Yesterday afternoon, I had a much-anticipated salon appointment, to cut and color my hair. This was crucial, not just because the-color-which-shall-not-be-named was showing itself in force, but because I hadn’t had it done since October-ish. I’d missed my December appointments because of rehearsals for Lessons & Carols, and various other commitments that conflicted with salon hours.

I arrived at the door to Salon Worx, which is an Aveda lifestyle salon, just before three, nonfat venti cinnamon dolce latte in hand, and with a good book in my bag. My stylist, the sweet, funny, and talented Natalie, met me, and we went back to talk about What to Do.

I said I’d been flirting with pink hair, but I wasn’t really brave enough to do my whole head. She said, “Let me go dig out our funky colors – we can do the dark dark red/brown we’ve been talking about and add streaks of bright punky red.” I said, “YEAH!” and she first brought Jennifer the receptionist over so I could see the color, and then went diving into the storage pantry, surfacing with “Radiant Red.” I liked the name.

I once read an interview in which actor James Marsters talked about adding sweet-n-low to hair bleach to ease the burn, when he had to bleach his hair for his role on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Angel. Even though we only had to bleach selected streaks of my hair, I will remember this advice for my next appointment, because bleach does burn. Actually, the red – the funky red – burned a little as well, and my scalp is still coated with it. (I had to wait for this morning to wash my hair.) My pillow, because I’m stupid and forgot to put a towel on it, looks like someone was murdered on it, actually. Rather alarming.

I had asked about getting an eyebrow wax after the hair appointment, and they booked me, but forgot to tell the aesthetician, so when I go back next week, the waxing is free. I’m having a mini-facial as well. My skin’s been so crazy dry lately, I feel like I’m wearing a mask, and nothing I do is helping.

But at least I love this new hair-color. And next time, I might add a few more streaks, as we kept them kind of subtle for me to ease into this.

I love the cut too. Just a bob with a few layers around my face, but it’s FOUR INCHES shorter than it was when I went in. No wonder my friends commented on how long my hair was. I haven’t seen it that long for years.

And on that note, I’m off to wash the salon smell out of my hair.

Wednesday:
– Plane took off on time, arrived in SJC early.
– Met by The Fabulous Klae,
– Sipped cappucino and ate pumpkin ravioli at Restaurant.
– Wandered around the new and improved Eastridge Mall
– Met Klae’s housemate and their massive grey cat.
– Went to the Elephant Bar in Fremont, for frou-frou cocktails and yummy polynesian food, and yummier hangout time with Klae, Jeremy and Linda.
– Returned to hotel. Soaked in jacuzzi tub. Went to bed.

Thursday:
– Woke at seven. Took blissful shower. Soap smelled vaguely of gardenias.
– Read book and nibbled on free breakfast (scrambled eggs, bacon, fruit, coffee, juice)
– Took cab to Office.
– Had lovely chat with Russian cab-driver who played his friend’s jazz cd and told me a sweet love story.
– Played three rounds of Ms. Pac-Man at office, then nibbled on smoked almonds and sipped diet coke while in training meeting.
– Also quietly lusted after hot Canadian expert.
– Had lovely Asian chicken salad: Grilled chicken, spring greens, avocado, jicama, shrimp, pear, and a red bean dressing
– More training
– Got back to hotel @ 6:30
– Met other friends (Liz, Brett) for dinner (thanks guys) and viewing of Liz’s amazing jewelry.
– Stayed up til midnight even though wake-up call was for four.
– Finally slept.

