and the green grass grew all around

if you've noticed (which you haven't, because you don't share an office with me, but you know--suspend disbelief) that i'm much grumpier and not as put together in the mornings than i used to be, here is the reason why. i am no longer taking morning showers. for the past week i have been forced to shower at the gym, and shower in the evenings at that due to my schedule.

why, you might ask? because there is a big hole in my bathroom ceiling above the tub. a big, gaping, plumbing filled hole. and how did it get there? the torrent of water leaking from the pipes above caused the ceiling to collapse, that's how. and while i would shower under a big hole, i will not shower with waste water dripping onto my head. hence, showering exclusively at the gym.

i notified the maintence staff last week as to the sagging ceiling. i yelled at them a few days ago about the whole and the leaking water. we'll see if i'll have to start negotiating rent reductions before they get off their asses....

civil rights 1, crazies 16

the last of the fourteen attempts to put a same-sex marriage ban proposition on the november 2006 california ballot has failed.

which doesn't mean the crazies are going away. the same-sex marriage bill that past the state legislature last year (damn representative democracy!) will likely be re-introduced, and JCCP 4365 Marriage Cases (damn rule of law!) will make it up to the state supreme court in a couple of years. so don't break out the rainbow confetti just yet...

modus operandi

i had a rather interesting date with a rather smart guy with a hot body and a cute face over some rather good sushi.

so, naturally, i'm expecting never to hear from him again.

now with 28% more geek

i hate conventions. and this is why.

the metro was very crowded this morning. not stand-up crowded: proped-up-by-the-pressure-of-adjoining-bodies crowded. it could be that i was heading to work at 7:45 in the morning, an hour earlier than i normally do and during the rushier part of rush hour (which, in los angeles, lasts from 6:30am until 8:00pm, except weekends, when you shouldn't even bother leaving your house at all). but most of the people on the train had those badges on. and we all know what that means.

E3 is in town this week, and like during every other god-damned convention, downtown has been infested with swagbag toating geeks. I say god-damned not because i dislike video game nerds (and some of theme are pretty hot, too--though nothing compares to the ecstasy of when there was some sort of gymnastics thing going on...mmmm mmmm good), but that it's hard enough to have a peaceful lunch in under 4 hours as it is without an additional influx of 20,000 people who stand in line at the mad burrito and don't know what they want to order. or if you want to find a nice spot outside of starbucks or the 'bean for your afternoon energy boost. or if you want to be able to not be shoved off the sidewalk by a blob of PSP fanatics slithering down the road.

you know, no big deal, just a little inconvenient.

high on life

and by life, i mean pseudoephedrine and caffeine. i swear, cold medicine and a diet coke is better than, well, coke.

pour deux beaux yeux

i was actually in a rather bad mood walking to the cafe for lunch today. i was on the phone with my mother, detailing (in as much as i could without revealing privileged information) the current developments in the uber case i work on and how it is progessively becoming a very minor case and how that affects my job. my mother, bless her, was reminding me of all that could go wrong and why didn't i make better choices in my life. plus, it was overcast, which is as close to the apocalypse as you'll get in southern california.

anyway, i found a booth in the upstairs of one of my favorite cafes, across the street from the mart. the usual fashionistas and moneyistas and risk-managementistas were there. upon inspecting the menu, though, i discovered that neither the coq au vin nor the boeuf borgignon were on the menu any more.

okay, so it wasn't a disaster. but i was in a badish mood and it was an uglyish day and i had walked eight blocks just for some good old coq au vin and it wasn't there. i was pissed.

until the waiter--tall, cute, with sexy-stuble, a nice ass, and adorable eyes--came and took my order. it was enough to make my day. a small little midday fantasy to clear out all the crap from outside and make me smile a little.

and yes, i way over tipped him.

mr. rogers

i am one of those rare angelinos who actually uses public transport in this city. not necessarily because i'm a big proponent of public transportation (though i am), but because it is extremely convenient, cheap, and faster than driving. i live and work a few blocks from the subway (yes, los angeles does have a subway), so it's very convenient.

and because i take the subway, i get to see all of the interesting people who also take the subway. the women with crazy hair who talk to themselves, the guy who takes the 5:45 north hollywood train who always stares at me lasciviously, the christian evangelists, the homeless man who plays a beat-up quitar for change, the FIDM students with their emo haircuts and bedazzled chuck taylors.

these are the people who i see everyday. they've become almost a comfort as i sit half-awake on my 10 minute commute into the office. i don't know they're names, i don't speak a word to them, and most of them aren't going to the same place i am, but they are the people in my neighborhood. and i think it's a good thing.

elle s'habille en technicolor

i've spent much of the past week getting things arranged for my trip to paris in june. despite studying french language, literature, culture, and history for over 7 years, i'm afraid to death that i'll walk out of the metro and i'll have forgotten it all.

which i suppose is not as bad as my mother's reoccuring nightmare that the plane will crash into the ocean. i reminded her of the beginning of hotel new hampshire and suggested the family split up and take two separate flights. i don't think that cheered her up.