Journal of a Sabbatical

December 26, 1998

on the day after

'Tis the day the Irish go visitin' - at least according to my late grandmother. I have no idea what this means.

Some fresh ground organic french roast in my official SFOR coffee mug, Cheerios with cashews and soy milk, and an Apricot Mango Brown Cow whole milk organic yogurt are just the things to brighten up a cloudy day. My Mom says it's supposed to clear up and warm up and be nice this afternoon. The guy at the gas station says it's supposed to snow. Stay tuned to see who's right.

The neighbor who lives on the other side of where the Beans of Egypt Maine lived stopped me in the parking lot to wish me a Happy New Year and to tell me how happy she is that they're gone. It is so quiet and peaceful around here, it's like a gift. Now I know what they mean by peaceful enjoyment of the premises or whatever it is they say to mean neighbors shouldn't intrude on my space. It really is nice around here since they moved out. The neighbor I was speaking to has lived here 19 years and I've lived here 20. We both said the same thing, we never had any trouble with the neighbors, even the biker chick, until those people moved in.

Thomas called me in the wee hours to tell me Sable and the Seven Siamese are stoned on the catnip I gave them. I called him back this morning and they were trying to get him to play with the catnip fishies. Feeling post-holiday withdrawal from la familia loca, I also called Mom and Kevin. The kids were reported to be reading. Mom was processing the subtext and worrying about the elephant in the living room. Tried Donald & Michael's number but got busy tone. Listened to NPR talk about the Serbs advancing on Kosovo. Drove down to Nancy's for the weekend.

The promised snow didn't materialize.

Nancy and I rented Tampopo and laughed ourselves silly. Shane in a noodle joint. I had forgotten there was a dental scene - I have severe dentist-phobia - so cowered behind Nancy with my eyes shut and my hands over my ears, which Nancy teased me about.