"Some Kind of Creative Drought"

I owe e-mails. If I owe you an e-mail -- and chances are I do -- I haven't forgotten and it'll get done. Eventually.

My last day of work was yesterday. I said to BF (which continues to be my abbreviation for boyfriend), I said, "I am without an identity. I'm between jobs. I'm neither unemployed nor employed." Caught up in the existential angst of the universe, I took a sip from my can of Diet Dr. Pepper and quietly belched.

After dropping off BF at work (HA!) and telling parking services where to stuff it -- and by it, I mean permit, and by stuffing I mean thanking profusely -- I parked at the beach and went for a walk. Because I could. I walked out to the pier and back, stopping to converse with a gentleman visiting from San Francisco. Somewhere he still thinks my name is Cindy.

Half-way out on the pier, there's a chain link gate leading to a set of stairs going down. Illegally, people jump off those stairs into the ocean and I've never attempted to use them. But today I was in a saucy mood, one with the fishermen, one with the seaweed, and I tell you, I swung back that door with gusto -- after making sure no one was watching. I descended the stairs, touched a railing, recoiled in horror as I'd stuck my hand in a mound of bird shit ... The stairs led to a flat walkway suspended under the pier. I walked to the edge of the plank. I imagined jumping. I sneaked a quick look down to see barnacles and kelp, the whole dirty pier underbelly. And then I dashed back to topside. Because rebelling has never been my strong point. Trouble with authority yes, rebelling no.

And I saw seals or sea lions depending on the ear flaps and geography. Two, weaving and bobbing, briefly surfacing to tease me with their shiny black heads. And then they were gone and I was saying to someone, "There are seals out there," and that person nodded sagely, walking on.

All this by nine o'clock.

I had a dream all my teeth fell out because of a home invasion. I opened my mouth and they fell like pearls into my hand.

Then I went to the bank and juggled monies into various Swiss accounts. I'm a financial genius.

Vash is taking a nap and it looks like an excellent idea.