This is the week of sleep deprivation. I'm waiting for my clothes to be done in the washer so I can put them in the dryer so I can wear them tomorrow.

Tomorrow will be spent in Concord, NH, at a book fair. Wish me fun. I'll need it.

Perhaps the A program isn't quite right for me. I think it needs to be tweaked a bit.

I hope John's dad is okay and John too and all the other j people in my life.

Goodnight to all of anybody who cares. This week's crush list may include brief, if not fantastic, biographies. Thing you're on the list? Is there anything I should know about you?

There is a woman outside singing. An oddity for this neighborhood at this hour.

Please forward this to Patrick.

Elementary rules of usage:
For the possesive singular of nouns by adding
apostrophe s.

I took a course called .

It is the introduction.

Follow this rule whenever the final consanant.

In ES and IS.

In Ironstonewhirlygig.blogspot.com. Amanda uses the
previous rules when not to drunk to type.

There is no more beer. Ben's (notice usage of
apostrophe) fridge has no more beer.

The kids are drunk. All the prefaces are... he's the
professor.

I only know BFF from the album ears, which I copied
from the Gibsons on a blank tape over Belinda
Carlisle.

Charles's is right, according to Strunk and White.

This is really important.

I have a crush list.

Speaking of Strunk and White. fuck you.

Habitual action in the past.

Run away.

Clearly, Will Strunk had seen that anarchists had
seen that they would eventually create rulles for
others.

It's all a matter of opinion, ey?

Have you ever been away?

Omit needless words.

For Chrissake.

Wee cunts.

Big time.

Yours,
Amanda

Look Out. Capitol O.

I see big changes coming on my crush list.

Ich habe ein headen von spinnen.

Babs, I wish you were hero.

Jen's a little out of control.

Thia party is at Ben's. Ben Webster's. Babs, thisis so cool. I wish you were here. Someday you and I are going to take over the world in our own way. Ben is as worthy of our affection as anything, if not more.

Patrick, hello. Are you moving away? So sad. Don't go away. It's no better anywhere else.

Nate says: He doesn't have anything brilliant. Lisa would have said fuckin' brilliant.

Dave hates me.

Zac may be in Mexico City now.

I am at a party on Lowell Street. Where are you?

Gooseberry, gooseberry, gooseberry.

I had astalker. The best thing about him was berries. Gooseberries, in particular. Blueberries, raspberries, I'd even include concord grapes.

I woke up this morning still asleep. After driving James to school I couldn't figure out what to do with myself and I couldn't imagine coming to work before 8. I ended up at Flav's in Rockport reading Soviet Short Stories and drinking coffee. Near the end a man approachde me at the counter, examined my book and in a round-a-bout manner told me that he had written two short stories as part of a novel and would I read them for him. I told him sure, why not, he could mail them to me. But he was thinking I would come spend the morning with him in his gallery around the corner and read them there. I told him where work, but not my name.

The net across the street at the store has come down, and there's a boat in the middle of the court. Is that the kind of summer it is going to be?

Mad props to the girls out there. You girls rock my world. Babs and Xtina- I'd cook for you any time.

Jim, when you're a star, I know you'll fix everything.

I need friends that treat me nice. Poke poke poke poke poke. Several years ago my dad had a double lung transplant. The first thing he did when he got out of the hospital was mow the lawn. It gave him this creepy fungus thing that has varred his health since. I garden vicariously for him. Peas and corn were his favorite to grow. We'd plant a long row of peas along the fence between our house and what is now the book store. Those were a good couple years, between 3 and 5, before he left. I sure do like peas. In the next couple of weeks he is dragging his oxygen over and we are going to have a picnic of Sclafani's subs in the garden.

My mother doesn't know my phone number.

Here is a simple music quiz. I am forming a thought or two on rock and/or roll, and would love some input.
Email your answers to twopound@shore.net.

1. Has music progressed at all in the last 20 years? Other than rap?

2. How many chords do you think someone should know to be called a musician?

3. Is there any suitable instrument for rock other than the guitar?

4. Can any instrument be used successfully for rock?

5. Is music improved by the musician understanding musical theory? How about if the listener understands theory?

6. Does understanding theory keep a musician from creating good music?

7. Can music stand, written, on its own, or is the performance where it's at?

8. What is the best sound you've ever heard?

Thanks for all your help.

I'm going home now, so there may be no phone or internet. See you tonight.

