I just went down to UPS to return some Verizon components. Verizon had given us a return UPS label, so there wasn't really a choice who to use. I had to buy a box there, and for one small package box I was charged $4.50. U-Haul charges less than $4 for their large boxes. UPS apparently sells moving boxes as well now, but given the prices of their small shipping boxes, I can't imagine how much they're charging for the moving boxes.

UPS is rather pointless anyway (unless your a large corporation with a mass shipping deal). FedEx is faster and more reliable, the USPS is cheaper. UPS seems the worst of both worlds and I tend to avoid them unless I'm required to use them like today.

As purpleglitter was leaving for work yesterday, she came across Cloe Longfang attacking a blue jay. purpleglitter chased Cloe away and called me. I came out and put the jay in a box and took him out back to purpleglitter's screen-in porch. He was such a beautiful bird and i was so worried about him.

I called an animal rescue. They were very nice, but very busy and didn't make it out to pick up the blue jay until early afternoon. The person who picked up the jay said that he had a broken wing, but the wing was still responsive and he had a good chance at recovery. I hope the jay is alright.

I've spent most of today and a good deal of yesterday helping purpleglitter with her pre-move. Making boxes, packing, bringing stuff downstairs. The birds in the new apartment, each got to spend a little bit of time just enjoying the outdoors and listening to the outdoor birdie sounds. I keep hearing a finch up here still, perhaps it's Isobel's ghost.

I made sure to catch the sunset this evening, as I won't have the spectacular vantage point after purpleglitter moves. I took a number of pictures, and will likely be posting them from the house_of_clocks tomorrow. I've got 30-60 minutes of work to do, then I'm off to bed.

Tomorrow morning at 9:00 the movers arrive. I'm about to disconnect this computer and bring it down.

I've had some interesting dreams recently. The night before last, I dreamed I was on a holodeck. I kept switching through setting, but I was changing more than my environment. I was not only trying on different clothing, but different bodies. However, at some point I stopped changing and the room began changing more like a standard Star Trek holodeck. The finally room I was in was filled with shallow wooden boxes with large amounts of baby budgies. They were all blue and just getting their feathers in. They were pulling themselves from box to box, in the baby-budgie head-first method of locomotion. I was in a happy place.

Last night, I dreamed I was in a maze of a house. There was a strange man in whiteface who was running the place. The house was so large that it had a lake and a hill with cars. It was almost a village in a house. There was something wrong, a sinister air. I felt compelled to investigate what that wrong was. I followed these streams of crusty liquid up the hill and found an old stationwagon that had rusted with the years. purpleglitter was with me then and at that point had been with me on my explorations in the house even though she hadn't been with me earlier in the dream. We got in the car and I was able to start it. There was a road at the top of the hill; and after driving a short distance, we realized we were on the outskirts of Moscow. We drove back to the hilltop and looked down. There was the house and all it's trapping that we had departed. I concluded that there was some sort of portal to Moscow at the top of the hill. purpleglitter and I decided to drive around and explore the outskirts of Moscow. purpleglitter's cell phone miraculously worked and we called zarthon who told us we ought not be traveling around through portals willy-nilly and should head back at once. But we ignored him. Who was driving kept switching seamlessly in the dream, sometimes it was purpleglitter sometimes it was me. The controls on the car ended up locking up and we skidded into a ditch. It faded out after that.

Somewhere in last nights dreams purpleglitter and I were in a bank trying to stop a $2500 transaction from her account to a con artist. The bank was entirely bureaucratic and unhelpful, and we felt as if we were fighting against time. They kept asking invasive questions that had nothing to do with banking. Odd randomness. Why must bureaucracy even invade my dreams?

Still haven't heard back from the wildlife rehabilitation people. I took the squirrel down to the parking lot behind purpleglitter's apartment to try to see if it could go away on its own. I got it out of the box, but it just laid there on the ground. I tried to pick it up, and it just walked a couple steps and laid down again. On my second attempt, I put it back in the box and brought it back up to the porch. I spilt a little of the water in the box, but it is a warm day and it should dry rapidly.

The squirrel is still in the box. It managed to move to a different position in the blanket last night. And in the hour since I first checked it this morning, it's turned itself around and is now sleeping with its head rested next to the water bowl. I think it's getting better, but I can't really tell. There's not much else I could do that I haven't done.

