Today was quite the day. Since Karel had parental obligations, I thought it would be fun to take his out-of-state guests - his girlfriend, the fabulous Dawn, and our mutual friend the bubbly Kim - for a day of Portland fun. So the three of us plus my demonspawn had a busy day.

First, we hit the first annual Portland Flugtag! Since it was a much hotter day than I’d been prepared for, we only stayed for about the first 5 teams, but at least we did get to see the winners go into the drink. We arrived early to find decent seating, and by the time we left (about an hour after the official start), the crowd was at capacity, with more waiting to get in. Next year, I will definitely bring sunscreen, comfy ground padding, water, and probably sunshade of some kind. Then we can stay for the whole show fairly comfortably. But we were able to see enough crazy Northwest silliness to make it worthwhile, and we got to introduce Kim to the wonder that is elephant ears!

Then we went to the Saturday Market, most of which is held under the Burnside Bridge, next to the Skidmore Fountain Building (which, appropriately enough, is next to the Skidmore Fountain). I had planned on only window-shopping, but when I saw a stand that had samples of jelly, I had to try a few. The marionberry was good enough that I bought a pint for Geoffrey - and then I saw something I’d never heard of: garlic jelly. Oh. My. Gods. It’s sweet but incredibly garlicky, and I’m sure it will be equally tasty as a glaze for meats as it is on bread. I love it! (Next thing you know, I’ll be trying garlic ice cream.)

Then we went to Mecca, aka Powell’s City of Books. As usual, I couldn’t restrain myself from dropping a C-note…which is why I rarely step through those hallowed doors (though at least half of that, admittedly, was a purchase for a friend who lives in South freaking Dakota, and obviously has little access to good bookstores). I’m sure we would all have loved to stay longer than an hour, but we were all tired, foot-sore, sunburned, and vaguely dehydrated. I’m sure we’ll have to drag Kim back for another visit before she goes back to New York City.

I should sleep well tonight, after all that excitement - especially as it was, for me, on not nearly enough sleep. It was certainly worth it, though - my date last night was utterly delightful, and not just the snuggly snogging either!

I had to leave work early today, due to the over-24-hour-long migraine that got increasingly worse under florescent lights. Driving straight to the pharmacy after calling them to refill my Imitrex (they very nicely surprised me by refilling my Maxalt, too), I discovered that summer tops are on sale at Fred Meyer. Ooooh. I only owned 2 sleeveless tops, and one was a tank top (read: inappropriate for work), so I picked up a couple of black sleeveless tops with lovely embroidery detailing on them, for a whopping $15 for the two. Then I went straight home and shoved an Imitrex needle in my arm.

Now, well armed with migraine meds in my purse (in the event that the pesky - okay, murderous - pain comes back), I am getting ready for my date! With any luck, there will be fun, frolic, and food. I have a hovering suspicion this is going to be a blast.

As I called in sick due to migraine (for which medication didn’t help entirely, not to mention made me queasy), I am veging at home in the heat instead of in my nice air-conditioned office. Blech.

But Mari posted a list of things she’s done in her life - totally fantastic idea, Mari, and I might get ambitious enough to make a similar list! In the meanwhile, however, let’s see how many things I have in common with Mari (I’m bolding those).

Have you…

1. Gone to Sunday School (even us witches have an occasional childhood run-in with Christianity)
2. Flipped Pancakes without a spatula (successfully or not)
3. Won an academic award
4. Adopted a stray animal
5. Been fired from a job
6. Learned to play a musical instrument (a recorder in 5th grade, and not well, but I did learn it)
7. Drawn a Comic Strip or Book
8. Snuck out of the house
9. Been pulled over and NOT given a ticket or arrested
10. Had sex with a celebrity
11. Had a relationship with a celebrity
12. Been to a Broadway show on Broadway
13. Seen a bear in the wilderness
14. Eaten a bug or worm
15. Skipped out on paying a restuarnt bill
16. Opened a present early, resealed it then acted surprised
17. Cheated on a significant other
18. Had a romantic or sexual Internet relationship that transitioned to real life
19. Gone on a Limo ride
20. Received flowers delivered by a florist
21. Sent flowers to someone, just because
22. Created an Amazon Dot Com wishlist
23. Been ordered by authorities to seek counseling or therapy
24. Slept in your car overnight
25. Performed surgery
26. Expressed sincere love or gratitude to your parental unit(s)
27. Played a game of Monopoly that lasted more than 6 hours
28. Made Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings (Turkey, Stuffing, etc.)
29. Been the inspiration or subject of a poem or fictional story (and a song, too)
30. Had sex with 2 or more people (separate events) within a 12 hour period in 2 different time zones (now I am just showing off *laugh*)
31. Been to a strip club
32. Gotten in a fist fight
33. Had sex in a car
34. Been to the Grand Canyon
35. Gone backstage at a concert
36. Fired a gun
37. Eaten a non-traditional animal (not cow, sheep, chicken, fish, turkey, etc.)
38. Gotten a computer virus (not me personally, but my computer *grin*)
39. Slept for more than 12 hours
40. Dressed up in a costume and gone someplace mundane
41. Flown first class
42. Been yelled at by security at Disneyland
43. Tried out for a game show
44. Had a summer romance
45. Built a sandcastle
46. Caught a fish and eaten it
47. Dug for buried treasure
48. Been Scuba diving or snorkeling
49. Been the recipient of a surprise party
50. Had a loved one serenade you, accompanied by a musical instrument
51. Been mistaken for someone else for more than 10 seconds
52. Pawned anything at a Pawn Shop
53. Won a jackpot at a casino
54. Gotten BINGO at a Bingo Parlor
55. Been bitten by a dog
57. Considered someone to be a best friend or significant other, even though you have never met in person (Lyse & I started out as penpals & were best friends over the phone before I ever met her!)
58. Participated in a comedy Open Mic night
59. Spit in someone’s face
60. Been treated in an ER
61. Taken pictures even though you weren’t supposed to
62. Drunk from a waterhose
63. Caught a fly ball
64. Been stuck on an amusement park ride
65. Been trapped in an elevator
66. Been stung by a bee
67. Blown something up (that wasn’t meant to be blown up) (I’m thinking condom, blowing it up with air rather than explosives)
68. Been on Television
69. Had a child or pet named after you
70. Had surgery that required a hospital stay

Most people seem to have a piece of music that gets their motor revved, gets their energy up, and maybe even lifts their spirits when all seems bleak. My sweetie calls it “your fight song” - the music that recharges you and gets you ready to take on the next challenge.

What is your fight song?

Mine would have to be either “All Fired Up” or “Invincible” - both by Pat Benatar.

As it was yet another extended workday for me at Death Star Int’l, this being the third consecutive week of full-time hours (helping out another department in addition to my regular shift), during my lunch break I decided to check my email at one of the “public use” computers the company provides for employees on breaks and before or after their shift. Normally I wouldn’t bother - even I am not so manic about checking my email that I need to do it before, during, and after work - but I was hoping there’d be a particular email in my inbox. (Yes, there was! *happy dance*)

Sometime later, I got an email (on my work account) from a supervisor I’ve never met, saying my wallet had been found on the floor in the room where the public ‘puters are, and that he would bring it to my desk. I was extremely glad - especially since I hadn’t realized my wallet had fallen out of my bag! It would have truly sucked to drive home and then find out later that I didn’t have my driver’s license, insurance card, or any other important things. Like my Visa card.

I tactfully waited until after the supervisor who dropped off my wallet had left before I opened it up. I had about $25 cash in there. It was still there! Yay for whoever found my wallet & turned it in! Yay for honesty! Yay for Lil not losing my lunch & coffee money for the rest of the week! (Especially yay for Lil not having to go without caffeine…that would be bad, bad, very bad.) I don’t know if it was karma or luck or what, but I am thanking various deities a lot tonight!

The intruigingly mysterious Belle de Jour has posted a brilliant entry about the rules for Friends With Benefits. Bloody brilliant, I must say. Or to be more American about it -

Hell yes! And can I get a hallelujah from the chorus?!

Found this at the site of the fun, fascinating, fabulous Laura…

Bold the ones you’ve done. Then at the end, add five more things - three that you’ve done, two that you wish you’d done.

01. Buy everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swim with wild dolphins
03. Climb a mountain
04. Take a Ferrari for a test drive
05. See the Pyramids at night
06. Hold a tarantula
07. Take a candlelit bath with someone
08. Say ‘I love you’ and mean it
09. Hug a tree
10. Do a striptease
11. Do a bungee or parachute jump
12. Visit Paris
13. Watch a lightning storm at sea
14. Clean behind the fridge
15. Stay up all night long, and watch the sun rise
16. Ask the/a question you’ve always been too embarrassed to ask
17. See the Northern Lights
18. Go to a huge sports game - football, rugby, baseball, American football, etc
19. Create your own masterpiece
20. Grow and eat your own vegetables
21. Touch an iceberg
22. Have an office relationship
23. Sleep under the stars
24. Compromise
25. Change a baby’s nappy/diaper
26. Take a ride in a hot air balloon
27. Watch a meteor shower
28. Get drunk on champagne
29. Take a luxury holiday
30. Give more than you can afford to charity
31. Look up at the night sky through a telescope
32. Have an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
33. Have a food fight
34. Bet on a winning horse
35. Take a sick day when you’re not ill
36. Get a pet
37. Ask a stranger out
38. Have a snowball fight
39. Photocopy your bottom on the office photocopier
40. Scream as loudly as you possibly can
41. Hold a lamb
42. Enact a favorite fantasy
43. Take a midnight skinny dip
44. Hear the words ‘I love you’
45. Fly on Concorde
46. Take an ice cold bath
47. Have a meaningful conversation with a beggar
48. See a total eclipse
49. Ride a roller coaster
50. Hit a home run
51. Fit three weeks miraculously into three days
52. Dance like a fool and not care who’s looking
53. Adopt an accent for an entire day
54. Visit the birthplace of your ancestors
55. Gave a grand romance with costumes and everything
56. Made up a screenname to stalk someone
57. Gone shopping for no reason
58. Actually feel happy about your life, even for just a moment
59. Just be held
60. Have an adventure where nothing goes as planned
61. Kissed someone you truly wanted to kiss
62. Went clubbing and thought to yourself “I could out-dance them if i wanted to”
63. Called your relatives by their relationship in another language
64. Have two hard drives for your computer
65. Cuddled
66. Visited all 50 states
67. Love your job
68. Taken care of someone who was shit faced
69. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
70. Have amazing friends
71. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
72. Swim during a formal
73. Stolen a sign
74. Backpacked in Europe
75. Taken a road-trip
76. Rock climbing
77. Nose piercing
78. Midnight walk on the beach
79. Sky diving
80. Visit Ireland
81. Saw what you wanted and did all it took to seize it
82. Fell in love then fell harder and faster from heartbreak
83. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had lunch/dinner with them
84. Visit and/or tour Japan
85. Benchpress your own weight
86. Stolen from your parents
87. Alphabetized your records
89. Pretended to be a superhero
90. Sang karaoke
91. Made someone cry for no good reason
92. Lounged around in bed all day
93. Posed nude in front of a room full of strangers
94. Dressed sexy for no reason
95. Got it on to “Let’s Get It On” by Marvin Gaye
96. Kissed in the rain
97. Played in the mud
98. Played in the rain
99. Gone to a drive-in theater
100. Done something you should regret, but don’t
101. Visited the Great Wall of China
102. Fell in love with a job that has nothing to do with the degree you’re pursuing
103. Discovered that someone who’s not supposed to have known about your blog has discovered your blog
104. Dropped Windows in favor of something better
105. Started a business
106. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
107. Toured ancient sites around the Mediterranean
108. Taken karate
109. Swordfought for the honor of a woman
110. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
111. Gotten married
112. Been in a movie
113. LARPed
114. Loved someone you shouldn’t have
115. Kissed someone so passionately it made them dizzy
116. Gotten divorced
117. Had sex at the office
118. Surprised yourself with a talent you didn’t know you had
119. Been to Macchu Picchu
120. Gone without food for 5 days
121. Never left the continental United States
122. Made cookies from scratch
123. Won first prize in a costume contest
124. Ridden a gondola in Venice
125. Gotten a tattoo
126. Got another tattoo the next day because you didn’t feel balanced
127. Find that the texture of some materials can turn you on
128. Rafted the Snake River
129. Blazed it up at Burning Man
130. Gotten flowers for no reason
131. Masturbated in a public place
132. Gotten so drunk you don’t remember anything
133. Been addicted to some form of illegal drug
134. Traveled the world
135. Performed onstage with a famous symphony orchestra
136. Been to Las Vegas
137. Met Madonna
138. Recorded music
139. Eaten Shark
140. Had a one night stand
141. Gone to Thailand
142. Courage to speak my mind
143. Saw Robert Smith and Siouxsie live
144. Bought a house
145. Earned my degree
146. Broke my neck
147. Been in a combat zone
148. Buried my father
149. Buried my mother
150. Was adopted
151. Am the oldest child in my family
152. Had the chicken pox
153. Ran barefoot in the woods
154. Lived on the beach by the ocean
155. Vacationed in Hawaii
156. Had sex on the 50-yard line of a football field
157. Had sex on a ferry crossing international waters
158. Told my parents I was smoking pot
159. Seen a Shakespearean play in Stratford
160. Able to read Tolstoy in Russian
161. Breastfed a baby
162. Fired an automatic weapon
163. Slept between two people I really loved
164. Written a book that was published
165. Had a perfect credit rating

Possibly there may be some polyamorous people who’ve had luck with PolyMatchMaker, but apparently I am not one of them. Nor, I suspect, will I become one of them anytime soon.

Thus far, I’ve gotten messages from people over 40, people who aren’t local, people who lack the ability to spell (or use a spell-checker), and even an email to my Hotmail - which is not listed in my PMM profile, but is available from my website, which is listed - that combined several of those things and mentioned that they’d seen my profile on PMM but didn’t mention theirs. I don’t answer emails from people who seem to expect me to email them without any information about them other than their a/s/l. (For those who’ve been lucky enough to avoid that sort of thing online, a/s/l stands for “age/sex/location” and is often used as an online come-on. Very fucking tacky.)

I suppose I should be grateful that I’ve gotten any messages at all. I’m seriously thinking of deleting my solo profile, and just leaving the one that Geoffrey & I have together. At least that one’s gotten a couple of vaguely promising replies, albeit of the “just friends” variety.

The war on porn amuses me. (Hey, Mari posted about it, and Belle did, and Erosblog did, and Mistress Matisse is even linked on their site…what can I say, I had to pipe up with my 2 cents. *grin*)

Porn doesn’t harm my children - porn FEEDS my children! Since a good share of our household income comes from one of their parents working as a clerk in an adult store - without which income we’d be in rather dire straights - it amuses me to see websites where idiotic claims such as “Pornography is more addictive than alcohol, cigarettes or illicit drugs” are made with absolutely no substantiation. (And trust me, cigarettes are far more addictive than porn. If porn can even be said to be addictive in any similar way to the way that alcohol, cigarettes, or drugs are - which is bullshit, since those are physical addictions. Nobody ever had the DTs without their porn. Nobody ever died without their porn fix like a junkie without his heroin.)

Let’s check out some of that article’s other silly claims:

“Nine in 10 children ages 8 to 16 have viewed porn online - most of them by accident.”

I’m sure 90% of those under age 17 have viewed porn online - just as, thirty years ago, 90% of those under age 17 had viewed porn somewhere: their big brother’s Penthouse magazine, their best friend’s parents’ video collection when no adults were home, or (in my particular case *grin*) while snooping through the bookshelf at a house where they were babysitting. Sexually-explicit material has never been difficult for kids & teenagers to get ahold of, people. Quit being so fucking naive.

And, speaking of naive, do you think the kids who’ve admitted to seeing porn online are going to admit it wasn’t an accident?! With the technological sophistication of the average junior high schooler these days, I don’t believe for one second that “most” porn viewed by kids under 17 was “accidental.”

