It's Wednesday night. That means, if all goes according to plan, that K and I will be on the playa in exactly a week. That's quite a scary thought.

After Burning Man ends each year, everyone goes home, brimming with anticipation for next year. You hear, "next year" this and "next year" that on everyone's lips. And the ideas! Amazing. Only problem is the waiting. First it's 12 moths. Then 11, then 10. But time does go slowly, especially when you're waiting for something.

The next thing you know, you look up and tickets are on sale. That must mean it's soon, right? Well, no. Tickets go on sale in January, fully eight months before the event.

Well, time crept along, and suddenly, it's August. Burning Man doesn't actually begin until 12:01 am on Monday the 25th, but for a few hardy souls, that date means little. In fact, according to this poll, about a third of all Burners hitting the playa in 2003 say they will arrive before the official opening. Hard to believe.

Part of that is surely the fact that so many people are out of work. Hey, if you're going to go - and spend the money to be there - then you might as well go early. There's no place like home, as we like to say.

So, in the meantime, there's the small matter of life that is the only obstacle to leaving on time. K's Apple situation. My writing. Sleep deprivation. Shopping. Packing. Driving. As we know, our vehicles don't have the best reputation for getting us to the playa on time. We're 0-2 over the last two years on getting there the day we leave, even though it should only take about eight hours.

Nevertheless, that's the plan. We're sacrificing some income to go early - and that may be dangerous. But then again, once you hit the playa, there's nothing to spend money on.

...

Back here in California, I just want to give big props (love the lingo, Danny baby) and a shout out to BillySirr, who guessed the number of candidates who would make it onto the recall ballot to within eight. He said 127, and it turned out to be 135. I said no more than 50. Chris said more than 400. So either BillySirr knows something we don't, or maybe, just maybe, he got lucky. I don't know. I have to admit I'm shocked so many people were willing to fork over the money. Why? I mean, do they really think their messages are going to get across?

All I know is that the rest of the world is looking at California right now and laughing. It's truly a Hollywood moment. The question is, will there be a Hollywood ending, and if so, what would that be? Would it depend on who's writing it?

To me, Ahnuld winning would hardly be the stuff of Hollywood. In my version of that script, Ahnuld is the bad guy, the evildoer who comes in to take advantage of the situation, to abuse his power and to make a fool out of the good guys. Of course, the good guys are the people of California. For sure, Davis is no good guy. He's a crook, through and through. But the last thing I want to see is his getting recalled. That just sets the worst precedent.

Naturally, however, if Ahnuld winning is the Hollywood ending, it leaves the door wide open to a sequel: Ahnuld Recalled! I can see it now. Keanu playing Ahnuld, leaping in slow motion over the mobbed press, the camera whirling around to show him from the back, his legs splayed, the hacks gaping upwards, microphones extended, scoop missed. "Whoa!" says Keanu/Ahnuld, and the genius behind the casting choice becomes clear: a one word mastery of English.

Well, anyway, I should be going now. It's nice to be back. I hope that Flap Flap Wiggle becomes a regular stop for you. I also know that by going away soon after getting this thing going again, I'm probably going to drive you away again. All I can say is, have a heart. And come visit me on the playa, where I'll give you a more visceral flap flap wiggle experience than any Blog can offer.

Oh! Hey, you guys are still here?

I'm sorry, I was just out at the store. Er, it's true, that was a four month trip for groceries, but I can assure you I got a good deal on what I bought.

In the meantime, I'm happy - and a bit apprehensive - to report heady days here at Casa Dolores.

If I hadn't mentioned it before, K has been largely unemployed since 2000. That's a long time, friends. And I've been largely unemployed since last July when I finally quit my job and got away from doing work that was simply not good for me.

But today K went in for her fourth, yes, fourth, interview at Apple. Yesterday the recruiter told her she was one of two finalists for this really cool job, and today was probably the final interview. We are nervous. If she gets the job, it means a big relaxation of our perpetual financial woes. Not that it would pull our fat entirely out of the fire, but it would be some very welcome relief. And I think there might be a couple new toys around here.

However, there are some very big downsides to K taking this job - if it's offered, which hasn't happened yet, and might never. First and foremost, she would have to commute for a total of two hours a day on top of what would likely be a 50 hour week. So that would mean far less time at home for her, and an absolure requirement that we simplify our lives.

This is, of course, a golden opportunity to correct some of the things in our life that don't work very well - our home organization, our use of time, our late starts, and missed chances to get things in order. I would effectively become the house husband, doing most of the cleaning, cooking and shopping so that K could relax when she got home and mostly have her weekends for fun.

But this is possible, because for the last month and a half, I have become a moderately successful freelancer. I know I was bitching a lot before about whether or not it would ever happen. But when my last temp job ended, I qualified for unemployment insurance, and that meant I could finally put my time, full time, into pitching.

At first, it was slow. But then I struck gold! Wired News, baby. My first piece was published on July 2, I believe, and I filed my eighth today. Two more are in the works. By the time we go to Burning Man, next Wednesday - eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek - I'll have 10 pieces in the bag with Wired News, as well as having sold something to Business 2.0, Details and, last but not least, my first four-digit freelance piece, to Martha Stewart Weddings.

So...while I was out at the, er, store, I've been quite busy. Much has been afoot. I've actually learned something of a work ethic. My god! And as I've now told several people, I've been enjoying journalism for, really, the first time. That's because I've been getting paid to write about the very things that are fascinating me right now. Wow! Who knew?

Anyway, I would comment on the recall, but I think Chris has that sewed up for right now. So go check him out, and don't look here just yet for intelligent political commentary. Except for me to say that our state is really in a bad spot, and we could use some help. Please, anyone out there, help us.

Oh, and if you're interested, you can check out my work for Wired News by going here.

And, please partake of my new Blog, Cheap Haiku.

And, er, have a nice day. I'll try not to go to the store again for awhile.

See you soon.