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I’m in love with this very moment. I have three cats that are currently content with eachother. I have four ounces of the best steak I’ve had in quite a while in my tummy. I now have a colourful balcony, complete with a wee rosemary, fragrant yellow tulips with bright pink ends, and a mixture of flowers that contain the most deep, orange hue I’ve ever seen. I hear a bird chirping, and I smell citrus. (Thanks, Glade Plug-In!) Matt will be walking through the door at any moment to hand me a delicious Burgerville mocha perk shake and he will subject me to Star Wars Episode II, but you know what? I don’t even mind. As long as I get to be with him, my three kitties in my cozy apartment, I am one very happy - and lucky - girl. I love this.

Over the last few months, I’ve been bantering with our sys admin at work. You see, people that run Windows at home are able to log into the server and do work from home on weekends when we’re overloaded. Because I am a Mac Grrl, I, unfortunately, am unable to do this. You’d think it’d be simple. It is, in fact. I was able to find a Mac version of Citrix and notified IT Dude about this. I’d also asked him about Virtual PC. Two weeks later, I got shut down by the GEEK LEADER down in San Diego. Apparently, it can be done, but they weren’t willing to give me the instructions for the install. Woo. I hope I’m not forced to purchase a Windows machine solely to do work at home. There are other personal benefits, but I can’t justify the cost quite yet.

I’ve been needing a passion for a while; something to really get into. I love taking photos, but it wasn’t filling the void. I’m hoping my next project will do so - I’m wanting to collect antique clocks.

What got me into it? Daddio. (Thanks, Hove!) I have very fond memories as a kid traveling to Rocky Ford, Colorado - a six hour jaunt, mind you - to get none other than the best canteloupe around and a Regulator or two. My dad collected clocks for a while - I think we had about ten antique clocks in our house for the longest time. There are many really pretty clocks, but I want my first to be a Seth Thomas. I’m currently the high bidder on a gorgeous Seth Thomas Regulator wall clock, circa 1880. It’s in gorgeous condition. I’ve got about nineteen hours left on this auction, so cross your fingers for me! Know any good books about antique clocks? I’ve been picking around Amazon, but haven’t come up with a definite decision. Should you have any suggestions, I’m all ears.

Just a quick note before I head to bed: Been having the best time down here in Eugene. It’s wonderful to see my dad and step mom again. I’m very happy that they’re going to be in Oregon working for the summer. It will have been the first time in nearly five years where we were semi-close to each other, geographically speaking. Highlights of today: My dad pulled his ass muscle bowling. Way to go, hove! Maysen bouncing on Hombre’s big rubber ball, cackling gleefully. Oh, and my sister being completely ripped tonight - she was comparing her boss to a washing machine. Don’t ask; you had to be there (”..he’s one of those guys that are like.. hot and cold, depending on the cycles…”)

We’re not coming home until Sunday, but already, it feels as though the weekend is going by too fast. Of course, the fun things always do, eh? Regardless, I’ll see you Sunday. With pictures, of course.

Just for fun, I watched Nanny 911 tonight, with Matt. All I can say is wow. I suppose it’s easy for one to look in from the outside and give one’s two cents about how jacked up the situation is. I really don’t understand how it ever escalates to that point. I don’t have children, but I can swear to you right now, it would never get to that point. Perhaps I’m old school, but there’s nothing wrong with a good ol’ fashioned spanking.

Fast forward to five minutes ago. I read that a nine-year-old boy killed his mother, and then himself. Complete with suicide note.. I don’t even know what to say to that. I look back on when I was nine. I remember Barbies. Friends. Family functions. Perhaps I had it good. Eh, who am I kidding. I did have it good. My vocabulary didn’t have the word “suicide” in it. I may have been incredibly angry at my mother for grounding me from Ken for thirty minutes, but I would never sit down and devise a plan on how to off my parent at the age of nine. I don’t even understand what that is. How can a child think to oneself that things are just too bad to keep living. At. The. Age. Of. Nine.

Was it my little Population 1200 small town that kept me in a bubble? Have the times changed that much in the last eighteen years? It breaks my heart to read stories such as this. Not knowing how to help or change things, even as a society, is even more appalling to me.

I found an article on Getting Out of Life’s Ruts via Meg’s site:

Along the journey of life, we’re destined to fall into some ruts. Sometimes, they’re big (think career change). Other times, they’re small (think new exercise routine). Either way, experts say it’s inevitable that we’ll become bored with one or more facets of our lives.

The article talks about identifying and digging your way out of little ruts most people fall in during their lives. I found it to be a really interesting article.

I have to give props to myself. Over the last few years, I’ve worked really hard to pay off student loans, credit card bills, and my car. I managed to get the first two knocked out, and have been working diligently on my car. I am proud to say that as of fifteen minutes ago, I paid off my car in full. I am completely debt free! It feels really good.