k. i'm back. Just had to step on over to Discount Builder's Supply and see if I could get a little "contact high" from all the contractor types whose actual job it is to fix stuff all day. (!!) My adorable, Lumber-cutting-crush-guy is still there (sheesh, it's gotta be like 15 years that he's been over there cutting up stuff... I love him beause - among other things - he's completely sarcastic and annoyed acting yet at the same time spent the better part of an entire day helping me sketch, estimate, select and cut the wood for my kid's loft then turned around and charged me like 1.50 "for cuts" which, for those of you in the know, is ridiculously cheap and really very nice. Plus he's got sexy hands...) he smiled at me and shook his head and I just MELTED! Eh, hem... anyways (see, now I'm in a crushy mood cause Professor K got me all worked up. so I'm remembering all these other crushes I never quite managed to get over -- you know, sometimes I think it's harder getting over a crush than it is getting over an actual relationship. It's like with a crush there's no "closure"... although, I can't honestly say any of my relationships ever had real "closure" either but whatever... where was I??)

Speaking of building stuff BTW, R-B Guy is back from his trip to Outter Mongolia and has graciously offered to help me figure out how I can turn the aforementioned loft (which is now supported by two corners of the bedroom) into a free-standing affair which is just SOOOO sweet and useful and stuff! {warm, heart-y feelings!!} so I may just get to keep that thing up and around and in Boo's life for longer than i thought! Yay! Cute, funny, comes with his own power tools...! R-B Guy = excellent addition to the Chick posse. Welcome to the club!

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In other news, I got into my Berkeley class which was GREAT although I was less than prepared to be attending UC Berk during the day, during the middle of the week. Can we JUST say wall-to-wall-22-year-olds?? Shesh! As some of you may or may not know, I look rather like a twelve-year-old meeself so it wasn't (at least not seemingly to me) obvious that I could have parented some of these kids (o.k. maybe not parented but very definitely much-older-sister-ed them!!) and as such, I had the most earnest young people inquiring as to whether or not I "needed help" finding my "books and stuff" -- "stuff". A very nice boy in my class asked me afterward if I "wanted to go get coffee or something and talk about stuff".

Now I know what "stuff" meant back when I was in high school but I'm not super sure what it means to the kids today.... Anyone? Was i being "asked out"??? and if so, was it really bad to have laughed in his face?? (Seriously, I didn't mean to, he was just being so Grad student, and EARNEST and everything!! I know, I know, I need to do us all a favor and just stop it right now! It's hard though cause in a way it feels like I'm getting a chance to go back and do high school again only without all the bizarre insecurities and need to be home by 9:00...! Although how ironic is it that now i WANT to be home by 9:00! Hee Hee...) Anyway. It's light years different from my Mills class where not only am I among the youngest, I'm also one of the ones with the fewest/youngest kids -- interesting being able to compare the two....