Anywho, scurrying off to try the hazelnut one...

I also went to the Museum of Modern Art on Sunday with Christina and Christoph, especially to see the Tim Burton exhibit. It was AWESOME. That man's brain is something to behold. The stuff he produces is so intricate and irreverent and creepy and funny and detailed, it was just amazing to see. Some stuff on display: old stop-motion movies he filmed, some as far back as the 70s; figurines used in movies like The Corpse Bride; costumes for Edward Scissorhands, Batman, and others; paintings of fanciful characters; short stories and poems with illustrations written on notebook paper - all just really cool displays. If you are anywhere near it, go take a tour. Try to go on a non-holiday, though, because it gets really crowded and stuffy in that exhibit space.

I was pretty unimpressed with the artist Gabriel Orozco, though, and his exhibition space was way bigger than Tim Burton's. I can tell he's one of those super eccentric people who thinks everything he conceives is art, simply by virtue of being conceived by his "brilliant" brain. Some stuff on his display: toothpaste he spit onto graph paper and let dry; an empty shoebox; five yogurt caps pinned to the wall - ugh. Admittedly, some displays were neat, like his chess board and the Citroën he cut the middle out of and welded back together, but on the whole - I was unmoved.

Call me shallow, but I like stuff that really makes me feel something (besides annoyance). Is it so much to ask to feel wonder, delight, despair, joy, or even just rightness when you look at a true piece of art? Or, in order to be cultured, do we all have to pretend yogurt caps and toothpaste spit are art?

I mean whatever, I got snowed in for like a million days (well, six) and it was fine because I like to sit around and eat incessantly and this way I could do it without guilt or interruption. But I did get irritated about one thing and it wasn't the lack of snowplows. What bothers me is everyone carrying on about how the federal government loses $100 million every day they shut down because of lost productivity.

Um, are they kidding me? As if ANYONE who works for the federal government is so productive that that much money is lost when they can't make it into the office. Everyone knows 90% of them do next to nothing except blame other people when work doesn't get done. It's the lazy person's dream to be a direct hire because it's almost impossible to get fired, no matter what you do - or don't do. So cut the crap about how much money the government is losing when federal workers can't make it in. If anything, they're saving money on utilities for all those buildings.

Instead, choose one, and keep your attention on her. Otherwise, every one you hit on will be more offended than the last, and you will look desperate, pathetic, and like you'd hit anything that was breathing (which, even if true, is just not a good look for anyone).

I know it's not really anyone's fault, but more a disconnect in the way women operate when they're meeting men and the way men operate when they're meeting women. Men see women talking to other guys and it just juices them up, gives them a little competition, makes them get their game going. Women, on the other hand, see a guy talking to other girls and it just makes them feel like, "Ok, obviously he's just going down the line and I'm in no way special, so whatever."

Of course there are exceptions to this, but look at how on the whole men get competitive over a woman and a girl will just get crabby and rejected when a guy starts looking around.

The joys of dating... NOT.

Oh my gooooooood, it was like the most fun, exciting thing I've ever done! I made my very first batch of pesto, and not only was it amazing, but that processor can honest to god grind shiz UP. I bet you could make creamy peanut butter in that thing.

Now I'm scouring my cookbook for recipes that require a processor so I can use it again tonight. I am totally in love with it. I think next up will be hummus.

When will I get a grip?

Unless the good deeds accompany it, I see no reason to trust someone who exploits religion to get me on their side. If anything, I've swung in the other direction and need more convincing before I'll take an overtly religious person at their word. I've seen too many bad things done both in the name of and behind the curtain of religion.

I reported it to the office and I'm going to call the Post and tell them to have it delivered up to my apartment door, but I don't feel like the poor paperboy should have to haul it all the way up there just because people can't be decent. I hate when people do crappy stuff like this.

Therefore, these are some things I need: another dog. A house with a fenced yard and a doggy door on the back door. A cat or two to keep the dogs in line. Or $50 a day to bring him to doggy day care.

So what should I do? I could rent a house with some roommates who have pets, because I certainly can't afford to buy my own house. People who know me personally know I don't live well with others, I can be crabby and quite frankly, I'm not used to it anymore. I haven't had a roommate in almost six years. But maybe that's my only option, because who on god's green earth has $50 a day to spend on doggy day care??

What do you think I should do?

While I'm at it, those tags that say "Calvin Klein" or "100% Wool" on the cuffs of men's dress jackets must also be removed before you ever wear it in public. I just feel for those young guys headed in to their first day at their fancy new job, or worse, an interview, and they still have that tag sewn onto their cuff. I swear those are on there merely to make people look stupid, it doesn't seem to serve any purpose the way the vent stitch does.

I am no fashion plate, I'm just trying to help. Plus, if I see one more girl walking around with her skirt slit about to burst open cos she hasn't cut that thread, I'm going to tackle her and do it for her.

However, whether it's from the time and place I grew up or just an innate dislike of change, I can't help but be horrified at what people will do to buildings in the name of progress or power. Destroying the Parthenon is an old example. Bombing Dresden is a more recent one. Tearing down Dr. Dremo's hit very close to home - and left an open pit of mud that's been there for almost two years now. I know we can't just keep restoring decrepit buildings and expecting them to always be used for the same things forever and ever amen, but a little more respect would be nice.

I guess that's the whole point, though. People's dwellings and places of business, pleasure, and worship occupy very important places in their individual and communal psyches. Tear something down, change it, make it mean something new, and you have a hold over people in a very primal way, and one most of them won't consciously realize. Maybe there is something poetic in using a piece of land or a building to create such powerful feelings in people, and it's not a desecration to capitalize on that power, but an acknowledgment of the innate power of architecture.

Even so, formerly glorious works of architecture reduced to dirty tenements, or worse, rubble still make me a little sad.

When I walked out, the whole apartment was different. The ceilings were higher, it had gotten dark out, and stuff was older and more run-down. It really was like discovering this huge mansion and realizing it was your place. I was so excited. Waking up was a real letdown.

On a slightly different note, I read about this writer once (I can't remember who right now) who would fall asleep with a spoon in his hand resting over a plate. Right as he was falling asleep, his hand would relax and the spoon would clatter on the plate, waking him up. He did this because those little dreams we have right between being awake and asleep would inspire his writing and he wanted to capture them. Isn't that cool? Sadly, all mine ever seem to be about is tripping on a step or something.

2) There were flowers waiting outside my door when I got home from work tonight. I was ultra pumped, thinking I had some kind of wicked cool stalker crush until I realized they were addressed to the former tenant. I kept them anyway. Don't be mad, it's not like you can forward a bouquet! What was I supposed to do?

Because I don't care what little melodrama your life is playing out right now, if you meet the right person for you, you'll make it work. You'll make it work if you don't live close to each other, if you're in medical school, if you just broke up with someone, or whatever. And if it isn't fun and doesn't feel good - it isn't working. The end.