Question: Should I be concerned?

Evidence Item A: Last night as I am driving down Lake Shore Drive on the way home from work, seemingly going with the flow of traffic, a white USPS minivan with a glaring handicapped wheelchair decal goes blasting past me, weaving in and out of lanes until it rockets into the distance.

Evidence Item B: A commericial for the Chicago Food Depository keep coming on the TV. I keep hearing "Chicago Food Suppository" and whipping my head around towards the screen to figure out what the hell they are talking about until I see Chicago TV personalities leaning on grocery baskets full of canned green beans.

christmas houseguest

I have hereby volunteered to bring the office cat home with me during Christmas. Not Thanksgiving though because I don't think it would be wise to surprise my Mom, hater of cats, with a nice big fluffy feline on her very first visit to my new home, which, she has expressed some reluctance to do so in the first place. So, Christmas holidays it is. Being a dog-person my entire life (see sentence referencing my mom's hatred of cats) I am a little nervous about my ability to care properly for the little fella (not sure if it's a girl or a boy - it was found wandering the halls in our building and has not yet been to the vet). Where am I going to put the litter box? What do I do with the poo? Can I put a santa hat on him? Of course I am in the process of learning all of this at work, where we share cat responsibility. But me, I'm a bit of a worrywort, and this is me worrying - just a little - a month in advance.

Thanksgiving menu

turkey cutlets* with orange cranberry dressing & gravy
bourbon pecan sweet potatoes
asparagus casserole
dinner rolls
cranberry apple galette with vanilla ice cream
bourbon**

I still need the turkey and some brown sugar and maybe some fresh nutmeg. I'm actually pretty excited about cooking my first Thanksgiving dinner. So excited in fact, that I almost bought some decorative holiday placemats at the Crate & Barrel Outlet - luckily I came back to my senses when a middle aged woman holding a fall-themed glass candle ring and cooking utensils almost knocked me down.

*Not cooking an entire massive turkey for limited guests, they will have to get over it. Plus I don't like the idea of handling that much raw meat.
**The mom is coming.

frost-bit

I have officially broken into the ski-clothes box. Much to my delight I found two pair of long underwear, warm socks and sock liners, a fleece Campmor vest (circa 1985, probably, when my dad used to go on his big wilderness treks in Canada), another fleece pullover, and two zipper turtlenecks, black, that are super cool. Apparently it's been a while since I've been skiing. I'd forgotten that I had quite the ski bunny ensemble. Anyway, I busted out my hiking boots and have suited up in the appropriate layering method. The only things I left in the ski box are my ski jacket (it's kind of Rainbow Brite-ish, only good for getting noticed on the slopes really), my ski pants - because really, I'm not that desperate yet - and my ski goggles, which seemed to have been warped from several years of being squished into the bottom of a cardboard wet/dry vacuum box. Now I'm going to see if any of those hand and toe warmers I found actually still work.

Ramble On Prose

As do most other things, does writer's block get worse as you get older?

Today is my day off. It's nice having a day off during the week. After all of the hustle and bustle of those going to work getting off to work, there's a nice quiet calm. I can hear the hum of my laptop and the gurgle of the coffee machine dripping my morning cup of brew, that, no doubt, I will enjoy leisurely instead of agressively swallowing in two large gulps. Today it must be sunny, because bright light is pouring in from the small rectangle window above the front door. The entire living room is lit even though the curtains are drawn on the big windows. I will go look out the window soon and inspect the sun situation, but right now my toes are comfy and warm under the down comforter. The heater has kicked on, lulling me back to sleep, but the smell of the coffee taunts me to get up, to start my day. A truck is passing by outside. Perhaps a street cleaner? Today I have two activities planned...well...three: Morning yoga, a trip to the Sprint store and an afternoon nap. I love afternoon naps. Sometimes, that's when I get my best sleep - that is if you measure using the drool-left-on-pillow scale. If only we could institute a poilicy of afternoon napping in the American workplace. I mean come on, they used to make us take them as kids. And, I know for a fact that they do it in Italy. 2-4 p.m. (or is it 4-6?) is a no-fly zone in towns there. (I have thought about moving to Italy soley for this reason)(I have also thought about moving to Switzerland for its chocolate and weed, but that's another issue altogether). Well, it sounds like the coffee's done - don't you love how some coffemakers hiss when they are finished brewing, like a long sigh of relief.

Minor Rant

There are a few things I need to get off my chest:
1. I am very disappointed in Gwen Stefani these days.
2. I just can't seem to get into Desperate Housewives, but damn do I love Grey's Anatomy.
3. UPS customer service = fairly inept (especially with giving directions), but very friendly nevertheless. Sprint customer service = completely inept, unable to speak or understand English (Pretty sure dude's name was not Victor. Also pretty sure "Victor" lives in another country [my guess is India judging from accent] as he did not seem to understand that Chicago is a city). I hate Sprint right now. Hate. Fucking outsourcing.

Ahh

Dear readers,
Finally, a sigh of relief. Moving is fucking stressful and I am not doing it again. But it was all worth it. My new apartment is great, aside from the bathroom made for oompaloompas or other bizarrely tiny people. (I am not at all exaggerating, despite past descriptive-altering behavior). Seriously small. Anyway, I made my first batch of chocolate chip cookies in my new oven today (well, new-to-me oven). I convinced Mike that fall was, in fact, cookie season and cookies were needed post haste to celebrate the beautiful fall day. Then I went for a jog and got a cramp in my side. That's about all for now. I'm about to head out to my neighborhood Irish bar. I have high hopes. Oh, and the new job is great. I've already got a day off tomorrow. Rock on.
Love Lou