Week in Review – Week of February 7th – 13th

Last week work sucked, and my personal life was down and up. I had an unexpected fight with Ra, and now am giving her space before talking to her again. I did enjoy hiding out on the MUX and pretending to be someone else, which helped me get through the week. Mira came into town for the weekend, and it was great to hang out with her and all my girlfriends this past weekend. We’re all getting together again maybe Thursday to skate and definitely Saturday for Howl at the Moon. B)

Sunday I got up early since the CCS/RCR had a derby skills camp before our regular practice. It was the first skills camps since the one that hooked me in, and it was fun to meet new skaters and be the one helping out this time. Tesh was there, and while he’s traditionally not my favorite person, he could skate well and could be an asset to our team. Ultimately it was nice to have another familiar face at practice. After practice Stsm and I were going to have a game night, but no one showed so we ordered Chinese food and blogged instead. I finally called and got my furnace motor replaced, so at least it was relaxing and warm, and a nice way to end off the weekend.

Monday, however, was awful, once again fulfilling my maxim of the nicer the weekend, the shittier the Monday. Work was absolutely awful, with an hours-long problem from Friday returning to rear its ugly head, and when I tried to reach out to Ra to see how she’s been doing, I wound up triggering an unintended argument with her, and now she’s not talking to me. When I got to Jero’s she fed me yummy steak and mashed potatoes, which did improve my mood, and I got in some fun role-playing with Chameleon and Scarlett as Airtight and with Spike as Dark Buster before the MUX router died and I just gave up and went to bed.


Work didn’t quite suck as much Tuesday as Monday – there were a lot of messes, but I got them all taken care of. After work I went to Ke and Nivagi’s to hang out with Ke. Ke was unexpectedly still awake (she’s had early days all week), so Nivagi and I got to hang out with her for a while before she went to bed. Nivagi made us all surprisingly yummy microwaved Indian food, and after Ke went to bed Nivagi and I snuggled up in her room and watched Angel on DVD. Nivagi’s cat Nana decided to join us, but luckily my allergies weren’t bothering me too much, so her cute presence wasn’t a problem. When it got late we switched off my laptop, kicked out the cat, and went to sleep.

Wednesday after work I just grabbed a salad from Wendy’s and went home to hide out and MUX (since the MUX router died Monday night without me accomplishing much). Even though it was late, there were a ton of people on, and I wound up in a lot of great scenes. Evil Scarlett came through a rift from Mirror Earth, causing mass confusion. Evil Flagg got to test-fire his massive laser. Starscream apparently beat up the Aerialbots and Broadside. Mel interviewed the Baroness for a story, which I need to get back on the MUX and post this week. I stayed up way too late, but it was a lot of fun. I also got laundry done and time alone, so it was a good night.

Thursday after work I went to Skateland to skate, since my work schedule is going to prevent me from attending any weekday derby practices this month. I felt self0-conscous at first, since I was still the worst skater there (everyone else were cool jam skaters), but after a while I relaxed, and it was nice to just practice on my own and work on my endurance and crossovers. Since it wasn’t an official practice, if it took me 30 laps to master something, there was no one to notice but me, which was nice.

Friday I had a horrible night at work, so I was all too happy to escape at 10:15. Mira came into town, so when I got off work I went to Ke’s to hang out with Mira, Nivagi and her. They’d gotten pizza, so I joined them on the couch and ate after showing them what I’d brought to wear to the party the next day and getting their more fashion-minded approval. Unfortunately, we were all tired, so after some snuggling we went to bed relatively early for a Friday.

Saturday Jero and I drove up to Ft. Wayne to see their SWAT derby team play Indy’s Circle City Socialites. We stayed to watch Ft. Wayne’s other derby team play the Hammer City Rollergirls from Ontario, Canada. After the bout, Jero and I drove back to go to an Anti-Valentine Goth party hosted by Tojo and Mika. We had a great time, and it was magnificent to see Ke, Mira, Nivagi, and Stsm all dressed in hot outfits. We stayed there until the wee hours and then went home to collapse.

