I am writing this entry from the comfort of my own bedroom. Well, �relative� comfort, since I don�t actually have a desk or anything, and so the computer is resting on my bed, and I�m kneeling on the floor, getting carpal tunnel with each keystroke, thanks to the not-so-ergonomic considerations of this position. I�d move, but the only other option would be to have the computer in my lap, with me hunkered over it like a raccoon trying to break into a goose egg or something, and that would be both painful and kind of pathetic.
Never mind. I retract everything I just said. I�m sitting in a chair now, with the computer in my lap, all raccoony, and I�m fine with that. Incidentally, the reason I�m writing this from home is because my job ended last week. Don�t fear too much for me, though, dear reader, because I have another job that begins this coming Friday. Don�t ask a lot of questions about the new job, though, because to be honest I really don�t have that many answers. For example, the name of the show. This was never reported to me by the man who gave me the job. I was also not informed of where the offices are or when I was supposed to be there, but this information I got from other sources. I almost wrote �the man who offered me the job�, but changed that, because it would have been inaccurate. I wasn�t really �hired� so much as �activated�. It�s hard to explain:
Man: Hi, Dr. No?
Me: Yes.
Man: I heard you would be available for work after next week.
Me: Yes...yes, that�s true.
Man: Good, I�ll see you on Friday the ninth.
Maybe I�m going to be a spy?I spent this past weekend on a family reunion. You may remember this same event from two years ago, if you�ve been reading this site for a while�my family has done this every other year for longer than I�ve been alive. It was actually a lot of fun! My parents and brother flew in late last Wednesday, and after a delicious and free breakfast (well, free for me, which is the important distinction), we hit the road, driving north up the Pacific coastline. We stopped in Santa Barbara to do some wine tasting, and then in a little town outside Santa Barbara so we could do a little wine tasting, and then we were going to stop somewhere to do a some wine tasting, but I think we all forgot about that because we were a little tipsy for some reason.
The best part about all the wine tasting was my mother�s abiding indignation at the ubiquity of Sideways-obsessed, pinot-stalking amateurs out to replicate every scene in the movie. (They even sell official Sideways maps now, so you can completely divest your journey of any spontaneity or terrifying chance at self-governance.) My parents loved that movie like it was the one child that never disappointed them when it first came out, but then it slowly sank its merlot-hating claws into the zeitgeist of a certain generation, and now everyone in and around the Santa Barbara area sort of rolls their eyes at every yahoo out-of-towner who comes in claiming to like pinot noir. Thanks to the years my sister spent living in the wine country of northern California, my family already had sort of a graceful familiarity with wine and a moderately developed palate and appreciation for the fruit of the vine, but this is now a hard sell to make. Before anyone could take the opportunity to give us a tired and well-rehearsed introduction to the art of wine, my mother was off and running on a tirade about our collective (and respective) histories with it. When I accurately pinpointed some subtle flavors in an aged cabernet in front of the vintner, my mother practically named me the patron saint of our vacation.
The rest of the trip was really exciting, too, if you like the woods. And argumentative octogenarians. I kid, but in truth, my family can�t come to an agreement on anything that hasn�t been argued about first. We�re the only group I know who can fight for a solid thirty minutes about something on which everyone agrees unanimously. But they�re my family and I love them.
Someone Got Here By Searching For: diane lane hot I�m Watching: Passions. I�ve got, like, four episodes to catch up on. I�m Reading: A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson. I loved The Lost Continent, and so far this proves to be of equal quality.