Oh boy, my day has started -really- well. Willi wakes up all happy, only to rediscover that Tobie has invaded her house and cowers under my bedside table. Great, guilt. Then, at work, right off the bat, I am greeted with, "Joane's back !" Joy, my most favourite person in membership is back from sick leave. This being the woman who sent me home without any authority to do so, who backstabs and mistreats the part-timers, etc. And I have to look happy about it. *sigh* Then, I'm checking my email like I do every morning and Peter says, "Maya, what are you doing?", because, you see, I'm not supposed to use my email here. Of course, I also don't have a phone extension, so just how am I supposed to stay in touch with the world? I answered flatly, "Email. I have no phone."

Anyway, Peter said nothing more about it and Joane is being extra pleasant (something she might have tried before becoming sick) and I hope it continues. Generally, things have improved in the office to at least the point of non-comment-worthiness.

As I was saying, Willi is none-too happy about having Tobie in the house, it's an invasion as far as she's concerned and something to hide from. Tobie, on the other hand, finds Willi an endless curiosity. Willi doesn't seem to be mad at me, just at the situation, so I feel a little better about things. My poor Stinky Bee, having to share an apartment with Pork Chop. On the other hand, Stew and I had the most fun taking out the garbage - tossing it off the second floor balcony onto the lawn ! "Slop !" *toss* That was great fun and easier than running up and down the stairs with everything. So far, I'm enjoying having Stew in the house. :) And not just because he discovered that we have cable hooked up from my old/his new room. I really should have checked that earlier.

My to-do list for tonight:
1. Hook up Natasha - there's work to be done !
2. Do work.
3. Eat dinner.
4. Watch West Wing and maybe Law & Order.
5. Do more work.
6. Optional: seperate cats at regular intervals.
7. Sleep.

Wow, who knew life out of university could be so exciting? I had another dream about going back to grad school. I mean, if I can't pay my debts now, I might as well go back and incur more, right? *laugh* I might teach in Asia next year, for the money. I might do a lot of things to pay off my debts and get myself back into school. I'll have to think about what I want to study, though - maybe there's an art history/history cross-over programme I could do. Ahhh, the sweet escapism of dreaming...

Speaking of escapism, my mother and I have booked our hotel in Detroit. We decided to stay in the US to avoid crossing through Customs every day. The place is really nice looking and my mom spoke to a very helpful woman on the phone and we managed to reserve our room for a very affordable cost. The hotel sits right in the cultural centre of downtown Detroit, near the Institute of Arts, the Science Centre, the African American History Museum, and, so we've been told, plenty of excellent places to eat. As far as I'm concerned, this trip can't come quickly enough.

Hm, maybe I'll buy a lottery ticket.