PALM DESERT MADNESS

++ HOLY SCHMOLY, THE next couple of days is going to be a far cry from the weather I've grown accustomed to.

Thursday - high 112 degrees . low 76
Friday - high 113 . low 79
Saturday - high 111 . low 73

Orange County is much better.

Sunday - high 79 . low 56
Monday - high 76 . low 56

I think I only own one pair of shorts, but I'm going to have to go digging for it. ++

FRIED CHICKEN

++ I COOKED FRIED chicken for the first time ever. It's actually kind of ridiculously not healthy at all. The chicken is basically breaded with spices and deep fried. I'm not sure why I thought it would be something different. It's so much easier (and cheaper) (and just as unhealthy) to just go to KFC even if you have to dodge the taunt's of the local animal rights protesters and their signs. ++

OLD FRIENDS AND FAMILY

++ MY WEEKEND WAS stellar. A little plane ride back to Ohio for a friend’s wedding and a whirlwind tour of old friends could cure the world’s problems. Seriously, no matter how down in the dumps you get or whatever zinger, life has waiting around the corner for you, a weekend full of laughter with old friends and family is quite a refreshing little slice of life. It gets me going. ++

TRAVELING BY PLANE - PROS AND CONS

++ SECRET INDULGENCES:
1. No driving.
2. Just sit there and be scooted around.
3. Catching up on sleep.
4. One side of the country to the other in a day.
5. One side of the world to the other in a day.
6. The view from the window seat.
7. No one knows who you are. Make up a story about yourself. Reinvent yourself.
8. Heck, you're travelling, I might as well get that Cinnabon at the airport.
9. I get to have laughs with family and old friends.
10. People-watching.

Nuissances:
1. The baby in the seat in front of you crying for the entire plane ride .
2. The guy behind you who hits the back of your seat every couple of minutes.
3. The guy to your right that smells funny.
4. Layovers.
5. Costs more than splitting the cost of gas with a friend.
6. Sitting on the tarmac for hours on ed before you take-off.
7. Missed connecting flight because you sat on the tarmac for hours on end.
8. Disappointment in the Chinese food in the airport, even though it looked and smelled great.
9. Time-changes.
10. Rude shuttle-bus drivers. ++

LEAVING WORK EARLY

++ IF I LEFT work for my apartment right now, would anyone notice? Would anyone care? Once I got there, who would I call? What would I do?

It's a big world out there. I'm having trouble finding my voice. Slowly I retreat into the depths of of the echoes my mind conjures. Silence.

My eyes close for just a moment and I find myself lost in the rigors of life. ++