Well, I think this might work out okay. I'm still constantly running over various details in my mind on a regular basis, but overall... I think it'll be okay.

I'll be running over a bunch of stuff on my own this morning; mainly the things that are living or electronic and aren't properly wrapped. Mom's got some more cartons for me, so that'll help out with the dishes and food -- at this point, many of the dishes are going to get stacked in dresser drawers and brought over that way, it seems.

I find it amusing that if I sent my MSN title to "Packing. Fuck off." and even set my status to busy, some people think it means "She's busy to everyone but me, for whom she will drop everything she's doing and chat at great length!" Gah.

Also, the cat decided that me moving the mattress around was purely for her entertainment and not an attempt to move it and the box spring off the frame so I could disassemble it. Finally, one of the screws that attaches the frame together isn't the right one, so it didn't have a slot or phillips opening in it and it involved me alternately hammering and cursing at the stupid wingnut until I could get it to move. Pliers weren't much help until I got the hammer involved. When all you have is a hammer and pliers, everything looks hammerable. That's my new proverb.

Once I got that sorted out, everything else came a bit more easily. Something I'd noticed before but was driven home as I was taking it apart was just how badly slanted my floors are; my bed was on 2-inch blocks on one side to keep the angle about level, and the headboard itself never actually touched the floor. It sat about 2 inches above the floor. Oh yes, my apartment was quite the *fantastic* place.

I went through last night and took a bunch of pictures of the place that I'll probably post at some point. It's hard to get a good idea of the dimensions of the place (although people like Markuk will go on at great length about just how small it was :P), and it's really hard to get an idea of how it was decorated, what with all of the boxes and stuff piled around, but... I don't know. Maybe I'm feeling nostalgic and romanticizing the place, but I managed okay there for a year.

It's weird to think I've been out and on my own for almost a year already. One thing my various diverse groups of friends has taught me is that everyone matures and does their own thing at their own pace. I have friends who've been living on their own since they were 17 or 18, and I have others who are still living at home at 24 and up, with no signs of moving out. There are advantages to all of it, and while I think I could probably move home if I had to, with any luck I won't wind up in any situations where I'd have to.

My neighbour and I spent a few hours yesterday just chatting and trading war stories on my landlord. Man, as I said before, I got off really lucky in most of that. The neighbour also shared my grouchings with the real estate agent and her ilk, so I feel good about my anger. :)

Hopefully the new landlords will be good. I got my key to the new place last night, and the real estate agent with whom I work told me to check out the appliances and so on and let him know if anything didn't work. I didn't tell him I had a few loads of laundry already lined up to go. :) He was also a bit annoyed because they hadn't cleaned the bathrooms, but since I'd planned on doing that anyhow, it wasn't that big of a deal.

Urgh, so much to remember. I have to start making my lists very soon. Fortunately, I am once again in the money, so I can afford to do things like buy a shower curtain or groceries. Urgh. I need groceries rather desperately.

Anyhow, as of about an hour from now or so, I will be without internet access until mid-day Saturday. All I ask is that if anyone needs to get in touch with me between now and then that they call my cell. I'm having to change phone numbers along with addresses, and the new number won't be active until Saturday morning.

Aside from that, let's hope I keep the smashing of other objects, fingers, toes and sanity down to a bare minimum. :)

Okay, so my *one* regret for leaving this place is that I just met one of my neighbours this evening and we sat on the stoop and chatted for about two hours. Really nice lady, we trashed our landlord quite soundly (and from the sounds of things, I was very lucky in comparison to them and others in the building), and had a great time. Thena even got some attention from people passing by and this neighbour, and she was well-behaved up until 10 or so, when she started lunging at me. Then Thena got put inside for her time-out. Bad kitty.

So... that's too bad. However, Greg and Madeleine will be right around the corner from me at the new place, so that'll be good. :)

Current casualties of the packing:
1 lightbulb (which I shattered all over me for fun)
2 hangers (stupid not cheap hangers)

I want to do something that doesn't entail putting my posessions into boxes and finding room for them. Oh, wait -- no more boxes anyhow. I will find some way of transporting dishes and so on tomorrow... so far, I'm thinking in dresser drawers.

Reason #12 why I love my kitten: Because when I put on a sarong, especially one with tassels on it, she will attack the tassels and try to walk away with a corner of my skirt held captive in her mouth.

Also, uber-stress because, despite the forest of boxes that will haunt me until I die, nothing is packed! Nothing!

Stupid potato cravings.

Bash.org fun:

asl?
unf?
no
asl
unf?
u want the cyber
?
unf!
fap fap
<[H]Klypr8> parlor.asf
<[H]Tongboy> lol, I come back for a minute on accident, and I see what looks like 2 aolers trying to mate

ah, San Francisco Personal Ads
What aobut 'em?
you will never find a more retched hive of scum and villiany
I must be careful
"I'm looking for a cute strong guy with a truck to help me move a couch from Dolores Park to Oakland some time this week during the evening. I'll buy you dinner afterwards. Picture required."
"you must be THIS hot to move my furniture"

you MALE. always wanting to talk about football instead of my menstrual cycle.

I went water skiing
and It turns out that I scream the same way that i would if a great white shark were about to attack me
If seaweed touches my foot
Theres a moment I want back

Amy_Lynne.: Oh you hate your job? Theres a support group for that, its called EVERYBODY and they meet at the bar.

i feel so american
you shot someone?

fuck, i toasted my cablemodem yesterday...
heh,
how did you do that mr_smith
raise your glass and go "to my cablemodem!"

* Entoutcas has quit IRC (Quit: And the Lord said unto John; Come forth and receive eternal life. But John came fifth and won a toaster...)

if superman and batman got into a fight, who would win?
well, superman wears his undies on the outside...batman wears his on his head
tough call

< relnev> cool, this 8-page pdf has 3 pages intentionally left blank
< relnev> that's like a big waste of e-trees

Man, does it feel nice to have money again. I think I'm going to go home and maybe rent some videos and be lumpy on the couch. I'm hungry.

Potatoes and time make the world of the mildly hungover all better. That and some drugs and some orange juice and some water. I still think I might go home, though. I need sleep and gaming and more cuddling with my kitten.

She woke me up at four for cuddling and spooning. Then we had more cuddling when my alarm went off an hour later.

Thena was getting all kinds of attention yesterday. I had her on her leash while I say on the stoop, and a guy came by and gave her a little pat. Then I saw my landlord, who gave me back my July rent money (just peeled a bunch of hundreds off the stack he was carrying in his pocket... *man* do I wanna be a land(slum?)lord), and then when the people came by to view the building, the wife of the couple gave her some pats.

The real estate agent came by with the couple (as previously mentioned just one sentence ago) and asked me if I was moving at the end of the month, to which I said yes. She escorted the couple inside, told them to "please excuse the mess," and did the mini-tour.

1. "Please excuse the mess?" That's my line to say, if I'm going to say it at all, not yours. Stupid woman. Not only that, but my apartment happens to be cleaner right now than any of the other times she brought someone through it, so I kinda have to wonder what she said to them then. Hah!

