Dammit, forgot the "more inside"!!

1. Monday my dentist told me I needed my first crown but I didn't get a warm & fuzzy feeling about it so I scheduled an appointment with a friend's dentist for a second opinion. Not only do I not need a crown, the tooth isn't cracked. Yay! New dentist!

2. A slow leak in my left rear tire was fixed this morning by the nice people at Discount Tire for free! (The culprit was a nail.)

3. Someone mooo-ved a small herd of cattle onto a vacant pasture on my road. Now, on my morning walks with workerdog, we pass horses, cattle, goats and sometimes a zebu. (ya rly - one of my neighbors has a pair of them. Dunno why.)

1. Feeling unaccountably on top of things today. We'll see how long that lasts.

2. I'm beatboxing at a show again tomorrow, provided I can get rid of this cold in time. Grr....

3. I have a houseguest for the upcoming long (U.S.) weekend, and I couldn't be happier. Plenty of activities in the offing.

1. Slept very poorly last night, which led to snoozing for 30 minutes, which led to not having a very big breakfast (just a bag of steamed veggies--potatoes and green beans with some sort of garlicky sauce). I foresee myself being ready to gnaw my arm off by lunchtime. Didn't really pack a big lunch either because my brain was not running on all cylinders. Just means that dinner is going to be early tonight!

2. Have actually been doing work! I found a paper I wrote for school that I believe I can polish up and submit by the end of the month. The biggest hassle is going to be changing all my citations and whatnot from APA to Chicago. But at least the damn thing is actually written and all I need to do is edit it down and make it more coherent. Pillar paper is underway--started writing one section last night (out of 5-6). I'm pretty much done with research for that one, but I still need to find some good pictures.

3. Asked the boss for time off on the 9th to attend a blood mysteries class. Should be interesting, since that's an area where I have no experience. Of course, I really shouldn't be adding things to my September schedule of craziness, but there you go.

1. Things at work are great, I'm on top of the work and the bosses seem to be happy with me.

2. For the last 3 Wednesdays while I've been working from home I've taken a mid-day break to have lunch with the new man. Today was no exception. We sat outside in the patio garden of a local restaurant and shared a platter of assorted cheese, crackers, bread, celery, grapes and onion marmalade. Lovely food, lovely man. I'm meeting his friends on Saturday - two separate groups. He's taking me to a football match with his football friends and then we're having dinner with some of his other friends.

3. My good friend Beverley, who's my running buddy, has been in Indiana for the last 10 days, and I've really missed her, not just for the running - she's become a really good friend too and we have a lot of fun together. She's back on Friday so I'm hoping to see her at the weekend for a catch-up.

1. OH I LOVE MY NEW LAPTOP. I have been inseparable from it. It's amazing I don't sleep with it cuddled up in my arms.

2. My landlord, who is lovely but habitually gives us not enough notice for apartment inspections and work, wanted permission to access the place "one day this week" for a big project. I told him I'd be happy to clear the room and schedule once he gave me at least 24 hours notice of the day and time of day (morning, noon, afternoon). He never responded, which historically means he'll just show up on a random day and be surprised that I'm in my pajamas, or in the bathtub, or in the middle of baking several pies because (I swear this is true) he showed up at 8 p.m. the night before Thanksgiving.

I wrote just now to remind him: we're waiting to hear day and time, and we need at least 24 hours notice. MINUTES LATER, he sent out an update to all tenants naming the day and asking what time is best for us. VICTORY! This has never, ever happened before.

3. The Fella made Nigella Lawson's crustless pizza for dinner Monday. It was so good I asked him to make it again last night. Yum.

Oh, Senyar, I am so happy for you!

1. In-laws in town from CO. Hung out a little in Times Square last night. This afternoon, we go to Coney Island! It's Bark in the Park for the Brooklyn Cyclones! Twinkie won't be going but it'll be nice to see all the doggies. We probably won't stay for the whole game but it's a nice night to get out. The baby can sleep for hours in the carrier; he sleeps better on a person than he does during the day at home, even (he's sleeping on me in a sling right now, in fact; a hand-me-down from gaspode!). The ILs have also offered to babysit while we go out sometime, and I think we're going to take them up on that to go shopping at Target/Costco. We're parents, very glamorous!

2. Speaking of going out, Marc's school offers to reimburse students for two tickets to a cultural event every semester, up to $50 a ticket. Isn't that neat? They have a cultural arts fund that covers it. We will definitely be taking advantage! Getting the tickets heavily subsidized makes paying for a babysitter much more attractive.

3. Here's a cute video of the baby I took this morning. He's so smiley in the morning!

Aw!!! TPS!!! So cute!
I am happy all bunnies are doing well today (so far)

1. A sparrow built her nest in our porch light a few weeks back, and now we have three little birds on our doorstep! We have been really pleased with that. Bob Marley has made a comeback in our house of late.

