don't you worry what the bitter hearts are gonna say

I ran a fool's errand today; I took a painting that I bought in South Africa to an art store for framing, and spent somewhere between 10 and 20 times the original cost of the painting on stretching and framing. The painting is 19" by 45", and framing ain't cheap, especially for an odd size that has to be custom-stretched and framed--I had an internal debate about whether it was worth framing, but I do really love it, and it will look quite striking in my living room, and it's something that I will have forever (and with me, that's no idle threat, since I tend to keep everything). So, in approximately one month, I will have a glorious red painting to grace my walls. Hopefully by then I will also have a TV and some semblance of order in my life, but who knows.

In other news, I trimmed my toenails, and all is well with the universe.

Another errand I ran today was to stop by this Japanese stationery store in Palo Alto. They had a lot of absurdly cute stuff, but I refrained; I did buy a card for someone because I couldn't resist it. I also bought these amazing little miniature disposable fountain pens; $4.95 each, and probably 3.5" long. I got one in pink and one in green, and they look deliciously tacky next to my more-sophisticated, real fountain pens. That store could drain serious funds from my bank account, and so I'm not allowed to go back there anytime in the near future--especially since I'm contemplating a trip to the Crate and Barrel outlet in the East Bay this weekend. I wonder if you can take methadone to get over an accessory addiction? Or am I destined to end up homeless, destitute, pushing my blankets and tattered clothes around in a lovely rolling entertainment cart with some pink-sorbet pillar candles to light the lonely nights?

After buying pens and getting my artwork framed, I had an impromptu dinner with Adit, and an even more impromptu dinner with Sri (who called Adit right after we ordered, and ended up coming to the restaurant and eating our leftovers). Adit told me the reason for the closure of my favorite Thai restaurant in Mountain View - the place that Walter's family went for his college graduation had a major fire on the same terrace where we enjoyed our curries, and the restaurant is closed until further notice. So, we ate at Amarin instead, where we went for the 'spicy' dishes in a successful attempt to burn out the lining of my mouth. Yay. Then, Sri and I took Adit to the airport, and I came home to wrap up some work and write this blog post.

Finally, you'll be happy to know that I don't have tuberculosis; the doctor prescribed some stuff to get my allergies under control, but was not too concerned. They should be under control just in time for me to go back to Iowa and catch the end of hay-fever season--lucky me! Now, it's time for bed.