An epiphany

Shopgirlove got a visit from la Befana! She was a little late, and didn't bring the usual sweets...but I liked my gifts much better: flowers, dinner, and a cute boy. Grazie alla migliore strega in tutto il mondo!
So, the holidays are officially over. Shopgirlove's feet don't hurt anymore, she's catching up with friends and family, and the croci are coming up. Wait, that's not a good thing. Isn't it ironic that the MBTA decided to raise the fares a whopping 75 cents right after the warmest December on record?

A veddy exclusive club

Welcome to the ranks, Em! Recently unemployed and absolutely without a clue! You go , girl! If I were there, I'd buy you a drink (or ten). At least the company is good. We could always start a racket in stolen toilettes. But, ewwwwwww!
So. I applied for a job today--online. Shopgirlove is old school. You find a job through someone you know, you walk in and apply, or someone finds you. You don't take a personality test with your computer. You don't address your work and volunteer history in short sentences that fit within fields on forms in frames. Except, apparently, you do. The worst part was the personality test. Shopgirlove answered a question about risk-taking that seems to have set off a red flag for the powers that be. Joining a Bulgarian chorus seems risky to me. Risky to them seems to imply drinking a fifth of scotch and jumping out of a plane. Oh well, perhaps I'm not suited to one of the country's top 50 employers. Their loss, say I!

That could've been worse

I returned to work today, after having been dismissed, and actually had a fairly relaxed, enjoyable day. I think, all in all, that everybody will be better off in the long run. It's just hard to leave something without knowing where you're going. Be it work or a relationship, school or a hair color.
Being up in the air can be daunting...but liberating.
Fearless is going through a rough patch herself. All in all, it's a tough time for everyone I know. Death, disease, divorce. D3, 2007! Yoo-hoo!
At least I never waited on a cat:

SYDNEY, Jan 4 (Reuters Life!) - An Australian bank has apologized for issuing a credit card to a cat after its owner decided to test the bank's identity security system.

The Bank of Queensland issued a credit card to Messiah the cat when his owner Katherine Campbell applied for a secondary card on her account under its name.

"I just couldn't believe it. People need to be aware of this and banks need to have better security," Campbell told local media on Thursday.

The bank said the cat's card had been canceled. "We apologize as this should not have happened," it said in a statement.

Back to life

Back to reality. Well. I had one job thought and got all my laundry done. (Except for THE SOCK THAT GOT AWAY. Thank you, Roomie for throwing it in with your stuff.) Have I adequately expressed my gratitude for the washer and dryer in the kitchen? I think not: haleljua and praise be to angels and saints!
I'm a little strung out out from rehearsal tonight. We have a concert coming up and I'm trying desperately to learn the songs involved. I can't read music and I don't speak Bulgarian, so this is quite a challenge. I just hope I don't make a fool of myself. Although, I am very good at that.
I had a whole rant prepared about the overdue appointment of a woman Yeoman Warder, but then found a reference to a past Yeoman woman, (is that a Yeowoman?) from 2005. Umm, fact check? Anybody? Help me out here!
On a side note, googling "beefeaters" turns up the fabulous news that eating products from grass-fed cattle is actually good for you!! I knew it! I'll have a medium cheeseburger, please! No bun, no fries.

Another ending

M.'s Mother died. My heart aches for her.

There's a certain slant of light,
On winter afternoons
That oppresses, like the weight
Of cathedral tunes.

Heavenly hurt it gives us;
We can find no scar,
But internal difference
Where the meanings, are.

None may teach it anything,
'T is the seal, despair,
An imperial affliction
Sent us of the air.

When it comes, the landscape listens,
Shadows hold their breath;
When it goes, 't is like the distance
On the look of death.

Emily Dickinson

Come back, Em!

Um, I realize the Mexican food is spicier, the politics are juicer, and rolly-polly-babies'-Daddy doesn't live here, but--we're not being invaded by little green men in wee, teeny, tiny spaceships. Also, if you're gonna get that drunk, you should be doing it with me! And anyway, I miss you.
King Dutch licks you!
Mmmmmmmmmmm. Talisker...............

I love January

It really is the month with two faces. One looking forward, and one looking back. I faced my past today with beaucoup de laundry and my future with beaucoup de sizing up of options. I have been roundly chastised for identifying myself as a shopgirl (apparently this is self-limiting). I have also found comfort from unexpected quarters. As always, people make my life worth living and money makes it hard to live.
I've lost some people. I've kept some people. Found new people, and some have come back to me. Some are on the fence...c'est la vie.
I love all of you and look ahead to a better year.
Adieu 2006!