Week in Review – Week of 2010.03.28 – 04.03

This week was a lot of fun, especially in the arena of derby. I’m finally getting to actually play the game and it turns out I love it, which frankly was a big surprise to me since I hate team sports. Roller derby is different, however, and I’m enjoying the hell out of it even though I suck. I put in a request to officially scrimmage, and with luck if I keep improving I’ll get to play in the next Rookie Rumble. I’ve never been actually anxious to play a physical game before, so this is all new territory for un-athletic me.

Sunday morning Jero and I got up early have breakfast with Dawi and Deal while Dawi was in town. We had a great time catching up with them (we hadn’t seen either of them in years), and afterward Jero and I went back to my apartment to clean, do laundry, and be productive. We went out to Outback for dinner, but it was very disappointing and we probably won’t go back again soon. After dinner we gathered Jero and I belongings and retired to Jero’s to sleep.

Monday night after work I drove down to Bloomington to have dinner with Caro and her parents. Caro made yummy craisins-and-pistachio pasta, which was delicious. After dinner I chatted with her parents and perused their bookshelf while Caro scanned pages from her grandmother’s memorial book. When Caro was finished we bid her parents goodbye and I drove Caro back to Indy to spend the night. We didn’t have a lot of time together, but it was great to see her while I had the chance.

Tuesday I drove Caro to the airport before heading into work. At practice I got to play something akin to roller derby for the first time. I was completely ineffective but it was still fun. I normally hate doing things I'm not good at, but it was cool skating around in a mini-pack and experiencing first-hand how it might work in an actual bout. It was 3-on-3 instead of a full scrimmage, but it gave me a taste of what the real deal is like. Afterward I had a great night with Ke, marred by technology fail when my laptop and my phone both crashed and I stayed up far too late trying to fix them.

Wednesday’s practice was also good – this time I got to skate in a pack of two, then four people, to try to stop a jammer from coming through. I got to lay a hard hit on West Side Slam, my first in roller derby. Slam gave me good feedback about it, possibly exaggerating because I’m new, but still very encouraging. After practice, I picked up Nivagi from belly dance call and we went to Some Guys Pizza since I was craving their yummy avocado/black olive/sun-dried tomatoes pizza. I then kidnapped Nivagi back to my apartment to snuggle and sleep.

Thursday’s derby practice we worked on offensive scrimmage skills, and I furthered my discovery that I actually love playing derby. Until now, I didn’t know – all I’ve been doing is working on basic skills, and I could have hated playing the actual game, since I generally despise team sports. Derby is different, however, and I’m really starting to grok the basics and have fun even if I suck at it so far. After practice I met Stsm at my apartment, and we snuggled and watched The Princess and the Frog, which I liked. Afterward was Lost Girls story time and then bed.

Friday at work was hectic! It was a ghost town since everyone was off for Good Friday, and there were few people to take all the repair calls. I was the only ISDN guy, so I dealt with a lot of headaches one after another. The highlight of the workday was lunch with Adshru, which was far too short but a very nice break. Friday night I was planning to go see Electric Six, but instead Chpa, Ke and Nivagi and I stayed in and watched Legend, which Ke owned but had never seen. It was fun, but difficult to watch without constantly making Tom Cruise jokes. ;)

Saturday Jero and I drove up to Toledo for a CCS Newbie Bout vs Glass City.
Jero got to play since she was just coming back from a long absence, and the game was very close – one 15-pt jam made the entire difference, and otherwise the teams were almost perfectly matched. I recorded the first period on Wrecker Becker’s video recorder, and most of the rest on my phone. I need to get a copy of WB’s bout files, and upload mine from my phone. It was a great week for derby!

Eye-Roll 20s – Derby Hoodlum - Race City Rebels
RaceCityRebels.com

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 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 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

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

Week in Review – January 24th

This week started off wonderfully! After a fun game night Saturday Ke, Mira and I spent all day in bed Sunday. I took advantage of the unstructured day to relax and take advantage of vast swaths of sleep and snuggles. Ke and Mira even made frozen pizzas so we wouldn’t have to leave my apartment until the wee hours Monday morning, when we finally headed into the cold in search of more Denny’s.

