Happy New Years' Eve!

My resolutions for 2004: Run a 10K. Try to cut back on my sarcasm. Read more. Go to one new continent (South America!). Ski a scary slope without freaking out at the top of it. Not let my brother's nice new car he got for Christmas get under my skin (it might be too late for that). Come to work earlier in the morning.

Ok, we'll see which ones of those I keep.

Now, a rant. Good fences do NOT equal good neighbors. Last night I was out in the drainage/industrial area behind our neighborhood. Lot's of people take their dogs there to let them off their leashes and play. There are no dog parks in Houston, no public property where you can let your dogs have some room to run, so this is the best a lot of us can do. I wanted to test out the new tennis-ball thrower that Sarah got me, which can fling a ball much farther than I can throw it.

Anyway, while I am happily playing fetch, a dog in one of the yards that backs up to the drainage area is going nuts. He's barking away. I hear his owner come out a couple of times and scold him. Finally the owner climbed up a ladder and peaked out over her 6 foot privacy fence and yells "LADY! LADY!" I responded (a little confused) "Yes?"

And she yelled, quite annoyed, "Put your dogs on the leash or I'm calling the cops! They'll come and take your dog away! I'm calling the cops! Its against the law to have them off the leash! Take them to a park or something." (Obviously she's new to this dog ownership thing or just doesn't care enough about her dog to take him to a park, because there are no parks that allow dogs of their leashe in the greater Houston area!)

Anyway, I was baffled and annoyed. Yes, in theory its against the law. In practice, this is a perfect place to have dogs off the leash. Its isolated, there's no road access for the dogs to escape to, and no one goes back there except for other people with dogs. I hadn't been back there in a couple of months, but I know people who take their dogs their regularly.

By this point I was fuming. I went over several possible responses in my head, such as "Go to hell!" or "Well, there are barking nuisance laws too, maybe I should call the police about your dog." I contemplated walking the two dogs over (on their leashes) to the public grassy area right by her fence and just sitting down and hanging out and letting her dog bark its brains out. That would prove having my dogs off their leashes doesn't hurt her any more than following the law with my dogs on the leashes.

Instead I put my dogs on their leashes and went home. Why start an argument? I'll go back another time when she's not around. Or maybe when she is around and I feel more argumentative. Oh well.

Happy New Years' Eve!

My resolutions for 2004: Run a 10K. Try to cut back on my sarcasm. Read more. Go to one new continent (South America!). Ski a scary slope without freaking out at the top of it. Not let my brother's nice new car he got for Christmas get under my skin (it might be too late for that). Come to work earlier in the morning.

Ok, we'll see which ones of those I keep.

Now, a rant. Good fences do NOT equal good neighbors. Last night I was out in the drainage/industrial area behind our neighborhood. Lot's of people take their dogs there to let them off their leashes and play. There are no dog parks in Houston, no public property where you can let your dogs have some room to run, so this is the best a lot of us can do. I wanted to test out the new tennis-ball thrower that Sarah got me, which can fling a ball much farther than I can throw it.

Anyway, while I am happily playing fetch, a dog in one of the yards that backs up to the drainage area is going nuts. He's barking away. I hear his owner come out a couple of times and scold him. Finally the owner climbed up a ladder and peaked out over her 6 foot privacy fence and yells "LADY! LADY!" I responded (a little confused) "Yes?"

And she yelled, quite annoyed, "Put your dogs on the leash or I'm calling the cops! They'll come and take your dog away! I'm calling the cops! Its against the law to have them off the leash! Take them to a park or something." (Obviously she's new to this dog ownership thing or just doesn't care enough about her dog to take him to a park, because there are no parks that allow dogs of their leashe in the greater Houston area!)

Anyway, I was baffled and annoyed. Yes, in theory its against the law. In practice, this is a perfect place to have dogs off the leash. Its isolated, there's no road access for the dogs to escape to, and no one goes back there except for other people with dogs. I hadn't been back there in a couple of months, but I know people who take their dogs their regularly.

