head for the mountains, but first - rent the car, clean the house, balance the checkbook, buy the groceries, get the gas, pack the bags, load the car

the preds lost last night. the only possible logical conclusion is that i am a jinx and should not go to the games.

why is it so difficult to do things with other people? all the decisions... parking, which route to walk from the parking to the arena, where to eat, what to eat. who really gives a flying tree frog. just park, walk, eat the $4 popcorn and drink the $4 icees and shut the hula up about it all. the decisions are part of why it's difficult to do things with other people. another reason is that most people are, not to put too fine a point on it here, boring as kelp.

rental review: the kia optima. so far, so good. it's roomy, at least in the front seat, and is responsive in both acceleration & steering. the guages and buttons and dials are fairly standard, but with the useful addition of radio controls on the steering wheel. that's a nice touch. and, the cupholders are actually deep enough to hold a cup so that it won't topple over - which is a feature that should be standard.

you'll be happy to know the cleaning chores are done. now it's time for the checkbook chores, and after that, the errand chores. then, the packing chores, then the driving chores. then, it's time for everyone's favorite: fun with mini-me & the gang. hooplah!

somebody called here last night, and you may be as surprised as i to learn that it appears that i have a friend. really. here, let me tell you........

somebody called and asked me to go to the preds game with her and a group. they had an extra ticket, and she wanted to ask me. somebody wants me to go somewhere with them. i was as surprised as you are. the preds are in first place, and tonight's game is against the 2nd place red wings. these people could possibly be red wings fans... had not thought of that until just now... too bad if they are, b/c the wings are going down! going down like a house of cards! going down like a house of pretty pink ballerina cards! figure skating, skirt wearing, little sissy girls!

ah-hrm. time for work.

what's really great are those hard sweet brightly coloured candy eggs w/ white stuff inside that come individually wrapped in plastic for hiding

can't find 'em. can't find 'em. cannot find them. where are they. maybe they are hiding. i seek. they hide. hidey hidey eggs. where are you, hidey eggs?


it was a rainy day today, which is fun, eh? couldn't go outside to play, so we went to the gym and ran on the steps. well, i ran on the steps. because i like running on the steps. because running in a circle is the worst thing of all.

jaywalking is on, and leno's asking these people who is betsy ross. and, they do not know what betsy ross is known for. this woman right now has confused betsy ross with rosa parks. jeepers. now he asked what year did women get the right to vote, and me & my old man both guessed 1920, and turns out we were right so points to us for being better than the jaywalkers, eh?

yesterday was a birthday of someone. of course. but it was a birthday of someone i know. today is a birthday of someone. of course. but again, it's someone i know. this person of the birthday today is someone with whom i went to high school, and it's strange how the dates of the births of people will sometimes stay in my head. you'd think my brain would be too crowded up with all the other knowledge i have to maintain for the protection of the way of life to which we have all become accustomed. but, there's still room for birth dates.
go figure.

okay, i'll let you go for now. be a doll and go find those eggs for me.

sometimes you hear "happy birthday" & wonder if it's for you & then realize it's not even your bday, but sometimes it IS your bday, isn't it? yes.

jerky mcjerkleheimer decided to change the vanpool route. not to reveal too much personal information here, but my clockout time at work is 4:30 pm central time. jerky's new route has him picking me up 1/3 of a mile from my office at 4:30 pm central time. i will not bore you further with explanation of the dilemma because i know you are smart enough to see that my time machine is broken. suffice it to say that i have called the vanpool office for options and will continue to contact them until the issue is resolved. here's hoping the resolution isn't ace no longer rides jerky's van because as jerky as he is, it's better than walking to work.

who do you think will be the next coach at kentucky? i don't think it will be billy donovan, because he's really the king of gatorland. i can't see him giving all that up -- he is florida basketball, and he'd never be that great at kentucky. he'd be part of a great program, but he would not be the program. they're saying maybe barnes out of texas, or gillispie out of texas a&m, or maybe izzo from michigan state. i can see all those as possibilities, but really thought that calipari from memphis was a strong candidate. memphis signed him through 2012, so he's out of the running, and at this point, i am thinking maybe kentucky will ask donovan, he will turn them down, and they will hire someone out of left field. bruce pearl was really an out-of-left-field hire at ut, and look what he's done for that program.

