I haven’t posted anything since my last column because frankly, I’ve had a festering resentment for this little space of mine. Sounds disgusting and unsanitary, I know. And it might be, so don’t get too close to your screen as you read this. I simply lost all desire to write when I looked at the mess that was my site and instead collapsed in a heap on the floor to feel sorry for myself. While I am known for being thematically fickle, I’d finally found the theme I wanted to settle down with, but I couldn’t find anyone to help me implement the changes.

I’ve been trying for the better part of the last five months to get things scrubbed up around here and it’s been about as easy to find a reliable web designer as it is to find a picture of Tara Reid sober. I mean, these guys are nice and all, but I’m just a teensy account, the gnat of web design projects, and I think as priorities go, mine was as high on the to-do list as scrubbing the communal toilet is for a fraternity brother. What’s worse though, is that none of them would come straight out and say it, leaving me with the strange sensation that I’d just been stood up.

After many starts and stops and a whole bunch more stops (and a few private fits), I finally found someone who not only did the work you see here, but who live-chatted with me as he was doing it. Whoa. The whole communication thing is a mind bender. There are still more changes to come as far as the appearance of my little cul-de-sac out here on the web goes, particularly on the splash page, but for the most part, things have been pared down and what you see is what it will be. The key is simplicity.

I’m into simplifying, of late. Some of the simplifying is happening by choice, because I can’t stand the clutter. But some of it has been forced like when, for instance, my laptop up and died on me. Again. Computers and me go together like George W. Bush and the shoe throwing journalist, and it isn’t too hard to figure out that I’m not Bush in this scenario. This year alone, I’ve had to replace my hard drive, my video card, my disk drive, my keyboard and my motherboard. I have no idea what a motherboard is but it sounds important; given that my laptop was unusable until I got the new one, it apparently is. While all of this was going on with my portable device, my desktop computer also needed new innards. It’s like all of my electronic equipment got their periods at the same time. Bitches.

The upside to this downfall is that I read a book. As in, opened a hard cover and turned page after glorious page with lots of words on them. It was a miserable motherfucker of a book, but it was a fantastic misery that made me grateful for, well, a whole host of things. You can read my review of Blindness over at my friend Angela’s site, Culture Lust. You should also check out some of her other posts while you’re there because she’s a really great writer and photographer and arts and culture officianado and all around amazing and beautiful human. She also has enviable fashion sense. And perfect hair.

So that’s it for now. My laptop is back home and has fully recovered, though there is a size 8-1/2 shoeprint on the screen. The damage is minimal since I didn’t chuck a stilletto. Next time, though…look out. I’m apt to get all boomerangy on that shit. I bet even the agile Mr. Bush couldn’t duck my trajectory.