KIBBLES N' BITS N' BITS N' BITS . . .

I revealed to my pastor today that Whitesnake's "Here I Go Again" is one of my favorite songs EVAH. He practically cracked a rib laughing. And then we reminisced about the Christian heavy metal group Stryper, and the yellow-and-black bumblebee outfits they wore. Dang. What was THAT all about?!

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I went running at one of the Rockefeller properties along the Hudson this morning with C and the Camp Capio Crazy Canine, Popcorn, a/k/a Popstar, a/k/a Attack Dog, a/k/a Poppety Pop Pop Pop, a/k/a She Will Eat Your Dog Even If Your Dog Is A German Shepherd. Halfway along the trail, Popperoni stopped in her tracks, heaved her body and PUKED. At first, I was shocked. I mean, this poor little Jack Russell terrier was all tensed up, puking her brains out, and I thought she was going to die. (She was fine after puking; she kept trotting along as if nothing had happened. Me, I would have needed an extra layer of clothing, a mug of hot water, my bed and my mommy if I puked that hard.) But after the shock wore off, the only thing I could think was: "Her puke looked like melted s'mores."

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My 'nieces' and 'nephews' are turning one year old already. That's nuts!

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I don't know if it's going to get exceedingly warm again before it truly gets cold, but tonight, there is a nip in the air, and I sit here with all the windows in the house open, but wearing a loose, long-sleeve NHF shirt and long grey yoga pants. In a few minutes, I'll grab that fleecy blanket over there and throw it around me as I watch some television. In a few weeks, I'll bust out the winter clothes, air them out, start packing the tanktops and shorts and summery skirts away. I'll put on the fleece jacket and zip it up, up, all the way up. In another few weeks, I'll lay a layer of my heavy Korean faux-mink blanket under my flowery duvet, and at night, I'll get under it so far you won't even see the strands of my hair. Man, I love autumn ...

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Three days ago, I acquired a lucky bamboo plant (which, as it turns out, is not of the bamboo family at all. I feel more than a little bit misled.) Today, I notice that the leaves are wrinkling and the ends are drying. This, despite the fact that I have done everything the instructions told me to do: the black rocks are in the vase, the water is just barely covering the rocks, the roots of the "bamboo" stalks are not choked. What the heck?!

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The Susan G. Komen Foundation's Race for the Cure 5k Run/Walk is quickly approaching. If you know my full name, support me and my team on www.komennyc.org!!!

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One thing about HyperW that I really respect: as hyper and goofy as he is and seems, he is also the most possessing of integrity and earnestness of the men I know at NHF. After weeks of my ineffective announcements at NHF about the Komen 5k, he came to my house and happened to read the Race program cover to cover. The program detailed the Komen Foundation, its work, its grantees, and the purpose of the Race. HyperW then went home and, armed with his new and more accurate knowledge about this fundraising event, returned to me the next morning with a check for $100 saying "I now know what you are doing and I know that I want to support you with everything I've got." Who can argue with a man who seeks to satisfy his curiosity, does his research, thinks and prays carefully, then displays generosity that is too few and far between in our everyday lives? I can't.

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I'm so, so sleepy, but I'm afraid to go to bed in case I can't sleep again. What could be wrong with me? Cheech is safe and sound and loving it in Phoenix. Omma and Appa and Gran are healthy. Work is a bit busier than normal, but the projects are nothing I can't handle, and the dramas are nothing I can't enjoy to the fullest. My bills are paid, my finances are healthy. I have much love in my life. I want nothing and need even less. The only thing I can think ... I'm a dweller. Things that make me angry, injustices in the world, people suffering senselessly, the guy that cut me off on the highway, a friend who tweaked me the wrong way with a careless word, selfish and self-absorbed people, unfairness ... I think about these things all the time. Days, weeks, months after the fact, I could potentially still be thinking about it. I recreate the scene, I interject the phrases I should have said, I imagine what I would have said if I could have. And so I lie awake. Maybe that's it. Maybe I could just change my personality so I can sleep better .