Monday I was supposed to go out of town, but my plans got rescheduled, so I spent the morning with Ke and Mira before meeting Jero for lunch. Monday is usually my MUX night, but since I thought I was going to be gone, I went on vacation on the MUX. So, I decided to just enjoy the night off. It was sad not to see Ra this week, but I hope she and I will be able to reschedule soon.

Tuesday I had off work so I got to hang out with Jero during her telework day. We watched the inauguration and were very happy with the swearing in of a new, intelligent President. When Jero’s workday ended we went out to eat to celebrate, and then we went back to her house to relax and play Kingdom of Loathing. We were going to play SingStar as well, but it got too late, so we went to bed.

Wednesday after work I drove to Illinois to see Amsc. When I arrived I gave her a belated New Year’s kiss and then we retired to her bedroom. We chatted and caught up a bit, and then got out my laptop to watch BSG Webisodes and The Other Boleyn Girl. I’d have loved to follow with the Elizabeth movies, but alas I had to go to sleep since I needed to get up super-early to drive back to Indy for work.

My plans Thursday with Mika were cancelled since she got sick, so I stayed home to try to catch up on journaling and laundry. I wound up having an extensive conversation with Amsc about whether or not we should continue dating, since the distance is putting a heavy strain on our relationship. When it got too late to talk about it further, we tabled the discussion for now and worked out possible plans for this weekend.

Friday night I hung out with Ke. She bought us Fazoli’s and we hung out at her house on her laptops. Ke helped me a bit with working out my financial troubles, and I mulled over a response to a critical email I’d gotten from Ra concerning my dating practices and how they lead to my “relationship stress on multiple fronts” as Ra put it. I’ll need more time to ponder her points and think about how to resolve them.

Today I had a pleasant lunch with Jero. After work Amsc is coming into town and then the two of us are going down to Bloomington to meet up with Jalyru and my sister. Jalyru invited me up to play on her Wii and ‘do some karaoke,’ so it should be fun. Tomorrow Amsc and I have all day to sleep in and snuggle, so I look forward to the quiet downtime.

“’Sin?’ ‘Sin’ like ‘love’ was a word hard to define. It came in two bitter but vastly different flavors. The first lay in violating the taboos of your tribe.”
-- Robert Heinlein, Time Enough For Love

Happy Holidays! -- December 27th

I’m not much of a holidays guy, but this week was pretty cool. I got to see Caro while she was in to visit her family, and I actually had a nice time with my mom and sister over Christmas. I got to meet new members of my family, and spend some quiet time curled up watching Dexter - Season 3 with Jero. What could be better for the holiday season? *grin*

Sunday I picked up Caro at the airport and we went downtown to have dinner and warm up at Steak n’ Shake. After eating we braved the freakin’ cold! to run over to Borders. Caro sneaky bought me a holiday gift (a Stephen Colbert desk calendar!) and then we headed back to my apartment to nest and de-thaw. We watched two episodes of Buffy The Vampire Slayer (“Once More with Feeling” and “Restless”) and then cuddled up to sleep. It was fantastic to have Caro cuddled up in my bed again! B)

Monday Caro and I slept for about twelve hours before finally emerging from my apartment for sushi. We then headed down to Bloomington, stopping into a knit shop and then hanging out at the Runcible Spoon until it was time to go meet her parents. They made us dinner, and I had an enjoyable time with them. After excellent food and conversation, I headed back to Indy to snuggle with Jero and watch Dexter for as long as we could stay awake.

Tuesday I had to go back to work, but I started a 9:45 AM schedule which was much better than having to be at work at 8. I wound up leaving work two hours early thanks to E-time (Saca isn’t such a Grinch after all!), and spent the night alone, hiding out and storing up social energy before having to deal with my mom and family. I did some journaling and laundry, and stayed up way too late since I had the opportunity.

