Lately I’ve been remembering more of my weird dreams. Last night I watched myself watching the Buffy finale. I knew exactly how it ended. And it all made sense, in the most satisfying way. Setting myself up for some serious disappointment, methinks. But that segued right into a trip. I’d taken the little man to NYC for some reason. Maybe to see family. Maybe to eat at Healthy Henrietta’s or Angelica Kitchen. Not sure. But we returned home via a magic bus…though it didn’t seem like magic at the time. It was kind of like a flying carpet ride…and I worried that the little man was going to fall off. And I worried and worried and worried some more. So much so that suddenly we were safe and sound in a car. Stuck in a rush hour traffic jam on 94. With my step-mother in the passenger seat, complaining about how filthy my car was. The end.
Psst…only four more hours to Matrix-time. If you’ve seen Reloaded already, please don’t spill any spoilers. Especially if you sit two desks over and are recapping with the guy who sits in between us. I do have super-mom hearing you know, even with my headphones on.

Distractions abound this week. Last night it was the second to last Buffy episode. Ever. Don’t get me started. I’ve pre-ordered my Animatrix DVD, to arrive early next month. (My pre-ordered copy of “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” will be coming along a few weeks after that.) The Onion has a great little infographic to help ready us for Reloaded (which I’ll be seeing at 1:15 tomorrow, and yes, I’m counting down the hours). And there’s an upcoming show that I *need* to go to this Saturday. J mocks my predilection for 80s synth pop sounding music…telling me that the 80s are, in fact, long over. I have no wish to relive the Reagan years (though in some ways it feels like we all are) but my nostalgia for new wave gets me every time. So the lineup of The Faint, Schneider TM, Enon sounds downright dreampoppish to me.

My inherit geekiness + a dose of Advil Cold & Sinus + a cup of coffee = complete spazz. This morning I collected cash from several co-workers, to cover the cost of a group field trip. I wanted to obtain our tickets asap to see “The Matrix Reloaded“, as one of the other Thursday afternoon shows has already sold out (I just can’t do the late show tomorrow night, too old/tired). So my exuberance caused me to race down to the theater…only to discover the box office wasn’t open yet. Doh. At least I’m not the only one. Though it seems many others are content to pay the $1 per ticket online fee. I still plan to buy the tickets the old-fashioned way in a little while. It is just a short walk through the skyway, after all. Hopefully I won’t lose my wallet on the way back.

Well, I did it. I snapped off a shot every hour or so that I was up and about today. So from around 6:30am to 9:30pm. I’ve posted the results in this May Day Project gallery. Sure, I’m still awake now…and it’s possible that I may stay up even later tonight…but, that timeframe represents a typical day for me (sad, I know). Other folks’ days can be viewed via the site that started it all. Enjoy!

After one long, rainy week the little man and I are off to take advantage of some Saturday sunshine. Before it fades. We’ll be documenting our adventure every step of the way, for the May Day Project. Photos to be posted late tonight or early tomorrow.

Just went out to the skyway to run a few errands…and wound up having a brush with fame. And my own mortality. Or, more accurately, my extreme clutziness. I was walking along, wearing boots that were not made for walking, when I noticed a guy. Looking at him I was thinking, “wow, he looks just like Michael Rapaport“. A moment later he asked a clerk for directions to Radio Shack, in his native New Yorker accent, and there was no doubt that this was the man himself. It was sort of neat and all, but I don’t think I was particularly starstruck…yet the next instant I found myself stumbling, having gotten my stupid stiletto heels caught on the escalator…and down on my knees I went. Not bowing to this actor, who is, after all, just a guy. But the timing was funny. Or would have been if it weren’t so embarrassing. And slightly painful. I recovered quickly and furtively glanced around. Luckily no one seemed to have noticed. Or at least didn’t let on that they’d noticed, which I was thankful for. But before I could even nix the idea of asking him for an autograph, Mr. Rapaport had moved on. Taking the other escalator up, while I was heading down. It’s probably for the best. Who knows what grievous bodily harm I could have suffered if I’d gotten any closer to him.

Pitchfork didn’t have the best news for me this morning. First off, Zak Sally has left Low. Just after he made his decision to depart, the band was offered the chance to tour with Radiohead. Naturally. But it looks like Mimi and Alan are going to forge ahead, with Karla Schickele from Ida filling in. The second bit of bad news has to do with Ted Leo. The poor guy is losing his (amazing) voice and has had to cancel some dates to give himself time to recuperate. Hopefully he’ll be back at it before long.

