One of our cats is shitting outside the litter box. The boxes are spotlessly clean - thanks to this contraption, which makes the cleaning much easier - yet still, there is shit. I could retrace the whole history of the shitting issue, but... it's cat shit. It's really not that interesting.

(Annoying, yes. Interesting, not so much.)

Today I finished the full read-through and outline of chapter 4. This concludes the outlining of the dissertation, and begins the "start writing again, bitch" section of the semester. Hopes are high: let's all pay attention to the little word meter for chapter 1, and see if it moves from 61% by the end of the week.

Finally, we all know that I'm not really happy unless I'm planning a trip. Obviously, financial issues have resulted in several cancelled plans (first Ireland, last summer; then Rome, this winter) which means I have not left the country in over 18 months. The solution: plan a trip for next summer, and plan it in a "finances be damned" way.*

The current plan is to start in Hungary and loop around, moving to the south... Slovenia, Croatia, Albania, Macedonia, Bulgaria, and back up into Romania. We are in the process of trying to narrow things down, but it's difficult. However, six countries in five weeks sounds intimidating, and possibly *not* very vacation-like, especially considering the slower travel in some of the countries (apparently Croatia, Macedonia, and Albania have useful internal train systems, but they don't quite link up yet) so narrow we must.

I'm honestly most interested in Bulgaria, and I'm having a hard time giving up any of the town options, there. Medieval monasteries! Ancient ruins! Lots of beer, wine, and good food! Yes, yes, give me all of it.

*Yes, this means saving as much as possible and putting the rest on a credit card. I know, I know, it's evil. However, I've about had enough of planning for trips only to cancel them.