
Josh: but why

Good point there!

1. Do you consider yourself smarter than most people? Why/why not?
No, but I do consider myself to have more 'common sense' than most people. I see it in how I keep my house, how I drive, how I run errands, how I do my work, etc. But that certainly doesn't make me any smarter or better than anyone else.

2. Do you believe that smartness can be judged with an I.Q. score? Why/why not?
No. It only sets us up for failure. And judgment. Just because I have an IQ of 100 and the person sitting next to me has an IQ of 160 doesn't necessarily make them smarter than me. And it doesn't make me stupid. I think I have an average intelligence, and it does me pretty well. I have no major complaints. It's not weather or not if you *have* smarts, but rather what you *do* with those smarts that matters.

3. Do you think that we as humans have the potential to evolve some more, or is this the end of the line for us? Why/why not?
It's hard to imagine we can go past what we are now, but if you look at evolution in general, I see no reason why we (as humans) won't evolve into something else. In 10 million years, we could evolve into an actually intelligent species, or we could *devolve* and have the attention span of fish. Who knows? I won't be around to see it, but I'm sure it'll be interesting nonetheless.

I totally heart this guy. Why? Because he's just not afraid to turn to the US (or anyone else for that matter) and say, "Fuck you guys! You will not bully me or my people!". Not that I particularly agree with his politics or his country's actions, but for him to have the balls to do and say the things he says and does is awsome. We need more assholes like this guy. He 'appears' to be your 'average guy', which is why he's so appealing (or at least, it got him elected) to a lot of his people. He 'looks' presidential, as opposed to the monkey currently sitting in the U.S. Whitehouse. He also speaks well, unlike the current monkey in the Whitehouse.

But most of all, I just like the fact that he can be such a dick and get away with it. Kudos to you, guy! Afterall, without their oil, we're fuct. It's gotta be interesting having that much [so-called] power.

It's been a pretty good day so far! Nothing major, just a pretty good day. I slept okay, but Josh woke up from a nightmare or something choking around 1:30a. It completely pulled me out of my sleep. I bolted straight up in the bed, made sure he was breathing, briefly calmed him down, and went back to sleep. Then around 5, we both tossed and turned for awhile before falling back asleep. But in spite of that, I still slept okay.

Important safety tip #2 for today: Darvacet (pain stuff they gave me for my tooth) = backed-up digestive system for Missy = baaaad news. It took 6 pills and a night of cramping to get things moving again :P. No more of that stuff for me!

I finally got my new personalized license plates today! Yay! It's my old plate with a 1 at the end. I had to surrender the old name when my car was stolen. Jerks. But at least it's the 'freak mobile' again!

Tonight is the Shins show! w00! I'm looking forward to it. I've heard they can be really good in concert, and I've heard the opposite. I'm hoping tonight is an 'on' night! It's at The Warfield, which is not my favorite place to see a show (tho I seem to be one of the few), so we'll see.

Last week, I wondered if I was starting to develop an allergy to wheat (which would really suck), so I modified my diet. This means getting rid of wheat bread, most crackers, pasta, and anything else with wheat in it. Fortunatly, there's no wheat in chocolate :P. But, it seems to be helping things a *lot*, and so it's a small price to pay. I've been eating a lot of fresh veggies and being creative with my meals. Or at least, trying to anyway. I really want to locate some wheat-free pasta tho. I need to take a trip to the natural foods grocery store.

Last night was my only night home this week til Friday, so I picked up the house and did laundry. Boring, but no one else is going to do it for me. I keep trying to talk Squeek into getting off his ass and doing it for me, but that's a decade-long loosing battle.

I miss my Mammaw today. I'm not sure what made me think of her (besides looking at her picture all day that's sitting in my office), but something that reminded me of her popped into my head earlier today and I wished I could call her and see how she was doing.

Anyway, that's about it for me today.

This was on the back of a DMV envelope that I received yesterday:

I'm a bit confused. I get the car, the martini glass, and the pills.....but a syringe? Remember kids, no shooting up before getting in the car!!! :P

"Important safety tip, thanks Egon!"

