time

stephen hawking, i've got your answer for you regarding wormholes. they happen when you least expect it, and it's not painful or anything, just surprising. one day you step through the door and when you step back through it's a week and a half later.

***

chicago was a great deal of fun--we rode in cabs and limos and ate at at least two swanky places, all courtesy company funds. then stayed at a really ritzy place down town chicago called the congress plaza hotel. the building was old--not, obviously, as old as a castle in, say, romania or something, but old enough to have twelve-foot ceilings and doors that, if the paint were stripped, surely would have had beautiful wood beneath.

the hotel room also came with assorted pipe clunkings in the night and a closet in the room that had a light that was supposed to turn off when you shut the door.

of course, it did not, and i woke at one point when the el went past at 4 am wondering if i was on set for the next poltergeist movie. (glowing door, etc.)

anyway the plane was lovely even with lateness and turbulence, though on the return flight i got seated next to The Squirmer--by this i mean a man crunched on his side, trying to get comfortable with an inflatable pillow and an airplane blanket.

his version of comfortable unfortunately involved making me vaguely uncomfortable. the guy in front of me also was conspiring and knocked his seat back. if it were any further i could have done a dental exam. ungh.

so after that trip, i slept wednesday night, laundered on thursday night, picked up a vehicle on friday afternoon, and drove 250 miles west to have a pedicure and a massage and be a general amoeba with my girlfriends at a fairly posh hotel that was definitely not covered by company funds. *sigh*

drove to my parents' house on sunday and stayed until monday night, drove home and spent tuesday returning the rental car and surprising my sister with a visit.

and now it's 1 pm on wednesday, and i am finally doing what i'm supposed to do on a vacation: sitting around in my fuzzy pink slippers and pajamas, surfing the web for cars and listening to the soft drone of my cat, snoring on the pillow at my feet.

***

my youngest sister got a dog three weeks ago from the humane society. she's about a year old and a mix of breeds that resulted in her looking like a smaller version of a german shepherd. she's quite friendly and affectionate, and already knew how to sit and shake hands, and ask to be let outside.

b took her in the day after she'd adopted the dog and was told she was in good health and was probably full-grown at 35 lbs. in the last week and a half, though, she's gained some weight.

and miraculously, is preggers.

on monday i got to go with b and her friend to the vet, to find out how many puppies darcy was carrying. it was a total of six and the vet said she could be giving birth at any time in the near future.

this morning i got a call--the dog's water broke last night, but no puppies were delivered, so she's in surgery now. i'm waiting on a call to find out if mama and babies made it through.

time stretches out based on what is going on. since i'm waiting for a call, the last two hours have been terribly long and improbably time-consuming. i know most folks would say, "it's just a dog," but having seen the bond between my sister and her dog, and knowing how attached i am to my felines, i cannot imagine how much longer time must feel for her.

***

and now it's wednesday. i still have a lot to do this week, and so little time in which to accomplish it. i really would like to get my house cleaned--by cleaned i mean floors shampooed and a load of stuff taken to the thrift store. but i also want to relax some, read and watch the three or four netflix items sitting on our tv that are solely for my viewing.

and i want to write, and find a car, and possibly find a couch and a new bed, too.

it's a steep slope i'm working on here, one that i'm not sure i want to navigate, but one that i suppose i ought to tackle. i would like to make some headway this week, even if it's just showering on a daily basis. i don't ask for much.

but i certainly wish there was a bit more time.