they glow in the dark?
Monday, May. 02, 2005, 7:12 PM

Computer-free weekends are so welcome, sometimes. There wasn't any problem-based reason that I stayed off the thing; I just didn't feel like it.

What I DID do: Lots of beading, and I mean lots of beading, talked to my mom on the phone for FIVE HOURS on Saturday morning (Spouse is gonna shit when he sees to next phone bill), a truckload of dirty laundry, including all the throw rugs, bleached the heck out of that Superfund site we call a bathroom, vacuumed, straightened, scrubbed, polished, washed dishes, went and picked up my new ring, went to Open Flame for dinner, went grocery shopping, got my oil changed, spent some quality time with Spouse, watched the return of "Family Guy" read a bit, did a few crossword puzzles, cuddled my dog, and generally enjoyed myself.

That pretty much sums it up, really.

I need to find a thread to do the bracelet I'm working on that will be tough, lay flat, drape right, and not fall apart when it comes into contact with a Swars crystal. Silamide gave me the drape I wanted, BUT: I got all the way through the ladder-stitching on my bracelet yesterday, only to have snarling, breakage, and utter chaos when I tried to begin the over-beading.

Diligent thread conditioning didn't help a bit. All my work was utterly destroyed, and I had to pick it apart to begin again. But I don't want the same problems all over again. I had tried fishing line, but it was too stiff and the piece just curled up on itself, and refuse to lie flat. I'm probably looking at the same sort of a problem if I try tiger tail, plus the issue of getting multiple strands through a bead, and my ongoing issues with getting a crimp to hold. Gaah. It's infuriating went your mind's eye knows and sees exactly what it wants, but your hands and materials can't live up to it.

But that does seem to be how things work here So I went wading thru the incredibly poorly designed and unnavigable city website for the appropriate number, only to discover that there are TWO numbers for streetlight repair, depending on whether the pole is wood, or concrete.

If the streetlight was on my side of the street, I'd probably know this crucial detail. But since it is on the far side of a very wide and busy thoroughfare, I've never inspected the pole that closely. So I shall have to note the actual construction material tonight, and call the appropriate facility tomorrow.

Because the flickering night after night is driving me crazy, and I can't stand it anymore. It's like Chinese Water Torture, gum chewing, or somebody eating an apple. It fires up my rage response, and I want to "hulk out" with the old Crush! Kill! Destroy!' reaction.

I know that I laughed several times, and that is more than I can say about the episode of "The Simpsons" that preceded it. I'm hoping that the sparse population of last night's episode is an isolated thing. As much as I like the Griffins and the newspeople, I really missed Quagmire, Joe & Bonnie, Cleveland & Loretta, and minor characters such as Mayor West.

But the Pinnochio/Gepetto gag was an indication that they intend to stay edgy, so that's a good sign.

weight: 252

Coming off...slowly but surely. But I nearly had a panic attack when they weighed me at the gastroenterologist on Friday. Until the nurse reassured me that their scale ran three pounds heavy.

They really need to get that fixed.