If being in my jammies at 7 pm is wrong, I don't want to be right.

I've calmed down since my last post. I also have moved things around in my house in a mostly-successful attempt to be able to get NBC on a tv upstairs. It isn't perfect and the channel sometimes freezes at inopportune times, but it's better than nothing. I still think NBC is doing a crappy job, but I'm glad I can at least unmute the tv when it's finally an actual event to watch instead of having to hear all the dumb commentary. My evenings have boiled down to dinner, pajamas, tv watching/book reading, sleeping. That's it. Olympics fever for two weeks around here. I've enjoyed what I've been able to see. The swimming has been what I'm focused on, mostly. But I did catch the US women win gold in gymnastics. Good job to them. And I saw some diving. Jumping off the platform is scary to watch. A friend of mine knows one of the American divers that dives from the highest platform and so we're all going to try to sit around and cheer for her when she's competing next week. I don't know how people who actually know an Olympian or are related to these people can stand to watch them compete. Especially the divers. I'd just have to close my eyes or turn away if a close friend or family member was jumping off a three-story tall platform into a pool. It's too much.

The week hasn't been too bad. Monday was the worst, but it was expected. After getting through that day, everything else has been really good. Monday was the fifth anniversary of the day my mom passed away and every year I have a tough time with it. I am loads better with it than I used to be, but it's still hard to get through the day. This one was especially weird because 2012 is exactly the same calendar as 2007. So, this is the first time that the anniversary of her death has landed on the same day of the week as when she died. I didn't realize that we were already back to the same calendar as five years ago. I was just figuring it would be later, but of course not. Leap years make years align differently. It was also weird because this was the first year that I couldn't take the day off of work. I always have done so in the past, because my mood tends to be really dark and gloomy. I was already heading into it on Sunday night with the Olympics frustration post, but I used to get much worse. Still, this year was different in that I have no vacation days yet so I had to work. I was gloomy and tried to stay as upbeat as possible. It wasn't easy, but my co-workers inadvertently helped me through the day. They had planned a potluck lunch for several of us that have just been made full-time employees. It was done to act as sort of a 'Welcome to Work' party. They randomly chose Monday as the day, so it was somewhat of a distraction to pig out with my fellow co-workers when the clock was running through the hardest part of the day for me. My mom died at almost exactly noon. I remember looking directly at the clock before the family walked into the ICU room after we knew she wasn't going to make it out of ICU. And it was like, 11:57 am or so. And I have that clock image stuck in my head and it pops back up every year on July 30th right around lunchtime and it makes it difficult if I'm not doing something that can pull my focus away from that image. But, my friends and co-workers were great and we discussed Olympics and pets and I listened to one of my friends discuss at length the procedure he recently had to get two wisdom teeth out and how he could only eat soft, squishy food at the potluck. It sounds kind of awful, and the description was, but it was something so random and gross that it was a good distraction from where my mind was traveling. I later told a couple of my friends how much I appreciated the  potluck and that they had helped me through a difficult day. Initially, I wasn't going to tell anybody that I was having a rough day, but in the afternoon, once I was feeling slightly better about everything, saying a little 'Thanks' didn't seem like quite enough. I really appreciated their kindness that day. I have pretty awesome co-workers.

And today, I found out I have a pretty awesome workplace. I went to New Employee Orientation and found out about all the perks I get as an MU employee. All sorts of discounts, including an extra 15% off my cell phone bill! I get pretty decent health coverage, including free money from the university to help pay for random expenses above and beyond the general health insurance. Nice! And the vacation, sick leave, and personal days are great, as well. Not to mention the discounts at the Rec Center, which I'm hoping to be able to use soon. The orientation was good. I had heard conflicting opinions about the necessity of going to this half-day session, but I'm glad I went. I don't have enough experience in the working world to yet be jaded enough to assume they won't tell me anything I don't already know. I frankly don't know squat about benefits, retirement, or life insurance policies. Actually, I guess I know slightly more than squat now, thanks to my orientation!

So, "Call Me Maybe" is STILL getting crazy amounts of airplay and dubs and things. The Harvard baseball team didn't know what they were starting when they created that little dance. I still like that one the best, but this is pretty damn awesome. Apparently this dude has tons of time on his hands and he takes Obama's speeches and dubs them over various songs by Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber. It's super impressive, I think. Here's Obama's version of "Call Me Maybe":





Aaaaaand, Batman's version of "Call Me Maybe":

Biggest 2012 Olympic failure = NBC.

