To The Brim

This past weekend, in trend with the previous couple months of weekends, was...(wait for it). Busy. Shocking, I know. Thing is, for this little introvert a lot of busy goes a long way. I'm ready for a bit of a break before things pick up again.

What, you may ask, has kept me so busy this last weekend? Disney. Well, Disneyland to be exact. One of my good friends from college was down visiting family and friends in L.A., she was also visiting Disneyland frequently. So, Friday I went to Disney with her and we stayed from 10:30 a.m. to 1 a.m. Yeah, we shut it down.

Saturday was spent running errands. I had my therapy session, had to pick up some things from temptation Target, and then had a 5k scavenger hunt in Downtown L.A. at 8 p.m.

You heard me, 5k. The running part wasn't the part that had me freaking out with worry. I've been going to the gym and liking it, it was the scavenger hunt part. My anxiety/O.C.D. had me convinced that I would be a terrible teammate. I would let my fellow seekers down, I would slow the team up, I wouldn't be able to contribute anything useful, I would be dead weight or worse, a hindrance. I wasn't any of those terrible things. By the end though, I was done. There is only so much looking for things that I can't find before I get fed up, apathetic, and overwhelmed. It was fun though, and we got to dress up in awesome neon clothes and bedeck ourselves in glow sticks.

Sunday, The Boyfriend and I returned to Disneyland with my friend, her baby, her sister-in-law, and the sister-in-law's boyfriend. It was a good group, Disneyland was less busy than expected, and we had an amazing time. It was 98 degrees and sunny, for this little Lupus girl, sunburn=death, so I was covered in sunscreen. Even then, the heat got to me about mid-day and I simply couldn't think. Thankfully I was revived with ice cream, air conditioning and water.

I never knew I liked Disney so much, it must be a reflection of the people I went with.

So, that was the whirlwind weekend. This weekend is just appointments and watching movies. Then next weekend is The Boyfriend's birthday. We're going to Catalina Island for the weekend, and it will be amazing.

Felix and I had the same sentiment on Monday, when it was time to go to work...

E.A.A. (Enhanced Abilities Anonymous) - Chapter 4

Previously on E.A.A.

Chapter 4

As the night wore on, Kent grew more relaxed and more attracted to Bliss. No one else had ever made him feel this at ease. His usual anxiety about someone finding out about his ability had been pushed into a far corner of his mind. Maybe it was the dancing, or the couple drinks he had, or maybe it was just that he had spent so long avoiding everything that he had forgotten how much fun life could be. Either way, he didn’t want the night to end. He felt like he always imagined it felt like to have one of the useful enhanced abilities. He felt like a superhero for the first time in his entire life.

“Want to get some air?” He said close to her ear.

She nodded.

He took her hand and led her through the crowd. Outside the night air was much cooler than inside, though still had the warmth of a summer night. It was quieter, calmer outside.

“I’d like to kiss you, if you don’t mind.” Kent smiled.

“Please do.”

When he kissed her, her hair smelled like lilacs and roses, her skin was soft against his hands. She slid one of her hands down to the waistband of his jeans. Subconsciously he tensed.

“What’s wrong?” She whispered.

He tried to figure out why he felt suddenly tense. “We’re in the middle of the street, anyone can see.” That wasn’t the reason why, but it was the best reason he could come up with.

“Everyone’s inside, the street’s quiet.” She kissed just below his ear and he closed his eyes.

Suddenly everything lost the soft, glowing, happiness that had been there and Kent’s eyes snapped open. Imogene was standing with her hand on Bliss’s arm.

“Goddamn it, Bliss. You swore to me you wouldn’t.”

She smiled like she had a secret. “He just needed a little confidence.”

It slowly dawned on Kent that he never did find out just what Bliss was capable of and he realized that maybe he had found out after all. He looked to Imogene.

“Kent, I’m sorry.” Imogene started, her hand still on Bliss’s arm. “I made her swear she wouldn’t do anything.”

