new resolution year

So what does the end of the year bring I ask. Here's my general assessment: It has been one fucking long year. Hey, quick rundown! For posterity: DC, glimmer of hope, blizzardDC, new job, Home!, packpackpackmovemovemove, rent, farm therapy, black dogs happy, work and then work harder and more so you can pay a million bucks in taxes but hello --> BUY FIRST HOME EVER WHICH IS NOW YOUR ONE AND ONLY LOVE, this will happen again, I think, also travel/travel/travelX3, farm therapy + 1, Packed Boxes Unpacked (after 3-4-5 years), and now today.

Yes, so it's been a long year of a million changes and etc. On the whole, very good stuff. Everything I like. Next year, more of the same minus the change please. I'm having a party Friday night, FYI, SO BYOB.

I think we're superstars

Howdy. So yes, I am trying not to get overwhelmed by the amt of work I need to do between now and then and also hello I have to go back to San Antonio on Sunday for seriously the third time in 3 months which really how many times does one need to see the Alamo is my question. Here's what else:

I purchased a desk, bookcase, file cabinet, and wheelie deal desk thing for my iMac Betty who I can now cart around the house wherever I should like her to be. It's not as creepy as it sounds or like that Xfiles episode where they kept mom on a cart up under the bed for breeding which honestly is one of the most twisted things I've seen on TV. But enough about Betty - my office furniture is going to rock as soon as I actually assemble. And even more honestly, I probably won't assemble it, The Farmer is gung-ho about doing so bc she likes to feel handy and butch so I will let her.

I have a splinter. Left ringer finger if you must know.

The weekend after next I have farm watch duties out at the girls. The last time we had a nice roaring fire and I let their 30 chickens out to roam all day while the Algerian got all drunk and visited the goats. It was eventful! I promised him I would go join him camping during that weekend out by the lake. We have done a million and one winter camping situations so I'm prepped but aye, ever since that whole DC deal, I have become soft and not as campy. That will change come hell/high water.

My friend DK got tix to the chiefs-raiders game on Jan 2 for us. I pray that it will not be -10. Either way, hello Arrowhead = my one/only love (in addition to wine, women, song).

In case you haven't noticed, I am avoiding the work that I should be doing tonight. Question: Will I actually do what needs to be done or will I simply try to do it all tomorrow morning which honestly is most likely? Answer: Somewhere between the truth and a lie.

What else? Probably that I have been all up into The xx of late. I don't care if I'm a little late to the party, I like them. Had one song on a mix someone made for me and just rediscovered them. British! Youth! Emo!

Finally, I am pretending not to notice that it's coming on Christmas, they're cutting down trees, putting up reindeer and singing songs of joy and peace. I wish I had a river I could skate away on.

Singing morphine alarms out of tune

Fine fine, no one wants to admit that they'd buy a vegetable garden. Whatever. Denial is sad.

More importantly, does anyone want to admit that they are traveling to Kentucky and Ohio this week/weekend? No? Well fine, I will. Do not knock the south/rust belt states please. It shall be a combo of work and cooking and drinking and hottubs and fireplaces and etc. Frankly, I do not think there are any other states in the country that can beat that potential so there.

What else? I blew off a 2 hours "webinar" today after the first hour. You would too if it went on until 6pm and you had heard it all before and you were running late for dinner plans. I feel no guilt.

I also am not going to speak about the Metro of late because I have nothing good to say except that it's why people in this city are so serious/cranky/mean, myself included. Major issues with commuting these days so therefore I shall dream about a day (maybe soon) when I can ride my bike to work. I am also dreaming of alot of things lately that do not involve this city and all of these people. No one finds your own dreams interesting so I will not tell you about the dream I had this morning where I had this cool watch that had a doppler radarfunction on it and so I could see the line of storms coming right before I got caught in a major downpour. You tell me.

This will lift your spirits:

SSDD

Hi, I forgot I had a blog!

Dear Diary,

So lots of things have happened since I last wrote to you. Summer ended, fall came, and I am happy to report that the District of Columbia continues to churn out commuters full of ennui, politicians full of shit, and tourists in fanny packs and white socks. On the other hand, I am also happy to report that one can drop a diamond ring on the mall and come back 1.5 hours later and a passerby will pick it up and return it to you (see: My sister, Saturday during peak Tea Bagging protest/tourist wandering). So dreams do come true, Timmy, you just gotta have faith!