By this point I was fuming. I went over several possible responses in my head, such as "Go to hell!" or "Well, there are barking nuisance laws too, maybe I should call the police about your dog." I contemplated walking the two dogs over (on their leashes) to the public grassy area right by her fence and just sitting down and hanging out and letting her dog bark its brains out. That would prove having my dogs off their leashes doesn't hurt her any more than following the law with my dogs on the leashes.

Instead I put my dogs on their leashes and went home. Why start an argument? I'll go back another time when she's not around. Or maybe when she is around and I feel more argumentative. Oh well.

This morning I followed my normal routine. I woke. I hit the snooze button. I woke again when Bennet started licking whatever hand was dangled over the side of the bed. I took a shower. I came out and pushed Apache off my bed (she likes to take advantage of breaking the rules when I'm not around). I got dressed. I put on my lovely new earrings (thanks G&G!). I put the dogs outside. I went out to the car. I turned my windshield wipers to get the condensation off the front window. Nothing happened. I couldn't figure out why my wipers were magically crossing the water without getting it off (as usual, my mind was affected by morning haziness). Then I realized what was going on. It was FROST! I think my car may have been frosted over a grand total of three times since I've moved to Houston. Its cold. So while the car was defrosting (I felt like I was in the tundras of the north), I went inside to get a jacket. Who says I need an indoor-outdoor thermometer?

Last night, I gave Apache and Bennet the freakin' giant raw hide dog bone that "Murray" (David's dog) sent home for Christmas. Man, they didn't even know what to do with it. They were dragging it all over the house. Apache even put it in my lap in a misguided attempt to get me to play fetch with it (this dog bone is the size of a baseball bat!). I took some pictures with my real camera. But while I wait to get those developed you'll have to settle for the crummy picture I took with my camera phone, its over there on the left of this page (if you click it, it will get larger). Its kind of blurry (Apache looks like a big mop of black hair), but its basically Apache sleeping on the bone. I think she slept that way the whole night. She knows a dog treat that is approximately the same size as her is a good idea, but I don't think she quiet knows what to do with it.

Phrases that describe this Cutri Christmas: Christmas on the Beach. Long telephone calls from Germany. Food (oysters on the half shell, conch fritters, mahi mahi, cheese fondue, creme brule, hot chocolate, ceaser salads, Fred Flintone size prime rib). Slot machines with your Great Aunt and Grandmother. I don't think David (Mom's boyfriend) appreciates sarcasm. A brother's paranoia about getting to the airport on time. How much I love being bedecked in jewels.

The observation of the day - Cari is like a magnet for French people. When we sat down on the beach (for Christmas at the beach), we were immediately surrounded by French people. Behind us there was someone throwing a ball to his kid counting "Une, Deux ..." each time they caught the ball. To our right some teenagers gossiping in high speed French. Maybe its Ft. Lauderdale that's a magnet for French people, but for several moments, when I heard absolutely no English spoken anywhere around me, I wondered if we had been teleported to the Med.

So, that's the party. Work is still quiet. I spent all morning learning about Skylab deorbits. George came in today so I'll have someone to eat lunch with. And my iPod will keep me company.

Merry Christmas Eve!

Cari and I are happily in Florida. Very sunny Florida. I was expecting rain and a chill (which is the weather that usually greets me when I come home for Christmas). But its total beach weather today! Whoo hoo! Though, I feel stupid for not bringing any shorts with me. I did bring my swimsuit, though.

Now, I just have to resist the urge to shake my gifts until tomorrow. Tonight we're going to Morton's Steakhouse for dinner. Tomorrow, we're eating at home. I don't know what. David is on a low carb/high protein diet. My Uncle Wes is deathly allergic to fish. And I don't eat meat. Try to figure out a meal that fits all those requirements! Oh, and a trip to the beach is probably in the picture too. And seeing Mona Lisa Smile.

Yesterday, being bored at work, I fixed up my journal some. Check out the cool little picture on the screen. I can now "e-mail" photos from my camera phone strait to my journal, no computer required. I think that's very cool. So, now, even if I haven't updated, you should still look to see if there's a new picture!

