August 2000 through December 2000

8/18/00

I got most of my stuff done today. I had a list of all this crap to do, and I did most of it.

My hair is so cute in braids. I braided it while reading, then went out to look for Cox Cable and find an ATM. I never found Cox but I deposited Ammy's check from the couch and filled my bike's tires, and went to Dream Zone, where the worker liked my eyes. I had apple juice and bought shoes, windchimes, and a blanket. Yay!

When I got home I messed with the phone, then went out to get groceries. It was largely uneventful. Then, at home again, I called the phone company and got them to get my voicemail working, and sweet-talked them into removing my transfer fee. <:) Then Scott came and took me to dinner, and we ate at August Moon and watched Orgazmo afterwards (which was funny). I played on the computer after that, writing rants and waiting for L. :)

8/25/00

I spent some time answering e-mail. This one girl was impatient that I hadn't answered her mail from the 23^rd (two friggin' days, can you say IMPATIENT?), and threw a couple condescending phrases and accusations that I am not a "real witch" because I was not inducted into the Craft by another witch. (Though these accusations are actually very oblique, I caught them.)

It bugs me to think that people honestly believe you need to be recognized and put through an induction ceremony in order to be a legitimate practitioner of the Craft. They choose to practice a certain way and perhaps inducting members to their sects is the only way to become "true" members of that particular sect, but to generalize that belief to all crafters, saying we aren't doing it right because we don't follow their prescribed ways of thinking? Sounds a bit too much like that ol' patriarchal religion to me. I prefer practicing solitary. I disagree with both the necessity and the whole concept of induction into witchcraft. I practice just fine without anyone's permission--I would not suddenly become a "real" witch because someone had a ritual for me, accepted me as one of them, and "passed power" to me. I've got plenty of my own power. And I found it on my own long before I began formally practicing the Craft, thank you. Grr. A dedication and initiation into the Craft makes you just as qualified as getting a diploma. I was "qualified" before I received my diploma--just as qualified as the day before I received it. And if I'd acquired that knowledge some other way, I could still do the same job, having come a different way and lacking the piece of paper, yet perfectly legit. Some job places won't accept non-degreed persons. Well, I don't believe the universe chooses who to listen to in accordance only with who has been initiated.

8/26/00

I feel as though time is slipping away from me so quickly. I took a job to keep my mouth fed and my lights on, so that I could live in an environment conducive to achieving my goals. NOW work takes up quite a bit of time, and after I get home I either slack off, do necessary chores, or submit to a social invitation. Every time I do something for my own pleasure that is NOT directly involved in preparing my books for publication (with the exception of work and my religious celebrations), I feel that I have wasted time, cheated the world out of a couple more hours' worth of my stories. Not that anyone gives a rat's ass at the moment since so few people know I'm any good. But it matters. It matters so much that thinking about it makes my teeth hurt.

8/27/00

Someone signed my guestbook 42 times with pointless messages attributed to rock stars. Some people have no life.

8/28/00

At home I did very little but read over my own shit, work a bit on my Web page, and talk to Mom on the phone about Dad having a job offer in Atlanta, L breaking up with her boyfriend, and stupid religion things. Some asshole wrote me e-mail today saying my drawings are ridiculously bad. It was such a stupid e-mail--and it inspired me to make a jerk file. :)

9/1/00

The first day of September was a bit hectic for me. Fred woke me up with a phone call, and we settled some stuff. :) Then I prepared to trek around. I went and caught the 20 bus, went to my work and got my check, found out that the ATM at the mall doesn't take deposits, cursed loudly, and made my way back to catch the 5. (I ate at McDonald's, too, by the way.) I took the 5 to the library and looked up editors to proposition with my freelance editor offer. Then I came home, acting stupid all the way. Two girls stopped me and asked me if my eyes were real, then one of them followed me to my apartment and asked for money and food. I gave her 3 granola bars, some cookies, and 2 juice boxes. She liked my apartment. :) Then I went out to deposit my check and go to Kash n' Karry, where I spent too much money. :P At home I worked on Book 2 and bathed and played online, and talked to Mom. Now I await L.

9/17/00

I had to ride my bike to work, which sucks doubly in the rain. I wore crap clothes and brought the work clothes in a bag, and proceeded to arrive at Books-A-Million with no way in. No manager, and no one hanging out waiting to go in. FUCK.

