And tell me what you think about puppy toenail polish, neighborhood parks, jet skis, and ostrich burgers.

-- Anonymous, September 12, 1999

Answers

Yesterday we crossed the Continental Divide to the wetter (read prettier) part of Colorado. I was going to have my last swim of the season in Grand Lake (so called because it's the biggest natural lake in the state despite being puny) but the forecasted 75 degrees wasn't happening and the only way I can swim at 9000 feet is with strong sun afterward. So instead we went to the Williams Fork, a lovely stretch of river just before it joins the Colorado River. I still didn't swim, but Rich fished and I read A.S. Byatt's new Elementals and met a couple of Labs (Willy and Otis) before we got rained and hailed out.

On the way home, I found a pair of shoes suitable for work that I like, a singular event that rocked my world. (I hate almost all shoes.)

About dogclaw polish, I still feel guilty about applying polish to my dog's claws when I was 13 (18 years ago). About neighborhood parks, bring 'em on--I love Denver's ongoing efforts to preserve open space throughout the sprawl. About ostrich, Beth, I'm sorry your first experience wasn't stellar. I had my ostrich filet at a restaurant whose chef was so good I ate his mashed potatoes (which I historically have not liked), not at a place called Awful Wally (which is a great name and pun and probably not awful). I suspect that any filet would be better than any burger because of texture: striated muscle tissue instead of chopped meat. Plus if your burger was ever frozen, its taste would deteriorate. Anyway. It didn't taste "just like chicken," at least!

-- Anonymous, September 12, 1999

It only qualified as "not stellar" because it was a pretty basic hamburger. It was actually quite good, just amazingly beef-like. I don't know of any place that serves ostrich in anything other than burger form -- I'll have to look around.

-- Anonymous, September 12, 1999

I had ostrich burger at Murder Burger last year, and since I didn't like the sauce, I was less-than-thrilled.

Yesterday we: a)Went to Fairfield to admire the Clydesdales, stopped by the Vallejo Outlets on the way home and looked around b)Went to the first half of the Jesuit-Rio Americano game, but J was ahead 48-0 and it was hot so we came home c) Went to the media softball game for the Mercy All-Star Weekend. That was silly and fun. TV beat Radio 22-5.

-- Anonymous, September 12, 1999

Ostrich burgers, not tried them. But, if you get the chance to try kangaroo, erm exucse the awful pun, but jump at it! It s like venison, only better, extremely tasty, very good for you. Fabulous on the BBQ, minced is good, I must try it in a burger when next I am in Australia.

Yesterday I successfully avoided overtime by concentrating on a client webhosting disaster (what kind of webhost doesn't do technical support oer a weekend?? The one we helped them pick, aparently), and then decided to just spend the day at home. Read the local paper, then the almost local paper, then the completely un-local paper even though it has a "local section" which by it's definition means Southern NJ begins and ends at Trenton. (In order of papers Daily Journal, Atlantic City Press and Philadelphia Inquirer). Went to the Greek Place for lunch (the Olympia to everyone else), chicken with eggplant fresh tomato and marsala and tsatsiki with pita bread and greek salad with their house dressing. Muchos garlic, but yumm.

Got a Sears card, almost bought a dishwasher (going back today), did buy a frog filled soap dispenser (top is fake with liquid and frogs floating in it, the centre is hollow, so you drizzle the liquid soap in through there), for Jeff's sister-in-law's birthday, which is today.

Off out to purchase aforementioned dishwasher, deliver present, and do overtime.

A.

-- Anonymous, September 12, 1999

I had stayed over a guy's house who i didn't know very well, being new in this vast city. He ws perfectly nice, and had more records in his apartment than I'd ever seen even in most record stores, plus two stacks of videos taller than me. That was Friday night. We ordered Indian Takeaway and watched 12 Angry Men and Spellbound (with my boyfriend the young Gregory Peck). Walked to the bus the next morning tghrough an ancient graveyard by a church. Stopped by the computer room in teh basement of the dorm I'm staying in (while i search for a flat), to check the computer room. All week, only 4 out of 10 computers have been working. Nice to know my #10,000 fees are not enabling people like me to surf the net or waste my time on email. Anyway I went by a cafe in Soho that I've found as a good hangout where nice people seem to congregate. Had a chat with a slightly crazy young man I'd met there before. Headed down to Brixton to hear some Asian Underground artists, combining South Asian, House, Celtic and a little drumandbass. The night was a tribute to Haroon from Joi SOundSystem who had died in July, so teh crowd was a little calmer than usual, and the performances more intense. THere was an 8-man Qawwali perforance, the singing was unbelievable. And a lot of live drumming and DJs. Well worth the trip and the nightbus full of semidrunken revellers back to the damn dorm.

-- Anonymous, September 12, 1999

I made buttermilk biscuits.

Worked on cleaning my room. Spent too much time online.

Threw out a bunch of old photos. (I know... but do I REALLY need 26 out-of-focus pictures of flamingos at the zoo? or 50 other pictures that may or may not contain animals, but do contain lots of wires and bars? Or 75 generic California Landscapes, with glare spots, car windows, and no aesthetic sensibility?) Realized that I have always been a Very Bad Photographer, but at least I'm not as bad now as I was when I was 8.