going on record to say that something's up at my workplace. not sure what yet, but something's brewing. also brewing - thunderstorms predicted for this evening and tomorrow. the weatherman -- who should be telling us the barometric pressure & humidity levels -- is instead telling us to take the umbrella. what if i don't like umbrellas? huh? what then? maybe i prefer ponchos, or rain bonnets, or just gettin' freakin' soaked? whatcha gonna do about it buddy? eh? eh? criminy. what i really need is a barometric pressure guage for the changing climate at work. yeah.

do you let that person decide what you could or should or would be? or do you simply drift in, show up, be there... because you know where you belong?

little trip to blue coast tonight, and in addition to the stellar salad -- the bcb restroom deserves a shout out. [¡olé!] not only is that little room all sparklie clean, but it's got... like... a bazillion coat & purse hooks. okay, okay. oh. kay. so, it's got 4, not a bazillion, but it's like a bazillion more than most restrooms. hang up your coat. hang up your purse. hang up your mini-me. nothing ever has to touch the sparklie clean floor. [irony alert] isn't it ironic that the cleanest restrooms always have the most stuffhooks, and the grodiest places have no hooks at all. for prigzample, you are out running with your running buddy, and you have to have to make a pitstop, and you've got on like 3 layers of clothing, and it's all sweaty, and you've got gloves and the dickhood and the mp3 and the sunglasses, and you're trying to balance yourself because you sure as hoodia ain't sittin' down, and then you've got all that stuff to balance, and you're schmangled all up in your sweaty tights and for criminy out loud -- how the hula hoops are you supposed to relax & pee, eh?

did someone say bunk beds? look at this stellar trundle bed in a nook. exceptional.
- bunk beds stack up.
- trundle beds pull out from under another bed.
- murphy beds are on hinges and go up into the closet.
- roll aways fold & lock into a frame with wheels.
- daybeds are misnamed. daybed is a misnomer because it's actually a daycouch and a nightbed.
- foldout or pullout beds are couches that morph into beds.
- waterbeds are big sacks of water in boxes.

single, supersingle,
twin, queen, king.
sleepnumber,
memory foam,
feather, boxspring.
some beds are crowded,
and some folks sleep alone.
some can sleep in hotels.
some only sleep at home.
there is no one "right way" to sleep.
there is no one "right" bed.
sometimes you can't even choose
where you lay your head.
but one thing always will be true
every time you sleep -
no one can come with you
to see what dreams you keep.

define: sarcasm

a verbal tone in which it is obvious from context that the speaker means the opposite of what he or she says.

exemplar gratis:
* i am so happy to go back to work.
* going back to work after vacation is fun.
* it's no problem, getting right back into the swing of things.
* vacation is overrated.

in the world of the carp and the crappy, where crap is relegated to the lazy vocabulary pile where it belongs, with all the other little bugger words.

crappy green team wins today. this is an example of misnomer, see: the team is not crappy, and the irony is that we will continue to win, no matter what the elite soccer snobs have to say about us. we get knocked down, but we get up again, ain't nothing gonna keep us down.

so, that's misnomer and irony. we move on now to oxymoron: brigadoon director. oxymoron is a combination of two words, used together in a way that causes them to appear to express a truth, when in truth, they express a mistruth. in this case, the heart of the oxymoron is that the brigadoon director doesn't direct anything or anyone. she allows events & others to direct her. for this reason, mini-me & i have been denied reentry to brigadoon again this year. i say, "dear director, we have limited availability, and can come during this window." she says, "too bad. we are full then. you can come this other time." no... see... that's the point, we cannot come during another time. based on this exchange, one would conclude that ol' brigadoon would be overflowing with helpity-help-helpers. i would bet money that it is not, because the oxymoron of the brigadoon director who does not direct.

must go now & do the laundry. won't that be fun! [note the sarcasm: saying the opposite of what is true, in an exaggerated & joking way that makes it clear that the opposite of what is said is true.]

ut & vandy both lost in the sweet sixteen, each by only one point, so speaking of points, what is the point of watching the tournament anymore?

