MY ANNUAL AC RANT

Today is the day after Memorial Day, often viewed as the Official Start of Summer. When I was growing up this was the day that made it ok to wear white shoes. I know, sounds weird now. But yesterday was official at my house in that it was the first time this year that we used the Air Conditioning.

I must interject here- I am not at all a big fan of air-conditioning. Yes, there are days (and nights) here and there during the summer that it is a life-saver. But on the whole, I could live without it if I had to. I realize I really should be very careful what I say here, so as not to jinx anything. But going to sleep yesterday in pajamas under a pile of blankets while it was 82 degrees outside just felt wrong. And you can't shave your legs when the air is on unless you want razor burn from your ankles to your hips.

Our house is BIG. Four functioning floors, including basement and attic. Consequently, when the AC is on, the basement is sub-zero, the first floor is cool and the upstairs can fluctuate between comfortable and stuffy. Forget the attic, it's 110 degrees all summer long. In the course of an hour, should I decide, say, to run up to the attic and fetch a tote of summer clothes and decide to launder them for wearing, I can experience a temperature range of 110 to 10 below in a matter of minutes. Probably not good for whatever part of your body it is which works to maintain 98.6 or so. If there were no AC, it would just be constant 110 degrees. See what I'm getting at?

You see, one thing I detest aboot winter is the fact that you have to wear layers upon layers of clothes. The thing I always look forward to in summer is wearing shorts, little tops, no shoes if I choose. And for gawdsake, no sweaters or coats or sweatshirts and all that crap. But last night before I left for work, I had to put a fleece on to keep from freezing in my livingroom. Oh, and of course then I got a hot flash but that's a whole nother subject...

Just had to get that out. I feel better now. Thanks for listening.

ME AND ELVIS HAVE LEFT THE BUILDING

I'm considering closing my blog to anonymous bloggers. So if you want to keep reading, have a Blogger account or email me and I'll send my posts to you. I could change my mind, I don't know... we'll see. But if you don't have a blogger account, let me know in case I decide like, now. I'd hate to lose readers that way.

On a lighter note, I'm going to sleep for a bit and then taking a few days off. See you back here Monday or Tuesday. Have a great weekend :-)

HOLD THE PHONE!

You didn't think I was just going to leave you hanging, did you? Heavens to Mergatroid. I would never do that. That would make me a brat. I fully intend to finish the story; the one that proves once and for all, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Wink is Witty. Witty Wink. Ha ha ha ha.

Can't talk long, got a million things to do today. First and foremost is bringing summer clothes down from the attic. It's going to be NICE and WARM this weekend and I intend to dress for the occasion. I didn't have to scrape ice off my windshield when I got out of work this morning and that makes me mucho grande felicitious. No, I never took Spanish, it just sounded good. Por favor, correct my grammero.

Poopy was watching a show last night that was a history of Arlington Cemetery. I love that place so I sat down to watch. The Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier always gives me chills and makes me cry. The camera work was a bit lacking, but of course you would never get the same effect as watching it for real. You don't realize how much training and discipline the soldiers go through to become a Guard. It's awesome. The times I have been to the area, DC and across the river, that was always aboot my favorite place. That and The Wall.

Okay folks, gotta run.

Shoot, I almost forgot...

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Blasting Zone:

Scars by Witness UK

Impermanence-Gravity Remix by Consolidated

Ironspy by Splashdown

Barrel of a Gun by Guster

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Oh yeah, the witty story (con't.)...

The girl next to me says, "So, how's it going?"

And then I say, "Great, I think I like working without a net." Get it???? Without An-nette.

Well, then go back and read yesterday from the beginning.

When I related the story to Poopy, he said "I guess you had to be there." :- Þ

SOMEBODY! OPEN A WINDOW!

If I was anal, or even a little bit, I would be opening a new Johari Window. Because... *pause*

(let the excitement build and build to a fantastic crescendo, complete with drumroll and laser light show) no one, I repeat no one, has selected the word witty to describe me. And I have living proof to share with you to prove that I am, indeed, witty. And extremely so. And without even trying. See if you don't agree...

Wait a minute, I need a coffee refill. And while I'm at it, think I'll make another round of Simon's Reese's breakfast treat. Talk amongst yourselves (I love when bloggers say that...) or go google something weird to share.

The anticipation must be incomparably unbearable by now, huh? You're thinking, "Gee, when I was doing the window, I hesitated over the word witty and wondered, should I click on it? Linda seems a bit witty now and then, but not overly so. There are so many choices here. If I click on witty, then what if I come across a word that describes her more than witty? She really hasn't been all that witty lately, kind of bitchy, actually. Hmmm. Bitchy isn't on the list. Oh wait, look there... Sent-i-men-tal... Linda is definitely sentimental; I'll click that. Let's see, one, two, three... six. Done. Finally. God I hope she appreciates this. "

Allright, you've been patient long enough. I will tell you why I believe that I am witty. And this example illustrates that, not only am I witty, it is not even an effort for me. It comes out of nowhere. I totally amaze, I mean, amuse myself sometimes.

As you probly know I have been training for a Quality Control position. It has been both intense and time-consuming as there are a lot of different types of the product to learn as well as shitloads of paperwork and computer programs to learn. Last night was my first night "flying solo," if you will. The woman who has been training me, Annette, is very sweet, uber-patient and is very good at her job. She got a well-deserved break from watching over my shoulder, helping me fix my mistakes and answering a dozen questions at every turn. And I was feeling pretty proud of myself and rather independent. At one point the girl sitting next to me asked me, "So, how's it going?"

I need a coffee warm up. Be right back...

Ok. So, she says to me, "So, how's it going?" And (here it comes!) I say...

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Holy crap, it's 8:00. I have my hair in a towel and have to be somewhere in a half an hour. I'll tell you later!

FASTER AND FURIOUSER

Damn, that looks like I spelled that wrong. I don't care if it's not a word, that's how it's spelled.

What I'm referring to here is the new BMW M5. Woo Hoo, one hot emmer-effin' set o' wheels. 5oo HP in "sport" mode, a V-10 engine, 0 to 60 mph in 4.5. I'm there, dude. A bargain at $84,895. Whaddya think? I've been saving for my vacation in a few weeks for two years. I can buy an M5 when I'm 108. I think I'll get me a black one that will contrast nicely with white hair and age spots... But, man. Check it out, it's Too KOOL.

On a non-related subject, what the hell is Madonna thinking anyhow? She bored or somethin'?