So, the Olympics? I'm frustrated by the constant spoilers everywhere compounded by the fact that NBC might be the worst broadcasting channel in the history of tv. First of all, if you don't have cable (like me), you can't watch the games online through NBC. You can try to trick BBC into thinking you're actually in the UK, but frankly, I don't care enough to do that and when you go to the BBC page, they've already got all the results. So that spoils any results for an event you were hoping to watch anyway. I get my tv OTA, but NBC doesn't reach me. It's the only channel that I don't get. So, I'm pretty much up a creek as far as these Olympics go if I want to watch it at home. Boo. 


It makes me even happier that I went to Omaha last month to see the swimmers since I'm not really able to actually see them now.

I did go to my Dad's house and watch last night, but NBC annoys me with their 'highlights-only' philosophy. I did see some rowing during the day on some other channel that's airing stuff. That was neat. And some archery today. But, the evening prime-time stuff is ridiculous and goes way too long. All the asinine personal drama stories they insist on featuring to drum up sympathy and drama? Dumb. Only showing 'highlights' from major events? Dumb. Oh, and I really really don't like Ryan Seacrest and loathe his role as the 'social media commentator'. I can't look at him without cringing. All in all, this is such a disappointment! No offense to London, who are holding a wonderful Olympics with lots of excitement and upsets (Honduras beating Spain in men's soccer! Yessssss!). No doubt, they are having a lovely time over there. 


Meanwhile, the USA broadcasters are failing in extraordinary fashion over here. NBC seems to be priding itself on not spoiling anything for the viewers. Well, bully for you, but ESPN, ABC, CBS, AP, PBS, etc. are all spoiling things right and left. So, you should probably have tried to deal with that prior to, uh, now. Just make it available online for free, fools. This is ridiculous.


I don't remember Beijing being this bad with the commentators and the spoilers? Or the coverage issues? It's like NBC had a meeting to decide the most stupid way to handle the 2012 Games, and here we are now.


Rar.

Forts are for nerds.

I don't think I'll ever outgrow building forts out of sheets. I hope I never outgrow it, anyway. My love of forts is 28-years-old and still going strong. I remember spending hours in my room as a kid pulling chairs around my bed and then meticulously stretching bed sheets over them and attaching them with rubber bands in any way that I could. When I lived in apartments, I would generally make forts out of the dining room table and a futon. I would drag the table closer to the living room and build away. It was nice to be able to be in the fort and look out the "doorway" to watch movies on the tv. But, now that I live in my own house, I've kind of gone back to making forts in the bedrooms, like when I was a kiddo. The difference is really in the sturdiness of the forts I built as a kid and the ones I build now. My kid forts could last for days and days. Really, until the sheets got yanked too much and the rubber bands popped off, or until my mom forced me to take it down. The rubber bands were the real trick. My parents seemed to have a never-ending stockpile of rubber bands. I think it had to do with the fact that they subscribed to the newspaper. I don't subscribe to the newspaper, therefore I don't get rubber bands. (I'm not willing to buy rubber bands for fort-making, either. Part of the fun of fort-building is honing your creativity and resourcefulness...I think buying supplies to build a fort is sort of cheating.) Still, my lack of rubber bands is not a huge deal, seeing as I tend to have a shortage of chairs, as well. I have one chair that goes into my grown-up fort making nowadays. It works pretty well, but my forts now don't last nearly as long as my kid forts did. My adult forts tend to last an evening or so. Maybe more if I fall asleep in one. Maybe less if the cat destroys it. 


Tonight was a fort-building night. I usually build them when I have bad days because it's sort of an escape from the bad stuff. Nothing is ever very bad when you're in a sheet fort. But, I haven't had a bad day in a long time, I just felt like building a fort tonight and reading my book in it. It only lasted a short while because Beatrix got it within a couple of hours. But, a couple of hours of fort-time in will probably keep me happy for months. Plus, I nearly finished the book I'm reading. Reading in forts is one of my favorite things to do. I plug in strings of Christmas lights and it feels really wonderful to be a "grown-up" in a sheet-fort that glows while settling in to read a book that you're hooked on. I would love to create some sort of permanent fort in my house; someplace that I could go and be my nerdy fort-building self without worrying when the whole place will collapse under the weight of a jumping Beatrix. But, then I wonder whether having a permanent fort will take away most of the fun? None of the forts are ever the same, and I think that's part of the cool factor of it.  Hmm. Oh well, enough chitter chatter. I took a few pictures of the fort and I turned them into paintings because I wanted to mess with the artsy part of a photo-editing site I'm experimenting with. As to whether or not I'll use the site...I think the jury is out, still.


