cute story, cool things, and melakalikimaka

Cute story: just now on my way back up to my office's floor, an older woman asked me what floor I was going to. I told her two, and she looked downtrodden. Then she said, "I'm going up to three, but I got trapped on this elevator once and I'm afraid to go by myself." Knowing that the third floor is home to our hospital's outpatient psych unit, which gets visits from a lot of lost souls who are good people but just have some trouble gettin' on in the world, I figured she was probably legitimately freaked out. So! We rode up to the third floor together, then I went back down to two, and that's why I'm a little late from lunch. Best reason ever!

The week of a holiday is so great around an office. The lack of work ethic in pretty much everyone practically matches the lack of work ethic I exhibit every day. I love that.

I’m taking off tomorrow because I’m watching my boss’ little Yorkshire Terrier for the weekend. I think Lucy’s about 6 months old, and I can’t even tell you what she really looks like because she really doesn’t stop long enough for me to get a good look at her. She desperately wants to be friends with Mojo, but unfortunately Moj isn’t too hip to the doggie-friend scene, and especially not with a three-pound poof ball of utter insanity. Needless to say, this weekend might be sort of exhausting.

And now, without further ado, my Cool and Un-Cool List for this week.

Cool things:
1. Online Christmas shopping. This is the third year in a row where the majority of my Christmas shopping has been done on the computer. This is fantastic for me because I absolutely hate shopping when there are a lot of people around. Which is pretty much unavoidable this time of year. Also, I need a lot of thinking time to brainstorm what I want to get people, because I’m very obsessive/compulsive about gift giving. So I would rather do that in pajama pants at my apartment rather than in a mall, where the smell of Auntie Anne Pretzels combine with that general Nameless Preppy Cologne Stink from Abercrombie and Fitch and undoubtedly make me feel nauseous.

2. My nephew’s first turkey handprint, which I got with a card in the mail yesterday!


3. Mojo’s new collar bling. It's hard to tell in this shot, but it's blue and orange, colors that do double-duty representing the Bears and my alma mater. The M not only stands for "Mojo," but also for "Menace," and "Maniacal Eater of Cat Poo."


4. Heroes! It's the only show lately that I've been able to get into, aside from watching "Scrubs" reruns and anything PBS might have on (History Detectives! Secrets of the Dead! Antiques Road Show!). I've been able to catch all of "Heroes" because NBC.com streams whole episodes online, so you can catch any you missed after the show airs on Monday night. Which I love, because of the occasions where I'm out somewhere and not at home on Monday, which happens more than I care to admit. Anyways.....woo! Hooray for Heroes! Save the Cheerleader, Save the World!

5. The Nintendo Wii! Forget all that PS3 B.S., the Wii is The System of the Future. The "Wiimote" is magical, the sports games that come with it are rad (BOXING! AND BOWLING!), too, and even though Link in The Legend of Zelda - Twilight Princess looks close-up like he’s wearing a very meticulously-applied mix of eyeshadows, it’s still an amazing game.

Un-Cool Things:
1. Another flippin' flat tire on my Jeep. I JUST HAD ONE about three weeks ago. Luckily last time it turned out the valve cap was just old and leaking air, and once it was replaced, all was well, and it only cost about fifty bucks. What are the odds that I could get that lucky again? Slim to none, I'd say?

2. This station starting their 24-hours-a-day Christmas music format THE DAY AFTER HALLOWEEN. It’s not even December yet, and I’m already hating Bing Crosby’s “Melikalikimaka!” I usually don’t start to hate it until at least mid-December. Those bastards!

3. The gray shirt of mine that just mysteriously disappeared while I was doing laundry Sunday afternoon. It wouldn’t have bothered me so much if I hadn’t made quite the cute ensemble with that shirt just the night before. I hate losing things. The only good that comes out of losing things is that I usually whip around the house, cleaning up everything while I try to look for the missing item. I would like to say that frustration over losing something isn’t the only thing that compels me to clean, but alas, if I did, I would be lying to you and myself.

Well kids, have a great Thanksgiving! May you wear comfy pants that will stretch out, and eat more than you need to! Steve and I have to rush about between his family and mine, and then get home to the puppy, so it won’t be the most relaxing holiday this year, but whatever. We get two free dinners out of it!