The cats didn’t pick this time.

OK, I’m still talking to the cats, but they aren’t talking back yet, so I figure I’m sane enough. I’ve done four more DVD’s since I last updated: “The Ice Storm” (absolutely excellent and why did I wait so long to rent this?), “Seabiscuit” (OK, but way too long), “Pirates of the Caribbean” (also way too long, but had a few memorable lines), “A Mighty Wind” (funny as hell, if you know anything about the folk music scene). I forget, did I mention I rented “Lost in Translation” and “Bend it Like Beckham” on New Year’s day? I think that makes eight movies total rented while The Socialist was off in California, seeing Return of the King twice without me. It’s been a long time since I rented anything, so it was good to get it out of my system. It’s a pity that Matrix Revolutions comes out tomorrow; The Socialist returns Wednesday, and I won’t have a chance to rent it before he gets home.

And I picked which movie to watch first this time. The Warrior Princess never sticks around to watch anyhow, so I didn’t see any point in giving her a voice in which one to see first.

Speaking of The Socialist, he called me about 6:30 EST this morning to let me know he’d gotten as far as Arizona on his first leg. I think he said he was taking a sleep break in Phoenix, but don’t hold me to it. He was disappointed that he’d gotten started so late yesterday, but he tends to make good time on these cross-country jaunts, and I’m figuring I’ll see him Wednesday. Which means I’ve got two more nights to finish up the projects I’ve started around the apartment.

Remember the ornaments I made last Christmas? The ones The Socialist got jealous about when he learned I was giving them away in our department’s annual ornament exchange? Well, it took some doing, but I found a second set of them at a local crafts shop. I had intended to start them over the summer, while I was out on disability from the operation, but couldn’t do them at that time because the meds they had me on had my hands shaking too badly to cut and sew accurately. Somehow, in marathon sewing sessions held during my DVD watching, I managed to get the ornaments done. Since The Socialist is in transit I know there is no way he’ll read about this until he gets home and unwraps the few presents I have for him, so I figure it’s safe to write about it in my journal now.

A picture of last year’s ornaments, which pretty much look like this year’s ornaments, only I did a better job the second time around:

Other projects accomplished in the Socialist’s absence mostly concern general clean-up and storage. I’m about two-thirds of the way through doing a general purge of my filing cabinets, a chore I have been dreading since we moved a year and a half ago. I hate throwing out some of the stuff I’m tossing, but in all seriousness, what’s the point of saving the certificate of appreciation I got when I was working as a paralegal? Do I really need to save all that jury duty information, if the last time I was called for jury duty was ten years ago (granted, I was called four times in the course of three years, but the novelty of that situation has long since worn off)? And what the hell do I do with the three inches of Latin notes and handouts I got from two years back when I took that Latin class? I’ve always been the type of person who, when in doubt, made a file folder for something and saved it. I’m trying to turn that around a bit, and toss out some of this junk, but the sorting has been slow and, at times, painful.

I was going to take the tree down and put all the trimmings away, but The Socialist wanted it left up until he got home. I’m hoping that means he wants to help me dismantle it, but I’m not holding my breath.