at the mall, there's this store called earthbound trading company. it's new to the local mall, but there are stores all over the southeast. this store is sort of like what pier 1 used to be before pier 1 sold out and became commercial. earthbound is not as raw as pier 1 was, though -- pier 1 wasn't in malls [and still is not], so the mall culture didn't influence it. pier 1 was always dusty and had piles of authentic [or so it seemed] imported merchandise: shells, batiked cloth, brass chimes and other brass pieces, carved teak animals, buddah statues, and it was the only place to find incense - which seemed very counter-culture to us when we were little kids. it had a sort of international flea market feel, and the merchandise was fascinating & inexpensive -- unlike pier 1 today where everything is smooth & polished... and overpriced. earthbound is close to, but not exactly like, the old pier 1 - the selection is neither as wide nor as eclectic. here's a tidbit from the pier 1 website: "Pier 1 Imports started as a single store in San Mateo, California in 1962. Our first customers were post-World War II baby boomers looking for beanbag chairs, love beads and incense. Pier 1 has carried a wide selection of merchandise through the years, from chocolate covered ants to clothing lines to life-size Spanish suits of armor." pier 1's campaign since 1999 has been getting back in touch with their core customers & becoming a sensory shopping experience. not sure if they've achieved this... in large part b/c the pier 1 around here has the absolute worst parking lot ever invented, making it virtually impossible to get in & out of. you'd have to be high to try to get to that store... and so, they are reaching their original core customer segment with ease.

when i grow up, i wanna be an astronaut-spy-ballerina-rocket scientist-canoe guide-deejay who lives in a treehouse and drives a motorcycle.

tourettes syndrome causes one to say random, obscene, and potentially offensive things. wonder if you had geographical tourettes... where you show up in random, obscene, and potentially offensive places. what would be really funny would be if i could work out a punchline for this thought.

ah-hrm.

have i mentioned...
** ut & vandy men and ut women are in their respective sweet sixteens? sweet! it's march madness, baybee!
** mini-me is home.
** studio 60 is on a sad hiatus, and if it doesn't come back, there will be trouble. ya got trouble, folks, right here in river city - trouble with a capital 't' and that rhymes with 'p', and that stands for 'pool'!
** the run lined up for this weekend: 20 miles on saturday morning. be there, or... be someplace else. ah-hrm.
** karma, much like sunny baudelaire, enjoys biting people.

fruity gazoodie

do you wash your fruit before you eat it, or just peel the sticker off and munch away? if you wash it, how much do you wash it -- like, with soap, or only a quick rinse? if you don't wash it with soap, might you just as well not wash it at all?

speaking of fruit, finished the first two lemony snickets. very much in the vein of roald dahl, and less like jk rowling. rowling has built an entire world, and snicket's characters do live in the known world, although it's somewhat skewed and contains some elements of snicket's imagination - specifically: fictional businesses and made-up animals. it's not a whole new world like rowling invented; it just has some different elements. school plays a large part in harry potter's life, while the baudelaire kids in the snicket books don't seem to have school in their lives at all. all three -- dahl, rowling, and snicket -- and a great many popular children's writers use the construct of the children being orphaned or in some way on their own & left to their own devices. kids in these books get themselves into & out of fixes, spots, dilemmas, perils, dangers, trials, and tribulations. cs lewis used the device of independent children in the narnia series, also. it's not realistic for children to be quite this independent, but it makes for excellent reading, especially if you are a kid, imagining what it would be like to be on your own.

got some new music - yes i did - doo-dah doo-dah got some new music - yes i did - oh doo-dah day

lemony snicket

1 down, 12 to go. finished the bad beginning, on to the reptile room. need to find out a wee bit more about this lemony snicket persona.



there is a chance that tomorrow will be filled with yard work. those of you familiar with my feelings on house work will not be surprised to learn i am not a fan of yard work. not a huge fan of any kind of work, come to think of it. would rather just sit in the shade & read the ol' snickets.

what's the matter with kids today - why can't they be like i am - perfect in every way!

mysterious bathroom nightlight came back on. asked my old man if he tripped any switches, and he said just one for an outlet outside. the bathroom is wired with an outside outlet? there you have it - expert amateur wiring strikes again.

currently baking banana bread. can't make it like mini-me makes it, but when the 'nanners are rotted, what else can you do?

got some new nb857's. stellar! not that i am in training for anything... wouldn't want to invite karmalization. i'm just running more, you see? not in training for anything. simply running.

