five thousand shades of blue

---

My weekend was filled with coincedence and synchronicity.

First, on Saturday, I spent some time reading (or trying to read, it's hard for me to read surrounded by lots of people) "The Travels of Marco Polo", a translation dating from at least the 1930's because that's when this edition was from. I decided I need to find a more modern translation because this one is soooo hard to read. When I got home, I realized I had never opened the new National Geographic that had come this past week, and lo and behold, the cover story was "Marco Polo: Venice to China".

Then during X-Files last night, the group of us began chanting during a commercial break, in Elmer Fudd-ese, "Kill the Vi-wus, Kill the VI-wus, KILL THE VIIII-WUS!" We couldn't breathe from laughing when, during the next segment, the communications equipment starts blaring Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries"! Someone on staff must have been thinking the same thing during production.

Ugggggggh.

I shouldn'ta gone to the event this weekend, but it was fun. Now I'm WAY behind with Things I Have To Do, though.

Some idiot, however, apparently STOLE the Coronet of The Summits, as well as the Prince's hand made and embroidered cloak. So if you see a silver coronet (crown) that comes to a single point at the front, decorated with a round white enameled cabochon (with a blue grail in the center of it) up for grabs on eBay, let me know. I'm not kidding.

I don't think I have been this happy to see Friday come in a long, long time. Ohhhhhh, yes, sleeping in tomorrow. I will happily murder anyone who calls this house before 10 am.

That last entry made me think of Calvin and Hobbes, which I've pulled out of mothballs to reread recently.... Two choice quotes:

"Verbing weirds language."

"'How many boards would the Mongols hoard
if the Mongol Hordes got bored?'"

...heh...

A parade of office chairs just ambled on by past the front door. My day is weird.

I've got this meeting this afternoon. I've known about this meeting all week, but have been too busy to think about it. Am I ready for it? NO! Do I want to even deal with it? NO!

ARGH!

Merlin "The Great and Terrible" Missy is now a homeowner... should I be afraid now?

I want to open up my head and beat my stupid brain senseless, because it can't figure out that it wouldn't be nearly as stressed and exhausted if it would stop worrying about being stressed and exhausted and just LET ME SLEEP AT NIGHT.

This lack of sleep thing is getting really old.

It is too early for sane humans to be awake.

It's very odd. I'm not usually the kind of person who's seduced outside by lovely weather, away from work and all the cruddy stuff in life. Today, though, it's really tempting. It is so incredibly beautiful outside.

Wah.

Hm, been a few days.

The sun shining has gotten me wanting to go outside and tend the yard. We've been in the house for nearly three years and still dealing with the person (whom I shall refer to simply as DS) who left about 3 months after we moved in... anyway, still dealing with detrius of DS'. What kind of fool leaves metal weight bench parts outside?! Yes, yes, our bad for not tackling this stuff sooner, but honestly, we didn't really know this stuff was out there! It was well hidden beneath stuff that was SUPPOSED to be out there. The depths of idiocy with regards to what was left outside is astounding. Leather laces! Cans of oil-based enamel paint! Honestly.

Anyway, things are moving along in what feels like slow motion. Think I'll get a lottery ticket. Like they say back in New York, "Hey, ya never know."

I got to sleep in as LONG as I wanted to (after a fairly bizarre dream of having an alligator roaming the house and stalking my cats), and awoke to a gloriously sunny warm day. The drapes from the living room are hanging on the clothesline, and aside from the yellowjackets buzzing around, it's absolutely perfect outside. I wish the office had a bigger window, because that's where I am, and it seems to be the darkest room in the whole house.

Hm... I have a cunning plan. To the iBook!

Long and tiring day. I decided that I wasn't going to attend the SCA event up in Salem. Must catch up on some stuff around the house.

The interview went well. Holds much promise. I feel at a crossroads, and hope I choose the right way.

Had a dream about being in "Survivor", which is really weird, since I've never watched it, ever. There came a point where we all had to pitch tents and I staked out my land... but everyone else had these "throw in the air, pop into shape, land and VOILA!, a tent" things. I was really peeved that I had a regular old tent and that no one would help me put it up. There was nowhere to set it up, anyway. I was annoyed and frustrated that I had even bothered to enter, since I didn't have what it took.

