Wow, it's been quite a while since my last post.  LJ seems to be a cyclical thing with me; I'll post and read very actively for a month or two, then take a few weeks off.  I should gather stats on my posting and see if it matches one of the biorhythm curves or something. :)

For the last two weeks, I actually have a good excuse for not having posted ( Read more... )

Thank you, everyone who has contacted me regarding Lauri's death.  It's amazing how much all the love and support have helped me andmadelineusher .  I don't know what I did to deserve a circle of friends like you all, but I'm very glad I did it.

Life is starting to return to normal, despite surreal moments intruding now and then.  This weekend I will be ( Read more... )

I have, after only four decades of procrastination, started learning to play the guitar.  I can currently play a somewhat adequate E chord, and a really crappy, buzzing, unreliable A.  When I perfect these two and add a third, I will be able to play every song the Ramones ever recorded, and indeed about half of the entire body of popular music.  In ( Read more... )

My strategy worked; yesterday I staged a raid on Circuit City's post-Christmas-we're-so-desperate sale, and was practically paid to haul away a modest but quite adequate HDTV.  I hadn't realized how bad the old set had gotten until I saw the new one...no wonder I never watched TV, as it was effectively invisible toward the end of the previous set's ( Read more... )

Lately I've noticed that a lot of formerly quasi-public spaces are being secured against intruders.  My own office building recently reduced the hours during which you can enter the lobby without a key card.  The building across the alley from us has locked the corridor which used to provide easy access to the Promenade.  And it's effectively ( Read more... )

Yesterday evening was exciting.

First, I dashed out early (for me) from work to meet the lovely rosefox  for a quick dinner.  It had been a long time since our last chance to visit, and the conversation zinged wildly from common friends to politics to the economy to our careers and relationships, and points between and beyond.  In retrospect, I'm amazed ( Read more... )

Last night I left work around 7:15, stepping out into deep twilight in the alley between my office and the buildings on Third Street Promenade.  We're just a couple of blocks from the ocean, so it's always cooler here than further inland; in the fall, it usually gets pretty brisk out as the sun sets and the onshore breeze blows the fog in.  So as I ( Read more... )

When I'm under too much emotional stress, I tend toward the turtle reflex -- pull my head and legs into my shell and wait in the dark for danger to go away.  That's where I've been the last month; hence the lack of posts here, along with all the unanswered email and phone calls.  Sorry to everyone I've left worried or confused ( Read more... )

Salon is running a fascinating interview with James Carse, whose new book The Religious Case Against Belief raises all kinds of interesting questions about the nature of faith and religion.  I haven't read it yet, but based on this article the book has jumped to the top of my pending list.  He emphasizes the differences between religions, which I ( Read more... )

We're gradually getting settled in at the new apartment.  I love the place, especially its roominess; 10 years crammed into our previous home has made me really appreciate room to swing my arms without knocking over a lamp.

I haven't had net access at home since we moved.  Nor have we had TV.  The all-in-one cable installation is due to happen on ( Read more... )