Wah Wah Summer is over (and a meme, of sorts.)

Well, that's it. Summer is over and here's how I know: My favorite outdoor lunch-eating spot was full of students and there wasn't a table left for me. le sigh. I get so spoiled over the summer, bringing my lunch and eating it on the patio outside the library. It's mostly deserted during the summer, so it's always a bit of a slap in the face when classes start. The school gym has also become overrun with students who don't even see me; it's like I'm invisible and those dudes will, literally, run smack dab into me. It's...annoying. I'll just leave it at that. But, those kids are the reason I have a job, so I just need to get used to it all over again.

My long holiday weekend was great - I got very little done around the house and instead had a lot of fun. Lots of mountain biking which I should write about on my sad dusty bike blog. Maybe I'll do that. We'll see. I also went to a couple of parties and hung out with Kate and ate too much and slept in. I did not finish painting the hallway or vacuum or do anything remotely useful. I'm not very good at being a responsible adult.

Since I've been MIA for the last week (the first week of school is a busy one for everyone) I thought I'd give you all a weird little meme, of sorts. No rules or anything, but if you're looking for something to write about, feel free to take my ideas! Let me know if you do and I'll link to your entry.

Something Weird I've Discovered:

I have some weird connection with lobsters and I'm not even kidding. I was in a Chinese restaurant recently waiting for a lunch date and happened to be sitting next to the lobster tank. There was only one lobster and he was at the far end of the tank. Until he saw me. I swear to you that lobster saw me and scritchy-clawed his way over to where I sat and gave me the saddest look you can imagine from a crustacean. He waved his sad banded claw at me and I died. That lobster wanted out and he wanted me to take care of this. He was LOOKING AT ME. Obviously I couldn't do anything to help him and when I left the restaurant an hour later he'd been joined by some giant crusty crabs and was huddled in the corner, terrified. I'm sorry, Mr. Pinchy. I would have saved you if I could.

Three Sounds I Really Love:

1. When you open a bottle of wine and pour the first glass it makes a really lovely and heartening glug-glug noise that doesn't happen with subsequent pourings.

2. The sliding bass note that happens about fifteen seconds into the song Our House* by Madness.

3. Every so often I call in a prescription refill using an automated telephone system and when the system is processing it makes this faint tock-tock sound. It's a really good sound and I look forward to it every month.


The Best Part of my Weekday Morning:

I drive across the Huguenot Bridge on my way to work and the view is always stunning. Sometimes it's clear and the river is all sparkly, sometimes it's misty and you can't see the water at all. It usually looks about like this:

or this:

(Thanks, Buck!)

The Best Part of my Night:

I think my favorite thing right now it the moment I quit reading, turn out the bedside lamp and get ready to go to sleep. I arrange my pillows and hunker down, really savoring the last few moments before drifting off. I think it's pretty much the only time I feel 100% relaxed.


*Our House: