Virgo:: The swan is a beautiful bird, right? If you see one gliding across a pond, it evokes in you a feeling of calm. In fairy tales, it's a symbol of natural grace, an emblem of animal elegance. But those lovely associations are becoming irrelevant in England, where swan populations have grown so massive and voracious that they're threatening ecosystems and damaging biodiversity. I guess we could say that their destructive overabundance exemplifies the theme of too much of a good thing. It's an apt metaphor for the challenge I believe you'll face in the coming days, Virgo.

Spending some time in ritual last night really did help calm my nerves and focus my thoughts. I feel cleaner, somehow. Purged, for the time being. Sustained.

Despite Colleen rescheduling our dinner date due to the evils of strep (I hope you're feeling better, sweetheart!), I managed to have a decent enough time anyway. Jon and I ended up going to the Grand Cru wine bar for reds and appetizers (I am finding myself more and more enamored of goat cheese, strangely), then to The Helmand, an Afghani restaurant in Mount Vernon. The wine there wasn't the best, but the food was spectacular. We started off with Kaddo Borawni-- pan fried and baked baby pumpkin seasoned with sugar and served on yogurt garlic sauce. It didn't taste very much like pumpkin to me, but it was very warm and comforting. I liked it very much. Then I had the Aushak as an entree-- Afghan ravioli filled with leeks, served on yogurt and topped with ground beef and mint. Ohh man. Ground beef and mint is something that I wouldn't have thought to pair, but in this dish it was so good. The company was good and the conversation lively:

Me: You know, you kinda remind me of Jon Arbuckle. You look like him a little.
Jon: Why does everyone say that? Just because I'm tall and skinny and we kind of look alike, and I grew up on a farm and have a fat, grumpy orange cat does not mean that I'm Jon Arbuckle.
Me: Okay. Well, you could be Jon Arbuckle's evil twin.

Ahem. Just sayin'.

That said, today begins my wrapping up my duties with Waldies. I'll be transitioning to more responsibility with Direct Dimensions, and given what I know about some projects we're currently working on, I look forward to the challenge.

On a shallower note, today also marks two weeks of not biting my nails-- a Herculean feat, to be sure. I've been keeping them painted a pale, sheer pink to remind myself. And I have experienced the tragic horror of breaking a nail. This was quickly overshadowed by the joy that my nails are long enough that I can actually experience a nail break. Go team me. Also, I like my hair a lot. I think the auburn/pink combo is my favorite that I've had in a long while. It's both flattering and kind of cooler than I actually am. So. There's that. I'll probably keep this for awhile.

Note to self: find time to make food and dance tags.

One last thing: for those of you who like stock icons, this is me totally pimping fooish_icons. Go, the lure of pretty is too strong.

*points to icon*

Ahahahahaha.

Music geekery at its best!