Comment Moderation

I'll admit, I love it when my family and friends post comments on my blog. I even like it when a stranger or casual reader posts a comment, especially if that comment sounds genuine and if the reader actually sounds interested in what I'm writing. What I don't like, though, are the spam comments which people post in order to get you to go to their blogs. This happens only occasionally, but in an effort to curb it, I've turned on comment moderation that will allow me to preview the comments before they are posted.

One More Thing...

The only other thing I have to add tonight is that there are cop cars with lights flashing on my street, there is a kitty cat outside my door and he wants to come in, and random people are commenting on my blog. Just your typical evening...

Sunset

I don't have much to write about tonight, but here is a picture I took earlier this evening. I'm not sure of the quality. I had a few sips of Cognac, and I was multi-tasking while I was taking the picture.

Less Moody...More Happy

For the past few days I have been feeling a tad moody. Maybe it is because I haven't been sleeping that well lately. Either way, I'm feeling better today.

My first book at my new job just came out and is finally in print. This book is what we call a delayed paperback (I think we call it delayed), so this is simply a paperback edition of a hardback book that came out last year. These types of books usually don't require that much work, and typically all you'd have to do is copyedit a new preface or introduction and make a few other corrections to the text throughout the book. It's not like working on a "new" book, but a book is a book and you can still be proud of it. Anyway, I received my advanced copy today, and it is proudly sitting (by itself for now) on a shelf in my cube.

In other work related news, I found out this morning that I will probably be going to New York City or Cambridge, Massachusetts, for a sales launch next month. And that is launch not lunch. This is basically a huge meeting where the Acquisitions Editors pitch their new books and proposals. It gives us a preview of the books we might be working on within the next year or two. I haven't been to either New York or Cambridge. I usually feel a bit claustrophobic and stressed out in big cities, but I think that this will be an exciting and interesting little business trip. Heck, if I go to New York, maybe I can find my way into a Law & Order episode.

Also on the horizon: more happy hours at the Purple Martini with good friends, possibly Julius Caesar at the Colorado Shakespeare festival in Boulder with a good friend...

Current mood: happy and relaxed, dancing around my apartment
Current music: Maroon 5. It Won't Be Soon Before Long

More of This and That

This is just another one of those posts about nothing much at all.

Work and such: Things in general have been going pretty well. For me, things have been somewhat quiet at work since most of my projects are with freelancers or are being reviewed by authors. It feels like the calm before the storm, though, because things will get really busy really soon. Our company just bought another company and we expect our workload to double. We don't know when the tidal wave will hit, but it will probably hit within the next few weeks. Things will be busy and things will be chaotic, but at least it is a good kind of busy and a controlled chaos. At most of my previous jobs all of the chaos was uncontrolled chaos, so controlled chaos is much better and welcome change.

Ego (and by ego I mean ego in the Greek and Latin sense of "I"): I'm slowly starting to form some pretty good friendships at work, and that's nice. But on the other hand, I'm still somewhat timid. I'm sort of a strange person. My best friend tells me that I've never seemed more confident and more comfortable in my own skin, and this is true. I think that over the past few years I really grew into myself, if that makes any sense. But as confident and as comfortable as I am, I've noticed recently at this new job that I'm actually somewhat shy and reserved and sort of dodgy and skittish. I think I sometimes resemble a nervous cat. But, over the past few years, I've learned to pick and choose my friends more wisely. I need time to gauge a person's comfort level with me. I need time to build trust, and the older I get the longer it seems to take. I'm somewhat protective of myself, so I'm slow to get to know people and I'm slower to let people into my little life. Of course the real irony is that I have this public blog in spite of the fact that in person I'm usually very private about my personal life. I know it doesn't make sense and it doesn't make any sense to me. I don't make any sense to myself sometimes. Most of the time I look into the mirror and ask, "who the heck are you?" Yet the other side of me, my alter ego I suppose, knows exactly who I am, is confident in who I am, and is proud of who I am.

