So I accomplished nothing last night. I ended up going out with Madelaine to Long Beach becuz I was still feeling a bit guilty for not being here for her b-day. I ended up getting her the collection of Bjork videos, Volumen. She was quite joyous about that which is good. And, as I have said in the past, there really isn’t much to do in Long Beach. But then again, I’m not all that familiar with the area (ie what to do, where to go), so I’m stuck in a loop.

Anyhow, I should look for some new recipes since I’m starting to cook the same things over and over again. And I promise to grocery shop and do laundry tonight.

I haven’t had enough caffeine today. My brain just feels like silly putty. I need to do some grocery shopping today. I’m in the mood to cook.

I’m reading Madame Bovary right now. There’s a passage I don’t get in Part One, Chapter One:

“To spare him expense his mother sent him every week by the carrier a piece of veal baked in the oven…”

Apparantly, in the original edition of the novel, it was edited out for being shocking. The translator did note that this passage is mild in comparison to the others that were deleted. My question is how is this sordid? Anyone?

Leaving Santa Barbara last night was an adventure, to say the least. I knew there would be a lot of congestion if I left earlier in the evening, so I deliberately left at 9:30 pm. Once out of Santa Barbara city limits, there’s about a 20-mile stretch before the Ventura County line. My average speed on that 20-mile stretch: 5 mph. Nevermind I had people on my ass most of the time (apparantly they thought they would get to their destination faster if they did so). All in all, a pretty nerve racking experience. Anyhow, after that it was pretty much smooth sailing.

After talking to babaluma yesterday afternoon, went Downtown with A____ and got the new Flaming Lips album, Flaubert’s Madame Bovary, Gogol’s Dead Souls, the complete works of Arthur Rimbaud and noodle, a new gay Asian/Pacific Islander mag. noodle is pretty disappointing, but it’s their premiere issue so it will be interesting to see where they go from here. There was nothing really in-depth or stirring about any of the pieces; my only reaction was “so?…”

So there you have it. No drama this time around! Woo hoo!!

Last night, my wifey Daniel, our son Nick and I had dinner at Edomasa, this lovely sushi place just outside of Downtown SB. A couple of years ago, my friends and I would be there at least one or twice a week. They knew us by name there, which we find amusing to this day. Since then, they have gotten a new set of employees, so there were no familiar faces.

Afterwards, we went over to the Blue Agave just to feel really bourgie. It’s one of my fave places to drink here, although I never went too often when I lived here. I must remember that since my move to LA, I rarely drink. Thus Long Island Ice Teas are a bit strong. Heh.

Now I must face the drive back down to LA. I wonder what I’ll do to prolong this as much as possible.

Wow. I created my journal 7/30/01. It’s almost been a year. I feel a tear rolling down my cheek.

Last night was an interesting. Indie punk/funk/soul revue so to speaks thanks to DJ Fatkid. There was a weird mix of kids there that made me feel quite old in a way. Eh. Poor me. Self pity. Blah.

So I am really hungry and caffeine deprived. I should probably get that taken care of.

On the LA Times homepage, you can access the daily crossword that appear in the paper for free (of course you have to register, but that’s a snap)!!! As a result, I’ve been doing the crossword habitually again for the past month or so. I guess it’s a good sign that I can complete most days’ puzzles correctly, although Saturday’s puzzles are still elusive to me. But sometimes I wonder if there is something completely wrong with my brain when the whole world becomes a puzzle. Oh well. I guess once I master the LA Times puzzle, I can graduate to the NY Times puzzle. That one should be a doozy.

Going to Santa Barbara tonight for the weekend! And DJ Fatkid is finally going to be there!!!! So I’m a bit excited. Tingly even (and everyone knows that’s a bad thing when it happens >:) It will be nice since it’s generally cooler up there. It’s been so hot down here in LA lately, I’ve been feeling like I was melting. That’s such a horrid sensation.

It’s payday! It’s payday! [does a little jig] I think I’m going to attempt to go thrift store raiding again this weekend, hopefully with more success than last time. I need to find some kitschy shirts. Ooooh! And I need to buy some pants since all of my pants fall down to the ground (and I HATE wearing a belt, but I do).

I think it is time also to dye my hair. The gray is really starting to piss me off. I spent about 10 minutes this morning succumbing to my vanity and pulling my white hairs. I think I pulled a couple of black ones since the haze of the morning was still in my eyes.

AND I need to buy more Elvis Costello albums. Evidently he was chosen as UCLA’s first “artist in residence”, whatever that means. Actually, what DOES that mean? Can anyone explain? Anyhow he’s a genius. I spent most of last night listening to “(What’s So Funny About) Peace, Love and Understanding?” and just laugh at the dripping irony.