What else? As witnessed by my tweets, I attended a football game in Baltimore which was awesome hello even if you don't like football you would have liked to have been tailgating with our "crew" as we had a decent place to eat/drink/hang out/walk to game/watch game/return to car/eat/hang out while one crew member was That Girl Who Throws Up. All in all, a good time. That Girl and I will also be attending the Chiefs/Redskins game in Oct and we have collectively decided that cherry jello shots will not be a part of that event. Lesson learned.

Other things: I will be traveling for the next 1.5 weeks, first to Chicago (which holla I love) and second to California (which I am sort of meh about, but whatever). Both are work trips but I shall be incorporating some 'me time' into the agenda and since I will be in CA for a week, I will attempt to get to the beach this time. This is all presuming that place doesn't burn up or fall off, we are good.

Aside: I had to interview people all day for jobs and here is my advice to the youth of this country: Practice talking in front of a mirror prior to interview and pinch yourself every time you say "um", "like", "you know", and give yourself a double dose when you end a statement with a question mark? Because people who want to take you seriously as a professional? And maybe give you a chance are kind of turned off by that? Because it's annoying? Ah well, we're all trying to get along in this gdamn world so I understand that it's hard out there for a pee eye em pee but you know, this city is ruthless and you gotta convince people you know what you're talking about even when you don't. That is how 3/4 of all fed workers got their jobs, trust.

Alright, diary, I am done with you except to finally say that we both mourn our high school innocence with the passing of Patrick Swayze given that some of us went to see Dirty Dancing like, um five times in a row? Because, you know, all your friends wanted to go and watch the log scene again? Ah youth..

Only Good Days Caught on Camera

Well. Here we are again. What can be said that hasn't already been said before? Here are two things:

1) I am going to Indiana on Thurs to visit my dad and fish and probably play poker and drink cheap beer and be a Hoosier. I am looking forward to another big dose of the Midwest which keeps me sane on most days. After that, I go straight to the state of Missouri for work. I am not complaining, just saying. I will be sure to twitpic the adventures. Cows. Corn. Coors Light.

2) It is July somehow. I'm not entirely sure how that happened because time both flies and also stands still here. I have been in this city for 2.4 years (yes, I'm counting) and I'm trying to remember July two years ago. Who can remember that far back? Luckily, I have this here blog and apparently last July, I was: working, walking the dogs, traveling, and being gay. Clearly nothing ever changes.

I wish I could report something exciting like: I got a pony! I am now Assistant Secretary of State! I am a blond! I like string! Alas/alack, this is the life I now lead. Until next time..

dear chicago/nyc/tampa/wherever

Holla <--- which is something I haven't said in a long time, gonna bring that back, yo.

So I've clearly been distracted (with what? I do not know) and as such, have not bothered to blog about it. I can twitpic the hell out of Showing Snarker My Cocktail because she asks so nicely, but topics for blogging are not forthcoming it seems. I haven't seen any poop on the metro since my ill-fated encounter with a 'rotten banana' so that pretty much limits things right there.

So what have I been doing besides drinking? That is a very good question and the answer is this: working, walking the dogs, traveling, being gay. That basically sums up my life these past few months. Sad but true. I was in Florida last week and it was hot and rainy and people were trying to bullshit me (< -- which is what about 68% of my work life is about, people saying one thing and reality being another). I did get to visit my Aunt Ruby (aside: Who does not have an Aunt Ruby is my question) and she made Louisiana style red beans and rice which is about the only cajun food I like. It was tasty and also gassy but that is the price you pay to spend time with your AR. But boy howdy, my aunt and my cousin are so Republican and conservative that the only thing we agreed on was that the sky was a bluish color. Regardless, it was good to see her since she's quite old (in her 80s I think). Also I did broker a little side consulting work while I was there with some of the bullshit/reality ppl. 75 bucks an hour is the going rate, FYI. High priced Robo-hooker = me now.

What else? Well, I will be taking a trip up to New York City for work on Thurs and also to participate in the revival of Miss Vivian Darkbloom's one-woman/two-donkey show being held at the Macelli Supper Club in Brooklyn. I will reprise my role as 'Girl Sitting in Club Smoking a Cigar with Insouciance' and also help wrangle Sid and Nancy (the donkeys). It will be a grande time and I am much looking forward to it. Vivian and the Mrs are quite the hostesses, the absinthe runs freely at their urban bungalow, I must say. Oh I will be twitpicing it, trust me.

