I just wanted to rattle off some quick and silly tidbits, but first I’d better appease those who say that I need to answer my own silly survey. Fine then.

Past – My first “serious” kiss took place outside Dad’s apartment as my very first girlfriend was about to leave for home. Ah, Megan Webb, where are you now? If I had to speculate, I’d say she married that Tim guy she dumped me for and probably lives in Longview somewhere. Yeah, that’s about it.

Present – Romance, to me, is an unexpected warm-and-fuzzy. Impractical and silly, yes, but whatever it takes to put a smile on her face. That’s what drives me, folks; I have to make people smile. A therapist would probably go on about my need for validation, but to hell with therapy. I’m not that poorly adjusted, dammit.

Future – What does one do with money but spend it? I can see her coming home, seeing giftwrapped presents placed strategically around the house, each one with her name on it. The practical gifts are first, like towels and tools and that griddle she’s been wanting for just about forever. Later come dolls and pictures, and last comes jewelry and some sort of big-bang present to end all presents. No, I don’t know what that would be. I’m a firm believer in inspiration when it comes to romantic giftgiving.

To elaborate, I’ll tell you about Abigail. A few years back we had the Christmas blowout, which is to say we spent way, way more money than we had any right to. I was given a bit o’ cash with which to hunt down a good present for Wendi, and I wandered up and down the length of the mall. I could have picked out any number of things along the way, but I wanted inspiration.

And then I noticed the Geppeddo doll kiosk. Wendi loves dolls, so I took a closer look at the available selections. All kinds of adorable doll designs caught my eye, but I wasn’t inspired… until I saw this one design.

“A doll in a plain white wedding gown,” you ask, “when there were more colorful and intricate dolls on display?” Yes indeed. You see, Abigail there reminded me so much of how Wendi looked on our wedding day that I couldn’t not choose her as the perfect Christmas present.

That’s what I mean by inspiration.

Okay, some tidbits.

• This makes three attempts to find the perfect “now-playing” feature, but I’m now using Currently Hearing to display my Winamp usage.
  
• On a related note, I rearranged a few things on the site. I removed the “freshness date,” tucked the music display and blogchalk under the calendar, and so on. What do you think, sirs (and madams)?
  
• Yes, I have an Amazon wishlist now. Think on it as the bastard offspring of wishful thinking and pure untainted evil.
  
• I’ve made a couple of lame attempts at night photography with the camera, but so far I don’t have anything worth sharing. Don’t worry, I’m still playing with the thing. The Gallery will expand anon.
  
• While the idea of spending March tweaking my novel has some appeal, I don’t think I’m going to participate in NaNoEdMo. Sorry. I’d much rather spend my time working on a new, better novel. And this time, I’m going to actually plan the damned thing in advance. For one thing, I’m going to read and re-read Holly Lisle’s Forward Motion and actually follow some of the advice found therein. Good stuff, that.
  
• And last but not least… it’s almost 1:00pm and my phone hasn’t beeped at me. Here’s hoping the Snap! Server lasts the day. For that matter, here’s hoping I last the day.