What pleases me when nothing pleases me

Well, one thing that pleases me when I am in NO MOOD TO BE PLEASED! is a wee Keene-Marsh baby. What's the name? I'm so sad, she asked me for good name ideas and I never weighed in. There are so many boy names I like. I won't go into any of them right now though, since they might give something away.

Another thing that pleases me is this. It's true.

But the thing I was originally thinking of is my friendship with Kirsten. Over the past 5 years, if you were to tally up all the hours I've spent with people, the person with the most frequent flyer miles would definitely be Kirsten.

When I first started working with her, she had a convertible. We would put the top down and cruise away from the office to pick up sandwiches from QFC and it entertained me to watch the other drivers check her out, this tall blonde in her red Cabriolet, wearing big sunglasses and looking like a woman to be reckoned with. She always had her toenails painted and her shoes frequently match her purse, but she also always had black and blue bruises up and down her forearms from sparring at Tae Kwan Do. She has her black belt and we used to say that if anyone messed with me, she'd kick some ass. She's a powerful woman.

She's a softie too, though, and I will continue to make it my personal challenge to make her eyes well up from time to time by telling her how great she is. She is so great - empathetic, thoughtful, tough, and fun.

We used to go to the gym together at lunch, and it was a toss-up which one of us was the worse influence on the other, since neither of us really wanted to work out. We preferred Jamocha shakes at Arby's. There was a 6-month period of time when I was single though, and telling her all about my dating exploits was entertaining enough to convince me to do sit-ups. For me, at least. I loved her as an audience then, and I still do.

One of the best things about having dinner with her last night was the moment when she threw her head back and laughed laughed laughed at something I said. At least once a day, I would hear her laugh through the wall my office shared with hers, and I loved that and miss it and on those days when nothing pleases me, I know that laugh still will.