Saturday, April 25, 2009

Week in Review – Week Ending 2009.04.25

This has been a very nice week. The weather’s improving, I’m still working, and I’ve had a lot of time to spend with people whose company I enjoy. Next week I work from 2 AM to 10:30 AM, so this might be the last time I’ll be able to function coherently for several days while I adjust to a radically different sleep schedule. Of course, once I do – it’s back to 1:30 PM to 10 PM! *headdesk*


Sunday Jero had to leave early to go down to Bloomington for a roller derby promotional event, so I stayed at her house and at three PM signed us up for Gen Con events when registration opened. I was hoping to see Mika that night, but she was sick so had to cancel. Instead, I hung out at Jero’s for a while and then went out to dinner with Asca. After dinner we hung out and snuggled until she had to head home.


Monday morning before I went to sleep I brought Ke ice-cream and stayed there to snuggle. In the afternoon I got up and had lunch with Jero before going into work. After work I’d planned to go home, but Jero said I could come back over, so I wound up going to her place where I logged onto the MUX and got to role-play with Spike as Buster before Jero and I headed to bed.


Tuesday night after work I picked up Nivagi from her apartment and we grabbed Jimmy Johns before returning to my place. Nivagi had wanted to show me some Star Trek songs by Voltaire, so that of course started an all-filk evening of Voltaire, The Great Luke Ski, and Jonathan Coulton. Before we knew it it was 2AM, and Nivagi had to be at work at 8:50 AM. I set my laptop aside at last, and we went to bed to sleep as long as possible.


Wednesday morning I drove Nivagi to work and then went to Jero’s to pick up my flash drive, which I’d left there Tuesday morning. I hung out at Jero’s until work, and then after work went to Ke’s, bringing her food and ice-cream. We hung out and watched The Colbert Report and other shows (as well as listening to the Voltaire Star Trek songs) until Ke lured me to off the laptop and into bed for cuddles and sleep.


Thursday morning Ke got up and showered early enough to grab brunch at Qdoba’s. That night I went to Jero’s and we snuggled while I caught up on Dollhouse. Jero was sleepy but I wasn’t, so I let her doze while I stayed up and watched The Colbert Report and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. When I was drowsy enough I snuggled her up and joined her in sleep.


Yesterday work was busy since it was the last Friday of the month and they let everyone else go home early with E-time, but the phones finally quieted down at the end of the night long enough for me to relax a bit before the day ended. When I got home Jero joined me and we went downstairs to hot tub. After we showered we watched an episode of Transformers and Jero went to sleep while I laptopped.


Today ERRO is coming over so Jero can tutor her in statistics. Mira is coming up from Evansville to spend the weekend, and tonight I’m hosting a small game night in the piano room of my apartment building. B!, Chpa, Jogr, Ke, and Nivagi are going to join us for the game night, so that should be fun. Tomorrow Ke and Mira plan to sit on me and make me sleep so I can go into work at 2 AM. Oy.



“Sometimes I wonder what it's like to have political discussions with sane people. Envy.”
-- Bob Harris, http://www.bobharris.com/

Monday, April 20, 2009

Week in Review – Week Ending April 18

Last week was very nice. I got to start the week spending time with Caro in Minneapolis, and after I got back to Indy I had a pleasantly quiet week with Jero, Ke, and Nivagi. I ended the week going to see a roller derby bout with Jero, and hanging out with not only Ke but also Asca, whom I’ve actually gotten to see almost once a month this year (after a long stretch of about once a year, tops). I’ve gotten to talk with Mira a lot on the phone and over text, and she’ll be coming to visit this coming weekend, which will be great. Unfortunately Mika got sick this weekend, so I didn’t get to hang out with her, but I’m hoping she’ll feel better soon so we can reschedule.

Last Sunday was Caro’s birthday, so I was up for whatever Caro wanted to do while I was there. Her first request was for me to go with her to IKEA, so we ventured out to the land of oak and some pine and a handful of Norsemen so Caro could size up new storage space for her ever-growing yarn stash. Sunday night we had a yummy sushi dinner with Caro’s local boyfriend and his wife, both of whom seemed very cool. Caro seems to have a preference for long-haired geeky guys – who knew? B) That night we snuggled on the couch and watched Futurama while she spun yarn, before going to bed to cuddle and sleep.