Friday:
– Woke at four. Surfed net for twenty minutes, then showered.
– Nibbled on leftover cheesecake from Weds. evening, that had frozen in room fridge.
– Drank scary coffee.
– Left for airport, chauffered by soulful Russian shuttle driver. He complimented my accent. (I only know about ten words of Russian)
– Drank chai and ate breakfast burrito from charming airport deli while waiting for plane.
– Plane before ours takes off from our gate. Returns 15 minutes later. Broken.
– We are sent to skanky basement gate.
– Our plane is also broken.
– Weather ensues.
– Our flight and flight after are cancelled.
– Frantically call, then text, Fuzzy to post a note on CSz message board, telling them I’m delayed and can’t play. Am frustrated as whole reason for early morning flight back in the FIRST place was so that I’d be home in time for show. Grr. Argh.
– Get re-booked on 5pm nonstop from SJC to DFW, after refusing to take a SouthWest flight to LAX and connect there.
– Go retrieve baggage. Re-check in. Desk agent finds me a seat on an earlier nonstop flight. Aisle seat.
– I declare my love for desk agent in loud attention-getting voice.
– Klae rescues me for a bit more hangout time.
– Upon return to airport find that security line goes to escalator.
– Get routed into shorter security line.
– Am subject to luggage search because of my re-bookings.
– Friendly TSA agent pats me down, while complimenting my cargo-pant jeans and asking if my black suede Ecco’s are comfy.
– Old tube of lotion I’d forgotten was in bottom of bag gets confiscated. “You can keep it if you put it in a Ziplock Bag” she says.
– Leave area wondering what magical properties ZipLock bags contain, since apparently sticking stuff into them renders stuff safe.
– More chai
– Chat with fellow traveler to DFW from my original flight. She did not profess her love of the gate agent, and therefore has a middle seat on the 5 PM flight. Still.
– Plane takes off fifteen minutes late.
– Plane arrives five minutes early.
– Plane sits on tarmac for 32 minutes because other plane is hogging our gate.
– It is pointed out that there are 160 gates, many of which are available, and didn’t they call ahead to reserve a spot?
– Plane finally meets jetway.
– Ahhh freedom. And a clean toilet.
– Find bag. Find Fuzzy. Find food.
– Find that own bed and cute doggies and sweet spouse are better than cheesecake.

I did this in list format because it was quicker. Feel free to request expansions of any item. Have a great day.

Made it home.
Had dinner.
Reset DSL router so now is faster and cheaper (priorities, you know).
Fed dogs.
Bed now.

I keep forgetting which time zone I’m in. I woke around 6:30 CST yesterday to get to the airport for an 11:00 flight. We got there around nine – could have waited another forty minutes very comfortably.

Plane was packed, and I was stuck in a middle seat, but I got LUCKY and the aisle passenger never showed. We were the only row with an empty seat, and it was nice to have the extra space.

We landed about twenty minutes early, which meant I didn’t have to rush, but could use the restroom before trekking to baggage claim. Clay and I had already talked. SJC has a cell phone parking area, where people can wait until their arriving folks call and say, “Got my bags, start driving.” I think this is very cool.

We went to lunch at Restaurant where he made me a yummy dry cappucino and I had ravioli con zucca, or pumpkin ravioli with a sage walnut sauce. Yummy. Unlike Pasta Pomodoro, where they use butternut squash instead of actual pumpkin, this was real, authentic, and NOT SWEET. Yay for not sweet.

Bummed around the new and improved Eastridge mall. Barnes and Noble is lovely. Bought nothing. Well. Bought a chai at the courtyard Starbucks. We talked about improv and inspiration, and such. Saw Clay’s house for the first time. Got a quick net fix. Then we drove up to Fremont for dinner at the Elephant Bar with Jeremy and Linda. Much fun, and too much food, but oh, soo good. (I had the macademia nut crusted mahi mahi, if you must know.)

Tumbled into bed at hotel around 11. Woke at five, then six, then finally gave up trying to sleep at 6:30.

Had breakfast (eggs, bacon, home fries, juice, COFFEEE) here at hotel, and am killing the last ten minutes before my ride to work arrives.

Kind of weird being in hotel literally around the corner from where I used to live. I miss this neighborhood so much. But I don’t miss the stress and the expense. Not at all.

Ta.

…but the Pedigree Adoption Drive commercials with all the pound puppies, always makes me teary.

Maybe it’s because Zorro was discarded by his original family, due to his epilepsy.

So consider this a PSA: Until there are none, adopt one, and please spay or neuter your pets.

Writers aren’t exactly people…they’re a whole lot of people trying to be one person.
— F. Scott Fitzgerald

I found the above quotation in a signature file on, of all things, a Buffy/Spike fanfic forum I was browsing in a brief period of not hiding from light and sound over the weekend. (Oh, don’t mock. I’m sure most of you have guilty pleasures that are just as silly.) It’s sort of been rattling around in my brain all day. Well, first there was a mental click, then there was rattling.

I’ve often described myself, to myself, to close friends, as having a sort of multiple personality disorder. Unlike the actual clinical variety, it’s not a case of dissociation from trauma, but a sort of rich inner landscape in which several aspects of myself interact. Maybe it’s stronger because I’m an only child, maybe it’s just a facet of being a creative type, but a side effect is that I’m rarely bored, and while there are times that I do crave the company of others, I’m generally perfectly fine on my own. With clinical MPD the eventual goal, I’m told, is integration. With me, the goal is to give each voice permission to speak, and to turn off the over-seeing editor voice while they do so.

