We're Almost There

Things are looking up for the 108 in 2008 list. I'm checking a lot of things off the list and coming to terms with what is possible before the end of the year. The end of the year that's really breathing down our necks at this point.

As always new(ish) information is in italics.

1. Get regular vocal coaching (see also #14) [I got a phone number for a guy months ago. I still haven't called it.]
2. Record 2 more tracks for CD - I've been thinking about this a lot and might even know which couple of tracks I want to do but again I need accompaniment.
3. Night Before Christmas for fam (make a book? buy them? convince this guy to illustrate a version and help him publish it?)
4. Continue Floor Barre classes - IN PROGRESS Strangely the last month has seen progress from the plateau. I was even called on to demonstrate some stuff while standing at the barre with music. It's true you have to endure plateaus and keep working to make more progress.
5. Add another hour per week of exercise (3 sessions of 20 minutes each per week)
6. Submit Chekhov or Speed Dating play to 20 places - Still submitted to one place. I also wrote a screenplay for an actor-director team so I'm counting that as a submission of sorts, too. So 2 down, 18 to go. I can still focus more effort here.
7. Book Shakespeare 10 places
8. Go on a date - I'm going to enter the dating thing at My Open Wallet but I'm still a little unsure about how to describe my financial style.
9. New Year at the steam pipes
10. 2 field trips with Alita We've been to the Botanical Gardens and out to lunch and we had the most awesome Mermaid Parade experience. I'm sure we'll do more before year's end but I'm counting this DONE.
11. Post-Thanksgiving Open House DONE and had a great time doing it.
12. Find director for Chekhov - I'm changing this to find a director for the Speed Dating play, which is DONE and is working out wonderfully.
13. Reading of Chekhov - In accordance with #12 I'm changing this to a second run of the Speed Dating play in NYC. We've got a director, we're doing it in MA so this might not be too difficult. More of a reach than changing this to performing it in MA.
14. Find new vocal coach
15. Sing live - Hey, surprise, I did this. Turned out to be at a funeral but damned if I'm not giving myself this one 'cause I did it and it was hard. DONE
16. Hang pictures
18. Perform at Boerum Hill nursing home sing along - I need to just go, though I think that after singing at AB's funeral it's going to be hard.
19. Lobsterbake (June) - DONE
20. Complete play for Women's Night (Feb) - DONE
21. Complete non verbal piece for Women's Night (Feb) - DONE
22. Complete admin work for Women's Night (Feb) - DONE
23. Perform Women's Night (Feb 15 & 16) - DONE
24. Polish up 3 short stories - Working on a musical now as well as that short story. Have been doing some more good work on the story this month, too.
25. 20 short story submissions
26. Go to Met Museum - DONE
27. See South Pacific - DONE
28. See Farnsworth Invention - Totally missed this. Saw August:Osage County with Zelda as substitute (two word review: awe inspiring). DONE
29. 3 activist actions that do not include the use of form e-mail (suggestions welcome) - saving Lorry and donating to Jen Lemen's friend and I donated to the Obama campaign to register voters. DONE.
30. See an opera
31. Go to MoMA - DONE, had a lovely time with a friend and walked through every square inch of the photography part which is exactly what I wanted to see.
32. Go to Frick - DONE in Jan when ChemE came to visit.
33. Fix back-up hard drive
34. Install Final Draft (script writing software)
35. Learn how to use Final Draft
36. Continue Weight Watchers eating plan - calling this DONE even though, in some respects, it's never done. You know?
37. Meet goal weight of 125 - DONE!!!!!!!!! Afraid to step on the scale after Thanksgiving debauchery but every mouthful was properly savored.
38. Check in on this list once per month - IN PROGRESS Just one more check in and this'll be done.
39. Re-do work files - DONE
40. Keep work files current - IN PROGRESS The new file cabinets have been delivered. There's work to be done but I've been doing work on it.
41. Clean out closets - I worked on this a little.
42. Set up home filing system
43. Gyn appointment
44. Dentist appointment
45. Buy scanner - DONE, didn't have to buy it, Pony Express gave me her extra. Now I just have to learn how to use it.
46. Scan family photos - See above re: learning to use it.
47. Auntie Blanche's birthday (98 on August 23) - DONE. Bleargh.
48. Trip to beach - Hey, this is DONE too. Took ChemE's delightfully pesty little dog for a beach run.
49. Post photos to Flickr - Calling this DONE, it's a habit and something I love.
50. Invest 1/2 savings
51. See accountant in person - DONE, and I mailed her a check for her services, too.
52. Re-work investments to maximize return
53. Sort out IRA contribution - I gave up on this, actually so again I'm calling it DONE since I made a conscious decision to release it.
54. NaBloPoMo (Nov) - As of this post DONE, though I think I'll also do a NaBloPoMo Wrap Up post later today.
55. Go to Brooklyn Museum - IN PROGRESS Think I'll be doing this with MAB for a photo shoot in Dec.
56. Update address book - IN PROGRESS I've made a tiny amount of progress here.
57. Make Christmas cards - IN PROGRESS JRH worked with me and designed the card. I have them in hand and plan to write a bunch of them today.
58. Take more photos (practice makes perfect after all) - DONE
