You will know spring by its smell...

First, we're back from vacation and now we're into a solidly started spring. We saw some cherry blosoms before we went to Hawaii, and I had noticed that the days were noticibly longer, but it wasn't until tonight, walking to the ferry after work, that I could smell spring--flowers, the water in the air, the trees. I never knew that your sense of smell comes alive in the spring because I grew up in a place that was always sufficiently warm to promote the ambient fragrance, and hence, I never really smelled it--unless it was the tar of asphalt or something extraordinarily out of place.

Speaking of L.A., Wendy and I got an atlas for Christmas from her parents which we very warmly received but had left unopened until we decided to see if we could find Iraq on an unmarked map (one of us, like a supposed 20% of all Americans, accurately named the country and three of its surrounding countries; the other was two countries away. I won't say who, but I can admit to not liking geography as a student). In it, we found satelite photos of major cities, including L.A. We were shocked by how flat and covered by cement the city looked from space--even though we lived there together for several years.

Today, I have up until now have failed to remember, is Mardi Gras.

I am flooded by manic energy since we returned from our vacation. I thought I would be able to get a lot of work done, but instead I've just been a blabbering distraction to myself and those around me. It might be that I'm going through a little caffeine imbalance or some sort of insulin high or something. I've got to cut down on the coffee tomorrow and schedule a doctor visit.

I do feel really bad about my boss. She had her wisdom teeth pulled out on Friday and she told me that her lower lip was numb. I made a joke about her drooling all over herself before I realized that her lip had been numb all weekend. I felt like such a fucking jerk for joking about it. She looked genuinely scared when we talked about it. I guess the doctor warned her that in some cases, the nerve can be damaged and some of the feeling may never returned. I had never heard anything about that. When I saw her today, I first asked her how she was feeling, and before she could answer, I asked her about her lip. She said there was still no feeling. I wish I knew what to say to her without sounding like a creep.