Beautiful Transformation in the Neighborhood?

Insert sarcasm here.

Your landscapers showing up at eight o’clock in the morning with their leaf blower right outside my window is super inspiring.

Ugh. Its times like this that I usually turn on music or the television but at eight in the morning I just refuse to interrupt my own desire for silence. The sound outside is making its way into my house and all the way down to my nerves, this is true, but I’m not the one who was in charge of that noise. Eventually I know it will go away and I can go back to my little Zen space where the only noise I hear is me cutting and pinning a bunch of fabric.

Most days I don’t turn on music. I got out of the habit last year when I did NaNoWriMo because when I listened and wrote simultaneously the emotion in each song started coming through in the narrative and dialog and my characters started sounding completely schizo. Obviously not a desirable outcome in a 230 page book, unless one of my characters happened to be a schizophrenic. But they weren’t. So I turned off the iTunes and opted instead for crime dramas (which now I’m so hopelessly addicted to I should be writing mysteries or cop books…but I digress…)

So most days I revel in the silence of the morning, and sometimes part of the afternoon, until I either start stitching on the machine or clicking the keys to write. Either way, I wouldn’t be doing those things right outside my neighbor’s window at eight o’clock in the morning because, hello, not everyone is on the same schedule as me. Is common courtesy of waiting until a decent hour (say, nine or later when people are typically up and at work) asking for too much in the city? Perhaps, I think with a sigh, but that doesn’t mean I have to be one of those people who are blind to everyone else.

After they turned the blower off all I could think about was the whirring sound of the motor and wondered how much gas/electricity it was burning with every spin of the blade. It made me wonder if they give a crap about the planet at all. Maybe they really do but they have to do that kind of work to survive; no matter what they have to do they will go out there and do it in order to feed their family.

Compromised values in the name of food on the table and mortgages paid? The stark reality of today’s society.

But that is just too deep for such an early start to the day…seriously, shake it off! I know life isn’t light and roses and rainbows shooting out one’s ass at all moments but I can’t bring myself down with thoughts so depressing so early or I’ll end up getting nothing done today while I lament the pains of the world.

Instead…

Let’s talk about the ways I love the planet. I’m using up the last of a whole slew of fabrics to make all kinds of stuff for the craft fair, but you already know that if you’ve spent any time over here in the past couple weeks.

Want to hear something new? Well okay…a few months ago I got turned onto this gal’s blog, New Dress A Day, which is one woman’s journey to spend no more than $1 per day on a dress or similar thrift shop item that she then transforms into something modern and wearable.

Think 2XL muumuu that she ends up wearing with boots and tights out to a bar that night. I know it probably seems impossible but she pulls it off and with only a minimum of instruments -- scissors, seam rippers and a sewing machine. Not to mention her vast imagination to take the ugly and shapeless and turn it into something amazing and one of a kind. Seriously inspiring stuff!

Because I’ve been inspired by her awesomeness I decided to give it a try. Now I didn’t spend any money on the first 2 items I plan to transform, they came from my grandmother’s old stash of stuff but we’ll see what I can do with them.

First is an animal print top in black and white with a thick, black, mock turtleneck collar, long sleeves, shoulder pads and belt loops (but no belt). I might go sleeveless with that one but no matter what, the shoulder pads will be g.o.n.e. by the end of its transformation.

The other is a top and skirt in a taupey tan made out of a T-shirt type knit. The top has a collar and long sleeves (and absolutely no shape at all) and the skirt has an elastic waistband. If worn like a skirt it would fall at just about my mid shin (the worst spot for me because it makes me look even shorter) so I’m planning to add halter straps or something to the neckline to keep it up and then use it as a sleeveless long shirt dress over tights.

That’s the plan right now anyway. But all that will have to wait until craft fair madness is behind me. Just 4 more days and I can stop making these:

And start selling them instead. Hey I’m going to need a bunch of room in the sewing closet for all of those inexpensive thrift shop finds I scour. Maybe extending the lifecycle of some truly awful clothes in my house will make up for the planet stomping that occurs outside of it. One can dare to dream.

