what are you going to do with your little bit of stimulus?

There is something just so, I don't know, appropriate about using our economic stimulus rebate check to take a trip to Vancouver in October. It makes me giggle a little at our subversiveness. Or, maybe that's just excitement over our Trip! To! Vancouver! I have restaurants picked out already, but of course, as I recently relayed to Mr. Bump, in the meantime I could have a baby, so I'm going to be exhausted by the anticipation I'm going to endure between now and then.

I said I could have a baby. That doesn't mean I am. Because I'm not. It was just a way to make the point about how looooong it will be before we get to Vancouver. My belly is only pregnant with anticipation for our Trip! To! Vancouver! and our upcoming road trip to New Jersey in September. No baby. Really.

So, congress, you're going to have to come up with something better than a check to get us out of this "slowdown." 'Cause I'm making a run for the border with mine. What are you going to do with yours?

third try and best so far

73 words

Touch Typing online

from the newsletter

In the painful squirm section of the newsletter at my gubment job, I was selected for the "answer stupid questions about yourself" column. This is how it turned out.

Current Position:
Case Processor.

Hometown:
Windsor, Colorado.

A Favorite/Interesting Job Before This One:
Creative writing teacher.

Favorite TV Show:
“The Daily Show with John Stewart,”“The Closer,” and “House.”

Last Book You Read that You’ d Recommend:
“Tender at the Bone: Growing Up at the Table” by Ruth Reichl.

Last Movie You Saw that You’d Give a Thumbs Up:
“Wordplay”--a wonderful documentary about The New York Times crossword puzzle.

Kind of Music You Like to Listen To:
Jazz, Blues, Bossa Nova, some Rock, some Soul.

Three People You’d Like to Meet:
Living? Jon Stewart, David Sedaris, Nigella Lawson.
Dead? Jane Austen, Jimmy Stewart, Julia Child.

Favorite Flower:
Something fake--I can kill a plant with a casual glance or subtle innuendo.

Food(s) You Couldn’t Live Without:
Toast, tea, and a big spoonful of nutella. Maybe coffee. Definitely cheese.
Ooh, and pasta. (Can you tell I wrote this before lunch?)

What You Like to Do in Your Spare Time:
Read. Bake. Snowshoe. Generally lie about in a manner similar to vegetables.

Something Most People Don’t Know About You: I can eat my weight in Milk Duds. I have a tattoo. I once killed a man with my left thumb. (Only one of these is true--I leave
it as an exercise to the reader to decide which one.)

What You'd Choose if You Had the Ability to Do/Be Anything You Wanted:
Travel. Write. Be able to carry a tune.

the januaries

Ok--I know that we're now in February, and maybe I should have the Februaries, but it feels like the Januaries, and since I'm still in it, that's what I'm calling it.

I first heard this term over here, and I think it applies to a certain state of mind that is oversnowed, underexercised, and lacking adequate natural sunlight. Here are some of my symptoms:

• I waited for 25 minutes for a bus (any bus!) to show up to take me home last night. Needless to say that when a bus finally came, it was so full it couldn't take on any new passengers after my stop. This morning I was 20 minutes late for work for similar reasons.
  
• I've gained 10 pounds since October/November (?). That is not the direction I was hoping to go.
  
• I woke up three, possibly four, times last night to: turn on the white noise maker (the bathroom fan), let the dog out, and/or bathe my eyes with some eye drops (I swear I could hear them creak when I opened and shut them). I feel like I haven't had a great night's sleep in the past, oh, maybe two years now.
• Somehow, in making a bed on Sunday, I wrenched something in my back, and have been walking like an old lady since.
• The weather gods don't seem to care that I'm really, really over the snow.

So, the januaries. They just keep on comin'. Eleven days and counting until we take a little San Diego break. I hope the sun shines, damnit.