Stuff and Things

i've been hibernating mostly since the year began. trying to step back and take inventory of things; trying to form a vision of what i want my 2005 to look like. still a little murky. plus, i went on a mini-cleanse where i didn't eat meat or drink alcohol for the first two weeks of january, so i wasn't as much fun to be around. but now that i'm back to being a carnivorous alcoholic, i'm ready to paint the town.

there was other stuff going on. i hit a few gnarly speedbumps that doused all the cocksure confidence i had going into this year. i didn't get a job i really wanted. and i had another setback that i won't go into here. there was some anguish. but i bounce back, and the year is still young. otherwise, i've still been working from home mucho, had some 12-hour workdays that felt oddly fantastic. there's still that isolation weirdness going on when i'm home working, where i don't talk to anyone but the dog. some days i decide to just not shower or change out of my jammies.

but stranger than that is the auditory show one of my neighbors has been unknowingly putting on for me. i think it's a couple, though i'm not sure of their genders. one is definitely a guy, and i think he might be a drug dealer or a junkie or maybe a rock star, because he seems to be home all day making noise. they argue non-stop, crescendo-ing in "get the fuck away from me!!" sometimes it's over housework, a la "look what a dirty fucking mess you made!!!" then there's the wretching, which is what makes me suspect he's a junkie. he seems to be vomiting all day -- guts-twisted-stomach-turned-inside-out type vomiting. i get queasy just hearing it. and when there's no arguing or vomiting, there's definitely masturbating. and he takes FOREVER to climax (also a junkie quality, no?). so while i'm sitting there trying to edit children's textbooks like the good nun i am, i get a delightful blend of hurling, horny and swear-landen sounds to fill up my home office (aka living room).

but on to the good news in brief:

• i saw the wonderful lhasa in concert at the conga room. she's a world artist who plays the most hauntingly beautiful gypsy music. she had me hypnotized all night, voodoo style. she looked damn sexy, too.


• i also saw the wonderful k8 the gr8, who was visiting from portland for the weekend. i hadn't seen the girl since we worked together in san francisco almost five years ago. twas quite pleasant.


• i finally received my FREE iPod in the mail this week. free, as in a $300 new 20 gig iPod for FREE. well, i guess it cost about 6 bucks shipping and handling for some beauty product i ordered but never used. "thanks" to the five people who signed up on my behalf, and "up yours" to the naysayers who said it would never happen. you can have one too. this offer is totally legit, but you gotta play by their rules: www.freeipods.com.


• the jasmine bush outside my front door is starting to bloom. it's gotten me all kinds of giddy, retarded style. jasmine is one of my most favorite smells, right up there with home cooking and sweet pheromones borne of intense chemistry. those smells flood the pleasure center of my brain, making me so dizzy i need to sit down. so whenever i walk outside lately, i just stop and inhale for a few seconds. LA air has never smelled better. downside is the bush blooms only once a year, but it should last for a few months. let me know if you want to come sit on my porch and breathe with me.