2003-09-04

2003-09-04 - 1:09 p.m.

Warning! Excessive (even for me!) use of profanity below!

I'm listening my cube neighbor recite odds on this weekend's NFL openers to her boyfriend. It's hilarious; her North Carolina accent comes to the fore when she's pissed, and clearly they don't agree on teams. "No, damnit, I said five and a half on Tampa Bay!" Except that "said" becomes a three-syllable word. Don't get me wrong; my California accent/vocabulary blares right through when things aren't going well - as evidenced by this morning's conversation with Therapist.

T: "I'm sorry, what was that phrase?"
K: "Cocked up! Everything's cocked up!"
T: "Ah. C-O cocked up. Not like the stuff you seal bathtubs with."
K: "Uh, no. Cocked up as in completely fucked."

That's me: high heels, geek talk, knitting, baseball and profanity. Embracing celibacy seems like the best plan. Or possibly inventing some sort of invisible, internalized muzzle device. Dating would be a breeze. Nod and smile, nod and smile.

This weekend is the annual Greek Festival down in Mom's part of the world. Saturday I'll be stuffing myself with calamari, dolmades (stuffed grape leaves), and horiatiki (chopped salad). The best part of the Festival is the drunk men in traditional costume waving ouzo and pounding the floor. Then there are the women: flowing black hair, rich gold jewelry, and deep laughter. Between the people and the food, it's a very welcome place to hang out. I'm looking forward to glasses of retsina and spit-roasted lamb.

2003-09-04 - 11:01 a.m.

New additions to the marine tank: a fire shrimp and two nickel-sized emerald crabs.





It was time to bring in some scavengers. The kole tang's doing great keeping down green algae, but my tank bottom has been suffering. These guys will do the trick. Plus they're fun to watch. They're so tiny that they can scuttle over every coral cranny. I caught one playing hide and seek with the royal gramma this morning after feeding. Happy fish are good.

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former / latter