go_team

I haven't seen any lightning, but even if I do, it will not keep me away from the next-to-last session of Urban Farm. (Yay Urban Farm! Best class ever! I am going to miss it so much that I am looking into volunteering at one of Eugene's community gardens after the end of the term, just to get my "really big garden that I share with a bunch of people and we all hang out and work on it together" fix, because it is that awesome, even if I totally got a sunburn doing just that last Saturday.) And now I must finish proofreading my review of Michael Pollan's Second Nature, which I will be turning in today --- it turned out really well and I'm super-proud, especially of the way I used the phrase "really gets on my tits" in a way that was almost entirely appropriate except for how it's sort of an academic paper and all. Tee-hee! I'll put the full book report on TracyFood sometime soon, perhaps in sections because I rambled on and on and on for almost seven pages (only one of which was devoted to my deep aversion to the masculine generic --- Inclusive language forever, baby!)

Hot damn, it's pouring out. I'd better go let Iggy Pop in from the rain, and then look at bus schedules.

Dear Rain,

Don't get me wrong. I know you're good for my garden, especially the carrots I thinned out and the brand shiny new green zebra and yellow brandywine tomatoes I planted today. I'm down with not having to water my plants with the garden hose, although I'm still going to mulch them lovingly with grass clippings in an effort to retain water (and as an added bonus, keep down weeds). But couldn't you wait with starting till I'm at work instead of making it hard for me to get there on my bike? I would've liked to keep pruning my roses and make a run to the library, too... but I'll settle for the fact that you seem to be slowing down a bit. Hold that thought! Thank you!

Love,
-Tracy

I buy items from the distressed pile, of course! Today's impulse buys included a bag of cat food with a rip in it (half price, and it doesn't expire till next year, so I'm sure it's fine) and just-add-water mix for the spiced chai I used to get at the Koffee Klatch in Laguna Beach. Mmm, nostalgia. It's not as good as the kind I make from scratch (less spice, more sweetness), but it's good enough to take to work and mix with hot water for deliciousness. Awww, yeah. Also at the hardware store I got a new reflective goes-under-the-burner pan thingy for the stove, to replace the one that wouldn't stop getting all icky and rusty (this kind of thing I ignored when I was renting, but I care deeply now that it's my stove I can't keep clean) and gloves to protect my dainty little hands from the scariness that is oven cleaner.

Speaking of spring cleaning, it's a lovely enough day outside that I'm opening windows all over the house and airing things out. Yay for fresh air! And perhaps in the bestest news of all, the hippie home and garden place has red currant plants!

Okay, I thought I had more to say but then I got distracted by other stuff for half an hour so I'm going to go ahead and post this. Life is good.

Crap. I just checked my work clothes, and I'm going to have to do laundry to get through the weekend. On the one hand, I could suck it up and go to the laundrymat now, so I don't have to go after work on Saturday or Sunday (I'm working at 2 today, which means the 'mat will be closed by the time I get out) but on the other hand I'd rather wait and wash as many clothes at once, even if it means doing laundry when I'm already tired and cranky from work. Feh, though. Laundry sucks.

In other news, it rained last night, and it's still gray and windy out right now, to the point where it makes me think maybe I should close some windows. But will I? Naaaah.

It's called, "Who's wet and cold and cranky and sick of the rain already?"

I'll give you a hint: It's not just Iggy Pop the cat.

This afternoon I came home from tutoring to read Peter two chapters of Howl's Moving Castle. Eventually we got out and visited the GTFF union office, where we filled out some paperwork that makes me eligible for health insurance as his domestic partner. Rock! Then Peter went off to his office on campus, and I stopped by an ATM for some cash and hit Mother Kali's Books for their CD sale. There I got Independence Meal by Alix Olson, The Righteous Ones by Toshi Reagon, and End of the Summer by Dar Williams, which makes my CD collection much more complete (really, it's amazing I didn't already have those, especially the Dar). Yay! Outside Mother Kali's, a friendly butch lady perusing the super-sale rack told me they were giving out free ice cream cones at Dairy Queen, so that was my next stop (it's a promotional dealy celebrating the 100th anniversary of ice cream). Then I stopped by the Glenwood to pick up my tips, and so now I have small bills with which to do laundry. Then I wandered around and thought about getting a haircut, but decided it was a little risky to do so while wearing my Weird Al "Bad Hair Day" t-shirt (tempting fate and whatnot). So I stopped by Mother Kali's again and signed up to volunteer during textbook rush next week, because if they're really going out of business that could be my last chance to hang out and help out there. Then I rode my bike home, enjoying the beautiful weather all the way. All told, a most satisfying afternoon. Tutoring this morning went okay, too. I still need a haircut and we still need groceries, but I'll be getting on that aforementioned laundry in just a bit, and overall life is good.

Update, 18:45: Okay, so I know this isn't one big paragraph anymore, but I wanted to note that I've been updating the above paragraph like every 15 minutes or something ridiculous like that, and I have no idea why.

I am my cat's bitch. It's rainy and cold out, and I've been looking outside and thinking how glad I am I'm not out in that all day. But Iggy just called my attention to the fact that he has no more cat food, and I emptied the bag refilling his bowl. So off I go to the store, because I am the cat's bitch.

The good news is this means I can finally get whipping cream and make wasabi mashed potatoes for dinner tonight. Mmmm.... I have been craving them for a while. And feeding the cat isn't really bad news, it's just I have to go out in the cold and wet to do it. Iggy better appreciate all the love I gots for him... but if he doesn't, I still love him, just 'cuz he's the cat.