Straight No Chaser

Retribution

i don't know about you, but i find it absolutely impossible to watch ever after (drew barrymore's cinderella story, circa 1999 maybe?) all the way through without throwing something at the tv. i might have watched the entire thing when it first came out, because i seem to remember feeling satisfied at the end (after hating the stepcharacters passionately throughout) because everyone got what they deserved. i don't know.

birthday outing was good but a little strained; what was once a tight-knit group of five has become a bunch of tight-knit overlapping twosomes, which doesn't necessarily make for seamless group interaction, but we survived it. i felt important for a day, which was all i was really hoping for. and now my floor is littered with birthday memorabilia, much of which will probably remain there till the next birthday. (that's an exaggeration, but a slight one.)

"Invalid Item"  wrote itself in the wee hours of this morning as i was pouting about getting ditched on yet another friday night. like sheadon, its nameless character (who at first was rather pointedly called "trista") is nine parts me and one part creation, deliberate because the story was intended for marcus's eventual viewing. he won't like it; he will feel chastised. but hopefully someone will.