No matter. Happy fort-building, everyone!

Part of the exterior of the fort: Blankets, a chair, a table, a floor pillow and Christmas lights.

Interior.

The reader in her fort.

The Destroyer plotting her attack.

We're like a really small gang.

Beatrix and I are writing this entry from the comfort of our dining room. I happen to be sitting in the chair that Bea usually likes to curl up on and take a nap and since it is the afternoon and her scheduled napping time, she's decided that if she can't sit in her regular chair, she'll nap on my lap while I sit in her regular chair. You couldn't quite call her adaptable. There are two other chairs she could sit in in this room, but we all have our favorite spots, I guess.

I did some pinning to Pinterest earlier this weekend and was looking through some of the pins I had pinned a few weeks ago to try to make sure I wasn't double-pinning. I saw a little print that I had pinned that I forgot how much I loved when I first saw it.

It made me laugh again to see it. I don't really have friends like this so much any more because so many of my friends are scattered around and if you're going to be like a really small gang, it helps to be physically near each other. But when I was younger I definitely felt more in tune with those words. Back when my friends and I had current inside jokes and code names for things and people. Now when we get together we can joke about the inside jokes and code names, but they're not current any longer. We sort of have grown out of that phase, but it's still fun to look back on it sometimes.

Speaking of small gangs, did you see The Dark Knight Rises? I've been looking forward to this movie since the end of The Dark Knight when Batman is running off into the darkness. I'm not anxious enough to stay up until midnight to see a movie the second it opens in a theater, but sometimes I will go see it during it's opening weekend. Such as I did with this one. I liked the movie. I wasn't sure how I'd feel about it knowing that The Joker couldn't make an appearance in the final episode, but it was good. The Joker aside, I liked the supporting cast better in this movie than I have in the first two. Plus, there's a better plot and character development, I thought. Joseph Gordon-Levitt was likable as usual and Anne Hathaway was a good Catwoman! I won't spoil anything for those who haven't yet seen it. If you like Batman, you'll probably like it. I'll still keep The Dark Knight as my favorite of the trilogy, though, because The Joker was still the best performance by any actor in the trilogy, I think.

Oh, and: I saw the trailer for The Hobbit movie that comes out in December! I don't go to movies very often and aside from a very few exceptions, I don't know what's coming or what movies are in the works. I didn't know there was a Hobbit movie being made?! I was happily surprised sitting in my little theater seat slurping on Root Beer and trying to get a sweet tart out of the bag when The Shire showed up on the screen. Yay!! I love that book. Happy dance in the theater seat commenced. And then they showed a preview for a new superman movie, and even though I love Henry Cavill from his great role in The Tudors, I won't go see a Superman movie. Superman has never really been my thing. Not enough gadgets or something, I don't know. He's kind of boring. Although, I'm sure Henry Cavill will be the hunkiest superman ever. Christopher Reeves was attractive, but I think Cavill's got him beat.

The Olympics begin this week! Dun dun dah daaaaah!! I'm excited! I can hear the trumpets blaring the Olympic theme song already! I've seen several news story headlines that appear to include fellow athletes attacking Micheal Phelps through interviews and things. Kind of a shame. I think one was saying he was a snob and the other was saying something about how he's got a poor work ethic. I feel like it's all so stupid. I wish the media would focus more on the good things that happen instead of the bad. One thing I learned from the Swim Trials is that part of the awesomeness of being at a sporting event rather than having to watch it on tv is that you don't get the five-minute long sob stories about how much so-and-so had to overcome to get where they are. I kind of hate that stuff. I might be alone in this thinking, but I don't care where somebody came from or what they had to overcome to get to the Olympics. I'm just here to watch them do what they do, right now, in this moment. I don't need to know who just lost their home, who grew up in a dirt-poor single-parent household, whose family members have died/are dying and/or fighting some horrible disease. I just don't care, and I get really tired of having to hear the mini-dramas before each event. Just go swim, run, tumble, and be your awesome Olympic selves! I'll cheer you on as much just by watching the USA team compete in events without having to know who has suffered what in their short lives. Just throw their name up on the screen when they're getting ready to compete and then announce the race/event/awesomeness. That's all I care to see. I don't need to see the headlines about the bickering back in their little Olympic village or why someone doesn't like someone else. It would be nice if just for once, some day, we could all just be okay with each other. Or at least, not feel the need to feed the media beast with dramatic headlines, eh?

