I've been really stressed out the last couple of weeks. Lots of pressure. Our 4th Annual Benefit Dinner is tomorrow night and a lot is riding on it! I still have lots of little details to wrap up, but the interns have graciously volunteered their time here and there when they aren't in class. The dinner is at this fantastic place. While we can't serve alcohol at official Multnomah functions, what guests choose to do at the pub or pool hall before the dinner is their own business (wink wink). I can't think of a better place to be tomorrow!

In other news, TriMet has frustrated me 2 trips in a row. Yesterday evening I was trying to wrap up my work in time to catch the bus (it's now too dark to safely take the MAX at 82nd Ave., which is very sketchy), but missed it by 1 minute. Boo. The next one was supposed to come 20 minutes later, so I went back to my office for about 10 minutes, then went outside to wait. I waited. And waited. Aaaaaaand waited. I saw not 1, not 2, but 3 (!!!) buses go in the other direction. Maybe they fell off the edge of the Earth? It was cold and raining, and I was hungry and tired and achy and just wanted to be at home knitting and following the election! Grrr. Anyway, it ended up taking an hour and a half to get home. Ridiculous.

Then this morning I boarded the MAX red line, which goes toward my work on its way to the airport. Except it was actually a yellow line disguised as a red line. How sneaky! How funny it was when I looked up out the window to discover myself in North Portland. And how funny it was to have to run to catch the yellow line going to other direction (in the rain, of course). When I finally got back to Rose Quarter, where the yellow line splits off in its own direction, I had to pee so bad! So I went only 1 stop, got off, and went to Starbucks. The nice guy behind the counter asked, "What can I get for you today?" and I almost started crying. "A gingerbread latte and a bathroom!!!" Amazing how a warm drink and warm smile can make things better.

Oh, and Paul & I are super excited about the election outcome! Obama's speech was inspiring and emphasized what we both feel to be urgent and important to us both: we have a lot of work ahead of us as a nation. It's a challenge we're ready to face.

20 oz day

I wasn't joking when I asked for the 20 oz. latte. I am SO tired, and this pumpkin spice latte tastes SO good.

Olive woke us up at about 3am and wouldn't let us go back to sleep. Paul put her in her private room (the bathroom) and I drifted back to sleep, but since earplugs don't fit in his sweet ears, her scratching kept him awake. Sometimes she scratches for a few minutes, gives up, and goes to sleep. Sometimes she scratches forever. She hates being separated. Paul tossed and turned in torment and kept me awake. Poor thing; I feel so bad for him. I got up to use the bathroom, gave her some attention while I was in there in the hopes she'd calm down, and then gave her a q-tip. Sounds like a strange thing to give a cat to play with, but she's obsessed with them. She'll play with it for hours. We won't be able to use that one on our children.

When I finally got back to sleep, I have a very disturbing dream and woke up nearly crying. I couldn't go back to sleep for awhile. Paul woke me up at 7, about 15 minutes before I needed to be out the door. Yay. He made me a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for breakfast and I stopped at the campus cafe (which serves Starbucks) on my way in to the office.

The truth is, Olive really has gotten better. Sunday and Monday nights she slept through the whole night without waking us up. Last night is an example of what I went through by myself for the first 10 months of owning her--she just wouldn't sleep at night and there wasn't anywhere to put her away that she wouldn't damage. So when she wakes us up at 4 or 5am after 7 or 8 solid hours of rest, I'm thankful. Paul doesn't have that perspective, poor thing. I really wish we could find earplugs that work for his ears. I think that'd make it easier because he wouldn't hear her scratching.

Oh. And as soon as I woke up and pulled out my earplugs, Olive pounced on one and ran off with it. Then she brought it to me to play fetch, like she does with the q-tips. Cracks me up! She won't do this with her squirrel, Pimento. I think Grass might be too big for her too. Maybe I should make her some smaller toys, like a mochimochiland snail or mushroom. Something like tiny little prey.

My alter ego, Olive Bumblebirch, is working hard on Harry Potter-themed knitting projects. I've completed both History of Magic quizes so far, and knit a cotton washcloth for Herbology. After messing up the gauge for the Hermione Hat, I went and bought smaller needles. It made me feel better about starting over on my Transfiguration assignment. Maybe my "new thing" is getting gauge. Quidditch is going well so far--we found another spinner and have gotten our patterns. It's a race!

The Hogwarts Kit Swap is also about to start! I hope more people sign up this week! We really need more Gryffindors. It was originally a sock kit swap, but this term there's a choice of bags, socks, dyeing, or surprise. Ever in need of totes, I asked for a bag. There's also trivia and knitting dueling, and lots and lots of competition. Yay competition!