Ok, so I've kind of been gone for a little while, but I was house sitting and the internet there was just too painful to use. No, the problem wasn't the broadband vs. dialup - the computer was infected with pop-ups virus. You couldn't do a damn thing without about ten ads coming up. So I took a hiatus. There is almost nothing in this world I hate more than being advertised at.

Some house sitting highlights:

At the house-sit, they left me a nice note "Have whatever you want in the fridge. The trash goes out on Wednesday. If it gets too loud across the street, call 911." That was a little disconcerting.

The cat I was watching FREAKED OUT two nights while I was there. He backed out of the bedroom, back arched, tail the size of a raccoon tail, hissing. If the place hadn't been built in 2002, I would have thought he'd seen a ghost. Instead, I was convinced that someone was breaking in and I nearly called Steve at midnight to ask him if he would come stay with me.

Across the street, there is a bus shelter, and a lot of loud drunk people seem to spend the night there. They also tried to steal a car with a very loud alarm twice while I was there. I guess that's why I was supposed to call 911.

It's amazing how much difference there is when you travel a few blocks away from Capital Hill. The place I was house sitting is JUST BARELY in the Central District - the corner for 23rd and Madison - and it was a million more times ghetto and scary than where I live - just a few blocks away. I will never move to the other side of Madison.

Some other recent highlights:

Without the internet, I was able to quickly finish our bookgroup book. It made me cry - the first time in quite a while that I've cried over a book.

I watched Sex and the City season six. If I didn't already have my own Steve who I care about dearly, I would be SO all over the Steve that Miranda is with (if he weren't fictional).

Steve and I went to Olympia for a barbecue with his friends. One of his friends has a wife who is deaf. She and I communicate by writing notes back and forth. We were talking about threesomes when her grandmother-in-law walked up behind us and we had to abruptly start writing about nice movies we'd seen lately.

My cousin and his fiance are coming to Seattle soon. I've got to whip myself into shape so that I can manage a stiff hike with them. I always imagine myself as if I were in one of those movies where someone is training for something or other (Rocky, Girlfight, Robin Hood etc.) and going every day and working out like made until I'm all strong and fit etc. Somehow, it's never quite as romantic (or cool-looking) as that. Usually, I just get sore and tired. If only life were more like the movies!