2002-06-08 - 9:38 a.m.

On the internal soundtrack: "Jumpin' Jack Flash", Rolling Stones

Thursday, I got up at 7am and got on a 7:43 train to DC. Go, me. That's freakin' EARLY.

Got a rental car at Union Station, and headed to the office. On the way, I drove by our "old" house, which we rented out to someone whose name a few people would recognize if I put it in this journal. Pretty nifty, huh. I had never heard of this person and we haven't even met 'em yet (handled everything through realtors via phone and fax). Mainly I wanted to make sure the garden wasn't going wild, since I suspect the tenant will not be interested in doing anything with it, but I don't want it to embarrass my neighbors.

At the office, I switched offices with Sherry. Sherry's office is in the back, and for some reason is always cold, in both winter and summer. Sherry spent most of her time wrapped in a blanket. My office, on the other hand, is hot all summer, and since I am only in the office once a month, it seemed reasonable to switch offices. My roommate then switched with Renee. Sherry is taking the roommate's desk, and Renee is taking mine.

Happily, Renee is also a telecommuter, so it's most likely I can use her desk to actually work at when I'm in the office. I'll just leave all my stuff -- dataset documentations in binders, file cabinet, reference books, etc. -- in the back. See, I'm very attached to that spot Renee is taking. They moved me out of it once before when I was telecommuting from San Jose, and when I returned they offered me the spot back and I grabbed it immediately. I love it because it is in direct view of the coffee/newspaper/sitting area, which means people are always out there talking. I like the background noise when I work, and I like having all the action right there. There isn't a lot of action in my office to begin with, so it's nice to be near it when it does happen.

Anyway. So then I went to dinner with Renee (a different Renee than the one mentioned above) at Kinkead's, and I managed to put a few scrapes in the rental car while I was at it, on a pillar in the parking garage. I was so irritated with myself. They were just scrapes, not dents, and rather light, but there they were. I wouldn't mind paying for it -- it was my fault -- but I didn't want them to overcharge me for the repair, either. So, at Poindexter's suggestion, I just returned the car. Part of me feels horribly dishonest for not pointing it out, but another part figures they can still rent it even with the scrape -- they're not going to lose money on it. And it's not like I borrowed it from a friend, where there would be emotional distress. In that case, I would've had them send me the bill.

Argh.

Anyway, dinner with Renee was wonderful. She looked smashing in a gorgeous blue silk suit that I drooled over the entire time. She had bunches of pictures of her niece, who is ADORABLE. I ordered a trio of creme brulees for dessert -- Renee had never had it before -- and it worked out well: she liked the chocolate one, I liked the vanilla, and we both thought the apricot was way too strong.

I ate the applewood-smoked bacon-wrapped monkfish with a garlic sage cream sauce. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. The portion was pitiful so I actually ate the whole thing. It also came with medallions from purple potatoes. Wacky. I didn't realize potatoes came in purple. I'm sure the waiter thought I was a complete idiot when I asked what they were.

I was a little freaked out because Bob Kinkead himself was standing around, working and directing things, not 15 feet from our table. I mean, BOB KINKEAD. He's like a celebrity to me. Woo!

My train Friday night, which was supposed to leave Union Station at 9:25, was at least 2 hours late. I don't know how late it ended up being, because I took the 10:43 train. Stupid Amtrak. Argh.

Right around Thursday, I started having problems with my upper right wisdom tooth again. My jaw was a bit locked up and it was irritating my cheek as well. Eating was really difficult.

Friday morning I was miserable. I was tired from the late night, and my mouth hurt, and I was nervous about surgery. Around noon, however, I finally figured out that braces wax on the sharp edge of the tooth, plus a couple Tylenol, worked wonders. Then I found an oral surgeon five blocks away and went to the office. I have a consultation on the 28th and hopefully will just have the damn surgery by the end of July.

The wax has been the biggest help. I think I made a good mess of my cheek from trying to eat with the sharp tooth edge rubbing it. Now that that's healed, eating is much easier. I think I can make it to the surgery okay, except for the awful nightmares I've been having about my teeth moving into grossly crooked positions.

I spent the rest of Friday afternoon playing hooky, at Express. I hit pay dirt, buying a bunch of clothes I really like, at no more than $15 per item.

TMI alert!!

Topic: Bras, and nipples and fabric.

Not only that, but I got BRAS! GOOD BRAS! WOO!

Can't remember if I've mentioned this before, but I have Nipples of Steel. They're pretty average, size-wise, but the damn things poke through three layers of clothing, even when I'm not cold. Now, I know that many men just LOVE this, but I feel ridiculous with the headlights on all the time.

Obviously the solution is lined bras, but I've never really liked how they feel, plus they tend to look lumpy under clothing. Plus, I've actually tried on lined bras that didn't hide the pokey things completely. For godsakes.

But at Express, they have a bra called "Simply Sexy", which is a nearly seamless, very plain bra. And it appears to be made of steel itself, since I've got a perfectly smooth bustline now. The other advantage of the steel is that it hoists and smooshes things together very well, and I have actual cleavage now, should I choose to display it. Good deal.

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