Day #1 of Holiday (in a sort of stream of consciousness, with a vague attempt at chronology)

• Slept until 10:30 am. Heaven!
  
• Watched a movie, Final Descent, one of those aircraft disaster flicks. Interesting (although improbable) solution to having the plane stuck in an upward climb 1) Send all the weight you can forward, 2) Have a military chopper fire holes through the elevators--causing a fire in the galley which thank goodness an oil rigger is nearby to use a fire extinguisher because the flight attendant can't remember to pull and sweep due to her panic, 3) Have a military tanker full of water pull alongside, blow your escape hatch in the cockpit, run arctic suits and a hose through, then fill the oxygen bay with water, nearly drowning your engineer, nearly freezing your co-pilot (and love of your life) and somehow managing to get the nose down and land without a computer. Thank the Gods for creative writers. After awhile it became the 'what will they think of next?' movie.
  
• Took a deliciously wonderful bath. I used a new product called Totally Juicy Apple Hot Sugar Scrub that leaves my skin very soft. I have this thing that's always been a little annoying called keratosis pilaris. Depending on the area of the world, up to 50% of the people have it. You see it a lot in Celts, for example, although it shows up worse in darker-complected people. It's hereditary, and if you have it, you have at least a 50-50 chance of passing it on. When the skin renews little plugs of keratin (which is in the top layer of skin, hair, and nails) get stuck in the hair follicules. This usually happens on the arms, thighs, and buttocks, sometimes on the face. This can make pores reddish or dark, or give you little bumps all over. In my family we just saw it as a sort of childhood acne, but it isn't. (Do a search on childhood acne and you won't get KP. I didn't have luck until a paediatrician I work with mentioned something that's characterised as 'goosebumps' in childhood.) But the bumps have little bits of dead skin, and it makes it more likely for the hair to get ingrown, even though it's usually not infected like acne. I can remember my mom picking my bumps when I was 5 or 6. It has been a compulsive thing with me, too, and so that's led to some scarring. Think of how annoying acne was when you were a teen and imagine having it all your life. Of course, it does get a little better as you age. And it's one of the most benign inherited problems you can have. But I'm a little self-conscious of it, even though most people probably wouldn't even notice it. (Someone I had known for fifteen years touched my arm once and say 'your arm is bumpy' in surprise.) This sugar scrub gently exfoliates without causing problems with the sensitive skin. It has sugar, apple, vitamin A, vitamin C, grape seed oil, bergamot oil, orange oil, sweet almond oil, kelp exctract, algae, safflower oil, grapefruit, apricot kernel oil, evening primrose oil, macademia seed oil, sesame seed oil, and jojoba. Very nice. And it's 'tested on friends and family, not animals' and contains no animal ingredients. :) I guess it's not great for someone with a nut allergy, though.
  
• Went to the co-op. That took awhile--four hours; it's always an adventure on the bus. Also, I grabbed a sandwich at their little coffee shop But with the exception of a tragick Cheetos Naturals accident, we all returned intact.
  

So now I'm sitting at the computer, catching up on my e-mail, etc., enjoying a soda. One of my co-workers lent me the video Office Space and I'm contemplating watching it. But I'm almost too pooped. Maybe I'll just rest. :)

I'm going to see The Matrix: Reloaded on Monday, I think. I still have one free pass left, and I have it on good authority that it's a "killer movie". So it looks like it's a weekend for movies. Which is great compared to last year, where some medicine made me sleep all but four hours of the entire holiday. :) And of course, barring cancellations, Sunday is the Cthulhu game, which is sort of movie-like in its own way.

I just remembered the weird dream I had last night. It started out with hobbits, who were basically running about an arena that was sort of a 3D version of the old video game 'Gauntlet'--lots of holes down to the next level, various booty, thing chasing you, etc. Then at some point they crashed into a munchkin review onstage. It was a little odder than my normal dreams, which are strange in their own right. I dream cinematically--it usually has a contained story, sometimes several with not much to do with one another, but almost always vivid, in narrative--not those fleeting things you usually think of. I don't know if that's normal or not, but it is for me.

Well, that's a lot of typing. I figured I hadn't written since Tuesday. Oh, and of course, I'll have to include a Friday Five! Here goes:

1. What brand of toothpaste do you use?
I don't have a 'set' brand. I usually use Tom's Natural anise toothpaste, although I just bought Doctor Burt's Lavender Mint toothpaste. Sometimes it's nice to get something that doesn't just taste like gum. The oddest I've tried is Colgate's Herbal Toothpaste from our local Indian grocery--it's sold there but usually not here. It's good but it's an acquired taste. It has tulsi (cloves) and also pudina, laung, and neem. I'm not sure what those are.

2. What brand of toilet paper do you prefer?
Seventh Generation when I can afford it, Cottonelle when I can't.

3. What brand(s) of shoes do you wear?
Whatever fits.

4. What brand of soda do you drink?
Diet Pepsi.

5. What brand of gum do you chew?
None. I swallow anyway, so what's the point?

I'm not really a brand afficianado. I prefer Pepsi products for colas, Heinz for catsup, etc., but other than that, I open to trying most alternatives. I have to admit, I prefer what I think of as regular peanut butter, although I'll eat the 'natural' type--but then I have to add honey or something like that to make it sweeter.