Good Lord, it's September?  How can it be September already?  Wasn't it just May a few weeks ago?

And here I am.  The novel not written.  Still carrying the extra poundage I put on over the holidays.  Still waiting for my gray hair to grow out.  And still waiting, of course, for the Great Landscape Project of 2007 to be (finally, please God?) over.

I got my first catalog with Christmas decorations in it the other day.  There must be a special place in hell for folks who rush the seasons in an already rushed world.  I can't even get excited about Halloween yet and then isn't there a Thanksgiving in between Halloween and Christmas?

I was chatting with Dan's brother-in-law, Kevin, the other day about Disney and how blatant they are at marketing various levels of exclusivity and product tie-ins at every turn.  It seems to me that the whole country is going that way.  You can't turn the corner without spotting a celebrity ad.  Jen drinks this water.  Eva uses this lotion.  Heather does her own hair with this product.  Rise above your everyday existence, join the exclusive ranks of the beautiful people.

And the news...we know we're in trouble with the tv news.  All the same stories, all the time, on every channel.  Which wouldn't be so bad, I suppose, if it were actually news that they report.  But it's scandal of the moment stuff, over-dramatized weather (STORM WATCH!), anything other than in-depth reports about what's going on in the world.  The only difference between the networks in newscasts are which prime time shows they plug with faux news items...can't plug the competitors, of course, so it's always their own show.  
 
Maybe the key is to put down the magazines, turn off the remote control, toss the catalogs before opening them.  Then I won't know there are twinkly trees in the back sections.  I won't see which celebrity uses Neutrogena.  And I won't have to hear endlessly about the crisis du jour.

Maybe then I can lose the weight, write the novel, get that hair cut.  But the backyard?  That's out of my hands.  It was supposed to be done a month ago.  My how time flies.