Monday, November 22, 2004 08:42 p.m.

T and I went to Amoeba tonight for the last time before our move. What a bummer. It's been so nice having such an incredible music store within close range, even if I haven't been going much lately. The Albany music scene is lacking... I will definitely be out of my comfort zone. I'll survive - Amazon has gotten better in recent years, and most of what interests me becomes available there eventually. NYC's indie store scene will be a 2-hour drive away. But it definitely won't be the same. No more browsing for hours on end, just for the fuck of it.

This situation reminds me of a conversation I had with my friend Dan back in 1992, when I was preparing to spend a year in France and agonizing over the fact that I could only fit so many CDs in my suitcase. He suggested that I pack my 10 favorite albums and make a pact with myself not to send for or buy any American music while living abroad - point being that instead of freaking out about the CDs I couldn't bring, I should challenge myself to find musical happiness where I least expected it. I was so resistant to the idea at first... but I tried it, and it absolutely worked. I need to get in that frame of mind again now. Instead of feeling sad about people and things I'm leaving behind, I need to remember that I will always find good stuff in unexpected places. Albany may not have an Amoeba, but it has a lot of other cool things that are going to enrich my life in ways that I don't even know about yet. It's time to quit my bitching and move along to the next phase.

Sunday, November 21, 2004 06:05 p.m.

Our Farewell Gathering last night was interesting. It ended up raining, so far fewer people showed up than we had been expecting. Los Angelenos are such wusses about the rain. I'm sad that I didn't get a chance to say goodbye to all of my friends, but it was a successful party nonetheless and a good time was had by all in attendance. T built a firepit outside in the covered porch area, so we managed to stay warm and dry. It was after 4 AM when Mark and John left.

Cat problems today. I woke up to find Pickle dragging her butt on the ground in a weird way, which is a telltale sign of tapeworms. Her head and ears were also very hot to the touch. I called the Emergency Pet Clinic and was advised to conduct a rectal temperature reading.

T: "What did the vet say?"
K: "We have to stick a thermometer up her ass and take her temperature."
... moment of silence ...
T: "How far up her ass would we need to stick it?"

After a few laughs, we decided that we couldn't deal with the task at hand in our hungover state and took the cat to the clinic... which ended up being a 3-hour time suck. She may or may not have worms, the vet couldn't really diagnose her. And now I need to inspect her litter box and rub ointment on her butt twice a day... which might be even worse than sticking a thermometer up there.

It's cold outside and I'm feeling a little blue about having said goodbye to so many friends... so I'm off to light a fire, do a bong hit and watch Office Space with T. That should cheer me up.

Friday, November 12, 2004 09:50 a.m.

Beginning one week from today, I will be unemployed for an indefinite amount of time. I've been looking forward to quitting my job for over a year, and the time has finally arrived. I was expecting to feel elated at this point... goodbye corporate life! Hello exciting new life with my cute husband! Oddly enough, I don't feel much of anything. I'm sure next week will be different, though. I've got a bunch of "goodbye lunches" scheduled with various friends, and there is to be a big drinking session at McMurphy's Tavern on Thursday night. This job has played a large part in my life for four years straight... it will be strange, but wonderful, to leave it behind. I'm really going to miss my posse of work friends, however. I'm sad about that.

We've got SO MUCH to do - an entire house to disassemble and pack, movers to hire, contracts and memberships to terminate, travel routes to plan, Christmas presents to purchase (we'll be busy schlepping ourselves across the country during peak shopping season) - the list goes on and on. Plus, we've decided to throw a large-ish party at our place next weekend. I am overwhelmed to the point of paralysis. I should be making "to do" lists and running around like a crazywoman. But all I wanna do is smoke dope, listen to tunes, hike around the neighborhood and take little day-trips to my favorite LA hangouts instead. I've got to find a balance and start accomplishing some moving-related things pronto, or else I'll be full of stress and unpleasantly manic at the last minute.

Tuesday, November 9, 2004 02:41 p.m.

For the past several years, I have had a stressful love/hate relationship with Starbucks. I hate the company and everything it stands for, and this hate is bound to grow even more fervent once T and I open our own coffee shop in the not-too-distant future. Regardless, I go there several times a week for my afternoon caffeine fix because the coffee offerings at my place of work really suck. I have tried to sever ties with Starbucks on more than one occasion... in order to save money, mostly, but also because I hate the idea of supporting the company. I am usually able to stay away for a week... I think my record is two weeks... but I always end up pathetically crawling back for more. I'm hooked. And now that it's gingerbread latté season, I'm really screwed. Those things are SO FUCKING GOOD.

I am very disappointed in myself. Drinking coffee every morning AND every afternoon is bad enough... but a Starbucks habit? Come on! I'm sure I will turn over an evil-corporate-coffee-franchise-free leaf once I move to Albany.

Addendum: We've got a little incentive program at work whereby we are rewarded with "tickets" whenever we work overtime, make particularly helpful suggestions, help out our peers and otherwise kiss managment ass. Once we acquire a certain number of tickets (which takes time and an unpleasant amount of ass-kissing), we can cash them in for gift certificates from local restaurants and shops - well-known chains like Barnes & Noble, Banana Republic, Body Shop and so on. I decided to redeem my ticket collection the other day, and guess - just guess - what I chose for a prize? That's right... a Starbucks gift card! I'm such a loser.

Thursday, November 4, 2004 08:48 a.m.

In case anyone wonders what the Brits think of us right now:

Wednesday, November 3, 2004 07:34 a.m.

The Ohio results have not yet been officially announced, and I am still desperately clinging to the idea that John Kerry might be able to pull off a win. I honestly can't believe that the race is so damn close (Bush: 254, Kerry: 252 at the time of this posting). How can so many people be so blind?