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 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 May 2

Last week at work they had me on a 2 AM to 10:30 AM shift, so I spent most of the week buzzing from caffeine and extremely sleepy. It’s theoretically better for my social life than my usual 1:30 PM to 10 PM shift, but I’m not sure how awake I am to socialize after a few days of reversed sleep schedule. Of course, I started to recover and adjust by Friday, just in time for me to switch back to the until-10 PM shift. *headdesk*

Sunday morning Ke, Mira, and I dragged ourselves out of bed to go meet my sister Chhu for brunch at Le Peep. After Chhu headed home, Ke, Mira and I headed back to Ke’s, where they intended to make me sleep while they went shopping. They were largely successful at that, and I didn’t wake up until shortly before they came home bearing dinner. We watched some The Big Bang Theory, and then went back to sleep, since I had to be at work at 2 AM, and Ke had to get up for work at 6.

Monday morning when I got off work I brought Mira food at Ke’s house and then we lay down so we could snuggle and nap before Mira had to head back to Evansville. I woke up when Mira left but then went back to sleep until Ke got home. Ke was in a talkative mood so I didn’t get much sleep from then on. Spending so much time around old sick people (she’s a nursing student) has made her worry more about the future and what will happen when we get old. I snuggled her until I had to get up to head to Jero’s for dinner and MUXing. On the MUX I role-played with Katie and Spike and then went in to work.

By Tuesday the 2 AM shift was really starting to hit me. After 6 hours at work, by 8AM I was really dragging. When I escaped I went to Jero’s to sleep. After I woke up I showered and ate the yummy dinner Jero had cooked for us. When I was finished eating I kissed Jero goodbye and drove to Louisville to see Laat. Laat has been having a hard time lately and I used my early schedule as an excuse to go visit her while I could. We used the time to cuddle and catch up, and I much enjoyed our new comfort level where Laat finally feels she can open up and talk to me again for the first time in ages. I had a nice time hanging out with her, and she plans to visit this month during her vacation.

Wednesday morning at midnight I drove back to Indianapolis to go to work. When I escaped I brought Jero breakfast since she was home sick. I slept at Jero’s house and then headed home to meet Gwde, who came down from Muncie to visit me. I haven’t seen Gwde in exactly a year (!) so it was fun to hang out with her. We went out for dinner and wound up at TaTa Cuban Café, which was wonderful as always. Neither of us were really feeling 100%, so we skipped hot-tubbing and just snuggled in bed to watch Repo! The Genetic Opera. After she left I showered and went in to work.

Thursday after work I went to Ke’s to sleep and decided to stay there to MUX. My usual until-10 PM shift makes it really difficult to schedule role-play with most of the other MUXers who are usually going to bed just as I’m getting online. So, I talked to Hemy and we planned a TinyPlot event for Thursday. As
Buzzer and Major Bludd, we attacked a small town in the Midwest and civilians Katie and Mikaela got caught in the middle. Fun hijinks ensued. Ke made us yummy dinner while I was role-playing and I ate in front of the laptop. Unfortunately I wound up unintentionally irritating Ke since I’m completely unavailable while MUXing since I’m doing so many things at once.

On Friday the benefits of my 2 AM shift emerged, as my weekend started at 10:30 AM. I ran home to pack and then headed to Jero’s. We went shopping for last-minute supplies and then I napped while Jero loaded her Vibe (sorry, Jero!). We grabbed food on the way and headed for French Lick, Indiana, where we were meeting people at Our Haven for a Beltane celebration. We got there early enough to set up our tent in a very good spot – many of the people who had arrived Thursday had to move their tents in the middle of the night because it rained so hard it flooded. We caught some rain ourselves, but luckily by that point we were by the fire or safe in our tent.

Saturday morning we froze our asses off in our tent but finally warmed up once the sun rose. We bought breakfast from friendly drunk people still feeling the effects of the night before (Jero and I turned in early) and then we spent the day enjoying the peaceful surroundings, napping, and hanging out with Chpa and Nivagi. We observed fun maypole dancing and then cooked dinner over the central fire. That night we watched as huge log chimneys were constructed for that night’s bonfire and then hung out there for most of the night, watching Nivagi dance and talking with Chwo and Dapowo as well as a sleepy Mika. We had an excellent time camping, and hope to return soon.

