Confessions of a One-Track Mind

Okay, SPN. That's it. You've officially lost me.

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I've gotten hooked on "Person of Interest", and I've been thinking. There's something about eccentric, secretive Mr. Finch that reminds me of Mozzie from "White Collar". I'd love to see fic where one of them contacts the other for intel. Or it turns out they have A Past. Slash, not so much, because they both strike me as very private people, and sex would be too intimate. Some kind of OCD ritual, on the other hand....

Just a thought.

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I'm in the process of reclaiming my laundry room, I've done three loads of laundry in the last 48 hours, and sorted a bunch more. And that's just the stuff that was already out there, heaven help me! There's lots more strewn around the rest of the house. But...gotta start somewhere.

My "new" iPod has been saving my sanity. It gives me some games to entertain myself with, and the notes function---well, it's not as versatile as actually being on line, but it beats scribbling longhand. Last night, I actually commited fic---or what'll probably be the first half of one, the first thing I've written in months. (SPN/Sons of Anarchy crossover, FWIW.)

Sunday afternoon at the library is fast becoming a habit. In a while, I'll go over to J's and check my email again and stick around for OnceUpon a Time*, which is rather interesting so far.

/----/----/----/

* But not in Mexico.

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Sons of Anarchy, you tore my heart out and stomped that sucker flat. ( Spoilers under the cut. )

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I feel a good sense of accomplishment right now; I've spent the last several hours putting together a five-shelf rack for Mb. Eight bolts per shelf, times five shelves, plus struts for stability...I've been screwing for hours!

Also caught up on my DVR cache. Saw last week's SPN and Sons of Anarchy as well as the American Horror Story pilot, which is going to be interesting. Also, this season SPN is making up for two seasons of crap. The angst is manageable.

Home soon, only because there's no guest bed here.

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Maybe it's PMS, but that commercial with the guy with a backache in the airport really bugs the crap out of me. There are so many things that annoy me about it. For starters, people took aspirin as a painkiller for many, many years before it was linked to heart health. So his, "I'm not having a heart attack!" comment comes off as snide. And what are the odds that any sane medical professional is going to offer unsolicited advice to someone he's never seen before? Zip. Look at the malpracticce implications. Lots of people can't take aspirin, and if Mr Backache is one of them, well, litigation happens. And then there's the conflict of interest: Since Dr Nosy McHelpful and his team designed the "breakthrough" formula, it's awfully self-serving of him to whip it out and offer it to someone who, again, could have underlying medical issues he knows nothing about (allergies, drug interactions, etc.). And finally, microparticles? Show me that in a frackin' chemistry textbook, otherwise I'm gonna say it's an invented word your marketing department came up with to justify the gee-whiz advertising campaign. (This ad is in heavy rotation and I've seen it approximately sixteen times a day for the last several weeks. I am OVER it.)

Now, as far as ads go that I don't mind watching, I *love* those hip-hop hamsters bopping around in their Kia Soul. (These guys are into hip-hop, but their vehicle says "Soul"---maybe that's really an acronym for their names, St. John, Orlando, Umberto and Leery.) I swear, that's going to be one of my Yuletide requests. I want hamster adventures! Four hamsters cruising around in a van---ala Scooby-doo, ghost-busting, but without the dog. Or maybe the A-Team, kicking butt and righting wrongs. Maybe in their free time, they shoot hoops with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

They have distinct personalities, I'm sure. One of 'em is charming, another is hot-tempered, one's shy and the other is clueless. There's the self-proclaimed gadget guy whose contraptions are forever falling apart at the crucial moment, the faux-cool ladies man with a never-ending supply of corny pick-up lines, the scheming cheese-doodle addict, the athlete who may or may not trip over his own feet paws.

Although it looks stock, the Soul-mobile is tricked-out with more gizmos than the Mach-5. Maybe, like a TARDIS, it's bigger inside than it looks. (The backseat has room for a small gym, complete with hamster ball and Habitrail.) It converts into a submersible and/or a hovercraft. Or it's got an unconvential fuel source; coffee grounds, and they're always raiding Starbucks trash for refills? I personally am enamored with the concept of biodiesel---those Subway commercials about where the grease ends up by rights should go on to talk about what a great renewable resource it is. Depending on where the fuel originates, it could smell like fried chicken or bacon or spareribs and egg rolls. The hamster crew is always going to be stopping off to snag some run-off and take-away, which is one reason they're all so pear-shaped.

There's got to be a story about how they learned to drive---can you imagine the guy at the DMV when he found out he had to road-test a six-foot tall rodent?! For that matter, hamsters of size aren't exactly a stock item at your local pet store. Maybe little Ashley, genetic mad scientist wannabe, raised them for her fifth grade science project and they escaped. Now they're crusading against animal testing and their next stop is NIMH... or they might have a thing about zoos---although I think the Penguins of Madagasgar would give them a run for their money.

