Use the Force.

I've been sitting here staring at a blank screen, trying to force myself to come up with something to write for the past four minutes.

One could deduce that that meant that I did not really want to write or I didn't have anything to say, but was forcing myself to do it anyway. But did I really not want to write? Because, obviously, I'm writing now. Which must have meant that I did want to. That's one of those pop psychology things that I'm a little unclear on. If one does something, despite whining about it, does that mean that one really wanted to do it anyway? Because there are always options. [shrug] I don't even know what I"m talking about.

Last night's Everwood irritated me. The only good parts (and I'm being spoiler-friendly here) were the Buffy-connection, (hee. "Tabula Rasa.") and the thing that Andy Brown did with Ephram at the end. [up]

The rest was a fantastic illustration of how many parents believe it is their job to control every aspect of their children's lives. They don't trust their children to be happy (or not happy) with the choices that their children make.

Bah. I should leave this type of thing to Stephanie. She says it much better than I do.

In other news...oh. I don't have any other news.

I feel like a witch in a magic shop.

The more I think about this upcoming project the more excited I get.

That, coupled with the fact that we are actually moving into the new building, and the possibility of moving into the new department....it's an exciting time in the life of P@.

But, oddly enough, excitement about upcoming events does not make for entertaining reading. Or maybe it does, and I just can't convey it properly. [shrug] Whatever.

I have "In the church of the poisoned mind" in my head. I don't even know who sings it, or any other lines, except that one. Odd how that happens.

Heee! I'm just too worked up about this thing to think about anything else. It's far too geeky. Gah!

And there I go again with the hype. [doh2] I should learn. Stop hyping things up. They can't possibly live up to the expectations.
I should also learn not to try to project what I think other people are feeling onto other people. (Huh?)

In lieu of having any books from the library to read, I've been reading Marilyn Manson's autobiography. It's ...uh...autobiographical. [shrug] (I've not really read enough to tell my opinion of it. I'm sure I'll finish it, even if it is utter crap. I'm stupid that way.)

Speaking of books, I've gotten two suggestions for next month's book for the Book Club. I figure if more people don't PM me with suggestions soon, I'll use those two, plus some of my own. I've got plenty of books on my list that I would like people to read.

2004 is going to be one weird year. I just have a gut feeling about that.

One down. Three point six to go.

It's kinda sad to see the old building go. Mostly due to the fact that I probably won't be able to go online at the new place, which will cut down on my internet presence a bit.

But also, just because I've been in the hellhole for the past five years or so. And, while there have been mice and roaches and times when the air conditioning broke, and insane janitors (and insane coworkers) and crappy equipment and insufficient pay...um. What was my point?

But, yeah. The year is winding down (101 days left!!). And the work atmosphere is winding down. And it's just a kinda...sad time, I guess. [shrug] I don't know.

Other things - I've got a project coming up that I'm pretty excited about. It may end up being kinda lame (dot com!! [grin]) but hey, nothing says I have to show it to anyone but myself.

I'm hungry, and I've totally lost my momentum. Ack.

And some, like me, are tin.

Bah. I had a huge tirade typed out, but it was rambly, stream-of-conciesness crap, so I'll retype it in list form. Simpler.

Reasons I'm a bad friend:

I don't keep in contact.

I don't know what to say to help friends in their times of trouble.

I give crap advice (or have none to offer, period).

I don't pay enough attention.

I am selfish, self-centered, and constantly thinking of myself, rather than the other person. (this list is prime example. It's all "I", "I", "I".)

There are other things I could list, I'm sure, but they're merely variations of the things already stated. It's no wonder that I'm friendless in RL. What confuses me is that I've got people I consider friends online. Because, of course, the faults I have in real life carry over into online. I am constantly not emailing/PMing people back. And I get far too wrapped up in my own stuff and not enough into other people's. And then when folks need me - I don't know what to say or do. [heart] seems so...not enough. And while the feelings are there, it's oftentimes too difficult to convey across the media of text only.

Tomorrow is my cat's birthday. It's also Stephen King's. And Jupe's aunt. In addition, it is Jared's birthday. Jared is the friend I've known for the longest (over half my life), and I'm sure I won't call him. Mostly due to the fact that I've lost his phone number. Partly due to the fact that as a friend, I suck ass.

If, on the off-chance that he somehow finds this, I'll wish him a happy birthday, and a "How you like?" [grin] I'm sorry I suck as a friend, Jared.

And everyone.

TOO MANY TITLE OPTIONS!!

Due to the fact that so much has happened in the past three days, plus the specialness of today in general (read on), I had far too difficult a time coming up with a sufficent (is that even the word I want? [shrug]) title.

