Derby Practice Sunday

I took another hard backwards fall during Sunday’s derby practice. It seems to be a pattern with pack skating – it takes everything I have to just keep up with the pack, so when I try to do something else (sprint ahead, zigzag laterally), I fall. Dexter and Bunnie were very supportive and encouraging, but I really need to work on my basic skills so I’m not so far behind everyone else. I especially need to work on skating in proper derby stance, so I don’t fall backwards if I get off balance. At least my tailbone doesn't hurt as much this week as it did last week -- I took it easy last night, and feel mostly better by today.

I do need to look into getting one of those tailbone protectors, however, if I'm going to keep falling on my ass. B)

Week in Review – Week of 2009 December 20th – 26th

This has been a very nice holiday week. I only had to work three days this week, and while it sucks that one of those days is Saturday, it could be a lot worse. I’m in Evansville right now, hanging out with my mom, sister, aunt, and cousin. My mom is doing well, and we benefit by enjoying her wonderful cooking. I got her a carved wooden “happiness” statuette to celebrate the fact that her depression is lifted and she’s finally feeling herself again.


Most of derby practice sucked Sunday. Between my sprained ankle and my late work shift, I haven't been able to make it to more than one practice a week, and that's not enough to keep up. I tried to sprint out of a pack skate when it was my turn, and after getting whipped to the front I promptly fell on my ass, which didn't hurt then but hurt for days after. I think I might take Dexter's advice and start going to Skateland on Thursday nights, at least on the weeks I work late and can't go to Monday practice.

After practice I went to Ke’s to shower and spend the night. We went to the Laundromat so she could wash and dry blankets and sleeping bags, and we grabbed Chinese food from next door while we were there. When we got back we watched a cute Star Trek parody episode of CSI while Ke worked on computer repair projects. When Nivagi got home, she hung out with us for a while before going to bed. When Ke got hungry again, I went out and got us Fazoli’s before bed. We stayed up way too late, but it was fine since I didn’t have to work Monday.

Monday afternoon Ke and I got up and went to Le Peep for a late breakfast. I hung out at Ke’s before going to Jero’s to snuggle and get dinner. After dinner Jero and I went to derby practice – me to skate, Jero to observe and provide advice and moral support (she’s on a self-imposed off-season until January). Practice followed the same pattern as Sunday – the first half sucked, but it got better as I got warmed up. After practice I gave Jero solstice presents and then we cuddled and watched Dexter.

Work was hectic Tuesday, but I got to leave a little early so I went home and enjoyed some time alone before my friend Jeki arrived. She’s in area (sort of) for the holidays, so she made time to stop by like she did last year. We thought she was going to have to leave early to drive back to her parents’, but she got someone to watch her kids so she could spend the night. We both had a lovely time cuddling and catching up with everything that’s been going on in the last year.

Wednesday work sucked, so I escaped as early as possible and went home to unwind before bringing Ke dinner. Ke and I snuggled up and watched NCIS before I tore myself away and headed to Bloomington to pick up Chhu to bring her to Evansville. Chhu and I headed to Evansville, where I dropped Chhu off at our mom’s. I went to Mira’s apartment, where we said hello to her roommates and then sequestered ourselves in her bedroom to snuggle and watch “Epitath One.”
Thursday morning Mira and I went to her brother’s house for Christmas Eve celebrations. Mira’s family is very nice, and they (as well as Mira) got me presents. When we left I went to my mom’s house for dinner. She made super-yummy lasagna, and after we ate we hung out and listened to fun Christmas music like Straight No Chaser and Hebe’s Cthulhu carols. When Mom went to bed I got on the MUX for a while and then Chhu and I played Guitar Hero.

Around 2 AM Friday morning I went to Mira’s to sleep. Hours later Mira woke me up very nicely with kisses and breakfast. When she headed out for her Christmas plans, I headed back to my mom’s apartment. She’s making a ham for the holidays, and after we eat I’m bringing Chhu back to Bloomington and then meeting up with Caro while she’s in the state. Caro’s Thanksgiving visit was far too short, so tonight I get to kidnap her for the entire night.

Tomorrow morning I have to work, so unfortunately Caro will have to head back early. After work I get to have dinner with Jero and her parents. With luck maybe we’ll all get to play SingStar again and Jero’s brother and I can show off our mad Madonna-singing skillz. I like Jero’s family, so I’m happy I’ll get to see them while they’re in town for the holidays. Overall, it’s been a very nice holiday week with friends, lovers, and family.

"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy." - Ben Franklin

Week in Review – Week of December 6th – 12th

Last week was nice. I got to skate again since my ankle healed from Thanksgiving, and I got to spend geek time with my friends and quiet time with my girlfriends. I also chose a derby name at last – Eye-Roll 20s. It combines derby with something about me (role-playing) and is a pun, as I feel all good derby names should (although my new mentor Dexter might disagree). I had some stress when our MUX disappeared for almost a week, but it is back up now so I can relax knowing I didn’t lose six month’s work.

Last Sunday morning Ke and Mira slept over. I was planning to go to practice, but by the time we were all awake and ready to go there wasn’t time for me to eat, hydrate and digest before practice, so I used that as an excuse to skip it and give my ankle another day to heal. Sunday night Mars and Nivagi came over and I ran a session of my old World of Darkness campaign, which was a load of fun. After everyone else went home Mira and I stayed up for extended RP and a geek talk session.

Derby practice Monday was fun. It was the first time I was back on skates since I sprained my ankle over Thanksgiving, and on my doctor’s advice I wore the brace Jero lent me. Monday’s practice was WFTDA testing, which was a strange time to jump back in (since I’m not ready to pass most of the requirements), but did give me a chance to assess what I could do and set benchmarks for improvement. Monday’s practice was also cool because it was the first time Jero has joined me since I started.

Jero hasn’t been on skates since the end of her BHRG season, so she took it easy as well, trying out her new skates and then offering advice to me and another new skater. Jero watched and encouraged me as I tried everything I dared on my healing ankle, which wound up being just about everything. I’ve fallen behind on some skills (crossovers, knee falls), but other things (one-foot glides, swizzle skating) I can still do, which is nice.

Last Tuesday I had a quiet night with Nivagi. She came over to my apartment and the two of us went to Broadripple for Thai food. After we ate we went to my place to cuddle up in bed. Nivagi had brought over Dexter to watch, but she was feeling too mopey for Dexter and too blah to make a character for World of Darkness. I lent her the Vampire the Masquerade book to read later, and instead we watched The Big Bang Theory, which did seem to help her mood.

Last Wednesday it was freezing, so I picked up Ke from work and we got dinner at Qdoba’s. We went back to my apartment, and since her laptop is dead I let her use mine to catch up on email while I read Nights of Prophesy. When Ke had read all of the Internets we snuggled up and watched House on huhu. We were going to watch Bones as well, but the episode started with extended product placement for Avatar, so we turned it off in disgust and watched The Colbert Report instead.

Thursday night I stayed home to schedule another MUX night, since the MUX was down Monday. Unfortunately, by Thursday we still hadn’t gotten out DB back from aerosar.net, so we MUX exiles met up at temporary refuges until we realized our MUX was still set up at its old location at spodzone.com. Its DB was out of date and missing anything we’ve added in the last six months, but it had the basic grid and characters so we were happy. Dean logged on and we all welcomed him back to the MUX and the country.

Hemy and I rebuild a tiny mirror universe so we could continue the Shattered Glass TP while we waited to get our new DB back. I got to play a stirring scene of Father Cobra welcoming Bludd to Cobra officially, as well as an amusing scene between Evil Growler and Dark Typhoon. For not having our real MUX, I wound up having a very pleasant evening of MUXing after all.

Another nice aspect of Thursday night is that Stsm called to tell me she’d resolved a long-running tension with her best friend, who happens to be the younger sister of an ex-girlfriend of mine. Since Stsm started dating me, she’s wanted to share her joy with her best friend. Unfortunately, that friend hasn’t wanted to hear it since she’d afraid that Stsm will get hurt in a similar fashion to my breakup with my ex. However, apparently Stsm talked it out and reassured her friend for now, and so is free to share her happiness with her BFF again. Good news, indeed.

Friday I was lucky enough to get off work early, so I met up with Jero and we went out for dinner and shopping. She was looking for new shelves for her house, but ultimately we were unsuccessful in our quest, although we did find a new holiday ornament, which we get together every year. When we got back to Jero’s house I played Zelda music for her and MUXed a bit more before the two of us powered down our laptops and went to bed. We stayed up late watching House before finally going to sleep.

Saturday I had to work, so when I escaped I headed to Ke and Nivagi’s immediately so we could go to Tojo and Mika’s Poly Meetup holiday party. However, when I got to Ke’s, she and Nivagi were each asleep in their individual beds. Even after waking, Ke didn’t seem up to a large social gathering. The three of us had a quiet dinner instead, and then I went to Jero’s to sleep so Ke and Nivagi could have a night alone. The weekend was quieter than expected, but still very nice.

“'Yes... this is a fertile land, and we will thrive. We will rule over all this land, and we will call it... this land.' 'I think we should call it your grave.' 'Ah. Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal.' 'Hahaha. Mine is an evil laugh.'”
- Wash, playing with dinosaur toys, Firefly

Sit on Santa's Lap

Have you been naughty or nice this year?

Fetlife is giving away over 200 kinky presents!

Sit on Santa's lap and tell him what you want at Fetlife!

Happy Holidays!

