October was AWESOME in the random and unexpected presents-for-Evany department (something I encourage everyone to help transform into an annual affair).

First of all, Jay gave me one of his prints, and it is almost too cute for this earth.

And then Gene, who has been hearing me debate about whether I need a DVD player, and if so, which kind of DVD player to get, and whether or not my somewhat old-ish television can really be hooked up to a DVD player, up and bought me a goddamn DVD player just so he could stop talking about it (and, you know, because he's searingly nice). He also got me a "Hooking up DVD Players to Old Televisions for Dummies" (I wonder how long it'll take them to start personalizing packaging the way they do in collateral junk mailings and Gene will be able to buy me "Hooking up Time Machines to Toaster Ovens for Evanies"). And, AND, he got me my very own Royal Tenenbaums on DVD. So, so generous. (I. Know!)

Michael the Librarian sent me a mixed tape of songs from The Quake, which is just nostalgia city. KQAK was the radio station I used to spend my Friday nights listening to when I was a tween. I would sit there, with fingers poised in a hail satan over the Play and Record buttons of my silver Hitachi boom box, waiting for "I Don't Want To Dance" by Eddie Grant to come on so I could CAPTURE IT FOR ALL ETERNITY. Just like that, tense and poised for hours and hours, like the most boring Crocodile Hunter ever. Anyway, now I have my own little slice of seventh grade, aurally speaking, and it's been playing on a loop back at HQ. Also included in the package from Michael the Librarian was a postcard featuring stickers manufactured from his STICKER MACHINE. Can you believe this? That something so good exists in very same world as mosquitoes and gangrene?

And then Mike brought me this book, "100 Yen Cakes", back from his trip from Japan (this happened in November, actually, but do not get confused, OCTOBER is Presents for Evany month). It's small and sweet, like about the size of a 45, and it's full of sumptuously photographed cakes that can be made, they claim, for less that 100 yen (about one US dollar). Apparently ... it's all in Japanese, so I'm relying on Mike here. For all I know, the whole book's completely pornographic. Actually, how far are cake recipes from porn? About two centimeters, in this mind.

(PS: My diary has officially moved over to my official evany.com website. Let's meet up over there!)

(PS: My diary has officially moved over to my official evany.com website. Let's meet up over there!)