I Done Did it!

That's right, make yourself a hot tasty beverage and sit back. The blog archive is now complete! Ok, with the exception of the two pictures and everything in the secured section (which none of you saw anyway). I'm working on the pictures, but you may need to just go to my website for them! If you want to know, archiving my files meant copy and paste from a previously saved text document, one by one. I worked hard on that archive for you, archiving like a mad fool, so go have a reread! And for those of you who weren't with me for my first blog endeavor, you can read it now.

Yeah, I'll admit, I did most of it when I could have been working. But honestly, who wants to be at work anyway? I'd like to stay in bed one of these mornings.

I hopped on the pilates machine on Monday, that was a mistake! I think I hurt more than I did right after the accident! I'm going to push through, though, and maybe get back to it tomorrow. Every now and then, my muscles let me know they're not happy, but I am doing better. Who needs a doctor anyway.

Bye Bye EQ

Well, that's it. I finally cancelled my EverQuest account. My subscription ran out yesterday. I won't lie, there's still a chance I could pay up and keep everything, but that window doesn't last, and I don't expect to be doing it =)

The saddest part, other than the fact that I really enjoyed playing and working on my characters and such, is that there's no going back to the Guide Program from here. I miss that the most.

Now, some people have said that World of Warcraft can have the joy in newness that EQ once had, but alas, I have way too much to do than to spend every day on the computer. Besides, I still have the Sims!

Thanks, Sony, for letting me in that wonderful world.

PC and Religion Don't Mix

Happy Holidays, Season's Greetings, Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa, and Merry Yule! Did I leave anyone out? I want to be sure I include everyone because Jews are offended by Merry Christmas, and Christians are offended by Happy Holidays.

I'm sure you've all heard this debate. I'm going to take a blog-day to be political, go make a warm cup of tea and have a seat, this doesn't happen very often. I'm going to start by making a few points:
1) I believe in the separation of Church and State.
2) I believe in freedom of religion for everyone.
3) I believe in freedom of personal expression.
4) Political Correctness is an oxymoron. This therefore makes professional politicians morons, but we knew that already.
5) In all places where you is used, it means a generic you. In all places where I or me is used, it is a generic I. Nothing here is directed to, nor should be considered from any individual person unless otherwise noted.
On to the dish.

One religious front says we should all celebrate Christmas, one says we should celebrate what we want, which makes me offended by your celebrating something else. It makes no difference that the birth they are celebrating is believed to have occurred in the spring, or that the actual reason for the season is the Winter Solstice or a lamp that stayed lit for eight days when it should have gone out in one. In fact, by that logic, Christmas is only holiday that doesn't really belong here.

Why is it that Rabbis are offended when someone says Merry Christmas? Why are Christians offended when someone doesn't say Merry Christmas?

For a retailer, the generic terms Happy Holidays and Season's Greetings are the best way to go, they (as in retailers) follow different rules than the rest of us. And these terms include everyone and exclude none. Most people in the United States have some kind of celebration during this time of year, so it is wise to choose a blessing that includes them all. Season's Greetings = "Whatever this season means to you, I hope you are filled with it." Happy Holidays = "Whatever you celebrate this time of year, I hope you have a joyous one." What is in there for anyone to take offence to?

Here's the big one: Merry Christmas = "I hope your celebration of the birth of Christ is happy." No, that does not mean something to everyone. It means something only to those who celebrate the event in question. One thing to keep in mind is that these are the majority of our nation.

I'll put this to you; instead of greeting me or wishing me happiness with something that means something to me, why not wish me happiness with a blessing that means something to you? I want a Jew to wish me a Happy Hanukkah. I want a Christian to wish me a Merry Christmas. I want to hear Happy Kwanzaa from my African-descended friends. And by gum, if a coven wants to run around screaming Happy Yule, I want them to!

The point of this and any holiday blessing, you see, is to take something that is important, loving, meaningful, and everything else that it is to you and share it with me. This is a part of you, something that has meaning in your life. What a wonderful thing it is to take a piece of that and give it to another person, wishing nothing in return but responding in kind. How much of that other person do you learn by one blessing that leaves their lips and is directed towards you? This is the embodiment of perfect love and perfect trust; no matter what words you use, your holiday greeting says "This time of year is important to me, I hope you are enjoying it too." This time of year is not about others accepting what you believe, it is about connecting with people.

And while I'm at it, if someone wishes you a Merry Christmas and you have no idea how important such a blessing is to them: Be gracious! Who cares if it means nothing to you? Why can't you just accept the blessing for what it is and say 'thank you?' Does that hurt? Instead of saying 'I want to be greeted this way' accept that someone thought enough about you to greet you at all, and they thought enough about you to give a part of them to you. Oh, how truly blessed you are to receive such a wonderful thing. Gratitude, friends, is what you give in return, and perhaps a heartfelt wish from you to them.

We enjoy so much freedom in this country. Think of the people who live in a place where Christianity is not the majority. Can they say Merry Christmas without fear? In this place, we say what we want, believe what we will, and live among many differences. Let us celebrate that! Have a Happy Everyday!

Why should one person hide their beliefs just because another may or may not believe the same thing? Freedom of religion applies to everyone. You are free to practice something that is not what the majority follows, and I am free to say Merry Christmas or Happy Yule as I choose.

Forget PC, whatever happened to freedom of expression?

I know this debate has been around for years, but the sheer volume of it this year is painful to me. It is one rare point where my mother and I agree. Say what you mean. If a Jew does not appreciate being wished a Merry Christmas, wish them one anyway if that is what you believe. The love you share with others will be felt by them whether your words have meaning to them or not.

Namaste
The divine within me bows to the divine within you.

This is Why I Have a Blog

My supervisor will now have the same name in each subsequent blogs. I have called this person many a thing, including simply Sup. Sup will now be referred to as Adolf.

A few months ago, a new employee was hired who they put in the cube right behind me. The cubicles are open in that direction, so I could turn around and speak to her whenever I wished. This person and I got along very well, we hit it off right away and I am happy to say she attained the level of friend quite quickly. Adolf, however, has a problem with that.

We have been told that we talk too much and too loudly. Personally, I think who cares? If no one is complaining of us disturbing them, and we're still getting our work done, who cares if we get along? In fact, my productivity improved when she came along. My friend was hired into a new position within the company, and was supposed to be moved to another area at the beginning of next year. In spite, Adolf had her moved today, directly after we were told we were talking too much and too loudly after we took 20 seconds to say good morning and I gave her a gift.

I applied for another position in the department (however under a different supervisor) but I know I won't get it. I wonder if Adolf had a problem with me because I wanted to go to another group, and that's why we were getting picked on. Some of the other people in the department were amazed, they admited to us that they talk as much if not more, and nothing has ever been said to them.

I can't work this way. I don't understand why Adolf feels the need to control me. I am not a servant of anyone, least of all my supervisor. It is so hard to work when you are afraid to say good morning lest you be yelled at for talking too much, or when you are afraid to get up from your seat to get water or go to the bathroom lest you be accused of not getting any work done. I have enough to worry about after the accident (get the car looked at, get a doctor who will follow up) than to worry about Adolf appearing behind me wondering what I'm doing all day.

Clearly, blogging is the answer! See, I'm doing this to prove a point. I believe I do more and better work when someone I get along with is nearby. That someone has been moved, therefore what I produce in a day will diminish. The last thing I want to do is be here right now as it is. If, as I think, I don't get the position I applied for, I'm going to need to get out anyway. I'm not getting any better in this situation.

Doesn't Look Much Better

Well, the urgent care places were a flop (see comment to the first entry today, if you're confused). Even though my HR rep said it was a $35 copay, the places I could go to said that, because it was an accident, I have to pay for the whole thing and then get reimbursed by the auto insurance company. I tend to not carry that kind of money around with me. So, after lots of phone calls and driving around, I ended up at the ER! It took about an hour for a doctor to tell me I'm sore but nothing appears really damaged, hand me a piece of paper to be redeemed for a couple bottles of drugs, and tell me it's going to be worse tomorrow.

If I had known that getting a doctor to just have a look at me was going to be such a pain on top of the pain I already had, I would have gone to the ER on the way home this morning. I wish I had Kaiser Permanente like my parents; my dad talked to a live person, was transferred to another live person, and had an afternoon appointment scheduled all before 0900. We've both been prescribed pain killers and muscle relaxents, so whether work is in sight for the morning or not is debatable!

The lesson of the day: Don't waste time with your Primary Care Physician, they're not going to care about you when you really need them.

Another Reason to Hate Doctors

As if I needed another reason.

I was in my first auto accident today. Morning rush hour around Washington is always pretty bad, but some person in a big jeep took his eyes off the road for a moment, and ran into my little Saturn. My car's plastic bumper did what it was supposed to do, and we were completely stoped in traffic so didn't run into anyone else. I was leaning forward at the time so the bump jerked me around quite a bit more than it would have if I were sitting back in my seat.

Right now, my entire right side is hurting, from my ankle to my wrist to my neck. I decided to not go to work, and called my insurance company, who was going to file the claim with his insurance company on my behalf. I called my doctor when they opened and was told by the receptionist that they 'don't do auto accidents.' I tried calling my health insurance company, but couldn't get through to a live person who might be able to help me find someone who will help me. I tried calling the HR department at work to see if they have a live person number for the insurance, but couldn't reach anyone there. My mother gave me the number of a doctor that my grandmother sees, but I was on hold for 15 minutes and got cut off. I've never had to deal with this before, so I'm really at a loss. All I know is that I hurt and I can't find a doctor who cares, and I'm tired of hitting a dead end everywhere I try.

Looks like ibuprofen and heating pads will be my friends for a while. And the search for a new primary care physician is on, and there's another reason to avoid a doctor.

Finally Did It

Believe it or not, I cancelled my EverQuest account today.

I know, I know, many of you will think I've gone mental (you may be right). But it was really just eating up money! It didn't matter if I didn't play while I was a Guide (even though playing was part of our requirements. Shhhh, don't tell anyone!) since the play account was free. But since I left in August, I didn't log on once. I was hoping to return to the Guide Program last month, but there are so many other things I'd rather do with my time. It might be different if I didn't spend so much time in front of the computer (for my job and all my graphics programs and things like that =) but why keep paying for something that you don't use, right? I was sad to do it, but it's nice that the small bill it produced won't be coming, and I won't have to feel guilty about not playing anymore!

