As Sam noted, it’s freeeEEzing here in San Francisco! You know when the arch enemies band together for warmth, things are pretty chilly in the apartment.

I don’t think our apartment is built for weather under 50*. I actually made a fire in the fireplace tonight all by myself while Earl was still at work (normally we only make a fire if we’re going to lounge around in front of it and have a romantic evening) just to warm up the joint. Even broke out the down comforter.

Supposed to be doing a hike tomorrow afternoon up Mt. Sutro with my friend Andrea (and Linus). Then my to do list has pre-making some pie crusts for Christmas, organizing the grocery shopping list for Feastivus (eight people have already RSVPd!!), writing Christmas cards, and catching up on friend’s blogs. With the chill in the air, we better dress warmly for our hike! Perhaps I will pack a thermos of hot cider. Brrr.

Lucy found herself a snug nook curled up in our down comforter. Funny how she smooshed down the goose down and the rest puffed up surrounding her to form a soft, warm bed.

Kitten was purring up a storm! I actually heard the “engine” rumbling from another room and walked over to investigate what was going on.
Just look at that cute little nose.

Never was a cat person til I fell in love with a handsome, nerdy cat owner. This cow-colored furball pawed her way into my formerly feline-adverse heart.

In other news, today was a SUPER productive day. It’s amazing how much better you are at getting things done when you’re already busy. Back in ye olde Days of Unemployment just one of these tasks would have been completely arduous and taken up the whole day; I would have put off all this stuff for days on end. The phenomena of “when you’re already busy, you tend to be more productive” warrants a more succinct, catchy moniker. Paging Malcom Gladwell.

Today I:
- went running with Linus in the morning
- dropped Earl off at work
- went to Quest Diagnostics to get my blood drawn for my new job (and they said it might take up to TWO WEEKS for the results to come back because they have to ship it to SoCal… ARRRRGGH WTF?!?!?! i know you have a freaking analysis center right there in the back of your lab just RUN IT NOW I WANT TO START WORKING!!!!!! ARGH!@#@!#@# Also- back when I was on the trading floor at JPMorgan, I worked my butt off for weeks running prospectuses around to institutional investors for Quest Diagnostic’s IPO. way to pay me back with crap slow service, Jerks.)
- met my friend Elaine and her husband Tyler in the Castro for coffee and a leisurely chat (and we sat on that exact same stoop as that photo, heh)
- met Earl at his office and we went to get our Affidavit of Domestic Partnership notarized for our insurance benefits
- drove to Redwood City
- got fitted for my new uniforms for work
- waited an hour and a half for my uniforms to get tailored
- came home and did a load of laundry
- caught up with my good friend Terri from back east for an hour on the phone
- made a butternut squash, pear & onion au gratin casserole (topped with breadcrumbs, crumbled bacon, walnuts and Romano cheese- YUM) for dinner. in the oven right now and DAMN does it smell so dern good!!

Some photos from the uniform shop:
Apparently these flashlights are all the rage. They were flying off the shelves- four policemen/sheriffs came in and bought them while I was there getting my alterations. From what I overheard, they are super bright, last for several hours, charge in 90 seconds and don’t take any batteries. Revolutionary!
I have noticed during my brief tenure in EMS that any product with the word “Tactical” in it tends to be more desirable and also way jacked up in price. Tactical golf balls! Tactical underwear! When no ordinary flashlight will do… extremely dark darkness demands a TACTICAL flashlight (right under the flashlight display they were selling tactical polo shirts).

