Autumn announced itself this morning with heat and haze. Yesterday's clear skies have once again withdrawn behind a curtain of smog. I was thinking it might be nice to greet the official change of season with some sort of little ritual, but got distracted by the frenzied pace of life at home and missed the exact moment (nine thirty something in the morning) by twenty minutes or so. Later, at work, I decided to draw a picture to celebrate the season. For what it's worth, here it is:




I also went to a small job recruitment event at my old university today, marvelling at the fact that there's actually a substantial downtown area around it where there used to be very little. Kids these days have it good. At the event, I picked up some information from the tables of a couple of nonprofit social service companies. The jobs sound interesting, and they're definitely the type of job that a person can feel good about doing. The pay (as is usually the case, I'm finding) is a bit low, but there's benefits and they're full time.
Nearby, at the school library, there were a couple of tables and a large plastic bin full of free books. Of course there were tons of students rifling through them, so I only managed to grab a couple - a book on Elkhorn Slough and a well-used Nausicaa graphic novel. I just missed out on a pile of National Geographics. I should just subscribe to it, but can't because I have no money.

I saw a different rat in the garden today. I felt a little like the Pied Piper because he jumped out of one of the raised plant beds while I was playing music. He didn't follow me though. I guess I'll have to keep practicing.

This evening, Jen's mom took her out for a birthday dinner, and I watched the other kids. Willow got to play with the little neighbor girl while the sky darkened and the moon rose. Then there was the usual chaos that precedes bedtime. Lexy is really nervous about going back to the doctor tomorrow to get yet another cast put on. His arm isn't mending well enough, it seems, so they have to redo it again. Poor guy.