MUX Thursday

Last night I stayed home and schedule another MUX night, since the MUX was down Monday. Unfortunately, by Thursday we still hadn’t gotten out DB back from aerosar.net, so at first we MUX exiles met up at temporary refuges set up by helpful players, until we realized our MUX was still set up at its old location at spodzone.com. Its DB was out of date and missing anything we’ve added in the last six months, but it had the basic grid and characters so we were happy.

Dean logged on and we all welcomed him back to the MUX (and the country!) and then Bludd and I rebuild a tiny mirror universe so we could continue the Shattered Glass TP while we waited to get our new DB back. I got to play a stirring scene of Father Cobra welcoming Bludd to Cobra officially, as well as an amusing scene between Evil Growler and Dark Typhoon. For not having our real MUX, I wound up having a very pleasant evening of MUXing after all.

Another nice aspect of last night is that Stsm called to tell me she’d resolved a long-running tension with her best friend, who happens to be the younger sister of an ex-girlfriend of mine. Since Stsm started dating me, she’d been wanting to share her joy with her best friend, but that friend hasn’t wanted to hear it since she’d afraid that Stsm will get hurt in a similar breakup to what I had with my ex. Apparently Stsm got things resolved now and is free to share her happiness with her BFF again.

A great night all ‘round!

How the US Funds the Taliban

From The Nation --

On October 29, 2001, while the Taliban's rule over Afghanistan was under assault, the regime's ambassador in Islamabad gave a chaotic press conference in front of several dozen reporters sitting on the grass. On the Taliban diplomat's right sat his interpreter, Ahmad Rateb Popal, a man with an imposing presence. Like the ambassador, Popal wore a black turban, and he had a huge bushy beard. He had a black patch over his right eye socket, a prosthetic left arm and a deformed right hand, the result of injuries from an explosives mishap during an old operation against the Soviets in Kabul.

But Popal was more than just a former mujahedeen. In 1988, a year before the Soviets fled Afghanistan, Popal had been charged in the United States with conspiring to import more than a kilo of heroin. Court records show he was released from prison in 1997.

Flash forward to 2009, and Afghanistan is ruled by Popal's cousin President Hamid Karzai. Popal has cut his huge beard down to a neatly trimmed one and has become an immensely wealthy businessman, along with his brother Rashid Popal, who in a separate case pleaded guilty to a heroin charge in 1996 in Brooklyn. The Popal brothers control the huge Watan Group in Afghanistan, a consortium engaged in telecommunications, logistics and, most important, security. Watan Risk Management, the Popals' private military arm, is one of the few dozen private security companies in Afghanistan. One of Watan's enterprises, key to the war effort, is protecting convoys of Afghan trucks heading from Kabul to Kandahar, carrying American supplies.

( More... )

Weekend Update 2009.11.24

Saturday I got a pleasant surprise – A1@, who I haven’t had a chance to hang out since early 2008, was unexpectedly free after work. Pouncing on the rare opportunity, I picked her up after work and we went to Gallagher's Pizza to hang out and catch up. We wound up talking for six hours, catching up and telling stories of our misspent youth. It was a great time, and I’m hoping next time it might be only maybe six months ‘til we can do it again.

Sunday morning I slept late at Jero’s. I got up only when it was time for me to go to derby practice. Sunday’s practice was the hardest so far, and I was reminded I need to work on my lung capacity if I’m going to be doing athletic activities. After practice we had a meeting for the men’s league and discussed the first season of the Race City Rebels. It looks like if I get my skills up to par I’ll be skating with them after all. After the meeting I stopped by Nivagi’s for dinner, and then went to spend the night at Jero’s.

Monday I had off work since I’m on a Tuesday through Saturday shift, so I hung out at Jero’s house and journalled while she went into the office. When she got off work we went out to dinner and then I got onto the MUX. I had an interesting time playing both Good and Bad Buster at the same time in different windows with Good and Bad Spike. I also got in some other fun RP with Carly, Deadline and Temera, and look forward to getting back on the MUX tonight.

Religious Right, Catholic Bishops Seek To Impose Religion On All Americans Through Law, Americans United Charges

From Americans United --

Americans United for Separation of Church and State today expressed grave concern about a renewed push by a coalition of conservative church groups to impose religious teachings on all Americans through government action.

At a press conference today, Religious Right leaders and Roman Catholic bishops unveiled a joint statement criticizing laws that allow reproductive choice and same-sex marriage. The “Manhattan Declaration” indicates that participating religious leaders will defy such laws if they conflict with church doctrines.

Americans United charges that the real agenda is not protecting the religious freedom of churches, but rather attempting to impose those doctrines on all Americans by government decree.

Said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Americans United executive director, “This declaration is certain to be deeply divisive. These religious leaders want to see their doctrines imposed by force of law, and that goes against everything America stands for.

“The United States is an incredibly diverse nation,” he continued, “and it would be a disaster if government started favoring one religious perspective over others.”

(More...)

Stsm

I had a very nice night last evening with Stsm. She came over around seven, and we kissed and then went out to Panera Bread since she was wanting vegetarian soup. we ate and hung out there for a while, and then went next door to Target so she could shop for pajamas -- she and her friends are having a post-Thanksgiving sleepover. We found something that might work, so she bought it and we headed back to my apartment to try it on.

Stsm looked cute in her new PJs, but they weren't quite what she wanted, so she decided that the Great PJ Hunt of 2009 was still on. I put on PJs of my own, and we cuddled and kissed for a while before putting on Mad Men. Stsm fell asleep during the first episode, but since she'd seen them before I just let her sleep and watched two before turning off the TV and snuggling up with her to nap as well.

Week in Review – Week of November 8th – 14th

This week was a lot of fun, aside from being up and down emotionally. I got to attend the Thigh Scream Social -- a roller derby skills camp – which was a great time. I enjoyed it so much that I think I’m going to join the men’s league here in town as soon as I figure out when and where practices are that won’t conflict with this weekend’s plans or my work schedule. I’d go to the practice with them Sunday, but I’m going to be in Chicago with Mira. B)

Sunday after Jero’s bout she and I slept in as late as we could, and then got up so I could have breakfast before the first day of the Circle City Socialites and Race City Rebels’ Thigh Scream Social. Jero watched as the CCS and RCRs warmed us up and taught us day one of our basic derby skills. I was very shaky and wobbly at first, but our coaches were incredibly friendly and supportive, and so I got through the first day just fine. When we got back Jero helped me clean my apartment.

Monday Jero took off work and we slept in after staying up super-late cleaning out three boxes of crap from my apartment. In the morning we showered and brought an entire cartload of recycling out before heading up to Journey for a yummy meal (even if we wound up eating way too much). At Jero’s we got onto the MUX. I got to role-play with Deadline as General Flint, Lt. Bludd as Father Cobra, Optimus Prime as Blaster, and Snoop as Alpha Trion. Fun!

Tuesday I started off in a good mood, but that RAPIDLY deteriorated once I got to work.
That evening was Day 2 of the Thigh Scream Social, where we learned and practiced more skills that I was surprised I could do. After practice Jero dropped me off at Ke’s, and Ke and Nivagi made nachos for dinner. I’d missed V, but we watched The Daily Show and The Colbert Report before Nivagi went to bed, citing work in the morning. Eventually Ke and I went to bed as well, since I had to get up early also.

Wednesday was the last night of the Thigh Scream Social. We practiced falling and whips*, and learned dominance and hitting. I was expecting to be knocked on my ass, but the experienced derby skaters were primarily there to take hits and give feedback. At the end of the last practice we played a few rounds of Queen of the Rink Rank Ruler, which was a lot of fun – it was a last-skater-standing game, and then I *did* get knocked on my ass. We all graduated the derby 101 camp, and were pronounced official derby girls skaters. I definitely look forward to following up and skating again!

Thursday night Ke wanted some time to study alone before I came over, so I went to Jero’s to give her some snuggles until Ke was ready for dinner. When I did go over to Ke’s Nivagi wasn’t home yet so Ke and I enjoyed beef stroganoff. (mmm… meat!) When Nivagi came home we watched The Mentalist and ate blueberries in yogurt for dessert. Nivagi went to bed early since she had to work early, and since Ke had a test in the morning she and I went to bed soon after.

Friday work was busy and annoying, but I got to leave a little early, which made me happy. I went to Nivagi’s and played on my laptop while she cleaned her house. When Mira arrives we plan to go out to dinner with Ke and her. Then Nivagi and I will either head back to my apartment, or sequester ourselves in Nivagi’s room so Ke and Mira can have the night alone. It’s only fair, since I’m kidnapping Mira the rest of the weekend.

This weekend Mira and I plan to role-play Saturday when I get off work, and then Sunday the two of us are going up to Chicago. We’re going to spend the night Sunday, and with luck we’ll get to see Keje and his main squeeze while we’re up there, as well as hitting random museums and sex shops. I’m very much looking forward to seeing Mira this weekend, and excited that she’ll be here soon!

Have a good weekend, all!

*“You know, the whip is the fastest way to gain speed on the track!”
-- 'Hot Tub' Johnny Rocket, Whip It

Week in Review – Week of October 18th - 24th

This week I started to feel better after a month of feeling emotionally crappy most of the time. Seeing Caro helped, as did hanging out with people close to me here in town. I took advantage of one of my vacation days to hide out with Jero and watch The Big Bang Theory, and used my last week of early shifts this month to go out to places I normally can’t because of my until-10 PM shift. I’m starting to adjust to my new relationship paradigm and hope to be able to focus more on my local affairs and fret less about relationships outside of my control. I’m still depressed, but this weekend Mira is coming into town, so it will be great to see her while she’s here.