Besides, who wants to play a video game when you can drive out past the area you work in to sing some very . . . less than stimulating music as a favor to a friend? Ok, well, I do, honestly, but I said I would sing and so I did. The Mass included music that was written by a friend for litanies written by one of his friends. If you've never heard a litany or don't know what it is, it's a kind of prayer that uses repetition: there are several in every Catholic Mass. These were long vocally challenging pieces, but not really stimulating. One thing I've learned about observing Mass is that many people put themselves on autopilot, and go through the motions while their minds are elsewhere. We prayed the rosary on the buss-ride to the church, and it was almost like near everyone just flipped on a switch and started reciting. I don't understand why people who can seem so devoted can't pray among others with passion in their voices. Litanies seem to encourage the autopilot syndrome, and more than a few people lost interest about halfway through. We did sing Ave Verum Corpus, which is a lovely song by Mozart that I've always wanted to sing with that choir, but we started going to a different church before my vocal skills were ready for it. If I got nothing else from this day; I sang a beautiful piece of music that I've always wanted to sing, with a great group of people. Never heard it? Here's a midi! (For the record, I sang in the Alto section for this mass, with the exception of Ave Verum Corpus, where I joined the Sopranos. My voice is comfortable with either level. When I sang Mozart's Requiem in college, I was an Alto, and I think I had the best part! Mozart loved Altos, my director would say!)

One of the priests at my old church joined us for this, Father Jenkins. He told me a story that was both happy and sad. Right before we stopped going to that church, I had told him and Monsignor Hughes that I had lost my cat. Apparently, Monsignor felt so bad for me that he went and got me a kitten! A little calico whom I've never met. Apparently, she was quite the terror. When Father Jenkins was transferred to another church, he took the cat with him, and still has the ferocious 10 year old. And today was the first time I felt sorry for not going to church. So Monsignor never got the chance to deliver his gift, and I'm sorry he never got the chance to see how happy the gesture would have made me. Of course, the reason that gift was never delivered is because I would never have had the sweet calico I have now, and that would be a sad thing indeed.

A Long Time Coming

If you haven't noticed, the old blog is old news. Now you can only hope that I saved all of the old files so that I can complete my archive!

It snowed yesterday! Not enough to give grown-ups a snow day (bah!) but it's pretty anyway. Nearly everyone in the office is having a hard time concentrating on work. It's going to be gone by the time I get home, so there's no snowboard practice today. They're claiming a new storm approacheth on Friday, so maybe I can fall on my bum then!

I went to the memorial illumination at Antietam National Battlefield with my dad and his friend on Saturday. It was incredible. I hope I used fast enough film (1600) to get the lights from the moving car in the dark. We'll see!

Of All The Blazin'....!

It's one of those days. I usually work my tail off but haven't been today (very rough morning). So my supervisor came over to ask if I was having trouble finding things (my supervisor has access to the same e-mail alias I have where all my work comes from and is sent when completed). For all my wonderful supervisor knew, I was finding lots of other things to update and therefore slowing down. That wasn't the case, but that's not the point. Of all the days to complain about my speed, why today?

Last night, I spent hours messing with my geocities site. Take a visit and tell me what you think!
And the July archive is up and atom, or something. (I admit, that's a reference only I will get.)

Oh, and just wait! I think I found a program that will help me create animated .gif's! (you know, like the little beating drum on my geocities page.) You're going to see flashing, sparkling, moving images of mine before you know it!

For Mom and Dad

Happy Anniversary!

What To Say

Now that I'm here, I don't remember what I wanted to tell you about!

I hope everyone had some yummy turkey for those who eat turkey this time of year. For those who don't, get some turkey and celebrate with us anyway! This time, the turkey was NOT for the centerpiece! (there's another reference some of you should get.)

Today, I bought a snowboard (and bindings and boots). I don't have it in my possession yet, it should be ready by Wednesday. Snowboarding, for those who don't know, is a sport that is avoided by people who love extreme sports. This year, I won't have one of those horrid rental boards that are nearly impossible to get out of. I've also been told that the first experience is the worst, so maybe it will be better, or at least a little less painful, with my own board. I think I'm a little insane to be agreeing to do this again, and making a monetary investment in it! By the way, there are only a handful of EMS stores that carry snowboards at their location, and my local EMS is not one of them. I had to go all the way to Waldorf and a special ski shop to find all I needed and knowledgeable staff to help me out. Three cheers for Owen's Ski and Sport. (EMS did have the snowshoes I wanted, and they're nifty! I can't wait to try them out! We'd better get some snow this year!)

And we long to see the City of Annapolis recover quickly from it's very hot November day.

Clearly Not Keeping Up!

Well, I said it would be sporatic for a while (not to mention it's the holidays, how much blog time do you expect me to have?) Why do people say 'not to mention' and then go on to mention it anyway, like I just did? But I digress!

Let's see, this weekend was shopping, last minute lunch date, more shopping, and a whole lot of walking.

I've been back to the regular stuff at work, I'm very happy about it. Now if only I'd stop blogging and get to work.....

I ordered the rain away last night, but it didn't listen. I didn't get tickets to meet Tai Shan, but he'll be there for a few more years yet, and there's always the web cam! Did you hear that some blood-thirsty little so-and-so's are trying to sell their free tickets on e-Bay!?! The National Zoo has said they will be checking IDs, so hopefully there aren't any people who would waste their money like that.

A friend of mine has confirmed that you CAN add comments without having an account with this service of your own! Thanks, Fox!
And yes, some people were laughing. And no, I had no idea it was showing to you that way! Maybe when I get the archive done you can actually go back and read without killing your eyes or anything!

Tomorrow, I get off of work early (I hope!) and will trek on down to EMS to partake in their snowshoe and snowboard sale. I went snowboarding for the first time last year and was literally sore in every muscle in my body (and I mean literally; my eyelids, my tongue, my fingers, and the usual places like arms, abs, and back) and my friend insists I will have a better time of it on my own board. I think I like pain.... Snowshoes are something I've wanted since visiting my aunt in Utah a few years ago. And we've heard that there should be more snow this year than has been in the past (as long as the office knows I won't be in if it's snowing, this isn't much of a problem)!

How's that for an update? =) And... June archive is up! 5 months to go!

HP 4: The Goblet of Fire

If you haven't seen it yet and you're keeping up with the films/books/both, get ye to a movie theater pronto!

This was very well done, with dark and scary parts (even though most of the people watching, including myself, had already read the book and knew what was going to happen) fantastic effects and the stirring music I've come to expect. There was no appearance of Gary Oldman (pooh!) but his voice was used at least.

I will say no more, my mom and I are making plans to see it again soon. Like, maybe Wednesday.

Kamikaze Birds

I was having a fine day, with only a slight headache, until this big black bird divebombed my window and left it's bodily fluids splattered across the glass. Now, it's grown to an all out migraine and they probably won't wash the windows for a while.

I know you're laughing right now, but this really disturbed me. The birds had been hitting the windows all morning, but this one came in faster than the others, hit with a loud thud that made me scream (which isn't often an easy thing to do) and left it's poor little bird innards on the window. The birds seemed to have stopped once it splattered itself to its doom.
The poor bird didn't know it was a window and didn't expect to hit anything. I wish it had just hit the window not quite so hard, then it would be ok. Stop laughing, it's not funny, it's very sad. A poor little bird life gone because the sun was shining on glass.

In other news, I got back to my regular work today (yay!) and was working quite well until the bird brain bits came to be on the window.

I'm off to home, dinner, nap, and then my 2230 viewing of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire!

Catching Up

Well, you've been without my thoughts for a whole week. How does that make you feel? Out of touch? Like you have no idea what's going on? That's ok, I'll try to catch you up!

Let's see... We took the kayaks out for about 4 hours on Sunday, this one probably will be the last time. We went down Mattaponi Creek again and had lunch at the observation tower. I never really thought about the flora of the wetlands turning brown and dying with the leaves on the trees, but it does! It was quite a sight, we could actually see the true shores of the river and creeks (mostly). It is just as beautiful in the Autumn as it is in the Summer.

At work, the headaches ensue! They've been telling my new cubby buddy and I that we were getting new computers. They were saying so for about 3 weeks. It finally happened on Monday (and there was much rejoicing). But nothing makes a flawless transition, you see. We have learned that the new version of Microsoft Word 2003 is not compatible with the tables created in the old version of Word 2000 that everyone was using. This means that the normal work I do that I really enjoy cannot be done, because I can no longer open the files. Finally, this morning, I was able to convince them to put Office 2000 back on my computer (despite IT department protests) so I'm back in business once again.
The headache came from my wonderful supervisor (today, we'll call them Sup) who threw a little hissy fit to everyone who would listen after I left for the day. "Airyn should have done this, Airyn wasn't doing that." my ITGuy kept saying it was a technical problem within the Microsoft software, and there was nothing anyone could have done differently to make it not happen. That didn't save Sup from being PO'ed.

And even being back in business after a good several hours of waiting for ITGuy to reinstall the proper program (he first picked the wrong one, and then I didn't even have e-mail!), I'm still doing 'busy work.' (Busy work is what we called it at the pharmacy. It's work they give you to keep you busy when there's really something else they'd rather you be doing. )

I've begun adding old posts to the archive here, it's a long copy/paste project (the timestamp may not be correct). Soon, all the new readers will be able to pick up my story!

The May archive is complete! 6 more months to go!

Well, Here's the New Place!

Don't forget to tell me what you think of it, friends!

For those just joining us, I've been blogging on myblogsite for about 7 months. While it was a nice little blog-home for the depths of the FyreCreek, it did have a tendency to attract bugs into my pond. As it stands, the powers that be(tm) have decided myblogsite was too sick to survive (and what is that from?) and so I have come here, searching for a new place to dredge my lakes, creeks and ponds and leave them free of the sludge of my days.

To those who have been with me and myblogsite for some time, we'll learn this new place together! (and I am working on transferring 7 months of archive, I'll let you know if it works!)

Sad News

Dear friends,

I have just been informed that this mostly decent free blog site will no longer be hosting blogs as of November 30. I will start extensively blog-saving tonight so that I may replace everything when I find a new blog site. I don't know how I'll keep everyone up to date until then. I guess you'll just have to e-mail me for the low-down!