Hey, somebody tell me the best kind of beach chair to get that takes up the least amount of space traveling. Comfort would be nice... Are those short-legged ones close to the ground hard to get in and out of, as in "lady-like"? I don't really want a chaise-type. And a hammock would be kind of a nuisance... lol

You know what is irritating? When you're straightening up your desk or whatever and you come across three or four hastily-scribbled phone numbers. You have no clue to whom they belong, of course they are all long-distance so you don't want to just call the number to solve the mystery. You can't throw them away because, OMG, they might be important. What do you do with them? I hate when that happens... I must have thirty or forty of those damn things in my posession. Maybe we could make up a game. (Hey, I think I'm on to something here...) Have a bunch of people over on a late weekend night. Throw the numbers in a hat, get everybody drunk and FIND OUT WHOSE PHONE NUMBERS YOU HAVE!!! Mwhahahahahaha!!!

People have been telling me I look tired lately. Who, me? Heck no, I'm wired on caffeine.

Dana got yesterday's question. Here's today's:

David Fincher directed the 1995 Brad Pitt thriller Se7en. What other 90's film starring Brad did Fincher direct?

I DON'T WANNA... PLEASE DON'T MAKE ME!

Looks like I'm gonna hafta implement one of those dreaded anti-spam devices on here. I abhor the things. Half the time there's a squiggly line that kind of looks like a letter but not really, sometimes you can't read them at all. I only read a few blogs that don't have them and it's such a pleasure to leave a comment and just click on "submit" or whatever and not have to feel like your ability to read, decipher and type are being challenged. Freakin' spammers anyhow. Yeah, I'm talking to you, Sergio. What a lame name. Loser. Get a real job like the rest of us.

No, I'm not bitter. I just hate complicating factors in my life...

Thanks to those of you who "did" my Johari Window. If you had trouble clicking, I fixed the post. When I originally wrote it, one of the purple words was blue and when I went there today it was purple. So I fixed it. My apologies. There is a Nohari Window too that I will post soon, it's the negative qualities. I don't have any, you'll have to make up stuff... LOL

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Blasting Zone

To: U2's Lemon and Stay

From: Blondie's Heart of Glass and Into the Night by Benny Mardones

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What company does Peter Gibbons (Ron Livingston) work for in the 1999 comedy Office Space?

a) Initech

b) Intel

c) TechTel

d) Boeing

(If you never saw Office Space, you must.)

"DO" ME A FAVOR...

My new Johari Window is ready if you want to go there and "do" me. I suggest you get one and "do" yourself. Then we can all "do" each other. Sounds like fun, no? You bunch of perverts. ;-)

(Click on the purple "JW" to do you and the purple "there" to do me.)

I JUST CAN'T DO IT, CAPTAIN

Woke up at 7:30 am. Got all hyped to make coffee and greet the day on the back porch with the birds and the smells of the flowers and hopefully, a little sunshine.

Its 45 degrees and raining. I'm going back to bed. F--- it.

Since nobody really got a shot at the question for today (Brad :-) is back...) here's a new one. (He should be asleep for a few hours in another time zone, if you need a head's up.)

What is the fictitious identity Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) creates to skip town with the embezzled prison money in The Shawshank Redemption?

A) Randall Smith

B) Randall Stephens

C) Randall George

D) Thurston Randall

I WEAR MY SUNGLASSES AT NIGHT

I usually check out SNL, mostly to see who the music is for that night. If it's somebody I want to see, I will force myself to sit through the rest of the show. I'm not all cool-like, havin' TiVo so that's how I do it. It gets really hard sometimes... Once in awhile there's some funny stuff but not like the old shows. So tonight was no exception. The music sucked as well. Nelly Furtado and some Timberlake (not Justin) dude singing/rapping a song that must have been called Promiscuous Boy, Promiscuous Girl. Yeccchhh. He was ok, she was trying to be all hawt and can't dance fer shit. I don't know what they are thinking on that show sometimes when they book the musical guests. There is so much great talent out there and Budweiser sponsors garbage like that. Kevin Spacey was the host and I like him a lot. Ok, maybe comedy isn't his forte. Oh, maybe that dude was called Timberland. I don't know. Don't matter.

I did watch a really cool movie late last night/early this morning. Was called "Surrender, Dorothy." Dianne Keaton (not a big favorite of mine, but) played a great character. I kind of identified with her. It was the kind of movie that you get all wrapped up in. Was funny and sad and cool. The music was really good too. I give it 3 stars. Not a guy movie, really, but depends.

Forgot to tell you, came on here Friday morning and had 132 anonymous comments on my blog. Criminy! Holy Beans and Franks, Batman. Some gee-dee ads for insurance. Sent back some nasty mail and "Sergio" writes back and, get this, thanks me for my reply and wishes me love and peace and happiness. Get a job. Aaaaarrrrgggghhhh,.

I'm not tense or anything.

By the way, as close as I can figure here are our Trivia scores. They may be accurate; I keep losing that little green PostItNote that I'm keeping score on...

Adrienne - 6

Mike B. - 4

Simon - 3 1/2

Brad - 3

Dana N. - 1

Joni - 1/2

Today's Question: Before embarking on a solo career in the mid-1990's, Natalie Merchant fronted what popular folk/rock band? Easy one, guys.

I have lots of Friends trivia, we can do some of those if you want. LMK.

LATE NIGHT-EARLY MORNING RAMBLING

It's 5:15 am, Saturday. Wide awake. Decided to finally continue last Saturday's post for lack of a better idea. Will start with #67 in the list of 100 Things Aboot Me.

