Yes, I'm conscious

I'm sure my reader was wondering where I'd gone, but fret not. Je suis ici.

Here's what you missed:

• A parent-teacher conference wherein the teacher used the word "social" multiple times to describe my child. You don't say!
  
• I bought a Blackberry. I held out as long as I could, but it happens to the best of us. There are two main reasons I didn't want a smartphone. One is that I wasn't sure I wanted to be connected to my email no matter where I am. I tend to get a little obsessive about checking my in-box as it is, and I didn't want to be one of those people who are connected every second of every day. The second is that I'm too cheap too pay the additional monthly charges that come along with such a phone. But, I got paid out for my accrued vacation time from my old job and this seemed as good a time as any.
  
• I joined a gym. Believe me, I didn't want to do that either. I go to step aerobics with my neighbor every Tuesday and it's never been a problem for me to go as her guest and pay a flat fee every time. I have a lot of stress in my life and didn't want a gym membership hanging over my head. But, the gym enacted a new policy under which the member and the guest must arrive together. Finding that nearly impossible to do for various reasons, I decided just to get a membership. I chose the lowest level, the bare bones. As the lady at the front desk was showing me the different plans, I noticed that the word "tanning" was on the sheet about half a dozen times. I was mentally daring her to tell me I could get unlimited tanning (and seeing as how I have no pigment cells, a hundred tanning beds would be as worthless to me as one). She didn't go for it, though.
  
• The new job is keeping me very busy but is going well in general. I'm learning a ton, haven't set off the alarm system recently, and only walked around with food stuck in my teeth once.
• The old job threw a happy hour for me and the other employee who were part of the acquisition. And hoo, did I get happy. Happier than one should get on a Wednesday night, really.
  

And, that's about it. I'm headed out of town for the weekend. The rescue has its annual meeting tomorrow and since it's a couple hours away, I decided to stay overnight. The kid and her dad are staying home. This means that I will be sleeping in a room all by myself. No dogs, no kid, no husband. I know, it's crazy talk!

Speaking of dogs, Fritty Cent is doing well in his new home. He turned 10 on Thursday, the same day my mother turned . . . way more than 10. I will probably take on a new foster dog soon. I have some apprehension about that because I figure that since Fritz was so easy to have around, my next foster dog will be the type to eat his own poop (and his friends' poop) and jump my six-foot fence.

I'll try to post more frequently for the rest of the month. You know I hate to let my reader down.