Last night, I got my wish, and we got a blustery storm, which was fine, except that at 3:36 this morning, something woke me. I couldn't figure out what it was, at first, and then realization dawned: The power had flickered off, and come back on.

This happened again a few minutes later, and then it went off completely at 4:30. Fuzzy grumbled at me, when I told him to call PG&E, stating they would already know. I pointed out that at 4:30 in the morning, precious few people in our neighborhood would be awake to know if they had power or not. So he called, and guess what? PG&E didn't know.

The power was back on within 90 minutes, but I'm so used to white noise – our ceiling fan, my chant cd, that I can't sleep when it's totally still and quiet. So it was a restless night for me, and when I finally did drift off I kept having bizarre nightmares about cell phones and fans and other perfectly ordinary things.

I didn't wake til eleven-thirty, and I spent the morning – my fiscal morning – puttering around the house, idly chatting with folks online, reading a book called “Pen Pals” about women in prison. (Fiction, and quite good. Really.) Eventually, I went to have my eyebrows waxed, and then to buy flowers.

May I just say again that I love Bunches? They always have very cool cut flowers, and their specials are amazing – a dozen irises for $1.50, today, and a bunch of red and fuschia poppies for $5.00 (well two bunches, for $5.00 each). So I have new flowers in my house and I can't help but smile.

Fuzzy met me after my flower purchases, and we had dinner at Yankee Pier. I /still/ love their clam chowder. This time I wasn't horribly hungry so I had a bowl of steamed mussels cooked in beer, and Andouille sausage. Yum! (Fuzzy had…steak.)

After dinner, we zoomed over to our storage unit, making it inside with 13 minutes before closing. We retrieved eight boxes of books, which I get to unpack, since Fuzzy did all the heavy lifting. (Besides, if he does it, they'll just get stuck on the shelves, not put in order.)

Starbucks on the way home, for my daily macchiato fix, and now we're home and the house is cozy, and the dogs are sleeping off their dinner (turkey necks).

I love lazy Saturdays!

This entry is locked down pretty tightly, because it's about someone we all know. I hereby ask you NOT to relay any of this to . If you can't agree to that, please read no further.
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So, here's the thing. I'm tickled to death that he came to work for us. He's doing a great job for the most part, and I know it's really frustrating and boring sometimes, but it won't be forever. Really.

However, there are two issues I need to talk to him about, that I'm not sure how to approach.

The first is that he needs to spend less time playing on the net during work hours, and more time working. Yes, I know he sometimes doesn't have huge amounts of work, but even when there's not a lot on his desk, there's stuff people would happily hand off to him. The guys in my office, however, don't know how to say, “Yo, Jeremy, stop playing and help with this.”

The second is that his moodiness is coming across as meanness to the boys, and I need to gently tell him to tone it down. We all have moods, we all get frustrated by stuff, but we're all stressed enough without dramatics. I'm fairly certain he doesn't MEAN to give that impression, but he's not yet familiar enough that the guys can tell when he's being facetious or not.

On another note, one of the guys we both work with told me that the rest of them wouldn't tell me this, because they're afraid of me. So I have to deal with that, despite my amusement that anyone could be afraid of…me.

*Please* help?

Another survey – stolen from Nrrd @ OD this time.

1. What religion do you follow?
Culturally, Italian Catholic with all the guilt, drama and pasta that implies. In practice, I'm not one for organized religion – I find that the politics that get brought in really bother me.
2. What religion were you raised as?
See above. And throw in some Unitarian Universalism and Secular Humanism for good measure.
3. Do you believe that forgiveness is a religious property, or a human property?
Human.
4. Do you believe in magic?
Wasn't it Clarke who said that any technology sufficiently advanced is indistinguishable from magic? My believes tend to be of that nature, but I'm open to possibilities.
5. What was the last promise you broke?
Intentionally? None.
6. Have you ever said the words to a prayer and not meant it?
Does saying 'grace' around a table count? Then, yes.
7. Do you believe that anyone could be perfect?
No. Anyway, flaws are sexy, and make us real.

