March 25, 2006

some tabloid writers are better than others

"find out the secret barry manilow has been keeping all these years!"

ummmm ... no thanks.

March 13, 2006

with a whirlwind by her side

it was a hot(ish) and dry weekend. instead of leading with the usual gunshot deaths and kidnappings, the evening news started with the wildfires that are now terrorizing neighborhoods across the state and close to your home. the fires are so terrible (not that they could ever really be good things) that fire departments from across the state are trucking in water to areas without hydrants.

also, i've noticed that my car has two cigarette lighters and no ashtrays.

have a nice evening!

March 9, 2006

why we are the dominant species (or, wasn't that on the test?)

the alarm snapped me awake at 6.22 a.m. fortunately, i hadn't made a return trip to the zombie amusement park, but the radio did save me from a co-worker's family reunion and a straw hat.

i wake up every morning to soft rock, because it's the least likely to make me immediately grumpy. unless they're playing avril lavigne, but i take my chances. this morning, tho, there wasn't even music ... it was audience participation.

for some reason the hosts (because it's impossible these days to have just one radio host ... we need at least two so someone laughs at the jokes) were asking people to finish the sentence, "there outta be a law ..."

... and genius says, "... against driving slow in the left lane."

one of the hosts knew better. "there is!"

the fear of hearing more got me moving.

March 5, 2006

no deal!

there's practically nothing i enjoy more than spending a saturday and/or sunday afternoon with my nose in a book. like, reading it. not just sitting there with my nose in it. i imagine that to be wholly unpleasant and possibly itchy. but i do understand there are many of you who would find reading wholly unpleasant and possibly itchy, so it all evens out.

anyway! my penchant for reading is the main reason i was so excited that my good friend who will absolutely not remain nameless was kind enough to give me a box of his leftover books. i’d been able to deduce that after collecting them for years, he decided to give his new bride a break and not move all of them into their nest. for crying out loud, the action figures are already taking up all available shelving.

despite the fact that we'd talked about what kinds of books i like to read, i found myself walking to my car with my arms full of random books ... which is completely fine because i'll read just about anything. and i have to say, chris, your selection of books puts that statement to the biggest test ever.

when i returned from BW3’s thursday nite, the box made it only as far as the kitchen when i decided to save my new treasures for the next morning ... to make it like christmas. you know, like christmas before the Y. it's not every day i face the prospect of having 30 new-to-me books in the house.

instead of going to work on friday, i stayed home in a non-working capacity, which is typically ok with my manager as long as it's on the calendar and i find someone to cover for me. as i let zoey out for the morning, i nearly tripped on the box that i'd stupidly left in the middle of the kitchen floor and my excitement was immediately renewed. it came with me to the living room, where we sat together on the floor.

with baited breath … baited … and aware of my pulse, i removed the lid and peered inside.

seriously. staring back up at me? howard the duck. i wasn’t exactly sure what to make of it, but I also wasn’t willing to let my spirits be dampened so immediately.

somehow, i made it through ghostbusters 2 and back to the future 2, battlestar galactica, and tron (complete with a fabulous full-color photo insert!) without looking away. from there, tho, it really did become christmas at the Y.

alienaliensalien 3star trek 4: the voyage homethe best of trek 6the best of trek 14the joy of work: dilbert’s guide to finding happiness at the expense of your co-workers

[insert dejected sigh here.]

it's pretty clear which bookshelf i'd gotten, but the irony is phenomenal. this was the first time it ever jumped from behind a wall and assaulted me like that …

many of these titles are already in my house … their pictures move.