Yeah, it's more Step 3: five years later, find a skirt you never unpacked, marvel that it now fits you!

The version around our house is Step 3: look in the storage room for the spool of lace trim you were sure you had, find a cute jacket and a box of black lace trims, neither of which you have any memory of ever buying.

juliana, I don't really have any advice, but I hope you're able to figure out what will work for you.

My kitchen has stayed organized and clean for an entire week, a week when I cooked three meals every day! (This was accomplished by the "break everything down into steps and write them all down" method from one of my coping with ADD books. I've got lists on the fridge of what I need to do in the morning (take dishes out of dishwasher while breakfast is cooking, put breakfast dishes into dishwasher, put lunch into backpack, take out trash on the way out of the apartment if trash is full), before dinner (put lunch containers in dishwasher, put new bag in trash can, cook dinner, throw away garbage from making dinner) and after dinner (make tomorrow's lunch, chop up any veggies that need chopping for tomorrow's dinner, put dinner dishes in dishwasher, wipe down counter and sink, sweep floor, run dishwasher if it's full.) And I can just glance at the lists and see exactly what I need to do, rather than getting the overwhelming sort of "I have so much to do!" feeling. Plus, wiping down the counter and sink and sweeping each day makes it so that dirt doesn't build up.)

Diarrhea and puking, in a day or two events don't usually worry me with animals (or people, actually) unduly. Acting "sick" for longer and I would hie to a vet.

Kittenish had a cold when I picked her up from the cattery last time and I was worried but after a couple of days she was fine. I, however, had been sneezed on a lot.

should I go to a career counsellor? If so, how do I find one, and how much do they cost?

If you find one - I'd be willing to give him/her some business too. Totally lost here.

And jeez, how pathetic is it that I'm having the traditional mid-20's "I don't know what to DOOOO!" angst at 31?

I'm hitting 39 in less than a month and I'm right there with ya.

Fuck them all the way to East Fuckistan and back

JZ, i'm sorry you are having to deal with all that DMV bullshit but I want to marry that phrase.

erika, my dog has had that issue and it's been nothing. I always call the vet and they say put him on a bland diet (white rice and chicken or cottage cheese) for a day or so and if it's still going on bring him in. But it has always cleared up.

She has such a touchy little system. Our vet is apparently a single babe in my age range...Mom says I should take her next time. Apart from the ugly problem, would that be a meet-cute or what?

I've got way more books than shelf space right now, but I'm having trouble finding floor space to put another bookshelf.

Sister! I'm currently plotting an elaborate rearrangement of two rooms to squeeze in another bookcase.

There is no age limit for a career crisis, Juliana. I don't usually recommend self-help books, but What Color Is Your Parachute is helpful to a lot of people.

Okay. After devoting myself almost full-time since 10:30 to this, I owe the DMV another $21 and they promise that's it, no more mystery charges sprouting up out of nowhere. I'm still expecting to be roundly fucked come Monday when I go in to pay, but for now that's what they're saying. Then there's the car insurance and the credit card payment and we're done for the month. And after this weekend of relative-hosting, the credit cards go in the freezer.

If you're not organized, you could lose a copy of the Declaration of Independence for 200 years: [link]

And jeez, how pathetic is it that I'm having the traditional mid-20's "I don't know what to DOOOO!" angst at 31?

I am right there with you, my sister in 31-yr-old "Well, fuck, what now?"

Of course then I'm all "I'll write a comic! I'll go to grad school! I'll design clothes! I'll knit couture dog sweaters! I'll have a girly pink sex shop! I'll fight crime! It'll be awesome!" Then I fall over with exhaustion at how busy ideal me is.