2. When she saw me picking up the cat and wandering outside, she asked if I wanted her to lock up, or if I was just going to be out front. Apparently she didn't notice my lack of shoes, or the fact that I had my cat with me. Few places like to have you wander in with a cat, regardless of whether or not it's leashed.

3. She left *yet another* stupid business card in my apartment. As a result of the "fun" of having these people constantly through, I officially hate real estate agents. Utterly. Every single one of them has left a business card as they've gone through. This lady, who's been through my apartment herself probably somewhere around a half-dozen times, has left me business cards *every single time.* I wish I could build an effigy of business cards beside her for-sale sign that's on the front lawn and burn them as I dance and cackle merrily. I hate that woman.

I hate that woman because of the business card forest in my apartment, and because the appointments she made to show the building were never convenient for me (who remembers my rant about the 10 a.m. Saturday appointment?!), and they were never something I or anyone else in the building got to approve. Rather, it was something of which we were *informed*, which annoys me. My lease states that my landlord can enter my apartment anytime between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. -- *with my approval*. When my landlord would call and mention he had someone to look at the apartment, he always phrased in the form of, "is that okay with you?" Sure, he probably meant it less than sincerely, but if I had a valid reason to say no, he'd have to accept that. The lease so states.

But Ms. Real Estate Agent For Whom The Elements Themselves Obey... oh, no. So long as it was convenient for her agents and her clients, regardless of whether it was 10 a.m. on Saturday or 7 p.m. on a Tuesday night, bah! I had really hoped that, now that I was into the home stretch of this whole moving/being stuck in this apartment thing, I wouldn't have to see her again. If only. :P Bah again!

And yes, I know I don't have to leave the apartment when it's being showed (at least not by her or her agents), but I don't really like being around strangers when they're viewing and evaluating my stuff. I'm sure they're not really doing that, that they're looking at the building and trying to x-ray vision its structural integrity and so on, but regardless... don't judge me 'cause I have a huge teddy bear on my bed, or a basket of laundry on the floor. I have my reasons, dammit! :)

I want to knit and work on a cross stitch and read and game and watch tv and pester my kitten... I can't wait until the new place with its tile floors and its vast amounts of space and its nooks and crannies for me to fill with all of my crap and the kitten to run and play... whee! I can throw things and they will bounce all over and Thena will run and chase them and maybe even have fewer places to hide things... one of the things I'm looking forward to the most when I start moving things out of my apartment is finally finding out just where the heck Thena's been stashing all of her toys. There weren't near as many as I assumed under my computer desk last I looked.

Ben and I went out to the martini bar tonight to see an acquaintance of ours spin. The blogging world is fun.

Anyhow, I ran into Markuk while there, and I had a grand total of three chocolate martinis (theirs also came with Cointreau, but I only tasted that in the final drink). I am in love with the chocolate martinis -- this bartender mixed them very nicely, and there was a selection of chocolate chips at the bottom of the glass for later. Ben even had one of these drinks and then he foisted his chocolate chips off on me, which was both bad and good -- bad because I shouldn't be drinking/eating junk like this, but good because I hadn't had supper.

I like martinis. They're a surprise build; first you're sober, then you have a few, and whoops! before you know it, you're drunk. Or if you're me, you're fine and then you're drunk.

But I'm fine. I will, of course, hate Markuk tomorrow, since he bought me my third drink, and here I am posting at quarter after 11, when I'm waking up at 5 a.m. tomorrow... I think, however, that if I ask my boss if I can leave early because I'm hungover (although I won't be, 'cause I rarely drink enough to be hungover, just exhausted), he'll be amused.

Argh. I have to make it until at least noon, 'cause that's when the goodbye party for my coworker is taking place, and I didn't get him a card like I said I would. I'm a bad person.

Anyhow, it's not getting any earlier, and the alarm clock is still set for 5... I hate my life. :P

Oh yeah, forgot to mention; as I walked home, I passed by a couple of beggars. I gave my usual apology (despite the $1000 I was carrying, story on that later), and they said I looked really nice tonight, and to "stop killing the guys." I thanked them and told them, "If only" and continued on my merry way.

Once upon a time I (in conjunction with Ben) proposed that there should be a day whereby you can approach someone and tell them exactly what you think about them -- like, it's funny that an extra year has served only to expose your (apparently true) asshole colours -- and they can't get upset with you, and on their day, they can tell you (and anyone else) what they think, and you can't get upset with them.

Well, as a caveat to that, I'd like to suggest the addition of an apology day -- whereby you approach everyone you've wronged and sincerely apologize to them. The catch is, you have to actually mean it; if you don't honestly feel guilty for how you treated them. No half-assed apologies if you don't feel bad.

I'd be curious to see who called me up.

This is true, and has been my experience with cats. Sorta.

If I did yoga at home, Digger and Chloe often situated themselves beneath me, so that I couldn't do the poses properly, or I'd be sure to land on them. Shadow adopted this habit after she saw the amount of success Digger had with it.

Thena, on the other hand, bit my feet the one and only time I tried to exercise around her.

I think they're trying to tell me something.

Margh. I am bored.

I have speeches to review, so I shall spend time doing that. Or at least trying to force my brain to do it. My coworker's email asked to "Please lets[sic] touch base daily, for progress updates etc." Urgh. I promise I will have nothing new from one day to the next -- it makes me happy that I'm working wonky hours and as such, will not be available after the early afternoon. Postpone it a day or so. :)

The weird thing about my current job (speech coordinator, for those of you playing at home), is that there are many times in conversation with various coworkers or contractors that some part of my brain takes a step back every now and then and is amazed at the fact that I sound like I know what I'm talking about. It's even more impressive when it comes to my talking about legislative process. Now, as a disclaimer, I only know 0.000001% of legislative process, but it's about the passage of bills in the Houses, and not everyone knows about that. Or at least, not everyone has to worry about it. And granted, I only know it as is pertains to speeches; the rest of it, I know nothing about. :)

My abs are somewhat sore, too, from my workout with my trainer yesterday. My upper body has some soreness to it, but nothing prohibitive. I have running tonight and Thursday night, and then that's done, except for runs I might undertake on my own. I'd kinda like to keep it up; I find that when I run late at night and with music, when I want to run (instead of when it's scheduled), my endurance is better and I enjoy it more. If such a thing can be described as "enjoyable"...

I had some weird dream last night that I can't really recall. All I know is that Thena woke me out of it, looking for attention. She was cute last night -- she crashed on my bed around 9:00 or so, when I was eating my supper and watching videos on my computer. I don't know if it was from the extra noise on the street or not, but she was just worn out, it seems.

I spent some time yesterday reading about Easter Eggs in various books and video games, and it got me wanting to do some console gaming. I have Warcraft III and Starcraft currently available on my system (everything else is packed up), and then some minor games from Popcap and so on. I also got Commander Keen up and running again, so I have 7 games there. It's been years since I've played Keen 4 (the only one I really had), and it's funny how much stuff still has stuck in my brain for it.