And then, finally, next week: A trip to Chicago. Which hello, you know, I love that place. I can only hope I have wised up from the last time = out until 5am and feeling like shit at an 8am meeting. FYI this is something you do not want to do, particularly if you are not as young as you used to be which I am not. I will however be repeating my trip to Tuscany for dinner, trust.

Ok, I think that's it. Rinse/repeat and the beat goes on.

ps. Sometimes I wish I didn't like Ryan Adams so much, but there you go.

Is it getting heavy?

Well, a few things:

1. Coincidentally, the Flaming Lips are going to be in DC for an Earth Day show on Sunday. I would go but for two things - it's on the Mall one and two, it would be the straw that broke the camel's back if I were forced to deal with that many people at this point. I am obviously at a breaking point wrt the need for space so hello, know thyself. They are apparently streaming it online anyway so there are options.

2. As you may know, I just got back from a trip to Rochester, NY. I was there about a year ago during the lilac festival. This trip was particularly draining due to a variety of factors (e.g., the non-stop good cop/bad cop routine, two stories about what went wrong/why/who is to blame, the ten thousand drinks I had in the hotel bar afterward as a result). You know, these cities I visit are not bad places (with the exception of Fresno, sorry) so the travel has been ok in that respect. The downside is the amt of energy it takes to 'travel' and then 'work'. I am done with work travel until June so that's good. I will also stop whining and bitching on this blog soon, I promise. I am getting tired of doing that as well. No wonder I slept like 12 hours of the last 36.

3. It is hockey playoffs right now, did you know? Aber hallo, there is a whole country pinning their hopes/dreams on a favorable outcome so I think we need to show a little support to our neighbors to the north. And surprise, some of us may actually be Canadian and not know it!

4. Speaking of other good things, I have made travel plans of the actual vacation variety which makes everything all better. In three weeks, I'm going back to my favorite state with my people and I will slow down to a normal pace and I will do nothing but soak in a big sky and enough room to breathe. This will help X 100.

5. It's going to be sunny and 77 today so I am taking the dogs to the Potomac and the woods for a good walk. That will also help X 100.

That is all. Good day!

ETA: Pictures from my day, in chronological order and roughly entitled (as a set) - Snakes! Dog! Beer!:

What kind of weapons have they got?

From this moment on
Blaring like a trumpet
Coming from above us and somewhere below
The confidence of knowing
Descending to relieve us of the struggle
To believe it’s so

Was it really that bad?

So I'm traveling again. Tomorrow. I spent most of last week in Atlanta which was equal parts exhausting/familiar. I've been to Atl a bunch in the past and one of the last times I was there, I learned the very hard lesson that you cannot have your cake and eat it too. So you know, Atlanta tends to remind me of a woman, naturally. I am pretty sure we drove by where she lived, but who can remember those details anymore. My big mistake was being just a little too young to know the score. Ah well, lesson learned.

So what was my point? Traveling? Being tired? Something like that. I'm off to Oklahoma City and the cities are all starting to blend together over the past year. Friday when I got to Reagan after that never-ending week in Atl, I just could not deal with people. I still am having trouble. It's like, when you are confronted with strangers constantly, having to look at them or hear them talk, you just get overloaded by the mere fact of humanity. Or maybe that's just me. And coming back here where there are so many and except for probably about a couple dozen of those millions, I know none of them. So it's not like coming back home to someone familiar, it's constantly coming back home to a million strangers whose faces and bodies just kinda intrude, you know? Plus it's tourist season here. Plus I'm feeling existential. Plus work is stressful. And I've been sick and the headache never goes away. Plus I just miss open sky and grass. So it goes.

So Oklahoma City, be kind.

Home of the 1994 Celine Dion wedding

Bonjour from Old Montreal:



Aside from a day almost lost due to (my ever-present) headache, this trip has been lovely, with my Canadian tour guide taking good care of me. Squeezing a tiny bit of sight-seeing in, but mostly indulging in vice/hedonism = eating/drinking/lounging/etc and by etc, I mean plus also attitude adjustment of the horizontal hanging out variety. Of which to say that I appreciate the hospitality of our friends up north. Especially when they speak french for me on occasion and go out for beers in their SB jacket. No complaints from me.



Time to go lounge about and enjoy a late afternoon drink. Adieu to you!

ETA: They love their hockey up here. Also, I miss you.

Manos

Speaking of hands over on Hobocamp, here's a good song for you: Manos.

