30 Days, More or Less

I have been almost completely secluded for the past 30 days. Sure, I get out for breakfast every morning, but I don't talk to anyone except the servers. It's been very quiet, very pleasant and very calm.

I've visited with Blogblah! a couple of times, had lunch or dinner with my friend Diane maybe three times, and dinner with my old Wednesday/Friday group one time.

I haven't been in my old coffee shop hangout at all.

What I have been doing is drawing – nothing worth showing, but at least releasing some creative energy nonetheless. I've struck up some casual acquaintances online with other digital artists, and I hope I can glean some helpful information from them.

I had to replace a tire on the VW. This is the third tire in six years that I've had to replace because of crap in the road, but the other two were on the minivan. In this case, it looked like a roofing nail, but it made a hole so big it couldn't be repaired. Tires for the VW cost from three times to six times as much as they do for the old minivan. Thank God there's a Firestone place within walking distance of my house.

Visited with my stock broker today. For the first time in my life, I've put money in a fund and not only lost the accumulated return, but part of the original investment as well. I'm not broke, but things aren't looking rosy.

I mentioned awhile back that I had a bout of gastrointestinal distress. That has mostly cleared up. I suspect, although I don't know, that I had a mild case of this listeria infection that's been going around the country. These problems began when I started eating cantaloupe at breakfast every morning, and I thought at the time that might be the culprit.

I did a little Googling and discovered that cantaloupe itself can indeed cause digestive upset, so I quit eating it. But nothing changed. Then, weeks later, I read about the listeria outbreak connected to cantaloupe from a single farm in eastern Colorado. I don't know for a fact that my cantaloupe, which I got in a restaurant, came from there. Nor did I have the fever, body aches and other symptoms associated with listeria. But the timing is suspicious.

Whatever the facts (TMI ALERT), my ass is no longer spraying like a fire hose.

I wrote previously that I had this sudden and inexplicable resurgence in my libido. I was so cranked up that for awhile I seriously considering getting a pro, which I have never in my life done, or even a couple of pros. Because the only threesome I've ever been in was me and both hands.

But then, suddenly, I was back to normal again. Thank god. Some sort of testosterone burst caused by sunspots, I guess.

I saw an interesting-looking redhead in a restaurant yesterday. I applied my rule of thumb: if I think she's attractive, that means she's too good-looking for me. I need to go to Catfish Cabin or Furr's Cafeteria and ogle the Aunt Bee types.