He felt betrayed, angry, foolish. “What exactly do you do?” He looked at Bliss.

She shrugged and at least had enough compassion to look like she was sorry. “I can manipulate dopamine, endorphins, and serotonin. They’re the chemicals in your brain that make you feel happy.” She paused. “I never meant to hurt you, I just wanted you to have fun.”

“Does anyone like you without you making them?” It was cruel, but he was angry.

“I didn’t do anything until after we had been here a few hours.” She paused. “Did you like me then?” She looked like she might cry.

He did, but how could he believe her. “Imogene, I’m going home.” He turned and started walking.

“I’ll give you a ride.” She reached for his arm.

He spun to face her. “I think you’ve done enough. Just let me be. You’re always trying to make me happier, friendlier, more social. Maybe I’m none of those things, maybe I didn’t get that either in my genetic code.” He closed his eyes for a moment. “Stop trying to make me into something I’m not. I can’t be like you, nobody is going to call for my help, nobody needs me when something happens. Goodnight, Imogene.”

He walked away from her. Anger and shame burned hot in his stomach. He should have known, he should have pressed Imogene for what Bliss could do, he should have figured there’d be some trick to it. It wasn’t the first time Imogene tried to “help” him. Sometimes she forgot what they went through in middle school when there were far more average kids than enhanced ability kids. She forgot what it was like to not fit in. Unfortunately, Kent felt like he never left middle school.

His phone rang a few blocks from his apartment building. The two mile walk had cooled him down enough. He looked at the screen and saw Imogene’s name, he let it go to voicemail. He was still mad at her, even though now he could see that she did honestly try, she did tell Bliss not to do anything. He wondered why everyone was so concerned with his dating life.

Imogene called two more times, or at least he assumed it was her. She was really the only person who called him and she had a habit of being very persistent. Maybe he’d talk to her tomorrow, he’d let her explain and he’d forgive her. She was one of the few friends he had, so he really didn’t need to go getting rid of her. She invite herself over with a six pack of his favorite beer and they’d watch crappy movies and everything would be fine between them again. That was the founding principal of their friendship; the person who messes up makes up with it by bringing beer and bad movies.

He finally arrived at the safety of his apartment. He turned his phone to vibrate so that it was easier to ignore if Imogene kept calling. He threw his clothes in the hamper and fell onto his bed. He could see his shadow on the ceiling from the light beaming from his butt. It wasn’t a glow, like those plastic stars that kids stuck to their ceilings, it was more like a lantern. He amused himself by thinking of what his superhero name would be, if he were a superhero.

They all had them, even if nobody really called them that. Dex was The Encyclopedia, Imogene was Imagination, The Shield was bulletproof, Crypto could break any code, Nitro could withstand sub-zero temperatures.

Kent could be The Firefly, lighting up the darkest of nights by removing his pants, not even remotely as sexy as it sounded. Lost your keys in the dark? Call The Firefly! Flashlight ran out of batteries? The Firefly will light your way! Want to cut your electricity bill in half? Why, The Firefly can light up any room. His last thought before he fell asleep was wondering if anyone else in the E.A.A. group had thought about what their name would be if they were important enough to have one.

That Green Light...

So, it's the opening weekend of Baz Luhrman's version of The Great Gatsby

I'm so excited. I mean, this is the man behind Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge, the staples of romance and handsome men during high school and college.

I don't necessarily expect this film to capture the depth and subtle longings that F. Scott Fitzgerald created, but I do expect it to be the visual and audio embodiment of what the roaring 20's felt like.

I've been listening to the soundtrack for the last two days straight, and I absolutely love it. There's a beautiful blending of 20's jazz and swing with contemporary hip hop and rap. It captures the feeling of the music, the feeling of being at Gatsby's parties, with the music and the cocktails and the dresses and the feeling of living like a roman candle. If you haven't heard it, NPR is/was streaming it.

