By the way, I'm definitely going to have to bust out my old school Webber t-shirt this weekend...it only seems appropriate.

OK, call me naive but I thought they were going to trade Peja not Webber...but so it goes and I guess it makes some sort of sense both financially and talent-wise.

But still, I'm going to miss him.

I know, I know...you're all Webber haters. Selfish ball hog, bad attitude, creaky knee, old, blah, blah blah.

But I liked him. He does have talent, he does have charisma and he had the potential to evolve into a true team leader. Guess that's up to Bibby or Miller now - because frankly I think Peja's still too damn immature. No more excuses for him now, let's see what happens.

I'll reserve any judgement on the three players we picked up, but frankly none of them seem that fabulous right now.

And this is why I'm not surprised that Hunter S. Thompson killed himself.
I suspected as much. And honestly, while I'm not sure that'd be my personal choice (nor would I necessarily want it to be the choice of someone close to me), I completely understand his decision.

Fuck...I WILL say this. Gwen Stefani: you ARE a rich girl, so shut up already.

And CNN Headline News Prime...WTF? Showbiz Tonight? I can already guilt out during Access Hollywood and the Cult of Pat O'Brian when I get home from work, PLEASE don't replace my headline loops this swill.

Gah.

What a strange weekend. Hunter S. Thompson's suicide. Sandra Dee's passing. John Raitt too. Bizarre Sacto weather: Tornadoes! Within near-spitting distance of my house.

A three-day weekend and it definitely felt long but not quite as relaxing or refreshing as I'd hoped. Not that I kept super-busy but the onslaught of rain and death news certainly did much to dampen the spirit.

Thompson's suicide didn't necessarily surprise me - he seemed like the kind of guy who would decide upon that kind of exit - but it' nonetheless sad.

I was going to write more but I just recognized this nagging, nausea-inducing sense of listlessness and melancholy that's persisted since the alarm first went off at 6:45 a.m. this morning. Suicide, death, rain, tornadoes stretching out to make three days feel like a year. And now here it is Tuesday and it feels like Monday but also feels like next week and I can't figure up from down or inside from out.

It's not exhaust really, it's just emotional fatigue.

This is an exceptionally good Friday night because I'm getting to exercse my hermit-like tendencies, be on the Internet, watch the TV with the sound off and sit all cozy-like with my cat - all at the same time.

Cory laughed at me for asking him to bring me the laptop. Yes I was too lazy to walk the approximately 10 steps to get it myself...Hey, it was a long week, so shut up. Now I'm rocking the wireless network and the only thing that would make all of this better is if it was raining outside (because then I would feel extra snug and cozy) and if someone would come and refill my water glass....Cory? Anyone?

Sweet. Cory just brought me a glass of wine. It's that Papio stuff from Trader Joe's - the stuff with cool monkey label - that's amazingly good for its cheap price (wayyyy better than the Two Buck Chuck swill).

Some things I'm glad about this week: the City Council passed an ordinance that would make it tough for Wal-mart to build one of its SuperCenter stores in the Downtown Plaza and decided to scrap plans for building a new cinemaplex on the K Street Mall. Now if we could only stop them from encouraging the building/opening of more generic brew pubs / nightclubs. Did we not learn anything from the atrocity that was America Live? Does the continued presence of the Hard Rock Cafe (which continues to fail as a live music venue) not cause us constant, enduring pain and embarrasment? Sacramento continues to have a major identity crisis when it comes to downtown development. Instead of giving tax breaks or incentives to small, independent businesses it continues to want to feed the corporate beasts. That said, this latest lack of developement is heartening. Also good: the continued growth of local artists/businesses that are thriving despite the city's tendency to have its tree-lined head stuck up its tomato-y ass.

You know, I don't mind that Sac continues to be something of a cowtown. I was trying to explain the reason why to a Chicago visitor the other day --simply put, the fact that we're always several beats behind the curve means that things always seem new and exciting here. Sure there's not a lot of competition, per se but there's also the chance to be the first at something or to be part of a group that's forging new ground or just having fun trying on new ideas.

OK, where was I going with that thought and how did it relate to whether or not you can buy a 24-pack of toilet paper on your way to Banana Republic?

Anyway.

I think it's almost time to watch the new Bill Mahr episode...happy weekend all ....oh...and....

Happy Birthday RO ....wish we could be there to help you & T. celebrate....many smooches and have some drinks for us.

Listening to an advance of the new Sleater-Kinney record and man is it wonky. Produced by Dave Fridmann (Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev, Low) "The Woods" is still definitely, inarguably S-K...But there are some definite differences too. Louder, crankier, crunchier guitars. Noodling melodies. A bit of fuzz and distortion.

...And those are only the first three songs. Interesting.

Was talking to Laura last night about it and she admitted that she's not quite the hard-core obsessive S-K listener she once was.

