You're Doing It Wrong

Klamath River, Summer 2009

I’ve had two sales and they both come out this month.

The whole issue is here:

Innsmouth Free Press. Issue 4.

And my story is here:

Estelle Makes the Casino Run.

I’ll have details of the other story as soon as it’s available.

Madison, Wisconsin

Last week was the 30th anniversary of the Mount St. Helens eruption. I didn’t live up here then. Bob did.

There was a PBS Nova special about it and Bob asked me to DVR it so we could check it out.

(Aside: Great St Helens stuff at the Spokesman Review if you’re interested.)

It was half super-interesting and half overdramatic hoohaw. We were a little bit disappointed by how corny some of it was.

In 2005 the mountain started burping. I was here for that and I’m sure I wrote about it but since I’m still putting off the skull beating it’s going to take for me to figure out how to fix my archives, I can’t link to it.

The Nova special emphasizes that we were moments from violent death. That crazy mountain could do anything. Then there would be some musical beat to punctuate just how big the danger was and a lingering shot of a doe and fawn tiptoeing into the trees. No doubt they would be incinerated shortly

The only thing I remember worrying about is that something would happen and I would miss it.

From the Old Timer’s Picnic in June 2009, Orleans, CA.

Where did all the time go? I had all these plans for this evening and now it’s already bedtime.

Here’s my favorite article/comment thread in a long time:

How To Use Hyphens (Hint: Avoid)

Finally. I have my candy drawer at the office reloaded. I accidentally let my supply run out. At one point I resorted to looking for (and failing to find) stale cinnamon bears in the back of a drawer in co-worker’s desk.

Last night I tried a terrific recipe: roasted asparagus and walnut crema. Basically you make hummus out of walnuts and then spread it on a plate of pasta and cover with roasted asparagus and sprinkle with chopped walnuts. The recipe calls for some froufrou cheese but we used Parmesan. Bob and I each hoovered a giant plate. (aside: hey! my spellcheck automatically changed hoovered to hovered, bastards!) I suspect you could put that crema on just about anything and it would be delicious. I might have to have a crema and Nutella sandwich tomorrow.

I’m not going to say too much about Lost. I was super annoyed when I turned off the TV last night. I had to wind down and try to get to sleep because it was so late. I managed to get to sleep but then I woke up at 3:30a and started thinking about it again and couldn’t sleep. I passed the time by torturing Bob who was in dead-to-the-world mode. I kept putting my feet on him and tickling his arms and whispering that I couldn’t sleep. He just kept snoring. I’m going to put a Sharpie in the nightstand for next time.

So I’m functioning on 4 hours of sleep today which was okay until about 3pm when I felt like I’d been beaten and left for dead. I punched holes in filing and organized things that could be done later. I’m going to go to bed at about 7p.

Back to Lost, I was less annoyed when I woke up this morning but I still think the last 15 minutes was overly stupid.

Here’s my question: where did that runway come from? (That wasn’t the part I thought was stupid.)

This morning I read a comment thread on the episode and the two best comments were from people who never saw the show. One guy said he’d seen the commercials and he’d had an idea that [how the show ended] was where the show was going. What a liar! The other person said he’d never seen the show and proceeded to write a 500 word comment with his thoughts about it.

Amsterdam.

I feel like the world is conspiring to make me crazy. It’s one frustrating problem after the other.

Today’s development: ants in the kitchen. I crawled around on the kitchen floor for a half-hour with a flashlight trying to figure out where they’re coming from. I think I found it. Temporary solution has been put into action and after lunch we’re going to the store and look for reinforcements.

Meanwhile I got notice that my old webhosting intends to bill me three times my actual annual rate next month. I have to go through this with them every year and fax an email that shows what the agreed upon rate is. However, three weeks ago I phoned billing to cancel my account because I changed over to this stupid wordpress-hell thing. I knew it was too much to hope for that the cancellation would actually be processed correctly. Please, waste more of my time.

The weather rarely gets to me like this. I don’t mind rain. But this unseasonable cold and endless cold hard rain is filling me with despair.

I’m going to stay up 2.5 hours past my bedtime to watch the series finale of Lost tonight. I’m a fan but not diehard but I don’t want to worry about any spoilers tomorrow.

Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam

I finally got my World Cup Soccer Guy magazine. I went to about 7 different places before I found it. Around here you can find 100 golf, yachting, knitting and bridal magazines and NOT Vanity Fair with soccer guys in their underwear.

What a world.

It was worth it. Michael Ballack. Now that’s a man.

I never buy magazines like Vanity Fair anymore. A friend of mine was looking through the magazine and asked: What is this magazine about?

I said: buying stuff?

Do you have any idea how many kinds of luxury watches there are? Who is (are?) buying all these watches? Where do you even get them?

I thought watches were like newspapers and travel agents: only really old people use them these days.

Today I went to the mall.

Every time I go to the mall I remember why I never go to the mall.

I strolled by Old Navy which seemed to have a higher level of hysteria than normal. There was some sort of special on flip-flops. I think it was 5 pairs for $5. They had a nylon rope and a guy keeping people in line. I don’t know why anyone would want even one pair of flip-flops.

I was looking for some cute normal pants or a summer dress. I went into one department store. Shouldn’t the clothes be organized? In one area there would be petites, work clothes, clearance, clothes for old ladies going on a cruise, “women” (which confused me, aren’t we all women?) workout clothes, bathing suits and party dresses. Then in another area there would be more cruise clothes, work clothes, clearance dresses and pajamas. Shouldn’t they be grouped together in handy categories? I could never tell where I’d already been.

I came home exhausted. Also, our local mall smells like ass. Cinnabon flavored ass.

I was there for three hours and came home with a box of See’s Candy and three pairs of panties. Not my idea of a productive Saturday.

Last night I came home late and I was really grumpy. I found a cute love note next to my computer from my sweetheart.

“Stop messing with my bummer, man!” I shouted when I found it.

I didn’t get my tomatoes in the ground last weekend but I left them on the back porch to “acclimate.” Last night I brought them in so I could knit them sweaters.

What the hell Mother Nature?

Right now my desk is so covered in little notes and stupid problems to solve that I’m tempted to light it on fire.

But I won’t because it would be one more problem to solve.

Oh good, it just started hailing.

*sigh*

It’s just mocking me now.

I’ve become obsessed with snails and slugs.

I never had any snails until a couple of years ago.

Now they’ve sent word to their families about what a great place this is to live and they are herding in.

Whenever it rains I run out there with a bucket in the morning and evening and pick them. I finally figured out the problem with my pretty purply flowered plant that looked half dead. I pick six or seven snails off it every time.

No matter how many I pick, there are always more. Big giant ones.

Didn’t see it? How about now?

My next door neighbor mentioned that they were inundated, too, and he’d picked a giant bucketload.

Have we opened a portal from snail hell? I don’t know how to be any more unwelcoming.

And of course I read too many Stephen King stories when I was young and at night I can hear big giant ones crawling up the walls and coming to get me.

Tulalip Mugs

You can blame googleblogger for my complete lack of interest in posting. Every time I think about it I get mad again.

I used to use blogging to procrastinate from doing other things. Now I do just about anything to avoid the blog.

I decided to keep my bookblog with blogger and it can be found at pamrentz3.blogspot.com.

My book reading is all backed up again and I just bought another stack. I’m not sure what my strategy is.

From the front door

I was at the Tulalip Casino and Resort last week for a work related training.

I’d been told it was a nice place but I was still surprised. Bob came with me and he visited his old college campus while I learned.

The bathroom was larger than our room at the Citizen M in Amsterdam and I’d love to link to it but the archives are still farked up.

We also got to visit with family who live in the area.

I’m not a huge gambler but I took a lap of the casino floor which was pretty hopping for a Tuesday night.

There was a machine called Kitty Glitter that I said sounded like it would be the favorite of a 12 year old girl.

Bob won $40 on that machine.

Big fluffy bed. They have a turn down service with no chocolates. What’s the point?

I played the poker machine and won enough to keep me entertained and pay for my drink before I turned in.

The hotel lobby was amazing and I failed to get a decent photo. It was crammed with art in every corner.

There was a huge area with comfy couches and chairs and the best wifi I’ve ever had at a hotel.

We’ll be back.