new approach to blogging -- coming very soon!

because, really, these once-every-two-weeks entries blow. so, i'm going to try something new!

this is actually part of my job

the client has asked us to produce, among 40-ish stories, 10 articles involving/revolving around/about the olympics for january.

BUT...

we are not (legally) allowed to use the word "olympics."

or winter games.

or games.

or olympian.

or any permutation thereof of any of the above.

SERIOUSLY.

five things on a monday night

* this weekend, i did two loads of laundry. i pride myself on brilliant custom blends of detergent and fabric softener, so that my clothes or bedding or towels or whatever i've washed smells uniquely amazing. yet, for some inexplicable reason, i decided to "just try" a new fabric softener my mom had purchased. i took of its cap, smelled it, and it seemed okay. cut to an hour later, as i took my fluffy and dry clothes out of the dryer to discover they all smelled like cologne. UGH. because my parents' washer and dryer are very large, i was able to launder a LOT of clothing all in that one tragic load. and, now, i have nearly a month's worth of shirts that smell like a dude.

* this coming weekend, YB and i might make homemade pasta and sauce. we haven't done that in nearly two years, and there's nothing quite as delicious as from-scratch pasta.

* i had my meeting with my boss this afternoon, and everything is still up in the air. my role, my hourly rate, an ETA for a new editor for the tech magazine. he did, however, thank me for everything i've done over the past five and a half months, and said i've been doing an amazing job, which was very much appreciated and (i think) deserved. he said he'll make a case (to the powers that be) to up my fee as much as he can... but he'd also spent the hours before our meeting hearing about budget cuts, so there will likely be a limit to what's feasible. or, more to the point, approve-able.

* of the new crop of fall shows, the only one i've enjoyed enough to keep watching beyond two episodes is The Blacklist. i like james spader.

* it's time to get my flu shot.

distractions, developments and down time

oh, hey, look! it's been TWO WEEKS (?!) since my last blog post. that ain't cool, and i kind of can't believe time has flown as it has. lou speculated in the comments of the last entry that i've been busy -- that's sort of true. more true is that i've just been tired.

this past week was the first week in a long while wherein i didn't work until after 7pm each night. it was a small oasis in an ocean of long hours, and i'm almost certain it ends tomorrow. but tomorrow i also have a sit-down with my boss to discuss what happens after december 31st. my contract (which runs for six months at a time) ends then, and nothing has been cemented for january 1st or beyond.

so, it's time to figure out what my new hourly rate will be (because i want, and feel i more than deserve, a hike), what my responsibilities will be (because they have continued to grow, week after week) and what my actual role will be (because, though i was asked to be a managing editor, i've in fact been more of an editor-in-chief).

and, seriously, i'm so tired of complaining about my job. there are actually aspects of it that i enjoy -- all involving the people with whom i work, and the sense of community that emerges when you spend eight hours a day with your colleagues, five days a week.

in other news since my last entry...

larry, YB's newly adopted cat, has settled in. he is an excellent snuggler, and will spend hours nestled next to you on the couch -- his upper body sprawled across your lap, and his hind quarters tucked snugly along your hips. and he purrs. purrs and purrs and purrs. i swear, he is undeniably happy to have been adopted.

his pee, however, is SUUUPER-strong. neither george nor mr. poo had stinky pee (i mean, it's pee, so it will never smell "good," i know, but george's is virtually odorless), but larry's is pungent and can be smelled from two floors away when he's just been to the litter box. i call him "stinker" when trix – who doesn't think it's funny – isn't within earshot. ;-)

he had his inaugural check-up at the vet, though, and everything's normal. he had a urinalysis and blood work, and everything is A-OK. so, he's just a stinky pee-er. plus, he turned out to be younger than the shelter had guessed -- the vet said he's probably just over a year old. awwwwwwwwww. and, now that he's out of the shelter and transitioning to better food, being brushed regularly and able to relax, his coat is getting shiny and fluffy. hence my second nickname for him: fluffernutter.

this past saturday, i catsat for YB while she spent the night out. and it was wonderful -- i'd spent the day baking with my mom, who's prepping three batches of cookies for a church bake sale, and had then gone for a big walk to trix's place. as soon as i arrived, i changed into my comfy home clothes, made myself spaghetti and settled in on the couch with larry for a quiet evening of movie watching.

and that one great day was exactly the relief i needed from my work week. i'd actually looked forward to saturday, and its homey activities, all week... and the day unfolded exactly as i'd hoped it would. i capped off the weekend by making a big pot of vegetable soup, which the family had for dinner tonight.

now, i'm in my pyjamas, lunch made for tomorrow and laundry all put away. i'll watch Long Island Medium, read a back issue of Prevention and then head to bed by 10:30pm (at the latest). another week starts tomorrow and, hopefully, new directions at the office.