It's not a tumor. I hope.

Yesterday I had a pretty substantial freak-out session. I was fiddling with the top of my hand for a while when I looked down and noticed this. THIS! This GROWTH on my hand!

Admire the close-up action. After thorough internet research (ie; googled "cyst" and "hand), I have diagnosed myself with a ganglion cyst. Apparently, they're not too life-threatening or anything--but I have made an appointment with my doc just in case it is a tumor. Or a massive blood clot just waiting to be free so it can float up my artery and into my brain causing a massive embolism. Or blowfly eggs incubating tiny flesh-eating maggots that will hatch and begin to devour my body from the inside out.

I'm sure it will be fine.

Oh damn I HAVE to post this

Oh man I had to do it. This is my sister's friend Sara playing volleyball recently up in Chi-ca-go. Never in the history of man has anyone looked more like a cartoon. How are her legs doing that? The upper half is more of your garden variety flail. Together, photographic magic. Here's to you, Sara.

har

Holidaaaay! Celebrate!

It's on!

Bought tickets and airfare for this year's ACL Fest. Went the inaugural year in '03, missed it last year due to Africa, and back on track this year. Have already ID'ed 38 bands I want to see. Excited about the event, seeing friends (particularly MERN!!!), eating and drinking at all the old haunts. Austin. *sigh* It will always have a little piece of my heart. A ventricle, if you will. So like 1/4 I guess.

On another note, my left shin got smashed by a wicked line drive ball in last night's game. Hurt like a mothereffer. There are actually ball stitch imprints in my leg. Today, however, it is surprisingly not as painful as I imagined it would be. Although I fell over getting out of bed this AM.

And when they pulled the burning body out of the wreckage, it looked like: THIS!

Hmm I was testing out animation on this blog and by the looks of it, it works. . . kind of. Let's call it my tribute to Large Marge.

ohmygodtimeisatastandstill

It's a slow news day.

First of all, I'm a fucking idiot. I didn't get to bed last night until 4am. Here is what happened. Tried to get into the Better Than Ezra show at the Roxy with friend and they were completely, utterly, 100% SOLD OUT. Frankly I was surprised--they are my secret guilty pleasure band, so I guess I didn't think hordes of people would want to go. We shook it off and had a couple beers and played a game of darts at some bar. Left to go home around 10:30pm--this is good, plenty of time to get a good night's sleep. But it was not to be. Another friend calls and lures me to the mothereffing T'side for a beer. Which turns into multiple beers. Which makes 11pm turn into 330am. The time just fleeeeeeeew by, I couldn't believe it when I realised what time it was. So 4am. Needless to say, have felt pretty ploppy all day. Just want to go home and take a 1-2 hour nap. Then I will be okay. God my liver must HATE ME.

Lunch Review

I had a veggie sandwich from ATL Bread Company for lunch (above). Overall: scrumptious. Drawback: A bit overstuffed and gooey. A bit of tomato actually shot out of it in mid-bite and fell on the floor. Some of you may know that messy, drippy sandwiches are actually a HUUUUGE pet peeve of mine. But it wasn't that bad, and the sandwich taste was really quite good. So I will prolly get it again. With more napkins this time.

Um, no.

I won't be eating here.

Now I need to wash my brain.

I just remembered that I had a dream last night that I was still in high school living with my family and we all went over to this other, bigger more amazing house that we also owned and had just forgotten about. I was all excited about getting to choose my own room and thrilled to see there was a swimming pool in the front lawn. I was the first one in the house and I was opening up closets and looking all around when a man popped out of one of the rooms dressed only in whitey-tighties and ran out of the house, as though he had been hiding in the empty house all along. When I ran after him outside, I caught up to him and realised it was Bob Geldof.

???

It kills. And you know what I am talking about.

Spied this lovely fellow as we were tucking into a delicious brek at Gato Bizco yesterday morning. Nearly put me off my soysage. Nearly.

