Friends, foe, and a shot in the hip.

So, my birthday went pretty well over all until the party was crashed by our house guest's early return from Nashville. Oh well, before she showed up it was glorious. Although Donna and Perry had to cancel coming because Donna was sick, and Wyatt forgot it was that day and, well, dabbled in the recreational hooha and wasn't in any state to leave the house. Not exactly surprising, but indeed a bit disappointing.
Anyway, Greg got me some rad stuff. A diamond-tip scribe for printmaking (the diamond tip is supposed to get fine lines and never dull), a 4 pack of various sketchbooks, and a bar of exfoliating oatmeal soap. Lovely. Paula got me "Paris, Je T'aime" (DVD - quite good, I might add), "Let It Die" by Feist (absolutely fabulous; absolutely addictive), a multi pack of glow-stick bracelets (quite fun), and a book on Van Gogh. Kyle got me a Barnes and Noble and a Best Buy gift card, and Laken got me two books - 99 Ways to Cut, Sew, Tie & Rock Your Scarf, and 99 Ways to Cut, Sew, Trim, and Tie Your T-Shirt into Something Special.
Also, Greg said that the dress I was wearing would, "make men like a biscuit in your hands." Hah, how he kills me. I love him.
If you want to see a few bday pics (alas, we failed to take one of me. Imagine that), let me know and I'll share the album link with you.

Tuesday Ariel came down and spent the night. We (she, myself, and Laken) stayed up late talking, looking at photos, books, etc. All very fun. The next day we went to JC and had japanese at Moto then over to campus where we ran into Donna and spent 4 HOURS talking. Wooow. Hopefully the 4 of us (Donna, Laken, Mama, and myself) can get together for lunch sometime next week.

Thursday we kicked Suzanna (house guest) out. The plan had been for her to live with us over the summer, free of rent and utility charges, in exchange for help around the house, contribution to food bills, and of course with the expectation that she would get a job in Gville for the summer. After one month we found ourselves with money even tighter than usual, our house guest spending her days sleeping 'til noon then lying around the house chowing down on our food while watching tv, and without a job at that. And so, because she failed to live up to her end of the bargain (and seemed to think we were her maids, cooks, providers-of-food, and taxi service--without an offer for gas money, at that!), we terminated ours. Ever since she's left we've all been able to breathe so much easier.

Today I went to the doctor after developing a dry cough and discolored mucus in addition to my preexisting allergies. Apparently what I suffer from is allergic rhinitis (Hay fever). In addition to this, I have developed a touch of bronchitis. So, a shot of steroid in the hip, a dose of 4-day prescription z-pack, and a dose of Clarinex (same as Claritin) later and my nose is still retarded but my eyes are no longer begging me to claw them out. So, there are some minor improvements. Anyway, Dr. whats-his-name informed me that the best approach to hay fever is Claritin once and day along with a daily snort of Nasonex (something he also gave me a sample of). I'm a bit apprehensive about the Nasonex...just because things of that sort have been found addictive. So, I may try to forgo it if I can stand to. But anyway, hopefully the Claritin will prove to be a better medication than Benedryl, which caused me to sleep more than I was awake.

Oh, and I forgot to mention, we've a new girl at work. Well, two new ones, actually...though one has been there slightly longer. The latter is Kayla, a bleach-blond highschooler with as much intelligence as a handful of dust. Her work ethic leaves something to desire as well. The only reason she still has a job after days of work-less work is because she's related to the manager. Gotta love Subway politics, eh? Anyway, the second (newer) girl is Ashley, a dark-framed glasses wearing, impressively intelligent-for-her-age highschooler who, after 2 days, proves to have a pleasing work ethic and a personality, to boot. Also, she bears a slight resemblance to Ingrid Michaelson, though her hair is not redish and her eyes are blue, not brown.

Anyway, I'll leave you for the night with some lyrics off of the Let It Die album (something you really ought to check out if [1] you've not yet done so, [2] you like good lyrics, and/or [3] songs with a 1970'esque beat are in any way appealing to your musical tastes):


P.S. There's something rather attractive about John Steed of the 1961 – 1969 show, The Avengers. Yes, I realize he (at the time) would have been more than twice my age and he's not what most would consider "hot," but he's got an excellent persona on the show...and that bowler hat and english accent come close to giving the "lesser" Wilson a run for his money.