Skipper Blew Us Off

Oh bother. Skipper finally got back to us, and said she wasn't going to take the apartment after all. Her Westchester parents would feel better about her living in the city if she were in a doorman building. To which I say -- for the amount she's willing to pay? As if!

I don't mean to be petty. She was nice and all, but I can't help but be annoyed that this is happening to us AGAIN. Same thing went down before we offered the apartment to the Boy who's now moving out -- we had another guy lined up, told everyone else the room was off the market, and then the guy backed out. Grrr.

So now we have to post the room again on Craigslist, or decide if we're going to call back one of the people we earlier said no to.

And I brought my laptop into work today because our tech guy said he was going to be here, and he's not, and it's cold, and I have to drag it out with me to the movies and everything tonight. Which is apropos of nothing in particular, but I figured, since I was ranting...

But plans for Vegas, baby, Vegas proceed apace. So there's that. And my thrice-rescheduled date with Boy #1 finally took place, and it was... nice. Just nice.

Is it too much to want fireworks? I want fireworks!

I have a Headache

I have a headache.

Again.

And there's a weird smell in my office that is not at all conducive to my non-headachyness. I think they're trying to drive me mad. Granted, it's a short trip, but still...

Anyway, it snowed and snowed and snowed this weekend. Big honking piles of it, now left sadly on every street corner, festooned with dabs of yellow for that truly festive look.

But despite all the snow, we did get a number of people in to look at the apartment, and decided to offer it to a nice girl from Westchester looking for her first apartment in the city. I've decided to call her Skipper. Not only is she young (recently post-college), but she's a sailor. With a boyfriend in the Navy, and don't think I didn't do a little happy hoedown when I heard that! Hello, Fleet Week!

Also, I've decided to take the big step and actually refer to Boy #3 by name. Yessir, I'm moving things forward. He shall henceforth be know as... Glow Boy! As soon as Maureen, Keeley and I decide on the actual date of our birthday party, I think I'm going to invite him down for it. I already mentioned it, come to think of it, and he seemed... interested, I think.

Finally, Boy #1 and I have rescheduled our date for the third time, and now plan to see Sideways on Wednesday. I'll keep ya posted.

P.S. I just took some Advil, and am hoping that works...

Stuff and Bother

Just a quick note. I took the Serenity banner off the page since they changed the release date to September, and I haven't found a nice new banner I like that doesn't look cheesy.

Also, I found out from the PTB that I'm not going to London for the book fair in March, but I will get to go to Frankfurt in October.

So since I don't have to save my pennies for a trip to England, I can spend them in Vegas, baby, Vegas!

In other news, email conversations continue apace with Boy #3, despite a misstep or two. Very tough to convey sense of humor in email text sometime, especially when it's directed to someone I really don't know very well. Though I'm interested to learn more about him. And maybe meet him. Eventually.

Until then, Boy #1 and I rescheduled our cancelled date from last week, and are going to see "The Aviator" on Saturday. And I'm too tired to put in links.

Oh, and the Boy (not numbered, referring to roommate, not possible dating partner) officially informed Keeley and I that he was moving out. So now we have to find a new roommate. Already put a listing up on Craigslist, and waiting for the responses to pour in.

Also, why hasn't Boy #3 written back? Shit! Did I goof?

I turn into a 16 year old valley girl

So, Boy #3? My fake internet boyfriend? He just sent me a picture. And I sent him one back.

Wow.

Are we, like, going steady now?

Ohmigod!

Who, me?

This is awful and absurd. And a terrible precedent to set. Read more about it here.

I read about it on Neil Gaiman's blog, which also features some excellent advice on finding a literary agent.

It really makes you think, as does my recent conversations with Boy #3 from my previous post. After a few days of emails sent back and forth as private messages on a forum website, we took the big step of giving each other our direct emails. Suddenly, I'm aware that with a little ingenuity he can find out a lot more about me (as can anyone else). I mean, I've tried to keep things somewhat pseudonyminous here by only using first names or initials, or clever nicknames, but it wouldn't take a technical hacker of Neo's ability to find my real name, and from there, learn where I work and how to reach me. Heck, it wouldn't even need a hacker, just a relatively good and/or patient detective.

Now, I have no idea how many people ever read this thing. It's more than likely it's only my bestest friends who have signed up on my NotifyList. But just maybe, there's a whole swath of internet readers.

