Wild - it's official... we're homeowners! Keys and everything....

Another milestone met: We met at the escrow office and signed a milllion-billion loan papers, and even gave thumbprints on Friday. Transferred yet more money into the escrow account - the last of our down payment and closing costs. If all goes well, we'll close midweek. Such a nice anniversary present!

In other news, i finally started the packing today. Ugh. Hateful packing, hateful moving. This should be over in a few weeks, right? (Score: 4 bookcases empty, 27 boxes filled and labeled, meriko tired.)

I can't even begin to express how much i'm looking forward to our anniversary dinner tomorrow. Something entirely unrelated to the house or work, and in absolutely wonderful company.

Well, at least i think it's going to be bon. Bob gave me a great-looking bottle of wine today - the Adler Fels Adulteress! I'm not going to read much into it. A blend of 75% Sauvignon Blanc and 25% Chardonnay, i can't wait to try it. I love the things the brings me from Valley-of-the-Moon. First Kaz winery, and now this... (Which reminds me, i do need to make a Kaz winery order. Anyone want in? If you like port, this is the order to horn in on...)

Russell was a hero tonight - he called the hardware store to restore one of the kitties to the inside space instead of the street-side space. This is the second time we've done this....

Today, i made the nicest plans. Our best girl and her husband and our best guy and his girlfriend will be joining us for our anniversary dinner this year - at the Chef's table in the kitchen at One Market. Seven courses of fun in the kitchen, and they were all over Tad's dietary requirements. I booked the reservations tonight, and the table happened to be open! I spoke with Beca and Robert, and they agreed as well! It will be lovely to spend our anniversary with the people who stood by our sides that night. Such a treat! Definitely something i'll be looking forward to during the next few weeks of crazy-time.

Happy anniversary, baby!

I am beset with an unassailable certainty that i'm a Sim.

I'm not sure what locked it in; it might have been the cabinet browsing or the flooring investigation at Home Depot on Wednesday night. It might have been the incessant obsession with the floor plans Russell drew. Maybe it's the surfing sites for sofas and tv armoires, or skimming books that offer advice and supplies for kitchen redesign. I've done many of these things in the past, but never with the explicit Intent to Use the Data on a specific house. Maybe that's the change, really. At any rate, it's fairly creepy.

I find myself saying mahur wabotany quietly in my head when i am chatting with Russell, or sool-sool when saying goodbye to a friend leaving my current place. On my commute to work the other morning, i caught myself thinking that i needed more friends to get my next promotion, which was critical so i could remodel my kitchen and get the Wolf Range. Somebody, anybody - tell me how to stop this?!?

At least my room scores are high.

I'm a little spastic at work, feeling the crunch time pressure. We're all blowing off steam in little silly ways. I string some tape across the opening of my cube and attach a sign reading "SEND SCOTCH".

Localization Producer Rachael (who is sometimes my supervisor depending on which hat I'm wearing) walks by, reads the sign, asks "what kind?" I say "ideally, Laphroaig, but whatever." She walks away.

Half an hour later she comes back, slaps a bottle of Laphroaig 10 year on my desk, tears down the sign, and walks away.

These people really do give me just about everything I ask for.

My home page is A Word A Day. Today's entry is frighteningly apropos.

Hobson's choice (HOB-suhnz chois) noun

The choice of taking what is offered or none; an apparently free choice with no acceptable alternative.

[After T. Hobson (1544-1631), a liveryman who offered his customers the choice of renting the horse near the stable door or none at all.]

Goddamnit. I thought yesterday was obscenely awful. Today? I already need a drink. And it's merely 9am. Goddamnit.

[i'm starting to be truly afraid of what the rest of this week is going to feel like.]

I hate moving. When we moved into this place 5 years ago, we decided we weren't moving again until we bought a place. And lo and behold.... we have! I'm beginning to have moving stress dreams - last night's was the goofiest yet.

I'm not sure if it was helping move Adrienne and Jim that provoked this one - actually seeing a house full of stacked box upon box upon box. I woke up early this morning after a dream that we were standing in the Anderson house, surrounded by boxes.... and i realized:
me: Hey Russell - we forgot to pack the dishes...
Russell: ...And the pots and pans!
me: And the pot rack!
... And then the sinking realization that the kitchen at the old place was completely intact, unpacked & unmoved.

Weird.