tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow

Aaron got me a Crumpler laptop bag for our anniversary (now hang on, it’s not like it’s an appliance or anything – he was going to get me a 90 minute massage but I decided I wanted the bag instead – he’s a very good gift giver!) and I am obsessed with it.

There are SO MANY POCKETS!! There are secret inner pockets that are zipped! And velcroed! Then there’s outer inner pockets AND a zip mesh pocket in the top! I actually hugged it after I transferred all of the crap from my old bag to this one. I can’t WAIT to take it to work tomorrow!! Thanks honey

Speaking of work, I have to trek 100 miles to Richmond tomorrow morning. On the directions sheet, they list nearby hotels and restaurants – and two of the restaurants (out of 3 total) are Morton’s and The Tobacco Company. Now, my perception might have been skewed by being a poor college student, but I remember the Tobacco Company as being a super ritzy place – even more expensive than Morton’s. THE place to go in Richmond for a fancy dinner.

And these are the restaurants they casually list as the closest ones to the office? I KNOW there are other cheaper ones right next door.

Although, they are taking me out to lunch I gather…so maybe I can casually mention The Tobacco Company, since it IS on the info sheet, and see if they bite. Mmmm Tobacco Company. And for free!!

Finally, sunshine! Which brings along with it, sunburn.

Saturday Aaron and I spent the day tearing the box hedge out of the front lawn and planting flowers. I may be the only person whose garden tools include a well used hatchet. Some of the roots in that damn hedge grew straight down to china (town). I ended up just hacking them off instead of trying to actually dig them out, since I didn’t feel like digging into the neighbor’s driveway. Insane. I hope it doesn’t grow back, but I feel like it wouldn’t surface until next year, and hopefully we’ll be long gone by then! Let the new owners worry about it, suckers!

I ended up getting sunburn on my upper back only, since I was bent over hacking roots out of the ground all day. Today we went to Summit Point to watch the motorcycle races, and it was blazing hot all day, so I had to wear a shirt that covered up my existing burn so I could get burned on the rest of my body, you know, to make it even. Luckily I remembered suntan lotion so I don’t think I actually got burned. We’re going back tomorrow, and it’s supposed to be hotter.

We saw some really cool crashes – luckily no one got hurt either. There was one where a guy low sided and his bike cartwheeled down the tire wall, completely falling to pieces. The guy skidded down the gravel and I guess hit the track a bit too since he was throwing up some sparks. Then another guy high sided and flew over his handlebars, probably going 60mph I was told, and that looked really painful. But he got up and walked away! Then another guy lowsided in the corner, and then about 4 bikes all crashed into each other in the same corner. Crazy.

Yes, I still want a bike!

So I start work next Wednesday. Well, Tuesday, but I have to go to the main office in Richmond that day so I don’t really count it. Bleh, but I get paid for miles. Maybe I will go visit Mrs. MacNeilly at UR and see how she’s doing…..that might be cool. Oh and Dr. Barnett! Man, I am a loser. School is over! Let it go!

I’m officially not freaking out anymore.

Back to your regularly scheduled programming.

Just kidding, I haven’t read the book. Or seen the movie. I don’t even know what it’s about.

But since I’m still not working and wanted to feel somewhat productive, I went out to trim the box hedge by our front door. Now, I am not a gardner. Nor a landscaper. You might say I have a black thumb. Most things I touch die. I don’t like flowers.

However, I got into it. I started trimming everything in sight. Aaron came out to bring me my phone which had been going off, and saw how crazed I was getting about the gardening. I guess I inspired him, and he started talking about reseeding the lawn. We both decided we hated the current landscaping, and I for one could not take it anymore.

So we ended up going to Lowe’s to buy some flowers, soil, mulch, seed, fertilizer, and various tools. How domestic, you say? Indeed!

Several hours later and we have dug up some annoying plants, pulled out many weeds, large rocks, chunks of clay, and resoiled the garden. We have 5 orange flowery type things almost in bloom. Oh, and mulch! I don’t even know what that is, but it looks cool.

Ah, it’s so nice having a pleasant front garden to look at instead of those awful plant-weed things. Mummy would be so proud.

And this weekend we may attempt to remove the box hedge and replace it with – yes! – even more flowers!

The best part of it all was that we did it together. Didn’t even seem like work! It was fun.

You know it’s right when doing anything together is ridiculously enjoyable.

We went to see the DaVinci code on Friday – matinee, since we weren’t willing to pay full price for it.

I’m kind of glad I don’t remember the book at all, so I couldn’t get annoyed by plot changes, and I was still caught by surprise at some moments.

