See, I told you it was hot here!

According to the CDC, Arizonans are 3-7x more likely to die of heat-related causes than people in the rest of the country. (See, I'm really not exaggerating about it being hot!)

My last day of work was Fri. I went out to lunch with a friend, and we went to an Indian buffet. It had been a really long time since I'd had Indian food, and this food was very yummy. Since then, I've been laying low with Pippin. She's been enjoying the quality "bird time." Tomorrow, I will take her to the vet for her annual visit and nail clipping. I have a yoga class later in the day. I'll tape the House season finale. Nothing too exciting.

I'm pretty confident that I'll be re-hired in July or Aug. so I'm going to enjoy my free time....and try to stay out of the heat!

General disappointment

Mona van Duyn writes, "For what is story if not relief from the pain, of the inconclusive, from the dread of the meaningless?" Yes. Exactly. And that is precisely why the season (and now, series) finale of Veronica Mars is unacceptable. Too many loose ends, too inconclusive. What happened to epic? (Okay, so even though they're not together, Logan will still beat up any guy who might be responsible for streaming videos of VMars en flagrante delicato...but I need something more substantial than that!) I want resolution, damn it! And now I'm not going to get it. To be fair, they taped the final two episodes prior to the announcement of...er, non-renewal. So...I guess you want to keep a bit of dramatic tension to get viewers to tune in for the next season. But seeing as there won't be a next season, I think we need a 2 (or 10) hour special to wrap these things up. More specifically, we need plenty of time for Veronica and Logan to get back together and buy a cabana and live happily ever after (in between fights and sarcasm). I'm just sayin'. There is a lot of chatter about writing virtual seasons or endings, and that's cool. If people get those done, some will probably be better than any "real" alternative.

Just because about 10 people ask each day, I'll update you on the grants. So far, no news. Well, except for the Hamburger Helper Hometown Helper grant, which we didn't get. They did, however, send me a consolation prize-- a single serving of Hamburger Helper. Somehow, I wasn't all that consoled (especially since I don't eat hamburger).

Ouch

Ow. I have a migraine. Again. Since moving to Tucson, my migraines significantly decreased in frequency. For the past 3 years, I've only been getting 1-2 migraines per month, sometimes less. This past month, I've been getting 1-2+ migraines per week. That is a 400% increase. I just wanted to share that. Now I will put ice on my head and take some Imitrex and try not to puke.

Random quotes (from my collection)

*Indifference and neglect often do more damage than outright dislike. -J.K. Rowlings

*For frequent tears have run/ The colors from my life and left so dead/ And pale a stuff. -Elizabeth Barrett Browning

*With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion. -Steven Weinberg

*I like long walks, especially when they are taken by people that annoy me. -Noel Coward

*One of the symptoms of an approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one's work is terribly important. -Bertrand Russell

*Nearly all marriages, even happy ones, are mistakes: in the sense that almost certainly (in a more perfect world, or even with a little more care in this very imperfect one) both partners might be found more suitable mates. But the real soulmate is the one you are actually married to. -J.R.R. Tolkien

*Nothing makes us so lonely as our secrets. -Paul Tournier

*Golf is a good walk spoiled. -Mark Twain

*To be absolutely certain about something, one must know everything or nothing about it. -Voltaire

*Were kisses all the joys in bed, one woman would another wed. -Shakespeare :)

*For where thou art, there is the world itself, and where thou art not, desolation. -Shakespeare

*Everyone can be great because everyone can serve. -Martin Luther King, Jr.

*If you judge people, you have no time to love them. -Mother Teresa

*Love sought is good, but giv'n unsought is better. -Shakespeare

*Of all forms of caution, caution in love is perhaps the most fatal to true happiness. -Bertrand Russell

*The success of love is in the loving-- it is not the result of loving. of course it is natural in love to want the best for the other person, but whether it turns out that way or not does not determine the value of what we have done. -Mother Teresa [That's encouraging for those of us in the helping professions!]

*A critic is a manwho knows the way but can't drive the care. -Kenneth Tynis

*Nothing is really work unless you'd rather be doing something else. -James M. Barrie

*If we all did the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves. -Thomas Edison

*For Christ plays in ten thousand places,/ Lovely in limbs, and lovely in eyes not his/ To the Father through the features of men's faces. -Gerald Manley Hopkins

[BTW, for any of you who may care, Veronica Mars was indeed cancelled. Boo-hoo.]

California, here I come.....