Returning to work after the weekend, especially a long one, can sometimes be a shock to the system. I’m often reminded of what a weird (and sometimes wonderful) workplace I have. As I was grabbing my morning cup of coffee I noticed our in-house cable channel was playing the original Matrix movie. So far so good. But as I was preparing my toast I watched in horror…as the divine Carrie-Anne Moss was replaced…by a perverse-looking puppet. Someone had swapped out the DVD. Taking out the Matrix and popping in “Thunderbird 6“. A feature length film based on the ultra-eerie TV show, The Thunderbirds (1964-1966), which was created by supermarionation guru Gerry Anderson. Some people dig that sort of thing, but for me it’s right up there, or rather down there, with creepy clowns and mimes. No thanks. Hopefully the experience won’t give me nightmares. Just gotta shake it off. Yeah.

Pardon my silence. My four-day weekend is rapidly drawing to a close. And any recent attempts to post have been foiled by my home pc (never mind that redesign I promised myself, and others). So howsabout a quick rundown, in reverse chronological order.
Sunday: Today has been a bit of a letdown. Original plans revolved around May Day festivities, but crappy weather put the kibosh on that. Instead we ran a few errands, consumed quite a few snacks and did some fingerpainting. The little man also amused himself, and us, by telling J he looks like a robot with his “special” sunglasses on. He followed that by putting the sunglasses on himself and running around shouting “Mommy, I robot!” Equally amusing for him, but not at all for us…his insistence upon sitting on the toilet, only to flush it every 5 seconds, giggling the whole time. After a while I had to put the kibosh on that. Had J distract him with a rousing game of Uo Poko. This evening, more rain…accompanied by homemade lentil soup.
Saturday: Yesterday was slightly more interesting. Bubble-blowing and other outdoor play. Watched a documentary (that sent the little man right off to lalaland). In honor of Free Comic Book Day, J and I played The Tick board game. I’ve owned it for many years, but now I know why I’d never played it before. The setup, with literally dozens of playing pieces, took about five times longer than game play itself. But I’d play again. And not just because I was the victor.

Friday: Dumb, but good. Describes much of the day, but specifically X2. It was entertaining, but not particularly noteworthy. And the rest of the day involved lots of irritating driving around (in J’s fancy car). Early errand-running. And retrieval of my car from the shop in the suburbs (the check engine light has been on all year), followed by retrieval of a pizza (haven’t yet found a pizza place we like that’ll deliver to our hood). My day wrapped up early, when I managed to fall asleep before 9. Sad, I know.
Thursday: Also lots of driving around. The little man and I accompanied J to an eye appointment…that lasted three hours. I’m surprised we weren’t escorted out of the building. We were doing ok for the first half hour or so…but soon after I exhausted every delaying tactic I could think of I caved in…and allowed the monkey to ride the elevator up and down. From the first floor to the second. Yeehaw. At least J procured the “special” sunglasses which have given us so much amusement (just the cheap plastic freebies you get when your eyes have been intentionally dilated). Followed up this lengthy visit with a late lunch and some serious lounging…then a little yard work.
Wednesday: That night I headed straight out from work to Maplewood, with one of the Daves, to witness the spectacle of Bloodhag. They won me over instantly, after announcing it was their first time playing in a public library…during business hours. The unintelligible educore odes to sci-fi authors were charming, but it was the between song repartee that was most entertaining. Especially when there were pop quizzes and books being hurled at us. That, and seeing older library patrons going about their business, while wearing earplugs.

Below are some somewhat random photos I intended to put up some time ago.

And lastly, Easter Sunday. Not exactly sure what Easter activities other families plan…egg hunts, perhaps. Something with fuzzy bunnies. But things are a little different with my family. We had a grand old time firing off ball-shooting burp guns on the front lawn. I have to admit, it was a lot of fun. But the photos of my niece are a little disturbing…she’s nearly all grown up now and looks like she could be featured in “militia girls gone wild” or something.

Phew, I did it. And before my PC crashed for the umpteenth time. But the check engine light in my VW just came back on. Can’t win ‘em all, I guess. But here on out I will be resuming regular updates. As for the redesign…who can say.