It’s a Family Affair

Every morning I wake up with a different song playing in my head. Sometimes I can explain it, for instance, if I heard the song right before I went to bed the night before, while other times I have no explanation as to how it got there. Today’s is a prime example of the latter. Now I like this song but ask me to sing more than the four words in the title above and you’ll catch me scratching my head.

So you can probably see the dilemma here. The same four words playing on a loop over and over again as I sit awake, alone, until Matt gets up, is moderately maddening. But instead of heading off to the loony bin, I’m going to go with it and use the song title as a writing prompt. Hey, I’m all about turning the negative into a positive like that.

Speaking of prompt…as soon as I decided to write about it, I promptly lost all steam and motivation to do so. This has been a common problem lately. I think there are a few reasons for it.

First off, I don’t want to sit here and ramble on aimlessly about everything I’ve done lately because I won’t even be able to see the bored look in your eye as you drift off and start imagining what you’re having for dinner instead of absorbing the words on the screen. My life lately has been one long thread. Literally. Pretty much all I’ve done lately is sew.

Which brings me to the second reason. Sewing, unless you’re a seamstress, is a pretty boring topic. Wait, that was the same as the first reason right? Yeah, I guess you can probably understand the inclination to keep it to myself.

So (or sew?? Haha! Oh I kill me…) this is why I had all these grand plans to turn this post into some wonderful tale about my past, something awesome and fun from the 70’s and I would have woven it around my family like the song line had been written specifically for us.

For example, I could do a big story about how I was picked on in grammar school for wearing hand me down clothes that came from my much older cousins. Or I could talk about the time when my aunt tried to talk me out of drinking because my whole family was full of alcoholics but, not only was I not entirely surprised by the information, I think I surprised her by sharing that I just wanted to go to the party; I didn’t even have one drink that night. Perhaps a nice long post about the way two people is quite enough to make a family and that I don’t need to have kids to feel like I’ve achieved that feeling.

But every single one of those topics and more would just fall flat right now because that’s how I feel. As flat as the snowman ornaments I stitched up recently. Flat, listless, languid, lifeless, wordless and inspirationless. (Is that even a word? Probably not but it pretty much perfectly describes my overall brainwave right now so I’m keeping it. Suck on that Oxford Dictionary).

I think I know the reason. I’m saving it up in the imaginary bunker in my brain. The bunker is made of four foot thick concrete walls with a solid steel hatch that only I can access because it takes my fingerprint and retina scan to get in. Yeah, the thing is secure. And for good reason. It is storing the makings of my book inside its walls.

Imagination, inspiration and ability to share a fully fluffed up story, full of good old fashioned chewy bits like warm date nut cookies, will just have to wait until November. (Ooh, cookies…)

So what the hell do I do in the meantime? I guess I could regale all of you with tales of my grocery shopping adventures but somehow I think that might have me losing a few readers. Not that I couldn’t make it funny -- hell I kept everyone reading about me having a cold by sprinkling in crap about puffy heart key chains, local New Jersey townies and Pauly Shore movies -- but something tells me it would just be far too shameless, even for me, to try to add humor to a Peapod delivery. I mean, they weren’t even late and actually delivered everything I ordered so how could I ever twist that one ya know?

Plus I’d never want to insult us by writing an entire 875 word post full of absolutely no content whatsoever. That would just be…well, it would surely be random lunacy, if you will, and I wouldn’t dream of doing that to any of us! Honestly, what do you take me for? Geesh…

While I dye my hair and get ready to go see my mom’s work at the Arlington Open Studios, and then attend my uncle’s big sixtieth birthday party later today, I will leave you with this quote my drum instructor told me yesterday. Apparently it is from a cowboy movie he watched recently.

“Never hasn’t happened yet.”

Yup, you’re right. That quote has absolutely nothing to do with anything I’ve written here.  Just like everything else.

Tired Worn Out and Exhausted Never Felt So Good

Life. Sometimes it’s a motherfucker huh? Yeah sorry, I know it’s a little early on a Saturday for a lot of you to read that kind of language so my advice is to come back later and finish up. I really can’t promise it won’t get worse from here.

This isn’t going to be a ‘bitching about everything going on in my life’ post though, on the contrary, I’m kind of in the best mood that I’ve been in a very long time. It’s more about irony. And why, while I love the concept of it, the reality sucks when it happens.

