Day Off

I can't complain. I took the day off work today and have been maxin' and relaxin' most of the day. Slept in, went to a dentist appointment (scheduled the wisdom teeth extraction!), watched last night's episode of Nip/Tuck, laundry, and now just hanging out before I head to class tonight.

What a bummer that I have to give a presentation tonight. If not, I could have possibly gone to the White Sox playoff game. Grrr.

We had our inaugural meeting of our newly formed book club last night. I feel somewhat nerdy telling people that I'm in a book club, but it's a great way for us to get together once a month and catch up on gossip. Besides, we get some good books out of it. My book was chosen first so we'll be hosting the meeting in November. I chose Meg Wolitzer's The Position. I was a little nervous about choosing something I had not read yet because I don't want a bad book to be a reflection of my taste. But I've got confidence in this one.

After the meeting, Jill and I went over to her boyfriend's place to carve pumpkins. I learned something new about my best friend last night. Apparently she is terribly disgusted by pumpkin innards. I can understand being squeamish about a dead animal, but a gourd? When she was younger, they painted pumpkins for Halloween so I guess she never really had the experience of scooping out the seeds and stringy things that cling to the sides. Dan and I made fun of her for it, and Dan kept thrusting globs of pumpkin guts in her face. She was not amused. My "Ghostly Ghoul" pumpkin turned out okay, but Dan's "Terror Tree" was awesome. I was highly impressed. (Dan bought some carving tools and a book with Halloween patterns. Our designs came from the book, so I can't take too much credit for my ghost).

Why do we only carve pumpkins? I'm sure there is some historical background to this tradition. I offered up carving watermelons as a summertime activity. You could carve patriotic designs at Fourth of July or Memorial Day. Flag Day too. Just a thought. I'm sure Jill and I will try this when June rolls around next year. I'm still in denial that it is actually fall. We've got to come up with our Halloween costumes soon, and I have to find a date for an upcoming wedding.

I need to sort myself out. It's been a busy week, at least in my thoughts. My mind is racing with tasks needing to be completed, phone calls needing to be made, homework, wisdom teeth, laundry, White Sox, parties, book club, philanthropies, dinner....I am overwhelmed by myself. That's why I needed today.