Hello, Blog, Welcome to 2008

Two things have inspired the restarting of this blog:

1. I'm moving across the country in three days. Surely I'll have an interesting adventure or two I'll want to document.

2. I've been itching to write in a journal. However, when I sit down to write with a pen or type into a Word document, I find myself falling short in the minimum-words-needed category (i.e. writer's block). I tend to write best in an epistolary way, whether the intended reader is actual or a generalized friend. All of my blogs start with "Dear X:" in my mind; whether I type it out is iffy. Writing this way encourages self-editing.

3. I want an online repository of random thoughts, because my little black notebooks fill up quickly, and I'd like a more permanent record for my own sake.

If you're still reading, wow, I'm shocked.

I've been reading this article regarding a survival training camp. According to camp doctrine, all you need in the woods is your brain and a knife, preferably a fixed blade and not double-edged one. While I am not much into knives, I found my Leatherman pocket knife to be the handiest tool in Uganda. I was able to retool several things, chop vegetables for curries over a kerosene stove, clean my fingernails, screw things together, and cut bandages. I suppose this article resonates with me as I am packing for the move to Pittsburgh. While I am taking no furniture, and my boxes constitute 1/6 of the garage, I'm still slightly overwhelmed with all that I possess. I've always looked to a particular friend (she shall remain unnamed), who travels extremely light. When I start packing for a trip, another move, I ponder what she would take with me, what can be converted from tangible to online, etc.

Should I be moving to Pittsburgh with only a knife and my brain? Would this scare my new roommates? It would scare the shit out of me.

I'm a Meat Puppet

In the spirit of going low-carb (family history of diabetes, unnatural attachment to breads and pasta), I went grocery shopping for meat. I grabbed my little basket and hurried to the meat department.

I felt like a crazy person with all of the meat products stacked in my basket. Chicken, turkey, turkey bacon, shrimp, pork, and a small thing of beef (Thai Beef Salad, ooh boy!). I was embarrassed to give the cashier my nearly overflowing basket of meat.

We'll see how the meat product diet goes. I am supplementing it with approved vegetables and dairy products. Ugh.

Most posts later, it seems I've missed a month of blogging. So much for blogging for 365 days.

My Heart Will Go On, John Madden....

Continuation of the documention of the mundane:

Last night, I watched John Madden: My Road to Canton. I realized that I have an ex-boyfriend who bears a slight physical resemblance to John Madden.

Dog parks are odd places. The dogs I travel with like the dog park, although they seem to stay in their own pack. I think they prefer having a different yard in which to sniff, shit, and pee.

My friend Brian sent me the above photograph shortly after he walked by this restaurant. I'm going to try to eat there when I'm in DC for a conference. It's the ultimate date restaurant. I wonder if one can order the "You're Going to Go On and Make Babies" pad thai while romancing a Thai man-woman hooker (man-woman hooker is an inside joke).

EDIT: After showing the Thai Tanic picture to a couple of folks in the office, one of them submitted this photograph from his DC vacation for consideration:

Aaaarrrr, That Was a Great Movie!

I saw the second night of showing for 48-Hour Films. Some were hilarious in a good way, some were hilarious in an "Oh my god, I support your endeavor, but it ain't so good, bless your heart." Thankfully, the film I worked on was in the former category. Good audience response. I was happy that friends showed up to vote for the film, made me very happy.

Definitely something I'd do again next year.

An interesting PDF from Jett. Getting almost everyone closer to God.

Concessions Regarding Sleeping Arrangements

Thoughts I've had lately on sleeping arrangements:

I've lived with a boy, I've had boys (sadly, I feel the levels of intellectual/emotional attachment in my relationships do not warrant the use of 'man' at this time) spend the night. In the beginning, when it comes time to figure out the sleeping arrangement, I usually try to push the boy toward a couch/futon/floor. It's not that I don't like sleeping with other folks, it's just that determining sleeping arrangements takes on some sort of weird significance for me, more than "I love you." When asleep, I could accidentally kick someone, I could snore and ruin someone's rest (although I am a very light sleeper). If someone's sharing the bed with me, there are three things going on, 1. it's serious, and I may utter "I love you, " 2. we are extrememly good friends and I trust the guy friend completely, or 3. I'm too tired and/or drunk to care where anyone sleeps.

I'm pretty good about sticking to my guns when it comes to sleeping arrangements. Once I'm comfortable with someone, I don't want to curl up and sleep holding each other. It gets hot, I like to move a little in my sleep. I like boys who sleep back to back, side to side with me. I'm not worried he's going to run away in the middle of the night, I don't need to hold on tight.

While I'm pretty adamant about how I sleep with human beings, I'm a pushover when it comes to pets sleeping on my bed. Two nights ago, my small dog takes up the middle of the bed, and my body is contorted at the top of the bed, putting me into a crescent shape. Reading my book, I start getting a little comfortable. Then the cat jumps onto the book, and she makes many return visits to the book after I toss her off the book. I eventually gave up, got into my crescent shape again, and fell asleep.

I guess I should be grateful that the animals have moved to the living room by the time I wake up. I'm probably kicking them in my very light sleep:)

Conversation with My Brother

He lives in San Francisco, and he told me the following (IM conversation transcript):

David: did i tell you i met kid rock?

me: no
is he as gross in person as he seems on tv?

David: nah, he actually was clean. drunk and looking for a cab in the marina the other night. my boss and i stopped and talked to him for a few minutes. we were gonna give him a lift but we didn't have room in the rover

me: you didn't give kid rock a ride?
that's the most awesome thing i've ever heard

David: we would've but we couldn't fit him.
my boss is a huge fan too. she actually had his cd in the truck
she is from michigan too

Weekend Update Deux

This weekend's word: Overwhelming. - adjective 1. that overwhelms; overpowering: The temptation to despair may become overwhelming. 2. so great as to render assistance or opposition useless: an overwhelming majority.

Therefore, I'm moving onto The Highlights of the Weekend:

- I have the best when it comes to best friends.

- Catching part of the Chelsea/LA Galaxy game, discussing the future of soccer in America, then enjoying much-needed inebriation due to drinking Peruvian cocktails made with Pisco.



- Finally having my car washed and detailed. I'm not quite sure why it smells like polished leather considering I do not have leather seats. Maybe ashtrays smell like leather and I never realized it. I did not enjoy the racist old white women sitting with me at the carwash. Just because I'm white doesn't mean I'm going to sit with cranky white women and bitch about why my car isn't washed, waxed, and detailed in 10 minutes. One of them almost said 'wetback,' and I almost died. I sat outside and visited with those poor bastards having to clean out my nasty car.

- Walking Lucy through the pet supercenter and paying someone to clip her nails. It was worth the $8.

- Being a good little future instructor and starting work on my fall semester lesson plan.

- Continuing on the diet and losing 7.6 pounds in the past 10 days. Who would've thought that I'd actually like my scale?

- A David-Bowie themed Flight of the Conchords.