Creeping Towards Thanksgiving

I've heard complaints from little birdies that I'm not updating my blog enough. I agree, but for heaven's sake, it was the week before Thanksgiving, one of the most treacherous weeks of the semester. I made it out alive by the skin of my teeth! I kid, but it really is getting tight. It's that point in the semester where the professors realize what they have planned and what they have time for are no longer able to be reconciled. The good professors accept this and cut down their plans accordingly. The bad professors just keep on combining days and assignments and assume it will somehow magically work out. I have only one good professor. I'm burned out and tired of being sick, Paul's been pretty sick and exhausted as well. We really need a decent break.

Piper continues to show her personality. She's very inquisitive, exhaustively investigating every cranny, surface, noise, scent, person, etc. She's already climbed behind the washer, gotten inside the dresser, and tried to jump behind the oven. Thankfully, I caught her in mid-jump. I tried to take more pictures, but she was fascinated by the camera. All I got were blurry photos of various parts of her. We've also discovered that while she does like cat toys, what she really like is small balls of foil--preferably a couple of York wrappers or Klondike bars. She will chase those around for hours. She is also a skilled cricket catcher and likes sleeping on hard flat surfaces like tables or the top of the dresser. She still tries to eat moving appendages.

Hope this keeps the little birdies happy for a few days. :)

A Week Without Paul

Paul abandoned Piper and I this week under the guise of "training" and "Delaware," so we were forced to hold down the fort by ourselves. It took only three days before I think I officially became one of those crazy cat ladies. Strange, sad things happen when your only companion for 20 out of the 24 hours in a day is a cat. We actually muddled through quite nicely. After all, I had work to do and that can take up an infinite amount of time. Really, every day, wake up, do homework, go to school, come home, watch Bones, do homework, go to bed. It's a very monotoneous schedule even for me. You might note a lack of meals. That's because I discovered that--contrary to what I thought--Paul had been doing all of the cooking/food obtaining. Also, that I lack sufficient motivation to make something for myself that isn't macaroni and cheese or pasta salad from a box. (The epitome of laziness, I know.) Something should probably be done about that. Paul, I think, got the worse part. He was stuck in a hotel with nothing to do for five days. It sounded like cabin fever (hotel fever?) was beginning to set in. I'm really looking forward to his return. It'll be nice to have someone to talk to who answers back and isn't me. I'd also like someone who snuggles without trying to eat me. Piper's developed a crippling tastes for toes and, oddly, knees of late.

We Have a New Family Member!

It's something Paul and I have been talking about for a long time, but we finally decided to go for it. And now we're three! Please say hello to the newest (and only) addition to the Bussio-Muhlestein household: Piper! She's a year-old grey tabby with great big green eyes. She's not very big, but she is very sweet and snuggly. She'll curl up right on your lap. She's spent most of today hiding in various places, but we've been able to coax her out periodically. She had some trouble with the litter box at first, but she's used it successfully now once so our fingers are crossed that that will be the end of it. This is the picture from the Humane Society website; I'll put up some others when she's feeling more photogenic. She had been at the shelter since July, so they were very happy to see her go. We, of course, were delighted to see her come.

A Sign of the Coming (Zombie) Apocalypse?

Read the following sentence and tell me if it doesn't send you running to your bomb shelter: I liked Max Payne and beat Paul at House of the Dead 4--in every category. I know, I know. It's eerie. It weirds me out too. It's just not right! I don't know what happened. I was only going to Max Payne to humor Paul. I didn't expect it to be a stylin' B- film or spawn to a household in-joke. (Heck ya, I'd like to report something!, spoken to a 911 operator during the most outlandish shoot-out ever.) I should have seen the warning signs, but I foolishly plunged straight into virtual zombie combat. Now, I'm no slouch in the zombie-killing department. I know my way around a light gun. But I have never been more than an able sidekick--until last night. Though I picked up a light gun naught but one time in two years (also to play House of the Dead 4 briefly in Taiwan), I excelled, taking down hordes of zombies in a blaze of flashing lights. If it were House of the Dead 3, zombie limbs would have been have been everywhere. Amazing and Perfect shots were flying all around. I beat Paul repeatedly in total score and every category of shot. I was so surprised I forgot to go grocery shopping. That's darn surprised.

So, About That Boring Thing (Director's Cut)

So, I've been learning life lessons all over the place. Let me begin by saying the weather here is amazing. Sunny, light breeze, upper 70s. Just for the Utah folks out there. Enjoy that cold, gray ick! Anyway, yesterday I locked myself out, plunged into an unheated outdoor pool, and climbed through a window (not in that order). It was quite a thrilling afternoon. Though I don't recommend swimming in an unheated outdoor pool in mid-October. Not at all.

Sorry, what I was trying to get to in the post and forgot about half-way through and then remembered a day later, was that you can't complain about the ordinary and boring and then not take the road less traveled (Cliche of the day! Do a shot.) when you stumble across it. And that is how you wind up swimming in 60-something degree pools or breaking into your own house while swimsuitted or living in Taiwan for a year. If it's all about the journey, then shouldn't it be reasonably interesting and unique?

So, About That Boring Thing....

So, I've been learning life lessons all over the place. Let me begin by saying the weather here is amazing. Sunny, light breeze, upper 70s. Just for the Utah folks out there. Enjoy that cold, gray ick! Anyway, yesterday I locked myself out, plunged into an unheated outdoor pool, and climbed through a window (not in that order). It was quite a thrilling afternoon. Though I don't recommend swimming in an unheated outdoor pool in mid-October. Not at all.

-Jennifer

Just An Ordinary Day

I've been hearing--from little birdies and the wind and the street--that I don't update our blog enough. It's probably true. The problem is I have nothing to say. We live the most ordinary lives. Paul gets up at six, goes to work, and comes home between 5:30 and 6:00 pm. Today we had pizza for dinner, even though I had thawed the chicken out for once, because that's what Paul wanted. I got up at 8:45, did homework until eleven, then got ready and did a little housework, continually put off going to a Japanese meeting and went to school. After school, I came home and kicked it waiting for Paul to get home so we could go swimming. But he was a little later than I expected, so that never happened. See how boring that is?!! I can't even bring myself to finish describing the day. I've got to mix things up a bit by shaving Paul's head or getting a cat or I don't know. I'm a square. If I could think of something excited to do**, I'd be doing it. Sigh.

**Suggestions welcome.