The mental click was not quite so strong as a personal epiphany or paradigm shift, as much as a sudden key to understanding the way I process things. It explains why I read so cyclically, why I can happily dabble in dark topics like vampire lore, and then do an 180-degree shift and play with contemporary romantic comedy with just as much interest, and even why my taste in television includes not just Heroes and The Dresden Files, but also both Stargate series, and anything Star Trek-ish, as well as The West Wing, Studio 60, and House. (Or, for that matter, why my music collection includes show tunes, soul, jazz, blues, rock, pop, folk, classical, and even a smattering of country and rap.)

Here’s another writing quote I found today, this one from Francoise Sagan:

Writing is a question of finding a certain rhythm. I compare it to the rhythms of jazz. Much of the time life is a sort of rhythmic progression of three characters. If one tells oneself that life is like that, one feels it less arbitrary.

I think I’ve got a new mental portrait of my writing self – or writing selves, as the case may be. It’s a jazz combo, but as well as singing lead, I’m also playing all the instruments.

I hope the end result is more joyous chorus than jangling cacophony.

A demon named “blinding and nauseating headache” took up residence in my head mid-way through Friday night’s CSz show, and has been pounding on my brain almost constantly since then. I’m forcing fluids and taking stuff for it, but I feel pale and pathetic, and the most taxing thing I’ve been able to do today is fold some laundry and wash towels.

And battle the other kind of demon, the six-legged crawlie kind known as ants, which took over part of the kitchen and the shower this morning. I’m fairly certain I should not have been playing with RAID while my head was still pounding, but Fuzzy’s been working all day, and seeing the creatures makes my skin crawl.

I’m in one of those “curl up and cry” moods, which is just really unhealthy. Just emailed church we won’t likely be showing up for choir practice or mass tomorrow. Hopefully rest and darkness will let me feel human enough for workshop.

From The Farmer’s Almanac:

Full Snow Moon – February Since the heaviest snow usually falls during this month, native tribes of the north and east most often called February’s full Moon the Full Snow Moon. Some tribes also referred to this Moon as the Full Hunger Moon, since harsh weather conditions in their areas made hunting very difficult.

It is a bleak and damp February 1st, today, and I’ve been writing from bed all morning, unwilling to venture forth even for tea, or to shower, the latter of which I really must manage to do before the day is out. The nice thing about working from home is that I can engage in all those unhealthy writer/artist behaviors that involve sleeping when I want, writing at all hours, and stretching the limits of how often I have to wash my hair, although, as most of my friends know, I can deal with tired, hungry, cold, wet, thirsty, or having to desperately pee, but I hate not feeling clean, so my limits are much smaller, in this area, than one might think.

Tomorrow is the full moon for February, called the Snow Moon or the Hunger Moon, both references to the horrid weather that the agrarian communities in the USA generally suffer at this time of year. I find that my creativity tends to wane about now, as well, and while I don’t really have SAD issues, the bleakness tends to grate after a while. I love stormy weather, but it’s appreciated all the more when interspersed with bright sunny days.

Fuzzy’s father celebrates his birthday tomorrow. We will make the ritual phone call asking if he’s seen his shadow, which is hardly original, but is expected. There’s comfort in such familiar behaviors, they become tradition, but they also become mile-markers on the calendar of life.

My mother’s birthday is in three weeks, which means her present needs to go out before I leave for California next week, so it has time to get to her in Mexico. (I add this line as a reminder to myself.)

Today, I will shower, and drink tea, and write, and perhaps make some banana bread, if we didn’t throw away all the old bread pans. If we DID, I suppose banana muffins will be the order of the day. We shall see.

I’m out of books again, and hungry for more. Suggestions, please?

I’m sitting here in my writing studio with a cold grey sky beyond my window, and thinking about what would make this day feel less chilly and gloomy. Well, laughter, obviously.

Rather than tell jokes on my blog though, I’m going to invite all of you who live in or near the DFW Metroplex to come to ComedySportz during the month of February. I play every Friday evening this month, and I’m also in the special Valentine’s Day show.

Regular admission is $15 at the door / $12 with advanced reservations. It’s clean, family friendly, and much much fun. Also, we have the best prices on snack food in the entire entertainment entry. None of those seven thousand dollar melted Hershey bars here – everything we serve is only $1.00/item (well, except for the Red Bull).

