Yes, sunshine and roses, yes.

A good row in the morning always makes life seem that much more amazing and magical. I think this morning was perhaps K's and my best row yet, full of the same adjectives I always fall back on to describe rowing when it nears perfection. The closer we get to that point, though, the less thinking is actually involved, and we get ever-closer to simple, pure action. The adjectives fall away, and there's just two bodies, four sets of oars, and a boat gliding over the surface of the water.

The tail end of the week has been good overall, actually: showing the ants to the kids and watching them get really excited about them and about biology, showing the lab to my friend P and talking about life, riding bikes with N, yeah.

I imagine things will go back out the window when spring break draws to a close.

And I can't remember who said it, but I always think about one particular piece of advice: seek out the people who support you in living the kind of life you want to live. I'm grateful to be surrounded by friends here who do just that--it is a blessing.

Y Hallo Thar, Chequebook

Heh. On Wednesday at Scrabble, my friends and I got to discussing personal financial matters, which was a good reminder for me that I had been putting off updating my finances for a few months (since the beginning of the new year, yikes!). Ignoring one's finances is a silly thing to do, because the fact that one has earned some money and spent some money doesn't change in the face of denial. Hopefully I'll get back on track with my diligent note-keeping, as it turns that potential worry into much less of a concern, and I'm a bit annoyed that although my long-term savings are adding up, my savings for big-ticket items like eye surgery aren't gaining much momentum. So, to myself: scrimp! scrimp! scrimp! save! save! save!

Besides, being thrifty is fun and creative.

Oh, that reminds me that I still need to make my father's birthday present. Ahem.