[Subject line from a poem read by Regie Gibson last Saturday.]

Things making me grumpy:

feeling like I'm overreacting to petty stuff, even when I know better. Yarrghhh.

bug bites. Yarrghhh.

unanticipated bills. Oy.

the usual ongoing quarrel w/ time-space continuum. YARRRGHH.

Things making me laugh:

a headline in today's Tennessean: "Eat at Chick-Fil-A and Pet a Duck"

the BYM's commentary as the dog woofed at a white cat in the neighbor's yard

an art collaboration between the BYM and a friend involving frozen cicadas. I'm not in a hurry to see it, mind, and I'm really glad the things are in her freezer, not mine (even though the BYM would argue that the stuff I bring home from K&S is just as questionable).

a guy at Sweet 16th was wearing a t-shirt from a Maine brewery that featured a retriever with a Padddington rain-hat on its head and a lobster in its mouth

Things that have made me glad:

last Saturday's poetry workshop and reading with Regie O'Hare Gibson. Good crowd for the reading (around 30 people -- not bad for a Saturday night, especially considering there were other readings, concerts, block parties, etc. also on the calendar), and good response to my own poems (that sweet murmur of reaction when something I've said resonates with someone out there...).

I clearly need to listen to more Johnny Cash. I've mentioned being impressed by Jane Ormerod's performance of "I am Johnny Cash"; Regie is "a black man from Chicago with an Irish name" (who nodded to "Ms. Duthie over there" as well in his intro) who proceeded to slay me with "Just Call Me American," a story about an encounter with a multi-racial gal in a coffee shop. Its meter is set to Johnny Cash's One Piece at a Time, which amplifies the funny both because the appropriation is dead-on and adds layers of attitude that one could spend a whole day and then some unpacking. Whee!

Parisian Chic: A Style Guide by Inese de la Fressange with Sophie Gachet. On the one hand, I don't concur with all her pronouncements, and her budget for clothes/food/decor/lodging is easily more than triple mine, so most of this book is to me as fantastical-inaccessible as Karen Elizabeth Gordon's Paris Out of Hand (which is admittedly one of my favorite books of all time). On the other hand, the book is beautifully designed, there are some sensible suggestions in the mix (I'll want to borrow this from the library again for the "Secret Paris" section), and I'm all for the joie de vivre it exudes.

The scale's finally reading under 150#. This exercise + mindful eating seems to be working (sooo sloooowly, but I'm feeling more sure about it than not. I'll take it).

coucous salad, a snickerdoodle cupcake, and good coffee at the best bakery

There's more, but it's time to resume dueling with that time-space thingie (in the guise of billable work + homework). Onward, me loves, and wishing you whatever you need to manage your own must-dos and want-to-haves.