Huh. That kind of defines irony I guess, doesn’t it? How ironic.

I feel like one thing gets under control, hell in my case it’s about four, and life is going great but then BLAM!!, I get hit upside the head with the proverbial curve ball that promptly throws something else out of whack.

So what’s actually under control right now you may ask?

Matt and I started working out about 2 weeks ago doing the very popular at home program P90X. Talk about intense, with six days on and only one day off to rest and stretch my body has been beat to shit. And then after you’re beaten and bloody lying in the middle of your yoga mat, Tony whips you some more and asks you to love it. But I do love it. In fact its starting to get to the place where I can’t wait for Matt to get home at night so we can get to our workout because even though it kills me, by the end of the hour I feel lighter both physically and mentally. Clarity is my new best friend.

The manuscript I started for NaNoWriMo last year is, to my satisfaction, 100% finished now. After a whole slew of editing and help from various people reading it and giving me feedback, I am confident that it is now complete and ready to be published. This isn’t trivial to me so I do feel a little guilty plunking it in the middle of this post, like all it deserves for acknowledgement is a teeny paragraph and no fanfare. I know it is a huge accomplishment to have even written the 230 pages. (That’s why I’m starting it all over again in 23 days. I guess it’s just my career so I don’t necessarily feel like I deserve a big medal or anything; Matt doesn’t get a parade when he finishes a file.)

My brainstorm notebook has been filling up with all kinds of interesting stuff lately, and while I do have a few blurbs for writing the next novel, my inspirations lately have revolved around stuff to sew. This is good because with the FUMC Craft Fair on Saturday November 13 in Melrose, I need as much as I can get! I’ve pretty much abandoned handbags in favor of fun wall art, holiday ornaments and home décor (like pillows & placemats). Of course the threads to make all this loot are still coming out of my reclaimed stash so I’ll still feel all eco.

Yeah that’s about where it ends for feeling reigned in. Okay so maybe its just three things that are really under control. But in getting this stuff together, a lot of other stuff has seemed to go askew.

Working out is wonderful and I’m sure after a couple months of hard core exercise my body is going to begin to adapt but both of us falling asleep on the sofa at like ten o’clock every night (or earlier) doesn’t do much for the sex life. Yeah, that’s all I’m gonna say about that. In addition it means less time out with family or friends because I’m not going out for a pizza anymore and on a Friday night when I should be out laughing it up, I have to prioritize my workout first which leaves a very teeny window before that 10:00 cut off for tiredness.

Writing and editing a full length Chick Lit novel is great and all but so many other venues got shut down in the process. I’m certainly slack on blogging and reading other’s blogs which definitely pisses me off, especially with my long time bloggy friends. And I do consider those people my friends so there’s a nagging annoyance there. Plus I kind of miss writing my other blog. Sometimes.

Preparing to sell my wares in a public forum always causes my energy to have to shift from something else. In this case it has been practicing drums. I sit at my desk and stare at them feeling like time just slips away before I even have a minute to sit and make music. Paying my instructor to teach me the same shit over and over again is a waste of my money and his time. Period.

I do miss keeping up with my friends and family but I guess that’s what Facebook is for now. We can quickly peek into each other’s lives instead of spending hours on the phone or shoving greasy, expensive food down our throat at some restaurant right? And with writing I guess I just don’t care if I keep GLR going forever. It’s just a blog and frankly I’d rather throw my attention on this one. This one is so much more ‘me’. And the fair? The fair is temporary so I know that the drums will once again ring out in short order.

So what can I do? I guess the short answer is I have no freaking clue. Really, I don’t. I know it might sound weird but even though I’m having all of this stuff fall off the back end of life, the things that have taken over are more exciting and dynamic to me than any of that other stuff that seems to be slacking off.

Except the sex. Yeah. I guess it’s just a good thing that I enjoy snuggling too.

I Can Hardly Believe It Either

Wow not only posting BTPT on the correct day this week but I am actually posting something for the second day in a row. Could this mean I have my sort of normal schedule back again? I guess only time will tell.

