Writing is a struggle against silence. ~Carlos Fuentes

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Fuck that. How about NOT annoying things?

Like MY SISTER GETTING ME INTO THE SOLD OUT CAKE SHOW AT THE 9:30 CLUB TOMORROW NIGHT?!

w00t! I've loved these guys for years and keep missing them. Emailed my darling sis and she totally came through for me. Big ups. ♥

Gotta fly. Artomatic tonight! See you folks later! :D

[Error: unknown template qotd] I don't have to go into who bugs me, do I? I think most folks on my flist know that one backward and forward. *lol*

As for favorite, I quite like Jo March of "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott. I've noticed a recurring theme in my life lately, and those of some of my friends, is finding our talents and being satisfied within ourselves and our relationships- both familial and otherwise. Jo is stubborn, headstrong, devoted to friends and family, but she's also afraid of failure- she appears strong because she's not afraid of speaking her mind, but in truth she's not able to fully express herself as a writer because she's afraid to do so. When she finally learns to trust her instincts and be herself she finds success as a writer and, finally, love. The simplicity of the character, who was based on Alcott herself, is appealing. This is in no small part because Jo's hopes, fears and dreams are no less identifiable today as they were when the book was written in 1868- this is a very real character, and today as much as when I read the book at the age of 12 and 13, I find myself identifying with her and enjoying her adventures.

ETA: And unlike a certain brunette character I won't mention, Jo was fully formed in my mind as I read and I didn't need a movie to make her more real for me.

[Error: unknown template qotd]I think the worst was with a guy who I met through Match.com who clearly did not read my profile beforehand and thought he was just the shiznit and I'd ignore the fact that we'd have nothing in common.

a.) He cheerfully admitted that the profile shot of him I'd seen was 5 years old. Five years ago he had more hair. Thus, it took me about 5 minutes to find him at the bar because I, silly me, was looking for a guy. with. hair. Strike one.

b.) My username on that site is "velogirl" and I go on an on about biking and outdoorsy stuff and how much I wanted someone to go biking with. He didn't own a bike, hadn't for awhile, and wasn't a big fan of nature in general, so that avenue of conversation closed down in the first five minutes of our meeting. Which sucked, because I was working in a bike shop, hiking in my spare time, and mountain bike racing on the side. And he had no interest in current pop culture. Strike two.

c.) I was a starving student when we met. He professed to feel my pain (he'd worked his way through school as a Walgreen's employee while I was struggling on a Gap salary). He was doing okay after many years of being penurious, and in the course of our chat revealed his plans to head to Hawaii the following weekend for a 2 week vacation. When the check came at dinner I thought we'd go dutch, but instead I got a bit of a nasty surprise- he was a total cheapskate. We'd ordered the same entree ($9) and drinks ($2) but all I had was a $20. I put down the twenty, he put down $5 and said, "Let's go." and walked out of the pub. I should have caused a fuss, but instead I left a handful off change (my bus fare) on the table to cover the rest of the tip. No reason our server should suffer. Strike three.

When he called two days later to see if we could meet up again after his trip, I said, "I can't. I have to work overtime to cover the fact that last night cost me an entire week's grocery money."

And that was that. Could have been a lot worse, but it covered the three no-nos- lying, nothing in common, and a cheap asshole. :P