John showed up and we went to McDonald's to call a manager. No one answered, so we went to wait. Soon Chris showed up. He let us in and I changed clothes. Then I had to go on register after I did the newspapers. The day went by fast! I finished The Boy Who Lost His Face and started reading some stuff from Everyday Magic. Chris tried to sleep in the nature section! Later, Jack came and made fun of my Oatanese scrawling. :P I got a free cookie! Scott called worriedly twice, insisting we were gonna get bitch-slapped by the "hurricane." Whatever. He took me home with my bike. I got online, took a nap, and got back online. I joined cliques and chatted. :)

9/18/00

Hey, I have money! :) And when I got home I cleaned and ordered pizza! I love pizza. I gave my pizza guy a big fat tip because I can afford it!

9/27/00

Joe came to work. He and I planned to go to Lucky Le's (I even called!). He gave me the ISBN for some book and told me he didn't trust online. It turned out to be about paranoia. HEH. Lucky Le's slipped into an alternate dimension so we ate at Napolitano's. It was yum. Then we saw Bubblegum Crisis at Anime. Next week is Weird Al. YEAH BABY YEAH.

After Anime Joe and I watched Dragon Half and Forbidden Zone, the latter while I hosted. We talk a lot. I e-mailed some folks, added a couple clique members, and squirmed on the face of reality.

10/3/00

I am SO PISSED that today was largely unproductive! I slept in really late, I woke up at about noon, read and did e-mail for a while, and then went back to sleep until FOUR. I had a strange-ass dream about antagonizing the next-door neighbors, who were like frat boys, and one of them had special powers just like me. He attacked me and I ended up trying to fly away, and he followed me; he could fly too. I hid in the clouds, hoping my movements wouldn't make ripples to clue him in, but he found me, and I had to retreat again. I forget what I did to piss him off. Oh well.

10/10/00

Yea, for it is the Day Off of Goodness; thou shalt waste the day by puttering on the computer, sleeping in short naps, and eating cookie dough and junk food, so sayeth the Lord. Amen.

I updated my Witchcraft page today. I added a bunch of crap from Everyday Magic and I trimmed the pages. In the middle of it all I went to Kash n' Karry and bought groceries. It's really getting cold but as such I still have yet to put on a jacket when leaving the house. Hardy little New Jersey creature, aren't I?

AOL kept angering me. Most of the time I uploaded I got bizarre code, and it kept freezing and freaking out. It even put unrelated things on my page a bunch, two of which were offensive. I ended up calling AOL to cheerfully bitch, but the lady had NO idea what I was talking about. Oh, and I talked to Mom and talked myself out of the Complete Choice Plan at Bell South (with effort). Yay.

10/15/00

Yay! Today I sold 14 club cards! That is my personal record. It always starts off slow and speeds up later in the day! Blargh. I was late counting down the drawer though; Ahren had to show up before I was allowed to leave. Tony said "Is that right?" when I was singing. Damien got on my ass about taking a long time to start counting the drawer! Grr. Luke was late this morning. Grr˛.

Okay. When I came home (riding my bike of course) I was tiredish. I napped a bit. I read a bit (and finished The Pagan Book of Halloween). I ate soup! Wow, I'm thinking about the Bless the Child book. It's good! Oh, my phone died today. It sucks. I hope Mom sends a better one up with P. P!!! P is coming! Exciting! <:D

I went online later and listened to Victor about how it is impossible for him to be happy ever. *sigh*

10/17/00

Today was good! P and Mom finally showed up way late, and we talked, looked at pictures, and went to the store to look at veggies and stuff. We ate yummies while chatting and catching up. :)

When we woke up the next morning (Mom was singing "It's a sunrise surprise" like when we were 4 and 5), we puttered around the house and then went out to Quincy's for breakfast. Then we came to BAM to look for a book, shopped at Stein Mart, and came home. P made a card with tare panda stickers on the envelope and Dinosaurs on the card. We mailed it, then shopped at Goodwill and Wal-Mart (I got a phone), then ate at Chili's. We had weird service both places we ate. When we came home, Mom napp-ed, and P and I looked at more pictures. Mom later helped me put up things we bought at Dream Zone (oh yeah!) and all that jazz. P and I ate artichokes and coffee. Then we traded stickers. We talked about Japan. Then they left, and I made a charm and a potion for Diana, and now...bed!