59. Learn more about how I'm taking those photos (suggestions welcome) - The ICP class was full by the time I tried to sign up for November. Perhaps Jan?
60. Read 4 classic/good-for-me books (perhaps from this list Chrome mentioned) - Orlando, Sin & Syntax, a non fiction about Mormonism and the Golden Compass series. DONE.
61. Plan 40th birthday celebration for Jan 2009 (trip? party? both? both, right?) - IN PROGRESS Given the economic downturn I think I'm probably downsizing this idea. Not sure to what. Kind of disappointed.
62. Research health insurance providers - DONE!
63. Change health insurance providers if appropriate - We're calling this DONE since we would have done it if we had to. And by we I mean me.....and the voices in my head.
64. Bring lunch 3 days/week - IN PROGRESS Doin' it, doin' it, doin' it!
65. Get photos framed
66. Get contact lenses
67. Make out will
68. Inquire about grave plot
69. Renew passport
70. Submit for print audition (actors access?)
71. Submit for commercial audition
72. Write Aunt Rena once/month - IN PROGRESS Had a long, loooong talk with her on Thanksgiving which makes up for the fact that I can't remember if I wrote to her this month. I'll send her a card in tomorrow's mail, too.
73. Write Auntie Blanche once/month - Well, I guess we can call this DONE can't we?
74. Cook once/week (doing this is integral to being able to do #64) - IN PROGRESS did so much cooking this week. The good stuff, so not healthy, so delicious.
75. Go to Cyclones game - Missed this this year. Just...didn't get to it.
76. Take all vacation days - I think I'm going to get close on this but I don't think I'm going to make it. The recent change in circumstances make it increasingly difficult to get full days free.
77. Make new cookbook pages (this may morph into making another homemade Christmas gift)
78. God's Love for Thanksgiving - DONE and had a super time this year as usual.
79. Solve electric meter problem
80. Write on something significant (short story, play, etc.) 15 minutes/day, 5 days per week - I think I'm averaging this but I'm not writing a small amount consistently, I'm writing a larger amount with more space in between.
81. Send Christmas thank you notes - Kids, it's clear that I'm not getting this done, right? If you gave me something I'm really grateful, I promise. I got good stuff. Also, there's really no need to get me anything this year. Donate on my behalf instead.
82. Vocal warm-up 5 days/week
83. Physical warm-up 5 days/week
84. Pay extra mortgage payment - I've been paying a little extra here and there but I don't think it adds up. I'm also not in a great place cashola wise. I should still do this, though. Need to do some math.
85. Get facial - My face is sloughing off onto the wayside. I should really do this but see above re: cashola.
86. Record financial outgoings faithfully (see #96 re: Quicken) - IN PROGRESS I've started doing this and am keeping up pretty well!
87. Get Elvis's ultrasound (May) - DONE!
88. Complete at least half of the items on this list (I'm so meta) - IN PROGRESS I do really think this can happen.
89. Actually hang up my Christmas wreath properly - Thinking about buying one today or tomorrow. I don't want to spend more than $10 so I need to buy in my low rent area of the neighborhood.
90. Change over to those swirly energy saver light bulbs - IN PROGRESS I've installed a second one of these. So I'm moving along slowly but surely. My next purchase of the bulbs needs to have more output. The new one I put in gives out virtually no light at all.
91. Host Supper Club - DONE, Not perhaps my finest hour but I had a really nice time and I hope everyone else did, too.
92. Host Brunch - IN PROGRESS Have decided I'll do this next month. I was going to let it go but I think it'll help me keep my place all spic and span the way it is now in the wake of the Post-Thanksgiving party.
93. Get lip biopsied - DONE
94. Wear sunscreen every day - Habit. DONE
95. 30 minutes per week home improvement (above and beyond my definition of maintenance cleaning) - Trying, weakly.
96. Learn how to set up a new "me" in Quicken DONE I just poked around in there until I figured it out.
97. Go to one participatory music event for the holidays - IN PROGRESS I've found a couple of places doing the Messiah. I assume everyone gets to sing the Hallelujah Chorus when you go to one of those.
98. Finish sending out 2007 Holiday cards (I'm 2/3 done!) - This just ain't getting done.
99. Re-organize kitchen cabinets
100. Apply creams/lotions/oils/ungents to scar daily - IN PROGRESS Doing it.
101. Get new digital camera - DONE
102. Send birthday cards (preferably before the birthday) - IN PROGRESS
103. Travel once outside of "event" trips (birthdays, Christmas, lobsterbake etc.) - DONE, DC Day trip.
104. Floss thrice weekly
105. Move Music and Photos to desktop Mac - IN PROGRESS I moved the photos (three times! oops), need to learn how to do the music just once. - Still haven't moved music.
106. Leap more often (as opposed to plan, plot, think, prepare ex. I just decided to produce an evening of work by my female friends and the next day I sent out an e-mail.) - IN PROGRESS This is so impossible to quantify. It feels like I'm getting better, though.
107. Make at least 1 of the books in #60 a non-fiction (maybe the Omnivore's Dilemma, definitely not Fast Food Nation. Probably better if it's not a food book at all. I have enough trouble with food already right now.) - I read Sin & Syntax so this is DONE.
108. Finish this list. DONE!

