Good Saturday! I got so much done. And I didn't even wake up till 1:30! It's probably as a result of going to sleep at.... well, not yet. And it's Sunday now. Here is a list. I will feel good about it:

[skip this part, it is boring]

• Looked for $100 sunglasses that I lost 3 days after buying them (took time at places I was rechecking to get breakfast* and do a quick check for good Naot shoe deals).
• Found my old pair of sunglasses in Steinmart lost and found! Not finding the others is made okay because even though these are not polarized, they are cooler.
• Dropped off payment for an old dentist's visit*
• Bought supplies (groceries*, cat litter, candles, you know the basics)
• Did laundry (lots)
• Swiffered (EVERYTHING)
• Cleaned and disinfected Xander's litterbox
• Medical transcriptions for 5 hours
• Cleaned out car
• Did a week's worth economics homework (maybe will make up for last week; sometimes this stuff is interesting, but when do we get to the high drama of economics? When do we get to the tontines and the Enrons? Will that come? Or will it all be calculating total market value and elasticity forever?)
• Read 1/2 chapter in Social Psychology
• Made 15 CDs for friends; wrote two letters to accompany CDs
• Alphabetized new DVD acquisitions
• Put Xander's cat food in airtight container
• Played a rousing game of tag with Xander
• Watched first episodes of Lost and Extras

[end skipable part. everything else is FASCINATING]

Friday night I did lots, too, but most importantly, I watched Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which I liked MUCH more than I had anticipated. Despite occasional confusion as to why Johnny Depp chose to play Willy Wonka as a cross between Dr. Evil and Michael Jackson, there were plenty of funny parts. Why were there no nominations for JD or that little kid? Not so much for that movie, but for Finding Neverland, at least!

*interspersed meaningful personal reaction:

[getting yerba mate at Pacha with credit card]
cashiere: Oh, sorry, there's a $5 minimum for credit cards.
me: Hmmm. [looking around] How much is this banana? Is it $3?
cashiere: No, it is 50 cents.
me: Hmmmm. Is this other banana also 50 cents?
cashiere: Yes.
me: Hmmmmmmmm. I'll take this cookie. What am I up to?
cashiere: You'll be fine if you add this bottle of water.
me: Perfect.

[at dentist's office, I was lucky to find the office itself open on a Saturday. There was some kind of painting going on, and everything was in disarray, but I couldn't find anyone who might take my check. I hopped over several articles and made my way back around to the front desk, but as I re-emerged, I saw a man waiting at the front door. I looked at him for a long time before:]
me: Ummm.... I don't work here.
him: I know. [offers no more information]
me: Do you?
him: Yes.
me: [long awkward silence.] I brought money for you. [brandish check]
him: That was nice of you.
[the money exchange happens, with our positions reversed]

[at Wheatsville, where today was 10% for Member's Apprecation]
me: has it been crazy today? It seems pretty tame compared to most Member Appreciation days.
cashiere: yeah, it is NOW, but we were slammed all day.
me: oh, well. I hope the rest of your shift goes okay.
cashiere: I'm off in 10 minutes.
me: that's good! [but in my head, I was confused, because standard cinema training has taught me that I'm supposed to say "hey, listen... do you wanna grab a cup of coffee or something? I have some time right now..." because I kind of thought she was cute, but the problem was that I am not an attractive man, nor did I have any time in my day for unscheduled human interaction] [also, even in a movie, we probably would have needed a little bit more lead-up for me to ask her to coffee-or-something without seeming creepy, were I a man.]