And second of all, my mini-vacation starts in T-minus 48 hours. I'm going north for some serious R&R + etc = major attitude adjustment. As I understand it, Montreal is still in the thick of winter but no matter. I can assure you that I will not be blogging/tweeting/texting/emailing. I will be lounging about, enjoying Quebec-style hospitality with a certain Canadian habitant. French will be spoken. Allonge' will be sipped. Poutine will at least be considered. Et les mains. Most definitely.

Styling Plus Also Profiling

Hello to you. Here is my question: Why can I not travel to California without LL Cool J playing on loop in my head? If you figure that out, please to let me know.

So yes, I am off tomorrow to the lovely confines of southern Cal for a week of work + probably eating/drinking/beach/70+ degrees etc etc. Should be a good time, though the days will be long and discussion will revolve around data, which quite frankly for the geek in me is a good time. I make no apologies. I will also be building in some QT with the beach + ocean.

I do have to say that I am fine with leaving the semi-winter of DC (which as we know is not really wintery at all and also ppl here cannot deal like they can in Chicago) to go someplace warm. I do appreciate living in places that have four seasons, but it is also nice to visit places where it's summer all year round. Maybe that is why people in CA are so..well, how they are. Too much warm weather and paradise-like conditions + threat of devastating earthquakes causes people to turn into the real housewives of the OC. I don't know. And I'm only kidding - I love the CA and their many and varied human species.

I'll be posting pictures while I'm there, I'm sure. Because as you know, there will be dancing + prancing + grinning + romancing. Yeah, I don't think so.


ETA - Wed: So I'm in a conference room during a break. These are the pix I took yesterday when we went out for lunch - nothing too exciting but I was hoping to capture the feeling of it being warm. 75 degrees = ok by me. Tomorrow it's supposed to rain, alas/alack.

Traveling again

In an attempt to change my brain chemistry from negative to positive, I am going to join millions of others today and go look for an Xmas tree with/for The Agent and do a little Xmas shopping. Retail therapy: Just as expensive as real therapy but with less talk/more walk.

I am heading out tomorrow for my final work trip of the year to the great state of Missouri. I enjoyed my last visit there I must say and as you know, I hold no grudges against this red state. For those of you counting at home, I have traveled for work 15 different times this year at an average of 3 days per trip which means that I have spent at least 1.5 months or 45 days away from DC this year. See how I reframed this from something negative (all that travel) into something positive (time spent out of the city)? Baby steps, baby steps.

What's funny about traveling and/or my life is that for the past 15 years or so, I always feel like I am living this Dar Williams song over and over again (click here to download):

I think it started with driving, more speed, more deals, more sky, more wheels
More things to leave behind, now it's all in a day for the modern mind
And I am traveling again
Calling this a ghost town, and where is the heartland?
And I'm afraid, oh, was there any good reason, that I had to go
When all I know is I can never come back.

I suppose it's better than living February again and again. So there's that.

See how this reframing thing works? Strength-based positive outlook, here I come!

Hoosier daddy?

Hello from Indiana - the red part of the state!



So I am visiting my dad for just a few days, I have to drive back to the city on Monday, but until then, I am soaking up some serious Midwest. I played the shit out of poker yesterday - Texas Hold'Em to be exact. They like their gambling and their smoking in this part of the country - I probably second-hand smoked a carton of Marlboro's yesterday while kicking ass in the cash game. Small sacrifices to hone one's poker skills.

I was in Cleveland over Thanksgiving and it was much needed - lots of cooking and sipping beverages and hanging in hottub and playing music and Wii and sitting by the fire and talking and laughing and you know, living. It's nice to do that on occasion.

It's snowing now and the weather is supposed to be shitty all around so good thing not driving back today. Here is the baby dog looking out into my dad's backyard while it snows and while she watches the squirrels. I left the big dog back with the agent for this trip so it's just baby dog and me. I woke up this morning and she was snoring in my face with her head on my pillow. Dogs..



I'm going to take a trip to see my old home town and my old house, check things out a bit and maybe take a picture or two. I am much appreciating the open space and cornfields, definitely gives me a chance to breathe. We all need a dose of that once in a while I say. Or at least I do. You city folk can have your constant noise and a million people if it works for you - whatever floats your boat/makes you happy and hello, in the profound words of that philosopher Sheryl Crow: If it makes you happy, it can't be that bad (which quite frankly I think is a fallacy because presumably doing meth makes some people happy but no one is out saying 'smoke it if you got it', you know?).

Where was I? Oh yes, northern Indiana. I ain't complaining.

How bout them Cubbies?