"Gilligan's Island" star Bob Denver has died at the age of 70. The White House is declaring a national day of mourning to remember the man who created the TV character President Bush has strived to emulate in every aspect of his public and private life. -- Jake Novak

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Week in Review – October 11th – 17th

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

-- Julian, singing, Madagascar

Week in Review – Week 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

Week in Review – Week Ending 2009.04.25

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 and Half of This One – March.15 – March.25

My emotional state continues to be up and down. I’m surrounded by wonderful people, but a ton of crap is going on in others’ lives that I have no control over and for which I can provide little help. Things have settled in my relationships, but not exactly where I’d like them to, so the process of acceptance is a depressing one. I’m trying to be there for people when I can, and to enjoy the good times, but whenever I get a chance to think too much my mood crashes.

Last Sunday I slept until 3 and then woke up to breakfast with Ke and Mira. We had a lazy day of hanging out playing on our laptops and then Ke and Mira made a yummy dinner of chicken and asparagus. Ke worked on a memorial website for her grandmother while I caught up with friends and lovers about their weekend. Ke and I were feeling a little down by the end of the night, and Mira wasn’t exactly feeling very amorous either, but the three of us managed to pull each other out of our respective funks and have a good evening nonetheless.

Last Monday morning Ke, Mira, and I went out for breakfast and then Ke went into to work and Mira headed back to Evansville. I went to Jero’s and took a nap with her before driving up to meet Mika for dinner. Dinner with Mika was pleasant, and although we still have no idea when we’ll hang out while I’m on the night schedule, I’m hoping we’ll figure something out. After dinner I went back to Jero’s and we snuggled and watched Castle (a new guilty pleasure) and Dollhouse (which I love already).

Last Tuesday was St. Patrick’s Day, so I was worried about being late for work because of the damned parade (I work downtown). I left myself extra time, but besides having to run over some revelers, I managed to get in early. I waited 15 minutes to clock in at 1:45, only to realize later that they moved me back to the 1:30 shift this week (*facepalm*). Luckily I’d mentioned to my boss when I got there that I was “early” so she knew I was actually there. After work I had no plans so I went home to MUX.

Last Wednesday morning I went to bed way too late, so when one of my managers called and offered e-time I accepted it and went into work a little late but much more rested. After work I met Ke at Brbe and Erro’s where they were hosting a game night. Ke and I hung out there, playing Apples to Apples and watching YouTube videos and Onion News. When it got late Ke and I left, picking up food and heading back to my apartment for The Daily Show and sleep.

Thursday morning Ke and I got up and had Le Peep for breakfast before she went to class and I went into work. At work they were giving away E-time like candy, so I had the rare opportunity to leave work early. I picked up Nivagi and drove her to her apartment so she could see her boyfriend and pack for her Friday night date. After that Nivagi and I then went to Denny’s for a late-night dinner. By the time we got back to my apartment it was late enough though that we were OK with just going to bed.

Friday night after work I hurried home so I could watch the third-to-last episode of BSG before going over to Jero’s to watch the two-hour finale. I got off too late to watch the finale the first time it played, but luckily Sci Fi played it again later in the evening so I still got to watch it that night. They decided to focus a lot of the ending on character instead of action, so I can see how some people might find it a little slow, but I’m generally satisfied with how they wrapped everything up.

Saturday night Jero and I went to a roller derby bout between Indianapolis and St. Louis. The Naptown Roller Girls played the Arch Rivals Roller Girls and it was a pretty exciting game to watch. The ARRG were ahead 12 points by half-time, and were able to win 93 to 60. After the bout Jero and I went back to my apartment to clean, and wound up arranging my living room and organizing things in such a way that with luck I’ll be able to someday make some order out of the chaos.

Sunday morning Jero and I didn’t get to bed until almost dawn, so Jero slept until 2 PM and I slept until four. When I woke up Jero was going through paperwork in my living room, helping me organize and get rid of things I no longer need. I joined in to help her clean, until finally we got hungry and went out to Olive Garden. We’d intended to go back to her house after dinner, but wound up back at my place for more cleaning.

Monday was Jero’s birthday, so we went out for breakfast before I had to go into work. At work I was depressed – too much going on in my life and in the lives of people important to be that I can’t control. After work I went back to Jero’s, where she’d made us yummy chicken burgers. We were going to play SingStar, but I’d left my PlayStation controller at home, so we wound up cuddling and watching Bones instead.

Tuesday night I was allowed to leave work a little early again so I grabbed some food for Ke and me and went to her house to MUX while she did homework and studied for a test Friday. On the MUX I was able to get in on the end of a Decepticon raid TP run my Hemy. Since Jero had Snoop on, I logged on Browning, and we had a fun time being unhelpful non-combatants on the sidelines while Nighthawk and Skywarp beat each other to paint.