went to the liberry today and got the first five lemony snicket's. we'll just see what the big deal is there, now won't we?

books read in 2007
night work - laurie r. king
glass castle - jeannette walls
cross - james patterson
the kite runner - khaled hosseini
with child - laurie r. king
the bookseller of kabul - åsne seierstad
bridget jones's diary - helen fielding
the edge of reason - helen fielding

the plants around here need to be watered. wanna be a doll & take care of that for me? thanks - you're a sparkler!

need a nap

sports news: vandy's going to the sweet sixteen.

environmental news: al gore's tennessee zinc mine scarred the land and put money in gore's pocket. report says no major pollution violations, but what about minor violations? no major violations, but as we all know from al gore's own documentary, simply being within regulations is not enough - one must be more diligent than that. bottom line: al's no better than those he accuses in his little film.

it's been a long weekend, and i need a nap. drive to the bluff city & back on friday night, 5k yesterday, then all those arrangements & appointments yesterday afternoon, then 11 miles this morning. last but not least, a soccer game later.



maybe a nap before that. or... maybe i'll just eat this cadbury's creme egg. uh-huh. thanks, mini-me! here's a pic of the cadbury's creme egg car - sweet! tried to find one of the car in action but no luck on that yet. while looking for the car in action, found this on a british blog: " spring's annual McDonald's Creme Egg McFlurry, which this year seems to have been replaced by a Cadbury Mini Eggs McFlurry. " okay -- here's the thing: a creme egg mcflurry would rock. mini-eggs are malted milk balls, nothing special. of course, neither of these mcflurry styles are available in the good ol' u.s.of.a.

check out wikipedia for a complete list of mcflurry flavors around the world and also an interesting tie in to the environmental concerns & mcflurries. see? it all goes together.

why don't they have more mcflurry options here? why? why?

st patrick

may the road rise up to meet you.
may the wind be always at your back.
may the sun shine warm upon your face,
the rain fall soft upon your fields.
and, until we meet again someday,
may god hold you in the palm of his hand.
may the memories that we have shared
linger on & on.



** tk5k - 24:16
results not yet posted, but definitely beat the nemesis. suh-weet!
** did the thing with the dirt & the thing by the water. the weather's cold, the spirits warm, goodbye & see you later.
** so many people, sincere... insincere... it all blends together.
** the nap remains elusive.

wondering

wondering if it's possible to cram enough activity into one day so that none of it really makes sense, gets processed, or has to be dealt with in any emotional or mental way.

wondering if it's better to sustain a level of coherence and some semblance of energy... wonder if it's better to have more sleep or less sleep.

wondering who to tell now: i learned to cook asparagus, and it's good.

forget-me-nots

just when,
you think it's going to be okay.
just when,
you think today will be the day
that you
get a little further along,
down whatever road you're on.
just when,
you think today will be that day.
you remember:
jewelry that isn't yours.
you remember:
fresca cans & grocery stores.
you remember:
things that aren't anymore
the same way that they were before.
quoth the raven nevermore.
never. nevermore.

posting a picture simply due to an affinity for it - hey, maybe there is not a complicated reason for everything - ever think of that?? jeepers.

it's monday night. not tuesday night or wednesday night. monday night. grocery store & 24. monday night.

can you believe martha stabbed charles with the kiwi knife? criminy!

are you a waffle-well filler or a syrup dumper? or, maybe you're a dipper? waffle-well fillers carefully pour syrup in each waffle-well before even thinking about eating a single bite. syrup dumpers just pour on the syrup willy-nilly and tuck into the waffle straightaway. dippers pour a pool of syrup on the plate, then cut & dip each bite. do you put syrup on your sausage, too? eat the sausage with the waffle, or keep it separate?

some people can wear scarves and look brilliant. i put on a scarf, and it looks like i'm going to a sock hop. what's the deal with that? i mean, is it the scarf or the technique? okay, the most likely explanation is that i am a doofus, but how hard can it be? why can't i get the hang of this? why? why?

snoop dog was arrested in stockholm for suspicion of drug use. say it ain't so! snoop on drugs? the next thing you know they will be telling us that sugar causes weight gain. gaaa!

tonight on leno: headlines and my chemical romance. stellar. letterman now has a feature called small town news, which is an obvious riff on leno's headlines. way to be original there, letterman.
the weatherman just now advised we wear a jacket at the bus stop in the morning and take a walk outside at lunchtime b/c the weather will be nice. okay, buddy -- how 'bout you forecast the weather, and we will forecast our wardrobe & behaviour. jeez-um-peetey.

heard vandy coach tim corbin speak at lunchtime and was quite impressed with his informative & inspirational talk

tim corbin: what i look for in a recruit.

