Most of the time when I see someone break a traffic law, I think, "Stupid punkass kids..." or something else in this same genre. You don't expect a nice law-abiding 58-year-old mom with her nice law-abiding almost 27-year-old daughter to run straight through a stop sign. A stop sign that was obviously put there to deter punkass kids from drag racing down Suey Street. But when the two women in question are busy looking at the light that appeared on the car console, that's what you get...a Toyota Camry cruising through the stop, without passing go, and without crashing...thank god Santa Maria isn't the Bay Area. But I laugh to think that someone at the intersection might have been thinking to him- or herself, "Crazy f&*#ers - driving like that on Christmas Eve!"

I, of course, would love to write a novel someday. My reason for putting it off in the future is that I just don't have any good ideas yet - my feeling being that I just haven't lived long enough to have truly experienced something that would gracefully enlighten me to write the big, bad novel. This may sound crazy, but the idea was reinforced by a lady that I met once in a doctor's office a few years back. We got to talking and she found out that I was writing for a magazine and she informed me that she was actually shopping for publishers for her first novel - the lady was 70, okay! Though she did go on to tell me that the novel was about an event that happened to her when she was my age (I was 25 at the time). So she gave me hope...

Anyways, no ideas for novels aside, I do have some ideas for titles:
One Dream Down
Losing an I

and first sentences:
The man behind the counter raised his face until it was even with the barrel of my shotgun.

I had never been very good at word games, but I knew a great word-ladder when I saw one:
TRIP
TRAP
CRAP - could anything more profoundly sum up my entire life?

While walking down the street today with head down in the hopes that no one would notice my runny nose, a man on a front porch yelled out, "Smile Sexy" and being that I felt the complete opposite of sexy, I couldn't help but smile.

Being sick is a bitch, but being sick and being alone is even worse. I'll never forget when I had strep throat and I was holed up in my house for a whole week. For some reason, I had no contact with the outside world - I think Katie was out of town and I couldn't answer phone calls because my throat was too swollen. I thought I was going to die and that no one would even notice. It was the week that TCI Cable played free HBO and Showtime - I think I watched Godzilla about four times before I heard that JFK Jr.'s plane went down - then I was all over that story from beginning to tragic end. Dez came by once - I think she was so shocked at my appearance/condition that she didn't stay very long. I cried a lot, thinking that I was never going to get better. I don't think I would have survived half as well if Hillary hadn't come by and dropped off a bag of groceries for me. I was too embarrased to answer the door so she left them on my front porch. I have still never thanked her for it. Sorry for the ramble, but every time I get sick (like now), I think about how worse it can be and I am thankful that all I have is a small post-nasal drip and a sore throat.

Yesterday I met a fellow co-worker that graduated from Santa Clara - yes, it might have been 3 years after me, but the bond was instantly there regardless. We dominated the lunch table talk with our speak of freshman/sophomore dorms (me - Swig/Dunne, him - Campisi/McLaughlin) and our distaste for the Greek life among other fascinating details (did you know the school bought the Good Earth and they turned a hotel into a new dorm?). It was interesting - I hadn't thought about university going-ons in quite some time so it was really fun to sit there and reminisce about those days. I had a great college experience and it's rare to talk about it in day-to-day life so any chance I get to talk about 9th floor, Light House, or Mio, you can bet I take it.

Today is what every work day should be like - 3 hours of work in the morning and then a work-sponsored luncheon at the Ritz-Carlton with free food and drink after which we are allowed to go home.

You know what bugs me - getting a phone call anytime after 4pm that deals with any sort of "urgent" project. If it's so damn urgent, why couldn't you have called at 9am to discuss it?

Every month The Sun magazine gives out a new topic in its "Readers Write" section and every month I have nothing to say. I always tell myself that someday I'm going to write in on a topic and win that free six-month subscription (especially now that I've decided to not renew come March), but then my mind goes blank. The funny thing is that last night when I was trying to think of some story in my life that would fall under "Vanity," "Size," or "Blessings in Disguise" I started thinking of categories some of my stories would fit in - like I have a great one if the topic was "The Light" or if it was "Summer" or even "At the Last Minute"...so now I'm wondering if instead of submitting a story they would allow me to submit my topic ideas. I think they're good for at least a one-month free subscription.

One of the best feelings in the world is beating Adrian at Trivial Pursuit - it's even sweeter when the winning answer is in response to a sports question specifically chosen to stump me.

Happy Birthday - to the cutest Miami Vice wanna-be I've ever seen! I love you!

Sometimes I wish that life was like a "choose-your-own-adventure" book - you get to choose a path and if at any time along the way you decide it just isn't the one for you, you get to go back to the critical juncture and choose a different one. How great would that be?