800

This is my 800th post. Normally, I would make a fancy graphic for it (like here, or here), but I'm on vacation. Thanks to my fans (all six of you) for the love and support.

And if you're one of those people who checks in from time-to-time, but never comments... well, you're OK, too.

SO LONG, YEAR ONE

I just took my last final, completing the first year of a two-year graduate program. I think I did alright. A mix of A's and B's. Now, I can just sit back and...

Oh crap, now what?

THANKS, SCI-FI CHANNEL

I'm tackling a sizable "To-Do" List today, including some pre-finals schoolwork. But while folding two batches of (finally) clean laundry, and waiting on hold with the Auto Club, I turned on the telly... only to find that Sci-Fi is running a Doctor Who marathon. (From the good series, not the early ones.)

Now I'm not going to get anything done I can't do in front of the tube... Oh well, at least I'll get my schoolwork done, no?

ACCORDING TO FACEBOOK...

I took a new Facebook Quiz today: Which Muppet Are You?

I must, first, profess my undying eternal love affair with The Muppets (both big t and little t, "the"). And even though Animal is my favorite, I've always felt more like a Gonzo. 

And according to Facebook, I am:

UM, OK...

A fellow grad student walked towards me in the hall, and then blurted out: "I heard about your 'dickhead'... niiiice."

There's a ton more to explain: the build-up to the comment, what she was actually referring to. But it is funnier just to leave it like this.

GOODNIGHT ME

I'm coming out of the back-end (hee hee) of a gnarly cold, and I just rediscovered Sudafed PE Nighttime Cold formula. These happy little blue tables knock me out! Not all at once, mind you... I nod in and out of lucidity for a little while, and then I pass out... for 10 hours, minimum.

I'm getting better now (about 87% back to my normal, obnoxious self), so I guess its time to go back to tossing and turning. I'm gonna miss the blue pills, though.

THANKS, BUT NO THANKS

I've been convalescing at home for the last week, and as I'm gearing up for the week ahead, I find I have a ton of writing to do. The standard application for word processing is Microsoft's Word.

As I'm typing, Word makes suggestions and corrects spelling (and yes, I know you can turn this function off). While I was typing, Word suggested replacing "is" with "be" in this sentence:


Thanks, Word, but no thanks.

But what do you expect from a company whose name means small and flaccid?

(Note to those of you out there who are writers: yes, this essay is awful. But this is just a first splash-down, for a prompt I don't like so cut me some slack.)

UM, LIKE... WHOOPS

Yesterday was a poor hygiene day for yours truly. Before you get grossed out, and go read something else, let me say this isn't going where you think it is.

1. I took a shower, cleaned up and shaved.
2. I put deodorant on. But, as the day wore on, I realized I only put it under one armpit.
3. I also realized I'd missed a couple spots with the razor. (Think Fu-Man-Chu.)

These aren't horrible sins, as far as personal grooming goes, but personally embarrassing. Oh, well... tomorrow is another day, no?

... IN A GOOD WAY?

I had an odd, new experience at school today: during my first (2 o'clock) class, I had a frank, but helpful discussion with a fellow classmate. She's one of those super students, doing her BA and her Credential at the same time, Junior Year... we'll leave her name out of it.

This is the 4th week of class... just bear that in mind for this next part.

I got to my next class (Computing In the Classroom, or something with "Instruction" in the title). I look up, and see the same girl. "Hi," I sheepishly mutter.

"I was wondering when you were going to notice," she says with a smile.

I apologize, and head over to her lab station. We chat, laugh, share some war stories, and then she mentions that she's not surprised I hadn't noticed her in this class. "You're a superstar in all your classes." (Remember the way she worded this, for later.)

"In a good way?" I ask, nervously.

"In a great way," she adds, comforting me.

Flash forward to my last class of the day (Major Critical Theories of English Literature). I walk in... guess who. I'm not sure I actually blushed, but I felt my face getting hotter. This young lady was in 3 out of 5 of my classes - all on the same day, no less - and it took me a month to notice.

"Uh," I stammered, trying not to seem like the ass I was.

"In all your classes," I remember her saying, but I hear it now... for the first time. Her smile is a more ironic, "Do you get it now, smart-guy?" type.

