• The tattoo has now entered its extra thick and crusty stage. I desperately want to pick at the scabs. Instead I’ve been layering on the long sleeve shirts and forcing myself to ignore the incessant itching.
• First thing this morning I checked out the weather online and was greeted with this headline: “Coldest Halloween in 4 years!” Nooooooooo!
• So how many costumes does one kid need? On Saturday the little man was the green Power Ranger, though it looked more like Boba Fett. At school today he is Spider-man (it isn’t for Halloween, it’s “dress up as your favorite book character” day - riiiiiight). Tonight he’ll be Luigi for trick-or-treating. Dang, is he ever spoiled.
• This morning he woke up groggily and proclaimed “my brain is tickling me.” At least his brain wasn’t tickling me. That would have been weird.
• I found out there is wireless access at the little man’s bus stop this morning. That is just wrong.
• I brought the lad’s foam pirate hat to work today, but it’s making my forehead all sweaty.
• Today will bring a special secret surprise. I’ll report back tomorrow.

Five good things:

• I used to dread Daylight Savings, but falling back didn’t throw us off too badly this year.
• One of the light bulbs in the dining room needs to be replaced. This morning the little man was convinced that some nefarious evildoer had entered our home in the night, with the sole purpose of rendering this one light fixture useless. And he seems to find this notion much less alarming than he does the idea of natural entropy. The boy has such a wild imagination. He is definitely his mother’s son.
• The lad and I had a blast at the Chuck E. Cheese birthday party. He had such a grand time that he wants to have his next birthday party there. We’ll see.
• Our pumpkin carving party went well. The smallish turnout worked in our favor. The chaos was controllable (we still had eight pumpkins to carve) and there was BBQ Tofu leftover this time. That is a rare thing.
• My Dad is going to the next Rollergirls bout with me! Yay!

Tomorrow: In years past the little man has been content to stay home with mom on Halloween, helping to hand out vegan-safe candy to the neighbor kids. But this year he wants in on this trick-or-treating business for the first time. It should be exciting. And I’ve promised to bring the non-vegan goodies in to my co-workers.

The arm is healing but it’s going to take a little time. Yesterday I very carefully took a bath. This morning I’m desperate for a shower but I just know that’s going to sting like a mofo. Oh well.

As usual we have a crazy busy weekend ahead of us. While the little man has an overnight with grandma tonight I’m going to the Walker with friends, to catch a special screening of Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus. Bright and early tomorrow morning I’ll retrieve the lad and whisk him off to a child’s birthday party…at a Chuck E. Cheese (we’ve never been, this promises to be quite the experience). Sunday we’re having our own party, Halloween-style, and the house needs some serious cleaning beforehand. I’m tired just thinking about it. So it’s no wonder I skipped the Marjane Satrapi reading last night. I’m extremely disappointed - I think her graphic novels* are amazing and inspiring - but I really needed to rest up.

Next weekend will be a busy one as well. We’re finally having another Twin Cities group flickr photowalk, in St. Paul (with a bonus surprise, but I’ll wait before I spring that bit of info) and it’s also Art Attack! at the Northrup King building. Should be good times.

Note: I wasn’t going to get into the graphic novels vs. comic books debate, but…I have no problem with calling ‘em comic books. Recently I read Brian K. Vaughan’s Ex Machina: The First Hundred Days. Clearly a comic book (and an awesome one at that, I’ll have to read the others now). But Marjane Satrapi’s stuff…well, it’s not glossy full-color (strictly black and white) and I’ve only read her work in hardcover, so it just doesn’t feel like “comic book” applies. I could be wrong.

Today was my 33⅓ birthday. I didn’t get a chance to listen to any vinyl, but I did get my Kraken! It had been over ten years since my last tattoo, and it was at the hands of the very same man. I am so glad I went back to him. Sure, there was a little anxiety in the days leading up to the appointment, because the artwork hadn’t been totally finalized (and hey, this is permanent and all) but I couldn’t be happier with the results. And catching up with Nic was hella fun too. I am exhausted but happy. Now I just need to figure out a way to sleep tonight. Must take care not to put pressure on my sore shoulder and arm…so my usual bellyflop position is out. Naturally I’ll be posting more photos, after the slimy bandages come off and it’s all cleaned up.

