I was on the phone with Brian and I saw it scamper behind the framed poster that has been sitting on my floor, tilted up against the wall, for the past eight months. You can see the poster on the webcam.
I am going to coat the bottom part of my door frame with mint oil to keep the mouse away. I saw it leave--I went to plug my cell phone in to charge it and I saw it scampering down the hall toward the kitchen. There's multiple traps in the kitchen, so I'm certainly cool with that. Maybe the little fucker will get caught tonight and then I won't have to think about it any more.
Openness: Yoda -- This wise, philosophical, and thoughtful Jedi master challenges the establishment, encouraging his pupils to unlearn what they have learned and see the world in novel, creative ways.
Conscientious: Admiral Ozzel -- A generally conscientious soldier who is susceptible to occasional lapses & blunders, such as the mistake he made at the beginning of the imperial assault on the rebel base at Hoth.
Extraversion: "Old Ben" Kenobi -- this crazy old hermit isn't seen much. He doesn't appear to desire company, keeping himself to himself.
Agreeableness: Emperor Palpatine -- An evil, power hungry tyrant, he is manipulative, evil, and ruthless.
Neuroticism: Chewbacca -- This wookie belongs in the middle of Neuroticism because on one hand he is a strong and fearless individual but on the other hand he is excitable and easily upset (as shown by his reaction before C-3P0 suggested R2-D2 "let the wookie win").
You know, I always hated that story "The Gift of the Magi." You know, that O. Henry bullcrap about the guy who sells his watch to buy his wife combs for her hair only to find out that she's cut off her hair and sold it to buy him a case for his watch? It's just too damn touching for me. Just too corny. So I present to you my Year 2000 Rewrite, entitled "The Gift of the Ex-Boyfriend".
The girl is broke. She's cute, she's smart, she's funny, but she's broke. She got fired from her job just in time for the holidays by an evil boss who doesn't even deserve the name Scrooge. She has a very nice boyfriend who she absolutely adores. She knows what he wants for Christmas, but she knows that she can't afford to buy him very much. Even though she'd buy him all the DVDs he could ever want and enough books to keep him reading for years, she can't, because she has no income.
So this girl is cleaning up her living space, and she comes across a book purchased for her by an ex-boyfriend one September afternoon. She looks at it. She knows she isn't going to read it. Hell, she wasn't going to read it when she liked the guy, she sure as shit isn't going to read it now. Fortunately, it still has the Borders sticker on the back, so she packs it in a bag and takes it to her local Borders to return it. "With this money," she thinks, "I will buy a DVD for my beloved boy."
Sadly, the book is on sale, so she only gets $11.45 for it. Stupid 25% off staff selections. She buys her beloved boy a DVD that he wants, knowing damn well that he isn't so stupid as to pawn his PlayStation 2 to buy her a Christmas present. This is not to say that he doesn't love her--he does, she's sure of that--but he's not dumb like that stupid guy in that story by O. Henry. She's glad that she didn't have to sell her hair for this. It's not like she could get anything for her hair. There isn't much of it and it's been dyed so many times that it's probably shot to hell anyway.
She buys her boy a book with her own meager money, just so his entire Christmas present wouldn't be the result of the generosity of some other boy.
This story may or may not be true.
Brian arrived at the airport on Friday night around 7:20. And, as usual, I was late. I ran through the airport in my high-heeled boots (not fun, not recommended) because, of course, his plane came in at the furthest possible gate. Well, I ran into him on my way to the gate. So that was good. At least I found him.
Friday night was our date night. I got to pick the places because it's my town. So we went to dinner at Leona's (tasty!) and then we headed out to Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind. We shared a brownie and a Coke and we held hands during the play. It was all very sweet and date-like. It is exciting for me to go on dates, I never did that when I was in high school or college, so it's very novel. Then we came home and watched a Tom Green marathon on MTV. ("Red jacket...red jacket...Laurie's got a dead bird!")
We got a late start on Saturday because of...nevermind. Anyhow, we got into the city just in time to pick Matty up and drive to the Fireside for the big Rock Show. Indeed, Faraquet, Hey Mercedes, and Rocket from the Crypt rocked the house. They were whooping on a cheetah's ass with a belt. I was impressed by Faraquet, so impressed that I wanted the CD, but my broke ass couldn't afford it. So Brian went and bought it for me. I thought this was extremely sweet and generous of him.
