2003-03-27 - 8:25 p.m.

On the internal soundtrack: "Shadow of the Sun", Audioslave, because Poindexter's playing it on the computer right now, with our new speakers with the SUBWOOFER! WOO!!!! Not bad for 26 bucks, including shipping.

So, there's been a big shakeup at Poindexter's office. Forty-one people got laid off last Tuesday. He was one of the lucky ones, due mainly to the fact that his skill set straddles two types of positions (so he's two workers in one, skill-wise).

Today he got his paycheck -- the first since his one-year anniversary -- and he found out he got a SEVEN PERCENT RAISE! Not bad for the middle of layoffs and a crappy economy!

They've said that there's enough work to sustain the current workforce until July. As long as they get some more projects (potential ones will be awarded in June), he'll be fine. There's always a possibility he'll be laid off, though. If he is -- and, god help me, part of me almost wishes for it, because his "retirement" was so nice in 2001 -- he'll probably just take some time off for a while to work on the house. If he's not working, we save no money, but we can get by and we have a nice cushion right now and we'd save a lot of money because he'd do a lot of the kitchen work himself.

Here's a story about Vixen (MIL's minipin):

MIL keeps some Tums on her nightstand. Just a handful, on top of a Kleenex. Berry flavors.

MIL came into the bedroom once, and saw a trail of colored crumbs across the bed. Vixen had gotten into the Tums. She appeared to really like them, too, because she was sitting there munching away on them.

Maybe she had gas.

Today I went to Rittenhouse Square to get a brow and lip wax and a badly-needed haircut. I took the bus, and it worked out very nicely. This is the same bus that makes me NUTS during Poindexter's commute. I like it much better when I'm inside it.

I made the mistake of wearing a red shirt and lipstick. It brought out my post-wax red puffiness quite nicely.

I walked through the Square, which is the best park in the whole city. It's always full of people. I sat on a bench next to a woman with a cute little black lapdog, and patted the dog, who licked the raspberry crumble I'd been eating off my fingers. She said she takes the dog everywhere with her.

I met Poindexter when he got off work, and we walked/rode home together. On the way, crossing a street, we saw a woman yell, "You SHIT!" and grab a guy's kerchief off his head and start hitting him. At first I thought she was playing around -- I see teenage boys hitting each other and laughing in the street all the time -- and then I realized she was in a rage. And then he swung back at her! They kept yelling and hitting as they continued down the street. Everyone around me was turning back to watch.

Well. I was ... I was upset by it. Makes you wonder what kind of knock-down drag-fights they get into at home, if they're hitting each other on a public street. I was also surprised to see the guy take a swing at her, rather than just fend her off (grab her arm to hold her still, perhaps). There are some really pathetic people in the world.

Oddly, I was torn between feeling like I should DO SOMETHING and knowing that putting myself in the middle of that would result in a black eye, at the very least. What a weird reaction. It was mutual battery -- I wouldn't say there was a VICTIM here, exactly -- so who was I trying to protect? I hoped that being in public would keep it from getting too bad.

Other than that, it was quite a lovely afternoon. I love being in Rittenhouse. It's been described by several people as being the epitome of city living. We have reasons for preferring our own neighborhood, but Rittenhouse is probably my ideal neighborhood in terms of layout, people interaction, and mixed-use development. It feels ALIVE and it's also one of the prettiest, best-kept neighborhoods.

Coming soon: Flower fretting galore.

Here's basically what I was wearing today. I had a short sleeve v-neck red sweater on instead though.

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