Finally I get to go home - I mean Florida - tonight. I'm definitely at this strange transitional point in my life, because people look at me funny if I accidently slip and call Florida or Philadelphia home rather than here. But that's still the way I think. I don't really feel grown-up enough - despite the house and the dog, I think I'd need to add a husband and children before "home" shifts in my mind. Of course, I don't really have any plans for the latter, so there must be some age I'll reach and transition. I figure I've probably gotten to that age, I just don't want to admit it to myself.

I do feel a little guilty for leaving the dogs in a kennel for 5 days. I'm feeling sad that I am not going to be skiing this New Years, that will be the second year in a row that I haven't gotten to go.

I do look stylish with my new iPod. Current song count: 1392 (not enough! I think I need to start raiding the CD's of friends). Currently listening to: A Case of You (Jonie Mitchell).

Is this for real? The Pope mobile service has been set up following an agreement between the Holy See, or Vatican, and mobile content firm Acotel... Those interested in subscribing sign up by sending a text message reading "Pope on" to 61131. The world is so absurd!

This weekend was suprisingly busy. The days are too short. I went shopping (what a mob scene!) and I think I have everyone's gifts. Tomorrow I go to Florida (thankfully!). My iPod rocks, though I need a USB-to-Firewire chord so I can get my CD's on it. I will probably try to do that tonight so I will have everything when I go on the plane. Plus I must finish wrapping the gifts. Plus I must do laundry. Plus I must pack. As it turns out I have more credit hours than I thought, so maybe I'll work shorter days this week (yeh!).

It is SO quiet here. I am the only one of our "crowd" at work. My group lead is here (he's always here because he takes all his annual leave in a full month off in July). Otherwise, silence. I've got a couple of pet projects that I am trying to get done because I can't motivate myself to do any of my "real" work.

Hurray for Christmas!

In case you're a random reader and you're curious, I'm a girl. I like being a girl. I even occasionally do girly things, like get pedicures. (For my regulars who know me in real life, I totally serious about the necessity of saying this.) Since I've been mondo-bored at work today, I was looking at the diaries of people that listed me in their favorites - and I discovered someone that described me as "HE seems pretty cool"! So, I went back and read a few entries, and I discovered its pretty hard to disern my gender from what I write. So there you have it. Girls kick ass.

I finished re-reading Return of the King last night. I cried. Despite my love of fantasy literature in general, I've always felt lukewarm about the Fellowship series. I've read them several times, because I felt I had to. I never became attached to the characters. But somehow the movie changed that. And even though I didn't cry at the end of the movie, I cried at the end of the book. That really says something when a movie makes a dedicated reader like me appreciate a book more!

Work is dead. There are a few of us left, but I am basically incapable of getting anything accomplished (yesterday, I made no progress besides crashing my computer with Matlab SIX times). I've created a pet project to occupy myself with for the next few days. I think I'm going to print my pictures of Greece to remind myself that my annual leave was used for a good cause. They are even closing the cafeteria next week! Way to make me feel like a loser!

My Aunt Diane & Cody have arrived safely in Germany and Aunt Joy is on her way there.

This weekend I am going to have to brave the hoards and try to do at least some Christmas shopping. I can't wait to go home.

"When you find yourself in the company of a halfling and an ill-tempered Dragon, remember, you do not have to outrun the Dragon. You just have to outrun the halfling"

Return of the King was excellent. I want to move to New Zealand (or Middle Earth) and go on an epic quest. And marry an elf, like Legolas. Ok, that was a little random. But the movie was spectucular. Sean Astin (Samwise Gangee) gets my vote for best supporting actor EVER. Orlando Bloom is cutest elf/pirate EVER. They did such a good job. Right now I am re-reading Return of the King, and its amazing how much of the dialog was used exactly as it was written in the book. And Minis Tirith. Exactly how I pictured it. How is that possible?

Of course, I frequently allow my imagination to run a little too wild (this is why my obsessive reading habits, especially the science fiction and fantasy, probably isn't very healthy for me). Last night was kind of a letdown, because instead of going home to a fantasy land with magic, rangers, Ents, and elves, I went home to make a salad for our division's potluck lunch. Today I am sitting in front of my computer thinking about what to code up next.

