Anouchka Talks

This morning at the gym I saw a guy wearing a gas mask.  It was literally an exact replica of those issued by the military in WWI and WWII.  Anyone know what that's all about? When I got home from the gym, I sat on the floor to play with Betty.  She decided to lick my hair because it was salty and sweaty.  Gross.  My cat is a freak.  Habibi and I are preparing for our next big date: http://warriordash.com/index.php

As I sat in my living room this morning, coffee cup in hand, Betty (the cat) curled up in my lap, I thought to myself, How lame would it be if I called in sick this morning because I wanted to spend the day hanging out with my cat?   Needless to say, I’m here at work this morning…. I have a great life and, overall, I’m a happy person.  I am married to the single most ravishing piece of man flesh on the planet, I have a loving family, an unwavering and fabulous group of friends, my cat kicks ass and my apartment is like a super modern tree house.  I’m even convinced that my car is a Transformer because –despite my best efforts– in the ten years that I have owned it, I have never been in so much as a fender bender.  (Note that I did not say that I had never been in an accident; I just have not been in an accident in this car.)  What more could a person want? However, as 30 is entering my line of vision, I can’t help but think that occupationally , there is much to be desired. 

Today I had a boring meeting at work.  In order to motivate myself to go cheerfully, I did a little research and googled "how to survive a boring meeting."  Among the suggestions, I discovered something sort of brilliant:  write a poem about Cheetos.  On the same list:  blog about Cheetos.  Evidently, someone really likes Cheetos.... So I am now killing two birds with one stone.  In this post, prepare to be wowed by my limerick about Cheetos. An Ode To Cheetos Cheetos are not really chips, Because they are no good for dips. But eat a whole pile And give a big smile, An orange mess will be found on your lips. I'm still not sure what that meeting was about.

Today I write with a slightly heavy heart.  My apartment is chilly, the sky is cloudy, the air outside is bitter and there is a slight dusting of snow covering the ground.  As the day approaches four o'clock, it hits me:  Late afternoon is the most depressing time of day. I am not sad, but speculative.  Something about the midwinter chill brings a wave a nostalgia to my mind and leaves me feeling sort of mournful.  As I sit here, I reflect on lost or broken friendships, long dormant memories of warm nights filled with laughter and excitement, the invincible feeling that precedes a bad decision....  I hear the introductory notes of Tennessee Ernie Ford's Sixteen Tons  come over the radio and suddenly I feel "another day older and deeper in debt."  I stare off for a moment to reflect on this and am only brought out of my reverie by the sound of Betty, my eccentric black cat, who is the only living creature that snores while awake.  This brings a smile to my face and

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZWmZdgrE78&feature=endscreen&NR=1

I have been a neglectful blogger this past month.  Despite the infinite list of excuses I could list, there is but one reason  I have left Anouchka Talks by the wayside:  I've been too damn busy! On top of the hustle and bustle that comes with the Christmas season (love it!), Habibi and I were being swallowed by another time-sucker.  Just after the New Year's weekend, we moved.  Again.  In our 2+ years of marriage, we have lived in three apartments.  I know, it is not at all uncommon for most young, married couples to start their lives together in an apartment (or even two).  However, most of the time, they upgrade to a larger living space (typically a house).  While this seems to be the natural progression, Habibi and I are perhaps in a state of arrested development (which also happens to be the best TV show in the history of ever). Instead of "upgrading" to a house or even a to bigger apartment, we decided to downsize.  Little by little, we have been shaving of