You're gonna be bothered by how cool I am.

* Things are progressing on the job front, and I find myself simultaneously wishing things would speed up (for my bank account's sake) and wishing things would slow down (for my nerves' sake). I'm now registered with several agencies that specialize in legal proofing, and the trick now is to keep calling them, a few times a week, to get on their radar and let them know that I'm serious about working. I'm anxious about the first job, though.


* I went to see a free performance of 'Hair' last week, thanks to Central Park's 'Shakespeare in the Park' program. Yes, I realize that 'Hair' is not a part of Shakespeare's oeuvre, but they always pair one of his plays with a non-Shakespeare offering. This year was centered on the theme of "What a piece of work is man," which linked their two productions, 'Hamlet' (which closed before I moved) and 'Hair.' It was an incredible performance, and one that occasionally invited audience participation. I particularly loved the curtain call, when the cast invited probably close to 100 audience members on stage as we all jammed to 'Let the Sun Shine In.' The whole thing was quite an experience, and not just the play itself. I quickly learned the hard way that if I wanted a ticket I would have to get in line with all the other crazies at 6am and hold my place for about 7 hours until they actually passed out the tickets. That was a nice little warm up for Butt-Numb-A-Thon, I don't mind telling you.


* I have been absolutely glued to MSNBC during the lead-up to this week and now the Democratic National Convention. There's still a part of me that resents Ted Kennedy and the way he helped so many other Democrats stab the leader of their party (then president Jimmy Carter) in the back. But I can't help admiring him for the amazing thing he did last night. And I absolutely loved Michelle Obama's speech, perhaps especially the moments after it was over, when her girls talked to Barack via satellite ("What city are you in, Daddy?"). That was such a 'mom' moment, when she kind of tuned out the crowd and focused on her daughters, perhaps thinking "Please, be good." :P

I'm getting kind of annoyed with the political pundits, saying that the Dems wasted the first day of their convention by not immediately going after John McCain and the Republicans. First of all, what was Nancy Pelosi, a potted plant? How many times did she lead the crowd in that chant "Barack Obama is right, and John McCain is wrong."? Secondly, I thought this was the kind of politics-as-usual that the campaign was trying to avoid. Obviously, that's easier said than done, but they can at least start on the high road, can't they?


* I'm very excited about Melissa's upcoming book. I'm afraid I may have to wait a day or two to actually read it, though, because it comes out on Election Day, and I don't think I can focus properly on anything until I know what the fate of our country is going to be. I love what I've seen of JKR's foreward, and the comment about feeling like she's been to a midnight release makes me think I'll have to read it with a box of tissues nearby.


* Thank you all for your lovely birthday wishes, and thanks to the Usual Suspects for the piratey goodness and my lovely, rare edition Ninth Doctor. And thanks especially to rhrsoulmates, for making sure I didn't have to spend the first birthday in NY alone. We went to a goofy theme restaurant on Friday called Jekyll and Hyde (the smaller one, in the Village). Our waitress was slightly aloof, and the music was oddly eclectic (from Bernard Herrman's Psycho score to the theme for Ghostbusters - twice!), but the in-house entertainment was enjoyable, especially our frequent visits from someone who looked alarmingly like Robert Downey, Jr. Good times.