Past Weekend Keywords: Debauchery, Excess

Gin was in town this weekend. We went ninety-to-nothing the entire time. To sum:

Plane
Dinner
Drinks
Lunch
Nails
Rain
Beers
Dinner
Wine
Green Market
Park
Lunch
Sangria
Pet Store
Dog Wash
Coffees
Video
Dinner
Rain
Campari and sodas
Drinks
Pool
Beer
Wine
Brunch
Plane

I came home and flat-out crashed-out. Voice is reedy and awash with exhaustion. Will to live weak. Really want to read The Dante Club (which I am FINALLY getting into) over lunch, but just realised I left it at home. I also missed my dentist appointment this morning. I'm a mess.

Above is a picture of Ginny posing against a ghettofabulous car we spotted on Friday. The funny thing about it is I suspect Ginny would rather be set on fire than actually be any kind of driver-of or passager-in this car.

This is how exciting our life is

Can you see this? Like, actually read the words? Because if you can't, there's no point to this post. As is, there's very little. I just wanted to illustrate what morons my sister and I are. This is how it is pretty much everyday. We also spend a lot of time saying "Heeeello?" in weird voices on the phone to each other and then silent throat laughing for a few minutes after we crack ourselves up.

Important Announcement

I'd just like to let you guys know something. One of my favourite moments of all time is the Looney Toons cartoon in which Daffy is shown on a island veeeeeery far away from the camera angle. He announces, "I'm ready for my closssth-up!" to which the camera responds by moving just a little bit closer. Daffy indignantly responds, "THIS IS A CLOSSSTH-UP?" and the camera immediately zooms in and smooshes his beak.

Comedy classic. Highly recommended.

The Life of the Work-Life Balance

So I had a date last night. I can't remember the last time I went on a bona fide DATE. I wore a skirt and everything. Of course it was my Sri Lankan longi (which is technically a man's skirt), but a skirt nonetheless. I definitely appreciate how much more relaxed and confident of myself I am at 29 than I was at, say, earlier in my twenties. I remember being very nervous and chattery on dates then--and it was completely irrelevant if I actually liked the fella or not. I guess I'm saying that I like the feel of my own skin. I'm also way less of a shallow stuck-up bitch than I used to be, things that used to be ABSOLUTE DEAL BREAKERS aren't really anymore. And by ABSOLUTE DEAL BREAKERS, I mean stupid shit like what kind of car he drove or his name (although I do still draw the line at Wayne or Dwayne).

The car thing reminds me that my freshman year roommate broke up with a guy once because he drove a Monte Carlo.

Hmm, thinking about mean guy treatment reminds me that I once ended a date by saying, "Well, see ya never," and slammed the door in his face. I also told a guy after a TERRIBLE HORRIBLE date when he still wanted to walk me to my car that I would rather have a bunch of gorillas jump out of the bushes and rape me than have him walk me to my car. Then I ran away.

So anyway, the date. Jesus, 900 tangents. It was good. I'll see him again.

Take the skinheads bowling, take them bowling.

Action shots of our bowling excursion this weekend. I like Erich's look of SHOCK in the second one. Must have been in reaction to me KICKING ASS in the first game. Game two was tight, but Erich squeaked by in a naaaaaarow victory. I tell you, nothing prepares you for the game like an undergraduate course in the sport. Needless to say, arm pretty sore all day yesterday.

Documentation of my illness for your viewing pleasure.

Originally uploaded by smelly_.

Ah lovely, the receptacle for all my snot rags! It's veritably teeming at the moment.

More sick pics

Originally uploaded by smelly_.

Close-up of sick bed. Note thermometer to capture wildly varying readings. Various remotes to telly and DVD player. Book that I don't have patience to read right now. It's called The Dante Club. Interesting premise but it's moving veeeeery slowly.

Originally uploaded by smelly_.

Note tomato soup and orange juice waiting for me. They won't help. Note box of tissues waiting to torment me. They are the unlotioned kind. My nose feels like ground meat. POOOOOOOOO!

Shit some kid just lit a pile of fireworks right out in the middle of the street. I about had an aneurysm. Thank god I sedated the dog. I have a mind to go out and breathe on the street kids.

Casa de la Enfermedad

Casa de la Enfermedad
Originally uploaded by smelly_.

God I love three day weekends. So much so that I got REALLY sick and stayed in bed the entire time! Here is my sick bed. Note pillows in prop position. This is so I can breathe and not drown in my own mucus. Note book and used tissues. Discarded robe when I was HOT. It will go back on in approximately three minutes when I am ICE COLD.

