I just spent a minute, a record for me in blogging time, staring at my desk wondering what to write here today. Which kinda describes how I am feeling: Blank, dull, dim-witted and–some fourth word that escapes me now.

But since I don’t want to foul mood of yesterday’s post to hang around here like a bad penny I wanted to say something.

“Something.”

Ha!

I hope to return to my normal opinionated self tomorrow.

Meanwhile, have a great Wednesday.

Chuck E. Cheese. Downtown Brooklyn. Summer vacation. A hot day.

77 frantic kids, their parents, their younger siblings, their strollers, their shoes, their older siblings with pants hanging completely off their butts, the constant, frantic whine of the games attempting to lure the kids in to spend their tokens, the monitors showing revamped videos of old ’80s songs replaced with Chuck E. Cheese-related  content. The horrible, sugar-infused pizza, the too much information outfits on many of the moms. Gah. Gah, gah, gah.

I have just found the eighth circle of Hell.

So the job foreman on our house reno, currently my favorite guy in the whole world, told me he hopes to be finished by the end of next week.

Which means . . . moving in.

Yikes. You mean–I gotta pack all this stuff up into manageable sizes and move it into a new house (new to me, at least), where I then have to unpack it?

Hoo boy. Bring on the wine. And the whine.

Any tips for packing, moving, keeping calm, etc.? All support is appreciated.

This weekend, I will be presenting a workshop to the NYC-RWA chapter, Plotting By The Seat Of Your Pants. True to pantsers’ form, I have done NO PREPARATION. Yet. Tonight the Faltering, but Still Faithful Knicks Fan Spouse will be watching his guys at MSG, while I will print some stuff out and do a dry run in front of the books.

I am way, way nervous about Saturday.

And then in April, I present the panel at the New England Conference. So, um, yikes.

Other than that, we’ve basically decided on colors for the new house (caliente, above, for one of the living room walls), bought a new exterior door, designed the nine+ foot-long closet, and chosen stains for the flooring. My contractor and I still have a cordial relationship. I am buying pizza for the workers on Friday, almost as much because the pizza place is AWESOME and I want some as that the workers are equally awesome. Although less studded with roasted red peppers.

And, if you’re still reading, find Duffy’s “Mercy” on YouTube and see some true awesomeness (again, sans the red peppers).

I am not a fruitcake.

But I am also not an ostrich. Clearly, our environment is in trouble–the polar bears’ population is diminishing, global warming is a reality, and we are not taking care of our resources.

I am a casual environmentalist: I turn lights off, I turn the water off while doing the tooth-brushing thing, I recycle, I do all the things a well-meaning person should. We don’t own a car or a microwave. I know there is more I can do, and I have been trying lately: I set my computer to “sleep” when not using it, I am replacing lightbulbs with CFLs, I trade and donate books, and I have many plans for when we move into our new (to us) house.

Probably one of the most important things I can do is vote for the environment in the coming election; not that I will become a one-issue voter, that just isn’t me, but I will look more carefully at what the candidates are saying about helping our earth survive.

Blog Action Day is pretty amazing–there are over 15,000 blogs participating, and that’s cool. I hope it makes a noise, a la Horton Hears A Who!. It has inspired me to look to see what more I can do.

Thanks for letting me hop on the soapbox.

Besides the fact that I love polar bears almost as much as the Delightful Phone Friend loves panda bears is that this is so totally our fault!

Two-thirds of the world’s polar bears will be gone by the middle of the century.

The US Geological Survey (USGS) says parts of the Arctic are losing summer ice so fast that no bears will be able to live there within several decades. Scientists believe Arctic ice will hit a record low this year.