Tonight I’m getting together with Nivagi, and it should be fun as long as I can stay awake – my alarm went off at 7 AM and I had a hard time getting back to sleep. This weekend I’m going down to Evansville to see Mira, and my mom for her birthday. With luck Ke will get to come with me so the two of us can hang out with Mira and her friends. My mom is also depressed and doesn’t really want company, but I’m hoping if I’m right there in town I’ll be able to persuade her to at least venture out for dinner.

"The future will be better tomorrow."
- former Vice-President Dan Quayle

Week in Review March.14

This week continued the trend of suck plaguing my month year. Some overhanging things got resolved for better or worse, and overall life got better towards the week, but there is still a lot going on that I’m just going to have to hunker down, weather, and hope will eventually improve. I did get to see Jeso for the first time since 2002 and Mira for her birthday, so my week has definitely had its bright points. I’m hoping next week will be better overall. I could do with less drama and change.

Last Sunday morning Ke’s dad called her and told her that her grandmother, who Ke was very close to, was doing very badly health-wise and might not make it through the day. I cancelled my plans with Jeso and went over to spend the day with Ke to keep her company. She took a long nap and then we went out to have dinner with Jero. Ke called her parents and found out her grandmother had died, so we called Mira and I held Ke while she cried.

Monday night is usually my MUX night, but I got to Jero’s so late that by the time I logged on only R_55 was on, and he wasn’t very talkative (although he did pass along news that D3@ was doing well). R_55 said he was just popping in to see how we were doing, which confirmed my feeling that he isn’t really around anymore. I need to ask Cawh to have him turn over passwords, etc, for things if he’s not going to be an active admin. After logging off the MUX, Jero and I lay down to snuggle and watch Bones.

Tuesday I had a rough day at work, compounded by finding out that what I thought was a discussion of possibilities with Amsc the weekend before was actual a break-up and I didn’t realize it. Besides feeling like an idiot, it was better in some ways to have things officially end instead of hanging over me, which was stressing me out. After work I went over to Ke’s to take care of her, but she wound up taking care of me instead. I still couldn’t sleep, so I wound up lay awake depressed until dawn before finally passing out.

Wednesday I was still feeling emotionally crappy, so Ke came over to keep me company while got my notes together for Saturday’s D&D game. I was sad about breaking up with Amsc, but having some resolution was at least helping me start to adjust to the new paradigm. My ongoing troubles with Mika are causing me more actual stress, since she and I haven’t had a chance to work on things since our last talk and with the mandatory overtime she’s had at work, this week didn’t work out either.

Thursday I was feeling a little better. I scheduled dinner with Mika for Monday, and knowing when I’d see her again helped my mood considerably. I hadn’t plans after work, so I told Jero she could come over and hang out. I installed tax software she lent me and then Jero snuggled me while we played Kingdom of Loathing until three in the morning. Jero helped me catch up on quests on which I was behind, and it was a magnificently relaxing and silly way to spend the evening.

Friday after work I finally met up with Jeso and we went over to Marsh’s for a late-evening game night. B! and Jobe joined us, and they played Guitar Hero before we moved to the dining room to play Infernal Contraption and Fluxx. I was worried about dragging someone to game night I haven’t seen in seven years, but it actually turned out to be a lot of fun. We hung out until about 2 AM and then headed back to my apartment to sleep.

Saturday Jeso and I hung out and had breakfast while waiting for Mira to arrive from Evansville. When Mira arrived, Jero and Ke joined us and we got ready to role-play. When B!, Jogr, Marsh and Jobe arrived we had a fun game of D&D. We lost some players to a conflicting Ides of March party, but I had a great time nonetheless. After the game a few of us went to Denny’s and then Mira, Ke and I went back to Ke’s to snuggle and sleep.

Today I slept until 3, and then Ke and Mira woke me up with breakfast. We’re having a fun lazy day playing on our laptops, which is a great way to spend a Sunday. They made a yummy dinner of chicken and asparagus, and we might head back to bed soon to watch The Big Bang Theory. Some underlying issues were threatening to ruin my good mood earlier, but I’m trying hard to work through them and stay positive and enjoy Mira’s presence while we have her here. As Jero pointed out, I had a great weekend surrounded by wonderful people, and I need to appreciate what I have instead of worrying about everything else.

