It's nice and also weird to be back upstairs in the Membership office. I enjoy the ordered chaos - it's hard to explain. Stuff happens up here, and there is usually some fundamental organisation to it, but sometimes it's really hard to see. Someone should be brought in to come up and make this office efficient, but then again, that might result in jobs being lost, so nevermind. Anyway, I'm up here doing office clerkish stuff because the office manager is away on holiday. I don't mind doing phones and whatnot, it's laid back and, generally, it's sort of pleasant to be able to solve problems.

There's a kitten staying at my appartment this week. Ruby was a gift to Stew's goddaughter for Christmas. While she and her family are on holiday somewhere in South America, the kitten is with us. Willi, who is in the Petes needs never know, while Tobe is somewhere between totally jealous and utterly fascinated. Ruby is pretty well behaved, though she tends to think I'm here in order to be climbed. Happily, when she does climb me, she weighs almost nothing so it's not a big deal. Tobe, on the other hand, who used me to escape Ruby's attention, weighs WAY too much to be clinging to my chest and neck. Big ow. Big. The kitten is very sweet, though, and she curls up under my chin in bed, purring like a little motor.

Anyway, I tried to post yesterday, but Blogger seemed to suffer an internal error and my post disappeared. So, I'll try again.

2004 was rung in nicely for me when on the second of January, my best friend, Tracy made the unsurprising announcement that she was officially engaged and I am to be her Maid of Honour. It's exciting, even if this has been a long time coming, and I told her that I'd be more than happy to help her organise things. There is a lot of time between now and Sept/Oct. of 2005 to get things done, but for the heck of it, I took her down to Nocturnalia to speak with Nicole to create a concept for her wedding clothing. For A&C's wedding we went to Heretic, but Nicole is the specialist in period-style clothing and that's what Tracy wants. Even better is that I might be able to wear my gown from A&C's wedding again - the colours are nearly the same. I shall discuss it. Also, I informed Tracy that I would be doing her invitations, no ifs, ands or buts about it. She was okay with that.

I went out to Peterborough on Saturday night, following my last day of working the Art Deco exhibition here at the ROM. The last two weeks had been a terrible zoo; everyone that hadn't come to see the exhibit in the previous three and a half months (and that was a lot of people) all came between the 26th of December and the 4th of January. I am more than happy to not have to deal with peevish members and people who ask the same questions over and over again. It was very nice to be able to go home and vegetate for a few days.

Speaking of going home, I am seriously contemplating going back to school this autumn. Not back to university, mind you, the higher degree will wait a while longer, but to Sir Sanford Fleming College in Peterborough for their museum studies programme. It is apparently the only one of its kind at the college level in Canada, and it's one of the best in North America. Or so I have heard. I've left a message for the director of the programme, a man my mother has met through her work for the Peterborough Symphony Orchestra. I think it would be useful to have a word with him about whether this is really something I should do. Regardless, I'm going to send in an application to the programme - I can always change my mind. September is a long way off yet and nothing is carved in stone.

I wonder who thought that carving in stone gave something permanancy. The Egyptians were masters at defacing and recarving stone surfaces and others have done the same for centuries.