We are an early people

Happy birthday to meeee, happy birthday to meeee ... my birthday isn't for more than 2 weeks, but I feel like I'm celebrating early, because I got one box yesterday and another today. My mother is a plan-ahead person. I get this from her, and punctuality, too. When I'm visiting my parents, we can decide we need to leave (say for the airport) by 2 pm, which will give us plenty of time, and yet we are all ready, all three of us, at 1:45. We know we will do it, we laugh about it, but we still do it. We are early people. Which means we spend a fair amount of time waiting for things to start, like movies, but we'd rather do that than be late, or even risk being late. It's just the way we are.

When I went to the Bruins training camp last weekend, which was scheduled for 10-2, the only way I managed not to arrive early was to tell myself that I didn't actually need to be there at 10, that it was okay to arrive later than that.

So, I arrived at exactly 10. To the minute. If I hadn't given myself permission to be 'late', I would probably have arrived at 9:45.

Anyway, back to the boxes. The one that came today I opened tonight, ogled the gifties (wrapped), and will dole them out over the next few weeks. Last night's I knew what was in it, and opened it at once. Such a book-nerd, word-nerd I am, I asked for the Dictionary of American Regional English, volume 1, and was delighted to get it. It's so neat! I took a Lexicography (dictionary-making) class in college with a wonderful professor who worked on DARE, and it seemed this year was the time to start bringing it into my home. After all, one can only have the 20-volume Oxford English Dictionary for so long before it gets lonely, right? (Of course I have the OED. I know, you either understand or think I'm insane. I'm okay with that, either way. If you think I'm crazy, well, me too you. How can you not want it? I marvel that no one who sees it in my home has ever instantly asked to open a volume up. No one has ever asked, but it still surprises me. I have been known to open one and show people who probably couldn't care less. No doubt this will come up someday at my commitment hearing. Or maybe I just don't know enough other word-nerds. Where are you all?)

It looks like a busy weekend. Tomorrow I'm going into the condo again, ooh, to measure the rest of it, and hopefully bring a friend or two to show it off to. Sunday there was talk of apple-picking, which is a nice New England-y thing to do in the fall, but it's also the Boston Knit Out and Crochet Too, so I may go into Boston for that. And, oh yeah, I should be doing move-work, too. Busy, busy, busy!