Hrm. I really want to write something, maybe even contribute a short story to a contest I saw recently (deadline August 1st, but I can make it!), but I have no ideas. Anyone want to throw out some random words or ideas and I'll see what I can do? Lots of people, help! :)

This is kinda weird. So far I've written a few pretty large emails, and I'm obviously in the mood to write, but when I thought about updating this site, I wasn't as eager. Weird muse.

Anyhow, the packing is finally seeming to come along. I started out with all of my entertainments earlier -- books, DVDs, VHS tapes -- although I kept my CDs out. I still had books left, and I'd probably still have books left if I burned the damn place down. But no matter. Over the course of the weekend, I put away the majority of my knickknacks, and that really helped to make it look as if I'd gotten somewhere. I packed up most of my bathroom, too, so all that really remains are some of my clothes (many of them also made it into boxes and one garbage bag), and my kitchenware.

Thena's been helping me out a great deal, as I think I've said; she pulls the old tape off the boxes, tests the boxes for potential dangerous chemicals by chewing on them, and ensures their stability when stacked by counter-balancing them with her hefty sleeping form. She does seem a little stressed about it at times, considering she gets wound up and attacks me -- not that that's new behaviour -- fairly aggressively when I'm packing, and she does seem to be sleeping a bit more, but as I keep telling her, just a few more days...

Anyhow, the weekend didn't just entail packing, oh no! Rather, this weekend was actually a pretty fun one. Friday I worked from 6:30 a.m - 2:00 p.m., and when I got home I was kind to the Demon Beast and took her outside on her leash for a good hour or more. The previous day, when I'd done the same, I actually had her walking back and forth a bit on the leash. I don't know how well she'd keep it up, but it was pretty cool in the meantime. It's fun having her out -- I sit on the threshold with the door open, reading, and she wanders about. When she gets freaked out, she runs right back into the house or hides under my legs, which I always praise. She's pretty fearless, though, especially when she's Thena, Queen of the Jungle (since the lawn hasn't been cut since it was installed).

Friday night I was due to go out on a pub crawl with a friend of mine, but wound up begging out due to exhaustion and some remaining unwellness. Instead, I wound up meeting up with Ben to get the money I was owed, which turned into dinner at his place, which turned into going to Stefan's house party for a drop-in visit, which turned into me not getting home until 2:00 p.m. on Saturday. But let me back up.

As I was plotting the evening with Ben, Thena took great exception to being ignored or something, and decided to mount a full-frontal attack. I was standing, leaning against the couch, and she was about five feet away from me. Without warning, she ran right up me and was hanging onto my shirt at about boob level, ready to eat my face if I should be dumb enough to lean down. Poor Ben's conversation was interrupted by my exclamation of something along the lines of, "Holy fuck!"

After I filled him in on what was going on, I spent about the next five minutes cursing out the cat, including reminding her once again that I should've gotten her brother, and that she was evil and mean and so on. To be honest, I don't entirely remember what I said, but Ben seemed amused. I changed my shirt to one that was t-shirt material (and not the stretchy knit top I had on before), and before I left, she'd climbed me once again; not nearly as high, however, 'cause either the impetus was lost or the shirt wasn't as suitable, I'm not sure. For the record, the shirt I put on was my David and Goliath, "Don't put a cat on your head, it hurts real bad." It was the first shirt I picked up, and seemed appropriate.

Anyhow, I met up with Ben, got some money, ranted about a mutual friend/acquaintance for awhile, and then we caught a bus out to his place, where his brother fed us a wonderful meal of really tasty ribs, bread, salad and then my brownies for dessert. Ben's sister showed up and I got to say hi to her and hang out for a bit, and then we were off to Stefan's for an appearance at the party.

At least, we'd planned on just making an appearance.

I was tempted to just head home, but I always wanted to go and see people that I don't often get to see -- Angus, Matt D., Stefan, and so on. I had a good time chatting and shooting the shit with everyone, and I even spent some time trashing particular people and men in general, plus enhancing myself herbally.

A little before or after 3 a.m., I decided it was time to pack it in. I was amazed I'd lasted so long, actually, but my little half hour nap in the afternoon had probably helped me out somewhat (which may have been part of Thena's upset with me; I get home, hang out with her a little bit, then shut her out of the bedroom to stop her from attacking me while I nap). I took the futon in the basement, and I don't think I opened my eyes until the next morning.

Gradually everyone who'd crashed there woke up as well, and after much slow getting ready (which consisted of Stefan putting on real clothes and the rest of us doing nothing), we headed off to grab some expensive Cora's breakfast. Breakfast was really good -- I had strawberries and chocolate hazelnut spread wrapped in a crepe, with a side of potatoes. Oh yes, potatoes. I think all of the food on the table was consumed -- I know Ben and Stefan helped me out by eating some of my breakfast, and I snagged some fruit off of Ben's plate, too.

On the way out, I kept joking that I was going to put my receipt in the suggestion box and just leave, but I didn't. I did, however, snag a couple of kid's placemats, and then I punched out the various punch-outs and distributed them to the people in our group.

Stefan drove most of us home, and I spent the afternoon packing stuff up, as mentioned. That evening a small group of us headed out to catch I, Robot, and we quite enjoyed it. I was disappointed that Will Smith's peener wasn't shown, but we did still get to see him shirtless a few times, so that was nice. :) After the movie, I went home and stayed up for a little bit before going to bed.

Sunday was pretty dull; more packing, more lounging about and then work, where the trainee got to run the whole thing. This crazy old lady started calling constantly because I dared have an opinion and then I kept hanging up on her, but after about seven or eight calls, she gave up for the night.

After that, I went home, stayed up too late, then didn't sleep very well -- par for the course when I have to be up early, of course. Thena and I were cuddling at the time my alarm actually went off, so she jerked awake when I did and it could've gone horribly wrong. I got back in bed for our morning cuddle, and life was good again.

And now I'm here. Yippee. The weird thing is, I was asked to fill in for someone this week, and she's here right now. I've heard her telling people "she's not here today," which is what I'll be doing on Friday, but... she's still here. I'm confused.

Yeah, I'd booked Friday off so that I could move, and I've since been asked to fill in for two different people. Because they both work early morning hours (one starts at 6:30, and one has my old job, so I come in for 7 for that, even though she doesn't), I'm coming in and leaving after that role is done. Fie on being there any longer -- I booked the day off!

I also found out at the party on the weekend that Friday works better for Stefan's friend with the truck, so the three of us are going to spend Friday afternoon onwards moving. Since I'd already arranged to have Mom's car that day and Stefan's buddy won't be free until the afternoon, I get to spend the morning doing the cleaning and setup that I'd planned... and I have the rest of the weekend free to set up the apartment and make it liveable, plus I don't have to worry about Saturday when the cable guy is coming and my new bed's being delivered. It's all coming together nicely now... :)

Anyhow, this is long enough for now, I'm sure. I got DaVinci Code as an ebook, so I'm now on to the last Dan Brown book -- I read Digital Fortress over the weekend, and Angels and Demons before that. As I've said to a few people, even if the facts aren't 100% correct (as I've been told), he still writes well, in my opinion. Occasionally a little too cliff-hangery (more of a problem in Deception Point than any of the others), but I enjoy it, and I like that the technical and potentially dull material is written such that I can understand and enjoy it without tuning out large portions of the book. There are errors within the books (one that stood out to me in Deception Point involved the American seal), and sometimes the characters seem to move slower than the reader, and there's a bit of a pattern to the "villain" that I'd like to see broken, but otherwise, they're fun to read. Lighter than a lot of other books out there.