1. Oh great. bullets will not start with #67. One more thing I need to figure out how to do on a computer....
2. Just pretend. I am.
3. I put mayonnaise on sloppy joes. Don't barf until you've tried it.
4. Most of my life, I have had the strong desire to try skydiving.
5. I've recently gotten over that.
6. One of my best experiences was watching LittleJuJu being born. On Christmas Day of all days. It was 6 and a half years ago but I remember it like it was yesterday. I even had the priviledge of cutting the umbilical cord. He calls the end result his "Nana button".
7. We had a Girl's Track Club when I was in high school, but not a Girl's Track Team. I loved it and wish we had had a team. I don't run anymore and miss it.
8. I look stupid in hats.
9. I only ever had one broken bone, my nose. Don't ask...
10. I am allergic to codeine. Found out the hard way. Don't ask...
11. I saw a DeLorean once in real life. One awesome automobile.
12. My first grade sweetheart's name was Leslie Bender. He was beautiful.
13. I love strawberry jam and cream cheese sandwiches.
14. My favorite rollercoaster is the Corkscrew at Cedar Point, OH.
15. I once got my period in the Smithsonian Institution. Was not happy aboot that.
16. I failed my drivers test the first time for going too fast in a school zone. I hesitate to use the word speeding, as it sounds too wreckless. I still contend that it was not posted.
17. I collect old cigar boxes for decoupage.
18. I think receding hairlines are sexy. On men, that is. For the most part...
19. And earrings too. On men. For the most part.
20. I hate alarm clocks.
21. Neither of my godparents are alive. And none of my grandparents, either.
22. When it comes to paper or plastic, I prefer paper.
23. I am the same age as Play-Doh.
24. I have a Kit Kat clock in my kitchen. It needs new batteries.
25. I am a chronic list-maker. Can't function without them.
26. I wear size 7 shoes. But clogs? 6 1/2.
27. I am just aboot the only woman I know who doesn't dye her hair.
28. I am deathly afraid of lightning.
29. I don't know my IQ.
30. And can't remember my blood type but it's on a card in my wallet.
31. I never thought my name suited me, but don't tell my mom.
32. I think the name Kim would have suited me better.
33. I was a Barbie freak when I was little.
34. I can't read a newspaper without getting ink on my face.
35. Reeboks are my favorite tenners.
36. I love file cabinets and all that they stand for.
37. I once spent the day with Dave Crowley from Channel 2 News in Pittsburgh.
38. I snort if I laugh too hard.
39. I love to cook but hate to bake.

Trivia Question for today: Who inspired R.E.M.'s hit, Man on the Moon?

I'm going to bed now.

FRIDAY MORNING BUZZA-PALOOZA

I am buzzing on aboot the equivalent of 10 cups of coffee. Friday morning Breakfast Club... Yeah, coffee and a Belgian Waffle piled high with strawberries, ice cream and aboot a half a can of whipped creme. Yummy in my tummy.

Now I have the weekend to look forward to. This is my last weekend for awhile with no major plans so I have to accomplish a lot. It would be way cool if it would quit raining long enough that I could get some yard work in. And I would dearly love to wash linens and hang them out on the clothesline to dry. And to actually put on a pair of shorts. I have not had a tan in so many years, I hate it to go to waste. It's almost Memorial Day and we haven't really had any decent Spring/Summer days. Oh wait, maybe we did and I just slept through them...

I stopped in the middle of this post for some IM-ing and meanwhile, came down off that coffee buzz and have lost all my energy, both mental and physical. But before I go, I have an idea and want to see what y'all think.

How be if we start a community blog and each take turns writing a sentence or a paragraph each day and see what we end up with? It could be real life or we could write a novel or short stories or whatever. Just an idea I had. Kick it around in your head and lmk your ideas or even if you're interested. I think it would be cooler the more people we had writing. JuJu writes on a blog like that called The Peevery. Their theme is bitching aboot stuff.

Ok, I'm outta here. Check and see how Simon is doing (not sure if he has posted post-op yet.) Ruby seems to be feeling better. Jeff has a big weekend planned. JuJu FINALLY posted. Cactus is funny today. And Mike seems to be busy... Brad is still on vacation from here, probably cramming for Trivial Pursuit. Adrienne hasn't told me her plans for the weekend. Dana is MIA. TGA better come see me soon. Hi Jodie :-) Not sure who else is reading; if I missed you please speak up. I could try one more time to announce a delurking day but have learned from experience, I'm wasting my time. But I love surprises! (hint, hint)

Hey, all you Canucks, have a great holiday weekend!

DIRTY DIESEL

Don't you hate sitting at a stoplight behind or even following a school bus? The fumes are nauseating.

If it's not obvious by now that I'm really sweatin' using up these song titles... I'm getting ready to retire the whole deal... If I could just get over the feeling of bailing out on Paul... But I feel like I'm ready for a change and getting impatient every time I sit down to post and have to spend like 5 minutes running up and down a list deciding whether to write to fit a title or find one to fit what I want to say. It's restricting and unnerving even. So from now on, if it fits, ok. If it don't, whatever...

Today is going to be "phone call day". You know those calls you need to make and keep putting off? It's even harder when you're sleeping when the rest of the world is sitting by the phone awaiting your call. When I'm awake and have time, between 6 and 9 am, there's no one at the other end. When I get up around 6 or 7 pm, same deal. So I need to stay up longer today and cross some calls off my list. Let's hope the phone gods are in my favor and I don't spend precious sleep time on hold or trying to track down the right person to talk to. I detest phone tag like I do bus fumes.

It dawned on me little while ago that I have to put a bathing suit on in exactly one month and I never did start that exercise routine I had planned. Geez-US. I am in Traaaaaah-BULL.

Not too many things in life (after 50, anyway) are more traumatic than the first bathing suit day of the season. Guess I'll just have to grin and bear it this year. Gulp. Ahh, well. Sometimes ya just gotta say "WTF". Could be worse. But how's come nobody bothered to remind me that a tan does nothing to camouflage stretch marks? But hey, that's why they invented one-piece suits. And black is "slimming". And they have those cool wrap-around cover-up things now. (Thanks JuJu for lending me yours.) So of course I got a one-piece black suit. I also have a multi-color neon print one-piece and a two-piece black number. So I think my bases, if not my thighs, are covered. If nothing else, me mum got me a gorgeous turquoise and lime green striped beach towel for my birthday (that I picked out) that I can hide in...

So Paul and Heather are Splitsky. I suppose we'll have to hear aboot this for a good month and a half now. Why is it that the media has to get their grubby little noses in everybody's business and milk it for all it's worth? A pet peeve of mine in case it's not obvious.

While I'm thinking of it, Re: Yesterday's post aboot the toker guy... Please do not let what I said serve as an indication of my approval or disapproval of the use of marijuana. Therapeutic or otherwise. Just sayin'.

The next person who says to me "We need this rain..." - I swear to God I'll not be responsible for the bodily harm I will be forced to inflict. It's been freaking raining longer than I can even remember. The rain we needed all fell like last week. Enough already. Criminy.

Here's your question for the day. And before I write it, let me say, you are allowed here, to comment on what I say up to and including the trivia question. (hint.) K? K.

Counter-culture guru Timothy Leary is the godfather of which Reality Bites star?

A) Winona Ryder

B) Ethan Hawke

C) Janeane Garofalo

D) Ben Stiller

(I love this movie and the soundtrack ain't bad. My favorite scene is when they dance to My Sharona in the convenience store.)

Blasting Zone: Arcade Fire to and from. One of my top five favorite ass-kicking bands of last year.

DOPE SMOKIN' MORON

I've been dying to use this song/post title. And now I can...

