Gold Mine Gutted

We were a stroke of luck
We were a gold mine that gutted us

And from the sidelines you'd see me run
Until I'm out of breath
Living the good life, I left for dead
The sorrowful Midwest
Well I did my best...
To keep my head

--

Let's have a nice clean cut
Like a bag we buy and divy up

And from the sidelines I see you run
Until you're out of breath
And all those white lines that sped us up
We hurried to our death
Well I lagged behind...
So you got ahead.

-- Bright Eyes

Coach Hair

As you know, I enjoy women's basketball and watch quite a bit of it. I also happen to think one's hair says a lot about a person. So I've put together a little presentation of what I like to call: Coach Hair. You know what I'm talking about. Here's a little sample for your viewing pleasure. Bonus points for identifying the coach.

Update

Thanks for being all concerned about our health (I'm at 95%, Agent 60% better), but I have a more important update for you that I think you will be far more interested in knowing: Who the hell was Annie/Donnie?

I am sure it kept you up these last couple of nights trying to figure out who left me that mysterious message. And after listening to it ~15 times, half with the speaker phone on, I figured it out Friday afternoon. "Annie" was in fact my niece "Mandy" and "Donnie" was her son, "Johnny". Clearly, I do not keep in touch much with Mandy (for a variety of reasons) and so, was not expecting a call from her, especially one using a calling card. Mystery solved, you can now rest easy.

Calling the House of Sick

So this week, it's been Kleenex, cough drops, and NyQuil in our household. Mine was more coughing than anything, hers was the all around cold. At one point this week, I was woken up in the middle of the night by her cold-snoring, both dogs snoring, and my own cough. I slept on the couch the rest of the night. Things are looking up though and we're on our way to recovery. I'm off to buy brand new toothbrushes today [because once I learned from my doctor that bacteria just hangs out on your toothbrush and reinfects you, I was sold -- in much the same way I was recently sold on never ordering beer from a tap unless it's at a brewery. Ever wonder why you get huge headaches and feel like shit when you drink some cheap ass beer from a tap in some dive or at a sporting event? It's because they never clean their lines from the keg to the tap and it is a breeding ground for bacteria. I can't tell you how much this realization changed my beer-drinking perspective; why actively seek out and drink bacteria? aye..anyway, this message brought to you by the Beer in Bottles Association]

I'm taking a half day off today (I have a bunch of vacation time I need to burn before the end of the Dec), most of which will be spent doing some house cleaning (one week of sick=time to clean). I also have to clean out the garage and put away my camping gear (which I last used at least 3 weeks ago). Also, the Algerian Fool will be coming over to hang and drink a few beer/BBQ. The Agent will not particularly like that (because she's never forgiven him for getting drunk and naked (as he is wont to do) in front of her one time camping..I'm used to his antics and couldn't be bothered; he's like a brother to me, I accept him pretty unconditionally, though on occasion have to put him in his place). Anyway, that's my Fri. Good times!

/end (parenthetical digressions)

Finally, I got a call last night on my cell, originating from a phone card. The message was as follows:

Hi MyName, this is Annie. I just wanted to wish you a happy Thanksgiving and let you talk to Donnie. He wants to tell you about school. I'll be around all weekend if you want to give me a call back. Talk to you later!

WHO IN THE HELL ARE ANNIE AND DONNIE? I have no idea..I mean none. They clearly know me, but I am drawing a complete blank and certainly cannot call them back this weekend. How weird is that? I am not ready to admit my dementia just yet, but I'm beginning to wonder..

Welcome to Kansas!

...which is what you'll hear in a sing-song voice when you stop to comment on the fact that 3 days ago, we set a record high of 80 and today it is now snowing. Don't like the weather? Just wait a few days! Gotta love those weather cliches...

Club O: A Gentleman's Lounge

If I weren't so busy at work and also trying to fight off this headache/on-coming cold/violent cough (which I exacerbated by going out and drinking both Fri and Sun), I'd tell about my trip Friday to Club O, a strip joint not too far from my house. Some quick answers though:

Um? Yes. Strip club.

Why? Two reasons: It was the Algerian Fool's bday and he wanted to go; and I had never been to a strip club before so what the hey.

So how was it? Strangely depressing, quite interesting, suprisingly sillicon-free, and suspiciously filled with disturbing characters sporting wood.

Did any of your money exchange hands? No, because apparently that required female audience members to lay prone on the stage and let Candy lift your own shirt to expose your bosoms while she gyrated over your face and crotchal area for the entertainment of the boyfriend or client who brought you there in the first place...all of which is fine and dandy if you are in the privacy of your own home. On stage in front of the Midwest's finest strip club clientele while Gwen Stafani's Hump song plays? Not so much.

Will you be going back?Not to that particular place, but could be coaxed to another to see if the experience varies. If nothing else, I'd like to be at least offered a lap dance that I could demurely decline.

Most importantly, did you get in trouble with the Agent for going? Shockingly, no. She asked if I had fun.

Thanks!

While I may not always agree with the mission or the Commander in Chief, I do appreciate the sacrifices made by those who served/are serving in the military. It's worth taking a moment to put politics/ideology aside and acknowledge the sacrifice. My dad and the Agent are both veterans and I know many others so a hat tip and a thanks out to them today.

Dominatrix du jour

"Soft as water and hard as the raging flood" Ah Lao Ma...how I miss her.

So, I was speaking with my favorite former numismaniac, Mrs V, about dominatrixes. Dominatrices? Dominatici? Anyway, we were discussing such. As you know, Mrs V, in addition to being numismatically inclined, is a wealth of information regarding sex. I thought I knew my fair share, but she lives in NYC so that automatically gives her a little edge. But we do enjoy conversing about said subject.

