Hi there! This whole not-being-able-to-afford-internet thing really blows. But on the plus side, it's cured me of my addiction to surfing the web. Anyway, nowadays I get online for a few minutes during lunch at work to check my mail, and that's all I need. Blogging must be saved for times when I have a prolongued access to the web, like right now, at home in North Carolina.

I do have a picture of Izzy and of my apartment! My apartment is on the second floor.

I do not, however, have pictures of me or of Mo Cuishle. You might have to wait until Thanksgiving for those, for that's the next time I plan on coming home and having enough access to the internet to post pictures.

Mo Cuishle gave me quite a fright on Friday. When I walked out the door to go to work, she jumped out, got down the stairs and out into the dark. All initial attempts to catch her and get her back into my apartment failed, so I called work and told my friend Sarah that I didn't know if I was going to make it in that day. A little while later, when I still couldn't find Mo Cuishle, I called Mel and pretty much begged her to come help me find my kitty. She said she'd be right there (it was before 5AM, but she was already awake). She and I looked for over an hour and didn't see a sign of Mo Cuishle, and I was just at the point of giving up, thanking Mel and telling her to go back to work when Mo Cuishle began to meow. We tracked her and found her hiding under a car, and then another car, and so on and so forth until she stayed put in a holly shrub and I was able to reach in and grab her. I got her back upstairs just as Sarah called to see if we'd made any progress. I thanked her (she'd lent Mel her car to come and help me), and Mel, then Mel went back to work, and I crashed on the couch. I was already feeling ill when I got up because I'd gotten a flu shot on Thursday, and then Friday morning I contemplated calling in sick but decided I'd better go in...and then Mo got out. Well, I guess I should have listened and just called in sick in the first place. But after I got Mo back into the apartment, I was cold, wet, tired, and ill, so I did call in sick. The good thing is that I got to leave for NC by 10:30, which put me at home by 4. Sarah called me at 1, when she got off work, to make sure I was okay (I think I scared her when I called crying that morning), and then told me the same thing I'd decided - when I don't feel like coming into work, listen and don't try to come in anyway!

Anyway, now I'm at home. I'd intended to give my mom her present from me on Saturday night, but as luck would have it, my dad made waffles for breakfast on Saturday, so I had to give mom her present before breakfast - apricot goop. I can't call it syrup because when I was making it, it wasn't very syrupy, but at least it tasted a little like apricots. Saturday night, Becca and Mom opened their presents from Darren and Kim and they loved them. And this morning, we girls are watching one of the first movies I got with my subscription to Blockbuster - The Inheritance. Soon enough, I'll have to leave, but at least Mo Cuishle is waiting for me at home, and there's always the thrill of finding cheap gas in Georgetown - I paid $2.49/gallon on Friday!

And then next Friday, my family is coming down to visit. They're going down to Florida for a family reunion and will be stopping in Charleston on Friday. I can't wait for them to meet my kitty! I plan on cooking a big dinner for them and for Darren and Kim and for anyone else who can come, and it will be like being at home - a full house, good food, family, friends...what more could anyone want? =D