Those of you who read yesterday’s late night post are probably aware that I am going to be running the Labor of Love posts as a regular series here. I have a whole bunch of stuff already completed and even more swimming. I figure if that house gave me anything it is a good solid novella and I fully intend to write it up!

I have also been setting my subconscious on my actual manuscript while painting and a few little nuggets of wonder are making their way toward the surface as well.

Painting will wrap Saturday for the big stuff and Monday for the touch ups then I am done with that job for a while and I can just get back to writing. That is until we hit the Vineyard for our annual vacation with our friends!

Now there is something I am not even able to describe how excited I am to do. Inspiration, relaxation, sun & salt air for 6 straight days. Just the ferry over to Oak Bluffs alone is like a spiritual experience. I’m sure the Obama family took a private boat into port which is too bad for them, there is something about seeing that land mass peek out in front of you as you pull away from Falmouth that nothing can match.

When any of my books hits the big time we will own a house on the Vineyard. Maybe.

Last week over on the other blog I posted a vid of instructions of how to make a shirred sun dress. Shirring is that gathered stretchy look that a lot of lady’s dresses or summer tops have. They made it sound so easy. They always do though right?

Well after one slightly failed attempt on a fabric that was just a little too advanced for me I decided to do this on a simple cotton fabric. It was complete, the elastic was stretchy and the gathers were even pretty well matched up I went to put it on and three of the elastic threads snapped. It wasn’t even over both of my shoulders yet. I spent about 6 hours on this dress and at least 3 on the one before it. I am so bummed, it was going to look so cute with black leggings and sandals this weekend at my adopted nephew’s birthday party.

Guess that means I am shopping in the morning on Sunday because I want my cute dress damn it. Or else I need to figure out how to create, pin & sew from a pattern like pronto. Not looking too good though. Guess the only way to learn is to just fuck it up sometimes. Oh well, I will now rip out all the elastic threads, add some decorative thread colors and use it as a curtain for my closet that is in desperate need of one. Silver lining right?

Going out to play pool with one of Matt’s old high school friends tonight. Funny thing is they didn’t reacquaint themselves through Facebook. In fact Matt was on the bus on the way home one day & they randomly ran into each other in Arlington. They both grew up on Long Island so to see each other there was very strange indeed. It will be fun to meet him & have a beer or two; maybe a Grimbergen if they have it. It has been forever since I’ve played pool. Should definitely be fun.

So another installment of Labor of Love is on deck for tomorrow. Not sure how I feel about this working title though. It just doesn’t seem right but it was the first thing to jump to mind. Any suggestions?

A Haphazard Mish-Mosh of Arbitrary Madness

That, or “this is going to be a whole bunch of random stuff that has nothing in common other than it is all what is going on in my world right now which is sometimes inconsequential but always all over the place”. Guess that title would be a little too long so I’m happy with the one I went with instead. So then let’s get on with the jumbled mess I call my daily world.

First and foremost this is the last time I’ll be pimping to get as many people as possible out to the FUMC Craft Fair in Melrose tomorrow. 645 Main St 9:00 - 1:00.

All my bags


Are packed

I’m ready to go!

Now that the sales will commence and the production of all those upcycled fabrics lessens, we can finally get our house back together. It is going to seem like we have so much space in our teeny apartment and the quilt-like layer of tiny threads all over the carpet will succumb to the vacuum on Sunday during football. Yee-haw!

Recently Charmaine posted a link to a really fun site where I spent some time “yearbooking” myself into a bunch of different time periods. It made me chuckle to see myself in these different eras but what was really funny is that the 1990 photo is scarily too close to my actual yearbook picture from 1991.

How much hairspray would this take?

I always wondered what I would look like with an afro.

To bang or not to bang?

See what I mean? Talk about hairspray, ugh.

Tomorrow Matt is going to hit the road and start acquiring a trunk load of pallets so we can start construction on our entertainment center. It is going to be a whole lot of fun to watch this thing come together. Nothing like acquiring material for free to create an enormous piece of furniture. I am definitely keeping my fingers crossed that it comes out nice because he already has plans to build a bunch of other functional furniture pieces using this free stock of lumber. That should keep him out of trouble for the entire winter and then he and B can bond over manly things like sawdust and planers while S and I bond over shaking our heads at the guys but enjoying the fruits of their labor.

