The season may not officially change for another week or so, but I declared it Spring the other day, when I noticed that the pigeons had returned.

Last year, you see, there was a mated pair of pigeons who made their nest, not in the shelter of a tree, but on the fire-extinguisher box outside the women's restroom at my office. They're not that weird black-purple slightly greasy-looking color of conventional street pigeons, either, but all over ash and mist grey. Almost like dark doves.

They came back the other day, and I was happy to see them, to watch them watch me as I entered the restroom. Those bird-eyes don't miss a thing.

Yesterday morning, though, our admin assistant, Jon, found the bloodied carcass of the male, lying on the ground in front of our door. One of the stray cats had eviscerated the poor creature.

Mama Bird is still sitting in her nest, and I imagine her waiting for her lost mate, and worrying about the eggs she's carrying. I'm over the top, I know, but she seems so fragile and small without him.

Today, in another declaration of Spring, and because I didn't have any clean socks that matched my oufit, I wore sandals.

I think Mama Bird noticed :)

So, Isabelle left Monday morning for her uncle's in San Diego, and Martina leaves tomorrow to go back to Des Moines. When she got here, she told us she was the Oreo Queen, so I'm sending her home with a package of those purple cream oreos that got me hooked on.

As guests go, the girls were pretty cool. I feel bad that we didn't have more time to spend with them, but I'm glad they didn't need constant attention, too. Isabelle was a blast to have around – funny, sweet, she would fit in with the rest of my friends just perfectly. Martina's quieter, but she's also younger, and hasn't travelled as much. I think she's got a thing going with my sister-in-law's 19-year-old stepson, as well.

They left a ton of Lindt chocolate bars as a thank-you gift, so if anyone wants to share, please, please say so.

Stolen from a whole buncha people.

Wisdom

What Kanji word best suits you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Happy Birthday TechnoCowboy!!!

In honor of the occasion, all copies of “The Birthday Song” have been hunted down and replaced by selections from the soundtrack of Xanadu

Well, okay, I'm not your Xeni. I'm my own Xeni. And I'm at work at 10 PM on a Saturday, not because I'm being forced but because I don't like coming in on Mondays to piles of work.

I'd planned to come in tomorrow, but I'd forgotten at the time I made that plan, that Isabelle and Martina are here for the weekend.

Isabelle and Martina are the ex- and current foreign exchange students from Switzerland and Sweden, respectively, that my sister-in-law in Iowa has been hosting over the last two years. They're in California for their extended spring break, and asked if we'd mind if they crashed at our place in exchange for bribes of European chocolate, since hotels are a bit beyond the student budget.

We like meeting new folks, so we said sure. And they arrived tonight. Our initial plan was to point them in the direction of SFO tomorrow, and then go back to bed, but they're really sweet girls, even if they giggle a bit much, and we never get to just hang in the City and to touristy stuff, so we're taking them to some of our favorite haunts tomorrow (like Mama's on Washington Square, for breakfast, and Mitchell's Ice Cream just because everyone needs to experience Mitchell's at least once in their life).

We took them out to Kazoo for Japanese food tonight, which was an adventure, because not only did they not understand the Japanese words in the menu, they also didn't always understand the English translations. Still, we all had fun, and everyone liked the food, and Martina made a brave (and successful) attempt at using chopsticks.

When I grow up, I want to host my very own foreign exchange student.

Snipped from Truffle at OD.

1. Who did you last get angry with?
Myself, for judging someone unfairly, and too harshly.
2. What is your weapon of choice?
Words. When flung carelessly, heedlessly, they do instant damage that is far more lasting than any physical weapon. You can stitch a wound of the flesh. Wounds of the heart are harder to heal.
3. Would you hit a member of the opposite sex?
Actually, I have a mean right hook… Seriously, I joke about there being people I want to slug, but I'd never actually do so. I might break a nail or something.
4. How about of the same sex?
Gender is irrlevant in this case.
5. Who was the last person who got really angry at you?
I have no idea. I know who should be angry with me, and keeps forgiving me, but that doesn't count.
6. What is your pet peeve?
Dishonesty. I don't trust easily, so when I do trust someone and they lie to me, it really pisses me off.
7. Do you keep grudges, or can you let them go easily?
I'm pretty mercurial, and none of my moods last. Except where certain appraisal companies are concerned.

1. What is one thing you're supposed to do daily that you haven't done in a long time?
Make the bed. I've never really seen the point in it, but at the same time, I do like it when the bedroom looks all crisp and neat.
2. What is the latest you've ever woken up?
Eleven, but I've gone back to bed after.
3. Name a person you've been meaning to contact, but haven't:
. I love her writing, and miss her when she's not prolific, and have been meaning to note her for weeks.
4. What is the last lame excuse you made?
To my mother, when I didn't want to bother finding a piece of paper on my desk: It's at home, Mom, I'll call you when I get there.
5. Have you ever watched an infomercial all the way through?
Infomercials are banned from being played in my home. And pay no attention to the Pilates machine in the garage.
6. When was the last time you got a good workout in?
I was doing a dance/aerobics thing while Fuzzy was building my new bookshelf last night.
7. How many times did you hit the snooze button on your alarm clock today?
None, I was out of bed before it went off.

1. What is your overpriced yuppie beverage of choice?
Chai. Or caramel macchiatos. Or mocha valencias. Or…Um, pretty much anything from $tarbucks. Because chocolate anciennes isn't easily available in the USA
2. Meat eaters: white meat or dark meat?
I like dark poultry and rare beef. So, sue me.
3. What is the greatest amount of alcohol you've had in one sitting/outing/event?
When I was 22 and had just broken up with M. I went through an entire bottle of white zinfandel in one evening.
4. Have you ever used a professional diet company?
No.
5. Do you have an issue with your weight?
I like the answer Truffle borrowed from Rainmaker: Don't /all/ women?
6. Do you prefer sweets, salty foods, or spicy foods?
I like sweet, salty, and savory. My favorite candy bar is PayDay, despite the lack of chocolate, because it combines the first two.
7. Have you ever looked at a small housepet or child and thought, “LUNCH!”?
Um, no. Ieww.

