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Sirens woke me up, and they were loud enough to be on the road right outside. I can't see anything for the trees. but it went on for what seemed like ages and was probably really on fifteen minutes. It's lousy to have a car accident at christmas.

Edit 8:32am- It is a big damn house fire right up the road. Yikes

The last thing I want to do is roll out cookie dough in the morning. I dislike rolling dough. It came out alright, and now it's been rolled into a swirly log of cookie goodness. I guess I could bake a couple batches before work today if I felt really motivated.

baby please come home

It's pretty quiet at work, except that we've suddenly been slammed with tons of sensitive cases that require special handling. I had one yesterday that was intensely creepy and may turn into a media thing, so I won't write about here until I'm sure. All I have to say about that is if you refuse live saving medical care for your kid because you want to have the kid home at Christmas, you are deserving of a boot to the head. Gah.

I heard my favorite Christmas song ever on the radio this morning. Whenever I hear Bono singing "Baby please come home," it makes me so happy. Pure, unadulterated happiness.

Did a test run of a half dozen cookies this morning and they came out well. Our oven runs ridiculously hot, so I knocked the temperature back 40 degrees and it seemed to work perfect. Plus, this time I used cocoa powder and extra sugar in place of melted chocolate, resulted in a much more uniform chocolate dough. Sweet. One of these days, I'll be a real baker.

Today feels happy. Couldn't put my finger on it, but it does.

the best of 2005

This is a hard year to find the silver lining, but I'll give it a shot.

My job: For all the times I complain about calls, rage about something that gets to me, or come home in tears... I love this job. It is so immensely satisfying to have gainful employment that makes me feel like I have made some positive contribution to the world. Really. Sometimes I feel bad for complaining because I'm not out there in the field, but I feel like this place is the best place I could be. It uses everything I've ever picked up on the way, and I feel like I do this job well. It engages me like nothing I've ever done.

The best of friends: Melynda, Sarah and Tyler did so much to keep me sane in the most difficult things I've ever lived through. Sarah let me sleep on her sofa for weeks. Melynda talked with me endlessly. Tyler took me out and made me laugh. The three of them kept me from dropping into a black hole. Brett drove down and helped me through one of the most agonizing days of my life, winning a hell of a good friend award. So many of my online friends called or wrote to me, and have continued to talk to me in the past six months. I am ashamed I'm not a better friend to these people, and overcome by all that everyone has done.

The new car: Blessing in disguise when my previous car went to car heaven. It's made an enormous difference in my stress level and general cheer. I know we shouldn't be so concerned with material things, but if I had known how much better a new car would make me feel this would have happened ages ago. Damn. It really makes me want to take more road trips.

Wearable Sculpture: Seriously, this is the most beautiful stuff ever. It makes me happy. What makes me even more happy is seeing Kythryne pursue this dream full time and having success. I own three pieces, and some very nice earrings. Each one is meaningful and puts sparkly goodness in my day.

My sister finally starting to grow up: My sister seems to be getting her life together, and out of the gutter. She's working, she's finishing up her school work, she's not on drugs. Her probation is halfway over. For the first time ever we've had some normal, human, adult interaction. I have hope she'll turn out alright after all. You have no idea what a relief this is.

The Internet: Seriously, the internet never lets me down. Well, except for that one day. (Fuck you, Google!) But I love Google, and Livejournal, and all the weird things that come to me online. I believe in the power of the net to do good things, get the news and provide horrible but funny video. Thank you Al Gore!