misc....

I was able to escape Thanksgiving with a piece of Chocolate Fudge Torte cake and a quarter of a pumpkin cheesecake. I probably should have asked for more turkey and less dessert, but what are you going to do?

It has been discovered that my cat quite enjoys spending quality time INSIDE our fireplace! I might not have figured that one out had it not been for the black pawprints all over our white faux stone hearth. Gotcha!

And here's another tidbit: I was advised by a cat-savvy person that strategically planting mothballs on top of a plant's soil will teach any cat to stay away. I followed her advice, to discover the next day that my cat believes these foreign objects to be playthings! Needless to say, I am still looking for a solution.

I have procured an invitation to DFW's most exciting holiday party of the season! There will be an open bar and a chocolate fountain - need I say more? The only problem is I suddenly find myself with a completely unacceptable wardrobe from which to select a suitable outfit. I may need to brave the savage wilderness of one of the seven nearest malls to remedy the problem!

I must away. Trashy reality television continues to dominate my weekday nightlife.

ugh

Back to that whole "my cat is the most human cat alive" train of thought. I didn't know cats farted until just about 3 minutes ago. I mean, my dog used to have that problem, so I knew it was a canine capability, but cats? They're supposed to be clean, prim and proper.

Excuse me while I gag.

i can dig it

You know, the whole vegan thing. I have just discovered the greatest, happiest place on earth, and Spiral Diner is its name. Actually I had heard of it before. Earlier this year my mom visited it when it was located in the old rail market... But then maybe it got uncool or something, because all of a sudden people just stopped going to it, and basically all the shops either moved or fizzled out altogether. Fortunately for Fort Worth, Spiral Diner has just moved down the street - yay for us!

So anyway, this guy recently started working in my pod, filling up our vacant spot in the northeast corner. He's the kind of guy that makes you think he might be from California, because he's in the process of trading all his leather belongings for items more suited to his moral beliefs, he says "right on" a lot, he's got the crazy bottled blond surfer dude hair, he's always talking about the injustice of this or the righteousness of that... and, well, he's really from California. Don't get me wrong, he's lots of fun and has thus far been a terrific addition to the podlife.

It is this very person that has reintroduced the Spiral Diner - among other things - to my vocabulary. He told me that this place is actually one of the top 5 vegan restaurants in the whole country! So when he suggested that we go there for lunch, I didn't give it a second thought. My grilled tofu pesto sandwich was devine, and my dining companion's "wheat meat" was as tasty as it was surprisingly realistic! I also discovered that this place has all-you-can-eat pancakes on Sunday. Guess where I will be in 4 days?

leaving on a jetplane

I spent most of last week on a plane. OK, not quite. But I racked up a hell of a lot of air miles! 2 days in Phoenix yielded 1 brush with fame, 1 brush with near-fame, a lot of customer contacts, and way too much frustration at having had to travel a thousand miles to accomplish what could have been done over the phone. Obviously I can see the value in visiting real-live customers, but the amount of money spent on our combined travel expenses was truly exorbitant.

After that, it was back to work for almost a full day at work before jetting off to Austin to be with the BF during his interview weekend. Somehow I managed to get sicker before getting better, and so a lot of time was spent in bed.

No, not like that.

So we did all the normal Austin stuff, despite the rain, and I now have in my possession 2 CDs of the Gipsy Kings' Greatest Hits! The Kings have already proven their worth by accompanying me on the ride home and while I made dinner tonight. How is it possible that I have lived this long without them?

Sorry about the post. Actual coherent thoughts to follow shortly.

rain, rain, go away

I have been a huge and utter waste today. Suffering from a sore throat - which can be attributed to either allergies, a legitimate cold, or, more likely, a piece of mulch dust that got lodged in my throat during the repotting of my sad and half-eaten orchid (perhaps a combination of the three?) - I have spent the day vacuuming, breaking out the winter comforter, eating bagels, and reading The Devil Wears Prada.

Needless to say, I have not yet left the house today. And I'm fine with that. I was actually scheduled to pick up a friend at the airport, but I have recruited my loving and ever-eager-to-please boyfriend for that task. I did promise to make it up to him. If he's looking for immediate gratification, I hope food will suffice. If he's looking for anything else, it might just be too much for me on a day like today.

and one, and two...

... and I'm spent. I came home today truly believing that I would be going to the gym. The reason I am not there now is that I decided that, since I ran on Saturday, I could do pushups and ball crunches, all without missing the Daily Show rerun or Extra!

I was doing well until I decided that the ball crunches were hurting my back... Can I really be too feeble to work out?

dear boss

Thank you for everything you have done for me in the past 1+ year. Thanks for recognizing the hard work of your direct reports, and sending us home early on Friday to make up for extra time spent at the office. Thanks for realizing when I'm in over my head, and then helping with the problems that are bigger than me. (Thanks also for letting me solve the rest of my own problems.) Thanks for having our backs when no one else does. Thanks for defending my case when arguing for my end-of-the-year evaluation - and subsequent bonus. Thanks for expensing rewards for us now and asking for forgiveness from your boss later. Thanks for knowing when to be a friend, and knowing when to lay down the law. Thanks for sharing my enjoyment of the fine nuances of ethnic gastronomie. Thanks for asking me how you can be a better boss. Thanks for hiring people for our team that are not only competent, but also über-fun.

Damn, I hope coming to work is always this easy.

here we go again

Disappointment is the Word of the Day. I'm disappointed that us 18-24-year-olds couldn't sack up and get the job done. I have been seriously thinking about moving to Canada. (I think I'd make a pretty good refugee.) All I can hope is that Bush makes good on his promise to use his re-election as a fresh start, to unify the country by working in conjunction with the 49% of us who voted against him.

We fell for it last time, why not do it again?

fulfilling my patriotic duty

Well I've officially done my homework on the TX candidates in my county... While watching SNL's Presidential Bash 2004, bien sûr!

And yes, I plan on watching the Daily Show's live coverage of the election tomorrow night. If all goes well, there will be drinking games involved. Let's get this party started!