The cat done stole the poor dog's bed....

Only because Yen asked....

Favorite person (outside family)? I have a laminated list of favorite people. J&K, Dirty bird, MDaisey, Yen, Xt, Tel, OhMarie, Pat n'KC (they're actually eBoy's favorite people, but I just love 'em to bits). But my absolute favorite person in the whole wide world is my dad.

Favorite food? I have a laminated list of favorite food. Goat cheese. Sushi. Wine. Almonds. Cheeseburgers.

Quirks about you? My secret shame is that i love Taco Bell. (should that go above?). I can spend two hours fanatically plucking my eyebrows.

How would the person who loves you most describe you in ten words or less? Stinky, whiny, amazing goofball who likes to dance in place.

Any regrets in life? Not being a kickass student in college.

Favorite Charity/Cause? HRC, NOW, Susan G Komen, ASPCA.

Favorite Blog recently? Ruhlman

Something you can’t get enough of? Time to sit and read.

Worst job you’ve ever had? Uh the one with the abusive coke smuggling boss who thought he was a movie producer and liked to throw heavy objects at my head while screaming how incompetent I was. Yep, that would be the one.

What job would you pay NOT to have? ANYTHING in sales.

If you could be a fly on the wall, where? Hillary's campaign headquarters. Seriously, what is going on over there?

Favorite literature quotation?
"I know that my achievement is quite ordinary...Still there are times I am bewildered by each mile I have traveled, each meal I have eaten, each person I have known, each room in which I have slept. As ordinary as it all appears, there are times when it is beyond my imagination." - Interpreter of Maladies, Jhumpa Lahiri.

Guilty Pleasure? Oh, um, yes. That would be taco bell.

Got any confessions? I took a nap from 1:00 to 5:30pm today.

If you HAD to spend $1,000 on YOURSELF, how would you spend it? A weekend at Bonneville Hot Springs with the Boy. And a shopping spree at Powell's.

Favorite thing about your house? The love within it. And the back deck.

Least favorite thing about your house? The back fence. The laundry room.

One thing you are bad at? One thing? Seriously? Self discipline. That should cover a lot.

One thing you’re good at? Starting a new book.

If you could change something about your circumstances, what? I would hire someone whose sole job it is to keep my cats' litter box clean.

Who would you like to meet someday? Richard Dawkins

What makes you feel sexy? A pair of low rise jeans and a black tank top

Who is your real life hero? My dad.

What is the hardest part of your job? Making it interesting and useful for the clients

When are you most relaxed? On the couch, glass of wine in hand, eBoy at my side

What stresses you out? Crowds, noise, and money problems.

What can you not live without? Books.

Do you agree or disagree with the recent article that reported that blogs are authored by narcissists? I could have written that article, only better.

Why do you blog? I love to write and journal. I love to read other peoples too. I like to know what I was doing at this time two years ago. I like to complain about my husband. I like to pretend you care about what silly thing my dog has done now. And someday, I hope to write something useful and interesting....I've just been working up to it for the past three years.

Ugh

I can't believe it's been so long since i've posted. Life got a little hectic these last couple of weeks. We went out to the Coast last weekend - eBoy was shooting Reach the Beach, which is this insane event in which Portlanders or Salemders (Salemites?) or Eugeneders (Eugenics?) get on their bikes, turn west, and ride to the beach. That's all they do. It's about 100 miles give or take. Fascinating the lengths that these people will go to get outside. Of course it was a gorgeous ride this year, all warm sun and breezy blue skies. Last year, apparently it hailed. And yet, there they all were, pedaling along. Zealots.

Something I might do next year though.....hmmm.

And after they get to the beach? Well, some folks just climb on a school bus shuttle and get driven back to Portland. That seems a bit anticlimactic to me. Others hang out, bbq, camp, drink beer at this GREAT brewery called Pelican Pub (even *I* liked their beer, and I liked the Tower of Power slab of onion rings even better - oof), and head back in the next day or so. This seems like a much better option.

