1. Man United were rubbish today. I know he scored our only goal, but I wouldn't pay Dimitar Berbatov in tap washers. Rubbish, I tell you, RUBBISH!

2. I went to Costco this afternoon just to buy some coffee beans. I should know by now that I rarely leave Costco with just the one thing I go in there for. Came out with a new coat and a couple of throws for the sofa. I remembered the coffee beans too, and bought a jar of nuts and a rotisserie chicken too, but I resisted the Fruit & Nut Medley, which is the crack cocaine of trail mix.

3. I'm trying to write a speech at the moment - I've been nominated by the neighbours to be the spokesperson at a council meeting on Wednesday. The entire street has become a load of NIMBYs, united against a property developer who wants to build a stonking great house at the end of our little close, in a back garden. Much lobbying of various parties has been going on, and we're hoping that the Conservators of the City of London, who manage the forest, are also on our side. We're having a final meeting tomorrow evening to finalise what we're going to say, and then I have to make sure I get to say it all in my allotted 3 minutes at the Council meeting on Wednesday, hence the speech/script.

So, a thrilling weekend ahead for me, embroiled in local planning.

1. Had a massive blowout with pops the other day over me telling him I was not planning on running for the board next year. I'm still reeling from the shit he said, but I'm pleased that I was able to stand my ground and not break down in tears until after he left. Of course, he now feels the need to bring this up in every conversation we have.

2. I'm pleased that I seem to be making progress with all my flavors of mental issues, but it is quite irritating that as I'm slowly coming around to the idea of not being a complete and utter fuckup that I realized just how annoying my parents are. And how much I would love to tell them to go fuck themselves. Unfortunately, I do not have the money to be able to do that right now. Goddamnit. Maybe once school finishes and I find a job that's halfway decent? Maybe?

3. I've been worrying a lot. I worry about school. I worry that I'm growing apart from my homie. I just worry. This is not helpful because worrying just takes away energy from things that are more important and makes my stomach hurt. (Or that could just be stress since we had a board meeting this morning that ended in damn near a shouting match between pops and the President about trees.)

3a. Ah, the downstairs neighbors have started fighting again. I thought they might actually manage to get through a weekend without him screaming at her. Fantastic.

1. Yesterday SUCKED: every little thing went wrong. By evening, I was in a swivet, hurtling around cursing as I got ready for a party. I was this close to calling in my regrets and curling up in bed. Instead, I took a deep breath and lectured myself: you can go out and have fun with your friends, or stay home and feel sorry for yourself. Pick one.

2. Got to the bash, drank punch and laughed and laughed and laughed, tottered happily home and realized that though my hosts had put out a gorgeous spread of food, I had a total of two pretzels and a snowpea. Ate a midnight supper of black beans and eggs, toppled into bed and read luxuriously for a bit before falling asleep. Ahhhhhhhh.

3. On returning home, I noticed that I could only remember one --- count it, ONE --- of the devastatingly bad incidents that I suffered earlier in the day. The rest just melted away from memory.

1. Woke up after a long dream involving a group of us stealing some money and getting a hired plane out of the country to someplace warm and tropical. But I couldn't figure out the bathroom situation, as the room marked BATHROOM was apparently just an extension of the cafeteria and everyone else seemed to figure it out so I was too proud to ask. If aliens has shown up to take over the world, it would have included every one of my recurring dream themes.

2. Waffles. And bacon.

3. Doggie snuggles at the computer. Now I'm about to shower.

1. Just had a nap with the kid. Two hours of snoozing. Bliss.

2. Friends in town. Going out tonight. Wheee!

3. Had chocolate chip pancakes for lunch. Not so diet-tastic.

If aliens has shown up to take over the world, it would have included every one of my recurring dream themes.

Man, "aliens taking over the world" sounds like a great recurrent dream theme. Or are they scary? I'll trade you that one for my "I can't move all my stuff out of my apartment before the deadline" dreams or the "I forgot and haven't been to my math class all semester" dreams.

OK, for my 3 points, dinner here will consist of:
1. Chili Hamburgers.
2. French Fries.
3. Chocolate Chip Cookies.

OK, for my 3 points, dinner here will consist of:
1. Chili Hamburgers.
2. French Fries.
3. Chocolate Chip Cookies.

I will be right over.

1. Freelancing all day. Eyeballs hurt. Watching curling during meal breaks.

2. I do not have curbside appeal.

3. My skin, which has been buried under layers and layers of clothing since November, is screaming for warm, moist air.

1. As Elsa said, Yesterday SUCKED: every little thing went wrong. Alas, unlike Elsa, I had no party to go to in the evening so I drank wine and watched the Olympics instead.