Last Monday Caro and I had breakfast and then went to the bank so she could open an IRA -- she figured since she was 30 now she should do something responsible. We went to a bookstore so Caro could sell some used books and so she and I could conform to our traditional “sushi and bookstore” weekend. >B) We went back to Caro’s for a shower and a nap, and then had to leave so she could bring me to the airport. The trip back was a little sad but uneventful. Jero picked me up when I got back to Indy, and made me dinner before we snuggled in bed to watch Dollhouse. Caro was actually in Bloomington this past weekend, but she was busy with her family so I didn’t get to see her again. We might meet in Chicago in July.

Tuesday I went to Ke’s after work, bringing food from the crowned ruler of burgers. Ke and I watched The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, mystified at why, if NASA wasn’t going to name a node after Colbert because they "… typically name U.S. space station hardware after living people,” they named it Tranquility instead of Serenity, which I believe had won the online poll. Why have a poll and then ignore the results, aside from publicity? I thought we’d wind up staying up late playing on our laptops as we usually do, but Ke suddenly announced she was going to bed, so I shut down and followed.

Wednesday night after work I ran home to grab a shower and then went over to Chpa and Nivagi’s to pick up Nivagi. I’d expected another quiet night in like last week, but when I got there Nivagi suggested we could go to the club, which we’d been planning for a while but hadn’t done yet. I was still a little stressed from work, but I told Nivagi if she wanted to go the club I would be up for it. Nivagi and I headed to the Red Eye for a late dinner. While eating and enjoying Nivagi’s company my nerves gradually settled, and by the time we were done eating I was more calm and ready for a social outing, so we went to the club at last and had a good time.

Thursday morning Nivagi and I managed to drag ourselves out of bed early enough to have Le Peep before I had to drop her off at work. Work for me was busy at first since they’d sent everyone else home with e-time and left no one else to answer the phones, but in the evening it quieted down, which was more pleasant. Thursday evening I avoided siren songs of snuggles with Ke to have a night to myself to catch up on journaling and laundry, and just to recharge my social batteries. I watched a little Family Guy on Hulu, and went back through some of my old journals, reminiscing on the past. I stayed up way too late, but it was worth it just to have some rare downtime alone in my apartment.

Friday work was another crazy-busy day for the first four hours and then quiet the rest of my shift. When I got off work I met Ke at the Chinese buffet. She had just gotten a surprise scholarship, so she bought me dinner since I’m saving money in case we still strike. After we ate we went back to Ke’s and played on our laptops until Ke was sleepy, which wasn’t long. Unfortunately, although the food at the buffet was very yummy, it wound up making me feel a little sick for the rest of the night. I thought about watching The Colbert Report on Hulu before bed, but ultimately I wound up just joining Ke in sleep.

Saturday morning Ke and I stayed in bed as long as possible, until Ke’s hunger nearly caused her to resort to cannibalism. I grabbed a shower and then ran out to Denny’s, dropping food off at Jero’s on the way. Back at Ke’s, Ke and I ate, watched Bones, and played in the Internet before I headed back over to Jero’s. Jero and I went out to dinner and then to the Circle City Socialites bout. Jero was extremely cute in how excited she was about seeing CCS play again, and indeed they have improved tremendously since we saw them last in Evansville just a month ago. After the bout Jero and I went back to her house and stayed up way too late figuring out what events we wanted to sign up for the next day when Gen Con registration opened.

Sunday I registered for Gen Con and then went home to meet Asca. We went out to eat, and then hung out at my apartment talking about music, role-playing, and how cute Jero is. Usually when I hang out with Asca it’s just a quick hello before she has to head home before her kid gets off school, so it was good to have more time to talk and relax. Tonight I’m staying home for MUX night, and hope to get a chance to meet up online with Hemy and maybe work something out for next week, when I’ll actually be able to get online when other people are awake, since I’ll be working from two to ten-thirty AM, and be a free (if zombie-like) the rest of the day.




