It's now 70 degrees again in Dallas, and cold weather is nowhere to be seen in the forecast! Good, cause if it ain't bringing a snow day, I have no need for the cold weather. I've been wondering lately if I have seasonal affective disorder (SAD) lately, because I am so much happier now that the weather is warmer! (I don't really think I have seasonal affective disorder, because I think it's a crock, and it's even more hilarious that it's abbreviation is SAD. Actually, I think it's a normal human reaction to be affected by the weather. Only humans, who have separated themselves from nature to such an extent, would call being affected by the weather a disorder.)

But in any case, I am way happier in the warmer weather, and all I want to do is lay in my backyard on the hammock all day, and read. Preferably with my dog! Oh, I just can't wait till Spring Break and Summer, when I can live in shorts, flipflops and tshirts.

Somehow, despite knowing all along that I would have to return to work at some point, I am boondoggled to be back. My brain is in shock and can barely function under the strain of talking to people other than Aaron, Dwight, and BP. Yes, the latter two do count as people! Only in the good ways, not in the bad ways.

On one hand, I should be quite envious of people who seem so happy to be back and see all their work friends again, but on the other hand, I can't seem to get the energy up to do so. All I feel is an overwhelming sense of bewilderment--how can talking to some people ever compare to laying comfortably in bed, under thick, warm comforters, with a creature on each side of me keeping me warm as I read a badly written gothic novel and watch movies like The Town and Dinner for Schmucks? Yes, everything I did during my 4 day long break was encompassed in the previous run-on sentence.

I also decided (or rather, reaffirmed) the fact that in an alternate universe, in which I don't overthink every little thing, I would have a half sleeve tattoo and smoke American Spirits. I have an amazing idea for a half sleeve that I just can't stop thinking about. Unfortunatly, I also can't stop thinking about Hepatitis C and metal-based ink collecting in my lymph nodes...and my mom crying herself to sleep because of her hoodlum child. But in any case, my idea is--a depiction of the scene in Jane Eyre right before Jane and Mr. Rochester meet. Thornfield Hall looms in the distance, and Jane sits on a bench at the side of the road. Mr. Rochester, on horseback, and his dog (like a mythical Gytrash) running ahead, toward Jane. I even know exactly who I would want to do it.
So the dilemna is, if a half sleeve would increase my quality of life, should I mind that it may or may not decrease my quantity?

Today's topic will be: What gets you through your day at work?

I once read a very old book about dog training that said, when you see a dog standing on a sidewalk seemingly guarding his owner's briefcase, it's actually that the owner left the briefcase to guard the dog. Because a dog is more likely to stay where you told him/her to if you leave something that is yours to anchor the dog there. Of course, nowadays, no one leaves their dog somewhere without a leash, so it's a dated reference. But my circuitous point is that I have certain things that I use to anchor myself at work until I can go home.

One of these things is my bright orange water bottle. The color cheers me up, and it ensures that I will not feel crappy and dehydrated from talking all day. Another is my engagement/wedding rings, because sparkly things cheer me up, esp. when they remind me of Aaron. And also my ipod, with which I can sneak-read harry potter all day.

I don't remember dreading each day this much when I was working at Harcourt. But then again, there I had no job stress. Oh, to go back to making copies all day.

The thought of waking up tomorrow, with my only responsibility being to cuddle my doggie, is absolutely divine!

I am going to paint my nails black glitter and I get to wear my most sloppy outfits for 2 weeks!!!

Hello peeps!

It's Friday morning and I don't feel like going to work just yet to face this very last day of the week. We're heading to Austin tonight for a graduation. We got Dwight a new, bigger crate because we haven't been crating him for about a year now, but he needs one for when he's left alone in the hotel room. Crates are expensive! It makes me nauseous to think about how much profit they made from selling me that crate. How expensive can a flimsy plastic resin box be to manufacture?
In any case, hopefully it will set my mind at ease about leaving him in a hotel room, which always freaks him out.

Last night, I got him a new shirt from American Apparel, because he grew out of his last one. I'm not psyched about the color, but our requirements was that it had to be 2xl, and be a dark color so it hides stains and shedded black hairs.



Dwight's been shivering even inside the house these days, and my old hoodie that I cut for him is just not cutting it. He keeps tripping on the end of it.

No dog-unrelated news today, except that I don't wanna go to work. Boo.

Edit: Work is going fine! Just 3/4 of an actual class left and it's all downhill from here. Also, I just noticed that that AA shirt for Dwight is in Slytherin colors! My brain is on Harry Potter because I'm making wands with my Advisory class this week.

Going back to work after a week-long break is so painful. I can only imagine how bad it will be after Christmas break...which starts in 3 weeks!!! It is the only thing keeping me going today.

I started dreading coming back to work Saturday night, in my sleep. I kept having stress dreams about deciding to call in sick Monday morning and then not being able to because they couldn't find a sub, and then another dream about not knowing how to fill in a census questionnaire. I don't know why I had a stress dream about my census job when it was the easiest job in the world.

Then last night while I was sleeping, I was thinking about what I was going to do today with my classes. Blerg.

On a happier note, Aaron and I are going to go on a short road trip over Christmas! We might take Dwight and Big Poppa! Wee!

Man, who knew kids get so grumpy when they are made to do work in school?! Grr. If only I could sit back and count mitotic cells as an assignment...