Thanks for staying with me! I've got a few places in mind already!

~ Fyrecreek

[And thus completes the Archive!]

Brunch and 'Yak

So was the plan, and so we did.

First, I walked about a mile and a half or so with my parents to meet our group for brunch. Then I walked back that mile and half or so. Then we drove to the park and put the kayaks in the water, it was either 1300 or 1400, I don't really remember! We were out for about two or three hours, went along some of the back creeks and down Ego Alley and back. It was a great day to be out. The water was a little chilly and the sun was bright and the sailboats were everywhere, but other than that, it was perfect! We didn't even have time to wash the kayaks like we usually do. It's all about washing us and getting to bed!

Fun Fun Fun in the Sun Sun Sun

Well, not really, but my mother and I did drive down to Solomon's Island with my aunt today. And it was a nice sunny day. My uncle might have to come here to work for a few years, so we were scouting the place out. It would be nice to have them so close, even if just for a little while. It's very quaint.

Tomorrow will prove to be a busy day too!

Let's Try This Again

Well, I used my day off yesterday to do another two-day liquid detox diet. Once again, I'm having a tough time at work. Work is boring, people tend to eat when bored, I can't eat! It'll all be over soon.....

It's really not that bad, only when I'm at work. I feel pretty good, and I'm not starving or anything. I don't seem to be doing this monthly like they recommend, but that's ok. I need at least one day while I'm not at work!

Tomorrow, I'm going to have a very nice breakfast!

I Had a Great Night

But that's all you get to hear about it.

I finally finished my work and am ready to move on.

I took off today so that I can take a house-to-myself rest. I don't think my parents realize how hard it is for me to never have any time alone, and I spend so much time with them. Don't get me wrong, I love that I can call them friends, but alone time is good!

That's the way it is.

Keep Your Leftovers Away From Me!!

Of course, what better place to unload all your leftover candy than to bring it to the office?

I don't eat a lot of candy, and now I'm surrounded by it! I'm never going to unload these extra pounds if people keep throwing candy at me! I've thrown away whatever it was that we had left. I don't need it, I didn't buy it for me, it does me no good to have it.

I know, no one is forcing it down my throat, but I can't let poor innocent candy die unwanted! YES I CAN!! I DON'T NEED IT!!

grrrrrrr

I Have Nothing to Say

Nothing of interest happend today! I've been working very slow lately, I think it's just time of year. That's about it. The local Target only had 4 copies of SW3 and they were all full screen! We'll stop by another place today before I resort to ordering it online.

There, that's about it.

Case in Point

So, my Wicked Witch of the East costume was good to the people who knew. One person, whom I've had some issue with before (we'll call them Pat) insisted, as Pat always does, that they know better than I do and that the socks were red and white not black and white (I looked it up, I know it was right). Pat's cousin was the Munchkin coroner, so Pat says.

In any event, I went up to watch the costume contest, I hate entering them myself because I work hard on my costumes but there's always someone who does something stupid and I never win. It's not about winning, don't get me wrong, it's about the work I do, and the people who win appear to do much less (I make my costumes, they tend to buy them. What's the point?).

Some of my coworkers insisted that I participate, and so I did, and was once again reminded why I don't like to be in costume contests. The person who won best individual? Pat! Because they were calling themselved the 'devil' of my department. It was a completely purchased costume, but because Pat said something dumb and work related, they won. My father won 'lamest,' which is a category that one should only get if they strive for it. He was dressed as the Dread Pirate Roberts. He was only called lamest because everyone mistook him for Zorro (who has a hat and cape, unlike DPR) and no one wanted to admit they were wrong. And that's why I only wanted to watch. (I did see one of my co-workers in a kimono, but she had it wrapped wrong! It should be left over right, the only time it is the other way is when dressing a corpse. She wasn't trying to be dead either. That was a purchased costume too.)

Anyway, there's always next year to not enter.

Happy Samhain

Bigger Bugs

The party was great! And it was so much fun spending time with my friends and their friends in their home. My friend met me at a gas station so I could follow her the rest of the way, because the turn is hard to spot! and I'm glad she did, I would have missed that and the next turn too! They're right by the Susquehanna River, and you can see the water after making the first turn (it was so beautiful, that's what I was looking at that would have made me miss the second turn!). On the approach before the first turn, two towers of Three Mile Island poked through the trees. We had asked if the plant seemed to impact the area, and they said there are just bigger bugs! (Ick!) But I'm so glad I got to join them for their party!

I even got home (it's just about 2 hours) in time to take a nap before dinner. (We were up really late, 2:30 actual time! Who needs an extra hour of sleep when you can stay up and experience a post halloween party slumber party! The two gents in the mix gave out a good bit before the rest of us!)

Dinner was great, even though my brother and sister-in-law have been ill. I hope they liked the Christmas stockings in our clan tartan I had made for them.

I'm ready for a weekend away from my weekend!

Gah!

My mother and I have been trying to scrapbook the pictures I took at my brother's wedding for near a year! We knew it would be an appropriate first anniversary gift, so I made her sit with me while we finished it this morning!

I wanted to be on my way to my friend's house by now, but this had to be done! And I didn't get the other things I wanted to do this morning done.

Now, I need to strap myself into my yukata and be on my way. Have a great weekend!

Oh, and I found the socks last night at Target!

Weekend Plans!

Ok, so, tomorrow, I'm going to visit my friends in PA (they joined us at their RenFaire and ours this year!) for a Halloween party. It's going to be fun! After I get home on Sunday, my parents and I will go to dinner with my brother and his wife to celebrate their one year anniversary!

Somewhere in there, I'll find time to sleep! And don't forget to set your clocks back!

Such a Sweetie

My sweet Callico has been spending most of her nights with me. I love that cat, and she's all cute when she lays on the pillow and purrs into the night. I just wish I could keep the kitten from tormenting her.

I have searched in vain for a Wonder Woman costume. I'll go as the Wicked Witch of the East (you know, the one who owns the Ruby Slippers in the first place) before she was attacked by that house. I just need to find some black and white stripped socks!

My friend from work and I are going out tomorrow, it's been a long time since we've been able to do that! We'll stop by a few places in the quest for socks.

Two More Things

Look at that! Two entries in one day! You should feel shpeshal!

I forgot to tell you. Last night, I spent a lot of time messing with my Geocites site. I learned that an mp3 is a huge file compared to a midi. I found a midi, and I embedded it in my sourcecode. And now you should hear nice soothing music on my Geocites main page. I also adjusted the background image a bit, but I haven't been able to see it yet, because I used up all my bandwidth messing with that mp3! Let me know what you think.

For those of you who were eyeing the 2006 calendar in my webstore; it should be fixed now. If you should order one and Cafépress still prints 2005, just shoot them an e-mail and they'll send you a correct 2006 version. It's nice to have the right year!

In the Clearing Stands a Boxer

A friend of mine sent me a Yahoo article this morning that said the tiredness I've been feeling at work is called "sick worker syndrom." Often mistaken for a simple lack of productivity, and caused by a chemical called cytokine that is produced from nerve injuries caused by repetitive movement like typing. Nice to know I'm unhappy with my job because of chemicals my job makes my body produce.

I have to put this up, this is from a quiz on listening on MSN:

A friend confides that she is miserable at her job but feels stuck. You:
a. Give her the names of headhunters, addresses for job fairs, etc.
b. Ask her to tell you why she hates her job and what she wants to do next.
c. Buy her another drink and say, "Yeah, work sucks."
d. Tell her how you solved your own career dilemmas.
Your answer: b. Ask her to tell you why she hates her job and what she wants to do next. The correct answer is: b. Ask her to tell you why she hates her job and what she wants to do next.

When a friend confides in you, it's a mistake to assume that she's asking you to solve her problem. "When people are hurting and talk about it, they aren't necessarily looking for a solution -- they're looking for understanding," says Sullivan. Brainstorming and troubleshooting certainly have their place, but it's condescending to try to save the day before you've asked your friend to go into detail about her problem and her plans for handling it. Offering your friend the validation that "work sucks" might comfort her in the moment, but could also be interpreted as a subtle way of saying "Hey, quit your bellyaching. We all have troubles." Your first priority should be to let your friend vent.

The reason I had to share this is because I have a friend (I know you're reading) who might learn something here. Note the passage higlighted in red, you know who you are. (This made me think of you ;) don't be offended or anything!) By the way, our new friend did find his medallion.

Oh, and I think I know why the sadness that comes with the end of faire wasn't there this year. It's because my group actually did keep in mostly regular contact in the off-season. Thanks to a fabulous idea from the first aforementioned friend, we got together at a preset time and place for brunch every month (I've blogged about these brunches before). This allowed us to catch up and spend some time wandering and shopping around Annapolis afterwards. We didn't get a chance to miss our friends because we saw (most of them) frequently. We're going to keep it up this year too, and put it a little earlier so we have more time. What a great idea!

I still need to look into that Wonder Woman costume. Today I'm doing the stuff I like and the 63 jobs of the stuff I don't! They just want me to do everything! Besides, I don't think there's enough time in the morning to get me in a kimono before work.

Cold Too Soon

Is it just me, or is it getting wintery before it should be? (and I'm not thinking about those people in the mountains who have snow!) Maybe because I expect fall days to be crisp and clear with flame-colored leaves against a turquois sky. We had so little rain in September that they say the leaves won't be their natural color for very long, if at all. And we've had so much rain this October that there's not a whole lot of blue sky around. (both months set lack of and rainfall records, respectively!)

I haven't completed another work assignment in a while, I'm wondering if any of you noticed! There is one thing I have left to do, but I require a bit of privacy, and I never have that anymore. This is the thing that really bugs me about working the same or similar shifts as my parents: I don't get the house to myself anymore. That makes it hard to do quite a lot of things. I'm thankful that I can count both of my parents as my friends, but it sure would be nice to have some time alone. I'll finish it eventually, I guess.

I had the worst migraine last night. It was so bad that I got home from work and went straight to bed. I don't want any more of those!

Good Days Sun Shine

Not around here!

There's nothing like a gloomy Monday. (I really shouldn't feel this way about Mondays, I was born on one!)