"...President Bush gave a speech to the American society of newspaper editors. Not surprisingly the speech was entitled `Thank you for Marmaduke.'"
--Conan O'Brien

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Last Week (ending April 11th)

Last week things were a lot better. We at CWA aren’t striking yet (although we’ve reserved the right to since we don’t have a new contract yet), so I got to return to work and continue hoarding money in case negotiations break down and we wind up walking out next week. That’s alleviated some financial stress, and since things in my personal life have calmed down I’ve been happier in general. I’ve gotten to spend quality time with local peeps during the week, and on the weekends I’ve been able to travel to see Emmo, Ra and Sckl last weekend and Caro in Minneapolis this past weekend. I didn’t really get much alone time last week, but it was worth it.

Last Sunday morning in St. Louis Sckl and I cuddled Ra in bed before they had to get up to go to a brunch and I had to head back to Indianapolis to meet up with Mika. Although pouring rain made me a bit late picking her up, I had a nice evening. Mika and I had Chinese food and then snuggled and napped together. Mika seems willing to make more time to get together with me in the near future, so that's very encouraging. She's trying to force doctors to treat her symptoms seriously so she can sleep again and be more awake during the day, which she hopes will help her concentrate and better handle decision-making and stress.

Last Monday CWA still wasn’t striking, so I went back to work. We were crazy-busy all day, and I had a blinding headache I couldn’t get rid of. This wasn’t helped by the fact that I’d taken my analgesics home in preparation for the strike and hadn’t yet brought them back. After work Jero made us dinner and we each played on our laptops. We collected meat on Kingdom of Loathing and I worked on the MUX wiki since it was too late to do much role-playing. I set up a Twitter account for the MUX to alert players when characters are closing and TP events are starting, etc. Once my headache finally receded I was much more productive.

Last Tuesday work was just as crazy, and I got stuck on a cut that took me four hours to resolve. After work I stopped by Jero’s for a hug and kiss and to pick up my computer, which I’d left there so I didn’t have to lug it around all day at work. I then went to Ke’s to pick her up and run us out to McDonald’s for food. Ke was horrendously sleepy (she said her friend called it “experimenting with whole new levels of fatigue”), so we watched TV and played on our laptops while we ate and then just went to bed. I couldn’t fall asleep as quickly as Ke did, so I played a bit longer on the Internet, but eventually I shut things down and snuggled up to Ke to sleep.

Last Wednesday morning Ke and I got up a little early so we could have breakfast at Denny’s before I went into work. After work I went to Chpa and Nivagi’s. They know I'm poor and trying to save money, so Chpa cooked dinner for the three of us while Nivagi got ready to go over to my apartment. Nivagi and I had discussed going out, and eventually decided to just stay in to snuggle and watch anime. Nivagi introduced me to Samurai Champloo, and then we watched Cowboy Bebop until Nivagi passed out (it was a Shinichirō Watanabe night!). Nivagi’s going to try to find the rest of her Samurai Champloo discs so we can watch it from the beginning.

Last Thursday morning Nivagi and I left early so we could grab breakfast at Le Peep. Work continued to be extremely busy, with everyone apparently trying to get everything done before the Easter holiday weekend. Ke had said she wanted more snuggles, so after work I went to her house, once again bringing us food. Ke had a paper to write, so I got on the MUX and role-played with Temera and Sci-Fi as Barbecue, as well as with Stormwind and Uplift as Blaster and Typhoon. However, it turned out that Ke’s paper wasn’t actually due until FRIDAY at midnight, so she decided to turn in relatively early. I got off the MUX and joined her for cuddles and sleep.

Friday I expected work to suck since 90% of my co-workers were gone for Good Friday, but actually it was not that bad. I did wind up getting stuck with an ISDN mess since I was one of only four people in the five states working who’d been trained on them, but after the business office closed it was relatively quiet and I had a chance to catch up on my points for the day. After work I went to Jero’s and we got a new membership at Our Haven so we could go there for events, starting with Beltane next month. I checked my itinerary and packed for the weekend, and then the two of us went to bed since Jero was already unconscious on the couch.