All this Gatsby had me thinking about the first time I read the novel. It was for high school, and before anybody thinks that reading great literature in high school ruins great literature because teenagers simply don't have the scope of life to appreciate it, I wasn't the average teenager. I devoured books and though I maybe wasn't able to relate to the lives and trials of the characters, I loved their stories.

So, the first time I read Gatsby, I was a senior in high school. I was in an advanced literature class (naturally). F. Scott Fitzgerald was a big deal in Minnesota schools, because he's from St. Paul Minnesota, and reached literary greatness and genius.

I remember finishing the book and having the feeling that there was some great message, some great meaning, that I had missed. I felt just on the edge of understanding something big and important, but I just couldn't figure out what it was.

Ten years later and here we are. I'm still thinking about the meaning, the themes, the lives. And I'm thinking maybe my 17 year old self wasn't so far off the mark, maybe I didn't miss anything.

(*literary discussion alert*)

John Green has several videos in a book discussion style of The Great Gatsby. Definitely worth watching and thinking over.

Jay Gatsby, the exact definition of a self-made man. He spent his entire life searching for things he thought would make him happy, creating this man that was adored and revered by the top tiers of society. A man that would live on in legend, but never really finding what he was honestly searching for. He wanted the gold and the glitter and the shine of other people's lives, but failed to realize the tragic price they came with. He was trying to grasp something be and important and wonderful, and couldn't quite get there.

I know there's more about the "American dream" and "all that glitters is not gold", morals to be seen in Daisy's life and Gatsby's Icarian flight and fall from the sun. Cautionary tales in Tom's infidelity and the eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg seeing everything and not being able to do a thing.

I think in all of us, there is a desire to understand something big, something grand, to have a life that will be remembered. The desire that just that one thing, that one distant thing, will bring us everything we think we want. We want the glitter and gold without the cost. It's easy to see the surface of someone's life and never know it's the painted shell of an egg.

Gatsby is all of these things and more. The characters are each of us and all of us. The desires and dreams and failings and struggles. So, yeah, maybe at 17 I didn't have the perspective to appreciate all of that, I hadn't set myself out into the world yet, but it stayed with me.

Truths in books will do that.

I can't wait to see how this version of The Great Gatsby stands up and stands apart from the words of Fitzgerald.

E.A.A. (Enhanced Abilities Anonymous) - Chapter 3

Previously on E.A.A.

Chapter 3.

Kent was barely home five minutes when his phone rang. Imogene’s name was on the screen.

“How was it?!?!!”

He sunk into the couch. “Fine.”

“I want to hear you say it.”

“I’m glad you made me go.” He admitted without any emotion at all, like a child forced to apologize.

“I knew it. Want to go out for drinks and dancing to celebrate?”

He weighed the benefits of going out and appearing to have a social life verses staying in and not having to worry about being noticed.

Before he could answer, Imogene chimed in. “I’ll be at your door in a half hour.” She hung up before he could protest.

Other than gelling his hair, he didn’t change anything about what he was wearing. Imogene showed up at his door exactly thirty minutes after she called. When he opened the door, she grabbed his hand and pulled him into the hall. Dex was standing near the elevators. Kent honestly didn’t mind Dex, and he wasn’t annoying about his ability to know everything up to the minute, like his brain was connected to every news source in the world. It was just that he tried so hard not to be annoying, but you could see it in his eyes. It was the fact that Kent knew that Dex knew.

“We have a surprise for you downstairs.” Imogene jumped up and down.

“Oh, god.” Kent knew about her surprises. “Please not a bind date. Please tell me that there isn’t a girl waiting in the lobby.”

She rolled her eyes. “Then I won’t tell you.”

Kent turned and rested his forehead against the wall. “Imogene, how many times do I have to tell you?”

