The Updates

I'm still working at what I think is called Ops 3. Actually, I think the building itself may be "Operations," and each section has a different name. When I was little and we would go on trips, I used to look around and determine whether or not I could figure out where I was from just looking at signs and what was around. When we flew to my grandparents' house near Philadelphia my dad would take the "dangerous" route home, and I would be staring out the window at Broad Street and try to find signs that would be clues about my location. Somehow I thought this would be a very useful skill in case of kidnapping, and also in those dreams where you are in a location you've never seen before.

All that to say that I've used my skills to figure out how "Ops" works. The section next to mine is "Special Ops," according to a sign on a cube near the entrance. There is also "Ops 2" somewhere in another section of the building, announced by a bulletin board in the hallway with their "news."

The work is still boring. Almost daily I look around and think I would kill myself if I had to do that job day in and day out. Most of the women wear Harley t-shirts and/or sweatshirts and scrunchies. Yes, scrunchies. It reminds me of that Sex and the City episode where Carrie and Burger fight over a scrunchy.

Working at Ops 3 does afford LOTS of time to listen to my iPod. Today I finished a book on CD called "A Long Way Gone," a memoir of a former child soldier from Sierra Leone. It was good. Then it was on to Podcasts...an old Splendid Table, The Story, Dave Ramsey, Talk of the Nation, and one listen to Over the Rhine's new album "The Trumpet Child." Since I bought it I've listened to it at least once a day and I love it.

My mom was here over the Labor Day weekend, which was fun. We mostly just hung out and did stuff around the house. She's great that way, because she loves the jobs I hate and vice versa. So she helped me change door hardware and deal with all the sticks on the driveway. We also went to Hobby Lobby and made a silk flower arrangement for the front of my house. Seriously. I thought I would just buy an arrangement because it didn't sound like something I'd be good at, but the ready made ones were ugly. So I purchased some flowers, a glue gun, and my mom and I set to work. Pictures to come.

The cats are good. They're actually starting to sort of get along. I decided to leave my bedroom door open at night, and they will sleep a few feet apart on my bed. There's still some hissing from Princess, but not too much. Cow has a wire chewing tendency I just discovered. I came home last night and she had chewed all the way through the cord from the battery charger for my cordless drill. It wasn't plugged in, but it kind of freaks me out. I had visions of coming home to a fried cat. Ick. So I'm researching options for deterrence.

I also got creative and baked a cake for my brother's birthday last week. The plan was to make it look pro, but yeah, that didn't quite work out. Despite the cake decorating book I picked up, the cake was the sort of thing that you'd love because your 5 year old made it. Oh well, it tasted good.

That's about it right now! Oh, btw, if you have any great podcasts you listen to, let me know. I'd like to pick up a few more.