Happy Birthday! Today is the 100th Anniversary of Flight. I wonder what I'd be doing with my life if there was no such thing as flying machines or space travel. I'd probably be the whacko in the wilderness trying to build a flying machine in my shed (while all the villagers laughed at me). Or, I'd be off engineering the fastest sailing ships ever. Or I'd be a science fiction writer.

Last night I got a phone call from Rini (my dad's latest girlfriend) asking what I wanted engraved on my iPod. I assume this means I'm getting one for Christmas from my Dad. Whoo hoo! My affections are so easily purchased with new toys. Am I superficial or what?

Today, I came in early, though not as early as I'd like, since I'm taking a 4 hour lunch break to see Return of the King. I my up-front parking space AND a Christmas gift when I parked. That was nice. I am feeling like a Christmas slacker this year. I'm going to do all my shopping this weekend. But most of the Houstonians I want to give gifts to will be gone, so I guess they'll just have to wait for a New Years' gift. Then I blew up the coffee machine. These things happen. I'm not going to rant beyond that or I may start a journal war.

I watched President Bush give a speech at Kitty Hawk. As I expected, he made no bold announcements on the future of space travel. Too bad, even I could use a daring vision about the future of my work.

To brighten my day yesterday, my manager gave four of us in our office (Rich, Gavin, Sarah and I) the much-coveted up-front parking pass awards.

We had to do some last minute work last week becausae we are now NASA-reknowned debris recovery experts.

(I can picture the infomercial. It would have an gangly guy in an ugly purple suit screaming at the top of his lungs: Drop something from the sky? Large? Small? Need to find it and find it fast? Just call 1-800-4-DEBRIS and give us your ballistic coefficient and initial conditions. In a matter of moments a team of highly trained rocket scientists will be performing analysis over and over until they are satisfied with their answers to the final inch!)

My role in the whole thing was pretty limited (I was a map-maker) and I was a little surprised I got any acknowledgement at all. But it was nice. Plus last night I discovered this code I had been racking my brain over off and on for a couple of weeks was actually working the way it is supposed to and I can move on. In other words, it turned out to be a rather satisfying day at work.

The unfortunate part about the parking award is I didn't get to use it today. Sigh. Usually my supervisor gives out his own reserved space for these awards. But since there are four of us, he found four reserved spaces that weren't currently in use. Because they aren't in use, people have been parking illegally in them (and he warned us that we might have to come in early to claim them). So, I was the last one in this morning (because I went for a lovely long jog) and Sarah was parked in my space (because someone else had taken her space). Doh! So, instead of driving right up to the front of the building and walking right in, I drove all around one parking lot, drove out, went to my normal parking lot, and came in (the whole process took about 5 minutes longer than if I hadn't tried for the up-front space at all).

I went rock climbing last night. My arms have kind of a dull ache. I saw someone climb across the ceiling of the rock gym though. That was pretty impressive. I keep trying to find a picture of the quarry wall I climbed on Outward Bound. But I can't find it. I'm having a hard time remembering what it was like. Memory is a funny thing.

I need to write a novel. But if I did, it would probably only be self-therapy. And such things are self-indulgant and not very fun to read.

Christina commented today on a new H&M store near her. I love H&M!There was one right down the street from me in Switzerland and I was a frequent visitor. So, I went to look up where other U.S. store locations are. And there's one at the Neshaminy Mall right down the street from Dad's house. Whoo hoo! Now I have a place to go shopping when I go up there for MLK weekend!

This weekend was kind of like a mini-Christmas with gift exchanges and ginger bread houses. It amazed me that no one who came over had ever built a ginger bread house before. Poor, deprived souls. Though Jo did some research and made stained glass windows for her house!

And the scoop today is my brother Nick. He's the Santa directly behind the kid and to the right.

Its been a full two years since I left Switzerland. Somehow it feels like less. Or more. Obviously it made an impression on me.

There are some things best left unsaid.

I don't feel like making inane comments about my life right now, so today's journal entry is mercifully blank.

In the beginning, there was nothing ... and then I declared, let there be links! Mostly because I have nothing else to say.

But story number one is about NASA scaring the public by circling our planes around downtown Houston to take a photo. (Article HERE). Gosh, people are skitish! Me, I would probably have been walking into walls while staring at the sky watching the cool airplanes above.

