Week in Review – Week of 2010.04.25 – 05.01

Last week was productive, with a lot of running around and then finally a tranquil weekend camping. We got Nivagi a new car, which will make like easier for her, and I got in some fun derby practice and MUXing. I thought I’d have more time to myself, but locking my keys in my car ruined my timetable Tuesday night, and the rest of the week was just too busy. Still, it seems like a relaxing paradise compared to the over-scheduling I have to contend with this week…

Last Sunday Jero and I enjoyed a massive sleep-in day, staying in bed about 12 hours before the need for food finally drove us from the house. After an extremely late breakfast, I went to see Stsm’s new house in Irvington. Her apartment is great and I love her neighborhood. She and I had dinner at Jockamo Upper Crust Pizza, which was insanely good, and I brought some back for Jero since she was intrigued by the idea of pizza with Old Bay (she liked).

Last Monday I had a date night with Ke, so I picked her up after work and we went out to dinner. She had a school project she was working on, so I popped on the MUX “just for a bit” until Ke was done with her presentation. Unfortunately, her assignment took all night, so I got in a lot more MUX time than I’d expected. I enjoyed cool scenes with Chdr, Desm, and Semcca, and got to advance to SG-Joe infiltration of the Pit plotline, as well as set up a future scene for Rodimus. Overall it was a productive night.

Last Tuesday’s practice was fun. I worked a later schedule, so I missed the first half-hour of the practice, but I got to scrimmage at the end, and even got lead jammer in the last jam (it helps when Buzz Lightbeer is on my side helping instead of opposing me!). After practice, however, I accidently locked my keys in my trunk while getting flyers, and had to wait an hour before roadside assistance could free me. I picked up Nivagi from Morgan’s (where she’d gone when I didn’t show up at her work), and by the time I got her back to Ke’s I was exhausted and so the three of us soon just went to bed.

Last Wednesday was the first practice run by Meek, one of our fast skaters. He had good drills for increasing our leg strength to improve our skating, and I was definitely sore the next day. After work I picked up Nivagi and we went to Adshru’s so Nivagi could buy Adshru’s old car. Ke joined us with a cashier’s check, and after they dropped off the car at a mechanic’s to get it checked out, the three of us went to Denny’s for a much delayed dinner. Exhausted, we went back to Ke’s and passed out immediately.

Last Thursday after work I met up with Jero and hung out with her while she had sexy vampire time. I fought distraction to catch up with some of the Internets while she was watching TV. By the time we left her house, it was too late to go to Chili’s, so we hit Stake N’ Shake instead. We went shopping at Meijer for weekend camping, picking up way more than we needed as it turned out. With luck we can use some of the extra camping stuff at future events, and eat the extra food this week. I wanted to do more when we got back to Jero’s, but it was already very late and we were exhausted, so we wound up just going to sleep.

Friday I took off work so Jero and I could drive down to Lothlorien early and set up camp. Since Beltane isn’t an official festival at Lothlorien, it was quiet and serene, and after I showed Jero around we got to pick our favorite spot for camping. When the tent was set up I headed back to Indy to go to the symphony with Stsm; the music was enjoyable, made even more so by Stsm’s ecstatic enjoyment of it. After the performance I kissed Stsm goodbye and headed back to the woods to sleep.

It rained overnight, but our tent held and we stayed dry as we enjoyed the thunderstorms. When we got up Saturday we headed into town for Free Comic Book Day and to buy me new skate wheels from Rolling Thunder Fun Factory. After a lovely meal at the Irish Lion, we headed back and spent the evening trying to build a fire with wet wood, eventually succeeding. We heated some food for dinner, and then joined people at the central fire, staying even after hard rain drove most people away.

My week was good, even with the hassle of locking my keys in my car and having to run around every night running errands. Lothlorien was very peaceful – there were so few people there that it didn’t have a festival feel, but a quiet weekend in the woods was just what I needed after a busy week. Chpa and Nivagi were there if we wanted company, or we could just hide in the tent to enjoy the thunderstorms. Even standing in the rain around the dwindling fire was nice. It was a tremendously pleasant end to the week.

Eye-Roll 20s - Race City Rebels

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 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 – 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

Week in Review – February 14th

Last week was good, even though I started feeling sickly around Thursday. I got to spend some much-needed time with Ra and Amsc, and spent the weekend hanging out with Jero, Ke, and Mira. I didn’t get to see Mika at all for the second week in a row, which bothered me a lot more than I realized it would. I could have gone to her anti-Valentine party, but I didn’t want to deal with the smoke and the social anxiety.

