I’m officially changing my birthday present, if I can. It’s a shopping trolley with a hooded waterproof liner. It’s like sixteen dollars shipping and all, new I think, and I really, really want it! Finally, I want a birthday present. And Faith and I can both use it on those long walks back and forth from the store, especially if it’s raining! Let’s hope I get it everyone, send me your happy thoughts, blow good on my dice!

Okay, that sounded kinda dirty, but who said you could stop?

So I visited the Mindful Television network today. It’s a really cool WebTV site dedicated to what they call Mindfulness, which is, as far as I can tell, a lifestyle embracing the things that lead to awareness and appreciation of your life, and the exemption of things that are antithetical to it and sap our vitality, so that you can actually experience life, rather than be messed around by it. They’ve got self help shows, one on meditation, the whole thing looks cool. They’ve also got a whole online community, an E-newsletter — just a lot of neat stuff. And what’s the magic word? Free, and you know how I love free. Go them, and go “free”!

So the net is finally back on at our house. Took ‘em long enough, huh? Well, hopefully, we’ll be able to us it on our laptops, too. I want that transmogrifier on my laptop already! And the Disney Experience icon pack!

So, our Keen Eddie box set finallly arrived. So nice, and brand new, still shrink-wrapped! Our new cheap DVD player wrks like a dream, too. As it turns out, Surf’s Up was a great movie; what were the odds?

Minor bad news is that my ten-year-old super-ninties beaded purse ripped and I lost some of it’s gorgeous gun-metal grey beads down a vent. A vent, it had to be a vent! I need a new purse. A black on, maybe….

An awful jackass advertizer just wasted about a half hour of my time as I attempted to meet their many absurd requirements. But, since I’m a PPP blogger, I can refuse the five whole bucks I’d get if I went through with it. I gave them a low rating, too, ’cause that’s just taking advantage of desperation. Just spending the time I did trying to be reasonable and give their opp a chance made me feel dirty. *shudder*

Yesterday. *sigh* Not only was our mother delinquint on the utilities, but the city was trying to screw us out of her deposit, so when Faith and I schlepped home through the mini-flood last night — after being forced to use the internet at the library when our mother didn’t pay for her connection — we found our electricity was cut off without so much as a warning from good old Ma, who has been claim for weeks that she over-paid, just in case. Luckily, Faith and I are more than used to this and we made the best of it, not to mention got the electricity back on with the help of a dear friend. Thanks L! We owe you *———– this ———–* much!

Weirdly enough, I don’t usually flirt with guys, it’s mostly the other way around. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not that much to look at, but I’ve got a lot up front so there’s really not an ordeal. Better than a finger in your eye right? Eh, what do you know. Anyway, if I want a guy, I go right for him, end of story. I don’t even need a look — ignoring them usually does the trick. But when I have to, I give them The Look. Yes, that one!

But like I said, I don’t need a look, I’ve body language, honey. And, like I also said, I got a lot up front, so the language is loud and clear. A sidelong glance here, a warm smile there. And you have to at least pretend to pay attention to what they’re saying. And in case the fellas need a hand, they still have that Ultimate Flirting Championship sponsored by Extreme Style by VO5. It’s free to play anytime, you get to make a little avatar of yourself, and there’s also a little chat box in the corner, so play with other contestants and flirt for all your worth! Well, maybe not all your worth, but give it a little umph.

So, it looks like after waiting a little over a week for it, Faith and might finally be paid! Here’s hoping. Our net’s going down, so see you at the library….

Listening: “Big Rock Candy Mountain” — Harry McClintock
Eating: Fried Rice
Drinking: Lemon Pepsi
TV Show: Mad Men
Movie: The Battle of Shaker Heights
Mood: Achey and Miffed
Surfing: Adventureland Multi-Fandom RPG
Reading: How To De-Program your Valley Girl
Quoting: “The most outright villainous character in the movie is Beckett by far, but that’s a guy who just wants to sell more cheeseburgers when you get right down to it. How evil is that?” — Ted Elliot

I’m so cheesed-off right now. My employers are late with my commissions, about thirty-six bucks or more, which I was really counting on, and the waiting is driving up the fricken wall. Anyway, the third season finale of The Venture Brothers aired the other night; really terrific, and screw them for a cliff-hanger! New episodes of Mad Men and Metalocalypse, too, very eventful!

Also, Faith and I watched some Asian movies — one a hilariously bad art film, the other, an awesome fairly new Filipino horror film. I won’t get into details about the latter, but Faith and I were thoroughly mortified to see that the plot and characters too closely mirrored (almost exactly) those of an original fiction that we have been writing for the last few years, that now has to be scrapped. But no matter, it was a lovely movie, and it’s vindicating to watch something so close to something we’ve been doing make it to the big screen, let alone be creepy enough to spook us out.

You may recall that back in July, when I wrote about www.GreatAmericanSeafoodCookOff.com? Well, their site really didn’t have much on it at the time, but now it’s plumped up with recipes, seafood facts, and the winner of the cook off has been announced — Chef John Currence, the new King of American Seafood, for his Mississippi Redfish Courtboullion with Seafood Dirty Rice! But the site isn’t packing it in yet; there’s a contest up and I entered. They have recipes to choose from, you vote for your favorite one and enter. It’s for a whole prize package: you get round trip tickets to New Orleans, hotel accommodations, and dining. Plus, you don’t have to buy anything or hand over personal info to enter, and you know how much I like that.

I voted for the Pan Roasted Glazed Rockfish with Peas and Carrots, by Chef Tafari Campbell of Maryland. It’s a really inventive recipe, but not so complicated that I couldn’t do it myself, which is a must, as I am a culinary dunderhead. I think it was the best looking dish, with garlic, mushrooms, and baby carrots! All the dishes in the cook off are made with domestic seafood, so it’s fresher, hence better for us, and sold locally, which is better for our community. Okay, I’m off the soap box, but it really is an awesome concept. You could also win a fancy trip to New Orleans for entering, so go enter! And Go Team Domestic Seafood!