So this is a typical Melissa-day just now:

Got to sleep in a little and get up at 8.30, since it's a Sunday and I didn't have to be at work 'til 9.30, and Tom wasn't going in until 11. Had a nice leisurely shower, picked out a cute, fun outfit (as it's a Sunday and thus no bosses in the store and fewer customers), had some toast and Tom drove me to the store.

It rained a lot today. My coworkers and I were all very sleepy and thus most were rather cranky, and no-one wanted to do the three tiny balloon orders we had. I think *I* was actually the motivating force to getting going this morning...uh, despite not having the sense enough to move the roll of bubblewrap off the corner of the scale in order to get it to give the right read-out. But eventually I got two cups of coffee, and perked up a bit, and there was a brief spurt where Erin cheered up and was silly. But Nikki was in one of her moods, which infected everyone around her, so it was pretty meh until Kate, one of the new girls, came in at noon, and Erin told me to work with her because she couldn't deal with training today. Really, Kate's picking up pretty well, and she's very nice and friendly, so even though we were both yawning quite a bit, we chatted and it really brightened my mood. I have my suspicions she's an art kid. She's a fairly bubbly thing, so she's nice to work with.

I got out of work at 4, but Tom wouldn't be out 'til 8, so I walked over to Tim Hortons, quite happy for the opportunity to use my ridiculously colorful umbrella, especially on a day when it complimented my outfit so nicely. Bought a hot chocolate and a yummy chocolate doughnut, put on some music to listen to and curled up in my favorite little corner to write for awhile. I got a fair bit done, finished a story I'd started...yesterday, I think? (I've been flying through, one to the next, so quickly lately that it's hard to recall. I wound up buying a binder and a handful of folders, so I can keep them all straight, and keep them all with me to work on, since they're all in various stages of completion.) Finished that one off, started a bit of another, and realised the rain was NOT going to stop pelting down anytime soon.

After about two hours I headed out again - and cursed myself again for accidentally wearing my old sneakers, which have a hole in one sole. Also an umbrella helps but does not keep one entirely dry when it's absolutely pouring out. So I was a pretty damp little thing by the time I got over to WalMart. I still hadn't decided if I was going to try to catch the campus bus and head home, or lounge about in Tom's car, but I did know that we were about out of ramen, and Tom and I both have a good handful of days to go before another day off so there's going to be lots of omfg-too-tired-to-make-a-real-meal occasions. So, I went off in search of ramen, which I found, and in browsing around checking for soba noodles (which I can't find anywhere around here, bahhh), I found Tom. :) He and a coworker were heading toward the back, apparently having just finished filling in some food on the shelves, given the empty pallet-jack-thing Tom was pushing. He stopped to chat for a minute, surprised but happy to see me, and told me his iPod was in the car (with more of the audiobooks I've been listening to on it) if I wanted. At that point, curling up nice and snug in the car sounded more appealing than hanging around with no idea when the bus might come by. So I gave him a kiss and let him get back to work, while I browsed around the store awhile. I found some chili sauce, neat looking beads that were cheap, some silk autumn leaves that looked nice and were also cheap, considered some jewelry, and found a tote bag that looks large enough to hold my story-binder and is also very cute. (Also did a quick but of spy-work to see how their Halloween section was shaping up. Obviously they rape us on costume prices BUT we kick their asses in selection. And our customers mostly hate WalMart.) Unfortunately, I did my casual browsing *after* having picked up the box of ramen, which I was carrying under one arm, so I built up a rather nice sore cramp by the time I made it to the register. >_<;

And then I curled up in the car for two hours, taking off my soaked socks and shoes, nibbling on the remains of the lunch I'd packed, and doing some more writing. And then I was running dry on the writing, so did a few sketches of scenes and characters, and was quite happy the the sketch I did of the dancer in one of the stories. She's very pretty (though my drawing isn't quite the way I have her imagined in the story). When my writing petered out, I switched from listening to music to audiobooks, finished the fourth book in Orson Scott Card's Homecoming series, and listened to a few chunks of The Screwtape Letters - as read by John Cleese! eeeee! it's absolutely fantastic. (If anyone wants, just let me know, I'll be more than happy to pass it along.)

Fortunately, it was just past 8 when it started getting too dark to write and things; I started in on the fifth book of Homecoming to distract myself for the last fifteen minutes. I spotted Tom walking up from a bit of a distance, and he made his car honk-- he explains this by saying he forgets where he parks, which is true, but I know full well it's also to scare the crap out of me. We headed right home, as there's a Giants game on tonight, and Tom bet a coworker $5 on the outcome. Boys and their cute little rivalries - Tom's surrounded by Bills fans, of course, and thinks them all vastly inferior in their choice of teams. BUT, as we came up to a stoplight, Tom says:
"So, you want to hear something that will help your poor little ego?"
"Sure!"
"When you came in, some of the guys saw you. And they said you're "a looker", and that you don't look 23, you look like you're a lot younger."
"Really?? Oh yay!"
I realise the younger thing is probably due to the fact that I don't dress like a proper grown-up - and I don't ever intend to, I'm an artist, I don't have to follow the rules. ;) But it still made me very happy, my poor little ego *does* need petted once in awhile. And Tom does, of course, but, y'know, he has to. *giggles*

He immediately went to the couch and turned on the tv. He'd told me his tummy hurt so he didn't want anything major for dinner, which was fine by me, as I wasn't too hungry and obviously didn't feel like making a full-blown meal at 8.30 at night. So I made sandwiches - he requested a peanut butter and jelly (with a bit of honey, one of my personal tweaks), and I snuck a little ginger in there, because though he doesn't like it, it helps cranky tummies. (He'd had Burger King for lunch as usual, which means he ate too much, and this time it was a total of four beef patties. gaaah.) I realised I don't have to go in 'til 4 tomorrow, which means I don't have to leave 'til Tom heads back after his lunch break, and I won't need to pack a full lunch, SO, I can skip doing dishes for once tonight. (I've actually been keeping up on them lately, which has been wonderful.) I remembered that I watered my indoor plants this morning (obviously the ones on the porch don't need it today), so, I contentedly plopped in front of my computer.

Did the email, checked facebook, and decided to post here.. uh, though really I'd meant to get more typing-up done for another story. That should get finished between tonight and tomorrow, when I'll print it and start editing... unfortunately this particular one is rather jumbled. It doesn't really have much action in it at all, it's more a postcard from an exotic vacation, and I want more to happen in it. Also, I thought of things later that I wanted to add, so there's a few pages at the end of random chunks that I need to decide where to put.

It's halftime. The Giants are a point behind, apparently they're making some really good plays and then screwing up the simple things - which is their usual approach. Keeps things interesting, anyway...not that I can really follow the game on my own, but Tom is highly entertaining to watch, and I do try to pay a bit of attention to keep him company.

Okay halftime's nearly over, so Tom will stop pestering me for attention for a few. Time to type! There will be a new post on Amaranth and Jasmine before the week is out. :)