2. Today is grocery shopping and laundry. Bright spot was visiting a couple of Golden Retrievers to let them outside, and they showed me their tennis ball collection and their wrestling skills.

3. Tonight is probably more wine and more Olympics. If I can get myself motivated enough to cook, I will have Occhiblu's broccoli arrabiata.

JanetLand, I think someday when you're in the vicinity, you should come over for an "Everything SUCKED" party. Maybe we can get theora55 in on this, too.

As it is, we're having an accidental virtual dinner party, or at least very similar dinners: I'm planning cappellini with buttery tomato sauce and roasted broccoli.

1. Just woke up from a 2 hour nap where I think I had a dream about messages on my text phone. I kinda hate it when my dreams start getting all technological. I am also feeling very loogy after the nap, but that's what I get for not sleeping well last night.

2. Finally going to do laundry after being a lump for a few weeks and not doing it. Yeah, just as soon as I finish typing this and checking one more thing, I'll go. I swear.

3. Going to a friend's house tomorrow to finally see Up and Inglorious Basterds via her new high-def TV. It will be quite the epic adventure getting from Brooklyn to Staten Island and back!

1. Things have been fairly awful lately so I decided to call in too stressed to work today (this was after a more than full work week already, so felt justified; sometimes, a 6 day work week just ain't happening.) I am very glad - last night I just curled up in bed for 13 hours and it helped. A little.

2. Met auntie and my friend who is her caregiver for coffee at the fish store avec coffee bar. Got more fish for the aquarium - a sorely needed algae eater and 4 stripey things that are not neon tetras, which they were out of, but hopefully will bond with the tetras, who are outnumbered by the platys. Yes, I'm getting overly obsessed and this aquarium is probably more trouble than it is worth. Then auntie and friend came over & we had wine in the afternoon and looked at photo albums. Auntie's memory, none too good already, has slipped badly lately, sigh.

3. Nothing on the agenda for tonight. One friend is in Florida; one has the flu. I need more friends.

4. Tomorrow if it is as nice as today - the yellow eye! It has returned to the sky! Bow down before it! - I am taking the dogs way out into the woods for several hours.

1. Cat is still holding a grudge from Wednesday's vet visit. Wet food and pet toys are making no dent.

2. Dinner: Noodles with sausage, cauliflower, onions and mushrooms.

3. The visible earth: snow ratio is now 35:65.

1. This head cold sucks.
2. A year gone by and I'm still lost without my mom.
3. Practicing violin this afternoon helped a lot.

1. Lower back probs. Two weeks ago, I did a bunch of tearout (a deck and a brick path) in prep for a sewer being put in. My back got sore, but I just "played through" it, until Monday, when after a weekend of replacing the bricks on the path and a half-built new gate, back just QUIT. Rested it all week, no volleyball, no workout, etc and finally got in for a deep massage yesterday, but it's just as bad today. So, next step is a chiropractor, and then if that does not work, a back doctor. I am SO not used to being sedentary. The good news is that with the melanoma scare, my out of pocket is maxed out and so everything medical is completely covered until 10/1. But shit it sucks to have a hurting back.

2. Plum trees are already blossomed out. . .everyone is saying it's like a month early.

3. The road show of Ave Q tonight! My "It Sucks To Be Me" shirt is all clean and ready to wear to it. WOOT!

danf, my sympathies! Even after several years with chronically recurring back trouble, every time it strikes again, I'm startled by how completely debilitating it can be.

Here's hoping your trouble proves to be a passing thing and that you'll be up and around again soon!

3a. Breaking news update! Going out for pizza & beer with moonbird. Yay!

The road show of Ave Q tonight!

Yay! A girl from our church is playing Christmas Eve. Have a ball!

1. Cashed the second and final cheque from my insurance company today. Reflected that althought the $500 deductible thing was maddening, at least I did considerably better out of the burglary than the actual burglar would have done.

2. Considered kitting out my white cat Trilby in bunny ears for the Swan family Easter do I host every year. Not because I find this sort of thing all that cute, mind you, but merely to piss Trilby off. Laughed over the mental vision of this until Trilby looked at me as though *I* were the evil one (this a reverse of the usual).

3. Made orange chocolate ginger chip cookies today.

1. Slight hangover this morning, lounged around in bed and surfed the net for a couple of hours after waking up. Somewhat mad at myself for not being productive, but then again, it was really nice.

2. Met up with a poetry critique group (currently consisting of me and only one other person) at one of my favorite coffee shops and had some great conversations about poetry and got some really good feedback on a recent poem.

