03.30.07 News of the Day

1) My car smelled like graham crackers this morning. I don't eat graham crackers, so that was strange.
2) The bus I caught was one of the ones with the high seats. My feet don't touch the ground in those seats.
3) There was a guy on the bus who I swear looked just like Art Garfunkel.
4) I've already paid all my bills for this payperiod, and today is the first day. I love doing that.
5) I gave into the strange - though not entirely uncommon - urge to eat sweets when I first woke up. This time I was better: sugar-free, fat-free chocolate Jell-O pudding cup. Man, those things are good!
6) I was determined to not give in to my cats' annoyingly insistent behavior when they wanted food at o'dark-thirty this morning. I held my ground.
7) Tucker threw up twice in my room this morning.
8) There was $36.62 extra in my paycheck this morning that I wasn't expecting - the result of there being three paychecks this month instead of the regular two. Sweet!
9) It's only 11am and I'm SO ready to go home.
10) Someone called about an application to one of our programs (due today) and she got indignant when she said "it doesn't say I needed a recommendation." I read it verbatum from the instructions. People can be real idiots sometimes.
11) There's nothing I want more right now than a huge piece of chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. And a big ol' glass of milk. And being in my pjs at home. Watching old movies.
12) My knee is out of whack this morning and I don't know why.
13) There's nothing important to do at work today, so I'm tempted to pull out my book - a murder mystery by P.D. James. Dare I do it before lunch break? No. However, I do dare to blog. Funny how that is.

The day ain't over yet, so there may be more...

"The Dumbest Day Ever"

I feel like this guy.

I've caught myself saying it in my head a number of times today at work.
"Today is the dumbest day ever."
I had the Monday Morning Blahs all morning and they've turned into the Monday Afternoon Blahs.
So what's the problem? Nothing really. I guess I didn't get enough sleep. But that's not such a big deal. I just don't have the energy to sympathy laugh at my non-funny coworkers' non-funny jokes. They're not even jokes. It's like "I'm gonna go get a sammich (sandwich)" and then he laughs really loud and for a long time, like it's the funniest thing he's ever said.

I'm bored.

The humming of various pieces of office equipment and the mechanical closet down the hall are really getting on my nerves, even thought I've been listening to the same noises every day for 6 years. (But I can't really complain because Karin and Neal have it worse - the HVAC system sounds like an airplane taking off in their lab... constantly.)
It's just a blah kind of day.
The only thing keeping me sane is a really long group email dialog I've been having with friends today. I think it has beaten the record for # of messages from one subject line (God bless Gmail)...74 and counting! It started with discussion about the latest episode of "24", moved on to Campus Harvest, then to friends having babies, then to Richard being awesome for being an established family man in a sea of pre-family men.

I'm so glad I have friends. They're great distractions from the blah of everyday life.
Oh yeah, and internet. I'm glad I have internet, too, because how else would I be able to talk to my friends at work!

Heidelberg Pastry Shoppe

This place is amazing!
Gina and her roommate took me to this amazing German bakery when I stayed with them in Arlington this past weekend.
The Heidelberg Pastry Shoppe surpasses Guglhupf Bakery in Durham in its ability to leave me weak in the knees.
They had a table of samples awaiting us as we walked in the door: chocolate mint brownies, pistachio cheesecake, irish creme cake, soda bread, and more - all in honor of St. Patrick's Day.

$900... or a dog

I thought this was hilarious.
This is from an ad for a complete living room set on Raleigh's Craigslist:

"COMPLETE SET ASKING 900.00 OR WILL TRADE FOR EQUAL VALUE OR LONG HAIRED CHIHUAHA PUPPY PLEASE EMAIL OR CALL"

"That's one stubborn Scandinavian!"

In Offbeat News:

'Stubborn Scandinavian' sticking around in Seattle'

I want one

These Bumbo things are brilliant!


I bet my friends Amy & Chris could use a pair for their twins they're having in a month or two. People use them to put their kids on counters and chairs (and in the sand, as you can see) in them so the little tikes can watch what's going on without getting into trouble. I think little James has one.

My question is, do they make them for grown-ups?