DONE: 39 (+3)

In Progress: 19 (-7, which I'm taking to mean that I'm wrapping up a lot of loose ends. I don't know if it's true but that's what I'm taking it to mean.)

The mischevious Brea Grant is a great way to start this one off, I think.
Wayfarer is, he says, between celebrity crushes. I don't know what that means. I wasn't aware you had to be monogamous in your celebrity crushes.
I was also not aware that the above would be the most tame photo of Tara Reid's breasts I could find on the vast internet. I've been doing these Hot People posts for a while and I don't know that I've ever trolled through so many crotch shots to get to photos of faces.
I do, however, feel like I need a good waxer and some numbing cream.
I agreed wholeheartedly to put together a post to help Wayfarer make up his mind about the ladies he's considering for the post of Official Wayfarer Celebrity Crush. I don't think he's the only one who's going to like this, though. I've never had someone request a golfer before. I don't even think we've had a Tiger Woods in the gallery. Congratulations Paula Creamer both for going through life with that name and a straight face and for being our first Hot Person from the Green.
Jessica Alba I knew. It was hard for me to pick photos for her. I feel almost as though, by not choosing nearly nude shots of her, I haven't chosen appropriately representative photos of her and her work. (See also: Anna Kournikova, Tara Reid and, weirdly, Poppy Montgomery.) I didn't though. It just didn't seem right.
You can see her nipples in this next one if you enlarge it, though, so I guess that's a compromise.
I had a different problem with Jennifer Aniston. She's such a lovely woman and there are many flattering photos of her. I think she's come to represent "Sad, Dumped Chick" in the popular mind, though, because it was nearly impossible to find a good shot of her smiling.
Oh my Claire. Oh the righteous Lauren Ambrose. It seems as though I should try my best to remain impartial since this is Wayfarer's decision after all but he put Lauren Ambrose on the list. (Choose Lauren! Choose Lauren!)
On the flip side of that he also chose Catherine Zeta-Jones who...just rubs me the wrong way. It's not her, it's me, I know that.
I know there are people out there who would be perfectly happy to be rubbed any which way by her so I was easily able to find compelling photos.
When I read the list I didn't think I knew Brea Grant. But then I looked at her face and I knew her immediately. Are you watching Heroes this season, too?
Anna Kournikova. I feel like my sitemeter is going to spike because I've used her name and the words nipples and crotch in the same post. She's a perfectly nice girl, I'm sure, but she kind of strikes me as the sad, scary Oksana Baiul of the tennis world.
Lordy, the crotch shots I had to wade through to get these covered up pictures of her. I've got nothing against crotches, crotches are useful I just...they don't interest me as a photographic subject, that's all I'm saying.
The complete opposite of Jennifer Aniston, it was tough to find Grace Park not smiling. Just confirming how welcoming and pleasant she seems.
Do all actresses have to do the barely clad photo shoot thing? I don't see Poppy Montgomery as a pin up type but she's done a number of very sexy sessions. They don't seem like mock ups in photoshop. More disturbing than that are the numerous photos of her with her new baby alongside the ones of her arching her back and covering her areolas with her fingertips. No breastfeeding shots, though, which I thought was funny.
Huh, do I have a bias for Brea Grant that I didn't realize? I might. Oopsie.
Ah, I found the smile. Diligence and persistence actually do pay off.
And I found the not smile. Sort of. Still a knock out, regardless.
Triumph of the post is this one, though. How can you possibly resist her? I suspect we are all powerless before her grace, talent and silky red hair.
Well, Wayfarer? Did that help?

