I'm working from home today. The electrician was scheduled to come at 8. I knew he would take at least an hour (he did). Then I figured that even if I caught the 9:13 train, I wouldn't get to work until at least 10:30. Then, I would have to leave an hour early because the trains stop early on the day before a holiday. (Don't ask me why! Not EVERYONE gets to cut out early!) Anyway, it would have made for a short workday, and I can get more done at home.

I'm glad I made this decision, because the electrician left a little after 9 and I never would have made the train.

It's all moot, anyway. Unless I have to go to a meeting, it makes not the slightest difference in my work to actually be there. Oh wait, yes, it does. People interrupt me at work! I really wish I could work remotely on a regular basis, but my bosses just can't pull that trigger.

The electrician was mostly helpful in educating me about how to use my antique wiring. I can't turn on the air conditioner when something else is already drawing current from that socket. There is a surge. If I turn my lamps off, then I can safely turn the air on. Then, after a few minutes, I can turn on the lamps because the surge is over. Also, I can't turn the air condition off and on in quick succession. I can never vacuum with the air conditioner on. Another problem I had was a lamp that was drawing too much -- changing to a compact fluorescent bulb solved that problem. He also pulled out some old speaker wires and cables that were hooked up to nothing but were unsightly. He charged me $125 and it was money well spent.

I'm going to get some power strips, which may help manage the surge. He didn't seem to think it was a necessity, but he said it wouldn't hurt and might save me a trip to the basement.

All in all, the wiring is good but has the typical quirks for an old building and I just need to be mindful of how I use it

Last night I made a Mexican Layered Casserole. That's what I decided to call it, anyway. I just layered food I had on hand -- tortillas, salsa, corn, red onions, cheese, jalapenos and Spanish rice. After baking it, I topped it with sour cream. It was delicious! It will serve for several more meals and it was essentially free because I was just using up bits and pieces.