It is quarter past 10 and I have been offered 2 jobs already today.

To all who are coming tonight: Dinner at my house. My phone still doesn't work. Email me for details. I'm thinking 6ish.

Best book title so far today:

Sex Lives of Animals Without Backbones. Illustrated with drawings.

I figured it was mutual respect that kept me off Jim's crush list. We'll see next week how much I respect him.

Here is my poetic crush list, which meant to be posted yesterday.

All apologies, all around.

11. Christina Strong
10. Joel Sloman
9. Aaron Tieger
8. Mike County
7. Sean Cole
6.Mark Lamoureux
5. Yuri Hospidor
4. Chris Rizzo
3. Joe Torra
2. Gerrit Lansing
1. Michael Carr


Please feel free to beg to be on or off this list. I'll update next week. Email me.

I hereby denounce poetry. Oh yeah, James, Joe and I are reading at Artspace on Wednesday.

Oh yeah, for all my friends who might call me-- email instead. No phone, and even call answering is broken.

I'm back, but in the office right now. I have to let the store warm up for a few minutes or I will die over there. I have enough to do over here anyway.

All my contoversial postings I meant for yesterday were delayed. Our phone is dead. Now I am at work, and it is cold in here. Too cold. I have to go get some coffee, I think.

Coming up:

Amanda's crush list
Amanda Denounces the world
Amanda's new 'A' program

Half the house is clean. Not bad. But I made a total mess of the study, which I meant to clean. It'll get done, I guess.

I think I might have just found a gooseberry bush online. How happy that would make me!

I kind of froze up tonight at dinner with guilt over my mother dream. At least it was near the end.

Today I was pulled away from reading Jim Behrle's blog by a soap opera with a helper monkey, a pregnant witch and an ax murderer. Can you blame me?

Oh yeah, Celtic lost yesterday. Suck suck suck.

I'm sorry for not blogging for so long.... I couldn't get online at home for the past few days. It is for the best anyway, since it has been neautiful out and I have spent a lot of time in the garden. Now the weather is yucky and my connection seems to be working, so I have no excuse.

I think I told Tim I would write if I had an interesting dream. The night before last I dreamt that while cleaning I vacuumed my mother. She just flew up the tube as if she were nothing but a sheet, just a shadow. Although I never really knew if she were dead or not but I wasn't able to take her out of the vacuum. I didn't tell anyone what I had done. Months later in my dream I became horribly sentimental about her and really missed having a mother.

This morning I got abunch of vegetables for my garden. It is supposed to be cold and windy on Saturday so I don't think I should plant them yet. I can't wait.

I hope James gets home soon. I am sooooo bored.

I wish I were more into Buffy.

Did I not ask for merlot?

I am sick, but not so grumpy. What a combination!

James got me afour track for my birthday! woohoo! Now all my feeble musical skills can be put together. Look for the release of my first single, Twinkle Twinkle, with a b-side of Go Tell Aunt Rhody.

I am only going to take piano every other week now. I just don't get to practice enough, and maybe this will help. I also stopped a couple of other things I have to do every week. I'm looking for a more relaxed life. And time to do laundry.

I spent about an hour in the garden just now. Everything went well until I ran into a colony of red ants while thinning the lettuce. Ouch. I had to come inside and take a bath. I got the little garden around the cherry tree planted. The most pronounced part of that garden will be the red geraniums I planted. They make me think of Marnie. I planted some swiss chard in the vegetable garden and cleared the little area where I put pumpkins and squash last year. That part needs some more work before I plant anything. I am thinking of putting the same thing there this year. Maybe I will actually get a pumpkin. Last year I got a bunch of zucchini, a couple summer squash, and a big pumpkin vine. The thing I like about that garden is that I move all the sunflowers that just sprout in the vegetables over in a line between the garden and the compost pile.

I got a book of blues to work on at piano. I am looking forward to that. The piece I am working on for violin is ajig. I really want to write the fingering in, but I know it will be better in the long run if I don't.

Celtic won yesterday. Go Bhoys!

Right now I am not practicing for my piano lesson. I haven't practiced at all. I have got to rethink this lesson thing. If I don't make time to practice, is it worth it?

I

Last night my brother came over. I hadn't seen him for a long time. I think the next round of fishing regulations might make him stop fishing. I don't know.

I'm going in to the Kinvara to watch Celtic play Dundee.

Is recreating a word? If it is, I don't think it should be.