Sunday I tried to sleep in, but I woke up around 6 AM and was unable to doze back off. At last I dozed off a couple of hours later, and when I woke up again Caro was already up, checking her email. I got up and showered, and then the two of us met a bunch of her friends for brunch at a very good dim sum restaurant. After brunch we stopped at a bookstore and then went back to Caro’s house to watch The Big Bang Theory and snuggle before I had to go to the airport and catch my plane back to Indianapolis. While waiting for my flight I talked to Mira and Ke on the phone, and when I got back to Indy Jero picked me up and we went back to her house to sleep.

Monday I’d intended to go to work, but Jero wasn’t feeling well and decided to stay home, so I decided to play hooky as well. We spent all day in bed watching season two of The Big Bang Theory, which frankly was wonderful. We ventured out long enough to grab a drive-thru lunch, and then returned to bed to watch more TBBT. When we finally ventured out again we had dinner and then returned to Jero’s to get on the MUX. I wound playing about ten different characters, which was crazy-hectic but a lot of fun. I didn’t get everything done I’d intended to do, but I got to chat with Mira and role-play with Jero so I was happy.

Tuesday I returned to work after my five-day mini-vacation. It was busy, but not too bad after a nice break from the daily grind. My boss came by for an observation, so I got to get off the phones for a while to explain to him what I was doing on a batch of P-Set/DID orders I’d pulled down but was having a hard time with because of the phones. After work I went over to Ke and Nivagi’s and the three of us went to A Passage to India for dinner. After we ate we went back to Ke’s for a hot night of checking our credit reports and playing on our laptops. I popped onto the MUX to check a few things, and then eventually joined Ke in bed.

Wednesday night I grabbed food on the way home, put some laundry in the washer, and then got on the MUX. I had a busy night: Typhoon got checked out by Good Spike, Bad Spike got his ass kicked by Cain, Stalker reported into Flint about Twilight, Blaster asked Turborat about his missing Timey Whimy Ball, Red Alert cleared Rat to leave security, Alpha Trion advised Dust Devil on an offer from Cuffs, and Professor Arkeville had a run-in with Deadline and SG Snake-Eyes. And those were just the scenes of which I was personally a part! I was a very hectic night, but entertaining. When I got off the MUX I checked the Internets briefly and then went to bed.

Thursday I was sleepy after staying up far too late MUXing the night before. I got through the day with silos of coffee and short naps at work. After work I met Stsm at my apartment and we went back to A Passage to India for dinner. When we got back to my apartment we snuggled up and somehow I wound up telling her the long, rambling tale of my dating life from Anbepa forward. Stsm seemed amused and entertained, and eventually treated me to some highlights from her own life. We stayed up so late talking we never did get around to watching Mad Men, but our conversation was every bit as engaging.

Friday sucked. Work was incredibly annoying and busy, and not getting enough sleep didn’t help. After work I did get to talk to Ra on the way home, which was very pleasant. Jero and Ke wanted milkshakes, so I grabbed food and shakes and ate at Jero’s while catch up with her about her day. I then brought Ke her milkshake and we discussed whether or not we were going out to see Up as planned. None of us really felt in the mood to watch it, so we went out to Wal-Mart instead so Nivagi could pick up costume supplies for the party Saturday night. However, as soon as we pulled into the Wal-Mart parking lot we heard the party was cancelled, so we just went back to Ke’s.

Today Ke and Nivagi had to work, so I went over to Jero’s for brunch and cuddles. We spent all day in bed snuggling and watching season two of The Big Bang Theory, which greatly improved my mood. At 6 I came back over to Ke’s to await Mira’s arrival for dinner. Since tonight’s party was cancelled, I’m not sure what’s we’ll get up to, but I’m sure we’ll enjoy her company no matter what. Jalyru made a tempting offer to go haunted-housing with her, but I think we’re just going to stay in town. Tomorrow I plan to run the next session of Mira’s World of Darkness campaign, so that should be a pleasant bit of geeky goodness.

“Who's the cat?”

-- Alex the Lion, Madagascar

Week in Review – October 11th – 17th

Last week I was depressed and stressed most of the time. Losing Caro and Ra as girlfriends in the same week left me very melancholy and withdrawn all month. In Caro’s case it’s mostly just a re-definition of the way things have progressed rather than an actual change in the nature of our relationship, but the rational part of my brain hadn’t had much luck of convincing my emotional center of that. Pleasantly, however, actually *seeing* Caro this weekend helped things tremendously.

Last Sunday Jero and I slept late after her Saturday roller derby bout. When we did venture out, we got food and then tried to find printer ink for that night’s D&D campaign run by Marsh. We couldn’t find ink, which led to some technical difficulties since we couldn’t print character sheets. We made due until Marsh’s laptop died, and even then we still got an interesting beginning to Marsh’s new D&D 4e game. We didn’t get as far as Marsh planned, but we will play again soon and I’m looking forward to it.

Last Monday I was little depressed. That week was the anniversary of when I first met Juho, who after several years has disappeared into the ether, and of my first kiss with Caro, who had recently told me she doesn’t consider herself in a relationship with me anymore. I was mopey and distant all day, but talking with Mira and having dinner with Jero cheered me up, especially after I got to role-play with them both on the MUX. I got to spring a surprise for Carrie on the MUX as well, so it ended up being a cool night.

Last Tuesday when I got off work I went to the Poly Meetup. Ke, Nivagi, and Stsm were there as well as Mika and Tojo. I sat between Ke and a rather funny guy I hadn’t met before who was cracking us up with self-depreciating comments and stories. I hadn’t been to a Poly Meetup in a while, but I had a lot of fun, and it was nice to see Mika and Stsm as well as my girlfriends. After the meetup Ke, Nivagi, and I went back to Ke’s to sleep.

Last Wednesday I had a night alone to do laundry, MUX, and pack for my weekend. Nivagi considered coming over after her belly dance class, but she decided she was too tired and it was too cold for her to leave the house. Instead I got a lot done on my Shattered Glass TinyPlot on the MUX, and even got some journaling in before bed. I stayed up way too late for someone who had to get up early, but it was good just to enjoy time to myself.

I took Thursday off to get a ton of things done before I left for Minneapolis, but all I really got done was a follow-up checkup with the doctor and a pleasant lunch with Ke. Unfortunately I was still depressed, grumpy, and stressed, so after lunch I went back home to hide and pack for the weekend. I read some and then met Jero for dinner. She and I picked up season two of The Big Bang Theory and then snuggled to watch it. I stayed up too late again but I very much enjoyed the cuddles and distraction.

Friday morning Jero dropped me off at the airport and I flew to Minneapolis. When I arrived Caro picked me up and drove me to her new place which she shares with friends. I got to meet her new cat, who is a cute holy terror, and then we nestled together on her love seat and just kissed and hung out. I’d been really insecure since she redefined our (non-)relationship, but cuddling with her and catching up made me feel a lot better. We went out to dinner and then searched for The Big Bang Theory since I forgot to bring my copy. We failed in our mission, and so we watched Fight Club instead.

Saturday Caro and I slept late and then ran out for errands. We finally found a copy of The Big Bang Theory, but failed in our attempt to have sushi, going to eat some other cool place that was actually open. When we got back to Caro’s she grabbed a shower and then went back out so Caro could compete in a drunken spelling bee. It was a lot of fun, and Caro won with the word ‘luculent.’ I had a great weekend with Caro, and when I returned to Indianapolis Sunday night I felt much better about everything.

"I like to move it, move it / She like to move it, move it / He like to move it, move it / You like to... *move it*!"

-- Julian, singing, Madagascar

Week in Review – Week of October 4th – 10th

Last week I moved to an earlier work schedule, which is definitely nicer for social plans. However, the workday is far more annoying because the phones never seem to stop ringing (I’m used to it quieting down after 8 PM). Also, AT&T recently started disallowing personal fans, so now I am dying of heatstroke all day. These factors combined have led me to feeling cranky and hateful through most of my eight-hour day. As a bonus, I’m paid less because it’s a day shift. The only benefit is that after I escape there’s actually time to go do things since Indianapolis isn’t closed.

Last Sunday morning I slept in with Ke and then we just had cereal so we could hide out from the world a little longer. When we did venture out we went shopping and then picked up dinner from Yats. We went to Ke’s to eat, and I got online to MUX since I had a big plot I was setting up and wouldn’t have time to do it Monday since I going to the movies. I paused long enough to tuck Ke into bed, and then got things started on TFU’s Shattered Glass TinyPlot.

Last Monday I started my new shift. I was sleepy and it was frustratingly busy all day, but I was happy to escape at 6 PM instead of 10. I met up with Jero after work and we went to see Whip It, which we both enjoyed, cheese and all. After the movie we grabbed some Denny’s and went back to her house. We snuggled on the bed and I popped on the MUX, although I was too tired to do much besides more setup for the TP. Jero was very sore from derby boot camp, so I massaged her limbs before we went to sleep.

Last Tuesday after work Ke and I went to Max & Erma's for dinner, taking advantage of my earlier shift to go somewhere that’s not 24 hours. We both had super-yummy mozzarella and tomato burgers, and then went back to my apartment for a change. I got on the MUX while Ke read entertaining articles from Fark.com. I tried not to get too involved in anything so I could go to bed when Ke wanted to, but I did manage to get some things done for the tinyplot.

