Mupdate

Guster is coming to San Francisco. And Portland. I've been toying with a pilgrimage to Portland for a while. Maybe it's now time for a road trip in March. Powell's. Guster. What more could a woman like me need?

This past weekend, I noticed a natural gas stench around my gas line going into my home. I thought to myself, "Self, you better call PG&E!"

Well, two days later, I finally remembered. Thankfully, no one in the neighborhood was doing any exotic torch dances around my house. So I called PG&E this morning while at work. They sent a guy out right away. When I got home tonight, I found a note on my door from the PG&E repair person that they fixed a leak from the line NEXT DOOR. So it was my neighbor's gas problem.

And there you have it. I was a good Samaritan, I just didn't know it. And so goes the mystery of the gas stench.

Tonight being the 2nd Wednesday of the month was wine tasting at Ink. The featured Wine: Valley of the Moon. The Pinot Blanc was good. The hors d'oeuvres were excellent.

taogrl brought some children's books on Saints for me that she picked up at the library. They were a hoot. It was very interesting to note that the different books had different "facts". Like Saint Elizabeth of Hungary. One book said she was bethrothed to a German prince at age 4. Another said age 9. But this is splitting hairs. She died at age 24, a mother of three children and a widow by that age. When I think what I was doing at age 24...

And this brings us to a perfect segue to my Saint du Jour segment!
Let's see, for February 9th, it's St. Apollonia. Gather 'round, kids, for a story!

Once upon a time in Alexandria, during a fucked up night in 249 A.D., there was an uprising against the Christians. Led by a prophet who remains unnamed, some irate Pagans seized an old man named Metras and tried to force him to blaspheme. He said something akin to "ixnay on the asphemblay". So they beat him bloody, poked his eyes out and stoned him.

But he was not made a saint. So let's move on, shall we?

There was another Christian woman by the name of Quinta who was seized by the irate Pagans. They tried force her to worship a pagan idol. She refused. So, they dragged her over pointed cobbles and then stoned her.

But she was not made a saint. So, onward!

Apollonia was a virgin. She too was captured by the irate, murderous Pagans, who just so happened to be having hideously bad luck during their "New Member Orientation" uprising. She didn't get her eyes poked out. She didn't get the pointy cobbles. She was beaten so hard that all her teeth were broken. They built a big bonfire and threatened to throw her on it alive if she didn't convert. She had a moment to reflect and she threw her own beaten self onto the fire. She sure showed those Pagans. Faced with imminent death, she chose death. Now, supposedly this was not her choice, per se. She was compelled by the Holy Spirit to hop on the heaven express via immolation. Which is what the Pagans were about to do, anyway.

All I can say is, thank goodness the Holy Spirit didn't compel her to break her own set of teeth. I'm assuming her jaw was pretty busted, too. How can you break all of someone's teeth without crushing the rest of the face, too? Unless, of course, she only had a few teeth...



And finally, Broke Mac Mountain.

Goodnight to you all, each and every one!

Note: The information for Saint du Jour is from "The Lives of the Saints" by Father Omer Englebert. The smartass commentary, of course, is by yours truly.

(no subject)

Wow. Today was a big day for my bank account. Not only does my new rate of pay start today, but my annual bonus showed up, my federal tax refund showed up, and then my state refund.

My bank account is positively beaming!

Now to pay off some debt, and what-not.

Of course, there are a few toys I want to purchase, too.

I just realized that my Saint du Jour posts would probably be considered heresy at some point.

I was feeling a bit sorry for the persecution of the Christians way back when. But then I realized that despite having this rich history of persecution, the Christians/Catholics were doing the same thing (give or take) with the Spanish Inquisition, etc. Hmmmm. There's more bouncing around in my brain on this, but that shall come later. I must take preventative measures to avoid showing up to work in naught but my underpants and a fluffy blue robe.