FFF

I felt like this photo of the aftermath of the wonderful baby shower I went to a couple of weeks ago was appropriate for the post Turkey Day FFF.

Today is my annual post-Thanksgiving Depressurization Open House. There will be traditional Thanksgiving food, traditional Thanksgiving mimosas, good music, good friends and a good laugh here and there I'm willing to bet. I'm looking forward to it. Just a few loose ends to tie up before I'm ready to relax and laissez les bons temps rouler!

Thankful Snapshots

Sitting on the A train headed into Manhattan I was thankful for the not so little girl kicking my seat. I'd just learned about the attack in Mumbai and I was suddenly so happy she was here trying to annoy the shit out of me instead of there or anywhere like it.

Standing on the corner of 57th & 9th I was glad to have a friend who likes to deliver meals with me. I was thankful that it had turned out that she'd been able to go with me this year even though she had to work. I was especially thankful just for her as she shouted, "I love this! I love that we do this. I want to do this next year! I want to do this forever!"

At the eleventh hour of cleaning before tomorrow's open house I was enormously grateful that I have long thin fingers and a little bit of ingenuity. Otherwise my vacuum cleaner hose would still be clogged and my floor would still be covered in pet hair tumbleweeds.

At least 3 times so far this holiday I have been thankful for my dishwasher.

I'm grateful that none of the people who are coming by tomorrow will really care if my house wouldn't pass the Martha Stewart test (it won't). I'm grateful that, as a result, I will get to bed at a decent hour tonight and get a full night's rest so I'll be prepped and ready for an exhausting day of fun tomorrow.

Walking down the street to the subway I met a 4 month old pit bull whose ears had been cropped with household scissors. Skinny and mouthy and enthusiastic he had been rescued by a man whose girlfriend had called up and said, "I found this puppy who is being abused..." I am thankful that there are people out there who respond to that sort of call and I'm thankful that there are dogs like that who are so goofy-sweet they make it impossible to do anything but laugh.

Ooo, oo, I'm thankful for TV on the internet. I caught up on the Season 5 finale of Entourage and am in the midst of catching up on some Chuck. (Dear Chuck Bartowski, call me! Love, Kizz)

I'm thankful for my ridiculous pie crust stealing, turkey begging, vacuum fearing pets. Fucking goofballs.

I am thankful for yummy Thanksgiving food and I am going to go have some more right now.

Sort of a Thanksgiving Post

A year ago today it was not Thanksgiving. It was a Tuesday, a regular Tuesday. Well, if on a regular Tuesday you plan to go somewhere and have someone use a laser to carve patterns into your face.

A year ago today I looked like the photo at left. Yup, a little fatter, hair too long, same glasses, and a tiny spot on my forehead that just wouldn't heal. I don't have a picture of myself today...yet but it's a little different. For instance my skull is a lot closer to the camera lens. You can go here to see the (kind of gross) pictures of my recovery process and you can go here to see random pictures of me before, during and after the whole head carving procedure or you can just go here if you'd rather just look at photos I've taken in general and don't care what I look like.

I've known all month that I'd be writing this post today and I just assumed that by the time the day arrived I'd have something profound to say about the experience. Turns out I don't really. The actual procedure wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The recovery took longer than I thought it would. Vicodin is cool. I look different. I do. Almost everyone tells me they can hardly see it, they wouldn't have noticed it if I hadn't pointed it out, that it looks fine but, you know, I look different. Frankly I'm not a big fan. The fissure itself is not horrifying but the dip it makes in my hairline actually makes me a little verklempt.

