h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Yay! Day four without cigs and .

Sorry I had to run when you ping'd me earlier. We'd just finished lunch and were going out to the cinema. Saw Kingdom of Heaven - as entertaining epic blockbuster stuff goes, it wasn't too bad.

It's going to be a big time movie weekend. The latest Star Wars is also showing here in English so we're going to see that tomorrow. But since neither of us saw the second one (I hear it's cr*p but what the heck), we rented the dvd on the way home from the cinema and will watch it, well, any minute now.

Then on Sunday we're going to see what looks like an interesting indy-US film called American Splendour.

You see, the problem with being so bl**dy virtuous is that sometimes the hours r...e...a...l...l...y...d...r...a...g and so - this being our first weekend without crutches - we need to keep ourselves both distracted and occupied. At least, that's our excuse.

Well, gotta - more movie watching to do. . .


az

Gads, woman! What a lot of films! That's about as many as I usually see in a year. Whatever it takes to promote the cause of virtue and purity, I guess. Congratulations on your effort so far. (you can have that one as it's alcohol-free) Who's having more trouble with withdrawal? You or Noggin?

How was Star Wars? I hear it's supposed to be good, am debating actually going to the cinema to see it one day so I get the full benefit of the special effects. I didn't see the last couple-- might have only seen the original one. Doesn't seem that'll matter much, as this one is the first in the sequence.

I *should* be diligently working on all those photos, but tonight I'm kinda tired and lazy. Will try to get through at least some of them, but I'm sooooo in the mood to nestle into bed with a good book. *sigh* Discipline is not my strength right at the moment.

How's everything going? I've been out of touch--took a business trip, managed to get myself restricted from h2 while I was gone, came home and promptly got sick. Have spent the last 2 days in bed drinking fruit smoothies, reading science stuff and watching DVDs. I saw *8* of them in less than 48 hours, will watch the final one (Phantom of the Opera)tonight. AAaaaaack! I've had my fill for *two* years now! Very glad I have the new laptop to watch them on, as they don't seem to rent VCR videos any more.

Hope all is well with you and Noggin. Did you make any designs that you've fallen in love with yet?

Restricted from h2g2? How did you manage that? Once I tried signing in on Noggin's laptop and couldn't get the password right, so my account was blocked for a couple of days.

So, you've got a new laptop! Yes, it's mostly dvd rentals these days, but I actually prefer them. But 8 films in 48 hours!

Are you feeling better now?

Things here are lovely. Biz-wise we are having to re-think some stuff because it is proving very difficult to get the sample materials I want. So, instead of selling to shops in September (for production in Dec-Jan, delivery in Feb-March) we might consider just making up the samples, plus some stock, and sell from home to start off.

Yes, there are some nice designs (at least I think so) but they end up looking a bit feh in the sketches as they are quite simple. But I'll do up some proper sketches soon (once I get some material and the final designs have been decided on - atm I'm just working from rough sketches) and email them to you.

az

I got bumped *again*! First time was forgetting exactly how I did my login, and this time it tells me my password was incorrect. HUMPH. I've been using that password for ages, am sure I didn't mistype it accidentally 3 times. I think there are gremlins in the works. Well, at least I was able to resurrect Magnolia from limbo.

Still a bit on the low end, but am able to move around and do things for short periods without getting woozy. It took all day to accomplish what I'd normally do in a couple of hours, but I think tomorrow I'll be about back to normal again. I need to be, as I'll be working.

I *love* the new laptop! It's a Toshiba Satellite (nice complement to The Spaceship at home.) The monitor is not quite as big as the one with my PC, but it's plenty for the kind of work I'll be doing on the road. I also splurged and got a graphics tablet, have been wanting one for a long time as it's often easier to just draw something than it is to use the mouse. Haven't figured out all it's mysteries yet, but I shall.

I just ran across this on dailykos http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/6/10/63453/1059 thought you might be interested as you'd mentioned that you're following the cat thread in the SEx forum.


Hope you're enjoying the weekend!

I'm ready!

Bought yogurt, fruits, cottage cheese, veggies, all *sorts* of healthy things. Will polish off the open bottle of vino tonight (resheduled dinner with Jeff for next week so I can paint) and am ready for sensible living for 13 days. Woooohoooo!

Also got oodles of Perrier and fruit-flavored sparkling waters, and lemons and limes, so I shall drink them in my prettiest martini glasses and not feel deprived.

Hope tomorrow early morning is clear--I want to bike down to the beach for a swim before it gets hot. That'll make a good, refreshing start for this venture. Thanks for joining me--summer is always *such* a difficult time to motivate myself. The heat and humidity make me sluggish til October.

Yes, here it is the morning of DAY ONE. Will have to go shopping a bit later for fruit and salady stuff. We finished off the last night with the curry . . .

I don't like sparkling water but I always have lots of normal mineral water in the house. Might try adding some fresh lime juice to it.

