Dude, if you ever have the opportunity to see Lyle Lovett perform, take it. It doesn't matter that he's labeled a country artist, it doesn't matter that he doesn't fit the "normal" definition of handsome, it doesn't matter that he married Julia Roberts. He's awesome.

That, and don't follow ticketmaster's directions to concert venues. They will lead you astray in an attempt to make people late. At least "last one at the concert" = "first one out of the parking lot."

See, I can find the silver lining almost anywhere. I can also rationalize anything you need. Contact me for rates for these and other valuable services.

"They" say that the bigger one is, the harder one falls. I proved that last night, when I managed to trip on the stairs at the movie theater not once (going up), but twice (heading in the other direction). Today, there is an area that feels like it should be black and blue on my right leg (but it isn't, so I can't show everyone my battle wound), and an honest-to-goodness skinned left knee.

I haven't had a skinned knee in years! Funny enough, it is right on top of a scar I got when I was in a mile relay race in the 8th grade. I was handing off the baton to the next runner, and tripped, which freaked everyone out. Not because there was a lot of blood, but because I hadn't actually managed to hand off the baton yet when I hit the ground.

Other than the phantom bruise and the skinned scar, I'm feeling remarkably shaken up. People my size shouldn't fall down. It's a shock to the system.

Btw, War of the Worlds was ... exciting, sure, but not satisfying.

Through a lovely touch of coincidence, I have both Pretty in Pink and Some Kind of Wonderful on their way to me via Netflix.

Who wants to come over for Nostalgia Night??

Scott is joining with Eric in hosting a make a video for one of Scott's songs contest! There's no mention of what you win if you win, but gosh, it's all about the excitement, right? Deadline is July 31, so get going.

So my problem lately has been that I feel disconnected from the larger things in my life, like my family and most of my friends, because I'm all caught up in the minutia. At the same time, I'm not paying attention to all the minutia of my life, and things like my phone bill and the state of my desk have gotten way out of hand and made me depressed and stressed and unable to sleep really well at night.

Well, I went to a housewarming on Saturday that really warmed my heart with all my friends (although I was shocked at how many of them hadn't seen my new glasses ... you know, the ones I got in March), and I paid my phone bill today, so I can continue to waste time online at home. So all that's left is to put some effort into feeling like I know what the hell is going on with my family and extended friends and this phase will be done.

* Wendy, I know you're my sister and you've been in the country for 2 months now and haven't heard from me yet. I'll call you this week.
* Jen, I know you're my bestest friend and your birthday on May 29 went by without a call or a card or a gift from me. I'll get something to you by the end of the week.
* Roommie, who is also my bestest friend and whose birthday was on Thursday, I have your gift, just need to get it in a box and labelled and that will be off as well.
* DFWBloggers - remember, I'm coming out to Dallas on the 15th to hang with y'all.

And I finally bought some yarn, so that scarf I started two years ago might get done sometime before the end of the year. Also, it's comforting. And I need comfort that doesn't involve chocolate chip cookies these days.

I just switched spam filtering services, so if you have sent me email before without problem but now you send something and get challenged, I'm sorry. Just click the link and do as they ask and I'll get the email eventually. I'm still figuring out how that's going to work, but I'm sure everything will be alright in the end.

All of this supposes that you will be sending me email, of course. *hint**hint*

Today's Link: ... All Your Base Rhapsody [via Jon]

I just read about Fantasy Bedtime Hour in the Chronicle and it looks hilarious. I never thought I'd *really* want to get my cable back, but I'm thinking about it just so I can watch this show. Does anyone have it taped? I'll pay postage if you'll send me the shows!

So I got an email this morning from a friend telling us all that he is finally engaged! Yay! I got a second email just now, saying that the wedding will be in March.

That makes two weddings in March. And SxSW. What are the odds that they will all happen on the same weekend?

Yes, it really is all about me. I'm aware of this.

