Stranger Danger

My sister sent me a link to a story about a woman who encountered a stranger in her home. The homeowner walked into her kitchen and found a strange woman there putting jars of food in her refrigerator. The strange woman was clearly mentally ill and seemed to believe she had a reason to be in the homeowner's kitchen. The homeowner calmly called the police who came and removed the woman and no harm was done to anyone, but the story made me wonder how I'd react in a similar situation. If I just walked into my kitchen and saw a strange woman there rummaging through my refrigerator, what would I do? I'd probably ask her what she was doing there, tell her to get the f out, and, if that didn't work, break out the pepper spray. No matter what, I'd either get the woman out of my house or vacate the premises myself and, in either case, I'd call the police and have the woman arrested. The woman in the story didn't press charges because her own teenaged son had allowed the strange woman into their home, figuring she was a friend of his mother's, so trying to press charges probably would have been difficult. But if nothing is done, this woman continues to walk the streets and enter the homes of others and that doesn't seem like a good solution to the problem.

This Week

My three-month free trial for Sirius radio came to an end this week. I decided not to sign up for a longer subscription for two reasons. 1. I'm not in my car for terribly long periods of time that would justify having this service. 2. The music on the stations wasn't that great to me.Musical taste is such a subjective thing and, while Sirius offered a vast array of channels, I found a lot of the music on those channels repetitive and/or not to my liking. The Lithium station played too much Foo Fighters, the Bridge station played too much Jim Croce, the Watercolors station didn't play a lot of the smooth jazz music that I like, the New Wave station didn't play a lot of the 80s New Wave music that I like. So, my decision not to subscribe to Sirius wasn't really a difficult one. Now it's back to my CDs, iPhone music, and (sigh) the radio.


This week also brought an end to Derek Jeter's baseball playing career. I'm glad Jeter went out on a high note. Go Kalamazoo!


I had my second swimming lesson this week and it went quite well. I was actually able to put my face under water and that's a huge step for me. My swimming teacher is very patient and she really helped me to relax and get my breathing together. I certainly hope the four remaining lessons are productive for me. I'm sure I'll take the course again, but I hope the second time around I can go in with some of the basics nailed down.

Van Morrison, Where Have You Been All My Life?

Lately, I've been listening to a lot of Van Morrison's music mainly because his songs keep popping up on one of the Sirius stations I have programmed on my radio. (Sadly, or maybe not so sadly, my three-month free subscription to Sirius will be coming to an end this week, but more about that later.) I've always liked Van Morrison, but if I have to hear "Brown-Eyed Girl" one more time, I'll lose it. "Brown-Eyed Girl" is truly one of those songs that I just can't stand to hear anymore because it's been played too much. Like "Tainted Love," "Piano Man," "Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow," and a host of other songs I can't think of right now, these tunes have been overplayed for years. They simply won't die. However, I've only recently discovered some Van Morrison songs that don't have me reaching to change the station as I often do when "Brown-Eyed Girl" comes on. I recently downloaded Van Morrison's "Caravan" and it is a great addition to the Morrison songs I already have, "Jackie Wilson Said" and "And It Stoned Me." I was not old enough to enjoy Van Morrison during his heyday, but I appreciate him now as an adult. His voice is very soothing and soulful and I enjoy it.

Release the Hounds!

After hearing that some nut job hopped the White House fence last week and through an unlocked door, I, like many Americans, wondered where the hell was the Secret Service? Sitting around eating donuts? Cracking jokes while this dude sprinted across the lawn and opened an unlocked door? "We've got a live one!" In addition to wanting some answers about the lack of Secret Service agents, I want to know why the hounds weren't released on the intruder. Where were the dogs? Doesn't the White House have a canine unit to go after these fence jumpers and subdue them? Granted, seeing a guy attacked by a pack of German Shepherds won't be pretty (and I've seen a guy taken down by one and it was no bueno), but security is needed and those hounds can surely take care of business.

U2? Not Me!

I'm officially jumping on the bandwagon to complain about Apple dumping U2's new album into my iTunes cloud last week. Now I like U2. The Joshua Tree is one of the best albums out there. However, I think it should be my choice whether or not I want to download the band's new album. The beauty of iTunes is that I can select the music I like to listen to. When Apple made the decision to give all iTunes users the new U2 album they assumed everyone wanted to have it. We're not all the same people and we don't all have the same taste in music! Why didn't Apple simply make the album available as a free download to anyone who wanted it rather than forcing it on everyone? 