Needless to say, we're BFFs now... I wonder if there's anyone else I'm missing.

LOOK, UP IN THE SKY...

It's me! Thanks to Donnie for sharing the Hero Factory with us. You can make your own superhero here.

THANKS, FACEBOOK

I posted some photos on Facebook this weekend (you can access them by clicking my Facebook link on the right, top list of this page). My account is set up to email me whenever people comment on my status or new posts, etc.

This morning I had 47 new email, 46 of which were from Facebook.

Maybe it's time to reset my email options on this account...

PJ TENDS BAR

Back in the summer of 1999, my then-roommate, Adam and I rescued a dog. I don't mean that we went down to a shelter and saved a dog from being put to sleep... we rescued a puppy from a homeless man that had obviously taken the puppy from its mother too soon. She had fleas, tapeworm, ringworm, could hardly open her eyes, had trouble walking and had trouble eating if she wasn't bottle-fed for those first few weeks.

And what amazing weeks they were. I was working odd hours, so I stayed home with the pup in our glamorous West Hollywood pad - and I mean glam: hardwood floors, Spanish-style stucco, and it had once belonged to Jack Dempsy. She eventually turned out alright. Like most rescue pups, she was fiercely loyal, and very affectionate.

My roommate took PJ when we went our separate ways, and I was OK with that. My lifestyle after that move wouldn't have been fair to her, and he had the financial means to care for her in a manner she deserved.

PJ was - or is, I guess - a special dog. I'm guessing most dog owners say that about their canine companions. But PJ had a wacky personality, and was up for what ever crazy hijinks we threw at her... which explains the picture. She had been peeing and pooing on the hardwood floors, so we put up a little barrier to keep her out of the room when we were cleaning up. She perched her paws on the table and yelped.

"It looks like she's tending bar," Adam joked.

So we ran and found some props, and took this photo. She sat there the entire time, loving all the attention, a super trooper.

DAMN SKIPPY!

I took the "What Kind of Female Shoe Are You" Quiz on the Facebook. Here's the result:
No surprise, really

I WOULD TRASH-TALK YOU, BUT...

I have no idea what you're saying.

I had to take a "Multiple Intelligences Test" for class this week. (You can take it for yourself here.) Here are my results:

What, exactly, is "nature smart"? And just because I don't enjoy logic puzzles doesn't mean I'm not a logical person. And I don't care what you say, I know myself pretty well.

Oh well. This "test" was put together by the Birmingham (UK) City Council.

NEW GYM

I'm finally getting my snack-eating, TV watching butt back to a gym - the SPIN bike is calling. But I keep hearing the words of one of my favorite gal-comics, Lisa Landry in my head:

"A gym is just a P.E. class you pay to skip."

For more on Lisa, click here.

THIS IS POST NUMBER

Thank you to all my readers, friends and family (both meanings of that word) for the love and inspiration to continue expressing myself in this new medium.

And here's to 700 more!

ALMOST...

I'm almost ready to start blogging again.

My heart can't break any further, and I can't get any angrier.

I've almost figured out what to do next.


Until then, thank you for your support and patience.

STILL... NO... WORDS...

I've been walking around all morning, in a kind of cloud... disbelief, anger and grief wash over me. (We also lost a family member yesterday, so you can imagine how extra-emotional I am right now.)

I keep wondering... how?

How could a state that was the first to send two women to the senate do this?

How could the same voters who put the first black man in the White House return this verdict?

People keep saying to hold out hope - that the absentee ballots haven't been counted yet, and Prop 8 passed with a narrow margin. But how can I find hope in a world where this could even happen in the first place?

I DID MY PART

THUS ENDS...

October sweeps! I know, I know... on TV they do November sweeps, but I thought I'd put a counter on my blog, and monitor some of the statistics of this site.

Now, I know I don't have the big readership some blogs do (I'm looking at you, Donnie), but my numbers are way up, over the last time I did this. The ticker almost hit 1500 for the month. But what really blew me away was the 8 comments, from various readers.

I'd like to take a moment out to thank everyone who reads this blog - and especially those who leave comments, no matter how lame (I'm looking at a certain ginger blogger, now).

More to come!