10/20/00

Luke was on crack or something and changed my schedule without telling me! Luckily Tom was reasonable and let me work what I was originally scheduled. Dammit, Luke.

Jes came at 3:30 or so, and I shelved books near her and we talked. It was good. Then we left together. She got to see my place, and liked it. I changed and got my stuff. She gave me green ketchup and fun CDs, and my book back. We played Tori in the car, and visited Moon Goddess, where I bought a new CD and black candles and some lemon oil. We talked a lot! :) We had fries. We discussed evil politics, religion, music, family, and stupidity. Then after some drama, we got Seth. He was his usual self. :) We drove to Melbourne and went to Jes's, where Ron was waiting. We played a bit--the house is GREAT and all decorated for Halloween--and went to Denny's. We sang and ate. Then at home again, Ron and I played with dry ice while Jes and Seth talked. Then we called 1-800 numbers all night. EAT-DOGS was funny! CORPSES was a senior center! D'OH! :) ~*~

10/21/00

Party day. I got up and got dressed, and Jes and I played with food and went to the store. We returned and made cookies and dips and everything "of doom." We had a cookie of fuck, of piss, of Gorbachev, of George W. Bush, Al Gore, butt, poop, ho ma, and many others. Mike came, and we made more phone calls, ate, and talked a lot. Then we watched the "Killer Condom" movie, and it was fucked up. Nick showed up during it. We played the 8-ball game after, and it went okay. Good won over Evil team. We had pixy stick wars and more everything of doom. Then we watched Sleepy Hollow and ate. More people showed up during the movie, and later we jacuzzied. A girlfriend didn't seem very...happy about being here. Heh. So, we talked and Jes won a pixy stick contest by eating 13 at once, and she and Seth were on a sugar high all night. We put on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Yay.

10/26/00

Argh! I have to work for like the next six days! I hate when that happens 'cause I have nothing to look forward to except going home and doing it again. THAT sucks. I have to work tomorrow, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday (Halloween)! But at least I got my November 1^st off, AND I get the next day off too. Yayish! Good things inside every sucky thing.

10/27/00

Today was fun! I got to put out kids' truck all day, except for having to cover others' mini-breaks. I got ALL the kids' stuff out, and began organizing the Nature section in kids', but I'll never get it done. :) It was Jack's birthday and the one-day sale! We got cake and free food. Tom got special food for me since I'm the only vegetarian! The roll he got me was hard, and I banged it on my head and freaked out the other associates. :)

Scott came and got me, took me to the bank, and took me to see Blair Witch 2. It was actually decent, and I liked the fact that a main character was Wiccan. She was whiny though. When I left the theater my pentacle necklace was gone! Weird! We found it on the floor of the theater. It woulda been funny if someone had found it. Heh. What would they have thought? Scott and I did some stuff after and played around, and then I answered e-mail and discussed two copybitches with Ronni. Joe's reading my book!

10/30/00

I thought this day would never come! I'm always excited on the last day of working before a day off, so I was happy that FINALLY the end is in sight--tomorrow's Halloween, and my last day for two days! YEAH!

Today I sold 9 cards and my register was 4 pennies short--no problem. I don't think it's me. I'm so careful. Someone else is fucking up counting it originally is my opinion. Oh well. I met Mona and Adam, the two new people. Mona seems nice and Adam, by his employee thing, seems similar to me in a couple ways. I stickered enough books to impress Damien, and found a cool Wicca cookbook! :)

When I got home I shopped for groceries, and cooked. I made pumpkin pie and Samhain cider and muffins and a carrot dish. I packed some of each for lunch tomorrow. I'm happy! I'm bringing a pie and muffins for my co-worker buds. :)

10/31/00

Halloween is good.

I brought pie and muffins to work, and wrote a threatening note on the time card puncher that they must try some. I dressed as a witch (surprise)! Also, I sold 15, but on record it's 14 cards 'cause I fucked up.