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I am so happy for Margo Martindale I could burst! She did an absolutely amazing job as Mags Bennett last season on Justified. Her character was aptly described as "the love child of Tony Soprano and Paula Deen", and if anybody in the cast was going to get an Emmy, I'm glad it was her.

Tim, Walton, you were robbed, but there WILL be other seasons.

I was also pleased for Melissa McCarthy; I've always liked her. Ditto Maggie Smith.


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I've been wanting to get a binder for couponing, and I had a little windfall that gave me a couple dollars of discretionary income. I had a tip from Bunny that Target had their school supplies on half-off clearance, so I went up there this afternoon.

Most of the ones they had were cheap, didn't have handles or carry-straps, not very sturdy---I was underwhelmed. I saw one I liked in a deep teal blue with all the bells and whistles---BUT. It was marked at $19.99, no signs to indicate it was on sale.

That was double what I was prepared to pay, but being a cock-eyed optimist at times (the same urge that makes me check coin-return slots on pay phones), I figured it wouldn't hurt to scan the price, just in case.

I'm so glad I did! It was marked down to $5.99!

Woohoo! I grabbed it, then went spelunking for card sleeves to put coupons in. Those were $9.99 for a package of 65---but the gal who gave the coupon class I took a few weeks ago said those are the heavy-duty ones and worth the extra cost---apparently the ones from WalMart are flimsier and fall apart after a few months. I said what the hell, since the binder was less than I had budgeted, it all evened out.

On the way back, I saw a red car. Shiny new lipstick red, probably with an extra layer of clear-coat, it was that shiny. It was a Pacer. I'm sure most of you are old enough to remember THEM. If not, do a Google Image search for AMC Pacer. My cousin Eddie used to call them pregnant car; this was a few years before the CB craze that dubbed VW Bugs "pregnant roller skates". I haven't seen one in ages, and I don't think I've EVER seen one that color, even new.

Tomorrow being Sunday, I figure I'll snag the paper for coupons on my way to church. I have a few sections set aside already, which will give me something to do this evening.

Caught the pilot of "Ringer" last night and was intrigued. Since it's on a channel I'll get with the converter box when I get home, I'll probably follow it. I wasn't a huge Buffy fan---I watched it, but not obsessively---but SMG is okay, and they've set up some interesting drama. And again, once I get home, I'm going to be sans cable and internet, so any diversions are welcome.


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We're having a typical August afternoon thundershower. Nothing at all unusual about this; we have more afternoons with rain than without at this time of year.

Commonplace as this is, however, the dogs don't seem to have gotten the memo. They're sticking close like Velcro hook-and-loop tape and basically trying to kill me by being underfoot every time I move. I stood up to go unplug the laptop (upstairs), and ended up stepping on the foot of the old dog, who was surprisingly spry at lunging to follow me at the first sign of movement.

It's okay, she's not even limping.

Laptop is safely unplugged---it would probably be alright, but I don't want to take that chance---and while I was upstairs, I snagged an armful of laundry. I have a very limited wardrobe with me, mostly schmatte and a few everyday basics, which means washing clothes more often than I would at home, where I darn near have a department store to choose from.

Two more weeks til the Sons of Anarchy season premiere. They showed a trailer for it the other night while I was watching Live Free, Die Hard, and I squeed loudly at the sight of a familiar face. A recurring role, I hope, although given his track record, he's gonna die eventually, no question.

Did I mention that Leverage was 57 varieties of awesome this week?! They gave a certain recurring character a doozy of a backstory...I would've been made happy by their appearance, the fleshing-out was gravy. (Looking good, too, they did....)

If I'm confusing you, see me in the comments; I haven't memorized the code for an LJ-cut (I've got a doc I copy/paste it from on my computer, which I'm not at the moment) and I don't want to spoil anyone. Some people are downright snarly about that.

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I really should have an umbrella icon, but this will do. Hurrican Irene has passed us by. There was lots of wind and rain earlier---the TV went off in the middle of The Dog Whisperer---but it's settled down now.

Last night, I had a brainfart and forgot Royal Pains was on, but I found a download through an LJ community and watched it this evening. Was much struck by an enchanting guest-actress, who wasn't listed in the IMDb listing for the ep, but I tracked her by way of the on-screen credits, and holy cow! Madeline Zima was the littlest Sheffield on The Nanny, which I watched faithfully for much of its run. Haven't seen her since, but she's grown up a beauty.

I had wicked insomnia the night before last til 4AM and was worried I'd revert to vampire hours, but thankfully, I was awake at 8 this morning. And I'm yawning now, which I wouldn't have done a month ago, when I was up all night and snoring in Mb's a/c all day.