Wednesday I got up relatively early and met Jero for lunch before driving down to Bloomington to meet up with Chhu and her boyfriend Semo. Chhu drove us to Mt. Vernon to my half-brothers’ dad’s place, where Mom made us a huge yummy dinner, with homemade New York-style cheesecake for dessert. Mom got me a lot of crap for Christmas – Chhu was smart and asked for just money. B)

As I posted day-of, Thursday (Christmas itself) wasn’t quite as fun. I was cranky and didn’t sleep well, and Mom was too sick to join us for the yummy dinner she’d prepared. When we left I drove part of the way back, and then Chhu took over since she was getting car sick and feels better if she’s driving. I made it back to Jero’s late, and spent the night snuggling and watching Dexter.

Friday night I wanted to go back down to Bloomington for Dadypi’s birthday. However, I am poor and my gas tank was on empty, and Jero, who I was hoping would come with, was feeling sickly. Add thick fog and a hour drive to that, and we decided to stay home and just watch more Dexter. I’ll take Dadypi out later when the financial and meteorological forecast is better.

Today I’m at work, and tonight I plan to hang out with Ke when she returns from visiting her family. I haven’t gotten to see Ke all week since she’s been out of town, so I look forward to cuddling and catching up. The rest of the weekend should be peaceful and relaxing. If Ke’s on the computer I’ll probably work more on my D&D campaign, since I’m fretting about now that a date is set.

Hope everyone is having a happy holiday!

"History, I believe, furnishes no example of a priest-ridden people maintaining a free civil government. This marks the lowest grade of ignorance of which their civil as well as religious leaders will always avail themselves for their own purposes."
-- Thomas Jefferson, 1813

Great Weekend

I had a very nice weekend, although since I had to work on Saturday so I didn’t get as much rest, sleep, or time as I would have liked. Friday when I got off work Ke came over to she and I could drove down to Bloomington to go to a party with muppetofthenight and my sister. We had to nap before we left since we were both so tired, and on the way to the party we stopped at my mom’s to pick up a dishwasher.

I had fun at J031’s birthday party, even though Ke and I couldn’t stay late since she had class in the morning and I had to work. We made it back to my apartment alive and slept until I had to go to work and she to class. We were anticipating trouble getting downtown because of a marathon that day, but while Ke had problems dealing with the marathon fans I got in without incident.

For a Saturday, work wasn’t actually that bad. When I got off work I intended to go straight to St. Louis to see Ra, but I forgot my cell phone hands-free so I had to run home before leaving town. The drive was long but uneventful, and I got into St. Louis around ten PM, calling to tease Ra that I was just leaving.

Saturday night Ra and I kissed, cuddled, and snuggled up on the couch to watch Buffy season five. Ra’s husband Sckl had to go to bed earlier than we did, so we turned the sound down and watched two more episodes with the subtitles on since our hearing isn’t the greatest. Ra and I stayed up long enough to finish the first disc, and then joined Sckl in sleep.

Sunday morning Ra and Sckl let me sleep late, while Ra grabbed a shower and Sckl made us breakfast. I got up and ate, and the three of us re-watched the Buffys that Sckl missed because he went to bed earlier than Ra and I. We discussed what we wanted to do that day, and decided to go comic shopping before Sckl’s date with M@-6.

Sckl and I grabbed showers and snuggled Ra until Sckl had to leave for his date. Ra and I went out comic shopping and grabbed lunch. We went back to her apartment and snuggled more before moving to the living room to watch more Buffy. We ordered pizza and watched Buffy until Sckl came home, paused it to hang out until he went to bed, and then stayed up watching more.

Monday morning after staying up late watching Buffy with Ra I slept for about four hours before having to get on the road back to Indianapolis. I reluctantly kissed Ra good-bye, wishing I could stay longer, and then drove back to Indy, going directly to work. Work was busy but got quieter towards the end of the day since I’m back on the late shift, so I had time to catch up.