Scott picked me up from work. I wanted some more time to myself, but whatever. Scott picked me up and I watched Slayers, went to Sonny's with him and his brother, and semi-TRICK-OR-TREATED at the mall. Then at home I did my Samhain ritual, which was great but tiring and will be described in detail in my BoS. :)

11/1/00

Day off number 1! Joe Day! We had a fun time. I got up a little after noon and cleaned up some more from last night, and then Joe showed up and we went out to see Almost Famous. It was actually a really good movie. After the movie we ate at Applebee's, where I had potato skins. We talked a bit about writing and about work and religion. Normal Joe-type conversations! :) After lunch, we ate muffins at my house and listened to Chess until it was Anime time. We saw the end of Laputa, and saw a few music videos and began Shamanic Princess again. We left early to catch the new Halloween Simpsons, which of course was funny. Then we watched goofy Japanese TV, after buying TV dinners and going all over town to find Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. Then I hosted and we had pie and ice cream and watched the movie and talked. :)

11/4/00

Today was a kinda cool day. I did kids' stuff (not much got done though) and trained Ahren on customer service.

Um. Tom is reading A Child Called "It" and he loves it and wants to smack the mom. I did too. <:) That book was ridiculous. (The things that happened, I mean.)

When I came home I Internetted and typed. I answered mail. Got a lot done. Did my new apartment homepage. Talked to Fred, Dan, Joe, Brendon, and Patricia. Oh, and a new gal who wrote me today. :) I told P about L's "visit" and work and Joe's erase-the-video escapade, and told her about the bitch who tried to say I was unqualified to have a Craft Web site. Yeah.

Not much to report. I'm tired.

11/5/00

I went home and played online. I slept a bit. Then I got a message from someone that Steve, Clamsammich, is dead. I can't believe it. I cried for at least two hours. He was waiting for my book and now he'll never get it! No more reviews, no dinners! I can't believe it. This fucks me up too much to write about it now.

11/9/00

We still have no President, y'all!

Today I got to work in the kids' section for once (even though I was customer service too). Tomorrow I'll get to work on it too, and hopefully soon I'll be DONE! :)

I came home and took a nap right off. I enjoyed the nap. It lasted about five hours. I dreamed I flew to the store. Then when I woke up I finished Mike's work and my e-mail, and argued with Joe about whether "rule" rhymes with "full." He still thinks they rhyme, and still thinks "beck and call" is incorrect and "beckon call" is correct. Heh. I proved I was right with the online dictionary but his reply was "the dictionary is a dirty rotten liar!" Heh. I made plans with Brendon for tomorrow and tidied up my place a bit, and scoffed at the time. :)

11/14/00

I thought about Steve some more today. I'm really glad I "bullied" him into going out to dinner that day. I miss him. I feel weird about it because he's no longer in the world. I wonder if reincarnation actually works? Do we come back?

11/20/00

Today at work flew by. I had a lot of returns unfortunately. Those suck. :P I was excited today. Everything went my way. After work I went to the mall on the off chance that they'd have the two things I was looking for, and they had both: A 2001 Witches' Calendar and a Ticketmaster where I went to buy Jekyll & Hyde tickets! YAHOO! So. Then I went home and ate pizza and read and slept a while without meaning to. When I awoke I went online, did Mike's e-mail list (it was monotonous), and baked my pies. I'm pissed about how they turned out. They are a bit mushy in the middle and that is annoying! But I was afraid I would burn them, so I took them out. *sigh* I hope Diana still likes it. I owe her a good pie after what she paid me! <:P Oh well.

I read mail from Jessica and it was so beautiful it made me cry. I cried a bunch today, just because I love the world so much (yeah, I'm a sap). I decided to re-write Sleeping Beauty.

11/24/00

It did not feel like a Friday to me. That MIGHT have something to do with the fact that I will probably have to work the next five days. BLARGH. I was really tired today and had a bad day. I guess not really a bad day--peaches and cream to everyone else I'm sure--but I was not my usual peppy self. Maybe it just had to do with being there since 8 AM. UGH. I am losing my appetite.

I came home from work, took a shower, braided my hair, and SLEPT on PURPOSE. I love naps. They're lovely. I should sleep more like Weaver. <:) When I woke up I ate a cheese-bread and did Mike's e-mail, and then went on my e-mail. I had three clique submissions (2 valid), a letter from David, and a letter from a "fellow nonsexual." I had no great urge to answer my mail. I talked to Victor and Joe and Squirrel (who acted weird), and then went in the pagan chat, which was good. I'm tired again. Bedtime. Work tomorrow. ARGH.

11/28/00

Ya know, we still have no Pres. George W. seems to have won, but that's stupid 'cause Gore got more votes. If the guy with the most votes doesn't win, it ain't democracy. FUCK!

