2012.05.09 Mood Journal

Today I'm doing OK. I’m a bit down from breaking up with Nivagi, and my back has painfully seized up twice lately, worse than it’s been in a long, long while. However, I did just have a fantastic time in Chicago visiting my friend Behu for her birthday, and this week should be pretty quiet until I go with Anfo, Jero, and Mars to see Avengers on Thursday. woot!

I have a feeling I’m going to be depressed about the Nivagi breakup for a while. I think it was the best thing to do, and I’m sure she does, too, but it’s difficult for me. We dated for almost four years, and it’s a difficult for me for me to let go. I really should have broken up with her when she started dating Tojo, but since we still had a lot of good times since then, I’m still glad I didn’t.

I’m considering going back to school. I’ve been saying for years that I should go back and “brush up” my programming skills – it’s been ten years since I worked as a software engineer – but it was never a good time to do it “right now.” However, Mars is fed up with things at work and is planning to go back, and studying CS with Mars would be frankly awesome.

Now’s also the perfect time because with the breakups with Nivagi and Trmo, I have six more free days a month – almost a week. If I’m going to start something time-consuming like school, I should do it now before my schedule calcifies into something new and I “don’t have time” again. I really should contact Ivy Tech myself soon and see what they’d recommend. With luck work will pay for it.

According to the SelectSmart.com Belief System Selector, my #1 belief match is Secular Humanism. What do you believe? Visit SelectSmart.com/RELIGION

Birthday Week– 2011.06.04

Sunday morning I got up with Nivagi and hung out at the main fire in Shaman’s Circle until it was time to head back to civilization. After saying goodbye to everyone, I drove back to Indianapolis to meet Mars. His wife Emmemy had made ribs, and I got to have dinner with them and hang out with their kids until Mars put them to bed. Mars and I then stayed up and played Fallout RPG for the first time in, we figured out, seven years. It was fun – I definitely need to make more time for geek bonding when possible.

When I got home, Stsm was there, so I snuggled up with her and slept. We hung out in the morning, and then I left to have lunch with Trinity. When I got back from lunch Stsm and I went out for cupcakes, and I bought an extra one for Jero. After dropping Stsm off I drove to Jero’s, surprising her by arriving on time. Jero and I went out to dinner at The Journey, and then I MUXed while she played on her laptop. We talked about watching a DVD, but I stayed on the computer too long and by the time we went to bed it was time to sleep.

Tuesday I had to get up early for my therapist appointment, and on the way back I picked up lunch for Jero and me. Work was annoying, but since Nivagi was out at Tojo’s birthday dinner I had some time alone to unwind before she arrived for our date night. She was itchy from mosquito bites and sleepy, so she took antihistamines and passed out early. I stayed up late, snuggling her at first, and then playing on my laptop while she slept next to me on the bed. Even though our awake time was short, it was nice to have her in my bed, and every once in a while wake up and tell me she loved me.

After a nice Wednesday morning with Nivagi, I went back to sleep and slept until work. Work was maddening, with calls in queue for almost six hours straight. It was probably best that I didn’t have any plans with anyone else that night. I talked with my mom on the way home, and then just chilled for a while before logging on to the MUX. I missed most of the players, which is bad for RP but good for quiet. I did get to run an excellent flashback scene with Sean about the say Sparkplug had to tell Spike his mom died. Yeah, we’re a laugh riot over at Transformers Universe. B)

Thursday morning Stsm snuck into my apartment and decorated it for my birthday while I was asleep. I didn’t wake up until she was covering me with confetti as a surprise. She kissed me and I went back to sleep. I slept most of the day, and then when I woke up I was productive – calling to make appointments, fix my insurance, etc. When Stsm got off work we went out for pizza and then back to my apartment for birthday cake and celebration. I’ve been depressed about my birthday, but Stsm did a good job of cheering me up.

