Mash-up of my life

OK, so I'm pretty sure I'm not using that in the proper Twotopian context, but I actually don't care.

To catch you up to speed on me:

# Despite our 1 a.m. arrival, our trip to CA was lovely, insofar as a memorial service can be. Seeing Kevin's family again, and meeting his grandmother for the first time, was nice. The Monterey area is gorgeous, and I regret I didn't have more time to explore (I've decided we need to vacation in CA next year, since I've only been there once and that was for work). We went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, which I liked. The service itself was low-key but emotional, and I think it was exactly what Kevin needed.

# We missed the St. Patrick's Day parade here, during which cabbages, carrots, and potatoes are thrown at the spectators from the floats and marchers. Never one to turn down free food, it's a pity we missed it.

# The garden is well underway. We're using a thick silver mulch sheet on top of the plot to keep the weeds down and prevent pests, cutting holes to plant seeds. We've also got two market packs in which we're putting salad greens and butter lettuce. In addition to that, we'll have two kinds of sweet peppers, three or four types of tomato, watermelon, zucchini, pole beans, bush beans, and English peas, kohlrabi, and an herb garden. Also, it looks like we may have some lemons and tangerines this year, and there's a nice supply of catnip on the front porch. Apparently though, we have gotten a bit of a late start. Our aunt in Mississippi has 12-inch-tall tomato plants already.

# I may be returning to Libraryland. My dream job, in information literacy and instruction, came open at one of the local universities (one of the private ones not affected by Bobby "The Exorcist" Jindal's budget cuts), and so I had to take the chance and apply. They've contacted two of my references (strange thing -- maybe it's a New Orleans deal -- but this is the second employer who has contacted my reference BEFORE calling me for an interview), so there's hope. However, they do have someone part-time with this job title, so it may very well be that I'm just a shadow candidate to get around EEOC rules and this person is the shoe-in for the job. The weird side is that my boss (one of my references) now knows that I might be leaving, which is going to make my one-year review tomorrow really interesting.

# In a related note, I found out over the last few weeks that the library where I worked in Maine is closing due to budget reasons. (There's an effort underway to keep them open. If you're interested in the situation, I can send you to the relevant resources.) I feel very bad for the staff, who were given just a week's notice or so but am guiltily thankful that I left before the situation got critical.

# The spouse and I are taking a Cajun dance class, which is using muscles that don't get much play on the elliptical trainer. Thus, I've been hobbled for days after each class. It's fun but tough -- between his tendency to overanalyze everything and my inability to relinquish control of myself, we get frustrated. And then there's the whole thing about moving your feet and your arms at 150 in unison with someone else.

# We were supposed to be having a visit from my mom and brother next week (they were to fly down, which is a HUGE deal -- my mom hasn't been on a plane since she was pregnant with me). However, my mom broke her knee (or rather, the dog broke it), and so she won't be traveling for a bit. We're hoping she'll be able to come after Kevin finishes finals but before he leaves for Mexico (study abroad).

# Finally got through to the dog-poop woman across the street. What polite discussion couldn't accomplish, a plastic bag of poop hanging on her banister could. We'll see if it sticks this time.

# We haven't been out to eat much (thinking about buying a new sofa, because ours is not practical for a dog-owning household), but we did try a terrific French place recently that was reasonable, had a menu that provided a range of price levels, and provided terrific service (when Kevin compliments a waitress on her service, you know she's good): Le Crepe Nanou in the Garden District.

# I have a new time suck at work: ZooBorns