Thrice the madness I just realized that I've been in three time zones in the last 24 hours. No wonder I'm so agitated. And just when I thought I had far too much work to do, another really lame project gets thrown my way. I tried to get out of it, both for my sake and because my staff thinks it's stupid. No dice though. A-R-G-H. Oh yeah, it's almost 2:00 AM in Salt Lake City and I'm at Kinko's because I need to upload stuff for work. Hopefully I'll get mugged on the way back to the hotel so I can take the rest of the week off and get out of that dumb-ass project.

Greetings from... ...the United Red Carpet Club in SFO. This place rules. I joined in New York since my flight was so early and when I got to SF I didn't want to waste time going to the office. So here I am working and blogging from the Red Carpet Club. Consider this a postcard of sorts. Bye!

On pizza and snitches I'm back in New York and I've had pizza for my last three meals. My tummy is so happy. I've missed real pizza so much. There's a ton of stuff at work that has been annoying me. It's become a big distraction since I'm trying to do a lot. I got edited by someone higher up, which I found incredibly annoying. It's not like I go and change the company's sales and marketing strategy. I was so irritated that I took my name off the byline. I made a comment about my ex-boss in an internal email and somebody in the department told him about it. So I've been getting hostile emails and ICQ messages from him. The comment wasn't even really derogatory and was in response to a point someone else made using him for backup. Anyway, I didn't need either of these things as I was trying to crank out thousands of words in the last two days. I meant to post this editorial by Arianna Huffington earlier in the week. It reaffirmed my decision ride an electric bike. My brief time in the city was surprisingly relaxing. With all the stuff going on (and the stuff not going on) in my life, the pace of Manhattan really helped me get lost and forget. It's such an amazing place. Before I left to Manhattan, I spent some time in San Francisco. I hung out with Rannie, which was rather nice. I haven't had much to give her lately, but I was happy we could spend some time in a non-work environment. Of course we went to Farley's. I gave Heidi a wristband. I needed one and I knew she wanted one too, so I stopped by the Puma store. She's single now.... I don't think I've ever been rejected by a girl and her best friend. Maybe I should go for Heidi. I had weird stuff with the girl again. I expect her to do these kinds of things, but it still hurts a bit. And she was surprised to hear that I don't count on her. Ironic that.

All I need is time, a moment that is mine I had a most delicious meal on Tuesday. Steve and I went over to Bryn's house for some curry. Mrs. Bryn made a kick-ass curry that nearly had me in tears. Spice rules. I brought over some lovely wine and Steve brought over a devilish cheesecake from Cheesecake Factory. Much to Bryn's chagrin, we watched Crossroads, the Britney Spears movie. Her giggle...her drawl...and her...uhm, timbre...she's so hot. After dinner Steve and I went to Starbucks since I needed caffeine to write a review. There was this cute goofy blond girl there. She was carrying boxes and spilled coffee on a customer. At that moment I fell in love with her. After we left Steve remarked, "The blond girl was cute. It's your fault that I now find goofy girls endearing." I'm paraphrasing, but it was pretty funny. So I'm in the middle of a ridiculous road trip. Yesterday I flew to San Francisco. Tonight I fly to New York. Monday I fly back to San Francisco. That same night I fly to Salt Lake City. Finally I fly back home on Tuesday night. It's been tough mixing up the traveling, meeting, and tons of writing I have to do. There's been stuff going on at the office that has been pissing me off. I truly do not have the time and patience. It's a good thing I'm not there because the debates have been so annoying that I'd either smack someone or quit. Oh well, at least I can have some pizza and see my family while I'm in New York. Still, I wish I had more free time.

Oh Canada I didn't do an ounce of work over the weekend. I'm still not sure how wise a decision that was. On one hand, I got to relax a bit. The Kid and Jenny came over. It was cool to just veg with them. The Kid has a remarkable ability to keep everything extremely lighthearted, yet still interject some intelligent conversation. Part of it is that he's 19. Part of it is that he's pretty damn smart. Oh yeah, the other part of the equation is that I was at the office for 11 hours today and still had lots to do at home. That equation sure sucks. Steve, Jon, Jen, and I saw Bowling for Columbine. It's Michael Moore's latest documentary. Like his other stuff, it was really thought provoking (and yes, overwhelmingly liberal). I usually don't like thinking on that large a scale; it's much easier to deal with neurotic minutiae of everyday life. Anyway, the movie got me thinking about how crazy this country is -- particularly the violence and healthcare issues. People say, "America -- love it or leave it." There's certainly a lot I do love about America, but there's also so much wrong. Canada seems more aligned with my moral compass and I am extremely fond of Vancoucer. If I could find a job there, I think I'd move and apply for citizenship. Too bad Britney isn't Canadian. Otherwise I'd just marry her and be done with it. It's sounds like another one of my stupid ideas, but I feel pretty strongly about it. I believe in taking a stand, daring to be different, and perhaps daring to be great. There's so much ambivalence that doing something as simple as buying an electric car instead of a gas burner can really be a powerful statement. (Especially since that imbecile George W is backing GM and Chrysler's suit against California's clear-air committee...but I digress.) Moving to Canada would be an even bolder statement. By the way, car dealers suck. Next to NYC realtors, they're probably my least favorite people. Steve, Jon, and I went to the Toyota dealer to check out the electric RAV 4. The guy was a total ass. If I do end up getting that car, I'd try to find a better dealer in L.A. or San Diego because this guy was such a moron. My eGO hasn't arrived yet. Hopefully tomorrow so I can start terrorizing the streets of Irvine at 20 miles per hour -- and without burning fossil fuels. Maybe I better check out that Canadian citizenship test. I hope it's not too hard.