Work Wednesday was extremely irritating. I was overheated all day and it lowered my ability to deal with the non-stop stream of idiots I kept getting on the phone. I had no plans that evening, but Jero was suffering from a migraine so I volunteered to take her out to dinner. I treated her to medicinal steak nubbins and got on the MUX at her place to get more done on the plot. When it was time for bed I headed over to Ke’s to snuggle Nivagi and her since Ke was grumpy and I’d been missing Nivagi.

Thursday when I got off work I met Stsm at my apartment and we went out to A Passage to India (previously called Udupi Café) for delicious Indian vegetarian food. When we got back to my apartment we listened to some Garfunkel and Oates and then snuggled up to watch Mad Men before bed. Mad Men is getting addictive, and so is Stsm, to be honest. I’m avoiding making any more time commitments I can’t keep, but I do love hanging out with Stsm when we both are free.

Friday was incredibly busy at work, but I survived. After work I picked up Nivagi and we went to see Zombieland, which was a LOT of fun and highly recommended. After the movie we grabbed food at Chili’s and went back to Nivagi’s, where we expected to find Ke sleeping. Instead, we beat Ke home, and she joined us after a loooong day at work. Nivagi was laptopping, so I popped onto the MUX, and MUXed while very distracted by Ke and Nivagi wrestling on Nivagi’s bean bag chair. B)

Saturday morning I got some snuggles from Nivagi and Ke and when went home to meet Jero after hr hair appointment. The two of us headed down to Bloomington, where Jero skated in the BHRG Monster Mash-Up bout on the Monster team, dressed as a Skrull. Once again the teams were perfectly matched, and the game was decided in the last few seconds, with the Zombies winning by 3 points. After the bout Jero and I went to Denny’s with Jalyru and my sister, hanging out until the wee hours.

“You didn't see anything!”
-- Skipper the Penguin, Madagascar

Week in Review – Week of September 27th – October 3rd

This week was better than the last, if only because I’m a little less depressed. I’m still powerfully sleepy all the time, which seems to be more of a chemical thing than a lack of rest, but today at least I seem to be coming out of it. I have a quiet weekend planned, and then next week I move to a day schedule for the rest of the month, which should let me get out more since I won’t be at work until 10:15 PM. Who knows what craziness might be in store beneath the seldom-seen day ball.

Sunday Jero and I slept late following her bout Saturday night. When we did rouse ourselves we got a late brunch and then each of us went down to Bloomington – Jero to derby practice and me to pick up Caro. Caro and I had dinner at Sushi Bar and then I drove her to the airport so she could head back to Minnesota. I met up with Ke and Nivagi at their house and MUXed while Nivagi did laundry and errands. After we tucked Ke into bed Nivagi and I watched the season premiere of Dollhouse before snuggling up to sleep.

Monday morning I called and moved around some vacation days so I could go see Caro for our anniversary. Work was insanely busy during the afternoon, typical for a Monday, but quieted down in the evening. After work I went to Jero’s, where she made us food. Mira joined us on the MUX for the first time in ages, which made me happy – I’m hoping it will become a regular occurrence. I role-played some and stayed up way too late setting things up for the upcoming Shattered Glass TP I plan to run there soon – with luck, starting next week.

Tuesday morning I was awakened to the sounds of construction, since people were stripping out and rebuilding the interior of Jero’s garage. After work I went to Ke’s where she had made us beet soup. It sounded less-than-appetizing, but since it was basically just vegetable soup with cooked (non-pickled) beets in it, after Nivagi got done spicing it the result was actually quite tasty. I popped onto the MUX while Ke was busy on her laptop but then logged off to join her when she went to bed.

Wednesday was Ke and Mira’s anniversary, so that morning Ke called Mira to say Hello and wish her a happy day. Ke and I then went to Paragon for breakfast. After work I went back over to Ke and Nivagi’s to hang out with Nivagi. After a trip to Denny’s for dinner we cuddled up and watched the last episode of season four of Buffy. She and I are both feeling a little better, so it was good to be able to hang out without both of us being mopey.

Thursday morning Nivagi had to leave earlier than I, so I had a little time to pop onto the MUX and build some of the mirror world before heading in to the office. After work Stsm came over. We lay on my bed and caught up with each other’s lives before snuggling up to watch Mad Men. Stsm fell asleep about five minutes after we started the DVD, but since she’d seen them already I just let her sleep while I watched first season episodes four and five.

This morning Stsm had an early meeting, so she let me sleep in while she took off. I got up and showered, and when Stsm returned she brought us breakfast in bed. We ate then cuddled back up to watch her favorite episodeof Mad Men before I had to leave. Work was awful, being the first Friday of the month, but I did manage to at least finish all of my cuts before ten.

This weekend I’m spending with Ke and Nivagi. We’d discussed going to Metamora Canal Days with Tibere, but Tibere got into a car accident and is in the hospital. Instead, we’ll probably just check out the Fishers Ren Faire and otherwise just take things easy. Since I’m an obsessive freak I’m hoping I’ll get a chance to pop onto the MUX at some point and get some more work done, but if not I can always get to it Monday after Jero and I go see Whip It. Have a good weekend, all!

“Giraffe! Corner pocket!”
-- Alex the Lion, Madagascar

Week in Review – Week of Aug 30th – Sept 5th

Last week was mostly quiet. Jero got back from England, so it was good to see her again and spent time with her even when she was crazy-sleepy from jet lag. Nivagi moved in with Ke, but I had to work during most of the move so all I had to do to help was move a ferret cage. I finally got my yearly STI screening out of the way, and am still happy and healthy (no surprise there). My holiday weekend was pleasantly quiet and relaxing, and I got to spend time with people I never get to see, which always makes me happy. I’m way behind with my correspondence and journaling, which I need to make time to catch up on soon.

Last Sunday morning I got up early to drive down to Bloomington to help the Bleeding Heartland Roller Girls film their new movie, 8 Wheels of Death. I got to be a zombie extra, which was a lot of fun – plus, it was nice to see Erro and Brbe, and those I know on Jalyru and Jero’s derby team (although neither Jalyru nor Jero could make it, since Jalyru was moving and Jero was in England). After filming was over I headed back to Indy, where I got stuck in post-race traffic and ultimately had to park and walk back to Ke’s, still in full zombie makeup. I showered and then made dinner for Ke and Nivagi. The three of us ate and snuggled on Ke’s couch until it got late. We all went to my apartment to sleep, and Nivagi and I watched Dexter (Ke listened while trying to sleep) before bed.

Last Monday work was sucky and stressful. I did manage to pull my numbers up for August, and my new boss said he considers me a hard worker and all that, which as always good. Monday night when I escaped work I went over to Jero’s to see her. She’d just gotten back from England, so she was jetlagged and sleepy, but she did wake up long enough to show me pictures and souvenirs and to tell me a little about her trip. I’d so love to go back to the UK with her, since she’s a British history enthusiast and it would be very cool to go places with someone who was excited to be there. Maybe someday, if I’m ever not broke….

Last Tuesday morning I hung out at Jero’s while she teleworked and then headed into my own job. I stayed home to clean up my apartment since Hebe and P37 were going to spend the weekend at my place while they were in Indy. However, I quickly got sucked onto the MUX instead, and spent most of the night role-playing with Coldsnap and our new Slingshot as Typhoon, as well as verbally pwning Air Raid and Dust Devil as Sky Lynx (I almost felt a little bad doing that ;)). I did make time to give my bathroom a quick once-over before I went to bed, as well as get a little laundry done so I had clean jeans for the rest of the week. I wanted to journal as well, but I’d already stayed up far too late so eventually I just shut down my laptop and forced myself to go to sleep.

Last Wednesday I slept until the very last moment before I had to shower and go into work. That night I got together with Nivagi, and we went out to the Red Eye Café for dinner before going home to watch Dexter before bed. We’d planned not to stay up late since I had an early appointment in the morning, but Dexter sucked us in. We’d just finished season one recently and almost immediately started up season two. Usually Nivagi falls asleep after one episode, but she was strangely awake Wednesday night so we took advantage of it and wound up staying up until 3 or 4 AM. If I didn’t have appointments in the morning we’d have prolly watched Dexter ‘til dawn.

Last Thursday morning I got up early to call Bell Flower to make an appointment for my yearly STI screening and then went back to bed until Hebe and P37 came by to pick up the key to my apartment. Nivagi and I showered and headed to my appointment, and afterward we met Ke for a quick lunch before I had to go to work. After work I stopped by Ke’s to drop off Nivagi’s bag and help her carry in her ferret cage, and then went to Jero’s where we hung out a little before going to bed early to catch up on more sleep (Jero was still jetlagged, and I was exhausted after getting up every two hours all morning for appointments, etc.).

Last Friday morning Jero unexpectedly had another telework day, so I hung out with her on her breaks until heading out to meet Stsm for lunch at a tasty Indian buffet. I enjoyed hanging out and catching up with Stsm, and will definitely have to go back to that Indian place again. After work Ke made dinner, so I got to enjoy a good meal of mixed veggies, pork roast, and rice. Ke, Nivagi and I sat around in Ke’s living room playing on laptops until first Nivagi, and then Ke wandered off to bed. Nivagi had to get up early, so she went to bed separately in her new bedroom. I finally finished what I was doing and joined Ke in bed to sleep.

