1, 2, 3

Today is the three year anniversary of when Boyfriend and I decided (over Google Talk, no, I'm not joking) that we should start dating. It was kind of a crazy day, because I had just broken up with my previous boyfriend on the phone (he was in Switzerland), and Boyfriend was in New York at the time, but it was one of the best chat conversations in the history of the world. I think I followed it with as much eager anticipation as most sports fans follow a key game when their favorite team is playing. It was awesome, and the past three years have been awesome.

stocked up

Oh yeah, I bought six bottles of my favorite syrup, and two boxes of these addictive chocolates that are only available leading up to Christmas. And more gummy candy.

social

We're suddenly busy (when will we have time to clear out the TiVo?!):

• Sister coming in for lunch tomorrow
• Anniversary dinner on Friday (back to our favorite local place, since the menu has lobster, suckling pig, and truffles right now)
• Halloween party on Saturday
• Birthday drinks for a coworker next Friday, if we can make it up to the city
• Birthday and housewarming for a friend in Oakland next Saturday, and perhaps dinner beforehand with other friends

aftermath

Happy dog, full TiVo, no longer living out of a suitcase that was packed before the weather changed in Europe. Blue skies and sunny days all week. Ahh...

and we're back

Lots of good things about the trip:

• On the flight to Zurich, I got a last minute change from a middle seat to an aisle seat, much to my relief.
• On the way back, I had an aisle seat, and the seat next to me was empty. Even better.
• The near miss of almost having to sit in a middle seat for an thirteen hour flight made it less sad that Boyfriend was flying business class while I was back in economy.
• Ran into coworker in the SFO airport, so he come out to fondue with us the first night.First fondue in Switzerland since I left Switzerland, and Boyfriend said he thinks I make it better.
• Visited one of my favorite bars in Zurich one last time before they close in November.
• We made it to three new countries! I haven't had a three-new-country trip since 2008.
• We didn't get burned in any wildfires in Montenegro, despite seeing them everywhere, even in front of us on the road.
• We got beautiful weather and almost no crowds in Dubrovnik. I've heard you usually get one or the other, so we were really glad to see such a beautiful place without being trampled by a zillion other tourists.
• After eating a lot of kind of blah pasta, I finally ordered a big plate of shellfish, which seemed much too big, but it was delicious and I ate it all. 
• Our GPS, Jason, was hilariously bad, and became the honorary fifth person on our trip.

scrub

Went to the Turkish baths for the first time in almost four years last night. It was just like old times, when we used to go regularly, except maybe it was even better, because I had so much dead skin to slough off, which makes it extra-satisfying (and extra-gross).

soon

Only 45 minutes until I'm officially on vacation for ten days. The last time I took any time off was in March, so I am totally ready to just check out for a while.

see-worthy

Finally went to the eye doctor this week (over six months late), and my prescription is still stable (after 25 years of skyrocketing prescriptions, I seem to have finally hit a five year plateau). I wasn't able to pick out new frames, because I didn't have my contacts in, so Boyfriend and I went back yesterday after work, picked out a dozen or so frames, tried them on, picked the best ones, and ordered new glasses in less than 20 minutes. I love random efficiency, and they should be ready in a couple of weeks. Also, it seems like they've come out with an even thinner type of lens, which is so key when you're as blind as I am.

red streak

I have had the same haircut for ten years now (plus or minus a few inches, and some simple overall highlights once). It has been six months since my last haircut (I always mean to get it done every three or four months, but by the time I look up from whatever I'm doing and think about it, it's invariably five or six months later). I got a red streak put in, thinking it would be kind of fun, and it is, but because I was not so sure about it, I still kept it pretty muted. Maybe next time, I'll do something a little more extreme. The beauty of working in-house is that I could probably shave it off and still be OK.

And the office lights just turned off again...

work stuff

A couple of things about work:

1. There is something oddly satisfying about getting a monstrous 102-page agreement and hacking it to pieces. My goal is to get it under 40 pages. Maybe I was meant to be an editor instead of a lawyer.
2. The office is so quiet and peaceful on weekends. There is something strangely soothing about having my typing be the only noise I can hear.
3. I picked up a new project in my new group at work that continues with the trend of "ideas so crazy that it's hard to believe that we're even trying them." I'm kind of excited to keep exploring these new areas of law, which may even be so new that there are no laws in place yet.