july 18, 2001. Another brilliant day in Halifax. My boss' enthusiasm for all things great & small is absolutely limitless - today she went into raptures about the Jive Kings CD I brought for the morning commute finally trying sushi and loving it her new umbrella. It makes it very easy to hang around her. Although sometimes, old cuss that I am, I get nostalgic for the slight sourness of outlook seen in my closest friends. These past 2 days in Halifax have been the best working days of my life. In return for 2 days in a big city where I can shop, browse, wander & eat for free, I have to arrange an audio and video recording for 2 hours. During the taping I get to listen to a fascinating lecture on architecture materials (today was textile structures; yesterday was wooden furniture in the morning and ceramic tiles in the afternoon). And the companionship is better than I could ever hope for. I wander around with someone who is both enthusiastic, interesting, willing to explore and incredibly laid back, none of which gives her credit for picking up the tab. Yesterday we had a greek lunch and a deli dinner. Today we had the aforementioned excellent sushi (and I hate to admit it, but our professor contact is right. Dharma Sushi does make slightly better sushi than our beloved Sushi Place. At times I had to close my eyes, clench my teeth and grip the table in transported delight. Good sushi.) I haven't made a meal for myself or paid for food since yesterday's breakfast. And the best part is that with the Boy gone until tomorrow night, I don't have to feel guilty about staying out late and eating dinner with my boss. He's away and we're 2 girls who go home to cats. All the more reason to throw another meal onto the expense account. Every once in awhile I would realize how amazing it all was. Here I was taping lectures in Halifax for an architecture CD-ROM, a little girl with a literature degree from Tranna and no AV experience. Not to mention that all my computer skills are based on itinerant gathering: I studied Blake yet I'm building webpages to incorporate images, text and design. My life is pretty damn neat. this time 4 years ago: against all evidence, i believe that alexi (mr. blonde) and i will get back together. pathetic.