They included, but were not limited to:

Arrr.

Holy Old Age, Batman!

The key to good interviews - apathy.

Retire? You must be speaking injest!

It's called AHHHH-CTING!!

Now why:

Arrr. - Today, Sep. 19th, is talk like a pirate day. Groovy. Oh, wait. That's a hippie, not a pirate. They're both scum, though. [tongue]

Holy Old Age, Batman! - Today is also the birthday of Adam West. He is 75. Seventy-five!! Wow.

The key to good interviews - apathy. - I had an interview today for a different position within the company. I'm far too tired right now to go into details, but I think overall it went pretty okay. In the past, every interview I've ever been in has resulted in me being ultra-nervous. Not this time. The reason, I'm pretty sure, is because I don't care whether I get hired or not.

That sounds bad. What I mean is, if I don't get hired, it's not a life-crushing blow to my ego. If I do get hired, than Woohoo! New ..stuff. Which is great.
But even if I remain in Master Control, we're moving into the new building next week, which will mean new...stuff. So, really, it's a Woohoo! situation either way. Ha! Take that, universe! Or something.

Retire? You must be speaking injest! - That was going to be the title on Wednesday. On that day I got new tires put on the car (get it? "re" tire...) and I went to work - at the new building - for 8 and a half hours. And all I did was "injest" (or maybe it's "ingest"?) spots. All that means is loading spots into the server. For years and years and years we've referred to doing that as "dubbing". Why the sudden new term of "ingest" had to be coined is simply beyond me, but hey, whatever butters your toast.
My comment on the whole thing is that I've been doing things "in jest" for years. [dork2]

It's called AHHHH-CTING!! - Saren had her very first Acting Class yesterday. I'm not sure I like her teacher. She's ...something. Or, I could just have been ultra-tired, and not really liking anyone.

And lastly, the other day when we went to the libe, I picked up Ben Folds Live, and this morning I was listening to it. Normally I don't really care for live albums, but for whatever reason, this CD is particularly goose-bump inducing. It's funny-weird how he can take a song like Not the Same and completely give it a different feel just by slowing down the tempo.

The word of the day is: hypothermia.

Yeah. I don't know either. [shrug] I just didn't have a good title ready. Sorry.

Anywhat, for those who don't go to the WD, or just happened to have missed it, I made a poster for Spangel. (I should tell people that when I say "Spangel" I mean the show Angel, not the shipping of Spike and Angel. I'm the most anti-shipper of anyone ever. I just enjoy saying "Spangel", and since the blond one will be on Angel next season that is that show's new name.)

So, yeah. My poster.

It was quite fun making it, and I think maybe I'll do similiar things in the future. Woo!!

Moving on - last night was the season premiere of Everwood, as I mentioned. In the past, I've listed Everwood/Buffyverse connections that I've noticed/force-created. Well, with the new season starting, there will be plenty of new opportunities. And I've come up with three just from last night's show!!
Time to whip out my BUST!! (Butt Ugly Spoiler Tags)
The spoiler is for last night's episode: The Last Summer Highlight to view:

1) Colin was the First 2) Andy Brown is becoming Angel!! He was all broody! 3) Andy Brown is becoming Angel!! His hair!!!!! My god, his hair!!

And lastly - I discovered that Disney is going to be coming out with a thing called EZ-D. These are DVDs that "self-destruct" after 48 hours of being opened. You buy them in convience stores (for a lower price than normal DVDs, of course), open them, and then 48 hours later, due to a chemical reaction (similar to how a Polaroid is devolped), the DVD becomes black and unreadable by your DVD player. And at that point it is essentially garbage.

Yay for our wasteful, throw away culture!! ("In case you couldn't tell, that was sarcasm." ~ Homer)

I love it when a plan comes together.

Remember how we were supposed to move into the new building back in June? (and, also, back in 2000? And then again in 2001? And hey, how about the time they proposed spring of 2002? Good times.)

Well, we're finally going to make the transition! Next week. Most likely. Woo! Or something.

Tonight's premiere of Everwood was mighty good tv. I didn't cry, but I came close. Shut up.

Um.

Money and monkeys and Pepsi, oh my!

I'm Mr. Acomplished today!

The grass is cut, dude! Both the front and back. Woo! It wound up being 8 garbage bags full of grass clippings. And I was all dirty and sweaty and green and manly. Good times.

Of course, now, some 10 hours later, I'm still kinda weezing. [rolleyes] My body sucks.

