Chilly; dead ants in the living room; Cobb salad; "translating ethnic slurs for Cuban refugees; reading and thinking of "Fight Club"

It has actually been chilly today. Even with a cloudless sky and a bright sun, the cooler air was noticeable. I spent the morning lounging in bed and went back to sleep a couple of times and did not get up until around noon. And then only by steely determination.

For the last several days, dead ants have been appearing in my living room. I remember using insect spray a week or so ago, so the ants must be sneaking in, are hit by the residue of the spray and OD on the floor. So out with the vacuum it was. Vacuuming is always such a tribulation that I try to avoid it. First there is the furniture moving; then picking up the power cords for the computer, lamp and modem; then more moving; then the cord for the vacuum gets tangled up. Today when I moved the coffee table one of the legs came unglued. Since I'd moved the couch, the cats discovered they could jump from it to the top shelf in the bookcase. The phone rang. I looked back and Hermes was romping across my collection of mysteries. AWHHHHHHH!!!!

Finally, I finished and got everything back in order. By now, my body was asking for something stronger that cookies and coke. Out the door, down the drive, under the Interstate, up the frontage road, park at Swensen's, order the customary Cobb salad and ice tea, have a chocolate shake as a chaser. I picked up a copy of Planet Weekly (a free weekly paper) on the way in. The Weekly has more intelligent articles than the local daily which consists primarily of ads for furniture stores and cellular phone service.

Best article was the "Science Dr. Chickenhead" column. This was a reprint of a letter of application to NYU. Some of which included: "I am a dynamic figure, often seen scaling walls and crushing ice. ... I translate ethnic slurs for Cuban refugees. ... I play bluegrass cello. ... My deft floral arrangements have earned me fame in international botany circles. ... On weekends, to let off steam, I participate in full-contact origami. ... Years ago, I discovered the meaning of life but forget to write it down. ... But I have not yet gone to college." Not bad!!!

Last night, I whipped by Barnes and Noble, after a lousy chicken burger at Wendy's, and picked up a copy of "Fight Club." Short book. Easy read, I guess, depending on how you read it. Convoluted as hell in another sense. I've read these post-modern, quasi-experimental stories before. And I never know what the FUCK to make of them. I've read several comments about the weird twist in the movie. Well the weird twist in the movie comes from the twist in the book! My first reaction is to say "What an unmitigated piece of fucking crap!" However, let me try a more methodical read, in which I can look for moments of "redeeming social merit." Not to "spoil" the twist, but if you've ever seen "Cabinet of Dr. Calagari", you'll catch on.

Be careful out there and in here!

PAX!