days have elapsed

so whiny, whiny me. after all that angst, i got a promotion that i wasn't expecting, at least not right now, and it came with a nice raise.

jury duty turned out to be a breeze: an hour of orientation, more than hour of waiting, during which i got through half a tim dorsey novel (and decided i am definitely a fan of serge a. storms), then a few minutes during which the judge told us that the leverage of our presence as prospective jurors enabled him to settle the FIVE felony cases on the docket without any of them needing to go to trial. so thanks for coming in, here's your ten bucks, wish it was more, go home and have a good rest of the day.

amanda and i went on a road trip a couple weekends ago, to jax (where they have a borders) and st. augustine, because she hadn't been there yet. we hit the jackpot at borders: they were having an educators weekend, and when we walked in, a woman immediately asked us if we were teachers. we told her we work at a college; she said that counted. as a result, when we showed our IDs at checkout, we got 25% off everything. it may be the only time i have ever walked into a bookstore and spent LESS than i budgeted, but i still got 14 books (though let's be honest--i would have spent a lot more if i hadn't taken the precaution of leaving the debit card at home and taking cash instead). i am a glutton. i actually feel sated on book buying, for the moment. amanda liked st. augustine, which i expected she would. we walked around the old spanish fort, took photos, went up and down st. george street, and walked past flagler college. we also got hit on by pirates ("ahoy, ladies! i've lost me booty!").

now i have another sinus infection--i seem to catch a cold, fever or sinus infection every other week lately--and i've been having odd dreams. last night, for example, i dreamt i took my cats on vacation with me to my grandmother's, and lost them all. then i found puck again, in some complicated scenario involving a restaurant on one of the squares.

speaking of the cats, i love them all, and they're all unique, but some of them are really unique: puck, kashmir, and now sebastian. maybe because he was separated from his mom too young, sebastian is velcro kitty. it's mostly endearing, although his tendency to snuggle the second my alarm goes off doesn't help me in my quest to get to work on time. it's awesome for a sick person, however. last night he parked his little butt on the pillow by my ear and flopped across my neck, resting his face against mine. you know how heat can feel really good on swollen sinuses? imagine heat with soft kitten fur and a nice, rumbly purr against your cheek.