And why isn't it waaaay past 9:45 a.m. yet? I feel like I've been here at least 5 or 6 hours, not just almost-3.

So I'm making plans to be in Dallas the weekend of July 16th - if you're going to be there, and want to hang out in my dad's back yard, let me know! There will be beer and other stuff that will make driving a bad idea. And shrimp. Remember the shrimp? And don't forget the hot tub ... the hot tub that can fit way more than 10 people. And the karoke. We built this city. And what did we build it on? Yeah, you know what we built it on.

Looking forward to it!

Jessa has agreed to travel to Oakland to go to Bittersweet with me, but I fear I may have to go more often than she can make the trip up here. Want to join me? (more info can be found here and here.)

I have a couple of friends who like to go on and on about how much they don't like to iron. To this end, they generally either 1) buy clothes that don't need to be ironed, or 2) pay someone else to do it. I asked them once how they felt about cleaning bathrooms, and they said they didn't mind.

Cha-ching!

I suggested that there was a deal to be made here. As yet, they will not refuse me outright, but no one has taken me up on this deal: I will iron all their ironables, and they would clean my miniscule bathroom.

How do you feel about cleaning someone else's bathroom? How would you feel about it if they did all your ironing for you? Want to take me up on this?? I have lots of movies to keep me entertained while I iron, and music to keep you entertained while you clean. It's a win-win situation. So how about it??

Sometimes, I hate my nose.

In other news, I wished my brother's girlfriend a happy birthday yesterday, saying it was nice that she was part of the family now (referring to her mothering my niece). Turns out I was more right than I knew, as she and my brother are now engaged. Yay! A wedding! I love weddings!

Two things you'll want to avoid today: the continental shelf (or rather, the edge and subsequent dropoff from), and cops.

Happy birthday to Leia and Andrea!

Thanks to Jem and her performance tonight (she was so great! you must come to the next show), I have found a new bar that I'd like to add to my list of Places I Would Recommend: Café Royale. It's a comfortable space, has good drinks (and good hot chocolate!), and keeps the music at a level where people don't have to shout to be heard. Very nice.

Also, my friends are neat.

I like having friends with dreams. It makes them more interesting for me to talk to, and it makes me more interesting by association.

I have a friend. He has a dream. He's going to be a B-boy one day, even if he needs to break his neck to do it. Witness the dream towards which he strives: NY B-boys (5188K - not sure what that translates to in MBs)

Morning Rant:

There is a person who works relatively close to me who makes most of their calls in the early morning. Perhaps this is because this person is subconsciously aware of how loud their voice is (as I am aware that I shouldn't be using 'their' to describe one person, but I don't want to give away this person's gender) and doesn't want to disturb the crowd of people who show up at 8 a.m. Lucky me, though, I come in at 7, so I get a whole hour of listening to this person practically shout on the phone. I generally resort to deafening myself with my headphones, but this morning, I can hear this person even over Faith No More, which is just wrong. What do I need to do to shut this person out??

I understand that loud talkers are just a part of the cubeland environment. In fact, I am centered between 4 of them (not counting the subject of this post), and I suspect that when I get agitated talking to a customer, people wish I would just shut the hell up too. But I like to think that happens rarely, while this morning's ordeal is something we have to endure more than half the week. Every week.

On the upside, I get to leave a noon for BFD!

Given that I waited till the last possible moment to renew, I happen to know for a fact that today marks the 5th anniversary of the day I registered www.booboolina.com! I think it took me a few weeks to get the whole blog thing going, so I'll say "happy website anniversary" later this month.

I'm not a big fan of interview questions like "what are your strengths" and "what are your goals", 'cause I never think of good answers ahead of time, and I'm not always good thinking on my feet, especially about things that concern myself. But if anyone had asked me 5 years ago where I would be now, my current reality would not even have occurred to me. I mean, really, living in the East Bay? Driving a passenger car? Single? Ok, maybe it's not that far out or creative, but it's certainly different. Here's to 5 more years of defying expectations (although I hope to change that single state sometime between now and then).