"We have a firm commitment to NATO. We are part of NATO. We have a firm commitment to Europe. We are part of Europe."

- former Vice-President Dan Quayle

Week in Review: March 01 – March 07

This week has been really rough for a lot of people I know. So many friends have lost people close to them this month that I’m ready to join Ra in demanding to the Powers that Be: ENOUGH. I’m concerned about a couple of my relationships, but really, it’s hard to complain when so many people around me are dealing with so much worse.

Last weekend was good, but between a potential break with Amsc, Sero’s daughter Jennie Sutton dying, and Bemcco’s friend Jest’s baby being born, my emotional state was way up and down. I spent Sunday hiding out with Amsc and watching Dollhouse and Sex and Breakfast. We had lunch and dinner delivered, so I barely left the bed all day except to shower. It was a good way to hibernate and spend time with Amsc while I have the chance.

Monday morning I drove back to Indy and got to work early. The events of the weekend started to sink in, and my good hanging-out-with-Amsc mood started to fade. After work I went to Jero’s. She’d cooked me yummy Slither-beast, and after I ate we decided to skip MUXing since I get there so late on this shift that most people wouldn’t still be online. Instead we went to bed to snuggle and watch Bones. I called Ra before I went to sleep, and talked to her until she needed to get off the phone to call Sckl.

Tuesday night I got together with Ke. I got off work early since they had no more work for us, so I went to Ke’s house to wait for her. When she escaped the lab we went out to Wendy’s to grab late-night food and then ate and played on our laptops until it was time for Ke to go to bed. I’d snuggled with her under her electric blanket while I typed, but once she was ready to actually sleep I set the computer aside so I could cuddle her while we slept.

Wednesday evening I had a night to myself. I talked to Mira after work and then called Nivagi so I could make plans for Thursday. I got to talk to Ra on the phone again for a while and then talked to Jero. Mira called back, so I got to talk to her at the end of her evening as well. I was hoping to get some journaling done, but I was depressed and by the time I got off the phone I was also tired. I watched Family Guy on Hulu and poked around the Internets until I gave up and went to sleep.

Thursday I went to see Watchmen with Chpa and Nivagi. I love the comic, but hadn’t read it in a while, so there were still a few surprises in terms of small things I’d forgotten and changes they’d made to the story. As a fan I can say I approve of the slight change they made to the ending – if anything, it keeps the spirit of the original while increasing the emotional impact and making things even more personal. I enjoyed the movie and it was well worth staying up until 3 AM to see it, especially with Chpa and Nivagi along.

Friday morning I went to see Dr. Moretto for a check-up and to establish him as a new family doctor, something I haven’t had in years. Doc said everything looked good, but took fluids to check for cholesterol, etc. I was feeling down since Mika cancelled on me because she had to work mandatory overtime, so after work I hid out for an hour and then went over to Ke’s to hang out with her while she ran around in a cleaning frenzy.

Saturday I’d planned to go visit Jeso, who has recently moved back to Indiana from Texas, but I rescheduled with Jeso to have a chance to go down to Evansville with IceSpark to see the Circle City Socialites in their first interleague bout against the Demolition City Roller Derby Destruction Dames. It was great to get to see CCS play, even if they did wind up getting pwn3d this time out. We also got to see a rematch between the DCRD Dynamite Dolls and the NEO Rock’n’Rollers, which ended in an exciting last-second finish of Dynamite Dolls 100 NEO R’n'R 102.

Sunday morning Ke’s dad called her and told her that her grandmother, who Ke is very close to, was doing very badly health-wise and might not make it through the day. I cancelled my plans with Jeso again and went over to spend the day with Ke and keep her company. She took a long nap, and then we went to have dinner with Jero. After dinner Ke talked to her parents and Mira, and soon we will probably go to sleep.

“I check the list. Rubber tiring. Gas. Saw. Gloves. Cuffs. Razor wire. Hatchet. Gladys. And my mitts.” -- Marv, SIN CITY

Amsc – Weekend 2009.03.02

Last weekend I talked to Amsc about the fact that she’s met a guy she likes who is monogamous. I told her if she needed to take a break with me to explore things with him, we could. I don’t want to give Amsc up, but I also think since she lives so far away it would be selfish to restrict her chances at a full-time local relationship to keep her available to me the four days a month we get to see each other.