Please hold up, if you were planning to do the Johari Window for me, please wait. Ade and Simon were kind enough to respond and some dope smokin' moron from a southern state I will not mention (Thanks, Sitememeter) screwed it up and I have to start a new one. Not that I don't totally agree, this person decided that I was tense, insecure, self-conscious and both an introvert AND an extrovert. So, I'm assuming that since this person thinks I am both intro- and extro- , this person doesn't really have a tight grasp on vocabulary skills. To get an accurate Johari reading, I am going to open another Window and hopefully the toker won't visit again. Ade and Si, can I please count on you to re-do? I love you both and I'll buy you candy. :-)

Sorry. I keep learning lessons aboot the jerks roaming around the Internetosphere...

SEEIN' HER

When you get time, would you please go here, to the Johari Window and follow the instructions. You will be choosing words that describe me. Don't be nice, be honest. It's quick and shouldn't take more than a minute or two. Thanks :-)

BENT OUT OF SHAPE

I was afraid this would happen. I knew sooner or later it would. And there's not a thing I can do aboot it.

I have nothing to say.

Maybe I should rephrase that. I have things to say. It's just that there is so much swirling around in my roomy skull that I cannot for the life of me sort it out and come up with an intelligent sentence expressing anything at all. The word maelstrom comes to mind. That's what the inside of my head feels like. I don't know whether to attribute it to the rainy-on-top-of-rainy weather we've been having, the fact that I feel constantly these days that I'm missing out on something (not sure what exactly) or that I just can't find my center. If you have any ballet background at all (which I'm sure most of my readers do- Ha!) you'll know what I mean. Think of it this way: When you are standing on one foot and you need to maneuver around to find yourself balanced, you arrange the parts of yourself to insure that your weight is distributed evenly so you don't fall on your ass. Does this make sense to you? Whether it be a goal to shoot for or a direction to take or even just finding that peaceful place inside, a person has to have their center. I feel like I'm stretching in forty different directions and going to end up back exactly where I am. I can't relax, I feel like I should be accomplishing something. Anything. And I don't and I'm not. I hope this passes. It's not a good feeling. I need a focus, something to set my sights on. I don't want to wake up a year from now and still be where I am now. I don't mean here, physically. I mean here, in this mental state of dissatisfaction. I feel like I've been on a rollercoaster the past few months. I have gone from the glee of anticipation to a relatively comfortable resolve to uncertainty to this. Arrrggghhh! Tomorrow will likely bring some other kind of craziness. Maybe it's my psyche trying to tell me to get off my duff and make something interesting happen. That's all well and good, I would love to comply. But who has the time? Aha! Maybe that's it. Time constraints. I must confess I have been feeling like I'm running out of time. That would account for all the crap racing around in my head. It's something like a benign terror, fear of not acting out all the scenarios I have stored up there. And let me tell you, it's a super-mega warehouse full of plans. Not just big things; little things and everything in between. A virtual lifetime full of moments and words and feelings and ideas. And here I am, over half-way through and I still need to cram so much in.

Now that I got that off my chest I think I'll go to bed. Oops, not yet, have some stuff to do first.

By the way, please say a prayer for Ruby. He's not feeling too cool.

Blasting Zone today: Tibet by Waterbone. Awesome music, check it out. You can google it yourself, I'm not your link whore ;-)

RUN IT

This Is My Life, Rated
Life:	6.8
Mind:	6.4
Body:	6.4
Spirit:	6
Friends/Family:	7.5
Love:	7.3
Finance:	7
Take the Rate My Life Quiz

This was fun. The personal analysis of each category is interesting too. I thought I would score higher in the Spirit part...

SILVER NAKED LADIES

Do truck drivers still put those mud flaps on their trucks?

My brain's a bit mucked up today so there's a good chance this post will be all over the place. It's been raining all night and there is a lot of water laying on the roads this am. It doesn't look like it will quit anytime soon. I'm looking forward to a good day for sleeping, listening to the rain on the roof but I hope it doesn't put us into a flood watch. You never can tell anymore...

I had the weirdest dream yesterday. First let me say that I didn't get to say a proper goodbye to dear little Madeline yesterday being that I had to get some sleep before going to work, so I stole some before the kids even left. That sucked. But I told JuJu to wake me when they were ready to go. Well, there's this thing that happens to me when I first wake up and that is that I'm totally whacked and have no clue as to what is going on around me for aboot 5 minutes. I do believe that I kissed the baby and JuJu goodbye but I can't swear to it. I worry sometimes what I might do or say in that state because I'm so out of it. Would be a good time to borrow money from me or ask a huge favor... But I decided it's a good thing because had I been totally awake, I would have been bawling like a baby watching their car pull out of the driveway.

Back to the dream. I was back at work. At the beginning of each week, we are provided with new or freshly laundered cover-up things that are like HazMat (?) suits. I am the only one on my shift who wears a size small and aboot half the time my suit ends up somewhere other than where it is supposed to be. Anyway, in the dream, I had no suit. I told my Supervisor and she said that, for that reason I would be put on probation and that my punishment was to walk the halls of the building until I was told otherwise. I protested and told her that it was not my fault that my suit wasn't delivered. She would hear none of it. So I commenced to walking the halls. The longer I walked and the farther I went, the lower the ceilings became. After a point I could barely stand up straight and had to walk with my head down to fit through. By then I was crying and telling people that it was not fair that I was being punished for someone else's mistake. Doesn't sound like I had any anxiety aboot returning to work after being away for a week, does it?

Daily feature returning today-

Blasting Zone Tunes

To: Follow Me- Uncle Kracker

Straight to Hell- The Clash

From: Talk Dirty To Me- Poison

Seduce Me Tonight- Cycle V

Question: What famous rock critic did Phillip Seymour Hoffman protray in Almost Famous? If you are a regular reader here, you have a good chance of getting this answer.

I will leave yesterday's question for a bit longer. JoJo came close but no one has answered correctly yet... (7:38 am Monday)

I'LL BE YOU

Trivia for Mother's Day: What was the name of Eduard Delacroix's (Michel Jeter) pet Death Row mouse in 1999's The Green Mile?

I'm going back to work in a half an hour and too depressed to write aboot anything else...

Tell me how your weekend was, that might cheer me up.

I WILL DARE

Now I'm tired. Madeline had a kind of rough day, off schedule and not terribly happy. The reason became apparent after the fact when I found that she had sprouted a new toothie. Must be MamaJuJu's Mother's Day gift. She will be pleased.

I must now face that this is my last vacation night. I'm feeling somewhat self-centered and sorry for myself. I promised very recently that I would not post any more "poor me" posts. So I will turn this into a "yay me" post and share some of me with you. I have been wanting forever to have a 100 Things Aboot Me list on my sidebar but have given up. I'll start a list here and quit when I get tired of myself.