-- Anonymous, September 12, 1999

Actually, yesterday was pretty fun. Slept 'til noon, because we didn't get home until 4:30 AM from our night selling geegaws at a nightclub in San Francisco. Made huevos rancheros and coffee, then I drove out to Citrus Heights for band practice. Stopped on the way back to pick up some geek supplies at HSC Electronics and copious yuppie food at Trader Joe's, and arrived home in time to get ready for Second Saturday Art-Walk (for you non-Sacramentans, a once-a-month event where local businesses and art galleries put up art for the public.) Vivian loved the art, I loved the food. Damn fine snacking this time: chocolate chip cookies, French bread and spinach dip, fresh veggies, creamcheese/olive "wrap" thingies, coffee, dessert breads, and assorted crackers and dips. Nothing like free dinner courtesy of Sacramento's art mavens. Then we came home and went to a friend's party, where I ate from my friend's copious buffet of snack foods and made small-talk and generally enjoyed our groovy downtown lifestyle.

-- Anonymous, September 12, 1999

Yesterday, I actually got up before noon. Sabs came in and hauled me bodily out of bed with a glass of water and gentle words.

Then we drove up to my parents' new apartment in Devon, PA.

It looks a lot like the place we used to live in across the street. Very spacious, yet cozy.

We stopped at the local Farmer's Market on our way there and stocked up on cold cuts, sausages, cheese, fish and meat. I love that dang market -- they have such good quality stuff.

We grabbed lunch at the lunch counter -- best damn burgers on the Main Line and then toddled on off to my parents' place.

Irony of ironies, they now live only 3 blocks from where my ex lives.

They took us to dinner at a local pub, I had a grilled chicken salad and Sabs had steak. Mom and Dad both had pasta, and we all splurged on some Woodpecker cider, which they had on tap.

Then we stopped at the bloomin' King of Prussia mall to buy soccer cleats for my brother (size 13) and at long last I picked up a bike helmet and gloves so I can start biking the 10 mile trail from Alexandria to DC.

Then we hightailed it to the Regal cinemas in Edgemont and saw "An Ideal Husband" which is a highly amusing, well-acted little bit of OScar Wilde fluff, starring the ever yummy Rupert Everett, Cate Blanchett, Julianne Moore, Jeremy Northam and Minnie Driver.

Perfect date movie if you ask me -- humor, romance and political scandal all wrapped up into a delightful period package. Julianne Moore was particularly delightful as the scheming Mrs. Chevely.

Got back and promptly sacked out, having safely gotten rid of all the feather pillows in the room -- I'm horribly allergic to chicken-feathers.

Read a chapter or two of the Fellowship of the Ring, talked to my dad about job opportunities in the Philly area and the house-hunting my folks are doing.

Headed back out aroudn 2pm today and had a marvelous drive down route 1 through rural PA and MD in this gorgoeous weather we're having.

All in all a good weekend.

-- Anonymous, September 12, 1999

I am so happy to brag about this (and I am NOT one for bragging at all, really I'm not!) but I slept ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL day yesterday. I've been told that it was a day wasted considering the gorgeous Jersey weather but I didn't care too much. I had dog sat on Saturday night and dragged the boyfriend with me. We slept until noon on Sunday, only waking to walk the dog. We got to his house at 1pm, fell onto his bed in an entanglement of legs and arms and slept until, (READY FOR THIS???), 7pm!!!!!!! What a day! We awoke, had a late dinner, showered, and then laid around some more playing video games. Aren't you all jealous?! Now, if only every weekend was so damned, well, lazy.

-- Anonymous, September 13, 1999

yesterday i unpacked the computer and hooked it back up to the ethernet (woo!), got my new work schedule, stood in line to get a ticket to hear jesse "the governing body" ventura speak on my campus this afternoon, ran up my (yes) long distance phone bill, bonded with my roommate, talked to my next door neighbor for the first time all weekend, caught up on my journal reading, checked books (not for class) out of the library already, and went to bed, exhausted.

-- Anonymous, September 13, 1999

Yesterday from the 12th - Saturday - I woke up at 11:00 having slept 12 hours. Rushed around getting ready to go to San Francisco for a baby shower, then drove up there only to learn it had been rescheduled and nobody had told us. So I went to Valencia street to look for some things and ended up buying a bike bell for my husband, and a $93 purse to carry at our wedding reception next month. I also went to Borders and found $52 worth of magazines I wanted. Happiness. Then I went home, checked my email, then went to a contra dance for the first time in about 7 years. It was fun, but hard work, and I was dripping with sweat and self conscious about it, so I left at the break. There were two messages from my husband on the machine - he was out of town and trying to get hold of me so I could arrange to ship something to him he needed, but I couldn't get through at the place he was staying and I felt very bad about it, especially since I had been out having fun while he was trying to call. I went to bed around 11:00.

-- Anonymous, September 13, 1999