Burnout, girls whose names begin with the letter T, and other stuff Work is becoming difficult. There's a lot I love about my job, but lately the tough stuff has been overbearing. Holiday season is always stressful, but I've been assigned with loads of spreadsheets, presentations, and other tedious tasks. That isn't to say that those things aren't important, rather that the timing couldn't be worse. Plus I'm not getting to do as much of the stuff I'm good at because I have to spend time on these other assignments. It's frustrating. I'd be perfectly fine if I was just overworked from writing, editing, etc. These other things are making life not fun. Getting four hours of sleep a night, working weekends, and missing weddings shouldn't be happening. It's all making me tired of the game. I'm tired of web sites not getting as much respect as magazines. I'm tired of putting so much effort into a site that -- under present conditions -- can be number three at best. The last week was really difficult and the frustration I had in Tokyo hasn't disappeared completely. Hopefully things will get better or I'll turn burn before the holidays come. What's making it worse is that I feel so alone in Irvine. The only great friend I have down here is Steve, and I want to give him space to figure his own stuff out. I haven't seen Raina in a long time and I miss Kate so much.... Speaking of which, I went to Farley's this evening. It made me miss her more. I saw Tobie there. She looks really good and really happy. She quit smoking and I'm quite proud of her for it. Even though I miss her and seeing her makes me happy, it just doesn't spark like it used to. That's probably a good thing. I saw the girl there too. Actually, I went to Farley's with her. She got upset with me because of something I said. I don't regret it, because I meant it. I was telling her how I don't have people and places in Irvine that ease my heart. She said I should move back to San Francisco, to which I replied that it wouldn't matter many of the people I've leaned on are gone. So she asked, "What about me?" I quickly -- and that's probably where the mistake lies -- said, "I don't count on you." It sounds harsh and insensitive, but it stems from me being...well, wussy. I know she loves and cares about me, as I do her. It's just that there have been too many times in the past when I've really needed someone and she hasn't been there. And it breaks my heart because there's little I wouldn't do for her. So to protect myself, I've been trying not to count on her being there when I'm having a hard time. I think I'm going to write her a letter to explain. Even though she was fine when we parted, I didn't like that it was swept aside so easily. I think I was too soft and apologetic in letting it go. Part of me thinks the comment might be lingering in the back of her mind, while part of me thinks she's too insensitive for it to bother her. It's important to me that she knows how I feel. I'm not going to tell her to make her upset, but rather in hopes that it will strengthen our friendship...or at least her understanding of me.

Thank God it's Friday I just met my dream girl. Oh my God! She is so unbelievably cool and cute and sporty and sexy and charming. Her name is Dallas Friday and she's a professional wakeboarder. I got to watch her do her thing at Lake Mead. Like all wakeboarders, her arms and legs are incredibly toned -- major swoonage there. She's 5' of pure adorability. Plus, she's a bit of a bad girl; after her set, she smoked a cigarette! Unfortunately she's 16...but I can keep dreaming for the next two years. Wow.

On going home and electric cars I missed a really good friend's wedding today because of work and travel. You have no idea how much of an @$$hole I feel about it. With the holiday games rolling in, the usual junkets, and my staff being short an editor, there was just no way I could swing it. I had so much work to do this weekend. Yuck. I can't complain about the writing and playing, because that's always fun, but I had two monster spreadsheets to do. Double yuck. Oh well, at least I get to play around the world this week. I cancelled my end-of-the-week trip to Vegas though, because it was just too much. That and I should have an eGO Cycle 2 review unit coming in. Hopefully they let me keep it or give me a discount. Later this week I'll be in San Francisco. This is the first time I'm going to SF since Kate left. It's going to be so weird without her. I keep thinking, "Oh, I'll call Kate and we'll meet up at Farley's so she can watch me fawn over Tobie." But I can't do that anymore and it makes me sad. I miss her so much. She's in Minnesota starting a new life and Raina's in Taiwan. I don't have my two confidantes around. Check this: I'm thinking about leasing a car in December. Pretty crazy, huh? I'm sure the thought frightens all my San Francisco friends. Driving + Raymond is not a logical equation. Here's the kicker: I want this car. It's electric. It's good for the environment. It's incredibly efficient. Best of all, if I lease it before 2003 I'll get $3,000 a year for three years from the government plus an IRS rebate. I'm still not sure about it though. It would add a great deal of convenience, but insurance and monthly payments will be annoying. At least the upkeep costs of an electric car are much lower than a petrol burner. Right now, I'd say the chances of me actually getting it are 40/60. Then again, the chances of me living in a place like Irvine were even lower...and look at me now.

Quick binary Good: Coffeehouse Jenny isn't in high school (see 09/03). Bad: Coffeehouse Jenny has a boyfriend. Oh well. At least I got a couple of free lattes out of the deal. I miss Tobie.