A note on your announcements.

I've spent the majority of my time at my new job reviewing microfilm of newspapers from all over Missouri. There are a couple that are really addicting and I have to stop myself from reading each and every issue from front to back. Mostly the ones that really aren't ever looked at by the patrons we have because the papers don't contain obituaries, marriage notices, or birth announcements. That's mostly what I'm looking for. Birth, marriage and death. Life all rolled up onto one single page in each issue of a newspaper. It can be kind of morbid, actually. 

Over the last couple of weeks, I've probably looked at thousands of obituaries, baby names, and engagement/wedding pictures. Most have been pretty typical, but some have been astoundingly wrong. Like the obituary of the 30-year-old woman who died in a car accident. Her obituary was placed just above the obituary of a 93-year-old woman, however the photo of the 30-year-old woman was attached to the obituary for the 93-year-old. Then there was the obituary of the 35-year-old guy but there was a typo in the birth-death heading and the paper said he was born in 1077 and died in 2012, making him 1035 years old (he looked pretty good for that age!). Then there are the obituaries that the family (or deceased) had written themselves and it's basically an autobiography of the person's life...moment by moment. Those are the obituaries that take up about four columns each and are mostly in the small town papers. It costs too much to put something like that in a St. Louis or Kansas City paper, but it probably doesn't cost much at all to put such a personal (and detailed) obituary in a Marceline or West Plains paper. And that's just the death part of the paper. I've seen a lot of awkward-looking wedding and engagement pictures. What's wrong with just standing side-by-side and looking halfway happy about your wedding? I've seen photos that look like people are heading to the gallows instead of the chapel, and others that are so posed it makes you uncomfortable having to glance at it, like the one today where the couple were standing facing each other and holding their hands clasped together between them. I think they were trying to show off their rings, but it looked a lot more like they were in the middle of an arm wrestle competition. Just stand or sit and smile, people. It shouldn't be that tough. And, announce your own engagement! Everybody's got their parents, grandparents, or son (yes, really) announcing impending marriages. I tend to let out a little cheer when I see an announcement that says the two actually tying the knot are the ones announcing their engagement. Good for you! Way to be a mature, grown-up couple!

I shouldn't judge, but it happens. You can't really look at as many announcements as I have without comparing and contrasting the differing styles of everybody around Missouri. The birth announcements are easily where I remain judgement free. The baby pictures are usually cute, although sometimes awkward because brand spankin' newborn babies are not really that photogenic...everybody thinks the babies are cute (and they are) but in grainy black and white newspaper print, they don't always look as cute and cuddly as the parents and families like to think. Still, it's a happy column to read the baby announcements and see the names that people choose for their newborns.

I've seen some fun columns written by police chiefs, a paper who published the names of the elementary students who got As on their math tests, and more coverage of the Joplin tornado than I ever needed to see. But, at least the backlog that I inherited is slowly going away. I hope to be completely caught up by the end of this week! Hope hope hope!

Cheers for helmets!

A friend of mine decided to move to the coast of South Carolina...and so she went! How fun, I think. She's a very beachy person and had talked about wanting to live near a beach someday, and poof: now she is! I admire that a lot. People that actually follow through on things that they want to do. I like to think I do that, but sometimes I fall into the category of wishful thinkers. I think of just up and starting over someplace that I find beautiful and it sounds like a lot of fun and adventure! At the moment, even thinking of where I'd go kind of draws a blank. So...I don't know where I'd up and go if i decided to up and go, but it sounds nice. Maybe Newfoundland? It looks like a place I'd enjoy being... I like cooler weather, rocky sea shores and colorful buildings. I could be a librarian/archivist on the shores of Newfoundland... Hmm.

I saw a production of "The Importance of Being Earnest" yesterday and it was fun. I don't go to theaters enough. I should go to more plays and musicals. (I always think that after seeing a play or musical.) I went to the Summer Rep production of "Chicago" last year and it was FANTASTIC. So, I knew I wanted to go back again this year. The musical they're doing is "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum", which falls into the rarefied category of musicals I detest. But I was saved because they also chose to do the aforementioned Oscar Wilde play. It was well done and funny. Quite quippy and the actors all did a really great job with the English dialect. Algernon Moncrieff is usually manning the cash register when I go to Ingredient for lunch. Last week I mentioned I was planning to see the play and he was very excited to know someone was going to actually show up to see it. He did a really great job, so I can report that the next time I wander in for lunch soon. Algernon eats almost constantly through the entire play and the guy only nearly choked once! Excellent job! If I were in a really wordy play and had a ton of lines to remember, plus having to constantly eat sandwiches, apples, muffins, and drink tea, I'd probably choke or get the hiccups or something, which might throw the timing of the entire play off, you know? Anyway, these actors are really good at not choking or getting the hiccups. It runs for another two weeks, I think. If you're in the mood for a play and in the MU area, check it out, si?

