~ when i was in kindergarten, 20 years ago, it was always a big deal when someone didn’t show up for class. since we would do anything we could to convince our parents and teachers that we should be excused from school that day. so, one morning in kindergarten, we all noticed that a particular classmate did not show up; we spent the morning gossiping about what she could be doing, but by the time the afternoon buses came to take us home, we forgot all about her. when she didn’t show the next morning, though, we all knew that something was up. seeing this, both of our classes were called together by the teachers and told what had befallen her to cause her absences.
   she had been late for the school bus one morning, and was running down the street to catch it. she apparently slipped or fell in her haste, and soiled her dress in the georgia mud. knowing how vicious kindergarteners can be, she quickly decided not show show up in dirty clothes which could bring an afternoon of taunts. so, she turned and ran back towards her house to change. as she ran around the bus, however, she was unseen by the driver of an oncoming car, who was then unable to prevent his car from hitting her.
   so, she was killed before reaching her 6th birthday, which also happened to be my 6th birthday.
   so, maybe i shouldn’t spend that birthday today by grousing over the mechanic who claims my car can’t be repaired, or my rent which is higher than the amount in my credit union account and was due yesterday, or the neighbor who is apparently spending the summer learning creed songs on his new electric guitar, or what a mistake it was paying for ‘mission:impossible-2’, or a freaking 56k connection, or a serious lack of serious work to do.

~ as if there wasn’t enough nonsense at sci-arc [w] these days, someone has decided to repeatedly post someone else’s private emails to the school news folder, using my name as an alias. i didn’t see the posts, as they were posted while i was at work [w] and they were removed by the administrator, but i have been told that the return address was my name @hotmail.com. i am insulted not because someone tried to hurt me or embarrass me with such a childish and thoughtless attack; rather, i am insulted that the best this perpetrator could do was create a hotmail account. hotmail? surely, i warrant some greater degree of creativity, like, star94mail.com or welcometohell.com or blowjob.com. hotmail? clearly we are dealing with an amateur; i would hope that i have mustered a higher quality of enemy. i suppose not. i wonder if it ever crossed their minds to realize that someone who owns a domain, such as www.angryredplanet.org, does not need to go to hotmail for an account, especially an ‘anonymous’ account with my name all over it.

~ it seems to me that only two people have access to the emails which i supposedly forwarded. one of them has no stake in passing along the mail, let alone wasting time bringing me into it, while the other one has proven – publicly and repeatedly – himself to be deranged and untrustworthy. most people i have spoken with seem to have some pretty good theories on how this came about. i need to talk to some folks in the morning, especially one of the parties whose email is concerned; until then, know that if it is not from angryredplanet.org, it can not be trusted.

~ in happier news, i am already leaving – by plane – for atlanta in about 30 hours; the plan is to spend one week there, and then drive to los angeles. i tell my boss this, and she asks if i want to go to new york and pick up her truck. i explain that new york is not on the route from georgia to southern california, and that the extra time driving means extra time away from phobos. however, after hours of negotiations, i leave the office with plans to bring phobos to her studio tomorrow morning, so that i may fly to new york the day after i arrive from atlanta.