Good things

Today was a good day. Here are some reasons why:

1. 8:00 AM is a perfectly reasonable time to wake up. For those of you not in the know, Angela has rewarded my taking care of Xan full-time over the last month by taking him up to Cape Cod when her parents returned so I could get some work done. This was actually not my idea; when Ange suggested it, I said, "Oh no, I couldn't do that........or can I?" It's an amazingly generous offer and I love her all the more for it. (I will join them on Wednesday.) Of course, on Sunday, unprompted by any crying whatsoever, I was awake at 6:30. Very distressing. Today, however, my own circadian rhythms allowed me to come back to 8. How nice!
2. I will soon be a Buffy scholar for real. Also in the news: my article on race and the musical episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer has been picked up by Slayage, the on-line academic journal for Buffy studies. You can stop laughing now, but I'm thrilled. Plus, it's legit: as a refereed academic journal, it actually counts as a "real" publication for my tenure file. I was supposed to finish revising it today, but I'll have to really finish it tomorrow when I go to UDC to look up a source.
3. Ellen is da bomb. Our favorite short-story writer offered to help paint the newly refurbished walls of our laundry room. In addition to helping me purchase the gallons of Saffron Thread and Artisian Blue paint (it's gonna look like a freakin' cabana!! I'm so happy!!), this also offered us the opportunity to check out Udupi Palace's fine spread of South Indian buffet. I tried all sorts of stuff I've never had before. We filled ourselves silly. Really, it was scary how full we were. Happy, though.
4. MJ has been acquitted. This is not necessarily a good thing, although it did have the hot dog vendor outside the Foggy Bottom metro stop amusingly say to people as they came out of the subway, "He's cleared of all charges! Watch your children everybody!" The good thing is that now that he's acquitted, he can go home. Where I hope he stays to leave the rest of us alone. Preferrably if he brings along Brit, K-Fed and their inevitably trailer-trash brat, too.
5. I do not have a trailer-trash brat. Nope, my baby is amazingly cute and wonderful. I was carting around pictures in the book I was reading so I stared at him (along with one picture with my wife in it) lots on the metro rides today.
6. Free food is good. I joined my buddy for dinner on his birthday, offering to pick up the tab as long as we went somewhere where drinks were involved. He suggested Bangkok Bistro, a Thai place in Georgetown. Not only was there fine food, but then we discovered that you get a free entree on your birthday! Done!
7. Sometimes, it's better when the movie Begins. Another reason why I love Dave: he got us passes to a preview screening of Batman Begins. Did you know it's 141 minutes? I, for one, didn't even notice. And that, my friends, is always a very good sign. In a few words: probably the best storytelling we've seen this year. Definitely worth the price of a ticket, at least in my opinion.
8. I got to embarass a woman. At the end of the film, there is a shot of a stethoscope. The idiot woman behind me says loudly to her companion, "Look, the stethoscope." I whipped around to face this ignorant dumb-ass bitch who clearly thinks she is watching a video in her living room instead of being a movie theater!!!! and say to her rather loudly, with a look of mock expression on my face, "No! Really? A stethoscope?!" And then stared at her until she turned away abashedly. I have been wanting to do that for a very. Long. Time. Because people need to be educated about how to watch movies and, dammit, that's what I do. And honey, I know you're proud of me.
9. Said ignoramus was not the Movie Mom. It's always good to see Nell, if for no other reason than she's a really bright person to watch a movie with. I'm curious to see her take on the film since we didn't chat afterwards. She's a superstar because she remembered it was Dave's birthday, too. (That, and the hip jeans-and-t-shirt outfit that she was working. Never let it be said that the Movie Mom isn't both comfortable and fashionably inclined.)
10. My cat likes me. Which is a step up from tolerating me. Actually, she was in my lap purring when I started typing this. Maybe that's because I turned the air conditioner on, though. Or maybe she needs food. I'll take the fuzzy love when I can get it.
11. Chocolate chip cookies. Homemade. Mmmm.

I think that's enough for today.