Independence Day

I'm listening to about a skillion fireworks going off right now. It's almost 9:30pm, I'm in my jammies, and the dog is sedated. It's been a very exciting weekend for me, let's see. . . Friday: not feeling that bad, got some meds to stave off a sore throat that has been getting worse over the last week. Boom! The fireworks are really kicking in. Okay, Saturday AM: wake up. Feel like death. Venture out for essentials, then back to bed. Watch telly and some films. Sleep. Sickness progresses. Voice grows deeper. Breathing becomes more belaboured. Pattern begins to emerge:

cough
sneeze
watering eyes
hot
cough
sleepy
sneeze
cold
cough
blow nose
covers
no covers
sleep
cough
sneeze


And so on and so forth. To sum, I am sick. Day three of definite sickness. Cabin fever is raging. Happy Fourth!

Holy freaking crap.

Originally uploaded by smelly_.

Do you know what this guy did? This guy here to the left? This little old seemingly fragile sweet looking old man? HE KILLED A LEOPARD THAT WAS ATTACKING HIM BY RIPPING OUT ITS TONGUE. I shit ye not. Read it for yourself:

http://www.eastandard.net/hm_news/news.php?articleid=23419

This man is 73. I'm 29 and I would have just quietly crawled into the leopard's stomach with no resistance whatsoever and waited to be dissolved by its stomach acid.

A shout out to my girl Kat Pace for bringing this breaking news story to my attention. Peace what up boo?

Screen on the Green: Mommie Dearest

SOTG1
Originally uploaded by smelly_.

SOTG was last night. I can't believe it was the first (and likely only) one I went to this year. Skillions of people there--the pic is pre-show milling about. Warm air, blankets and chairs, drinks and munchies with thousands of your closest friends. It was great. During the show, the audience shouted out famous lines, cheered and clapped, ooh'ed and ah'ed. It was fun. I love the city for things like this. More below.

SOTG2
Originally uploaded by smelly_.

More people wandering around pre-show. So many peeps there, the queens of ATL were definitely in full force. It's Pride Weekend here, so this was the unofficial opening event really.

sOTG3
Originally uploaded by smelly_.

And ah a beautiful sunset to cap it all off. Now hurry up sun and go down--we need our Mommie Dearest fix.

Tina, bring. me. the. ax!

MUSIC MIDTOWN 2005

mm2
Originally uploaded by smelly_.

I went, I listened, I was rained upon.

Friday night was AMAZING. Interpol (picture taken during their set) were very good, but nothing prepared us for the almighty White Stripes set. My god those motherfuckers can rock. They were fantastic. I heart them. Even though Jack has a little black worm for a moustache now. Meg's breasts were bobbling up and down as she drummed, very sexy but perhaps painful? Anyway, so worth it. So great. More pics beloooow.

mm
Originally uploaded by smelly_.

This is Music Midtown during the day. Sunday, in fact--the band playing here is Def Leppard. The guitars/drums/whatnot still pretty much sounded the same, but poor Joe Elliot must have one paper-thin single reedy reed left for his vocal cords. He didn't even bother with the high notes.

tat
Originally uploaded by smelly_.

This is my favourite pic of the night. Loitering outside the porta-potties, two-fistin' it with a hoodie on.

tat2
Originally uploaded by smelly_.

Here is Tat a little while later, veritably ROCKING OUT. A little scary, non? Tip: Never mess with a woman who can headbang.

Summertiiiiiiime

mag
Originally uploaded by smelly_.

and the living is eaaaaaasy

Summer is in full force in the ATL, just take a look at the magnolia bush in my back yard. And why yes, I DO believe I'll refresh this mint julep, oh isn't this heat just simply atrocious, Lulubelle?

Faustian Foibles

Originally uploaded by smelly_.

Today, Corporate America has taken another little bit of my soul. I will attempt to restore it this weekend with copious amounts of vice.

But even now I know, there's a hole in me that will never be completely filled. Damn my money-grubbing, capitalistic ways! If only I could have been a non-profiteer.

We lost!

