Bizarre Stories

So I've had a cab driver hit on me, a one-armed woman approach me while I was driving (getting out of her own car to do so and then going back before saying a word), a Seinfeld moment involving Purell and Communion, a fire alarm during a movie, a rattle in my car that no one but Dale and I can hear, a strange man follow me home because "you are so beautiful", a burglar alarm caused by nothing, seizures that aren't really seizures, and my car move on its own more than 1 mile while I was passed out having a non-seizure.
What bizarre things have happened in your life?

Writing Day

Dale and I bought some of those fire logs, primarily to start fires with. However, today I'm quite happy to be able to light a merry fire with minimal effort. Here I sit, sunlight coming through the clouds into the skylights onto my lap, fat Pipsqueak laying on my hip, writing fiction and drinking tea. Life is good.

Interesting thought

I did today's daily bible reading (you can get it by following ECChurch on Twitter). It was: Mark 1:23-45. And what struck me about it is the fact that even Jesus' plans got screwed up by other people. And Jesus just adapted. He healed a leper and told him to be cool about it, keep quiet, but the leper told the world (and indeed, it is hard to keep quiet when God blesses us in superlative ways), and thus Jesus had to keep to "out of the way" places. How frustrating that must've been for Jesus! Just starting out in His ministry, and boom, He has to avoid the very places where He could reach the most people! Yet Jesus doesn't look for the leper and punish Him - He just adjusts His plans.

Writing my dreams

My dreams have gotten more vivid as of late. Perhaps it's because I'm sleeping better, who knows. But I've started writing them down as stories. What genre is this? I don't know. Are they any good? Well, they are certainly creative. I wish I could control this - dream what's happening next in the stories I'm really struggling with, but at least my unconscious is giving me something.

Valentine's Day - Happy or Heinous?

Maybe it's just because I'm happily married and out of the shark-infested dating waters, but I like Valentine's Day. Of course, I always have. Even when single, I usually had some other single friends to hang out with. And what's wrong with a holiday that involves red roses and hearts? I like those things. I like chocolate too, and I'm not afraid to buy my own.
In fact, I gotta say, I think our current celebration of Valentine's Day beats the heck out of its pagan origins. According to Michael Judge, the original pagan holiday was known as the Lupercal. Highlights included killing a dog, sprinkling its blood on people, whipping people with thongs made out of its skin, and running around naked in the streets having sex.
So yeah, I think Valentine's Day today is not so bad. Even if you're single, celebrate the relationships you do have! Where is it written that you can't send cards and flowers to friends. Just don't imitate Andy from The Office when you send your cards...

No Fringe Tonight.

There is, sadly, no Fringe episode on tonight. I will have to wait until April. It corresponds nicely to the season of Lent, as if God said, here, Elaine, why don't you fast from the awesome TV show Fringe? Hmmm, conspiracy theorists, maybe I have something here!
Fortunately, I have a very full life and can think of many other awesome activities to do tonight.
1. Go to a jewelry store to get my watch battery replaced and my engagement ring cleaned.
2. Go to the Apple store and drool over new computers.
3. Sit at home and fling my flying monkey towards the cats.
4. Drive out to Durham to sit in a pub and discuss theology.
5. Avoid working on my current cross-stitch project.
6. Avoid doing creative writing
7. Start making chocolate croissants for Sunday

7 More quick takes

1. The applesauce muffins were surprisingly bland.
2. I subscribed to the Writer's Market and I LOVE it so far - made submission of my story SUPER easy and it tracks everything for me.
3. Runny and sneezy nose - perhaps it will flush out the nostril zit?
4. The wind today is making the building especially noisy. Crazy strong winds!
5. Too exciting things happening this week at work: final re-keying of locks and exchange of vending machine for one that WORKS!
6. Have a staff meeting tonight which I'm looking forward to. Either I'm crazy or I really love my job.
7. I'm hosting prayer group tomorrow at my house. Historically, this means that no one will come. Hopefully this week will break tradition.

7 quick takes

1. I now have yellow AND white crocuses blooming! Also some lily of the valley in the backyard.
2. I'm going to make applesauce muffins today.
3. My reward for submitting a story for publication will be to get my free Godiva truffle and eat it.
4. I'm going to time myself and see how much time I actually spend writing today.
5. I've got a bowl full of veggies to keep my strength up while I write - healthy snacking!
6. Tonight we have a new installment of Lost, woohoo!
7. I also have 2 new flower catalogs to look at some time today - I LOVE flower catalogs!

Fringe Winter Finale

Less questions than Lost, but just as mind-blowing.
The premise of the episode is that the bad guys are starting to play with smashing parallel universes, and in particular, the universe as a whole likes to be in balance. So, the bad guys transfer a NYC building, complete with occupants, into our reality. As a horrifying result, many people get glued together because they were occupying the same space in alternate realities. Not quite like what Nina Sharp demonstrated with the smashing snow globes. The worst part of this, according to Walter, is that now the universe is out of balance, and so within 35 hours (where did that # come from?), a building of equal mass in NYC will be transported back to the alternate world. We just don't know which one.
What are the implications for Peter? When Walter kidnapped Peter from the alternate reality, did some other kid get whooshed back as a result? My personal theory on this is that there was different technology in action. I believe that Walter used an earlier technology to get to Alt-Peter - the window that opens up where the 2 realities are close. This is the technology used by David Robert Jones, the technology that Peter and Walter had to close with the little ray-gun thing. This technology doesn't require equal mass transfers. The technology in this episode is not opening a window and moving things through it: it's actually moving things directly from one reality to the other. My alternate theory is that perhaps Walter did a body snatch and left dead-Peter in alt-Peter's bed, but I really don't like that idea.
On to the character development of this episode, which was excellent. Olivia agrees to be a human subject again for the noble cause of discerning which NYC building is about to pop away. She's always subjecting herself to ridiculous risks for the greater good - perhaps because of indoctrination by Bishop & Bell during the drug trials? But this time she gets angry. Confronted with her scared 3 year old self, she becomes infuriated at Bishop. We saw this fury directed at Bell last season, and to a lesser extent, to Bishop. But now it's all over. She is simmering and steaming and Walter finally realizes that this won't help - she has to be scared in able to use her power. But Olivia is never scared - yet another scarring from the early experiments. It's not until she's actually in NYC, facing the prospect of imminent failure and the loss of innocent lives, and the curiously inviting lips of Peter, that she gets scared. Voila, she is able to see the glimmering building and save the day.
But what was she scared of? I think she was scared of love. I have been opposed to a Peter-Olivia romance until this episode. But when they leaned towards each other and Peter moved in for the kiss, I was converted. Let it rock! However, I think the possibility of another romance is what really activated her fear - her fear of miseading the man again, her fear of being in another work relationship, her fear of getting close to anyone (she told John that she's "not good" at romance). Now, Dale disagrees: he thinks she was scared of failure. Maybe so, but I still think that the physical proximity of Peter and the kiss she suddenly realized was coming kicked that fear into high gear.
What do you think?

House!

School was cancelled today (and tomorrow), so we aren't having our high school youth night tonight. Which means, yes, I get to watch House, on its airdate, for the second week in a row!! This ALMOST makes up for the fact that I will be skipping the Lost premiere tomorrow night. Skipping it, you say? Skipping the first episode of the final season of Lost? Are you kidding? No. Priorities, my friends, priorities. My writing group meets on Tuesdays, so I will be in Borders critiquing writing rather than watching the premiere of the month. So please don't spoil anything for me! I'll be watching Lost the INSTANT they get it online. :)