Here is why I love Stephin Merrit:

Ukulele, Me-kulele, how happy we could be-kulele!
One-kulele, Two-kulele, Three-kulele
Ukulele-Me!

When I hear the sound
of that little brown thing humming
I don't know if I'm going or coming
Down and down and down down keep strumming
Ukulele-Me!

Ukulele, Me-kulele, how happy we could be-kulele!
A-kulele, B-kulele, C-kulele
Ukulele-Me!

Play a little tune,
sing about the moon who cares
Something that won't give me nightmares.
Sing it sweetly or say your prayers,
Ukulele-Me!

Ukulele, me-kulele how happy we could be-kulele!
X-kulele, Y-kulele, Z-kulele
Ukulele-Me!
X-kulele, W-kulele, V-kulele,
Ukulele-Me!

Cincinnatians are wild about Halloween. Since September I have been seeing Orange and Black decorations everywhere! Perhaps it is just because the Bengals (football team) colors are Orange and Black. I prefer to think that it is enthusiasm for Halloween.

This weekend Todd and I went to see The Prestige which I would suggest only seeing if you are an idiot and like it when movies treat you like an idiot. I guess in theory it's a fine movie but I found the "twist" quite obvious within about 30 minutes. And the movie was about 2 1/2 hours long. So that's a long time to know the twist...and wait for it...wait for it...wait for it....

David Bowie played the part of Tesla, the crazy scientist. That was probably the best part of the movie.

Oh, and the death scene at the end. The FUCKING DEATH SCENE. I think I groaned out loud. it lasted like 15 mintues. Believe me, if I was shot in the gut I wouldn't spend the last 15 minutes of my life explaining the most obvious shit in the universe. Don't worry, they explain every last bit in the end. Everything. They explain everything.

AHHHHH! I was so annoyed by the end of the movie.

Tonight we are going to a haunted house. I'll probably pee my pants again. I hate being startled.

I've been bad about updating lately. Mostly because I feel really boring. I am adoring life with a kitten and feel like if I updated with kitten stories people would roll their eyes at me. Really, though, she's awesome. I love learning about her cute little quirks. (Like how she will hide behind the piles of junk on the floor of our apartment. It's her little way of reminding us to clean or else we get a leg full of cat claws.)

I've been discovering new swedish pop music through last fm and my subscription to emusic. It's great, but I feel like I am getting more music that I have time to really digest. I feel like I'm getting greedy with my mp3's. I totally making Todd look bad by exploring all sorts of bands he has never heard about. He says that he likes it, but I think he feels a bit embarassed. I mean, music is supposed to be HIS THING.

We spent this weekend don't a bit of wedding brainstorming for the first time in months. We went shopping for a wedding band for Todd and we have a good idea about what he wants. Somebody needs to convince me that I do not need to spend $600-900 on wedding invitations no matter how nice they are.

(but they are so pretty!)

I arrived at work to find a card on my chair. I was confused and didn't know who it was from. I was so suprised to open it and find a Boss' day card! How very sweet! Then my eyes welled with tears because I am a big cry baby like that. (I don't feel like anybody's Boss)

My uncle works for an airline and occasionally stumbles across some things that people leave on the planes. He turns them into lost and found but if they are not claimed then he gets to keep them. He found an iPod this way. He also found a book filled with CD's this way. He knew that my car was broken into and so he gave me the CD's. Considering my obscure music taste there was quite a bit of good music in the case. Of course, plenty of it sucked (James Blunt and Mighty Mighty Bosstones) as well so I am finding good homes for those CD's on www.lala.com and trading them for CD's that I actually want.

If you are not familiar with the lala website, you should be. It's a great way to get rid of music you don't like anymore and get some new music you want to try out. Each trade is only $1.75.

So if you want to join, please leave me a message with your e-mail address so I can refer you and get a free t-shirt!

Yesterday, 15 minutes before I was to leave for the day my Boss, my boss' boss, the accountant and the development director called me into their office to "talk." I knew this would be bad when they didn't tell me what it was about.

We didn't get the Ohio Department of Health grant for the next two years. So.....there is not enough money for my job. However, they assured me that they would do everything that they could to find alternate funding sources before...oh...the end of October. Combined with my job not being funded by the United Way this year I'm contemplating looking for work elsewhere. (By elsewhere I mean out of Cincinnati) I love it, but I can't feel strung along like this for too much longer. I'm going to apply for Teach for America and the Peace Corps for next year. I've considered both for a while and I think it's time.

When I got home from work yesterday I found a very sick little kitten. She was stilly lovey and cuddly and playful but she had lost control of her bowels and there was bits of poop in all of her favorite sitting spots. Poor little thing tried to make it to the litter box but she just missed. I made a vet appointment for today and kept my finger crossed that she'd be okay until then.

Stella has two problems according to the vet, she isn't adjusting well to the food and she has an upper respiratory virus (a cold). So I got some eye drops for her and instructions to feed her turkey baby food. (The human kind) Stella was so very cute at the vet, at first she was all lovey with the vet and rubbing against her but once the vet brough out the eyedrops and the anal thermometer all bets were off, they are no longer friends.

Now she is feeling much much better and I can tell because she is going freaking ape-shit. She is acting possessed, flinging her body across the room to claw into my legs. She is attacking a scarf that Todd's mom sent to me and a string of mardi gras beads. It's kind of strange, I thought she was playful before but this is nothing!

She's been great about sleeping through the night, curled up between us but I have a feeling that tonight she'll be attacking my eyes in my sleep. I think I like a sick kitten better.

I've been a cat mama for about 24 hours now and I have a few things to share.
1. I didn't know that I would actually lose sleep over a kitten. They like to sleep in your lap in the middle of the day but they want to play at night. Not fun.
2. She is fascinated with McDonalds french fries.
3. She loves to put her head up to my chin and just leave it there like she is waiting for me to do something. What? What do you want me to do?
4. Feather on a string toy? Boring. String for the blinds? Hours of fun!
5. Her favorite chair is my favorite chair, too! The computer chair!
6. She just loves to walk across whatever I am doing, the computer, the book I am reading, the food I am eating, the notecards I am reviewing.
7. We named her Stella.
8. She is a "dilute calico" because she is grey and buff and white, not black and orange and white. This is somewhat unusual.

Welcome home new kitten! Todd and I adopted a kitten today from the local shelter. Isn't she the cutest? She's curled up sleeping in my lap right as I type. She is very adventurous and cuddly and friendly. I think she'll be a good addition to our family. Now we need to decide on a name. Our suggestions are: Edna, Stella, Gladys and Astrid. Anybody care to weigh in with their advice?

Todd and I were selected to be a Neilson family this week. So we have to record all of our TV watching this week and this time....it counts.

They sent us 5 crisp 1 dollar bill to thank us for our effort. You wanna know what I am using my $2.50 for? A steamed apple cider! It's October and that's primo cider drinkin time, suckas!