Last Sunday I woke up early to drive to St. Louis to see Ra and Sckl. When I arrived we went out for lunch and watched Coraline, which was awesome. After the movie they ordered pizza and we watched The Big Bang Theory, which Ra had gotten me as a present. TBBT was good choice – some of the geek jokes strike very close to home. I’ve already started quoting it, to Ra’s amused annoyance.

Last Monday Sckl had to depart super-early to leave town for work, so he was gone by the time I woke up. I ran to the credit union to give my mom money, and then Ra and I went out for lunch and a visit to the comic store. We spent the afternoon discussing our relationship, and then at 7 I got onto the MUX for a meeting. That night I had to head back to Indy, after a long and very pleasant good-bye from Ra.

Last Tuesday I took a half-day off work to recover from the late drive back to Indy. It was very worth it for the extra Ra time, and I made up for it by converting my day off Friday to another half-day. After work I went over to see Ke, who seemed just as tired as I. We tried to stay up and be productive, but eventually we threw in the towel and just went to bed to snuggle and catch up on sleep.

At the MUX meeting Monday we realized that a lot of our players and admin were free on Wednesday, so Hemy put together a TinyPlot event. Cobra attacked Chicago, both to damage Boeing headquarters and to damage the message of hope set forth by President Dunham (our stand-in for Obama). The event was a lot of fun, and we got it started early enough that General Hawk could join us, which was a nice bonus.

Last Thursday after work I drove to Illinois to see Amsc. We ordered Jimmy Johns and snuggled on her couch to watch the two most recent episodes of BSG. Amsc played some on her fancy new laptop, but this time didn’t let tech focus completely distract her during our visit. Unfortunately, I was starting to get sick, so by the time we went to bed I was too miserable to fully enjoy her company, which was a crying shame.

Friday I got to sleep in a little with Amsc since I’d taken a half-day off work. After my four hours at the job, I picked up Ke and we went to shopping for flowers for Mira, who came to visit this past weekend. We were hoping to go to Panera for dinner, but it got too late so we hit the Chinese buffet instead. I had to work the next day, so when we got back to Ke’s house we soon headed to bed.

Saturday after work Jero picked me up and we went to see the Naptown Roller Girls Warning Belles debut bout. I was still feeling anti-social and crappy, but I had a great time nonetheless. The Warning Belles kicked ass, beating the NE Ohio Rock n Rollers 63 to 41. They also raised $ 5025 for breast cancer research during their half-time auction, which was even cooler.

I had a good time seeing Ra and Amsc last week, and I’m glad I was able to work out the time to drive out to see them. Besides being sick, I had a great time this weekend hanging out with Jero, Ke, and Mira. Unfortunately this week has been hellaciously crappy so far, due to feeling sickly and fighting with Mika. I’m hoping I’ll at least be able to work things out with Mika when I see her today after work.

Oil Drilling In Alaska
"This can't be true. Bush described himself as an environmental guardian last fall, and I've seen photos of him standing in front of trees."
—Cecelia Mayo, Systems Analyst, theonion.com

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

Last Week

Last week was stressful and left me feeling down a lot of the time. However, it did have some very nice parts with people I love, and so even though I’m feeling Bleh today I’m still happy overall. A weekend hanging out with Laat, who I haven’t seen in ages, certainly helped improve my mood. I’m hoping since Laat only lives two hours away now we might be able to hang out a little more often than the maybe once or twice a year we have been.

Last Sunday I got to sleep in wonderfully late with Ke. When hunger finally drove us from her bed, we went to get Thai food, continuing my experimentation with how well I’ve recovered from my radiation treatments. The food was yummy, and after hanging out a bit with Jero while Ke ran to work, I spent the evening with Ke, journaling while she did her nursing school homework.

Last Monday after work I went over to Jero’s to MUX. We ate and I got on the MUX for a TinyPlot meeting that Hemy was running. Everyone had good ideas, and I was happy to be able to actually get on and contribute for a change. After the meeting I got to role-play with Hemy and others as Cobra Commander, which is always a lot of fun.

