Hey SG Friends and Neighbors,
I hope this finds you well and good.
I really want some practice writing/ thinking in this format, so I am jumping on the ten fact bandwagon, along with what seems like most of the site.
One - I am really bad at lying EXCEPT around Christmas time, when I become a kind of super sneaky gift confidence artist, using all kinds of tricks to find out what people want, then get it for them, sometimes while they are with me. I once built a Christmas coffee table for my wife, and sneaked it into our house three days before the holiday. Didn't get caught. Ah yeah.
Two - I have tried, and failed, to cultivate obsession. I have even read books on it. I sometimes think that I am almost too balanced, to well-adjusted, to make a serious go at creating Art for a living. I hear some of the extremes that other successful writers have gone to to further their careers, and I just can't make myself be that ruthless. I just want to write, and I mostly hate the "business" parts of writing. I hate promoting my work, I hate hustling for work, I hate "networking." Conversely, I love getting new work, love making "organic" connections in the industry (like, making a friend without thinking of how they can further my ambitions), and I truly love the actual writing.
Three - I love to eat. Especially baked goods. Pancakes, cookies, corn bread, french bread, brioche, croissants . . . I am sick for them.
Four - I daydream about fighting wild animals, especially bears. Have done it since I was a kid. No idea where that comes from.
Five - My latest musical obsession is That's Not My Name by the Ting Tings. I go around with that in my head all the time.
Six - My latest TV obsession is Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Before this winter I had only seen about half of one episode. Its on Netflix streaming, so one cold night the missus and I decided to give it a try - and now we are working our way through the entire series, doing two to three episodes a night. Last week I had a dream where Oz came to my work, and asked me to use my "Druid powers" to help the Scooby's solve a problem they were having.
Seven - You know how on Star Trek certain captain's have maneuvers? My wife says the Punkinhead Maneuver is throwing a handful of raw spinach in the pot three minutes before the end of cook time, and stirring. I do it with soup, stir-fry's, pasta, and all sorts of other dishes. Of course she uses my real name.
Eight - This year's book obsession has been Aisha Tyler's Self Inflicted Wounds. I thought it would be funny, a stand-up comedian's anecdote collection. And its funny as all fuck. But its way more than that that - its a kind of guide to a kind of life that I admire very much. Aisha rules. Boot, Then Rally!
Nine - Last night I had a stand up comedy anxiety dream. I showed up at a club, the owner said Finally! and I was ushered back stage. I started really struggling to come up with jokes to tell. I woke up having though of only one. I think this dream has something to do with Thing Number Eight (duh!).
Ten - I try and try but I still hate the site redesign. I think they should have made an app for mobile devices, and either left the site as was come up with a design that was more, rather than less, user friendly. I have found workarounds for lots of my issues here, but they are all more time consuming and less convenient than previous, and most of them involve intensive bookmarking or Google. Oh, and I want my fucking favorites gallery back. One day I log off, the next day the gallery I cultivated for a decade is just gone? That's total bullshit. And nobody seems to care but me.
That's all.
be well,
ph
Taoist thought of the Day: You are surfing a moment in time. You came from the ocean, you will return to the ocean, but until that day have all the adventures the universe sends your way.
Pet Report: We are really working with Bobbi, and it is having results. She is way better at ignoring the cat now (not 100%, but better), and she is much better going for walks (although she still tries to run out into traffic every time we go outside). Vindaloo is still a virtual outsider in her own house, but I have been making special time every morning to hang out with her (she is in my lap as I type this, while Bobbi is upstairs with the missus.
Currently digging: See above, plus the two days of spring weather we had before New England got cold again, being a friend to Myself.