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Typing is a bit slow and difficult tonight - at least for my left hand.

Here's a tip:
When slicing tomatoes, use a cutting board... not your hand.

I was making a salad. I was eating healthy, dang it all! Yet, I have one cut finger, wrapped in a band-aid and smeared with Neosporin. And may I just ask - when did the makers of Bubbly start adding a burning agent?!?! (Bubbly - aka Hydrogen Peroxide). It's supposed to be gentle, doggone it! (hear my tears?)

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No.......... I have not felt any of the quakes that have been happening up in Central California.

So, no............ not yet on a plane back to Georgia.

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Add another actor to the small, but growing list of favorites... Ed Kerr. Stood and talked to him for a while at a party the other night (I was supervising for Valet Girls). Chatted about hometowns, and college, and living in LA, etc... Casual conversation, but interesting talk. He introduced himself as Ed, but I didn't find out who he was until the following day. Nice guy. Very patient with the fact that car retrieval was taking at least 15 minutes that night (way up in the hills with parking being 2 miles away).

I also had quite an encounter with a spider the other night while working on a valet job. The thing was huge. HUGE! Gigantic, I tell you! It hung on a web at about eye-level. So, I decided to check him out. I know... dumb move. But my curiosity got the best of me. I walked up to him and took a look. He spread his legs as if to warn me away. "Hey ya'll, look at thisssssssssssssssssss!!!!!!!!!" At the very moment I called them over to join me in the spider examination, the monster shot web at me. No kidding. He SHOT WEB AT ME!

It was just like Spiderman shooting his web between buildings, expcept that this spider was no Toby and the building... it was me!

Freaked me out... completely.

It seemed to happen in slow motion. He spread his legs out wide - the diameter of a quarter at least (wait, make that a baseball) - and then he just SHOT WEB!

Argh..... gives me the jeebies just remembering it.

And before I go, I just have to mention the vehicle I saw tonight. It was a repair truck driving along Los Feliz Blvd. The type of repair company? A door repair company. Door repair. Repair for doors.

What?

I mean, honestly, is there that much call for door repair that a single company specializes its entire services to the repair of doors? I've never once had a need for door repair.

Just... I don't know... it struck me as odd.

And what do you repair anyway? It's just a piece of wood on hinges.

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Petal was killed tonight.

Petal, the baby skunk, was hit by a car inside my apartment complex (on the route from the mailboxes to the front garage) and was killed... flattened.

When I came home from work last night, I decided to go get my mail. I walked from my garage in the back of the complex towards the front of the complex where the mailboxes are. As I approached, I smelled the distinctive smell of skunk spray. Then, I heard a girl yell just before she walked around the corner into the walkway I was using. She announced, "Squished skunk up ahead. Watch out."

I thought - NO. Don't be Petal. Don't be Petal.

Petal has a very bad habit of coming out to root around very early in the night - around 6:00pm. The big skunks, Flower and Pepe, tend to stay in hiding until very late in the night - around 11:00pm - when there is very little activity in the apartment complex.

I thought - Don't be Petal. Don't be Petal.

Flower stood over Petal's body, but scampered quickly to the nearby bushes when she saw me approaching. Pepe was watching from not more than ten feet away.

As soon as I passed by, Flower returned to Petal in the short driveway.

Sad night.

Horrible skunk smell.

And sad night.

I'd rather grown to like Petal and his out-of-control tail-lifting.

He will be missed.

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Please tell me that I'm not the only sucker who has every been lured into a timeshare presentation by the promise of shiny gifts.

A digital camera, a ten-dollar gas card and a trip for two to Vegas (4 days, 3 nights).

Oh poor, sad, STUPID me.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I did it. I sat through a 90-minute presentation for my gifts.

The digital camera? A piece of crap. A 35mm disposable takes better pictures.

The gas card? Spent. Lousy 1/4 tank. Barely covered the gas it took to get to the location of the presentation.

The trip to Vegas? So many restrictions... soooooooooooo many restrictions.

Total waste of time and efforts. It was good practice, however, for the poor, sappy sales agent who was assigned to me. He learned how to deal with guests who have absolutely no intention of buying into the pitch or purchasing anything, and guests who argue every point that hits the table, and guests who literally say upon entering, "There is zero chance you will make a sale today." (In case you couldn't tell, I was the said guest.)

So, whenever you're enticed by the idea of beautiful gifts to attend a sales presentation, take my advice and JUST SAY NO.

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Twelve more hours to go until we're officially in the clear.

What am I talking about?

Take a look at this statement that came out from Keilis-Borok California Earthquake Predictions:

The prediction is for a magnitude 6.4 or greater earthquake to occur between January 5 and September 5, 2004, within a 12,440 sq. miles area of southern California that includes portions of the eastern Mojave Desert, Coachella Valley, Imperial Valley (San Bernardino, Riverside and Imperial Counties) and eastern San Diego County.
Source

Um.... yikes?

Little Petal has discovered a new area of the apartment complex. Tonight, I discovered him on the top floor of the parking garage.

Now, how in tarnation did he decide to climb the steps? Curious little fellow.

I was taking out a load of trash when I stumbled upon him. Of course, as can be expected, he immediately raised his tail and stared me down. Cautiously, I dumped my two bags of trash and ran back to my apartment.

I was not chicken!!!! I was running to my apartment to grab a camera. I figured it's about time I showed off little Petal.

In a haste, I returned to the parking garage, but I couldn't find him.

And can I just tell you how nerve-wracking it is to walk between rows of parked cars knowing that somewhere beneath one of the cars an out-of-control baby skunk may be lurking? If anyone looked out of their windows and saw me tip-toeing and snooping and bending occassionally to look beneth cars, then they likely got a pretty good laugh at the hysterics. I knew I looked nuts, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to snap a photo to share.

Eventually, I found him. Actually, I heard him first. He was crunching... eating the food left out for the garage cat (I call him Orange Kitty). Take a look.











I imagine that Petal will be making more frequent trips to the top floor now that he knows he can find food without much trouble at all... no more rooting in the ground coverings for Petal. But, lots more garage tip-toeing for me.

And oh so poor Orange Kitty.