Mass Hysteria!

It's already Thursday, yet, I've only been working for two days this week. Isn't that great? Today's my late day, which means I don't have to be in until 10 a.m. or so. I love my late days. It's the only time I get to get any work done without some random nincompoop rolling on in and distracting me. Plus in the morning, I actually get to do stuff.

Yesterday was one of those rough, 10 hour work days, the kind that never seem to end. I probably could've stayed another four hours at the office, but after calmly talking myself down off of that ledge, I called it a day and drove home. The only good thing about having a 45-minute drive at 7:15 p.m. is that there's no traffic, and you don't have to use the tollways to get home. Upon walking in the house, our little puppy, Simon, crashed into my leg and jumped up and down like he'd just seen the Beatles final concert. My wife was sitting on the living room floor (on the legendary rug, no less!), playing the PSP and watching, "This Christmas," for at least the tenth time.

Now, I'm not much to plop down and watch just any old movie. Time is short, and I've got lots of other things to do, like write or catch-up on my backlog of DVDs and Blu Rays. Amanda, however, can always find something on HBO or Showtime (hell, we've got 10 channels of each). So as I'm eating some leftover Mexican food that Amanda brought home from earlier in the day, I really analyzed Amanda's viewing of, "This Christmas." For those who don't know, this film is about an African-American family with a hodge podge of actors that you've seen in other stuff. They have a big family Christmas in California, and it's got all the fixin's of a feel good story. There's the gambling son with a good heart deep down who simply, "lost his way," to the tune of a $25,000 debt. There's a daughter who's married to a philandering business man who gets caught in the act. There's the essential 'white girl' girlfriend, and the boy who could really shine as a singer if only his mother would let go of her puritanical ways and let him spread his wings. Take all of these ingredients, sprinkle in the parents trying to hold it together; and you've got a 'been there, done that' feel good drama meant for a specific demographic (Hint: It's not my wife, the 27-year-old, middle-class anglo woman).

All I know is, that Chris Brown made Rihanna's face look like a puppy's first bowel movement, and Delroy Lind0 (the father), was a lone bright spot in, "Gone in 60 Seconds." Needless to say, if you ever find yourself in the Cathey household, you better bet your ass that 'This Christmas' will be on a television somewhere.

Transition...

I've been toying with the idea of posting another excerpt from the unfinished, "Plunge", since everyone enjoyed the first so much. Hell, most writers would never do that, but see, I'm not a, 'real writer.' I just pretend. But what I do enjoy is sharing my writing with friends and family (and hopefully millions of people). It's no fun to write something if nobody reads it.

So, it's almost time for me to head into the office. Boy, I can't wait, either!

Until next time...