Sewiously, you guys. :P

I got up this morning and did my normal routine and left for work. I had to get gas on the way, so when I got to Walnut Creek, I went to the same gas station that I normally go to. And as usual, there's some diesel truck at the lane I usually use, not pulling up all the way so I can pull in the back of them. No, they make me go around and back in front of them. Dumb, but whatever. It's just a pattern I see. But this morning, the idiot behind me was *smoking a cigarette while pumping his gas*. Now of course you hear rumors about not having cell fones on while you're pumping and not getting in and out of your car while pumping, but *this* is common sense. gas + flames = BOOM! Fucking idiot! So, I said something to the attendent who told the guy to put out his cig. But good gravy!! *shakes head*

Then I came into work issues that I won't get into here. They got resolved (or at least talked about), but I spent most of the day being agitated about it.

I did get to go pick up and get fitted for my new bite plane tho so no more teeth have to get pulled, so that's good! On the downside, I had to give the dentist $627 bux.

The afternoon mellowed and I can finally start doing *work* again tomorrow, so yay!

Yesterday ended up going pretty well also. The play was awsome, and my munchkins did great! The production was my-high-school-style (I went to a pretty upscale hs where the productions were pretty good), and it was fun seeing something like that again. I went to the after-party until it started to get croweded and then *snap*, it was time to go! I got to finally finish 'The Man in the Grey Flannel Suit', which was a pretty typical ending for a movie made in the 50s. Dinner was pan-fried marinated asparagus, which was pretty damn tasty. And then, the warm waters. And all was awsome. I got home at 11p and was asleep 15 mins later.

This week is going to be hella busy. Tomorrow is The Shins show. Wednesday, I'm going to the Sharks game with Josh (and it's also his boofday!). Thursday, I'm taking Josh to San Francisco for dinner. I think Friday is dead. Saturday, Josh and I are going to the Giants game. Sunday, I'm sleeping :P.

1. Who do you think is cuter, the host of Survivor, or the host of Amazing Race?
I don't watch either show, so I have no clue.

2. Have you seen any movies in a theater recently?
No.

3. Do you read manga?
I have no idea what that is.

4. For people living in the US: Have you ever traveled outside of the state you were born in?
Yes. I've only been as east and south as OH, TN, FL, GA, and MS, but have been all the way west, as I now live in CA.

5. Do you have a Yahoo! 360 page?
I don't know what that is.

6. How many blogs/online diaries do you have total?
Two. One is public, the other is private.

I ended my Thursday well, but started out my Friday not so wonderful. mb&b on Thursday was a total success! The mega Connect 4 board went off without a hitch, and everyone totally loved it. The Connect 4 tournament was awsome too. It didn't take too much time to put up and take down the board. I think we got back to Schreck's house and got the car unloaded by 1. I was home by 1:15. But getting home is where our adventure begins.

I was *really* tired when I left, and was offered a place to crash, but declined because I was really tired and I wanted to sleep in the next day, and my teeth were hurting still and wanted to take a Vicodin before going to sleep. I was so tired that while driving on 580, traffic decided to come to almost a dead stop for no reason, and I didn't see it in time. By the time I did, I had to slam on my breaks. So I wouldn't hit the car in front of me, I swerved, but had enough force behind me that I was about to loose control of the car. Somehow, I managed to regain control and not hit anyone or anything. It sure did scare the crap out of me tho. And, I had made a bad decision of getting in the car in the first place because I was so tired. I was totally in the wrong and I know next time to listen to other people. I put myself *and* others at risk because I was too tired to drive. I see that no differently than a drunk driver or something. It was a very dumb thing to do, and I totally learned my lesson.

