Discussing the 1993 European Grand Prix at Donington Park...

Jeremy Clarkson: And that was it: one lap, fifth to first.

Martin Brundle: Yeah. If you want to have forty seconds of 'what is Ayrton Senna the racing driver all about' - well, there it is. In a nutshell.









16.5 years on, and my heart still has a sad. A big one.

More quiz-type questions (lifted from a random website, not anyone I know) because today a whole bunch of not-much happened.

1. How old do you look? I think I look kinda mid-thirtyish - no wrinkles or crows' feet or liver spots, but I don't look twenty-two either. Of course, I could be wrong and servers at restaurants and people at shops think, "Oh, it's THAT old hag!"

2. Where do you live? I usually say Atlanta, though technically it's a suburb thereof.

3. Are you waiting for something? Yes, for our house to sell so we can move, for the job market to improve, for timing/circumstances/fate to coincide so we can take a real vacation - but waiting generally, not anxiously like a teenage girl after prom night praying for her period.

4. What’s one pet peeve of yours that is not common? I have a couple of grammar-type ones; I know lots of people have grammar-peeves but perhaps mine are particular to me. I hate the phrase "close proximity" because if something is in proximity to something else, it IS close. That's what the freaking word MEANS; you can't be in far proximity to something. Likewise, the phrase "a high rate of speed" grates upon me. Speed IS a rate, it's the rate of distance over time, so that phrase translates to 'a high rate of rate of distance to time'. I have other semi-CDO peeves (CDO is like OCD, but in alphabetical order, as it should be) like drawer and cabinet doors left ajar or with stuff sticking out of them, or things that could be sorted into alphabetical order but aren't, though I daresay those aren't peculiar to me.

5. Do you want/have kids? No and no.

6. Have you ever thought about converting your religion? Yes but thus far no one wants to exchange Catholicism for hard currency.

7. Last shocking news you heard? This question is apt because only today I was shocked (and saddened) to read that Ari Up had died.

8. What was the last thing you drank? About two seconds ago, sip of Riesling.

9. Who do you most look like in your family? My mom.

10. If you could have something right now, anything, what would it be? The ability to grant wishes. You have no idea of the friends' problems I'd fix, the lives I'd enrich, the good I'd do, or the number of classic Ferraris in my garage.

11. Where does most of your family live? Georgia with a smattering of South Carolina.

12. Where did you grow up? Cowshit, Georgia, until I escaped to Atlanta.

13. Where do you want to go on vacation? On vacation! Seriously, the lake, the beach, the mountains or [other] would all be fine with me; I'd just like to go someplace where we could take the pets, relax, have a nice meal or two, a hot tub to relax in, books to read and, to quote Chuck Berry, "no particular place to go".

14. Have you ever had a panic attack? Not really; I have a hard time with teeming crowds and feeling hemmed in/people coming at me from all sides but I think my...er, episodes? are more in the category of "extremely uncomfortable and getting freaked out" than actual "panic attack" though it's been close a time or two.

15. What can’t you wait for? I've pondered this and have no good answer. There's not any one major goal or event for which I'm longing. Most of the things I "can't wait for" are things like the next season of Top Gear, the start of hockey season, the release of the latest Terry Pratchett book - things like that.

16. When’s the last time you told someone you loved him or her and meant it? This morning as I left for work.

17. Have your parents ever smoked pot? My dad has; I'm pretty sure my mom hasn't. But she might surprise me; one never knows, does one?

18. Want someone back in your life? You can't begin to have a one-trillionth of an inkling how much.

19. What do you order at the bar? Depends on my mood. Sometimes Rolling Rock if I'm in the mood for a beer, most often a Grey Goose and tonic with lime, but if it's colder out I might go for a nice snort of The MacAllan.

20. When was the last time you cried really, really hard? Um, actually? Today. For reasons of the 'that's a long/another story' variety, I was doing a Flickr search for pictures of one of my bestest friends and saw a thumbnail image that I thought was her with my adored Uncle Artis, but when I clicked and enlarged it to full-size, it was her with my daddy. At my wedding brunch.

21. Ever licked someone’s cheek? Eeeeuw. Just eeeeuw.

22. What is your favorite thing to eat with peanut butter? A spoon. No, wait, that would be 'with which to eat peanut butter'. A slice of bread - even though I have been a kid, I have never been a fan of peanut butter and jelly. I don't like sweet things mixed with salty things, not at all.

