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.