*integrity - your actions match your words.
*teachable attitude - you receive criticism as encouragement to grow.
*positive energy - your enthusiasm is contagious.
*discipline - you have self-control and the ability to focus.

that's my fun day

woke up.
ate oatmeal w/ banana.
drank coffee.
took shower.
got dressed.
drove to speedy's.
drove to park.
ran 19.
drank gatorade.
drove to speedy's.
drove home.
drank water.
talked to my old man on the phone.
ate sardines & saltines.
read bridget jones.
made soup & sandwich for my old man.
ate vanilla wafers & coffee.
put in a load of laundry.
took nap.
did the income taxes.
registered for the bike-canoe-run race w/ speedy.
did mini-me's income taxes.
watched ncaa tourney selection show.
drove to speedy's.
drove to mellow mushroom.
spotted erron kinney & family.
ate 1/2 a pizza.
talked w/ speedy & junior.
spotted tim mcgraw-faith hill & family.
drove to speedy's.
drove to rental car place.
drove home.

supposed to run 20 this morning but springing forward has thrown off sense of getting-ready urgency -- also tight i.t. band & hamstrings... gaaa!

finished bridget jones's diary and started bridget jones: the edge of reason straightaway. hmph. the edge of reason is typical sequel: bridget doing bridget, as it were. it's a caricature of ol' bridgie from the first book -- emptier, shallower, flatter. the only emotion in the sequel is the rushed feeling of flustery raw hurriedness. there is none of the inherent winsomeness of the first book. [no one really needs another pic of ol' renee, do they? here's colin firth as mark darcy. much better.]

some quotes from the first... no good quotes yet from the second:

i will not sulk about having no boyfriend, but develop inner poise and authority and sense of self as woman of substance, complete without boyfriend, as best way to obtain boyfriend.

i realized that i have spent so many years being on a diet that the idea that you might actually need calories to survive has been completely wiped out of my consciousness.

would that christmas could just be, without presents. it is just so stupid, everyone exhausting themselves, miserably hemorhaging money on pointless items nobody wants: no longer tokens of love but angst-ridden solutions to problems. (hmmm. though must admit, pretty bloody pleased to have new handbag.) what is the point of entire nation running around for six weeks in a bad mood preparing for utterly pointless taste-of-others exam which entire nation then fails and gets stuck with hideous unwanted merchandise as fallout? if gifts and cards were completely eradicated, then christmas as pagan-style twinkly festival to distract from lengthy winter gloom would be lovely.

lucky is...

...finding two pairs of lucky jeans at the goodwill -- one for mini-me (7.49) and one for my old man (2.00).

...finding someone to unlock your keys-locked-in car before the pricey locksmith arrives.

...finding $11 in your jacket pocket.

lucky is... finding [insert found item here], or perhaps receiving the found item or receiving something else. for prigzample - winning the lottery is considered lucky. luck is good fortune - good karma - good something flowing your way. luck is taking a chance - not that reaching into your pocket is so much a chance taken as a chance happenstance - but, luck would appear to be about receiving a reward for having taken a chance or risk of some sort.

luck is... having vanilla wafers on hand when i want them. except that i want them all the time, so that's more like planning... less like luck, as it were. luck is posting at 4:56pm.

this picture of lucky totally cracks me up. is he scary or what? gaaa! lucky?! no - get away from me, and take your sugar coated compressed marshmallow charms with you! gaaa!

the chores are done, and i'm going for chinese. want anything?

no greater love hath one for another
than to clean the floor around the toilet.

a day without posting is like a day without abusive riding instructors yelling about which leg is the lead leg and can't you get on the gait you loser

posting has different meanings. see?

there's a triathlon coming up local around here, and it's free which is a good price, and as per the name "tri", it contains three events, and the three are (1) bikecycling; part b - canoeing; final leg = running. intriguiging bit there with the water part being in a boat and not self-propelled watering (i.e. swimming - although canoeing is more self-propelled than, say, jetskiing), and also intriguiging is that word intriguiging. fairly certain not spelling that correctly. also maybe not getting jetskiing correct.

