Oddly Balanced And Reeking Of Lemons

**But What Are You Going To Do With It?
Got my second haircut in a decade or so today. The primary gripe that had been floating around the house before today is that I hadn't made a decision on a style. This has kept me somewhat puzzled. Have they changed the rules of haircuttery since last I had this done? Is it now mandatory that you have some definitive vision before they can crop your locks? I had just intended to let my hair grow. The general style that I would have had in mind was 'grown', followed by a sub-descriptor of 'long'. Not like I want it sculpted into the shape of a flamingo or something. I don't intend on having anything that requires extensive effort as far as styling goes. And to that end, I have already made the statement that the minute it gets to the point that it starts to irritate me or consume too much of my time, it's all coming off again. Sheri became most pissy when I said that. Mostly because she knows that I am full well capable of going into the bathroom with a full head of hair, and coming out with none. When I first started shaving my head it was done without any consultation or warning, so it really took her by surprise. The notion that I could do that again at any given moment doesn't sit real well with her. But for now, the hair remains in place and continues to grow in a rather styleless, but trimmed, manner.

**Passing Ships
Finally had my holiday get together with the Pirate Queen today. A bit of low key conversation over breakfast along with pancakes for the Raspberry Kid. Not at all bad, just would have been better later in the day.

**Since When Does 11 Feel Like Spring?
The sub-zero air has finally moved off to the east, and temps have grudgingly stumbled back into the low double digits. Those 11 positive Fahrenheit degrees feel great. I could end up being damn near orgasmic if it gets above freezing and there's a little bit of sunshine. But, if I hear just one more Floridian whining that it got down to fifty some odd degrees, I may begin a strict and active regimen of boot-to-ass applications in the sunshine state.

**A Horse For A Hawk?
In the midst of financial turmoil, the last thing I would have ever expected was a horse. I can sure appreciate the idea of having a dream, but I really hope that this doesn't end up costing her more than she bargained for.

**Need to call Cromag and see how he weathered last week's cold snap. Hoping that there were no incidences of frozen pipes, or anything else, and that the heaters managed to do the job.

**Jeweltiger is in the midst of an absolute dating frenzy. Seems that Bloomington was a bit of a bust though.

**Maybe It Was The Fumes
The donation tiki is very close to completion. The color of the stain has mellowed a bit, and I find myself being less displeased with it than I was. In fact, I'm actually bordering on not disliking it. Given enough time, I might get to actually like it. This will most likely happen in the day or two just before the auction. In any event, all that's left to do is to stain the very bottom of the piece. Then it will just sit in the corner until the day of the event. Should any of you happen to be wandering around DeKalb on the night of February 21 with nothing to do, drop by and check things out. http://www.tailshumanesociety.org/main_sublinks.asp?id=5&sid=3 for a preview of the event and some of the auction items!

**I have decided that this week I will be envious of Monte, as he will soon be out in Las Vegas. I wonder if I could qualify as a carry-on?

**The Melancholy Clown
I was hoping to have found someone to compete with in a merry war of prankery, but it doesn't seem that is going to be the case. Alas.

**Pawns and Pirates
Is there something in the air at this time of year? While I have been toying with the idea of starting up a game group, Big Bri has already gotten a jump on getting a pirate group together. January must be the official Start-A-Group month. I kinda remember trying this last year, and the air went out of it pretty quickly. I hope that a repeat is not going to occur. Also, I find it interesting that Bri almost always includes some element of community service when he gets a group going. I, on the other hand, just want to be amused within or by a group I participate in. Either way, a quick survey of meetup.com didn't show much of anything in the ways of people interested in tiki culture or boardgames in this area. Sometimes it really sucks to be such an unusual melange of disparate interests.

**Run Away! Run Away!
One week till Spamalot. Which reminds me that I need to get the Metra schedule. And the address to Trader Vic's, if we still intend on going.

**Eventually?
While I can appreciate and support Sheri's want to get the basement cleaned up and made functional, the pace of execution that might actually see it getting done within this calendar year just hasn't materialized yet. We're bordering on being three weeks into the project, and all we have to show for it is two boxes of coats and shoes that are ready to be donated. Illness has contributed greatly to the delay, but so has the idea of having no idea where to start. If it were all my stuff, I would probably just wait until she went to work and then approach it in the same way I went after the garage this summer. Just a massive attack resulting in lots of things at the curb, lots of things sold, lots of things recycled, and lots of space as an end product. But there is no way I'm going to go after her stuff. And, since we work in such different manners, I'm not even sure that I will be able to help her directly without it ending in a fight of some sort. For the most part, I don't really care, and figure that she'll get to it when she gets sick enough of looking at the mess. But, now her stuff is starting to cause me issues in the main room downstairs, so my anxiety level is starting to creep up a little bit at a time. Just one more reason it's good for me to be able to retreat into my studio space.