Visitors: I've noticed that I've recently had my 1,000 visitor to this blog. Actually, I don't have a ton of readers, I just have a few who read regularly. Still, I'm somewhat surprised to see that people actually have an interest in my crazy life and my insane mind. But I suppose people are intrigued by strange and crazy things, like car wrecks or three-legged cats.

Goodreads

One of my friends recently drew me into the world of Goodreads (goodreads.com). It is basically a type of social networking site like MySpace except for people who can read and write...I suppose that was kind of harsh. Basically Goodreads is a site where you can put together lists of books that you've read, are currently reading, or are planning to read. You can also rate and review the books you've read. You can get your friends to sign up (or try to as is usually the case with me) and you can try to "friend" other people on the site. I love how "friend" has become a verb...kind of like "befriend" but shorter because our society is too impatient to add that extra syllable...

It's really cool to see what your friends are reading and what they like. But it is sometimes more interesting to see what other people are reading and what they like. It is especially fun to read their reviews and see their ratings. A book you might think is total trash might be ranked five stars in someone else's eyes. And naturally there are books that I would rank at five stars while someone else would rank it at just one. In fact I was mortified and personally offended to see people give Homer's Odyssey only one star. How can someone possibly give The Odyssey only one star??!!?? One person gave it two or three stars and added the comment that it seemed like "a gimmicky sequel to the Iliad." That comment made me laugh out loud.

Time to Fly a Kite...

...well, maybe not...

In Colorado, every now and then, we have some pretty windy days. For those of you from California, it's like the Santa Ana winds but much worse. Yesterday we had some especially bad winds that reached about 92 m.p.h. That's not a typo! Early in the evening when I looked out my window, I saw welcome mats fly by and lawn furniture tumbling and rolling down the street. The wind also started to rip branches and limbs off the trees. At about 10:00 we lost power. The strange thing is that the moment we lost power it was almost as if the world had ended. When the power goes out, you would normally expect someone to at least poke their head out of their door to see what is happening. No one opened their door and I heard no voices at all, not even the voice of my annoying neighbor. You would at least expect to see the glow of a flashlight or a candle in some of the windows, but I didn't see any of that either. It was total darkness. So I lit my candles, and because I have so many of them, it was almost as if I had my lights on. Since it was getting late anyway, I decided to just go to bed, but it was impossible to sleep. The wind alone was loud enough, but the winds also got stronger throughout the night. Tree limbs kept falling directly on the roof above me, and I was constantly jarred out of sleep by the sound of giant crashes or thuds. I suppose I'm fortunate that nothing crashed through the roof, because that happened to a few people in the state. So I woke up this morning tired and exhausted, because I couldn't sleep. Fortunately the winds have quited down, so maybe things will be better today.

Another Random Observation

Has anyone noticed that in spite of the fact that people seem to be buying bigger and bigger cars, the parking slots in parking lots seem to be getting smaller and smaller? I guess people design parking lots to accommodate more customers (and cars) by making their parking spaces smaller so that they can fit more cars in the lot. Well, if one SUV takes two spots, what is the purpose? And if someone else parks on the lines, who is going to park next to that person? I have a fairly small car and I'm a small person, but sometimes I can barely open my door and squeeze myself out of my car. In parking lots like this, I often park myself in one of the last rows, away from everyone else, so I don't have to worry about being near any other cars. Naturally, however, in spite of being surrounded by about ten or twenty open spaces, some idiot in an Escalade or Explorer or Hummer decides to park in the slot right next to me. That's when you really want to slash a few tires!

--written after a frustrating experience in the Whole Foods/Barnes & Noble Parking Lot of Death on Pearl Street in Boulder, Colorado.

I Feel So Dirty...

I received a Victoria's Secret catalog in the mail the other day. It is for their semi-annual clearance sale, which, for some reason, seems to happen every few months, but I digress. Anyway, there happens to be an insert in the catalog that is an advertisement for one of their perfumes. So all you have to do is open the little flap and sniff it. It smelled pretty good, but there is also something slightly odd and scandalous and disturbing about sniffing a Victoria's Secret catalog. I suppose a scratch-and-sniff catalog would be more disturbing...or more interesting...