Saturday I headed down to Louisville to see Laat. When I arrived she showed me her new apartment and then we went up to her building’s balcony to hang out and enjoy the pleasant weather before going to a Kentucky bluegrass festival to see her friends’ band play. We were invited to go to a bar afterward with more of Laat’s friends, but instead we stopped by the store to buy avocados, butter, lime chips, and melons, and spent the evening quietly hanging out eating chips with avocado dip and homemade rice crispie treats. Laat had an insanely hectic week ahead of her, so I was all too happy to just chill with her and watch weird independent films on TV instead of venturing out. Laat conked out before I did, so I just finished watching whatever was on and then turned everything off to sleep.

Julian: “I like them too!”
Mort the Mouse Lemur: “Well, you hate them compared to how much I like them!”
-- Madagascar

Tuesday – Work, Jero, and Ke

Tuesday I decided to embrace the busywork at the office, and let go of my stress about trying to take calls and handle everything no one else seems to be doing. It was so pleasant to just relax and clean up the database, leaving the ACD to other people unless specifically asked by my manager to jump in and help. My boss did appreciate that when he pointed out my points-per-hour were low for the month, I gave him my plan for bringing them up instead of a bunch of excuses about there being no work. Woot.

However, once the call volume spiked, I had to get back on the phones, and then it was all downhill from there. I was slammed with call after call, and since I’d only had a cup of soup all day, I was starving. Eight minutes before my lunch I got an ISDN cut call which took two hours to resolve. One thing that did help my mood was a call from Jero, just when I was finally escaping the call from hell. I’d been missing Jero and hadn’t gotten to talk to her recently, so it was very nice to hear from her.

Unfortunately I won’t have a chance to see Jero again until Monday. It sounded like she was missing me, and that really made me with I was with her instead of at work. By the time I was able to escape for ‘lunch’, it was 8 PM, and I was ready to eat office supplies on my desk. I wound up having to drive to Hardee’s since by then everything in walking range downtown was closed. After I got back I ate during my ‘break’ and didn’t manage to do much more work for the tiny remainder of the day.

When I did flee work, I went home, where Ke was waiting for me in my apartment. I’d left Ke my key so she could use my hot tub after her pilates class.. Instead, when I got there she was putting together media shelves she’d bought for me to help me organize my apartment. I cleaned off the shelves I already had in my room, and moved all the books off the floor that had stacked up over time. I vacuumed by bedroom, and by that time Ke had finished putting together the second shelf.

We took a break to run out and get me a snack and Ke caffeine. When we got back, we moved my old shelves into my closet, and moved my low dresser under the window in my bedroom. We then set up the media shelves and put all the the CDs and DVDs collected around my room up and out of the way. We then cleaned off my bed, putting my books in the closet and gathering a garbage bag’s worth of old mail and paperwork that could be thrown away in the morning.

By the time we were done, we had my room looking rather nice, and Ke even found the remote for my TV, which will be useful for volume changes while snuggling. I put clean sheets on my bed and we showered off the dust we’d collected, finally getting to sleep around 6 AM. This morning we trucked down a cartload of cardboard to recycle and old electronics to donate, freeing up even more space in my apartment. Ke and I were hoping to go for breakfast together, but we slept too late and I had to go to work.

I’m very lucky to have such sweet and supportive people in my life. Now if only my worklife could be as nice as my home life…

Week in Review – Week of 2009 Aug 16th – Aug 22nd

Last week seemed to speed by incredibly quickly. It might have had something to do with the fact that I had the week before off for Gen Con, and then Thursday off work to go with Jero to see the Eagles play the Colts. I did get to see Mira a bit on her way back from her Chicago trip with Ke and Nivagi, so that was a pleasant bonus (not to mention getting to see Ke and Nivagi, which is always nice!).

Last Sunday was the last day of Gen Con, so Jero and I headed back to the convention center for one final day of geekiness. We didn’t have any games scheduled, so we wandered the dealer room and then went to a paint-and-take workshop that Jero has wanted to go to for years. We painted little miniatures and then went back to the dealer room so I could pick something up for B! and R@(.

When the Con ended Jero and I escaped for a quiet dinner to recharge our social batteries, and then went back to my apartment for a smaller geek get-together. A group of our friends showed up to hang out, and since it was B!’s final game night for a while (he was moving to Virginia later that week), we played a long game of Munchkin before heading to Denny’s for a last meal.

Last Monday morning I went to Ke’s to see Mira before she headed back to Evansville. She had spent the weekend in Chicago with Ke and Nivagi, and they got back late. The three of them were still asleep when I arrived, but woke up after I let myself in. I hung out with them until I had to go to work and then kissed Mira goodbye before leaving and heading into the office. Work was quiet and surprisingly failed to ruin my good mood from the weekend.

After work I went to Jero’s to MUX, but since aerosar.net was down I mostly just hung out on the couch with Jero reading TVTropes while we played on our laptops. Cawh eventually IMed me to tell me the MUX was back up, but by that point I was tired, so I just got some admin stuff done and tried to catch up my week’s month’s year’s backlog of email and journal notes. When it got too late Jero and I shut down out laptops and went to bed.

As nice as work was Monday, Tuesday more than made up for it in shittiness. Every call was crap, everyone I spoke to was an idiot, and every order I pulled down was an absolute mess that took me ages to resolve with little to no credit for my effort. Things did calm down after lunch, but by then there was no work, which made my points-per-hour rate suffer even more. They’re cutting back on e-time, so I was stuck there ‘til 10:15.

After work I hid out at home. I was originally planning to try to be productive, but Cawh had convinced me to log onto the MUX Tuesday since I wasn’t able to roleplay Monday night. When I got on, Anpe suggested a scene where the Decepticons cause trouble for G.I. Joe, so I ran a combat between Valour on one side and Ace, Slipstream, and Wisp on the other. It wound up being a lot of fun (the Joes ultimately won – barely).

Wednesday morning I stayed up until 6ish role-playing online and doing laundry, so I slept right up until the point I needed to get up and go to work. Work wasn’t as bad, although we didn’t have much to do so I spent a lot of time wishing they hadn’t started getting so stingy with e-time again (not that I can afford it if they offer it…). They want us to do busywork instead, which I’ve been resisting on principle.

Wednesday night Ke called me as I was getting off work, letting me know she was escaping also and was hungry. I’d planned to meet Nivagi at 11 anyway, so the three of us got together and went to the Red Eye Café. I was feeling a little down, so I was mostly quiet while Ke and Nivagi chatted. After we ate Ke headed home and Nivagi went up to my apartment. It was late by then and both of us were tired so we pretty much just went immediately to bed.

Thursday I took off work to go with Jero to the Colts/Eagles game. I had big plans for productivity with my morning off, but instead I slept late with Nivagi and then just relaxed and read X-Men: Messiah Complex for a while before calling Dada to wish her a happy birthday. I got to talk to Ra as well before it was time to get dressed and head to Jero’s house.

Jero had just completed her day of telework, so we went downtown and had dinner before going to the football game. Jero’s team lost, unfortunately, but I still had a great time going with her and enjoying her enthusiasm while they played. After the game we went to the top of my parking garage and took pleasure in the cool breeze and pretty view before headed back to Jero’s to collapse into exhausted sleep.

Friday Jero had to go into work early, so I went over to Ke’s for a few hours to nap before going into the office. Work absolutely sucked, and was more or less a repeat of Tuesday – stressful crap all day, and then not enough to do at night so my points-per-hour continued to descend into hell. I tried to work on the wiki, but some script from the new skin I tried was killing my computer, so I had to give up.

Friday night, though, I started celebrating my one-year anniversary weekend with Nivagi. She made dinner for Ke and me, although Ke didn’t each much since she wasn’t feeling well. The salad and tortellini with vodka sauce Nivagi prepared was incredibly good, however, so Nivagi and I more than made up for what Ke didn’t eat. The three of us hung out in the living room for a little while before going to bed to cuddle and sleep.

Saturday Nivagi had to work, so I slept in and snuggled with Ke until hunger drove us from the bed. Ke and I went to the Paragon Restaurant, which I hadn’t tried before. The food was very good, and I definitely intend to go back. Eventually Ke had to leave for her job, too. I hopped onto the MUX quickly to approve two new Players before heading home to meet Nivagi.

Nivagi and I went upstairs to snuggle and nap for a while, enjoying the rare chance to hang out before 11 PM. We then ventured out to get food, stuffing ourselves with yummy noodles. Once full, we headed back to my apartment to cuddle and watch Dexter. It was a slow, lazy day, and an excellent way to cap off and celebrate our first year together. I’m very much looking forward to the next one together.

Private the Penguin: “Skipper... don't you think we should tell them that the boat's out of gas?”
Skipper the Penguin: “Naah... just smile and wave, boys; smile and wave.”
-- Madagascar

Week in Review – Week Ending July 18

Last week was rather interesting. I got to hang out with Jero’s family, which is out of the ordinary. I got stuck on a massive project at work for three days; that was stressful at first but not as bad once the people working on it with me and I got used to what we were doing. Stsm stayed over at my apartment Wednesday night and we had a lot of fun. And of course I got to spend time with Jero, Nivagi and Ke, who I love to pieces. Plus, this weekend I get to see Mira and role-play! Woot! Happy times. B)

Last Sunday Jero and I got up and went with her family to the Children’s Museum for the King Tut exhibit. It was different enough from the one we saw in Chicago to be well worth the trip. After we got out of King Tut we spent some time exploring the rest of the museum. When we got tired and hungry we left to go out to eat and then back to Jero’s to light fireworks and play Guitar Hero and SingStar on my PlayStation. It was a enjoyable day, especially with Jero’s sister-in-law’s infectious enthusiasm.

