Wow, I'm pretty impressed with us right now.

We managed to go from zero presents (that's right, two days before Christmas, big fat zero!) to just about everything. The only thing we're missing is a Pixie present, and we get to slack on that a bit because the present train (a.k.a. Q) isn't leaving for a few days.

So far we're holding steady at under half a paycheque, which seems pretty decent to me (especially since I've been learning how to use my new snazzy credit card). Of course, one month's rent is more than a single paycheque, which I suppose puts us under the poverty line...but I don't think there's been a day of our marriage in which we have not hovered below that fatal line. At least we're not living on 12 hours/week of student wages.

Feh. I hate to admit it, but for all of the vagueness I felt when plunking down the plastic, I'm kind of worrying about that total. I found out last week that my union is all to happy to give me the wages I deserve by dint of education - just as soon as I'm a permanent member of my professional college. The footnote being that members trained out of province are on automatic probation for a full year, with the idea being I suppose that those trained in Wolfvegas and BC are by nature more shifty than those trained in (God help us) North Bay.

(Hmmm...I wonder if this little geographic yarn-snarl would survive a Supreme Court challenge? I believe I'm allowed to move where I please under the Charter...)

Anyway, what it all means is that for a full year, I'll be paid the absolute legal minimum wage for permanent teachers in this province; after which I'm expected to submit fresh copies of the forms I bent over backwards to produce this fall. Again: feh. I'm definitely keeping the U of T transcript department in Rolls Royces and mink coats.

Party at Q's on Friday (or as he likes to call it, the Jenky Pad). I showed up in my French outfit, a holdover from classes in which I arbitrarily decided to wear a beret. The Boy & I had a much better time than we've had in the past, something due in no small part to the range of friendly & talkative people.

I became dreadfully sick at one point, and as the bathroom spun around my head I thought about the Norwalk virus and prayed for deliverance. Fortunately, I was not ill in any dramatic way, although by the time I recovered I had followed my feverish impulses and stripped to the skin. Am I the only one who does this when I get really really sick? It becomes a compulsion, heedless of the place (although I did make sure that the door was securely locked).

We went home early.

On Saturday we journeyed to Hamilton to visit the Boy's father. We were several hours later than expected, in part because we had a last minute crisis and in part because the Boy tends to reconstruct memories so that a meeting time makes sense to him (even if wildly inaccurate). They were very, very hungry by the time we turned up.

Our dinner destination was an all-you-can-eat sushi joint. I know, I know - those words don't seem to join up. It wasn't the world's best sushi - but as the old joke goes, there was a lot of it. I think that was the first time I ever left a sushi restaurant feeling bloated. Kind of nice, especially since I've been ravenously hungry of late.

The next day we tried to find Q, but he was elusive when we were free, only turning up when we were about to jet off elsewhere. We met up with my parents and my uncle & aunt for an afternoon showing of LoTR:tTT. This was my mom's idea because my uncle is currently on a very restricted diet for medical reasons...and he's more than a little depressed about it. But of course, my grandmother heard about it and insisted on putting on a lunch, so the rest of us got sandwiches and watched him eat cabbage soup.

The movie was okay, the company better, and we were able to firm up our Christmas plans. Now we're off to meet Scherezade for dinner. Fun!

Best gift purchased so far - 1/3 of a goat, for Nic.

4 years ago today: "you don't mix undercooked bratwurst with New Order and end up with a lasting good time."