...have I mentioned that I love you people? A lot?

Zen, that is so frustrating. I hope she comes by, or your friend calls you back, or something! And yeah, the cats will likely be fine, just pissed.

sj sorry for your loss. And it is always too soon.

Saint of parties? Saint of simple exuberance? That moment when forces join and one is simply forced to say "Woot!"

Patron Saint of Hookers and Blow!

Dear lord, I hope he's not the patron saint of hookers and blow. That's not really what I'm looking for in a boyfriend.

Saint of simple exuberance?

I really like this.

Okay. Time to be productive. I'm going to update the router password on my printer (128 bit WEP key typed in when drunk? Doesn't work so well), print my (dear god I hope) finished resume for a final proofing, furminate the cats, and then soak my feet and polish my toenails. Maybe I'll get ambitious and do little fireworks on my big toes.

Damn. I was too hasty, choosing Catherine as a confirmation name. I should have been Woot.

I'm just back from a surprise two-day early birthday whirlwind. The Girl took me to Anglesey, a Welsh island, to visit neolithic and Celtic sacred sites - it was awesome. That woman is an angel. She's also quite handy at lifting wheelchairs down ancient flights of steps.

My landlords came to look at the mouse-infested cabinet today, and they cleaned it up and put some more steel wool in the hole. The mice seem to like brown rice.

And now I'm watching My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding, which is giving me a ton of questions that the show doesn't seem to think need answers. Also, the voiceover keeps talking about how the women are so oppressed, but all the examples that they're giving are ridiculous -- like, "A properly subservient Traveller wife has to serve her husband" over footage of a woman putting some stew on a plate and handing it to her husband, who's standing right next to her at the stove. But then they'll throw in stuff like "50% of Traveller wives are physically abused by their husbands" in the middle of a discussion of wedding dresses, as if this is clearly less significant than the fact that women are expected to cook.

Moving back from Natter: I have done dishes, updated the password, and have printed resume. I'll proof it while I soak my feets. First, furminating Xusa and Frankie.

Furminated the animals (Bella doesn't like it, or really need it), dust mopped the house, scooped the pans, took out the trash, unpacked a box and put the cardboard where Bella is scratching off the paint by the litter pan (damn, cat). Next - food, pedicure, proof resume.

I'm having so much resistance to doing anything!

I did empty the dishwasher and clean up the kitchen.

I cooked a good lunch, walked Bartleby for an hour, took him to visit people and dog friends and...fell off the wagon.

The fall wasn't as big a bump as it could have been, but I'm having a bad reaction, none the less.

I've been totally sugar/gluten/starch/processed food free for 34 days.

I've resisted various urges, but today, I went out to visit the new gelato shop that opened this morning and to get a gluten free cupcake.

I want to the gelato shop and drooled over the 25 flavor offerings, but left without a purchase. It just didn't speak to me.

I got a chocolate cupcake and sat own to really, really enjoy it.

The buttercream was super-tasty at first bite. The cake was characteristically dense for gluten free, but didn't taste bad.

I got through 5/8ths of it and started to feel very ooky.

Now, my stomach is upset, I have a weird taste in my mouth, the skin over my lower sinuses feels prickly (that's the chocolate) and I think I might be getting a headache.

There must have been some sort of artificial sweetrner involved, though it was by no means sugar-free.

Ugh. I really wish I hadn't done that.