2. Friends visiting from Brazil! Hooray! They arrive this evening! Yay yay yay! Having not spoken with them yet about expectations, we don't know if we are over-planning or under-planning their stay. I think we have more ideas than time, they are only here a week.

3. Because our Brazil friends and our American friends so rarely overlap, we are having an honest-to-goodness party on Friday night to bring the two groups closer together. Sure, we'll probably have to translate some, but get a few drinks in everybody, and they'll be communicating like old friends in no time.

So far things have been going well. I've got whiplash from hell, though.

1. Surprise! Hubby got home a week ago, without telling me he was coming. He was contracting in Austin, now he has a job locally! First I was adjusting to leaving my job in a year, now I'm adjusting to staying, and I'm pretty sure I don't want to.

2. Had a decent birthday yesterday, had to work, BOO. But everyone left me alone, YAY. I've finally caved in to my buddies and am writing a book, so that's what I spent yesterday doing.

3. Started with a personal trainer last week, and was sore as hell the next two days, but I got up at Holy Shit in the morning and did that goddamned workout like a boss. I know how to use weights now, goddammit.

3a. So I make the mistake of telling her that, so she's gonna kill me on Friday with leg presses.

Hi all! Want to know what kinda new computer, Elsa! Love the peak at the bsby, TPS,. Very happy for you, Senyar. As for here:

1. I am getting very tired of the all white food diet and nightly tooth whitening regimen. Very happy there is just a week to go.

2. Our big trip to the Mediterranean is nearing. Yay! I think it will be wonderful but there is a lot to plan and not much time left.

3. My retired husband is having lots of fun laying down brick paths, pouring concrete, arranging to update our home security system, and meeting with an arborist about a tree that needs some pruning. It amazes me how much he enjoys these things but I love seeing him so relaxed and happy.

1. The check for my last payment paying off a major medical debt hit the bank last night. That gives my budget next month a big jolt to the good.
2. I have a new trainer at the gym and she says working around my mid-section hernias will by no problem.
3. The wild blackberries are throughout the thickets near the roadside, so I expect the cultivated berries should be hitting the markets soon. I would eat the wild ones but they are too near roadways to be tasty. I'll let the birds have them.

Oh, TPS, what a SMILE on that baby! Gorgeous!

Senyar, your date sounds most excellent.

lysdexic, did you say "birthday"? I missed it: happy happy happy belated birthday!

bearwife, it's a Macbook Air. It's small and light enough so that I actually will carry it around and write on it; in theory that was possible with the iBook, but it was juuuust heavy enough to be cumbersome.

But just having it in the home makes a huge difference. The Fella and I had been sharing a laptop for years, but his ever-increasing freelance gigs meant that we were trying to balance our time using it... and meant that he'd come home from work, I'd hand over the laptop, and he would dive in to writing/email/internet unwinding time while I just sat there cooling my heels or or watched TV alone or did dishes resentfully.

Nighttime is prime writing time for both of us, but his writing is for pay and on deadline, so it took precedence.

But best of all was the surprise: we'd been talking about buying a new computer, then we had a surprise car repair that cost just exactly that amount. Then on my birthday, The Fella went out for coffee and returned home with MY MACBOOK. He's been socking away money from his freelancing, hoping to splurge on it for me (knowing that my own discretionary budget is small right now).

That was a big gesture of belief, which is most welcome. And the computer itself is making a big difference in my writing. I can write at my convenience: no rushing, no pressure, no anxiousness about hogging shared resources. And I'm sure he feels the same.

I feel like it's the modern equivalent of Virginia Woolf's "a room of one's own."

Oh, Oliver's a cutie! bearwife, I'll be joining your bear in retirement soon! I will also enjoy it. Senyar, so thrilled for you. Spanking new relationships are so fun (not that you are spanking but I would also not put it past you). redvixen, great to see you here!

1. Our birthdays (Wife, Me, Daughter, in that order) are all about a week apart, hence it is the time of year we call Birthday Season in our family. Daughter is coming down tonight and leaving Friday morning (which is my actual B-day) in that it's the only time she can spare between work and school.

2. We are taking a road trip in early Sept. SF, Ojai and LA. It has been awhile since Wife and I have taken a road trip together, and we usually do very well. We met in Ojai, so that is a special place and we have a couple friends there still. Ending up in Hermosa Beach to visit my mom, brother, sister, and sister's wife.

3. Work looks like it will be hard up until the end. My official retirement date is Sept. 30, but they are letting me (they need me to actually) stay on through next March or April so they can find and train someone to replace me. And since a lot of my job is in my head, that will be interesting. I created this job, and sorta have my stamp on it. I work very relationally, sorta coming up with actual content (what I actually do) in combo with having all these relationships out there. It is confusing to talk about but it works well for me.

