This is not my cat. It's a rental. I had to return him today. Very sad. 16 THINGS ABOUT ME 1. I love coincidences, synchronicities, whatever you want to call them. I get real, real excited about even the most (seemingly) benign ones. It’s the closest thing I have to a religion - the worshipping of coinciding events. I’ve had some mind-blowing ones happen to me. 2. When I was 8 my cousin asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. My answer: “A Celebrity.” I only vaguely knew what the word meant. I’ve mostly changed my mind. 3. I’m very outgoing and confident - I’m also painfully shy, self-conscious and insecure. I can swing between these two at dangerous speeds. I either rule or suck - not much middle ground. 4. I take a short nap almost every day, and have done so for most of my life. 5. When I moved to Colorado I declared that I wanted to be a writer. This was a bit of a pipe dream. At the time (1991) I was a 24-year old community college dropout working as a dishwasher. Three years ago I quit my day job to make the final transition to full-time writer/performer. Now, nearly 20 years later, I’ve made good on my declaration. I’m kinda proud of that. 6. I feel like I’m watching my life from a distance. And not in a bad way. It’s as if my life is just one big project that I get to both observe AND participate in. I like it. 7. About 5 years ago, while flipping channels, I caught a few minutes of a documentary on elephants. The baby elephant’s mother had died, and the rest of the herd refused to take care of it. Apparently elephants don’t adopt. It kept trying to nuzzle up against a different mama elephant, but the mama pushed it away. A pack of coyotes (or some other canine thing) came around and the herd just stood there while they attacked, killed and ate the squealing baby elephant, quite graphically, on camera. I’d never given much thought to elephants, but after that 5 minutes I can barely even think about elephants without starting to cry. 8. I’m glad that I’ve learned to appreciate being alone. 9. Bad reviews bother me more than I wish they did. I’m working on it. 10. I grew up in Mississippi, but moved away at 14. I am way too forthcoming with this information. You’ll know it about me after minutes of first meeting me. I think it makes me interesting. 11. I seem to have gradually lost interest in drugs and alcohol. I haven’t officially quit or anything so drastic, I just would generally rather, you know, not. Weird. 12. Office supplies are like porn for me. Must be the fantasy of organization and efficiency. Mmmmmm… 13. I sometimes find it hard to celebrate my successes. I’m a perfectionist. But it feels necessary. I think it keeps me looking to what’s next. I’m probably rationalizing. 14. I would love to be able to better express myself through drawing and playing guitar. Not at the same time. 15. I generally don’t like people who talk about themselves too much. I mean, who does, right? There are many times when I am that person. 16. I tend to overuse “It changed my life” when describing something to someone. But I’ve never used that expression insincerely. There really are so many things - books, movies, experiences, songs, photographs, workshops, people, classes, trips, elephant documentaries, substances, interactions, meals - that have quite literally changed my life, and continue to do so on a regular basis. 17. I’ve really enjoyed making this 16-item list. See #15.

Called C to wake her up, that's a first. Took a shower and had a lot of free time. I love and hate that. I hate the way my Mom asks me to unload the dishwasher and I can't use the "I don't have time" excuse, but I love the way I did my math review and beat my tetris score all in one morning! School, whatever. I can't think of any short film ideas. Blah. Chemistry they took a test today... f. Last test I knew the stuff I just didn't know how to do it. (well, kinda) Now I don't even know the terms. Screwed. Took the math test, and got the English paper in. Mr. Rogers son Joel had back surgery Wednesday, so I asked him how it went and now his son is having heart problems. Man, poor guy. Hung out with Nevin and Maurice watched some 30 Rock. Then came to let Max in, but that was just awkward. So we went to the park, and then drove around. Came REALLLLY close to getting hit, first time to use my horn. Hung out at Barnes and Noble. Twas a nice evening. Sam came home!!!!!!!!!!!! SAM is home!!!!!!!!! "Sam, don't do that."-Mom "Aww... that would hurt my feelings."- Me "You get used to it when your mom doesn't think you have any."-Sam Missed him so much. Listening to: Lightning Rod by Margot & the Nuclear So and So's ...oh, okay!