I know what you mean about the heat and humidity sapping energy. It's been in the 40s for the past week or so (not the 'official' temperature, but definitely the temp in the centre of town at 4pm) and it's hard to do anything without bursting into sweat.

Well, so far so good . . . mind you I've only been up for fifteen minutes.


az

. . . five hours later . . .







az

No bike ride this morning-- it's been grey and drizzly all day so far. Perhaps it'll clear up in time for a sunset beaching. Meanwhile, have gotten loads of maintenance stuff done (household chores) so my environment is nice and fresh as I go into this mission. I'm feeling industrious right now, and that's a Good Thing.

*ouch*







az

Hmmmm.
I take it that was the sound of you gloriously swan-diving off the wagon?

Have no fear-- there's *always* Plan B.
http://www.michaelgodard.com/viewimages.asp?OriginalID=916

Excellent!

Yes, went out with Noggin last night for some gorgeous tapas (asparagus flamenquin, jamon serrano croquettes, stewed honey lamb) and we ended up getting a bit squiffy. Fun though. On the way home we stopped for a nightcap at a little bar down the street, sat out on the terrace under the orange trees with the Giralda all lit up - quite romantic.

Meanwhile, have actually been on a different sort of Plan B this week - not *exactly* what you and I had discussed but it's something that is going to last much longer than two weeks. Will tell you more about it next time we chat.

Howzit going with you?


az

All's well with me, though I was a total bum today, my day off (at last) hardly accomplished *any* of the Great Things I'd planned on. I guess I'm maybe feeling a bit burnt out and de-energized from all the working and the lack of variety. I'm not used to it, and it's really beginning to wear me out. Fortunately, this weekend I took 3 days off for the holiday, which'll help fluff my aura enough to get through July. The good part is that I expect to have the laptop paid off completely by the end of July, and then in August I'll take 2 vacations (Washington DC in the beginning, and Kansas with family towards the end of the month.) I can't wait to check out the Smithsonian and the art museum.

Nothing new and exciting going on here. We're having typical June weather, loads of rain interspersed with sunny breaks, just enough to make it really steamy. I discovered a four-leaf clover-looking plant growing *in* my truck, can see it when the door is open as it's in the little nook of space under the hinge. That is really cool, and it took me completely by surprise as I've no idea how it gets enough light there to sprout and thrive. I've left it alone as I figure it's a lucky thing, even though it's not actually a clover.

I'm having a party this Sunday, must get to work organizing it. I let myself get a bit disrupted about it, as *my* idea was just to invite a bunch of friends to stop by Sunday afternoon so we could get together and play games, have cocktails and have a good time. I wasn't planning to do anything much at all about food, maybe some hors d'oeuvres, fruit, cheese, crackers, but nothing labor intensive. I figured I'd order pizza delivery if we started feeling hungry. Anyway, a couple of the people I've invited started having all kinds of suggestions for decor and theme-related stuff, and for about 5 minutes it sounded really fun, until I realized that *I'm* the one who would have to *do* all this cutesey crap. Bah. I used to do that all the time, but I haven't the patience or time for it at the moment. So now I'm a bit grumpy because I *know* that my friends are just fine with the kind of party I'd originally planned, but I'm suddenly aware that Party Planning is a big deal lately, kinda like decorating the home. Everything has to have a 'theme' and matching accessories, and all sorts of peripheral junk that has *nothing* to do with enjoying the people you're with. Bah.

So, I'll go crawl back in my hole before I totally poison the air with my testiness.


Tell me about the Plan B you're doing, ok?

This is bizarre. http://people.freenet.de/crossroads/tetka.swf

I just spent about 10 minutes playing with it once I figured out you can control her with the curser. Sometimes I wish I still did acid. The internet would keep me occupied for *hours*.

That is totally

So how many people are coming to this party? Do you really have to change it now? Can't you change it back?

How are you doing with Plan A? A couple of days into it I realised this was not the moment for me to be doing anything that even remotely smacked of self-deprivation. Quite a lot going on with the new tenants arriving tomorrow. I've been cleaning and organising two of the rooms next door - the third tenant leaves this evening so although I managed to do the touch up painting this morning the major cleaning can't be done until after Matteo is gone.

Anyhoo, Plan B is simply to make less drastic changes and stick to them - hopefully forever. I'm slowly getting there and should be well on my way by next week.

This weekend I'm setting up the extra room here as my studio so the few classes I have at home in July will have to be taught in the living room. And I won't have any classes at all in August, which will allow me to totally immerse myself in the biz. Plus being totally broke will mean I won't be able to do much more than work on the clothes full-time. I'm quite looking forward to having the studio set up. The new fabric arrives next week as well. So although I'm a bit behind schedule having the extra time will make up for that. And, as I say, being able to focus on one job should make the time spent on it, well, better spent.

