Well, I feel like my old self again, thanks to Manashi. She came up with the idea of me meeting her downtown at CNN Center where she works, and then we'd go to the Roxy and get our tickets, and then get dinner. So we did, and now I feel better than I have in days.

In Buckhead we got momentarily distracted by a store that sold Dirty Girl products and shirts with zodiac sign themes (mine [Sagittarius] is Passion). We followed some hoochies to the Roxy box office (there was a Deana Carter show there) and were delighted to see JUMP, LITTLE CHILDREN JUNE 9 on the marquee. So we got our tickets for the face price, no service charge, woo hoo! We also drove past the Johnny Rockets that people have been mentioning on Opium, but I have a birthday pre-show to attend, I believe. :)

Then we went to Ruby Tuesdays on Lenox Road. At first we were seated near the bar and the loud music and next to a guy who was doing some cheesy deejay trivia bullshit, and we weren't even served promptly. The manager magically appeared and we got moved to a better table. I ate the first real meal I have in days and felt energized. It stormed outside and by the time we left the air was cool and breezy.

I think one of the most difficult parts of being human has to do with desires and how they relate to reality; their feasibility. For instance, part of me would love to live in a world where I got to about three Jump shows a month forever, and see my friends, and have a guaranteed wonderful time, like clockwork. Obviously such a world doesn't exist (and someday this won't be a priority). And there are, uh, other things I would like too that just aren't happening.

You've got to accept this sort of thing and do with it what you can; appreciate how the real world works and enjoy what actually happens. This as well as other principles were made clearer to me in the past few days. Sometimes it takes Big Events (well, big for me) to get me to see something. I don't always figure it out by myself. It's hard to to work against being lazy, and to try to appreciate things.

Oh man, I'm so bad at being eloquent. I was telling Manashi how I can't describe my thoughts, so I have to describe events and hint to the reader -- "show, not tell," as they say in journalism class. I think you should read Synne's reflections; I'm not completely at her point of view but I understand what she means.