I actually told my mother that pink was the new black just yesterday.

Oh, If so, let me know tonight. Email me.

I'm going to be in Boston tomorrow afternoon... anybody up for dinner or something?

Monday, Monday. I can't seem to get a thing done.

Saturday turned out to be okay. The wedding ws nice. The party between the wedding and the reception was fine. The reception was definitely the 'a' package, if you know what I mean. Open bar for the first hour, an extra course, a better bad dj, etc. The bride was lovely and the old people got drunk and foolish.

On Sunday Greg and I went into Union Square to meet with the poetry people. I had a hard time when first met Greg because he has the same name as my former stalker, only he spells it with one g at the end. Greg is nothing like Gregg, but saying the name, or hearing 'Greg called' made me just do a little jump in my skin. It was also strange because I was engaged to be Amanda Cook, and Greg was Greg Cook. Gregg wanted to get married. So that I would have the same last name as Greg also felt odd to me. I should also point out that there is a clothing line called Amanda Smith, which is what my name would have been if I had married Gregg. My mother-in-law gave me a couple dresses with that label. That freaked me out more than the Greg thing. But I'm way over all of that now. Just blabbing.

Anyway, poetry people talked very little about poetry. It was a bit of a reaction to last week, when it was all talk about poetics. I gave Christina the leg warmers. Greg showen everybody his comic books. I should find a link to his work so you can see it.

I wasn't feeling so hot when we got home so I sat around and did nothing, just knit, until I talked myself out of going to see my mother. I know that was bad of me, it being Mother's Day and all, but I did call her and she wasn't expecting me to come. I made a pot of chili out of whatever I had around. I am nearly out of food. My canned goods now fit in one cubic foot and I don't have much else. The chili used my last can of tomatoes, red beans and black beans. I'll have to go food shopping soon, but I like letting everything run out every so often. I get to clean shelves and things that are usually too full to bother. As an added bonus, this is my way of proving that I won't let the terrorists win. No stock piling for me.

I made cornbread and the first salad of the season to use lettuce from the garden. Greg, James and I watched the Simpsons. I tried to watch White Teeth on PBS but got really annoyed. I went to bed and knit while listening to the Red Sox. I fell asleep with just two outs remaing in the top of the 9th and woke up with the recap of the game on. It was really confusing.

This morning I had breakfast with my Dad at Two Sisters. He doesn't seem to be doing too well, but not too badly either. It was good to see him. I got the oil changed, bought some flowers, then went to visit my Mother to give her the sweater vest I knit for her. She gave me a lovely painting of the flat rocks for my birthday.

Well, I am off to a scholarship meeting.

Good morning, good morning. James and I are off for the day and maybe the night. To a match, to a wedding, to a family party, to a reception, then who knows what. It should be loads of fun. Woohoo. (this is the sound of a girl trying to convince herself that this is how she would chose to spend a birthday).

Having been relieved of my guilt about working so little, I think I am going to go home. Well, I have been working a lot, just not much at Ten Pound Island . Bossman has assured me he will tell me if there is something in particular he wants me to do, and I am going to trust him. It makes life easier.

I'm at work now. The boss set up this wireless connection to his new internet connection which makes using the internet fast and not even annoying. It also means i can stay online here, all the time, so I can just blog while I am waiting for things to print. Like right now. I am waiting for the Maritime section of books to print, so I can make sure theya re all there. Lots and lots of books.

I don't think I am going to make it into Boston tonight. I am annoyed at having to go to the wedding tomorrow in Plymouth on my birthday, and annoyed that the reception is hours after the wedding, and that we will have to go to a family party in the middle, and annoyed that I won't be able to get good and toasted at the Celtic match. I wouldn't be annoyed about that if I weren't already annoyed by the rest of the day. Birthdays are so much fun.

Speaking of fun and birthdays, I got a lovely package in the mail yesterday from Amanda. Thank you, Amanda. I haven't read the book yet, as I haven't really been home. I am looking forward to it this evening. Also, your letter gave the package I am (and have been) planning to send out some direction. You'll see.

I am sad about missing Aaron's reading. If I weren't so tired, if my violin lessonw asn't today, if we weren't going to have to spend all day Saturday away from home, if I had been at home at all this week other than to sleep. If all the ifs weren't, I'd love to go. Maybe I still will. But i am feeling like not.

I just ran into Tad, who is room mates with Ramone. Ramone was bron the same day I was. Ramone is not old. Therefore, I am not old.