And now I'm so very very bored...

I would like to make the following announcement:

I hate packing.

For those who were dying to know my schedule (oh, I know you were, don't deny it), here it is:

July 23: 6:30-2:00 p.m.
July 26-27: 7:00-3:00 p.m.
July 28: 6:30-2:00 p.m.
July 29: 7:00-3:00 p.m.
July 30: 6:30-11:30 a.m.

August 2-13: 6:30 a.m.-2:00 p.m.

My work schedule for the next three weeks is so screwed up. I think I'm only work my "regular" shift 2 of those days. Yay, me. Partly stupid me for saying yes, but it's kinda nice being done work at 2.

I made brownies out of the Loony Spoons cookbook, and they turned out fairly nicely. Of course, the flavour seems to come mostly from the mint chocolate chips, but what the hell. Next time I might make them with raspberry chips. We'll see.

Tomorrow's the pub crawl, Saturday is more (mondo) packing, Sunday is work... I love my life.

Oh yeah, tomorrow's a 5 a.m. wake up. Time to go to bed. :P

And a further, I'm so glad I don't live in the States:

How to have a heart attack for breakfast, otherwise known as doughnut drinks for breakfast (from Jay).

And...

Army rations rehydrated by urine. It is what it says it is. From Dave Barry's blog.

Gee, I wish I was an American. :P

Be all that you can be.

Creepy quote: ""the surgeons have to have someone to practice on.""

Today I tried to go to work without underwear. I had on my bra, I had on my dress, I had on my sandals, and I was wandering around feeling amazed at how free and comfortable I felt.

Then I realized that I was sans underwear bottoms.

Now that would've made for an interesting day, that's for sure.

So, good evening out tonight. I met up with Ben, Sarah, Eric, Andrea and Andrea's friend for some Pho, which led to Sarah, Andrea, Eric and I going to grab some cake/cheesecake at a local dessert place afterwards.

Andrea and I spent most of the time trashing people we'd known in high school, one or two of whom Sarah and Eric also knew. Sarah was much amused by our rampant hatred and trashing of one person in particular, and was quite relieved to learn she wasn't the only one who felt the same way.

So, the evening overall was great, but it did end on one pissy note that got me really upset. I'm kinda pissed at two people out of it, actually: one guy, UBFM, for, I'm certain, perpetuating the rumour, and the other guy for believing it. Now, this guy does tend to believe what he wants to believe, but it's still irritating as all fuck that, even with years of my denials and so on, that he'd still believe it.

See, I've evolved to the point where I can, with some degrees of variety, admit to my mistakes, and especially to admit to my entertaining stories. Want to know about my sexual adventures? Ask me. I'm willing to tell almost anyone almost anything. But when people insist on repeating or believing stories that never happened, it makes me mad. Really, really mad.

Part of me is tempted to post the story here, for all to read and for me to once again refute, but at the same time, I just don't want to give it any more importance. Suffice it to say, if it were to have happened, I'll admit to it. There's plenty of things I've done or tried that I'll admit to, both positive or negative, whether they reflect well on me or not. But in this case? It never happened. I realize that I will never be able to convince this particular person of that, but in the end, that's his failing, and not mine.

Ben showed me a funky BBC site that has all kinds of neat tests on it, including some nonverbal tests that have made my scattered brain want to focus once again on nonverbal communication (this week I've gone from focusing on or wanting to focus on things from calculus to programming to gaming to logic problems to reading to watching tv shows and so on). Anyhow, we both did the morality test at the same time, and here's what I've turned up:

Results
46116 people have completed this questionaire so far.

You scored 37.5 out of a total of 44.

Audience's Scores
1 % 1 % 32 % 66 %

1%: 0-11
1%: 12-22
32%: 23-33
66%: 34-44

My Results
Your score puts you in the highest category of social reasoning. You will see ethical and moral values as important to the needs of society and will appeal to basic rights or values. You might say "Honesty is a standard which everyone should accept" or "Life is sacred."

Conformity to ethical norms is important to you, in terms of a responsibility, obligation or commitment for all individuals, although you may be willing to consider exceptions in some particular circumstances. You are likely to suggest that with entitlement or privilege comes responsibility.

You will appeal to considerations of responsible character or integrity in others, preferring a consistent or standard practice of behaviour in order to avoid damage to social institutions such as the legal system.

However, you will want to see an adjusted case-by-case application of standards for the sake of fairness to all people. Lastly, you are very likely to appeal to standards of individual or personal conscience, as well as of honour, dignity or integrity.
---

I find my results (extrovert was another one of the funny ones, too) amusing. I've always figured myself for introverted (although on the Myers-Briggs test, I scored right down the centre on the first three characteristics, slightly leaning to one direction in each of them) and immoral. Very, very immoral. But apparently, I hold myself -- and others -- to a different kind of moral code. Who knew?

Also, the comedy central site listing clips from the Daily Show is fabulous. I highly recommend the Freedom of Oppression clip and the Boys in the Ban clip (found under headlines. Go. Laugh.

I had a dream last night that I had gone to a spa with Charlotte York from Sex in the City, and a few other women. We were getting ready for someone's wedding, and then it morphed from that into some kind of weird cheerleading/lip syncing competition that we were in, but forever awaiting our turn.

Then, Greg (the DNA guy) and a few other people from CSI turned up, and I was really certain that Greg was trying to work up the nerve to ask me out, but we kept getting interrupted.

Then they were tearing down the stage for the competition without our team having participated and Greg never got around to asking me out, and I was disappointed.

While this was going on, Thena was jumping on me and waking me up, but I kept managing to get back into the dream, which was cool. I think she was dive-bombing me from the tops of the boxes at the foot of the bed at times. I know she hauled some stuff around that was on the bookcases and is now accessible, due to the aforementioned boxes.

She also wanted to be cuddled around 4:30 a.m., and although I did sleep after that point, it was in fits in spurts. I know she pounced on my face at one point, and I think it was that that split my lip (only slightly; they were dried out from breathing through my mouth I'm sure, so the pressure probably was all it took). Then, this morning, she did another escape -- this time from the top of the little bookcase I have beside the door. She took a flying leap from there outside and into the grass, which is where I grabbed her. I wasn't super-kind either, I grabbed her by the scruff and picked her up. Don't worry, this doesn't hurt her and so on and so forth.

She was being bad all morning, too, biting me and attacking me the whole time I was trying to get ready. I was already in a bit of a cranky mood, since I hadn't gotten a good night's sleep -- and I'd tried, going to bed at 10:30 and feeling worn out even before that point -- and I was running behind, not having gotten out of bed until nearly 10 after 8. Not that I minded being late so much.