The Rock Show was full of people I know from online. Nathan was there, drinking beer and being happy. Nash seemed tired. Nick took a picture of me with his Lomo. Sebastian is snarky--that's a good thing. Jared looks like one of my high school boyfriends. Jackie tells it like it is. And, of course, there was Bob, who was pretty damn energetic at the end of the show. I wouldn't be that energetic after rocking the house. Post-show, there was a fine dinner at the Flat Top Grill, sans Bob, who told us to meet him at...oh, you've heard that one already. Make-your-own stir fry rules.
Post-dinner, we went to Matty's and slept on the teeny tiny fold-out bed. It was okay, though. I didn't mind getting really up-close and personal with my boy.
Sunday...record shopping! It was my first trip to a record store as an unemployed person, and I think I conducted myself reasonably. I did buy a couple of CDs, but I didn't get out of hand. Then Brian wanted to go to the huge Borders on Michigan Avenue, so we went there and spent some time looking at stuff. I got some gift ideas from observing him, so that was good.
After that...back to my house. We watched Rushmore. And then we watched Mr. Show. And there was cuddling involved. And a little bit of kissing. But really, it was all very chaste. Yeah.
Our big thing on Monday was taping a cooking demonstration for my brother. (He's a TV production major and this was the final project for one of his classes.) We hammed it up for the camera. It was a good time. I'm looking forward to seeing the final edited version.
Tuesday was Brian's last day in town, and it was butt-ass cold outside. We got a late start due to some unscheduled cuddling (heh). We went to the Field Museum and saw the Kremlin Gold exhibit and the Star Wars exhibit. I got a green plastic dinosaur from one of those "mold your own souvenir" machines. I also got a squished penny with an Egyptian cat on it.
Then I had to drive Brian to the airport, which did not please me. I wanted to keep him. But I couldn't. He had to go back to Louisville so he could work. I don't know how I ended up with Brian. He is so unlike the usual boys I date. I mean, I haven't discovered a weird hangup yet! He actually likes only me. I'm impressed...and shocked! I think it's cool because I like only him. I'm not the sort of loser who stays hung up on an ex, but I seem to be attracted to those who are. With luck, Brian will be the exception to that rule.
Oh, and Brian wants you to know that he had to go outside to pee tonight. He's acting like he doesn't want you to know that, but I know he really does.
So yeah, I have personal reasons for loving Brian. But you, member of the general public who is not allowed to love Brian in the ways that I do...you can love him for Transmission 3000, home of live indie rock on the web. Yay!
Kentucky is all right with me. Really! I've never even been there!
1. Whey-faced, potato-headed thing. It's true. I saw her picture, and it is true. Not only is she whey-faced and potato-headed, she also has the most terrifying eyebrows I've ever seen on a female. I can tell that she grooms them because they're too weird-looking. The question is: why does she groom them in such a terrifying fashion?
2. Troll. I pissed someone off by referring to a person they cared about as a "troll." I didn't think it was a particularly evil thing to call someone, but maybe he had a bad experience with one of those ugly troll dolls as a child or something.
3. Little Pork Chop. He liked pork chops a lot. What can I say? It made sense at the time.
4. Turd. What began as an innocuous "you're being a turd" statement turned into a freakin' holy war. I didn't know being a turd was that offensive. I guess it was.
5. Titlet. One in a series of stupid nicknames created by my brother and I. Short for "Titlet Cutlet." No, I don't know what it means either.
1. Illinois. I live here, duh.
2. Indiana. I live about 10 minutes from the Illinois/Indiana border, so I usually drive into Indiana to buy gas because their taxes are lower there. Plus, my grandmother lives there. My grandmother reads this weblog, you know. Hi, Grandmother!
3. Michigan. Ray lived in Michigan until June, so I would drive up there to visit him.
4. Ohio. I had the incredible misfortune of being in Ohio three times this past year. Ohio happens to be in the way of just about everywhere I want to go on a road trip. It's unavoidable. These trips to Ohio tend to strip me of my dignity and really piss me off. I know there are plenty of nice people in Ohio. There have to be. So why is it that every person who works at those roadside oasis things is so damn rude?
5. Pennsylvania. Also known as "the longest state ever" and "the state where Nanette and Ray got a flat tire in the middle of nowhere." You can get Friendly's ice cream in Pennsylvania. They have that going for them.
6. New Jersey. The first time I drove through New Jersey, it was dark. The second time, I was sleeping. So I can't make a judgment about it. I didn't think it was quite as awful as people always say, but then again, I was in a moving vehicle. It's not like I stopped to examine the place in detail.
7. New York. Also known as "the place where I would live if I had money." Long Island is like my hometown (and the surrounding towns) only there's more malls and the people have those cool accents. I might very well be the only person in the world who describes the Long Island accent as "cool." New York City is amazing. Upstate New York is beautiful. I was excited to see daisies growing by the side of the road. Not those ugly lame daisies like the ones that grow by the side of the road around here. Real daisies.
