I’ve gotten into a terrible non-working habit of staying up very late, waking up at a normal hour, and then taking a nap in the afternoon. When I start working again in January it’s going to be very hard to get back into the weekday routine of getting up early and going to bed at a decent hour.
I woke up this morning and, as always, I called Eric. I got his voicemail and left him a message saying I hope he missed my call because he was riding his bicycle. Turns out, he was! I heard from him about a half hour later. He said it was pretty nice out. It was pretty nice out here, too. I decided to take advantage of the fact that the sun was shining and took a walk to Starbucks. Once again, I wore my pedometer. I took 7,286 steps, walked 2.64 miles and burned 160 calories.
Once again, I looked for the eagle as I walked along Clairemont Drive, but he was nowhere to be seen. That kind of made me happy, because I’m always looking for him now as I’m walking or driving along Clairemont Drive and the fact that I’ve never seen him again makes me realize how special is appearance was that day. It really made an impression on me and I cherish the memory.
When I got back I started working on packing and unpacking more boxes. I have been putting aside things I want to get rid of before I move back, and repacking all the things I still want to keep and bring back to NY. I’m not getting very far, but I realize I have months to do this, so I’m not going crazy.
I wanted to start my next craft project – the decoupage memory box for the girl at work who recently got engaged. I thought maybe I’d start it this afternoon, but I got so busy with my boxes and then took a nap before heading out to La Jolla to pick up Gili.
She got in the car around 7:30pm and we drove a few miles to a CALIFORNIA PIZZA KITCHEN. We both got a Miso Seafood Salad: Shredded Napa cabbage with fresh avocado, julienne cucumbers, daikon, edamame, carrots, red cabbage, green onions, cilantro, crispy rice noodles and crisp wontons tossed in a Miso dressing and topped with blue crab and shrimp. It was yummy! Then, Gili suggested dessert. All I could think of was the red velvet cake Eric and I had shared last time we were there.
I SHOULD have said, “No. I can’t. I’m on a diet.” Instead, I heard myself saying, “Sure!” I ordered a decaf cappuccino and a piece of red velvet cake and Gili had a piece of key lime pie. I hated myself, but enjoyed every bite. What’s the use of walking 2.64 miles and burning 160 calories when you have a piece of cake that’s probably over 500?
Anyway, when I wasn't filled with self-loathing, I had fun talking with Gili. We have so much in common. We can talk about the pressures and pleasures of running your own business, because we’ve both been there. I understand what she’s going through, trying to make her rent in these scary economic times, and working 7 days a week to make it work. She has great ideas and is really good at display, so her shop always looks beautiful, but La Jolla really isn’t the best place for a shop, no matter what people may think.
The truth is a lot of people just go there to window shop, and not really to buy. There are plenty of places that sell similar items at a discount, because they’re not paying the same huge rents. What helps Gili to be so successful is her positive attitude and pleasant disposition, her skill and talent at display and arrangement, and her determination and commitment. She has no one to help her and works every single day. I think she’s pretty fabulous and her shop is absolutely wonderful. I really hope she can survive through this economic crisis!
After dinner I dropped her off at home and then headed back to Clairemont. It’s only a 5 mile drive, so I was home by 9:30pm. When I got inside I turned on the heat. It’s amazing how chilly it gets in the apartment at night. It’s a corner apartment, so I guess having three outside walls makes it colder than a middle apartment. I’m not sure what it is, but it’s cold in here at night!
I got into my pajamas and my fluffy robe (how did I ever live without it?) and sat down do some more typing on my project. I’ve now typed 85 pages of the book. There are 196 pages total, so I’m almost halfway done!
I don’t have any plans for tomorrow, but I’ll probably do laundry, type and maybe start my decoupage project. The only reason I’ve been putting it off is that I know once I start I will work on it until it’s finished, and I feel obligated to work on my typing, too.
I have one more week off from work and then hope that something will come up in January. I’ve been off from work exactly 4 weeks – 2 weeks on vacation in NY and FL, and 2 weeks back. It’s been nice, but I need to get back to work!