1. How many people have you seen naked (not counting movies/family)?
Not including communal showers and nude beaches? 10.
2. How many people have seen YOU naked (not counting physicians/family)?
See above.
3. Have you ever caught yourself staring at the chest/crotch of a member of your gender of choice during a normal conversation?
No, but only because that's NOT where my attractions are sparked.
4. Have you “done it?”
Let's be vague, shall we? :) Yes.
5. What is your favorite body part on a person of your gender of choice?
The nape of the neck. I think it's a really intimate part of the body.
6. Have you ever been propositioned by a prostitute?
No.
7. Have you ever been tested for an STD or pregnancy?
Yes, both.

1. How many credit cards do you own?
Five, but I don't, you know, use them.
2. What's your guilty pleasure store?
Papyrus. Barnes and Noble. Borders. Mai Do.
3. If you had $1 million, what would you do with it?
Pay the mortgage down to under $200k – but not off because we need the mortgage interest credit too badly – add a room, add a hot tub and remodel the pool, go on a $25k shopping spree and let Fuzzy do the same, and invest the rest.
4. Would you rather be rich, or famous?
I'd rather be infamous.
5. Would you accept a boring job if it meant you would make megabucks?
No.
6. Have you ever stolen anything?
Nothing tangible, no.
7. Five things that you would never give up?
My cello, coffee, cool pens, flowers, and sex.

1. What one thing have you done that you're most proud of?
Telling my step-father I love him. It only took me 12 years…
2. What one thing have you done that your parents are most proud of?
They're most tickled that I have a home of my own, a job I don't hate, and a stable relationship.
3. What thing would you like to accomplish in your life?
I'd really like to take a 'bare boat' cruise – where you go as crew and work for your trip.
4. Do you get annoyed by coming in second place?
Sometimes.
5. Have you ever entered a contest of skill, knowing you were of much higher skill than all the other competitors?
Does Scrabble count?
6. Have you ever cheated on something to get a higher score?
Never.
7. What did you do today that you're proud of?
It's ten AM. I haven't even had coffee yet. Ask me later. :) (Oh, well, okay. I wrote a snailmail letter.)

1. What item (or person) of your friends would you most want to have for your own?
I'd like to have 's wit, and 's ability to be so completely naked in her writing, and Max @ OD's way with words.
2. Who would you want to go on “Trading Spaces” with?
No one, but I wouldn't mind having a carpenter and a designer at my beck and call.
3. If you could be anyone else in the world for a day who would you be?
The cellist in the group Bond.
4. What are you better at than anyone else?
I have perfect pitch and an excellent memory.
5. Have you ever wished you had a physical feature different from your own?
I always wanted skin that didn't have an olive undertone, and was darker. Otherwise…I hate my hands. They're too small.
6. What inborn trait do you see in others that you wish you had for yourself?
Self-confidence. I lack this far too often for my own good.
7. Finally, what is your favorite deadly sin?
Lust. Definitely lust.

…finding out that instead of having to take seven classes to meet the requirements for my broker's license, I only have to take four.

…a hot mocha valencia on a sunny-but-crisp morning. (Chocolate, orange, and coffee, yummmmmmmmm.)

Stolen from and

1. How do clouds taste?
Cool and fresh, with a hint of sweetness and a hint of mint.

2. What does Fear smell like?
Salty and metallic and hot, not cold.

3. What color is an ache?
Starbursts of red and yellow, lit like flashing traffic signals.

4. How does sorrow feel (to the touch)?
Thick and soggy, an old sponge.

5. What does the color indigo sound like?
The subtle roiling sound of a wave before it crashes to shore.

I received an email today from someone I was an apprentice Healer with on ShardsMUSH in 1994. I hadn't had contact from him since about '96, so naturally I was surprised to get an email, at an address I didn't have then. But his resourcefulness in tracking me down can't go un-noted. So, everyone, say hi to who is not only a really neat person, but, apparently, a fellow LJ-er.

I so love the way people you never expect to hear from again suddenly appear. It's just…cool.

Another cool thing is family. Mine's increased recently – I'm an auntie again, to my brother's second baby, another boy, born about a week ago.

There really isn't much point to this entry.
I'm just in a happy place and wanted to share.

Fluff:
Last night, even though we were both exhausted, Fuzzy and I finally bought the bookshelf I'd been eyeing at Organized Living for months. It's cherry, like most of the rest of the pieces of office furniture we bought, and tall, and as of this moment, still in boxes in the living room. But we'll get it up this weekend. I can't wait.

Drivel:
I don't really have a favorite color. I like black and red and green and purple. And most people think purple is my favorite, and sometimes I play into that, but mostly I like it because it's a fun color. In my purple collection this week: Purple Creme Oreos (I blame for getting me hooked on these), purple dish soap, and purple gatorade. However, the pencil sharpener I picked up (I needed one with a crayon setting so I could sharpen my favorite make-up stick), is green.

More Fluff:
I finished the continuing education requirement to renew my real estate license. You have to do 12 hours of classwork for the 1st 4-year renewal. I took three of my four finals last night while chatting periodically with and Fuzzy, and, just by doing open book tests, and not the classwork (which isn't technically required), got scores of 96, 92, and 96. Continuing Education is such a joke.

More Drivel:
I decided last week, and shared with a couple of people, that I want my broker's license by the end of this year, and within two years, I want to open my own shop (company), because I'm really tired of making other people rich.