During the mowing, oddly, my brain didn't go into hypermode like normal. I thought of some funny-ish things to type...but I forget where I wanted to type them. (For some reason I was thinking they were replies to some posts on the WD, and they may have been. Sadly, they've been lost to wherever it is that lost thoughts go.) I also thought of some song lyrics. Or rather, I thought/sang song lyrics that already exist. Which is to say, I had a part of some song stuck in my head. God, I should learn some directness someday. It would save everyone a lot of time and ...time.

Let's see - we did not go to the library (I woke up early [10am...got up at 11]) but the womens didn't arise until 12:30ish. So we did not have time to go anywhere as a family. (Due to me working) Instead I drove to McDonald's for what will be the final time ever. It was tasty, but I don't think I'll miss it.

At the WD, I did indeed unlock the SH5 thread, but thus far nobody has replied except me. Huh.

I also hit (and passed!) the 4000 mark. Sadly, my big milestone post is still nowhere near completion, so it did not go up at this time. Say la ve.


SAY IT!! [grin]

gaffer posted something about how socialism ignores human nature. Which prompted me (and so far 3 other people ...who apparently don't read all of the posts - or at least not mine [doh2]) to ask him, "What is human nature?" I'm wondering which of us (if any) he'll respond to. It's a very interesting question, and I think I'll ask it of the IshCon crowd, since they're more likely to have a decent response.
I also posit it to the P@riots out there - What is human nature?

Oh, yeah. I watched the Play for a Billion show, and I was right. The person (of course) did not win the big cash prize, but the lead-up was entertaining enough. I guess.

They should've had more chimp, though.

I won't bore everyone with all the details of the program - either ya watched or ya didn't. And overall, it was just another television program that has now become history and part of the information junkyard. No need for me to add to it.

Once I get home, I'm going to play a game with Saren. Then I'll eat, then I'll check my email and go to bed.

Lawnmower Man

Tomorrow (er...today, when I wake up) I'm going to engage in battle with our front and back yards. I'm both excited and terrified.

I'll keep everyone updated on how it goes.

Mowing the lawn is a bit like being in the shower for me, in that whenever I am partaking in that activity, my brain seems to go into hyper-mode, and I do a lot of Deep Thinking.

If tomorrow follows suit, I should wind up with a lot to say. Whoo hoo.

Also about tomorrow - probably going to the libe, which is generally of the good.
In addition - Pepsi's Play for a Billion is on!! I can not express how excited I am. It's combining money and monkeys and Pepsi.
"Money and monkeys and Pepsi, oh my!" Of course, it'll be really disappointing when the cash prize is not won, but the lead-up will be worth watching. And also - monkey!!!

And the last great thing about tomorrow - I unlock the WD Book Club thread, which means discussion of Slaughterhouse Five will begin. I probably should have used this time to come up with a boq to get things started, but oh well.

Oooh! Also (most likely) occuring tomorrow - I'll hit the 4000 mark. Wow. 4000 posts. I'd say maybe 1784 of them were worthwhile. Give or take.

Why aren't there unicorns?

They're graceful, beautiful creatures. That oftentimes have princesses on them, who give you keys.

(Beth will get that.)

I don't know what to blog about, so I'm just rambling. "making a cheese sandwich and watching TV" as it were. [doh2]

Um.

Um.

Has anyone read the Dark Tower series (from Stephen King)? One of the books we got the other day was The Stephen King Universe. It details the mulitiverses of Stephen King's works, and how they interconnect. It's quite interesting (I know that a lot of people dislike King, but I've been a fan of his for many years). They're currently talking about the Dark Tower books, and I've never read those. But now want to.

Reading the SKU book also makes me realize how much of my own "epic" tale I've borrowed from Stephen King and his books. Not that I've actually written it, but in my head, there is a lot that owes more than a passing nod to the Master of Horror.

In other news, "bestswitcher" may not be an apt term for me much longer. Maybe. I don't feel like going into great detail right now, so just keep your fingers crossed for me, and I'm sure I'll update about it later.

One handed.

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Getting the brain out was easy. The hard part was getting the brain out. Blaahauahgaha!

We spent $100.82 on books today.

Plus, we've still got books from the library.

And, of course, there are numerous tomes lining the bookshelves that I've never even opened.

Not to mention, of course, all of the World Wide Web out there just waiting for my eyes to absorb its material.

And yet...I feel like I've got nothing to read. [sigh]

Also, I am finding it difficult to blog today. I think because I typed such a long entry last night, I'm kinda blogged out right now. I dunno.

Tomorrow, on top of being the anniversary of September 11th, 2001, I have to go to work. Somehow I don't think I'll have much to say then either.

Story time!

Cindy asked for stories in her blog. I was going to put this there, but it's far too long. Sorry, Cindy.