I got home after having a heart attack and yelling at myself for being so stupid, took my Vicodin, and went to bed. I asked Josh to get up before me so I could get an extra half hour of sleep. So, I slept from 1:20a to 8a, but woke up in lots o pain in my teeth again. I knew I needed to call the dentist when there were tears rolling down my face on the way to work. I've got an appointment on Monday to pick up my new bite plane/nightguard, but there was no way I was going to be able to wait that long. So, I called and got an emergency appointment for 9:30a. At 10:30a they decided I needed a root canal and got me into this endodontist over off La Casa Via. What had happened is this: I grind my teeth, hence the whole night guard thing. I got my bite plane in 1993, making it 14 years old. It's old, doesn't fit well anymore, and it's finally starting to degrade. I knew I needed a new one, hence getting fitted a couple of weeks ago for a brand spanking new $500 piece of plastic. But, it seems that I waited too long. The old guard wasn't fitting like it should, creating the opportunity for massive grindage. I bruised the nerve so bad on tooth #31 (far back tooth on the right side) that I killed it. Oops.

I make my way across towne to the endodontist lady. She was one of these wierd stuffy ladies from San Francisco. Air force reserve, lots o training at Harvard, etc. She charged me $200 out of pocket just to walk in the door. Oy. Then she said she could do a root canal, but then I'd need a crown on top of that. It seems that my dental insurance sucks and only covers $1000 total a year of work. It also seems that she would charge me $900 due at the time of service and then another $1100 for a crown. Is a tooth really worth $2000? Especially one in the far back? I do have 29 other teeth, ya know (I had #1 pulled about a decade ago). So, I talked with her for a few mins and then just told her to yank it. I have no idea why, but she wouldn't pull the tooth, so she had to send me to an oral surgeon. My question is, she's completely over-qualified to pull a tooth...wtf is the problem? After a fone call, she got me in to see a guy that was in the same complex as my regular dentist. So I hauled ass back across towne and got to the guy's office around 12:45p. They gave me gas cause I'm a weenie, pulled the tooth, and I was out of there around 1:30p or so. I went to Target and dropped off my perscriptions, hung around work for half an hour or so, then went and got my perscriptions and went home. There went the work day. Oops :P. Fortunatly, I have a boss who r0x, so I had nothing to worry about.

So, *that* was my day. I spent the rest of the evening drinking SlimFast shakes (cause it was about the only thing I could eat) and on pain meds. Steph & Whit came over around 8:30p and brought Josh a burrito and hung out with us for the rest of the evening. I went to bed about 11:45p and got up about 11:30a this morning. I cleaned up the house cause we're having company again tonight and now here I am. I'm gonna spend the afternoon watching stupid Smallville (season 3) episodes, I think. I need to get a movie back to Netflix so I can finish 'Once Upon A Time In America' with M :P.

Tomorrow has the potential to be not so much busy as full. 2 of The 3 Munchkins are in a revival of 'The Music Man', so I'm going to the 2pm showing of that. After that, there's an after party at their dad's house which I'll make an appearance at. After that, I'm either going home, or going to sit in a tub of very warm water. I'll find out that part tomorrow. As much as I like being a homebody, a tub of very warm water sounds like a dreeeeeam.

I'm being awfully aware and mindful of my surroundings the past couple of days. There's this kinda weird feeling floating around, and I have been paying attention. I don't know what my problem was yesterday, but I didn't want to talk to anyone, see anyone, or deal with anyone. And so, I pretty much didn't. I slept half the day, then watched the last half of Alice's Restaurant. Then I watched Mr.Deeds Goes To Town with Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur. Then I watched half of the 2005 remake of King Kong. Good god, what a crappy film. I'll watch the rest of it just because I like to finish what I start, but *damn*. Then, what was supposed to be a 2.5 hour Sharks game turned into a 4 hour Sharks game. But, they won the first game in the their playoff series, so w00h00!. After that, I watched 1.5 episodes of BSG from season 1 and then went to bed.

Tuesday night was the Robyn Hitchcock show. First yummy Chinese food was had on Solano Ave., and then we made our way to the city. Traffic was pretty non-existant at 7p, so it was a peaceful trip. After a couple of drinks, the show started around 8:30p. This cute but geeky guy with glasses and very thick curly hair and his friend got up on stage and did a few songs for us. Then Robyn and his backup band of REM got on stage...with the opener guy on backing vocals (he's pretty good, actually). Man, what a good show! I was one of the youngins at the show, but it didn't seem to matter much! By the time the show ended at 11:30p, my feet were tired and my back was killing me from standing for 2 hours, but it was awsome. The music was great, the lyrics weird, and the crowd was quite enjoying themselves. Only in San Francisco tho....I'm not sure how seeing him would have been in a conservative place. He's an ooooold hippy. I got home around 12:20a, and was asleep by 12:30a.