I'm still doing boring entry-level work. I know all of you people are wondering why I don't quit, but then who will pay my bills? I still have a car payment, and a student loan, and a credit card (that has a couple kayaks on it), and a Dell account. Any takers? I'll quit if I know my credit is covered!

Yeah, it's a silly thing to say. It doesn't help that there's nothing closer to home that I could do other than retail, and I'm not going back to retail! That won't pay my bills either!

Looks like I'm stuck being miserable, and getting handed more work than I can do in a day, and cutting corners just to finish it (shhh, don't tell my boss!). The catch 22 is that I'd probably be spending less if I wasn't so bored at work.

Don't worry, it's just the rain, honest!

That's a Wrap!

It didn't feel like the last day of Faire.

Usually regular patrons, performers, and booth employees eminate a mixed sense of joy and sadness on this day. We are joyful that the run of the Faire is over, because it's been a long 9 weekends with lots of hard work, and we look forward to the rest. We are sad because there are quite a lot of people whom we care deeply about but only see during Faire time (this is really through no fault of anyone's, it just happens that way, though we always tend to agree that it should not).

You noticed I said usually. It usually feels this way on the Day of Wrong (the Day of Wrong, by the way, was a last day of faire tradition started in California because they also had to strike their site at the end of the run, so it was really wrong to be ending!). People wear strange or out of period costumes to demonstrate the wrongness of it, I even wore a yukata today (it took an hour to get in to! I think I'll have to rethink what I'm going to wear to work on Samhain). But it just didn't feel that wrong this year. I wonder if I'll miss it less in the off-season too. Maybe it's time I find a new faire (ooo, maybe I'll even find one that will cast me!).

I saw a lot of people I was hoping to see and at least two I was hoping to not see for a very long time. And what do you do when someone who was once counted among your best friends says "Hi, I've been looking for you all day" but forgets to say, "by the way, Happy Birthday"? Well, I blog about it, apparently! I don't think he reads this, but if he does, I wonder if he will even notice I mean him. If you're reading, look at what you forgot to do!

Thus ends the weekend report of the Maryland Renaissance Festival 2005.

One More Day

It was rainy and cold and icky. But we were busy! (not breaking any records, mind you, but busy enough.) It's hard to say why, actually, because most of our hats do not take well to the application of water.

My friend described us as the busiest shop in the shire. I think he was right! But that's most days too. (not to toot my shop's horn or anything, but the hats are pretty popular, and we're the only shop to get them!)

And two dear gents came by to visit. Isn't that great? =)

Tomorrow is all we have left...

Talk About a Long Friday

It's rainy, it's gloomy, it's chilly and I really want it to be Saturday.

This weekend is the end of the Maryland Renaissance Festival's 29th year! It barely feels like it's been 9 weeks since we started. Hopefully the weather will clear up!

This is Why I Love Vacation

even a mini one!

Back at work, it comes with all the bleh that work comes with. I can complete about 100-120 requests a day (which is actually quite a lot, when you think about it) and that's on a good day at that, not a Thursday that acts like Monday. Mondays are more like 80 or so. So, they give me 160 requests and expect them to get done in eight hours. And these aren't easy requests either, they tend to involve a lot of phone calls, and therefore take longer.

Maybe I should get a Wonder Woman costume for Halloween instead of the kimono I was planning on wearing....

One More Day

Well, this is it, really.

I went to the dentist (don't be alarmed, just a cleaning, and I happen to like the dentist) and bought a box to keep my aromatherapy oils in, and spent much of the day painting it. Where did the day go, anyway?

Alas, I will be back at work tomorrow. But at least it's just two days before the weekend.

Every week should be like that! Five days off, two days working, and so on. Ah well.

I did some html updating to my main geocities page, and added a couple images to the Photosite. Go find them! Let me know what you think, and all that jazz!

ZZZZzzzzZZZZzzzzZZZzzzz

That's about what I did today. I think I'll just leave it at that!

Moons, Blood, and Days Off!

What a wonderful day to not be at work! (I've got three days of this, though one has a dental appointment in it.)

My morning started with me waking up at 0700 and going back to bed because I didn't have to be up! I did a rigorous exercise, had lunch with my parents at a very nice Japanese steakhouse, and sat around playing with my GBA.

Tomorrow should be more of the same. (And I forgot to tell someone that e-mail is really the best way to reach me, and I was mistaken on Monday being unoccupied.)

Happy Full Blood Moon to you.

I'll Have Another

A bit colder today, but still, perfect in every way.

And thanks to my oldest friend (in terms of years of knowing, not age). I'm so glad you were able to come! We've never had a chance to do anything like that before, and it was wonderful to have you there.

Perfect Day

Perfect weather and perfect company. What more could anyone want around them?

Not So Short

I thought this was going to be a short blog entry, but then I remembered there's a bunch of stuff planned for the weekend and beyond!

Tomorrow, our friends whom we met at PA RenFaire will join us at ours. I'm very excited, and I hope they will have a great time! Then it's dinner at a nice Irish place.

Sunday, my oldest friend (in terms of how long I've know her) and her boyfriend will be joining us at faire. Then it's Italian for dinner.

Monday, I'm off! No work for me! My dad is off too, and my mother will be home early, so we're going to get sushi for lunch.

Tuesday, I'm off! No work here either! We're going to Macaroni Grill for dinner this day, mom and I both have gift cards.

Wednesday, I'm off! Who needs work? Well, it's not so special today, my dad and I have to go to the dentist. I don't mind the dentist, though.

Doesn't that sound like a great 5-day weekend? I plan to do a lot of sitting around and playing on the computer.

Do you know what tomorrow is? I do..............

Had a Feeling

Ok, you know how I said I liked doing what I call my 'regular work' and that they've been having me do this entry-level stuff for weeks? Well, today they said to go back to my regular work BUT I have to do the other stuff TOO! I had a feeling they would do something like this, but I was really hoping they would not. So, yes, I got done late again. And to top it all off, my dad had to go to the other building, so someone had to drive me there, and he had some work to do here. My official quitting time is 1530, and we didn't get on the road towards home until 1715. I'm usually home by then! Argh! And there was so much I wanted to do tonight!

In other news, a very wonderful person put together some pictures for me as a gift and I just love them. I hope we'll be able to visit each other soon, this five state barrier is getting harder and harder to deal with.

Well, I've got lots to do and less time to do it in! I better get started!

Forgot to Tell You

The yukata and the nagajuban came in on Saturday, and a really pretty statue of Artemis I ordered came in yesterday. I'm waiting from one more thing that I ordered from a shop that is to my benefit to frequent (I've talked about them before, shipping is incredibly slow). The problem is that my order status page says the order is on hold. But I've paid, I followed the instructions in the e-mail to pay with paypal, the money was deducted from my account a month ago. Why is it on hold? I've sent them an e-mail, I'm not sure how else to get in touch with them. I tell you, I'm starting to get fed up with this terrible service. I think I'm going to think twice before ordering anything from them again. This is rediculous.

So, except for the hadajuban (and I've got something that will work for it) I've got a complete kimono outfit! I'm really excited about it, that will be my Halloween dress this year (either full kimono or yukata, depending on the weather, of course). Fun fun!

More and More

Work, that is.

They keep giving me more pages of jobs to process, and each day I've had to stay a little later, and a little later to get them done.

I hate doing that because the longer I stay, the later I get on the road, the more traffic there is, the longer it takes me to get home. (follow that?) Everyday, one of the people who send the other things that I used to be doing (one of the pair who caused all those problems for me in the spring, remember?) complains because I'm not the one doing them. I'm not sure what to make of this person. They can say all these nasty things to a manager, and then sing my praises to me. The first impression I got of them was not bad, but then I see how they act (granted, maybe it's different in a group or under pressure), and then they get all friendly again. I'm just trying to be careful what I tell this person, I don't want a rehash of that trouble they caused me last spring.

In any event, I really don't like this beginner stuff they've got me doing right now.

Dreaming of Somewhere That's Green

Well, not exactly, more like somewhere that's not here. They're calling for more rain tomorrow and it hit me that, while they've taken me off of what I normally do at work, I'm doing entry-level stuff!

I know, any sane person reading this would sure like to know why I'm still here. I don't really know, they've already told me that I've gone as far as I can go in this deparment.. I guess because I can't afford to be unemployed, and refuse to go back to retail, and I never have time to go on interviews, and there isn't an opening in another department that would improve my situation. I can only do what I can do, and if they ask me why I seem to be doing so little, I'll tell the truth. This work is not stimulating. It's like no one here is very happy.

I need to start drinking water again.

Something Fowl

Something in the chicken or the peppers, but I was up for most of the night (except I missed Fullmetal Alchemist again! Not fair!)

Mom and I were going to kayak today, but the weather was still gloomy and I still wasn't feeling 100%. We went shopping instead, but WalMart didn't have what I was looking for. I need a long flat plastic storage tub to keep my kimono and ecoutrements in. They had the tub, but no lid.

I went with my mother to visit my grandmother, she's been going every week, and I've been wanting to go with her for a while. This was one of those "make the time" things. I love my grandmother.

It was a pretty nice day, considering.

What a Difference the Rain Makes

I had to get my driver's lisence renewed today, because it expires next week! It took about an hour but that wasn't too bad, I guess.

I was right, my booth called while I was on the way home and said not to bother coming in to work because we probably won't have enough customers to make payroll. I was expecting that, so it was not a big deal. And I went anyway, because my friend really wanted to go, because it was single's day (whoop-de-do). She made me get a number and I met some interesting and good-looking men, but I'm just not into that kind of ... get-together. And I'm fine just the way I am. And maybe there is someone with whom I wish I could spend more time. I'm better off without.

I stayed to the bitter end, but I think I should have avoided dinner. We went to the Chinese place that we went to every weekend last year, and I hadn't been there since. It didn't sit well with me.

Influx of Purchases!

Well, nearly everything I've recently ordered on eBay came in today!

My friend's hoop skirt (though I think it will be too rainy for velvet), my obi and geta, and kimono underpinnings. I'm still waiting on a few things, but I expect quite a bit of those will be in tomorrow.

Happy (rainy) Friday!

And Happy Birthday, JC!

I Don't Know What to Say

I'm so bored at work, but I've done all the non-work things I can possibly do to get me through the day. And it's only....? *sigh* This is going to be a long day.

