Rumble-Rumble-Rumble-Rumble-Rumble-Rumble-Rumble-Rumble...

That was the soundtrack for today. We had three thunderstorms yesterday afternoon/evening: then, this morning, a peal of thunder from the fourth jolted me out of a sound sleep. And then this afternoon, I had a heck of a time trying to get the housework done, since we had almost continuous rolls of thunder out there from about 1 pm till nearly 5 pm. But the good news is, the humidity and the heat are GONE!!! I can finally breathe freely!

The weather ended up being so bad that my boss called me and told me not to bother coming in tonight. GRRR!!! And I need the hours and the money, right when I'm trying to scrape some cash together for the sci-fi convention!!! (I still have to buy the sleeveless black leotard/black leggings for my Trinity costume) But next week, it looks like I have a long shift in the morning on Saturday. Hmm... Well, that compensates, sort of!

I'm getting some practise playing Trin: My dear friend and fanfiction/RPG mentor Laurie is writing a "Matrix" fanfic, and I am helping her write Trinity's part in it... as well as a few other characters, most notably Sparks (from "Enter the Matrix"). We talked about writing an "A.I." fanfic together, but that somehow never gelled. But, it looks like a collaboration is definately happening now, albeit in a different fandom.

And I finally finished reading "Timeline" today. I think I liked the ending in the book a little better than the ending in the movie, but I like how the script-writers telescoped a couple characters into one. More about that later...

"B-B-BEES!!!"

That was my mother's stuttering exclamation on seeing a bunch of bumblebees buzzing happily around some flowers in the French garden at the Coolidge Arboretum in North Andover this afternoon. What a lovely place! Lots of nice *BIG* old ash trees, an antique greenhouse full of old-fashioned plants, a rose garden (a leetle beat-up from the rain all weekend, but starting to bounce back), and a formal garden in the manner of a French chateau garden. I wish I'd had my camera! My dad plans to go back soon, during the day, and talk with the caretakers; I'll be sure to bring the camera then! (Note to Laurie: Oh yes, Joe would love the rose garden! One of my ulterior motives in taking pictures of this place: to use the photos as stand-ins for some of the gardens at the Chateau-de-Rennes...)