In odd news, my teeth are moving on their own. But, it's only on the right side of my mouth. I don't know *what* the hell is going on, but if you've ever had braces, you know the pain I'm talking about. Teeth moving thru bone hurts like a mother. And it seems to bother me the most at night while I'm sleeping. I haven't slept particularly well the past few nights because I keep waking up in pain. It was so annoying this morning that I almost got up and took half a Vicodin, but I was able to fall back asleep. I'm going to the dentist on Monday to pick up my bite plane and so I'll see what she has to say, but *damn*. And the wierd thing is, they're actually moving the correct way. Like, my teeth scrunched back up together, but now those right teeth are moving backwards to provide the rest of my teeth some room. I just hope it stops soon. It's been bugging me off an on for a month now, and the pain now just makes me feel like it's 1993 again and they're manipulating the crap out of my mouth. It was painful then, and it's painful now.

In groody body news, I ate something a few weeks ago that tore up my digestive system to the point where I wasn't really able to eat any food at all. I've lost almost 10lbs in a month. Sure, I can fit into my skinny jeans again, but 10lbs in 2 weeks because I can't eat? Ug. And I'm fucking *hungry*. However, I cut out most sugar and wheat out of my diet, and that has seemed to help speed up the healing, and I'm *finally* starting to feel better. I also have been eating a lot of raw veggies too. So when I get the munchies at night, it's carrots instead of cookies or chips, which I shouldn't be eating anyway!

Tonight we unveil the mega Connect 4 board at mb&b! I'm looking foward to it! I'm gonna meet Schreck at his house and we'll load it up and haul it out to the city. It's looking to be another late night, but at least tomorrow is Friday! Tomorrow is also the Yuri's Night party, but I'm leaning towards staying home. I just dunno yet.

Anyway, I better get on with my day.

1. Do you ever get that 'sixth sense' feeling like something is going to happen or something of the sort? If so, how do you react to it? What do you do?
I didn't used to, but I do now. And since I'm not used to it, I don't tend to catch it until the last minute or until it's too late, but I'm sure I'll get better about it. Yesterday was an example of me catching it. I woke up yesterday and took a shower and got dressed. It was raining out and the wind was blowing 'funny'. Something told me not to go out, but I did not want to listen. I got on the road...got onto 580 and onto 24 and that feeling got stronger and stronger. I got to the Broadway exit and my car took the exit and took me home. Something just told me not to go out yesterday. I still don't know why, but I listened anyway. I spent the day sleeping and watching old movies. I left for an hour to go to the acupuncturist at 5:30, but that was it. Two prime examples of me not listening are when my car broke down at the tunnel in November, and then also the day my car got stolen. Sometimes you just have to listen to your environment, and yesterday mine was telling me not to do anything. Who knows what might have happened if I didn't listen to that voice. I could have gotten into a horrible accident. There could have been a big earthquake. Or, nothing could have happened. But life experience had told me to stop and listen to the things going on around me, so I'm making an effort to do so.

2. Do you believe in fate? Why/why not?
Honestly, I'm not sure. Sometimes it seems like things happen for a reason. Other times, it seems like things just happen. Right now, things are pretty good all the way around, and I am not going to question why.

3. Do you ever just stop and smell the roses?
I do, actually. Figuratively and physically speaking. I didn't used to, and then I realized just how short life really is. And so once in awhile, I *do* stop and take a break. And if there are pretty flowers around, I stop to appreciate them. Like Ferris said, "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss something".

I think it might be Guy PMS week. Every guy I've run into so far this week (including Josh) has been in a tizzy because the sky is blue. What is the deal here? To be quite rude about it, do we need to start handing out tampons, or what? :P

Me, I'm trying to be on an even keel, but good gravy.

I think the best course of action is to keep my mouth shut for the rest of the week and let the men in the world do their thing.