Last Monday morning I went out to eat with Jero’s family and then had to go into work. I got stuck on an all-evening project that started slow but got more and more hectic as the night went on. By the time I left work I was strained and stressed, and the unrelated stirring up of previously unresolved relationship angst didn’t help. When I got to Jero’s it was quiet, and so I stayed up most of the night playing on my laptop while Jero and her parents slept. This peaceful interlude was excellent for recharging my mood.

When Jero’s parents left for their flight in the morning I said my good-byes and went to bed, waking only for breakfast when Jero got back and lunch later. At work I continued the project I’d started Monday, but actually finished on time, unlike the day before. After work Nivagi came over and brought me food since I’m poor. We ate and spent the rest of the evening nestled in bed. I had a good time hanging out with her, but after she went to sleep I lay awake for hours fretting over things I can’t change, so I didn’t rest well.

Wednesday morning Nivagi and I got up early enough to grab breakfast at Au Bon Pain. That night Stsm came over for snuggles and DVD- watching. We poked through my collection and settled on The Venture Bros. However, once we cuddled up to hug and chat, the TV was forgotten and we talked about our weekends, roller derby, and Guitar Hero. We never did get around to watching Venture Bros before it got too late and we fell asleep.

Thursday work was quiet after three days of special project hell, so I managed to maintain my good mood throughout the day, in spite of finding out I only got half a paycheck (never did find out what caused that). After work I packed for the weekend and then headed over to Ke’s. She met me at her house when she got off work, and headed back to her bedroom to play on our laptops while she ate ice cream. We lay on the bed, talking and playing on the Internet until it was time to cuddle and sleep.

Friday night I went over to Mars’s so he could show me the new game he’s been raving about, Dead Space. The survival horror game is very atmospheric and immersive, especially with Mars’s big-screen TV and surround sound. Mars and Jobe offered to let me play, but I suck at console games, so after a few minutes of having my character run into walls while attempting to flee from monsters I handed the controller back and just watched them play, which was much more fun.

Saturday morning I got a good amount of sleep at Jero’s and then woke to drove down to Evansville to see Mira. When I arrived we packed up food-makin’s and headed to Hebe and P37’s house, where Mira made dinner for all of us. After eating the four of us went out to see Public Enemies and then Mira and I retired to her apartment to snuggle and watch funny videos on YouTube. Sunday we got to cuddle and role-play, and the entire weekend was very nice. Today I’m back at work, but somehow my good mood has continued to endure.

“Marty, the penguins are psychotic.”
-- Alex the Lion, Madagascar

Week in Review – Week Ending July 4th

This has been another fine week. I started the week celebrating my two-year anniversary with Ke by snuggling with Mira and her. Since we got back to Indy I’ve gotten to see Jero and Nivagi, as well as having a night to myself. My cancer doc checkup went well, and Laat came to visit me Thursday during her work furlough. Now I’m in Chicago, spending the weekend with Caro. Woot!

Sunday morning Ke, Mira and I slept in a little before hunger drove us out of bed (and chair… Mira had gotten up during the night and moved to the comfy chair). Mira made us a yummy breakfast of eggies in a basket and strawberry muffins. We showered and snuggled all day, only getting back up for pizza before Ke and I had to head back to Indianapolis.

Monday morning Ke had to leave early for school, so I got up and went to get my car’s oil changed and coolant flushed. I made an appointment to follow up with my cancer doc for my regular checkup, and then went to get my blood drawn. After work I went to Jero’s and she made me food while I popped onto the MUX. Noone was active, so I logged off and Jero and I snuggled to watch Bones instead.

Tuesday morning I enjoyed copious snuggles with Jero before work. When I got there Mars gave me a job from S#0 that took me off the phones for a while, which helped me maintain my mood from that morning. After work I went home to try to be productive, and got to talk on the phone with Ra and over GTalk with Ke. I stayed up late re-reading text messages from 2008 in preparation for cleaning off my phone.

Wednesday morning Ke was feeling sickly, so I went over to her house to cuddle and have lunch with her before work. After work Nivagi came over in her new car (woot!) and brought burrito-makin’s. We made overstuffed burritos and ate in my bedroom. After I cleared the plates we cuddled together on the bed. We discussed going downstairs to work out, but Nivagi was really comfy and I was full from dinner. Instead we wound up passing out completely, lights on and everything.

Thursday morning I awoke with a start, wondering what time it was since I’d fallen asleep without setting an alarm. Luckily it was only 7 AM, so I set my alarm and went back to sleep. When we woke up Nivagi went with me to my cancer doctor appointment and then I went into work. After work Laat came down from Louisville to visit me, so we went out for a late dinner and then watched The Venture Bros.

Friday morning I saw Laat off and then went into work. It was very quiet. We had a skeleton crew, and I thought that meant we might get slammed, but instead it seemed like no one else was working that day either. They even let me leave two hours early. I drove up to Chicago to pick up Caro, and then we headed back to check into our hotel and pass out.

This morning Caro and I got up and ventured out for food, but otherwise we’re just hanging out in our hotel room, alternating snuggling and playing on our laptops. We might seek out someplace to watch fireworks tonight, but we’re not willing to deal with the crowds at Navy Pier so we hope to find someplace less over-inhabited. Knowing us, I’m sure we’ll find up getting sushi and hitting a bookstore. Geek love!

Happy Independence Day, Friends-list Americans!

"The hottest places in Hell are reserved for those who, in time of moral crisis, maintain their neutrality." - Saint Thomas Aquinas

Week in Review – Week Ending June 27th

Last week was extremely enjoyable, even if it seemed to zoom by far too quickly. I started the week with a visit to Ra and Sckl, got to hang out with Jero and Nivagi during the week, had lunch with Stsm, and then spent the weekend celebrating my three-year anniversary with Ke by driving down with her to Evansville to spend time with Mira. Woot!

Last Sunday morning when I got up Ra was already awake. I joined her in the living room and we watched Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. When Sckl woke up he made us breakfast before they left to see Ra’s dad for Father’s Day. I hung out in their apartment and read HPOP until they got back. We took a micro-nap and then went to Sckl’s family’s house. They were extremely nice, and man, they can cook – I may have to invite myself up there every Father’s Day! I had a great time with them all.

Last Monday morning I drove back to Indianapolis to go to work. The phones were insane all day and I was relieved when things finally calmed down in the evening before I escaped. That night I went over to Jero’s to roleplay on the MUX. Jero hadn’t been feeling well so she was treating herself to the five-hour version of Pride and Prejudice – apparently Colin Firth is a panacea. I ate quickly and jumped online. Since the event that was supposed to happen that night failed to get off the ground, I hung out for a while and then logged off. Jero and I watched G.I. Joe: Resolute before calling it a night and snuggling up to sleep.

Last Tuesday night I took some time to myself to catch up on my huge backlog of email, journaling, and laundry. I still have a ton to do at home, but some time for just me was very good. I pleasantly wasted a lot of time trying to read everything on the Internet, and then buckled down and got some productivity done before bed. I stayed up late but was still able to sleep until I woke up on my own, fifteen minutes before my alarm.

Last Wednesday night I went back over to Jero’s after work. She was passed out asleep, exhausted after derby practice. I let her sleep while I talked to Ra on the phone and then carefully woke her up to see if she wanted to hang out or go back to sleep for the night. We moved to the couch to hang out and chat, but Jero was still really sleepy, so before long we decided to give up and just go back to bed.

Thursday I had lunch with Stsm before work, and after work picked up Nivagi and brought her back to my apartment. Nivagi wanted to help me with my latest attempt at healthier living, so she offered to work out with me in my building’s exercise room. I only spent about 20 minutes on the elliptical machine, but it was a start if nothing else. I steamed some pasta and veggies for dinner and then we called it a night.

Friday morning I brought Nivagi to check out a car, which she bought (yay self-mobility!). We had lunch with Ke, and then Ke brought Nivagi home so I could go into work. After work I went to Ke’s, who managed to stay awake about 10 more minutes after I got there before passing out completely. I stayed up for a while reading more HPOP before turning off the light and joining her in slumber.

Saturday and Sunday Ke and I were celebrating our three-year anniversary, so we went down to Evansville to spend all weekend snuggled in bed with Mira. We picked up my sister on the way down to Bloomington, and hung out with my mom for about an hour before heading over to Mira's. Mira cooked dinner Saturday night and made breakfast Sunday morning so we never had to leave her apartment! We got in plenty of lazy cuddles as well as spending time with her roommate while he played Final Fantasy X and worked on his chainmail. It was a wonderful escape and Mira made sure we both had an excellent time (without spending any money besides gasoline). Happy anniversary, Ke! Thanks for being so amazing! Thanks as well to Mira for a fantastic time during our visit! B)

“Momma told me never to do the dance of joy alone, or I would go blind.”

-- Balki Bartokomous, Perfect Strangers

Week in Review – Week Ending June 20th

This has been a pretty nice week, although concerns about my long-term health have preoccupied my mind (that, and a strong desire to role-play since my post-birthday game night). I had a rare week where I got off work before 10 PM, so I took advantage of that fact the best I could with no money whatsoever. I got to MUX, visit Laat, attend a hafla, and spent time with friends and lovers, so I’ll chalk this week up as a win.

Sunday Jero and I called for a late check-out and then headed to my mother’s to have brunch with her and my sister Chhu. After we ate Chhu and Mom asked me if I could help them change the tire on Mom’s Malibu – something I was glad to do, until I found out when we arrived at a junkyard that they didn’t actually have a tire yet. We spent two hours baking in 100+ degrees sun until Jero found something that might work.