She smiled wickedly. The elevator doors opened and they rode down to the lobby. A woman stood in a bright green dress, her dark blond hair perfectly curled, her brown eyes warm and kind. She smiled as soon as she saw Kent.

“Kent, this is my friend Bliss. We met at work and practically hang out all the time.” Imogene gushed. “Bliss, this is my good friend Kent.”

Kent took her hand and immediately felt a little better about the situation. “Nice to meet you.”

She had a soft, southern accent. “Pleasure’s all mine. Imogene never said you’d be so handsome.”

Dex smiled with that all knowing smile Kent hated. “We should walk, it’s so nice out.” He took Imogene’s hand and led the way.

Kent didn’t take Bliss’s hand as they walked, he didn’t rush into things, he didn’t want to lead her on at all. He didn’t have a great track record for relationships. Once the women noticed that essentially the sun shone from his butt, it sort of killed any sort of mood that was there. There were a few times where he was lucky enough to find someone who would only have sex if she was blindfolded. One said it was to increase the sensory experience, she also believed in the power of crystals and aligning one’s chi with the pull of the moon. That was a one time thing and for the first time in his life, he didn’t feel like the strange one.

“You look deep in thought.” Bliss smiled at him.

“Not so deep.”

She took his hand. “Imogene said you two have known each other for years.”

“Since seventh grade. She’s something else.” He felt giddy and had no idea why. “So are you.”

She blushed. “You are every bit as sweet as she said you were.”

He cleared his throat. “She said you work together?”

“I’m just a few desks down.”

They slipped back into silence and arrived at the bar shortly after. The four found a table towards the back. A live band was setting up on the small stage and most of the tables were full. The way Imogene kept smiling at Kent made him nervous, he knew she was up to something.

“Imogene, let’s get drinks for everyone.” He smiled. “Bliss, what would you like?”

“I would just love a Cosmo.”

Kent turned to Dex. “For you?”

“Seven and Seven.” He looked to Imogene.

She winked at him. “Got it. Come on, Kent.”

Once Kent and Imogene were far enough away from the table to not be overheard, he turned to her. “Okay. What can she do and which “work” did you meet her at?”

She rolled her eyes. “I met her at the job I can’t talk about, but she does work in the same office as me on normal days.” She smiled at the bartender. “A Seven and Seven, and a Madras please.”

“Gin and Tonic, and a Cosmo.” He turned back to Imogene. “What can she do?”

“I’ll tell you later. Just get to know her first, give her a chance.” She smiled. “You don’t want people writing you off because of what you can do, so don’t put other people in that box.”

He forced a smile and paid for the drinks. Dex and Bliss were in some conversation about books they’ve read lately when Kent and Imogene returned with the drinks. Kent hated it when Imogene was right, he was doing to Bliss what he hated other people doing to him.

“So, Bliss.” Kent smiled, she was pretty. “Would you like to dance?”

“I’d love to.” She took a drink and smiled.

The band started playing some underground, indy rock and people headed to the dance floor. It wasn’t half bad and it didn’t take Kent long to forget his usual trepidation and just enjoy the moment. He’d have to make sure not to let Imogene’s ego get too inflated from the apparent success of her matchmaking skills.

“I’ll get the second round of drinks?” Bliss said between songs.

Kent shook his head. “It’s on me.”

“If you insist.’ She smiled.

“I insist.” He headed to the bar and ordered another Cosmo for her and a second Gin and Tonic for himself.

Bliss was at the table when he returned. She fanned herself with a cocktail napkin. “I forgot how much fun this is.”

“Me, too.”

“Imogene talks about you all the time, says you’re one of the sweetest guys she knows.” She paused. “Did you ever date?”

“We thought about it in high school, but we didn’t want to ruin what we had. Besides, we’re better as friends. After a few days of each other, we start to fight like cats and dogs.”

“I’m glad she introduced us.” She rested her hand on Kent’s.

He smiled. “I am, too.”