And maybe I've just encouraged them to track me down.

*gulp*

Hey, ummm... guys? Don't do that, ok? Thanks.

Things to be Happy About

Things I am happy about right now:

1. The Manolo has linked to my little weblog. And he's nominated for a "Best New Blog" web award, which means that lots of people read his site, and they just might find their way to my merry little corner of the sky.

2. My super-fanstastic friends and I are contemplating a trip to the original land of the Swingers for my upcoming birthday. Why? Because it's Vegas, baby, Vegas! No details yet, but I'm imagining all the fun we could get into on a long weekend in the home of the original Rat Pack, Siegfried & Roy, and a street featuring a fantasy castle, Egyptian pyramid, and New York skyline all within a few short blocks. Not to mention strippers. Wanna come?

3. Boys. You like 'em, I like 'em. Occasionally they like me back, and then I get a little happy. Boy #1 has suddenly made a reappearance in my inbox, after an absence of a few months after our date last fall, and a prior history of on-and-off dating every once in a while. We are making plans for an encore. Boy #2 is as yet an unknown quantity. As I told another friend, I forget sometimes that my powerful work-related charisma can sometimes overwhelm my personal magnetism. I must wait and find out which of my two sides he is interested in. In the meantime, there is Boy #3. Well, sort of. He is my online roleplaying boyfriend - well, to be precise, my superhero character's boyfriend. Confused yet? It's all silly and fun, and half of the emails we exchange are in character, and half not, but I am holding off sharing any real personal details, as I have no wish to find out that he's a 17-year-old gawky teen playing computer games in his bedroom. I mean, it's bad enough I'm a 31-year-old geeky girl playing computer games in my roomie's bedroom. But it's fun to play.

4. Coke. I don't need it! I gave it up (the liquid legal stuff, silly, not the other!) last Ash Wednesday as a Lent thingie, and then kept it up all year. Well, in my post-New Year's Eve hangover I decided I would allow myself one again. Well, I had it, and then one Monday morning, just to give it another shot, and I don't even like the taste of it anymore! Which, thank the Powers That Be, you know? That stuff's not good for you. I'm not sure I'm doing myself any favors with my replacement caffeinated beverage of choice - delicious Snapple - but I need something. At least now I can reallow myself one of my favorite cocktails (vanilla vodka and Coke) without worrying that I'm going to readdict myself.

5. Ummmm... only 40 days to my birthday? No it's too soon to think about that, beyond possibly planning to the above mentioned #2. Though, if anyone's interested, or looking for gift ideas in advance, can I direct your attention once more to my recent wish list? After a day over the holiday break which I spent organizing photos, I'm more than ever interested in getting a digital camera, and I still really like this one. Oh! But I can tie this into a "Thing I'm Happy About" because I technically recently became a professional photographer when I sold a copy of this print

to a friend. And she paid me not only for the cost of the print, but a little extra for my work. I tell you, I've got mad skillz!

Five's enough things right now, isn't it? I don't want to get too giddy. I'm supposed to be working, after all.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

I have no idea when I'll be able to stop writing "2004" on assorted papers, but for now, until I sit down with a little more time to write my resolutions, here's a fun little poem from a work friend:

Twas the month after Christmas, and all through the house,
Nothing would fit me, not even a blouse.
The cookies I'd nibbled, the eggnog I'd taste
At the holiday parties had gone to my waist.
When I got on the scales there arose such a number!
When I walked to the store (less a walk than a lumber),
I'd remember the marvelous meals I'd prepared;
The gravies and sauces and beef nicely rared,
The wine and the rum balls, the bread and the cheese
And the way I'd never said, "No thank you, please."
As I dressed myself in my husband's old shirt
And prepared once again to do battle with dirt...
I said to myself, as I only can,
"You can't spend a winter, disguised as a man!"
So, away with the last of the sour cream dip.
Get rid of the fruit cake, every cracker and chip.
Every last bit of food that I like must be banished
Till all the additional ounces have vanished.
I won't have a cookie, not even a lick.
I'll want only to chew on a long celery stick.
I won't have hot biscuits, or corn bread, or pie.
I'll munch on a carrot and quietly cry.
I'm hungry, I'm lonesome, and life is a bore...
But isn't that what January is for?
Unable to giggle, no longer a riot.
Happy New Year to all, and to all a good diet!