It was pretty good, I loved Ian McKellen – he’s so awesome. I’ll watch any movie with him in it. Audrey Tautou was adorable, and it reminded me I need to rent Amelie since Aaron hasn’t seen it. Paul Bettany bares his ass yet again in a movie. And Tom Hanks’ hair didn’t bug me nearly as much as I thought it would.

I really liked some of the cinematography, where it blended the past and present. (You’ll know what I’m talking about if you’ve seen it).

When we left the theatre there were some protestors marching in a very small circle near the exit doors holding signs saying…I don’t know, something about how the DaVinci Code is a lie. Yeah, no shit. It’s a movie. Eh, at least they were standing up for what they believe in, and I can respect that. I felt bad for the 9 year old girl though, she didn’t look like she really wanted to be there.

Last week I had a true ‘I live in Virginia’ moment.

Aaron and I strolled into Wal Mart on a Wednesday evening, approached a clerk behind a counter near the camping section, and without further ado, bought 500 bullets for $9.99. Hollow points no less, since apparently that’s the only kind they sell in bulk (for that size gun anyway). Then we walked out.

Now, I know we didn’t walk in and buy a 9mm or anything, although I’m pretty sure we could have. No license required in Virginia!

The next day we went to the local Arsenal and shot up some targets, hooo-boy! Actually it was pretty fun. Well, not FUN, but it was an interesting experience, having never fired a gun before. The glock certainly had a kick to it, whereas the 22 (I think these are the right terms, I don’t really know) was easy as pie to fire. Scarily easy.

And there’s something so primally hot about seeing Aaron handle a gun – loading the magazine, slamming the magazine into the gun, grabbing it firmly in his two hands, staring down the target, and squeezing the trigger in rapid succession. Yeah, definitely hot.

I actually hit the bullseye a few times, albeit at close range. Farther out I wasn’t quite as accurate, but I feel a shoulder wound would slow an attacker down adequately, if it came to that.

As we left the range Aaron asked, “So do you want your own gun now?”

Ummm no. I’ll jump on the motorcycle bandwagon quickly enough, but this yankee is staying out of the home protection business for now.

We bought some of the new Coke Blak, which is marketed as Coke with coffee essence. It’s actually pretty good! I like the coffee aftertaste; it’s just this side of too syrupy. And I love that it comes in a glass bottle – mmmm coke in a glass bottle is just the best way to have it. Yeah, coke and coffee. Weird, but good.

…when we’re both off work. How could you not love him? My car is so shiny now!

Furious and I went to the Java One conference in San Francisco way back when – back before she was ‘Furious’ and just went by ‘Sherri’. Anyway we had the best time, we pretended we had been there before to get Alumni status so we could get into the clubroom, we had our own chaise lounge we commandeered every time we went into the clubroom, we learned about JSP’s back when they were brand new, we went to a concert to see Matt Nathanson (and bailed on Five For Fighting) in the sex district….it was awesome.

Anyway so I met her boyfriend when he took us to the airport, and when we were in SF we had some girl talk where she told me how she was so in love and wanted to marry her boyfriend, and she was hoping he would propose soon. She said she was planning on moving in with him in the next few months when her lease was up, and that would be the next step before marriage for them. It was very exciting to talk about.

We stayed in the Westin St Francis – very nice hotel, perfect location, and I remember one afternoon we went back to the hotel after some lectures to freshen up, and Oprah was on. After the show, Furious came into my room a little worked up.

“Did you watch Oprah?” she demanded.

“No, why? What happened?”

Well, it’s funnier if you know her and can imagine what she would have sounded like, so I’ll just paraphrase. The show was about ‘why buy the cow when you get the milk for free?’ And the bottom line was, if you move in with your boyfriend, you take away any pressing need for him to propose – he already has everything he wants. Odds are you’re already doing his laundry and cooking for him – what more does he need? In his eyes, he’s already got you, you’re practically married, there is NO rush for him to propose. Meanwhile, your heart is pounding after every meal, wondering if he’s going to pop the question RIGHT NOW and then you go to bed dejected every night because it hasn’t occured to him to ask you yet.

“Michelle, I am NOT moving in with him!”

“What are you talking about? It’s all planned out! Your lease is up – where will you go??”

“I don’t care. He’s not getting his milk for free! Forget it. I want him to ask me to marry him. No way are we moving in together until we’re engaged!”

And that’s how one episode of Oprah changed her life forever. Shortly thereafter he proposed, THEN they moved in together, and now they’re expecting a baby.

And I wonder if I should have watched that episode too. Eh, I guess we’ll find out!