I Mean It With Love...

So, by now some of you may realized that this isn't one of the ever so popular mommy blogs that are out there. Don't get me wrong, most of the blogs I read are mommy blogs (no idea why, other than these women are hilarious and fantastic and recognize the good in a glass of their favorite adult beverage of choice) Like I Like Beer And Babies, Pile Of Babies, Via Ukraine, Toulouse And Tonic, and Brittany, Herself. Anyway, that's mostly what I read. And no, it isn't some I NEED BABIES womanly hormone brain alteration, but reading these blogs does give me a blurry, but probably accurate view of how I might end up being as a mother.

I envision future children half dressed in pajamas and costumes, high on cheerios and apple juice and the thrill of creating a lego minefield in the living room; while I'm hiding somewhere with a book and a hard cider waiting for them to remember that we're playing "hide and seek" and it's their turn to "find" mommy.

Anyway, aside from the blogs, the other thing that has possibly given me the strongest view of my type of parenting is the owning of Felix...The Boyfriend's and my kitten.

So, here is a list of things that I do and say to Felix, that may carry over into future parenting.

1. Giving the little ones nicknames. For example I call Felix; Kitten, Felix Felicis (her actual name), Darling, Sweetness, Monstrosity, Sweet Satan, Darling Demon, Spawn of Satan, Terrible, ForTheLoveOfGodPleaseStop, I hate you.

2. Play Games, all sorts. We like to play: rope (playing with a piece of rope), basket (she likes a small plastic easter basket), jingle stick (wave the jingle stick), Sherriff (lock her in the bathroom, I mean jail), knock the pill bottles to the floor, chew on/through the electrical cords, try and get Fievel (the mouse), and knock things from the bathroom counter into the litter box.

3. Plan Outings. Because adventure is awesome. We plan trips like: Let's go to China Town they like cats there (for dinner), let's go back to the animal shelter and leave you there, let's go to the post office and mail you somewhere, and let's go have you exorcised by a priest.

4. Appropriate punishments for bad behavior. Sometimes she does misbehave, so I: threaten to tie her up with her rope, duct tape her to the floor/ceiling, break her legs, lock her away forever, take her back to the shelter, take her to a China Town buffet, and sell her to passing Gypsies.

5. Reward good behavior. Sometimes I remember to give her a treat...or use it as bribery to get her into the bathroom to be locked up (I mean, in time-out) until she stops being quite so demonic.

All in all, I do love having her and most of the time she is sweet and adorable. Thank god she's adorable, because that's the main reason that keeps her alive. For a 7 month old kitten, she is actually very gentle and fairly well behaved. She reminds me of this poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

There was a little girl

-Longfellow

There was a little girl,

Who had a little curl,

Right in the middle of her forehead.

When she was good,

She was very good indeed,

But when she was bad she was horrid.

Since I don't foresee myself changing all that much from how I am as a pet owner to how I would be with small children...this is an acceptable style of parenting, right? I mean, I know Felix doesn't really understand English, so with future children, I might not say all of these things out loud...since they would be likely to be repeated. And last time I checked, cannibalism is frowned upon, so there are no back ally restaurants readily available. The future children will turn out okay, though, right? Right?

I'm sure the cuteness factor will help, it is definitely working for the kitten.

E.A.A. (Enhanced Abilities Anonymous) - Chapter 2

Fiction Friday!!!! Sorry for missing last week see Busy Busy Busy for reasons why.

Previously on E.A.A.

Chapter 2

Kent stood in a shadowed doorway and watched four more people enter the room. He worried that the others would have abilities that were useful, that they would see his as truly worthless. He was afraid that he wouldn’t fit in with the last group of people that he could possibly even stand a chance of fitting in with.

He took a breath, raised his chin, and did what he had done every day of his high school experience. He walked into a room and pretended like he wouldn’t care what anyone said or did to him. He opened the door and the seven people seated in chairs all turned to him.

