today, at least, im not suffering from ultra short term nostalgia.

the fury of the aquabats

i hope im never too old to turn down an aquabats show. even though this time the audience was packed with the same amount of people as it was back in 1999, the majority of the fans seemed to have somehow gotten younger. at least i wasnt older than the band, i told kristian on the way inside. old or not, the aquabats scored again as one of the best bands i have seen live. they played several old favorites and few from the new album. there were cheesy monster attacks to stop the show and then mock fights to take back the stage. i stayed away from "the pit", even while considering a mad dash through the tromping crowd. it was tremendous fun. i cant wait until the next time.

ive been humming 'pool party' for days now.

im working up a to-do list this morning and so far it includes important things like capturing all my links in the browser here at work for use after work, ordering roadrunner service (im pretty sure im going to get it, anyway) and perusing the site of one of my favorite authors.

im looking forward to seeing em and chris and little zeph soon, maybe in a week or two. hopefully, they will be able to make the drive, what with the gas prices so high. i will fill up their tank for them if thats any incentive. plus, we can have an outdoor picnic at my newly discovered, cobbled and clean, patio area. so if you are reading this, feel free to let me know your plans. :)

i stopped shopping after winning my second auction, a small round italian pottery peice, with colors that inspired me. i am now methodically reading through a swiped (legally, from the library) copy of march's vanity fair. it has better writing than i expected. ive read about an elite highschool in california, a movie about a cowardly soldier, an interview with micheal moore and the star-driven kabbalah religion. the leader of the movement in california actually made the statement that 6 million jews would not have died during the holocaust if they had practiced kabbalah. nice. i suppose hes wishing for more people to take money from.

all in all, the day has gone by pretty fast.

its friday morning at 8 am and ive already won my first bid on shopgoodwill. today promises to be another day of 'keeping myself busy' and fighting any work that might get in the way of that.

verdant streets

when i turn on to the rutted road that leads to my home, all i see is green. trees thick with vines and bushes grown scraggly and wild have taken over both sides of the limestone street. within a few seconds, im bumping over the trail with patches of green grass growing in its center and the house is beside me. the shrubs that outline the front and side of the house like a living fence have grown tall and full, and the leaves stand out in stark relief from the fading sunlight. the driveway is only grass and the few concrete patches that have survived over the years are covered with neon green moss that is slick to walk on with bare feet, especially at night.

ive told you that i take an evening walk through the garden, looking for new growths and new blooms. tiny toadstoools have popped up in the center of the old stump thats lying on its side and have attached one on top of the other. the seeds i planted last week have a seemingly tenuous grip on the soil, but are stronger than they appear. it fascinates me and i know it will be hard to leave this place.

the ceiling fans should be installed by the end of this weekend and along with that, i changed around the furniture in the bedroom. i wont be sleeping there much though, in the next few days, since im heading to orlando after work. since im the practical type, im also getting a haircut along the way. thinking about going to orlando has put some knots in my stomach, because im worried. but then again, the sight of the hotels on i-4 that signal im within 5 minutes of my family have always unsettled me. at least, for the last 5 years. but i go still, because i want to see my family and strangely enough, cameron called to invite me, in a way. i dont want to break my promise and for as much as we dont always get along, i still reach for some sort of friendship with him. and so i go. i think i might stay until monday, perhaps tuesday.

tuesdays, now thats a strange story.

and did i mention i feel like a kid looking forward to summer vacation?

each year i wait with anticipation to see my name on the list of hurricanes for the season. sadly, from 2005-2009, i have not made the cut. there are a few names though, to take note of.

2005: Emily
2006: Chris, Debby and Valerie (now won't that be a year to remember?)
2007: Melissa

and who could forget the one with the most punch, hurricane andrew in 1992? but this isnt a contest, people.

for some reason, people are avoiding my neon pink fruit salad.

last night, i was in bed by 8:30. not feeling so good today. but we are having a potluck at work and boy, does that raise my spirits considerably. so its 11 am and i have already eaten breakfast and lunch. ill be back for a second lunch soon.

the only drawback is that i am getting incredibly sleepy.

day four

captain's log: day four of, oh wait, i got to come in late today. yeah. so last night we took carlos out for dinner because it was his last day at work. it was fun; loads of reminiscing and laughing about the past. the music was loud and the beer was flowing (i only had 3). i left after 5 hours, ears ringing and feeling good.

day three

captain's log: day three of early-rising. it was a little more difficult to get up today. the shrieking alarm has absolutely no sympathy; who designed an alarm that sounds like an air raid? i wonder, does the sun ever come up at 5 am at any time of the year? i took the toll roads the whole way down, costing me $3.50, but well worth it. you can almost go to sleep on that road, its so quiet. but first, i have to make it to the car. i really should be grateful for the adrenaline boost, but one of these days im going to run headlong into the car or a tree or trip over the sidewalk that gives me no trouble during the day. see, ever since i read about random animal attacks in the area, by what could be a fox, bobcat or other loose exotic pet, ive convinced myself that im going to run into the guilty prowler one early unsuspecting morning. the trouble is, i remember that im (most likely) being stalked when i get a few feet from the car and then i start to rush. i crash into the front door, unlock it and jam myself and my stuff into the seat and then i lock the door for good measure, in case the creature knows how to work doors (clever girl..)
really, that rush is probably what keeps me awake through the drive up until my cup of coffee.

one thing that keeps me entertained throughout the day is reading 'diary of a wimpy kid' on this site
http://www.funbrain.com/journal/Journal.html?ThisMonth=6&ThisDay=2&ThisJournalDay=150&ThisPage=1

as you can tell, im on day 150. what am i going to do once that runs out?

i haven't blogged a whole lot in the last month or so... as much as i have been bored at work, you'd think i would have had at least a page everyday. so lets just start with the new stuff going on, to catch you up, so to speak.

i started a new schedule at work, 6:00 to 17:00. so far, i have been managing it well. the first day, last saturday, i didnt get much sleep, though i was trying to get to bed early. last night, i got plenty of sleep and so today, i feel okay. theres something strange about being up early and being alert at the same time. we have all rolled out of bed, for some reason or another, at an hour we arent used to getting up, but most of those times we dont think too much about being awake. here i am, getting up at 5 am and feeling alert. waking up before the alarm. thats new for me. and then, each time i get in the car, i have random flashes of deja vu; road trips with my parents when dad wanted to get an early start, going to conventions in the summertime, waking up for early morning service... driving by the airport made me think that i should be going there instead of work. one morning, i felt like i was back in london and we were getting up early to go to the museum. it was raining that day too.

i also wonder how joe is doing these days.