Ebay Happy?

Not really, honest!

Ok, I kept putting off buying a hoop skirt for my friend (she want's me to get it because I know a good place to get one). She asked me about it last night, so I ordered and I hope *hope hope hope* it gets here by Friday and not Saturday when she wanted to wear it. (course, if it's raining like they say, I doubt she'll be wearing it!)

My kimono things have been pouring in. I also bought a yukata (light cotton summer kimono) in red with white and gold dragonflies, and I finally won a nagajuban. (Still no hadajuban, but I can make do). I haven't been able to find a book on hairstyles yet, so I'll have to think of something.

It's coming together!

Nothing Much to Say Today

Look, I rhyme!

I'm tired of doing this work. They're calling for rain this weekend, which means I probably won't be working at the Faire after all (if it's raining, people don't come. If people don't come, people don't buy. If people don't buy, I don't get paid!) It happens at least once a year: there will be one day where I'm asked not to come in because there will not be enough customers. Maybe I will stay home and rest, or go with my friend, or something.

Work is Such a Drag

I stayed late again today, everyday my supervisor seems to give me more work, and I'm still staying late to finish it.

Oh, I think I forgot to tell you!

I found a couple sellers on ebay who had geta shoes and a matching obi, and one who had obi ita, obi makura, korin belt, three koshi himo, and taki socks. (While these words mean little or nothing to you, this means I'm 2 pieces away from a complete traditional kimono outfit. I'm missing the nagajuban and hadajuban, but I'm working on them!)

With that, I'm going to go to bed! And hope I don't have to stay late tomorrow.

The Power of Baseball

It took 34 years for ‘America’s Pastime’ to come back to Washington DC, amid much doubt and scepticism. "DC isn’t a baseball town" they said. "Can it support the team?" "Will there be fans who can support the team?" What they forgot was that DC had a perfectly fine stadium that seats 46,000 people and change, and that people were so angry that their team was leaving 34 years ago that they stormed the field before the last out of the game, forcing their once beloved ballclub to forfeit instead of take the win they had earned.

The Washington Senators left in 1960 to become the Minnesota Twins. An new team of expansion Senators left after a mere decade in 1971, to become the Texas Rangers. Since 1971, Washington and its suburbs have been confined to Minor Leagues or the not-so-nearby Baltimore Orioles. The O’s kept them appeased for a time, but Baltimore is not easy to get to if you live in Northern Virginia or Southern Maryland, and public transportation to the stadium is virtually non-existent.

The Montréal Expos joined the Majors in 1969 amid massive social change in the region. They had decades of poor records, and decades of greatness. For some time, fan attendance capped at 10,000 (a big jump from the 7,000 average they held). In 2004, Major League Baseball announced that the Expos were moving to Washington with a 29-1 approval vote. The sole nay vote was cast by none other than O’s owner Peter Angelos. On October 2nd 2004, Brad Wilkerson scored the last Expos Home Run. The next day, Jamey Carroll put the very last Expos scoring run under his belt.

Then they traded a few, packed everything up, and came to Robert F Kennedy Memorial Stadium, a cozy park with moveable stands designed for baseball, football, or soccer, and the current home of the beloved soccer team DC United. This move marked the first team relocation in MLB since 1972, when the new Texas Rangers found their new home.

In one season at RFK, the new Washington Nationals experienced a sold-out victorious home opener, and learned that the fans know how to make the whole stadium shake. They enjoyed a 10 game winning streak, first place in the National League East, and continued to put a solid product on the mound at RFK. The All-Star break started this fine team’s slump to finish the season with a solid .500 record.

But did that stop the crowds? The Nat’s pull their fans from DC, Virginia, and Maryland. An easy, if crowded, ride on the Metro or a short drive from the Capital Beltway drew more than 2.7 million fans to RFK over the course of the season. Fans continued to fill the stadium, cheer their players, and make the moveable bleachers of RFK rock and resound through the concrete walls. The team has requested that the new stadium in the works be designed to shake, even though they’re usually made specifically not to!

For the Love of the Game

This is all that baseball did for Washington, but what did baseball do for me? For starters, I never knew that my mother was a fan. Only this year, she told me stories of how she and a friend would go to Senator’s games with a neighbor, she followed the game on her scorecard, and like so many others, was sorely disappointed when the Senators were swept off to Texas. The Nats came here, and we were going to ball games again. We had the O’s farm team, the Bowie Baysox, a short drive away, but we ached for Major Leagues. If you had asked me, I would have said I was an O's fan, but I went to a game about once every 3 years. I went for the atmosphere more than the game. We joined the Nats craze, we all have merchandise to fill a closet. In one season, I learned something about my mother that I never knew. I also learned terms I had never heard or never understood before. Now, I know what it means to hit for the cycle, I understand the intricacies of a baulk and a pass ball, and I know the importance of the batting average and ERA.

In addition, I know the players on my team, by first name. Nick is my reigning favorite, I saw him make a spectacular catch during the home opener which prompted me to take notice. Jamey can run the bases like his feet are on fire. Brad can hit the ball out of the park when he wants to. Gary is super at setup. And the Chad the Chief can save them all, but he tends to work better with the pressure of a few men on base.

36,000 fans showed their support on October 2nd 2005, cheering to a depressing 9-3 loss, putting the Nats at their 81-81 record for the season. We didn’t lose it, when the game was over, we roared under sapphire skies like we had just broken records. We had, after all. I saw the first last game in Nats history. Fan attendance staggered the team, 2.7 million is a lot compared to what they drew in Montréal.

I saw five Nationals’ home games this season, and only the last one was a loss. I’ll be back next season, with my official hat, t-shirt, teddy bear, and flag. 4-1 looks like a pretty good record to me.

And while they spent a good deal of their last game thanking the fans, I don't think they realized what their presence did for the people of this city and its suburbs. Thank you, Nats, for what you've done for us.

Not a Lot of Lederhosen

Thank goodness, what a strange garment that is!

Oktoberfest for a Renaissance Festival is an excuse to get drunk (and this is different from other RenFest days how? Oh, right, lederhosen).

On the bright side, the shop were I work had a wonderfully busy day with a booth full of buying drunks! Those are the days we like.

But, most of us don't care for Oktoberfest, and it looks like all the faires in the area have it the same weekend, so we can't seek sanctuary elsewhere. But I've got that game tomorrow!

I had too much tea at dinner and can't sleep, but that's alright. We're babysitting Ichus, my brother's cat, this weekend and I had to prod him out of my room this morning. I hear him eating now, that's a good sign that he's settling down.

At least we were lederhosen-free!

Three Cheers for Friday

That's all I can say! I've been having to stay late to finish the work I've been given during the day. I hate that, but I'm just not stimulated enough to work as fast as I know I can.

I'm not looking toward a restful weekend, there's drunken people in lederhosen weekend at the faire, and then the last game of the Washington National's first season on Sunday. But at least it's Friday!

A Scary Thought

I have been in communication with an old friend of a friend. We'll call this person Rain. Rain was asking for information about our friend (who remains mine, though it no longer theirs).

WE INTERRUPT THIS BLOG BECAUSE WE SUDDENLY REMEMBERED SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO DO!!

My friend, if you are reading (the friend with whom I worked for by special request this summer and is responsible for the kayaks. Yeah, you.) It's about those jobs this summer, I have an important W-2 question, don't let me forget!

THANK YOU, NOW BACK TO YOUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED BLOG!

We'll call this other friend Les. Rain wanted information about Les, because Rain wanted to know 'the truth' about what happened between them. I told Rain I would say what I knew only if it did not break any confidences I had with Les, and would bring harm to no one.

I did just that, I told Rain what I knew of the situation, based on what Les had told me (which wasn't much) and withholding the information that I thought should not be shared for either of the aforementioned reasons. Rain had their own version of the situation to tell me, and ask me to confirm those things. I told Rain I could not, I could only take as true what my good friend told me.

The reason I'm telling this story is because recent information has been brought to my attention from someone whom I would always expect to tell me the truth; that someone is Les. What's the scary thought? I'm starting to think that Rain might be right. Which means Les, with whom I've been friends for seven years or so, was not telling the truth.

I don't know how to take that at all. I don't know what to do with it. And I don't like it one bit. I try to be truthful always in word and deed, I expect no less from my friends. If you cannot tell me the truth, there is no friendship there. The explaination I got from Les was some drove about the heart wanting things, that still didn't answer the question I put to Les to be answered, why was I told no when the answer was yes?

I can't be a part of someone's life who thinks it's ok to lie to me because of pride or fear or whatever. That is not a friendship. I am counting on my friend to give me a better explanation of the situation when we meed face-to-face (whenever that may be), and I may find it is not so bad and I can be forgiving. However, judging from Les' last communication, this does not look promising at all.

New Problems

But I've found a few things that can help. They won't go away, but at least I can learn to deal with them.

Tell me this, though.

If you are in a relationship with someone, and you're really happy and excited about it, wouldn't you really want to share the news with your close friends, especially when you have done so in the past? What are the reasons that anyone denies a relationship? Because they're guilty, not proud, doing something they shouldn't and know it? And also, if you want your friends to stand by you, you tell them the truth, right?

See, true love is not the ability to love a different person every month, or even every year. It is the ability to love one person for the rest of your life.

And a true friend is not judgemental. It is someone who will be by you when you mess up, when you disagree, when you are sad, when you are happy, when you are lonesome, when you are the life of the party. A true friend will tell you when you've done wrong and love you anyway. There are only two things that must be consistant with a true friend, those are truth and trust. You must always be true to them, and you must trust they will do so with you. That is how a friendship will last.

Lies, deception, and hiding are not a part of this.

Happy Birthday, Mom

I am honored to be able to call you Mother and Friend. I love you.

What Do You Do

when the person you would normally talk to is the source of the problem?

Didn't Last Too Long

My mother and I went to the RenFest today, but the dust was really aggrivating, and we only stayed a couple hours. At least I got to take out my pirate costume (which is pretty impressive, if I do say so myself).

We came home and played our new video games! Not a bad birthday weekend!

Super Mondo Shopping Day!

It looked gloomy this morning, so my mom decided she'd rather go shopping instead of kayaking. (Of course, it turned out to be a fine day for kayaking, but I've still got that lingering cough and I'm sure it was best I stay in.)

