Last night I dreamed that Manchester gave me a pet baby octopus as a gift. Unfortunately he already bought the octopus before the tank was set up. It was reminiscent of the time in real life Manchester wanted to give me goldfish for my birthday but to this day has the tank sitting on his living room floor with no fish. So the small little octopus was kept in a plastic bag filled with water at the store, waiting for us to set up the tank. I kept going back to the store every day to check on it, but I noticed it was changing from a blue/purple color to brown and was moving around less. Eventually I told the store owners to put the octopus back in the tank or it would die. As one of the owners released the octpus into the tank, instantly it started to get better. The brown faded and the inky color came back, and it was swimming with another octopus, which I assumed was its mother. At this moment in the dream I realized that the octopus symbolized my relationship with Momo. I felt relieved and happy that the octopus was doing better, but I felt extremely sad that it wouldn’t be my pet.

Momo moved back to his country this week, which makes me feel sadder than I would have expected. When I think about the circumstances under which we met, I never would have expected us to have a relationship, nor for that relationship to be so important. I miss him terribly and am hoping the best for him. Although we will be able to call each other whenever we want, he has asked me to write him letters because he wants to have something to look forward to and wants to save them. So next week I am going to begin writing, which will be quite a challange. The only letters I have ever written in Spanish are formal letters to tell my clients that they failed to show up in court and that the judge issued an arrest warrant. I know nothing about informal greetings or closings in Spanish letters, so I am hoping to find someone who will tutor me in this area. Even though Momo just left, I already can’t wait until the day that I can see him again.

About two months ago in my efforts to be greener I purchased and now use daily real silverware and dishes at lunch. For the longest time I was eating every meal out. I began eating at my office because it’s less expensive, and it’s healthier because I’m less tempted to eat too much or to choose unhealthy options. Well, once I started eating at my office I also started using plastic silverware, paper plates, and even before that I was using several plastic or styrofoam cups in court and in my office daily. Now I eat my lunch on real dishes and with real silverware, which somehow makes eating lunch at my office seem better. I take a travel mug of ice water to court with me and either drink water throughout the day from that or from an oversized coffee mug in my office. The only negative is that now I have to do more dishes, but I think the benefits outweigh that.

I went to the gym today and actually ran one mile without stopping, which is something I probably haven’t done in about nine years. This certainly wasn’t the fastest that I’ve ever run a mile, but the point is that I did it, and it’s a step in the right direction toward my goals. Recently I also started taking vitamins. I now take three caplets which contain B complex, Vitamin C, Folic Acid, B-12, Iron, Calcium, and Vitamin D. I feel less fatigued and more energized. I think these vitamins are going to be good for me in general, but will make me healthy enough to enjoy exercising.

I went to the Ichimura Japanese garden after work today.  I was the only person there.  It was quite peaceful.  The only sounds were the rushing water, insects, and lizards, and the rustle of plants.  I will definitely return in the future.  It seems like a great place to meditate, think, or just relax.