My father took to the stand last week, and the good news is, he did very well. Big sigh of relief. I knew he was going to overprepare the shit out of everything (that’s where I get my OCD…) but I was still uneasy about the other circumstances. Thankfully, my father thinks fast on his feet, so it sounds like his testimony was pretty solid. I have to say, I’m very proud of him. That shit is a lot to learn, and lawyers can really confuse the hell out of you with their obtuse questioning and deliberate choice of words. I used to be on mock trial, and obviously, that was just child’s play, but at least I had some level of exposure to the complex (and surprisingly strategic) realm of law. For my dad, it’s mostly just the waiting game now. The case continues all this week but his part is likely done. I’m hoping for the best come Friday.

In other news, I’ve been dubbed the Triple W at work: Wonderful Web Whiz or something geeky like that. For the last month, our organization has not been able to send email to AOL or Comcast users. Something about our domain getting onto a blacklist. Since our IT guy left last month, no one has really taken this up as something requiring attention. In the meantime, I’ve just been growing annoyed with it. Finally, I came up with a workaround in the interim. Gotta give it up for Gmail and its option to send email from another accounts (other domains). I earned crazy props for hooking people up to that feature. 🙂 Yay. Guess I’ll be around a bit longer. 🙂

Truthfully, the job has been loads of fun. I do all this research online for various features and tools and add-ons. We sent out our first HTML email blast last week. Looked pretty good, and the stats are fun to track. I know, I really need to watch myself because the job is starting to feed my already intense obsessions. Ah well, not to worry too much. I’m having a grand time.

This weekend Tina and I went to the GreenFestival. You will recall that last year I volunteered and got stuck in the veal box for four hours. This year, I decided to splurge the $10 for admission. Tina, as my newest activity buddy and friend, joined. And I think John was glad, because he has no stamina for events like that: large crowds, earthy/granola folks, vegetarian/vegan-only food options, etc. He’s progressive but not really. 🙂 Anyway, we had a blast stopping at some of the booths and chatting with the vendors. We picked up loads of free literature (to share). I have big plans for Tina and her hubby Josh. Game nights, BBQs, and finally, peeps to join my Costco Co-op. There’s also this organic food delivery service that I’ve been meaning to try but was worried because 1) it’s pricey and 2) we don’t consume THAT much fresh veggies and fruit. So now, we can split the cost and have a better chance of consuming all of it. I know, I’m a dork but seriously, these things get me all excited.

So the other cool thing about Saturday, is that I learned more about Tina. As I said before, she’s a landscape architect, but as she explained it, that’s a sub-specialty under space planning. I mean, who the hell even knew “space planning” was a subject or career, you know? But the point is, I went to her house and it was amazing: the decoration, the organization… I was totally blown away. I mean, I guess certain people have a knack for that– John’s sisters for example are phenomenal with it– but with Tina it’s sort of educational because she kind of explains why things work with the layout, positioning, contrasting, and texturing. She kind of makes it more scientific for me. I dunno, it just seems to make a little more sense. So John and I don’t care enough to be in Architectural Digest or anything, but a few tips here and there might improve the ambiance at home. I love having friends who know stuff; I learn so much from them.

So anyway, after the festival, Tina surveyed our home. I defended our Maker Faire bed (propped up on the Rubbermaid totes) and she agrees as long as I use a bedskirt… ha, ha, baby steps.

Unfortunately, coinciding with my new home project, is a slide in my style/dress department. How did this happen? I don’t know. I think it’s the whole chaos/disorder argument. If left to my own devices, my personal style deteriorates into chaos, hodge-podge. Plus, I’m sure working for a granola organization doesn’t help… It’s not good because the other night, John and Tina both arrived at the same conclusion (separately): my style, they say, is TJMaxx. Yup. Pretty bad. Might as well be Garage Sale. And now John keeps singing that stupid TJMaxx jingle. I’m rather exasperated. How can I keep up with trying to become the person I want to be? Active, outdoorsy, educated, aware, activist, stylish, organized, involved… Sigh. Oh well. Guess that’s why I got a job that allows me to have free time: I’m a continual work in progress. Thank goodness Pamela is moving to SoCal at the end of this year! I’m so pscyhed to have another dear friend in my neck of the woods. Just a hop, skip, and a jump away. It’s gonna be awesome.