first day of school

new classes started today, and i'm tired. on mondays and wednesdays it's international finance and business finance. although they sound similar, international seems like it will be a lot of fun, whereas business will be a soulsucking experience.
for economical and bmi reasons, i have resolved not to eat dinner at schlotzsky's every night before class. (this is extremely difficult, because their "original" is the best sandwich on earth and it's two doors down from the econ building.) so james and i went to the grocery store instead of out to lunch today during work to stock up on healthy snacks like popcorn. unfortunately, popcorn is highly flammable, i guess especially the way i microwave it, because the first bag i attempted to cook (at work, in the 18th floor kitchen) not only burned, but actually ignited. and billowed smoke. i was really worried that i was going to be the next secretly-hated jackass to send everyone on all 19 floors down the stairwells on foot by setting off the fire alarm. And at the height of my dousing the popcorn bag in the break room sink while it popped and sizzled and smoked, i caught james running by and pointing. he ratted me out to all who could smell it as fast as he could.
and yeah, i'm still waiting on that promotion...

kitten mind control

so in addition to our two adorably wonderfull kittens, we're also boarding my sister's old, fat tatter-eared cat named fred. what fred lacks in cuteness he makes up for in sociability, and I've actually grown pretty fond of him. my kittens are not anti-social, but they are more interested in me entertaining and doting on them, whereas fred just straight up adores me. he breaks out into purrs if i just look at him.

i've been employing every cat behavior modification tactic at my disposal to try to get at least one of the kittens to idolize me like fred does, and i've reached an impasse. sometimes they will get it into their little heads that i am thisclose to giving them a treat, and although it holds their attention, it's obviously not the love i am going for.

i guess my point is that i would be pretty psyched if a kitten mind control device were to come to market.

a quick google search revealed to me that, according to one media analyst, this interest puts me in high-powered canadian company.

coincidence

few things swirling through my mind today, the most interesting having to do with my mind itself. on sunday night i heard a great program about how we interpret coincidence. it reaffirmed for me how nice and bland i could continue to have it as an empiricist (a belief i wouldn't defend it in an argument, but must cop to in the interest of full disclosure).
more importantly,
it reminded me that i don't have to have it just that way. i can't muster any genuine belief in spirits, holy or otherwise, but the psychiatrist guest (of all people!) reminded me that the very fact that a "miracle" is really just any old accident proves that immense meaning is mine to wield; not intrinsic to any phenomenon. and so i am grateful to my own mind for its ability to epiphanise, giving me full power to beware and be under the spell of the notion that chance favors the prepared mind.
now on to my preparations...