Monday, July 25, 2011

Exhaustion leads to creativity?

I had the weirdest dream today. I was extremely tired and slightly headachy, so I took a nap this afternoon. When I woke up, my head was filled with the strangest narrative. I tried to write it down, but could only remember fleeting details.

I need to sleep with a tape recorder next to my bed so I can get the details down as soon as I wake up. This is killing me. I've started writing it up. In my head it was a solid story, but now it's filled with holes. I'm pretty sure my brain just wrote my next short story without letting the rest of me know. I've spent the rest of today playing catch up with the story that has already been completed but hasn't found a way to escape my mind onto paper. It's frustrating.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

A day in the life

As I've mentioned before, I'm currently unemployed. This means that I'm super bored most of the time. I would like to walk you through a typical day in the life of an unemployed person:

7:00 am: Maya wakes me up.
7:01 am: Realize that I have nothing to do. Go back to sleep.
10:30 am: Wake up for reals this time.
11:00 am: Breakfast (brunch?). Go online. Chat with Anne (for the rest of the day).
Noon: Check various job sites. Apply to everything. 
1:30 pm: To shower or not to shower? That is the question. (The answer is usually not to shower.)
2:00 pm: Read. Or watch a movie. Or clean something.
3:00 pm: Snack time!
4:00 pm: Craft time! Or more reading time. Or more movie time.
7:00 pm: Steve is home. Talk to him on the phone for a while.
7:30 pm: Dinner!
8:00 pm: Online some more.
9:30 pm: Steve calls for our nightly good night chat.
10:30 pm: Steve goes to bed. I try to sleep but cannot. More reading or online time.
1:00 am: Finally go to bed.

And repeat!

Some days I mix it up and meet Anne for lunch. Or go grocery shopping. But this is about it. I'm super bored.

Thursday, July 14, 2011

End of a nerdy era

Tonight (at midnight) I will be at the movies watching the final installment of the Harry Potter series. I was 19 when I first heard of Harry Potter. I was watching the Rosie O'Donnell show and she was GUSHING over this story about a boy wizard. I had to get it. This was the first series I ever bought all in hardcover, and I devoured them. I couldn't wait for the next one! It hooked me from the start.

J.K. Rowling is an amazing writer. Her writing style is simple, but she doesn't talk down to her readers, like so many other books for young readers. I felt like I was growing with her characters. And the fact that Harry was born the same year as me helped me connect with the stories. (I'm aware that this entire post makes me a huge nerd, but I embrace it.) I worked in Barnes & Noble for most of the book's first run, and the excitement around the book releases was always overwhelming. The release party for the last book was amazing. Kids were dressed up, the line for the book at midnight was the entire length of the store. And this was for a BOOK!!! A BOOK!!!!!!! As a book nerd, that brought me so much joy.

I watched the movies with the same excitement I had for the books. For the most part, the movies did the books justice. I went to the midnight showings for all except the Deathly Hallows Part 1.

So tonight, when the lights come up at the end of the movie, I'll be sad. This is the last piece of the Harry Potter phenomenon. The only thing left to wait for is the DVD release. And I know I'll be anticipating that as soon as I leave the theater tonight.

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Television! I've not missed you!

I haven't had cable since 2003. That was the year I graduated college and got my own apartment, which meant that cable was WAY too expensive for me on my own. I've always been a big reader and watched a lot of DVDs so I didn't really miss watching TV.

Until yesterday.

I'm currently house sitting, and the house has CABLE. And DVR!!! And ON DEMAND OMG!!!! I spent just about all of yesterday watching TV. It was never ending. I watched Law and Order: SVU, Extreme Home Makeover (it made me cry), Whale Wars, How It's Made, some random wedding cake show, Extreme Couponing, Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, Say Yes to the Dress, and a show about killer crocodiles.

I realized that much has changed since I had cable. When did all those channels show up? There's a channel for everything! I don't remember there being more than 60 channels. There was only one MTV and it played videos. There was no cable box or special remote! I feel so old. "Back in my day...!"

I spent most of today reading to cleanse my brain. I'm going to be alright.

Friday, July 1, 2011

Controlling the fluff

I was petting Maya yesterday, and about an entire kitten's worth of fur came off of her. I decided it was time to groom her.

This is how we chill.

Maya getting brushed is a complicated ritual. I had to change into shorts and an old T-shirt and find her harness and leash. Then I had to catch her before she realized that I found her harness and leash, and wrestle her into it. Even before I get it on her, she goes flat and flips onto her back. Not easy to get it on her when her weapons are facing me. I finally got it on her, and we went onto the porch, with me carrying her because the harness and leash make her go into slither mode. We sit on the front steps and I make her sit down in front of me. And I brush. And she complains. I have the Kong kitty brush. I've found that this is the only brush that she will tolerate. I've attempted to furminate her in the past, and I still have the scars. So I brushed her, and she was good for the first 5 minutes. The problem is, she's got TONS of excess fluff and it takes forever to get it all. Maya got impatient. And started yelling. She would yell, then look back at me with sad kitty face on. So pathetic.

We were outside for about 25 minutes, and the amount of fur coming off in the brush never diminished. There were tufts of fluff flying around the porch. It looked like it had snowed. And still the fluff came off. It was NEVER ENDING. I finally stopped brushing her when the mosquitoes started biting. In 20 minutes, I got 7 bites. Not cool.

I stood up and attempted to brush the layer of fur from my clothes. This is why I have a special Maya-grooming outfit. I was wearing grey shorts and a blue T-shirt. By the time I finished, the color was no longer visible. I was covered in white. Looking around at all of the fluff flying around, I realized that this was that much less fur to fly around my apartment. And I felt accomplished. Maya was pissed. She chased around the fluff, trying to reclaim it.

I opened the door and tried to lead her inside but as I mentioned before, when she is in her harness she turns into a Swiffer. So I had to carry her in. I gave her her favorite kitty treats (Pitr Pats) and she settled down on the back of the couch. I swear she looks smaller now.