Subwoofers on their lawn? Time to take up target shooting.

Coincidentally, I just received a memo at work about cats who say "fuck" with a British accent. They don't care.

Hee!

Spidra, they finally quieted down around midnight. I just finished today's workload, so to bed I go. Night!

And good morning.

We got out of the house at 7:30 to see the first Athens half marathon go down the next block! I loved it. A family there whose mom was running set up a water station and the smiles when the racers saw the little girls earnestly holding out cups of water was awesome.

Saw at least 6 people I know running (total race was about 2000) and I know there were others I missed. Casper's friend's dad was #13 when they passed us (we were near the 7 mile mark).

Oh, that sounds like a fun morning, flea!

In a fit of enthusiasm, I signed up for the nearby Y on Friday. So I'm kind of committed to going this morning.

Spare Cat, meanwhile, is attempting to nurse from my sleeve. I look like Madonna And Stupid Cat.

Vacation starts tomorrow! This vacation does not involve a sick relative, a funeral, family business, or This Old House DIY shenanigans, nor will I be taking my work laptop with me (*gasp*).

My friend K. is flying into Richmond from Seattle, where I will meet her, and we will proceed to drive 11 hours to somewhere in Massachusetts to spend a couple days with our friend M., and then we do it all again in reverse. Why aren't we both just flying into MA? Because then we couldn't have a ROAD TRIP, of course! Yes, all this was engineered - by K. - to include a road trip. I am ridiculously excited.

(I met K & M last March at the Leverage Con-Con, while standing in the endless registration line, and we became instant friends. Don't you love it when that happens? When you just *click* with someone and it's like you've been friends forever?)

Normally the day before a trip, no matter where I'm going or how much I want to go, I'm an anxiety-riddled wreck. Today? Perfectly calm. I know what I'm taking with me, and I'm not overpacking out of neurotic fear that *something* I haven't prepared for might happen. My niece will be looking after the cats, and I had my car in the shop yesterday for an oil change and road-trip-worthiness check-up, so there's nothing to worry about. Anticipation without anxiety, whoa!

That sounds awesome!

Less awesome is the fact that I bought a costume off eBay, but forgot until it was too late that I don't have a credit card on my paypal account, so it processed as an echeck, which takes days to clear, and of course I need to get the damn thing by Friday. I swear to god. Some day I will do things in enough time that it's not a panic. Things that I have decided on forever ago! @@

I hate that kinda stuff, Jesse. I do it all the time. And that's after I get done dithering! Hello, self-sabotage, how are you? Anyway, you'll get it worked out. It'll be fine.

(Go Browns!) Sorry, New Orleans peeps. I bet against Cleveland, so there are reasonable odds they'll win.

Last night's ER visit was a total Cheers! moment. They knew my special, and they had it on tap. Doctor was pleasant, nurse was beyond sweet (and cute) and we chatted about the incidence of chronic pain sufferers at that ER in general (he'd been my nurse the night I met the other chronic pain chick). About 20 people, he said, who come in regularly, mostly sickle cell anaemia sufferers. I told him that I sometimes had problems being taken seriously and not like a drugseeker, and he said that people were idiots sometimes and he couldn't really talk about it.

I wonder if my mother would be averse to me dating a nurse while I worked my way "up" to the endocrinologist.

Ooh! So close to trip time! Which means it's list time! And, less excitingly, laundry time. But basically, I need to:

• get hair cut
• do laundry
• consider doing nails¹
• consider doing brows¹
• consolidate travel toiletries again
• perform numerous weather checks and waffle on coat
• make and remake wardrobe lists
• actually pack

In no particular order.

¹: So I can pretend I've been living a glam life this whole time. Except, of course, she'll see right through me. We lived together or next to each other for three years. Ah, well.

Last night's ER visit was a total Cheers! moment. They knew my special, and they had it on tap.

Heh. Also, yay!