Bonus: Very short stories, written by some of my very favorite people.
Plus: Yay, the Vegan Lunch Box cookbook is out now!
And: Mimi Smartypants makes me laugh regularly. Especially when she’s high on Dayquil.

Five good things:

• Further proof that the little man has me wrapped around his little finger…yesterday we went to Ragstock, where I bought a big fluffy pink prom dress and a glittery crown/tiara. Yes, I am dressing up as Princess Peach for Halloween after all. The photographs may be too frightening to post.
• Speaking of photos, I’ve come to a decision. After considering Canon’s 20D and 30D (too big/bulky) and toying with the idea of a Nikon D50, I’ve finally found the camera for me. It’s the Canon Digital Rebel XTi. Sadly acquisition won’t be immediate. But soon. Then there will be the matter of accompanying lenses (definitely getting a good macro lens).
• I’ve also found an aggregator that I like, NetNewsWire for Mac. Cory Doctorow’s blurb about it is amusing but I can relate: “This is the app that lets me drink straight from the Internet firehose, and I couldn’t live without it.”
• With all the buzz I’ve been hearing, I had to check out the about page for Heroes. Apparently it is “an epic drama that chronicles the lives of ordinary people who discover they possess extraordinary abilities” and there is some tie-in with a total eclipse. Damn them! This is exactly the sort of schlock I could get hooked on.
• Right now there’s something funny on the fridge at work. It’s a letter that was sent to the president of our company, suggesting that this holiday season she treat her employees to gift certificates for…Glamour Shots. While the entertainment value would be high I have to say oh, hell no!

Now for some randomness. Just yesterday the little man declared a moratorium on sandwich slicing. For the time being he would like his PB&Js to remain whole and unmolested.

Thursday night NYC’s MooShoes will be the place to be, what with their 5th anniversary and Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World release party and all. Now that’s a book I need (in that I want it, badly) but don’t need. Know what I mean?

This just in - how to Make A Cylon Jack-O-Lantern, via neongreen. Oh hell yes! Especially with our pumpkin carving party just around the corner. Also Halloween-related…the little man did finally settle on Luigi, even though he went with a Mario costume last year. Now I have to step up to the plate and decide whether I’m going to do it up half-assed, wearing the headpiece from his old lion costume, or if I’m going to go whole hog, so to speak, and seek out a pink prom dress at Ragstock so I can be Princess Peach. Ack. At least Chuck-o has a blonde wig (or two) he could loan me. Not sure about the tiara though. Hmmm.

Took a few vacation days last week, but I haven’t been relaxing exactly. I’m not so good with the sitting still. I haven’t had a quiet night at home since last Monday (not that I’m complaining). Let’s recap.

• Wednesday night: Was still in Duluth. The delightful Starfire and V-Nick invited me over to their amazing new a-frame house. We watched Project Runway with their peeps, ate vegan pumpkin pie, talked about next month’s NaNoWriMo and more. A perfect evening!
• Thursday night: We came back from Duluth just in time for me to catch Andrew Bird’s free show/interview at The Whole. There was a mob behind me, but capacity was reached not long after I squeaked in through the doors. Sometimes my luck is actually on the good side. During the interview the Birdman’s neuroses really shone through, in the most delightful ways. Very very glad I went. Oh, and another local flickrite snapped off this most awesome polaroid that night.
• Friday night: I found myself attending my high school reunion, despite the fact that I’ve kept in touch with just a handful of my former classmates, and I rarely go back to the town I grew up in (when I do, it’s only to take the little man to the apple orchard). It was a surreal evening but there were some high points. One of which was, well, I walked away from it realizing how much I love my life. Sure, it has its challenges (whose doesn’t?) but I really am happy with where I’m at right now and I have no regrets.
• Saturday: It was a full day with the little man’s swimming lesson, some errand-running, and a family dinner at Sambol, for my brother-in-law’s birthday. We topped it off with a vegan birthday cake from the Chicago Diner. The husband’s family isn’t vegan but they are super vegan-friendly, a fact that still blows my mind regularly.

