Hair care really does trump everything.
me + netflix = not working out
Edited book pairs lesson.
Cooked too many things, but ate them anyway
Considered going to bed at 7pm
Must stay up for Daily Show
Put on The Third Wheel—quote:
           “I’m gonna beat you like a rented mule, man.”
Considered going to bed at 9pm
Why does my neighbor leave every night between 9:30 and 10:30?
Why doesn’t seem to come home?
Daily Show can’t be that important
I am told that I am too moody.
I am broken.
Obviously.

Got up too late.
Went to work with wet hair. Again.
Worked on ASP stuff.
Cleared a month of stupid site maintenance to-do’s.
Inspired three-year-old to want to eat branches.
Restructured Captain John Smith.
Wondered why if there are butterfly houses there are not also cricket pens,
          roach museums, and spider duplexes.
Got my hair cut.
Downloaded iTunes to my cute pink iPod.
Finished editing Sixteen Cows.
Made mashed potatoes without burning anything or setting off the smoke detector.
Sulked for general reasons.
Failed at being a good person. Again.

Arrived at work seconds before conference call
Participated in pizza lunch meeting w/o eating pizza
Beowulf, Beowulf, Beowulf
Proclaim Beowulf finished.
Went about non-epic activities
Boss says, “Beowulf needs work.”
Went home, being passed by Urbana Fire Truck rushing mutual aid to Champaign
Beowulf, Beowulf, Beowulf
Proclaim Beowulf finished again.
Put bread in oven to toast
Burned edges of bread quite blackly
Smoke detector DIDN’T go off
Ate toast anyway
Looked at Vietnam lesson
Became depressed
Worked on Sixteen Cows lesson instead
Got really tired of the word “Bam!”
Joined Shamu in the pillow palace

So maybe yesterday’s list of interesting things wasn’t convincing. Maybe you’re back and wondering what I did today:

Went to work.
Attended a meeting.
Wrote the Ideas column for Inbox.
Left work.
Worked on the Beowulf fun.
Cooked dinner.
Set off smoke detector again (with steam?)
Moved smoke detector out of the kitchen.
Finished cooking, noting no burnt bits visible.
Moved smoke detector back to the kitchen.
Worked on Beowulf some more.
Ate snack that was unwise, gaining 50 pounds.
Wrote journal entry as an attempt at fame and glory.
Noticed failure of attempt.
Went to bed with Shamu.

According to this month’s Real Simple, I can make my life more memorable by taking more notes about it:

From “Jot It Down”
There’s a reason people say time flies. Some of us may think it’s because each day grows “shorter” in relation to the total time we’ve lived. Psychologists say it’s due to routines that make one day indistinguishable from the next. To make each day stand out, jot down one interesting thing you did (even if it’s just “Walked home with Mary”) in your date book. When you take a look back, you’ll remember the moments that add up to your life. [their emphasis]

March 2005, p. 20

Unfortunately, I do not know Mary, and I think it would be silly to walk home when I didn’t go anywhere in the first place. Perhaps I can demonstrate why people don’t remember the day-to-day minutia.

Worked on Inbox entry for Tuesday
Washed Hair & Laundry (in different locations)
Took trash to trash can
Cooked dinner
Set off smoke detector cooking dinner
Turned on a lot of fans
Ate parts of dinner not burned
Window shopped online for iTunes downloads and Pratchett books I don’t have time to read
Continued to procrastinate on editing Vietnam lesson plan by writing journal entry

The Duck of the Irish

Stanley seems to be a cat, and he’s on his 4th life. He perks up when people come near the tank again. He eats when I feed him. It’s like he’s a different fish.

I swear to you we all thought this fish was dead. Last week he was lying on rocks on the bottom of the tank completely limp. He was Knuffle Bunny boneless. Today he is sitting on the rocks rather than burying his head down in them and holding his fins up.

There must be some kind of gold in that medicine bottle.

So reports of Stanley’s demise have been greatly exaggerated. I was ready to believe he was dead. He seemed to get very sick very quickly last week. My boss reported that he was dead when she checked him yesterday.

Today, I came in and had to look in the tank for him. My dear boss says well he’s moved. I figured it was just the filter, but I got out the pencil that we have been poking him with since Thursday to see if he’s alive.

He went flying out of the rocks he was hiding in like a child running from spinach. He’s still sick. He may not last, but he is alive and even ate a nugget of food.

Next time I’ll wait for a ruling from the coroner before alarming the family. Please do not attempt to retrieve any lovings given to poodles or kitties in lieu of flowers.


Stanley
2003-2005
RIP

Stanley on a livelier day

Dear Stanley, known affectionally as “Swimmy” to family members, passed into that good night over the weekend, leaving behind his sad SpongeBob and Patrick tank friends.

In lieu of flowers, please hug and kiss and love your pets for me.