Sitting up and walking take all my energy. So I'm going to just jot this down, then go back and collapse on the couch.

Emergency appendectomies are not fun.

Broos is a wonderful, wonderful friend. So are Candyce and Amy. And Matt, Bringer of the Hair Dryer. My cherub Chris is perfectly sweet and adorable, bringing me water and juice and allowing me to watch all three 'original' Star Wars movies back to back.

I've often felt as though I haven't many friends down here, but when they had to root up extra chairs for my room to accomodate them all, I realized how mistaken I am.

Thank you all. Going back to sleep.

Broos is a very kind fellow, indeed. He is also a goober :)

He invited me out to dinner to celebrate my birthday, so we went to a very spiffy place in Del Mar. Turns out it wasn't just a little birthday dinner; he'd invited some of our favorite game night pals. We had a lovely, cozy dinner for seven overlooking the ocean. And I got to have a huge slab (the last one they had) of "hula pie."

Afterwards, I was slightly traumatised since I'd followed Broos to the restaurant and now had no idea how to get back to the freeway. I managed to wend my way over to an area that I recognized, but realized I was in the wrong lane. I drove slowly along, waiting for the cars in the next lane over to pass me so I could tuck in behind them. One of them slowed down.

"What an asshole," I muttered, glancing over. It wasn't an asshole; it was a goober. He rolled down his window and beckoned for me to follow. Then at the exit (which I knew was mine! honest!) he flashed his blinkers so I'd know which road to take.

Let that just be a lesson to us all: sometimes the asshole you see on the road is really your friend :)

I'm usually interested in what other people are thinking. That's probably why I started reading the GEnie boards and eventually became a board monitor, which led me to my current career.

Sometimes people say some pretty obnoxious things without regard for others' feelings. They hide behind their forum names and consider themselves clever and quick-witted. In reality, they would never say things so nasty to anyone's face. At least, I would hope not.

One of the bulletin boards I read has some of the most vicious attacks I've ever seen. Maybe there's places with more painful comments directed back and forth, but I've been lucky enough to avoid stumbling into them. There are especially venomous attacks in the boards relative to the TSA. If you like that sort of thing, be my guest :)

For myself, I found a thread that isn't as vitriolic as some of the other ones and it's mightily entertaining to boot.

Click here to learn Why do so many people hide adult-oriented magazines behind drawers in hotel rooms?

Enjoy! :D

Driving homeward from Kevin and Candyce's, I noticed an odd proliferation of free-standing basketball hoops all along their street. Practically every third house had one of these stands parked near its driveway.

That made me come to a conclusion about the neighborhood. Well, a couple of potential conclusions.

First, I thought it indicates that these are neighbors who don't know each other. If they did, they'd be telling their cherubs, "Well, little Johnny two doors down has a hoop. Go play over there!"

Second, that it's a transitory neighborhood into which perhaps there is a recent influx of people who are bringing their hoops in.

I've never noticed all those hoops before tonight. For some reason, they made me sad.

And in the end, the team with no necks won. I was driven to profanity through most of the fourth quarter :(

It was our first Super Bowl, though, and that is something to celebrate.

Wearing my beloved number 80 throwback jersey today and went out to Sbux and the grocery store to pick up a few trifles (well, lemons and cheese). For a football town, I would have thought someone would make a comment about my team jersey since the Seahawks are in the Super Bowl.

Nothing. Nada. Zip.

Then I realized, these folks have no clue who number 80 is. This is a very classy, understated shirt, with a small Seahawk over the left breast and a large white number 80 on the back. There's no name, though, so non-Seattlites have no clue who it is. :(

I hope the team does well today. Even if they don't win, I'd rather it be because the other team out-plays them, than if they lose because they tripped over their own shoelaces.

For the non-football watchers today, you can catch the second installment of The Six Wives of Henry VIII. It's a nice blend of historical reenactments and scholarly presentation. :)