Jesus, I'm glad I got such a big desk...little did I know that I would actually be only able to use the middle part of it because each cat has to have a place on the desk while I am working. Seriously, if they don't EACH have a bed on the desk they wandering around crying and crying and crying.

So now all of my papers and books are squished all around the laptop while Ghost is on my right and Ollie is on the left. The things I do for these guys.

It's funny how much cleaner the office stays when you go from running 75 people in and out during a day down to...well, me.

Speaking of being clean, I ran out of Netflix last night and my DVR drive is EMPTY, so I ironed my new sheets. I also got a beautifully soft micro-fleece blanket from Target yesterday to match. Yes, it did cost $50 for the king size blanket, and no, I don't have a king size bed - but it is sooooooo soft. And although Target doesn't have the color I got on their website, it is same color as Ghost's eyes. A perfect match.

Question: Is there some law out there stating that I will only spill my coffee on the days that I really really need it? Or on days that I particularly want to look nice? Or when I'm already cranky?

Grrrr.

What else?

Reading this blog makes me want to quit my job immediately and travel the world. I don't want to wait until next year, I want to go DO SOMETHING now. Right now.

Also, college freshman are extremely dumb. I thought you had to learn how to read before getting into a university, but apparently I was wrong.

My sleeve is now coffee-colored and clammy. Swell.

I'm worried about my cat. Again.

Boy howdy, I bet that I have brightened your day. I've decided that I need to sit down and write about some goals for myself, starting this weekend. I will be writing more.

An evening at my house

Or, what happens after I work on a paper for five hours.

This is what Ghost does. Notice the blanket over the chair, and the paw over the eyes.

This is what Ollie does. Notice the jacket over his bed.

This is the stack of book and articles that I am using for ONE of my papers. Yes, I said one. The stack for the other is much smaller because a)I hate the class b)I think the material I have to use is stupid and c)I don't want to write the paper. And also I can't find much. Anyway, here is the stuff for the paper I am excited about writing.

Unless you are really into children's literature most of that makes no sense to you, but I find it interesting. The book I'm using is Diana Wynne Jones' Fire and Hemlock. Good stuff.


Well, I need to decide if I am jazzed enough on caffiene to finish what I was working on, or if I am sleepy enough to go to bed. I think I'll work for a little longer since I just wasted 30 minutes talking to you people.

Because I am too tired to put together a coherent sentence that it not required by my job/school, I am stealing a page from Meg's book(blog) and will answer her questions.

Things That Get Me All In A Frenzy:

1. Five foods you can’t stop eating.

• Is coffee a food?
• Peanut butter crunch cereal, with lots of milk
• New England clam chowder
• Cheese
• Sugar
  

2. Five things you have to do every day or you will GO NUTS.

• Drink coffee
• Checking my email seems so laaaaaame...
• Wash my hands (I don't like feeling ichy stuff on my hands)
• Lately, checking Bloglines
• Have a conversation with someone that is not about work OR school
  

3. Five things you must have in your home (no points for bed, TV, fridge, toilet… don’t EVEN!)

• Cheese/bread
• My cats
• Cheer laundry detergent - you never know when you will have a laundry emergency!
• Those smelly things that plug into the wall
• My cell phone
  

4. Five (well, seven) smells that make you happy.

• The smell of really old books
• Christmas (winter + cinnamon + baking + wrapping paper)
  
• My mom's chocolate chip cookies baking
• Movies (popcorn + soda + candy + staleness)
• The smell of my cats when I bury my face in their fur
• Coffee brewing
  
• The smell of my apartment when I open all the windows and it is not too hot and not too cold.
  

5. Five things that get you through the day.

• Coffee/caffeine
• The internets
• My iPod (especially the musical playlist)
  
• Coming home to my cats
• Feeling like I've accomplished something
  

Did I mention coffee?

I like lists, so you are getting another list today.