So, instead of quality time with the 'yaks, we went shopping! We bought some clothes, and a new video game for GBA (Harvest Moon: More Friends of Mineral Town), and then I took mom to see Flight Plan. It was pretty good.

It's easy to get tired when shopping!

Mom's Birthday Weekend Incoming!

I will not be working at RenFest this weekend, I took off both days so that my mother and I can do whatever she wants.

It is Pirate Invasion, and I'm sorry I'll be missing it, but that's ok. My mom wants to see a movie, or go shopping, or go kayaking or all of the above! And she's got two days! Her birthday is actually next Tuesday, but I'll be at work, and we all have to work the next day anyway, so the weekend is a good time to do stuff.

Who wants a few hours of party, when you can have a whole weekend?!

Ah HA!

You thought I missed a day didn't you?

Shows what you know!

Out of Here Someday

My friend is receptive to moving to Orlando instead of LA, but it looks like it won't be until next year anyway. That's a long time to wait, we'll have to take a few vacations and scout out some places first. I hope it's a long enough time, though, I've still got lots of debt.

I recently acquired a new $2700 laptop from Dell (don't be too concerned, it only cost me $1500 and change). I've wanted one for a while, and it was the right time with this sale. I've got one more gown to buy at the Faire this year, and hopefully that will be it as far as major purchases for me. Yes, I'm still working on that second kayak debt. I hope that next year will be enough time to take care of all of this.

I can't leave before June anyway, because I have to be here for my best friend's wedding. I might as well work one more year at the Faire if I'm going to stay through June, so we're either looking at August or November next year.

I love my parents and I love my home, but I'm starting to itch to get out. I'm not ready just yet, but it's got to happen. I know I won't say in this area forever. Someday....

Fiddle Dee Dee

This is going to be a long week. I'm doing other things at work (than my regular stuff) and I still don't like it much. So, since I should be working, I'm going to tell you this story.

Remember when I mentioned the Baby Dragons, the anoles they sell at PA RennFaire? I wanted one, but was sure my cats would eat it.

Just before dinner on Wednesday night, poor Miss Luna started coughing. We like to move the cats on to the tile floors when they do this (easier to clean, and us holding them seems to calm them down), but they tend to run from us. I caught up with Miss Luna, and knelt on the floor to pick her up. I noticed something wet and slimy against my ankle where I knelt, and was sure she had already coughed up the hairball.

She stopped coughing so I rolled over, cat in arms, to see what was on the carpet. It was not a hairball, or anything else one would expect a cat to cough up. It was a slimy, tooth-marked, headless anole body! I hollered for someone to bring some paper towels and a wet one I could use to clean my ankle. We were a little surprised, to say the least. Not that Miss Luna would have killed one, but how did it get in the house anyway?

Yup, I was right. I can't have a Baby Dragon. My cat would eat it!

Less Hot, Says Who?

Yeah, remember how I said they said it was supposed to be less hot yesterday? pffft. There was a bit of a breeze and maybe it was not as humid, but it was pretty hot.

So, even being sick, I did some walking. I'm in the market for a chemise or two (I'd rather have them as blouse and skirt rather than one piece) in green and lilac, or white that I can dye to my needs. And I'm still looking for a silver gown of some kind. This will take some shopping.

In the meantime, I went to work though I probably should have stayed home one more day. At least no one's giving me slack for not coming in last Thursday and Friday.

I need a nap.

All The Way Through

You guessed it, I stayed for the whole thing, even through *most* of dinner. We went to Jaspers and had some of the most horrible service. It took a good 20-30 minutes just to bring us water, even though we said we were all dehydrated and needed it. Then half of the drinks came out. Then we had to ask for the soup/salad orders. Then the other half of the drinks came out (after going to the kitchen and asking for them), and half of the meals. Then we had to ask at least 3 times for drink refills (the caraf of water he brought us was 3/4 ice). It was just unbelievable.

We were only a party of 6, not the usual 10-20, and should have been no problem. We were not a rowdy bunch, and we're not hard to please. When we go out, it's simple. Bring us water, keep it coming, bring us food, get the empty glasses/dishes out of the way. We tend to leave a pretty good tip for these simple things. I doubt this guy even got a tip as we were discussing, but I wouldn't know because it took him so long to even come and ask if we were ready for the bill that I had gone home already.

I can tell you, this won't be a place we will return to any time soon.

Today is supposed to be less hot, but I had a really hard time getting to sleep. Our neighbors had a loud-music party until midnight. Then I just couldn't get to sleep (too much tea at dinner, maybe). We'll see, same rules apply as yesterday: mask, go home if I have to.

Not Allergies, By The Way

Because allergies don't come with the muscle aches that I've got.

The stubborn little juice-drinking, cat-hugging, sicker-than-a-puddle-of-slime person that I am still intends to work my shift at the Faire today. I'll get a scarf or something to cover my nose and mouth so I'm not inhaling all that contaminated dust. I'll also pick up some more juice to bring with me in convenient travel-sized bottles. (Can you tell I'm ill, I'm talking silly?!)

If I can't make it through the day, I'll come home, and I'm sure the in-charge person will understand. But I'm going to try all the same.

Once More, With Feeling

One of these days, I'm going to run out of a unique daily blog title.

I stayed home again today. I still have a fever and I've started to cough (groan). I'm drinking lots of O.J. and cuddling with fuzzy kitties!

My sweet calico jumped up on the bed and started purring when my alarm went off this morning. I know from experience this is her way of telling me I need to be in bed. Happy to oblige!

Well, I Made It

But it wasn't easy! And I didn't make it today. I just got up, and I'm going to get some juice and watch a movie (sleep during a movie is more accurate).

Sick is no fun, but my kitties are cute. And both of them are hanging around me; outside my door, in the kitchen when I get water or juice, on the couch, in the hall right now. I love those furbabies!

Not Sure If I'll Last

Back at work. I felt a bit better when I woke up this morning, but that's all gone away and I feel rotten again.

I keep watching the clock, if I can just make it to 1130, that's the half day that we work when we have half days (it's not really half, it's 5.5 hours). But then, if I make it to 1130, why can't I make to to 1200, or 1300, and before I know it, it will be 1530 and time to go, right?

I'm trying. I'm trying.

Maybe It Really Is Allergies

But I don't know. I don't have a fever and feel pretty miserable. I'm so tense, everything is sore; my jaw, my neck, my shoulders, my back.

Yup, I still came in to work. There's so much to do, and so many other ways I'd rather spend my leave. It'd be nice if we had a decent amount of staff and a separate pool of sick days.

I don't know what it is, but I want it to go away!

What Is In That Dust?

Something icky.

I don't get allergies, but I've got something. It's all in my throat and feels more like a cold than an allergy.

And yet, here I am at work, trying to catch up, trying to keep my eyes open. At least I can sleep on the way home.

The Dust Flies

My mom and I went to the Faire. We walked through clouds of dust that rose up in droves from the village walkways. Dust, dust, dust.

Mom bought a coat from Half Moon (I've been wanting one for years). I got a new moonstone to replace the broken one in my divination kit. (I don't think I told you about that, it's a lithomancy kit and the moonstone came in three pieces. The funny thing is, by chance, I got three moonstones to replace it!). We watched the Squire walk on a burning wire for the first time, and then went home early. It was a long weekend.

(ThriveFest wasn't all that. There was lots to do, mostly for kids, and a lot of really good food. It was fun, but we didn't stay long.)

So, I turned in my work this morning. And Mom and I watched a movie when we got home from Faire. It was nice to rest a bit. Four years ago had a very different end to a very different day. And even in four years, those people are constantly in my thoughts.

Fantastic!

What a great game! (Nope, never heard from my friend).

My parents and I decided to drive to the stadium rather than take the Metro, because it was getting late and we wanted to be sure to get there on time. Driving is really easy, it's only $10 to park and it looked like they had plenty of space. It's definitely more convenient to us than taking the Metro.

They played the Atlanta Braves, scored one run early on, then were losing to 4 until good ole Vinny hit a home run in the 8th inning. Final score 6 to 4. And I still haven't been to a losing game!

We did get back a little late, so we decided not to kayak this morning. We'll just take it easy and go to ThriveFest this afternoon. Sounds like a good deal to me. And while we're at it, I'll get my lesson done!

I Wanna Go To The Game!!

How's this for good fortune?

I still haven't heard from my friend, but OBC had some business with Cox Communications and they have tickets for tonight's game! My dad asked if we wanted any, and I told him to get three (they're free, you know). So we don't lose anything if my friend calls, and we'll be going to the game one way or another!

Yay! Now, hopefully they'll win!

Looking Towards a Busy Weekend

I'm tired of looking at my swamped workload. Let's explore what we've got going on for the weekend!

Let's see. I'm supposed to go to a Nats' game with a friend tomorrow. But I haven't spoken with him in a while. If he calls I'll be ready to go, if I don't hear from him it's no big deal.

On Saturday, we plan to go kayaking in the morning, then to the big Kaiser Permanente ThriveFest (which is essentially a super huge office party, my mother works for them).

Then on Sunday, my mother and I are going to wander around the Faire all day.

Doesn't that sound like a wonderful weekend?! I love being busy, as much as I miss having nothing to do.

Let Me Tell You About the Tail

So, I bought a tail at the Renaissance Festival. I think they said it was once a lynx. Yes, it is an actual tail that was once a growing part of a little furry critter, and I clipped it to my basket. I've never had an urge to buy a tail before, so the fact that I did still surprises me.

So, I'm getting ready to go to the Faire to work. I put the basket down on the floor and went to make breakfast. I heard this strange sound and knew that the kitten, Miss Luna, was playing with the tail. I went in to watch and she, upon seeing me, grabbed the tail and turned to run. But she's not strong enough to pull the basket, so the tail slipped out of her mouth. She turned back around and tried again. Same thing. And again. And again the same thing! The fourth time, she turned around, looked at me, looked at her toy, then ran off without it. It was so cute!

The next day, I put the basket down knowing she would play with the tail again. I was right, and this time she didn't run when I watched her. I saw her jump against the wall, kick off, and pounce on the tail from above!

That kitten! How cute!

And That's the Weekend

But it was nice.

