My friend in Iraq wrote to describe the nutritional information for MRE cheese spread. It was gross. I have never eaten a real MRE, but I did eat a ten-year-old freeze-dried camping dinner once, on a trip with my dad. The food was older than I was! But when you're 9 and you've just hiked 7 miles, you are ready to eat whatever and not complain. Besides, it was actually good. Something like chicken and noodles, I think.

I got new fake nails put on because the ones I got last week were just crappy. Half of them popped off but yesterday, and that's just poor craft, as far as I'm concerned. The new ones are beautiful, and sturdy. I'm going to try to treat them really well. They are great, except when I have to type. My laptop has a very low profile keyboard, as in the keys only stick up about 1/8th of an inch, as opposed to IBM-style keyboards that sitck up half an inch.

Breakfast is a ginger cake and earl grey tea at Café Luna. I was able to sleep in because my massage was cancelled - Rebecca was in Oregon, dealing with a father she only met last year (she's 51 years old) and the mother who hasn't spoken to her for a year because she has found her bio-dad. Rebecca called the place I was staying last night and was clearly upset, but is on her way home. Her new-found father is suffering from a brain tumor, just to round out the drama. I'm going to see if I can bring her lunch today.

If you like Earl Grey tea, you must come to Café Luna when you are on Vashon - they have one called Blue Flower that is complex and subtle and just plain fabulous. Much better than the stuff in the supermarket.

I am feeling guilty because, for the first time, I forgot to put down the extra day's food for the cats before I left on Tuesday morning. I will probably spend most of the day worrying that they feel I've betrayed and abandoned them. I'll run home between the ferry ride and the massage to feed them. "Mea Culpa," I cry, pounding my chest and wailing. :)

The most likely explanation for forgetting the cats' food is that I got less than 4 hours' sleep. Around 10pm, a woman was in the doorway of my building, screaming to this man to let her go. She was clearly terrified, and he wasn't letting her go. He forced her into a car, which I described to police. I sat up shaking for 3 hours after that, sending emails and watching LOST. Then I woke at 4:30, and that was that. A long, slow drag to get through the morning routine, my plans to exercise trashed in favor of simply getting through showering and dressing. Sorry cats, I spaced. You aren't going to die, but you aren't going to be happy with me for a week or so.

The café staff have Pink Floyd playing in the background. Dark Side of the Moon. Probably my overall favorite of theirs.

Today will be potentially mellow. I think I need to talke a walk before the day begins, so I can clear my head. There is a paved path between the three schools, so I can walk to the high school and back, enjoying the crisp fall aair. It's a wonderfully clear morning, with traces of pink in the eastern sky (if you're a Rush fan, you hear, 'As grey traces of dawn tinge the eastern sky, the three travelers, men of Willowdale, emerge from the forest shadow').

If you're not a Rush fan, you just think it's weird that my brain goes there.

My union treasurer called me last night and took a pee while we were on the phone, which he felt the need to mention he was doing. We all have a skewed sense of humor around here.

Carpe diem, my friends, and I shall do the same. Semper fi.