Maybe I'll drudge up another (shorter) memory and post that in your little commenting box.

In the meantime, sit back and prepare yourselves for a tale that I've never told any of my internet friends. (Yay! New revelations!!)

The time: 1991. I was 16 years old, and of course, still living with my parents. We had just moved from Elmendorf, Air Force Base in Alaska to Williams AFB in Arizona. (talk about culture shock).
I hated it.

I hated the heat (and yet, here I am in Vegas [/digression]), I hated the school (Bartlett High in Alaska had had maybe 2000 students. Gilbert High, in comparison, had at least 8000. Probably more. Okay, I did some investigating, and currently Bartlett has 2000 students, while Gilbert has 3041. Although the year I was graduating, they were building a new school in the same area, so perhaps that new school (Highland High - we joked, "Yeah, that place won't have a drug problem" [/another digression]) absorbed a number of the students. Even so, an additional thousand students is a big jump. ANYWHAT ...)
I hated the school, I hated the city, I hated pretty much everything in Arizona. I missed my Alaskan friends. We wrote to each other constantly during the summer that I had moved (dude. I wrote letters back then. What happened??)
The fact that I had made my first girlfriend (Lola) in Alaska before moving didn't help matters.
We had agreed to try and keep a long distance relationship, and to our credit, we did make it work for a while.

But I didn't want to be in Arizona any more. I had had enough.

I'm not sure when the plan formed in my mind, but sometime shortly after school had started, I decided I was going back.

To make a too long story a bit shorter (and also because I can't remember a large percentage of the details), I'll sum up the Arizona part.

I called an airline (it may've even been Alaskan Airlines) and ordered a one-way ticket. I honestly don't remember the cost, but it was somewhere in the hundreds. I took the money out of my savings account (yep, I had a savings account, and yes, it had several hundred dollars in it) and managed to buy the ticket. I did all of this without my parents being aware of any of it. The ticket was for a date in October. I had to keep the ticket (and my drained savings account) hidden from my parents for a few weeks. I do recall that there were several close calls. Like when my account balance arrived in the mail, and I had to make sure that I opened it and destroyed it before my parents did.

Finally, the day of the flight arrived. I can't remember if I used a sick day or not. Ah! It's coming back to me now. I had told my folks that I had an interview at McDonald's after school that day. (I think that may have been true.) That way, they let me keep the car. That morning, I drove the car out of sight of the house, then waited until my parents would have left for work. I then left the car parked nearby, and walked back home.

Once I got home, I quickly packed my clothes and whatever few possesions I was going to bring. I called a taxi company, and while waiting for the cab, I wrote my 'runaway' note. I, of course, don't remember the details of the note, but the gist of it was along the lines of: "I'm not running away, I'm moving out. I fully intend on getting a job and a place to live. I am not happy here."
The sad(?) thing is, I did intend on getting a job and a place to live once I got to Alaska. I was going to rehook up with Lola, and find a small apartment and a job (maybe a McDonald's would hire me) and everything was going to be perfect.
Oh. I also told them where I had left the car. I wasn't completely cruel.

Ahem.

Anywhat, the cab gets there, and I haul my suitcases out. I got in and the guy didn't even comment on the fact that a (very young looking) 16 year old is leaving a house with luggage all alone. [shrug] Guess most people wouldn't.

I got to the airport and went up to the airline where my flight would be leaving. I was about two hours early, but I didn't mind waiting. As far as I was concerned, I had all the time in the world.

As soon as I got there, a woman told me that a flight that would be leaving an hour earlier than my scheduled one had a free seat, and if I wanted to take that flight, I was more than welcome to. (!!! I KNOW!!!)

Of course, I said "yes."

And so, around 11:30 in the morning of October somethingth, I got on a plane in Arizona, and began to fly to Alaska.

I spent most of the flight looking out the window at the clouds, and seeing shapes. I remember making up stories to go along with the shapes I was seeing. I dont' remember much of it, but there was something to do with dragon-serpents and castles. Suffice to say that my mind was not really focusing on what the hell I was doing. Or maybe it just didn't really bother me. [shrug]

Got to Alaska safe and sound, (and earlier than I had planned!) then got my luggage. I stepped outside and realized a huge flaw in my plan.

I was wearing clothing that was fine for October in Arizona. October in Alaska is a vastly different story. First item to purchase: warmer clothes, I noted to myself, as I hailed a cab.

It was evening (or maybe it was afternoon. I dont' remember, but it was dark already) as I had the taxi drive to my old stomping grounds. My across the street neighbor was also one of my best friends, Brian Ogram.

I paid the taxi fare, then knocked on Brian's bedroom window. (I did the 'shave and a hair-cut' knock, which was what I always did.) A second or three later, and the curtains parted.