• Overall, I had a great Valentine's Day. We drank margaritas, talked, and then Erin found out she passed her big scary test. I also got my work baby back, and although her power source had to be replaced, she still lights up my life. Everyone should be so lucky as to have a beautiful computer like mine.
• I got Ollie a new toy yesterday that HE LOVES. He played with it for an hour and a half straight last night. Ghost took a nap.
• Gilmore Girls was very sad this week. I cried. Lauren Graham deserves a damn Emmy already.
• I did my taxes and am getting a little money back, so I am going to buy the following cds:
• The Drowsy Chaperone
  
• Miss Saigon
(my old copy is too scratched to even rip anymore)

• Sweeney Todd
• The Woman in White
• Charlie Brown
• Spamalot
• I had better go, I am five minutes late for a meeting.
  

Waking up late on a Saturday morning with one cat laying on either side of me has to be one of the BEST things in the world.

Getting up to eat toast, drink coffee, and watch the coolest design on While You Were Out (from last Sunday) makes it the best day of the whole week.

FYI: I tried to find some pictures, or at least of description, of the room but no luck so far. They painted the walls with black and white stripes, lots of modern-looking furniture, shelves made out of clear fish tanks, lots of turquoise, a tv-body project, a chandelier made out of black curlers, and my absolute FAVORITE was the wooden table with grass in between the wood and the glass top. I covet that table. It doesn't really sound like my style, but I loved the whole room.

Between the meetings, trainings, papers, reports, classes, presentations, and readings I didn't have time to post yesterday. I also did not have time to breathe, think, or sleep. Seriously, who needs that stuff anyway?

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

I really don't talk about politics much because I'm not a big fan of emotional arguments, so last night's class disscusion about 9/11, The Passion of the Christ, Mel Gibson, Christianity (including Catholicism, Protestantism, and the definition of fundamentalism), psychology, and cognitive science made me very uncomfortable. What does this have to do with Milton, you ask? I have no idea.

In general, I have a big problem with people telling other people how they should think or believe, especially when their emotions get involved. I'm not saying that there was a screaming match in class, but I'm pretty sure one girl went home last night and burned the book we were talking about. I enjoy discussions with people that are able to talk about what they believe without attacking someone else's beliefs, or trying to "convert" them - I make my case, you make yours, and we agree to disagree but have learned more about how the other side views the world. The problem (for me) always comes when the other person is so emotionally invested in their argument that they are unable to even listen to another side, and like the conflict-avoider that I am, I tend to avoid these discussions altogether.

Just in case you were wondering, I have never been able to understand why killing someone will teach people to stop killing people. In politics and religion, I tend to start from there and work my way up (or down). I guess you would say that I am pretty liberal, but not an extreme case. If you disagree (and most people do), great, that is your opinion and I'm glad to let you have it.

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

For the past few days, Ollie has been at work eating one of my cardboard shoe boxes. He will sit in the box and rip chunks of the sides off, then spit them out and start again. It's really weird, and I'm going to try to take a picture of it tonight.

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

My latest favorite thing in the world (besides the DVR) is being able to watch the newest episodes of tv shows online. How awesome is that?

Oh God, I just cried at work reading this. I can't imagine how anyone else could sum things up better:

"I joke about Hobey's thousand-dollar operation, but I paid every dime happily at the time. I don't care how much it costs; I want him better. I want him fixed up. I want him to come home and chow down on Pounce treats. I don't care if I have to max out all my credit cards. I don't understand how someone could have left that little stray cat out on the street. I don't understand people who leave cats out on the curb like old furniture. A cat is not a toy. A cat is not a futon. A cat is a friend. A cat is a family member. A cat is not an expense. I can't put a price on Hobey. Hobey has ruined every sweater I own. Hobey has destroyed the arm of my couch. Hobey has left pawprints on legal documents. Hobey has curled up beside me on winter afternoons when I had a cold and pretended not to mind when I coughed every two seconds. Hobey has consoled me during heartbreak. Hobey is a hellion. Hobey is a rock. Hobey is a pest. Hobey is a pillow."

- from TomatoNation.com

My cat, Ghost, was sick from July - November 2006, and I just about lost it quite a few times. It's nice to know that someone else has felt that way.

