I got dem ole mean-woman blues ... Man, women drive me crazy, and i don't mean that as a generalized phrase either. I mean women - plural and all-inclusive - drive me nutz! These beautiful, terrible creatures have the ability to twist one's words to reflect their own mood du jour, leaving me befuddled and begging forgiveness for I don't know what. And they're secretive! Always alluding to "someone" or "something" or, well "never mind." I called Debbi an hour ago to say "Hi babe" and hearing her perky for the first time in weeks I commented on the fact. She said "I had a friend visit me and she made me feel better." Well that's wonderful, I said, who was it? "Why do you have to act like that?" she responded angrily! So there I was, deep in shit without a clue as to how I got there beyond the simple question I'd posed. Now there's an axiom that states some women are conniving and sneaky because it's their ace-in-the-hole when it comes to manipulating a man's emotions. I think I had a demonstration of that this afternoon.

And so it goes. Never mind how things turned out - it's a secret.

So I've got the wild card NFL football game babbling on the tube behind me while I sit here wondering why I don't just blow D off and go out, go see a flick, go party with some strangers at a whorehouse or something salacious like that. But then, of course, I'd feel guilty for having succumbed to my 'lizard' brain instincts rather than adhering to my higher spiritual consciousness (yea, right ...).

My back hurts, my head hurts, and I'm feeling like the sediment of uncompleted tasks and unpaid bills is piling up on top of me faster than a mudslide in California. At the moment, life sucks (or blows, if you prefer). But I'll get over it, I'm sure.

Wow! What about that Mars lander, eh? NASA is guzzling champagne and crowing about the successful landing on the Red Planet's surface, and I'd agree, it's a technological marvel. To hit a target several miles wide from 1 million miles away is quite a feat.

Speaking of feet, I need a shower! Perhaps that will make me feel a little better than I do at the moment. I could care less about who wins this game between Denver and Baltimore. I couldn't care less about who goes to the Super Bowl, although I'll probably be watching the damn thing when it airs.

I'm telling ya, I'm going bonkers! Wish I'd gone to see Lord of the Rings this weekend but I told Debbi I'd wait until she felt well enough to go with me. And though she sounded quite normal - even perky - when I spoke with her earlier, she said no, she wasn't feeling up to sitting through a 3-plus-hour long movie.

Crap!

Ah well. I don't have to return to work until Thursday, Jan. 8, which means I'll be on the rim instead of in the slot, which is a blessing after such a long sojourn. It's going to take a day or two to 'click' back into the flow on the copy desk when I return and the rim is much easier to handle. So there's that to be grateful for, I suppose. (Sigh*) All in all I'd say I'm having a pretty crummy Sunday thus far. Too bad, huh?