Slow day at work yesterday. Do what I did, and read about the amazing charter of Cyrus the Great, a declaration of human rights from about 539 BCE, and which, the more so in these troubled times, makes us look barbaric.
The ants have invaded my house again, this time in numbers and locations that make them more difficult to fight. (The only ants in houses out here are these little reddish or black ones, a few millimeters long.) I am displeased, but it's another opportunity to learn to live in harmony with nature.
After trying and giving up on optimism for the five billionth time--I'm starting to consider it a character flaw that I don't just learn the needed lesson--I went to a friend's farewell party last night to try and pawn off the thirty bottles of alcohol left by my last housemate. I ran into a girl I know, a friend of many of my friends, who I've met many times but never really connected with...and lo and behold, something has shifted and there's a connection there. No wondering, no mystery. Not about that part, anyway.
A close friend of mine fancied a certain employee (John) at a nice local restaurant. They had chatted quite a bit and found they had a lot in common; she had left her number in a phone message, but that's so unreliable, and the customer-professional boundary is a tough one to cross. We ate there last night, and naturally we got John to come over and talk a bit. It's a good thing I was there, because having previously asked permission, I said, "Now, John, before you go, you should know that she wants to buy you dinner, and I think you should say yes", neatly putting them both on the spot at once. Judging by how she shrank down in her seat and muttered "I'm going to kill you" repeatedly, I don't think she expected me to do it.
I'm feeling better about my aikido test. It's almost over and done with: three weeks from Tuesday. Five months is a long time to work on any one project, and I'm looking forward both to the test being over and to not having that commitment any more. I'm not sure what to do instead; I'm thinking it's a good time for blacksmithing classes, or maybe take guitar lessons again.