Carl's free time is generously restored to him

Budget meetings portend badly for the lowly temp. I got sacked along with two others. Apparently the mayor wants to have his parks maintained without paying money for it. While I, of course, take this type of setback in stride, the last two hours of work after I heard the news were less than motivated. I also took it upon myself to soothe the nerves of fellow firee Greg, who was stuck in disgruntled mode. But then I'd never known him to be very gruntled anyway. Some people just have stressed-out personalities, which I find very strange.

Heh. I've got some Stevie Ray Vaughan playing and my dad just asked me from downstairs if it was me playing the guitar. Um, no. I'm not quite that good yet. :D Thanks, though!

1. Work is hard on one's hands. Currently, If I bend the middle finger on my right hand, it sticks there until I forcibly straighten it out. I think this shouldn't be.

2. Here are pictures of things which live in my pond.

goldfishes are hard to photograph because they live under water and my camera wants to focus on the water's reflections instead of the fishes.



If you cannot tell, this turtle is very tiny, about an inch wide. I had to sneak up on him very carefully so he would not swim away. Even as I took this picture he was getting suspicious and starting to edge away. There are two of these that I've seen. I have no idea how they found their way into the pond.

3. My sister Emily now has a boyfriend, and so spends much of her time away from home and (presumably) gallivanting. I am very disappointed because that is not the way we were raised--to willingly associate with humans! Oh, well. The man seems largely inoffensive. He's come over and had "getting to know you" conversations, which I've mostly avoided, because, you know, humans. My dad seems to like him. It seems that if you just keep agreeing with my dad, he won't stop talking. Funny how I never noticed this on my own. :)