July is probably my least favorite month of the year. It's too hot...that's mostly what my problem with it is, I guess... Yeah, nothing really especially awful about the month except for the heat. I probably wouldn't mind it at all if I lived in the Southern Hemisphere. But, so far this month hasn't been too terrible! First the new job, then the settling in of the new job, then cat-sitting Watson for a bit. It's been pretty nice, actually. Bea and Watson got along wonderfully while my Dad was in New Mexico. Watson finally got over whatever issues he had with Beatrix and they spent much of their time playing and chasing each other around the first floor of the house. I was pleasantly surprised to see Watson actually jogging across the floor a few times initiating a game with Bea. Now Watsy's gone and Bea is having to amuse herself. She's trying to get back in the swing of things, but I can tell she's a little at sixes and sevens without her giant playmate. That livened up a lot of the early part of July. There's been some cranky bits, too. The heat, of course is number one. I get really lazy in the summer. I actually took a nap on Saturday afternoon! It was kind of nice, actually. I would be super-into the siesta idea if I had to live in warmer climes constantly. I heard that there's no outlook of cooler weather for the next three weeks. Boo x 3. Also, I got a chip in my windshield on one of my commutes to/from work. Boo to that, too. First windshield chip ever, though, so I think that's not really too bad. Just annoying when it happened. Really, it made me worry about motorcyclists. How often do those poor people get hit with rocks that fly up from the tires of those too-big pick-up trucks that are so popular in these parts? Scary! Another reason to wear the helmets... A rock that can chip a windshield can probably kill a person if it hits them sans helmet, eh? If it doesn't kill them, it will probably leave a pretty rough crater at any rate.

Helmets, yay!

Girl Scout Cookies every day!

I'm ready for Fall weather up in here. We finally got some rain yesterday, which was really nice, but it didn't make the temps feel that much cooler yet. I'm ready for the day the weather reporter says the high temperature is 65 degrees. Sigh. Lovely!

I need to get better at bringing my lunch to work so I'm not eating out every day. One of my co-workers and I have made a deal to go out to eat every Monday, because we're closed to the public that day so there's less stress on the research center staff when it comes to being super-careful about when everyone takes their lunch break. I think that will help make the week start out well. It already starts nicely because (since we're closed) Mondays are casual day so we can wear jeans. Adding in the eating-out to that makes it a nice beginning to the week.

Still, I need to come up with ideas for taking lunch that's not always microwaved pasta. Although it is yummy. I look around on pinterest for ideas but they all look really crazy-involved and not that likely for me to actually ever do. I'm not really that much of an organizer or a planner. That's why easy mac and those little microwaved bowls of ravioli are perfect. More thought is probably required.

Today is laundry day. I don't mind laundry that much because I can multi-task with this chore. Plus, if you get extra lazy about it and the dryer keeps buzzing, you just go and push the button for another cycle. Eventually, the clothes will come out of the dryer and be folded, you know? It's one of the few domestic tasks that I can feel like I'm still completing by just sitting on my butt while looking up books on Amazon. 

I was all over many bookstores yesterday just wandering around. So many books that look really good. I was trying to remember them all but I know I'll forget and then probably re-discover them another day. I have to keep myself under control in bookstores. I mainly try to use the library for everything, but it's easier to browse bookstores than libraries, you know? I didn't really ever look at Target for books before, but yesterday I noticed they have a good selection! I also got a cool silver and beaded ring stuck on my finger and thought I was going to have to go sheepishly go find some Target worker to help me get it off...or go to the check-out aisle and have them somehow scan my finger to buy it. It was touch and go there for a few minutes. But, twisting and cussing seemed to work its magic and I got the ring off after a bit of anxiety. I still kind of wanted to buy it. It was a neat ring...   Also neat? They had lipsmackers on clearance! I haven't had a lipsmackers lip balm since middle school. I distinctly remember having the Dr. Pepper flavor. The ones that they had on clearance were actually Girl Scout cookie flavors. They weren't selling super well, I guess, except the Thin Mint ones were all gone. I almost bought the shortbread one, but got myself under control and just bought the face sunscreen that I had intended to buy. Self-control for the win! Still...

