Esprit de l'escalier

Last night I had my writing buddy over for dinner. She is constantly impressed (like I am) with Kyle’s cooking prowess. (I think she secretly wishes she could have a Kyle all her own).

We talked more about the book she wants to write. The hard part was getting her to think through the mechanics of the story like…’where did the mirror with ego-absorbing powers come from? And if the people of this smalltown Anywhere, USA had their emotional reservations and awareness stolen from them how could they have the self-consciousness to figure out that they’ve changed and that it was this mystical mirror from another time that caused it?”

The story is a complex one and I was able to get a little bit of an outline put on paper last night. I can’t help but feel a little bit like I’m being used. Haha. Oh well, at least I’m still writing.
Don’t get me wrong, I like my writing friend a lot, but she is a little eccentric. She has dream boards covering all the wall space in her bedroom and she believes that her karmic situations will eventually bring her and Wyland (the artist) together to live happily ever after. (And that’s only if karma doesn’t re-unit her with Dennis Quaid).

Sitting in traffic, listening to the Ron and Don show talking about Seattle artist and an age old question comes to mind:

Is there a good artist, an artist that gave us amazing, transcendent, timeless art (music, painting, writing, etc.) That wasn,t a drug user (or any kind of abuser)?

I know there must be some world renowned artist out there that didn,t get there the wrong way or commit suicide.

In other news, my husband is totally going to be the next greatest inventor. It’s so inspiring to watch him pour over all his ideas and projects. He’s going to change the world.

After work, when we got home and I finally got off the phone with a customer, I was changing out of my work clothes. I walked into my room and caught a glimpse of my backside in the mirror. *horror!* I saw something that should never be seen at work and I had to confirm the suspicion that maybe I went through the whole day in this state of dress.

Me: “Honey, do you think my underwear was showing all day?”

*I show him the site of the error*

Husband: “Wasn’t your shirt tucked in?”

(Here he also adds that this had to be the funniest question he’s ever heard)

Me: “No, this isn’t a tucking-in type shirt.”

Husband: “Turn around and bend over like you’re picking something up.”

*Slightly suspicious of his intentions, I do as he requests*

Husband: “Well…yeah, they were probably showing. But look, *he turns around and bends over* my underwear does the same thing.”

Me: “But that’s different!”

Husband: “How is it different?”

Me: “Yours don’t have bunny rabbits on them.”

My Grandma passed away this morning. I really miss her. I missed her even before she was gone. More on this later.

Listening to the news these past few months has stirred mixed emotions in me. Today as I heard the update that the pedi-murderer from Florida got the death sentence, I was so happy and yet still so angry. It made me think about that sicko from Tacoma that kidnapped, raped and murdered that little girl on the 4th of July. He got out of the death penalty
They reviewed some of the gruesome details from the Florida case including how this guy kidnapped a 9-yr-old girl, Jessica, raped and tortured her for several days and then stuffed her into two plastic garbage bags, still alive and conscious and then buried her (still very alive and conscious) in the back yard! (http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=SPECIALSECTIONS03)

Even though I know justice is now going to be served, it still pisses me off to think about it because there are still tons of kids out there possibly going through things just as bad right this very second.
What made me kind of smile was the father’s comments about how he felt about this guy getting the death sentence and if he was going to attend. He said something like…’Definitely…I even thought about applying for the job of executing him.’
What really got to me was the fact that this criminal tried to pull the ‘mentally retarded’ card. Simply because of the law in Florida that says you can’t sentence a mentally retarded person with the death penalty.
I don’t even understand how anyone could possibly think that a person challenged enough to be considered ‘disabled’ could plan and execute the things he did to that little girl.

And then there were those brothers who just came out and exposed their boy scout troop leader who raped and molested them over a period of ten years or something. (http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=boyscouts23m&date=20070823&query=boy+scouts)
And it turns out that the Boy Scouts have been keeping secret files of endless accounts of such issues that they’ve dealt with secretly since 1910! Oh, this makes me want to scream! I better stop now before I explode. Lord help these people.

And don’t even get me started on dog fighting. Stupid football players…

So I got to work this morning at 6:15 AM. I sat in the parking lot for a couple minutes debating whether or not to sacrifice my totally awesome parking spot to run to Safeway and get some cream to have with my tea this morning. I decided against it.

The drive around I-5 wasn’t that bad, considering I left at the crack of dawn and that I was coming from West Seattle, which would pretty much be completely isolated from the rest of civilization if it weren’t for I-5. And now we’re getting a taste of that. Yummy.

In preparation for this test of congestion endurance, I went to bed at 8 PM last night and woke up at 4 this morning. I took 99 to the Mercer St. on-ramp and had an almost unhindered commute.

When Kyle and I were watching the news this morning and they were doing their “I-5 traffic update…every 5 minutes”, Kyle said (mocking), “The sky is falling, the sky is falling.” He’s right…I think the news channels are making a big deal of this so that people will avoid I-5 at all costs, and it’s working.

Then again, it’s just the first true day of traffic. We’ll see if this holds up for 19 days.

I have this awesome idea. And I’m really excited about it, but I’m just not sure which form I should use in delivering it. This idea could take shape as a TV show or I could incorporate it into a story line for my next book. The reason I’m leaning a little more torward the book route is so I can gage audience response. I’m not sure though. I know I need to spend a little more time on the logistics of the concept, but I’m farely sure the American people will respond favorabley.

The political implications of my idea, however, might not be well received by the government. But then again, I could be wrong. The concept is based on utilizing the problem solving powers of the American people. (This is of course assuming that those who really care will step up and take action.)

Anyways, I’m giving away too much. Once I get the details worked out I will share and see what you think.

In other news, I have two new clients with some fascinating stories they need help writing and I’ve been chosen to help! woo hoo!

This weekend was Kyle’s b-day. Saturday (his b-day) we went on a cruise on Lake Washington to watch the Blue Angels (this was a summer party thing for his work). That was so awesome and I was totally going to stand up on a table and announce that my wonderful husband is officially 26 years old today and that everyone should buy him a drink, give him a hug, a pat on the back… But before we stepped on board Kyle reminded me that I’m not to tell anyone it’s his birthday because he didn’t want to be the center of attention or the recipient of any sort of goofy hat or birthday serenade. Initially I was bummed, but then I realized that since it was a company party-type thing (celebrating their 60th Anniversary) all food and drinks were on the house anyway! woo hoo!

In addition to a lovely cruise, the rest of the weekend was nice and relaxing. Sunday night we saw the Bourne Ultimatum…which was completely awesome!

Today is Loreanne’s birthday! Happy Birthday Loreanne! We love you!

I was reading Sherlock Holmes last night and something occured to me. The relationship between Holmes and Watson is strikingly similar to the relationship between Dr. House and Dr. Wilson on HOUSE. I will elaborate futher, but I just wanted to throw that out there. Weird, huh?

I’ve got so much to talk about I feel like I’m going to burst. But with work the way it is…I’ll have to settle for this quick thought-provoking post:

-What are your thoughts on “passengers of size” in the world of air travel? Namely the ones who don’t completely fit into their seat and must occupy part of yours.

-How many people are dreading the coming weeks in August when part of I-5 is closing down for construction. blah.

-Super excited for the Blue Angels. woo hoo!

-Has anyone heard of Atlas Shrug? If you have, please share your thoughts.