And then if you want to obsess over a trivia game today, check this out. Making an annual version of this is a hobby of one of my fellow Tech classmates. The last time I did one of these I got 24 of the 26 while watching an experiment in the lab in Switzerland. So far I've gotten 6 here just by looking out it. But there's a lot of today left to go!

I've also decided I should be a travel agent. I get excited about planning things to do and places to see while other people stress themselves out. Its weird.

Update 12:46 p.m.

I hate my house. Grumble grumble grumble. It just sucked up my iPod in a trick of math. Maybe its not the house I hate. Its math and the tax collector. I called the mortgage company to check and make sure they paid my home owners' insurance out of the escrow account. I was happy, because as it turned out the insurance bill was about $200 less than predicted. So I asked where that money goes (hoping for a nice little check in the mail). And she responded that in my case, I escrowed !!!$700!!! LESS than my property taxes turned out to be (I did some simple math, and that's a 20% increase in property taxes they estimated I would pay based on last year!). When I asked how this happened, she said that they just pay the bill as the county sends them. When I get the breakdown next month, I'll know more details about why my taxes changed (and if I should call someone to protest). So, in a month, they are going to send me a bill for the extra $500 I owe in property taxes. Conveniently, I had saved $400 for the likelihood that no one would buy me an iPod for Christmas and I would buy one for myself in January. Goodbye iPod. When I get home tonight, I am going to go put this property tax value into my 'master' ?is owning a home a good financial decision? spreadsheet and the answer will probably piss me off.

The good news for today is that I am getting approved for my first choice of courses next semester. How nice after the chaos of finding two classes last semester! I'm going to be taking Optimal Control Theory (T/R from 4-5:15 p.m., so outside of work hours) and most likely a "reading" course, in Gas Dynamics (which will meet one day a week, right before Optimal Control, so I was worried because it would involve leaving work at 2:30 - half an hour before the end of our "core" hours...)



Ski bug

The ski bug is finally starting to hit. Every year, around this time (maybe a little earlier), I start "remembering" skiing. Usually my thoughts of the mountains and the snow fades over the summer. You know, just one of those hobbies I don't find much time for. But around Christmas, it comes back full force, and I become maddeningly deterimed to count exactly how many ski days I have each year (My max was in high school at 32. My min was 3. Last year I got in a low of 6.5 days - but they, thankfully, at quality locales not the Poconos or Calaboooogie Peaks. And, considering I live about a million miles from the nearest ski-able mountain, not bad.)

So, to start the ski season off right, I've hung a picture on my cubicle wall from Outside magazine "Going beyond this point may result in death and/or loss of skiing privledges!" And yesterday, I started looking for good airfares to Denver, Vancouver, Salt Lake City, Calgary or anywhere with tall mountains and lots of snow. And I think I may even squeeze in a day of skiing in the Alps when I visit Cari, something I didn't really get to experience when I lived in Switzerland (unless you count a little snow on a glacier at 12,000 feet that stays open all year).



Hodge Podge



Today we have a hodge podge of diary entry information. First of all, a Thank You to Uncle-President Bush, who issued an Executive Order yesterday to give us the day of on Dec. 26. Now, I have enough vacation time to go home for the holiday.

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1. All executive branch departments and agencies of the Federal Government shall be closed and their employees excused from duty on Friday, December 26, 2003, the day after Christmas Day, except as provided in section 2 below.

Other hodge-podge is Cari's interpretation of why Bennet prefers to chase Apache around instead of playing games with me: Sounds like Apache's good for him; teaching him to be a dog. I think it's more that he wants to herd her than anything else and it's frustrating to him that she doesn't cooperate. Bennet: 'C'mon, please, please, just please let me herd you. I promise it will be fun. You know you want to. Oh please oh please oh please.' Apache: 'Huh? Did you say fetch? FETCH FETCH FETCH FETCH FETCH!!!'

I'm really hazy this morning. You know that fog that sometimes settles over you.

The good news is I got my first paycheck with the new raise in it - you know from the intern review I did over a month ago. Yeh! More cash = good. (As if I need to tell anyone that)

I received a present in the mail from G&G Cutri yesterday. It is wrapped beautifully and under my tree. I wonder how long I'm going to be able to hold out before I absolutely *must* open it.