23. Where were you on July 4th, 2008? I'm sure I was here at home, but as to what I was doing, specifically, I have no clue because I checked the trusty blog archives and the 4th fell during a long blog silence involving work-related depression and angst, and the death of a friend's dad.

24. What are your nicknames? Hellybeans, The Helster, Hels, sometimes Cheryl calls me 'Rabid Red'. Alan doesn't call me nicknames so much as endearments (my love, sweetie, punkin). I have this feeling that I've left an obvious one out, yet can't think of what it might be. It's not "Your Majesty", I know, because far too few people call me that.

25. If you could go back in time, how far back would you go? How many go-backs do I get?!? I want to dine with Oscar Wilde, drink with Lord Byron and then with Dorothy Parker, attend the premiere of Die Zauberflote (30 September 1791) and hang out with Doc Holliday in Tombstone (he'd like me: we're both from Georgia, y'know; he's from Griffin) but then I don't want to go so far back as to give up hot and cold running water... can't I just skip back and forth? I'd like that.

I don't seem to have much about which to write lately, which is a bit of a downer because I love to write. It just seems like very little of note, whether bad, good, funny or weird has been going on lately, which I suppose is a good thing but makes for a very dull blog.

Here is a quiz.

1. When you looked at yourself in the mirror today, what was the first thing you thought? Which time? 7AM: oh god, it CAN'T be morning already; 10AM: hey, my hair looks pretty good today; 1PM: ooh, I need to reapply my lipstick; 3:30PM: I wonder how long that random red hair has been stuck on my shirt right on the end of my boob, sticking out?; 9:15PM: I sure look goofy with wet hair wrapped in a big pink towel.

2. How much cash do you have in your wallet right now? Fifteen dollars and mixed change. I know because I went to buy lunch today, checked to make sure I had some money and found a twenty. Lunch was $5.70 but I had the seventy cents in coinage.

3. What’s a word that rhymes with DOOR? NEVERMORE. Feeling Poeish. Hallowe'en is upon us.

4. Who is the 4th person on your missed call list on your cell phone? I don't know. I mean, the number is there but I missed the call because I didn't recognize it and therefore didn't answer. I don't answer a lot if I don't know who's calling.

5. What is your favorite ring tone on your phone? Fruity Oaty Bars. Alan put it on for me when we got new phones.

6. What are you wearing right now? New 'jamas we got over the weekend, pale blue with darker blue and green stars. Clean and fresh from bubble bath and hair-washing in brand-new 'jamas.

7. Do you label yourself? Yes. My label says, "HELLO! My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father; prepare to die."

8. Name the brand of the shoes you’re currently own? This is a most ungrammatical question. The shoes that are currently ON, or the shoes I currently own? I'm not wearing shoes at the moment, being fresh out of the bath, and if it's brands I currently own, 'twould be a very long list. See this post.

9.Bright or Dark Room? Dark - we loves the dark, prrreciousss...

10. What do you think about the person who took this survey before you? No idea - stole it off a random survey list.

11. What does your watch look like? Gold with a mother-of-pearl face and a diamond bezel. It's spiff.

12. What were you doing at midnight last night? Snoring, maybe. Dreaming, probably. Cuddling a tiny, warm, fawn-colored puppy definitely.

13. What did your last text message you received on your cell say? "Break on thru to the other side!" That probably doesn't make sense out of context, even if you recognize the Doors lyric. My carpool buddy and I had decided to try to leave 5 - 10 minutes early, if possible, to avoid a downtown event so long as nothing at either of our jobs went awry. Previous to that she'd texted me to let her know when I was leaving, and I'd replied, "I be about to shut down and bust out right now!" So bust out = break on through, which hearkens to a theory of ours that 3/4 of Atlanta's downtown city streets are covered in ill-fitting steel plates because of The Mole People, who are always tunneling and trying to break on through to the other side, but every time they almost make it, industrious city officials slam a steel plate down on them, and they have to move on to the next block. (Really. Drive here for a week - you won't find it far-fetched.)

14. What's a word that you say a lot? 'Fucknuttery' - see "Atlanta traffic", above. 'POWWWAAAAAH!' or 'POWERSLIIIIDE!' when I'm driving. 'Goes to eleven'. Lately, "EZIO!" - I'm playing Assassin's Creed II and yell at my character a lot when he does something stupid/unexpected/harmful.

15. Who told you he/she loved you last?(please exclude spouse , family, children) One of my best girlfriends.

16. Last furry thing you touched? Baby Esme. Before that, Finnovar.

17. Favourite age you have been so far? 33. I liked that; I was good at it. Neither too late nor too early. Still, now is pretty good too.

