Going to a gym location I've never been to before for a belly dancing class (plus steam room & sauna, yay). Then there's a picnic this evening.

I'm working, then eating Mexican food for lunch, then working some more. After that, I'm not sure, though I can say with some confidence that it'll include beer. Also, here's a song:

Lou Rawls - Season of the Witch

Getting a haircut, bottling my beer.

I found out yesterday I tore my hip flexor, so I've got to take it easy for while.

This morning I went to North Weald market, which is a huge open-air market held on an airfield about 10 miles from here. I only ever go if I can get there early and if the weather is good. In particular, if it's windy, the market, being on a flat, exposed airfield, is hell. But today is hot, sunny and no breeze at all.

I washed my bedlinen and pegged it out on the line before I left, and have done two more loads since I got home. I love the smell of bedlinen that's been line-dried. And I'm one of those people that, before I pack for a trip, I have to have every single garment I own clean and ready to choose from.

I bought a few things for my NY trip, including a really great top that I'm planning to wear for the meetup. But when I tried it on at home, although I really love it, it does rather look as if it has cannabis leaves in the print of the fabric.

I got a wee bit sunburned on my shoulders (I'm incredibly fair-skinned, despite being a natural brunette and an Australian) so tomorrow I'll make a trip to Harlow to get a couple of light overshirts to wear in NY. Nothing worse than sunburn.

Almost nap time, then a shower and an AA meeting tonight.

I'm waiting for my landlord to show up and fix the steps to the deck, one of which broke in half under my son's foot the other day. I also have to get him to get a plumber in here to fix the kitchen sink again because the dishwasher is leaking like a sieve and it's all running out under the sink. Bah. So I got up early and cleaned up but he is now one hour late which is kind of getting on my nerves since I need to run out to the store at least.

Other than that it's all about getting art up on the walls and stuff out of boxes and organizing the garage and maybe even turning it into a studio of sorts. Settling in; you know. Also, I want to go shopping for a new bed.

Weeding the yard. Wishing I hadn't stayed up until 1:30 a.m. watching streaming TeeVee.

Work, work and more work. Exam week begins on Monday! I'm slowly coming to the realisation that I haven't really done much in the way of productive work this year.

jan, you're going to have a great time. I love planning for a trip. Sometimes it's just as fun and exciting as the actual trip.

Thanks for the song box!

Speaking of music. A friend and I decided not to see Ziggy Marley and went to the movies instead. I feel like such a fuddy-duddy these days. I didn't have the energy or desire to drive to Orlando for standing room only. I'm forcing myself not to sell my Police tickets. I know I'll regret it if I don't go.

My sister, husband, and I have this thing we do. We listen to a certain artist and look up all of the songs on Wikipedia while they're playing and read aloud what the page says about the particular song. Last night it was The Beatles and Pink Floyd. Last week it was Joni Mitchell. Did you know Joni Mitchell had a daughter that was given up for adoption? The daughter found Mitchell as an adult. How would you like to know your birth mother was Joni Mitchell? A

Anyway...while we were doing our little Wiki-music thing my four year old drew huge red magic marker circles on my guest bathroom walls and red rectangles on the living room walls. Mr. and I decided we could ring his little neck or not get mad. We decided to not be mad.

Here's a song for you, if you already don't own it:
Joni Mitchell - River

This ends my riveting tale. Back to work.

I'm working. With the added benefit of BEEEEEEEER!

creepy to have the window open though, as the military are doing some practice around here and the choppers flying in low freak me out.

the building at the bottom of this article (pictured from inside) is five minutes walk from here. So yeah, they fly by a lot.

Hm. I should: paint the bathroom; hang the fixtures in the dining room; unpack; vacuum; do laundry & dishes; go to work and write my appellate brief; stay home and finish my article; finish the baby quilt; refinish the auxiliary china cabinet; finish the dining room table; financial maintenance. I will: walk on the Lake & go to the opera. Last night, I had a very nice night out with my friend Mike, then walked home in a nice rain.

oooh, which opera will you see?

Berlioz: Beatrice et Benedict. the second company in Chicago. Excellent seats, free tickets courtesy of my sister who is unexpectedly in Paris this weekend.

Going to lunch, get some film developed, grocery shopping (we're out of EVERYTHING), then come home to do laundry. A friend is coming over for dinner tonight. Then late tonight, video games, and maybe another beer-fueled IRC session with the bunnies.

I'm probably going to be working a lot of six-day weeks starting next week, so I'm taking it easy this weekend.

Had coffee on the porch with Jon. Slept late. 14 hours. Yikes. Not feelin' so hot... inexplicably dizzy now and again. I think the heat at my school got to me last week. Sitting in the cool air on the couch now, waitin' on some French Open action at 1pm. Might go over to Fatty's for a nosh later, or order in from the diner (mmm... diner; I could go for a Texas burger and some lemon meringue pie... guess I'm not that sick.) Lookin' forward to ej's visit next week. And my last week of teaching for the year. Halleluja. I need to be kid-free for a while.

I just got up. I need to learn to stop drinking red wine. It does not like me.

We are starting to pack up our apartment today (have to move in a month, still don't know where, and this is the last weekend we will both be in town). We are going thru our cds and sorting out which ones we're going to sell, making sure they are ripped, and the ones we are keeping are going into cd wallets.

Tonight we are going to get sushi and see Knocked Up. Tomorrow we are going to Coney Island with friends who have lived in NY for years and are moving in a month, and have never been.

I am going to the coast with the Cute Girl as soon as she gets out of the shower. It's chilly there. Hopefully it will warm up by the time we get there.

(Coney Island sounds like so much fun. I'm jealous.)

I am tearing my hair out trying to find a decent history of Boston online. After that, I will be tearing my hair out trying to find decent histories of Quebec City and Montreal online.

City historians and/or city-specific travel guides need to get on the ball, here.

And I am wishing I were either at the coast or going to Coney Island. Instead I am watching fog settle into the hills just as it's settling into my Boston-history-lacking head.

Today: working on the Freelance Project That Wouldn't Die. (Though my final deadline is actually in about 3 weeks, after which IT IS DEAD TO ME. Finally!) This is on top of working insane hours for the past month meeting a book deadline at the museum as well. I am SO taking a spa day when this is all over.

Tonight: going out for drinks/b00bies! at Jumbo's with a colleague who's moving to London next week. Woot!

Tomorrow: going to the beach with a book. Ha ha! I'm kidding, of course.

Had a fight with The Boy. Think this might be it. Want to drink. A lot.

Coney Island is indeed awesome and I love it with a fiery passion. Although coast with Cute Girl? Sweet.

And I am wishing I were either at the coast or going to Coney Island.

Coney doth rock. and right near by is Brighton Beach where you can feel like you've walked into Moscow and get some badass Russian food real cheap. Of course there's also cafes with old Russian dudes in jogging suits downing vodka with an air of gravitas. I call them Ivan Sopranovich-es.

I am currently watching a retrospective of the fabulous Charles Nelson Reilly on old Match Game episodes on the Game Show Network. It's very eerie how my "best" answer is often at odds with my boyfriend's because we're about 10 years in age apart and some of our cultural references aren't the same. I also washed some of our shirts, played Shining Force EXA--totally awesome, if you like RPGs--and am currently watching his cat roll around on the floor after a heavy dose of catnip.

Lazy Saturdays are better than lazy Sundays, I think.

i drank WAY too much last night (8-9 stags and about 8-9 shots of maker's mark)...went to bed at 2:30 and woke up at 6:30 to work all day...

amazingly i did not have a hangover(Emergen-cee really works!)

so now...naptime...followed by more drinks and dancing with my girlfriends...then rinse and repeat...

i miss the ocean like nobodies business...as we say around here: "there's no coast like no coast"

\M/ /W\

*wanders in*

Went to the gym, then the coffee shop for an iced latte, then attendance this afternoon at the excellent Buffy musical episode singalong sponsored by Happy Bats Cinema, our fabulous local video store (they let me son pay his late fees with his coffee-- he gets a pound a week from work and no, it's not Starbucks).

The singalong was terrific. There were door prizes. There were trivia contests. My son won a CD. I went with my friend from work who is oh so handsomely butch. She used to write Xena fanfic before moving on to publish a couple of fantasy novels. It's my son's girlfriend's birthday, so they took off afterwards for dinner. I came home after a quick stop at a bookstore and the grocery, and sat on the couch and read the New Yorker and enjoyed the breeze and the view. And then I ate dinner.

So far, so good. Now, I write. I mean, as soon as I get offline. Ahem. It's a lovely evening and it's been hot all day.

I was at Coney Island yesterday (the yesterday that was 50 mins ago)!

Uh...today!