Sunshiney day, and I'm tired as all get out. Supposed to present my portfolio tomorrow to a local company. Keep your fingers crossed.

From Julie via IRC, upon reading the previous entry:

<j> Holy crap.
<j> That's FREAKY.
<j> You should write a book.
<j> "A Day at the Café"
<j> by Sandra "I can't believe I'm still sane" G*
<j> and
<j> Andra "Neither can I" B*
<j> <G>

You know, we should. I personally have some doozies. Like the guy who watched me bring in a couple of two packs of milk... then upon my return to the parking lot, very earnestly asked me, "Did they accept the milk?"

Wack Job Factor: Exceptionally High Today

Since it's not the full moon, I have to think perhaps it's the sunspots.

First we had Laughing Branch guy, dressed like a 21st century version of an apostle, a branch of some kind of bush or something tucked into his sash, and walked through the café rattling a porcelain basin filled with nickknacks and chanting "ALMS", and asking me if I smoke "left handed cigarettes". I said I don't smoke anything. "Not even salmon?" How the heck do you answer something like that? He wandered out and Justin (city front desk guy) escorted him out the front of the building after he started singing "Feeee-gaaaa-rooooo" at the top of his lungs.

Then came Our Next President, or so he thinks. Yes, my friends, he told me allll about how he was going to be the next president, and DEBBIE GIBSON would be his veep. Was wearing a baseball cap with... THINGS sewn to it (I couldn't look at them too closely, but they honestly looked like rubber lightbulbs). Asked for his coffee "cool with fishies added." I have no idea what that means either. He was a little scarier as he went on and on about something or other and occasionally peppering his remarks with how "Debbie was gonna go down on him", yammering on about Jung, and how the Sr. and Jr. President Bushes were murderers... and a whole bunch of other stuff I couldn't understand. I couldn't wait for him to leave and threatened to call security if he didn't.

I swear, I couldn't MAKE this stuff up.

Woke to find it pouring out. The seasons are out of order. It feels like we had spring first (in January) and are now getting winter. I am hugely glad for the rain, because all fo the reservoirs are pitifully low and we need every drop we can get. Naturally though I left my umbrella behind last night and had to borrow my roommate Jen's to go to the bus stop. I hope she didn't need it... I mean, I don't think she was planning on going out, and she told me I could borrow it if I needed it. I love her umbrella. It's a big, real umbrella, not one of those folding compacted things you can fit in your front pocket, but more like a walking stick. Each panel is a different colour of the rainbow, which, in my opinion, is just what one needs on a rainy day. I imagine I was the only spot of colour on the street this grey morning as I waited for the bus.

Last night I took the bus home from the café and during the ride it occurred to me that I didn't currently have any huge project hanging over my head, due immediately. I mean, I am currently working with two clients to create their website, and talking to another possibly, but I'm waiting to hear back from all three and am stuck until that point. Of course, I decided to goof off. It had been a long time since I had really done anything indulgent, so I compiled a bunch of MP3s to make myself a mix CD. I didn't get to the burning stage, but I actually ended up with enough tunage for about two CDs. It was nice to do something for me.

I will never get used to typing </span> automatically (for those of you who managed to catch the 2 minutes where I had forgotten to properly cap the footnote tag).

The ironic thing, as I re-read yesterday's masterpiece of morbidity, is that the dentist used to be something I looked forward to, too. I didn't have my first cavity 'til I was in college.

Last night I had the strangest dream. I was at my parents', and Julie and Martha were there. Julie was making egg omelettes, but I didn't have the heart to tell her that one egg apiece was too small. Then I thought, "I'd better cut myself off a hunk of cheese for my omelette," and I used a knife that I had used a bit earlier to cut cheese. Then, a man and a woman who are regular customers at the café were at the kitchen table at my parents' house, and I got them each a cup of coffee. They were happy about that.

??? I have no idea what that means. It was, however, the best night sleep I've had in over a week.

There was a time when tax day was a good day for me, but now filing taxes ranks up there with going to the dentist. It's always bad news. This year's the worst ever. I managed somehow to make more money in 2000, and the tax pre-payments were not enough. I definitely won't be making that amount this year (2001), because part of my regular salary went bye-bye, and given the choice to give money to the government or eat, I'm gonna pick eat. The amount of taxes I have to pay for being self-employed is sickening.

That plane heading towards the earth in a fiery tailspin would be me. Hey, the imood indicator should have been your first clue that San's world is not a happy place at the moment.

Several years ago, probably close to ten at this point, while I was still in college, my friends and I decided for some reason that we'd take Good Friday off (I don't recall if we just didn't have classes at all, or if we decided to skip, or what) and take a road trip to Toronto. From where I grew up and went to school, it's about a two hour drive.

What we failed to realize, of course, is that Good Friday is a holiday in Canada. We arrived into the city, parked in the Eaton Centre's parking ramp, went in to cruise... and promptly discovered that every retail store was closed. I've got pictures somewhere of the spookily empty Eaton Centre. We had lunch, turned around, and went home, hugely disappointed for having driven all that way just for lunch, and at the same time, cursing our stupidity.

It's been the week from hell, capped off by a Friday the 13th. And I'm getting my taxes done today. Feels like the universe is playing an unholy trick on me. I am tired beyond tired, since I have not slept well in about a week. Stress does that to a person.

My rant today, after spending a few hours getting my utility statements, my income, my tax paid totals together, and all that other fun stuff that will help bring my taxable income down, is all about counting a tax refund as income. Follow the logic here: I am paid an income; I pay taxes on that income; based on some factor or another, some of the taxes I paid out are returned to me because it's considered to be an overpayment... and are then considered income all over again which I must then pay taxes on. Why does this feel like I'm being taxed twice on the same amount? Here's my simplification: someone gives me a dollar, demands 75 cents back from it, calculates I gave them too much, and gives me back 50 cents... but then demands 25 cents back on the 50. IT MAKES NO SENSE. Why is this legal? It is a refund on money I have already earned, not new income. Rant off.

Originally I had written a long and winding rant about the state of many things after my mini-rant up there -- but after reflection, edited it all out. It's not worth riling my friends over. I will say one thing: If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention.

Today is truly one of those "I should not have gotten out of bed" days. There are, in fact, too many stupid things I have done today to name (chief among them, accidentally unplugging the computer I'm on). And look at what time it is. This does not bode well.

Made myself one of our Black Forest specials. Maybe that will wake me up.

Okay. Is it too much to ask that something not break after only having it a month and a half?! Honestly, I didn't think planned obsolesence would be taken THIS far. Grrrr.

I guess this is what I get for asking "What else could go wrong?"

Monday is the big tax day and am I ready? NO. I'm scared out of my wits. I'm afraid I'm going to owe more than I even have right now. Money sucks. Only people who HAVE money say that money's not important.

Today has been declared Be A Bitch Day by Erin. I'm liking this idea.

Just finished writing email to my sister and my dad, listening to a CD compilation of awesome 80s music (like "One Night in Bangkok"... and "Africa"), and am feeling utterly appreciative of the technologies of modern day, as well as hugely nostalgic for the past. Does that make sense at all?

Congratulations to Melanie and Lyndon, for a green card is a Very Good Thing. (Good casting, ducks.)


Ain't nothin' gonna break my stride
Nobody gonna slow me down
oh no
I got to keep on movin'...


Ah well, it's 9pm and I have to get my sorry ass in bed. 5:15 am comes all too soon.

Oh, too cool. I had a customer actually comment on my Moxy Früvous tee shirt. This guy knew the Spiderman song, and actually heard of them through someone he knows who worked with them. Looks like I wore this tee-shirt on the right day.

Blog of the Day
Don't get your hopes up; it's not going to be a regular feature, but this blog made me laugh out loud and I have to share it.

I was reading my daily assortment of blogs when I realized it has struck. Spring fever. Martha's got it; so does Erin. It's a total dissatisfaction with the day to day -- an overwhelming desire to be doing anything but what you're supposed to be doing. The urge to be creative and carefree, satisfying the child and muse within each and every one of us.

