Right now, it's late. I'm tired. I'm terribly behind on artwork that's due tomorrow. The place I'd like most to be is in bed beside my bride, but for some reason I've been struck by the notion that typing aimlessly into the blogger would be far more rewarding than much-needed sleep.

Let's see, what to talk about... I'd really like to discuss books I've been reading, but that usually comes off as snobbish and elitist, so I'll abstain. Ooh, I had a couple stories to tell, didn't I? I'll try that.

Saturday, Carey and I tried out Open Sesame, a little Mediteranean restaurant down in Belmont Shore. The food was rather good, but there's something about Mediteranean food that, while always enjoyable, makes me want to abstain from it for a good couple of months after partaking. Anyhow, the experience was terribly mediocre... not the cuisine, mind you, but the service. Everything was a mind-numbing wait and, at one point, Carey had to resign herself to simply not getting a drink refill, even after asking the waitress 3 times. No biggie, not enough to ruin our evening, but I'll have to admit that I was rather annoyed and, in the end, I left a lousy tip (somewhere in the 9 or 10% range). I know, I know... what a jerk. Carey was not happy about the gratuity pittance and we had a mild argument about tipping. Her contention was that it's part of Mediteranean culture to not rush and to sort of do things when you get around to them... therefore, they shouldn't be penalized for it. Fair enough, but while we're talking culture... mine says that hard work should be rewarded. And, besides, when I waited tables back in college I recall being stiffed at least once a shift (something I would never do, no matter how terrible the service), so it does go to show that there are indeed much ruder hosers than myself roaming about.

Anyhow, we'd parked on a residential street about a block away and we reached the car just as our argument reached its bitter climax. We never got to finish, though, because behind us there was a fantastic crash and some sort of inhuman screeching. We turned around to see the apartment facing our car.

And a cat fell out of the window.

The cat screamed, hit the concrete from its 2nd story drop, and bolted south to parts unknown. Behind it, a dog crashed right through the screen and would have fallen out himself if his owner hadn't yanked him back inside. Soon, a human head popped out the window, looking frantic. I offered up:

"Sir? Your cat just fell out the window."

"HE DID??? Did you see which way he went?!"

"Yeah, he ran that way."

"Oh, God. Thanks."

The man shot out of there, helter skelter, calling out "Scooter!" and it soon became apparent that there was some sort of altercation with the dog that had ended poorly. The cat was long gone.

To make a long story somewhat less long, Carey and I found ourselves combing the streets with this poor guy and his wife for the next 2 hours. Scooter, fat and gray, was nowhere to be found. We walked as far down as the ocean, thought we caught glimpses, asked strangers for help, peered under cars, overturned alley boxes... all for this frenzied feline. The woman was hysterical. Apparently, Scooter was a house cat and had never in his three years of cathood been outside. Carey hugged her and assured her that it would all be all right and, spit spot, we'd find ol' Scoot soon enough.

The sun went, down however, and we were eventually forced to tell them that we might have to call it a night. "We'll come back tomorrow and look in the daylight with you," we assured them. They thanked us many times over and we eventually returned home and went to bed, feeling a bit guilty for not sticking it out. They'd told us their plans however: they were going to post fliers all around Belmont Shore and SouthWestern Long Beach, hoping for the best. We told them that was a great idea and, who knows, sometimes a scared cat will eventually wander back home.

The next day, we returned in the afternoon. To our delight, Scooter had indeed wandered back at around 3:00 in the morning and his owners couldn't have been happier. They were terribly grateful for our efforts as well and they insisted on having us over for dinner someday soon, possibly even this coming weekend.

So, that's that. We may have made some new friends and the aptly named Scooter is back safe and sound. Funny how things work out.
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And now I truly am tired. Off to bed with me. I still have to get around to talking about good old Gene Toth, but I suppose that'll have to wait.

Sweet dreams.

posted by Jeremy Bear 1:40 AM

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Wednesday, September 25, 2002

Few quick notes and then I must allow the wife a turn on the computer...

First, thanks to Ben Bays of Burbank, CA for the latest script title. A little ditty he likes to call: Richard Deakins Comes to Town. Judge as you will.

Second, I've felt guilty for the past couple of months (ever since that mega-post about our drive to California, actually) about the fact that I've kept every blogger entry I've made so far on one, single, NOSE-BLEED-INDUCING PAGE. The scroll-bar has begun to cascade into the infinite and that's no good. So, if you'll cast your eyes to the upper-right corner of the page, you'll notice an Archive Link, which sorts all of my posts by week. The main blogger page, from here on out, will only show the 10 most recent posts. For anything earlier, refer to the archive. Much more manageable.

Third, Carey and I had a very eventful weekend (jeez, is it Wednesday already?) and much of it is indeed Blog-worthy, but I must dash for the moment. Remind me to tell the story of lazy Mediteranean waitresses, an angelic fellow by the name of Gene Toth, and the madcap antics of a cat named Scooter. Confused? Don't be. Answers and stories soon to come!

Anon!

posted by Jeremy Bear 10:50 AM

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Monday, September 23, 2002

What th--? Did someone change the wallpaper in here?

Oh, yes, it's true. An all new design for the ol' website. Speaking candidly, I'm not completely thrilled with it yet, but I've nonetheless decided that it's due for a change. I never really looked at the old design as something permanent anyhow. I've a lot of tweaking yet to do on it, but I gave myself the challenge of completely redesigning, coding, updating, and uploading a new site in the course of one weekend. Mission accomplished, but now I desperately need some sleep.

Also, a couple of new additions to the homepage. "What's New" is just an excuse to keep my portfolio up to date. "Recommended Reading" is something I've always wanted to have on my very own website... a little nook to discuss whatever's on my nightstand at the moment or get the word out about authors and creators that I feel are overlooked. As you can see, my first "book of the week" (or month... or year, depending on my laziness) is Gaiman's 'American Gods.' Read it. It's worth your time.

Annnnndddd..... I've devised a way for people to just fill in the blank and clickety-click send me their title suggestions. I know, it's a bit awkward at the moment... but, hey, I only had a weekend, you know? I will work out all the bugs of this new design in due time. Honest.

Anyhow... opinions?

posted by Jeremy Bear 2:16 AM

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