You know what, though? Can't unring that bell. Also, it could be worse. It could have been melanoma and I'd be fucking dead right now. Hmm, not so much a nice thing to use the f word on Thanksgiving is it?

To sum up I look weird now but it could be worse so on this day of Thanksgiving I give thanks for still having a head and a life. Hope you're being thankful for something too. And eating lots of turkey.

Not The Spirit

I know that in the spirit of sweet gratitude leading up to Thanksgiving I should be doing nice things and thinking kind thoughts but apparently that's not me. In recent days no one has directly denigrated my fair city (to my face) but it's happened all too frequently in the past and it seems I'm not over it. The first thing I thought when I saw this post on My Open Wallet was, "Fuck you! Fuck all of you that talk about how dirty and dishonest New York and its denizens are! Put this in your cancer-causing pipe and smoke it 'til you choke, fuckers!" Yeah, honestly I didn't know how angry I was but I guess it's undeniable. The pertinent quote from the article is, "all $1,082 that had been scattered before the police arrived was recovered in full." Clearly those people are morally superior to me.

Lady Power

A couple of weeks ago I was fortunate enough to be invited to a baby shower for an old college friend. This is my favorite shot from the day. The lady on the right threw the do for the lady on the left (and the young man currently residing inside the lady on the left). It was a thrilling group of women and the conversation never fell below riveting. Many of the gifts were handmade and the laughter was almost non-stop. (One of the ladies makes these. Go click that link. NOW! I'll wait, it's so worth it. I wish I could afford one of each. Hell, I wish I could afford even one.) We all know I get the social anxiety here and there and if this group isn't a cure for that I don't know what is.

My photography on the day I'm less sure of. The lighting wasn't terribly strong so I did lot of the day with the dinky pop up flash since I don't have a special bouncy flash thingamajig. So the technical aspects of the photos aren't stellar. I think I managed a decent archive of the day, though, and there are a couple of shots that hopefully captured the feeling of the fest. I sure had a great time taking them and looking over them again when I was processing.

The restaurant whose grotto we bunkered down in for almost 5 hours was wonderful, as was our deliciously flirty waiter. If you ever go there I'd be happy to tag along!

10 Thankful Things

It's Thanksgiving week after all so the theme for this week's 10 things is easy.

1. My dog. No matter how many times I talk you through how important she is it's not enough to express her awesomosity.

2. All my income. I've still got all my income and a year to make some decisions.

3. Friends and family, natch. Without them I sure as shooting wouldn't be where I am now and I like where I am now. Thanks you guys!

4. Good food. I ordered all the stuff for the Thanksgiving and post-Thanksgiving feasting. No roast beast but everything else. I'm excited to start cooking it all but more excited to start eating it.

5. This year I'm not getting half my face carved off after we carve the turkey.

6. My apartment. I know that the neighbors are odd and the outside is a little Cabrini Green circa 1968 but you can't judge a book by its cover. It's just the right size and does just the right things and is in the right place for me and mine.

7. The internet is fabulous and I love that I can say all this stuff and people read it and we all talk about things. I'm sorry when people are ass monkeys but that's just like real life and there are fewer of them than I thought there'd be.

8. I'm specifically grateful for Chili's gratitude 10 today because she reminded me to speak out. She pointed out orgasms are something for which to be grateful. You're darn tootin'! In the spirit of saying things out loud so that they will happen I do need to find someone to give me some of those delicious orgasms. The whole process of finding someone is really complicated so I tend to dismiss it to the back burner. All the burners are in use for Thanksgiving prep now, though, so I'm just going to have to deal with this one. That's a good thing, thanks for reminding me!

9. I am grateful for New York City. Man, I fucking love this place. You can naysay it and denigrate it and fly airplanes into it until it is tilted on its dusty, smoke-laden side and I will have only a hearty fuck you to give you back. This city is everything I could ever want in a city and it does right by me. I hope I can do right by it.

10. The mass production of reading material is so good it makes my brain short circuit sometimes. I am currently reading a book courtesy of JRH that is making me cry and laugh and think really hard about what I can and cannot do. The last book I read was set in 16th century England where books were scarce, expensive and delicate. To be reading this enormous, honking paperback book that had fallen into my hands for free and by accident and have it remind me that life was not always so? Well that is something for which to be grateful, in a bit of a baffling way.

