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Ok, so this isn't a "real" entry, but it's what I have and I figure it's
better than going another two weeks with nothing new on this page. So, I
give you:
Things I Want
(in no particular order:)
- Cell phone - This despite having stuck to my resolution of 5 years
ago that moving to California would not submerge me into cell phone
culture. However, after two instances in the past week where if Tim and I
had had cell phones our lives would have been easier (not to mention less
stressful!), I've started pricing family share plans. So expensive! It's
on the list to do when we have a little more breathing room, whenever that
might be.
- Queen-size mattress - We sleep on a 5 year old futon. It was a
brand-new,
expensive futon when I bought it, but it's getting old. Not as cushy as it
used to be. I want a real mattress; I feel like a kid with the futon
while much of the rest of my life is heading headlong into
adulthood. Besides, my back and shoulders hurt, and a mattress would make
it more comfortable to sleep on my side, the way I like to. Also, my bed
frame is made to support either a futon or a queen sized mattress, so this
would be more feasible than . . .
- King-sized bed - Tim and I aren't small people. We have elbow issues
in the middle of the night. He'll tell you this is because I only grant
him
one third of the bed, but that's not true (less than half, sure, but not
as little as a third). When we slept on a king-sized bed in the otherwise
crappy motel room for our anniversary, I was in heaven. We need that
width; it's wonderful. Unfortunately my bed frame is a Queen. Also, I
don't think my bedroom is wide enough to accommodate a king-sized
bed. But it's a nice goal for the future when we have our own house (see
below).
- Car (Saturn) - Tim and I both drive junkers. Tim will tell you his
car
isn't that bad, but the manual steering and weird clutch mean I can't
drive it (I also think it smells funny and it's certainly not the
smoothest ride). My car is a death trap waiting to happen; it's only
saving grace (other than the scant 55,000 miles put on it in the past 17
years) is that it's a big old Oldsmobile stell monster from
Detroit; unless it tangles with a semi, we're gonna be ok. This week has
been a car comedy of errors, with my rearview mirror falling off and Tim's
tires blowing out right and left; it's made me yearn for a decent car. We
really only need one car right now; we take public transit as much as
possible and only Tim drives to work every day. But, the trade in on our
cars wouldn't make up for the car payments, and we just can't afford
it. Yet. (By the way, the reason I want a Saturn is because Kellie and
Brian have two Saturns and they just make them sound like the best damn
cars available; I'd settle for a Toyota or a Honda in a pinch, though.)
- Digital camera (elph w/ movies) - I hardly take pictures at all any
more,
though I used to do it all the time. The reason for this is the extremely
high cost of getting pictures developed; it's even more if you want them
on a CD so you can use them digitally. I so very much want a digital
camera so I can post pictures online. This one has been on my list for
years now. Sigh.
- CD burner - Three months after I bought my iBook they started making
them
with CD burners for the same price (not to mention DVD players). I'm sort
of holding out on this one until I buy a new laptop in 4 years, because by
then it's sure to be standard. It's not something that bugs me often, as
I know as soon as I buy one it'll be obsolete (I mean, c'mon, an MP3
player is the way to go), but it's still something I want occasionally.
- Baby - This one I'm very, very willing to wait 3-4 years for. But I
do
want a child someday, and my biological clock has woken up and realized
that there's only one year (less than that now) left of my 20's, and the
alarm is bothering me. Tim is relieved that my thinking brain is keeping
the ticktock away from doing anything rash; of all the things we couldn't
afford right now, a baby is at the top of the list.
- House - Hopefully before the baby, after the car, we'll buy a
house. In
Berkeley. Those of you who know better can stop laughing at me now. At
the very least, we need to be able to afford the rent on our (very
reasonable/ quite a deal actually) 3-bedroom house on our own (sans
roommate) before we procreate. We're hoping for both raises/ promotions
and awesome book deals/ bestseller lists to help make this happen.
- New shoes - A few years back I discovered comfy-yet-pricey shoes
(Birkenstocks, Dansko clogs, those waterproof sandals I can't remember the
name of). This means that I buy a pair of shoes and wear them until
they're falling apart. Currently, my Dansko clogs have uncomfy holes in
the footbeds that are giving me calluses; the cobbler did a less than
perfect job of fixing them for me. I'm thinking about looking for
something with a softer sole this time. I also really, really need a new
pair of hiking boots; my old ones have no arch support and the arch
supports I inserted give me mean blisters. Sigh.
- Leather pants - Supposedly I'm waiting to buy these when I'm buff, but
who
knows when that'll be. Still, I think they're sexy. They are also
symbolic of all the other kinds of sexy clothes I want to buy but would
make most of you blush were I to describe them. Hee.
- Marriage/ Wedding - Um, this would come ideally before the baby and
the
house, after the car. I'm really dithering about what to do for a
wedding, though. Did you know that the average American couple spends
$20,000 on their wedding? Insane. I want to afford to have lots of folks
celebrate our wedding day with us, but I'm not willing to go much more
into debt to do it. Quite the conundrum.
- Engagement/ ring - This I want soon. Tim knows this, yes. I even
priced
sapphire engagement rings and nearly had a heart attack at how much they
want for a shiny rock strapped to a circle of metal. I discovered I have
rather expensive taste in rings. I told Tim to just go ahead and buy me a
cheapo one (I found some for $22! Real Sapphires! Really!) but he said
he didn't want my friends and family to think he was cheap, and he was
gonna wait until he could spend a reasonable amount of money on one. What
a sweetheart (it made me cry); no, I don't think it's his way of stalling,
either.
- Hot tub - Oh, come on, who doesn't want a hot tub? This would have to
come after the house, of course. But the thought of stepping out of my
family room onto a deck, slipping into my own hot tub
. . . ahhhhh. Paradise. Yes, I live in California and I LIKE IT.
- Writing Porch - This is another dream that comes after the house. A
screened-in porch with cushioned window seats on either end, a desk that
looks out over the garden, lots of cozy places to curl up with the laptop
or sit up and look out . . . I just really like the idea of having that
kind of designated place to write. It would take away my biggest reason
to procrastinate on writing, too, which is "It's such a beautiful day
outside, I don't want to miss it."
Exercise Log:
Twice a week, the gym routine. Add to that some serious digging in the
garden (like, hours and hours), a few long walks and last Saturday's
shag-a-thon, and I'd say I'm getting plenty of exercise lately.
Writing log:
Hm, poetry and a bizarre urban tale. Need to revise "Restoration" now
that both Mike and
Greg were kind enough to
give me comments on it.
Current Publications:
In the Shade of
You nominated in the long poem category for the
Rhysling and will be reprinted in the 2002 Rhysling Anthology!
"How to
Suck" reprinted in From Porn
to Poetry: Clean Sheets Celebrates the Erotic Mind
I've been reading:
Dark Sister by Graham Joyce
Currently Reading:
Bones of the Moon by Jonathan Carroll
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