I did *not* want to get out of bed this morning. I wasn't able to sleep thru the night either. I woke up like 3 seperate times. I hate that. I'm trying to not let the little things bother me today, but it's a constant battle so far.

The weekend wasn't too bad. Friday...what did I do Friday? Oh! The formal party thing! Well, they *did* get me into a dress. And those people who've never seen me dressed up were slightly impressed. It was a fun night! Saturday, Josh left around noon for the Sharks game, and I cleaned and did laundry. Around 3, I took a shower and made my way to Kitty's to see Stefi on her last Saturday. She had a newbie bartender, so I played his guinea pig most of the afternoon. He was cute *and* he made fairly good drinks! I put invites out to both Schreck and Josh to come and drink with us, but didn't think anyone would make it out, but they both did! So it was the 4 of us drinking and chatting most of the early evening. Josh's back was hurting him a bit, so he was drugged up the rest of the weekend. We spent the rest of the evening watching the BSG mini-series.

Yesterday, I woke up around 10:30a, had my coffee, played a little w0w, and watched another episode of BSG before leaving the house for the afternoon. Josh still wasn't feeling good, but I didn't want to stay inside all day, so I made my way to M's place, where we just hung out and watched movies most of the day. "You don't want to clean today...you want to watch bad movies with me!". I'm such a bad influence :P. First came the end of A Bucket of Blood. Then came The Terror. Then just to even things out, an episode of South Park was had, but not without an interruption from my grandfather who decided to give me a call pretty much out of the blue. While we were waiting for dinner to marinate, we started The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit, but I didn't get to watch the last 20 mins. It's kinda a slow-moving story, and attention spans started to wander. After a yummy dinner of salmon, potatoes, carrots, and asparagus, I went home and watched my crap show, spent a few mins hanging out with Josh, and then went to bed.

I believe Josh and I are playing w0w tonight, and then tomorrow I'm going to see Robyn Hitchcock. Thursday is (I think it's our last) mb&b and our Connect 4 tournament in which we reveal our board of goodness! Friday is 'Yuri's Night', but I don't know if I'm going to that yet. I may just stay in. April's kinda a busy month, and I think I'd like to stay mellow on the nights when I don't have something going on. We'll see.

Well, there was no mb&b this week, but it was a mellow evening anyway!

People all around me yesterday were being grumpy, stressed out, angsty, and the drivers were especially not great. Me, I've been on a pretty even keel all week, so I calmed people down as best as I could and just kept my mouth shut and chilled. I got home and did a few chores (tho I haven't done laundry yet because I'm lazy), talked to my other Mammaw (dad's mom) for a few, and spent a few minutes with Josh before he went to the Sharks game with Stefi. I didn't do much with my evening at all, but it was still nice and mellow! I played GH for a little while (which I think I'm starting to get bored with..maybe it's time to play the first one again?), then made dinner and ate (while having a convo with Kit on the fone), and then watched Little Miss Sunshine. I had it on the Tivo thru Amazon's Unbox thingy and had to watch it by next week, so I got it out of the way. It was cute, but quirky. And I had no idea that Steve Carell could act. Very interesting.

It looks to be a fairly non-eventful day today. It's been quiet lately, and I only have one project to take care of.

See what happens people put their heads together to create something awsome?:

It's a thing of beauty! Come to the Canvas Gallery and play with us on Thursday, April 12th!!!

So, I called and talked to the vet yesterday to get z0rg's recent urine/blood test. Turns out, the boy is okay! His BUN levels are down from 73 to 38 (36 is the high end of normal). And while the BUN level is slightly elevated, the specific gravity of his urine is perfectly normal, which means that his kidneys are working!

What I think happened is because he doesn't always pay attention to what's going on around him, he got sidetracked and forgot to drink and that's why he got so dehydrated. The vet said that the iffy results last week were not indictive of kidney failure, so I'm thinkin it's just that he forgot to drink. Silly kitty!