Some thoughts:

• My cats' favorite Christmas present is the convertible cat bed/cat house. One or the other of them have been sleeping in the damn thing since I brought it home Monday night.
• I wrote awhile ago about my current favorite tv shows. I neglected to mention that my favorite tv show of all time is Friends. I have all 10 seasons on DVD (collected over several years) and I've watched all of them multiple times. My favorite episode is the second one at the beach, and I have memorized the speech where Ross and Rachel break up for the second time. Anyway, my point is, I have Friends Trivia and Friends SceneIt and no one will play with me. So if you think you can take me, please let me know!
  
• After watching VH1's Top 40 Videos of 2006, I have decided: James Blunt is extremely annoying, Hinder is for juveniles, and the Dixie Chicks video should have been #1. (And I know this will destroy my street cred, but I really like the Pussycat Doll's "Buttons." See: Florida Road Trip.)
• I've read two books and I have at least four more that I want to read. And two computer games to play. And four movies to watch. I don't think this vacation is going to be long enough.
• I enjoy My Boys, but it is starting to feel a little bit like an extended commercial. Online dating, Coffeemate, laptops...it's like TBS didn't really have enough money to create an original show so they have to include as many products as possible. Very annoying.
  
• I really like cleaning my apartment, but I hate vacuuming. It only takes 5 minutes, 10 at the most, and yet I can't make myself do it. I usually get around to it every 3 weeks or so. Ugh.

It turns out that I don't have that many thoughts. Oh, clean hair is great.

I refuse to turn the heat on.

I am wearing socks, slippers, sweatpants, a t-shirt, a long sleeved t-shirt, and a hat.

I look damn sexy.

I am warming myself up by dancing to "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" by The Proclaimers. This is now my official "Dancing To Warm Myself Up" song. JKR peeps, you know what I'm talking about. I love this song!





P.S. Lest you think I am abusive, the cats are fast asleep on the electric blanket, which is on high. In fact, they are on top of pillows, on top of the electric blanket, on top of the comforter, on top of the mattress pad, on top of the mattress. Seriously?

Because today is opposite day (haha third grade!)...

5 Things That Everyone Knows About Me:

1. I love girlie movies. Anyone that walks into my apartment can tell that I really like chick flicks. I have other types of movies, but I think the majority of them are romantic comedies. Or, just check out my favorite movies.

2. I like to be clean and organized. My boss tells me this everyday, and although I try not to advertise my freakish longing to organize the world, everyone seems to notice. I could tell you that everything I own in is alphabetical order, or that my clothes are organized by type and color, or that it really really bothers me to have dishes in the sink, but I don't think that you would finish reading this post. Although, come to think of it, if you know me you really don't have to.

3. I love Friends. I don't care who you are, I can KICK YOUR ASS at Friend's trivia. Well, you might put up a challenge if you are Matthew Perry, but otherwise...(and if you are Matthew Perry, call me. Seriously, anytime.) Friends quotes pop into my head at the most random times, and 90% of the time I'm not with anyone that would understand why I'm suddenly screaming "MERGE!" or "WE WERE ON A BREAK!" or "I'M STANDING RIGHT HERE!" But, if you love Friends it is almost guaranteed that we will be friends. (You see what I did there? Come on, admit it, I'm a comedic genius. Chandler, you know you love me.)

4. I like to read. This one's a gimmie. I'm an ENGLISH major. Who didn't see this one coming?

5. And the most obvious thing that everyone knows about me is...I love Blue October. Complete strangers on the freeway know this about me (my bumper sticker, not the high volume of the radio), and every time a Blue song comes on the radio everyone turns to look at me. Speaking of which, yeah for going to their concert in one week!



On a side note, my cat just totally DUNKED HIS ENTIRE HEAD into my cup of coffee to eat the whip cream on top. Then he knocked the cup over. His face and neck are completed covered in coffee and whip cream. Good thing I drink my coffee warm, not hot...why did I want another cat again?

Oh right, the cuteness.