2007-04-24 - 7:57 p.m.

...lentil mishaps...

The past two days have been a mad whirl of activity as I've worked to resolve the whole unlocked-lab crisis and at the same time moved offices. I'm getting closer to being able to work again.

I'm now sitting in my new office, which by the way has stunning views of mountains to the south. I think that I must be seeing Olympic National Park across the waters. And you know, mountains take on this amazing, purplish glow on misty evenings. Kind of the same lilacky purple that is the d-land background screen when you update entries. This view, coupled with the sounds of Spring is spectacular.

And I'm just exhausted. It's just been so much stress. And I've had to be so persistent with everyone. Persistance just makes you feel like an unrelenting bitch. I don't like feeling that way. I don't like being made to behave that way. Sigh. It's just tiring, and I feel like I'm ready for a payoff.

So, I wrote a page of a book chapter that I have to finish by next month. Not much. But at least it was something. I'll probably delete at least half of it. But usually I think that beginning the process is half the battle.

Okay, so I should go home, enjoy a glass of wine, and cuddle with K and cats. Speaking of cats...Lyra climbed into bed early this morning. There's nothing unusual about that - in fact the two of them normally climb into bed and absorb half of it each night. We've started calling them the black and white lentils. Because like lentils, they can expand and absorb three times their own body weights.

The whole lentil imagery was born out of one of K's lentil soup mishaps. Rather measuring them out, he just filled the pot. and created a swollen lentil waterfall (lentilfall?) out of the pot about an hour later. He is really quite capable at cooking, but as you might imagine, it's fun to tease him endlessly about his lentil mishap. And so the notion of lentil expansion just naturally transferred itself to our little furry lentils (naturally) - who climb into bed, warm up, and EXPAND.

Last night while Lyra the White Lentil was expanding I reached down to pet and discovered EESH! The beast was completely soaking WET! She was either trapped in the garden during a downpour, or she's learned to turn on the shower. Given that this is the cat who used to ram headfirst into the bathtub (read: not that bright) I suspect that the former is probably more likely.

No point to that story. Just felt like talkin' about lentils for a little while. which reminds me. I'm hungry. gotta go.