5.24.04 I was forced to pump gas in my volleyball gear tonight, which always causes problems, but tonight it just left me feeling sad. The girl behind the register (who was no more than fifteen) said to me, "Oh you play volleyball? I used to play in school." I replied, "Oh, I'm no longer in school, but I still play, heh heh." To which she stopped what she was doing and looked at me to say, "Well I'm still in school, but I don't play anymore. I've got a family to support." She looked so tired and miserable at that moment, working at the gas station, that it struck me once again how important it is to teach the importance of birth control to children. If for no other reason at that moment than to turn that bitter, angry young girl into a carefree volleyball player once more.

5.23.04 The cicadas are here, my hair evolution has been updated, I have more bug bites then I can count, Smallville season two is sitting on top of my television, my room just keeps getting messier, and I am about ready to go get some smoked gouda. Oh and I don't think I ever mentioned that even though I am a loyal supporter of the Illiad, I thought Troy was awesome. For those of you who abhor dorks nerdily discussing movie adaptations in detail, please stop reading here. A very different interpretation it was, one that I think did need a few more things to be truly interesting (a more passionate Helen, a nastier Agamemnon, a Patroclus that was a lover instead of a relative, a less goody-two-shoes Hector, Cassandra, etc) but nontheless great to see. I thought it clever that Achilles was invincible not by birthright, but by sheer skill. And that the reason the legend grew of his death by an arrow to the ankle was because that was the only one he didn't take out before he died. I do wish they could portray the gods in a non-cheesy way but I guess it'll take a while before anyone has enough imagination to do so (with the Greek gods at least). And I like how differently the Trojan War is treated every time it's put on screen. The main reason it has lasted as a story for so long is because people love to retell it over and over again. How can we gripe at particulars when no matter what way the themes and characters are portrayed it still finds an audience? Therefore not only because I'm a huge geek but a lover of storytelling in general, each new interpretation of the Illiad is welcome by me.

5.13.04 What was I doing tonight instead of updating my comic? Why making a flow chart of the Trojan War for Lauren, of course! (and please excuse the lack of detail, I mean it was a 10-year-long war, so obviously I couldn't finish mapping it out in three hours.)

5.10.04 Hey everyone, I am finally back in my apartment, where there is no whining dog, no huge beetles, better tasting coffee, and much less convenient internet/television access. Comicking, however, is much easier to accomplish here. I tried to do some at my parents (and posted some) but it takes much longer without a Wacom tablet, and I had to busy myself with visiting friends and making a purse for my mom. Anyhoo, now I'm back and I will be on schedule again so stay tuned!! This weekend I decided to take my mother to the opera. We've never been before -- definitely a new experience. For one thing, opera-goers take punctuality very seriously. If you show up 10 minutes late to the show, the punishment is five ushers will tell you sequentially "you're late, you'll have to stand in the back of the theater till intermission, no late entry" and then stare at you disapprovingly for the 45 minutes until intermission. I was relieved that when the 5th usher scolded us my mom snapped at him. Standing in the back of the theater did have its advantages though, as we were first in line to the bathroom at intermission. A woman behind us pointed this out to people waiting at the back of the line, who clearly had front-row seats and needed to be put in their place. Once we got to our seats, we found them to be five rows from the front, very nice indeed. Now I could see "Don Jose" was a square-jawed buxom actor and "Carmen" recklessly acted with her eyebrows while she sang. There were two teenage girls sitting next to us who did their homework during the intermissions. We wondered if they were dragged to the opera every weekend against their will. In between acts my mother and I walked around the lobby and basked in the feeling that we were giants in the land of the little people. Our heads stuck out over a sea of bedazzled little old ladies. I noted that the song played during the final act of Carmen, the bullfighting sequence, was the same song used in the commercials for "Beef. It's What's For Dinner". (This amused me endlessly) By the time it was over my mother and I had newfound respect for opera singers (one woman broke her ankle onstage the night before yet was present and singing from a seated position the entire time) and wished we had season opera tickets. Good Mother's Day.

5.2.04 I don't think I'm going to be able to contain my excitement for Troy. I'm very curious how they're going to portray the whole Brad Pitt-as-Achilles role. I'm nearly done listening to the Illiad books on tape in my car (yes, dorky, but I'm in the car for at least 2 hours a day!), and I had no idea how much of a monster Achilles is. The Illiad is even known as being the story of "the rage of Achilles". Hmph. Will Brad be a golden hero or a merciless slaughterer? Patroclus, Achilles's darling friend, whose death provokes him to fight for vengeance, was actually egged on into the battle that took his life by Achilles in the first place! I wonder if that will be mentioned? . . . Anyway, in other news the lack of update so far is due to side projects that keep me from doing what I really want. I will be house-sitting this whole week, but the updates will still appear at some point. Bear with me!