damnit. $318 BILLION dollars? BILLION? what is wrong with us?

i know, that wasn't a great participation question. i promise it'll be a better one next time. thank you to all who participated. your names will be entered in the christmas raffle. :)

yesterday? yesterday was a good karma day. one of those days when you think there is something out there taking care of you. got my haircut. complete with a hairstylist therapy session. i used to laugh at the thought of women chatting with their hairstylist. you see, i am not usually very chatty with other women - not into the whole 'chick sorority chat about girly stuff' thing. diana, my hairstylist, is great. she is older (not old, she just turned 40) and very much like my mom was - totally hip, very cool. maybe that's why i enjoy talking to her. anyways, it was good for my psyche.

had library books to return. drove to the library in downtown sac. (it's in a gorgeous old building, but i really wish it were a better library inside) parking is usually impossible. i drove up. what did i find? i spot directly in front of the library. one with a red zone behind it, so i didn't have to parallel park by squishing between to cars. even better? 30 minutes in the meter. perfect, considering i used all my quarters in LA at the rose cafe. my lucky day.

returned my books, and wandered over to the new books section. picked out a couple - some travel guides (i love travel guides. even for places i am not really planning on going to. kinda a mini vacation to read them), 'the philosophy of pooh' (my mom had to read the 'tao of pooh' when she was in college, and gave it to me to read. i read it for the first time when i was about 10. it made much more sense when i read it when i was in college.), and a book entitled 'zen and the art of travel'. it's a small book, square and thick - filled with pictures, quotations and stories. i love to travel. anywhere, anytime. new places, new people, new experiences. a thoughtful book.

'it is good to have a journey toward, but it is the journey that matters, in the end' - ursula k. le guin

my stomach was growling, and i was out of gas, orange juice, salad, and everyday drinking red wine (ravenswood zin and rosemont shiraz), so i decided to head to costco. free samples! the only time i eat junk like fried mozerella sticks and pecan pie. they always have the least expensive gas, but you have to be a member to use the pumps. i pulled up to the pump, and was fiddling through my wallet when i heard, 'how are you today?' i looked up, and there was a costco worker. i had never seen anyone actually from costco working there. the pumps are do-it-yourself pay at the pump only ones. 'i'm great, thanks. just looking for my card'. he took out a card from his pocket and swiped it into the machine. 'don't worry about it.'

'thanks!' i pumped my gas, and got into the car and drove over to the ocean of asphalt surrounding costco. while walking toward the store, i pulled out my wallet to look for my card. couldn't find it. sat down on the curb, took everything out of my wallet. no card. after losing my REI credit card this weekend, i think my wallet has developed a voracious appetite. damnit. fortunately, when i went inside they were able to give me a temporary one. but i wouldn't have been able to get gas without it earlier. i was below 'e' on my gas tank gauge. that worker must have been there for a reason. a good karma day. i like those. wishing y'all good karma days today.

alone. i realized that i was the only one truly responsible for my life on earth. if i made a mistake or got lost or became injured, ran out of food or money or, conversely, had a great time, then there was no one to blame but myself. until then, i had not even been aware that i left decisions effecting my life up to other people-my parents and teachers. i realized that many adults relinquish power over their lives to others, such as their spouse or employer.eric chaline | zen and the art of travel.

participation day. everyone has been lazy. reading, not commenting. (no, really, not commenting is fine. comment if you feel so inclined. if you feel declined you should submit your application again) i was thinking about christmas. how it's already december 6th and i have bought a whopping one christmas present. and baked a bunch of cookies to give. a number of which were taken and eaten in LA, so baking more is on the to do list. if you could have one present, and only one, what would you choose? it can be materialistic, sappy, sentimental, worldly. whatever, really. a new car that doesn't break down? a satisfying job? a five course gourmet dinner? just curious...i normally ask way too many questions, but not here. i am asking one today...comment away, please. if you are inclined, of course.

what is UP with that coffee cup analogy? hello, alissa!? what was with my head today? anyhoo...they are advertising peet's coffee on blogger. bleh. peet's coffee is icky. even with all of the cream and sugar and other sweet things i put in coffee to make it not taste like coffee. i think i better go to bed now.

Yet a tree broader than a man can embrace is born of a tiny shoot;
A dam greater than a river can overflow starts with a clod of earth;
A journey of a thousand miles begins at the spot under one's feet.
forget it. happy now, dan?

all i want for christmas....the sac bee published its gift guide. i know a few people these may be perfect for...

mmm. very nice box set. this one, too.

'dispatches from the tenth circle: the best of the onion' - damn. i already bought my far side calendar.

the crocodile hunter toys??!!! action figures complete with an austrailian accent. just what you wanted, eh?

a homer simpson clock. it says 'donuts. is there anything they can't do?' hmm. maybe help you lose weight? but i think that's all. they can do everything else, can't they? in the days of fat free (and taste-free) everything, i never remember seeing a fat free doughnut. thought, that's quite an oxymoron...

a godfather dvd collection...as well as stanley kubrick.

ahh...so many gifts! all i really want for christmas is good friends, family, fun and happiness (sappy, i know). the older i get, the less 'things' seem to matter, and the more other, more meaningful 'things' seem more difficult to come by. it's much easier to wrap up those material things and put them under the tree, to be torn open and often soon forgotten. the gifts of time and friendship are slowly unwrapped, and last all year. think about that before you subject yourselves to the mad mobs at the mall. :) not that i am refraining from buying gifts, but i am trying to consciously not get caught up in the buying frenzy.

did i mention i was tired? and sick? sick of being tired, and tired of being sick. i think it's affecting the little neurons and synapses in my brain - they don't seem to be connecting (no, i don't think it's from the substances that were a part of the LA weekend). i was going out the front door to go to my car. holding the keys in my hand, (while still inside the house) i pointed my car door automatic opener at the front door and pushed the button. it was only after i didn't hear the click i hear when the car door locks open that i realized the automatic opener is not for the front door. still need a key for that one. i am pretty sure my dogs were laughing at me. well, i at least saw ania smirking.

nancies everywhere! from a newspaper article in georgia. appropriate - they seem to work hard enough to evolve into a speices with two extra hands. or at least one of them would write a program to do as much work as one with four hands....

i am still very sleepy. sick. bleh. the cold i had before i left for LA is still there. but now only worse. my head feels like there is something squeezing my brain. can't seem to think correctly. combined with the recuperation from the crazy weekend, i think i will be sleeping for two weeks to get back to normal. mmm. sleep. sleep good.

party like rock stars, we did. crazy times. funny times. always seems that when you put a bunch of nancies together, there will be good times. i am happy that i now know some nancies that live on the same coast as i.

still digesting the weekend. i am sure i will have stories later. i think i am going to go back to bed now, though. i had dreams already this morning about the weekend. i just hope i remember which stories really happened, and which ones i dreamed. hmm.

*yawn*...WHAT a weekend. go nancies! i was ever-so-privileged to hang out with some of the two-time vh1 award 'coolest fan website' winning admins this weekend (along with a big group of nancies who travelled from far and wide into LA for the big event). congrats, everyone. you guys ROCK. ROK. RAWK. :) in all seriousness, nancies has had a pretty big impact on my life in the past year or so. it still sometimes amazes me all that has happened to me because of a website. wow.

i am very sleepy. more tomorrow.