Ah well. I've also decided to learn how to do some programming, I think. I was solving calculus equations today at work, getting back some of my high school math abilities. :)

I finished Angels and Demons, Dan Brown's first book, yesterday. The other one of his that's out in paperback is slowly winging its way to me -- according to the tracking information, it's currently being sorted in Toronto. It shipped out on Friday, so now I'm grumpy that it's taking so long (other shipments have made it in two days, I want to whine).

Yesterday I did a pretty uber workout at the gym. My trainer and I are only going to meet once a week now, but I'm going in on my own at least one other day a week on my own. She's going to leave me things to do. :) But together, we're doing the big, compound things, the ones that need guidance to do properly. She was all proud of me yesterday for doing major squats; I'm up to a pretty decent weight (we did 110 lbs. yesterday, if memory serves), and I still come right down and do full sets and so on. Same thing for deadlifts and shoulders, and even my benching is getting up there.

I don't tend to pay attention to the weight that I'm doing. I mean, I'll notice if my trainer's put more weight on it more often than not, but I don't look at the numbers, otherwise I'll start getting wigged. Although the last time we did major legs, I did do 410 lbs. on the machine, which was pretty cool. Lookit me go. *flex*

I was sweating a lot yesterday, obviously. :)

Of course, now that I'm seeing effects of the working out, I want to do more and I want to have it all show up now. :) I did yoga last week, and that's something I wouldn't mind continuing, depending on how it factors into my schedule -- stupid Wednesday night Pho nights. Mind you, once running ends at the end of the month, that'll open things up a bit more for me, which'll be nice.

Anyhow, off to do some logic or word problems to continue my brain sharpening. This is how I am with my hobbies -- I go through phases. For a few weeks it's word puzzles, then a few other weeks it's knitting or something. I envy people with concentration and focus. :P

In a discussion about the appeal of Hentai:
"I mean, the problem is that I can't identify with the role the tentacles are playing. :) I've never ripped a woman in half with my pookaloo. :("

Okay, so I've sucked it up and put up a temporary template. Don't get too used to it, it's going soon.

There are many things I'm not too fond of with the options available in Blogger, including the displaying of a profile, the mt-style listing of headings, the oversize font (for all of my older readers?) and so on and so on. Anyhow, I'm working on a new template for now, in between the packing, working, gymming, loafing and sleeping that comprises the rest of my schedule. I just didn't want anyone going into withdrawal, you see.

Thena's been helping me pack, which tends to involve peeling the tape off of the flattened boxes (and leaving it in my bed), chewing on the edges of the boxes, or occasionally investigating one to ensure that it's considered safe. As you can imagine, she's been a big help. Very big.

I took her outside on her leash yesterday so that she could enjoy the nice weather and investigate the little patch of lawn that the city was kind enough to return, following the extensive renovations that have been done to my street. She had no fear whatsoever, didn't seem bothered at all by the different textures or anything. She ate a bit of grass, ran inside when really loud vehicles passed (like the mini-pack of motorcycles), and didn't seem particularly concerned when the large dog passed by. He didn't take much interest in her, either.

I did get to hear her talk to a bug, though. That's always entertaining to hear. :)

In the very beginning of all of my extensive (hah!) packing, I've come to the conclusion that I own way too many books. In actuality, I feel there's no such thing, but in practice, seeing the number of boxes that were devoted in their entirety or majority to books, I have to ... I don't know, really. Maybe I should really work on reading what I have instead of my constant acquisition of more. :P

Ah well... I packed up the majority of my books (I first typed 'boobs' there -- Stefan is confusing me!), VHSes, DVDs and games. I packed up a few other minor things, and so now my front nook looks a little empty. Most of the boxes are currently stacked at the foot of my bed, in front of my back door, and Thena thinks it's a wonderful sleeping area/perch for her. I had to put my afghan over the boxes to stop her from peeling the tape off of them. :P

She's also been using the tops of my bookcases in the living room as her perches. I think the packing was stressing her out, since she flopped down on the smaller one and tried to go to sleep. This was after she spent awhile attacking me, of course.

What else? Well, I spent some time in IKEA yesterday with Mom. We managed to get pretty much everything we went there for: two new kitchen chairs, a CD/DVD cabinet, a dresser, a nighttable, some lamps (with shades), and some other miscellaneous crap. Mom wouldn't let me buy a bookcase, and I didn't get a TV stand yet, but there's no rush on those. I also picked up a little toy for Thena, since she's taken to stealing some of my stuffed animals and running around with them. Damn cat.

All in all, I'm pretty happy with the way things are shaping up, but also very very broke. In good news, my landlord has rented the place out for August 1st, so that means that I get my July rent cheque back. He even called me about it, so I didn't have to argue about it, which I'd kinda feared I might.

I also found out last week that I have to renew my training sessions. Urgh, urgh, urgh. I just finished paying off the last set, and now I have to fork out the money again. I talked to my trainer about it (just online so far), and we're going to cut back to once a week so I can save money a bit. Instead, she's going to give me a program to do on Wednesdays (which is when she and I usually met). This gives me a bit of flexibility in my gym schedule now, since I can do something like meet with her on Mondays, then socialize on Wednesdays and go to the gym on Fridays or something, since Friday plans typically start late anyhow.

Of course, if I socialize on Wednesdays then I won't be able to hit the Wednesday yoga class I was going to, but there are other classes (although that's currently the only yoga one) and so on. I'll figure something out, I'm sure.

It's weird, now that I can see results from having worked out and whatnot, I kinda want to do more of it, or at least just be crazy in shape right now. No more waiting. :)

Okay, time for lunch, I think; I don't feel especially hungry, but I gotta eat. Hopefully I'll have the new template up today and you won't have to deal with this one for very long. :)

Why would anyone fight to keep this 'do?

So yesterday I was screwing around on expedia.ca, trying to see what kinds of costs might be involved in a trip to Europe if I were to pre-book everything and stay at hotels, and I started whining to Shawn and Jay about how I was bored and how I wanted to send a totally outraged letter of complaint to online booking sites about how they wouldn't let me book a date that was in the past. Especially a date that was in the past by say, one day, and the letter itself had the current date on it. Since Shawn's all full of awesome and so on, here's what he drafted for me:
 
"To Whom It May Concern,
 
 I was interested in booking a flight for July 14, but it would seem that your website makes this impossible for me.  A minor technical oversight on your part, perhaps, but nonetheless a major disappointment one for anyone looking to save some time by booking a very early flight!
 
 I am, suffice to say, outraged.  I have enough stress in my life (kids, bills, next door neighbor, the Liberals being re-elected) without having to put up with a service that doesn't work properly for me when I am trying to book a flight in a crunch!  Furthermore, I am going to be boycotting your one-dimensional, linear thinking by telling my friends and family members to find another method of travel altogether.
 
 Sincerely, 
Shawn MacLean   
July 15, 2004"
 
My friends are awesome, especially when they share my insanely stupid sense of humour. :)

Okay, so I don't exactly agree with her being called a whore, but it does kinda go towards proving my "Kirsten Dunst is stupid and useless" point. Check it out here.

If you want to read the actual interview, it's located here, or the relevant clips are those two paragraphs:

WOULD YOU WANT TO SEE HER KILLED OFF OR WOULD IS SOMEBODY ELSE GOING TO TAKE OVER THE ROLE? THAT WOULD BE EVEN STRANGER.

