Cootersnap!

Light a candle,
Hold a hand,
Say 'I love you',
Give a hug,
Show respect.

Let someone you care about KNOW how much you care about them.

You know how sometimes things will go all awry for no apparent reason? (Yeah, I’m sure you’re all well-versed in Murphy’s Law.) ‘Course, you also know how “they” say that things always have a way of working out anyway? (I’m not sure if there’s a metaphysical ‘law’ for this one… karma, kismet, fate or faith?...) For whatever reason, the past weekend was such a case in point…

To make a long story short (ever notice how much I use that terminology and then proceed to bore the snot out of your nasal passages?) I have a friend who was supposed to be coming in from Chicago last weekend with her husband. I also have two other friends (from Minneapolis) who came down Saturday to surprise the Chicago friends.

Pisser is: the Chicago friends never made it. But you see, this is the part of the story that makes you go, “Hey, this didn’t turn out too badly after all!” The reason being, of course, is that to spend time with the Minneapolis friends, Nick and Kristen, is ALWAYS a whambo jamboree. And then, in this particular instance, to throw in the added presences of Kris and Adrian was icing on the cake (or, in my case – not being a sweets fan – salt on the *insert any saltable food item*).

We all hooked up Saturday night after I got off work from George’s and went to dinner at Devotay… good wine, good conversation and then… attack of the ubiquitous capers. Seriously, there were capers everywhere. In the sautéed mushrooms, in the baked chevre, in the paella, even in the frikkin’ bison meatballs!! I’m not 100% sure, but I think there were even capers in the poached pear with bleu cheese dessert that Kris had… Anyway, suffice it to say, this restaurant uses capers like most people use salt and pepper. Need a little flavor? Well hell, throw in some damn capers! All was not lost, however. We got our bellies full (of capers) and it was a relaxing few hours. (And a giant **burp** thank you to Adrian for the rental of our food and wine!!)

Afterwards we done headed back to the bar to continue our various conversations and whatnots. Turns out that Kris and I used to hang around in the same crowd back in the day, so our conversation ended up being “whatever happened to…?” and “do you remember…?” In fact, this is what Lisa (Chicago friend) and I would have done. Instead, I made a ‘new’ friend (make that TWO new friends!!) AND got to hang out with Kristen and Nick to boot. So while the beginning of the weekend started off a little shaky, it redeemed itself on Saturday.

Sunday, however, was another world entirely and I will definitely be blogging about it in the near future. However, I just wanted to toss out big ol’ HELLOs to the House of Nuclear Mort and to the Estate of Endorphin. And while we’re at it: Lisa, where the hell did you two get off to…? (You missed your own party!!)

Evil gluttonous blogger! Yes, I actually wrote something yesterday but it done got et up by the cyber sow. And yes, I am now using ‘Word’ so as to avoid any future acts of annihilation on the part of whatever the wares that was, that was, whatever the wares that was.

Now then, Seamus had suggested I write about what has been making my life ‘mildly frantic’. Well, I got that all out yesterday, but now it’s gone, never to return. Though I tend to repeat myself frequently, it’s hard for me to do so after such a purge. Some of the events from the past few weeks are:

**My friend Larrietta and I went to see Guster play on Sunday night; frikkin’ GREAT show!!
**My friend Marco came to town, passed his defense and is now DR. L….
**Had drunken brunch at Mark and Victor’s that ate up the entirety of the day’s sobriety a week ago Sunday
**Had an afternoon off on Tuesday to spend with Marco out at the Sutliff bridge… which ended in a trip to the ER for him… poor guy…
**Sat at Larrietta's one night swillin' beer and having a generally relaxing post-appreciation-factory time
**All of the above are just a few of the fun things (except for the hospital), and doesn’t include such horrid mundane things as meetings with the accountant, trips to the recycling center and the other sundry mundanities of life…

