I am a grumpy gus today. My mother is in complete turmoil, dealing with harassment from her neighbours and going loopy because of it. Chris has no patience for her idiosyncrasies, which tears me down the middle. I find I have to defend each of them against one another frequently. I think I am going to turn off my phone tonight and curl up with Sophie Kinsella's new book (taking a break to watch Dawson's, of course). I am finally going to make a trip to the comic shop tomorrow...Astonishing X-Men is finally out and I am behind on Ulitmate X-Men by a couple of issues. House of M got pushed back a week, so I guess I'll have to go again next week...grrr, I hate late comics.

Wheew...what a crazy morning. Everybody and their uncle needs a service appointment NOW. Another quiet weekend...did a bit of shopping and housework, that's about it. I'm glad I don't live in New Orleans with this wacky hurricane...although I do have a great mental image of Anne Rice paddling down the streets floating on a coffin. My mother has now called me 10 days in a row...this may sound harsh, but she has got to lighten up and cut down her "talk-to-daughter" addiction (maybe every other day?).

TGIF. What a long, boring week. I made my favourite dinner last night-fajitas-but they didn't turn out that great, although Chris really liked them. After some post-coital Dawson's Creek and Buffy, I tossed for about 3 hours before finally falling asleep. Mike was picking me up early for work, so I was seriously dragging my ass this morning. My mother has now decided that she wants to move to be closer to me, so that should be interesting. Not necessarily a bad thing, but it could lead to more headaches for me. I think my dad is back from his golf holiday in Mont Tremblant, so we'll see how long it takes him to call me. It's sad when your father lives a 1/2 hour away, yet you only see him twice a year. Oh, well...c'est la vie. No big plans for the weekend-I have to work on some issue summaries and some serious housework.

Hmmm...the urge to commit matricide is sometimes overwhelming. I love my mother dearly, but she is driving me cuckoo. She has gotten herself a unlimited long-distance plan, so she is calling me everyday. And then squawks that I'm not talkative. How much can there be to talk about when she never goes anywhere or does anything, and all I do is work, eat and sleep? And her paranoia is getting bad again, as all her neighbours are out to get her and make her life misable, people are watching her, etc. I understand mental illness, being a long-time GAD and depression sufferer myself, but at times her paranoia gets tiresome. Chris is going through a rough patch again, so the stress of dealing with two people who are having mental issues is getting to me. Especially since I have to closely monitor my own feelings of anxiety and depression. I am my mother's only outlet, as she has no friends or family around...just me. I feel like I'm being pulled in all directions, as Chris gets frustrated that she is so dependent on me and I'm conflicted between feeling obligated to come to her rescue and telling her she has to find other people to rely on. Times like this I wish I liked to drink...BTW, the psychic was cancelled for Friday night, so much for any enlightening predictions.

Boring night last night. We went grocery shopping (god, I would be rich is I didn't have to eat) and another quiet night in. I am thoroughly hooked on Dawson's Creek on Razer...it's quite pathetic. I now have a nightly TV schedule of 3rd Watch (if I get home in time), ST:Voyager, CSI, Dawson's Creek and Buffy (if I stay up that late). Definitely becoming a sofa spud. I've been buying like mad on Ebay again...between filling in my comic book collection and Boyds Bears, it's a little excessive. I also bought Chris a Christopher Walken "More Cowbell" shirt, as I have been listening to him quote the damn SNL skit for weeks now.

My brat birds...gotta love them.

Do you ever lie awake wondering...what the hell has happened to my life? I've been doing that a lot lately. The big 3-0 is approaching fast and I am concerned that it's not going to be any better from this point on. Which is sad...because it rather sucks right now. I'm in a low paying job, and my limited education limits the opportunities out there. I'd love to go back to school, but paying all the bills makes it impossible to even afford to go part-time. I am unmarried and live alone (aside from my wacky avian friends) and it looks like it will be that way for quite a while. I just feel like there is not a lot out there to look forward to...that this is as good as it gets. (sigh) Well, enough self-pity. My friend Carolyn is supposed to be having a psychic over on Friday. I saw this gal a few months ago, but I wasn't sure what to think of her predictions. She told me I would be engaged by year's end, but not necessarily to my current partner and that there was a "secret admirer" waiting in the wings to sweep me off my feet. I also apparently have a "totem"-a big orange cat that watches over me(great, I'm being guarded by Garfield). It shall be interesting to see what her predicitons are this time and if they are consistent.

Monday morning...yippee. Prelude to another week of whining customers and bitching co-workers. The weekend was pretty good-we saw "Batman Begins" yesterday. I loved this movie--it breathed life back into the flailing "Batman" franchise. Christian Bale was brilliant, and Katie Holmes wasn't nearly as annoying as I thought she would be. My female cockatiel laid another bloody egg, but so far seems to have no ill effects. I started another damn diet today...heaven help Chris as I get ridiculously moody when I'm deprived of food.

Insomnia sucks. I think I managed about 3 hours sleep between tossing around, reading Harry Potter and the HBP and listening to music. Tonight will be a trazedone night, for sure. Chris and I had our usual quiet night in, eating lasagna and watching Voyager and Dawson's Creek. I love this new Razer station--DC and Buffy every night, as well as Roswell on the weekends. I abhor reality TV and most of the new programs on, so I have to rely on decent reruns to amuse me. Speaking of amusement, we finally saw the Fantastic Four movie. I must say, I really loved this movie. I thought it maintained the spirit of the comic book really well, even if they had to change some of the characters, like Doom's role. Chris loves Jessica Alba, so that certainly kept him riveted to the screen. The guy who played Johnny was damned hot, so I had some eye candy as well.

Well, I feel like I have been run over by a steamroller. I hosted one of my new vehicle owner orientation clinics last night and had a great turn out (33). After hauling 6 cases of windshield washer fluid (giveaways), I feel like I've been pile-driven by a pro-wrestler. This was the biggest turnout we have had, but I doubt much will said about it. In the automotive industry, you rarely get any recognition for anything unless you have a penis, and I am lacking in that department. On a brighter note, there's leftover spinach dip and Roma pizza, so at least I have something to munch on at my desk this morning.

Hmmm...not sure what to write. Blogs seem to be hugely popular at present, but I wonder if I have anything of value to contribute. Then again, Kevin Smith's blog generally opens with whatever his first bodily function of the day is, so I guess value is a matter of perspective.