I grinned.

Brian's face...man. The look of shock was so priceless.

He opened his window, and let me in. We spent most of the night catching up (after, of course, I had explained what I'd done.) and planning my next move. The idea was that I would go to school with him, just to see all the old gang. I don't know what (if anything) we talked about doing after that.

I guess we slept, eventually, although I have no recollection of that. The amazing thing is that I had managed to get inside his house, and was talking to him through most of the evening, and his parents had no idea.

Of course, back in Arizona, my parents had found the note and had already been in contact with the police. They found out what flight I was going to be on, and had the cops in Alaska search everyone who got off of that plane. If I had gotten on the flight I was supposed to, my adventure would've ended a lot sooner. (I found all this out, of course, after the fact.)

Anywhat, morning rolls around, and Brian gets ready for school, and I more or less do the same, in the confines of his bedroom. At one point, his mother knocked on his bedroom door. Panicked, I scrambled into the closet (my stuff had already been put in there).

His mom came in, and I could hear her talking to Brian about various things. Brian was talking too, but either I've forgotten what was being said, or it was muffled through the closet door anyway. The last thing I do remember hearing was Brian saying (loudly), "No, Mom! Don't!" and then the closet door opening. Brian's mom screamed. I think I may have as well.

Then came the explanation part. I don't remember what I told her, or what Brian told her. But in the end, she let me go to the school with Brian! I don't know if that was the most mature thing for a parent to do, but I was quite relieved. [up]

We rode the bus, and more than a number of folks recognized me. I was a celebrity! (It was a very small school, and living on an Air Force Base is a lot like living in a small town. Most of the kids knew each other.)

We got to school, and of course word spread quickly.

I'm trying to remember the details now, because things happened kinda fast. Plus, it was 12 years ago. I think I went to Brian's first class. I do remember that the rest of the 'gang' had already met up with me. I think overall the reaction was happiness, although I think Cherry said that I was insane. Nigel gave me a huge hug. I still hadn't found Lola.

At Brian's class, the teacher asked who I was. I said, "I'm Pat." (hee. I didn't have the "the" title yet.) She was like, "Oh. Okay."

During that class (I wish I could remember what it was), nothing major happened. Probably just a lot of talking and catching up with friends I'd not seen in four months.
Somehow, I'd learned what Lola's 2nd class was, and I was going to meet her there before it started. I still hadn't seen my girlfriend, and she was one of the reasons I'd returned to Alaska in the first place. After the first class ended, I went to Lola's classroom and waited.
When she came around the corner and saw me, she didn't look as happy as I was. She didn't greet me with a hug, but instead said, "So it's true." It was at this time that the bell rang. I went into Lola's class, but that teacher wasn't as liberal as the first one.
I ended up getting kicked out, and I went outside of school grounds (I didn't want the truancy guards to bust me for wandering the halls) and waited until lunch. (I figured I'd be able to blend in with everyone during lunch time. Plus eat. I was starving.)

Side note - I remember while waiting for the lunch bell to ring, standing in a ..well, "forest" is a bit strong, but there were trees. I passed the time by singing "99 bottles of beer on the wall" to myself as fast as I could numerous times. That, and hoping that it wouldn't snow.

Finally the Lunch bell rang, and I proceeded back to the school grounds. Nigel, Brian, and Cherry gathered with me, and we got some food, then proceeded to a science classroom where we normally ate lunch. Once we got there, the science teacher (who remembered me as well, told me to stay there. Or maybe go to the principal's office. I don't remember which. Either way, I wound up down there, along with some police officers. It turned out that Lola had gone to the principal's office, and reported the fact that I'd run away from home. The police showed up, and took me with them.

I don't rememeber where they took me, but I recall that they bought me a bacon cheeseburger. That was pretty cool.

After being in conference with my father, the police turned me over to a friend of the family, the Mahoneys. Dana was a friend of mine, and my folks knew her parents from church. (Yeah. We used to go to church.) Apparently my dad had talked to them, and they had agreed to 'hold' me until he flew up there and picked me up.

That evening I know I talked to Dana's dad, and I talked to Dana, but I sadly don't know what we talked about. Except that I promised Mr. Mahoney that I wouldn't do this type of thing again. (!!)

I think the next morning my dad arrived. He took me back to the airport and we flew back to Arizona. I slept most of the flight, as a way to not have to deal with ...well, everything. I do remember looking out the window on that flight, and sorely missing the dragon-serpents.