I'm not sure if I am either. Gone are the days of neurotic, OCD repeat plays of the first self-titled album or "Call the Doctor" or "Dig Me Out" or ..I mean, after all, it's like I came of age with S-K and seeing them live in a college gym in Portland in the summer of '96 is still one of my favorite memories. Right up there with blasting them on the car stereo on various car trips with Laura or jamming into a hot and sweaty Bottom of the Hill or Gilman Street over Memorial Day weekend in 1997 ...

Their recent records haven't been quite as life-changing for me but I'm older and I don't think they're supposed to be, at least not for me.

I still relate to them, however - the band has grown emotionally, musically, intellectually, I'm glad they're not stuck in any sort of "signature" sound -- and I still hit "repeat" on the CD player, just perhaps not quite as often.

And, of course, I still love seeing them live, even when they get to be all super-jam band...

If anything I think if S-K was still my do-or-die reason to turn the stereo to 11, then there might be a problem with me...We grow up above and out from -- but not necessarily over --these things that we adore.

Eh, does that even make sense?

Last night was dinner at a Mexican restaurant off of El Camino called Xochimilco. Pretty tasty for the most part if not a wee bit on the expensive side considering the ambience and location. And the water. Yeesh. The water reeked of chlorine and even though a tentative sip revealed that it tasted OK, I couldn't bring myself to drink it and had to order a soda instead. That aside, the grande quesadillas that both Roach and I ordered from the appetizer menu were worth the $6.95 price. They were truly jumbo-sized, made with homemade flour tortillas and overflowing with yummy cheeses, guacamole and sour cream. The guys got cheese enchiladas which were, perhaps, a bit too cheesy but they seemed to like them OK.

After dinner we hit up the Horse Cow Gallery to see Jeff's art and check out the other offerings. There was one artist who's stuff I really enjoyed but now for the life of me I can't remember his name. If you go, his stuff included a pink elephant busting out of a heart and two black crows. I'm a sucker for crows, especially love crows with tiny hearts between them.

We weren't the cool kids last night and didn't stick around for the all-pink fashion show even though Keith's selling points on the event made it tempting. Instead we headed back to one of the homesteads to drink wine (or in Cory's case, wine with soda -- a la the Spanish club cocktail -- and in Jeff's case, coffee) and watch a movie. After looking through our choices --Cold Mountain, Station Agent (which Cory & I had already seen and loved) and Anchorman -- we went with the latter because we decided we were in the mood for a comedy.

Big mistake. That movie barely even resembled a comedy. It was, to say the least, the worst movie I've seen in forever --- and this coming from the girl who had to sit through Elecktra. Serious crap-ola. I think I genuinely laughed out loud maybe three times. After it was over we decided it was maybe 25 percent funny but I think we were all being overly generous so as not to feel bad about losing 90 minutes of our life. Oh well. At one point we even contemplated firing up Office Space as a way to redeem ourselves and re-charge our brains. You just can't beat Office Space for a funny and smart movie that doesn't make you feel as if you've misplaced about 100 IQ points by the time it's over.

OK, enough of all that... I promised myself that I would write today. And not online stuff. Time to buckle down and start putting that newly minted MFA to work so that I can sleep more soundly at night.

that thing you do

A good start to the weekend so far...last night we went to Hitomi for sushi and then Country Club Lanes for bowling. That was my first trip to Hitomi and I was pretty happy with the experience. Good prices and flavorful sushi (although Cory didn't like the jalapeno-glazed order. I admit it sounded weird and I wasn't too sure but in the end I thought it to be quite tasty) and none of the trendy mall-rats you find at some of our other favorite sushi places. My only complaints about the place: the bathroom is outside around back. It's kinda dark out there when you're by yourself and not exactly the bathroom experience I want when I go out to dinner. That's fine for a gas station (well, not fine - but it'll usually have to do when it's 11:30 p.m. at night and in you're stopping in the middle of nowhere off of Highway 101 somewhere between Eureka and the Oregon border) but not so fine for a dining experience.

The other negative: Hitomi is one of those sushi restaurants that really smells like fish. Yeah, I know, sushi, fish...whatever....but some places don't have the smell and others got it so strong you're reeking for days (Hello, Sakurabana). But still, good food, cheap prices and no annoying girls in Bebe outfits. Those things get major points in my book. Oh and the fried cheese wontons....those earned extra points too.

Oh yes and bowling. I am a really crappy bowler. I had a deprived childhood and never bowled and now I'm the idiot girl on the lane going uh, what do I do here?. But that said and even though I was the clear loser of the night (out of four bowlers including Cory who is an excellant bowler known to have a perfect game on occasions), I did manage to get two -- two! -- strikes.

Whatever you're doing when you get those strikes -- do it some more, Cory said to me at the end of the night.

Umm hmmm...problem is I don't know what I'm doing...because even when I think I'm getting all Zen with the ball and releasing it like I'm shaking someone's hand (Cory's tip of the night)....well, it's gutter ball one time and strike the next. Oh well, something to work on.