Annoying Neighbor, Part III

Well, I had a few days of peace and quiet around my apartment. I suppose my annoying neighbor was away on vacation. No loud talking. No cigarette smell. It is the day after a holiday, so what do you think is happening right now? Cigarettes and loud talking. I walked by her apartment this weekend when I was taking my clothes to the laundry room. I glanced at a coffee can full of cigarette butts and an empty cigarette box. It was one of those new Camel cigarette boxes. It is a "cute," shiny black box with a "pretty" hot pink camel on it. They say they market it toward young, impressionable women. My neighbor seems like the perfect candidate. I guess these cigarettes are called Camel No. 9, as if it is some kind of fancy perfume. I personally don't know why a woman would want to smell like a camel or a pack of cigarettes, but whatever. Oh well, it's her lungs. But even more annoying than the cigarette smell (if you can believe that) is her squeaky voice... Oh my god, he is, like, you know, like the biggest jerk I ever met, who would, like, ever do anything like that, you know, can you, like, believe that.... I really want to buy a dictionary and thesaurus and leave them on her welcome mat. Maybe she can find an alternative to the word "like."

Calm Before the Storm

I don't have much to report right now, but here are a few pictures I took before our latest, wild thunderstorm.

A Little More of This, A Little More of That

This is one of those random posts about nothing much at all...

So far I've been enjoying the long weekend. Even though I just started my new job and even though I'm still green and happy, it is always nice to have a long weekend. I didn't have any grand, exciting plans for this weekend other than sleeping in, relaxing, reading, and writing. I achieved my sleeping-in mission to perfection this past evening. I eventually woke up at around 11:00 this morning, which was nice, but I must have slept in an awkwardly contorted position (like on top of my head) because I woke up with quite a crick in my neck. I tend to be a tense sleeper, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised.

After taking a hot shower to relieve the crick in my neck, I started making my breakfast when I heard the music of the ice cream man driving down the street. Even though I was just having breakfast, I suppose for normal people who keep normal hours it would have been the perfect time for ice cream. I may have said this before, but the ice cream men sure seem to be driving faster these days. Maybe I'm just getting older. Maybe they're all California drivers. Who knows?

Speaking of driving. Why do drivers in Colorado insist on merging onto the freeway at 14 mph? You would think that it is generally wiser to enter the freeway at a faster speed, closer to the speed of the freeway traffic, so that someone doesn't end up in your backseat...or mine if I'm behind you. Then again, maybe I'm just the aggressive California driver. I've been living in Colorado for about five years, and I've learned to slow down and calm down a little bit, but stupid drivers still annoy me.

You can tell that summer is just around the corner because we are starting to get the usual afternoon thunderstorms. I absolutely love these afternoon thunderstorms because they put so much energy into the air. I enjoy the thunderstorms even more when they are on the loud and violent side. Maybe I'm strange, but I think there is something romantic and sexy about these kinds of thunderstorms. Plus, in Colorado, you can have a violent thunderstorm one hour, then the next hour the sun is out and everything looks beautiful and smells wonderful. It's great.

Current mood: relaxed
Current music: The Megan Slankard Band. Freaky Little Story
Current drink: New Belgium's 1554 Black Ale

Summer Hours

Today was the first official day of our Summer Hours at work. What this basically means is that every Friday from now until Labor Day we will be allowed to leave the office at 1:00. From what I've heard, most of the editors still tend to stay at work long after 1:00. We tend to have heavy workloads and short schedules, so we often have to take advantage of every moment of every day. But it is nice to have the option to leave the office early. It gives you the chance to spend the rest of the day taking care of your personal life. You can do your shopping, go to the doctor, get your hair done, get your oil changed, or whatever without worrying about making up the lost time at work. I think it's a great idea. Since most of my projects are with freelancers or at a good stopping point, I left a little after 1:00. I was able to do some grocery shopping, and then I've been spending the rest of the afternoon relaxing, enjoying the weather, and drinking a good beer.