Hmm. Mmm?

Please don't tame the shrew.

I kind of want a shirt that has my post title on it. It would probably be one of my favorite shirts. I might make one someday. Hmm.

My house is screamin' for a cleanin'. Now that vacations are done and one job is over and a new one has begun, life looks like it could be slowing back down a little. Maybe enough that I can get a handle on all the piles of stuff around the house. It all stems from my initial foray into painting oh so many months ago. I think I'm far enough removed from some of the painting projects now that I can clean up areas. I might do that a little bit today on this Independence Day. It's too hot to spend much time outside today. The big news of the day is that Watson, my dad's cat, is coming to stay for a while. Beatrix is going to love it. While I was in Omaha, my dad took care of Beatrix at his house and Bea and Watson seemed to come to a bit of a truce, and maybe even the start of a friendship. Since it's only been several days since they've been out of each other's company, I think the transition back into sharing a house shouldn't be too bad. Even though my house is smaller and there are fewer places to hide. I think it will work out.

I'm two days into my new trabajo and it's pretty fun so far. I have a lot more responsibility than I've ever had before. I get to make decisions and stuff! Watch out! Things got done in the past, but people are overwhelmed with their job duties and things are kind of stressful in my new area. I don't like stress, you know. I hate it, actually. Stress and drama are two things I avoid like the plague. At work, I'm now in charge of inter-library loan, which is not something I've ever had anything to do with in the past. It's interesting and I am sorta digging it right now. Still, the procedures for it seem totally wonky to me. Things can be much simpler than they have been and I plan to make things as easy as possible. I don't like being weeks and weeks behind in my work. The person I replaced retired about a month ago and I think she did a great job and wrote out some really awesome instructions, but some of the things that it says to do seem redundant and I won't be doing it that way. I checked with my boss to make sure that I actually am in charge of certain procedures and have the ability to change them and I do! Woooot! But I'm impatient, so I think I need to settle down a little. I am only two days into the job but I've got so many plans worked out in my head as to how I want things done. I think I'm going to need to take a breather because probably my co-workers aren't ready for the Tornado-of-change-named-Jill to come roaring through at the moment. Despite how ready I am. I have other non-ILL duties as well, but for the past two days I've mostly been focusing on that. Since it's a holiday week and a lot of people are on vacation, it seemed easier to just have some time to putter around and get settled in.

I had to go and get a new security badge on Monday and they switched me from officially being a student to officially being a real employee! I was looking at the two badges and the student one was taken almost exactly two years ago when I quit my job at the Archives and went back to school full-time. I actually look younger now than I did then. I think you can tell that you're moving in the right direction if you can look at yourself now and look at yourself a couple of years ago and actually see that you're happier and healthier. I definitely smile and laugh more now than I ever did back then. Looking at the two badges made me realize what a good decision going back to school was for me. I'm definitely in a much better place because of it. It's nice to be able to recognize that you did something that was rough, but good for yourself, you know? Plus, getting a job where I can use the degree that I quit the prior gainful employment to get, helps too. Kind of validates it all...

Isn't it strange that it's already July? This year has gone by really quickly. I don't get to take any more time off for about six months now that I'm a newbie at work again. I think that's okay though. Here I am, already getting a day off for a holiday. Starting employment in July and having that probation period is easier than starting in January, I think. I was thinking of all the holidays I get off during my probationary period since it's the latter half of the year. Counting today, I get 6 days off in the next six months, compared to just 2 holidays in the first six months of the year. Americans are rear-heavy in the holiday department where the calendar is concerned.

I need to go pick some stuff up that Bea has thrown all over the place. A hint that it's time to clean up the paint supplies is when she starts to drag the replacement foam rollers up the stairs as toys. I walked out of my room this morning to see one of the foam rollers I used on the dressers up on the staircase landing by my door. It was on the kitchen sink drying after being cleaned. I think Bea brings me these things as gifts sometimes. She plays a lot, but she always leaves them right by my door or drags them into my room and leaves them so I see them pretty easily. I have to say, though, I much prefer this sort of gift-giving by the cat than what other people's cats bring them. I've never had any cat dump a mouse carcass or anything at my door. I would scream and probably not be able to come out of my room for a while. Foam rollers are more my style. I think Bea recognizes this fact and we're on the same page.