It's All Happening, and Focus, Baby!

What is going on? Stuff has been happening - all at the same time, of course.

My friend gets hit by a car. My other friend's father passes away. I catch a virus and I am 'man down' for nearly a week. Stay Healthy, Friends! (And Stay Home and Get Better!) Have been doing quite a bit of thinking (more than usual) which I think has me on cerebral overload.

[the situation]
So I finally get a chance to do small talk with 'Face.' He has changed his hair and now it's, well, not pretty. A dose of reality hits when the awkwardness of the conversation gets all up in there. Must find out if he has a girlfriend. And how old he is. But in the reverse order. Reminds of me of that "If...then" clause from algebra - or was it trig?

AND THEN 'Boy #2' steps in and we start chatting. Boy #2 is not my type, and you'd expect someone with his frame to be of a burly and belligerent disposition, however, this is not the case. I detect him carefully choosing his words for a moment, and I sense his serious and sensitive side. Whaaaaat ? I know! Didn't see that coming.

COTW [crush-of-the-week]
I've been paying more attention to the fact that there is at least one positive quality in every person that I meet, that I like about them. At least one trait that stands out, or that I think, in a way, fall in love with that they have this quality. This must be at least partially the source of my perpetually changing COTW, I suppose.

In other news, it has been brought to my attention that a certain birthday is approaching. I will have to adjust the age range of the profile of my current 'type' accordingly.

CWMM[conversations-with-my-mother]*new entry!
"Hello, daughter."
"Hi, Mom."
"Everything okay?"
"Yes, everything's fine. Everything okay with you and everyone back home?"
"Yeah, yeah. (pause) So, did you find a boy YET?" (Note: inflection is placed on the word "YET.")

And it starts.

Focus, Baby!
Much to do this week, researching a few professional arenas of my life, as well as doing some very well-procrastinated writing! Hoping to finish some projects for a couple of approaching deadlines.

Must cut back on fun, and put my nose back to the grindstone! So many distractions lately. Trying to remind myself: Writers write!
"So, you going to hang out with us?"
"I can't."
"Why not?"
"I need to pursue my dreams."
"Oh. Can't you pursue your dreams during the week?"
"No. I cannot."

Get By.

Fight Me. I dare ya.
Bursts of road rage. A whole lot of deep sighs. Indignancies run rampant and the dark clouds have somehow rolled into the SoCal landscape. Weird.

The Follies of February.
I had the unfortunate experience of becoming the target of a racial insult while driving in LA. In the middle of Koreatown. Admittedly, I flared up a bit, wanting to literally stop, get out of my car, and exchange a few words with the man. And by words, I don't mean words. I'm sure it would've been a sight, all 5'3" of me.

Get By.
I forgot how much I used to like Kweli. He is a lyrical genius.

This morning, I woke up
Feeling brand new and I jumped up
Feeling my highs, and my lows
In my soul, and my goals
Just to stop smokin, and stop drinkin
And I've been thinkin - I've got my reasons
Just to get by, just to get by
Just to get by, just to get by

We are in the doldrums of February, that haze of slush and fog and thaw and refreeze and thaw cycle. It trudges on, removed from the anticlimax of January and dragging its feet until the promise of spring in March.
You want February, indeed, just to get by.

My calves hurt. My cousin once said to me that it was because when I walk I am probably one of those rushed lazy calf-lifters.

The Situation.
This is a new entry. I would like to call this section something else. Any suggestions? If only Jersey Shore didn't have to have crazy cartoon character people with kitschy nicknames. I'm sure Wolf Blitzer wasn't happy.

A late-night bite with a bunch of friends. You ever find yourself at the section of the table with the socially inept members of the group? It can be pretty frustrating. Not to mention the eternal turn-off factor of realizing some mutual friends are, the tweedledee-and-tweedle-duh, and the awkward fish. Initially, you wonder how that dynamic has transpired, such that you are the only one making the effort at conversation. Sometimes I suspect it boils down to pure social laziness. NERDS!

Private party. Guy walks over to a group of women, interrupting to introduce himself. Women seem to be cool with it, and Guy proceeds to zero in on the bright-as-light-blonde woman. The other two in the group are becoming painfully aware of the fact that they are not needed in this conversation. They stand by so as not to be rude. Guy proceeds to keep talking and all three women wonder when he'll reveal himself to be a walking cliche. If you can't talk to a collective group of women, engaging and listening to each person in conversation, then don't go and interrupt them. No, you didn't rock our world, babe. Get a grip.

COTW[crush-of-the-week]

Benicio del Toro. Dark and looming with street-cred, yet a touch of the debonair.

XOXO cookies covered in dark chocolate icing. Available now, at Porto's. Can I have my money now?