Oh, how we lost! Something like 7-16, just dreadful. Although it was pretty much all over in the first innning when the score was 1-12; after that (statistically), we did much better. It was drizzling with ominous rumblings of thunder in the distance when we started, as if God was saying, "Any minute, aaaaany minute, I could go flashey flashey with lightning and explode your punk ass." But by the middle of the "game", it had cleared up quite nicely and there was even a cooling breeze to boot. I made a run, but this was quickly overshadowed by a double play for two outs made on the same bat (poo). I also had the last out of the game, which I didn't realise until I was walking back to the dugout and every one was walking out saying "good game" and high-fiving and shit.

But then I drank two beers and had a sandwich and everything was ok. Summer is officially here. Well, psuedo-officially. Actually, the Summer solstice is widely regarded as the official start of the season. It is June 21 and is also the longest day of the year. Learning is fun!

blah blah

This weekend I cleaned my house so much that I almost made myself sick. Literally. Woke up this morning with a horribly sore throat, the result of ingesting approx 900 pounds of dust particles. This happened with fervor on two occasions during the cleaning endeavour:

1. While emptying bin in laundry room, pulled it out of the bag I was emptying it into too soon and got a faceful of laundry lint.

2. Laid down a fairly heavy layer of carpet powder on the hall runner and turned on vacuum. Vacuum explodes powder and dust all over the hall. I turn off vacuum and run awaaaaaay to let dust settle. I return later to discover that my mother--who had used said appliance last--removed the ostensibly full vacuum bag and neglected to replace with fresh one. Thanks, Ma.

Anyway, when I woke up this morning with 7 pieces of ragged glass in my throat, I immediately decided to call in late to work and go on sleeping. And it seemed to work: throat much better after 9.5 hours sleep and tall chai latte. Funny how that happens.

We have our first softball game tonight. Maybe. Might be rained out or not enough women show. So lame if the latter. Although it would be good to be able to go to the farmer's market to actually buy some food for my house. I have prepared some very creative meals lately.

What I Hate: Part One, Volume One

I hate slacker coworkers. Come in after you, leave before you. Constantly complain about how busy they are, and how much stuff they have to do, while you seethe quietly and think, "WHY DON'T YOU TRY FUCKING ACTUALLY WORKING YOU FUCKING FUCK?!?!?!??" Schedule all doctor appointments for the middle of the day and never come back, attend all 900 of Johnny's school activities, call in sick at the whisper of illness, two hour lunches, days of idle chatter and gossip with other slackers. God I hate slacker coworkers.

Gnome Sweet Gnome

Originally uploaded by smelly_.

At left, the office gnome that C got me for my birthday--as you can see, he is already right at home.

So how was your Memorial Day Weekend? Mine was great! Keywords:

Plane
Drink
Cubbies
Shop
Drink
Walk
Mani/Pedi
Drink
Park
Shop
Music
Sun
Drink
Plane

Now: exhausted and bleary, as per the usual.

Do tell me about yours.

FRIDAY!

Friday!
Originally uploaded by smelly_.

Hey, it's Friday! Let's celebrate! Wave some wavey-things around! Cheer loudly! Friday is here! Show us your pits! Yah!

Man oh man

My body aches and my brain hurts. I've been fueled by substandard sleep and burned coffee. I am headed for a crash if I am not careful. This weekend: hibernation. Not leaving the house or getting dressed on Sunday if I can help it.

Well, my mother left. Cumulatively, she was here for seven weeks. What's that? Oh, no--that's no misprint, here let me tell you again: SEVEN WEEKS. Holy crap. In her wake, she has left the house in a pretty wrecked state and approximately seven projects half-done. Hmm, that's like one project per week! Great! All that said, I cried when leaving her at the airport. Emotionally, I am split between wanting to protect and take care of her and wanting her to take care of me. She is the simply the most incredibly procrastinating, biggest starter-and-never-finishin', ice-cream-eatin', used-tissue-leaving, slobbiest mcslobster I have ever had the pleasure of sharing my adult home with. And I love her to pieces.

I just hope I got a few more of my father's genes.

oh wait

Oh yeah I also went to Athens for the first time ever. Walked around with sister, shopped, ate, etc. Nobody told me how cheap the drinks were until we got BACK. Thanks.