DJ smiled. “Would you like to join us?”

The others in the room looked perfectly normal, a little timid maybe. A person with exciting enhanced abilities always walked with a confidant glint in their eye and a spring in their step. People like Kent tended to look at the ground more and try to blend in with the background. There were three women and four men besides Kent. They were average, the poster person for every man and every woman. Some looked young, barely twenty, and others like DJ looked closer to forty.

Kent took a seat between DJ and another man.

DJ looked at the group and took a drink of his coffee. “As you can see, we have a new member. I know it’s hard to come here, so I hope you can all feel a sense of home here. Let’s go around the circle and introduce ourselves.” He paused. “I’ll start. My name is DJ, it doesn’t really stand for anything, my parents just named me two letters. I have to line my hat with tinfoil otherwise I’ll pick up every radio station on this planet.” He closed his eyes and removed his hat for a moment to show the tinfoil inside. His face registered intense concentration until he put the hat back on.

The woman to the other side of DJ, was one of the younger ones, small in stature and light hair and eyes. “I’m Claire. I can turn invisible, but only about ten percent of me at one time. Like one hand, or my nose and an ear, or one shin.” She sighed. “Completely obnoxious when I was a kid and couldn’t control it.” She shrugged with a half smile.

“I’m Elmer.” He was somewhere in his forties and a little on the heavier side, there was a sock stuck to the leg of his pants. “I experience constant static cling.” His hair was a little wild, like he had an encounter with balloons wild.

Claire leaned over and pulled off the sock with a sympathetic smile. She handed it to him.

“Thanks.” He tried to shove it into his pocket, but only succeeded in getting it halfway in without it sticking to his hands.

The woman directly across from Kent looked to be about his age. She had a pair of headphones hanging around her neck, the cord disappeared to an ipod in her pocket. Her hair was dark and her eyes vibrant green. “I’m Violet. I can communicate with plants. All plants. They kind of never shut up.” She met Kent’s gaze. “Trees tend to think they’re the best, a lot of flowers are egocentric, house plants gossip, and grass screams when you cut it...” She sort of trailed off, like she hadn’t quite meant to say that last part.

Kent felt immensely guilty for working in a greenhouse now, though he did wonder what was being said around him.

The woman next to Violet was a little older and had black hair. “I’m Eve. I can tell you the exact time, down to the second, without looking at a clock or the position of the sun or anything. I could be in a completely silent, pitch black room and tell you the exact time, in any time zone.”

The next man stared into his coffee cup before he looked up. He had a faint Scottish accent. “I’m Glen.” He let out a slow breath. “You know how some people can like, blend in with their background? Like a chameleon? Or they can turn other colors? I can turn any color of plaid you could think of, which is only helpful if like, I find myself in a fabric store or the Scots invade.” He took a drink of coffee and looked to the man next to him.

“I’m Seamus.” He had intense eyes, like a police detective, and a presence to match. “Anything sticky; tape, glue, band-aids, gum…it won’t stick to me.” He shrugged.

Kent realized everyone was now looking at him, waiting to know. His palms were sweating and his mouth was dry. He glanced over at DJ.

Violet smiled at him. “It’s all right. We’re all here for the same reason.”

He nodded and took a slow breath. “I’m Kent.” He focused on the floor as he spoke. “I can, well it’s a little hard to explain. You know how fireflies sort of glow at one end?” He never had to explain this before, usually people didn’t know or they found out by accident. “I can do that, but only at one end.”

Seamus chewed his coffee straw. “So, your butt glows.”

“Yeah.” Kent could feel himself blush.

“I knew a guy whose nose glowed like Rudolph. At least you can wear pants to cover it up.” Seamus shrugged and took a drink of coffee.

Kent sighed, the relief of actually telling someone rather than them finding out was sort of nice.