Historical update: Let it be known that I found out that Bush won the election at this very moment. 9:52 PM, Tuesday, December 12, 2000. Uh, thanks, Mom. Now I feel kind of sick. But if someone asks me what I was doing when the country started going downhill, I can point them in the direction of this post. Anyway...
8. Massachusetts. Massachusetts has Friendly's ice cream. Boston was cool, but not as cool as New York. I bought books at the Harvard Book Store in Cambridge and I felt all uppity and intellectual. I think there's a turkey on the sign when you enter the Mass Turnpike from New York. I got really excited over that damn turkey. I was all "ooh look, did you see the turkey! the turkey! TURKEYTURKEYTURKEY!" I am easily amused.
9. New Hampshire. There is no sales tax in New Hampshire. When you cross the border from Massachusetts into New Hampshire, there's a bunch of tattoo places. There are a lot of bikers in New Hampshire. It's kind of trashy, but it has a certain charm. I bought my leopard sunglasses at the Newbury Comics in Salem. Newbury Comics is cool. But the coolest thing about New Hampshire? Their state motto. "Live free or die." I mean...does it get more hardcore than that? I don't think so.
10. Arizona. Amanda lives there. And Robin. And Hafthor. And Mac. And Amanda's cats. It's hot in Arizona, and there's some big fucking insects there. I'm talking monstrous insects. Things in Arizona are beige. And very new. I saw a whole bunch of cute boys in Arizona. (I think I was in Scottsdale at the time.) I was at a coffee shop with Amanda and Robin and it was full of cute boys. And then there was a tattoo place next door and I got to see some cute boys getting tattoos. Damn. It was my last night in town so I didn't attempt to score. Heh.
11. Kentucky. This will be updated once I go there, which is December 27. It just barely makes the cutoff. I will be looking for mullets, people with no teeth, pickup trucks with "pissing Calvin" stickers, and folks smoking corncob pipes while walking around in overalls with no shoes. And bluegrass. Lots of bluegrass. Oh, and I'll be visiting Brian.
This will probably be the only indie rock weblog where you won't see a Top 10 (or 20, or 17, or 37, or whatever) Albums of 2000 list. Why not? Well, mostly because I suck at making lists of music things. I might tell you about some albums that I liked in 2000, but that's about all you'll get from me.
Instead, I'll give you some other lists. How's that for a trade-off? I would tell you that I'm going to post a list or two or three every day until the end of the year, but you know what happens when I say things like that: it just doesn't happen. So no promises.
If you have any suggestions for lists you'd like to see, email me and let me know. It doesn't have to be 2000-specific, either.
Now I'm going to go write my paper. Seriously. It's due in less than 24 hours and I still have...uh...at least 18 pages to write. I'd say it's time to get going with that, wouldn't you?
I have been unusually domestic lately. I've been making peanut brittle and fudge for Christmas presents, and I helped my mom make a cheese log today. Mmmm, cheese log. Soon, the cookie baking will begin. Oatmeal! Chocolate chip! Sugar! Shortbread! Those weird cookies that my grandmother likes that look like fingers! I'll make someone a good little wife* someday...well, if they like cookies, that is. Because it isn't like I'm good at cooking anything else. Heh.
And to the person who made a point to grouse in his weblog about the incestuous nature of linking in weblogs (which, I believe, was intended to make me seem like a hypocrite for making fun of someone else--see the December 7 entry, because my damn permalinks still don't work): duh. Of course linking is incestuous. But there's a difference between linking someone incessantly in an effort to make them notice you and linking someone once in a while (or in a sidebar) because you read them. It's really obvious when someone is trying to kiss up to a popular weblogger in order to get noticed, which is what the person I was making fun of was doing. And no, it wasn't you. You emo kids are so damn sensitive.
Haven't caught the damn mouse yet, either. It's around here somewhere. I know it is. Bastard!
*Note: I shouldn't have to tell any of you that the "good little wife" comment is a joke. I mean, really. But this is my disclaimer. If you're dense enough to believe that I'm being serious, well, I'm not. Heh.
I was sitting on my bed, minding my own business, when I saw something move near my computer desk. I looked over and our eyes locked: me versus mouse. Gah. Now the traps have been set, and every time I open my door I'm worried that I'll find a mouse carcass. After doing some investigating on my friend the internet, I have found that mice hate the smell of peppermint. So I'm going to go get some peppermint oil and put it on a cotton ball and throw it under the computer desk. At least it will keep the damn mouse away from my computer.