Friday was my actual birthday, so I took the day off and slept in with Stsm. I was depressed and tired, so I opted to cancel my daytime plans and just stay in and try to get things accomplished. Later Stsm and I went out to dinner with Erma, Ke, Mira, and Nivagi. Afterwards we went to Maggie Moo’s for ice-cream, and sat around outside for a while talking about sex, and Star Wars. When it got late Erma and Mira each headed home, and Ke, Nivagi and Stsm came over to my apartment to spend the night. Most of my day was pretty stressful, but I at least had a very pleasant end to the evening.

Saturday was rough. It was my birthday weekend, but Jess had to run a bout, Ke had to work, and everyone else except Stsm had better things to do than hang out with me. Most of them were at a party to which I wasn’t invited, which really made me feel cut off from most of the friends I’ve made over the last year. My plans failed, as did my backup plans, so Stsm wound up dealing with a very crappy and depressed me by herself. She tried to make the best of it – we went out to dinner and then watched Coupling – but overall it was still a shitty end to a stressful week.

Week in Review – Week of 2010.05.30 – 06.05

Last week was my birthday, and I had such a magnificent time with my
friends and lovers that I'm still buzzing and in a good mood days
later. I';ve been unreasonably depressed and stressed for over a
month, and it had gotten bad enough that I thought about going back to
the doctor about it. However, I'm hoping that I'm finally over my
lingering doldrums, and can go back to the happier guy I've been since
I started derby and started getting regular exercise and adrenalin.
;)

Last Sunday I had a long talk with Ke that cleared up a lot of things
that had been bothering me, and then all of us took advantage of yummy
sammiches at 2 Bear's [sic] Café. We were planning to camp through
Sunday night, but since a torrent of rain was expected on Monday we
decided to pack up and leave early. I drove Jero home and helped her
get settled in before heading home myself. Mira and I decided to
watch Doctor
Who but wound up talking until 3 AM instead.

Last Monday afternoon Ke and Nivagi met up with Mira and me and we all
went out to Le Peep for brunch. After Ke and Nivagi headed home I
hung out with Mira until around 3 PM and then went to Jero's. I got
onto the MUX while Jero grilled steaks and veggies for dinner, and
then paused while we ate. On the MUX I got to run a climactic battle
between Shattered Glass Deathsaurus and Jetfire, and a Memorial Day
scene with the main-universe Witwickys. Geeky fun.

Last Tuesday I had the day off since Monday was a holiday and I had to
work Saturday (boo). I hung out at Jero's during the day and tried to
catch up on the Internets before derby practice. I had fun
scrimmaging at practice even though I fell and hurt my tailbone.
After practice I headed home to Mira. We were supposed to role-play,
but we wound up talking until 1 or 2 in the morning again instead. We
apparently need to reschedule role-play when there's less going on
that we need to discuss!

Last Wednesday I went to the chiropractor and then returned to work
after a week and a half off. I spent the first half of the day just
catching up on emails, training, and work IMs. Once I opened for
calls it got stressful, but at last I escaped and headed north for
derby practice. I had fun but fell on my tailbone again while trying
to walk on my toe-stops. When I got home I showered and Stsm came
over. She showed me the outfit she bought for my birthday (woo!) and
then we had story time, finally finishing Book 1 of Lost
Girls. B)

Thursday was my birthday. After work I skipped derby practice and
went out to dinner with Jero, Ke, Mars, Mira, and Stsm. Mars
originally couldn't make it, so his presence was a nice surprise.
After we ate I went home to meet her at my apartment to meet Nivagi,
who had to work late. We were both sleepy, so she played on her iPod
while I answered a ton of sweet birthday messages. When it was time
for bed I cuddled up with her and had a very pleasant wrap-up for my
birthday. >B)

Friday night I went to Ke's after work and almost got eaten by her
since she was hungry and I
Am Legend was on. Before completely resorting to cannibalism
Ke suggested we go to Euphoria, which wound up being very interesting
and tasty, even if they were out of Ke and Nivagi's first choice for
sandwiches. I had to get up early for work on the morning, so I
couldn't stay up too late. Therefore after getting everything ready
for the next day, Ke and I spent a quiet evening in and went to bed
early.