Amsc thought it might not be fair to just say, “OK, never mind! Game on!” if things don’t out with New Guy. She’s concerned about treating me unfairly, especially with my recent troubles with Mika. However, Amsc has been up front with me about her needs and the problems she has with us long-term, and I don’t want her to feel pressure to “choose” him or me. I want her to be able to explore things without additional stress.

I’m trying to think of this in terms of win-win. If things work out with New Guy (or someone else later on), is happy, and I’ll still presumably get to do most everything I do with her now, minus the sex and maybe some of the snuggling, depending on New Guy’s comfort level. If things don’t work out, I’ll still get to date Amsc, and maybe she’ll feel less like I’m a restriction on her dating opportunities.

I had a very good weekend with Amsc. If it winds up being our last weekend together as a couple, it will be a nice bookend to our first nights together. While there, I tried to focus less on “I might lose Amsc” and more on, “If this is my last weekend with her, let me enjoy it fully so I can look back and smile.” If it turns out that Amsc and I only get two years together, I will try to be happy I had two years with such a wonderful woman.

Mika

I'm sitting at work dealing with an all day cut, trying to ignore the bowling ball on my chest that is my unresolvable frustration with Mika.

Week in Review – February 21st

Last week was really rough for me. I was sick most of the week, and my unhappiness with my relationship with Mika, which I’ve been trying to keep a lid on since she was busy and stressed from moving, boiled over into an unfortunately argument over text message, the repercussions of which are still being felt. I thought we’d resolved some things Thursday, but from the email I got today, apparently not.

Last Sunday Jero had to go to derby practice, so I headed over early to hang out with Ke and Mira while Mira was in town. For dinner we went out to a super-yummy Turkish restaurant, and then snuggled in bed and watched The Big Bang Theory DVDs Ra got me for the holidays. Since we’re all big geeks we laughed our asses off until time for bed. Mira and I were planning to stay up but wound up going to sleep, too.

Monday before work I got to hang out with Mira before she had to head back to Evansville. Monday night is usually my MUX night, but Jero was stressed from derby stuff, so after I ate yummy food she made me we played Kingdom of Loathing for a while and then went to bed to cuddle and watch the latest BSG. Friday’s episode was a bonanza of exposition. B)

Tuesday I had a bad headache at work and wound up arguing with Mika over text message between calls, which I’m sure didn’t improve either of our days. She eventually stopped talking to me, but my headache lasted late into the night. After work I headed over to Ke’s, and we hung out and watched Bones while playing on our laptops. When she went to bed I joined her.

Wednesday morning I continued my text message argument with Mika until she had to get back to work. We tabled our discussion for Thursday, but the situation continued to bother me throughout the day. I spent the night alone, and tried to focus on other things, but it’s difficult for me to concentrate on anything else when there is unresolved tension between me and someone I love.

Thursday I got together with Mika to talk about our relationship. During our discussion we focused on the fact that our relationship had a weird beginning and we skipped over a lot of the “getting to know you” foundation. Mika wanted to take a break to work on rebuilding the foundation of our relationship – I’d rather continue dating while we work on things. We made plans to get together on Tuesday to discuss further.

Friday I stayed up late printing character sheets for Saturday’s game. I had far too many characters left over from previous sessions, and wanted to make sure I knew what everyone was doing so there’d be as few delays as possible. When I was finished I went over to Ke’s to snuggle and sleep. She was already in bed by the time I arrived, so I slid in next to her and snuggled her while she slept.

Saturday I ran the Exiles game for a big, fun group of players. I had a lot of fun, and am finally getting the hang again of running things for large groups. I learned lessons for the future – get started sooner so we don’t lose players to time, and design stories to feature fewer NPCs and less back-story so players spend more time playing and less time listening to me talk and RP with myself. Nonetheless, I had a great time.

The rest of the weekend was nice, and my Monday was nice until I got new email from Mika. I have to wait until after work tomorrow to talk to her about what’s up, which is bad since I have a hard time concentrating on anything else when something is hanging over my head. Still, it’s getting late and I’ve been a grumpy mess all evening, so I’m going to log off now and try to salvage my night with Jero.

