note: here's a re-post from another site i'm at. it may be a bit repetitive, for which i apologise, but i should at least post an update when i've got one, heh. i have been reading like a madwoman lately. last week, i read (and finished) one book each day. most of the reading was actually done during work (shh don't tell), but my productivity didn't suffer for it, so i'm not too worried. i hadn't been to the library in awhile, so i kind of outdid myself. i walked out with a stack of books, an even bigger stack of DVDs, and some old-time radio show CDs. and i'm still waiting on some items to come in. i also ordered a new book on amazon a few days ago. i can't wait for it to get here. i'm a book-fiend. work has been canceled for the week, so i'll have to file unemployment . . . before our TWO-WEEK VACATION starts on monday. after over four years of working at this place, you'd think i'd know to plan this better. but the lay-offs don't usually come up until mid-september, so i thought i was being crafty. fat chance, but at least i'm getting paid for part of it. mike, meanwhile, is getting paid for all of it; he has two weeks of vacation that must be used up before thanksgiving (they don't allow people to take off on holidays - how fucking stupid is that?), so he came up with this nifty little idea. so i guess i've got three weeks off. that should give me some time to accomplish all the shit i've got piled up. i hope. it's been very grey out for the past week, raining off and on. i don't mind too much, though - this time of year, i always get excited for fall. i'm not entirely ready for summer to end - at least, not until after our vacation is over - but when i think of the leaves changing, the colour of an autumn sky, and the scent that always comes with the season, i get a bit excited. then i go christmas-crazy. it's already started; i've been wanting to watch 'holiday inn' and, since we're going to chicago for part of our hols next week, 'while you were sleeping.' as far as the wedding and europe are concerned, here's a lazy-arsed copy+paste from that dreadful mind-trap, myspace: europe will be a one-month trip to start. the first two weeks will be spent gallivanting round as many countries and sights as we can comfortably fit; if we like the atmosphere and feel it'd be possible to actually move there altogether, the next two weeks will be spent finding a place to live/stay and a place to work. if it ends up being more difficult than is possible, we'll spend the entire month traipsing round instead. i'm hoping for the former; however, if it turns out to be the latter, we'll have our hol and then come home for a bit . . . and shift our aim toward moving to canada. if we get married in europe, it'll be an elopement, with a reception and vow-renewal here. otherwise, we'll have the ceremony here as well, and we've a few places in mind for that. still trying to figure out the best solution to this, but we'll take it as it comes. in other news, we're trying to find a new place to live. if we want to do all the shit listed above, we're gonna have to save some more cash. there's a place not too far from here that we've been thinking of. it's a one-bedroom, which is less than we've got now (2-bedroom with 1200 total sq. ft.), but it's quite spacious as is -and- it has a nice-sized kitchen with an ELECTRIC STOVE. i don't mind the gas stove we've got now, but electric is, to me, much easier to cook with/on. we'll be saving $50 every month's rent, plus everything except electricity is included - even off-street parking. we'd have our own entrance, too, so we wouldn't be disturbing anyone else. i hope mike goes for it. (= sorry for being such a slacky-wanker on posting. when i -am- home, i'm usually cleaning or cooking for the bake-sale or trying to work on the tattoo design i should've finished by now. otherwise, we're out walking (weight-loss plan still in action) or grocery shopping or doing whatever else. i'll try to be more efficient, but we all know i've said that a million times before.