“The average age of first exposure to Web porn is 11.”

This statistic - again, unsubstantiated as to where it came from - tells me there are a lot of parents out there not supervising their kids’ online activities. (And ya gotta wonder, if they’re not supervising their kids online in their own homes, what about when the kids are actually out of the house?!) To the best of my knowledge, nobody has started a “war on bad parenting.” As one of my favorite sayings goes, “Gun control isn’t needed as much as parental control.”

“Nearly half of all children ages 11 to 17 with an Internet connection surf for porn sites.”

I bet that well over half of all 14- to 17-year-olds have indeed surfed for porn online (hi, you’re stupid if you think teens aren’t incredibly interested in sex - I “surfed for porn” in my public library when I was 14, and guess what? I found it, too), but I bet a lot less than half of the 11- to 13-year-olds have. Mark Twain once said there are 3 types of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics. Ya know what? You can make statistics say almost anything you want to by setting the parameters to meet your agenda, and it’s pretty obvious what the “war on porn” people’s agenda is: to scare parents into believing the idiotic idea that the adult industry targets children as victims, because these groups want to control what other adults can obtain - notably, sexually-explicit material that they don’t approve of!

And doesn’t this statistic rather contradict the earlier statement that “Nine in 10 children ages 8 to 16 have viewed porn online - most of them by accident.”? You can’t have it both ways - that most porn viewed by kids online is accidental and that nearly half of all kids have deliberately surfed for porn.

“One in 5 children ages 10 to 17 has received sexual solicitations while on the Internet.”

Guess what, geniuses? One in 5 children ages 10 to 17 has been sexually molested in real fucking life, and I don’t see a “war on pedophiles” getting a smidgen as much attention. And as for the theory that porn (whether child porn or not) causes pedophilia? Bullshit - the law of supply-and-demand shows that there wouldn’t be a supply if there wasn’t a demand. Besides, where do you think pedophiles came from back in the days of the Puritans? They most assuredly didn’t have a copious supply of child porn back then, but you can bet there were plenty of slimeballs molesting kids.

“Kids can bypass most blocking software with a single click of the mouse.”

You don’t say? Could that mean that your kids are more computer literate than you are? Could that mean that you’re being lazy parents who lack self-accountability if you trust software to do your job of supervising your kids’ activities? Could that mean that you’ve been suckered into spending a ton of money on software that’s essentially pointless? My heart bleeds for you.

I’m very fiercely protective of my 11- to 15-year-old daughters. I don’t think they’re in danger from porn. I think they’re in danger from professional busybodies who want to take their rights and freedoms and education away from them.

Geoffrey and I celebrated our fifth anniversary of being a couple today, by going to Atlas Tattoo and getting inked. As usual, my tattoo artist Jennifer did a phenomenal job! And the artist that Geoffrey chose, Jerry Ware, did a truly gorgeous job on his tat, also. Together we chose designs that reflected something meaningful about one other, so now we’ll carry a piece of each other everywhere we go.

I had to stop at the minimart near my house this afternoon, just after I’d taken the protective bandage off. While I was standing in line, a guy who’d already checked out his items walked up to me and asked if my ink was new. (Duh. It’s red, inflamed, and slathered over with A&D ointment - what do you think?) The conversation went like this:

Him: It’s really nice. Where’d you get it?
Me: Atlas Tattoo, over on Broadway.
Him: Wow, how much was it?
Me: It was $180; it took an hour & a half.
Him: It’s a great design, did you pick it out at the shop?
Me: No, my boyfriend and I designed it together.
Him: Cool, looks great, bye.

And he was out the door faster than a greased weasel. Funny, how he was totally checking me out and groovin’ on the conversation until I said the magic “b” word! *snicker*

(Getting tattoos on a 100-plus degree day may not have been exactly brilliant, but hey, it’s an anniversary thing. At 10 pm, it’s 86 degrees outside on my front porch, and 94 degrees inside my house.)

I will have to badger my Number One Internet Fanboy to bring his digital camera over so I can posts pics! *grin*