My apartment is so cold. Especially here in the front bedroom (“office”). The glass is thin, the windowframe is weak, and the heat hangs in a space just beyond the small vent in the wall, usually monopolized by cats. I keep saying how I am moving my desk into the dining room — the only room in the house with a completely modern window, thank you cheap awful hateful landlady who has been one of the worst neighbors I have ever had, and only the second-worst rent collector.

Anyway. We are in a cold snap, but it’s raining now, so maybe it means things will get warmer.

The garage door just thundered to life, Brian is home! I will make a salad and hummus and I don’t know what else for dinner. Hmmm. I have been making these vegetarian dinners for us, esp when I realized that when I was 17 pounds lighter, I also did not eat meat. Coincidence? Maybe. Also take into account superfast metabolism of a 23-year-old, and much more physical activity. Ohhhhh well.

Today I put two copies of what I have so far in my novel into the mail, sending them to two people who each, oddly, live on a street called Washington. And part of the book is set in WA state. I KNOW HOW WEIRD IS THAT??????

I read the five steps to a stress-filled life today and overall, it just seems like, if you do NOT follow the steps, which is the goal, you live a very zen-filled life. The word “zen” is frequently abused, but I think it applies in this case. Don’t worry about what other people think of you. Be happy with what you have. Treat people with kindness. Etc. Basically do everything that our culture is constantly trying to convince you not to do.

In other news. When the first draft of my novel is done, I am going to not look at it for a few weeks. Then I will probably want to fucking rewrite the whole thing. You just wait.