I went to Vivian's funeral today. 93 is a goood many years. More on this later, when I've collected my thoughts.

Everyone feels old today. Me, nearing 27, Woody, about 23, and Noah, inching out of his teenage years. We agreed the sun made it a Belle and Sebastian kind of day. We were having a Velvet Underground 'Who love's the sun?' kind of day.

The boys think I drink too much coffee.

I love American Idol. Maybe that will get me a new ad. Last time I checked it was another cleaning service.

I love music.
I love yarn.
I love oranges.
I love my Gata.
I love Chevy Novas, preferably hatchbacks. And El Caminos.
I love Pabst Blue Ribbon.
I love salt water.
I love coffee (see http://a_and_a.blogspot.com/ for today's cups)
I love Mayakovsky.
I love that Jesus and the Mary Chain song Sometimes Always.
I love drunk lads who buy me whiskey.
I love baseball on the radio.

I don't know if I can express how sad it made me that the ad above my blog yesterday was for Merry Maids. Ouch. I'm going to have to try to do something about that.

My piano teacher gave me a littl epiece by Mozart to work on. I think I will have it down by Thursday. I haven't had much luck practicing the violin, but that lesson isn't until Friday.

I have 7 stripes left on the leg warmers I am knitting. I hope to finish them tomorrow or the next day. If I finish them and the red and blue sweater, I will start something for Lila's birthday. I'm trying to finish two projects before I start one. Eventually this should get me to finish some of the stuff I have left undone.

I'm off to work, then to babysit.

James and I went to Halibut Point for dinner... we started with pints of Guiness and oysters, then stayed for dinner and PBR. It was the perfect way the decompress after spending all that time on the phone. Now I am going out to the garden.

I am so sick of phone companies. I am trying to figure out the phone stuff for work and am currently on the phone with a nice-sounding computer who is trying to get me to put a question into short words she can translate into some automated answer. Now, bad classical music. Does my business use the internet? Hold. Hold. Arg!

All this was interupted by a surprise visit rom P.B., delivering Maud's Minutes by hand. I couldn't believe it. What an odd man. I can't believe he said yes to that.

Now I am on the phone with some wanker with a wierd speech thing that sounds like he is spitting in my ear everything time he says anything. I probably wouldn't mind if I hadn't been on the phone for hours talking to all sorts of people and machines. I'll be happy when this is done.

I think I will become a visiting nurse for cats.

I had coffee with Gerrit, then spent some time with Hector and playing the piano, then off to Goose Cove Gardens. Sweet Marjoram, Catnip, cauliflower and Roman Chamomile should find their way into the garden today. I bought some carrot seeds, Thumbalina is the variety, that do well in heavy soil. I also got some zinnia seeds. The carrots will go into the soil, the zinnias will get started indoors.

Hamer and Charlotte are home from New York. My uncle Bernard had an openning, the went to see La Bohemme, went to some museums, and heard some music. They sure do keep busy.

Gata is enjoying being upstairs again. I wonder what that was all about.

I have finished the dishes from last night's dinner party, and I am getting some work done. Everything is going well so far.

I am taking this Monday morning as a new beginning. A little one, but new. This week I am going to work a lot, keep things in order, and do everything I mean to. Tune in and see if this is a slow-motion train wreck or a fast-acting failure.

I am not at Yankee Stadium.

Jim is at Yankee Stadium.

I'm checking out Jim's blog. I think I have a lot to learn about blogging. Today a friend told me he knows what I am doing but not how I am doing by reading my blog.

Alex and I started a new blog on Thursday. The template got a little mixed up, but I'll fix that later. The new blog is a_and_a.blogspot.com. It should be fun.

Yesterday I got a new couch out of the trash on Leanord Street. It is so much better than my broken one, but my arms are broken from getting it up the stairs. It is a couple inches bigger than my other old couch, so I had to move all the furniture around.

Celtic won again today. Go Bhoys. The Boy played, good for the eyes.

My grandfather went to New York. I am watching his dog. I thought he was just going for two days, but we are nearing the end of 3. When should I start worrying? He didn't tell me when he would be back.

I planted some more lettuce, some broccoli and some brussel sprouts. Also, more strawberries in the barrel.

It's pretty early but I just want to go to bed.

The Sunny Day has PBR for $1 a can.

I am showing Alex how to post on a blog. We are considering a summe blog project.