Escaping at last, Jero and I stopped in Terre Haute to grab dinner, and then finally made it back to Indy. I went over to Ke’s, where she was spending the weekend with Nivagi. We snuggled Nivagi on the couch before driving her home. We returned to Ke’s and hid in her bedroom to watch The Colbert Report and NCIS until late in to the early morning.

Monday I went over to Jero’s to MUX. Two of our admin returned recently from hiatus, and it is wonderful to have them back. The MUX has undergone a mini-revival, and I’m trying to get online as often as possible (which still isn’t that often, alas) to take advantage of that fact. We have a new Megatron, so I got a chance to role-play with him as both as my shy data-analyst character Floodlight and my brave warrior Valour.

I also got to carry on some RP I’d started Friday with Spike, continuing Buster’s birthday celebration with his brother. I followed up on Friday’s RP as Ace as well, role-playing out his guilt and recovery with Mara after his disastrous run-in with the Baroness and Vypra in Australia. I had a lot of fun with everyone and look forward to the next event scheduled Monday.

Tuesday I felt internal pressure to find time to hang out with people not available during my normal until-10:15-PM schedule, since this week I left work at 6:15. However, none of the most-hard-to-schedule people got back to me, and I was really feeling peopled-out, so I decided to be selfish and took the night alone. I stayed up way too late and got caught up on a tiny fraction of my email, journaling, and laundry.

Wednesday after work I headed down to Louisville to visit Laat. She took me out to dinner since I’m poor, and I had a Hot Brown since I was in Louisville and hadn’t had one as far as I could recall. It wasn’t quite as good as it sounded, but it was still quite yummy. After dinner we relaxed and hung out until Laat’s waitress friend came in to work. After hellos and hanging out with her a bit Laat and I went back to Laat’s apartment.

Since Laat was sleepy and her DVD player wasn’t working, we elected to just go to bed and snuggle and talk until we fell asleep. She apologized for being a “bad host” but really I’m very happy that we’ve gotten to the point were we can just hang out without having to be “on.” We used to only see each other once a year or less, so we had to cram a lot of visiting until each get-together. Now that she lives so close we can just get together and relax, which is a lot less stressful for me.

Thursday morning I got up early to drive back to Indy in time for my shift, and since I avoided bad weather and traffic I actually arrived early to the office and got to talk with Jero and Ra on the way. At work they sent a lot of people home early on e-time, so once again it seemed that our little group was stuck taking all the calls. This stressed me out quite a bit, and I could *feel* my blood pressure rising call after call.

This got me thinking about my health and what I need to do more specifically than just “eat better and exercise more.” I solicited ideas online, and since I had some time before Nivagi got off work, started thinking about how and when I could put better lifestyle choices into effect. I picked up Nivagi from work and we had dinner before returning to my apartment so I could massage her sore muscles before we snuggled and slept.

Friday work was insanely busy and I barely made it through the day, especially since I was trying not to gorge myself with caffeine (limiting stimulants sucks!). When I got home I had some time before Nivagi got off work, so I turned on my laptop to check blogs and email before dinner. I lay down “just for a minute” while my computer booted up, and wound up sleeping until Ke called to say she was nearly here.

I stumbled downstairs to meet Ke and together we went to pick up Nivagi from work. We brought Nivagi home to change into belly-dancing gear and then the three of us drove to Zionsville for dinner at Zorba’s Greek restaurant. il Troubadore was playing entertaining music that Nivagi and her friends danced to as a pleasant compliment to the yummy food. After dinner we went back to Chpa and Nivagi’s so she could tend to her pets before going away for the weekend, and then Ke, Nivagi and I returned to my apartment to swim, hot lukewarm tub, and sleep.

Today when I get off work I’m driving to St. Louis to see Ra and Sckl. I wanted to go to the Circle City Socialites bout with Jero, but I haven’t seen Ra in ages, so I decided to skip it this time so I don’t arrive in Missouri too late. Unfortunately I work Monday so it will have to be a lightning visit, but I always enjoy time with Ra and Sckl so I’m sure the trip will be well worth it.

Have a good weekend, everyone!

“Chickenfeet, come back! You're not a freak! You're just stupid!”
-- Dib, Invader Zim

Full-Sized Gundam Now Complete in Tokyo

I love the Japanese!

From http://www.realtechnews.com/posts/6708 --

A full-sized, yes, full-sized Gundam was planned for Tokyo's Odaiba Shiokaze
Park. And in fact, the 59-foot-tall giant mecha is already done. However, the
public unveiling isn't until July 11th.

For many, the Gundam is the iconic anime giant mecha, and April 7th, 2009 was
the 30th anniversary of the first anime series about Mobile Suits, Mobile Suit Gundam. Thus, this 1:1 scale model, built
as part of the "Mobile Suit Gundam 30th Anniversary Project," it will stay up
for only two months, until August 31st. Viewing will be free.

Besides a (cool) moveable head, fifty points on the Gundam are lit, and mist
shoots out of 14 different points on the statue. Check out a couple of videos [here].

Read more: http://www.realtechnews.com/posts/6708#ixzz0Iu2X2dUj&C

--
Fiery Blaze: "Like I always say, any enemy of evil is a friend of mine."
The Tick: "Mandingo, how I grok your mouth music."
-- The Tick

Health - June 18th

I seriously need to work on improving my health. For a while my blood pressure was in the “keep an eye on it zone,” but lately when I’m stressed I’ve been feeling dizzy, flushed, and lightheaded – not good signs. I’ve been told I *look* flushed when I’m upset, which might be normal, but not when my doc keeps pointing to my steadily-above-normal BP reading. I’ve been using my rotating work schedule as an excuse not to exercise, but really, I get stuck with one of three schedules, and I really need to just find time on each of them to eat, exercize, and sleep, and stick to it whichever schedule I’m on.

^{Part of the problem is that I’m “busy” all of the time, and I don’t want to take already-limited time away from loved ones. However, when I think about it, I don’t begrudge Jero her derby practice or Nivagi her belly-dance class, and I can’t really imagine anyone I love having a problem if I want to delay plans an hour once a week so I can exercise. I will definitely need my lovers’ buy-in if I’m going to stick to plans to improve my financial and physical help, but they are all wonderful people and I know they will help if I can work out a realistic plan and try to stick to it.}

^{Ponder ponder ponder. Any suggestions?}

Kentuckiana Pride Festival

For those in the Louisville area:

SATURDAY PRIDE FESTIVAL - June 20 ---
featuring Indigo Girls 10-11:30pm
and Tiffany 9:10-9:40pm

No Tickets Required - Admission of only $5 includes the Indigo Girls concert!

for more information, see Kentuckiana Pride Festival.

Week in Review – Week Ending 2009 May 23

This week my social activities were sharply curtailed by getting sick for several days. I had to cancel on Jeki, which sucked although she was very understanding of my situation. I did feel well enough to go camping this weekend at Lothlorien, which does make me happy. I enjoyed hanging out with Ke last night for her birthday, and tonight after work it’s back to Lothlorien to spend the rest of the weekend camping with Chpa and Nivagi!

Last Sunday Jero and I didn’t get to bed until about 4 AM after a great time at the BHRG’s Pants Off Dance Off season opener party. Luckily we got to sleep in late before getting up to shower and venture out for food. After dinner Jero stopped by the doctor’s to check out her knee, which she hurt during derby practice. After picking up prescriptions for her injury, we retired to her house, where I MUXed and we played Travians.

Monday I had off since I’m on the Saturday shift this week, so Jero and I slept in late and then ventured out for food. Since Jero’s knee is in an immobilizer and I wanted her to rest and heal fast, I mowed her lawn for her (I owe her for all the help she’s given me in my apartment). We went out to dinner and then I got online to MUX. Hemy set up a rather fun role-playing scene with Major Bludd, Snake-Eyes and Spike that I brought Buster into and nearly got everybody killed. Good times! B)

Tuesday I was back at work – for about four hours. I started feeling really sick, and had to go home early and cancel my evening plans since I wasn't feeling up for travel and socializing. I was hoping to get things done at home instead, but I wound up wiling away the hours away with little accomplished besides checking my email, doing some laundry, emptying out my hall closest, and watching The Daily Show. I hoped against hope I’d feel better the next day.

No such luck. I felt OK in the morning, but by noon I was feeling horrid again. I cancelled my re-scheduled plans with Jeki and stayed home once more. It was good to have some time to myself, but I still managed not to get anything accomplished with the time I had. I know I should have been resting since I was sick, but I didn’t really rest and yet still didn’t get anything done either. I did set up the automatic teapot my mother got me a while back so I could make myself ginger tea pots at a time, but that’s about it. In retrospect I should have just set up my laptop and MUXed the night away, or at least caught up on my reading.

By Thursday I was feeling better, so after work I drove down to Lothlorien to meet up with Chpa and Nivagi. Nivagi showed me around (I’ve only been there once, very briefly, and not during an event) and I got to hang out with her friends and run into a few more of my own. Nivagi was carrying around a giant unbreakable goblet of wine to the amusement of many of the people we ran into, and while she was planning to stay up all night, we wound up passing out in her tent fairly early, while Chpa stayed up and napped in a hammock he set up somewhere outside. I felt guilty for displacing Chpa from his own tent, but I had a great time hanging out with them.

Friday was Ke’s birthday, so I left Lothlorien early so I could drive back and surprise Ke with donuts from her favorite bakery and a full set of Star Trek glasses she’d wanted from Burger King. I got stuck in race traffic, but I called Jero and she Google-mapped me through back streets so I could bring breakfast to her and Ke. After work Ke met me at my apartment so I could pack for the weekend, and then we went shopping for more camp stuff and then had dinner at a Mongolian grill.

