it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive...

hard as that may be sometimes. And now, a list:

Things That Cause My Reptile Mind To Take Over:

• grown women who refer to themselves as 'girls'- and act the part as well. Worse, when this horrid backwards cutesiness is rewarded equally with success and condescension.
  
• knowing that my interviewer tomorrow will be male, and that this fact makes it slightly more likely than otherwise that I will get this job. What's that about, anyway?
• anti-intellectualism in people smart enough to know/do better.
• the hideous complexity of romantic inter-personal relationships.
• the focus on romantic inter-personal relationships within my age group.

Any and all of these topics is enough to fuel a good rant, but who has got the energy for that? When the flash of rage subsides, I'm mainly just bemused by it all. And anyway, I've just finished a Tom Robbins book, which means I am in a terrifically good mood and generally at peace with the universe. His books are classified as Humor, most often, which is another thing I find confusing, because while they are undeniably hilarious, in subtle and obvious ways, they are also so much more than just humor! They're philosophy and science fiction and total bunk and life-affirming manifestos of the hippie kind; they're hilarious in the all-encompassing way that life is hilarious, even when it's ugly or sad or strange, especially strange. I don't mean to be a fanatic in the ugly sense of the word, but I do so love TR. I wish I were a character in one of his novels. Though on second thought, if they have to be codified, boxed-in, and labeled in any way, they might as well go in Humor, since Robbins often asserts that having a sense of humor is the best way to deal with this odd world.

And for a wild departure from the established tone:

Things I Miss So Much It's Like Physical Pain Sometimes:

• three a.m. deep down soul talk.
• eduardo and the no-pants dance.
• all-day breakfast and movies Sundays.
• the zany, spontaneous, and frequent adventures that resulted from an extended group of friends all living with a three block radius of each other.
• certain fleeting certainties.

Ok, so call me ridiculous, but despite the neverending stream of things to either be angry or sad about, I'm mainly, irrationally, cheerful, and yeah, glad to be alive. The holidays are coming! And I have an interview with a man tomorrow.