Saturday after work I got to attend an awesome party. Our friend Tojo
was celebrating his birthday and he kindly let me horn in on his
celebration. I met my girlfriends Jero, Ke, Mira, Nivagi, and Stsm
there, and also got to hang out with co-host Mika while I was there,
which was wonderful. I actually broke out of my shyness long enough
to meet new people, and had such a great time that I'm still in a good
mood. Hope everyone else is having as nice a week as I am!

"Good things come to those who wait, but only things left behind by
those who hustle."
— Abraham Lincoln

Week in Review – Week Ending June 20th

This has been a pretty nice week, although concerns about my long-term health have preoccupied my mind (that, and a strong desire to role-play since my post-birthday game night). I had a rare week where I got off work before 10 PM, so I took advantage of that fact the best I could with no money whatsoever. I got to MUX, visit Laat, attend a hafla, and spent time with friends and lovers, so I’ll chalk this week up as a win.

Sunday Jero and I called for a late check-out and then headed to my mother’s to have brunch with her and my sister Chhu. After we ate Chhu and Mom asked me if I could help them change the tire on Mom’s Malibu – something I was glad to do, until I found out when we arrived at a junkyard that they didn’t actually have a tire yet. We spent two hours baking in 100+ degrees sun until Jero found something that might work.

Escaping at last, Jero and I stopped in Terre Haute to grab dinner, and then finally made it back to Indy. I went over to Ke’s, where she was spending the weekend with Nivagi. We snuggled Nivagi on the couch before driving her home. We returned to Ke’s and hid in her bedroom to watch The Colbert Report and NCIS until late in to the early morning.

Monday I went over to Jero’s to MUX. Two of our admin returned recently from hiatus, and it is wonderful to have them back. The MUX has undergone a mini-revival, and I’m trying to get online as often as possible (which still isn’t that often, alas) to take advantage of that fact. We have a new Megatron, so I got a chance to role-play with him as both as my shy data-analyst character Floodlight and my brave warrior Valour.

I also got to carry on some RP I’d started Friday with Spike, continuing Buster’s birthday celebration with his brother. I followed up on Friday’s RP as Ace as well, role-playing out his guilt and recovery with Mara after his disastrous run-in with the Baroness and Vypra in Australia. I had a lot of fun with everyone and look forward to the next event scheduled Monday.

Tuesday I felt internal pressure to find time to hang out with people not available during my normal until-10:15-PM schedule, since this week I left work at 6:15. However, none of the most-hard-to-schedule people got back to me, and I was really feeling peopled-out, so I decided to be selfish and took the night alone. I stayed up way too late and got caught up on a tiny fraction of my email, journaling, and laundry.

Wednesday after work I headed down to Louisville to visit Laat. She took me out to dinner since I’m poor, and I had a Hot Brown since I was in Louisville and hadn’t had one as far as I could recall. It wasn’t quite as good as it sounded, but it was still quite yummy. After dinner we relaxed and hung out until Laat’s waitress friend came in to work. After hellos and hanging out with her a bit Laat and I went back to Laat’s apartment.

Since Laat was sleepy and her DVD player wasn’t working, we elected to just go to bed and snuggle and talk until we fell asleep. She apologized for being a “bad host” but really I’m very happy that we’ve gotten to the point were we can just hang out without having to be “on.” We used to only see each other once a year or less, so we had to cram a lot of visiting until each get-together. Now that she lives so close we can just get together and relax, which is a lot less stressful for me.

Thursday morning I got up early to drive back to Indy in time for my shift, and since I avoided bad weather and traffic I actually arrived early to the office and got to talk with Jero and Ra on the way. At work they sent a lot of people home early on e-time, so once again it seemed that our little group was stuck taking all the calls. This stressed me out quite a bit, and I could *feel* my blood pressure rising call after call.