interesting triathlon would be horseback/canoe/lanyard. summercamp tri, as it were. ride a horse from the barn to the dock, canoe from dock to someplace to land canoe, hop out & whip up a lanyard keychain. sort of hits the tough physical and the geek-craft portions of summercamp. perhaps also to be singing some campy song while on horseback and switching to other campy song for canoeing (good one here = my paddle keen & bright) and final campy song for lanyarding. perhaps only singing on canoeing portion. interesting. nay... more than merely interesting... intriguiging.

whatever, eh?

another friday night

supposed to do 22 miles in the morning with speedy, but speedy's got a toothache. it takes a certain amount of mental prep to get ready for 22 mile run, so that's been frogged up now. feeling disappointed. then selfish - feeling selfish for being disappointed when speedy's got a toothache. then disappointed again. then selfish again. basically feeling frogged. and, selfish.

headed for collegeville tomorrow to see mini-me and to see a stage performance containing mini-me. very much looking forward to this. yes, very much indeed. anticipation bel grande. really. you don't even know, so shut up, cause you don't know.

time to fix some cider. staying up late now, since no need for sleeping early, since not running tomorrow. shut up, ya selfish beeyotch.

for your viewing pleasure

news around the globule

news from literatiland: been reading bridget jones's diary, and everything sounds better in bridgetspeak. for instance, going to the vending machine for a package of cookies is piglike, but nipping down to the vendo for a packet of biscuits is fun & perky.

news from irony corner: it's national gambling awareness week, and the multistate mega millions lotto (not powerball... the other one) is at its highest level ever. tickets were going out yesterday at a pace of 1 million per hour. that's 1 million tickets per hour. now that's an awareness of gambling, eh?

news from jerkyville: upon my bording the van yesterday afternoon, jerky was actively conversing with p-x about the titans. continued his ignorant commentary, clearly echoing frank wycheck, not having an opinion of his own. at any rate, managed to squoze in a fun & perky see you in the morning upon debording.

news from 24 town: jack bauer pronounces nuclear nuquoolar. that is, he pronounces it wrongly.

vanversations

ace, upon bording van: good morning.
jerky: you can stop saying that.
ace, surprised & laughing: what? uh...

passenger-x, upon bording van: if you keep parking farther away, pretty soon we'll have to meet you on the highway.
jerky: i'm trying to park closer to passenger-y.
[no reason given for patently bizarre answer. perhaps jerky and p-y are having a fling?]

ace is not p-x, but ace is glad to see that someone else on the van has brains. jerky & p-x had prolonged convo in re: titans. jerky continued to demonstrate jerkyness.

ace chooses to be a amused at jerky and will continue the program of good mornings ad infinitum. mayhaps... ad naseum. bwah-hah-hah.

hakuna muchacha

the central h&a done be fixed cause we'd just purchalized it last fall, and it's well under warranty, so mr. h&a-man came back and fixed it. no worries.

well, no worries about the central h&a.

there are worries if you are a titans season ticket holder, b/c you gotta be wondering long about now what kind of product they will be puttin' on the field next season. they let bennett & henry both go -- the top receiver and the top rusher. nice way to let the offense deteriorate there. kevin carter was interested in coming back and has been hanging around the past couple days, but now has signed with the bucs. woo-hoo the titans resigned kerry collins. who gives a hula? the only collins that will help that team right now is a tom collins, 'cause you gotta be high to think they are headed in the right direction.

criminy.

there's a hush all over the world

the central h&a unit creates a comfortable level of background noise, effectively insulating the house and creating a feeling of snugness & security. without the competition of the inside noise, the sounds of the outside world come dashing in. there are the squirrels & the birds, sweet and natural, but then there are the constant whine from interstate traffic and the constant hum from air traffic. the whine & hum.

in the days immediately following 9/11, there was neither whine nor hum. there was a hush, all over the world. local traffic only. the transportation industry, that giant white noise manufacturer, had ceased. at first, we couldn't put our finger on what was causing the stillness, because it's always there in the background.

it's there now, today, outside. the stillness today is on the inside.