Oh What A Night

When I went to bed last night I felt that I had done something to make a difference in the world for the entire day. Yesterday was filled with blogging, sewing, creating from new recipes, community activism and great conversation. I felt as if I took a giant leap forward toward a happier and healthier life and want to keep that train a-rolling for sure!

Working from home has become a more regular occurrence as I gear up for the craft fair in November. I have been running the sewing machine (not my car) pretty much non stop. I have a feeling that running the machine is definitely less of an energy sucker than my car would be though. So some of the adorableness of this week includes:





Have I mentioned that the pattern for the clutches is one I created myself a handful of years ago? I have been improving on the design and making changes over the past couple years like adding the Velcro instead of a button, making sure my company tag is sewn in there and generally just lining up the seams and notions better. Everything gets easier with time I guess!

Because Murphy’s Law is something all of us Irish folk are fully in touch with, I know this purse will sell at the fair. So far it is the one I love the most and would keep in a New York minute if given the opportunity (like it not selling at the fair and I get to just take it home for example).

So for Ginger and Karen I would just like to let you know that I did finally create the recipes you both shared that I have been dying to try all month. I combined the two together for a yummy feast last night for mom, Matt and myself before we headed out to the town meeting. On this plate are the salmon patties Karen suggested trying and the ribbon zucchini with pesto Ginger posted. Y-U-M!!

Good. Now that takes care of our minds and bodies, but we should do something good for mankind or the planet for a couple of hours. -- Cher, Clueless

After also devouring some of my mom’s delicious oatmeal chip cookies we took off to hear about all the awesomeness our town is doing in the way of sustainable efforts. There were two guest speakers, one from the Chamber of Commerce, the other from the Committee for Secure Green Future. Both were excellent speakers with quite a wealth of knowledge to share. There were eleven of us in total including the three of us newbies. Everyone was so welcoming and excited to have new members attend! One of the members is also the webmaster and when he found out that I write an environmental blog he asked if I would be interested to let them grab my RSS feed as well as possibly write articles for the soon to be newly revamped website. How could I ever say no?! I am really looking forward to getting more involved with these folks because their reach in the community is so positive.

With that said, today I begin research on my town and the efforts already in place for a better environment here such as waste removal, recycling, energy savings, litter clean up and a slew of other topics that will become extremely fun topics to do a write up on for the website. Of course I plan to finish up this little baby tonight.

Randomness Goes On Forever

It happened again, the dreaded tag. It has gotten to the point where I do not think it is possible to share anything else random about myself without revealing way too much information. Although, that has never stopped me in the past so why should it stop me now?

Because it was my Mom who tagged me it would be impossible for me to blow this one off and hope they did not notice I never completed it. I know my Mom and six months from now I would get a comment reading something like “Hey why did you never do that blog tag I tagged you for here?”

Instead of waiting around for that comment, here are the required seven random facts about myself. As per usual however I will not outright tag anyone else but open it up to say that anyone reading can feel free to play along if they so choose.

1. Only very rarely do I ever eat breakfast, generally I don’t eat anything until about eleven. (Have I shared this before? Déjà vu?)
2. Speaking of…I love déjà vu. There is something so mysteriously excellent about not being able to explain the feeling that something happened before but there is no real recollection that it did.
3. Since I finally got my first cleaning in ages this past July, I now floss every day.
4. Shoes and socks make my feet ache for summer. I like to be barefoot as much as possible.
5. When I handwrite anything it is in all caps and never in blue ink, I am a fine tip, black ink kind of gal.
6. If I were independently wealthy and had time on my hands I would spend a couple weeks at my sister’s house this November and take her to this show. I am quite sure she would fall in love instantly as so many of us do. Sigh.
7. After just coming out of my weirdness phase I am now at a place where I feel like I can accomplish anything -- write, blog, sew and paint all in one day and still have time to watch the Sox trounce the Rays last night.

So now that I got that out of the way here are some recent projects I have completed.

