Random thoughts from a random mind

I went shopping with my Psuedo Kid today. She gets her driver's permit on Monday. I'm not going to do the whole "stay off the road!" thing, because she assured me that she got a 34 out of 35 on her test. So please, please keep that in mind if you happen to find yourself in the path of an out of control car careening your way with a hot-pink haired teenage girl behind the wheel and a parent in the passenger seat holding the dashboard while screaming for dear life. That one's not mine. ^_^

I digress. Shopping was fun. And tiring. I am so exhausted that I fear not making it to Bleach tonight. O_O Can you even begin to imagine the horror? I think the Apocalypse of 2012 would come a few years early if that happened!

Shopping. FOCUS. As you can see, my cognitive abilities have really hit their peak tonight. Both of us made another dent in our Christmas shopping lists. She bought a few things for her boyfriend and his sister, and I bought some stuff for my husband, a good friend of ours, and...myself -- including Prince of Whales tea, which I'm very curious to try.

It seems like it may be a lighter variant of Earl Grey, which is one of my favorite teas. Sometimes it can be a bit potent (especially if I leave the bag to steep too long - a frequent occurrence), so I hope that Prince of Whales can be my Earl Grey Jr., for those moments when I want something similar, yet lighter, and not quite as bland as a simple black tea like English Tea Time or Darjeeling.

We also took advantage of a great sale at Bath and Body Works, getting a little something for ourselves and others at the same time. On a quick aside, Twilight Woods is a huge part of the manuscripts I've been working on and the popularity of a certain series has required me to change the title of the first one. Now Bath and Body Works has a Twilight Woods scent. I think the Fates have it in for me! At the very least, they're working against me or trying to challenge me to do the very best that I can (which I can only hope is good enough).

At any rate, I was apprehensive, but did try Twilight Woods, the scent. I really like it. I even went so far as to buy the lotion and the body spray, even though I kind of liked Moonlight Path better (I only got the lotion). The Psuedo Kid was partial to TW for me and chose the Black Raspberry and Vanilla for herself. (Which is rather appropriate given that she's my little Goth Doll with pink hair.)

On another aside, we've had some trouble catching mice lately. (Sorry NerdGirl, skip this paragraph!) We humane trap and then take them to a nearby cemetery with a caretaker shed to let them go. Lately, we've seemed to find ourselves facing off with the Houdini of the mouse world - 5 times, it got in, ate the peanut butter, and got out. So I decided that if it was smart enough to get out, it'd be smart enough to get in if I turned the trap upside down and took away its escape path. Lo and behold, I outsmarted the little bugger. And it was none-to-pleased, rattling the ramp and shaking the whole trap the entire way to the cemetery. But alas, Houdini was set free and is no longer a part of my house.

Or so I thought. (NerdGirl, skip this one, too.) Reset the trap and checked the next day: no peanut butter, no mouse. Two Houdinis. Only H#2 isn't smart enough to get into the upside down trap. So we scoured 5 stores today looking for a different type of humane trap. Not only are humane traps in and of themselves difficult to find, but I couldn't find the one I wanted (a replacement for one that I broke and would work perfectly - and of course I come home and find it right away on Amazon). Finally found something that would work at the last store I tried. So now I just have to wait and see.

The Kid and I ate lunch at a local Asian restaurant specializing in Japanese and Korean cuisine and sushi. It's always a pleasant experience because the atmosphere is so soothing -- it's intimately lit with a dark interior, has quiet gold fish aquariums that are relaxing to watch, and classical music plays overhead at just the right level. We shared a simple entree - chicken fried rice - and I enjoyed a "bottomless" bowl of miso soup with tofu, seaweed, and green onion (she wouldn't even try a sip), and also tried my first sushi (ebi shrimp...not a big step, but still). It was really nice (and the fact that we had a handsome waiter certainly didn't hurt ^_^). As I said, always a pleasant experience. (And "V" for Victor, right NerdGirl? ^_-)

And so here I am now, with about an hour to go until Bleach, downing a Mountain Dew in a desperate attempt to stay awake, although all I'll really accomplish is keeping myself from getting to sleep when I actually want to sleep. Lu is hugging my legs like he's afraid to let go lest I leave him alone for a whole Saturday again (he hasn't left my side since I got home) and Neko is practically sitting on my head behind me on the recliner (her tail keeps whacking me in the face). Tim's out on the sofa, and every now and then, Jonny stretches his paw waaaay out to try and touch the top of Tim's head, but is just about two inches shy of reaching his goal. Lady Sakuya, for some reason, is fixated on the tv, which is on a 2012 special on SyFy currently discussing the sun's solar cycle. Who knew cats were so interested in that? Maybe she knows something we don't? (I do feel the need to comment that no matter what does or does not happen in 2012, the whole hype that continues to build behind it reminds me of the Y2K fiasco.)

In Taro cards, death is synonymous with change and rebirth, and doesn't always mean actual death. In much the same way, even though I'm very interested in watching all the "2012: We're All Going to Die!" and Nostradamus specials that are flooding the tv these days, I do subscribe more to the "Mayan calendar starting over" belief than any end of the world conspiracy theory. Yes, the sun's solar cycle is going to peak and could cause solar blackouts and whatnot...but I really don't think the Earth is going to reverse its polarity. No, I'm not a scientist or even remotely qualified expert, but other tv specials have discredited that belief and tv never lies. Ever. ^_^

So should I bring this full circle and tie my Pseudo Kid getting her driver's permit to the swiftly approaching Apocalypse? Just kidding. She's getting her permit on Monday and the world's not scheduled to self-destruct for another few years. ^_^

I think that's my sign to say goodnight and log off. Well, that and Neko's now in prime position to start kicking me in the head (her foot's already resting on my shoulder). I don't know why she does that. Maybe she's dreaming of Jonny and my head just happens to be in the way. IDK. Goodnight!

P.S. Loving Flash Forward & V, and S2 of Fringe. Gotta love Walter! And have recently discovered a new anime, courtesy of SyFy, called Monster, which is about a surgeon who made a life-altering decision to save a young boy's life and later learns that not only was the boy a killer then, but that as he grew up, he continued walking the path to becoming a serial killer. Now the doctor is the sole suspect for all the murders and is on the run, hunting the man who was once the boy he risked his career to save. Very interesting!