This past weekend I went to Minnesota to see Caro for her birthday. It was great to spend time with her, even when I was just sitting next to her on the couch while she spun yarn. Jero drove me to the airport Saturday morning and Caro picked me up. After stuffing ourselves with yummy breakfast specials we went by the art store and then returned to her apartment to snuggle on the couch and watch Juno. We hung out while she spun yarn, and then went to see some of her friends at a karaoke bar and then to The Triple Rock to see The World/Inferno Friendship Society perform (I’m definitely a new fan). I’m glad I bought my plane tickets before the strike scare, or else I might have hoarded my money and not gotten to have that wonderful weekend with her.

Now I’m back in Indy and at work. This week has been sucky between work stress and fighting with my sister about money, but I have enjoyed time I’ve spent with my girlfriends, and so far work hasn’t managed to destroy my good mood today. Let’s hope it lasts!



New spinning fibers added!
Clearance yarns updated!

Dyeabolical™
Yarns and Spinning Fibers
http://dyeabolicalyarns.etsy.com
http://dyeabolicalyarns.blogspot.com

Monday, April 06, 2009

Week in Review – Week Ending April 4

This week seemed to go really fast. The threat of a strike loomed over me all week influencing my financial choices and adding an undercurrent of stress to everything I did. When I get a chance I think I’m going to post part of the open letter from my union to explain just why we’re considering striking if we don’t reach some kind of agreement with AT&T. AT&T really seems to be trying to use the bad economy to screw us, even though they’re still raking in millions billions in profits.

Last Sunday Ke, Mira, and I slept in at the hotel, getting a late checkout, and then finally ventured out for a late breakfast at Bob Evans before heading back to Mira’s to watch The Big Bang Theory nap. When it started getting late Ke and I reluctantly kissed Mira goodbye and headed back to Indianapolis. After a quick stop at Meijer to pick up supplies for the week, we grabbed Taco Bell and headed back to Ke’s to sleep.

Last Monday I took a little E-time before work – probably the last for a while, since we might go on strike soon. I ate a leisurely breakfast at Au Bon Pain and got some email and journaling done on my laptop before going into work. After work I went to Jero’s, who had just got home from roller derby practice. Since she was sore and tired, we went to bed early and watched Dollhouse and The Daily Show before sleep.

Tuesday after work I went over to Ke’s. Since I’m trying to spend less money in preparation for the possible strike, I resisted buying food and Ke made me a turkey burger instead. Ke had a lot to do, so I hung out and played on my laptop while she studied and did paperwork. She had the TV on, which made it too distracting for me to get anything done that required my full attention, so I poked around blogs, etc. When it got late Ke suddenly announced she was going to bed, so I shut down and followed.

Wednesday I took off work as a belated birthday present to Jero. I met up with her at her house, and after hanging out a bit we went to the northeast side for a very yummy dinner at The Journey. Full and happy, we went to a special theatre showing of The Lost Boys, which was excellent cheesy fun, and then we went back to her house to watch Lost Boys: The Tribe, which was entertainingly bad. I even read the between-movies bridging comic for a night jam-packed with Lost Boys cheesiness.

Thursday Nivagi had some girlfriend drama to resolve, and Ke wasn’t feeling well, so Nivagi and I postponed our role-playing plans and I went to Ke’s instead to keep her company. Ke was mostly feeling better by the time I got off work, though, so we just watched some TV and played on our laptops until she fell asleep. I wasn’t feeling sleepy yet, so I stayed up reading blogs for a while until eventually joining her for cuddles and slumber.

Friday morning I finally called my insurance agent about my windshield, which had been cracked by a flying rock last weekend while driving back from Evansville. I wanted to get it fixed before I drove to St. Louis, but they couldn’t get me in until 4. Ke offered to switch cars with me, and brought my car to get it fixed while I was at work (and she also got my oil changed!) After work she came over and helped me load emmo’s desk into my car for when I saw emmo this weekend. Ke’s such a sweetie!

Saturday I drove to St. Louis for Emmo’s housewarming party. I got to hang out her and her adorable kid, and meet some of her friends as well as her very distracting girlfriend. After the party I went over to Ra and Sckl’s and we got frozen custard and watched Greg the Bunny. Yesterday I’m drove back early to have dinner with Mika, which was nice, and today I’ll be back at work unless negotiations break down in the next ten hours and we go on strike after all. In the meantime, I should get some sleep.


"We've got to pause and ask ourselves: How much clean air do we need?" --Lee Iacocca