Tuesday I went to the dentist to get a crown re-adhered. The weekend before Thanksgiving one of my crowns came off while I was eating. Because it was the weekend, I called and left a message with my dentist that I needed to make an appointment to put it back on. Since I had a root canal in that tooth, there was no pain, so I figured it was no emergency. The dentist called me back the Monday before Thanksgiving and asked if I could come in that day to have it re-attached, but since it was my first day back at work I didn’t want to leave immediately. Since it was a holiday week, I couldn’t get an appointment until the next Tuesday, and my that time my rootless tooth had moved too much – so now I have to buy a whole new crown. D’oh!

Tuesday night after work I went over to Mika’s. I tore her away from Mobsters long enough to take her out for Chinese food, and then when we got home I got on her computer to send out a notice to Indiana_RP about a game night Thursday. Unfortunately Mika passed out while I was on the computer, so it wound up being a very early night.

I had to burn off from Paid Personal Time before the end of the year, and last Wednesday was one of the only days available. So, I took the day off and hid out while everyone else was at school or work. That night I got together with Ke. We had yummy Cuban food and then watched A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All. Heartwarming! B)

Thursday night Mika and I hosted a game night in my apartment building’s community room. A@, B! and Erro joined us for most of the night, and Brbe popped in as well when he got off work. I kicked ass at Apples to Apples and Run for Your Life, Candyman!, but Erro triumphed at Munchkin. It was a lot of fun, especially for a last minute thing.

Friday I got together with Jero. We went out to dinner and ate way too much. After stuffing ourselves we went back to her house and spent a lot of time playing on our laptops while trying to decide what to do with the evening. Eventually we settled on snuggling and watching Bones, so I finally got to start watching the second season.

This weekend was fun. I went down to Louisville to see my friend Laat from college. I’ve seen her on and off depending on where in the country she is living, but hadn’t had a chance to see her since she recently moved to Louisville, which is only 2 hours from Indy. This weekend she had a fundraiser for the Girl Scouts, so that made a god excuse to go down to see her and her new apartment. The weekend was cold but very fun.

Today I’m back at work, and it’s annoying the fuck out of me. We combined with another department so now the phones ring off the hook. Plus, they keep moving everything to one server, and then of course every time something crashes *everything* goes offline and makes our jobs almost impossible. I hate working here, although I do appreciate still having a job and insurance, especially after seeing the $16,000 bill for my radiation treatments. So I guess I’ll suck it up. ;)

“You create the reason/ for your own existence.”
– Forest for the Trees

Last Week

Last week was a difficult week for me emotionally. I was stressed about health and relationship issues, and it made me depressed and touchy. Luckily I was surrounded by good people who were very patient with me, and ultimately the week ended on a high note. I got to spend a lot of time with Mika last week, which was especially nice because I needed a chance to reconnect with her.

Last Sunday was a really pleasant day. Jero and I slept in ridiculously late and then we went out to Outback before meeting B!, Jobe, and Mars for a last-minute birthday Runebound game night. We still didn’t get to complete a game, but we did come a lot closer than the last time we played. I hadn’t expected to see Mars that weekend, so his unexpected freedom was an enjoyable surprise.

Last Monday I went to my first radiation oncologist appointment. The appointment went well – Dr. Leagre was very reassuring, and was happy to oblige my request to move my treatments to closer-to-home Methodist Hospital. It meant switching radiation oncologists, but I like Dr. Yeh just as much. After my appointment I headed to work. I had to work late since I traded with Napl so I could go to the doctor’s appt, so Monday night Jero and I skipped MUXing and went to bed relatively early.

Last Tuesday I went to another doctor’s appointment to meet Dr. Yeh, my new radiation oncologist. Ke picked me up at work and brought me to Methodist Hospital Radiation Therapy. I thought I’d just meet Dr. Yeh and he’d give me the same rundown Dr. Leagre did, but while I was there he had them CAT scan me as well in preparation for my radiation treatments. He answered more of the questions I’d had, and although the appointment lasted a lot longer than I’d planned, I felt like I got a lot accomplished in one visit.

After work I went over to Mika’s to spend the night with her for her birthday Wednesday. Mika and I had dinner at Texas Roadhouse and then stopped by Trader Joe’s to pick up ingredients for breakfast. When we got back to Mika’s apartment we snuggled on the couch and watched Firefly until we were both ready for bed.

Wednesday I had the day off for Mika’s birthday, so we slept in and Mika made breakfast. I had to run up to my urologist’s so they could take more blood, and then when I returned Mika napped while I watched the History Channel’s specials on end of the world scenarios – happy birthday, Mika!