DUNST: It would actually be really interesting if Spiderman died I think. Cause, rarely, why doesn't the superhero ever die? It would be so sad and beautiful.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

THAT'S WHY THEY CALL THEM THE SUPERHERO THOUGH.

DUNST: But he's so human to and it think that if Mary Jane was like alone and pregnant and he dies, you know she could give birth to a Spiderbaby and carry on the series with another young boy or something like that. I doubt Toby would come back for a fourth or a fifth either.



In other news, when will Blogger get tired of screwing around with my settings? When, oh when? Apparently too many people were too stupid to figure out how to do links or something, so now it's all screwed up and "simplified" and oddly enough, I can't figure it out. Is it so hard to learn how to link things? I know how to do it, so therefore I say no, it isn't.

*goes off to see what kinds of settings she needs to change to get this back to normal*

Oh yeah, and Thena news; she fully escaped from my apartment this morning. I left the place, noticed I had a parcel in my mailbox (yay for Chapters.ca, now I have Angels and Demons to read, as well as the new Josey Vogels), so I opened my door to take the parcel inside and open it. As I stepped through the door, Thena stepped out, and I didn't shut the door in time -- I just saw a little grey butt out on my stoop.

I was rather burdened down, but I set down the parcel, and opened the door, prepared to drop everything and go racing around in an effort to catch her if necessary. My street, while definitely not one of the busiest ones downtown (especially since the upper portion of it is closed due to construction), still gets its fair share of traffic in the morning. Fortunately for me and this story (and you may have gleaned from the not-very-panicked/upset tone of this update, barring the Blogger weirdness), her brief foray into rebellion and freedom consisted of her sitting down on the stoop and staring at the street and cars at the closest intersection (several buildings down).

I nabbed the little pain in the ass and brought her inside, telling her -- in a farily upset tone -- that she wasn't to go out as I did. I had turned her so that she was belly-up, facing me, held in my arm, and my face was relatively close to hers. In order to further her rebellion and demonosity, she reached her face up, and in a show of great tenderness and love, bit both of my lips.

So I scruffed her, told her off a bit more for both of her actions this morning, and left for work.

Maybe her escape was just her way of getting me back for giving her a time-out this morning, but who knows? The weird thing about it was that she wasn't racing or speedy in her escape, just wily. She just made good use of the limited amount of space I'd provided her and left.

Maybe I should start force-feeding her so she'll get fat and slow and perhaps nicer? Urgh. Damn cat.

For those concerned (i.e., those who happen to know him in real life), Ben is henceforth to be known as Doody McHumpsALot.

That is all.

Wow, Parliament is opening late. The earliest possible date it could open is September 20, 2004; according to the PMO's website, he's not starting it up until October 4. I wonder if that's his time that he's going to use to try to schmooze the other leaders.

Not good...

My landlord (and/or his brother) was showing off my apartment yesterday. I have two doors, one out onto the main street from the living room, and the other from the bedroom out onto the deck/back area where there's parking and the laundry area.

Both doors have deadbolts on them, and my dad installed an extra lock thingy on my backdoor -- it doesn't take a key, and it can't be put on when you leave from that door, but it's meant as extra protection if you're in the room. I'll do a hunt and see if I can't turn it up later.

Anyhow, I just happened to notice that that part of the lock wasn't engaged, so I went to put it on... and at the same time, I noticed that the deadbolt wasn't on and my door wasn't even fully shut (they've both swollen a little in the heat, so they require an extra little push to completely latch shut). Now, every time my landlord has shown the building, I know he's shown that back door 'cause anything I put in front of it gets moved out of the way, so I'm going to blame the brother on this, but it's kinda troubling that I slept all night with that door unlocked and even somewhat open. My backyard area does get non-tenant traffic because it's also the access point for another parking area for a business on a street over... urgh.

Two and a half more weeks, then I'm out.

This is quite the inventive gift exchange. Hardcore.

*Sweet!* I stand a chance still with James Marsters!

From his official website, JamesMarsters.com, I present to you the following FAQ statement:

"How old is James, and when's his birthday?
Can't answer that first part - depending on what source you choose to believe, somewhere between 28 and 39. Go figure. James' birthday is August 20th."

and

"Is James single?
To quote the man himself: "James is negotiating the waters of singlehood. But I'm having a lot of fun.""

I guess I'm not a dirty little pervert after all, lusting after an older man. ;)

edited...

I turned this up: "James Wesley Marsters was born in Greenville, CA on August 20 1969, meaning he's a mere 31 years old and it was his birthday a couple of weeks ago (although that partly depends on when you're reading this)."

Still not bad. :) Although, IMDb has him born in 1962, with the same birthday and place... so who knows how old he really is, just like that link says. Maybe it's 1972. ;)

And as an aside... his abs and so on aren't all due to air-brushing, like some bitter people I could mention like to claim. I read about his workout regimen, and it's pretty apparent that that 6-pack and those arms are all him. *drool*

A quote: "Hey, speaking of excercise, did you ever notice that when you were doing amorous activities on a regular basis that your middle became super buff? :) Maybe I'm just a pornstar, but I've got a serious six-pack happening."

So yesterday I made a *lot* of phone calls and did my best to get everything set up for the move. One of these things involved testing out the idea of digital cable.

Yeah, I know, I know. I figured I'd give it a shot for two months (with the free channels and so on) and if I really hate it or didn't find it gave any kind of advantage, then I'd just drop back to regular cable and return the terminal.

Anyhow, I got everything set up with the minimum of fuss and I felt like a technological wizard, as I am. :) Granted, everything still pretty much uses its own remote to work (i.e, I need the tv remote to work the vcr, since it's all one piece, and I need the TV and DVD remotes to work the DVD player, since the TV changes the feed in and the DVD isn't accessible through the universal remote), but for now it's all working and it's all good. I still can't watch a different channel than the one I'm taping, but if I ever get around to getting a full-sized tv and a separate VCR, I can make this work. :)

*flex*

What else? I worked out with my trainer last night, and we started out on triceps. Argh. Triceps are usually the muscle we work out last when we do upper body, since it's one of the smaller ones (at least on me), but she said she wants to change up my routine, so tomorrow there's going to be some sort of crazy legs and back combination day.

There's a couple that works out at the same time as she and I do, and we watch them to point out the mistakes that they're making. I feel bad, but it's kinda funny when my trainer asks me, "So, what is she doing wrong now?" and I can spot some of it. I think part of the problem is that she's being trained by her boyfriend, and while he has the flexibility/strength/endurance to do some of the moves, she's not at that point yet. Plus, while he knows how to do the exercises, he doesn't know how to instruct her in proper form; chest out, back straight, don't extend your knees past your toes, whatever is appropriate for each exercise.

Aside: Man, do I get a long of wrong numbers on my cell phone. Argh.