Once back in Arizona, and back in school, I told some people I kinda clicked with the whole sordid tale, and slowly became friends with them. As for my Alaska friends, the letters continued for a while (although my parents screened them, to insure I wasn't planning another "flight" - not that I could afford to if I'd wanted to) and then, as is so often the case in life, they slowed and then stopped. I haven't heard from any of them in a decade. =(

As for Lola, she sent me a letter a while later, telling me that she had done it for my own good. And (paraphrasing here) she told me that she had never really loved me, but had, instead, seen someone that had "needed rescuing" and was trying to do her best in that regard. Yeah.

This wasn't the first time I had run away from home, and it wouldn't be the last, but it was, at the time, the most outlandish.

And, that, I suppose, is the end of the story.

Mehness abounds.

I find myself not really in the mood to leave comments. Or rather, I want to, but I suck at saying ...stuff.

And now I don't really even want to type this up.

Our phone at home is static-filled again. I called the phone company to have them fix it, and while I was talking to the sales guy (in between static bursts) he tried to sell me crap!!!

Fuck me, that guy has balls.

Anywhat, meh.

Brace yourself.

Heh. I'm all nervous about this entry, because I'm talking about myself. Silly P@.

I've had a small overbite (or maybe it's an underbite. I'm not really sure what the correct term is.) for years. I assume all of my life, however, I've only been aware of it for the past twelve years or so. I had a dentist point it out to me, and since then it's bothered me. I wonder if I'd've ever even known about it if he hadn't brought it to my attention. Oh well.

In addition to the overbite (underbite? - the problem is that my front teeth and bottom teeth don't line up. So if I were to bite a sandwich, sometimes bits are left in the sandwich, rather than in my mouth.), I also have a gap between my two front teeth. Nothing major, but it's irritating to me.

I saw a commercial the other day for Invisalign, which is invisible braces that seem to correct spaces between teeth in adults within a short amount of time.

I would be really interested in getting that, except that we're poor, and can't be spending money on cosmetic surgery. Oh well. Maybe if we ever win the lottery.

Wherein I answer a bunch of questions.

Questions ahoy!!

Do you think that reading people's blogs should have a different name besides "stalking"? Doesn't that seem a bit of a negative term?
I think we should start calling our stalkers something more negative. Like, I don't know, "terrorists".
Or not. It's a good term.

Do you enjoy people stalking your blog? What about strangers?
Of course I do. I've got the counter. I've made it known in as many places as possible. I'm a stalk-whore. Or something.

There are many songs about stalking (the bad kind, that is. I don't know of any songs about reading blogs). What is one of your favorite "stalking" songs?
Superfan by Cracker is just creepy. And upbeat! The perfect combination when it comes to stalker songs!

Do you know what time the celery stalks?
The Celery Stalks at Midnight.
(it's a children's book)

"Why are we so blind to see that the ones we hurt are you and me?"
No, man, we cool......io.
(I sometimes wonder how people put up with my bad puns.)
("Gangsta's Paradise" by Coolio)

and finally...

Do you have any real life stalker stories? Please feel free to share and creep the rest of us out!!
Er...I used to be semi-stalkerish. Does that count?

Who would you have liked to have seen the First take the form of?
From the Buffyverse - Principal Snyder. Just because I like Armin so much.
From the real world - I dunno. Napoleon, maybe. Or JFK. You know, just to counter Buffy's speeches.

What are you wearing?
Shoes. White socks. Beige shorts. Underwear. My "Look cool, be cool. Give blood." t-shirt. My watch. My wedding ring.

"HEY! Who's that playing HEY! the guitar?"
Well, whoever it is...might be a giant.
("The Guitar (the Lion Sleeps Tonight)" by They Might Be Giants)

What one thing do you most remember about college?
Aliens.
No, really.

(If you couldn't answer the previous question, or even if you could...)What one thing do you most remember about college movies?
Um.

Who is the last person you said "Happy Birthday" to?
In real life- Saren.
Online - Jamie (early), Chandler (belated).

"What if I lost my direction? What if I lost sense of time? What if I nursed this infection?"
Er...Not much would be different, really. I've got no sense of direction. I'm constantly worrying about being late. And my health...well.
("Falling For the First Time" by Barenaked Ladies)

If the 9/11 attacks had killed 3000 death row inmates, would that change your opinion of the situation?
Yes.
Because it would have been covered differently (probably vastly differently) by the media.
[sigh] I was originally going to go into a lot of detail about this, but I find I'm not really in the mood. Perhaps as the anniversary draws nearer, I'll garner up the necessary will power to type out my thoughts on the matter.

I am sickened that we still have the death penalty. Hey, if we're going to keep killing them, why not put them in skyscrapers and planes and blow them both up? It's the American thing to do. [salutes]

What is somethign you learned today?
That if you misspell "something", people let you know.
Also - I learned that the new season of Alias begins Sept. 28th.
I'm sure I learned something else, but I've forgotten it. [doh2]

and finally...

What do you think my post total will be by the end of the year? (It's currently at 3975.)
That's a lie!!
It's currently at 3977.

MarioKart, wherefore art thou?

I'm irritated. I can't find MarioKart. Or maybe it's MarioKart64. I can't remember. And I can't find it, so I have no way of determining one way or another.

I got lots more sleep last night than typical on a Wednesday, but even so, my brain is sluggy. But no t in the irritating way. In the 'things are kidnsa fnnny" way. If you know what I mean. AND I THINK YOU! DO!


Saren would like to tell you all taht THE SKY IS FALLING!!!

I wish that the occupation of Town Cryier still existed. So sad that most towns don't have one anymore. I think Saren would be a good one.

My foot, it is a sleep. Mon. Heehehee! "Mon." Like I'm a Jamiacian or something.

I earelier , I had this vision that I'd be all typey of my story, and then I'd post it, in big chunks, and people would be all, "Whoa, P@, that was good. I cn't wait for more." And shit. Twas a good ...vision. Ahh. Vision world.

Dude!!!! Spangel is starting in like soon.

Oh, speaking of - I recorded this WBTeleconfrence today, in which the network execs were all, "Da da da, we're so great. Da da da, our shows rule."
It was amusing.
And boring.

It was Bormusing.

The bad thing, though, was that they didn't mention Spangel AT ALL!!! (That's okay. Sorta. I mean, they didn't mention 7th Heaven or Everweood either, so it's not like SPangel was the only show not getting the love, but sheesh. They were all gaga over Tarzan. (I've seen promos, and here is my opinion: BARFOLICIOUS!!) And they were pretty hyped about the Pepsi Play FOr A Billion thing. (Sunday, September 14th. Check your local listings.) but no mention of our dear vampire dectective agency. [frown]. I mean [brood].

What else? There was thungder earlyer. BOOMOLICIOUS!! Yay thunder!

It's the fourth already! September is over in just like another two days. So sady.

I need soem food. Cookies preferably.

That is all. Thatks for reading.

Love, UTP@!

Oooh! Books! And whatnot!

I wonder how annoying it would be to post an entire entry with exclamation points? (This is not because of the comment that Bethy left. That was funny. I simply thought of it because of the title above. And as you can see, I'm not trying it this time.)

So, yeah, we went to the library today. I got the 2nd Artemis Fowl book! Woooo!!!
For those not in the know, Aretmis Fowl is the poor man's Harry Potter. We own the first book, and the third one just came out in stores, but I haven't yet read book 2, so I was all excited when I saw it at the libe. [up]

What else?
Um...I also checked out A Suzanne Vega Best of CD, a book by Richard Leakey (The Sixth Extinction), Welcome to the Monkey House by Kurt Vonnegut (woo! Vonnegut!), and A Beautiful Mind (the movie, not the book). I feel much better having things to read again. I'm weird like that.

Monster's Ball was a disapointment.

We went to the mall tonight, after the library. Gah. I'll let Steph tell the story. She's much better at these things.

Ooh! Look! It's 10:15, on a Wednesday. That means I get to wake up ultra-early tomorrow. Bitchin'.

OH! Before I go, I almost forgot to tell you all. I had a dream about a WDer last night.

Adam.

In my dream, Adam had posted a link to a picture of himself. In the pic, he had blonde hair, and it was all spiked out (FORESHADOWING!!!!!!!! - read Steph's blog), and his feet, which were bare had ...I don't know, it looked like he had been suffering from frostbite.

Anywhat, the post he made had that link, and then he had also included a poll. The poll was asking people what they thought of the pic. The poll options were asking about his hair - starting with how wonderful it looked, and progressively getting worse. Then, in the same poll, he asked what people thought of his feet, and the options for the poll were similar to the hair options. It was as though he had wanted two polls, but mushed them both together. So, basically, you could either vote for how his hair looked, or how his feet looked. I hovered over the options, then couldn't pick.

Later (still in the dream), I left the house, and found Adam walking down my street. I stopped and offered him a ride. Once he got in the car, I told him about how I had wanted to vote in his poll, but couldn't. (I don't think he cared.)

I gave him a ride up to a casino, where I guess he was going to work, and that was when I woke up.

Any dream analysis is welcome. [crazy]

Site thy limits

Heh.

Look-y look-y, I got hook-y.

I mean, Look-y! I'm blogging rather early!

Of course, I'm still not making sense, so there's that.