Anyhoo, to make what had been a rather loquacious tale of social butterfly-ism and obligations into a neat little package, I will say this: the world has been too much with me, of late. Now, this is not necessarily a bad thing at all. In fact, it’s been a rather enjoyable rush of dinner here, concert there, fun, sun and celebration. But. You see, the Cootera is a mostly sedentary creature, built to go low and slow. Imagine British sports cars with tiny engines… (yes, I said imagine…)

And there you have it. My ‘mildly frantic’ life in a nutshell… or terrapin shell, as the case may be. On top of it all, tonight my friend Larrietta and I are going to a picnic for the non-profit organization we volunteer for. Tomorrow I have some friends coming in town from Chicago, Saturday I work all day at the bar, and on Sunday I’m leaving early in the morning to drive home to see my dad, stepmonster and grandma. And then the week starts over…

On the bright side, my beloved sister (the one who makes the black gak butt lava instead of taco meat) was kind enough to go to my apartment this morning and pick up Gussie for the weekend. Seeing as how I’m going to be more or less tied up until Monday, it was decided the poog should have some fun with the Did and the Goat. What’s funny about it is that sitting here thinking about the little guy not being there when I get home makes me really sad…

Oh, and did I mention that I have either: a sinister sinus infection, a horrendous head cold or awful allergies? ‘Tis never a good time to have any of the above, but fer cryin’ out loud. Couldn’t this have waited until next week? Just keep your fingers crossed this Aleve Cold & Sinus shit works… otherwise, the Cootera is going to be one snappy bitch in the meantime…

YOYO!!

Taking a page from Celti's "Short Attention Span Friday" book...

People have searched the internet with the following phrases and had Cootersnap dished up to them:

"cockscomb napkin" (only in the finest of dining halls will you find one of these)

"pant acourt" (what the...?)

"peepages" (awwww!)

"broken wing budgie" (understandable...)

"raccoon dick bone" (understandable...)

and my favorite...

"they should be up makin breakfast them whistles that go woo"

You're stuck inside Fahrenheit 451, which book do you want to be? Is there a fireproof one? Ok, now here is where I admit I've never read it. I know, I know... but I'm not a big Bradbury fan, much less science fiction. Or is that: not a big science fiction fan, much less Ray Bradbury? Whatever. Sue me.

Have you ever had a crush on a fictional character? You bet. I was in love with Boo Radley from To Kill a Mockingbird. Ok, kidding... it was Atticus all the way.

The last book you bought: Very rarely do I purchase one book at a time. I think about them constantly... obsessively... and grow a personal library in my 'shopping cart' at Amazon. The last book splurge included:
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell: A Novel by Susanna Clarke
Gilead: A Novel by Marilynne Robinson
Holographic Universe by Michael Talbot
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
The Known World by Edward P. Jones
The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler

The last book you read: Well, I usually have a few goin' on at the same time to cater to my moods. I've just finished Hard Laughter by Anne Lamott (thanks, Joe, for the loan!) and Skinny Dip by Carl Hiaasen (thanks to my stepdad for that one!). Currently starting on The Kite Runner and Gilead.

Five books you would take to a deserted island…and why? Yikes! That's a toughie...
Ok. FOR SURE the Oxford UNABRIDGED Dictionary, because that way I could start writing funny messages in the sand by stringing together archaic words... hours of fun that would be! To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee because it's one of my all-time favorite reads, as well as The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster (if anyone out there has not read this book at least once, GET TO IT!). I'd probably take Crime and Punishment by Dostoyevsky just because I really like it and I like the way my copy smells. One more... hmm... I suppose it'd be Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace because after THREE attempts I've still not managed to sink my teeth into it. And heck, if I'm gonna be stuck on a damn deserted island, I might as well... besides, if it sucks, it's thick enough to make for some good kindling. No sir, this book shall not beat me...

Who are you going to pass this stick to (3 persons) and why? Gee whiz, I don't want to stick it to anybody, but of course I'm curious what y'all read. (Oh, and if anyone is interested, our online bookclub seems to be floundering a bit, but feel free to send me an e-mail if you want to join... or if you just want to comment, that's ok, too. It's the Roundtable Confessional and can be found under my linky linkertons).