A couple hours ago, purpleglitter noticed a squirrel outside her apartment that while alive was not moving. She called my attention to it, and we decided to try and help it. I attempted to see if it could move, and was able to stroke its back with a piece of cardboard without it running. I used a piece of folded cardboard to try to pick it up. It ran a couple feet then collapsed again. I did end up successfully picking it up and placing it in a box. I called Angell Memorial to see if they could help, but they said they would most likely just euthanize it if we brought it in. So, purpleglitter and I put the squirrel on her back porch along with some water and food and wrapped the squirrel in a silk skirt for warmth. I think it is safer in the box than laying on the ground outside the house. Something would surely have come along in short order to harm it. I have the box set up so that it will be easy for the squirrel to get out, but hard for anyone else to see the squirrel is in there. I hope it is okay, and I will check on it in the morning. An empty box is what I hope to find.

purpleglitter's landlord destroyed Aleister, the hollow tree we buried Isobel in. The scattered pieces of Aleister were strewn about the ground in front of the back fence.

purpleglitter pulled her car up to it so that we could use the headlights to see while we sifted through the rubble for the box we buried Isobel in. I found it scattered amongst the remains of Aleister. The box had opened, the millet and the wish pod still inside. I found Isobel in her shroud nearby.

I dug the detritus out of the box and place Isobel back in. Afterward, we drove around trying to decide what to do.

Isobel is on the back porch now, we will rebury her tomorrow.

We placed Isobel in a small chest-shaped box that I've had for some time with a spray of millet and a wish pod. purpleglitter played Amazing Graze on the violin. After she was done playing we went down and laid Isobel to rest in the hollow tree out back that has come to be known as Aleister.

Good journey, Isobel.

My sister, ellynx, sent me a package from gotfruit.com out of the blue today. The card read "To help pass the hot days of summer". Inside was a nice wooden box containing large cashews, a fruit heavy trail mix, dried pears, and best of all: cinnamon candied almonds. The almonds are heavenly, completely decadent. I don't think I've ever had nuts that good. The only thing remotely comparable were the honey-roasted cashews I got from a street vendor near Rockefeller Center on my visit to New York City five years ago with purpleglitter and zarthon. It's the only time I've actually been to New York City other than just passing through. I remember having breakfast at Windows on the World. I remember the window that went all the way to the floor near the entrance of the restaurant. I stood on the edge and looked down. The drop was breathtaking, like standing in the sky. It is strange to think the number of people who fell that distance a year later. The winding associations with that fateful day are an odd juxtaposition with sinfully indulgent candied nuts.

I just finished my scheduled hour of cleaning. I picked up trash in my room and throughout the house, though there is more left. I cleaned up the cat poop next to the litter box in my room, as mazzycat is being passive aggressive by purposefully not using the litter because she's mad that she had to move back to the house_of_clocks where Jello and Spyder pick on her. I also cleaned the vast majority of the large pile of dishes in the kitchen. Washed some knickers. Did some assorted other cleany stuffs that I came across. Still a lot of work to do, but that is okay as I have a scheduled hour of cleaning a day now it will get done. However, tomorrow I won't be doing my scheduled hour because I will be at recoiling's and iamacliche's wedding.

i'm really stressed out
i'm got a million things to do before the roommate interview tomorrow
i don't think i'm going to get done
i want to get drunk
but my temp therapist made me promise not to drink this week
probably a good thing
because i've got a million things to get done
i've got to finish packing lake's boxes
i've got to clean the house_of_clocks
but i'm really bad at accomplishing things
i need to take lots of breaks or i get overwhelmed
but i don't have time to take lots of breaks
so i accomplish nothing
i freeze up
i feel like giving up
i feel like i already have
i don't know what to do
i want a drink
but i can't drink
i don't know what to do

I can't deal with the piles of crap in my room. I'm trying to find anything, I'm sifting through endless piles of boxes and bags. It driving me nuts. I hate my fucking room. I should have never moved. I should have just stayed and haunted the old house_of_clocks.

A little late, I'm off to Walgreens. As I was getting ready to get out the door, off pops the top button of the blouse I'm wearing. I quickly sewed it back on, unfortunately, I don't think that counts toward my goal for the day of mending clothes, as I want to get ahead in clothing repair and that's only breaking even.

I've been looking for my orange journal, which covers my second visit to Bournewood. There's a poem in there I want to post to one of the communities I'm a member of. I've looked everywhere. Even Lake, who is amazingly adept at finding things, failed to locate it. I scraped up my leg putting a large box back in the closet after looking under it. In addition hurting myself on purpose, I'm also quite skilled at doing it accidentally.

I have accomplished one of my goals for today already. I did quite a bit of cleaning. Not all that needs to be done, but I didn't intend to do it all today. If I keep at it for the next few days it should get done without becoming an all-encompassing chore.