October 28, 2002 - 7:44 p.m.

sometime last week, i went to bed early and simon stayed up to watch a movie. he nudged me when he finally came to bed. instead of my usual mumbling or tossing, this time i replied in my sleep:

hi. i'm paul, and this is my ladyfriend, erin.

according to simon, i promptly fell back asleep and was not heard from again.

i'm not sure what that was all about, but it might have something to do with having three pauls in the office (simon claims i've answered the work phone in my sleep on a number of occasions). or it might have something to do with paul dempsey, since we now own the new something for kate dvd. or my brain might be really lame.

i'm only working a half day on friday. yes, friday is conveniently my birthday, but i'm really taking the time off to hand in my visa application. the clock is a-ticking, and i just want to get it over with. it's also nice that simon has the day off. we might be able to have a whole conversation. i'm hoping to head for jan juc, my favorite beach when i was in the surfriders club. or maybe we can have dinner at shakahari, the gourmet vegetarian restaurant. who knows, who knows?

i wore a new shirt to work today, and no one said anything. we're talking about an office full of women who love to comment on new clothing, and i heard not a peep. should i feel heartbroken? i needed some validation, so i went to the train station to jump in a photo booth and have my picture taken. sure, the picture is for the visa application and you can't even see the shirt properly, but i feel justice has been served.