Caterwauling

Another glorious meme stolen from Tiff:

1. What is your full name? Dawn Amber (and the last name I try to hide ’round here)

2. How did your parents come up with that? I was born at dawn. Real original. Actually, my mom was dating a guy named Don (clearly, not my father) at the time as well. My father would know me by “Shit, I should have used a condom!”

3. Do you know the meaning of your name(s)? Well, Merriam-Webster’s defines me as:

Function: intransitive verb

Etymology: Middle English, probably back-formation from dawning daybreak, alteration of dawing, from Old English dagung, from dagian

1 : to begin to grow light as the sun rises

2 : to begin to appear or develop

3 : to begin to be perceived or understood

Funny that I feel like I am the complete opposite of my name. I should’ve been called Irony.

4. Are any of your names patron saints? Goddess of Self-Pleasure

5. Do you like your name? Sure beats Esmerelda or Shaniqua or Fantasia. Dawn has come to fit me. I had an English professor who said she didn’t trust the name Dawn — it was “too new” (the woman was older than the eggnog in the fridge at Ted’s old workplace!). I liked my name more for that very reason!

6. Is there any part of your name you don’t like? The fact that my last name proves that I am related to some of the most rednecked people who presently walk this earth, although, arguably, some of them are dragging their knuckles in the dirt. I used to think I would keep my name if ever I got married; now, in addition to the other traits I want in a husband, a decent last name is starting to rank higher and higher! As far as my first name, it ASTOUNDS me how many people call me at work and sound perfectly stunned that “Dawn” is a FEMALE name!!! WTF?!?!

7. Do you have any nicknames? Dusk. Midnight. Dawn of the Dead. Bitch. Cunt. Snarky Little Shit. Oh, the list goes on, but I’m sure more of you have additions to the list that I haven’t even heard! (And no, I’m not encouraging you to share!)

8. Any ideas of what you’d like to name your kids? Crouton. Seriously, it’s the only original name left! Crouton and Cobalt, if they end up being twins. 🙂

9. Any odd facts about your name? It’s in a dictionary and is translated into every language. It’s also in the game “Magic: The Gathering” — apparently it’s a deck of cards. And Amber is just a stripper name. No question about that!

10. Just for fun, add up the letters in your name then keep adding the digits until you get one number. What’s the number? I did this years ago. We came up with 6, which is also my life number that you get from doing the same math on my birthdate.

On iTunes: Peyote Circus, “Queen Nicotina (ALP remix)”

Many one-way streets in Crystal City are now open to two-way traffic. But the banners now read: “Now you can go both ways!” Kind of rivals the pro-gay slogan for Philadelphia: “Get your history straight and your nightlife gay.” I’m sure the marketing genius for the new Crystal City traffic flow is gently banging his or her head off a brick wall right now. 😉

And in a perfect case of irony:

On iTunes: Type O Negative, “My Girlfriend’s Girlfriend”

I have a thousand meetings tomorrow, not the least stressful of which will be my performance review. But I asked for and will receive a comp day on Wednesday, so Angie says drinks are on her tomorrow night. On Wednesday, I plan to visit the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, which is part of my plan to enjoy the city I’m in instead of avoiding it like the plague.

I’m also making plans to take a two-week jaunt to the west coast in August to see Shan’s new home and to possibly escape to Seattle and L.A. This ain’t so bad. I will miss the hell outta her and Alex when they move, but it’s nice to know too that I always have a place to escape … a place to land if all falls to shit ’round here. And after that trip, Journal Con D.C. is another glorious thing to look forward to. Hurrah! I feel vital again — something I haven’t felt in a long time. Not to disparage the life I had/have, but it’s great to be involved, to be planning and dreaming and anticipating something, anything. To not be dreading or simply just waiting.

I spent yesterday re-arranging my bedroom. It’s still a freakin’ disaster, thanks in part to my kitten who trashed the room last night, but I’m preparing for some new furniture and simply wasn’t happy just cleaning. Everything is a thousand times more difficult with carpal tunnel, so I didn’t quite accomplish as much as I had hoped. But I did spare some time for a hot date with my Jelly Osaki vibrator before “Six Feet Under,” and life is good again. For now. 🙂 I may be singing a different tune tomorrow, but the beauty of low expectations is that I don’t have too far to fall.

Everybody send warm, fuzzy thoughts over to Amy, who is traveling to see her sick grandmother in the Show Me State (also known as the state of Misery, where I visited two months ago for our corporate idiot convention). Amy has become a great friend to me during the past few weeks, and she needs all the good ju-ju we can all possibly muster up for her!

On iTunes: Winger, “Written in the Wind”