10 July 2002

Matt's absence, perhaps, or the storm outside, or the digestion of spices unfamiliar to my system...

I didn't sleep very well last night. I kept having strange - and yet strangely mundane - dreams, and then waking up.

(I remember very vividly a dream wherein Matt escorted me to a special hair salon, where a rather fussy hairdresser shaved crew-cut short all the hair around my face and at the nape of my neck, then carefully tangled the bottom of my hair "for body" he insisted, before brushing smooth a thin top-layer. When he was done with the marvel of a hairstyle, I went looking for Matt, who was playing video games with the salon's owner in the break room.)

I woke up several times for no reason that I could name - though I could hear it raining, and saw a few flashes of lightning. I don't remember any thunder, but perhaps that's what woke me.

I woke up at one point to find the cat sleeping on Matt's side of the bed, but as soon as he realized I was awake, he got up and left the room. (Heaven forbid I catch him being affectionate.)

He came back around five-thirty, though, and stepped on my alarm clock so the radio turned on. I fumbled for the button to turn it off, then stumbled downstairs to shut him in the bathroom before stumbling back to bed.

The next thing I knew, my second alarm was beeping at me. What'd happened to the first? The trick with the cat shouldn't have reset it... Did I turn it off in a sleepy haze? I'll never know.

I managed to get up and showered and dressed. Let the cat out of the bathroom and fed him. Took my daily allotment of vitamins and drugs. Packed myself breakfast and lunch, put my computer in my briefcase, and headed outside. Put my lunch, purse, and briefcase in the car. I looked around, just before getting into my car, and realized I'd forgotten to take the dumpster and recycling to the curb last night.

(Probably just as well, with the rain.) I opened the garage door and dragged the bins out to the curb.

Then I realized I didn't have a picture ready to go for today's picture of the day. I went back inside and got my camera, adding it to the pile of things in the backseat to be taken to work.

So what you get today is a picture of my oh-so-exciting office. Here:

You can almost make out the "Flesh-Eating Sheep On Rampage Of Death" Weekly World News article taped to the door. (The door, by the way, is propped open - when you come into my office, you're looking at me over the monitor.)

Isn't my desk a mess? You can see my Apple in its customary spot, and my coffee mug ("Tempting and Thrilling at 30!") on the corner of the desk.

That yellow blob on top of the monitor? That's one of my "monitor pets." You'll meet him tomorrow.

Oh, if you haven't already, do check out the blog. I wrote three separate posts yesterday, and two of them are actually kind of funny.

--Liz