Some Things Aboot Me:

1. I am hopelessly addicted to sitting in this chair blogging.
2. I love to read and at any given time, have at least two books going at once. Right now (and for awhile hence) I'm reading A Season in Hell by Arthur Rimbaud, Beach Music by Pat Conroy and keep The Wisdom of Menopause by Christiane Northrup, MD on my nightstand for quick reference. Have been struggling with The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield for way too long and will probably surrender it soon.
3. I like to sneeze and have hiccups.
4. I have phobias about boredom and routine. Avoid both at all costs. Not getting bored is way easier than avoiding monotony.
5. I am a true Pisces except for the self-confidence thing. Lacking grossly in that area.
6. There are certain words that I cannot say. I would tell you what they are but I don't think I can type them either.
7. My husband spoils me. Rotten.
8. I never asked him to. I don't think he can help it.
9. I would spoil him as well, but he won't let me.
10. I rarely watch the news and don't read newspapers.
11. I was raised Catholic. Was is the operative word here.
12. I am the eldest of six. I have one sister and four brothers. All older than me. (Ha!)
13. My favorite color is deep teal on the greener side.
14. I rarely get through the day without consulting a dictionary. (Due in large part to my friendship with Simon, but have pretty much always been that way.)
15. I have never been farther west than Ohio.
16. I plan to change that one day.
17. I often read my horoscope a day late to see if it was accurate. Usually is.
18. I have never seen a ghost but have no doubts that they exist.
19. I hate to take pills or any other kind of medicine. Except NyQuil ;-)
20. I have kept diaries and journal since I was aboot 12.
21. I buy most of my clothes at second-hand stores.
22. I am kind of a tight-wad. Except in a second-hand store.
23. Maybe it would sound better to say I spend wisely.
24. I really am not comfortable talking aboot myself. This is difficult for me.
25. I am a better listener than a talker.
26. I desperately want to learn French. The language.
27. I studied Russian for 4 years in school and have learned some Japanese on my own.
28. My favorite Bath & Body scents are Moonlight Path and Cotton Blossom.
29. I would love to write a novel one day. I have some scenes worked out in my head and a few characters that need some work...
30. When I was growing up I wanted to be a drummer and a racecar driver but those were not "girl" choices then.
31. I love Leave it to Beaver re-runs and The Little Rascals.
32. Last year I was finally able to say "beaver" out loud. :-Þ
33. I drive too fast and play my music too loud. Shut up.
34. I cry really easily. I don't mind. It's better than the alternative.
35. I laugh a lot, but it takes a lot to make me laugh hard enough to cry.
36. I hate racists and bigots and bullies and centipedes and earwigs.
37. I have a pretty high tolerance for pain.
38. I own way too many shoes and sunglasses.
39. I love chocolate cake with peanutbutter icing.
40. I am often impetuous and suffer the consequences frequently.
41. When I am doing something I really love, I often get so caught up that I completely lose track of time.
42. I often get frustrated that I don't have the time I would like to spend on my art.
43. I cannot sleep in flannel pajamas or nightgowns. Too movement-restrictive.
44. My hair is naturally curly. Very much so.
45. The scent of leather makes me, um, frisky. I'll deny it if you tell.
46. The smell of cooking mushrooms does the same thing but that's just plain weird.
47. I don't believe I just told that to the world. See #40 above.
48. I can write backwards. And I can actually sign my name upside down and backwards.
49. I can cross one eye too. People run when I do it.
50. I believe I saw an actual UFO one night on a stretch of highway in Virginia outside Shenandoah.
51. I can wake myself up from a bad dream and I have been able to change what is happening in a dream. It's hard to do, takes a lot of practice and doesn't always work.
52. I hate math and numbers.
53. I met Jesse Jackson once and shook his hand. (Before the scandal, but I would still shake his hand if I met him again.)
54. I met George McGovern when I was campaigning for him. I shook his hand too.
55. I have never had a speeding ticket (see #33). That will change since I brought it up.
56. I only ever had one parking ticket. That, too will change.
57. I love to wash sheets and hang them outside on the clothesline to dry. They smell wonderful!
58. I love to spend hours in a bookstore. Or a music store. Or an art museum.
59. I love to get dressed up.
60. Sometimes I read outloud in an accent appropriate to the story. Southern novels are my favorite. Or British. Poopy has never commented. Either he never heard me or doesn't have the heart to say anything. He knows I'm not quite "centered".
61. I do not sing in the shower. I do however, sing in my car.
62. I do not wear hats as I seem to look rather stupid in them.
63. I do not wear knickers, wooden shoes, gauchos, SaranWrap or shackles for the same reason.
64. I drink coffee, tea and iced tea without sugar. Coffee must have 2 creams.
65. I respect animals but choose not to own any pets.
66. If I did have a pet it would be a Miniature, Lop-eared, Angora bunny. Or a Wiemeriener. Or however you spell it.

I believe I will continue this tomorrow. I'm tired of thinking aboot myself but still not crazy aboot letting go of this freedom.

JuJu and Co. should be here soon. It will be great to see them. :-)))

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO ALL YOU MOTHERS OUT THERE!

THE LAST

Was saving this title for my last and final post. But hopefully I will be writing here long after I've exhausted Paul's song titles. Instead I'm using it today to exemplify the fact that TOMORROW is the LAST DAY OF MY VACATION. Do you have any idea how disheartening that is to me?

I'm not going to dwell on it, I have other things to do to get the most out of my remaining hours. But gee whiz, this week flew by.

I'm playing around with something called the Johari Window. It's a personality indicator-type thing, something that fascinates me. I've added it to my blogroll if you want to check it out. When I get it figured out, I'm going to ask you all to help me out a bit and choose some words that you think describe me. I have chosen my words already. The Window, I guess, creates a conglomerate or a cross-section or something that's supposed to give you insight into how you see yourself as opposed to how others see you. Maybe, or I could be wrong, haven't really had time to look into it yet. I've always been curious aboot how I'm perceived by others. I know how I see myself but chances are, the two are very different. I'm misunderstood so often, there must be a reason. I would like to know what it is. There are a few people who "get me" and usually it is very quickly. Other times people can know me for a really long time and still not see the real me. Anybody else have the same kind of thing? It can be really frustrating at times. I only EVER have good intentions (Ok 99% of the time) but somehow sometimes things get misinterpretted and misconstrued. Must be something I'm doing... Would like to change that.

Ok, it's aboot time for Miss Madeline to get up from her nap. She'll need me for playing...

Going to change the Trivia Question to one from the 1990's. Simon guessed yesterday's answer which was Ted Nugent. He's got 4 1/2 points, in the lead.

Dreadlocked rocker Dave Pirner fronted which of these bands:

A) The Goo Goo Dolls

B) The Meat Puppets

C) Soul Asylum

D) The Replacements

WITHIN YOUR REACH

Since nobody got the trivia question yesterday, I will make it easier by giving you some choices, then I have to run. See you later and have a really good day.

A. Ted Nugent

B. Burt Reynolds

C. Rudy Juliani

D. Jim Nabors

Also- heard a song yesterday which isn't normally my kind of tune but I really liked it. A line from it is "When the world gets in my face, I say 'Have a nice Day'". Sounded like Bon Jovi. Anybody know and do you like the song???

HEY GOOD LOOKIN'

Now that I have your attention...

My granddaughter seems to have Intel Inside or something that acts like an Internet sensor; the minute I sit down here to write/read/whatever, she wakes up. Cool talent, wonder if we can capitalize on it somehow. But she's alseep now so I will write fast.

Last night after I posted, I got a second wind. I made myself a cup of my favorite (one of them) Sugar Plum tea in my favorite Marx Brothers mug (the one that says "All for one; one for all; all for me; three for five and six for a quarter), a Nutty Bar and a Montclair and took myself out on my back porch to enjoy the late evening. What a beautiful night it was. No moon or stars that I could see but dark and quiet, a light breeze blowing. It was sooo quiet and the scent from the lilac bushes was heavy and sweet.

My back porch, as I may have mentioned, is my solitude, my haven. A place where I can just be with me and my thoughts. In the morning, the birds and my thoughts and plans for the day are my company. At night, it's just me and whatever direction my brain seems to be moving at the end of a day. A place I love to be and need frequently. I miss it in the winter.

Madeline's awake. Gotta run.

Fill in this line from 2001's Ocean's Eleven: " _______ called. He wants your shirt back."

Good luck, I didn't remember this.

NOW I WONDER

I guess the past couple months or so I have made a pretty big deal aboot turning fifty and all this new insight I've (?) inherited. It is still there, to a degree, but I'm seeing something new now. It's kind of like an instance where you do without something for a long time. Somehow you acquire whatever that thing is that you lacked. You get very comforable with that thing and then you want more of that thing. You get more and before you know it you get real greedy and just crave more and more and more. Well, it's kind of like that. I started seeing things in a new way, understanding more. I'm stuck in that mode now and although it gets overwhelming at times, I just try to fill my head up with so much new stuff. I call it "stuff" because I don't want to call it knowledge, cause it ain't like book learnin'. I hesitate to call it insight because that connotates a kind of intuitiveness. Maybe it is more intuition, now that I think aboot it. But even more, it's a deeper understanding of things I already knew. For instance, as I think of the whole process right now, I realize that I can see things a little clearer simply because I've discarded so much non-important stuff from inside my head. When you rid a room of clutter, there's simply more room for other things.

People, though; the things they do or say, how they react in certain situations. Those are the things that still stump me. I don't understand people in general. Things used to make sense. Why a person might get defensive, or snap, or cry, or be rude, used to be a common sense-kind of thing. Anymore though, I don't know. People are (or seem to be) unpredictable. I think, too, that people have gotten so good at masking or putting on for whatever reason that it's just gotten too easy to be that way. And too hard for the rest of us to tell the difference. I get very tired trying to understand people. Makes me long for another time, back when life was simpler and people were not so wrapped up in fronts and egos and impressions. Once people were concerned aboot their reputations and lived their lives in an accepted manner for that reason.

Ah, maybe I'll continue this tomorrow, maybe I won't. I'm boring myself and lost my direction. Could be that I'm completely exhausted. Don't tell JuJu, but she is amazing. How she takes care of a house and a husband, a six-year-old AND a one-year-old is so far beyond my comprehension that I can't even remember the beginning of this sentence. Sure I did it, but the world was a bit different then. I just know that there is a valid reason that women my age do not continue to procreate. It's called lack of stamina. Not patience, stamina. I have more patience than I ever have. But energy, shit. Forget it.

I apologize for not posting a trivia question. I will tomorrow. Just. Too. Tired.

SADLY BEAUTIFUL

Although I don't, as a rule, watch television, sometimes if I'm in the basement doing laundry or whatever I may turn the thing on for background noise. Tonight I did that and I'm not sure what was on, but there was a man sort of pulling a woman up a staircase (not against her will or anything). She laughingly asked, "What are you doing?" He replied, "Taking a much-needed vacation," whereupon he opened a door that lead out onto a rooftop. He proceeded to flip a switch and the lights he had strung all around (kind of all Christmas-like) lit up. He had set a table with candles and switched on music and asked the woman if she wanted to Samba. They began to dance there on the rooftop and I began to melt a little.

This got me awonderin' aboot where in the world has all the Romance gone??? People just seem too busy anymore to take the time to do this kind of thing. Most, anyway. I was reminded of this today (forgive me PD, this is not a personal affront, just an example) when I was giving Madeline lunch. PD was sitting next to us, having his lunch too. The stereo was on, like it always is when I am home, and "our song" came on. Up until today, anytime (no matter what or where) we would hear "our song," he would take me in his arms and we would slow dance. That small act never failed to kindle a spark of romance and remind me why I fell in love in the first place. Not only do we hear the song less and less as time goes by, even though it is a classic, it's just that there are so many millions of classics now. But the chance that the two of us are in the same place at the same time the song may play is slim. So I don't want to miss a chance like that. When I heard the first few notes of the song, my heart leapt a little, like it always has. But obviously PD was preoccupied with Madeline or his food or both.

I think we all need more romance in our everyday lives and should jump at the chance whenever possible. It doesn't take much; not like you have to make forty trips to the roof, all decorating and shit... I don't know how to Samba anyway.

Hey, is this my first "feeling sorry for myself" post??? I'll try not to make it a habit. Promise.

MAKES ME HAPPY

Freedom from alarm clocks. Freedom from time clocks. Freedom from any clock. Makes me happy.

Poopy was watching David Blaine's attempt at drowning last night. I sat/laid down to watch and that was the end of that. I think it was before 9:30 that I zonked out. Now here I am at 6 am wide awake.

Still waiting for you to tell me what you have that's old and precious to you. Simon, the book I told you aboot was published in 1830. It's falling apart but I read it sometimes. It is a leather-bound gilt copy of the works of Tennyson that I dug up in a book store a couple years ago. I love Elaine and Guinevere and reading aboot King Arthur and Lancelot and all that.

