On the other end of the spectrum, this is also the anniversary of the date Cleopatra committed suicide.

~~~

So this week, all freakin� week, we all get to hear about the Stinkin' Republican Natl. Convention. All I have to say is, and hopefully this will be my last word on the Convention, as I intend to avoid all news coverage this week: I find it rather telling that the people they have designated as Keynote Speakers during prime time are ones that completely disagree with the party platform on many core issues. The party is trying to woo moderate voters and to do so they have to wash over their own party platform positions and show more moderate people on television! John McCain, Arnold Schwarzenegger, George Pataki, Rudy Giuliani - their positions on Stem Cell Research, Abortion Rights, Gay Marriage and Gay Rights, Gun Control and other issues are all diametrically opposed to that of their own party. And those are the people who will be speaking during prime time - they are hardly a reflection of the Bush Administration and of what/who we are actually voting for or against this November.

Unbelievable, really. But then, these politicians aren�t exactly above being dishonest in the interest of getting votes.

Anyway, inward and upward�I had a pleasant weekend even though, as I guessed, John did not come to visit. He spent Saturday in Monterey with his son (Bobby) and daughter-in-law (Leah), who were visiting the Bay Area for the weekend. Apparently, Leah is now totally in love with the area and is trying to convince Bobby they should move there. That would be great for John, of course. He could see his grandkids more often (well, and Bobby and Leah).

The Little Big Man is back to work, along with the two others who were on vacation last week, so I am not quite so crazed...but it is month-end, which is always a tad craze-worthy in and of itself anyway; plus I am still training Eartha Kitt.

Barbara and Arnett may actually be getting married soon. She is talking about an April wedding in Santa Fe.

Aside from the slight jealousy issues I have, revolving around the fact that she is now going to get married at the same place I was going to get married a few years ago (at the ruins of a Pueblo/Spanish Mission, about 40 minutes outside of Santa Fe), I am happy for them. I know being married is important to Arnett, so this is great. And I'm looking forward to the celebration in Santa Fe. And to hosting a bachelorette party at one of their world-renown Spas. :)

After a seven-mile training walk in the morning, I had brunch with Barbi and Cathy yesterday, and did a bit of window shopping with them as well (along 2nd Street in Belmont Shore). We had a very nice time, beginning with Mimosas at my place and ending there, as well. Somewhere in the middle of it all I managed to spend about $77 on hair products.

In the immortal words of one Quentin Tarantino, by way of Pulp Fiction: I said goddamn!

And now I have to go spend more money, this time on new walking shoes. I am sorely in need of them. Literally.

On Saturday morning, I picked up D and Jenn (my walking buddies) and we headed to �A Day on the Walk�. This was a 12.8 mile training walk, at which the 3 Day people intended to give us a glimpse in to what the actual 3 Day will be like. We met a few of our regular walkers there, as well.

When we first got an email about this �Day on the Walk�, they said it was going to be an 11 mile walk. When we got an email about it last week, it said 11.8 miles. When we arrived on Saturday morning and looked at the route map, it turned out to be 12.8 miles.

I have no problem with walking 12.8 miles at all, but this is a very typical and rather comical example of how the 3 Day folks often work.

The walk itself was poorly organized and not at all akin to what the actual 3 Day is like. We did get some yummy granola bars, though. I skipped the little �How to Put Up Your Tent� and �What to Pack for the 3 Day� classes at the end because...well, I already know those things. Plus, D and Jenn finished the walk about half an hour earlier than I and I wouldn�t have wanted them to wait for me (I didn�t care or anything � they walk a bit faster than I and I was walking with Julie and Rick, two members of our little training group. I�m used to them speeding off ahead of me).

After the walk I did...well, essentially nothing. I cleaned up the pad a little, but it wasn�t really dirty. I did manage to watch in excess of three hours of Lost Highway, a series about the history of country music (which was GREAT, by the way!). I also watched The Missing which was also quite good. It's nice not to be disappointed by a film you hear is supposed to be good, but then...isn't. Plus, I'd say about half of it was filmed on a mesa on top of the Puye Cliff Dwellings, north of Santa Fe (my favorite place on earth, my spiritual home and where my ashes will be scattered when I die). I was watching and said, "Hey! That's the Puye Cliff Dwellings!" then I saw as the credits rolled that the entire movie was filmed in New Mexico. Frankly, I don't know how they got permission to film at the Cliff Dwellings, since they are on native land and the whole area is rather sacred to the Santa Clara people...they must have been mighty, mighty careful while filming up there.

In related Puye news: The whole area is closed right now, due to immense fire damage. This make me incredibly sad and I hope the area recovers nicely (I'm sure the dwellings themselves suffered little damage, seeing as they are almost entirely made of mud and rock, but I'm sure they suffered some damage and it is scary that a lot of valuable historical stuff may have been lost). NM is in extreme dire straights when it comes to water, though. They've been suffering through a drought for several years (like most of us Western States) (oh and by the way - Puye is also the place where I made John wave his hand in front of a baby rattlesnake, so it would stick out it's tongue as I was taking it's picture. Hey, art = suffering, people) (and as another side note - those are not pictures of me or anyone I know on that Puye link. There just isn't a lot of info. on the web about the area and that was the best link I found...but there is a picture included in that link of the Kiva I went in to that was very, VERY haunted!).

I was supposed to go to the store sometime on Saturday afternoon/evening, to buy some OJ for the Mimosas and some toilet paper. The idea of getting back in to my car on Saturday and driving up to the market just sounded horrid, so I thought I�d just walk up the block to this little pharmacy that also has a little market inside.

Um...as it turns out, I can be quite lazy sometimes.

So instead, I decided I would go to the market after Sunday morning�s walk.

Well...I didn�t really get home in time to go to the market AND shower and get ready for brunch. I walked quickly up to the little pharmacy/market and...they aren�t open on Sundays!

Ergh...

It wouldn�t have mattered so much, except that by that point I had NO toilet paper left in my apartment. I really didn�t think my sister and friend would like the feeling of harsh paper towels against their bums, so I called Barbara and actually asked her to bring me some toilet paper.

I�m such a dork.

(go back one for political news of the day)

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