Last night the branch Christmas pary was fun. In our gag-gift exchange, I received a grill set inside a golf bag. I'm not going to comment on how often I grill since I've stopped eating meat. I gave a rubik's cube Homer Simpson head (which is harder to do than it looks).

I all left the party with a story for my "small world" files (you know, stories about me running into Kris Koster at a train station in Munich, and J.R. and Joey at a street corner in Florence...). I was talking to a co-worker's wife (at our party in Houston, TEXAS), and she asked where I was from, and I mentioned I went to high school in Florida. She said "Oh, really, I lived in Florida for a while. Where'd you live?" And I said, "Boca Raton, its in Palm Beach" (Figuring the conversation would end there - you know, Florida is a pretty big state and all). She said "No kidding! I was a school teacher in Delray Beach!" At which point the coincidence dawned on me and I replied "I went to Atlantic High School in Delray Beach!" Which was where she taught!! We rapidly exchanged names of all the teachers I had - and she new most of them (Then I made her feel old by telling her what year I graduated - but if I had been only a few years older she probably would have been my chemistry teacher.) And this is when you sigh and say Its such a small world...

This weekend was about as perfect as you can get.

Friday night, I saw the Last Samurai, which I really enjoyed (mostly because I like sword fighting, I like epics, I like Tom Cruise, and I like superficial, half-formed thoughts about Eastern philosophy). I got home at 2 a.m. And woke up to run a 5K. I beat my last time by 4 minutes (because I am like the slowest person in the universe, and I need to start pushing myself harder, because my legs once again aren't aching -- they used to ache for at least a day after every 5K).

Then I picked Nick (my roommate)'s mom up at the airport, took her to lunch and the mall, took a nap and then off to see the Nutcracker -- performed by the N. Houston Repetoire Ballet (Nick's company). Anyway, it was very good, and the two principals from the Houston ballet were spectacular. And Nick was wearing a lot of makeup. And then went to dinner.

I slept away half the day on Sunday (yeh). Then I vegged around the house and read (some East of Eden and then I decided to re-read the Two Towers). I took each of the dogs on a seperate walk (it gave me a little more opportunity to work with them -- I'm trying to get them to stop on the sidewalk whenever they get to the street until I give them a "let's go" command, Bennet had it figured out in about 20 minutes. Apache was dumbfounded at why I kept yelling at her when she ran into the street.) I took another nap. Then went over to watch the unedited version of Fellowship of the Ring at Gavin and Jen's house.

I have all sorts of Kohart news. First, props to Nick (my brother) who also ran a 5K this weekend. In Vermont. In several feet of snow, so they had to run laps on the track. Oh, and he and thirty of his fraternity brothers were wearing Santa Claus suits (to benefit Big Brothers/Sisters charities). Bucks County got 12 inches of snow, which is crazy, cause I remember entires years when we didn't get any snow at all! Aunt Julie and Uncle John are moving from New Hope to Newtown, where they bought something with a lot of land (and that's all I know about that, someone should fill me in on these things!). I have also managed to deduce that Rini is apparently not pregnant this season because Dad bought her a bunch of snowboarding stuff (she was never able to "ski" with us the previous two winters because of her "delicate" condition, so instead she sat around the house all day while we were on the slopes). Hm, that's about all from the Kohart clan.

This weekend: some more weeding. Maybe I'll hang Christmas lights. Clean all the sap off my car (you know, a Christmas tree on the roof has that effect). Mow the lawn (hopefully for the last time at least for the next few months). Go see Nick in the Nutcracker (I asked "Are you nervous?" and he responded in an almost-British slightly-imperial tone "I never get nervous before I perform"). Maybe I'll run the Reindeer Run (mostly because I want to run in antlers!).

Roommates are really funny. You would not BELIEVE the conversation we had last night while snacking on fudge covered oreos. It ended with Kennda saying "This better not show up in your journal tomorrow!" and Nick laughing nervously, so that's all I'm going to say about that.