1. I'm gratefully, luxuriously on maternity leave. (Here's me a few weeks ago.) Sleeping, puttering around the house, running errands, cooking and freezing meals. S'wonderful.

2. New car! Luxurious and grateful apply here, too.

3. Now that I have more time on the internets (at least until the sprog arrives) I'm happy to see alla youse guys!

Specklet, did you HAVE it yet?

Oh, heh, no! I'm not due for another couple weeks yet.

Ardiril, the blackberry season in the grocery store doesn't seem to be connected with the local one. Those berries seem to come from California instead. I will tell you my Bear's favorite local blackberry picking location is the North Seattle Community College campus. And one of his favorite activities is going for walks and finding berry areas. You'd be amazed how wonderful the foraged berries are, and how many there are.

You'd be amazed how wonderful the foraged berries are

Oh, yessss, that's true here, too. Just a few days ago my nephews returned from a few minutes' walk around my mother's house with a soupbowl's worth of tiny wild blackberries. (Which is exactly what I used to do on long summer afternoons at my grandparents' house.)

I'd forgotten how sweet and puckery the wild berries are, and how they burst in your mouth. The storebought blackberries I can get here tend to be cottony and seedy. These wild berries were utterly luscious.

1. All my tasks at work lately seem to involve sorting through giant piles of paper and making red check marks everywhere. For this I went to college. And grad school!

2. Spent last week being visited by my sister, which was fun, but she is a very very very prepared food/restaurant kind of person so I have been eating an awful lot of heavy things that are probably not very good for me and now I feel like I've gained 25 pounds even though my clothes say I have not.

3. I will be a houseguest for the upcoming long weekend and am hoping for beautiful sunny weather.

My husband calls those tiny blackberries -- which some say are actually tiny black raspberries -- "blackcaps," Elsa. They are amazing. But the big juicy local blackberries on every bush around here in the Pacific NW are even better, I think.

Senyar, I keep squeeing every time I read about you and "New Man". :^)
lysdexic, I'm sorry I missed your birthday, Happy Belated Birthday!!
Specklet you look wonderful! Amro, do you have any pics to share? (I love pregnant people, it brings back fond memories! Really! No horror stories here!)

I'm glad to see everyone doing well, for the most part, phew, we all deserve smooth sailing.

1. I never used to work at home, but since I moved into the cottage I haven't been able to resist staying here on Wednesdays when I don't have meetings. It's perfect out here in the courtyard: comfortable, breezy, just the right balance of sun and dappled shade.
2. An old friend will be here in a couple of weeks. Hooray for living in a part of the world where people come for conferences!
3. I've had gorgeous Padrón peppers for three weeks running, with more coming tomorrow. I love this time of year.

1. My computer has a suspected failing motherboard and I have to send it back to the manufacturer. In Miami. And I'm on the opposite side of the country. And it's supposed to take 2 weeks. It's on warranty and it feels very #firstworldproblems and Louis CK-esque everything-is-amazing-and-nobody's-happy to complain, but I don't know what I'm going to do for 2+ weeks without my computer.

2. I work in an office with less than 10 people. I have a crush on one of my coworkers, and I feel like there's nothing I can do about it. Partially because we're such a small office and I can't afford to mess up this job, but also because every time that I tell someone I have feelings for them, without exception, it goes bad. The only thing I haven't done in this situation, seems like, is kept my mouth shut and wait for something to happen. It's hard, because I feel like this should be something happy and instead it's sad.

3. Rain + chai = happy me.

I grew up in rural Pennsylvania where the wild berries were awesome. Right now, however, I am in a suburban area and the berries growing in this vicinity, even when washed, still taste like fuel and exhaust. My walking ability is still far too impeded to reach a natural berry patch that would be good picking and eating.

I saw the first of what will be numerous doctors today to start finding out the amount of damage I did to my knee. Very proud that I actually followed through.

I have a happy purring kitty on my lap but will have to disturb him soon, as 5 am comes way too early and sleep time awaits.

Glad for everyone's good updates. Yay all!

This week is a shitshow. It really is. It's kind of incredibly crazily bad, just short of massively life-event atrocious. So, in chronological order:

1. A number of former colleagues tried to unionize our former workplace. They almost had it. But they didn't successfully combat the employer machinations and the effort was defeated in a vote. I went down on Friday, the day of the vote, expecting to support them in a victory party and instead attended what amounted to a depressing wake for their dashed hopes.

2. A near relative, who has had a lot of troubles and a lot of drama in her life, became critically ill this week. She seems to be pretty bitter and rather self-destructive and is fending off the people who most want to be with her. The members of my family who are more closely involved are really frustrated and sad about the whole thing. There's been a lot of waiting-on-tenterhooks and figuring out what's next and supporting my closer relatives as they come close in and take her barrages.