3. Never done one of these 3-point updates before, but I need a break from playing Bioshock 2 (it's way intense) and so I thought I'd give it a try.

1) Drank too much beer Friday night.

2) Bought spiffy cover for spiffy Yamaha EF2000 generator (pricey, but highly recommended for ergonomics and micro-chip compatibility of power output). Dad lost power in rural OK for seven days of icestorm and I had the generator shipped there by day three. Powers of internet rule!

3) Re-nutrifying my body after Friday = eat eat eat hydrate hydrate dydrate = bloat.

1. Slept little, but kicked ass today with some important errands. Then I had to snowblow wet, slushy white stuff. Blech.

2. Rum & Diet Dr Pepper is my drink of choice tonight.

3. Actually uploaded some photos to Facebook.

1. We lost our dog Athena last night. Kidney failure, humongous mass in abdomen, incredible and rapid weight loss due to both. We've known for about a week and a half that she was on the way out. She was almost 12, which is REALLY old for a wolfhound. Apparently their life expectancy is about 9 years. She was lying on a warm blanket and we were with her when she died. The vet and the tech who euthanized her both shed tears. This last week and a half was really bonus time, and we wouldn't trade anything for it. She was a good girl.
≡ Click to see image ≡

2. Today has been better than expected. Springlike temps, a favorite restaurant that had closed has re-opened and we had a fantastic lunch there, and I bought a couple of funny little toy cameras from our local camera shop, whose owner just went through a health scare himself and had a sale/party today to celebrate.

3. Took a long 90-minute walk in the late afternoon to clear my head (and yes, to play with one of the new cameras). It was really life-affirming.

Oh, I'm very sorry about Athena, BP. But I'm glad she got to live such a long life, with people who obviously loved her very, very much.

I'm really sorry to hear that, BoringPostcards, she looks like a nice dog and it sounds like you had a great relationship. Big hugs.

Hugh - I am so sorry for your loss.

we're planning a trip for the anniversary of my dad's death (unveiling)and I expect that seeing that headstone with his name on it is going to be hard. It makes it even more real than nine months without him, if that makes any sense at all.

Hugh and BoringPostcards and pinky.p, I'm so sorry. Death sucks, sometimes. The fifth anniversary of my mother's death is coming up, and I'm only now starting to really get used to life without her. And I actually still can't really think of our English mastiff who died when I was in ninth grade, because I will immediately start crying.

My stati:

1. We set a wedding budget.

2. I started vetting wedding reception venues.

3. I think we need to rethink the budget. Sigh. We need to somehow cultivate some relatives with grand estates.

We need to somehow cultivate some relatives with grand estates

Haaaaaaaahahahahah.

Haaaaaaaahahahahah.

Oh, yes, by "cultivate" I meant "invent." Cuz we ain't got none.

*hugs*

1. Called Sony customer service to find out why they didn't get back to me. "A part hasn't come in yet"
2. Things I need to handle can't be until the new laptop is fixed/replaced so I can get online with it (USB ports are shot on the old laptop).
3. WANT OUT OF NEW YORK!!!!

1. On the road again. Sitting in a motel in Rockhampton. It's not the end of the world, but you can see it from here.

2. Toe is slowly getting better after Friday night spent in the ED with the result that 'we can't find anything wrong - if it still hurts in a week, come back'. Slowly coming to accept that I may have gout or a similar condition.

3. Relationship status unclear at present, but appears to not be as dire as first thought. An uneasy truce exists at present.

Yay! A girl from our church is playing Christmas Eve. Have a ball!

She did good. Hard to nail that accent and be intelligible. There were a few lines that I missed. Physically, she was delightful.

That show makes me so happy!

Oh, yes, by "cultivate" I meant "invent." Cuz we ain't got none.

Believe it or not, I actually do have some distant wealthy relatives (far-off cousins, right here in NYC- I've met them twice), but I'm no closer to a windfall than you. Oh well.

Glad you enjoyed the show, danf!

Oh BP I am so, so sorry about Athena. Major hugs to you & Arn.

1. really scared to say/type it out loud, but I've averaged 1 new lead a week since the new year, & we've already done 3 installations & 5 designs. This past week & weekend alone I got 6 new leads. If it continues at this pace I can unload a lot of my debt this year.

2. Digging the olympics, especially short track skating, skiing & curling.

3. mrs chewie & all our 4 leggers are dandy. (Did I mention mrs chewie had emergency gall bladder removal last month?)

My condolences on the loss of Athena, (((BP))), she was a beautiful girl.

I had to have one of my rats (Becket) euthanised today. It was a fast growing tumour on the side of his neck.