The bug's bitten me too.

I got a bit of a taste of it last night. The first Thursday of every month I host a "Scribal Night", where we do calligraphy and illumination for our local SCA group, usually painting scrolls for common awards like the Award of Arms and the Grail of the Summits. I was painting and I realized that I could have happily continued painting on along for hours and hours (I only had about two between dinner and bedtime), but I couldn't.

I want to travel; I want to visit my family again, who I miss so very much; I want to tear apart my house and organize it and clean it, because my life is so busy everything just settles where it lands and it drives me batshit.

Oh, for a rich patron. :)

I'm getting really tired of this coughing thing, and especially tired of not being able to hear out of my left ear. I'm still getting the tinny upper pitches but that's about it. I think the infection is mostly gone (still have a few antibiotic capsules left) but the eustachian tubes are still kinda swollen. I'm taking decongestant/antihistamine -- hopefully that will help.

Seems that the eyebright has cleared up whatever was wrong with my eyes, though. Let's hear it for traditional herbal remedies.

Boy. Seems like all I talk about lately is my various maladies. Um. It's sunny today...? :)

Sleepy, cold kind of day. Could have hit my snooze button to infinity and would have been perfectly content to do so.

Between the infection, the cough, the drainage, and the eye irritation, I feel like a walking human disaster this week. So what happens? Yesterday morning the phone rings and KMTR wants to come down here to the cafe to interview users regarding the Am I Hot or Not? website. Now, the first thing that jumps to mind is "FREE TELEVISION PUBLICITY FOR THE CAFE". I recommend that they come down in the afternoon because that's when computer usage picks up, but they tell me it's for the news that evening and they have to come down sooner than that. OK, fine. We agree on about noonish.

Of course, there are no computer users when they show up, camera in tow... and guess who gets to be interviewed? That's right, moi. I get to be on TV looking like death warmed over.

I barely remember what I said, I'm sure I was not very kind. It's a very shallow concept, rating someone based solely on looks, and I'm not comfortable making judgements on looks alone. I've met "hot" people who are assholes, and "not" people who turn out to be the kindest friends in the world. I am sure I did comment that it appeals to that evil little shallow person in all of us, the one that sits at a cafe table and snerks at "that girl's hair" or "that guy's gut". The anonymity of that kind of shallow moment is sometimes too hard to pass up.

They did ask me if I'd ever submit my picture to this site. No way. I couldn't stand the thought of someone giving me a 2. Hey, I know I'm not particularly photogenic. I don't kid myself otherwise. :)

I suppose the antibiotics are working, because I'm starting to get a bit of sound back in my left ear. It's that tinny, far-away, haunted sound reminiscent of what you'd hear coming through time from an old fashioned radio of the forties. The upper pitches of the spectrum of sound are the only thing that's making it through. I guess it's better than nothing, but the fact that it's just nanoseconds offset from the originating sound is very disconcerting and distracting.

An unknown group has claimed responsibility for an arson fire at a local auto dealership. The reason for torching a million dollars worth of SUVs was ostensibly to protect the environment from these big, bad, gas guzzling machines. But when you consider all of the toxins (battery acid, gasoline and so forth) that were washed into the water in an attempt to control the fires, you hafta smack your head and wonder where the logic is.

Ha ha ha ha!

OK, what have I done to offend the gods so? Not only do I have an ear infection which has effectively obliterated the hearing in my left ear, a killer cough (thanks to drainage from said infection), but now it seems I've got some kind of eye irritation. I woke up on Saturday and my right eye was pretty much glued shut. I made up a batch of eyebright solution and started dousing both eyes with it, and it's helped a lot, but they're both so itchy (right eye more so than left). I have to NOT rub them, on the off chance it's pinkeye.

I'd better keep stuffing my face with Nancy's Yogurt or I'll end up with some kind of yeast infection due to the antibiotics. I keep fighting the temptation to ask, "What else can go wrong?", because the universe will find some sick and twisted way to show me exactly what else.

is this just not enough…?

i feel

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