If You Really Loved Me, You Would Give Me Pumpkin Pie

Traditionally, pumpkin pie is a Thanksgiving treat for me. I go all year, practically detesting sweets (except ice cream - I love you, Ben & Jerry's!), until I see that creamy orange-y goodness on a crust. Then there's no holding me back.

For example, my Thanksgiving of Michelle involved a week of pumpkin pie for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It was GLORIOUS.

So that brings me to this afternoon. My building - er, the building I work in - is hosting a Halloween party in the lobby. Apparently they do this kind of thing all year - popcorn Friday on the last Friday of the month, hot dog and lemonade parties over the summer, etc. (No one checks you in at the door by the way - it's the Homer Building, right above the Metro Center stop on the 13th Street exit, and I'll be seeing you on Fridays.)

Anyway, there's a pumpkin carving contest and, more importantly, pie and hot apple cider (another joy of the Autumn season!). I want you to know that I stepped out to get my sister's birthday present and returned to a lovely, pumpkin-y, god-bless-you-all-because-I-feel-ecstatic treat. These last five minutes have been heaven.

And if you ever want to get on my good side during the months of October and November, when there is just the right twinge of nippy in the air, you know the drill. And I expect whipped cream with that.

p.s. I ABHOR Cool Whip.

HELP! I'm Employed

Okay, so the word is out and it ain't pretty. I'm working again. This time for the Department of Treasury - please don't let me bore you with the details, but be aware that in just a short week and a half I will be entitled to my first paycheck (with which to pay off the lovely Eric Gordon and all his cronies for a Saturday night of debauchery followed by a nap - I mean, cab ride - home at 4AM).

So far all I have done is stare at the white walls of my fairly nondescript office and treat myself to a tour of the gym. It's a wonderfully exciting life, I tell ya.

Yet I thought I should share the experience with all of you and remind you that, if there's any of you out there who are seeking a friendly abode in our nation's capital, then have I got a futon for you!

Mmmm-hmmmmm...

Movin' On Up

Well, I expect this will be one of my last chances to post, as I am moving down to DC in a few short days, during most of which I will have company. It is also undetermined as to when I will actually see an internet connection again as we are very, very, very poor. We're talking library internet here, and we all know I am too lazy to get myself to a library so it may be a while.

In any case, I'm very excited about the move. I still get nervous twitches because Anthony is being a bit of a prat, having never lived with anyone outside of his family before, but I think I should be able to break him in within a few days.

If not, well, there's always the single life. (smile)

So I've packed up everything I own, except a small pile of clothes to last me the week and all my toiletries. My mom keeps complaining about how she doesn't like my room anymore, with everything looking all blank, but other than the onslaught of tears I am expecting any day now, things are looking up.

Now I just need to find me a job!

Otherwise, hopefully I'll see you all soon, same bat time, same bat channel...

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!

Fire Eater
Originally uploaded by Pookah.

And this is our friendly fire eater...

We Couldn't Be Having More Fun

Sarol and David
Originally uploaded by Pookah.

This is David and Sarol, right before we saw a liger, "pretty much my favorite animal," at the King Richard's Faire. Does life get more exciting than this?

In any case, that was my last weekend. This weekend, my plans include applying for more jobs and packing up my shiite. Why, you may ask? Well, only because I am moving next week!

DC is upon me. Anthony moved into our new apartment yesterday and he has a whole week to arrange things just the way he wants, so I can sweep right in and change it to the way I WANT. (Honey, if you ever get around to reading this, you KNOW I'm just kidding.)

Actually, this is the part of the move I'm dreading. Anthony has never had to live with anyone and he thinks I'm going to ruin his life. Translated that means he thinks I'm going to throw away all of his belongings and relegate him to sleeping in the farthest corner of the apartment. It's so bad that he's actually claiming small tracts of land within the place!

His being nervous is making ME nervous. I didn't think I was THAT bad!

In the meantime, I have to get moving on all those boxes! Martha will be here on Tuesday and we're off for adventures in New York on Wednesday. Andrew is our tour guide, and Estee and Mel are our lovely hostesses with the mostesses.

Ah, yes, the English language is so lovely when I mangle it, isn't it?

Well, it's past my bedtime and Danny is showing up in the morning to bring us out to breakfast and introduce us to his new woman, so...

Notice Anything New?

Hey guys, I just wanted to point you to my sidebar. I'm adding restaurants that I like from places I've lived - and you shoud weigh in with suggestions, or reminders (we all know how faulty my memory is!).

Thanks!

Exhaustion

Today I'd like to talk about my ever-increasing need to sleep. In my life, I've known several people who take sleeping to the Olympics level (Jeff C., Michelle A., and San all come to mind), but I have always been able to function properly on a few solid hours of sleep. However, when I graduated from college, all the theories of my invincibility disappeared. I NEED at least 8 hours of non-alcohol-induced sleep EVERY night if I want to pretend that I am a normal human being in the morning. And that's at a minimum.

However, lately, I've been feeling rather groggy all the time. When I wake up, I'm groggy. When I get to work, I'm groggy. When I have lunch (and I'm not reading Harry Potter), I'm groggy. I get home, and guess what? I'm groggy. In fact, for the past two weeks, I've been avoiding the gym like the plague so I can get in that extra hour of sleep.

Does anyone out there know of some way that I can increase my energy levels? I eat fairly healthy meals, drink about 18 cups of chammomile tea during the day to keep up my water intake (and to keep warm - the boss sure does love him some AC), drink a bottle of Gatorade when I'm at the gym and another one at lunch, eat a mid-morning snack to keep alive, and balance it all with a wonderfully home-cooked dinner.

Now, don't be rude and tell me I need to start working out more - I was exhausted AT THE GYM, for chrissakes! And please don't put me on any of those weird heart-attack-inducing supplements from GNC. Perhaps I should increase a certain vitamin in my diet? Perhaps there is a magic cure out there? Let me know and I'll love you forever...

What with my lower back and left knee aching because of the rain (dammit! that makes me feel old), I would love it if I could get back to the gym again and build up those muscles that will help me ease into my senior years with a purposeful stride - perhaps even a light jog.