1. Did you get everything you wanted over the last holiday season?
I've never been disappointed in that regard.
2. Regarding your future, what is the best thing you could hope for?
Contentment.
3. Do you let yourself get your hopes up for something even if you know that there is a large chance of failure?
Sometimes. Not with anything life-threatening.
4. Have you ever bought a lottery ticket?
No.
5. Do you gamble?
On the rare occasions when we've been driving through Reno or Vegas, I've blown the leftover laundry money on slot machines, and I like informal poker games.
6. Have you ever had something called off on account of bad weather, but then gone ahead and done it anyway?
Yes. Just changed the venue.

1. What causes do you support?
Financially? Food banks, pro-choice organizations, Amnesty International, and animal rescue.
2. What groups have you given money or time to?
I used to get up every Saturday at 5 AM to do Clinic Defense – escorting patients and doctors past anti-choice demonstrators and into clinics safely. I've done benefits for BACORR and contributed to the Walk for Choice.
3. Have you ever worked in a soup kitchen or done another kind of outreach for the homeless?
Yes.
4. Would you ever consider joining the Peace Corps, Amnesty International, or another travel-inherent worldwide charity group?
I spent a summer in Costa Rica when I was much younger, with Earth Stewards. But we were send home early because of a cholera epidemic. It was fun, but I'm not much for roughing it.
5. Do you give money to the homeless on the street?
Sometimes.
6. Have you ever helped out a friend with basic needs, like rent or food?
Yes.
7. What's the greatest extent you've gone to help a friend in need?
I've had friends stay with me when they needed safe havens.

1. What are you most afraid of?
Rejection.
2. What did you do today that was really brave?
Today? I posted something in a semi-private journal last night that was kind of naked. It was technically after midnight.
3. Who is your favorite superhero, and why?
Superman. Anyone who can do what he does and never get a run in his tights is a man to be reckoned with.
4. Would you put your life in danger to rescue someone?
I'm honestly not certain. I'd like to hope so.
5. If you were to face the Wizard, would you want more courage, more brains, or more heart?
Courage.
6. Have you ever gotten stage fright?
No.
7. Do you consider yourself to be a leader or a follower?
Both. Neither. It's situational.

1. Have you ever been summoned for jury duty?
Yes, summoned to be a possible jurist. But never called.
2. If they reinstated the draft (for both sexes), would you go, or would find some way out of it?
As I'm over thirty, this really wouldn't affect me at all.
3. Do you support capital punishment (the death penalty)?
Not generally, no.
4. Do you believe that Dubya is rightfully President of the USA?
What I believe in this matter changes nothing.
5. What was your favorite media circus trial?
Heidi Fleiss.
6. Have you ever written a letter to a politician?
Often.

1. What do you have the hardest time moderating yourself on?
Shopping
2. Do you collect anything?
Hats, stationery, treasure boxes, and electronics.
3. Are you addicted to anything?
Books.
4. Have you ever put anything on layaway or used an installment plan?
No.
5. What's your preferred method of paying for things?
Debit card, because it forces me to budget.
6. Tell us one thing you wish you hadn't let yourself do:
The time I dyed my hair black. Ugh. I nearly melted it getting the color out.
7. Do you feel that you obsess over things?
Sometimes.

1. Who is the wisest person you know?
& @ LJ and Truffle & Max @ OD
2. Have you ever participated in a vigil?
Yes.
3. Do you take advice when it's given?
Sometimes.
4. What area are you wisest in?
I have no idea. I don't think I am, really.
5. Do you drive defensively?
I hate driving.
6. Have you ever had unprotected sex outside of marriage?
Yes, but I've been married for eight years, so it was in the dark and distant past.
7. What did you learn today?
Zanotto's makes good sushi.

(Stolen from )

Green – You believe that small economic units
should control the goods, and that the
government should be permissive of
“victimless crimes,” respectful of
civil liberties and very strict towards big
business. You also believe in either a
socialist tax structure or more power to local
communities. You think that environmental
policies should be written into law. Your
historical role model is Ralf Nader.

Which political sterotype are you?
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The season may not officially change for another week or so, but I declared it Spring the other day, when I noticed that the pigeons had returned.

Last year, you see, there was a mated pair of pigeons who made their nest, not in the shelter of a tree, but on the fire-extinguisher box outside the women's restroom at my office. They're not that weird black-purple slightly greasy-looking color of conventional street pigeons, either, but all over ash and mist grey. Almost like dark doves.

They came back the other day, and I was happy to see them, to watch them watch me as I entered the restroom. Those bird-eyes don't miss a thing.

