I don't know if it's made national news, but Northern California is on fire. Where I live and work are safe, as are my family and friends, but there are 3 or 4 fires in this area, and when I breathe through my nose it smells like fire. I don't like it.

The Oakland Hills seem to burn every few years, Tahoe had a bad fire recently, and there was a big fire south of here last year and I could see the smoke in the air, but I've never been surrounded by it to the point that I am able to smell it before. It's really disconcerting.

Good thought for the firefighters and homeowners please?

Happy Birthday Jason, wherever you are.

I have hockey class in two hours and I don't want to go. My gear is all packed and ready, except for my gloves which Chad is going to bring to me because I lent them to Nicky earlier this week.

Last night was Bravo, a big fund-raising event for the theater where I work. I spent a long couple of hours tending a bar set up on a too low table in heels, then another very long 90 minutes helping clean up and pack up afterward. There was not a single part of my body that did not hurt when I woke up this morning. I'm still vaguely stiff and sore after a long hot shower and lunch.

Hockey class is too hard when I'm at my best. I have no idea how today is going to go. I'm still going, I just don't particularly want to today, which is sad given how long I waited to be able to take this class.

**UPDATED**
I went, I suited up, and I really tried. I made it through half the class before my legs just gave out. But I didn't punk out and stay home, so for that I can be proud.

I saw this in a sig line on a forum and wanted to stick it somewhere for later remembering.

"Discovery consists of seeing what everybody has seen, and thinking what nobody has thought."
-Bill the Cat

Just wanted to share a letter I just sent to one of my favorite web sites. I'm not the girl who sends flame emails to bloggers. If you do something on your site I don't like, I either stay becasue I love the rest of your content and ignore the parts that bug me, or I get bored and move on. The web site Television Without Pity (TWoP) has long been a favorite of mine. A year-ish ago, it was purchased by Bravo, with the promise that it'd deliver all the same snark, which it by and large has. But they've messed with the site design, and everyone I know and have talked to about it hates it. A big heaping lot.

A couple of months ago, the the founders, Sars, Wing Chun and Miss Alli all left "to pursue other ventures". There were whisperings among my friends that something may or may not have gone terribly wrong and that was the reason behind their split. Right around the same time, the TWoPs current site design was unveiled. In a word, maybe two, it is, Truly Awful. But I love me some snark, and so I grit my teeth and stick around, and say nothing. Until today, when I finally just HAD to send them a letter.

What I sent is below, behind the cut because it contains spoilers. If you don't know who won Step It Up and Dance last night, and you don't want to know, don't click. (See TWoP?? That's how you do it)

Because I was tagged by Caryn and Heather.

1. What were you doing 10 years ago?
I was working at a video game company and living with my parents, saving up money to move to Merced, CA to be nearer to my best friend Erica, who had just had a baby. Also, I had just helped my other best friend, Michele, get out of an abusive marriage and move her and her 8 month old son back in with her mother.

2. What 5 things are on you to-do list for today?
-Mail out one EP and prep another to go out Monday
-Go to California Chicken for lunch because they're closing for the whole summer after today
-Filing
-Work at Hillbarn tonight- my last night til the fall
-Pack my hockey bag to take to San Jose tomorrow- lots of gear stuff happening tomorrow (exchange shin pads, get skates baked, try on Dee's spare shoulder pads and buy some if hers don't fit, have Dee fix my suspenders, fix my soakers)

3. List some snacks you enjoy.
-Granny Smith Apples
-Cheetos
-Pita Chips
-Brie and crackers
-Baby Carrots
-Dried Fruit
-Dill Pickles

4. What would you do with a billion dollars?
Quit my job, hire Jillian Michaels to be my trainer and lose all the weight I need to lose, then travel and buy lots and lots of fashion.

5. List the places you have lived.
-Petaluma, CA
-Half Moon Bay, CA
-San Mateo, CA
-Foster City, CA
-Merced, CA
-Redwood City, CA

6. List the jobs you have had.
-Babysitter
-Sales Clerk
-Bookseller
-Nanny
-Data entry contractor
-Receptionist
-Philanthropic Services Associate
-Legal Assistant