i smell things

and if you know me well, you could testify under oath that this is an accurate statement, so help you god. if chris offers a bite of food on a fork for me to try, I have to smell it first. new books... did you know they have a great smell?! and walking around office supplies, be it an aisle or an entire store (kate, can I get a witness?)... you can practically smell the crispness of organization and neatness!

today I had to be downtown pretty early. (okay, so it's early for me, mister "I have to be in kalamazoo by 8") there ended up being a LOT of waiting off the record, even after we started. most of the waiting involved me being alone in a room with one other person, who was pretty chatty. at one point he was just looking at me and then said, "You know, short hair doesn't look very good on some women, but it looks good on you."

*brief uncomfortable pause*

"Well, thank you!"

I don't want people to feel too self-conscious or uncomfortable in these situations (okay, sometimes I'm cranky) so I shrugged it off and just decided to graciously accepted a compliment. though the circumstances that brought us all there (divorce) made it kind of creepy. minutes later he repeated that my haircut looks good on me, after the discussion turned to receding hairlines and comb-overs. I don't think he meant to be creepy, he was just being friendly and conversational, but it still made me wish I had an excuse to leave the room and just go out and stand in the hall by myself.

I remember the first time I got my hair cut SHORT, I was working at ups on midnights. women who tend to work there fit a certain stereotype (or at least it's practically assumed) and so I was worried that if I got my hair cut this short, that it wouldn't help my cause, since I'm not a girly-girl anyway. the first thing my boss said: "it looks good! and it doesn't make you look gay."

but since I've had short hair I've been called "Sir" three times. twice when I was in my browns in saginaw, and addressed from behind, and once a couple weeks ago at beaner's (again from behind) as I was putting my big black coat on. once the sir-callers saw me face to face they practically tripped over themselves to apologize, but I think it's funny. (the beaners barista said "hello, MA'AM" to me a couple days later when he saw me!) and now, being a battlestar fan, it bothers me even less.

did you ever have that problem, jami? (and did you ever post a picture?!)

and I heard the birds this morning!!

but i don't think they were singing.... I think they were saying, "woody woodpecker, it's COLD!" "man I'm glad I don't have teeth, because they'd be frozen and then they would chatter and then they would shatter!" "cold cold coooooold, cold cold!" "whose idea was it to come home early?! frank, I'd kick you if I could move my legs!"