Current mood: relaxed
Current music: Tori Amos. American Doll Posse
Current weather: sunny and beautiful
Current drink: New Belgium's 1554 Black Ale - I prefer darker beers that you can barely see through

Music and Memories

Music tends to play a major role in movies, TV shows, and even reality shows. Whenever you hear a certain song, you tend to think about a moment in the movie or show. It captures certain feelings and brings back specific memories. Music tends to do this in real life. At least it does for me. Whenever I hear certain songs, I think of specific moments in my life, what I was doing, the people I knew. While I was doing some shopping this evening, I heard a few songs on the radio that brought back certain memories. Ironically, a lot of these songs were ones that were popular during my last few years in high school. Most of these songs were really good. Some of them remind me how old I am, but I still love hearing them. Other songs, though, make me cringe because they happened to be the favorites of some of my high school friends. The song itself might be fine, but the thought of my friends makes me gag a little because I can't help but think about how far I've come since then. After I clear the gag, the one thought through my mind is "thank god that's long over with." Although, to this day, I still can't listen to a Hootie and the Blowfish song without feeling annoyed. At least now I have much better memories and better song associations. Sarah McLachlan's Surfacing CD makes me think of graduating from Irvine Valley College and moving on to Cal State Fullerton where I met a new crush and started a new phase of my life. Dead Can Dance and Loreena McKennitt make me think of Saturday Dinners at my best friend's house in California--good food, good wine, good music, and wonderful company. Melissa Etheridge's Lucky CD makes me think of graduating from grad school and starting a new job. Songs by the Killers or "Feel Good, Inc." by Gorillaz makes me think of a certain friend. Tori Amos makes me think of one of my recent crushes. And there are plenty of songs that make me think of my current crush.

Current mood: happy
Current music: Beth Waters. Beth Waters. Although, for maybe one person out there the current song should be "You're So Vain"...you probably think this post is about you. For those of you I love, you know which part is about you.
Current weather: raining, slightly breezy, the air smells wonderful
Current drink: Remy Martin V.S.O.P

This and That

I've been told by one of my new and loyal readers that I haven't posted anything new in a while. Because I don't want to leave my "fans" starving for my witty and clever prose, here is a post about nothing in particular.

So what's new?

Work: Work has been going really well. I think I've reached the point where I have found my new groove and where I feel really comfortable in what I'm doing. Naturally when you start a new job, it takes some time to adjust, and I think I've reached that point. There are some things and procedures I'm still learning, but everything is getting easier. The books are interesting and the authors have been great to work with. It is certainly much better than dealing with arrogant, egotistical, self-centered lawyers and their boring legal books that no one will ever read.

Umm...

Hair and beauty: I looked in the mirror one morning and was struck by how terrible I looked. Actually, I've been noticing this nearly every day for the past few weeks. My hair was getting long and out of control. And since it has grown so much over the past few months, the long dark roots under all of the blond and copper highlights didn't look so stylish. So I had an appointment this past weekend to give myself a complete change. I had about four or five inches cut (my hair grows like weeds) and I went for my darker, more natural color. But, of course, I had to add a fun touch of color. So I have some vibrant red highlights throughout, which actually looks nice against the black hair. And since I've been trying to "refresh" my look, I've been some wonderful "regenerist" and "anti-aging" Oil of Olay products that are giving my skin a nice healthy glow. Yes, I'm only 32, but everyone wants glowing skin. Oh, let's face it, I'm gorgeous, and everyone knows it...

Umm...

Weather: The weather these days has been wonderful. I won't say "cool, but not cold." It's been warm...but not hot. We had a nice, brief thunderstorm this afternoon. The only unfortunate thing is that I don't have a window in my new office, so I had to just imagine what the lightning looked like. But, as everyone knows, I have a pretty good imagination.

Poetry: My personal, beautiful Muse inspires me every day, but I'm just waiting for the right words to come out. A new poem will come soon...

Current mood: relaxed
Current music: Tori Amos. American Doll Posse
Current drink: Ruffino Aziano Chianti Classico Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita -- I have no idea what those last six words mean. That's why I need to learn Italian. Plus, I just want another language under my belt, and at least Italian isn't "dead." Either way, the wine is wonderful!