I was commissioned by one of my Mom’s friends, M to create a bag. Her grand daughter (who I happened to go to High School with, man this town is way too small) is having a baby shower in November and M wanted to give her a really nice handmade diaper bag as her gift. She is taking underwater birthing classes and is a diver so the request was made for something watery and with enough pockets for all required baby related items. This was created from a pattern, the first I had ever completed. Also the first zipper I ever installed. That is why my Mom did the zipper and I just swore a lot.


M picked up the bag this week and she was thrilled! That of course made me so happy because it took well over two weeks from purchase of fabric to completed bag. I learned so much though and will be applying those techniques to other bags in the future; hopefully even braving a zipper install all on my own. I have named it Labor of Love.

I booked a table at the First United Methodist Church Craft Fair in Melrose on November 15. This is my first fair and I am a little nervous but just pouring my positive energy into all of the items I am creating for it! I will only be showcasing fabric items like bags, placemats, coasters, etc. Here are a few recently completed items that will make their way to my table. If you are in the Massachusetts area and want to stop by to say hi feel free, I would love to see you! The info - 645 Main St Melrose, MA, Saturday November 15 from 9:00 – 1:00.

Tonight Jason is playing at The Orpheum in Boston but instead of going to see him Matt and I will be enjoying a lovely pasta dinner, then playing a nail biting game of Monopoly, with my Dad and Evil Step Mom*. It will be a bummer to know he is only seven miles away singing his little avocado off and I will not be there but in this past year I have had the opportunity to see him live twice, both times about twenty feet from the edge of the stage and both times meeting people I had never met and now call friends. I should not be so selfish in wanting that ticket and just be glad that maybe someone else (that may have not been able to go if I had) will now get the opportunity to realize how fan-freaking-tastic he is live. I will call this my passive way of sharing the love.

So whoever you are that got that ticket have the most amazing time at the show and I will say to you both congratulations and I’m sorry -- congratulations for discovering the most kick ass, talented, Hottie McHotterson making music today and I’m sorry because once you feel the Jason love there is no turning back. Enjoy the ride.

* The disclaimer for those of you new readers out there, this is what she calls herself and it is totally in jest. She is awesome, fun and not actually even married to my Dad. Although after eleven years together they might as well be, I guess its one of those “if it ain’t broke” type situations.

I Got Ya Title Right Here

I feel like attempting basic after way too much thinking for my own good in the last couple weeks. Over analyzer. It’s both a blessing and a curse. So in the spirit of taking a crack at light and breezy I am going to get back to my roots of randomness. Most of this post will likely be about old and/or cheesy movies because that is what has been on my mind lately but really there is a little of everything. Read on and enjoy while I finally exhale for the first time in weeks.

Personally, I think Blue Crush is one of the best movies ever made. It is difficult for women in Hollywood to get real quality roles where their characters are strong without being a bitch, sexy without being a slut and just vulnerable enough that they have obstacles to overcome but they do it on their own and do not have to pretend to be a man or a tough lesbian to make it happen. Kate Bosworth pulls off vulnerable, strong, and independent and she does it all with amazing sexiness while playing in the boys club but holding her own the whole time. I could seriously watch that movie once a week and still feel like she has triumphed for the first time every time.


Jason Giambi, seriously man, that mustache has got to go. I do not have any creepy uncles, both of my uncles are pretty cool, chill dudes who are socially fun and entertaining guys but if I did have a creepy uncle who lived in a van and spent way too much time talking to sixteen year olds he would look like Giambi. Maybe I am just biased because he is a Yankee. The Evil Empire is not only claiming that the mustache is responsible for the latest surge of wins the team is experiencing but there is an interview with the thing. Come on. The only guy to ever look good with a mustache was Tom Selleck as Magnum PI. Perhaps it was because of the car.

