Toluu

Smoke and Ashes

This is the personal web site of Sarah McAuley. After a few years in SF and NY, I have returned to Boston, Jamaica Plain specifically, to continue my career as a marketing wench. I recently (Dec. 07) switched industries, leaving telecom for the exciting world of clean tech. I no longer commute to an office park 75 minutes away, which has helped my mood considerably. I hate pesto and I love to read. I think sharing my life with strangers is odd and narcissistic, which of course is why I'm addicted to it and have been doing it for several years now. Need more? You can read the "About Me" section, drop me an email, or you know, just read the drivel that I pour out here.

Confessions of a desperate womanNovember 24

Me: I did a bad.

DLS: ???

Me: It's important to note that I was emotionally vulnerable. I spent all morning shopping for baby clothes [for an expecting family member and my best bud's shower] and then I picked up Lucy from the groomer with her new haircut, and she looks *so* cute.

DLS: Again, ???

Me: I may have bought Lucy a red and white shearling coat for Christmas.

DLS: You need help.

 

 

I dream in big wordsNovember 13

DLS has her second chemistry test tonight. Working full time and taking Chemistry three nights a week has been a little stressful, and I think I'm suffering from sympathy stress. Chemistry was the one class in high school that I literally didn't even try at. I did just enough to get by, but on the upside, so did everyone else, and the teacher graded on a major scale. I think I got a 14 on one exam, which after the curve turned into a B+. We had a first year teacher who was duller than Ben Stein. He was middle aged and had been working in a lab for years, and I think he just felt more comfortable around rats than teenagers. I suppose now that I'm knockin on 30's door, I hardly blame him.

Anyway, the dream.

I dreamt that I had to take the test too - even though I hadn't really been to any classes. I did great on the first page, which asked us to properly label all the Russian provinces. I don't even know if Russia has "provinces" - nor does that have anything to do with chemistry - but I rocked that section so I was feeling pretty good. The next question was something like "There are 7 cheerleaders, 1 of them is sick and you can't tell which one. What do you do?" After struggling with the question for awhile, I realized the answer was simple - transmogrify the sick one into an ice cream cone. Literally, at this point in the dream, I'm convinced I'm a genius.

Transmogrify a cheerleader into an ice cream cone? I didn't even know I knew the word "tran

If you're annoyed at the State of CaliforniaNovember 12

You can always sign here to help stop the nonsense.

I'm a bad, bad pet ownerNovember 12

Last week we came home to a panic-stricken note from our dogwalker. She retold a horrifying tale of Lucy escaping from her collar, not once, but twice. She then went on to say that we needed to get a new collar or she couldnt walk the dogs anymore because it was too stressful and Lucy is a fast little bugger and very easily could have run into traffic.  I then had to respond something along these lines:

So sorry about your trying day. The collar is actually fine. As it turns out, we loosened it to fit through her Halloween costume (uh, yeah, we're *those* people) and apparently forgot to tighten in back up. Again, so sorry.

Fortunately, she replied that she's one of those people too. Not that I needed more reinforcement that I wasn't alone... last year's pet parade confirmed that.  So, as if letting our puppy nearly get run over by a car wasn't bad enough, I'm going to add insult to injury by posting some pictures.

 Yep, that's right, we dressed our dog up like a little itty bitty moo cow. She loved it. Really. I swear (ok, maybe not so much) .

I need suggestionsNovember 5

I have $40 in iTunes gift certificates and I can't possibly listen to my gym mix one more time without going crazy. So please, leave suggestions in the comments box for favorite gym songs (Reens, JP - I know you two must have suggestions, you fitness freaks). To give you a sense of overall tone I dig while gasping for breath and trying not to trip and fall on a treadmill or other contraption, the current mix is along the lines of Killers, Modest Mouse, Orgy, etc. Ok, ok - I *may* have a little Kelly Clarkson and Pink on there too.