i am de-funking myself

so i had a not-the-best weekend. my sister and fam came to visit. it was very good to see them. it was the first time they got to meet shorty too. plus they brought alice along who is a wild woman of entertainment and energy. it has been a long time since seeing her. we played lots.

unfortunately, on sunday i was tired and feeling sick and sore. i had developed a cold and ruby was up most of the night before. plus my back is totally out again. (i am patiently waiting for my acupuncture evaluation and treatment here at mayo. it is an appointment i made some 10 weeks ago). so on sunday i just felt overwhelmed and needed some quiet and some time to myself. i didn't get it.

but today, at work. i have been sitting here in my office in the quiet. and ruby slept well last night. clare worked hard to cheer me up in the wee hours of the morning and that was so appreciated. so even as i type my nose is dripping and my back is hurting but i feel ok because it's quiet here and i have discovered a new book. i will get to that in a moment.

i did a bunch of work research this morning. then i decided to take a walk out to the game store in the mall for a lunch break. after all, it's new year's eve and although i can't go to mom and dad's traditional dinner party and play pictionary with the crew. no reason we can't play a game at our house. i walked up smiling a little and hoping i would be able to find a new game that didn't involve too much thinking and concentrating (as sleep deprivation doesn't lend itself well to that kind of focus). i thought about jenga as i love that game, but both of my sets of blocks were lost in the divorce. boo.

anyway, i wandered around the little store. it's a bit of a specialty shop and has lots of games i've never heard of. i read the boxes and tried to decide what i thought i might be able to handle tonight. then leeser called to let us know ruby's social security card arrived in the mail today. kinda cool. now the government recognizes her as a little person, a part of the general populous. anyway, i asked her what she thought about a game and was surpised that she was keen for a game too. we decided on a game called wallamoppi. it's a game a bit like jenga but not. it's a game of speed and a bit of skill and quick stacking and balance. i hope it will be fun and i'll report about it next blog. the guy at the counter (maybe jim since it's 'games by jim') said he really likes the game. i suppose he would have said that for anything i bought, but hey why be so skeptical.

so on the way back i stopped at the new espresso bar and got the barrista (who seems like a cool guy i would like to hang out with, but he doesn't say much) to make me a latte with no foam. this i have discovered is as close as i will ever get to an australian flat white (the best coffee drink on the planet). and while i waited he was playing 'the only living boy in new york' the version by badly drawn boy, so i enjoyed that too.

now i am back in my office. earlier today i made a decision to spend my allowance on an audio book. i wanted to download it and listen today while i do my internet research project. so i looked at the new yorker best books of 2007 list. i stumbled onto one that peaked my curiosity. it is called: the year of living biblically by AJ Jacobs. don't go dismissing it immediately. i would have normally passed it up, but i read the blurb and my curiosity was peaked. i then found it on audible.com and listened to a snippet read by the author himself who has an annoying-turned-charming lisp. his wit and humour and crazy ideas remind me a lot of myself. the thing is, he follows up on these hair-brained thoughts. anyway, i am currently about an hour into the book and love it. i might even see about getting his other book. i love discovering great books. makes me a happy person.

i am getting to the end of 'dirt music' too and will be sad to actually finish it. luckily dad got me two more tim winton books, so i will dig into those right away.

hope everyone has a great time ringing in the new year. i hope to hear some crazy stories of what you all get up to. new babies don't like to do new year's celebrations i don't think. but we'll see, maybe ruby will have us up for a feeding just in time to see 2008????

love to everyone.