I'm very excited, because Forest's gift that was supposed to be delayed until the 28th arrived yesterday! I can't believe it. Go UPS! This package was extremely unwieldy, and sort of heavy, and I'm sure they had a hellacious time with it. As a matter of fact, the box looks a little worse for wear. I hope the item is in one peice.
Of course I couldn't get the dumb thing upstairs to the attic hiding place, so I had to wrap it and leave it under (or rather beside) the tree. It took three rolls of wrapping paper, and Kirstin had to help me. So of course Forest saw it the minute he walked in the door. He doesn't seem to have any idea what it is. I told him it was a llama. Then I changed my mind and told him it was a pygmy goat and a small sheep. The idea is, I tell him something different every time I think of it, and hopefully obscure the gift further. I can't wait 3 days for him to open it!!
But I must. I will be a good little elf, honest.
I spent an inordinate amount of money at the grocery store yesterday. I got the rolls my mom wanted for Christmas Day (only I got three dozen instead of two, because it was cheaper that way), and supplies for the baking duties she assigned me. I actually had to buy bread pans. While I was at the store, I got Leeloo her Christmas gifts. Ordinarily I wouldn't buy gifts for a cat, but Kirstin urged me on, and it occurred to me that she might destroy fewer of our things if she had her own stuff to trash. So I got her a scratching post and a few indestructible-looking toys. I'm sure she'll decimate them in minutes, but it will be entertaining to watch.
Last night Forest and I finally conquered our tree. It has been leaning further and further into the room every day for the past week, and we decided we just weren't going to take it any more. I have no idea what we did differently. We are still using the galvanized steel plates, duct tape and paint cans... but apparently this time we've gotten the angle more accurately, because for some reason, the tree is standing relatively straight. I'm sure Leeloo will try to knock it down again today (as she has tried every day since we had it) but I don't think it's possible for her to actually pull it off. The tree stand with all its counterweights and extra parts probably weighs ten times as much as she does, and the tree is a solid 90 pounds, at least. There's no way the laws of physics will let her bring that sucker down.
Of course, we still bad-kitty-sprayed her several times last night, hoping to discourage her from her anti-tree crusade. Our cat is a zealot.
Today my workplace is absolutely empty. The only point in my being here is so that I can get paid for my time, and then go home. There's nothing to do, because the people that I need aren't in. In the past few days I have gotten more and more in the habit of practing Tae Kwon Do in the ladies' room. I'm hardly ever disturbed, and when I hear someone coming, I just stroll over to the sink and act like I'm a normal human being. When they leave, I practice again. There isn't quite enough room there, so I end up doing everything on a smaller scale, but it's nice to get up and move around for a while in the morning and in the afternoon. I figure, everyone else in the company takes 15 minute breaks each morning and afternoon during which they all hang around and drink coffee, take walks, and (very rarely) smoke. I will just take my 15 minutes in the bathroom.
My Christmas gift this year from my department is silly. We had random chances at drawing a gift out of a pile, knowing that it was all software. I drew Cosmopolitan's Complete Makeover software. You put in your measurements, and it shows you how certain clothes would look on you. I will probably never use it, but I thought it was hysterically funny that there was enough of a market of people who WOULD use it that they actually released it to the public. Give me a break! Are there people in the world who care *that* much about their clothes?
The most terrible feeling has just come upon me. I've been awake and alert since 7 this morning, and suddenly, nothing sounds more appealing than crawling back in my nice, warm flannel sheets, snuggling up in my pillows, and going back to sleep. I think it's because I'm freezing, and tired, and didn't get a very good breakfast. (A cup of carmel corn). Work is distinctly uncuddly. Then again, the little spot under my desk might be warm-ish if I bundled up in my coat.
What's sad is that I am not kidding. It actually sounds nice. I think I had better get up and move around. Perhaps I will take my staple gun and hold up the girl with the thermostat until she turns up the heat.
Addendum: A Few hours later...
I forgot to mention that after much contemplation, I may be rejoining my old handbell choir. They really need someone, and the director is willing to let me shift from position to position, which is great because it adds variety to one's playing skills. She is considering cancelling their tour of New York so that I can join, because I told her I just can't in good conscience take that extra week off. So now I'm waiting to hear from her, probably later this week. It would work out really nicely for me, because rehearsals are Monday nights at exactly the same time that Forest teaches the beginning class, and I could still make it to LCC in time for club afterward. My Tae Kwon Do class is on Tuesday nights, with extra practice on Thursday, so there's no conflict.
Now I just want to figure out how to get time in my schedule to try for Mephistopheles in Dr. Faustus. I read the script today, and think that I just plain don't have time for the main role, but damn, would Mephistopheles be fun. I think it would also be fun to just get a little part, like Lucifer, or the good Angel, or something, where I would only have to rehearse part time. I'll have to wait and see, I guess. The great news is that I'm not so very worried about Kirstin that I have to avoid all outside activities. She has been doing much, much better, in school and out. Her room is immaculately clean all the time, she's organized, and she pays attention when we talk to her. She seems to be making herself at home, and settling into the world around her instead of being in dreamland all the time. It's an immense relief.