I've let him out everyday since Friday and he goes out all day, then comes home when it's time for bed. He eats and drinks regularly and so really, that's it! The vet said I could give him fluids once a week if it'll make me feel better and to get him tested again in a couple of months, but that basically, he was fine! I think just for good measure, I'll see if they sell any cheap kidney diet food (since he won't eat the expensive stuff) and mix it in with his MeowMix. Goofy, special needs kitty!

So, *that* crisis is over! Yay!

1. How are you? How are things in general? What's your rating on things on a scale from 1 to 10?
I don't have much to complain about these days! As a whole, things are pretty good. Relationships are going well, work is going well, kids are healthy, I'm healthy (for the most part)...I'd say I'm at about an 8 to an 8.5 right now

2. It's spring time! Do you like spring? Why/why not? What are you up to this spring? Any major plans?
In general, the seasons seem to melt into each other for me, but I do like spring. I especially love spring in Contra Costa County. Things are *so* green, and it's only a shade of green that you find in the spring time. And this year more than others, I've *smelled* spring. The sweet aroma of things blooming this year is just intoxicating for me. It's kinda neato. I seem to be busy in general anymore. Not overly busy, it's just that I keep my schedule partially full. Shows, hanging out with friends, TEC stuff....it keeps me entertained! Spring will melt into summer and I'll still be occupied!

3. Do you like your job? Do you like going to work? If so, tell us about it! If not, what would you rather be doing with your time?
I love my job. It's 10 shades of neato. It's the only job I've ever had where I *don't* dread going to work. I have an awsome boss and work with awsome people. It's a very nice feeling. While it's not my first choice of how to spend my day, the environment in which I work makes the 8 hours a day that I do spend there pretty okay. If I wasn't working? Well, I'd sleep til 10 everyday, clean the house, play on the puter, etc. My job is good for my brain tho. I'm always learning something!

I have been *so* lazy this morning!

I didn't end up going to the show last night, but ended up being out til midnight anyway. The mega Connect 4 ("The largest Connect 4 board in the world....that'll fit in Schreck's car!") got put together (yay!!) and it looks really good! And I won the game of Connect 4! It was awsome. It takes about 20 minutes or so for 2 people to put it together. It's not too bad. After that, we got sucked into this English film called Layer Cake with the new Bond guy, Daniel Craig. I haven't seen the new Bond film, and this was the first film I've ever seen Craig in. What a handsome guy! Good actor too. The film tho...well...it was well put together, but I'm not so sure about it as a whole.

So, I got home around 12:15a and was asleep by 12:20a. I woke up at my usual 7:30am time, but talked Josh into getting up first so I could sleep in today. I got out of bed about 8am. I took a shower, got dressed, gave the kids treats, etc. Of course, my necklace got into a knot, and then I dropped an earing back, and once I finally got my shit together and pulled out of the garage, it was 8:30a. Now, I'm usually at work at around 8:15a, so I was not feeling bad at all for being late this morning. I walked into the office at 8:55a :P. Of course, this means no formal lunch for me today, but it was worth it. I'm in a pretty good mood today, and even tho I'm still tired, I'm pretty relaxed too. It was a good evening last night, and I am looking very forward to this evening as well. We're watching the Sharks game tonight but really, I just want to spend some time with Josh. It'll be nice. Tomorrow I'm home alone cause Josh has a Shark's game and then on Friday, I'm being dragged (kicking and screaming...well, sorta) to this formal dinner where I have to dress up like a damn girl :P. I gotta dig out clothes tonight.

Josh took z0rg to the vet yesterday for what was supposed to be a quick in & out thing to draw blood and urine. They ended up having to keep him a few extra hours because he had gone pee before Josh got home, and they needed urine. Silly kitty! When I got home last night, he was in, so I guess he made it home alright! He looked really good this morning, so I'm wondering if he was just being my special needs kitty by getting dehydrated. I think we should have the results of the test today sometime. Here's hoping for good results!

I was in a funk (and mad at the male race for kinda no reason) yesterday, but I'm in a much better headspace today! Life is good. No complaints. Yay for no complaints!

Jeeze, it's a busy month for shows! Tonight, I think I'm going to go see De La Soul, which should be very cool. There's been mention of a Robyn Hitchcock show next week, but I am not sure if I'm going to that yet. The week after is The Shins on the 17th, and then Peeping Tom on the 25th! I'm *really* looking forward to that show! w00h00 for Patton!

On Friday, Josh and I have been invited to this formal party where I am being made to actually look like a girl, which sucks 10 shades to the max :P. I either gotta haul out a dress out of a hidden corner somewhere, or go shopping. Either way makes my skin crawl. That also means I have to find my make-up. Oh well, it'll be a good time. And then this weekend, it's my goal to push a few people into helping to put together the Connect 4 board so we can see it all prettily painted before we show it to the public next week at mb&b.

So this is what it feels like to have a life, eh?

1. Where did you go on your last vacation?
I went to San Diego to visit my friend Gil.

2. Would you go there again? Why or why not?
Yeah, it was fun! He's a great person, and fun to be around!

3. How many vacations do you take in one year?
I suppose it depends on what you classify as 'vacation'. When I go away to campouts during the summer, that's kinda a vacation. I think as long as you can unwind and relax, that's what's important!

4. Where would you REALLY like to go on your next vacation, if money was no issue, and how long would you stay?
I think I'd like to go to Europe and visit my sister. I think a major vacation by myself sounds like a keen idea.

5. Do you put a little money aside each week (or month) to save up for your vacation?
No. I suppose I should do something of the sort, but I don't.

I had a good weekend. It was interesting, productive, and above all, fun!

Friday night, S came over and we had Chinese for dinner and watched the first 2.5 hours of 'Once Upon A Time In America'. He left at 10:30p to go to a party, and I spent the rest of the evening hanging out with one of the Camp Stupid kids.

Saturday, I took a shower, had coffee, and made my way over to Schreck's house, where we painted the Connect 4 board. It took the 2 of us about 5 hours to paint everything. Of course when it was all done, Hickory and Taylor showed up for food and to have us help finishing Taylor move stuff out of her house. Schreck and I were pretty damn tired by the end of the day. Painting several coats in the sun for hours on end sucks the life out of you. When we finished with the moving, we sat in the hottub for awhile, then I went home and crashed out. I was so tired I was having trouble focusing on the road traveling home. I slept 12 hours.

I woke up yesterday around 11, gave z0rg his I.V. of fluids, had some coffee, and was lazy until Josh and I went to see a few places around 3p. We found a cool space in El Cerrito, but Josh thought the living room was a little small, and there was some concern as to where my puter would go, so we'll just keep looking! Josh made chicken & noodles for dinner, and then we went and hung out with A and his lady friend for awhile. A got a couple kegerators, so we had to go test them out! We came home around 10:30p and went to bed.

It turns out that z0rg did *not* have a urinary tract infection. The next step is to get his blood/urine tested again to check kidney levels. If they are still elevated, then that's pretty much the end of the line. If they're back down to normal, it could have just been a freak dehydration incident. With z0rg, who knows, so it's better to get him tested again and then make a decision.

We're having break-ins again in our garage, but this time, we've pretty much come to the conclusion that it's inter-building. One or more of the same cars keep getting broken into. Now I figure either someone has a drug problem (I keep finding dime-bags lying in the stairwells), or someone pissed someone else off. Also, conveniently, the cars that are being broken into are *behind* the security cameras (yeah, how ineffective are the cameras if they only cover half of the garage?). Also, the idiot who's car got broken into left their garage clicker *in* their car, so that was stolen also. Now, our new clickers fit on our keychains. They're little. Why the *fuck* would you leave something like that in the car? Especially when the garage hasn't been safe since December? And why are people leaving valuables in their cars? *Especially* when the garage hasn't been safe since December? Anyone else seeing a pattern here? No wonder I'm trying to move! Anyway, I'm not worried about my car. I took anything valuable out of it long ago and the only thing visible is a box of kleenax.

So, that's what's been going on the last few days. We should be able to figure out what the deal is with z0rg this week. I think I'll also call the property managing place and have words with someone there about the crime in our building. But I don't think I have too awful much else going on this week. I have to leave in a few to go get a cavity filled. Fun o fun!