I've been working hard since grad school ended...

This is what I spent the last hour on.

Ugh

I just got an email which caused me to realize that I royally screwed up on something at work. I have a sinking feeling in my tum-tum and now I have to go in and deal with it. Blech. I hate this guilty-icky-forgetful feeling.

*&$%@. That's what I say.

The Summer of Health

It is officially The Summer of Health. Watch out!

The Summer of Health includes:

• getting (closer to) 8 hours of sleep a night
• walking for 30-60 minutes, four times a week. Mostly in the morning. Sometimes in the evenings
• Eating lots of fresh foods (veggies, fishies, fruits) and avoiding, but not necessarily cutting out, wheat, potatoes, dairy, and sugar (I'm contemplating a detox-clense diet, but that seems a little more hard-core than I am prepared for)
• Cutting out some very bad habits
• One Hundred Push-Ups in Six Weeks
• Catching up on doctors visits

Since the Summer of Health began last week, I already dropped 4lbs! I might have been dehydrated when I weighed myself yesterday...which isn't healthy...but I'm counting it anyway.

WHAT?!?!?!?

I am shocked, SHOCKED, to find gambling going on....

Nice!

I helped a guy find his way out of Penn Station yesterday - he was looking for Macy's and seemed confused. I was heading out to 34th, so I told him to come with me, and as we left he asked, "Do you shop at Macy's?" and handed me a gift card. I thanked him, but I was slightly confused by this unprecedented level of interaction and I couldn't think of what else to say, so we shared a very awkward and silent escalator ride up to the street. When we reached 34th, I pointed out the department store as big as 10 football fields across the street and we smiled and parted ways.

I found the gift card in my bag last night and logged on to their website to see if it was for reals, and sure enough, it has $45 on it! Sweet! I'm going shopping!

Would You?

If you ignored my urging to start listening to Too Beautiful To Live a couple weeks ago, now is a good times to mend your ways. I wrote in an email the other day in response to a conversation they had about the dude who climbed up the NY Times building last week:

Dear Luke and Jen; Lauren here, one of the NYC podcast tens. I listen to your show everyday...although usually several days late. This morning I was walking into the office while listening to the story about the guy who climbed the New York Times building last week and was just tickled pink. I love hearing stories about Seattle, my home-of-long-ago, but this was the first time on TBTL that I got to listen to a story that I had first-hand experience with. Last thursday I was leaving the office with co-workers to go have some cocktails and in the elevator someone was talking about a guy climbing the building. I work on 37th and 8th, just three blocks down, so when I walked out the door, sure enough, the dude was trucking his way up at about the 40th floor. The cops shut down all of 8th avenue at that point and people were just flooding the streets to watch. It was kind of amazing, because as I'm sure you know from your time in the city, new yorkers don't really like to acknowledge one another if possible, especially on 8th ave, and yet we were all captivated by this climb. I have to say, 57 floors is a long way up, and the whole time I was watching him I was having an internal debate of whether I would continue watching if he started to fall. I think I would have wanted to close my eyes, but maybe my imagination would have been worse than the real thing. would you watch or look away? he did make it to the top, of course, and the whole street erupted in cheers. and then we all averted our eyes from one another and sheepishly walked away... Anyway, this belated note is just a thank you for bringing all us Midtown West tens into the TBTL action (yes, there are a couple of us).

ANYWAY...they wrote back and told me that they would be reading my email on the air - not only did they read it aloud, it sparked a half hour conversation! I am officially cooler than I ever have been or will be again. This American Life, you're next!

So, go to www.mynorthwest.com/tbtl and download the podcast and listen to the second half of the 8:00 hour. And then continue to listen to the rest of the show. Then thank me. You will love this radio show. I promise.

In Memoriam - Casey Jost, 1994 (?) - 2008

It was a very sad morning today - our sweetest and most perch-errific cat Casey died. She had not been doing well for a couple weeks, and she finally went to Kitty Heaven this morning at 7:45.

Everyone who knew Casey knew her to be among the friendliest of all cats. She was never one to hide underneath a couch - rather, she was always the first to jump on the lap of the nearest person. She purred up a storm, and she loved getting in people's grills.

We will miss her very much, and while we treasure the company of her sister Benny, Team Jost is one member shy now, and she shall never be replaced.



As you can see from these pictures, somethings that Casey loved were:

• Boxes of all sorts
• ZPJ's belly
• Perching in high places
• Posing for the camera
• Her glorious neckbeard (unclear whether she loved that, or whether it was just us who loved it)
• Her incomparable stripes, especially on her nose
• Frolicking in the grass and plants
• Being paid the proper respect due to a cat of her greatness
• Catnip
• Cuddling with her sister

Her mommy and daddy miss her very much already, and will always hold a very warm place in their hearts for her bossiness and stripeyness.

A special thanks to all of her friends who shared in her life, who scratched her ears and kissed her nose. She loved each and every one of us, and demanded that we love her back.

Team Jost is down one member. Casey left us this morning, and we are very sad. We were both holding her and it was time for her to go, but it still feels like it just came upon us so quickly. We will never know exactly what went wrong, but the best guess is that is was something that hit her liver and hit it hard.

I know that some people don't understand pet-owners getting really weepy and philosophical when a pet dies, but Casey was really a big part of all of our family rituals and stories and history and I am just missing her so much right now.

I am going to be really indulgent and create a big post with lots of Casey pictures later today, but for now I'm too sad.

Hot Mess

Yes, its gross and hot. More so when the AC goes out... Poor Casey Cat got stuck at the vets when the AC stopped working, so we left Boston early to pick her up. Things are not going well for Casey, as was demonstrated by the explosive black diarrhea in the Aricebo cab... yeah... the driver made us get out...

Anyway. Very hot. No cab. And both cell phones had died because somebody forgot to bring the chargers up to Boston.

Don't want to be a downer, but I don't think Bossy McStriperson is going to be with us much longer. Please send her your good thoughts. She is bearing her troubles with as much dignity as could be expected from a cat of her stature and bossiness.

West Coast Update

I have two things to announce:

#1 - HRC showed a total lack of class and a tenuous grasp on reality tonight when she made her big speech in NYC and totally neglected to mention that 54 minutes earlier she had just lost her campaign. She actually allowed herself to be introduced as "the next President of the United States" and missed her chance to end this harrowing process with an ounce of grace and states(wo)manship. I mean, seriously. Her ability to completely deny facts that are disagreeable to her and stay the course regardless of reality reminds me of someone else who has recently got pushed to the sidelines of the political process...

#2 - Casey just chowed down on some Ocean Whitefish and Tuna Dinner all by herself for the first time in a week! I am over the moon. Despite her amazing turnaround, however, Ms. Striperson will be spending the weekend at the vet's while ZPJ and I go up to Boston. Benny will be all on her own! Party! (If ZPJ ever let me take any fun pictures of my cats in festive party hats, I would insert one here)

Is It Happening At Last?!?!?!?

We never thought that the day would come, but it has.

It's over! Maybe we'll get a month or two off before the next nasty phase starts...