[unrelated: several *extraordinarily* hunky CalFire men also came into the uniform shop while I was getting my alterations. just pointing that out. ATTN single ladies- stake to uniform stores to meet cute guys!! though this uniform shop wouldn't work for that... you needed a writ of employer (ie- your employer paying for your uniform) to get inside... very high security... maybe they had too many single ladies in there trolling for dates while dudes were trying to shop, haha]

Back to photos, something tells me “the man” is in on the joke:

And finally- MY NEW WORK UNIFORMS!!! still in the plastic wrap to avoid being “furred” from my two four-legged loves who enjoy nothing more than helping decorate my laundry. I also got some new black boot polish for my work boots and picked up a couple crisp white new under armor under shirts. MAN I AM SO PSYCHED FOR MY FIRST DAY. wish that freaking blood work would come back already.

update: ha! after writing this post and finishing up some stuff online I went to the bedroom and found this. Not only is Lucy staking out “her man,” but she’s made another “nest” out of the fluffy down comforter. she must be in kitten heaven in this picture!! hilarious cat.

ps- yes, all the cat ever does, really, is laze around in bed. sometimes she chases around the sunbeams.

Sunbeam Cat soaks up the early morning November California sunshine:

Lucy can always be counted on to locate the nicest spot in the sun. E and I were chatting last night about where in her life Lucy has been “happiest” living (she is quite the jet-setting cat, did you know she’s lived in Russia, Thailand, Wisconsin, NYC and Cali? More places than I have!), and E informed me he thinks she’s happiest here “because of all the spots she has to sit in the sunbeam.” That is very true. Here she does have a large quiver of nice cozy cat nooks in which to sit and soak up rays.

When the afternoon comes and the sunbeam moves, she waddles over to on top of my desk to catch the late afternoon sun.

having accomplished my Principal Life Task of feeding the cat, i am off for a 5 mile run con Woof. it’s been a while since we’ve gone that far, i’m a *leetle* nervous (hence- classic stall: posting cat pictures on internet).

still riding out the tail end of this crazy bad cold, so i anticipate a lot of the hacking up of things while running. think that’ll be good… break up all the congestion a bit. with that, having run out of reasons to putter around in bed [...but the covers are so warm! and the world is so cold!] it is time to get my butt out there and freaking go running.

An ethical puzzle:

If you ceaselessly devout your wee morning hours (from 5am-7am) to the undertaking of being as obnoxious as possible in the hopes of wearing us down so we become exasperated, get out of bed, and feed you, do I have the right to retaliate with a playful tail yank when it is time to wake up?

This is the arm of a woman who has been walked back and forth on, MrrRRrrRRoww!ed at for two hours, waved away endless soft pawing mittens to the face, and otherwise attempted to snooze through the ungodly racket created by Hurricane Lucy.  ‘Tis astonishing how such a wee thing can create such a maelstrom.

Here I am, minding my own business, watching Law and Order: Criminal Intent online (chung chung!), flopped out on the floor all tired-like because I just finished my pushup workout for the day. Have I told you about the pushup workouts I’ve been doing? My friend Rune and I started them last week, we’re both doing the program from 100pushups.com, today was the first day of week 2.

Anyways, I was happily sprawled doing out my best vegetable impression when allasudden -ZIP!- kitten on my tummy. Next thing I know, – SCHOOMP- corgi tucked right into my side.

T’was super cute. Luckily my phone was within stretching distance, although it was incredibly hard to get a good shot!  Rather difficult to extend one’s arm for  photo while being mindful to not disturb perched feline and snuggled up dog. Channeling Go-Go Gadget arm, I managed to snag these:

and then I fell head over heels for a handsome fella who fancied himself a cat lover.

Now, she and I still have our differences, but I must confess, when you come home aggravated and embittered from a frustrating morning/afternoon battling DMV bureaucracy, having a purring kitty walk over to you park herself on your chest proves to be delightfully consoling.

Here’s a kitten spinning around being cute

Probably my favorite corgi photo of all time:

I love the expression on his face, the little paw touching his mouth in an “oh, shucks” aura, and of course his aero leetle sausage body.  Plus, he’s a tri!  He looks like Linus.

This picture was my avatar on TGR for many, many years.  So freaking adorable.

Hey, leave my laundry alone!!