Got my new business cards today, they look fabulous Now off to dinner.

Sad. And crazy.

I stayed far, far away from the masses of hollow, desperate people searching for meaning underneath piles of half-price laptops and discounted Blu-Ray DVDs today.

It’s officially Christmas time. Let the orgy of consumerism commence.

Meanwhile, in other countries:

Make a donation to Doctors Without Borders here. (pops)

Seeing this Black Friday shopping mania bullshit makes me feel physically ill.

That’s almost 66.00 a gallon. Before tax. Fifty cents an ounce.

What is so special about this paint? you ask. Well, this. It’s magic, like Willy Wonka’s fruit wallpaper, only THIS paint kills bacteria and pathogens. But probably doesn’t taste too good when you lick it, I bet. Unless you like the taste of Lysol.

Watching The Exorcist with a glass of Rioja

I probably won’t have time to post tomorrow, plus my laptop keeps blue screening at the most inopportune times, so here goes with the annual What I’m Thankful For post.

1. That my family is coming to my house this year for Thanksgiving. This is a first. I’m in the middle of making Jamaican rice cheesecake and Emeril’s acorn squash soup as I write this. Next up: tropical fruit salad and the greenbean casserole. Will probably be up til midnight making food. I am stocked to the hilt with wine, bread, tea, coffee and Thanksgiving Day decorations. They are bringing the turkey and other traditional Thanksgiving fare. Maybe it’s the meds but I’m not freaking out at all. I’m so happy I have a place that can host them comfortably. So happy and grateful indeed for my family.

2. My dad is in remission still. This is excellent news. That guy’s healthier than I am and still works 60+ hrs a week. He’s my hero. And he is insisting on bringing a drill tomorrow and fixing a few things that need fixin in my apartment. Did I mention he is awesome? He is.

3. My great friends, all of you. You rock. You are the most multi-talented, fun, intelligent, understanding, loving, gorgeous, generous and dynamic group of people I’ve ever met and I am so happy to know you are alive and so grateful to call you my friends.

4. Being 33. I wouldn’t be in my 20s again for anything in this world. I like being in my 30s. My 20s were a rough decade, full of change and (sometimes painful) growth and lots of searching. Hit a lot of dead ends. Not to say that’s all over now, but I have a much better sense of myself and who I am and what I want (and don’t want) now. Yay for growing up and maturing.

5. My living situation. Still have the Shaguar. Still have my job for the time being. Started my business back up and that’s going well. My health is shaky but nothing life threatening. Just gotta get my blood sugar regulated, and I’m in the process of having tests run and so on. But I still have all my limbs and everything mostly works the way it’s supposed to and I can run up three flights of stairs without getting winded and I rejoined the gym. So I am thankful for being in relatively decent health and for my ability to cover all my bills comfortably these days. I guess that’s two things.

6. My mental state. It’s much improved. Two months ago I couldn’t get out of bed and I was having horrific nightmares pretty much every night. Not so anymore. These days I’m much more at peace.

7. Being alone. My handful of feeble attempts at dating recently have been consummate, utter, awkward disasters and you know, I’m glad. I don’t need to date anyone right now. I’m dating myself. I know that’s a cheesy cliche but for right now that is what I need to do. And I am happy this way. Wouldn’t have it any other way actually.

8. I’m so grateful I live in New Orleans. Every now and then it just hits me how much I love this city and how much I feel at home here. This is where I belong. I finally found a neighborhood that feels like home. I can’t live anywhere else, not in the US. Ultimately I am going to finish this novel and here’s hoping it or the next one will hit big and I can quit my soul-sucking job and move to Brittany or Belize and write full time and grow a garden and maybe have some dogs and chickens running around. That’s the dream. I’m taking steps to make it possible. Every page written is one step closer. I’m up to almost 50 now. And it’s good. It’s really good. And I have much more to write. Again, two things.

9. I finally tackled the student loan demon. And I won. Thank GOD. Or, rather, thanks to the Dept. of Education and the new prez.

10. I am very thankful for Trazadone and Celexa and generally for the advancements in medicine over the last ten years. Without these temporary crutches, I’d be living in a cardboard box down by the river. Thanks to my (hot, hot) doctor for prescribing them. Thanks to my insurance (oh happy day that I have health insurance) for covering them. Thanks to me for taking care of myself as I see fit.

Ten’s a good number. Gotta go make soup. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

Plastic wrap by day

Neon by night

FENGA PAPIT

Here are some photos from the 4th annual draw-a-thon.

Kate: 1
FBI: 0

Cox phone

Sex Pistols

Michael Jackson but looks more like a puppet in a HEAD ON! commercial. Or a puppet impaled in the eye with a sickle. The bubble above the head reads SHAM-ON! Then the grim reaper to the left. Nice placement. These are all drawn on post-card size paper.

YOWR!

To life! Indeed.

A wizard and a lady.

My friend and I made books. Here’s mine:

Front cover

Inside front cover/first page. I chose that picture because the guy looks like a zombie. He’s actually a steel worker, I think.

Crappy photo of the back cover. It’s dark red-orange, not violet. Didn’t feel like busting out Photoshop at midnight so this will have to do.

Inside back cover/last page. Disembodied Santa head ftw.

We made the books out of cut-up cardboard and recycled paper. The fasteners stick out a little in the back – screws are too long. I’m still working on the interior. About five pages are finished. 15 more to go. New project! Probably going to be up all night working on it, too. All they served was coffee and woooOOOoooWOOOOO AM I WIRED…

Why hello swain forum people! I well-grounded wanted to introduce myself here as this looks like a very absorbing forum! I myself am engrossing in things like writeing and computer fixing up so if anyoune needs steal reveal me remember! I also Suffer from Sciatica so if you aslo include this infection suffer to me know so we can allowance some stretches!