New Year's Eve

Buster and Pink checking out the lobsters.

Lobsters for New Year's Eve dinner. They were previewed by the cats who quickly became bored.

Watching a movie in bed later, Richard turned to me and said "It's midnight!" We were surprised because we don't normally stay up this late, but the last bit of jet lag is still working and our schedule is not quite back to normal. "What Just Happened?" was the film we watched - a satire about movie production. Cameo roles by Sean Penn and Bruce Willis. John Tuturro plays (okay, overplays) hilariously a neurotic OCD agent with severe anxiety problems. Most of us know somebody like this, and the satirical portrayal was done very well.

I have an OCD friend - we have lunch every few months. We eat at the same restaurant every time because it eliminates much of the fussing around that involves finding the right table in a new spot. Possible problems for her are the obvious: too close to the kitchen, too close to the bathroom, too close to the entrance, under a speaker or a fan, too much light or too little light, facing an undesirable doorway. I traveled with her once on a short trip and choosing a hotel room involved the same agonizing process. She looked over the whole hotel ticking off her no-no's; too near the elevator, too high up or too low down, too close to an exit door. In addition there are the various views and safety issues to review. In fairness she gives the desk clerk $20 to put up with it - and then doesn't hesitate to look at 5 - 10 rooms before settling down. Obviously she is excellent company - well worth suffering through these rituals.

She travels a lot for her work but every aspect of the travel has been worried over, examined and routinized. The parking place, the airline and her seats on each aircraft. She stays only at Sheratons on the executive floor in certain rooms. Fortunately she calls on the same people all the time so she doesn't have to face new uncertain situations in unfamiliar business buildings and restaurants. As she's very successful, her company accepts her "idiosyncrasies" and they don't object to any of the expenses  her special needs entail.

Surprisingly she moved recently from Southern California to New Mexico. Swiftly and with seemingly few problems she changed households in 30 days, selling one home and acquiring another in that narrow window of time.