Sorry, I'm Hanging Up

Some guy from Verizon called me the other day and started talking about a survey. I could barely understand what he was saying because his accent was so thick, so I hung up. He called back. I tried to understand what he was saying (apparently he had a series of questions he wanted to ask me), but trying to comprehend each word without constantly asking "Can you repeat that?" was just too much of a hassle for me, so I apologized, told the rep to send me an e-mail, and hung up...again. He didn't call back again. If I'm struggling to understand what you're saying, it's pointless for me (and you) to try and have a conversation. Put it in writing and send me an e-mail or forget it. I don't want to waste my time or yours any longer than necessary.

The Struggle Is Almost Over

My next book is about 75% done. Aside from struggling with the book itself, I've also been struggling with finding a title for it. I think I finally have one that will work and that won't break my self-imposed rule of not having a book title over two words. Plus, it's easier to put a shorter title on the cover. I don't know why I've had such a hard time with this latest book. Maybe because it's the first book I've written since I moved from New York. (Daddy Issues was pretty much done by the time I moved last year.) Whatever the reason, I finally feel like I've got a grip on this one and it's just a matter of time before I can crank out the last of it and get a final draft finished. Despite my struggles with this book, I do love it and I love the characters. I'm writing an interracial gay romance this time around and I'm excited about it. Although my books always have racially diverse characters, I've never written about an interracial gay couple before. I think there's a need to have more diversity in m/m romance books and romance books in general and I certainly hope readers agree.

Interrogated!

I went to the optometrist's office today to get my eyeglass prescription because I want to get another pair of glasses. I've been wearing glasses since the third grade and I'm always paranoid now about breaking my glasses and not having a backup pair (because this happened to me while I was in high school). The receptionist at the optometrist's office tried to interrogate me for asking for my prescription. Is there something wrong with your prescription? No. I just want to get another pair of glasses. Where are you going to get them from? Lens Crafters. We can match whatever price you'd pay at Lens Crafters. At this point, I had to shut the guy down so I just asked him, "Are you going to give me my prescription or not?" He gave it to me. I understand the guy wants to make a sale at the optometrist's office, but I'd already purchased the glasses I'm wearing now there, so it's not like I left them high and dry. These folks made a few hundred dollars off of me already! The office is small and the selection of frames that they carry is small also, so I'm looking to go somewhere with a bigger inventory. Plus, I have a coupon for Lens Crafters. But none of this should matter. I believe I'm entitled to get my own eyeglass prescription without any questions, commentary, or feedback.  Jeez, such drama.

Wednesday Whine

I don't really have one topic to blog about today, so I figured I'd just make list of things that are annoying me today.


1. Why can't I find a copy of the September issue of British GQ around anywhere? The August issue was everywhere, but September? So far, no luck in getting a copy with the lovely Jon Hamm on the cover.


2. Enough with the Biblical rains around here.


3. Why did Ray Rice have to go to my alma mater? Ugh.


4. Temps are supposed to drop into the 50s and 40s here this week. Bummer. The snow will be falling again soon.


5. Why isn't my new boyfriend Coby Bell on television more often? Must I be forced to watch The Game just to see him? Esquire TV needs to bring back more reruns of Burn Notice (but only the episodes that feature Coby/Jesse).

Beat This!

I went to see the English Beat perform at a local venue last night and the show was excellent. Dave Wakeling and the band brought it! They did all of the band favorites like "Hands Off She's Mine," "Twist and Crawl," "Too Nice to Talk To," Ranking Full Stop," Stand Down Margaret," and " Save It for Later." They closed the two-hour show with Mirror in the Bathroom." The crowd was pumped and I was pleasantly surprised to see folks my age (who actually grew up listening to the Beat) in attendance.

Twisting in the Wind

I just returned from a quick road trip out of town to attend the funeral of a family member (who will be sorely missed) and during the drive to and from Indianapolis where the services were held, I drove past a swath of wind turbines. These contraptions, frankly, frighten me. I don't know what it is about them that creeps me out. Maybe it's their size; I don't know. If I had to live in an area where wind turbines were used and I was forced to watch those huge blades twisting (often slowly) in the wind, I'd probably go insane. I'm sure they're doing good things for the environment, but they're mucho creepy.