Um...

How have I not mentioned the return of 24?

I heart Jack. And Tony! (How I love his growling whisper...)

I'm looking forward to another adrenaline-filled, addictive season of Bauer and the return of his intrepid manbag.

One Month

...until Christmas! I'm holding off on decorations until December 1st at the very least, but I'm proud to say that I'm nearly done with my Christmas shopping. I find it so much easier--on my stressload and my wallet--to spread out the shopping and finish early.

This weekend felt like an early Christmas present what with the release of Twilight the movie and the return of Jack Bauer with the 24 'movie'. I also met a friend from my summer online writing class in San Francisco Friday night, which was lovely. We went to hear our instructor read and talk about her book, The Witches Trinity. I was greeted with a fireworks display when I arrived at the Ferry Building, and although I'm still not sure why, it was quite festive.

The Twilight movie was not quite as good as I hoped, but still entertaining, and given their budget constraints it was impressive they were able to capture so much. 24: Redemption also didn't quite live up to the 24 standard, but it was satisfying and I'm eager to begin watching season 7 in January.

As for the shopping I haven't done...I'm off to do some last minute Thanksgiving grocery shopping and desperately hoping I don't get mobbed. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday everyone!

Mayday mayday

The writing is still suffering, but today the research has again taken center stage. I'd postponed completing my research in favor of getting words down on the page, but discovered in my dayplanner that four of my research books are due back to the library today, and I've hardly flipped through them. This morning I spent some time reading them and this afternoon I fought with the printer in order to photocopy the pages that are key to my research. The ink cartridge stopped working weeks ago - there was some error and it was dirty, but not empty. Apparently the proper way to clean an ink cartridge is by clicking the "clean cartridge" button in the printer options, rather than wiping it with a paper towel as the husband and I tried on multiple occasions. I realized this after getting ink all over my hands. I then noticed the printer was unplugged from the PC (it was last connected to the laptop) and found the printer menu with said cleaning option. I should've looked at the PC printer menu weeks ago, because I still don't fully know my way around the printer menu for my laptop, a mac, which simply instructed me to clean the print cartridge. Bloody computers.

24 was good last night. The VP's mistress gave me the willies though. She is a dirty dirty girl, isn't she? My friend calls the VP "Growling Whisper" which cracks me up. Quite appropriate though. I don't know why I love 24 so much. Everything is so impropable, yet the plot always sucks me in. Must be similar to the attraction to James Bond movies, eh?

Previously on 24...

Last night newbie agent Doyle--who is crazy, though not nearly as crazy and badass as his soon-to-be idol Jack--uttered the best line of 24 after viewing Jack's destructive capability (at least 5-6 men down and the lead terrorist strung up by a frickin chain, all done with one pistol and brute force!): "Daaaaaaaamn, Jack!" We were all thinking it. Hilarious! I think we should all start calling him Bauer, Jack Bauer. He's earned it, no? Check out this funny Jack Bauer kill count website. He's currently at 23 kills this season and we're halfway through. Any bets whether he'll beat his all-time high of 44 from season 4? You can also find Jack Bauer gear, including the infamous man purse here.

Oh, and I'm SO RELIEVED to finally know the real father of Anna Nicole's baby. Not. (I make American funny! Borat should take note of the great usage of that not. Okay, so we finally watched Borat this weekend. Very funny. Next we watch Casino Royale. Mmm mmm, I love me some Bond, James Bond.)

Hmm, what else? Nothing much new here in boring Angieland. After getting extra sleep yesterday, I managed to finally shake the migraine. Haven't had one since-knock-on-wood! This afternoon a friend is taking me shopping, which will be a fun break. This morning I made a list of things I worry about in order to try to work out my anxieties. I'll spare you the list, and spare me the embarassment. And that's my day in a nutshell. ("Look I'm in a nutshell!") (Hmm, can't seem to stop quoting movies...)