It's come to my attention that I haven't posted in 10 days. Here is what has happened during the hiatus:

1. Went to a party last Saturday night, I didn't get laid, I got in a fight. Uh huh, it ain't no big thing. Okay, starting over:

1. Went to a couple parties last weekend, had an unbelievable steak that I could have cut with the side of my fork oh my god it was so good.

2. With horrible hangover ranging, went with sister to Braves game. Had large hot dog and soda the size of my head. Sat in the shade. Tried not to throw up. We won. Yay. Afterwards, watched a group of high school boys perform a mini drum-line. Incredible. I see talent like that and the whole ghetto gangsta shit just makes me so mad, what a waste.

3. Mother came back into town, house began to disintegrate once again. Put sister on plane Wednesday, one down, one to go. Tell myself I can make it until Thursday (when Mum leaves).

4. Mum tells me she is staying another week. I restrain every atom of my being to NOT FLIP THE FUCK OUT. Drinking intake exponentially increases, state of house begins to further disintegrate.

5. Take Basic Accounting and Finance course as part of my compensation certification process. Feels like a preview into grad school. I like it. Mum begins to start picking up after herself and tidying up the house. My world is blown.

6. Go to Weezer concert. Great show, haven't felt a vibe like that since shows in Austin. Hot as fuck in the venue, just sweated and smiled. Hang out until dawn with a friend, playing music and shooting the shit. Ran around in the rain.

7. Watched Hotel Rwanda, cried a lot. Emotionally overwhelming. Then Undertow. Beautifully filmed. Then Supersize Me. I like that guy.

That's it. Hope you feel caught up and satisfied. Oh, today. Today everyone is a fucking asshole. Except you.

YESSSSSSSSSSSSS!

Originally uploaded by smelly_.

Man I cannot wait to get out of here! Got a great weekend coming up, excited and ready to cut loose. Cut loose! CUT IT LOOSE!

tonight: party. then out and about
tomorrow: Athens. then party.
Sunday: Braves game. then dinner.

YAY!

busy brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

I've got a lot of stuff going on right now. I just had to scribble everything down on a post-it so I would remember everything. Between now and Sunday, there are 8 appointments/events I must keep/attend. It makes me feel like I am driving fast without my seatbelt on.

Also, my boss just left. Very tempted to leave early. Actually, it wouldn't even be since I stayed late yesterday. And the day before. Hmm.

LATERS!

Before I go, a shout-out to my friend K for the Braves vouchers. You rock. I told my sister I had a surprise for her for Sunday, and she was like what is it? And I said, it's a surprise. And she said, is it a Braves game? And I said (quietly), yessss. But she was really excited, since she's never been to one, so I don't care as much about her blowing the surprise.


Hey, would you like to hear that story again? Anyway, thanks K.

Getting blotto at Le Campanard

getting blotto at Le Campanard
Originally uploaded by smelly_.

Here is a pic of my sis, fellow PCV Tracy, and me at a bar in Bamako last September. We were pre-drunk here. Later, Leah would throw up, I would become hysterical thinking I had lost all my cash and passport, and a gigantic rainstorm would crash all around us for two hours.

Today I will start off on a new foot with Leah. I know that if we continue this sullen teenager-grumpy parent routine the entire time she is here, we will both soon regret it. So I came in at dawn-thirty so I can go home earlier and spend time with her.

I think we'll drink--it is, after all, the classic Quin family pasttime.

Family Ties

MumLeahElMay05
Originally uploaded by smelly_.

Here's a lovely Spring pic of my mum, sister Leah, and me sitting outside for Sunday lunch. They are here for an extended visit.

I'm ready to kill them both.

Oh Jenny.

Originally uploaded by smelly_.

So I got this live ep of Rilo Kiley's (after wearing holes in More Adventurous), and there is a song on it called Somebody Else's Clothes. And from that song, these lyrics have been in my brain ALL EFFING DAY.

Just fucking love me
I'm tired of leaving
and waking up
in somebody else's clothes

Indeed.

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWN!

Originally uploaded by smelly_.

I'm tired. You're tired. Jesus, even this leopard is tired. I've had two late nights in a row. Not dealing well. Brain needs sleeeeeeeeeep!

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAH!!!!!!!

Kat and I are going to see this band tonight. They have an interesting website, kinda slow to load tho. We're going to rock out with the kids tonight. But we are getting drunk first.

miscellaneous musings

God I love David Rees. I want to have his hilarious baby.

