07 May 2002 - 10:25 p.m.

Driving in the dark through heavy rain: gnash. Just earlier today I was thinking that one of the reasons I've come to prefer summer to winter is because I find the driving-around much easier, but I probably lost another micro-millimeter of tooth enamel during tonight's commute.

Monsoons aside, though, it's been a pretty good week so far: the postman brought a lovely birthday package from Fuzz and my complimentary copies of this year's Bryant Literary Review (volume 3), which has my poems on pages 106-108, I treated myself to gouache and nibs and pen-holders at an art store sale, and I improvised a soup last night that was fast, easy and well-received: fried a 1/2 pound of leftover potsticker filling (ground chicken, chives, garlic and carrot) in olive oil with a half-cup of chopped onion. Then I added the mixture to one 12 oz. can of tomato sauce, one 12 oz. can of kidney beans, a can's worth of water, and half a pound of frozen okra and simmered it all with liberal dashes of black pepper and chili powder. When the BYM was ready, I served it with the baguette left over from lunch.

I should put in some easel time tonight, but I used up all of my willpower getting myself not to skip working out tonight. I did feel better than I expected once I was there, but it's now after dinner (lean ribeye steak, spinach and boiled red potatoes) and all I want to do is shower and head to bed. To be fair to myself, I do need more sleep - better one good, focused session tomorrow than two sloppy, sorry attempts...

And so, to soap and slumber.