Movie night with J tomorrow...I'm not sure what's going to happen when the fall TV season starts. It wasn't a problem when I had a DVR...guess I'll have to spend a day at home setting up the tuner box and VCR. *wince* I may have to figure out a way to bribe Mb to record stuff for me, or I'm going to be severely deprived. Plus, it'll give me an excuse to hang out with her and love on Jazz the Wonder Akita.

I also need to clean out my car while I'm here on a nice, level driveway. I just need a day that's not too wicked hot or raining. Hopefully we'll get a couple of those between now and the C's return. Within the next two weeks would be best, because I really want to see Contagion. (I've got a thing for epidemics, of course I'm hot to see it!) I've got oodles of cans rattling around my car, the ones I've accumulated while I've been here, AND the hoard at my house, so that ought to cover movie money. We don't have an AMC theater around here any more---they're the only ones who do free birthday movies that I've found---and the distance I'd have to drive would be worse than the cost of a ticket.

Maybe after church, when I head home to check my mail, I'll rummage amongst my craft supplies and see if I can get a project going. I can't use AI's stuff, but it's calling to me, and I feel a desire to Make Something....


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First, I was walking down a highway to go to a frozen yogurt stand. I got there, and realized I didn't have any money. In fact, all I had on was my long-but-not-that-long sleep shirt and flowered panties. I started finding quarters on the ground in the parking lot,

Some guy sold me a tiny little two-seater Italian convertable, an old Fiat, I think, for $200. Nothing fancy; terra cotta-colored primer and rusty. I guess I went home and got the money? His was selling it because the previous owner had disappeared owing him money.

Anyway, I started dressing the part: I had on a black leather jacket and matching driving cap, and I was zooming down the highway at 2AM...had on a big gold wristwatch (Reminded me of the 150th anniversary Burberry special edition) and someone gave me another watch, also gold, leather band, Mickey Mouse, which I stuck in my inside jacket pocket with parts of another watch, because I knew that way it wouldn't accidentally get trashed. (Yesterday, Mb had on one of the TV shopping channels, and they were touting pleather jackets at premium prices, which I thought/think is absurd.) I knew I wouldn't casually chuck my REAL leather jacket in the washer.

It turned out that unbeknownst to the guy who sold me the car, there was a body in the trunk. (Previous owner.) The killer had put it there so as not to leave evidence in his own vehicle. (The Casy Anthony trial has left its mark.) The guy who sold the car ended up as a flame-broiled corpse, and the killer stole back the body.

When I looked in the trunk, there was no body, just rusted-out holes you could see the ground through. There was a snagged piece of thread or cloth that gave me a clue, though, and I took it to the police with my suspicions.

Then, I wasn't in the car any more, I had this...flying seat. It was about four feet long, like a cross between a banana seat and a motorcycle double seat, blue vinyl-covered, no steering, no visible power source, but it sure was fun to fly/drive.

I had a meeting with my handler, because apparently I was some kind of agent---and it was Gordon Ramsey, who took me into his study and was getting ready to explain the code I'd be using, which was on his wall as some kind of Gaelic motto, when I awoke.

I recounted this to Mb---she thinks I've watched too much TV. That still doesn't explain the fro-yo and panties....

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As it turned out, I was at J's til Sunday evening. Never left the appartment. Which would've been okay, except it also means I haven't seen Cowboys and Aliens yet.

Stuff I *have* seen in the last few days:

Movies
I Am Number Four
Tron Legacy
Taken
The Freshman

TV (All courtesy of Mb, as J has sucky cable)
Leverage
Alphas
Hoarders
American Pickers
The F Word

Mb likes Liam Neeson (Taken), too. Who knew? Mind you, my crush dates back to Darkman, which I saw in theaters. (I'd also seen him in Excaliber and Krull, but didn't really *see* him, especially in Krull, IFKWIM.

Have a nice Tuesday.

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I may have grumped about J from time to time, but I hereby take it all back. When I came over this evening, she had a surprise for me.

Now, she's been hinting for the last couple weeks that Something Was Coming, and that I would never, ever guess what it was.

Well, she was right.

I squeed like mad when she produced Season One of Adam-12. OMG, TALK about a blast from the past! Growing up, my standard Saturday night viewing was Adam-12, Emergency!, Mission: Impossible and Mannix.

We watched the first two eps tonight---a very young Cloris Leachman was in one ep, and Melody Patterson also showed up. (Oh, this is going to be fun!) I'd forgotten how baby-faced Kent McCord was...mmm-mmmm! And I think it's amusing how men's grooming has finally come full-circle to clean-cut once again....

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Made it to the food bank this morning for the first time in a few weeks. Got the usual canned goods, and a few happy surprises like some portobello mushrooms, chicken strips and a Boston creme pie. Woohoo! Pie!