GOP pollster Tony Fabrizi told the L.A. Times, "It becomes a more crystallized proof point that we are no longer the party of smaller government. We have become a party of 'It doesn't matter what size the government is as long as it is imposing our set of values.'"
-- “Some in GOP Fear Effort May Alienate Voters,” L.A. Times

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 31st

Last week I worked the late shift. Since that usually limits my social options, I thought I’d at least be able to stay up late and get things done, but instead I wound up still going to sleep relatively early and just catching up on rest instead. It didn’t stop me from getting sick this weekend, but it did give me time to think and work on some of my ongoing relationship troubles, even if I haven’t reached any solid new conclusions.

Last Sunday I spent with Amsc, snuggling her and watching with amusement as she explored the options of her new phone. She has a new Crackberry, and is already completely addicted. We did venture out for breakfast and then sushi later, but the rest of the day was spent focused on her phone. I had fun hanging out with her, but I did have to tease her that she inadvertently wound up choosing her phone over sex.

Monday before work I got to see Asca for the first time in over a year, which was nice. After work I went over to Jero’s for MUX night. Unfortunately, by the time I got online most the MUX players were ready for bed (damned late work shift!), so I just did some admin stuff and worked on TFU’s online presence. I’m hoping when the new GI Joe and Transformers movies come out we might net a few more new interested players.

Last Tuesday I went to see Ke after work. I hung out with her and worked on my laptop while she studied. She asked if I’d like to snuggle her before she went to sleep and then go back to my computering. I knew that once I lay down I wouldn’t want to get back up, so I just shut down what I was doing and joined her in snuggly sleep. It was a good choice to get another full night of rest, and to pick snuggles over productivity.

Wednesday night after work I stayed home to talk with Ra. She’s been unhappy with our relationship for a while, and with how many people I’m dating. The problem is related to feelings of connectedness and spontaneity, but after hours of talking we’re not much closer to a solution. Obviously for her happiness and mine I’m not going to start dating any additional people, but besides that we still have a lot to work on.

Thursday night I had free, so after work I surprised Jero by popping by to give her a kiss good-night and to tuck her in. I then went over to Ke’s to keep her company while she studied before bed. I thought again about staying up late to be productive, but wound up follow the pattern of the week by just going to bed semi-early and getting more sleep. Once more I think it was a good choice, especially since Ke needed lots of snugs.

Friday I finally got to spend a night with Mika – the first time this year. She met me at my apartment after she got off work. We went out to a late dinner at Steak n Shake and caught up with what’s been going on in our lives. I was glad that she’d gotten a four-hour nap before meeting up with me, since it meant that she was a little more alert than she has been – her sleep apnea has been a real detriment to her energy level for the last few months. It was great to spend time with her.

Since I worked the late Monday through Friday shift, I had the rare Saturday off work. Mika and I got to sleep in before she had to run home, choosing more cuddles over breakfast. After she left I wanted to use the time alone to be productive, but by then I was feeling sickly so I didn’t get a lot done. Jero came over after derby practice and we went out to dinner, and then returned to my apartment to watch Go Lion before bed.

Last week was rather restful, even if it was kind of ruined by being sick all weekend. Still, it was good to have a chance to see Asca after more than a year, and to have a night free to focus on talking with Ra. The rest of the time I’ve been working on the TFUMUX wiki, trying to get it into some sort of shape so other people can jump in and help. Wiki wiki wiki! (OK. Maybe even more sleep was needed…)

"If you cut your sex organ and then eat it, then something is wrong with you."
-- hospital spokesman, (NEWS.com.au)

Last Week 2009.01.17

Last week was pretty good. I stressed myself out over Saturday’s D&D game, but everyone seemed to have a good time. I finally got to talk to Mika about the problems I’ve been having with out relationship, and that cleared up much of the cloud of depression that’s been hanging over me for months.

The Sunday night before last I met up with Nivagi to celebrate her birthday. I couldn’t afford to take her out to dinner, so we just ordered Chinese food and stayed in. We got some time alone and got to sleep in together since I’m off work most Mondays. It was good to spend time with her when neither of us was rushed or exhausted, and Nivagi said it was a first-rate start to her birthday week.

That Monday I blew off MUX night again to work on my Dollship of Doom for Saturday’s D&D game. I felt guilty about it, but I did need to get it done by Saturday, and it’s a lot more fun and speedy with Jero’s help. I felt some time pressure since I wanted to journal, MUX, and work on the Dollship all at the same time. Besides self-induced stress, however, it was a nice night.

