My new shoes arrived! Probably won't get a chance to really wear them until Monday, but have slipped them on and confirmed that the nice person who emailed me with size guidance was correct in advising going up a half size. I think they'll need a little breaking in to really get comfortable and a weekend with two 5Ks is not super conducive to that. Super sugar, as expected.

I can barely even think about Matilda and how lonely and disappointed she's feeling, or I'll start bawling at work.

She's doing okay. I frivolously spent tens of dollars on her in Japantown and she got her first two manga which she's been reading avidly. She went from big whopping tears of "None of my friends are in my class!" to a philosophical "At least I've got Reece and Sophie" while eating a chocolate macaroon.

And in truth, she and Iris and Satchel will get on famously, and with so many 5th grade girls in her class, I think she'll have some older girl mentor friends.

Also, I remembered that math class is broken out first thing in the morning so she's likely to be doing math with some of her other friends as well. So between math, soccer, recess, new 5th grade girls, aftercare and playdates she'll be okay.

How sensible of everyone.

I never went to a school (until high school) where I hadn't known everyone in the class from the first grade--to the chagrin of some people, such as the quarterback in high school, who knew I'd been a witness to an epic throw-up event in the 2nd grade and was very polite to me in high school.

Edit: I was so glad to get to college, where no one knew me and I could get rid of twelve years of history.

I have epoxied the water garden container, and will refill it after it's cured for another couple of hours, watered the grapes, and washed some dishes. Time to take off my shoes and have some dinner, provided it has thawed enough. If it has not thawed enough, I believe tonight's wine has breathed sufficiently.

Connie - here's the I Hate to Cook tuna casserole:

7 oz can of tuna
2-3 cups cooked noodles
1 can cream of mushroom soup + 1/2 can milk
1/2 frozen or canned peas
salt, pepper
grated cheese

Put in a greased casserole dish, sprinkle cheese on top, and bake at 325° for half an hour

-t's tuna casserole recipe looks like the one I learned as a child.

How on earth do people like this get hired??? Padded resume?

Nothing so deceitful, really. We put out a Request for Proposal (RFP) to 10 or so contractors with whom we have a contract relationship, asking them for 4 engineers and one environmental planner. The 4 engineers were people who were already here on contract, but that contract was expiring and in order to keep them we had to switch them to another company. (This happens all the time.) But we didn't have an environmental person because that person is retiring, so we needed someone new.

I was asked to find someone to recommend, but I really couldn't: anyone I knew who was looking for work was someone I couldn't actually recommend. So the contracting firms just scoured LinkedIn until they found someone they could claim fit the qualifications of the contract, and submitted their resumes.

According to my boss, very few of the firms submitted anyone who was truly qualified, and this woman came closer than everyone else. Based on the resume that was submitted, she should be able to do the job, but she's apparently had some sort of life disaster or breakdown and cannot manage even something as simple as putting a CD into a computer, or opening a file on her computer desktop.

I've tried to be kind and helpful to her, but it's exhausting and she never stops talking, which in our open-plan office is very annoying to everyone around her. And I don't think she realizes that. Also, she's a smoker, which wouldn't be so much of a problem except I can smell it on her clothes, and ick.

The down side of all of this is it will be months before she's actually useful, if they don't cut her loose immediately. She will have relocated to the Bay Area from LA for no purpose, and we'll be scrambling to find someone to pick up the slack. What a clusterfuck.

In other news, I got my hair cut and spent way too much money at REI on gear for my trip to England. Now I need to pay bills and send emails to people.

But at least my sister's golden retriever (the Diva) is away at a dog beauty show all weekend, and the Big Dog is way easier to deal with.

Wow, that was chatty.

Interesting, though!

Hooray trip to England (and spending money at REI)!

I opened a Barbera from Lot 18 because I'm getting another shipment soon and I haven't tried half the wines in the last one (well, this one makes half), and I was more inclined to having a red with my roast beef than a white or pink before dinner. Unfortunately, it's a bit sweet for my taste. Ah well, that's the point of this subscription, to learn more of what suits me and what doesn't.

Nom, Barbera! I love Barberas.

I had a whiskey ginger and I really want another one but I need to write tonight, so maybe not until later...

My mom sent me a care package. There are homemade chocolate chip cookies in this box! That was a lovely surprise at the end of a very difficult week.

Good job, shrift's mom!