So, today? Silly 10-4 shift. I liked it! I covered Diana's and Mona's breaks, and in the back I did sorting! I liked re-making the back room so that I, being tiny, could reach everything, and climbing up those totes like a tiny little mountain goat. Vicky is the next-smallest person working there. She's 5'2". My shoes hurt my feet today. I ate lemon cookies from Diana. <:D

12/8/00

I rule! I slept in my clothes and was cute today too. I awoke at 10:30 or so and climbed out of bed. I goofed off for just a bit and climbed into my daily life. I did my laundry, watered my ivy plant, and did my dishes. I answered e-mail. My sister called telling me she got into UF. I edited Sal's book up to page 50 and have found over 200 errors--mostly smart quote flaws. I had a flight with BellSouth again because someone randomly added some weird Complete Choice plan onto my account and says the notes say I called and did it on the 20^th of November. *checks journal entry for the 20^th of November* Hmm, somehow I REALLY DON'T FUCKING THINK SO. Look at what I was doing that day! Like yeah, I called the phone company, I'm so sure. They deserve a rant on my Web page!

12/15/00

Why is Christmas such a big fat deal? It bugs me that everyone's out to get everybody else some merry holiday obligatory gift. I'm broke, dammit, and even if I wasn't it's a silly friggin' idea. This year I am going to send presents to people all through the year when I think of them. Not when I "have to."

12/16/00

I feel like I did something bad today but I don't know what. Today I just worked, and it totally flew by, I don't get why it does that sometimes. I worked customer service for the first time in a long time. It isn't as bad as I remember. The Kids' section is trashed from people's stupid frantic Christmas shopping, though. I hate that. I am myself a little stressed about Yule--I've done no preparation at all. And it's in three damn days. I suck! Yahaaa!

12/21/00

This turned out to be a great day! I woke up way early as planned, decorated and cleaned, made my Yule log, cooked biscuits, and did a long, leisurely ritual. It was damn good! Afterwards I disposed of my stuff and decorated my house more. Mia called and I chatted with her--she wanted company and the recipe for wassail. Soon enough Joe showed up, and we went out to see Dungeons and Dragons after watching South Park. Then it was off to IHOP to get the wrong food for lots of money. Oh well. Then, at home again, we finished South Park, hung out, and then went to Pojam. I read my "Problem Recipe" poem and sang "The Christians and the Pagans" without music. I met some cool people and we sang Wiccanized Christmas carols, and Joe read his Dandelion and Amish rants, and this "Made out of Meat" article in a Free Inquiry Magazine. We watched Dune when we got back over chips & dip, but I fell asleep.

12/25/00

Well, 2000 is coming to an end and Armageddon's not here yet, guys...psyched you out, didn't we?

12/27/00

Today I just didn't feel well. I got up and Phil took me to work. I accidentally rinsed my right contact with disinfectant instead of saline, and even though I noticed before I put it in my eye and washed it off, it stung when I put it in. Then I got my period at work, and it's only because Diana had a pad in her purse that I ended up not in deep shit. :) Work was silly. I just voided Kids'. I finished Kids' Religion and the Baby sections. HA. I found some ridiculous thing called Bibleman, and it amused me. Then Joe came and picked me up (a bit late) and we went out to eat with Scott. (This is after I attempted to nap.) We ate at Ryan's...I didn't eat much, and it wasn't worth ten bucks...but it was seeing Scott, so it was nice. After that, Joe and I came back to my place and watched some Dune, then some Kodomo No Omocha while I hosted, then The Simpsons, then more Kodomo, then more Dune. And that's about it.

12/31/00

I'd say this is an accomplishment. I've kept a journal all year, and I have a record of what I did every day. An entire year that I can't forget. May next year be just the same! But before I go into all that, I'd better record what I did today.

Well, I biked to work, of course. I messed around talking to Melissa and ended up buying her a Sprite and myself a hot chocolate, on which I burned my tongue. <:P It was way good though! And that yummy whipped cream! Mm-mm good! I worked on Kids' Truck and got almost all of it done. Jack is moving Kids' all around. Tomorrow I will put out my last tote of stuff, finish Jack's project, and void the rest of Kids' Nature, Science, and Education. :) And I won't be a slow ass like he is! BLAH!

I biked home, finished Sal's editing, cleaned up dishes and the kitchen, went online, played with my Book 1, and took a shower. Later I may do calendar stuff, or probably online stuff.