That Tuesday I had a horrible day at work, so I skipped the Poly Meetup and just had noodles and hid out with Ke. She helped me put my bed together (finally!) and looked into storage options for all my crap. I got caught up with a little of the vast list of things I’m behind on while Ke studied and window-shopped online. It was a perfect night of productivity and unwinding.

That Wednesday Jero and I had tickets to Repo! The Genetic Opera. Anbadi, D!1, Beldar, DaSn, Jedo, and Liin were there, as well as the director and one of the stars. The movie was marvelously fun in a Sweeney Todd sort of way, and full of Anthony Stewart Head goodness. Afterwards there was an interesting Q&A with the writers and the actor who played the Grave-Robber. I got their autograph for Mira, hugs from Anbadi, D!1, and Liin, and then we went back to Jero’s to sleep.

That Thursday night Mika came over and we had a long talk about our relationship. I’ve had a hard time adjusting to the rapid development of her connection with Tojo, but I didn’t want to bother her about it because I didn’t want to stomp on her NRE. It turns out that just talking about it with her made me feel a lot better about everything. What was that about poly and communication, communication, communication? >B)

Last Friday I went to Mars’s to work more on my Dollship of Doom. Emmemy made us dinner, and their kid ran around looking cute. Mars worked on his own constructible cardstock projects and then helped me with part of the Dollship forecastle. When Emmemy went to bed Mars and I watched the first episode of season 4.5 of BSG, which was just as uplifting as hell. When it got late I stumbled over to Ke’s and passed out to sleep.

Last Saturday I had to work, so I dropped off the Dollship at Jero’s so she could work on it and then went into the office. Unfortunately I’d left the ship in the car all night and the glue froze, meaning Jero had to redo a lot of what we’d done this week. After work Mira come into town for the weekend to role-play with me and to visit Ke, and the D&D game was a chaotic but fun time, and I think an overall success.

“I'll go where and when I please, see what I want to -- and try not to antagonize local yokels. Especially those fighting each other; it makes them trigger happy.”
-- Robert Heinlein, Time Enough For Love

Week in Review – January 10th

This week has had a lot of money and relationship stress, although with help and understanding from the important people in my life it’s been getting better towards the weekend. I did have to cancel my plans with Amsc on Thursday, but with luck we can reschedule soon after I get my next paycheck. This weekend should be fun even though I don’t have any money.

Last Sunday morning Ke picked me up and took me with her to her family reunion. It was fun meeting more of her family and enjoying yummy food. When we got back to Indy we went to Kinko’s so Ke could mail schoolbooks, and then I went with her to work and printed stuff for my Dollship of Doom. I’ve been depressed lately, but Ke endured my crappy mood and did what she could to make me feel better.

Monday is usually my MUX night, but Jero wanted to help me work on my Dollship of Doom. Since Jero and I had bought office supplies Saturday night, and Ke had let me print stuff while I with her to Kinko’s, I had most everything ready. Jero and I got a lot of progress done, and will post pictures after the campaign – I want the ship itself to be a surprise to most of the players.

Tuesday night Mika came over after getting her headlight replaced, and arrived at the exact moment as the Chinese food I’d ordered. Remarking on her perfect timing, I led her upstairs and we ate sitting on my bed and talking. After dinner we finished her D&D character and then snuggled until Mika passed out early (10 PM). It took me a long time to fall asleep, but it was pleasant to have Mika here to cuddle.

Wednesday night after work I stopped by my apartment and then headed to Ke’s to pick her up. Grabbing some food on the way, we wound up doubling back to my place to see if a check from my mom had arrived, but no luck. Unfortunately, a quick scan of my finances revealed I was about $40 short of the rent check I’d dropped off on the 5th, with no money left for the $315 student loan bill due next week. Eep!

Unfortunately, this poverty led me to have to cancel my plans with Amsc, which I’d been looking forward to since New Year’s Eve. B( It may have been for the best, since the self-same poverty led me to make some questionable decisions about what might still be edible in the work fridge. When I felt better Jero took me out for non-poisonous food, and Ke made me some lunches so the same thing wouldn’t happen again.

Friday I was a little less stressed since Ke lent me money to cover my bills until my next paycheck, as long as I’m frugal. After work I went over to Chpa and Nivagi’s to work on their D&D characters. I headed back at 11 so Ke could come over and hot tub and I could get my suit ready for today and still get to bed at a decent time. We watched a little Colbert Report and then went to sleep.

