last night i experienced an overwhelming sense of contentment and satisfaction. it seemed like things were all going well. i know that it's not actually true that things are all going well, but the sense i had was overwhelming, so i just sat back and enjoyed it. or rather, i jumped up and down in glee, bouncing all over the house and making karl think i had finally lost it.

i know that this was brought on by the kitchen, and by the heat in our house. the kitchen is progressing SO WELL. every damn day, we come home to find that they've made progress. today, they'll finish grouting the kitchen floor, and continue to mount cabinets. it. is. glorious.

and then, THEN, there's the heat. we have heat! this is very exciting, because for a couple days we thought we were in for a new heater, to the tune of several thousand dollars that we definitely don't have. two nights ago was the first really cold night of the season, and we were huddled in our living room watching ju-on (original version of the grudge. i thought it was scary, yes, but i was not so much clear on some elements of the plot. like, what was the facial tick about? and what was the black smoke stuff that pulled the security guard into the room? and, so, was there a point in the middle where about 5 or 7 years passed and no one told us? rg.) and freezing. just freezing. we turned the heat all the way up to 80, but the thermometer only registered 63. i was wearing 2 shirts and 2 fleeces, jeans, socks, and slippers, and i was shivering. i was so depressed at the prospect of spending a winter in that house. i was traumatized as a child from living in a cold drafty house, and now i the thought of a cold house makes me a little panicky. but then.

but then, karl discovered The Switch. he was in the basement, doing laundry, and looking at our 41 year-old heater, wondering what that switch did on the front. figuring it was the on/off switch, he tried it, and lo! and behold! a chorus of angels* sang! and we! had! heat! it was verily BLASTING from the vents.

so i am very content and warm. which basically amounts to the same thing in my world. warmth=contentment. (mental note: when bidding on foreign service posts, stick to warm countries. ulaanbaatar is RIGHT OUT.)

*chorus of angels later determined to be the heater's blower. which had, um, been turned off. by, um, probably us. cuz we're stupid.

other nice things that have happened: we spent the evening last night with friends J and S, who recently had a baby, franny d. or frankie d. not sure which would be a better rockstar name. franny/frankie is the cutest baby ever, with her thick black punkrock hair and her jim carey facial expressions, especially the one where she looks at her dad like 'holy shit! did you see that guy? just looking at me? dude!' anyway, we got to see the baby, eat steaks (that's phillyese for cheesesteaks), and have ice cream at the franklin fountain.

also, my security clearance has gotten started, which i know because the guy in charge of mine called me yesterday to check/confirm a couple of things from my paperwork. like, that i was a student, not an employee, at penn, and that i really didn't know what my address was the summer i lived in moscow. that one is a bummer. i'm sure he can't be happy that i lived in russia, the homeland of that most evil of spies, boris badenov, for 5 weeks, and can't tell him where. also, i pulled my credit report yesterday and found out that state has already checked my credit. things are starting!

on the down side, my friend b---- (of b---- and n--- who are getting married in june) just found out that her dad has metastatized pancreatic cancer, and while they don't know much yet, she's talking in terms of "timelines" and *whether* (not when) he'll start chemo. it does not sound good. also, a friend of J and S (the ones with franny d) has the same kind of cancer that lance *rmstrong had, and went to the same doctor even, and thought he might be getting better, but he isn't. and to cap it all off, k---, who just married a-- in august, is leaving him. they've been together for about 5 years, bought a house together 3 years ago, and just got married 4 months ago, and now she's leaving him. i have no idea if she knew anything before the wedding, or if these feelings just came on suddenly, or what. but it sucks.

then, of course, there's the neverending, life-sucking dissertation to make my life miserable.

but none of this can dampen my happiness about the heat. and the kitchen, but especially the heat. heat! yay heat!