In A Day

Go, watch this movie and do it now: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0452634/

Dear Meg,

Short hair is a privilege, not a right. Right you are. I hope that someday I'll be able to pull it off again, but I recognize that my hair looks better long right now. Which translates to up in a sloppy, yet sassy bun half the time.

Do you know how many hair products I have? I guarantee I have more than anyone with short hair. I have three shampoos. Seriously. One for making my hair limp (since lack of volume has never been a problem), one for keeping it on the curly side and one for getting it really clean because of all the other crap I use. Don't worry, I use them one at a time. Luckily, I have found one all-purpose conditioner that my hair loves. I also have two hair treatments - one for de-fluffing (which Sarah loves the smell of, you can tell when I've got it in my hair because she can't stop sniffing me) and one for basic conditioning. Then I have my styling products - a de-frizzing serum and a curl cream that I use every day and countless other products under the bathroom sink that I pull out once in a while. When I had short hair, I had one shampoo, one conditioner and one hair product. Granted, the hair products I had to use to control my crazy hair at that length were dangerously close to the classic Murray's pomade (the one that you have to use baby oil to get out of your hair). I do sometimes miss the smell of Aveda in my hair, but I don't miss having to wash my hair at night - EVERY night - to avoid my skin freaking out.

((Sigh)) I don't have any bacon in my house. Add that to no money in my bank account and we have a serious problem, because I want a bacon sammich. I have bread, eggs, lettuce, tomato, mayo - everything I need EXCEPT the freaking bacon. It's a sad, sad day, Meg. Thankfully I had Jenn's empanadas just the other night, so I have some happy memories to keep me from food depression. Her empanadas, with that awesome sauce, that is some serious foodgasm goin' on.

I'm sorry to read that you might have to leave London soon. Although I have some selfish reasons (how much fun would the two of us have in London?), I also know how happy you are there and the fact that delirious happiness seems to dissipate at the borders of Contra Costa County. We have to settle for ho-hum happiness here. This place is trying to steal my soul. Did you know? Work on the marriage thing, I want you to be happy. See if Finlay Robertson is available. He is so pretty when he smiles.

The only thing keeping my soul firmly in place right now is the herb garden that Jenn and I put together. I look at it every morning to see how it's holding up in its half-barrel planter. The rosemary has grown quite tall (I need to trim it soon), the marjoram and silver thyme are growing like mad, the chives have always been a good size (and so pretty in the mix), but now the sage, oregano and English thyme are starting to catch up a little. They were the smaller of the plants I bought. Oh, and the nasturtiums (yellow, climbing vine) are starting to come up! Little green shoots, mixed in with the herbs. I think Jenn noticed them first, while I was watering and she was having a smoke. Then we ran over to the part of the yard where I threw the extra packet of nasturtiums (red, bushy) and there were green shoots, as well. It's simply a miracle that anything is growing under my care. And the herb garden is thriving. Jenn said I should make an herb bouquet for Sarah (since Jager keeps sleeping in their garden) and so I shall. I can hardly wait to go over there next Friday.

Due to my lack of funds, I'm going to stay in my apartment and yard the next two days and get everything clean and shiny and pretty. I'm looking forward to having a reasonably clean apartment. I don't know what it is about my job that makes me want to curl up in a ball and pretend the world has gone away the moment I get home, but it saps any desire to clean or organize until I have full days off. It's like I have to go into recovery on those days.

It's not all horrible, you know. I love the actual work. I like doing something that helps people. Which isn't to say that I wouldn't take a job working at Lush in a heartbeat if I could make enough to live on and put away for retirement. The issue is the people. Not all of them, but certainly enough of them. These are not my people and they never will be. I've never felt that way at a job before and I've worked government jobs in other states, as well as here. I suppose that makes them...really, really special. In the same way that Satan and flesh-eating zombies are special, ya know?

Wish I were there,
Jae