18. What was the last thing you said to someone? "Alan! What's a word that I say a lot?"

19.The last song you listened to? "I Stay Away" by Alice in Chains off of "Box of Flies". It was playing on the DirecTV music station we had left on, right before I played some PS3.

20. Where did you live in 1987? Atlanta, same as now. Not the same address, but the same area. After that I lived in Washington DC for a while.

21. Are you jealous of anyone? No, not really. I know there are people smarter than me, prettier than me, with more money than me, better jobs than me, but jealousy seems like a waste of my time more than anything. Why bother? Especially when I have The Husband and kitty and puppies. That's all I could really want.

22. Is anyone jealous of you? Not that I know of, and I should hope not.

23. Name three things that you have on you at all times? Keys, a pen and at least some money. I like to have cash even if I have my ATM and credit cards. Sadly, I can't say that I always have my cell phone; I charge it on my credenza which is behind me and sometimes, I'm so ready to leave that I walk out without it, leave for the day and then work myself up about doing something boneheaded.

24. What’s your favourite town/city? Atlanta, Georgia. If it wasn't, I'd move.

25. When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone on paper and mailed it? Hmmm, I've written a few this year to my mom, Aunt Jean and some others but I think the last one was to Nancy, using a GORGEOUS glass pen and ink she'd bought me as a gift.

26. Can you change the oil on a car? Of course. I can do brake pads and shoes, air and fuel filters, coolant flush, spark plugs and a number of other things. Some other things, like starters and alternators, I can pull and let someone else rebuild, then re-install. My theory is, it can't be THAT hard - guys do it. Heh heh heh, I just wrote that to be funny; I'm not really sexist. But my dad made sure that even though they bought me my first car, I knew how to do a lot of necessary things. He helped a lot (as in, took over and did it for me) because sometimes, even if I knew exactly what to do, I wasn't strong enough to do it, but I had to demonstrate know-how to earn his help.

27. Your first love/big crush: what is the last thing you heard about him/her? Boring answer but I couldn't even decide/remember who that might have been, so consequently have no idea what I may have heard about him. Er, it was a 'him', I know that much. I remember some boyfriends (a few more fondly than others) but I honestly couldn't say who was the "first love/big crush". Who cares, now there's Alan. They kind of pale into oblivion after that.

28. Does anything hurt on your body right now? Yeah, my right hip. I think I slept on it funny, or maybe too hard/long.

29.What is your current desktop picture? The logo and brand name of my current car, in this kind of hammered/distressed steel.








30. Have you been burnt by love? Not enough to be bothered about.

A short meme from DKZody - the Essential Eleven!

1. When is your birthday? September 15
2. Favorite coffee drink(s)… Irish coffee with Bushmill's and a drizzle of creme de menthe. Mmmm, haven't had one since last winter at least.
3. Favorite type of food(s)…Italian, seafood - both at once is optimal
4. Favorite snack(s)…Cheese and crackers; I like a variety of cheeses (a hard, a soft, a sharp, a creamy, etc.) and this assortment best
5. Favorite fast food(s)…McFood. They have the best fries.
6. Favorite restaurant(s) – both regular & nice…Bone's (see previous post), two local restaurants - fabtastic Mexican, Frontera, and a wonderful Italian place, Chianti. Also DePalma's in Athens where I haven't been in way too long.
7. Favorite place(s) to shop…Bookstores. Oh, in particular? I like Dillards and Macy's, and echoing DK Zody on Target. If I'm being honest, though, I probably spend more money at Yankee Candle than any of the aforementioned. :-)
8. Favorite color(s)…Dark green, dusky pink
9. Favorite musical artist(s)…Far too many to list but the top few: Led Zeppelin, King Crimson, Rush, Foo Fighters, Rob Zombie, the Rolling Stones - and see "Valentine Wolfe" link to your right. Lots of others and lots of genres, though.
10. What do you do when you’re not working or going to school (hobbies, pastimes etc.)…Reading, playing video games, reading, counted cross-stitch (this is mostly a winter hobby, historically, though I'm not sure exactly why), watching hockey and Formula One, playing with puppies, more reading
11. Finish this sentence: I really like to…snuggle on the couch with The Husband and a puppy or three, reading a book with one eye and watching Top Gear with the other, a glass of wine handy by.

I haven't spent much time on the computer during my few days off but I have had a most excellent time. Tonight, I'm a little depressed as work and stress and all the offal I left behind in taking my days off loom nigh, but I'm trying to work through it.

