A post in which I am a good boy - at work

I resolutely trooped in today and settled down to business.  I had a very large file that I had to prepare for collections (they aren't responding).  There were almost 400 documents to individually pull, coordinate, and scan.  That took most of the day; but by the time I left the office they were all done, scanned, and part of the permanent record. 

I went by the grocery store on they way home to pick up the minimum amount of groceries to get me through the rest of the week.  I went to get the ingredients to make a pasta primavera recipe that posted to my wall on Facebook a couple of weeks ago.  I don't usually make such things (indeed, I don't use recipes all that often any more), but the picture looked so irresistibly delicious, I thought to myself I'm going to make that.  That is one of the benefits about being able to cook.  If you see something lovely, chances are you can make it.  So the advertising worked, I'm sure the Alouette people would be thrilled to know, although the major credit goes to the food stylist who made the picture look so ravishingly scrumptious.  I don't even like pasta primavera all that much.  I sucked it up and bought all the stuff, even though the Alouette was ridiculously expensive, and that little voice in my head was saying really? you know this is just horribly over-priced flavored cream cheese. Meh. If so, I'll make my own next time, or just use cream cheese and spices.  I still managed to get everything I needed, plus a few staples, for the amount of cash I had on me, so I didn't have to put groceries on a credit card - which I strive mightily not to do.

Pasta Primavera, courtesy the Alouette people - doesn't that look gorgeously delicious?

Having done all that, I got home and realized that I hadn't bought any fruit.  Drat it.  That means I have to go back to the store again tomorrow. 

Just as I got the groceries put away and started to think about cooking, Dana called.  Miss Kat had gotten her birthday cake (a homemade scratch Italian Cream Cake), and would I like to come visit and have a piece?  Well of course I would.  Iimmediately and irresponsibly I bunged my carefully chosen ingredients into the fridge, changed clothes, and headed for their place, stopping on the way for burritos at the Taco Hell. 

See, I had been being so good, but at the first whiff of temptation, I was off like a shot.  Sadly, this seems to be the way I am heading.  I turned off NPR tonight on the way over in favor of the Donna Summer CD in the stereo.  I stashed my gourmet vegetarian ingredients to eat fast food burritos.  Plus there's the disturbing fact that I've been doing less passing at the flea market, and more fitting in.

So  while I'd like to be the kind of guy who never misses Masterpiece Theater, I'm actually the kind of guy who is plotzing himself that they are finally releasing Tiny Toons: How I Spent My Vacation on DVD (only fifteen more days - I CAN'T WAIT!!). Sigh. The unsettling revelations of self-reflection.

After feeding, I headed for Miss Kat and Dana's, where I had a lovely visit, and really great piece of cake.  We watched some of Madea's Big Happy Family, the movie I had picked up for them weekend before last (yet another disturbing glimpse of self-awareness), and had a nice visit.  Unfortunately, I didn't realize that a woman in the movie was diagnosed with cancer.  When they got to the scenes of her sitting in chemotherapy, I could feel myself getting nauseous, which I know is just crazy.  I also started feeling kind of depressed.  The power of suggestion is so strong.  Even though I knew what was going on, it didn't seem to help.  Since it was past the time I needed to leave anyway, I just made my apologies and headed on out.  Miss Kat and Dana were of course very kind and understood.

And once again, I failed to do much that is productive, but sometimes spending time with people you love is just more important than checking things off your imaginary 'to do' list.  And that is one piece perspective that I have no problem with at all.