This is what I see when I look up from the computer at my current temp assignment:

In related news, someone mistook me for an auditor yesterday. I guess the professional façade is believable.

A highlight of my daily internet routine is the CNN headlines. They always have one or two that are designed to suck you in by sheer absurdity, and I fall for it more than I care to admit.

I dare you to browse these recent examples without clicking on at least one:

Porn broadcast stuns news viewers
Hundreds of body parts recalled
Aztecs butchered, ate Spanish invaders
Woman admits stealing $2.3M to play lottery
Megadeth angry at United Nations
Comic sues Jews for Jesus

Lian and Brooke are petsitting their friends’ gecko:

He’s shy.

I went to H&M today to buy clothing of a “professional” nature:

The neon star sweater was my consolation prize.

I’m doing a round of highly corporate temp gigs at the moment, which is working out well. However, the dress code has triggered my rebellious side. I’ve found that for every pro-corporate action I take, there is an equal and opposite reaction. The answer to a pair of conservative button down shirts? Orange-cone orange! Eight hours of full-on professional gear? A strong urge to dye my hair pink, accompanied by the desire to set fire to said clothing. Possibly while still wearing it.

If anyone knows of a decent-paying job that will allow me to wear leftist political t-shirts to the office, please let me know.

This post is dedicated to Brooke and to Allie, former and present Community Organizers at my old workplace, the Champaign County Health Care Consumers.

Brooke and Allie have given The Man a real scare by leading the Campaign for Access to Emergency Contraception, which advocates for over-the-counter approval of a drug regimen called Plan B, or the “Morning-After Pill”. While Plan B has been declared safe for non-prescription use by scores of doctors and scientists, and is already dispensed after a brief consultation with a pharmacist in seven states, the FDA is dodging the question on the national level.

Reasons for the delay include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Our country currently has a conservative, antifeminist moron at its helm, which has a trickle-down effect
• In a move that almost constitutes comic relief, a licensed veterinarian was actually appointed director of the Women’s Health Office of the FDA

Obviously, it’s been an uphill battle. I haven’t thought about it much since leaving Illinois, as I no longer have 2,000 condoms and a variety of leaflets encouraging me to back up my birth control sitting a few feet from my desk. However, I was reading the Onion the other day, and came across an article offering “arguments” against legalizing OTC Plan B sales. My personal favorite:

Presence of pill on convenience-store shelves will take up valuable Twix space

Voila! The Morning-After Pill is back on my radar screen, and now I’ve drawn you in as well. Click here to read more Onion-y goodness, here for basic information on Emergency Contraception from Planned Parenthood, and here to send an email to the FDA Commissioner via the NARAL Pro-Choice America website. If you have any clicks left in you, leave a comment about the rad-ness of Brooke, Allie, and all the other activists working hard to protect our reproductive rights.

I need new frames for my glasses, so I decided to swing by Rockridge in search of something fun. Unfortunately, while the stuff in this neighborhood is both hip and unique, it comes with a price tag to match.

With this in mind, I went to put on my most stylin’ yes-I-can-afford-$600-frames gear, only to remember that, oh yeah, I don’t have any. I then considered borrowing a lap dog for the afternoon, until I realized that none of my friends’ dogs fit in tote bags. Finally, I settled on a mildly art-y outfit, hoping I could pass for a Berkeley student who wandered astray after inhaling too many paint fumes.

Thus disguised, I was pleasantly surprised to find a set of frames that are (literally) one-of-a-kind, but far below the $600 range. My goal was to check out styles and colors, hit eBay for this round, and then support the local economy after I make my first million. However, it looks like this trip to Rockridge was not all window-shopping. I just need to grab a friend with a good eye (no pun intended, I swear) and revisit those frames. If I buy them, look for the shop in question as the next Rad Business.

Photo Credit: Brooke

Jaspar, Q*Bert and I have a good cohabitation system worked out: they sit around while I put Ikea items together. Occasionally, we nap. Once in a while they get up to eat, while I puzzle over pots and pans in an attempt to nourish myself.

Most importantly, we stay up far into the wee hours. We all agree that anyone who goes to bed before two is wimpy.