because the freakin' central heating unit is broke.

and now, for a completely useless & boring recounting of my day

went to cheeseburger charley's with speedy & junior [blue coast closed on sunday nights until next week], after having gone to home depot [purchased a plant, which i plan to keep alive, thank you very much], after having gone to the grocery [it was cold enough to keep the groceries fine in the car, except the ice cream, which totally melted. oh, just kidding, ya big goofball. didn't get any ice cream], after having gone to big lots of snot [details to follow], after having downloaded the tax documents [b/c i refuse to pay turbo tax's ransom], after having paid the bills [whew], after having had lunch [cottage cheese & olives], after having gone for a short run [3 miles], after having messed with my old man's ipod [really do hate itunes], after having had breakfast [poptarts].

compared to dollar tree, big lots of snot is like tiffany's. it's simply not the bargain bin it once was. did find:
-- a pair of foster grants for $8 - handy for running & biking, as i demolished the last cheep sunglasses by... oh... attempting to put them on my head. yes, that takes coordination and effort, so don't try it at home, kids.
-- $2 pack of mechanical pencils for my old man to take to school so he can hand them out to the kids who "forgot" their pencils and want to go to their lockers.
-- plastic folders for use in the handy box clipboard - oh, yeah!
-- 2 $4 packs of hanes her way tee shirts.
-- 3 pairs of pantyhose, for like $2 each. can you believe what some women pay for pantyhose? i just snag all mine anyway, so why pay more than $2 for that experience. [pretty woman: "i've got a runner in my paynteehose. i'm not wearing any paynteehose!" -- stellar line]

currently watching lady 'dores v. lady tigers in the s.e.c. women's championships. go 'dores!

book update

night work - laurie r. king
glass castle - jeannette walls
cross - james patterson
the kite runner - khaled hosseini
with child - laurie r. king
the bookseller of kabul - åsne seierstad
currently reading bridget jones's diary - helen fielding

thought it should be jones', not jones's... but then, i am not a published author. picked up ol' bridgie at the liberry today. gotta love the liberry. free boox!

as far as books on afghan culture (the country, silly, not the knit blanket), kite runner is more readable than the bookseller of kabul by many orders of magnitude. both wander and both drift, but at least kite runner is written in a lyric style.

bff is a funny thing to say

there's a difference between secrecy and privacy. sometimes you just want a little privacy. a little alone time. a little time for ol' ace, as it were. nothing secret, just separate. just to be alone, do your own thing, not to have to answer to anyone. thought this would be an interesting topic to exploralize, but turns out there's nothing more to say on the subject. hrm.

my town offers many recreational sports for women, including but not limited to: soccer, kickball, roller derby, flag football. there is also a professional full-contact football team. [there are others; these are the interesting ones.] not having transportation makes it difficult to partake of the myriad offerings. also wondering when age is going to really kick in with a vengeance and be a factor bel grande.

anyway, the point is that lo' these many offerings are offered. why? my theory is that title ix has had a profound effect on women's lives, and we no longer even realize it. title ix passed in like... oh... '73 maybe? mandated that institutes of higher education must offer equal athletic opportunities for men & women. b/c football takes up so many spots for guys, many complementary spots were made available for women, and b/c there's not another sport that takes up as many spots as football, the spots had to be spread over many sports. teams were formed, coaches hired, recruiting begun. coaches looked into the ranks of high schools and found female athletes sadly lacking in numbers. so, high school and club programs were begun. the push down from title ix went all the way into recreational sports and explains why so many 5-year old girls are playing soccer, volleyball, and basketball now. 20 or so years ago, these girls would have been brownies & ballerinas - now they're playing competitive sports.

okay, there are many things to be said about how title ix has changed society, not the least of which is that women who are given outlets for competition will compete... that women have always competed, but now it's more acceptable & on the surface... that the acceptance of competitive women on the field hasn't translated into acceptance of competitive women in the boardroom. okay, okay... all that and the fact that guys think it's unfair, which is ironical.

but my only point here right now is that title ix has changed the face of recreational sports. females of all ages are playing more recreational sports than ever before. title ix has made women's sports more pervasive. young women, under 30, have probably never known a world where there weren't girls' teams. they expect to find places to play whatever sport it is they'd like to play.

the first soccer team i played on was a co-ed team. my bff & i were 10, my brother was 11, and the oldest player was a 16-yr-old boy. our uniforms consisted of those net shirts -- what we call pennies now, under which my bff & i wore tee shirts. duh. the team was in a league, and i remember our parents taking my older brother & i to the games. you wouldn't find a team like this today -- so many ages mixed, boys & girls.

not really sure how this ties into the point about women's sports & title ix. i thought it did, but seem to have lost the connection. also - there are more rowing teams for women than ever before, and i heard you can get a rowing scholarship even if you never rowed b/c rowing is a low-investment sport b/c the equipment is shared by a large team, and therefore rowing can sponge up a great deal of title ix commitment in one fell swoop. that's what i heard, anyway.

okay, okay... i'll stop blathering. for now....

in the evening

tried to solve the blue coast jones with a chili's salad because going to chili's was not my choice, so i tried to behave and unjones the jones, but it didn't work. still jonesin' for blue coast. perhaps there will be a chance tomorrow after the 10 at 7 with speedy. that's 10 miles at 7am, not at 7 min/mile. duh. even speedy ain't that speedy.

right now on tv: the vandy v. florida women's basketball game -- s.e.c. tourney time. march madnessssss. there's a new thing in college basketball these days - especially with the girls, you will see a lot of this: the knee. because they have finally smarted up and figured out the shorts were too long. really can't imagine trying to run the court in those pants the boys wear. mark my words: the first team that puts aside the demands of fashion and frees their knees will improve their record year on year by some significant percentage. can't tell you the percentage exactly, because it's a secret.

it's difficult to be profound on friday

wanted to be profound for you, but couldn't manage that, so you'll have to make do with what i can offer. kinda like guarine gum.
read on....

went to dollar tree last night and purchased many treasures. nobody appreciates dollar tree like i do. my old man was there but got so unnerved by the myriad aisles of bargain offerings, he had to leave.

let's peer inside the bags:
- toothbrushes (of course, b/c i had a cold, and you've always got to change your toothbrush when you have a cold so that you don't have a relapse -- got 4 new brushies, just to be on the safe side)
- toothpaste (ultrabrite - ding!)
- small legal pads (are they still legal, when they are that small?)
- orange wipes (not wipes for oranges, silly -- fabulous orange-scented cleaning wipes which are going to work with me for a desk-cleansing adventure)
- apple-scented dish soap (that's right... apples and oranges)
- dilbert calendar, 2007 edition (only 2 months in, good deal)
- guarine gum (can't find trident cinnamon... trying to make do with what's available, but really wondering at this point about the wisdom of chosing guarine)
- gallon size zip bags (no comment)

didn't find any worthy socks or black cherry propel. refrained from purchasing the ink pens, stickers, mary janes, dishes, plastic forks, storage boxes, and light bulbs. should have got the mary janes. gonna want those on saturday after the 10 miles.

please warsh hands

you know what cracks me up? when the weather people think they should go outside to report on the weather, and they are standing there in the wind or rain or snow, or maybe snow and wind or maybe a hurricane or blizzard or ice. so, they are out there in the weather, and it's like -- hey, weatherman, didn't anyone tell you it's raining outside? uh... okay, so it cracks me up that the guy who's supposed to know so much about the weather doesn't have the sense to come in out of the rain.

there is never enough hand soap in the kitchen dispenser. anytime you want to wash your hands, seems like it's empty in there. got it all nice & filled up, and purchalized a replacement container for when it runs out again. this replacement is cute as a button - it's got this tiny plastic parrot inside. (plastic? criminy - i thought that was a real parrot...) anyhooo - there's this tiny plastic parrot inside, and it's just darlin', and it's sitting there in the cabinet waiting its turn. 'cause you know, there's never enough soap in the kitchen dispenser, so you know it will run out soon, but you also know the punchline is the latest refill has lasted like the miracle of the loaves & fishes, and jaysus hisself musta blest that soap, 'cause it ain't ever running out, and that parrot's never gonna see the light of day, no sirree.

have you seen these commercials for j.g. wentworth money services? what is the deal with that? is this guy loaning out his own money? those are really odd commercials, but if you haven't seen them? i might as well be talking to the wall, eh? can't find a picture of ol' j.g. himself, so here's the logo, for your edification.