Bonus: Enjoying Be Your Own Pet today. Especially their song Bicycle Bicycle, You Are My Bicycle - with the line “Have fun, and be safe with it. Just kidding, fuck shit up!”
Plus: In news of the annoying, this news story about a stolen laptop? Yeah, my luck was on the bad side this time. My freaking personal information was on it and that really sucks ass. Thank you Allina Healthcare, you incompetent bastards!
And: In happier news, American Hardcore is playing at the Lagoon. I really need to see that. Soon.

We’ve temporarily relocated to Duluth and guess what? We do have wi-fi up here. So much for unplugging from the matrix. But we packed and left in such a rush I left behind some crucial items. Such as:

• The book I’m reading
• The Thank You cards, from the little man’s birthday, that I still need to finish up and send out
• My sunglasses (prescription, of course)
• Sugar for my coffee
• A hairbrush or comb
• My hairdryer and flat iron
• Vitamins

And lastly and most importantly:

• The power cord for my powerbook

I’m already in the red zone, folks. Thankfully the husband brought his laptop…with its power adapter. At least I remembered to recharge my camera batteries before we left. Soon I’m off for a solo photowalk in and around Duluth, while the boys stay behind to chill out and geek out. And when I return to them, I will come back bearing Pizza Luce.

As a long-time vegan (read: dirty hippie) I’m sure I fit the profile…of a Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soap user. Admittedly I have bought the stuff before. Mostly for the entertainment value of the crazy label (he called it “the moral ABC”). But now someone has made a documentary about the man behind the vision(s). It should be fascinating. Watch the trailer here.

My Kid Ethnic crush has just hit new highs. Saleem made a short video:

“The name? ‘Sushi Time.’ I do not kid. Chock full o’ half-Chinese dudes, British Indians, Scots, Americans, Japanese, and, uh, me.”

In other news, Milk and Cake is in the market for a shiny red bike and I’d love to sell her mine (if she weren’t so far away). I should have known better when I bought that big bike. Yeah, it’s hella cool. It is a Nirve/Paul Frank cruiser, after all. But it is just too big and heavy for little ole me. What I really need is a little dirt bike, like I had back in the day. I rode my brother’s hand-me-down Huffy everywhere for years and years. But what the little man needs is a solid three-wheeler. And the Torker Tri-Star looks like one sweet ride. But winter is on its ways so this is a topic that will need to be revisited…many many months from now.

Things could be much, much worse. We are okay. Life is just going to be a little extra complicated for a while. But we will break on through to the other side. Not that I expect it to be all rainbows and prancing unicorns when we do, but it will all work out in the end. Still, many thanks to all the well-wishers…it means a lot.

So…I had a particularly odd Friday the 13th. I was under the weather and cranky. And crankier still when I found out that Andrew Bird was playing the Bryant Lake Bowl that night, but it was sold out. Grrrr. I also skipped the Art of Horror opening reception. And I’ve already gotten behind on the new season of Battlestar Galactica. And I read this really well written article: How childbirth went industrial. But it was disquieting, horrific even, to read her description of performing a c-section, being as I’ve been under the knife (a No. 10 blade apparently) for two of them now.

But the weekend improved. Saturday was a fine, Fall day. We took the little man to an apple orchard, to pick out pumpkins. And I took the lad to the St. Paul Art Crawl for a bit. Back at home he played outside with neighbor kids. Saturday night a friend and I caught a double feature in the Heroic Grace series at the Walker. And Sunday the husband (I can still call him that, for now, but may need to go back to “J”) and I went out to dinner before seeing Fearless.

And now we have a short work week ahead of us, as we will be taking our annual trek up to Duluth mid-week. So yeah. It’s not all bad. Some of it is even good.