so it's been a while since I updated, at least for me. I'm all paranoid about updating at work now because they sent around an email bemoaning the slowdown of Internet traffic due to people who have been downloading news broadcasts and streaming music. while this constitutes no sort of downloading, I just hate the idea of big brother peeping into my activity. so. also, I've been lazy about logging on at home.

anyway. what to tell....

on Wednesday during lunch I went out to get birthday cards for my mom (she'll be 50 next week!) and Amanda (17!). the Hallmark offerings at Walgreens were insufficient, so I walked down to Virgin, where I knew some quality, although high priced, greeting cards could be found. just as I was about to go through the revolving door, I felt someone grab my arm and turned around to see Patrick standing there. I hadn't seen him in a good 8 months, I'd say, so I immediately broke into a big smile, yelled, "Heeeeyy!!!" and gave him a big hug. it was so great to see him, we chatted excitedly for a bit and he asked me out for a drink after work on Friday. I agreed to it, we hugged again, and I walked into Virgin still smiling. and then I found two good cards.

that night I went to see the Trachtenburg Family Slide Show Players at Schubas and it was really fun. that family has such a great thing going; they're pretty much the only act out there for doing what they're doing. and the 9-year-old drumming daughter is probably the most fail-safe gimmick you could ever have. apart from the whole slide show song thing. anyway, I liked it a lot.

on my way back from that show, Stephen and Amber called to say they were at a bar up the street from my apartment getting ready to watch some karaoke. although I was tired and sleep-deprived (par for the course over the past few weeks for some reason) I agreed to meet up with them and it too was a good time. I did a song with Amber, "Time After Time," my first time doing karaoke. April was cross with me since she wasn't there to experience it but oh well. we left the bar around...oh, I'd say...midnight, and stopped off at a pizza place for a completely unneccesary but satisfying snack.

Thursday I did my taxes at work after getting the OK from robot. it turns out I'm getting about $700 back, all told, which is AMAZING and oh so welcome. I'm not really sure why, but my refund was twice what it was last year, even though my salary has increased. my dad said it probably had something to do with being able to claim more dependency on myself. whatever, man, it's 700 bucks!! I'd also like to thank the interest from my student loans, as usual, for making it all possible.

when I got home Thursday night, April was in the middle of cooking up some stuffed poblano peppers and mixing up a black bean salad and some sangria. Megan was on her way over, and the three of us stuffed ourselves silly. I was particularly stuffed because I couldn't stop shoveling in the sangria fruit. I mean, mangoes. you can't not eat them. so while Meg and April sang along badly to "The Hour of the Bewilderbeast," I laid on the couch, bloated, sleepy, and tipsy, until the two blondies decided to go out for more drinks. I chose to retire to the forgiving comfort of my lovely lovely bed. it was absolutely the right choice.

Friday, work went quickly since I spent the majority of the day researching issues about which I am unfamiliar, using methods that aren't as rewarding as they could be. one surprise was getting an email from Andy, who I haven't heard from for at least two months. usually emails from Andy make me really happy, but this one was different. he told me that med school is beginning to fuck him up, that he finds himself getting outraged by the smallest things, but instead of dealing with his outrage, bottles the anger up inside him. he ended the paragraph with "ah, the joys of drinking." poor kid. worst of all, some photos he'd attached showed an Andy who looked about 10 years older than the one I know. huge purple bags encircled the area under his eyelids, and his face appeared gaunt and tired. it was depressing to see how much one and a half years of intensive schooling has changed him physically. I'm hoping that this was just a bad time to photograph him, when the pictures where taken (December). he's always told me he's unphotogenic, but this looked like something deeper than a bad angle or bad lighting. I just wanted to be able to give him a warm embrace and ask him honestly if he was okay.

at the end of the day I left to meet Patrick at Fado. Patrick and I spent the majority of the time both catching up and poking fun at the WASPs around us who were overly enjoying the mediocre cover band playing near our seats. every time the two of us get together, just like when we were working together, we always end up giggling like two schoolkids misbehaving in the corner. he just turned 31 and is in kind of a transitional phase, not quite sure what he's going to do with his future, but looking into three options. I told him I was planning to move and he was sad to hear it. by the time he had to leave for an engagement party, I had drank two pints of Bass, consumed a salmon sandwich, and was pleasantly buzzed.

as a side note, Patrick is the most handsome guy friend I've ever had. I mean, he's hot. and his girlfriend is very nice.

I came home from Fado, changed into my shiny maroon warmup pants from my high school days, and laid on the couch to deflate with some television and reading for a while. my youngest sister called from a record store to see if I'd gotten Amanda anything in particular for her birthday (I haven't yet...) and she and my dad and I chatted as they waited in the McDonald's drive-thru for a chocolate milkshake. I got a little homesick and wished I could go home for a mini break.

after getting off the phone, I ended up falling in and out of sleep for a few hours, and now I can't honestly remember what I watched. April came home around midnight and we sat around talking and watching the tv for a while, waiting for the thump thump from downstairs to die down a bit before trying to go to bed. the noise has actually gotten less pervasive since my landlords called me to discuss the letter I'd written them, which has really surprised me. I mean, it's still there, to be sure. but the vibrations have decreased, and the weeknight sounds aren't quite as disruptive as they once were.

today April and I met up for lunch with Colleen and her roommate. we each had a margarita with our lunches, and poor April had to go off to work slightly drunk. I walked around the neighborhood for a bit, bought a new hairdryer (mine just totally fritzed out Wednesday morning :( ), and came back to be affected by the same sleeping sickness I had last night. I meant to watch the Mystery Science Theater movie when it came on cable, but slept the whole way through it and some other shows. hours-long naps are not the usual for me unless I have a long buildup of sleep deprivation, so I'm looking at this weekend as a therapeutic resting period of sorts. no late night out for this sleepy lady tonight.

I think that about brings us up to speed. I just finished watched "The Man Who Wasn't There" for the first time and really enjoyed it. I gained a new appreciation for the lead actor, even after seeing his poor-to-very bad band open for Elvis last fall. granted, it wasn't the band that was bad, per se, it was his songs and singing. but I digress.

yes, so that's been my past few days. mostly ups, a little down, but allover fine. which is just how I like it.