Do you remember funny things your kids did with their blankets/thumbs/binkies? Juju would wrap her blankie around her index finger and rub her nose with the satin binding while she sucked her thumb. Baby JuJu, while drinking her bottle, holds her binkie in her left hand and smooshes the nipple part with her thumb, and alternately will close her eyes and rub her eyelids with the binkie nipple. Funny as heck. My son had a bottle shaped like an owl that he/we called Hoot that went with him Everywhere and acted as a pseudo-binkie. They used to make little disc-type things that went inside the lid for storage purposes. I had to keep that in the lid all the time so that he wouldn't get air from sucking on it. Once on a road trip he tossed Hoot out an open car window and we had to get off the highway and retreat to retrieve Hoot. Would have maybe been a good idea to purchase a back-up bottle but I never did find another bottle like that.

Need to wrap this up and go tend to the Babe. Here's your question for today.

Who was the first Survivor contestant to land a starring film role? ( I SO couldn't care less...)

PS In case you are interested, the answer to the Eternal Sunshine question was poet Alexander Pope. There you have it.

Oh, and one more thing that has been bugging the hell outta me- Some of you have the letter identification things that enable one to leave comments on your blog as opposed to computers leaving comments. Theres a little logo by the box, the universal sign for handicapped. When I clicked on one, it says something like "type the letters your hear". Well, I'm thinking, if you're blind, that's a great help. And yes, I'm sure a blind person can maneuver around a keyboard. But how the eff is a blind person reading blogs? Tell me that.

MY DAYDREAM

This being off work and sleeping and eating like a "normal" human being has it's distinct advantages. I could very easily get used to it. But to make that possible, I'm guessing that I would have to have some sort of an income without actually earning it. That would entail some creative and crafty thinking. Hmmm... From what I gather, the chances of getting struck by lightning is greater than hitting the lottery. No thanks. Can't find me a sugar daddy, I'm already married. Don't have a rich relative on a deathbed. Not into robbing banks. WTF. Guess I better just enjoy the hell outta this week, then. Unless someone out there has aboot a million bucks laying around with no useful purpose OTHER THAN MAKING ME VERY DAMN HAPPY.

(Disclaimer: that was not a plea for a donation. Just a daydream.)

I blew the knee out in my favorite pair of Levis today. Now the whole pair matches. They're good, I guess, until the waistband falls off and they won't stay up anymore. But I was wearing them with no shoes today and the strings around the bottom kept getting tangled up around my heels (foot heels, not shoe heels.) Some things are just better old and worn out. Or worn in, whichever. My living room furniture, although it still looks fine, is older than my kids I think. I found it secondhand for my sister when she and her husband built their house over 20 years ago. It was expensive and well-made. When she was done with it, I inherited it. Anyone who has ever slept on the couch will tell you it's awesome. My bed is older than I can even find out. It belonged to a relative of me mum's. It's iron and brass and really cool and I've never seen another one like it. I slept in it when I was small and then it was retired for many years until I decided several years ago to strip and refinish it. What do you have that's really old but meaningful to you? And don't say "My friend, Linda." Because that's not funny.

Adrienne got the answer to the question today. Simon was too slow. That's a first :-)

I can't believe I got two posts out today. Woo Hoo.

Update: I just got email confirmation that I was chosen out of over 150,000 email subscribers to receive a lottery prize amounting to 500,00 euros. Whoopee! I can retire after all. :-)

Bastards.

WHEN SQUIRRELS PLAY CHICKEN

The only reason for this title today (which is an album title of Tommy Stinson's - one- time member of the Replacements) is because today Creed has an IM photo of a squirrel unzipping his fur to reveal a Superman emblem on his chest. Made me laugh.

Maddie is sleeping so got to post fast. She is an adorable and delightful child and it's hard to tear myself away from her. We are having a really fun time together. I think we'll be girlfriends when she gets older. She laughs at the same things I do. Don't tell JuJu, she has enough to worry aboot.

Heard from Brad today, he's back from school and getting settled in so I expect he'll be visiting soon. I anticipate Trivia Wars between him and Simon so I'll need to come up with some real interesting questions. The rest of you- show them you are worthy contenders! I have faith in you!

Today's Question: The title Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind was taken from what famous poet? No, I'm kidding, that's ridiculous. If you know the answer I will give you 2 bonus points, but that is not today's real question.

Today's Real Question: In LOTR, what did Gollum call the ring he so desperately wanted back?

Official Score Tally:

Simon - 3 1/2

Brad - 3

Mike - 2

Ade - 2

Jenny - 1

Joni - 1/2

FIRST STEPS

Figured I better learn to utilize my freet ime very wisely this week. Madeline is napping, I don't know for how long, but I thought posting now would be my best bet. My freet ime??? Ha.

Yesterday was an excellent day all around. Only bad thing that happened all day was when I got aboot half way home from the mall and decided my music was a little loud, I should turn it down in case my cell would ring. I glanced over on the seat beside me to reach for my phone which would be in my purse, had my purse been there on the seat beside me where I had put it. I was mildly concerned until I reached all over the floor beside my feet, thinking it had fallen off the seat. When I still couldn't find it, I thought maybe I had thrown it in the trunk when I put shopping bags in there. Irritated at myself for not paying better attention, I pulled into a gas station, parked and checked my trunk. No purse. Sonofabitch. Turned out to be on the floor behind the passenger seat, heaven knows how it got there. But anyway.

On the way to meet my friends yesterday, as I neared the bottom of the hill below my house, I saw a cyclist riding in the opposite direction. Ruby, you would not believe how much the rider looked like you. I did a double-take and it still looked like you. I almost turned back until I realized the chances of that being you were, like, zero. Zed. Zip. Not possible. Would have been an excellent day for a ride.

Kids arrived fine yesterday. We celebrated the afore-mentioned holidays, had a picnic dinner and were all in bed by aboot 10 pm. The JuJu's left around 4 am and Madeline and I got up around 7, had breakfast and playedandplayedandplayed and now she'd napping. The JuJu's called from Atlanta and will let us know when they reach Orlando. It was pouring rain in Atlanta, I hope they fly out of that. It's beautifully sunny here but cool. I want to go outside and work around the flower beds if I can today.

Madeline is pulling herself up to the coffee table and the stairs. I'm hoping with all my heart that she doesn't decide to take her first steps here while Mommy and Daddy are away. That just wouldn't be right. As much as I would love to see her take that first step, I will try to discourage her. I watched brother Julian learn to walk and it seems like just yesterday. That is such a cool thing to watch.

Trivia for Today: What actor interviewed Bill Clinton in April 2000 for an ABC Earth Day Special?