So. Let's look back on the year 2000, huh? It started with a mess. Mom was annoyed at me and my friends because we left the house a wreck, but wouldn't let me help clean it up either. She accused me of being close-minded, I think, too. Maybe I could look at my relationship with my mom over the year. It's been rocky. For most of the year she wasn't speaking to her husband. I was a senior in college, and for some of the year, a few times, my mother attempted to talk me into doing things. I think our biggest "fight" was over whether I stayed in Gainesville (not her choice) and whether I get a car (not her choice either). I "won" on both issues, because, as I said, it wasn't her choice. And Mom and I have had some great times. We've shared funny jokes, had good conversations on the phone; I graduated and she helped me with my party. She's always so proud of me. She came to Gainesville to help me fix up my new apartment, and paid for a lot of it. I bought her a book for her birthday and made her a cake. She's really been there for me in good times and bad, and it's been great.

Other family...Patricia's been in Japan most of the year, and I've only seen her twice since she's been back. She brought me cool Japanese stuff. Dad...Dad kicked his habit. I haven't talked to him much. In 2001, I hope I get to have a closer relationship with him. Lindsay...she "visits" me sometimes; translation, she doesn't want to go back home after seeing some show. She got into UF, so maybe I'll see more of her when she starts here. Lindsay's strengthened her faith in the Christian religion. Mom hates it. She met a boy who has Jesus tattooed on his leg and I think she at one time believed God wanted them to be together. I hope one day she comes up with a good reason for the things she believes and can express it to me, because I kinda get the message that Christianity, being the majority religion here, somehow got her believing there's only one right way. But I shouldn't say I know what she believes. I think I will change the subject. Grandma and Grandpa Decker... We communicate frequently by e-mail. That's always nice.

So. Basic outline of the year: For the first half of 2000, I was finishing up college, doing my LOVELY pre-internship and wrapping up classes. I got an editing job with Mike, thus starting my editing career for real. My Web page grew immensely. I kept my friends and met new ones. Then I graduated and began my new life: I moved to a new apartment and made it all my own, and I got a job and began supporting myself. I learned lots more about my religion. And I wrote an awful lot.

Here are some highlights:

January--I began to have problems with my eyes. Patricia left for Japan. I got a zip drive. I got attention for my editing. I switched from HEK Ivy to HOST HEK Ivy, necessitating lots of file uprooting. I began my last semester of college. I got lucky and got a carpool for my internship. Scott and I became good friends. I turned 22. I started my internship.

February--I celebrated Imbolc. I cleaned my room very thoroughly, which is unusual. I saw the Indigo Girls. I saw Heather. Scott fixed my computer. I met his girlfriend Morgan. My eyes got damaged. Scott instigated a prank war.

March--I went to my second pre-internship. I got diagnosed with an eye infection. Fred visited me. I visited my sister for her birthday. I wrote a really cool story called "Bloom." I started my cliques page online. I celebrated Ostara and colored eggs for the first time in my life. I scored 144 on some IQ test. I wrote a song called "The Shorty Blues." Denny's got remodeled. I met Joe. I played the prank of the year on Scott.

April--I had a visit from Mike P. I made a huge game--successfully--for my internship. I got glasses and medicine to use while I had to not wear contacts due to my eye infection. Scott found out I pranked him. I played the game Toonstruck a lot. My infection went away. A girl copied from my homepage. I didn't let her get away with it. I had to teach a whole unit thing. I finished my internship. I skipped my eval class a lot. I saw my old friend Jeff for the last time this year. My father visited me. I went to a party I hated. I copyright-registered my homepage.

May--I celebrated Beltane. I went to the eye doctor and they kept saying I was fine. I got a new roommate named Katie, who replaced Melissa. I searched for apartments. The girl who copied from me continued to be a jerk. Fred visited me. Jessica got married. I met Steven, who's nice, at Jes's party. We invented the "Anti-Us" game. I started summer school. Scott tried to prank me back but he failed miserably. I went to the doctor a lot to find out what was wrong with me. I decided to live in Gainesville and Mom and I argued for a couple weeks about it. I was traumatized by an eye doctor experience where they flipped my eyelids and diagnosed me with some contact allergy. I signed up for my new apartment.