Today I went into work early so I could leave early to go to Brbe and Erro’s wedding. I’m going to be an usher, although if the weather is bad I’m not going to get down there as early as Rere would like. Still, Jero is picking me up so we can head down immediately when I clock out here. After the wedding Jero and I are going to Roller Ball with Jero’s derby league.

Tomorrow I’m going to celebrate Nivagi’s birthday with her a little early, and the rest of the week I’ll probably lie low until payday, working on the D&D campaign I’m going to start next Saturday (eep!). Jero and I are planning to go see Repo the Genetic Opera Wednesday, so that should be all different flavors of awesome. The D&D campaign I’m worried about, since I’ll be trying something different, and just have to hope it works out. Wish me luck!

“I have never swindled a man. At most I have kept quiet and let him swindle himself. This does no harm, as a fool cannot be protected from his folly.”
-- Robert Heinlein, Time Enough For Love

Happy New Year!

The first week of the New Year has been even more up and down for me than most. I’ve been cranky, depressed, down, and stressed. My friends and lovers have been mostly patient with me as I try to pull myself out of an emotional slump. I’ve had some really nice nights that have sometimes counter-balanced my bad moods. I’m trying to make the best of things without feeling too fake-happy like I used to.

Last Sunday Ke and I slept late and then headed out for some Dairy Queen. B! had suggested a game night, and for a last minute event we had a surprisingly robust turnout -- Brbe and Erro, B!, Chwi and M31, Salamander and Nivagi, Jero, and Jogr, a new person from Indiana_RP. Nada still has my Apples to Apples and Munchkin, but B! and Jero brought theirs so the evening was saved. *grin*

Last Monday I had a follow-up doctor’s appointment, so Ke went with me to the radiation oncologist’s to be checked out and makes her everything is AOK. After my appointment Ke and I had Cuban food for lunch and went to see the Bodies exhibit, which was very interesting. I spent the evening with Jero, having dinner and MUXing a bit before heading to bed.

Last Tuesday I went to see Jeki. She and I don’t get to hang out very often due to her schedule as a single mom, but for the last couples of years she’s been free the week between Christmas and New Year’s while her kids were at the grandparents’. So, even though I was insanely busy, I made some time to go visit her and hang out during her rare childfree time. Her ex-husband teased her because she’d tried to squeeze in time to see everyone she knew while she had the opportunity to have adult conversations without interruption. It was pleasant to spend time with her, and I hope I won’t have to wait until next Christmas to hang out again.

Last Wednesday Jero and I had a fun night at Mika and Tojo’s New Year’s Eve party. Jero and I shared a kiss at midnight, and then I got one from Mika and Nivagi as well. Ke and Mira called to wish me a happy New Year from Evansville, and I called Amsc, Bemcco, Caro, and Ra to give them (or their voicemail) long-distance New Year’s kisses as well. Jero and I stayed pretty late at the party and then headed back to her house to sleep.

Jero and I slept in late on New Year’s Day. Later in the day Ke drove back from visiting Mira. I went over to her house to give her new year’s kisses in person (and collect some from Mira!). After she made some food we hid in her bedroom to hide under the electric blanket until her house and we warmed up. It was a warm snuggly way to start the New Year!

Friday night A@, Jobe, and I met up at Mars’s house for a game of Runebound. Mars made yummy chili and the four of us played after midnight, when A@ announced he had to leave soon. For fun A@ made a reckless grab for the end game, quickly beating the three of us to victory. Apparently the rest of us need to learn the lesson that bold action gets results in Runebound!

Saturday night Jero and I were planning to go to a party, but I wasn’t feeling well so we stayed home. We did pick up some materials so I could work on my constructible ship set for my upcoming D&D game, although we were stymied from further progress by the lack of a color ink cartridge. Instead we played on our laptops until I felt better and then watched Bones before falling asleep.

This week has been steadily better in terms of my moodiness, and I hope things will continue to improve. However, in terms of stress I still have to deal with the fact that I am fantastically broke and may have to borrow money and postpone out-of-town plans until after my next paycheck. I hate to disappoint, but so far at least people are being very understanding. *sigh*

“I don't give advice; people never take it.”
-- Robert Heinlein, Time Enough For Love

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

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