They shampooed the carpet in the hall outside my apartment yesterday. It has a very interesting scent, sort of like someone had vomited up a great amount of cherries.

I call it pukeberry.

You think you had a busy night last night? After I got off work, I:

• went to the grocery store
• walked the dog
• changed clothes (work to running gear)
• read
• talked to my friend Christie (good gossip)
• got the vacuum cleaner from James
• vacuumed the living room
• took out the garbage
• ran a complete mile (yes!)
• changed clothes again (horribly sweaty running gear to jeans and a sweatshirt)
• walked to the Flying Saucer
• had several pints with James, Jen, Sonya, Ward and Kathy
• walked home
• won a game of Star Wars Trivial Pursuit with my partner Sonya

I had a busy night. It was nice, though, especially the pint part. When we left the house I think James was in a foul mood, but by the time him and Jen went home he seemed pretty happy, which is a good thing. James is like Sonya in that way. If allowed to sit by themselves or with just one other person, their moods can go very sour. Get them in a crowded social situation, however, and they'll perk right up. I felt good about getting James out of his funk, if nothing else.

Sonya was in a funk, too, but it was chemically induced. The Wife has gone on the patch in an effort to quit smoking. I admire that, and appreciate it, too. Smoke prices are supposedly going up after the first of the year, and it'll become a prohibitively expensive habit.

That's the theory, anyway.

The patch delivers a steady stream of nicotine, so it should help Sonya quit.

"You know what the problem is with that, don't you?" I told her yesterday, "you're addicted to the act of smoking as much as the nicotine. The taking out the smoke, the lighting, the hand to mouth ritual."

"Uh-huh," she said listlessly, "would you please shut the fuck up now and go get me some Red Man?"

She didn't say that actually. Though I think she could have, given the right stimuli.

Yesterday was her first day on the patch. We had lunch together and she seemed fine. She called me yesterday afternoon and sounded just a little frayed. When I got home she'd cleaned off the top of the entertainment center (the catchall in our apartment) and picked up the living room and kitchen.

"You cleaned!" I said, admiringly.

"Well I had to do something!" she snapped back at me.

I knew then I had to excercise caution. She was pretty okay the rest of the night, though she did look rather bereft from time to time, staring at the TV. I think getting out helped her too.

back'ard

latest

archive

for'ard