PLEASE LINK TO YOUR XANGA!!!!!!!!

Check that rad shiz out, man!  It's valentine's day, yo--that means buy your lady a nice pair of earrings! 

So I's chillin' wid the Laura this week.  It's nice to hang out with her and have nothing else, like work, to do.  However, I still haven't received my first unemp. check--which is scary since I just paid rent!  O_O

In conclusion, Bitter Fruit was a good book; President Bush is a bad man; and I am a starving artist.

Currently Reading Bitter Fruit: A Novel By Achmat Dangor see related

Well, last week I officially joined the ranks of single mothers and recently laid-off minimum-wage earners as a recipient of unemployment pay.  And even (although I'm still looking into this) health insurance.  Sad life, you say?  Not yet.  It might be--depending on how little my pay checks seem to be.  But in the meantime, I'm hoping for the best.

See, my contract with Soup2nuts came to an end with the end of the Time Warp Trio production schedule.  Don't worry, TWT fans!  It's still on--and there are new episodes coming up, but we, the studio, are done with the episodes comissioned by the network. 

Aaaaaaaaaaaaand so.  I'm here collecting unemployment until something comes along. I'm not too worried though.  There has been some interest by some interesting animation companies of interest.  Needless to say, it'll be interestingly interesting to see how it all plays out.*

So in the meantime, I come to the library every day to look up jobs, check my email (and xanga comments, of course), etc.  I was stupid and never got email at my apt., but then, on the other hand, it helps me to get out of the house.  And what, you may be wondering, do I do with the rest of my time?  Well, I've been getting a lot of reading done.  Last night I stayed up all night and read Bitter Fruit--almost in it's entirety (I highly recommend it, by the way)!  I also have been working on writing some short fiction of my own--perhaps, if it's any good, I'll try to get it published in McSweeney's or some lesser literary journal.  And, of course, I've been working on sketches for some new illustrations. 

Oh yeah!  And I've been trying some new recipes.  I made my own pesto las tnight--I must recommend you try it!

Combine, in a blender:

1/2 c. pine nuts

1/2 c. olive oil

1 1/2 c. basil leaves (tightly packed)

3 cloves garlic (or more, to taste)

1 t. of pepper

Blend for about 1-1.5 minutes.  Then add 1/2 c. parmesean cheese and blend again for another few seconds.

And now you're done.  Makes a nice creamy pesto sauce.  Now toss it with some fresh (hot) pasta--I had it with some ravioli.  But you can have it with whatever.  Good stuff.

Until next time I'm at the library, take care.

*Interesting, huh.