Thursday, October 3rd 2002 - I Dream of Linguini Well, my social plans for the evening fell through and Tim stayed at the cafe (since I already had plans) so I find myself with an unchallenged internet connection and a half-written journal entry. Whoo! First of all, you should know that I've been in a wonderful mood today, so this journal entry is likely to be chirpy. A bit. The mood stems from several factors: adrenaline from the spinning class earlier tonight (where the instructor told me she was surprised that it was my first class, as I did extremely well; I'll be surprised if I can walk tomorrow, but for now I feel great), Tim's reaction to seeing Secretary last night (wonderful movie about the BDSM scene that actually groks it) and the amazing, fun weekend we had with Scott and Lynne and Santa Cruz. That last one I've actually already written about, so I'm going to paste that in right here: I had a lovely, lovely weekend. I really needed to have as much fun and relax as much as I did this past weekend, and I feel so much better as a result. Friday night Tim and I headed down to Santa Cruz for a visit with Scott and Lynne. We arrived, climbed up the scary ladder to the loft where we were to sleep (I got better at climbing it over the course of the weekend, but it's still frightening) to dump our stuff, and then sat and watched Scott finish up a batch of beer. I had friends in Bloomington who made beer and mead and such, but I never had a chance to watch it in action. Pretty cool. Tim seems to think we can do this ourselves, and while I've no doubt that we could, I'm not sure we have the space for such a hobby. After tasting an earlier batch of beer (yummy!) we went to Saturn where we ate naughty foods (well, for me they were fattening and not on my diet, therefore, naughty). It was at Saturn that it started sinking in just how lovely it is to sit and talk with another couple. I felt so . . . . I dunno, adult makes us sound old, and we're not. But two couples make a comfy social group, and it was part of what made the weekend so much fun. Hot tubbing at the tea house was nice, although the tub was a bit on the cozy side (which could be seen as a perk, actually). After that we sauntered back to the house, where we watched Scott finish up the beer and I admired his herb container garden by porchlight. We turned in early, as we wanted to get up and get breakfast at Zachary's the next morning (not that I was all for getting up early, but I suppose it's better than having to wait an hour to eat first thing in your day). Breakfast was nice, but early (did I mention this already?) and after a bit of sauntering around downtown (where I bought a Tiptree book I've never seen before (Up the Walls of the World) and a used copy of the Buffy musical) Lynne and I decided to nap. Tim came and woke me up an hour later and we all headed off to the beach . . . Ah, the beach. The beach was where we washed away all the stress (scrubbed is more like it). The first beach was a gentle one near the highway, and while I waded a bit in the gentle waves, mostly we played frisbee (which I was much better at than I usually am, which is barely passable) and Tim buried his feet and made a beagle dog in the sand. Then we went to Hole in the Wall beach, where Tim and Scott and I stripped down and played chicken with the ocean for quite awhile. The waves weren't so gentle here, and there was a lot of running away from particularly scary ones that towered over our heads. The adrenaline hid the fact that we were getting a bunch of exercise. We stopped after the ocean almost claimed Scott. It was scary, but exhilarating all the same. Scott bought us fresh salmon on the wharf on the way home, and proceeded to cook up the most amazing dinner anyone's cooked for us in some time. He's something of a gourmet cook, and I actually fantasized later about the lemon linguini that he made that night. We also had succulent salmon (so fresh!), grilled portobella mushrooms and garlic bread. All so, so yummy. I ate so much I had to have a lie down afterwards, and I was sorry that I had to stop eating at all, it tasted so damn good. Oooh, yummy. We played Oh, Hell while we digested. They're lovely people, and we had a great time drinking wine and playing cards (I love playing cards, but have had trouble finding folks who will play with me). I was a little drunk, and I couldn't help wishing Tim and I could move to Santa Cruz so we could have evenings like that one more often. So nice. The next day started with many trips down the ladder of death for water and bathroom trips to deal with my hangover. Oh, to be young again and not get hangovers so easily! But, soon enough Scott woke up and started making the most amazing Huevos Rancheros for us -- have I mentioned the man can cook? What good, good friends, to take us in and treat us to such good food and fun times for a weekend. Lovely, just lovely. After breakfast we went to Cafe Pergolesi, where we played two hands of Oh, Hell (where I proved that I still learn fast at card games; I came in second the last time we played). I didn't want to leave. So, there you have my weekend. There's so much I mean to talk about in this journal, and I never do. I mean, Greta left work last week, and I miss her terribly. But her replacement (also named Heather) is fun in a different way, and I'm having so much fun chatting with her at work. I also wrote a review for a SM novel called Carrie's Story which sold over 30 copies in the first 24 hours (which is astonishing for a book where I work; a good toy will do that, but hardly ever books; as Greta says, "If they can't stick it up their butt, they don't want it"). The book is very hot, and I was very, er, forthcoming about that in my Notes from the Buyer, (which are on the front of the site right now (click through the welcome page to read it if you're over 18, curious, and not related to me; Mom, sorry, that does mean you)). This job is really fun for me; I have to admit I love talking about sex. I get to do that a lot at work. Oh, getting sleepy folks. I also should get up and stretch, before I cramp up. Have a lovely weekend! Discuss

Exercise Log: Swimming on Monday night, wave chasing over the weekend and spinning class tonight. Writing log: Got a rewrite request on "Famishing" from a magazine I dearly want to get into -- yay! I've done most of the revisions, just need to shear off the end and make it not so hit-you-over-the-head-obvious. Have been writing in my personal journal more, much to my amazement. Think it's my substitute for counseling . . . Current Publications: The Children of the Moon in Strange Horizons. 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: Currently Reading: Maskerade by Terry Pratchett Read recently: Lords and Ladies by Terry Pratchett

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