I think my lack of sense-making is due to the lack of library visits. Or at least, that's my latest excuse.

God. Why do I bother typing things up?

Remember a few days ago when I was all psyched about my story again? Now I can barely garner enough interest to type these simple sentences.

Nobody knows anything. Stupid freaking "experts". Gawd!!!

At least Smashing Pumpkins knew what they were doing back in ...97? 96? Whenever. (heh. I just went to Google, and typed in "Year of mellon collie". From the results I got just on the first page, it was released in either 1995, 1996, or 1997. Like I said, nobody knows anything.)

I've got it playing right now. I downloaded it. Technology is keen.

Speaking of 'keen'. We really need to keen up.

Ooh! New psychological insight: I'm cryptic and obscure in hopes that people will ask me what I'm talking about. Because I enjoy explaining the workings of my mind. Of course, I like it better when people guess the workings of my mind, but that's a totally different sandwich.

Of course, I could just be cryptic and obscure to annoy people.

Or maybe it's all because I wanted to have sex with my mother. [shrug] Nobody knows anything.

Earlier during this typing, I took a break to help Harper go on the potty (no pee). While sitting there with her in the bathroom, I was all inspired again to write. Now that I'm back at the computer, nada. The solution is obvious.

We need to move the computer into the bathroom.

"Love, Love - it's who ya know."

See? The meaning to it all is spoken in lyrics of popularish music.

"Love solves everything."

Of course, if I remember correctly, they later sing that "love is suicide", so maybe they're as confused as the rest of us.

I want to embrace Satan. (heeeeeeeheee! Sorry. I'm amusing myself greatly again, by being all annoyingly weird. Sorry.)

Remember how God is a turtle?! Man, Stephen King is whacked. Wiggedy, wiggedy whacked.

I totally need to check the WD again. I've got lots of PMs to catch up on. I also need to hear back from Jamie. We need to get the WD Book Club going.

Oh, speaking of, I'm totally for the other forums that Jess and Sharon were talking about. Of course, I'm completely (well, about 98%) computer-stupid, so I leave the technical stuff up to someone who is less computer-stupid than I. Just let me know where it ends up being and all that jazz. And I'll be there. With bells on.

Okay. I've rambled pointlessly for a long time. Remember the days when this type of thing would've gone in Testing. Times, man. Times.

I'm sure I'll blog again later. Because it's like an infection that I can't stop scratching. Or something.

9-2-5

Mmm. Bin.

Maybe the Bin is the way to go. I know, I know, not technology. But maybe technology.

Yeah, I'm not making sense. That's okay. I guess. I don't know.

Grr.

I suppose I should track down meal. It's been a while since we last consumed.

Halloween is soon. That's something.

We still need to watch our last movie.

Oh, and take out the garbage.

We were watching Match Game today on Game Show Network. The question: "On Columbo everyone was shocked when Columbo removed his raincoat, and blank was underneath."

Saren: "I think he had a lightbulb underneath."

Also- "Sally says 'I'm the world's best hitchhiker. Instead of sticking out my thumb, I stick out my blank.'"
Saren: "I stick out my tongue."

Man, she's awesome.

Laborious.

Oy. It's almost painful to be back at my blog.

I'm kidding, of course. It's like sweet, sweet heroin.

It's painful to be at work, but hey, what are ya gonna do - starve? [canned laughter]

I could playfully bitch about the work conditions today, but my jello brain isn't up to the task. Let's just say one word on the matter, shall we? And that word will be Ants.

In other news, today is Labor Day. A day that is massively confusing to just about anyone that is me. I mean, what is Labor Day, anyway? (Saren asked that today, and we didn't have an answer for her. It's just a day off, was about the best we could come up with.) But, honestly, it's a day to celebrate...working? What the fuck?

Anywhat, I decided to do some research into the matter (not really...although I did consider googling it up for a few minutes. I chose to be lazy, though, and not find out the truth.) and I discovered that all holidays are simply celebrations of birthdays of famous people. Every holiday!!

It's true!

Don't believe me? Well, I shall provide you with a handy-dandy table. And then it will be truth. Because anything that is found on the internet is true.

Holiday	Who's Birthday it is
Valentine's Day	Mr. Burns ("I bring you love!")
Groundhog Day	Puxatawney Phil (or perhaps Bill Murray)
St. Patrick's Day	Lucky the Leprechaun
Christmas	Santa Claus
Thanksgiving	The Pilgrims (yes. All of them.)
Halloween	Satan
Pearl Harbor Day	Pearl Harbor (some actress from the '30's)
Flag Day	the P@
Labor Day	The Man

Hope that helps. Happy Labor Day, everyone.