Yesterday morning, though, our admin assistant, Jon, found the bloodied carcass of the male, lying on the ground in front of our door. One of the stray cats had eviscerated the poor creature.

Mama Bird is still sitting in her nest, and I imagine her waiting for her lost mate, and worrying about the eggs she's carrying. I'm over the top, I know, but she seems so fragile and small without him.

Today, in another declaration of Spring, and because I didn't have any clean socks that matched my oufit, I wore sandals.

I think Mama Bird noticed :)

So, Isabelle left Monday morning for her uncle's in San Diego, and Martina leaves tomorrow to go back to Des Moines. When she got here, she told us she was the Oreo Queen, so I'm sending her home with a package of those purple cream oreos that got me hooked on.

As guests go, the girls were pretty cool. I feel bad that we didn't have more time to spend with them, but I'm glad they didn't need constant attention, too. Isabelle was a blast to have around – funny, sweet, she would fit in with the rest of my friends just perfectly. Martina's quieter, but she's also younger, and hasn't travelled as much. I think she's got a thing going with my sister-in-law's 19-year-old stepson, as well.

They left a ton of Lindt chocolate bars as a thank-you gift, so if anyone wants to share, please, please say so.

Stolen from a whole buncha people.

Wisdom

What Kanji word best suits you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Happy Birthday TechnoCowboy!!!

In honor of the occasion, all copies of “The Birthday Song” have been hunted down and replaced by selections from the soundtrack of Xanadu

Well, okay, I'm not your Xeni. I'm my own Xeni. And I'm at work at 10 PM on a Saturday, not because I'm being forced but because I don't like coming in on Mondays to piles of work.

I'd planned to come in tomorrow, but I'd forgotten at the time I made that plan, that Isabelle and Martina are here for the weekend.

Isabelle and Martina are the ex- and current foreign exchange students from Switzerland and Sweden, respectively, that my sister-in-law in Iowa has been hosting over the last two years. They're in California for their extended spring break, and asked if we'd mind if they crashed at our place in exchange for bribes of European chocolate, since hotels are a bit beyond the student budget.

We like meeting new folks, so we said sure. And they arrived tonight. Our initial plan was to point them in the direction of SFO tomorrow, and then go back to bed, but they're really sweet girls, even if they giggle a bit much, and we never get to just hang in the City and to touristy stuff, so we're taking them to some of our favorite haunts tomorrow (like Mama's on Washington Square, for breakfast, and Mitchell's Ice Cream just because everyone needs to experience Mitchell's at least once in their life).

We took them out to Kazoo for Japanese food tonight, which was an adventure, because not only did they not understand the Japanese words in the menu, they also didn't always understand the English translations. Still, we all had fun, and everyone liked the food, and Martina made a brave (and successful) attempt at using chopsticks.

When I grow up, I want to host my very own foreign exchange student.

Snipped from Truffle at OD.

1. Who did you last get angry with?
Myself, for judging someone unfairly, and too harshly.
2. What is your weapon of choice?
Words. When flung carelessly, heedlessly, they do instant damage that is far more lasting than any physical weapon. You can stitch a wound of the flesh. Wounds of the heart are harder to heal.
3. Would you hit a member of the opposite sex?
Actually, I have a mean right hook… Seriously, I joke about there being people I want to slug, but I'd never actually do so. I might break a nail or something.
4. How about of the same sex?
Gender is irrlevant in this case.
5. Who was the last person who got really angry at you?
I have no idea. I know who should be angry with me, and keeps forgiving me, but that doesn't count.
6. What is your pet peeve?
Dishonesty. I don't trust easily, so when I do trust someone and they lie to me, it really pisses me off.
7. Do you keep grudges, or can you let them go easily?
I'm pretty mercurial, and none of my moods last. Except where certain appraisal companies are concerned.

1. What is one thing you're supposed to do daily that you haven't done in a long time?
Make the bed. I've never really seen the point in it, but at the same time, I do like it when the bedroom looks all crisp and neat.
2. What is the latest you've ever woken up?
Eleven, but I've gone back to bed after.
3. Name a person you've been meaning to contact, but haven't:
. I love her writing, and miss her when she's not prolific, and have been meaning to note her for weeks.
4. What is the last lame excuse you made?
To my mother, when I didn't want to bother finding a piece of paper on my desk: It's at home, Mom, I'll call you when I get there.
5. Have you ever watched an infomercial all the way through?
Infomercials are banned from being played in my home. And pay no attention to the Pilates machine in the garage.
6. When was the last time you got a good workout in?
I was doing a dance/aerobics thing while Fuzzy was building my new bookshelf last night.
7. How many times did you hit the snooze button on your alarm clock today?
None, I was out of bed before it went off.