Continuing... I find it amusing when people advise me on my work outs. If I grumble about having sore muscles or something, invariably there's someone that's going to speak up and tell me how I should be changing my work out in some way or another: more reps with lighter weights; not pushing myself as much; working out less, or something. I know even between trainers they have different opinions on the best ways to do things, but I'm inclined to follow my trainer's advice and just do what my body tells me it can or will do. Usually telling someone I work out with a trainer is enough for them to stop with the advice. *grin* But regardless, working out with her has produced results and I can see the changes it's wrought in my body and so on, so I think I can quite happily continue in this vein.

I was up and out the door at a reasonable hour yesterday, so I stopped by the gym to drop my gear off so I didn't have to schlepp it to and from work as I usually do. My trainer saw me at the desk with my hair (just put up, so it was still looking good) and in a dress (for the nice warm weather yesterday), and was teasing me later that day about being a girly-girl. She also said that I looked good in a dress. :)

What other nonsense can I spew? Well, my speech writer coworker is leaving at the end of the month on secondment. I'm happy for him, and I'm curious what this is going to mean for me. At this point, I haven't the faintest. Maybe I can bully it into more money for me, which would be quite welcome (seeing as how my rent is going up by about $300 per month as of August), but that might also mean I'd have to actually regularly write speeches from here on out. I haven't the faintest. Mind you, if it's no longer a split position, I might be able to get the step up anyhow... really not sure. We shall see, I guess. It also doesn't help that we lack any idea of when we're getting a new minister, or what his or her requirements will be... Hooray for uncertainty.

I am slightly less enthusiastic about my protein shake today, despite the fact that it still tastes good. My body is just being stupid at me, so that's not helping.

Oh yeah, gotta badger the stupid insurance guy again, seeing as how he never called me back yesterday. Otherwise, if there's any mail or whatnot I've forgotten, Canada Post is set up to forward it to my new place for 6 months anyhow, so I can make sure I make the changes.

I'm going to have one of those super mailbox thingys when I move. My mom's parents always had one of them and I always thought it was so cool when I was growing up... now I have one all for myself. It'll make checking my mail a bit easier, since I won't have to stand on my stoop to try to peek into the mailbox, a problem that I've had at both of my living quarters. :) But it's still great being short, let me tell you. :)

Anyhow, for anyone who's managed to read down this far, I have a formal announcement to make.

Read This

If you live in my city and are willing to help, I'm moving starting July 31st. I'm hoping to get all of the major moving done on this day, so I don't anticipate recruiting help for any other day.

Anyhow, for anyone that's willing to pitch in and help me move, I'd certainly welcome the help. I'm not asking for all-day commitments or vehicles, although if you can supply those, all the better. My current places are about a ten-minute drive apart or less, so it's not far to go, there's just going to be boxes to load and unload.

In terms of major furniture pieces, that's not awful either. At this point the worst pieces are a student desk, two large bookshelves, and a sofa bed. Mostly, it's going to be boxes. :)

So... if you'd like to pitch in and help, please phone me or email me. Rest assured, I expect no help, especially since I haven't helped anyone move myself, but it's certainly welcomed, and will be rewarded -- I'm thinking beer, pop and pizza for anyone who is around at mealtime. :)

Once I get a bit closer to, I'll have some more details, but for now, them's it.

I'm a crazy writing machine! New update on Whore's Boudoir, which I actually wrote weeks ago. I've also written some other stuff, but it's not on here. :)

Time for lunch and more reading. I have to admit, my dad and various other people were right; Dan Brown does write well. Of course, sometimes the hook at the end of every chapter gets tiresome, but the story itself is fairly compelling. For those of you who don't recognize the name, he's the guy behind The DaVinci Code. Right now, I'm reading Deception Point, though -- it was the only title of his that the used book store had in stock, and I couldn't afford to go to the Rich People's Bookstore... I'm po'.

From the sounds and feel of things, I'll be skipping running tonight. Instead, I'll feel yucky for awhile and then get together with Markuk for a drink.

I'm very tired right now, but on the plus side, Thena was fairly nice to me overnight. I had the fan running, and I think she's getting used to it -- either that, or resigned to it. I got some cuddle time in this morning from her, and she didn't wake me up by biting my toes and pouncing on me. She tends to save that kind of wake up for somewhere between 8 and 9 typically, although while I was on vacation I got those wake ups between 6 and 7, too. My kitten loves me so. :P

Pictures to make you go awwww.

Notes from today (no time for more; zero-hour work has arrived):

(Me to Shawn): Man, I hate it when I get assigned a near-impossible/annoying task and I'm able to complete it. Then people keep expecting me to be able to do it again. :P

(Me to Ben): If Rogers doesn't give me the discount that I should be getting, then I'll just threaten to go to Bell. After all, Bell is offering to make love to me, rather than give me the raping that I might be receiving from Rogers.

Or something like that on the second one; I know I used that analogy, just don't remember how exactly it came about.

At least today's been a productive day. I almost have all the calls finished that I need to make for my moving date. Yay, me.

I called my mom from work today for some reason or another, and while we were talking, she told me a story she'd heard from a friend of hers Saturday night (who'd read it in the paper).

Apparently some people were in a boat out in the ocean, about three miles from shore in the Gulf of Mexico, when thought they saw something bobbing on the waves. They went over and checked it out, and it was a kitten, dog-paddling with all its heart. They picked the kitten up and brought it home with them and named it Nemo.

Now, on the one hand, it's always nice to read about people who do rescue and take in abandoned animals and the name is really cute... but each time I think about a tiny little kitten swimming desperately against the waves, I pretty much start to cry. It sounded like my mom felt the same way when she told me the story, too. I try not to think about the reasons that the kitten would be out there, either; on the one hand, it could've fallen off of a boat that someone had it on, but more than likely, someone dumped it -- and probably others that didn't make it -- out there. Mind you, since the story mentions the area was full of boats, I'm going to simply hope that he was a stowaway or something that fell off his ride. Or maybe he fell off a dock and got turned around.

People like that make me absolutely sick and upset. If you ever want to see me cry my eyes out while beating the crap out of someone, let me see someone abandon or abuse an animal. I don't care what kind of animal it is, it just makes me upset. The part where it mentions the kitten was screaming its lungs out is pretty awful, too; I remember how pathetic Thena sounded all those times I had to give her a bath, and that was nothing compared to this. Kittens have a great way of making you feel like the worst monster in the world when they start crying over something, be it a bath or a vaccination. Their teeny little voices are so high-pitched and manage to express so much outrage and upset... it's funny and heart-breaking at the same time.

My mom told me another story, but I don't remember what it was; this is the one that keeps sticking in my head. Sometimes having a good imagination is a real pain.

Maybe now that I've dumped this story on all of you, I'll be able to let my brain slow down and sleep. For anyone who wants the story, I found it here. There's also a picture of the little guy. He looks to be about 8-10 weeks old.

Boaters find kitten three miles into Gulf of Mexico
Associated Press ^ | 10 July 2004 | AP


Posted on 07/10/2004 4:11:22 PM PDT by balrog666


ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - When Maggie Rogers spotted something bobbing in the water three miles into the Gulf of Mexico while on a scalloping trip with friends, she assumed it was a turtle, or a piece of sea kelp.