Wednesday night Mika and I met up with Tojo, and the three of us went to see Mudkids, Flobots, and Matisyahu at the Murat Egyptian Room for Mika's birthday. After the concert I headed off so Mika and Tojo could have the night alone, and went over to Ke’s to snuggle and fall asleep with her to The Colbert Report.

Thursday night Amsc drove in from Illinois to see me. She was worried about her new tattoo, but she stopped in on the way to Indy and her tattoo shop reassured her it was healing just fine. Amsc’s visit was a short one, but it was good to catch up with her since I didn’t get to see her for her important rites weekend. We snuggled and she spent the night, and I get to see her again for Halloween.

Friday night after work I got back together with Mika for her birthday weekend. We had dinner, and then started in on two days devoted to the Star Trek Roleplaying Game. I have to love a woman whose request for birthday weekend activities includes role-playing Star Trek. *^_^* I had a great time with her, not just for the role-playing, but also for the chance to hang out with in an unhurried, non-sleepy setting.

Saturday Mika and slept in again and then went out to Le Peep for breakfast. We hit the knit shop, so Mika could stock up on yarn. Coincidently they were having a clearance sale, so Mika spent way too much, and then we headed home to role-play more Star Trek. We ordered in Jimmy Johns so we didn’t have to venture out, and spent the evening role-playing and snuggling.

The weekend was just what I needed. Mika had backed off from me a bit since I’d gotten sick, mostly so she didn’t get in the way of everyone else who was wanting to take care of me (I have an abundance of good fortunes!). This coincided with some NRE on her part, which left me feeling a little insecure. A weekend of snuggling and catching up was perfect for making me feel better in a lot of ways.

Arthur: “Oh, would you look at this. How many times have I told you about the toothpaste?“
The Tick: “I know what toothpaste is.“
Arthur: “When you leave the cap off the toothpaste the toothpaste gets hard and you can't get it out.“
The Tick: “Doesn't do that for me.“
Arthur: “That's because by the time you get the toothpaste, I've already cleaned it and put the cap back on!“
The Tick: “Well, good gravy! We are a well-oiled machine!“
-- The Tick

Weekend

I had a very pleasant weekend. I got to meet new people, spend time with the only family I actually like, and see friends and lovers with whom I normally don’t ever get enough time. Friday night Mika and I went over to Mars's to play Runebound. Mika and I'd originally intended to have a night alone and maybe a date night (as opposed to the usual case, where by time I get off work it's nearly time to sleep), but Mars had one of his rare nights free so Mika agreed to change plans. Runebound turned out to be one of Mars’s fun-but-endless games, so we wound up hanging out at his house until 4 AM.

Saturday I woke up before Mika and realized I’d somehow managed to lose my flash drive the night before. I looked for it until Mika woke up, and then drove by Mars’s on the way to the poly picnic to see if I’d dropped it outside his house. Mika and I met back up at the picnic, but I didn’t have long to hang out before I had to drive down to Bloomington to meet Mira at Chhu and Jalyru's for Chhu's 30th birthday party. Jalyru had planned a photo scavenger hunt that turned out to be a lot of fun, and I got to meet more of Chhu and Jalyru’s cool circle of friends. Good times!

Sunday Ke, Mira and I went to the Indy Irish Fest for breakfast and to see the kilt race. I escaped without spending much money, which was good, and then Mira and I went back to Ke’s while Ke went to work. I was dead-tired all morning from staying out late at Chhu and Jalyru’s, so Mira insisted I nap until Ke got home. We all had dinner together, and then Mira and I role-played while Ke got some sleep. It was excellent to see Mira before she had to head back to E’ville.

This week has been good so far – work hasn’t been that unpleasant, and for once I’m not booked to my eyeballs, so I have a little time to relax and catch up on my life. My mom is still crazy, but getting better, so now she’s only calling 20 times a day instead of 200. I’m hoping things continue to calm down at work and otherwise so that eventually I can get back to what passes for normal. This weekend Jero is getting to play with the Circle City Socialites at their first bout, so that should be fun and exciting.

"Some see the move as an attempt to preserve traditional values, while others see it as a cynical ploy to ensure that Vice President Cheney will never have to pay for his gay daughter's wedding."
-- Jon Stewart, "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," on the gay marriage ban