1. What is your overpriced yuppie beverage of choice?
Chai. Or caramel macchiatos. Or mocha valencias. Or…Um, pretty much anything from $tarbucks. Because chocolate anciennes isn't easily available in the USA
2. Meat eaters: white meat or dark meat?
I like dark poultry and rare beef. So, sue me.
3. What is the greatest amount of alcohol you've had in one sitting/outing/event?
When I was 22 and had just broken up with M. I went through an entire bottle of white zinfandel in one evening.
4. Have you ever used a professional diet company?
No.
5. Do you have an issue with your weight?
I like the answer Truffle borrowed from Rainmaker: Don't /all/ women?
6. Do you prefer sweets, salty foods, or spicy foods?
I like sweet, salty, and savory. My favorite candy bar is PayDay, despite the lack of chocolate, because it combines the first two.
7. Have you ever looked at a small housepet or child and thought, “LUNCH!”?
Um, no. Ieww.

1. How many people have you seen naked (not counting movies/family)?
Not including communal showers and nude beaches? 10.
2. How many people have seen YOU naked (not counting physicians/family)?
See above.
3. Have you ever caught yourself staring at the chest/crotch of a member of your gender of choice during a normal conversation?
No, but only because that's NOT where my attractions are sparked.
4. Have you “done it?”
Let's be vague, shall we? :) Yes.
5. What is your favorite body part on a person of your gender of choice?
The nape of the neck. I think it's a really intimate part of the body.
6. Have you ever been propositioned by a prostitute?
No.
7. Have you ever been tested for an STD or pregnancy?
Yes, both.

1. How many credit cards do you own?
Five, but I don't, you know, use them.
2. What's your guilty pleasure store?
Papyrus. Barnes and Noble. Borders. Mai Do.
3. If you had $1 million, what would you do with it?
Pay the mortgage down to under $200k – but not off because we need the mortgage interest credit too badly – add a room, add a hot tub and remodel the pool, go on a $25k shopping spree and let Fuzzy do the same, and invest the rest.
4. Would you rather be rich, or famous?
I'd rather be infamous.
5. Would you accept a boring job if it meant you would make megabucks?
No.
6. Have you ever stolen anything?
Nothing tangible, no.
7. Five things that you would never give up?
My cello, coffee, cool pens, flowers, and sex.

1. What one thing have you done that you're most proud of?
Telling my step-father I love him. It only took me 12 years…
2. What one thing have you done that your parents are most proud of?
They're most tickled that I have a home of my own, a job I don't hate, and a stable relationship.
3. What thing would you like to accomplish in your life?
I'd really like to take a 'bare boat' cruise – where you go as crew and work for your trip.
4. Do you get annoyed by coming in second place?
Sometimes.
5. Have you ever entered a contest of skill, knowing you were of much higher skill than all the other competitors?
Does Scrabble count?
6. Have you ever cheated on something to get a higher score?
Never.
7. What did you do today that you're proud of?
It's ten AM. I haven't even had coffee yet. Ask me later. :) (Oh, well, okay. I wrote a snailmail letter.)

1. What item (or person) of your friends would you most want to have for your own?
I'd like to have 's wit, and 's ability to be so completely naked in her writing, and Max @ OD's way with words.
2. Who would you want to go on “Trading Spaces” with?
No one, but I wouldn't mind having a carpenter and a designer at my beck and call.
3. If you could be anyone else in the world for a day who would you be?
The cellist in the group Bond.
4. What are you better at than anyone else?
I have perfect pitch and an excellent memory.
5. Have you ever wished you had a physical feature different from your own?
I always wanted skin that didn't have an olive undertone, and was darker. Otherwise…I hate my hands. They're too small.
6. What inborn trait do you see in others that you wish you had for yourself?
Self-confidence. I lack this far too often for my own good.
7. Finally, what is your favorite deadly sin?
Lust. Definitely lust.