Now about that Valentine’s Day show – here’s what it says on the CSz-DFW website:

Wednesday, February 14th at 8:30PM

ComedySportz DFW Annual Valentine’s Day Battle of the Sexes!

It’s the time of year when love is in the air…a time to spend with your loved one sharing strawberries and champagne…holding hands, looking into each other’s eyes…and then trying to slap each other silly because it’s once again time for the Annual ComedySportz Battle of the Sexes!. Every year at this time, it’s the men against the women to see who can take the bragging rights for being funnier. Last year, the men broke a two year losing streak by soundly beating the woman’s team! This year, we think the women are out for revenge, but when asked if anything was wrong, the women’s team said, “nothing”. Uh oh. We all know what that means.

ComedySportz will be playing at the ComedySportz Arena in Dallas on Wednesday, February 14th at 8:30pm. The theatre is located in the West End MarketPlace Building at 603 Munger Avenue, Dallas, TX 75202. The cost for this show is just $35. No coupons, discounts, or passes can be accepted for this special show. The price will include the show, and a pass to come back to see a future show. This year, the event will be catered by Jim Lee Events, one of the top event caterers in the Metroplex. They will offer a hors’dourves buffet that will include an amazing fruit and cheese selection, and some outstanding finger foods. This amazing buffet WILL BE INCLUDED IN THE PRICE! There will be a cash bar at this event, so you can share strawberries and Champagne with your special someone, while watching the battle on the field. Wow, it doesn’t get any more romantic than that!

“Many people have said that women cannot be funny”, the Captain of the women’s team was recently quoted as saying. “Well, we’ve proved them wrong before, and we’ll do it again this year”. Further, she added this to the men’s team, “Bring it!”. To which the men responded, “Oh, it’s been broughten”. Gosh, cheerleader speak is so cool.

The men’s team has not been resting on their laurels. Primarily for two reasons. One, they want to win again this year, and two….they don’t know what laurels actually are. But, they do intend to win no matter what. And the women intend to win also. It’s shaping up to be the comedy battle of the year. Who knew comedy could be so much fun! This show is always sold out, so make your reservations early.

ComedySportz does fast paced, hilarious comedy that’s totally clean. Nothing ever said or done will offend anyone. All ages are welcome. A perfect place for a Valentine’s Date night!

Hope to see you there.

Drink: Starbucks Nonfat mocha
Scent: BPAL Mad Hatter
Workshop:Warm-ups:Woosh!Bong, Zip-Zap-Zop. Worked on: What Are You Doing?, Musical Improv, Musical Endings.

As we tend to do on Sundays, especially when we were up late puttering on our computers to the wee hours the night before, Fuzzy and I slept blissfully, decadently late today, with periods of reading and dozing between ten in the morning and one this afternoon, when the call of the shower was too strong to ignore any longer. There’s a limit to how long anyone should have to suffer with a “not so fresh” feeling, after all.

I wrote a little, played some Zuma (it’s very Zen), drank some tea, ate a bagel, and chatted with my mother. I have no idea what Fuzzy did but it probably involved killing virtual people or wearing virtual armor. And people think I have a violent streak.

Stopped at Starbucks for caffeine in a cup. Went to workshop, where I did not get warm until ten minutes before we left. Learned a lot. Had fun. The West End was packed, so after we gave up on the three open restaurants we are ALL willing to patronize, called Fuzzy, as group was heading out of the area. He wasn’t inclined to go where they’d suggested, so we went to Tio’s for Mexican sandwiches. The limeade was amazing, but I’m sad because I didn’t realize they had horchata until after I had my limeade, and I love horchata. I’m tickled though, to find out that not only are they putting in a Borders Bookstore at I-20 and Matlock, but also a branch of Tio’s. There’s already a brew-pub there that I keep wanting to try, but somehow we never do.

We had a lovely quiet dinner, and then stopped for a few essential groceries, on the way home. We then spent about ninety minutes de-anting the pantry. Their source of food, it turns out, was a zip-lock bag of Tootsie Rolls and Smarties that has been sitting in the top of the pantry since Halloween, 2004. It was completely seething with the little pests. Anyway, the contents of the pantry are now strewn across the counters in the kitchen, since we sprayed Raid inside, and don’t really want to contaminate the food. It’ll all go back in tomorrow, after things dissipate a bit.

I’m now curled up with my laptop and both dogs, watching Friday’s tivo’d episode of Monk.