But as the boat got closer and slowed down, she found it was a tiny, apricot-colored kitten. Nine inches long and screaming at the top of its lungs, the cat was paddling furiously.

"We scooped him up and he sat on the boat with me for eight hours," said Rogers, who is the finance director at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium.

"He was exhausted and stressed," Rogers said. "His heart rate was high."

The boaters on the 17-foot Scout Current Drift did not know how the kitten arrived in the Homosassa Bay. There were at least 40 boats in the crowded area where he was found, they said.

On Tuesday, three days after he was found, a veterinarian found the 10-week-old, 1-pound kitten had worms, but was otherwise healthy.

He was adopted by Rogers' sister-in-law - and named Nemo.

Homosassa Bay is about 45 miles northwest of Tampa.

---

Information from: St. Petersburg Times, http://www.sptimes.com


There's also a picture of the little guy. He looks to be about 8-10 weeks old.

My PDA started going weird awhile back, and since then it's magically reset itself; like, hardcore removed all files that weren't already installed on it when it was factory-shipped reset itself. This is irritating, and means I'm going to be spending much of the next little while redoing everything.

Mind you, I did back it up shortly before this happened, so hopefully all is not lost.

Okay, so I bought a new bed yesterday, and I was very proud. :)

Last night I joined Ben et al for a showing of The Triplets of Belleville; it very much wasn't what I expected, but it was still pretty fun. There was a bit of gentle mocking, but I think it was enjoyed by all.

On my way out the door, Ben and I started talking and that went on longer than expected, especially when a few of the others joined us at the door, and long story short, I wound up having to walk for an hour, then wait for 15 minutes to catch a bus to get me home. Needless to say, I don't feel much less sore today. My hamstrings hate me. :)

Today it's back to work (yes, on a Sunday -- different job), then tomorrow is back to the full-time job that keeps my bank accounts full(ish). Urgh. I don't really want to go, but then again, it's not like I was accomplishing a whole lot with my time off. Mostly just socializing, watching movies, and hanging out with the kitten. I did laundry, so that was a plus on the week -- too bad I didn't get any packing done, though.

Thena seems to be adjusting to the fan a bit more now. Of course, she does stand up and attack it, even as it's moving, but it doesn't seem to make her any more crazed in the mornings than she already is. Last night she was jumping up to the top of my dresser to haul down jewelry that I have there, which was both surprising and annoying; she's turning into quite the jumper.

Yesterday on the bed quest I was also looking at other furniture. My parents' neighbour is giving me a few pieces (sidetables, coffee table, leather chair with footstool), and I get to take my old dresser from home, which is nice. It means a lot more room for my underwear and gym clothes and so on. Plus, I have the two dressers I have here, so one can get turned into storage for crafts and so on, and the other can be storage for extra clothes. Having a second bedroom is going to be awesome, whether it gets turned into a dungeon or not. *laugh*

It's weird to think that in two and a half weeks I'm going to be moving. Gah. Hopefully though, I'll manage to get my ass in gear early enough (like making all the phone calls tomorrow) that the move itself will be relatively smooth.

Dear My Muse,

Please come back. I miss you.

Love,
Canada (i.e., Jen X)

Anchorman was funny, and Ben enjoyed it a lot, no matter what he says.

Also, I now have a new double bed, so I am with the hot sexings.

Of course, this new bed and paying Hydro and paying money I owe to Gord means that I am now very very very broke. Especially since my landlord cashed my July rent cheque (which I get to demand back if he has a tenant for August), so that didn't help. I am very broke.

Anyone up for catching Anchorman tonight? Lemme know. :)

Reason 478 why I love my kitten:

Because at this moment she's hiding in my laundry basket, and each time I walk by, she jumps up and wraps her paws around my leg. She's a spazz, but she's mine.

Friends are good.

Who knew I needed that?

Fun times.

I am p Everyone loves pi _

what number are you?

this quiz by orsa

Dear You,

It's been a long time, but you still manage to be on my mind. I know that feelings hang around for awhile with me, but this... this seems to be different. I've been in this place once before, and it was something I couldn't ignore. I didn't, in fact; I slowly got up the courage and acted on it and it turned out pretty much in my favour. At least, until the end.

But that was him and this is you.

See, now... now I'm not sure. I know better than to act on what I'm thinking and feeling, 'cause I'm certain how you'll react or act or what you'll say and do, but sometimes, there's that chance, you know?

We're in different places now, and there's a part of me that's busy going, "hey, y'know what?" but that part of me has no shame and doesn't mind humiliating me and so on.

There was more to you and I than others knew, and I know that that's not something to pin hopes on, but it doesn't point to bad things, for sure.

Sometimes I want to show up on your doorstep and say, "So, uh...?" and then I picture you patiently explaining to me why the answer is no, and so I hold myself back. Sometimes I want to call you up and ask you to go out for coffee, and explain where I stand on things and why and I think it's not that awful, it's not that scary, it's not that ... all of the things I'm making it out to be.

So I don't know. Maybe I will, maybe I won't. I guess it'll be like last time; when I fall asleep at nights thinking of how I'd phrase things, my adrenaline going through the roof, making it near-impossible for me to actually get to sleep... that'll be when I know it's time to act.

In the meantime, it's exercise (no more near-passing out at the gym), not updating this site, hanging out with the kitten, and hanging out with friends. Maybe I'll get around to laundry and packing soon. :P

Quizzes instead of updates:

You Should Experiment A Little

Could you be a lesbian? It's pretty difficult to say. You have a small attraction and interest in women - and that's worth exploring. Don't fly your pride flag yet, but do find a few cool lesbian or bi girls to hang with. Over time you'll figure out what - and who - gets your head spinning.

Should You Go Lesbian?

More Great Quizzes from Quiz Diva

Your Erogenous Zone Is Your Neck

You're particularly sensitive to kisses on your neck. But you don't mind a hickie every now and then either. Ask your partner to kiss right behind your ear, because chances are, that's the most sensitive spot on your body.

What's Your Secret Erogenous Zone?

More Great Quizzes from Quiz Diva

My dad got himself a new bike the other day and is looking to sell his old one. It's a 19-inch frame, men's (obviously), Rolley (sp, I'm sure). It's in fine condition, and comes with a U-lock.

If anyone's interested or knows of someone that might be, let me know. Mom didn't have a price in mind at this point, so make an offer. :)

I am feeling quite comfortable in my skin right now. I could stay naked for hours and be perfectly fine. :) And it's a great improvement over almost passing out at the gym this morning. Stupid blood sugar. :P

I had a nice hot tub evening, minus one extended moment, with some good conversation at the end of the night. I came home to a nice cuddle from the demon beast, and we're possibly going out for an outing, which could be fun. Of course, if her and Big A's dog don't get along (that's if I don't take her to the workplace for an hour or so), then that's another matter. We'll see.

Anyhow, bedtime. Another early morning tomorrow morning, and those tend to suck.

On the plus side, I went out for a run last night and did 23 minutes without stopping or suffering from shin splints. Yay, me! :) (Last run, with the class, was 10 minutes, then 1 minute walking, then another 10 minutes of running and that seemed rough).