Ke and I stayed up late this morning packing, and then this morning Ke dropped me off downtown so I could avoid parade hassles. At work everyone else got to go home on e-time, but I’m stuck here ‘til 6:15. When Ke picks me up we’re heading back down to Lothlorien to spend the weekend. She borrowed Brone’s tent and bought an air mattress, and we’re bringing along a sleeping bag and a ton of blankets in case it gets cold at night and we don’t want to freeze. B) It should be lots of fun.

"To announce that there must be no criticism of the
president, or that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public."
- Theodore Roosevelt

Week in Review – Week Ending 2009 May 16

This week has been up and down emotionally, but mostly good. I’m working a relatively normal day shift for a change, with the tradeoff being it’s Saturday and I’m here in the office. I’ve been reminded that I don’t actually like working during the day, since the calls are non-stop and not actually worth any points. Still it’s nice to be able to get off work when people are actually awake and available to hang out. My friend Laat took advantage of this opportunity and drove up to see me on Thursday.

Sunday for Mother’s Day I actually had a good time hanging out with my mom in Evansville. She’s not feeling as depressed as she was, and while she is having a little trouble following conversations and tends to interrupt a lot, it was good to see her and she was very happy my sister Chhu and I visited. We took her out for an Italian dinner at her favorite place in Evansville, all three of us seemed to benefit from the time we were there.

Monday I had the day off since I’m working Saturday, so I enjoyed some time to myself, finishing another section in Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal before heading over to Jero’s for dinner. After we ate we snuggled up to watch the final episodes of Dollhouse, which were excellent. We did take time out in the middle to watch Castle, which remains a guilty pleasure.

Tuesday was crazy-busy with calls, and no e-time since they’ve come up with a busywork project for us when we run out of orders. When at last I got off work I grabbed Nivagi and we went by Ke’s lab to pick her up for dinner. We three went out for yummy noodles and hung out until Ke had to go back to work. Nivagi and I went to my place and headed down to the hot tub downstairs, cooling off in the pool when we got too warm. When we had soaked enough we came back upstairs, showered, and went to bed to snuggle since we both had to work early the next morning.

Wednesday night Ke and I went out to dinner before returning to her place to laptop and snuggle. We tested to see if we could both fit in her sleeping bag (not really – that only worked when she was still exclusively dating petite women!) and then she looked up camping supplies online for her birthday weekend while I tried to get caught up on email and the Internets. Neither of us really wanted to go to sleep, but since we both had to be up early Ke eventually lured me to bed.

Thursday Laat came up to visit me and met me at my apartment after work. She was tried from the drive from Evansville, so we napped for a while and then watched Lost before heading out to eat. Laat’s on a week’s vacation she took from work for her birthday, and I was very pleased she chose to spend part of it with me. She missed the televised season finale of Grey’s Anatomy, but watched it Friday morning online instead before heading back to Louisville.

Jero and I got off to a rough start to our anniversary Friday but smoothed things out in time for a nice evening. For dinner Jero and I went out to a new Chinese buffet that opened near her, and we were both very pleased with the food and service. Besides yummy Chinese food and sushi, Jero got to enjoy blue crab and other types of crab legs and I got yummy steak to share. We got shakes on the way back to her house to complete an evening of culinary indulgence, followed by SingStar 80's (at last).

Today I had to work, and I traded with a coworker to come in early so she could go to a morning event with her kid. I hate working Saturdays, and it certainly was an unwelcome interruption in my anniversary weekend with Jero. Tonight when I escape, Jero and I are heading down to Bloomington for dinner and then the Bleeding Heartland Roller Girls PANTS OFF DANCE OFF SEASON KICK-OFF PARTY, which should be a lot of fun. It should definitely make up for my crappy day at work.

"I believe what I said yesterday -- I don't know what I said, but I know what I think, and, uh, I assume it's what I said."
-- former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld

Week in Review – Week Ending May 9

This past week I was back on my usual late shift. It made sleeping easier for me; although of course now I’m back to keeping other people up to all hours when sometimes they have to work in the morning. Oops. The next three weeks will have me working during the day or back on the 2 AM shift, so I guess my friends and lovers can stand one week of late nights this month. B)

Sunday morning Jero and I stayed up near dawn around the bonfire, partially to enjoy the revelry, and partially because we didn’t want to return to our tent and freeze to death like we had the night before. When we did return to our tent we came up with a new sleeping bag arrangement that was much warmer and so we slept better than we had on Saturday.

When Jero and I woke up we had some sandwiches, showered and then broke down the tent. We said our goodbyes and headed to Bloomington for Jero’s derby practice. I got to hang out with Jalyru, which was fun, and afterward Jero and I dragged Jalyru out to dinner. After eating, Jero and I headed back to Jero’s where we unloaded her car and then promptly passed out. It was a good weekend. B)

Monday morning Jero headed to work early and by the time I got up I realized I’d left my keys and wallet in Jero’s glove compartment. *facepalm* Luckily Jero got off work just a couple hours into my shift, so I was able to take a minimum of unpaid personal time and hustle into the office as soon as Jero got home. Unfortunately as soon as I got there I got yelled at since one of the managers is a jerk, but c'est la vie.

After work Monday I went back to Jero’s to eat and pick up my laptop and then went over to Ke to hang out and give her some snuggles. She’s been feeling cranky and since I’d just spent the weekend with Jero she was OK with me canceling our usual Monday plans so I could go cuddle Ke until she felt better. Ke and I talked a bit about what was bothering her and she was decidedly less cranky by the time we slept.

Tuesday morning Ke cooked me breakfast (yummy Canadian bacon, cheese and egg English muffin sandwiches) and then I showered and headed over to Jero’s with lunch. Jero and I got in a little bit of snuggles before I had to head into work. At work I talked to Mars about joining Ke and me for Star Trek this weekend, but since we were going to the 10 PM show near Speedway it was too late for him. B! and he went to an earlier IMAX showing instead, so I’ll have to talk to Mars about it Monday.

Tuesday after work I went to Chpa and Nivagi’s to meet up with Nivagi. We ran by Jimmy Johns to pick up sammiches and then headed back to my apartment to eat. I ran downstairs to pay my rent and hang a derby poster and then came back up with the intention of snuggling Nivagi and watching Dexter. However, the more Nivagi and I cuddled and talked, the less we wanted to watch DVDs, so we eventually snuggled and slept instead.

Wednesday morning I dropped Nivagi off at work and then went home from some alone time. I got to talk to Mira on the phone and accomplished a little journaling and laundry. I tried to grab some caffeine on the way to work but after sitting in the drive-thru for 20 minutes I had to give up and just go into work, which left me cranky. I napped during my break to re-set my mood, and felt better by the end of my shift.

Wednesday night I escaped from work and ran home to put in some more laundry before Gwde arrived. Gwde grabbed food on the way to Indy so we’d have time to hot tub before it got too late. After hot-tubbing we showered and then lay down to listen to music, relax and snuggle. It was definitely nice to hang out with her twice in one year. We’ll have to get together again before another year passes!

Thursday Gwde didn’t have to work so we slept in before going out to the Bonjour Café for breakfast. I tried some new spiced-chicken pita that was pretty good and then headed to work early enough to get some caffeine this time. At work I found out we might be getting dual flat-screen monitors soon which will definitely make me feel more like a super-villain. Muhuhuhuhahahah!

Work was busy in the morning and then quieter later in the evening. After work I went to Jero’s to hang out, since we’d cut out usual Monday date short. Unfortunately Jero’s laptop is dead, so she spent some time fighting with it while we ate and hung out. She was eventually defeated by laptop gremlins so we gave up and went to bed so she could get some sleep before work.

Friday morning I slept late at Jero’s after she went to work (cruelly teasing her about it over Twitter). When I woke up I played on my computer until Jero got home and then hung out with her. Ke called to tell me she was free after her last final and work for the week, so I went over to Ke’s and we napped until it was time to get up and go to meet Chwi and Melawi to go see the new Star Trek movie.

I loved Star Trek. I’m a long-time fan and I’m impressed how they captured the essences of the classic characters, while giving themselves room for a fresh start and a new continuity. I’m fan enough to get most of the little references without screaming about how they had the wrong number of pips on X character’s cuff and therefore the movie was crap. After the movie Chwi, Ke, Melawi and I retired to Denny’s to dissect and discuss.

Saturday morning Ke woke me up with breakfast and exuberant post-finals energy since she’d finally caught up on sleep at last. She ran around her house getting things accomplished while I tried to sneak five-minute naps where I could. Finally I left to head to Bloomington to meet up with Chhu since Chhu and I were driving down to see Mom today for Mother’s Day.

I drove Ke’s car to Chhu’s since Ke was taking mine up to have my brake pads changed by her mechanically-inclined brother (thanks, Ke!). Chhu drove us the rest of the way to Evansville, where we met Mom at her sister Jamcde’s. We drove Mom home and ordered pizza, and then all hung out until Chhu and Mom were ready to head to bed. I got to see Mira briefly when she dropped by to pick something up, so that was a pleasant bonus.

Today Chhu and I are hanging out with Mom and plan to take her out to dinner tonight. Happy Mother’s Day, all!

Shredder: “You fight well... in the old style. But you've caused me enough trouble. Now you face...The Shredder!”
Don: “’The Shredder’?”
Mike: “Maybe all that hardware is for making coleslaw.”

-- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles