lead role in a cage

Taking the marks we have examined so far, is there any art involved in using the apostrophe? No. Using the apostrophe correctly is a mere negative proof; it tells the world you are not a thicko. The comma, while less subject to universal rules, is still a utilitarian mark, racing about with its ears back, trying to serve both the sense and the sound of the sentence -- and of course wearing itself to a frazzle for a modest bowl of Chum. Using the comma well announces that you have an ear for sense and rhythm, confidence in your style and proper respect for your reader, but it does not mark you out as master of your craft.

But colons and semicolons -- well, they are in a different league, my dear! They give such lift! Assuming a sentence rises into the air with the initial capital letter and lands with a softish bump at the full stop, the humble comma can keep the sentence aloft all right, like this, UP, for hours if necessary, UP, like this, UP, sort-of bouncing, UP, and then falling down, and then UP it goes again, assuming you have enough additional things to say, although in the end you may run out of ideas and then you have to roll along the ground with no commas at all until some sort of surface resistance takes over and you run out of steam anyway and then with the help of three dots ... you stop. But the thermals that benignly waft our sentences to new altitudes -- that allow us to coast on air, and loop-the-loop, suspending the laws of gravity -- well, they are the colons and semi-colons. If you don't believe me, ask Virginia Woolf.

Eats, Shoots and Leaves:
The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation
Lynne Truss

mainly wanna win the game

i have been wanting a small herb garden for many years now. in the whimsical land of erin, i have a lovely window box in front of my kitchen sink. in reality, i have a second storey apartment with a small back patio. but this delight below could work! the author even grew tomatoes in hers.

maybe you could break my heart next summer

CBC News - World - Carlsberg employees decry limits on beer at work

like two ships passing in the night, my dream job appears just as it is being shut down.

twenty-something's just a state of mind

as it turned out i continued to cheat and still went for wings and beer on monday. that's how i roll. no self-control, all self-indulgence.

i turned to books to justify my actions. the diet cure explains why it's not my fault that i couldn't stay away from bad food for thirty days. it also claims to be able to fix me within twenty-four hours with amino acids.

guilt absolved.

in far more exciting news, tomorrow is my last day at the hair salon where i have been working. squeezed in my final free cut this afternoon. i doubt i shall ever have such fancy hair again. it's impressive - an asymmetrical bob in red with a copper panel and some eggplant in my bangs. that's right. i'm a rock star.

i really enjoy trying out new jobs. it has been quite educational to be at carreiro. i have a level of comfort with hair salons and stylists, and even my own hair, that i never imagined before. i would gladly jump around to new entry level jobs every couple of months. learn the ropes, get comfortable, then move on. think that's a touch of a.d.d. or just plain old fear and laziness?

as it is, i'm back to square one - time to suck it up and put myself out there for some real grown up work in design. eek!

swallowing glass just to stay pure

i'm finishing my thirty days as tho i haven't cheated for three of them. then i'm going to go for celebratory wings and beer.

i have decided.

strangely, i haven't even really been craving sugar. mostly it has been the inconvenience of having to properly prepare something myself that is the challenge. when i'm hungry, i want something now. pronto. stat. popping something in the toaster seems too long. which is silly. i need to (a) have good things on hand for when that feeling strikes and (b) get over the instant gratification i've become accustomed to. i suppose that just takes time and effort. same as anything else that is good for you.

one thing i am totally in love with is rice noodles. i prefer them to even whole wheat or multi grain pasta. so yummy. and quick to prepare. last night i had them with grilled tofu and zucchini and sun dried tomatoes. mmmm that reminds me... i have leftovers! my favourite.

checked my pulse and fever too

i just ate an entire cadbury burnt almond dark chocolate bar. i think i'm pms-ing and completely unreasonable. i'll try again in a couple days.

let me walk down your street

i blew it. two days in a row actually. went to an oscars party sunday and decided i had earned an indulgence (yes, i just make up rules to suit myself as i go along). i had a piece of cheesecake and a few other things, like feta in my salad. today i was supposed to be back at it. i was fine most of the day but i came home (from another remilio sheen show! delightful tho not quite as amazing as the first.) and my body demanded wendy's. quite honestly, i just didn't have the energy to resist anymore.

the most frustrating part is that (aside from the cheesecake) the indulgences were rather disappointing. they didn't satisfy me deeply. mostly they make me mad that i wasted cheating on something other than beer. and now i feel kinda ill.

so now the decision... start over with 30 days to go? keep going and pretend this never happened? or give up altogether? i should probably wait til morning to decide. life has more hope in the morning.