If you've been following my Tweets, you know I am in Chicago as we speak. Beyond being in the Midwest (which always puts me at ease), what I happen to appreciate about this city in comparison to DC (which will now always be compared to other places, quite possibly unfavorably at that) are the tall buildings. The skyline looks like a skyline and what you expect to see in a city. Because there are no buildings above like 4 stories or something in DC, everything is then squished down flat and out or underground so therefore, when you have to drop your dogs at the kennel on a weekday morning, there is still a traffic jam in what is basically West Virginia. This makes you sad and long for the open road of like Utah or something.

Also with all those short squat buildings in DC, you really can never tell where you are by looking around, which for a reluctant transplant means you just kind of walk around until you hit a street with a letter on it or a number and see if it matches up to your shitty mapquest directions. No point of reference whatsoever in that city and tall buildings are all outside of the city limits in Reston or wherever. Because people just love walking around the quaint downtown of Herndon gazing up at the architecture of an SAIC building or the beauty of a Lockheed Martin masterpiece.

Not going to keep dumping on DC (at least not anymore in this post!), but I am appreciating the skyline of Chicago and of course my favorite restaurants and I have a few people here too which helps. Too bad the trip is quick, but at least I got to take a shitty blurberry photo in the cab on the way back after dinner last night:



At least here, I always know where I'm at - in more ways than one.

I'm a few years older than you..

Let us just say that as a consequence of being in Kentucky for much of the week, the following is true:

1. I am now sick, like with a head cold
2. I seem to have a knack for finding free booze
3. I am apparently a cougar

Let me back up. I'm not actually a cougar, the feeling isn't mutual. I hate to break it to the two young 24 year old Kentucky boys hitting on my (older) friend and I, but I'm no Demi (and hello, they definitely aren't my type). Here is a sample of the lines that were thrown our way and no I am not kidding:

"Girls our age aren't interesting to talk to, they're not deep like you probably are"

"I've always been a feminist, objectifying women simply perpetuates gender stereotypes about men and women"

"I'm more interested in getting to know you as a person, but if you offered, I'd go back to your hotel room"

Needless to say, we did not offer. But I do have to give them props for trying. My friend was like "I am old enough to be your mother, are you crazy?" And granted, if I had pulled a Juno, I probably could have been their mom too which is really starting to freak me out about now. Age ain't nothing but a number = what I am trying to tell myself.

And with that, I am off to watch that way old guy debate the young guy. Good times!

ps. And a special happy bday shout-out to my favorite cougar and fellow Libran, Miss Vivian Darkbloom without whom I am nothing. Darling, I'll always bust you out of Betty Ford with a bottle of Stoli and a blunt from your homies. Did you receive the pair of thong panties I had LiLo sign for you?? What I had to go through to get them, you will not want to know. May they keep you warm at night, sweetie! Hope your bday was grand!

There's no basement in the Alamo, FYI

Yeah, so I'm off again tomorrow to Mizzurah < -- how some folks in said state pronounce it. This is the last of my 11 work trips in 3 months. I could never cut it as a traveling salesperson selling Fuller Brushes or vacuum cleaners. I could also never be in a band playing the triangle and touring. Nor could I be a waitress in the sky. Or a trucker like Large Marge. Frankly at the rate I am going, I am finding it hard to be someone who must leave the house. But soon it will be done, TFG.

(TFG in my world means Thank Fucking God, but could also mean Totally Fucking Gay, I suppose or Too Far Gone. I don't know, does TFG exist as an internet acronym already? If not, I'm claiming it, I use it enough I should get some credit for LOLing a blaspheme).

Where was I? Yes so travel this week, which in general is kind of a tough week for me in the grand scheme of weeks/days of the year and so I most definitely will be just trying to get by with sanity intact. What is scary is that goal (intact sanity) has been one I've had since I moved to this dang city - time for a new goal I say. I am taking suggestions, please submit yours today and I thank you kindly.

Maybe I shall liveblog from the middle of the country, sort of like a finale episode of my reality show so boring it must be shown on the local Fairfax County Community College cable channel (or some such). Who would not like a finale HI from Jefferson City, MO? The answer = everyone and/or 42. Yeah, it's been one of those months/weeks/days/lives, bear with me!

And with that, I leave you with this:

ain't too early/ain't too late

Hi from glorious Oklahoma, where it's actually not as hot as DC. A first, perhaps.

