Drinking beer in a Circle K bathroom.

Turns out there is ONE guy in Tucumcari who fixes radiators. His shop is "somewhere behind the feedlot". But since it's Tucumcari, my dad's assistant somehow knows him. So, he's coming by later to take a look.

Good thoughts, please. I'd really like to get home. :/

So, about this shoe being thrown at the President... I gotta tell you, I was somewhat impressed. Really, ninja-like ducking reflexes. I told Tyler it was probably the first time I was genuinely impressed by an action of our President. Guess those months in the Coast Guard paid off. (I'm a little disappointed by the responses on Pundit Kitchen. Come on, guys! This is lolgold!)

In job news, really, someone needs to pay me to blog. I'm not quite sure how you go about this. Maybe I could mention AMAZING, REVOLUTIONARY PRODUCTS, or talk about CONTROVERSIAL, WORLD-ALTERING STORIES. But, I think I do that anyway.

Linking. That's the ticket. Link as many things as you can possibly link. Link.

Safety.

On my drive home, my truck slayed at least 30 tumbleweeds. Maybe more.

The problem is, one tumbleweed slayed my truck.

And now I'm stuck in Tucumcari with a radiator leak.

It's important to note that Tucumcari doesn't have a single mechanic who repairs radiators.

S.O.S.

Monopoly banking.

(The first thing I've ever wanted to steal from my grandma.)
My grandmother is seriously the queen of all that is a grandmother. She batters me with conservative wisdom, she pesters me to get married and find a good job. But she also makes me hot cocoa and keeps her comments about my sleeping in to a minimum. A minimum. I sprung out of Pampa. But overall, taking grandma to the Nutcracker ballet in Amarillo, Texas was a bearable experience. It's important to note that the production of the Nutcracker was in the Amarillo Civic Center. And right down the hall, at the exact same time, there was a Gun and Knife Show.

America.

And now, I'm back in Norman, Oklahoma. Tomorrow, I'm going for a merit test and my alcohol server's permit. Mattlahoma moved and is now living with 3 other boys. I don't need to describe conditions (or the bathroom), you already know. I'm sure of it. With my frequent trips to Norman, the spare bedroom in Matt's parents house had come to be known at Cat's Room. I certainly miss that comfort. And Matt's mom. That lady rules.

Even though you wouldn't believe me if I told you, there are good people here with tremendously large hearts. And I am grateful to all of them.

It's been super cold here. And I did not pack accordingly (thanks, weather.com). And there's a chance of a small scale ice storm on Thursday, the day I was planning on leaving. I guess it's only fair. I did manage to drive all the way to Canada in the dead of winter with almost no weather issues. Can't help but feel like I'm still owed a few snow-free travel days, though. It okay Momma Nature, I know you don't operate on a barter system.

I know that I have this awesome D80 and I love it with all my heart. But, sometimes, I don't feel like lugging my D80 and its ultra protective case with me everywhere I go. I miss being able to capture those amazing spur of the moment photograph opportunities. I feel like the D80 makes all of my pictures sort of planned out. Hence, I'm still considering investing in another point and shoot. Is this bad?

I feel like if I could only take a few steps forward, my full-fledged adult life would be right in my grasp. But those steps are through the most disgusting mud I've ever seen. So, I'd much rather totter on the edge, regardless of how unbalanced it makes me feel. If only I knew how to jump.

That's how it works.

To the ballet, I go. The Nutcracker ballet, that is. With my grandmother in Amarillo. I'll be out of town for a week or so, journeying on to Oklahoma for a merit test (as if there was even a question...), my Oklahoma alcohol server's license and some premature house hunting. We'll see. I'm sort of dreading this so-called business trip, so I hope I'll be able to have some fun.

Appropriately entitled Cat in a Car, I'd read my twitter while I'm gone. I'm hilarious when I'm under 140 characters.

Please Don't Walk Away.

Happy Holidays.

Talk about domestication, I decorated my house and baked enchiladas in the same night. This, is completely unheard of. It's amazing the lengths I'll go to procrastinate about editing my cover letter. Again. For the 19th time. (No really, 19 saved drafts on my computer.) Above photograph is a clear demonstration of job search frustration. Take notice of the frazzled hair and under-eye bags.

Last week, I babysat a film crew in the El Rey. Men Who Stare at Goats used the theater for catering and costuming. Catering was the buzzword in my agreement to babysit. I knew it would be an early morning, but I had no idea I'd have to be at the El Rey at FOUR IN THE FREAKING MORNING. And I certainly didn't have a clue that I wouldn't get out of there until SEVEN THIRTY IN THE FREAKING NIGHT. You film people are crazy. People, especially of a certain age, seem to have a hard time understanding why I have a film degree and yet so reluctant to work on a film set. FOUR IN THE FREAKING MORNING, that's why. For my efforts, I got to watch the entire first season of Arrested Development (Steve Holt!) with limited interruption and a to-go box full of probably the best salmon I've ever eaten in my life.

Side note: The costume people for that movie are meanies. The second they walked in the El Rey, they started talking shit about it. Trust me, I'm aware that she's seen better days, but come on now. I wish I could go to all their houses and insult them. I threw down some pretty vicious lady eye daggers and their insults seemed to go away. Or at least, out of my earshot.

I've been a bit of a solitary primate lately, since my boyfriend's lost in an abyss of finals and I seem to be operating on the complete opposite sleep schedule than anyone else I know. But, Sunday I caught up with Jennifer and walked the Rinconada Canyon Trail off of Unser. Pretty good day; I sort of forget how close all that stuff is. If anyone's got a day off this week (or wants to take one), let's go up to Chaco. My treat.


Because this place is pretty great.

It's cold in my house. But I'd much rather burrow under blankets than pay PNM any more money.

I know we're all super excited to see Milk, but if I were you, I would not go see it in a Cinemark theater. It's showing at High Ridge, though.

PS. And on that note...

See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die

You shoulda putta ring on it.

I'm lost in a world of resumes and job applications. As I told Angie a few days ago, I hate talking about myself. I actually hate myself by this point. I would never hire me. And while, yeah, I rarely get up before noon and I spend about 90% of my day indoors, I'm working probably harder than I have in months. It is emotionally retarding to fill out job application after application. "Please give an example of a challenging situation at work in which you were in a leadership role. Please list the process you used to handle the situation.... Step One: EAT A BAG OF..." Crap makes me miserable. Please, job, show your face.

To counteract my stress level, I've been diving into the creative. 'Member ye olde novel I mentioned a few months back? Still going, almost 300 pages strong. That word document, regardless of fluff-content and grammar errors, makes me glow with pride. Just knowing that I'm come that far is a pretty awesome thing.

I've also started breaking out the 16mm again. Taking a note from Brakhage, I've been playing around with the yards of leader I have. I've been cutting up 35mm single shot negatives and taping them onto clear leader. My mom found some MRIs of her brain from about 10 years ago that she gave to me, and I'll probably do the same thing to them. It probably won't amount to much (or look like anything, really) but it's nice to have that process back. And it sure does eat up some hours.