When I spend my days sewing there needs to be something on in the background and music just does not seem to cut it like it does when I write. Back in the days of living in western Mass I had an entire room dedicated to my creative endeavors. There was a scrapbooking table and a sewing table, plastic drawer units housing all my supplies and a closet for the large or overflow items, not to mention plenty of room to stretch out and do those projects. It sounds great until reality hits that the wonderful sewing room came with a side of gunfire. Yeah, not a pretty scene. When working in that room I had a TV with a built in VCR and the TV part did not work so I would frequently watch movies as background noise. They included, but were not limited to, Armageddon, Clueless, Can’t Hardly Wait and Singles. Apparently old habits never die because the hankering for a movie while cutting fabric and pinning things seems to still exist. In our now much smaller, yet bullet free, apartment I had to find a spot for my 36” x 68” cutting mat where it could be utilized but not in the way so it went under our living room area rug (just roll back the rug when I need the mat, its great!). Now when I cut and pin it is from the living room floor and conveniently the VCR and DVD player are right next to me. New favorites include Blue Crush, Legally Blonde, America’s Sweethearts, and of course Almost Famous.

Most mornings I wake up with a song stuck in my head. Since early summer I have had the strangest possible inner playlist like the theme from the Golden Girls or various one hit wonder pop songs from the ‘80’s. In the past few weeks however the most recurring song has been Lucky by Jason. I would think nothing of this except that song is probably my least favorite on the album and also because I have not listened to any music on that album in well over six weeks. For those who know me well this may come as a surprise since there was a time where all I listened to was Jason. There is no real explanation for it; I am not burned out on his music because I do not think that is possible for me. Perhaps it was simply time to take it down a notch and rediscover my love for cheesy television theme songs about friendship. “You’re a pal and a confidant” We will miss you Estelle Getty.

“Thank you for being a friend”

Inspiring

As someone who primarily works from home it is sometimes difficult to find a muse because there are fewer opportunities where I am forced to leave the house and locate stimulation of creativity that just does not exist in my beige carpet and white walls. Over the past week I have sold items from my online shop, wrote a new article on another MySpace musician that should be finalized and published within days, and completed a few new pieces to list online in the coming week. Not too shabby right? Sure all of those things are very exciting, even I will admit to that, but there is no spark in my days right now. I feel no rush of a thrill for doing what it is I love to do. I sit at my keyboard and mutter out loud to no one but myself “blah, blah, blah.” Even though there is no doubt of my busy factor, I feel like a drought has arrived just twenty one days after I boasted that it would never come. Awesome. Perhaps I need this for my brain.

Online surveys have been all over the place lately so not only did I respond to one the other day but shamefully posted it as a bulletin on MySpace just to try something new. Although I thought I could not go any lower, I seriously almost asked someone to tag me in order to have something to post on my blog. Luckily I got my head together enough to determine you all, my fine readers, deserve far more than that. You truly deserve to read something more fulfilling, deeper. I wanted to post something with meaning that would open up a little piece of my soul and let my readers into the part of my brain reserved for the most intimate situations where I use words like incumbent and profess my knowledge of complicated sounding wines like Montepulciano; truly convincing people I actually know what I am talking about.

But it’s all just a big pack of lies; I am nothing more than an illusion. And seriously, what kind of writer starts a sentence with the word but. Or And. Or or.

In an effort to get a little crazy I changed my profile picture (hold me back!) which is the cropped version of this AMAZING artwork I commissioned of Matt and me. In life I talk like a truck driver but in my written words rarely will you find a curse; they are only used to emphatically punctuate my feelings on a subject when I feel there is no other alternative than to include it. So when I tell all of you that Vic is the fucking best you should know that an immediate visit to her shop is in order.

Today the Sex and the City movie opened and tonight is going to be a super fun double feature for Matt and me. We haven’t been to the movies since very likely the last Lord of the Rings opened but tonight our goal is to see Indiana Jones and SATC in what will hopefully not force us to take a mortgage out just to pay for it. In an effort to save a few bucks we plan to arrive with our own snacks. Getting away with this bold of a task requires a lack of guilt and a really big bag. Done and done. I made a new tote bag the other day so I will be able to bring in a sweatshirt (since I always freeze in the movies) and buried within that sweatshirt will be our own snacks. Microwave kettle corn popped at home and placed in a Ziploc container, devil dogs and probably some other delicious snacks will all be smuggled in. Gee, I hope they do not frisk at the movie theaters now like at concerts.

Tomorrow evening we will get together with friends, perhaps play a little Rock Band, perhaps not but food and fun conversation will definitely be involved. Maybe after the end of the weekend the dam of my mind will burst and reveal that I am not as much of a parody as I proclaim to be.