I like quotes. I collect the funny ones for my taglines collection, and store them in a wonderful little program that is (most appropriately) called the Kookie Jar.

I also like Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Luckily, lots of other people do, too – and many of them have webpages of quotes from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. This makes me very happy.

So when I was checking out one of the umpty-zillion webpages of quotes collected from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I found this one – which struck me as being applicable to entirely too many situations in my life, at various points in time:

Anya: “I’m just trying to tell you that we have nothing in common besides both of us liking your penis, and now I don’t even have that!”

Tee hee!

The other day I went over to the Diary-X site to write myself a journal entry there. I’ve been keeping my long-form journal there since December of 2001 (well, technically I hosted the pages on my own site for a while, but it soon became clear that it was a bit more hassle than I wanted to deal with, and a few months later I put everything on Diary-X). You can imagine my surprise when I saw a note stating that the Diary-X site suffered a massive drive failure, and the site owner isn’t sure the data can be recovered even with the very expensive recovery procedure he’s contracted out to have done.

My first reaction, as you might imagine, was something along the lines of, “Oh crap, that’s over 4 years of my life I’ve recorded there, probably lost forever!” After a minute or two, though, sensibility took over and reminded me that this isn’t the first time something like this has happened. Or even the second or third time.

And now for something completely TMI…

For those of you who basically have this attitude when it comes to the holiday that is frantically celebrated by many Americans (I would hope that most of the rest of the world is less susceptible), here’s a little something to warm your heart:

But there actually is a reason to celebrate today! It’s Oregon’s birthday!!! That’s right, today Oregon turns 147. (And, in my opinion, she doesn’t look a day over 125.)

And yes, we do have the lamest state slogan ever. *sigh* (However, we also have the coolest state flag – the only one with different images on each side!)

I can’t decide if this is more gross or creepy. I’m also vaguely glad I haven’t seen the movies that these characters are from…

Anyway, here are some Valentines cards for the sick-minded:

Hardcore Valentines

Oh yeah, these are probably not work-safe, despite the lack of nudity.

My weekend thus far, with only a couple of exceptions, has been all about the excitement in Torino – the Winter Olympics. I watched most of the opening ceremonies Friday night, except for the hour that Battlestar Galactica was on. I must say, the opening ceremonies were seriously strange…but then, when the Olympics are held in Europe, they always are. Maybe the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Games will be more spectacular without being flat-out weird. I’m tempted to plan the blow-out extravaganza vacation around the next Winter Olympics, seeing as how it’s practically in my backyard (well, it’s only 300 miles away).

This morning, Anxiety & I went out to the Cat Adoption Team no-kill shelter for some volunteering. It was fun, although the first cage I helped clean out was occupied by a kitty who was quite territorial and let me know it, with an all-out slash of the claws – got me bleeding on 3 fingers! The rest of the time was pretty mellow, and Anxiety was beside herself in delight at getting to pet so many kitties, most of whom were very appreciative of the affection.

It’s a little odd, that I don’t like cold weather but I love winter sports – at least I love watching them, since the only one I’ve actually done is figure skating (and me on ice skates? not what I’d call a pretty sight). I would love to try luge, or skeleton…mmm, I get tingly just thinking about it. So, those are my favorites: figure skating, luge, and skeleton – but I’ll happily watch any of the sports of the Winter Olympics! Well, except hockey…it just leaves me cold (pun intended). And the cats love the Olympics, because they get lots of lap time & pettings!

So I’m headed back to my cozy sofa with a cup of coffee and my crocheting, to watch amazing competitors do phenomenal things on ice & snow. More skating and skiing and luge, oh my!

The first thing I thought when I saw this book in the bookstore was, “Damn, I should have written that.” Later, of course, I realized why I hadn’t: I’m devotedly a solitary Pagan, and not much for spellwork anyway (although I love rituals, I’m not so keen on spells), and I’m probably a wee bit too cynical about polyamory to treat the subject as fairly as it deserves. But I bought the book, since I couldn’t hardly not buy it!

Pagan Polyamory: Becoming a Tribe of Hearts by Raven Kaldera is simply a wonderful book. I highly recommend it to anyone who is Pagan, or polyamorous, and most emphatically to those who are both!

The book is extremely well-balanced; about 1/3 regards polyamory, about another 1/3 regards Paganism, and the remaining 1/3 addresses both topics as they are (or can be) intertwined. If you’re Pagan but not poly, you can benefit immensely from the Pagan material on its own merits, and it’s a good idea to be familiar with the polyamorous information – perhaps you’ll do a handfasting someday where there are more than 2 people involved, or you may join a coven or partake in a ritual involving some polyamorous people. Likewise, if you’re poly but not Pagan, you’ll find excellent material on polyamory, and it’s a great way to learn about polyamory as Pagans practice it – because there are a lot of polyamorous Pagans out there, and you might end up dating one! I’m a perfect example: of my two boyfriends, one is Pagan and one isn’t.

One of the things I most liked about this book is that it’s surprisingly comprehensive. Of course, no book can include every smidgen of information on a given topic, but this one at least touches on almost every topic that a poly Pagan might want to have covered – and has nifty extras, like the text of the famous poly essay A Bouquet of Lovers by Morning Glory Zell-Ravenheart, and the author’s own excellent essay “Pagan Festival Polyamory Etiquette, or How to Not Screw Up in Front of the Entire Pagan Community.”

Included in the book are chapters on communication, healthy conflict, sexual ethics, the perils of NRE, boundaries & agreements, issues involving family & children, and a whole lot more. Unlike most books on polyamory (or Paganism, for that matter), I literally couldn’t find anything to disagree with in the whole book! While there was the occasional tidbit here or there that wouldn’t work for me personally, there wasn’t anything I couldn’t see as being good information to have in general, which reflects accurately and sensibly how polyamory and/or Paganism is practiced by some individuals, and which would be valueable knowledge to keep in mind when dealing with others who are polyamorous and/or Pagan. That’s a seriously impressive achievement right there.

(I reviewed this book today because I was updating my personal Guide to Polyamory, and it reminded me that I’d bought this book a few weeks ago and promised myself I’d give it the sparkling reviews it deserves in a timely manner. So go buy the book, because it’s terrific!)

I have a very nifty calendar of quotes from the absolutely wonderful book He’s Just Not That into You. I keep the calendar on my kitchen windowsill, since there it is guaranteed I will see it every day and remember to change the daily sheet. (I’ve noticed that sometimes the date is changed over when I look at it, which tells me other members of my household are actually reading the calendar & sometimes change it when they notice I haven’t.) A really kick-ass Gemini gal gave me the calendar for Xmas, and it’s definitely one of the few Xmas gifts I use (and enjoy!) every day.

Most days, when I see the new quote, I reflect on the wisdom & truth of that date’s particular message. I recall how I’ve managed to overlook that specific bit of wisdom in relationships in the past. I remind myself Not To Do It Again in current and future relationships. Oh, and I usually giggle, because most of the quotes are quite funny.

Today’s, however, was not only true and wise, but screamingly hilarious! The quote is taken from a section of the book that outlines the various excuses men give as to why they slept with (or cheated on) someone, notably the idiotic excuse of, “It was an accident.” (Sad to say, some women actually buy into this excuse as other-than-impossible.) Today’s calendar page says:

In a poll of twenty males, 100 percent of them said they have never accidentally slept with anyone. (But many of them wanted to know how this accident could occur, and how they can get involved in such an accident.)

I think I know at least a few men who’d like to know how to get involved in such an accident. *smirk*

The Triumph of the Moon: A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft by Ronald Hutton is an astounding tome. I’m the sort of Wiccan who loves in-depth, intelligent books – and this one certainly qualifies! It’s a paperback of 416 pages of very small font, with an additional 70 pages of footnotes & index.

However, it’s dry as the Sahara. No, drier.

And now for something completely TMI…

I’ve been meaning to write a review of my new Roomba, and thankfully Laura’s question on how well it works provided the needed fire lit under my ass. *grin*

I still remember fondly the stand-up comedy of Roseanne Barr, especially the part where she said, “I’ll vacuum when Sears comes out with a riding vacuum cleaner.” I’m not that bad, and sometimes I even like to vacuum…but it sure would be neat if I didn’t have to! Basically, that’s why I got the Roomba. Okay, I admit, I’m evil – I also thought it would be entertaining to watch the cats react to it. (They still run like the hounds of hell are chasing them every time I grind coffee beans, despite the fact that they hear this noise at least once a day! I have a hovering suspicion that long-term memory is not a common feline trait.)

Before I bought the Roomba, I went to several Internet sites that provided reviews by people who’ve made the purchase. The reviews seemed skewed at about 80% for, 20% against. One thing I noticed was the people who love it, really love it – and the reverse is true, as well. I may very well be one of the rare in-betweeners.

And now for something completely TMI…

Yes, I got my income tax refund! And just in time, too, because apparently the recipe for keyboard destruction is two rambunctious demonspawn and one cup of coffee (grrr). Best Buy was no help today; the only ergonomic keyboards they had were all wireless (in fact, they only had 1 keyboard of any kind that wasn’t wireless – WTF?), and I am not paying $60+ for a keyboard! I was cranky enough paying $40 for one at Office Max, and of course it’s not the same make or model as the last one I had, so I have to get used to the little differences in typing.

And I did get that Roomba I’ve been drooling over for months on end!!! The cats aren’t entirely sure what to make of it, but since it doesn’t really sound like a vacuum cleaner (more like a remote-control toy car), they’re not outright terrified. Hasani even follows it around, although he won’t get too close to it when it’s turned on. Zadya’s body language, on the other hand, suggests that she views it as the Antichrist. Neither one of them wanted to get close enough for piccies of them with the new ‘bot, but I did get this cute shot of them reassuring one another while the Roomba was running:

We also went shopping for pet items. The pyramid cat house (*smirk*) was 20% off, and I almost broke down & got it. I was also incredibly tempted by the kitty castle. Maybe next time, or if I ever actually do wind up as a Crazy Cat Lady. Instead, we got a basic kitty condo:

Of course, we also got Fido some treats – a new heatlamp, some rough rocks just for reptiles (since she seems to be having some minor problems with shedding this winter), and some fresh reptile carpet (which is rather like a scratchy felt).

Now I have to decide what to do about dinner….