I got back from vacation a week ago, perfectly affordable vacation; perfectly delightful, perfectly perfect.

But I want more! I can’t stand being at work right now. I’ve worked here longer than anywhere I’ve ever worked and it’s DRIVING ME NUTS. I’m thankful to at least be underemployed when so many people are just unemployed, but how long can a person go on doing shit they have no interest or investment in before they climb up to the top of a clock tower and start picking off the stragglers?

We could use a large windfall right about now. The house has been bleeding our savings slowly, and the improvements aren’t happening fast enough for me to feel like the value is there. So I feel like we have no money and nothing to show for it.

And at the same time, I feel like I’m drowning in the brick-a-brack of my life, and I so want to do a give-away. Just pile it all in the driveway and let people come and take what they want. No charge.

We had no air conditioning in the office today and it got up to 88 degrees before I left for physical therapy. GROSS.

But that’s not the grossest part, people. The grossest part is that the vent pipe for the compressor was clogged with COCKROACHES AND THEIR NESTS and that’s why the AC wasn’t working.

Then I came home and Tom told me that last night he felt something brushing against his back while he was sleeping and he thought it was Arrow’s whiskers. I think you know where this is going. IT WAS A COCKROACH THE SIZE OF MY HAND*. I am so close to giving up and burning this mothereffer down but then I’d have no where to keep all of my books and yarn.

I am really looking forward to my vacation in Warshington, where cockroaches are only in the grossest places you can think of (and only because they can’t survive in the ecosystem naturally) and not in my home or workplace or hotel or wherever it is I’m staying.

*The size of my hand when I was four years old.

I’m not that excited about it, really.

I’m going to be 32. I liked it better when the numbers were reversed. But it’s not like I’m super down about it either. It will happen, and then Tom and I are going on vacation for a week.

And during that time, we’ll celebrate the 10th anniversary of our wedding.

I imagine we’ll get on each other’s nerves a lot and all the other things married people do, like drive too long between meals because neither one of us wants to admit that we’re hungry and need to stop. Then I’ll get dehydrated and hypoglycemic and freak out on him about not letting me drive. Or something.

Speaking of which, I could really go for a steak right about now.

We’ve just had a shit ton of crappy news drop on us over the last day. None of it is affecting us directly, so it’s not my story to tell, but let me say this: If bad things are happening to you, don’t wait to tell people. You miss out on all the help and support that the people who care about you can offer.

In other news, my Betta fish, CoCo is dying. Rigor has set in, which means that he’s not long for this world. According to the nerdy fish kid at the pet store, the fact that I’ve had him as long as I have is a miracle – these fish only live about 2 years.

So, I bought another one. I named him Ponyboy. Because he’s golden!

Is it still called the Summer Solstice in the Southern Hemisphere?

I figured today would be a good day to start a good habit: I’m going to try to walk for 30 minutes a day for 30 weeks. Why 30 weeks instead of 30 days? Because I will be done with wearing my Invisalign in approximately 30 weeks. I love the symmetry.

What brings this on, you ask? I’m finally in less-enough (is so a thing!) pain that I can do something for 30 minutes without having to stop and lie down. HOORAY!

Physical therapy has been great. In my past experiences, physical therapy involved so much more pain than the injury that I usually gave up on it before the full course, but these therapists are very gentle and also listen to me when I say “Enough!” Probably because during one visit they had me doing a standing row with some resistance bands and I kept going until somebody stopped me – like ten minutes. What can I say? I had a lady-boxer for a trainer and SHE TORTURED ME WITH EXERCISE. I miss her.

I’m trying not to eat disgusting food, but it’s hard because I finally have my appetite back after having a stomach virus for two weeks. I’ve been eating really spicy food to compensate. Lots of hot salsa, spicy sauerkraut, garlicky pickles… I smell terrible but it’s so worth it.

The days get shorter from here on out, right? Try not to think about that, because I’m certainly not getting up any earlier than I already do.