June--My mother went through hard times. I spent a lot of time online doing nothing. John left Gainesville. Joe and I came up with Pet Jesus. Squirrel visited me. I acquired lots of Anime and watched it with Ammy. I got a Mokona doll in the mail the exact day I predicted. I had an entire conversation--a long one!--with my Mom without fighting. I celebrated Litha. I got my first computer virus. I graduated from the University of Florida. I planned a grad party. I began to draw a graphic novel. The girl who stole from me changed her tactics of being jerky. I had an eye doctor appointment where they told me I was fine. I got taught how to clean my contacts.

July--Had a graduation party with much drama. Wore my contacts again. The girl who stole from me continued to be an ass by signing my guestbook pretending the story was something else entirely. I rode all over Gainesville trying to find a job. I got an interview at Books-A-Million and got a job there. Joe's car got stolen. I saw the movie X-men, for which I had been waiting for about seven years. My character Ivy had her fourth "birthday"; four years ago in July I started Book 1.

August--I celebrated Lughnasadh. I learned to do STOP orders at work. I began packing for my move. I got my first work check. I saw my new apartment and signed all the paperwork. I moved in and I love it. Mom helped me decorate and organize. I cleaned my old apartment and said goodbye to it. I got my first prank call at work. My phone was completely screwed up by BellSouth's incompetence. Fred visited me. I completely ignored the Survivor phenomenon. My sister came back from Japan. I learned how to work the register. I read the fourth Harry Potter book. I talked to my old interning teacher. I met Steve, aka Clamsammich, who's been an online friend since 1999. Grandma and Grandpa visited me.

September--I squished a frog and was terribly upset by it. I had a visit from Meghan, Anthony, and Katelyn. I got my deposit back. My eyes finally got better. Our general manager at work quit. Mom visited me and we had cake for her birthday. I was moved to a job as Kids' department head. We had a wimpy hurricane. I celebrated Mabon. I got my picture taken (finally) at work. My copycat girl wrote a page of hilarious lies about me. I began doing things I had wanted to do "if I ever have money." I was recognized at Poetry Jam as being an "Old School Poet." I found a typo in a Hallmark card (yes that IS a highlight!).

October--My friend got cancer and had surgery for it and recovered. I made plans to see Steve again but it didn't happen. I saw Weird Al in concert. I saw my friend Bob for the first time in a while. I had more trouble with BellSouth. Victor turned 25. My mother and sister Patricia visited me. I went to Jessica's new house and attended her wonderful party. Jes decided not to be married anymore. I bought the soundtrack for Chess. I began to get wonderful reviews on my short stories. I dressed up as a witch (heh) at work on Halloween. I celebrated Samhain.

November--Diana loved my pumpkin pie and later paid me to make her another one. I found out my friend Steve is dead. I still don't know how he died or when and that upsets me. I met Shawn, a guy I knew from online. Mia visited me to pick up a gift P bought her, and Phil came over. We had an election day with no result. I learned to work in the café at work. I got a visit from Brendon. I saw Jekyll & Hyde with Joe. I bought a new calendar. I re-wrote Sleeping Beauty. I had Thanksgiving dinner with my family. Phil visited me. I changed my bank account.

December--I found a typo on a light bulbs sign that said "blubs." I got another editing job. I hung out with Shawn for the last time before he moved away. We made G. W. Bush president. God help us. I fought with BellSouth. I worked on making an Ivy calendar. I saw Gallagher with Scott. I met Kari, who's like my evil twin. I had a 90-day evaluation at work. Phil visited me. John visited me. I made a Francesca Lia Block page and a Joan D. Vinge page. I celebrated Yule after lots of trials and tribulations. Ammy visited me. I joined my family for Christmas and met my sister's boyfriend Yuichi. I saw Steve and Bryan's place and met Julie, Bry's girlfriend. I got a sewing machine. I got the Rent soundtrack.

All in all, I think it's been a wonderful year. I've made some amazing transitions with little to no trouble and am now free of college life and in the "real world," where I spend more time in fantasyland than ever before. And that's how I like it.

Next year, looking forward: I want to be more generous, and have the resources to do so. I want to consistently trim my hair so it will grow. I want to deepen my understanding of my religion. I want to start a savings account. I want to keep my apartment clean. I want to apply for editing jobs and work on my writing. I want to finish Book 4 and clean up Book 1 for submission. I want to get up all the decorations I have. I want to read more. I want to continue having all these wonderful people in my life, and for life to continue as it has been, and to get better for my friends for whom life is not a picnic. Goodbye, 2000. Hello 2001!