Super Jack

Last night was 24, and it's interesting to see how much the current political climate influences this season. It's all vague allusions of course, but they seem so obvious to me! The VP, or veep as we'll call him, immediately claimed the title commander-in-chief like our own dear prez, which incidentally is only to be used during war time (and I believe he declared "mission accomplished" in May 2003) and they're not at war. Yet. The veep essentially declared war without consulting congress, which is a requirement; and he didn't want to invite Karen to the meeting because she disagreed with his policies. Odd, I thought that was a distinct part of a democracy: debate, disagreement, the voice of the people being heard and represented. It all rings a bit too true. Lucky for them, they have Jack. Duh duh duh duh!

As for my writing, I got nothin to say today. Bleh.

Left Drew alone in the house for the second time today (sad I know, but I refused to go through the stage where he ate half our house while pottying everywhere, so we put it off until he matured) and it went pretty well. He was a bit panicky, but he didn't destroy anything, unlike last time when he pulled all the poo bags out of his leash and tore them up (hid the leash this time obviously). So that's good. Hopefully by summer I'll be able to go work in a cafe for a few hours with no worries.

Eh, nothing interesting to post about today, but I feel obliged since I'm trying this new-post-every-day crap, and also because Joey loyally reads it. Almost choked in my sleep last night when I coughed so hard that I dislodged my coughdrop from its safe spot in my cheek and into my throat instead. Good thing it didn't get too stuck, because the hubby never heard a thing while I was hacking, so I can't count on him for the heimlich!
Meanwhile, 24 seems to be following very closely in season 2's footsteps...President Palmer hesitates to suspend civil liberties so he must be removed and replaced by an evil vice president with a deep breathy voice, meanwhile the terrorists (yay, they're not just picking on Arabs anymore, they've gone back to the old enemies the Russians!) set off a nuclear bomb. Really, there are very few differences except that Kim is not off gallavanting with mountain lions in order to cock-up the plot...actually, she's not in this season at all which is the main difference.
Well, as they say, that's all folks!

Monday again

Weekends never seem long enough, do they? Mine was fairly relaxing, but it felt a little short since I spent most of Saturday indoors while Adam took Drew on a five-hour hike to enjoy the nice weather. As I mentioned last Friday, I went to a publishing and writing conference at Mills College. I can't complain since I forced this conference on myself, but still. There were sessions on "the day job," "editors and agents," "roads to publication," and "writing groups." I was hoping to gain some new insight into the writing world, but I already knew most of what I heard, although it was good to hear some of it reaffirmed. I enjoyed the publication session most because two writers working at Mills talked about their experiences publishing. Last year I read the book The Daydreaming Boy by one of the writers, Micheline Aharonian Marcom, so it was nice to hear her talk about her writing. However, they really gave no useful advice, just anecdotes about their experience. The agents and editors panel was amusing for me because I worked in that field (acquisitions editing). When the panel gave advice on what not to do I was snickering to myself because I remember reading the horrid query letters they were describing, meanwhile the people around me were taking copious notes. You would think this stuff is commonsense, but clearly it is not for everyone.
I think the main thing I took away from the conference is that I don't want to go back to grad school right now. (Unless of course London is an option, in which case everything changes.) Many of you will realize what a huge step that is for me. Mainly I think I'm over the glorified idea of writing workshops and the personal necessity for them. However, I think I'm over the *people* in writing workshops as well, as bad as that sounds. This weekend reminded me that they can be so annoying. I have a few writer friends that I really trust and respect, and like it or not, they will be my future sounding board when I need readers. (Thanks for the offer, Kris, you'll be regretting it someday!) My cough, luckily, did not plague me too much during the panels and I was able to keep it at bay with cough drops. Now it's settled nicely in my chest and keeps me up at night. Hurrah.
The best part about Monday is watching the new 24 episode, so I can relax (is watching Kiefer nearly get killed for an hour relaxing?) and look forward to guaranteed entertainment.