I went to Jero’s after work, with the intention to hang out and MUX. Unfortunately, I was so tired after four hours of sleep, four hours of driving, and eight hours of work, that I was too tired to RP and instead semi-idled on the MUX while discussed Gen Con plans with Jero. Eventually I became too cranky and sleepy to even do that, so Jero and I gave up and went to bed.

“Already, the Kay report identified dozens of weapons of mass destruction-related program activities and significant amounts of equipment that Iraq concealed from the United Nations."
-- President George W. Bush, in his State of the Union address, on evidence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq

"I don't think they existed."
-- David Kay, after stepping down as the U.S. special adviser leading the hunt for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, on the lack of evidence proving Saddam Hussein's alleged arsenal (Newsweek)

Family Weekend

This past weekend I spent a lot of time with my immediate family. Saturday after I got off work, I waited a bit until Chhu and muppetofthenight got into Bloomington, and then headed down to help Chhu move into muppetofthenight’s apartment. When I got there two of their friends were helping already, which made things go pretty smoothly, aside from the fact that Chhu’s stuff was going to three different locations.

Sunday morning I didn’t get back until late from hanging out with Chhu and muppetofthenight, so I slept in before driving down to have dinner with my mom for her birthday. I took Chhu, Mom, and my Aunt Jamcde out to the Great Wall for dinner, and then we took her shopping for food staples since she just moved to Bloomington as well. Then I helped Chhu move more stuff before heading back.

I’m happy Chhu has moved to Bloomington, and it’s good that Mom is nearby as well. With all of us in-state, I’ll be able to see Chhu more often, and as a happy side-effect, get to see A13 and muppetofthenight more as well. I’ll be able to help Chhu take care of Mom more often, which will take some of the stress off of her. And now Chhu lives close enough to role-play again! W00t! B^)

"Everyone is a citizen of the world. But living in America for me has been my life, and I'm very thankful for living here. To be able to now say I am American is nice."
-- French figure-skating champion Surya Bonaly, who became a U.S. citizen in Las Vegas (San Jose Mercury News)

Weekend

My weekend turned out very nice.

Friday I hung out with A13 and Jalyru, which was good, although I hung out way too late talking while Jalyru burned CDs for me. Saturday Jero and I went to a party in Bloomington. We got to hang out with Caro there and meet one of her other boyfriends, G-. Sunday Mira came to visit from Evansville, and after having dinner with Jero and me, spent the night. We stayed up cuddling and watching Beast Wars. So, lots of entertaining snuggling and social activities this past weekend.

And, apparently, there was some kind of football game...? >B^)

Tonight I'm having dinner with Ke, and then going over to Jero's to MUX. Should be geeky fun.

"This was fast. I'm not even sure they had time to have sex."
-- Brian J. Steinberg, family law attorney in Las Vegas, on the whirlwind marriage-to-annulment caper of Britney Spears and Jason Allen Alexander. The marriage lasted 55 hours. (San Jose Mercury News, Jan. 6)

Weekend Plans

Had a pretty productive day yesterday. It was my day off, so I went to the dentist. We talked and decided that I’m going to need that second root canal after all, which sucks. I’m broke, so Jero has been nice enough to offer to lend me cash if I need to pay for the first root canal before I can get the second one – otherwise, I won’t be able to get my second crown installed until probably May at the earliest. Between car maintenance and my teeth, I’m completely broke. Luckily, I got paid this morning, so at least I have pretend money until it all goes out for bills.

Tonight should be fun, though, because I get to see A13 and muppetofthenight. I get off work in half an hour, and then I’m driving down to Bloomington. I have to be back up in Indy for work tomorrow, so I’ll presumably drive back tonight. Then, tomorrow, back down to Bloomington for a party. Then, Sunday, Mira might visit on the way back from Cincinnati. Busy busy, but fun. Have a good weekend, all!


Bill Hicks once told a story about an American friend of his who complained about the USA. When told, "Well, if you don't like it then move somewhere else," the friend's reply would be, "What? And become a victim of our foreign policy?"