Annoying Neighbor, Part II

My annoying neighbor is at it again. She is on the phone and she is outside. She is loud. She says "like" every other word--oh my god, she's like, you know, like a teenager, oh my god... But it does get worse. Now she is smoking. It's been a beautiful day. We had a nice thunderstorm this afternoon, and the rain made everything smell beautiful. All that is gone now, because she has to be smoking the worst smelling cigarettes on the market. Sigh.

I wish I could write about something better and more beautiful right now, but I have nothing. It's sad because it was a beautiful evening until now. Even after a glass of wine, I'm too annoyed to think of something beautiful. Well, I'm thinking about something Beautiful right now, but maybe I'll write about that later when I'm in a better mood.

The Gift Every Mom Needs

I saw an advertisement in a newspaper that was offering gifts and packages that "mom will love." You would think that it would be for a nice dinner, maybe some flowers, or maybe a salon treatment or a spa day. Part of the advertisement was for facials, which is something that most women would enjoy. But the big exciting deal was a 20% discount on Botox treatments. Nothing says "Happy Mother's Day" more than "here is a coupon to take care of all those wrinkles on your forehead." And if you want, you can also have laser treatment to wipe away all those age spots. It doesn't get better than that. Naturally, the smarter and less shallow people of the world know that our mothers are beautiful no matter what.

What Do These Strangers Know?

Today I decided to wander around a new shopping center here in Boulder. I'm not sure what is wrong (or what is right) with the day today. While walking down the hallways--if you can call them that in an open shopping center--people and children kept smiling at me. Dogs tried to lick my hand. I went to Borders because I can't possibly have enough books in my life. While in the store, nearly every employee asked me if I needed help looking for something. I said that I was just browsing. I really did need help finding something but I never like to bother anyone, so instead I just wandered around the store until I found what I was looking for. In the course of my wandering, though, several customers smiled at me and said "hello." And one person was staring at me so much as he walked down the stairs that he nearly tumbled down the last few steps. If that happened, that would have put a lot of guilt on my conscience. Having so many people looking at me and staring at me is somewhat disturbing to a mildly paranoid person. What is wrong? I thought to myself. Is my zipper down? Did a bird poop in my hair? Did I grow a second head? I did a subtle check of all three of these things, literally, and I appeared to be in normal order. I wear a pair of black boots and a leather jacket that sometimes gives the impression that I just rode in on a motorcycle, and this is slightly different from the typical Boulder mountain attire of fleece jackets and hiking boots. Maybe that was what caught people off guard. Or did I somehow become famous (or infamous) overnight and people are staring at me because they recognize me and are just too shy to approach me. Nope, I doubt that explains it. I don't know what it is that led everyone to eye me all day. It is really puzzling...

Current music: Tori Amos. American Doll Posse
Current read: Elizabeth Gilbert. Eat, Pray, Love

Night descends
Spring showers
Cold, icy rain
The flash of lightning
The rumble of thunder
The perfect marriage of sight and sound
I dream in shades of red tonight
Hypnotized by candlelight
Possessed by Eros
Unsympathetic, unrelenting god
Fingering golden arrows with a smile
Igniting a flame
Insatiable hunger
Unquenchable thirst
Tangled in this web of delight
Envy of Golden Aphrodite
We plunge into unimagined depths
An endless, bottomless pool of desire
Diving, drowning, gasping for breath
Reaching, grasping, embracing
Rising, falling, breathing
Drifting slowly
Blanketed by gentle Hypnos

Construction

Is there a street in Boulder that is not under construction right now? I don't understand it. Julius Caesar can build a bridge across the Rhine River in ten days. Yet, in spite of all our fancy equipment and expensive machinery, it takes us over a year to widen one intersection. And you ask "what have the Romans ever done for us?" You really need to watch Monty Python's Life of Brian to understand the humor behind that. It's the kind of thing that will make a Classicist cry from laughter.