Watched Leverage last night, first time in a while---I gave up on it midway through last season, being very dissatisfied with the quality of the writing. Last night was good, though. I LMAO at Nate's persona for the costume party (because I got the inside joke). Ditto how I guessed who dunnit...la la la...what? Lighten up, I'm not spoiling anything!

Church yesterday was interesting; AI introduced us to Bar Karma, which I'd never heard of, but it's a show on Current TV, and the really amazing thing about it is, it's fan-driven. Apparently, they post prompts on the show's website and take suggestions from cyber-fans.

I think a Bar Karma/Leverage crossover could be 57 varieties of awesome. And yes, that's William Sanderson behind the bar; I'm so happy he's still getting work! I've been fond of him ever since Blade Runner. And Repo Man. And I saw him in an ep of Trauma that J and I watched just the other day....

Brunch. It's definitely time for some solid food. I can't eat too early in the morning, but I've been up for several hours now, and I'm ready.

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Once upon a time, when I was eight or ten or so, I wanted to be an archaeologist when I grew up. Specifically an Egyptologist. I've always been fascinated by pyramids and mummies, pharoahs and temples and hidden tombs. I love the Amelia Peabody mysteries by Elizabeth Peters (about a Victorian lady archaeologist) and the Mummy movies, and I love to watch documetaries on the subject.

In the course of watching said documentaries, I've developed a wee crush on Zahi Hawass, who is THE go-to Egyptian archaeologist. Mind you, it's strictly an intellectual sort of crush; he's in his mid-60s, which is a little older than I'm aiming for these days, and I may or may not agree with his politics. (However, I am sensible enough to realize that he's a product of a different culture and would likely not find my leanings any more palatable.)

Still, Planet Green was showing a whole bunch of documentaries about Ancient Egypt this evening, which I was loving, and feeling a comfortable frisson every time the narrator simply referred to him as "Zahi". (There's something about the familiar 'tu' form of address to such a respected scholar that tickles me.) And I was enjoying it very much, with the mildly melancholy thought that if I *had* gone into Egyptology, I might have ended up a colleague of his...and then Planet Green dropped off the face of the earth. Everything else is working fine, but PG has the black screen of death. Grrr.

Another one of those "what if"s....

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I have a TV. PJ proved that the third time was the charm, and hauled it in a few minutes ago.

Wow. It's HUGE.

My old, very old TV, hereinafter refered to as "The Postage Stamp" has a 9" screen. (Yes, that's on the diagonal.) This one is a full 31". No more squinting to make out captions, huzzah!

I'll probably spend half the evening getting it hooked up, but then, woohoo! It's going to be awesome.


(It was also good for spurring a small cleaning frenzy. The kitchen-dining room had definitely backslid.)

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I've spent a lot of time with J over the last few days. Thursday, we had a dog, first in quite a while. Actually, four dogs belonging to a family, and as we surmised, the dog they called us is NOT the one instigating the trouble---and the one who's instigating is being set off by the owner. Fun-fun, IF the owner will let us help. She's somewhat resistant.

Friday afternoon, J and I went out after running around...she was overheated, and proposed a cold beverage. Then we ordered appetizers---quesadillas---sat and talked for a couple hours, and ended up ordering dinner (Au jus sandwiches, very nommy).

She wanted to know what's wrong with me; I've not been up to par for a while---y'all may have noticed---and I dumped. The lack of a job, finances, house going to seed again, persistant depression---all that shit and more.

Have I mentioned that, in addition to dog psychology (in which she is self-taught), J is also degreed in people psychology? She's a good couselor as well as a good friend, and she's proposed a plan whereby I will show up at her place every weekday morning at 10AM, just as if it was a real job, and from there, I'll do all my job search stuff, and she will also advise me on my finances.

Being at the end of my rope, I agreed to it. I've got to do something. Otherwise, I'm going to self-destruct. You guys are great, but I need a real-time cheerleader/whip-cracker. I need structure. And at this time of year, I need air-conditioning!

Saturday afternoon, though, I went over to her place for purely entertainment purposes: DVD night. So far, we've screened episodes of Trauma (Cliff Curtis, yummy!), Justified (Olyphant and Goggins, ditto) and in addition, this evening I screened Live Free, Die Hard, which she hadn't seen. It was a hoot---it took her about four seconds to recognize Cliff Curtis (FBI Deputy Director Bowman) but about ten minutes to ID Timothy Olyphant (Thomas Gabriel). I teased her that she didn't know him without the cowboy hat, but she insisted it was because he looks much younger in LFDH.

Church in the morning and cleaning committee afterward...very glad it's not a potluck Sunday---we had, like, three in a row, and I was running low on cheap, bomb-proof recipes.
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