The rest of the meeting was mostly just hanging out and talking about jobs and bad dates they went on and ways they have found to either blend in or find some sort of use for their ability. There was also a bit of conversation about being envious of those with enhanced abilities that were more “useful”.

“How’d you hear about this group, Kent?” Glen asked towards the end of the meeting.

He smiled a little. “A friend told me about it. She’s dating a guy who knows a lot of things, and he knew about this.”

DJ turned to Kent. “The Encyclopedia?”

“You’re friends with him?” Claire watched him carefully.

Kent hated attention focused on him. “Well, no. His girlfriend, Imogene, we’re friends. She told me about the meeting.”

“Did she make you go?” Elmer asked in the tone of voice usually reserved for conversations that involved the phrase “tell me where the man touched you”.

“No. We’ve been friends since we were kids. She doesn’t make me do things.” He felt like he had done something wrong. “She never has.”

The thing was, people like Imogene and Dex were sort of held in different social circles because they could actually do things that people needed. They were asked to help by people like the police and the mayor and on rare cases, the president. So there was a bit of a social caste system among the enhanced ability population. Most people had heard of Imogene and Dex through the news headlines and interviews on morning talk shows. Imogene could influence people’s decisions and put thoughts or images into their heads and Dex literally knew everything. It wasn’t that people like Kent couldn’t be friends with people like Imogene, it was just that it didn’t happen very often and it didn’t work out very well in the long run.

“I think it’s great, that you’re friends first and everything else after that.” Violet said. She smiled at Kent. “I think that’s how it should be.”

For the first time in Kent’s entire life, he finally felt like he had a place, like he was understood, like he was a person and not just something he could do. Unfortunately that feeling mostly only existed on Tuesday nights in the room after the women finished talking about their weight watching.

To be continued.

Busy, Busy, Busy

I always say that in my head as the Magician from Frosty The Snowman. Busy, busy, busy! (start about 1:09)

Anyway, I haven't forgotten about you. My mom was in town the past week, so I was kind of everywhere. I think I was out and doing more things in one week than I do in an entire month combined. Add that to the past two weeks of museum birthday fun...and I am definitely activity-ed out. Seriously. I need some hermit alone do not leave the apartment time.

One fun highlight from my mom being here was a trip to Madame Tussauds's wax museum. WAY more fun that I thought it would be. Here are some pictures The Boyfriend and I took. (there were many more inappropriate things we wanted to do, being the mature adults we are, but my mom was around so we toned it down a little)

Here's a summary of things done with my mom:

Tuesday: she arrived, and we hung out for an hour that evening at the apartment.

Wednesday: we went shopping at Burbank, fun but exhausting, then we dinnered.

Thursday: we walked around Hollywood like tourists. (Hollywood tourists annoy me) Then we had dinner with Josh, which took forever because there was this table of like 20 guys and their wives who wanted to SPLIT UP THE CHECK and ALL 20 GUYS had to go up to the poor waitress at the register and “HELP” her and stand there until it was done. So dinner took forever.

Friday: was getting brunch at Portos (delicious) and then hanging around Burbank before going to a taping of the come back of the show Whose Line Is It Anyway? Which was fun, but lots of people again.

Saturday: was doing the Madame Tussauds's Wax Museum, which was way more fun than I thought it would be, and then dinner at the Magic Castle.

Sunday: was a movie at the El Capitan and then dinner at Pig and Whistle.

Monday: was driving Mulholland Drive and then doing a stage old time radio show thing that is awesome (Called THe Thrilling Adventure Hour).

Tuesday: Tuesday she flew out at 3, so she had to leave by noon. We had agreed earlier that we would get brunch or something and then she would head out. (we got a pretzel and walked around Hollywood some more before she left)

So, yeah. I'm done doing stuff for a while. Also, more Fiction Friday to come...on Friday, as the name implies.

Bye! I am going to build a box fort and never leave...until I run out of books or snacks (and by snacks I probably mean candy and hard cider).