This sort of marathon chatting takes me back to days of middle school where I�d talk with my random boyfriend of the week for seven-hour stretches.

Since I can�t sit still lately, I actually got a lot done once I plugged my earpiece in. All of my bills are filed, ready for me to go through and prepare them for doing my taxes. (Write-offs -- yay!) I found a $100 gift certificate to a local spa that I put somewhere for safe keeping and then couldn�t find. I came across a gift certificate for dance classes that I�ll be giving away to whoever tells me they want three free classes by the end of the year. I stumbled upon some savings bonds purchased when I was a wee one. I uncovered my birth certificate, passport, and various identification-related items from years back. I even wrote a list of things to pack for my upcoming trip to Texas and started shoving what I could into the suitcase.

Man-oh-man, traveling will be so much easier this year. Due to some unfortunate circumstances, I jetted to Texas in a rush last year. In addition to the lack of planning, I also had two laptops and my cat Hambone with me. Going through the security line on my way to Texas was a juggling act since I had to keep on eye on both laptops and get the drooling, drugged-up cat out of his carrier. The trip back to Chicago was a million times worse since Hambone�s meds never kicked in, forcing me to manage the two laptops with a freaked-the-fuck-out cat who clawed into me for dear life and then proceeded to piss all over me, shit in his carrier, and puke a few times.

This year Hambone is staying with his favorite kitty sitter, Helga. He�ll get to roam her house, beg her for delicious wet food, and shit in her bath tub (he gets confused sometimes). I�m cutting back on one laptop, loading personal software on my work one (a BIG no-no) so I can just use that machine for what I need to get done. I don�t even have to carry a wireless card since the work laptop has that all built in. This will certainly give me more room for carrying my many tubes of contraband lip gloss onto my flight. Ta-da.

Speaking of The Bone and lip gloss, since last night was my last night with Hambone, I stayed in bed this morning and petted him extra hard. I also might or might not have gotten his fur a bit sticky when I kissed his head and got lip gloss on him.

Might or might not. That�s all I�m saying.

Tonight is my super fantastic very merry happy hour. It�s amazing: I invite people to celebrate my b-day in the middle of October, around no holidays, on a Friday night, and seven people show up. I invite people out for no reason to a dive bar in the middle of December, when everyone�s got holiday parties galore, and when people are packing and fretting over packing for their upcoming trips, and I immediately get 20 people saying that yes, they�ll come out on a random Tuesday night.

I�m deeming tonight my official birthday party. With the dismal show out each year (massive props to Brandon for coming, rain or shine, to nasty straight bars and always bringing fun people!), this year I decided that there would be no birthday bash of any sort. I let the girl friends talk me into a quiet lunch (which, yes, had a good turn-out), where we ate yummy Thai food as if it was no different than any other Saturday afternoon. Tonight will be my extravaganza where I will drink beers the size of my head.

Today I got to zone out in a meeting for a bit, so I took the opportunity to write out what I want for Xmas. If you are my parents, write the following down. If you are anyone else, ignore this and don�t buy me anything unless you don�t mind me not getting you anything in return.

The 3-for-$10 Hanes sports bras with either racer or spaghetti straps in size 32 (Wal-Mart). Socks with fun things on them. Cotton running socks. A new hands-free cell phone head set where it goes over my ear instead of in it (no Blue Tooth). A hair trim at Supercuts. Um, yeah. That�s all I can think of.

If you ever told me that I�d one day request socks for Xmas, I�d have never believed you. But, really, I don�t need anything. I�m just pulling this out of my ass. All I really want is full use of a vehicle where no one freaks out if I jet off to various Texas cities. I ordered myself a Palm Pilot yesterday (a business expense, so no reason to ask for one for Xmas), and I�m buying myself prescription sunglasses through insurance. I don�t have anything large-ish that I can think of.

As for their presents, I�m pretty well done. I had a super-dee-duper mattress sent to my folks a few weeks ago since their previous mattress made them feel like they were sleeping on straw mats. I�m going to have my sister dump out her ratty boxes of bacteria-filled makeup and take her to Ulta to get whatever she wants. My brother will be chauffeured all over Texas, where I will shell out for all of his meals, entertainment, and gasoline. If he wants something shiny wrapped under the tree, I�ll cover the receipts in tin foil. Kidding, kidding. I�m sure he�ll pick out some stuff while we�re hanging out. He�ll just have to hold out for a few days until it�s time to unwrap things. No biggie.

All right. It�s time to head out. I have my birthday party to attend. G�nite all.