here's the deal.
i hate pontiacs.
with a burning passion.
i'm not sure how this deep seated loathing developed.
i think it has something to do with the ridiculous number of people who live in small towns that seem to LOVE them.
there's probably a 50/50 chance that anyone i went to high school with drove a grand am or a grand prix.
[oh, that awful stripey back bumper. shudder.]
where i grew up it was kind of a flag for a certain mentality.

this is a huge generalization, i know it's not true across the board, but it's just an association i have.

[if you drive a pontiac and take offense to this, i'm sorry. i'm sure you're not a bad person. if it helps any, i drive a vw (albeit an old one) which fits right into that loathsome hipster stereotype]

but here's my point--i have been considering the pontiac vibe as a future car possibility.
granted, the vibe is probably the most un-pontiacy pontiac there is [basically a toyota in wolf's clothing], but i am having a hard time reconciling with my attraction to that car.
it's a good size, it comes in AWD [might be nice], and it's way better looking than the atrocious toyota matrix.
a station wagony thing just seems more practical than a car.

if only i could afford a volvo C30.
drool.

seriously server?
is it really necessary to use the little searchy flashlight thing when the files are RIGHT THERE.
you have accessed them instantly every other time, and suddenly you decide that it requires a lengthy search to find them?!

we are having server problems at work.
which really screws up any sort of flow to the day--i live in fear of a crash and loss of labor.
and i have developed a nervous tic causing me to compulsively hit the ctrl+s keys.
and everything takes like half an hour to save.


a new server is in the works.
thank god.



i am currently reading the sword in the stone.
i didn't even know it was actually a book.
[yes, i am part of the disney generation]
it's pretty light, but can probably be considered a classic of some sort.
and i am quite amazed, after reading the first few chapters, how spot on disney managed to make the animated characters.
it's going to be a good read.

The fog comes
on little cat feet.

It sits looking
over harbor and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on.

-Carl Sandburg


after lots of rain we're socked in.
i'm not sure, exactly, that i want it to go away.
there's something comforting in the closeness of this hazy air.

but the foghorn sounds its warning endlessly.

hooray!
for some reason, for about 4 years i have really wanted a pair of boots.
flat, brown boots that you tuck your jeans into, or which look perfect with a skirt.
[granted i never wear skirts, but i have been working on that.]
i have regretted for 4 years not buying the perfect pair of flat, brown eddie bauer boots on sale for $70.
i talked myself out of it with some stupid reason like "i would hardly wear them anyways, so maybe i should spend the money on food."
well...if i am still thinking about them 4 years later, then maybe i should have caved.
so, last fall i spied these in a catalog:



but they were $170.
i was not about to spend 1/3 of my rent on them.
so i google shopped them repeatedly and watched the price drop, but never in my size or at a palatable price.
[and it was really easy to talk myself out of them.]
then they were on sale! for $114! in my size!
but i told myself no, there are better things to spend your money on.
and then they were gone.

and i regretted it.

yesterday i looked them up again, and they were back on the site in my size and i have enough tip money from sailing to afford them [tip money is designated for purchasing special things].

they are on their way.


yesterday i made lemony zucchini goat cheese pizza for dinner.
it was good, but i would not recommend putting half again as much cheese on it just because it comes packaged that way.
and i burnt the heck out of the roof of my mouth.
next up: zucchini bread!

the best sound ever: seagulls walking on pavement.
they always seem so grave and determined, i can only imagine they are annoyed by the sound of their own footfalls as their little webbed feet slap slap slap along.

today i am having major issues with focus.
i am getting nothing accomplished and i just want to go home and take a nap.
or sit in the sunshine and eat some ice cream.

on friday i made the mistake of running 5.5 miles after not running consistently for about 3 months.
i am still regretting it, but i am excited that i can now do the fall river road run without a commute.
i saw a painted turtle on the way down the hill and it made me irrationally happy.
i think the term snout was coined with turtles in mind--their little pokey noses embody everything that the word suggests.

we watched fireworks from the breakwall which is always a treat because they go off literally over you head.
it's like watching them with 3-D glasses [minus the glasses]--they're not flat against the sky, you are essentially inside of them.
fortunately we did not get hit by any falling embers.

i might be going to greece [or some other very pleasant place] this winter for two weeks, all expenses paid.
someone we took sailing wants to employ nathanael and i to charter a boat in some far flung location.
they rationalized that if we went with a 57-foot beneteau it would be perfect because we would each get about 20 feet of boat.
i agreed emphatically.

i made mini soft pretzels on friday, they turned out great.
the only bad part is you have to eat them all within 2-3 days, so i have been subsisting on white flour all weekend.

the first 7-day workweek of the summer and already feeling sleep-deprived, but maybe this will be my year: my legs may just get tanned.