I posed a question to her, specifically: "Is there such a thing as a nurturing dominatrix?" Because, when I think of dominatrici, I envision someone scolding and harsh, with a touch of violence. You know, something like this or someone along the lines of this. And all the associated accoutrements. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

But Mrs V asserts that, of course, there exists such a thing as a nurturing dominatrix. To me, when the word "dominatrix" comes to mind, "nurturing" doesn't exactly follow. Does it for you? Maybe this shows my lack of exposure to the entire spectrum of the dominatrix lifestyle. Perhaps I'm selling domination too short. Maybe I watched too many Showtime after hours movies growing up.

Or maybe I just haven't met the right dominatrix.

But I trust the expert, someone who knows her coins is bound to know her dominatrices. They must have some sort of delivery service and menu out there in the Big City.

Hello? Yes, could I order a dominatrix, please? Uh huh..what does that come with? Hmmm..no, I'll just take a side of kindness and a little dab of nurturance. No leather hoods or gags, thanks. Oh, wait, can you throw in a little extra comfort, please? No, I think that's all. Thanks!

Two opposable thumbs up!

Clearly, Roberta Foit must be from Kansas. On next week's calendar: Monthly meeting of Flat Earth Society, with potluck to follow.

Follow your bliss

Last night before bed, I picked up Joseph Campbell's The Power of Myth and was re-reading the chapter on a Hero's Journey. I wasn't so much interested in the traditional notion of the Hero going on an (physical) adventure, overcoming some obstacle, etc etc. I was more interested in the other aspect of a hero journey that he talked about that focuses on the spiritual quest..the idea that when one chooses to stop thinking or doing what is "normal" and undergoes a change or seeks out some new way of thinking/doing and chooses to come back transformed. (You can see how this plays out in psychotherapy for example -- yeah, I know, but it's illustrative).

I tend more toward secular humanism or unitarian universalism when I do that BeliefNet survey. As such, I like to look towards other sources (like Campbell or a poem or existential philosophers or nature or science) for inspiration when it comes to the spiritual side of things. I'm coming to a major turning point in my life when my job ends in Dec and I'm thinking about what I need to do next...and although some of the focus is on the material (i.e. how to pay the bills), I find myself mainly focused on the intangibles (i.e. happiness, fulfillment). And I think that those are very self-oriented and I had always thought you had to pursue them in an egocentric manner (i.e. what can I do to make myself happy?). However, I am beginning to think that the answer, for me, is going to be found elsewhere, through more altruistic endeavors. I'm not even sure how that translates as a question.

So part of what I am preparing to "do" is overcome the daily grind of our Western capitalistic/consumerism model (which is focused soley on the self, ultimately). I think we get so caught up in pushing papers, looking out for #1, distracting ourselves from real challenge that we get complacent. We go from day to day mostly submerged in our own little worlds, thinking about what's coming next; somewhere along the line, we get lost or lose touch with the fundamental. I have to search for answers from a very different perspective. I've had glimpses of this from time to time, moments of understanding, but it's hard to maintain and hold on to them day-to-day. So I'm going out looking for that understanding, I'm just not sure how to get there or where to go. Hence, the upcoming journey.

But enough about me and my crazy talk, where's your bliss?

Side of the Road

You wait in the car on the side of the road
Lemme go and stand awhile, I wanna know you're there but I wanna be alone
If only for a minute or two
I wanna see what it feels like to be without you
I wanna know the touch of my own skin
Against the sun, against the wind

I walked out in a field, the grass was high, it brushed against my legs
I just stood and looked out at the open space and a farmhouse out a ways
And I wondered about the people who lived in it
And I wondered if they were happy and content
Were there children and a man and a wife?
Did she love him and take her hair down at night?

If I stray away too far from you, don't go and try to find me
It doesn't mean I don't love you, it doesn't mean I won't come back and
stay beside you
It only means I need a little time
To follow that unbroken line
To a place where the wild things grow
To a place where I used to always go
La la la, la la la, la la la, la la la
La la la la, la la la, la la la, la la la
If only for a minute or two
I wanna see what it feels like to be without you
I wanna know the touch of my own skin
Against the sun, against the wind

Give me an "L"!

Well, you certainly don't see this every day. What next? Reports coming out of the Tri-Delt house?

TGIF

I'm already in weekend mode. I have a haircut at noon and then a lunch "meeting" at 1..that should take most of the afternoon and should be fairly leisurely. Tomorrow, I intend to do nothing but putter around the yard. I have to till up the garden and I want to get another bed ready for some bulbs. And I am digging up these stupid mums I planted. I have decided I hate mums..sure they bloom late in the season, but they take up way too much space and grow all stupidly. I'm not sure why I kept them from last year but alas, tomorrow, they shall be no more. I also have to put away all my camping gear from last weekend that's strewn about the garage [last weekend, I took the baby dog and some friends and I canoed out on the lake and camped..it was great, despite the rain last Sun night and the thousand ticks I pulled of the dog...so now I've got all my shit everywhere and need to deal with it]

Why yes, we do lead exciting and glamorous lives here in the midwest..thanks for asking!

Advice

If you ever want to watch a cartoon in a movie theater kids-free, I suggest you go on Halloween. In fact, if you'd like to have the whole movie theater to yourself so you can make out with your movie-going partner willy-nilly, go to a G-rated cartoon movie on Halloween. Only down side was they didn't have Sno-Caps. Damn them, damn them all to hell!

stick em up 

I wanted to be a cowboy growing up...who didn't? 

As the Hamburger Helping Hand and as a beeuuuteeful butterfly (I'm in black behind the ghost)