On a psuedo-related tangent, I just got some good news. My latest test from the doc came back NORMAL. Which means all cell action is pretty healthy in my cervix. Which means they don't have to do another emotionally and physically-draining biopsy. Which means I don't have to wait on pins and needles for three weeks for results. Which means I don't have to needlessly worry about if I am dying or sterile or effed up in some sort of other way.

So that's good.

Oldies but goodies

There's a lot of good new music out there. To wit, I recently posted about Rilo Kiley, and I have been getting into Interpol and Iron&Wine and whatnot. And it's good shit. But nothing, NOTHING compares to the classics. Woxy.com just played The La's "There She Goes." And my brain went from vaguely-tired-eh-mid-to-late-afternoon-bleh to YAY-SLAPPED-AWAKE-AND-FEELING-FINE!!!!

God bless The La's!

eff you.

God I wish K would stop opposite-copying me. I have a bad day yesterday, she has a GREAT DAY FULL OF LOVE. Pleeeeease.

Just to show her, I am having an amazing day today. Well, a good one, anyway. At the very least it is FLYYYYYING by. . . and now that I've said that, I'm sure it is going to crawl by for the remainder of the afternoon. I'm jinxed. And it's all HER fault.

Dammit I've got the blues

Dammit I've got the blues
Originally uploaded by smelly_.

Feeling sad today. I'm tired and my body hurts. Low energy and low mind.

I've got the blues.

Where's my harmonica?

goo goo gee ga

Baby Octopus
Originally uploaded by smelly_.

On another note, this is a leeetle tiny baby octopus!!! Amazing!!!

Well that's just great

El and K
Originally uploaded by smelly_.

Had a great birthday weekend, replete with friends, a cook-out and outdoor film viewing. To cap it all off, Karen and I take a photo where I do not look completely hideous. Except that my breasts are completely hanging out.

So it's a girl gone wild, really.

Gah!

Blogga wouldn't let me in all day until now. . . and now I've forgotten what I was going to post about. Damn you, free service that I take for granted, DAMN YOOOOOOU!!

On a band-y note, I got tickets for Rilo Kiley's next show in the ATL (June 6 @ Variety, for those interested parties), AND tickets for a show in Chicago when I am visiting Claire over the Mem Day hol weekend. They are called Saturday Looks Good To Me and it should be a good show. As opposed to all the shitty, horrible shows I pay money to see.

Ah, now I'm remembering. Last night I got home approx 7pm to discover that my marvelous, wonderful, well-behaved pup Tallulah had EATEN MY BEDROOM DOOR. Let me back up. This dog is absolutely PETRIFIED of rain, thunder, lightning, things overhead, things moving too fast, unknown environments, grass twitching, light breezes, etc. I exaggerate un petit peu, but--seriously--she FLIPS OUT during thunderstorms. Come to think of it, I believe I have mentioned something like this before on this blog. So I don't need to go into all of it all over again.

Anyway, I come home. Everything seems fine, she's acting a little weird, but not I-just-destroyed-something-pretty-major-weird. I turn off the alarm, give her a biscuit, go get the mail, leaf through and drop it on the table, turn to go down the hall, turn on the light, and freeze, looking at approximately 9 pounds of shredded wood littering the hallway. While I still standing there, I hear Tallulah veeeeery quietly creep away back into the living room to hide underneath the Chinese table. When I am able to move again, it's my turn to FLIP THE FUCK OUT. The front panel on the door from waist-down is GONE. Ribbons of plywood are peeling up, and the frame slats inside the door are bared. In other words, it is totally effed. I draaaaaag Tallulah to the mess, shout a lot, draaaaag her all the way downstairs and boot her outside. I go over to pop her on the bootie and she howls, "Ahh-ooooooooooooo" all piteously. Pussy. I didn't even touch her. I was going to, but then I spied the kids next door playing in their back yard and I didn't want any witnesses. So I just shook my finger vigorously and let her know that she was a very BAD GIRL! (meaning that she heard MWAK MWAK!) and left her outside for two hours before I caved and let her back in, but only into the basement. Then upstairs, but only into the living room. Then I just completely backed down and let her sleep with me that night. I'm a great dog owner!