Still not sure how to market the stuff. I could either look for an agent to start selling the collection in September or else just start selling from home. Selling on the internet is also an option - at the moment we are doing some research on that. But first things first - gotta get those dern samples made.


az

The party was a success, and I did it exactly the way I wanted to. I decided at the last minute that I was going to serve healthy stuff rather than typical, fattening party fare, had veggies, olives, lots of fruit, flatbread, cheese, slasa, stuff that I can eat as meals for the next couple of days (I always seem to way over-provide). I had the bar set up, but everyone stuck to wine or to the frozen berry drinks I blended up, so even that part was simple. We played word games, had a great time. There weren't too many people, which was a good thing as it rained off and on all day and was incredibly steamy outside. I had some minor catastrophes before the guests arrived (liquid-filled containers were leaping off shelves and making a huge mess *after* all the cleaning was long done. Massage oil jumped like a lemming from a top shelf and got all over the bathroom floor and rug and cranberry concentrate made me and my kitchen look like a massacre, but I pitched a temper tantrum, cleaned up the mess, showered and changed clothes before anyone arrived, so it wasn't *that* bad. I can just imagine how it would have been had they walked in while I was nekkid and cussin in the kitchen, with my ruined clothes tossed in the back yard and that sticky red goo everywhere. Not pretty.

Will you be starting with a winter collection or will you go right for spring? Fashions here are *so* ahead of the weather it's ridiculous-- a million degrees and total steambath outside, and the stores are full of fall clothing. It's especially weird here in the tropics, as we don't really *have* more than a couple days anualy that qualify as winter weather (below 60F), but the furs and woolies still make their presence known.

I'm trying a new Top Secret diet aide, will let you know how it works after another week or two. If this does what the reports suggest I'll be happy as the proverbial pig in shit. It's *easy* and cheap, what more can a girl ask?

The muse *finally* came for cocktails and we finished a painting.

It's here http://public.fotki.com/BrittaMoG/my_paintings/enlightenmints.html

I like it!

And I'm happy to hear that the party turned out so well, after the pre-party catastrophes were dealt with. Nekkid and cussin and covered in red goo sounds . . . well, almost like one of your paintings. Life imitating art?

The stores there have fall clothes in them *now*? Autumn/winter stuff doesn't start showing up until September here.

I'm working on spring because that's how it works for production. The samples will be ready to sell in September and then in October/November I have to order production material (based on the sales and a certain amount of 'projection'). The production takes place January/February and gets shipped out end of February. Which is actually a wee bit late but with a first small production it will probably be okay. That is, if this is how I end up marketing the stuff - selling to other shops.

So, curious about this Top Secret diet. Can you email it to me?


az

Uff. Such a week of agitation! I feel as if the whole world is sharing my PMS right now. The London bombing has me soooo worked up, wouldn't dare to put my thoughts about that here for fear of being misinterpreted and offending people. And then, to divert me from that anger we had the outer bands of hurricane Dennis yesterday and today--nothing serious here, just heavy squalls and lots of wind, but it *felt* hurricaney, strange pressures, fluctuations of temperature, all the volatile feelings associated with them. It's heading pretty dead on towards my brother right now, so the personal worries about that thing are not yet dispersed.

*sigh* I'm in an angry spot right now, hopefully I can get myself over it during the next 2 days, as I'm off. I've been in Miami too much and it's wearing me down. I'm beginning to develop a serious prejudicial near-hatred towards some Hispanics here, and have to keep telling my mind to STOP with the generalizations, but it's hard as there *is* often so much truth in them.

So, fluffier stuff:
I think there's a fashion 'season' releasing every month or so here. Fall stuff is in, but not quite the heavy fall stuff yet. Next week, probably. How's your work coming along so far?

Top Secret Diet is green tea-- lots of it (about 8 cups daily) with a bunch of lemon juice squeezed in. It's supposed to promote thermogenesis and excite metabolism without increasing the heart rate. I'm also having a stick of cinnamon daily, as it's supposed to help regulate blood sugar. I've definitely been more energized without that jittery, grainy feeling of too much caffeine. I've found it *much* easier to control food cravings, which is a huge plus as I'd normally have eaten about half the town with the PMS this past week. Will have to pay close attention to how I feel in another week or so. If the doesn't abate I'll stop the tea for a while, see if there's any relationship.

Tomorrow's aura-fluffing plan is to get up early and go chant on the beach, even if it's still squally out. I kinda hope it is, so I can join my mood to the weather and then let it blow away. I any case, I imagine the ocean will be churning pretty heavily, so I'll make it work one way or another. Then I'll go to the Art Supply store and indulge in a bunch of new oil pastel colors and some more irridescent acrylic paints and some new paint brushes. I'll probably drop a wad of cash in there, but it's better than going on a chocolate binge. Then I shall come home and do a ritual bellydance, see if I can get some good Earth Mother juju flowing, and then start a new painting. *That* ought to get me grounded again.

How's things by you?