My superpower

I was hanging out with a couple of girlfriends tonight and we started a silly conversation about our superpowers. Except it turned out not to be so silly. Not at all.

T's superpower is that she can speak her mind, honestly and fully, without hurting people's feelings. She is so articulate, so smart, and so in tune with the other person's viewpoint, that she can deliver those hard truths we all need to hear sometimes in a way that actually gets positive results. And she's never afraid to do it, either. Nothing fake about her. Truly amazing.

R's superpower is that she is always thinking of what other people need, even if they may not even realize it yet themselves, and figuring out a way to give it to them. She can get the most stubborn or independent-minded friend to accept the help they need in hard times. She's a supreme caretaker.

They said my superpower is the way that I draw people to me by making each one feel special. I focus my attention on a person, looking them in the eye, never glancing away while they are speaking. I'm not superficial, or bubbly, or fake; I get to know people on a deeper level from the first moment. The people who know me know that I am selective, so when I choose someone, they feel their own specialness that earned them that friendship. I don't know if I am explaining this very well, but it blew me away when they told me.

I think my real superpower in life is that I have friends who give me these kinds of gifts.

I'm on vacation

and I still can't seem to find the time to shave my legs. Oh well.

There's something I like to do on the weekends and I've been doing it this week. I wake up automatically early in the morning. I putter around, read the paper or whatever, and then about an hour later, I start getting sleepy. Then I go back to bed and sleep for a couple more hours. It doesn't sound like a big event, but I absolutely love it. That second sleep is sooooooo good. Decadent.

Gone dark

I haven't watched TV for five days. It disturbs me how little it has disturbed me. Don't get me wrong; I don't take this lightly. I've been thinking about it and wondering how this little boob tube vacation is going to affect me. I'll be back on the juice soon, I'm sure, but what if I didn't? Would that be un-American? Could I survive? Could I persuade people to listen to me talk about the books I'm reading instead of Project Runway? Yes, I saw a headline and I know neck tattoo won, that shit. For awhile, I could probably keep up, but then everyone would be talking about new shows and new people and I would become a pariah with no insights on Dancing with the Hoochies or This Week in Serial Killers.

Plus, I would miss my Oprah. Better to start watching again.

No worries -- I'm here

I have been sooooooo busy living my glamorous, whirlwind life that I simply haven't had a moment to post. To my dearest readers, I apologize. To the others, I don't.

A few shimmering highlights:

I have mice! They are in the kitchen, subsisting on dog food, ramen noodles, and probably dog hair. Mice have terrible taste, clearly. I scream when I see one, but it has no apparent effect. Body count: 7.

I am working on a couple of mysteries. To wit, why are my stainless steel knives stained?
And why do ALL the t-shirts come out of the dryer inside out?
Anyone? Anyone?

Gotta run. I'm off to more sparkling adventures. Ciao!

Don't know what's happening to me

Not too long ago, I found out what a blitz was. And what covering the spread means. These are football-related terms. Football is a game, played mainly by American men, lasting approximately 67 hours per session and involving large amounts of violence. I do not care about football. Or, I thought I didn't. I used to find it useful for helping me get to sleep on the couch. I'm scared now, because it feels like I'm getting sucked into caring, a bit, about the sport of football. I know a few players' names and I've actually gone so far as to click on a football-related Internet story. I felt a pang of -- something -- when a team I have a slight connection to lost a big game this weekend. I thought, "they need to beef up that excuse for a running game." Please, help me. I need an intervention before I start scheduling viewings.