"This is not a partisan issue, for Republicans and the Christian Right led the way in blowing the whistle on the slaughter in Darfur.... Ultimately, public pressure may force Mr. Bush to respond to Darfur, but it looks as if he will have to be dragged kicking and screaming by Republicans and Democrats alike."
- New York Times columnist Nicholas D. Kristof, criticizing the Bush administration for backing away from its commitment to end the genocide in Darfur, including its opposition to the bipartisan Darfur Accountability Act

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

Last Week

Last week was busy, and I felt down a lot of the time. However, I did have a lot of fun with many cool people, some of which I haven’t seen in quite an age. The week ended well with an enjoyable holiday party, and after sleeping in two days in a row I’m slightly more rested, although being at work at 8 AM still leaves me crazy-tired. Boo work! B)

Last Sunday Laat and I slept in, snuggling for warmth and not wanting to get out of her bed. We watched Lost until Laat had to go into work, and while she was gone I showered and played on my laptop. When she returned we went out for dinner and met her friends at a comedy club for a Girl Scouts benefit. After the show I headed back to Indianapolis to snuggle with Ke.

Last Monday is usually my MUX night, but since Jero had put up with me glued to the computer the last two Mondays we decided to give it a break and went out to dinner and played Mario Kart on the Wii instead. Jero and I are both spectacularly bad at Mario Kart, but it’s an amusing enough game that we were entertained nonetheless. We even went online and got our asses kicked by people from all over the world!

Tuesday I went to the dentist and got my missing crown replaced. That night Mika brought me with her to December’s Indy Poly Meetup. I had a good time hanging out with her, Salamander, Tojo, Nivagi, and everyone else that made it out there. After the Meetup Mika and I went over to Tojo’s to help him bring in his new big-screen TV, and then we went back to Mika’s to collapse.

Wednesday work had a sort of “employee appreciation day” and I found out that I had the most customer accolades out of our group. Woot! That night Ke and I went to a party at the Children's Museum. Even though I practically live next door to it, I’ve never been there, so that was cool. We checked out the comics exhibit and I took lots of pictures. I’ll definitely have to go back.

Thursday I went out to eat with Ke and her co-workers, and her boss was good enough to buy us all dinner. After dinner I went home and waited for Nivagi to come over when she got off work. By the time she arrived, it wasn’t long before we needed to sleep, but it was great to spend the bit of time together we had. We’ll have to reschedule soon to finish her D&D character.

Friday I was hoping to have a Hobby Night, but I couldn’t afford to buy the supplies I needed to build my Dollship of Doom, so that’ll have to wait. After driving Ke to the airport I picked up Jero and we went out to eat. We didn’t get hobby stuff done, but it was good to have a night to escape and relax. Jero and I spent the night alone and stored up energy for the weekend.

Saturday afternoon Jero and I slept late and didn’t really want to leave the house to be social. Nonetheless, once Jero had decided to skip derby practice Sunday, that streamlined our plans a bit and we grabbed food before heading out to our first party, which was with the Circle City Socialites roller derby team. We hung out there for a couple of hours (Jero got cool presents from the team) and then headed to the Indy Poly Meetup Holiday party.

The Poly Meetup Holiday party was a lot of fun. I got to see some friends I hadn’t seen in ages and meet fun new people. I saw Daar, and finally got to meet her husband C# and their very adorable kid. I teased Tojo that I never knew the centerpiece of his parties was tossing a stuffed dog around a circle for the amusement of a two-year-old. It was nice to see Salamander and Nivagi again as well – I need to steal them both to role-play sometime soon.

Hanging out with Mika and Tojo on Tuesday and then again on Saturday night was good since I’d been feeling a little left out of Mika’s life since she started spending so much time with Tojo. All of us hanging out together makes me feel part of that area of her life, and reinforces a feeling of Tojo as a friend instead of a rival for Mika’s attention.

"If the government gave them the leases for free they wouldn't take them. No oil company really cares about ANWR."
-- an anonymous Bush adviser, explaining that industry skepticism about the size of potential reserves in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) demonstrates that the administration is more interested in drilling there than the oil companies themselves

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)