UPDATE: so I failed my mantra somewhat. I didn't fall asleep, but I didn't get out of my apartment either till about 8 p.m. (and that only because BB&B closes at 9). The torta is great, although next time I will use a 10" pan and 1 less potato (and will not cut down on the cheese one single bit). My upstairs neighbor is gone till next week, so I am spared her clop-clop-clopping across my ceiling till all hours. I think her cat may have gone with her, as I don't hear the pitter patter of tiny feet racing across my ceiling either. In the meantime, the Mystery of the Brightly Colored Plasticware in the Garden has been solved, as that is the method she used to tell the other neighbor when to water what plants. And I scored two more baking sheets, an iron skillet, and some colanders at BB&B, so baking and cooking will continue apace.

Anyone want some cookies??

My mantra for the rest of the year (courtesy of Jessa): Must Fight The Inner Laziness.

I am so sleepy right now.

In an effort to be productive this last weekend, I cooked. I cooked more than I've cooked since the last party that I threw, which was in 2003, I think.

Unfortunately, it didn't occur to me to take pictures of the first two recipes I tried, but the next time I attempt Linguine with Gorgonzola and Spinach sauce, or Chicken Breast Stuffed with Goat Cheese and Garlic, I'll try to remember.

However, tonight's achievement was totally picture-worthy, and I present to you Italian Potato Torta:





The pictures don't capture the beauty of the dish at all, but trust me, between the potato and the cheese and the garlic, it smells divine and looks as good as it smells.

And since I already had dinner and we all know how heat-retentive potatoes are, I will have to let you know later whether it tastes as good as it looks.

Happy Foundation Day (QLand, W AUS)!

Happy Bank Holiday (IRL)!!

Happy National Day (SWE)!!!

Happy Queen's Birthday (NZL)!!!!

And Happy Birthday to Jish!!!!!

And we appear to be back. I have no idea what changed between yesterday and today, but there you are.

Btw, have you seen my motivation anywhere? Jessa and I joke sometimes that our motivations are off having a picnic somewhere, leaving us with no will to do the work we're being paid to do, but I think mine has left altogether. I am dressed in sweats and a tshirt (and a sportsbra, no less), but I have not left my apartment since I got here at about 4:10 this afternoon. Nor could I do more for dinner than throw a Trader Joes pizza in the oven and then eat it in front of a movie.

And that would describe my entire evening.

Must. Do. Something. Productive. This weekend, if possible. Argh.

Oh my gosh, if you haven't seen Kung Foo Hustle yet, you better hurry, 'cause I think it's going to leave the theaters soon. It's original, it's funny, and it's pretty darn well done. What expectations I had were low, but this is a really good movie!!

So funky stuff is happening to my site. Sometimes comments disappear, sometimes whole posts. Not sure what it means. Not sure it's really that important. Just not sure.

When you say something is 'yay high' ... how do you really spell that 'yay'? Is it 'yeah'? 'Yah'? And how tall is a 'yay'? I can't find that this has been asked or answered at Google, but that may be because I haven't spelled the main word correctly.

I went to see Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy last night. And I know that I will make lots of enemies with this statement, but I really didn't find it all that funny. I mean, it was amusing and all, but I didn't hear anyone else in the theater laughing either, so I'm pretty sure it wasn't just me. Maybe that wasn't the point, but that's what I had gone there to see. Don't get me wrong, it was an entertaining movie, but watching it reminded me of why I didn't really like reading the books either - it was very clever, and it was clever a lot. Didn't really get a break from clever to just have fun. Except for that part with the ideas and the shovels. That made me laugh out loud. It's one of those movies that's funnier in the retelling than it was in the watching.

And holy cow, is it really only 10 a.m.? It feels like I've been here for hours!! Oh, wait. I get here at 7, I guess I have been here for hours.