Hope you're taking some time to be grateful for stuff this week. If nothing else at least we aren't coming off the year the Pilgrims had before the first Thanksgiving. Now that year was a pisser!

Social Misstep

I honestly don't know that I'm going to be able to adequately explain what happened to me this evening. It's not earth shattering or scary or anything it's just so fricking odd I can't stop trying to parse it.

To understand the logistics you need to know the basic layout of my apartment complex. We take up one entire city block and you can enter the courtyard from either of the two streets that flank us. You walk in on a path in the middle of the block to a security pavilion in the center of the space and once you're in the pavilion you choose to go through a door to the right or one to the left, 3 buildings on one side and 3 on the other.

The players are me and a woman who lives on my side of the pavilion. She's older than me, shorter than me with thick glasses and a businesslike little walk I can recognize from a mile away. She has a young dog, Daisy, who is so soft it seems she can't possibly be real and so ill-behaved you know that she must be.

Historically I steer well clear of the woman and the dog. I use Emily as an excuse because I know she would take poor Daisy dog to the cleaners and this woman is incapable of holding Daisy back and eventually someone would get hurt and it'd probably be Em. Selfishly it's because this woman kind of creeps me out. OK, and she pisses me off. She knows that Em has some issues and yet she blunders around the sidewalks and the complex with no sort of awareness of who is around her. So there I'll stand for minutes at a time as she chats or fixes keys or whatever blocking a pathway or exit. She never gives way or helps me out or anything and I hate it when people are oblivious like that. She's not the only one who acts like this but that's no excuse.

Anyway, tonight I was on my way home from work and as I turned down my block I could see this lady and Daisy ahead so I slowed down a bit to give them time to get inside before me. Not surprisingly they dawdled and I was only a few yards behind them as they hit the pavilion. Standing in the first door the woman decided to look for her keys. In the doorway, with it open, letting out all the heat that we all pay for so we don't have security guardsicles! I can't wait for her to go in and I have my keys out already because I am perfect (heh) so I get closer and closer. She finds her keys, looks up and sees me and holds the door. I motion her to go ahead and it's like she doesn't even see my hand. She stares me down and refuses to budge. So I'm stuck at that point and have to say hello and all. I'm a big girl, it won't kill me. I was, after all, brought up right no matter how I come across. I thank her and she moves to the second door.

Note that I said to the door.

She stands smack in front of it, with her back to it even, staring at me. I wait for her to open the door. Protocol here is one opens the door as fast as possible for whoever is waiting. If the person in front has trouble finding keys then the next person steps up in a sort of deferential manner, never brusque, always as though we are simply doing the person in front a favor which they can refuse to accept at any time. I don't know why it's like that, it just is. Between woman and dog I'm completely cut off from the doorway so I can't step up plus I can see that she's holding her key out and at the ready but she won't stop staring at me.

"Is that Emily's leash?" she asks.

She was staring directly at my keys. I'm so confused. I looked down and saw that my cheap Target lanyard was hanging from my keys, the keys I was holding in a place of prominence, ready to unlock any door I can get within arms reach of.

"No," I reply, still baffled and not afraid to let it show. "Just my keys."

She stands. She stares. I look around for assistance. One of the guards started to realize what was going on, or maybe he thought we both couldn't find our keys and were waiting for him so he started looking for his keys.

Daisy finally noticed I was standing there and was so happy to see me. I generally only see her on very special occasions when she's out with the dogwalker and I'm out without Em. She jumped and leaped and flung herself at me repeatedly and let me scritch her a little and we made weird small talk about the dog. The woman ineffectually told Daisy to stop and I talked about how good Daisy is. She's not good but she's so sweet in her badness and I feel sorry for her. She's got good in her but no one thus far has decided to go digging for it.

Giving up on getting Daisy reined in the woman says to no one in particular, "Oh, those are your keys." Wha huh? The boon was that Daisy moved so I could slide past her still unmoved owner and unlock the door.

As per the aforementioned protocol I held the door for them and then followed them out. "I thought that looked too small to be a leash for a....a dog...like Emily. Emily is your dog isn't she?"

"Yes she is." I was pulling ahead but couldn't justify a full out run. I began to wonder why she was so interested in my dog and my supposed leash and if she was so interested why she might not also be interested in helping me get inside after a long ass day at work and give my poor dog a chance to pee and stretch her legs!

"How old is she?"

"She's 13 and a half."

