Still Here

Murray swears in
Originally uploaded by suzipaw

But just on a blogging hiatus. Nothing large or important to report, which is probably A Good Thing. Catching up:

The swearing-in happened the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, and for a small, short event, it was adequate closure. Better than graduation, really, since of course the Bar and its results hadn't happened yet. Nothing has changed externally--M's still job hunting and working here and there, including freelance on a murder case, mmm. But his attitude is certainly different, tempered a bit by the crappy job market. We both feel more hopeful. And he is working to think like a lawyer--what it means for friends to ask him for legal advice, how he conducts personal business. He seems more…professional. Confident. I imagine that will increase when he lands that first position.

I got him an iPhone as a Bar passing present, and now I want one too. Though he received his "welcome" packet from AT&T this week and with all of the taxes and various charges, the monthly bill will be closer to a third more than the advertised monthly plan. Yikes. But that video of the iPhone as ocarina is so compelling. (Here's a great song that features the app.)

The romance novel ground to a halt at 10,035 words and I'm blaming the tension then euphoria of the Bar. But I'm confident that having a writers group and an ongoing project that I can actually bring to our meetings rather than sitting there like a word-free lump will ensure that I will pick it up again.

I'm mulling over my New Year's resolutions. Contenders include: take up Spanish again and really try to make some progress; finishing the novel; redoubling my resolve to see more live theater and music. I should include more selfless and friend-related things. Suggestions welcome.

Thanksgiving was for the most part wonderful. There was some family drama that put a bit of a mental damper on things, but is better now, I think. It was just five of us, eating, drinking, beach walking, sleeping in, glass fusing, getting our asses kicked by Maven the computerized Scrabble player, and admiring the various mycology. I watched very little TV. Didn't go into town like I thought I might. The weather was freakishly warm, clear, and calm. M and I stood outside one night watching the stars and I was pretty comfortable in bare feet and short sleeves which is very unusual for any season on the coast. It was hard to leave.

The last week of work has been very busy, but partly because we've been having some fun. On Thursday I held our little office craft fair and sold off some of Mom's pottery. She has some fans where I work and I sold almost all of it. On Friday we had a Murder Mystery brunch game in our department. I didn't have a clue whodunit, but I had fun making a voodoo doll for my character (Enid A. Drink--typecasting, anyone?) the night before and blowing off the gym to make a pecan coffee cake the morning of for it. I won the Best Performance certificate. I had to summon all of my high school thespian chops to do it, but it obviously paid off.

Last night, after a day that had very little to show for it other than a couple of paid bills and clean laundry, I headed down to Berkeley for a friend's birthday party. M had another party to attend, so I was one of two stag (doe?) and child-free people in attendance. The food was good, my friend seemed happy, and I made it home at a decent hour.

It was supposed to be another freakishly beautiful day, but it's chilly and overcast instead, which is good. I'm making lentil soup and spent some time on Facebook this morning--it's finally become for me what it was intended to be, a personal space. I joined for work and for the longest time the only friends I had were colleagues and contacts made via work. Now I have many non-work friends and family, and I like that. One more thing to siphon off my attention. (And yes, "From what, exactly?" is a good question.) M is out in the garage, building a "ladder" for Veronica to get to her bed on the table in my craft room. She can't make it up via the chair anymore but she likes it there and so has to meows at us crankily and lead us into the room when she wants up. We figured it will cut down on her loud cranky meowing by at least a third. If she uses it, and that's a big if. We've come up with a plan to rub catnip and tuna on it if all else fails. Last night as we were dropping off to sleep we hatched a plot to snap our holiday photo today and research recipes to concoct a snickerdoodle *cake*, a la Cooks Illustrated . Not sure if that will happen, but it's good to have goals, isn't it?

Looking forward to going up to Wilbur with my niece to see Grandma next weekend! Sending vibes for freakishly warm weather while we're there.