3. This was totally enough. But my sweet little cat, who I've only had for two years after adopting from a friend, went into the vet with what we thought was something mild as part of his recovery from June surgery, and the vet took him overnight thinking he just didn't look too good, then called the next day saying he was dying and that we needed to put him to sleep. We rushed down to do this, but he had died on his own 15 minutes before we arrived. I'm heartbroken to lose this loving little friend, and also so sad we couldn't be with him when he left. I hope he didn't feel abandoned. It kills me. I miss him a lot.

So yeah, enough with this fucking week already. And it's only Weds.

Oh Miko, I am so sorry!

Good grief, Miko's. If it helps, we are crazy about you. Also, though the cat part breaks my heart, I am sure he didn't feel abandoned. I'm sure he wishes he could have waited for you, but sometimes death comes too quickly. At least that means less time suffering.


((( Miko)))

Oh, Miko, I knew about your lovely cat but (of course) had not a hint of the rest. I'm so very sorry.

I am so sorry, Miko; losing our babies is one of the worst things. Big hugs to you and LT.

1. I am doing surprisingly alright. My mood has been way up for almost a month. I haven't wanted to say anything because I was waiting for the other shoe to drop, but the other shoe appears to be missing.*

2. I actually exercised today (walking laps in the house, sounds odd, but baby steps) and went for a walk with the mister and Kaylee. We're also working on going swimming at the local rec centre (we will get there!). I've also been working on eating better and it's been surprisingly easy. That other shoe better stay lost.

3. I'm still dealing with an obsession but it doesn't seem to be out of hand, so it doesn't seem as unhealthy as I thought it might.

*Not sure what's behind it. Drugs have been the same for a while. BUT I've been taking vitamin D3 for almost a year, been on B12 for a couple weeks, have had the radio playing on a "peppy" station (pop music) for a couple weeks and the mister's health has improved enormously. It could be any one or all of the above. Whatever, I'm not complaining. I love feeling normal.

PS to Senyar: I am so very stoked for you!

I don't want to say anything about me because it's Just Too Much, but ((((((Miko))))). My heart goes out to you.

Miko, you're one of my favorite people. Sorry things are so crappy for you right now! =(

I still think you're aces!

*whuffles Miko*

I'm so, so sorry, Miko.

oh no Miko! I'm so sorry... *hugs*

:(

1. Looking forward to the US Open next week. I've got tickets for five days (I go every year now -- gives me something to look forward to right before school starts up again). I don't know if I'll go all five days (that's a lot of tennis), but it gives me options (weather, health), and the grounds passes are so cheap for what amounts to 12 hours of tennis a day on multiple courts the first week (less as the tournament advances, of course). And, with the grounds pass, on every court except Ashe you can sit so close it feels like you can touch the players (getting that close on Ashe, where you buy specific seats, will cost you $500 -- Grounds passes are only about $60 each). Food's good, too, and it's such a fun, lively atmosphere.

2. Went to see my mom yesterday. It was a long day, but the traffic cooperated, and it's always good to see her. We had fun looking at pictures from the cruise Jon and I went on, and she liked my new haircut. (On my way home I saw the most beautiful deer on the side of the road, right by someone's mailbox -- long, long legs, pretty caramel color, long sweet face; I slowed, and she hesitated and then reared up a bit in my headlights, turned, and ran back the other way).

3. Thinking of going to the zoo tomorrow. Haven't been to the Bronx Zoo in years, even though it's down the street from where I teach. See the animules,, have an ice cream. I love the giraffes, and the gorillas, especially the young ones, playing on the jungle gym, eating yoghurt from the handler. So cute.

I'm sorry miko.

In Central MA, went to Fruitlands on Mon

Am going to the Cape for the 1st time Sat.

Mefi's scram hosts a monthly event at Musso's in LA and my father will be speaking at the one in Oct. My mother is going to be there and it costs$100 a plate.

Thanks, guys. I appreciate the kind words a great deal. You are good friends and I appreciate the concern.

Bearwife, your thoughts about my cat's not being able to wait but wishing he could are really consoling and I appreciate it. He badly needed the rest. Just hope he knew we loved him.

deborah, that all sounds great.

Brujita, enjoy the Cape. A beautiful week to be out there.

When I was training at a hospice, we talked a lot about the phenomenon of patients dying exactly when everyone important was out of the room or the home or the institution; it really seemed a majority of people waited to die until they wouldn't "burden" loved ones with seeing it firsthand. I have no doubt the same phenomenon might be true of pets.

*hugs*

Thanks for that, too, occhi...it would be just like this little guy, who was so loving, to want to spare us. :) A touching thought.

Not my father, occhi. He seemed to wait until we were all there. (Knowing him, that figures.)

(love ya dad -- sometimes they're easier to love when they're gone)