Friday we did something not unusual for us, visit to the bookstore and lunch, but to change it up a little we went further afield, to two different bookstores instead of the one two miles from our house and to a different, non-local restaurant. I bought some cool books and we had delicious burgers at Ted's Montana Grill, bacon/American for me and bacon/bleu for Alan.

One of the books I bought was a Batman graphic novel, which is very cool, Batman Chronicles. It's a reissue of the original DC Comics from May 1939 to Spring 1940. Sure, the drawings are a little...basic, rendered in primary colors and not nearly as pretty as a Dave McKean, and the storylines are a little cheesy, full of "It's YOU!", "SOCK!", YAA-A-A-A-A!" but the coolness factor of seeing the original comics as they were 70 years ago (seventy?!? WTF?!? Is my math off? No, 1940 was 70 years before 2010.), which include the first appearances of Robin, The Joker, Dr. Hugo Strange, and a very, very early version of Selina Kyle where she is known only as "The Cat"...this badassery totally outweighs the lamer elements.

Also picked up Top Gear Season 13 and a few other novels that look promising.

Saturday was mostly lazy, slept in and went to the vet's office for doggy heartworm remedy, nothing much.

Sunday we were invited to our friends Matt & Tammy's house, for a birthday party/cookout for their daughter Brooke, who is turning 3. It was really cool - they had a petting zoo! There was a pony, a donkey, lots of doggies (poodles, two Italian greyhounds, some mixes), two goats, some doves, bunnehs of all sorts and three little pigs! I held the smallest of the pigs, a tiny white one with pink on her snout. Her wee little hooves were adorable. Held a dove and a bunneh also, and scritched the donkey's ears. I wanted a piglet but Alan said no. I had a really fun time; every time I'm around them I wonder why we don't hang out more often. They don't live particularly far from us, just kinda cumbersome to get there. My brother Bo and his wife Sarah came down for the party, which it was great to see them, and also in attendance were some other friends, Adam and Gina, that I hadn't seen in some time. Great day.

Monday we went grocery shopping and then had dinner at Bone's, courtesy of my boss. My birthday was last month and he said, for a present, to go out to dinner with my husband and bring him the bill. He's done that a few times and it's a fabulous present, I've got to say (er - write). Bone's is consistently rated in Zagat's as the best steakhouse in America - not just Atlanta, America. We had a fantastic meal: I wasn't in the mood to fill up on salad so I asked about this "hors d'oeuvres board" appetizer. It varies daily but yesterday was these four pieces: a sort of flower made of the most savory salami ever, topped with shaved Parmesan, a prosciutto-wrapped asparagus spear, a deviled egg half topped with a sliver of smoked salmon and a small herbed crostini topped with foie gras. It was exactly what I wanted, some small savory noms of deliciousness without being half-a-pound of any one thing. Alan had their signature salad, featuring mixed greens, apples, pistachios and Stilton. I had a filet and he had a dry-aged bone-in rib eye, sharing side orders of onion rings and truffle-butter mashed potatoes. NOM. If you go there, though, order half sizes of the side dishes; otherwise they're way too much food and it's too fantabulous to waste. Warm pecan pie with ice cream for Alan's dessert and a creme brulee with fat blueberries, raspberries and mint for me. MMMMMMMmmmmm.

Today was very lazy, lying on the couch petting my puppies and kitteh, reading some of the books I'd bought and finishing off the bottle of Napa Valley Silver Oak 2005 from last night - you can order it at Bone's by the bottle but if you don't drink it all (because, say, your husband doesn't drink and you're not the type to down an entire bottle at dinner), they recork it and seal it in plastic so you can leave with it without violating Georgia's open-container laws and thereby are not constrained to the limited selection of wines by the glass. Aces.

It was a fabulous few days off: bookstores, good friends, delectable meals...I'm sad to see it coming to an end. Tomorrow's going to reek. But I suppose it's like the all-wise philosopher Butt-Head once observed, "Uhhh, well, if nothing sucked, and everything was cool all the time, then, like, how would you know it was cool?"

O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay! I'm here at home, holding a puppy, at 9:10 AM. I am officially off work today, Monday and Tuesday. I'm so happy to be away from the office and the stress and the b.s. - what shall I do today? The possibilities are endless. The bookstore, lunch with The Husband, playing with puppies, maybe even doing absolutely nothing. I'm totally with Peter from Office Space on this one - sometimes I've spent a day on the weekend doing absolutely nothing, and it was everything I thought it could be.