2000-09-01 - 10:57am

On the internal soundtrack: "Southern Cross", by Crosby Stills and Nash. Earlier it was some 80s song called "Africa". Who did that? Toto?

Well, we actually got to visit with BD for a couple hours last night. He bought takeout from Akasaka and we sat around and chatted about, among other things, napping. Napping is fun, was the general consensus, but we can't nap too long or we're groggy for the rest of the day.

BD says in college he napped constantly. I did too. Now that I get 9 hours of sleep a night, though, I don't nap as often. Unless, of course, I am snuggling with Poindexter, which is nearly guaranteed to put me right to sleep.

Tidbit I want to remember:

I think I mentioned awhile back that Poindexter and I like to lay in bed on Saturday mornings and snuggle and talk. Sometimes we do this in the afternoon, too. We call this lazing around and talking "working on our marriage". Any time that we spend lazing around focused only on each other -- no TV, no books, no other people -- is very good for strengthening the bond between us. I guess that's why Poindexter's mom calls it "marriage glue".

In my not so humble opinion, I think a lot of people would be a lot better off -- happier, less stressed -- if they slowed down a little and worked on their marriage for an hour or so on a Saturday afternoon.

Our vacation starts today! Yippee!! Due to too many family visits and funerals and such this year, we are not taking a real vacation. So we blocked off Labor Day Weekend as "just for us" and we'll eat out at fancy restaurants. It should be really great.

We're gonna go to Tempo tonight, a place down the street with both Italian and French food (and takes the Entertainment Card, so I have an excuse to buy 2 entrees, woooo!). Tomorrow night or Sunday maybe we can go someplace superfancy downtown.

A certain party, who shall remain nameless but wasn't me or Poindexter, left the milk out last night. So I had to stop at CVS this morning so I'd have some for my cereal. Since I'm on vacation, I went wild and bought 2%. Whoo-hoo! It's like ice cream!

So, Poindexter is an absolute genius. No, really, he is. I know you're sick of hearing it but listen to this:

Yesterday I took an online journal poll, though a link at threewayaction.com (no, it's nothing obscene; check it out). Several questions asked you if you used your journal "as an outlet for your emotions".

Now, I have emotions, but I don't recall needing an outlet for them. They're just there. Sometimes I vent to people when I'm having an aggravating day, but that's about it.

So I asked Poindexter whether he has an outlet for his emotions. And he says "Yeah, my sense of humor." I was skeptical at this, although I concede he is always, always laughing, which is one of my favorite things about him. So I asked for an example.

He talked about what happens on an airplane when you hit some nasty turbulence. Everybody startles, and looks around at everyone else in a frightened way, and then they smile or laugh and the tension breaks.

Another example would be when you're really mad about something, perhaps about a person, and someone else starts making fun of that person in a funny way. It makes you laugh, and makes you feel less angry.

Or have you ever been stomping around, cranky about something, slamming cabinet doors and such, and your partner starts giggling because you're so funny? And you get madder at first, 'cause they're laughing at you, but then you see where they're coming from and start to laugh yourself? And then you're not so mad anymore?

While some people use humor as an avoidance technique (laugh at a situation to divert attention away from it), it can also be a very powerful tool for releasing tensions of all kinds. The world would probably be a better place if people would lighten up a little. Use anger to be productive, not to fester and take out on people. And when it gets to be too much, laugh it out.

So, when I am writing letters to acquaintances on the internet, once I start to get to know them a little and feel a sort of affection for them, I can't figure out how to sign off my notes.

"Love" is too personal. "Sincerely" is corny. "Take care" is commonly used, but I just don't like it. Any suggestions? Occasionally when I'm in a goofy mood I'll use "Yours 'til Niagara Falls" (I'm a sucker for a good pun). None of these really work.

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