After one game we hit the arcade and Claire convinced Bobby and I to take a go at Dance Dance Revolution. Quite fun even though I guess the levels get progressively harder from session to session so by the time I stepped up to the plate the machine was on level three and that damn girl on the video screen was doing the freaking splits and everything. Wow, talk about a workout. I need to get that on Xbox or Playstation or something. Of course that would mean I'd need to get one of those controls...not sure if that's very cost-effective but I'm sure it's a hell of a lot more fun than buying one of those Denise Austin fitness DVDs.

... After our turn was up we all felt stupid and clumsy watching the skinny teenage boy dance like his pants were on fire to what must of been the fastest song on the game. Oh yeah and he got a perfect score. Damn those skinny teenage boys.

Today is sunny and I'm enjoying -- despite my tendencies to be a gloomy winter fan. There's something very soul-satisfying about running errands/goofing off on a sunny Saturday afternoon, a day in which your only real plans are to hook up with friends and watch DVDs/eat junk food later in the night.

Also, Sophie is sleeping in the sun-drenched window right now and looks like a peaceful toy lion.

Sometimes it's these really small things that keep me going.

From Low Culture:
George W. Bush's reading list:

• The Five Thousand Dead Iraqi People You Meet in Heaven


• Beats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Abu Ghraib


• Baby-killers' Club Friends Forever # 12: Wolfowitz and the Disaster Date


• Me Talk Pretty One Day


• Blank : The Power of Thinking Without Thinking


• He's Just Not That Into You: The No-Excuses Truth to Understanding Gays


• Dreams from My Father : A Story of Golf and Inheritance


• This I Believe: An A to B of a Life

The 2004 Village Voice Pazz and Jop poll is now up.
If you know me then you know where to find my entry ... that is, if you're interested in that type of thing.

Stupid computer. Stupid Internet Explorer. Froze. Complete post lost.

Alright, well here's the digest version, in bullet points

• Luna - show - not going. Too tired. Not a huge Luna fan anyway


• But Cory saw Dean Wareham & Co. outside of Harlow's on his way home from work


• For some reason, I find this to be very funny


• Hank karaoke fun. Except for the stupid rude people


• But aren't there stupid rude people everywhere?


• Yes


• SF on Saturday. Amoeba for music and Herbivore for dinner


• And just generally enjoying spending time with the spouse


• Superbowl --- whatever. But I watched it anyway. Kind of


• President Bush. Proposed budget cuts. My head hurts.


• Freezing. Exorbitantly high PG&E bill


• Just how do two people and two cats use so much heat in such a small space?


• Sugarcube -- Yo La Tengo. Now there'sa damn fine song

And that was that ...

I see you people are stlll major Meg White boob freaks. Jesus.

Actually Rudi Bakhtiar seems to be pretty popular these days as well ...

Got these new sunglasses earlier this week...I'm afraid they might be a little too Mary-Kate & Ashley ...but what the hell, they were only $8 so I'll probably keep them.

Had the day off from work today and that was just a relief in every way possible...although I didn't get everything done that I intended, I did tend to a few crucial things (see post below for an example) but mostly it's just been nice not having to worry about any sort of deadline or dealing with people. Sometimes it's just all I can do to Deal. With. People.

It's sort of been that kind of a week.

Neglecting friends again (Hi Suzannah!) Bailing on plans (Sorry everyone!) Going to bed exhausted. Jeez...I can't even imagine having to fit classes into this equation...

Anyway, got the Mavericks-Pacers game on in the background -- a warm-up to tonight's King's game...(by the way, Brad Miller is my new King's crush...I know, I know...but I like that he's a pouty hot-head...) after that we'll head to Old I. That should be two haystacks of fun because the Haints are playing and it's the Hank Williams karaoke night. And no I'm not getting up to sing "I Saw the Light" .... unless I get really really drunk. I mean really drunk....and that hasn't happened for...oh....for a very, very long time.

See ya there, I hope.

check me out

OK, so it only took me, what - 6 months? But I finally set up the wireless network in my house. Both the main computer and the laptop. I'm on the laptop now. And no, I wasn't trying to figure this out for six months straight...we got all the stuff in August. I gave it a cursory try then. Then again in October with the help of a friend. In late Oct. (or was it early November?) I went to the Apple store where they assured me I had everything I needed and then gave me the 800 tech support number....that was, uh, at least three months ago and I finally called the number today. After three hours on the phone with my dear friend Ashley (or is that Ashlee?), I realized I must be missing some crucial info from my DSL provider. So I called them and it turns out we had one little bit of info wrong. Hung up with that guy, reset the Airport Express and re-configured the settings again (by myself this time as Ashley (ee?) had already walked me through those steps about a million times....and voila! wireless! Free! Easy!

Now I just have to figure out how to get my wireless printer in on the game...hopefully that won't take me until, oh, August.