I've been thinking a lot about space policy lately. The rumor mills are indicating that the President is about to make some sort of vision statement for the space program. In the articles I've read, the President's team is trying to create a Kennedy-esque moment for him about some policy to top his agenda in a re-election year. As much as I hope in my heart this is a renewed push for manned space exploration -- well, I just don't think it could work in the political climate of today.

The highlights of my day have been: taking a test, finding a blue runt in my post-soda break snack and crashing my computer with what I can only assume was poorly written code.

I think I need to retitle this journal something like "The not-so thrilling adventures of a femi-Dilbert."

On the thrilling side, I've got things planned for pretty much every month for the next several: January - Philadelphia (1 vacay day); February - France (4 vacay days); March - skiing (2-3 vacay days); April - ?; May - Vermont; June - ?; July - Cottage (1-2 vacay days); August - Rocky Mountain Hiking (2 vacay days); September - Peru (5 vacay days). Almost all my holidays, already planned, yet again.


My Onion horoscope for today: Pisces: (Feb. 19—March 20)
If you never have to deal with angry, drunken Basque separatists who have stolen the Shroud Of Turin again, it'll be too soon.

The TiVo has opened up an amazing world of watching a kabillion West Wing repeats when nothing else is on. (Not that I needed to add to my Law and Order repeat addiction). Nick was watching a recorded episode at 2 a.m. (This is one of my favorites, because it ends with the Canadian anthem in a really amusing seen) and he sent this quote:

Abbey: Amy.

Amy: Yes, ma'am?

Abbey: C.J. and I are gonna get drunk. Come on.

Amy: Yes, ma'am.

Josh: You're going?

Amy: The First Lady just asked me to get boozy with her. You don't think I want to write a book one day?

Yesterday I was extremely productive. Today I am enjoying the fruits of that productivity by sitting back and watching all the cool stuff I wrote run. And run. And run. And run. (So I admit, its occasionally satisfying to be a computer programming number cruncher, even if its not what I actually set out to do with my career).

Speaking of running, I haven't gone in a week. I feel like a huge slacker. Except for the Turkey Trot 5K. Last night we went rock climbing (and then summarily negated any health benefits from the rock gym by going to waffle house). My arms feel like rubber today.

I am very nervous about the make it or break it test in Finite Elements on Thursday.

If you're sleeping are you dreaming...If you're dreaming, are you dreaming of me?

Picture my car. Teeny, tiny Toyota Tercel. Now picture an 8 foot Douglas fir tree on the roof. This was the scene as I cruised down the Interstate yesterday.

Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas at my house! There are stockings hung from the mantle with care. Nutcrackers. A wreath. Two amaryllis in pots (after two weeks of waiting for bulb #1 to sprout, Sarah bought me bulb #2). And the piece de resistance: my tree! Tonight, it gets decorated!

As for the rest of the weekend, it was a laugh a minute (except for the 5 hours I spent here in the office doing homework and working on dive maps off of Key Largo -don't ask- for work).

David convinced me that there must be more to see and do in Houston than I let on, so on Friday night we entered the "city". This started at the Hobbit Hole cafe. Which wasn't actually much of a hole, since its hard to find hills in Houston in which to put holes. But it had the greatest sandwiches and blueberry tea! I had the "Gandalf". Mostly because I wanted to say that I ate Gandalf for dinner, but also because it an entire avacado in it! Yummy! Afterwards, we went to the Mucky Duck, a live music venue (less than a half a block from Hobbit Hole) and saw a random band that was pretty amusing. And it was a total Irish pub. Very homey. I could definitely go back. Aftewards, we went to this artsy theatre and saw a midnight show of War Games (yes, I know, RETRO!). All and all, I felt like a great big dork most of the night, but it was fun and it definitely lead me to question my conclusion that Houston was a boring city. I really loved being in a small venue listening to live music. I don't do that enough.

On that subject, David has raved about this Austin band Blue October and he downloaded a few songs from them that I have to admit I enjoyed. I think I will probably buy the CD. Anyway, in the span of the last 48 hours, I've now heard them on the radio at least a half a dozen times (now, mind you, this was the 2 a.m. show and the Sunday a.m. show, not yet ready for prime time listeners I guess). But I'm getting fairly addicted. So that't my music recommendation for today.