See, I'm trying to be more affirmative. Like turning a negative thought like "I'm going to be late" into a positive thought like "I will arrive at work safely." If I think negative things, that's all I need to bring them about. But we all know that's not what we really want. So, replace that negative thought with a positive affirmation.

Then meditate, pet soft purring kitties, read an children's book before bed, and play in a garden. That's all you need for a nice, relaxing day. It's especially important now when we're being bombarded with scenes of disaster and the blame game.

This is unhealthy for us and our lives. Lives go on, and so they should, and so they shall. I want my life to be filled with positive influences. Support, kindness, strength, and love are key.

Over the weekend, I started every day with a meditation exercise I learned in acting class (yes, actors meditate and practice Yoga and Pilate's as a form of actor-training) and another grounding exercise. I went through my day, and ended each by reading a story to my cat.

On Saturday, I read Yurtle the Turtle, by Dr Seuss. This is one of my favorite stories from my childhood. The book had records on each page and a little record player. I can still remember the voice of the woman reading. I must have drove my parents nuts! While I was reading to one purring cat on my bed, the other cat pushed open the door and sat there to listen. it was so cute. I love my kitties!

Don't let me forget to tell you about the tail!

Some Things Don't Always Work Out As Planned

My mom forgot that she had planned to come to faire, and so made plans to play tennis. No big, we'll try again next week. I managed to be off all weekend, so we'll go kayaking and to her office picnic on Saturday, and faire on Sunday. Good deal.

I met up with some friends today and saw Shakespeare's Scum for the first time (though neither of my friends believed me when I said I'd never seen them. Honestly, when am I going to see them? If I'm not working, I'm usually at the tavern or watching the Squire of the Wire, or the joust or something. They know this. Silly people.). So, we had a good time and I left early to grab some dinner and get to bed on time.

What a wonderfully busy weekend!

Ten Hours

New shoes are great, because now I know the pain in my legs is from 10 hours on hard wooden planks, not awful shoes!

It was busy today, but we're not breaking any records. I know, people are buying gas for their cars, not tickets and hats at a Renaissance Festival. It's a shame, because the Faire can be therapeutic if you need it to be.

Tomorrow, my mom said she'd be coming, and I'm not working! Yay!

Shoes = Bad

Yeah, I know you're wondering about this.

I bought a pair of black leather moccasins that I can wear on festival days. The strange thing about them is that they are size 9 and I wear 7. One would think they are too big, but noooo, they are too small! They are a little wide around the heel, but cut into my feet along the ball and over the top. OUCH! I stood all day at the festival in those horrid things! I took them off during dinner, but my feet protested when I put them back on to go to the car and drive home.

Tomorrow at faire, I'll get some new, comfortable, shoes!

I'm Feeling Better

By a bit.

I've been low on energy lately, like there's too much to do and only one of me to do it. It's a really good thing that EverQuest Guiding isn't one of them right now! Though I do miss it still, I'm enjoying the freedom I have without those obligations.

My cat has been sleeping with me the past several nights. I don't want to draw energy from her, but wonderful things happen when a cat purrs you to sleep. My card designs have been coming along. It's not an easy task; I'm using two programs that don't talk to each other so I have to use a third program to put the completed images together. There is therapy in creating, I don't miss the energy I use to design.

There are new products on my webstore! Some new shirts and postage (yup, actual stamp you can stick on an envelope to pay for mail) are already up, look for a mini button, rectangle magnet, 2006 12-month calendar, light colored hats, and a few other things will be coming soon(tm)! Get looking! I'll start putting my tarot card images on merchandise if you let me know you want them!

The Last Night

The Wednesday Night Racing Series came to a close last night. And such a close! Lots of wind, lots of waves, it was great! And wet....

Our standings are not great (they weren't on the last boat I sailed either) but that's not why my dad and I sail. It's for the wind and the water, for the boat and the crew, and for the spectacular sunsets that so many people go through their lives never noticing.

This time of year makes me very sad. I miss the boat I sailed on for 10 years, I miss the good times had there, and I miss the captain who was my friend very dearly. At the same time, I am so thankful for our current captain, who allowed my dad and I to sail on his boat, so we didn't have to stop experiencing the wonders that sailing on the Chesapeake Bay has to offer.

For on the deck, my Captain lies....

You Know What

It's times like this when you want to stop watching the news, it's just upsetting. It makes the part of life that is supposed to go on like nothing happened seem so pointless.

Katrina's Wake

To all those in Katrina's Wake, I send strength as you heal and rebuild your homes.

Well... Well What!?!

Well, I don't know!

My supervisor is off every day this week (this is cause for celebration). But that also makes it easier for me to do things other than work. I helped out with another job today, given that my regular stuff is somewhat inhibited because of the errors I'm still getting.

Enough about work! I was speaking with someone about the image titled Globes (on my Photosite) and really wanted to play more with Vue. So when I got home, I did!

I've always wanted to design my own Tarot deck, you see. While it's a far cry from the 78 card deck, I did get the Aces completed. It only took three hours or so for four images. I think the look great (all things being considered!)

What do you think? (Click on The Aces post, or photos to see it! I've been busy creating tonight!) [Archiver's note! You're going to have to go to my website, www.burninglakearts.com and click on the Tarot album to view the card spread in question. I'll try to get it up here as well, but that will just have to wait!]

It Continues!

Well, yeah, all Weekend posts from now until 23 October (with few exceptions) will be about my day at the Faire. I hope you won't get tired of it! I won't! You should come by, if you can. MD RennFest has been hailed as one of the best in the country, you know.

Today, I met up with my friends and saw the Scottish play (those who know know what I'm talking about). I also ran across my brother and sister-in-law and we got to catch up a bit. One day I should ask her if she'd rather be known as my sister-in-law or my brother's wife. Well, she's the same wonderful person anyway!

I didn't do nearly as much shopping today (a good thing), and my new dress matches the cloak I got at the PA Faire very well.

I did what I said I would do, go home and get to bed rather then go to dinner with everyone. My dad went to dinner though. *tsk* He's going to feel it in the morning!

Here's to a really tiring but fun-filled weekend! (Just wait, in another week, I'll be wondering when it will end, but not before my birthday!)

It Starts!

Woohoo! Yippie! Weeeee!!

Yup, I was back at the Maryland Renaissance Festival today!

I was supposed to meet a friend (so I thought), but he never called (I do hope everything's alright).

But that's ok, I walked about with my friends who work in the booth with my father. I bought a new dress (one of two that I want this year), and a few other odds and ends. I was exhausted by 1500! But I stuck it out and went to dinner with the group and had a great, tiring day!

Yay!

I Love Ya, Tomorrow!

Yes, still getting error messages!

But tomorrow is the official start of the Maryland Renaissance Festival!! Yay! Cheer! Haroo and Huzzah!

I will be returning to the festival in the hat shop, Tall Toad. Our humble store is just at the end of the boardwalk on Mary's Dale Way.

This year, King Henry and his wife Jane Seymour will grace the festival time of the humble walled village of Revel Grove. In honor of the Bard, a full production of the Scottish play will be at the Globe Theater every day of the festival!
Merchants have new wares for selling to enhance your festival experience, as travellers come from far and wide to celebrate with the King and Queen and the merry-makers of our fine town!

The annual festival runs through October 23rd, hope you'll join us!

That IS What It's All About

No, I'm not talking about the Hokey Pokey, I'm talking about sailing!

The wind must have been blowing 7-10 knots (I didn't really take note of it). We were first across the start line, in fact, no one was anywhere near us at the start! I think we should just end the race there.
But I'll tell you about the rest of the night anyway. We were trucking down the Bay at 5-6 knots. The race committee set a 7-mile course, sending us to the two marks that are furthest out from our starting area. We lost major ground on that first leg, but the wind held up and we finished just around 2100 or so.

It's always great when there's wind!

And I'm still getting error messages!

The Day of Errors

They were doing a major system update last night and this morning (that only minutely changed the face of the applications I use everyday). As with any update, there are bugs, bugs, bugs!

I think I've mentioned how I can to 80-120 jobs in one 8-hour period. I've done 15, and the day's half over! An error message pops up for EVERYTHING! This is so annoying, and it's like a wasted day. What's the point of even trying to make us do work if they system isn't cooperating?

I know, I'm the only person on the face of the planet who will ever complain for getting paid to do nothing. At least there's sailing tonight!

And on another bright side, I got my grade and have permission to move on. HooRah!

No Problem

So, day 2 was the worst, but I got through it. I brought Cheerios to work for breakfast today, and I had one piece of chocolate with my tea. It's nice to be back on food again!

I could do it again (next month) but I would definitely recommend to anyone who wanted to try it to be at home with lots of things to keep their mind off food. I'll probably have to be at work because of the Renaissance Festival (which opens this weekend!), but I could do it again. I feel really good right now, and I'm not going to eat too much today!

And to top it all off, I'm finally back to my regular work again! Yippie!

Day Two

If you want to know, this was spurned by the blatent failure of 3 months of Slim-Fast.

Today's a bit harder to deal with, because work doesn't distract/stimulate me like home does. Today, I want nachos, chocolate, hot dogs, chocolate, soup, chocolate, beef stew (which I never crave!), chocolate, a bananna, chocolate, Cheerios, chocolate. As you can see, I really want some chocolate! And there's a zip-lock bag of PoundPlus from Trader Joe's sitting in my cabinet at work. GAH!!

It's ok: want chocolate, sip juice. Want Cheerios, sip juice. Want chocolate, sip juice.

My mother and I were going to make bannana muffins soon, I thought we should do it when I get home so I can have one tomorrow morning. GAH AGAIN!! That's crazy talk! We'll make them tomorrow so I can have one fresh from the oven. =)

I can make it, I can make it!

Day One

In my attempt to lead a healthier lifestyle, I started a two-day all liquid detoxifying and cleansing diet. For two days, I can consume only 32 oz of this special diet juice mixture and at least eight 8 oz glasses of water. No food, no caffene, no tea, just this 'berry flavored' stuff. And it's important that I exercise, so I got on a machine this morning.

Honestly, it doesn't taste bad, a little like the Tropical Diet V-8 that my friend has been drinking. It's got 80% of many vitamins like A, C, B, B12, and others in one 4 oz serving (of which I have 4 a day).