This got me thinking about my health and what I need to do more specifically than just “eat better and exercise more.” I solicited ideas online, and since I had some time before Nivagi got off work, started thinking about how and when I could put better lifestyle choices into effect. I picked up Nivagi from work and we had dinner before returning to my apartment so I could massage her sore muscles before we snuggled and slept.

Friday work was insanely busy and I barely made it through the day, especially since I was trying not to gorge myself with caffeine (limiting stimulants sucks!). When I got home I had some time before Nivagi got off work, so I turned on my laptop to check blogs and email before dinner. I lay down “just for a minute” while my computer booted up, and wound up sleeping until Ke called to say she was nearly here.

I stumbled downstairs to meet Ke and together we went to pick up Nivagi from work. We brought Nivagi home to change into belly-dancing gear and then the three of us drove to Zionsville for dinner at Zorba’s Greek restaurant. il Troubadore was playing entertaining music that Nivagi and her friends danced to as a pleasant compliment to the yummy food. After dinner we went back to Chpa and Nivagi’s so she could tend to her pets before going away for the weekend, and then Ke, Nivagi and I returned to my apartment to swim, hot lukewarm tub, and sleep.

Today when I get off work I’m driving to St. Louis to see Ra and Sckl. I wanted to go to the Circle City Socialites bout with Jero, but I haven’t seen Ra in ages, so I decided to skip it this time so I don’t arrive in Missouri too late. Unfortunately I work Monday so it will have to be a lightning visit, but I always enjoy time with Ra and Sckl so I’m sure the trip will be well worth it.

Have a good weekend, everyone!

“Chickenfeet, come back! You're not a freak! You're just stupid!”
-- Dib, Invader Zim

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 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

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

Great Weekend

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Family Weekend

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

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

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

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

Weekend

I had a very nice night last night in Bloomington with Caro. I went down to see her after work, and helped her truck stuff out to a multi-family garage sale. Caro is moving to Minnesota in a few months (*sob*), and she’s starting the delicate getting-rid-of-crap process now (had to act fast to save the meerkat I’d bought her a while back). After dropping off her stuff and helping set up a bit, we went out to Borders and bought a few DVDs. I picked up the second season of The Venture Bros. for me, and got The Silence of Sleep for her.

We went back to her house and dug some tables out of her storage room for the garage sale, a task that looked daunting but actually wasn’t that bad. We then snuggled and watched The Silence of Sleep while she knitted. Needing to explore the experience of sleep by the time the (very interesting) movie was over, we headed to bed to cuddle and snooze. This morning came far too soon.

Work sucked today, of course, and ruined the excellent mood hanging out with Caro had put me in. Also, looking at my calendar reminded me again that yesterday was A1’s birthday, and although I passed along birthday greetings and heard he had a good time, it’s still weird to no longer be that involved in his life. With luck Jaru and I can get together soon so I can see him. I miss hanging out with them both.

Luckily, Jero came by today and visited me for lunch, which lifted my spirits. The second half of work was a little less frenetic, except, of course, when I tried to get on the phone to make plans with Ra. We finally worked out a plan for a post-Memorial Day visit, and then I found out that since I’m the last person here on Saturday, there’s a bunch of extra crap I’m supposed to do. It’s a big hassle, however, and it’s not working, so I’m giving it another try, and then I’m leaving.

Tonight I’m hanging out with Ke, and starting her birthday weekend celebration. We’re going to the club tonight, and then tomorrow I believe we’re laying around all day being lazy, which sounds very, very nice. Knowing us, we’ll probably watch Star Trek. Ah, geek love. Her actual birthday is Tuesday, but we’re getting started early on a weekend so we can actually sleep in for a chance.

Ah, well. Almost six. I’m outta here. Have a great weekend, all!

“Now, to unleash screaming temporal doom!” -- Invader Zim

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday, A1! Wish I could see you today on your sixth birthday!

-- Not the Daddy