A) Ben Affleck

B) Leonardo DiCaprio

C) Warren Beatty

D) Matt Damon

Maddie's up, Bye Bye!

LIKE A ROLLING PIN

My vacation officially started at 6 am today. I'm not smiling or anything.

Went to breakfast for our weekly Friday morning "Breakfast Club" (original, huh?) meeting at the Yakkity Yak Diner. Had my usual, a Belgian waffle with ice cream, strawberries and whipped cream. Lots of mediocre coffee but good conversation.

I had a bone density test and "chest area" ultrasound done after breakfast. George (my doctor- of-the-female-concerns-type) wants to see if my bones are strong and dense, if not he wants me to start taking hormones. I had a long talk with my bones on the way there as I do not wish to start growing a beard and acting all butchy. (Kidding- but I do not want to start taking hormones...) I had a new "area of concern" show up on my mammogram last week and as usual, had to have a follow-up ultrasound. I've had numerous "areas of concern" over the last few (few??? try aboot 15!!!) years and usually have mammograms every 3-6 months, depending on what shows. Well, today the tech took a l-o-o-o-ong time and performed a very thorough study of my mammular regions (!) and kept turning on the heat-seeking missile thing that shows your heat index or whatever. There was pretty green and blue and then some yellow and orange and then a lot of red. I was getting concerned. I've talked with this tech at length on numerous occasions and know not to bother asking questions as she has this big long speech prepared which basically amounts to "I'm not at liberty to divulge that sort of information. Your doctor will discuss the results with you at his discretion, blah,blah, blah." So she's typing and clicking and frowning and admiring her handiwork in the internal picture-taking arts and I'm laying there with my life skimming through my head. Don't get me wrong, I am far from an alarmist. I have had everything possible done to many, many areas of concern. Biopsies with needles, biopsies with scalpels, lumpectomies, aspirations, ... and after a while you learn not to panic. So I don't. But for some reason today I had a bad feeling. So when I was told to "get dressed and have a seat, I'll be back..." I did, and when she was gone for what seemed like forever and she had the doctor (not George) who read the results with her, I'm like, *gulp*. Poopy was in the waiting room and I was waiting for the doc to ask me if I'd like him to join us for the Big News.

She didn't. While she was situating herself in the chair, I'm looking around, a bit nervously. There are a pile of magazines on a table and I'm seeing a bunch of silly celebrities' faces all grinning at me, most with their beautiful healthy breasts hangin' out all over the place... What's going through my head is Maddie and Julian and what if I'm not around for their ball games and proms and dance recitals and I'm starting to get really mad at my stupid breasts.

"Mrs R.," the doctor says to me. "I've had some time to go over your ultrasound and I don't see anything there that indicates a strong area of concern. You have a lot of cysts, granted, but there has been no major change in the last several studies. I'm rather confident in saying that you can probably resume your yearly mammograms and continue doing your monthly self-exams. And, of course, please contact us if you notice any changes."

Exhale, Linda.

So the world looks all nice and rosy to moi once again. Even though I've been instructed to "Cut back on the coffee, for crying out loud" by the technician. I'll do that right now...

So, in a few hours I'm meeting "The Girls" and we will be making the last (sure!) of our plans before our vacation next month. In case you missed it, four of us who have all turned fifty *cough* this year, are going to Martha's Vineyard for consolation and relaxation. I have some errands to run on the way and we're meeting at the Mall and having lunch (and plans) at Ruby Tuesday's. Think I'll have some of that Spinach Dip maybe. And a Margarita? We'll see.

When I get home from the Mall, the JuJu Clan should be here. We are going to celebrate Easter, Madeline's birthday and JuJu's birthday. Bedtime will probly be shortly after the festivities, as the 3 elder JuJu's will be getting up way early, like 4 am to catch their flight. They will be vacationing, courtesy of the late Walter Disney, and I will be making Merry with Little Miss Madeline all week. I couldn't be more excited. We are going to have such a very good time. We probly should include Poopy, too, don't you think?

Okey Dokey, Hokey Pokey. I have things to do. I wish you all a good weekend and I'm sorry I don't have a trivia question for you today. Give your brains a rest. I will do the same.

BETWEEN LOVE AND LIKE

Sooner or later, I knew this would happen. I find myself not skimming through song titles to fit the content of my blog, but looking at left-over song titles and thinking of what to write to suit the title. And here's this one. The obvious thing to write aboot would be that wonderful time in a relationship when you (or if you're lucky, the other person, too) realize that you more than like this person and you start to fall in love. I think everyone should be able to experience this way more often than the average person. What is more fun than the early stages of falling in love and all that fun stuff before you just get all comfortable and secure-like? Anyway, that's not what I'm going to write aboot.

Oh, wait, now. That was getting interesting. Let's do talk aboot falling in love. It's Springtime, it's appropriate. Remember that feeling? Everything was shiny and sunny and you felt like you could do anything. There was energy, optimism, enthusiasm, every day held promise and life was a wonderful adventure. Sure, lots of things can make you feel that way but how long can you maintain that level of happiness? And the best part of all is that you're sharing it with someone else.

Some would argue and say that it's all a drag, finding Mr./Ms. Right. Yeah, well, you gotta kiss some proverbial frogs to find the prince or princess. But when you do... And the chances of finding that perfect mate, truly perfect mate can be somewhat slim. But when you do... It takes time. Building trust, communicating, taking time to get to know each other, that's hard work sometimes. That's all part of the process. Nothing good comes easy. And then there's the destiny factor. Sometimes it just feels "meant to be." And that's cool.

Ever had a friend in your life who was always there for you? Someone who came in and out of your life? Someone maybe you even took for granted? Then at some point in your life find yourself in a certain circumstance and realize that the person is the one you love? (Me neither but I once found myself on the receiving end of one of those deals.)

I have been in love a few times in my life. Each time was completely different, but all truly special and precious. Some were, BAM, I'm in love! And some were more gradual. But that time between like and love was some of the best stuff there is to be had. I think they should find a way to bottle that up and sell it. I'd buy.

So much for mush.

Trivia Question for today: (Category- LOTR.) Who was originally cast to play the part of Aragorn (played by Viggo Mortensen) but left shortly after shooting began?

A. Daniel Day-Lewis

B. Stuart Townsend

C. Keanu Reeves

D. Johnny Depp

B. Z. Tunes:

To: Hot Child in the City- Nick Gilder

Gravity- Embrace

From: Slave to Love- Bryan Ferry

Addicted to Love- Robert Palmer

(Can somebody tell me some html so that I can get rid of the spaces between the lines up there?)