On another note, I got asked out on a date tonight. I'm very pleased. We're going to go see a play.

oh god so bad

roll
Originally uploaded by smelly_.

And THIS was my dessert! Split it with Linda (boss), though, so not as bad as it could have been. But it was bad. So bad. So bad it was fantastic.

scrummy crepe

crepe
Originally uploaded by smelly_.

Stopped in at a little cafe for takeaway lunch. Very pleased with my chicken crepe (at right). More delicious than my little camera can convey.

car cameraman

wisteria
Originally uploaded by smelly_.

Here's a shot I took hanging out the passenger side of my car at a stop light. This is the most beautiful time of year in the ATL, almost everything is in bloom, from the wisteria to the azealas to the yoshinos to the bradford pears to the tulip trees. And it's just beautiful.

And I call you and say C'MERE!

Originally uploaded by smelly_.

I highly recommend this record. Just in case you needed a musical recommendation.

'Til Tuesday

Had an uncomfortable dream last night. At first it started out really good, Claire and I were on the floor of some building and we were going through all these clothes that were being thrown out and we were finding some really cool stuff. I was all excited about these new clothes, and we packed them into carrier bags and were walking out. When we got outside, I realised I didn't have my bag, so I went back inside and my clothes were all strewn about on the landing of the second floor. And I knew that this girl had done this somehow and I was very angry and yelling at her. She got really upset and started crying and I felt bad so I gave her a hug and was like just get some help. And then she made a pass at me and I was like ew don't touch me and I pushed her away and ran away.

I'm not sure why I am having dreams with lesbian overtones. I think it's because I talked to the woman who cuts my lawn yesterday who I am fairly sure is gay and she seems to have a crush on me.

These people rock.

These people rock.
Originally uploaded by smelly_.

Shake It Records is a, uh, record store in Cincinnati, Ohio. They advertise on woxy.com, the BEST ONLINE RADIO STATION IN THE UNIVERSE, and today I ordered special EPs from Rilo Kiley, Iron and Wine, and Interpol for a mere $15. On top of that, shipping was only $2. Two dollars! Very cool. Highly recommended.

www.shakeitrecords.com

I can hear you, asshole!!!

Fucking IM guy
Originally uploaded by smelly_.

Because my company is effing retarded and uber-hyper about security, they have a totalitarian policy whereby you are prohibited from downloading anything on your computer EVER. This sucks for business purposes (survey data software, for example), but mostly for my personal needs (instant messager, for example). Consequently, my only option is to access the web-only version of IM, which used to be okay. But lately, it boots me off indiscriminately approximately 900 times per day. It doesn't even tell me when it does it, which would be helpful, since I have wasted a skillion minutes a) composing witty bits of hilarity to my friends only to find out that I'm not online, and b) thinking my friends hate me and are not IM'ing back.

Obviously, the company should just let me download the app so we could avoid these problems all together.

Haiku Review: Sin City

Haiku Review: Sin City
Originally uploaded by smelly_.

Very violent
Amazing special effects
I'd see it again

FAME AND FORTUNE!

Hmmph! Very pleased with myself--I sent my version of a My Fighting Technique is Unstoppable (see 30 Mar post) comic to the creator, David Rees, and below is his reply!

Ha! Thanks for sending this.

Best wishes,

David Rees

http://www.mnftiu.cc

So not exactly OVERFLOWING with emotion, but still it was nice of him to reply.

As you can see, I'm practically a celebrity now.

jerry and sam

jerry and sam
Originally uploaded by smelly_.

My friend Andy sent this to me. Apparently it's been making the rounds at his office.

You can almost hear Jerry's soulful rendition of "Sloop John B" as Sam peacefully stargazes.

Breathtaking.

RIP, Pope. 1920-2005

RIP, Pope. 1920-2005
Originally uploaded by smelly_.

His passing has made me incredibly sad. It feels like a distant relative that I really liked but never got to know well died. I admired his steadfastness on issues even when I didn't agree with his positions. His enthusiasm for life and people was obviously passionate, from his goofy smiles and faces at babies to his cheering for breakdancers and musicians. He was a man who didn't seem like just a man despite his humble nature. He was a good pope. He was my pope.