Now, I'm the kind of person who shakes when I need to eat, and I haven't been shaky at all. If I feel hungry, I drink more juice. If I feel like chewing, I drink water. The only thing I really noticed about today is that I'm not sure what to do with myself. I want to work on my obi, I want to play a video game, I want to take a walk (then I remember how oppressive the heat is outside and don't do that).

The diet boasts that one can lose 10 pounds over the two days ( a website that talks about it says 4-14), I'm not expecting to do that, and that's not why I'm doing it anyway. The webiste study recommended doing it once a month.

So far, I'm in pretty good shape, and thinking of food hasn't been driving me crazy. We'll see what happens tomorrow at work.

I turned in my next step of work today! This was much easier than the first lesson, I must say.

Out and About

No talking about work on weekdays, so....

My parents and I went kayaking! We were only out for 2.25 hours (and before you get mad at me for not calling, you know who you are, I tried but it said it was long distance. Imagine that. Someone else knew, though.), and just down our regular creek on the Patuxent. We actually got out early(ish) like we said we would!

Then we came home, scrubbed down the 'yaks (they needed it), scrubbed down ourselves (we needed it), and went to lunch at Bertucci's. Then it was off to Trader Joe's and Jo Ann Fabrics for some material to make an obi and obi-jime for my kimono.

I'm a little sad that I didn't make it to Otakon this year, both my friend and I had other things to do. Maybe next year it won't be so late.

All in all, it was a great day!

So Much For That

Yeah, I didn't play EverQuest last night. I'm starting to think that I've grown out of it and should just cancel the account.

Did I just say that?! I thought I'd never say that!

I'll think about it for a bit. Of course, cancelling my account means I could never return to the Guide program unless I start playing again. I'm ok with that though. I love the Guide program and the wonderful people there, but I love the time I have now too.

Ok, next week, if I don't log on to the game at least once, I'll cancel my account. No use wasting that money if I'm not going to use it.

I Think

It didn't like me ranting about the bathroom?

In any event, what I wanted to say yesterday was that I did finish my work, bathroom stalls are too small, and I heard a great joke on Sunday. I'll revisit these last points one at a time so as not to upset the blogging powers that be.

So, this performer at the sing-a-long on Sunday comes onto the stage and says, "I am a magician! I am here to magish for you!" When the chuckles die down, he adds, "Just be glad I'm not a wizard!" That was funny!

We had hardly any wind last night, but enough that we didn't rely on drifing. We did encounter one chap on a boat that normally races in the spinnaker fleet, who was just a jerk. We were over the starting line early because he was claiming right of way. He was right, but he didn't have to be an @$$ about it, you know? Some people....

I'm struggling with this book club book. I think I need some good hardy EverQuest tonight.

You Know, This is Annoying!

I'm not sure why it is, but I've tried to submit something for this date twice (this will make 3) but it doesn't post every time!

I wonder what's up?

I'll just have to tell you about everything later....

Green Grow the Rushes

Ok, so the songs from PAFaire's end sing-a-long have been running through my head all day. Some of them because I found them anoying, some because they are actually quite catchy.

I found that Green Grow the Rushes (a rush is an aquatic plant, a kind of reed) is an old English children's counting song, not unlike the Twelve Days of Christmas. There are tons of Christian references in that tune.

So, I was off of work yesterday, so today is acting like Monday. I'd better get to work! And when I get home today, I'm going to finish my second assignment, even though I can't turn it in for a week. Struggling with the book club book, if I thought Ancestors of Avalon was bad, this is worse.

One Day Is Not Enough

So they say, and so it is.

We were at the PA RennFaire site for Celtic Fling, I don't remember if I told you about that. I didn't buy a cloak there because the size wasn't right. The cloak people were back, and they did have my size!

So, I met up with my friend from the book club and her husband. They are a couple of really nice, fun-loving people! We all hope they'll be able to make it down to our faire this year (maybe so with people to meet up with there, right? =). So you've got the picture; the group was these two fine people, my dad, a couple of our friends, and myself.

I didn't buy a Baby Dragon, again. I sure wish I had though, they're so cute. And my mother was saying that I should have, even though she was saying not to when I had her on the phone! There was something that my friend said she would pick up for me when they go back in October, but I've forgotten what that was already! I hope she or her husband remember! I don't even remember why I didn't get it then (probably lack of cash, of course!). There was also a tent that had vintage kimonos (for a price that was way below what she could get for them, if you ask me!), so I had to have one. The big sing-song at the end was fun, not as much as Pub Sing, but that's because I'm used to it.

We had a fun time finding the hotel and a place for dinner, and we were all stiff waking up. Dad and I sent our friends on their way (vacation time!) and we drove home, stopping in Crownsville for our employee badges for the Festival. (I suddenly remembered that I wanted to suggest to someone about the booth employees having some kind of guild ribbon to mark them, so patrons know they can ask us for directions or something.)

Then we met up with mom and had a really late lunch. Or an early dinner. It's too late to take a nap though, and I'm tired!

Probably Not the Best Thing

for me to be doing right now is typing.

Last night, I had a heck of a time getting to sleep. It wasn't from excitement (though that's a part of it) or for lack of being tired. It was because my wrists hurt. Both of them. From the bones of the joints down through my thumbs. Immensly. So much that I simply couldn't sleep for the pain. After tossing about for what felt like many hours (but it was thankfully only 2330) I got up, took the last two ibuprofen in the house and found an ice pack. 45 minutes or so later, I took my ice pack to bed and slept. That's never happened before.

Now I'm going to finish lacing my bodice and get out of here! I hope you have a fun day, I will!

A Little Lagoon

Well, I'm sorry to say that I'm out of film.

My parents and I were planning on being in the 'yaks for about two hours, but we only lasted one in the heat of the day. We didn't get started as early as we wanted, and putting the kayaks on the new racks took longer than we thought (because it was the first time).

While we were out, we went down a creek of the Patuxent called House Gut, and saw some new vegitation and creatures. There was a moth-type thing with a white head, a red crawfish-like tail, and wings that fluttered like a humming bird. We then headed back up to Jug Bay and found a little opening in the reeds. It was almost like a little (three feet deep or so) lagoon. If it wasn't for the muk on the bottom, I would have jumped in!

We decided to head home after only an hour of being out. We were tired, hot, hungry. We really expected to be out much sooner in the day, but just didn't make it. We'll know better for next week.

My mother and I got Sunshine on the car with no problem, but had some trouble with the Mirage (hard to lift 45 lbs when you're tired and hot and hungry and have just finished lifting 40 lbs). We got it eventually and went on our merry way home, had dinner. Now I've just got to pack, as we'll be leaving for the faire around 0700 or so tomorrow.

No Spoilers Here

For those who read this and Harry Potter, I'm just going to say a few things. Yes, I finished it. I was wrong on all counts (regarding the questions within the book and how I thought they would be answered). The Prisoner of Azkaban is still my favorite. And, finally How in the heck is she going to do the last book?!?!

That said, I sat and read last night. The new book club book, The Witching Hour by Anne Rice, is not going to be an easy read for me. I'm not a fan of Anne Rice as it is.

This weekend will see my parents and I kayaking for a bit, then my dad and I will join our friends (and someone from book club, yay!) at the PA Renaissance Faire, and doesn't that sound like fun?!

No List Yet

Yeah, I'm still putting off calling the doctor. I haven't found my insurance information (despite the time I spend online, I haven't looked up their website either) and I haven't prepared the list of things I need to discuss. I know it will simply amount to taking a day or two off of work to see the doctor, but I have to prepare first!

We had a bit of wind for most of the night, and they set a 6 mile course (yike!). It was shortened to 4 miles, but we thought it should have ended at about 3. For boats that need wind, light air isn't too good! My friend actually got to do some sailing, so that was a good thing.

I know, you want to know if I've finished reading. Tonight! I'll finish it tonight!

Taken Into Account

This is going to turn into a long and healthy rant, so I'm going to take it one thing at a time.

First, make your way to my website, www.burninglakearts.com where you'll find a brand-new album for things like lighthouses and pretty boats! It's got five lighthouses right now, and more will be added (as I find the pictures and scan them in) in time. I'll put up a new album, coming soon (tm), for sailing and kayaking pictures.

I didn't finish my book last night like I wanted to, but I've got 8 chapters to go. Tomorrow is the day!

Now here's the big one.

I started a Slim-Fast diet in May. Somewhere between then and February, I had gained nearly 30 pounds and much of my clothing no longer fit me (I've so far gone through the summer on two pairs of shorts). I did the two-shake-a-day thing every day for the first month, and then every day except weekends thereafter. I had lost 7 pounds in that mix, so I upped my activity (at least, I thought so) and added a few more calories so my body wouldn't start hording. Last night, feeling particularly uncomfortable in my own skin, I realized I had gained 2 pounds on that total from May (meaning the 7 that I lost came back plus 2). I spent the evening being really mad at myself for not doing everything I could to lose this extra weight (yes, I'd been slacking off my exercises, but I've been more active on the weekends, so I guess I didn't find the happy medium I thought I had). And I know it's not muscle gain, because my clothes still don't fit.

I was ready to take in nothing but water for the next three days, but my cat purred me away from that crazy notion. I packed my food for the day as usual, and did a more rigorous exercise this morning. I'm still too tired to exercise when I get home from work, but I think I'm going to just have to deal with that to get rid of this extra weight.

Now, let me give you a scenario:

I say, "I want to lose weight. My clothes are no longer comfortable, and I feel uncomfortable in my skin."

My friend (pick one, because the only people who haven't given me this answer were my parents. And if you were one of the people who did say this, don't take it personally, you were not alone.) says, "I think you look fine."

Please tell me, how does that help? I've just told you that I feel uncomfortable and you say I look fine? The only thing that response is going to do is make me feel like my concerns are unimportant, which will make me more lethargic and depressed (which equals to, you guessed it, putting on more weight). Why can't you just say "I support you and I want you to be healthy and happy"? How hard is that? Don't add in your opinions of my appearance, I've already told you it's not about that, it's about how I feel. No wonder people in this country have such a hard time losing weight, they have no support!

Now that we've established that, remind me that I've been wanting to see a doctor about a few things. It will probably end up being several doctors, so I guess I should prepare a list!

Cheers!