The Great Gig In The Sky

"...And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why we need the space program."

Things Are Getting Better

Everything is going well. I have an appointment for an EMG coming up, my asthma meds are doing their job, therapy is going to interesting places and my blood sugar is settling down a bit. I've been getting lots of exercise again, and last night I even managed an hour at the gym for the first time since You Know When.

And last night, it snowed! The whole town was pale purple and I had to hover around 20 miles an hour on the highway or risk slippery death just getting home from the gym. Fantastic.

Last but not least, I'm back in contact with my father. The other day while I was in the shower, thinking thoughts the way I do, I realized that I want to know more about the guy and my own roots. So I sent him an email asking him to tell it to me. So far the results have been pretty interesting. My family has one fucked up backstory. I'm glad I took that shower.

Oot and Aboot

Today was Slack Day so I slept in, then only did the dishes and worked on the comic for most of the afternoon. When 6:30 rolled around, I did my usual pre-exercise stretches, dosed myself with Albuterol, ate a rubbery chunk of cold congealed oatmeal from the fridge (it was good, really) and took the Captain for a bike run in the bracing 20*f winds.

During the winter months, the sky is dark for most of my usual day. If my occasionally perverse sleep schedule sees fit to flip on me, I may not see the sun for a week or more. This is bad for biological/depression reasons, but I do love it. Especially when it snows (as it has for several days in a row, though nothing stuck for too long) and the clouds hang down low and take on the color of a bruise, and the snow turns blue and dim. You could walk through the woods without a flashlight on a night like that. Absolutely wonderful. On days when it's clear out and you can see stars during regular business hours, it never fails to remind me of the Night World levels of the original Super Mario Bros game. I even call it that, in my head. It feels more private and safe than summer nights when the sun stays up forever.

Meanwhile, our bike run was going pretty well. The Captain was exasperated with my slow pace and started pulling me pretty hard via his harness. The easier to tire you out, my dear. We rode a little more than two miles total, and on the way back I offered him a choice between "go home, get some dinner" and "dog park." His response was to drag me to the dog park at top speed. I could barely get him to stop at the busy cross-street.

The flooded parking lot area around the dog park had frozen over. The ice shattered all around us as we plowed through. I wince sometimes to think of the Captain's poor chilly toes when he plows through freezing water, but it's in his blood. It's the summer heat he doesn't like.

Inside the park, the Captain ran gleeful circles around me as I jogged around the dog park. I didn't have much endurance after years of refusing to run because of THE BOUNCE, but I was able to wear us both out. We can work on stamina later. My asthma did kick in after a while, but it's been a mild attack so far. Nothing like I would have had two years ago, that's for certain.

At one point I saw something incredibly bright moving over the park, and stopped running to look up at the most vivid shooting star I've ever seen. At first I thought it must be an airplane because it didn't burn out like the ones I usually see on clearer nights. It just fell forever in slow-motion toward the trees. I saw two tiny sparks shoot off from the main meteorite as the whole thing suddenly flared brighter, and then it was behind the trees and out of my line of sight. It was incredible.

Five minutes later, I saw something huge and dark gliding in slow circles overhead. It looked like a bird of prey, and it was enormous. It had to have had a five-foot wingspan at least. As I watched it, the bird vanished I couldn't find it again.

After this, we rode home and I took a hot shower, followed by an even hotter bath, followed by sabotage via freezing cold blasts of water from the faucet just to help spur me onto my feet again. Now I'm warm and comfy in my fluffy bathrobe and the Captain is snoring with his head hanging over the arm of Best Chair.

I feel utterly at peace with the world. The only thing that could make this better would be a hot plate of lo-mein and the latest episode of One Piece.

Speaking of which...

Typecasting

Argh, I fucking hate it when friends assume I'm going to feel a certain way about something based solely on a conversation they had in their head (or with my freakin' AIM away message, where my silence clearly means disapproving wrath).

And then they just fucking run with it, like it was a real discussion, and talk about it later like I was there. "Hey Luka, you and I were having this argument in my head, and you were really mean, but I totally agree with you that I suck balls (even though I'm kind of mad at you for pointing it out.)"

For shit's sake. You're not psychic, and I'm not happy always being the bad guy in someone else's poorly contained fantasy world. I'm right here and totally willing to give you honest advice that comes from the actual Luka, but instead you project your negative self-image onto me without my permission.

It doesn't help that your characterization of me is simplistic and presumptuous. Is that really the best you know me? Really?

I'm so tired of this happening. And it's always with friends who come to me for advice whenever they fuck up, but get mad if I don't throw them a pity party and blame everyone else for whatever goes wrong. You'd think I laugh in these people's faces and tell them to go fuck themselves.

Yeah I'm an asshole. That's why I spent two hours every other night for an entire week trying to convince you not to give up on living. I just hate you that much.

This Guy Is Awesome

Newly re-elected Silverton mayor has balls, boobs and strong faith in the system.

I have such a soft spot for non-traditional gender presentation. Binary schminary!