It's a Beautiful Day

: 'Nothing Else Matters' by Metallica; 'Basin Street Blues' by Louis Armstrong
: Mellow

The sky is a perfect cerulean as I look through my window at ash trees tinged with a light orange. I slept a little late, woken at 10 am by crows outside that I couldn't count because they were either perched above my apartment or at least out of sight (or as one friend said, perhaps they were invisible crows).

I was originally going to the gym, but I discovered a long time ago that exercise on my first day of my period puts me into a state of pain I suspect near childbirth. I don't really have to go anywhere, except maybe to get some cat food and litter later. I may just spend a little more at Walgreens and avoid the bus. Instead, I'm listening to music, eating a little ice cream, and watching my doggie sun herself in a beam streaming through the patio. Soon my house will be full of sparkling lights as the mirrorer bangles I have outside start lighting up with sunlight, and Spock will chase them around, trying to pin spots of light against the wall. I'm thinking of watching Daredevil which is playing on the cable-on-demand system. I'll probably cut back to regular cable with the new economic situation this week, but I'd like to watch that first. :) Oh...and do some reading. It's been awhile since I could plunge uninterrupted into a good work of fiction. Believe it or not, I've somehow filled my supposed free time pretty well, and this is the first real relaxation I think I've had all week.

Other things to do: Give Cerys a bath. Spread out some of the diatomaceous earth to get the (hopefully) last of the fleas. I've already cleared the bathroom sink. Found a great tool no one should be without--it's called Zip-It and it's basically a long plastic flat thingy with jagged teeth coming back towards the top. You put it down into the drain and pull up any of the stuff (like hair) that's clogging or slowing things down. They say you should just throw it away. I guess they have to encourage that, since I'm sure there are people out there who would hurt themselves on the sharp edges and sue. That's stupid. I just cleaned it off, carefully. I promise, I won't sue if I cut myself, guys...really.

I almost wrote 'no single woman' should be without. But really, that implies unclogging sinks generally requires a man. I always thought that was unfair. Really, women are and should be capable of doing most jobs around the house, and men should not be expected to do all the dirty work. I'd rather partner with a man for his winning personality and sheer sexuality than, say whether he can be a good handyman. I know guys who don't know the first thing about tools. I know women who have said insipid things like (as one girl did in the middle of a move) 'maybe we need to get some guys to help'. Um...no, not necessarily. She was just being wimpy, wringing her hands at the prospect of moving a piece of furniture. Sure, I'll ask for help if someone is stronger than me, or my back's giving me problems. I always had trouble getting the laundry hamper up stairs when I did laundry over at Liz and Patrick's and Patrick would offer to help, so I let him. But it took me a long time to be comfortable with that, since I'm used to having to rely on myself. I can be creative if necessary. I rolled both my recliner and that piece of furniture end to end since I couldn't lift them, for example. I think it's left over from being around my mom. When I was little, my dad was in Vietnam and other parts of Southeast Asia during the war, and my mom had to do everything on her own. And she was always the one who mowed the yard, since she didn't trust either Daddy or me to not run over her plants. That said, I'm not some femi-Nazi who bites off some guy's head if he opens a door for me. I appreciate it, and I always thank him. On the other hand, I've been known to do the same for guys, especially if they're not that far behind me, or elderly, etc.

Okay, I think I'm going to sign off for now and actually get some things done rather than just write about them. :)