Life has certainly had its ups and downs lately. My ipod has been returned to me, finally fixed. I've loaded most of the music that was on there before I originally sent it in for repairs. It has allowed me to organize my music more efficiently.
The people who work in reception must really be sick of me since I often stop by their desk to check for packages. They don't notify us of them in a timely fashion, so I look at their log when I am in the neighborhood. I'm expecting a few packages--my bag for my trip and a cute Paul Frank watch that I bought on eBay. My roommate and I wonder, is Paul Frank related to Lisa Frank?
I am still working on my blue hooded sweater. I've finished everything but the hood. I thought when I finished the second sleeve that it was almost done. Ha. The hood is nearly as large as the body of the sweater. Insert whatever joke you'd like about my big melon here. I hope to finish the sweater this weekend.
My roommate and I watched Oprah this afternoon. Bill Clinton was her guest, and quite charming. Ash and I are talking about getting his audio book. I'm not usually into audio books, since I feel that I can read faster. However, Clinton's reading was wonderful and ponderous.
Today, I realized an unexpected benefit of my upcoming trip. I probably won't be subjected to political ads for a month. We've got a pretty steady stream of campaign commercials here in New Mexico.
A new Trader Joe's opened a couple of blocks away from my apartment, to great fanfare, this week. Ashley and I went over there to check the place out. TJ's was packed with flaky granola-eaters with an absolute oblivion to aisle traffic. I bought a cheap bottle of sangria to enjoy on yet another rainy evening (ah, monsoon season), which is actually decent. I also bought some cheap Brie. An inspection of the receipt revealed the cheese to be of Canadian origin. Maybe if I drink enough sangria, I won't care.

I'm Really into the Following Things Now:
*Party Shuffle in itunes. Genius! It just makes my music collection sound better and better, and makes up for the shitty radio stations out here.
*Rachael Yamagata and Nick Drake. Watch out for patchouli and vanilla candles next.
*Newer Wave. Like the New Wave, but now. If you don't get it, check out any of the following groups: The Sounds, Sahara Hotnights, The Hives, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Franz Ferdinand, etc. They're not the Clash, but they're pretty hot.
*A Chai Latte on a rainy morning. I bought some Chai concentrate to wean myself off trips to Starbucks.
*The foreign film section at Hastings. Lately, I've seen Woman is Woman, Morvern Callar, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, The Dreamers, Time Regained (well, I watched half of it), All About My Mother, and Barbarian Invasions. I'm a sucker for a subtitle, I guess.
*Paul Frank. That monkey is just so damned cute.