So we had a nice leisurely weekend (i finished three books) at the Coast with the dog. Pacific City is a nice little beach town and hopefully we can come back next year and camp. Then we headed back on Monday morning right in time for my *new* work schedule which is from about 11am to 9:30pm, four days a week. I'm thrilled to have Fridays off, but I'll tell you, that schedule is EXHAUSTING. Man, by Thursday night, I was just *done*.

I'll write about my new caseload (turns out, more crack addicts over in my neck of the woods than I would have thought. huh. Whole mess of Asian gang crack addicts - whee!) on the other blog (YCYPW), and I'll write about what's going on with my shoulder and marathon training on What I ate for Lunch. Maybe I can get to these tonight. Maybe tomorrow.

People don't care about your stupid wedding....

#1 on the list of things not to say to your divorced coworker:

Sorry I haven't gotten that assessment to you - I was so swamped in April and then I was in Aruba for two weeks, and I'm just starting to get caught up again - I mean it's been crazy!!!

....Do you think my tan is fading?

Um yeah....

That stabbing pain I felt between my shoulder blades while I was running? Turns out I've created a small tear my pectoralis minor muscle. Which means that I've created a very small tear in a very small muscle that's creating a WHOLE LOTTA *&*%%$^ *(^^%* PAIN.

I'm really really annoyed. Plus, I've been told to lay off the muscle relaxers because I'm boneheaded enough (this is true) to pop 4 muscle relaxers and think, huh, I feel fine, guess I'll go work out.

This does not bode well for the half marathon in a month.


In other glorious and completely unrelated news, my agency (aka The Pit of Incompetent Vipers), has decided to move me full time from the office that's 22 miles from my home to the office that's 2.7 miles from my home. Heh. It's freaking awesome. Bye $50.00 per tank of gas, hello bicycle helmet.

Hearing from old friends....

This has got to be one of the best things about the internet, making contact with old friends. Or stalking old boyfriends, if that's your cup of tea. I've been thrilled over the last several years to have reunited (sometimes in person, sometimes in cyberspace) with friends dating back 20 years or more - and all of the connections were made possible through a combination of the internet and the bloodhounds in the alumnae development office at my high school. I knew a girl in high school who said that the best friends you ever make in your life are the friends you make in college. She was saying this to her high school friends at a going away party for college. It was a bit of a slap in the face and I'm still pretty sure she meant it that way. (Yen, S.O. is the one that said this). And I disagreed then, and I disagreed now. The best friends I've ever had, the people that I will continue to cherish throughout my life, have been friends that I made at my high school and that silly boy's school down the road. Sure we had lots of drama and heartache (what seventeen year old doesn't?), but I have fond remembrances and photos will last a lifetime and guarantee that none of them ever survive a Senate confirmation hearing.

The cognitive dissonance, she is deafening...

Currently reading The Soul of a Chef by Michael Ruhlman. Concomitantly, I'm also enamored of my new cookbook: Cooking with All Things Trader Joe's.

Well, which is it? Are you a chef or are you going to slather on some pre-made olive tapenade onto a chicken breast and call it dinner. I'm so that grandmother in 16 candles with the doughnuts - Voila! Breakfast is ready!

This should probably be listed on the other blog, What I Ate for Lunch Today. Oh well.
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I have begun to get my life back in order after this wedding nonsense and Aruba hoo-hah. I've done laundry (finally), unpacked my suitcase, gotten somewhat caught up at work, and am hoping to get out a slew of thank you notes this weekend.

We have decided that as part of our newfound matrimonial bliss, we shall endeavor to stick to our budgets and eliminate unnecessary expenses. For instance, no more cleaning woman, no more personal trainer. But I ask you, really, who is going to suffer here? I'm the one who'll be cleaning the house now, and I'm the one who won't fit into her jeans.

Sigh...I'm digressing into What I had for lunch territory again.

In other unmentionable news, I voted today. See, Oregon has vote-by-mail. So I received my ballot, whipped out my sharpie, and badda badda bing, zing wham: Democracy. There you have it folks. Now let's get it on with it.

By the way, everyone's rhododendrons are starting to bloom and I am pea green (heh, the first time I typed "pee green") with envy. I really need to get hopping on this landscaping project. Arrgh!