Working only a half day today = good. Getting paid for a full day today = very good.

I left the house early this morning because I wanted to run a couple of errands. 1.) go to the bank and deposit my paycheck, and 2.) stop by the market and pick up a few things. The main reason I went to the market was to get some coffee filters for work. We have those enclosed kind of filters � the kind that are already filled with the correct amount of coffee for a full pot. But in one of the baskets of Christmas goodies we received last week, we got some really yummy coffee that everyone wants to try. The only problem � no filters. I couldn�t for the life of me find regular, non-enclosed filters anywhere in that kitchen-y break room area. (I attempted to cut open one of our existing filters yesterday, pour out the coffee inside, and refill it with the yummy coffee, but it made the coffee pot sort of explode) So, it was off to the market this morning. On impulse I also purchased some of those individual creamers that you don�t have to refrigerate � hazelnut, vanilla, and Irish cream. I went down the next aisle and grabbed some Doritos, and headed off to work. (I�ve had a wicked Doritos craving since Sunday).

Non and I are going to Monterey for the night. We went in with a few friends of ours and rented a cabin on the beach. I�ve never been to Monterey, or Carmel for that matter, but I hear great things about them. In fact, I told my boss our New Years plans this morning, and he not only raved about the area for a good ten minutes, but he also mentioned a few landmarks and restaurants to look for. If I wasn�t excited about the trip before talking with him (although I was), I�m certainly excited now!

I still need to pack when I get home � it�s just overnight, though, so it shouldn�t take me but a minute or two to throw a pair of pants and shirt into a bag with a toothbrush. The thing that might take a bit of time is finding a white elephant gift. We�ve known about the gift exchange for at least two weeks, but I�d totally forgotten about it until Non called to remind me after I got to work this morning. He's already figured his out, but I have yet to find mine. Originally, I was going to pick something from the �discard� stack of the childhood heirlooms (and general crap) I sifted through during our visit to my parents� house last week, but after the sifting was finished I forgot all about it (sadly, that�s fairly typical for me, to which Non would enthusiastically attest). So, I�m mentally sifting through my drawers and cabinets for something white elephant-suitable. I�d love to bring something really odd and quirky, but I might end up with something just dumb and bland.

I had a terrible waking up period this morning.

Quick Backstory: Non likes to fall asleep to music, and his radio alarm clock has a button which, when pressed, will play the radio for 20 minutes then shut itself off. (We�re both usually asleep before the 20 minutes is up.) If Non wakes up in the middle of the night (to pee or something), and he can�t fall right back to sleep, he�ll hit the button and the radio will play for another 20 minutes while he falls asleep again. Sometimes, when I turn over or something, I�ll semi-wake up and hear the radio playing and know that Non has turned it on to fall asleep (which usually only takes him a minute or two once the radio is on. I should start calling him Pavlov). On the whole, this is a fairly normal occurrence.

So, this morning, with less than an hour to go before my alarm was due to go off, I woke up to turn over and I heard the radio going. Fine. Normal. No big deal. After a few moments of not falling back asleep, I realize that there is no music playing, it�s just the morning DJs chatting. Also, the radio seems to be louder than usual (but that�s not necessarily an important detail). As I attempt to fall back to sleep, I can�t help but listen to what the DJs are talking about which is that in my neighborhood there are serial rapists on the loose. No, that is not a typo � �rapists� is plural. Apparently, there are three guys going around � two with Uzis (and I don�t even know how to spell Uzis), and they knock on your door, bust in when you start to open it, rape any women at home while holding any men at gunpoint. I remember specifically the female DJ saying, �so if you hear a knock on your door, look out the peep hole. If you see three guys wearing ski masks and carrying Uzis, contact the police immediately.�

Well, DUH.

After hearing that, I asked Non to turn off the radio (which he did), and I fell back to sleep, but I kept having these horrible dreams that the rapists were either in my house, at my door, or in my backyard. Every time I fell asleep I would dream it, and it always started and ended the same: I would dream that Non and I were in bed, asleep (like we were in reality), and that I�d either hear someone in the backyard (which the slider off our bedroom leads to), or I�d hear a knock at the door. One time I dreamed I opened my eyes and saw the figure of a man walk across the entrance to our bedroom. In each dream, I was trying desperately to wake Non, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn�t move or speak. It was freaky. The dreams were so real � in each of them it was as if it were reality. I was dreaming that I had just heard the DJs talking about the rapists, that Non had turned off the radio, and I had just gone back to sleep when the rapists had somehow gotten in or were about to get in my house. The dream where the rapists were knocking on our door was, interestingly, the most disturbing to me because I know Non would try to fight the guys, and I could envision them shooting and killing him. All I could think of was that if it had to happen � if I had to get raped and go through that experience � that I would need Non�s support afterward to recover, and how completely devastating it would be to go through that experience AND loose Non in the process. I would rather be killed than have to live without Non after something like that.

I don�t ever remember having such vivid, disturbing dreams. I was so shaken up, I asked Non to walk me to my car this morning. Of course, when I think about it, the rapists are actually in the next town over, and I�m pretty sure they wouldn�t come to a big apartment complex like ours for fear of being spotted and caught, but while I was dreaming (and to some extent, while I was getting ready this morning) it sure freaked me out.

Something I�m looking forward to even more than a trip to Monterey is ringing in the new year with Non. Sure, nobody�s perfect (least of all me or Non), but we seem to be perfect for each other. Tomorrow will be our six month anniversary. After wading through the dating pool, I finally told myself that with the next guy with whom I got involved I would date him for a year before letting it get serious. I wanted to date him in all four seasons before making any major decisions. I think that�s a pretty good theory. In fact, I STILL think that�s a pretty good theory. It just got usurped, in this case, by the �you�ll just know� theory. And ya know what? When it comes to Non, I just know. He�s the one that makes me laugh. He�s the first person I want to tell when something important happens. He�s the one I lean on for support. He�s the one I turn to for advice. He�s the one who knows what mood I�m in based on the way I�m wearing my makeup. He�s the one I want to tell my secrets to. He�s the one I want to share things with. He�s the last person I want to talk to at night and the first person I want to see in the morning. He�s the one. I just know it.

And I can't wait to start a new year with the one I plan to start (and end) every new year with.