I just booked tickets to go to San Diego next month. I'm only going for a couple of days (for financial reasons), but I really need to go sit by the ocean, fall asleep on the beach in the afternoon, eat dinner with an ocean view, wake up at 2 AM and listen to the waves.... and not be in 110 degree heat, etc. I got a good deal on Southwest on direct flights. (Ridiculously, other decently priced plans were requiring me to change planes in Utah or Texas!) I haven't booked a hotel yet. I want to go to a resort on a beach or on the bay, and right now, they all cost too much. But...if I keep watching, I bet I can get a good deal (right?). At any rate, if you want to get a FANTASTIC deal at a resort in Arizona, come in the summer (and pay 1/4 of regular price). Of course, you won't want to go out or anything because it's too hot...but other than that, the hotels are nice.

Speaking of beaches, Lost was actually pretty good tonight. I certainly wouldn't mind being stranded on that island, whack-job "Others" or no. I'd even put up with the polar bears.

TV musings

I don't really have an obsessive tv show interest right now, which is somewhat disappointing and also uncharacteristic. Here's what I'm watching these days:

*House-- I really enjoy this show, and I tape it when I won't be home. I love Hugh Laurie more with each episode. However, the characters just don't interest me enough to reach obsession levels. They all behave rather predictably within their assigned roles.

*Veronica Mars-- I still like the characters, but this season has had serious plot issues. I have been watching the first two seasons (DVDs) a lot, and VM fic is my current "comfort food." But...with cancellation looming, I can't pour my heart into it.

*Lost-- Well, contrary to my previous assertions, it seems that the Lost writers do indeed have a plan. Lost has actually set an end date for the series (2009-2010, I believe). Still, it doesn't feel like they're going anywhere. I think the ensemble has gotten to be too big for me to become attached to individual characters.

*24-- As always, I love this show, but it's never been an obsession for me. Jack rocks my world, he'll save the world, and then he'll do it all again next year. With a new cast. And a new girlfriend. Yeah.

*Grey's Anatomy-- This show is growing on me. Also, my favorite pairing is George/Izzie. This makes me a bit angry with the writers because I feel manipulated into supporting an adulterous 'ship. I mean, yes, George was grieving, but CALLIE? Could we come up with a less likely pairing? Of course George and Izzie belong together. So quit it with the furtive looks and kisses and drunken sex, and get a divorce already. Or something. But this isn't fair to Callie, even if I don't like her. And George and Izzie so belong together...and should have known that pre-disasterous marriage. Whatever. I dislike enough of the characters, though, and the general soap opera atmosphere that I can't completely fall in love with this show. However, I am starting to read fanfic, which is always a sign of pending fanaticism. I just read a really cute, funny, tender story set right after Denny's death. It's George/Izzie but mainly friendship. It's called The Road to Hell is Paved with Good Intentions (or, Nobody's Going to Get a Cookie Unless You Two Stop Fighting). Very short. If you watch the show, go read it. It will make you smile.

This song has been stuck in my head a lot lately

"Worlds Apart"
by Jars of Clay

I am the only one to blame for this
Somehow it all ends up the same
Soaring on the wings of selfish pride
I flew too high and like Icarus I collide
With a world I try so hard to leave behind
To rid myself of all but love
to give and die

To turn away and not become
Another nail to pierce the skin of one who loves
more deeply than the oceans,
more abundant than the tears
Of a world embracing every heartache

Can I be the one to sacrifice
Or grip the spear and watch the blood and water flow

To love you - take my world apart
To need you - I am on my knees
To love you - take my world apart
To need you - broken on my knees

All said and done I stand alone
Amongst remains of a life I should not own
It takes all I am to believe
In the mercy that covers me

Did you really have to die for me?
All I am for all you are
Because what I need and what I believe are worlds apart

I look beyond the empty cross
forgetting what my life has cost
and wipe away the crimson stains
and dull the nails that still remain
More and more I need you now,
I owe you more each passing hour
the battle between grace and pride
I gave up not so long ago
So steal my heart and take the pain
and wash the feet and cleanse my pride
take the selfish, take the weak,
and all the things I cannot hide
take the beauty, take my tears
the sin-soaked heart and make it yours
take my world all apart
take it now, take it now
and serve the ones that I despise
speak the words I can't deny
watch the world I used to love
fall to dust and thrown away
I look beyond the empty cross
forgetting what my life has cost
so wipe away the crimson stains
and dull the nails that still remain
so steal my heart and take the pain
take the selfish, take the weak
and all the things I cannot hide
take the beauty, take my tears
take my world apart, take my world apart
I pray, I pray, I pray
take my world apart