So yes, I am in the City of Oklahoma which is kinda spread out and which I have only passed through once. Seems nice enough, I certainly am not going to malign the state that bottoms my favorite one. Many years ago, my Cleveland friend and I drove down to her hometown of Tulsa for Halloween. Let us just say it was a night of mezcal and a next morning of having to pull over on the drive back so my friend could relive the worm over and over again. Not a pretty sight. So that is Oklahoma for me. This time, of course, was like 100X more business-like and stern negotiation and bad cop/good cop. (I am always the good cop in these scenarios somehow - which is weird b/c if you know me, you know what a bitch I can be when given the right circumstances/incentives).

Anyway, it's been ok, but the overriding theme has been knowing that this is the last one of these trips I need to make for this project and one more on another and then done. I really hate to keep talking about work on this thing, it seems to be the same thing over and over again like when I was Metro bitching. Bear with me, I may actually get a life when things slow down so I can start talking about things like whatever it was I used to do and enjoy. Vice? Corruption? Sex? The City? Scratch that last one, please. All skate - now reverse!

And with that, I bid you goodnight from the middle of the country where I am tantalizingly close to where I want to be. I even felt a twinge of homesickness when I had a few beers in the hotel bar and it was karaoke night and a bunch of locals in cowboy hats were singing Willy Nelson. It's come to that, yes.

Instead, I have this to look forward to when I return - the bane of my current existence!

Hi from Hotel California

Hi.I have checked in/do not anticipate checking out.

A view from the convertible:



The drive north. Lonely as a cloud in the golden state:



Lots more pictures and stories to come on this trip fo sho. Look for cameos by the Canadian's arm and possibly the ocean.

ETA: Enjoying a lovely Japanese garden..



And now it is time to put the top down and drive along the coast and unplug the phone and computer..no more work, lots more play.

ETA2: We decided we liked this beach the best, I'm going to pretend we're still there..



2.5 more days on the left coast and 2.5 more days with my Canadian = ready to be done with the former, way not enough time left on the latter.

ETA3: So obviously, I am back. Two weeks away is a long time and I'm pretty sure I'm going to feel it for awhile too. I have three more travel trips between now and the end of June and honestly, all I want to do is hole up somewhere quiet and away from people. I'm getting that familiar not-liking-people feeling again and mostly that is from being forced to interact and be mentally engaged without the requisite downtime. It most definitely affects my mood and behavior, as evidenced by the fact that it took forever for me to relax even a tiny bit when I was on the most perfect beach or among big huge old redwoods with someone I love spending time with. I couldn't turn it off even for her. Which sucks. And I'm sorry.

So flying back, we had to divert around these huge columns off anvil-shaped clouds and I could see them boiling up as we flew by. I later learned that those were the tornadoes over Kansas yesterday and that made me miss home. Like pack up the dogs and drive out west and stay there out on those prairies kinda missing. The time change has me all screwed up and I can't seem to let go of all the shit I have waiting for me back at the office to do and getting my ducks all in that pretty row without a chance to say how nice before I have to prepare for the next thing and the next trip and whatever. Clearly, I'm burning things from both ends a bit too much right now and I'm not particularly appreciating it nor am I able to figure out how to balance. This will be on my list of things to do..in July.

Things I lost (in the fire): The power adapter for my iBook, a firewire, my ipod connector, my chance

Things I found: Two cool rocks and a painfully white shell, the temperature in CA changes from HOT to chilly to HOT to windy to cool to dirty to windy to HOT to perfect in one car ride, the blackberry off button is just an illusion

Things I miss: That beach with you.

faith

Holy frak. I have about 1.8 million things on my mind (which is the price tag of a proposal I have been putting together) and am trying to pack for a two week trip (which is stress/salvation rolled into one) when I simply had to take a time out and let my head go somewhere else. I just finished watching the latest Battlestar Galactica episode Faith and hot holy hell. This show is killing me...man. My love for tortured prophet-heroes knows no bounds. It's also a testament to the level of stress I'm under that it also managed to wrest a moist eye from me as well. Man.

Anyway, I need to get my shit together tonight and finish some of those 1.8 million things and attempt to remember everything I need and somehow make my way to the airport tomorrow morning and land in SF and then drive up north of there and presumably be in a hotel room in California tomorrow night with enough time to re-read a 100pg proposal and prepare for a 1.5 day meeting where I negotiate the impossible and then pick up my Canadian and forget about everything else for awhile.

The question is: Can this be done without completely losing my mind? The answer = Try Again Later. Thank you Magic 8 Ball, may I have another?