"Oh wow, she looks great." I cannot tell you how many times I've had that conversation lately and it's making the superstitious part of me sick to my stomach every freaking time.

"Thanks. She's doing pretty well. Fingers crossed!" I tossed out in that way that you do that means, 'my fingers are crossed.'

After a beat I heard behind me, "Oh I will." (beat) "I promise!" No doubt she will. I can't stop her. I'm not even going to try.

What in the fucking fuck just happened to me? Writing it down I wonder if she has a much more serious sight problem than is apparent and it contributes to her complete inability to feel what goes on around her. Except I'm pretty sure she has a car so I hope to hell her sight problem isn't so bad she can't see my keys on a lanyard 3 feet away from her. On the other hand even if she does have a sight issue just because you can't see stuff doesn't mean you're immune to the procedural issues surrounding the use of public doorways! Or the social protocols involved when you're standing around staring at your neighbor for minutes on end. It's rude! And creepy.

This chick gives me even more heebie jeebies than she did before. Makes me want to rescue that poor dog, too.

Respect A Woman Who Knows What She Wants

From Auntie Chili: "If you would please; The chick who played Abigail Adams in the John Adams mini-series. Laura something or other I think. The chick that played the mom in the terminator movie. If you can find the one where she is in jail working out that would be cool. Sting. He's hot for a dude. You in the black dress again. Carmen from the L word. Mrs. Obama. Anyone else you think I might like. Thank you."

Absolutely within my power.

First of all that's Laura Linney to you. And to everyone else.


She is an accomplished stage actress who has only relatively recently come to the national public eye with any sort of regularity. It's hard to pick my favorite Linney role, especially given the masterwork that is the John Adams series, but I think it's still either from The Squid & The Whale or Kinsey.


Just for the record, that "chick" is Linda Hamilton, that "jail" was a mental institution, that "mom in the Terminator" is Sarah Connor.


I like Lena Headey (perhaps you will too, here's a picture) in the TV Series but she's no Linda Hamilton.


Sadly my limited search skills did not reveal a secret cache of screen caps of that iconic first appearance in T2:JD where she's doing pull ups on the upturned bed frame. Sigh. Maybe our cry for them will bring a lurker out of the woodwork and they'll find a shot for us. Fingers crossed. Do you hear that technically proficient lurkers? We need you!


I've heard the same stuff you have about Sting. I guess he is hot but it's just not doing it for me.


Different strokes, though, so here he is in all his new age, manly musician glory.

The Black Dress? Really? I don't have any new ones and this one's so bad.

Aren't a little more glam in the red?

Carmen from the L Word also known as Reese from Life also known as Sara Shahi also known as Lesbian Kryptonite. Seriously, she totally is.

I'm a Shane/Katherine Moennig girl (aka Straight Girl Kryptonite, I know!) myself but I do see the attraction of the lush-haired, curvy, exotic goddess.

She used to be a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader, did you know that?

Here's one that'll make us both happy. My kingdom for a better resolution copy of this image.


Whooo, I may need to take a minute before we continue on.

It is interestingly difficult to get photos of Michelle Obama by herself and without a microphone covering up her face.


Some of the best ones are here (link courtesy of Gert) and all copywrighted so I can't show you a sample but please trust me when I say that if you're excited by the First Family or even still just a little Dewy for Democracy (tm ME!) you should check those shots out.

See? FLOTUS-Elect knows what I'm talking about.

And here, just as a prize for being the first person to request a Hot People post this time around, I'll say farewell with a few one shots you might find interesting.

Bridget Regan, currently on the new series, Legend of the Seeker, by the folks who brought us Xena.

Katie Holmes who, I think, remains beautiful despite my near-constant desire to send a SWAT team into her life to rescue her and her cutie daughter.

The delicious Navi Rawat who jumped ship from the OC just in time to land on Numb3rs and become one half of the hottest smart couple currently gracing our televisions.
You're welcome.

And this one? This one's just for me.

Images courtesy of the all-seeing Google.

My Apologies To Everyone Reading Who Isn't Into Dudes

Woof.
I don't think we've had a Hot People post during this year's NaBloPoMo yet.
No time like the present.
Stressing over the beginning of the holiday season?
Feel free to request your own Hot People Post.
Just leave a comment with specifics and I'll be happy to help.
All images courtesy of Google Images.
And the deliciously feisty Jason Bateman.