One of Those Nothing Days

Which works for me, because I won't have another until March-ish, and there's a festival in Cantha this weekend.

Don't be too confused, Cantha is a land in Guild Wars, and I need to spend today farming some Lunar Tokens so I can get prizes. I do have something to do tomorrow, but I'll still be able to attend one or two of the finale events. Weee!

When Morons Speak

When I came into work this morning, WAM was speaking with Adolf about how a 5% paycut isn't going to be that bad because it's just like what we were making before out last annual raise, and that she didn't understand why some people were making a big deal about it.

Sure, it won't be that bad for WAM, who is more than forty years old and still lives with her mother. It won't be that bad for Adolf either, who also still lives with his mother and younger brother. These people need to shut up.

If nothing has changed in your life since the last time you were at this salary, like it has not for these two, a paycut isn't a big deal. However, if things did change, like me moving out of my parents' home or LDS having a baby (and her unemployed partner having one too), a paycut of any size is a big deal.

I'm quite thankful that WAM didn't come to me with her point of view. I would have told her off, loudly. As I was listening to her, I was thinking of what I would have to say to make it very clear that she knows nothing about living. She knows nothing about the situation of others and needs to stop making judgments about people she knows nothing about.

I wish I didn't spend most of the morning angry about her insensitive and ignorant words. It's better now since the chances of her approaching me with that same topic are decreasing with every hour.

This Or A Pink Slip

We just got back from a meeting that was all about where OBC is now in the current economic crisis and what the company has to do to keep us afloat.

What they have to do is a 5% pay cut across the board, and no more 401k match. I'm still young, so I can deal without the match in my retirement plan for now, but I'm already struggling to keep bills paid.

And I can barely wrap my mind around poor LDS's situation. Her partner, henceforth called Sqwerl, is currently unemployed, and they have two babies. I worry about how my friends will make this work, even more than I worry about how I will.

But, it's either take a pay cut, or more lay-offs, and therefore no pay at all.

Not Too Bad

I was only fifteen minutes late in the ice, and that was just because it took longer to clear off my car than anticipated.

Some people took all day, or more hours than they really needed to. The ice wasn't bad, the main roads were clear, and if you moved slow enough, you could get to them without much trouble.

If I still lived with my parents, however, coming in to work today would not have been possible. I guess that's one of the prices I pay for living closer to work now. It would have been nice to have a day off.

Slip-Sliding

From my new desk, I can clearly see the turn-in for my office building. It started to snow in the early AM, but it's been so cold that nothing really melted, it's just been snow.

It's been light powdery snow which is deceptive. See, people will drive on that and notice that it's not so bad, until more and more people drive on that. That packs it down, and creates friction which melts the snow, but it's so cold that it freezes. Ta-da! Near-instant ice.

The little group by the windows where I am have been trying not to laugh too hard at the people who slide while trying to turn onto the drive.

Someone just came by to plow the drive, so hopefully that means it won't be too bad by the time we're all leaving. Though, no one has plowed the access road to the drive yet. Maybe it will be done by quitting time. Of course, that's also when the snow is supposed to turn to ice.

I just hope it doesn't mean I'll be stuck here all night!

Welcome the Ox

Happy New Year!

This little guy took me all day, but totalled about four hours of work. He is made from red yarn, red being a color of fortune, courage and happiness. May you have all those things in this new lunar year!

Bye Bye Tree

Phoenix and I took our holiday tree down today. We should have done it a while ago, really, but we liked it so much. The room got slightly re-arranged, the sewing machine got re-attached to the sewing table, and the punching bag got inflated. A fine way to spend a day.

Another Challenge

It was not in so many words, but I couldn't resist. I bought a book in the fall that has a pattern of this in it. My technique is very different than that of the author of this book, but I was able to use it as a guide. I give you: the great Cthulhu!


I didn't time the creation, but I'm pretty sure it was in the three hour ballpark. I used Simply Soft acrylic yarn in lime green, poly beads for weight, polyester fiberfill, and safety eyes. The beads make this not suitable to give to children, but I just made it for fun anyway.

So, other than stocking my store, what's next?!

I Must Admit

Moon told me that she sometimes buys yarn at Walmart. She doesn't like supporting that particular corporation, but must admit they have the best prices and a good selection.

Now, I hate that store. I rarely go into one that is not overly crowded and feels dirty and unorganized. The store in Daytona wasn't so bad. Some of them around here are better than what is near my parents house, but still filled with too many people and not feeling very clean.

I am slowly running out of the color that I use for my gnomes' faces. I've checked two Michael's, a Jo Ann's, and an AC Moore. It seems that they're just not selling it anymore. I needed to go to Target, and there is a Walmart right nearby. I decided to check for the color that I need, and surprising enough, they had tons of it. I must admit, the evil Walmart came through. And it seems it would be a good idea to check there first.

Sad, but true.

Value

Even though last week's threat turned out to be just that, it was still taken seriously as it should have been. Some coworkers reported that they were first told to shut down their computers, gather their belongings, and go outside. Those same coworkers were told almost right away to forget about shutting down the computers and just gather their things and go outside. My group was told to lock up, take what was important and go outside.

Truly, it seems like the fifteen minutes it took to evacuate the building was a long time. Even with our instructions, we filed out without urgency and, at least, without panic. WAM, who only grabbed her coat at first, commented that she didn't hear there would be a drill. I told her I didn't think it was a drill, and she rushed back to her desk to get her bag. Some people were not allowed to go to their desk even for their coats, let alone personal belongings. One of those people is pregnant, and many stood there on the coldest day of the year without coats so she could have theirs.

In our dilatory march to the cold top of the parking garage, people were talking about how strange it was that we were ordered to do so. More than a few had expressed relief at having remembered to take their car keys, cell phones, and iPods.

That strikes me as an odd value to put on an mp3 player. Our safety was threatened, but at least we had our music. One of my coworkers couldn't live without her book. One of my friends could live without her cell phone. I chose to take my purse (containing keys, wallet, and cell phone) and my craft bag. I almost left the craft bag; it's really not worth my life. However, it had things in it that I would have to replace if something really happened. I guess I was thinking that my soon-to-be store was like my livelihood (it won't be, I'm sure) and therefore related things are important. It wasn't hard to stuff my small purse into the craft bag so it wasn't a burden to bring it. Also, inside that bag was a thumb drive that had a story I've been working on in downtime on it. That was a lot of the importance of that bag. I've lost stories before and it sucks. Sucks isn't a big enough word for it.

Still, that was what had value. If we were told to leave any faster, I either would have picked it up first, or I would have left it. I do know it's not worth my life. Just as the crystal on my desk, or some of my favorite origami models, or my impressive rubber band ball, or even the fact that my iPod was safely in my purse didn't get a thought.

Maybe things would have been different if evacuating was a bit more urgent. There was a fire alarm that went off not too long ago. I remember failing to grab anything for that. That's also why I remembered my purse (with keys) this time. No matter what people brought with them, the ability to get away in expensive property was important across the board. I won't argue with that.

Even so, it's interesting how minds work sometimes.

Working

Miss Luna, in her very kittenish mind, has been waking me up in the wee hours of the morning for a while now. Sometimes she sleeps through the night, and sometimes she wakes up (and subsequently wants to wake me up) at 0200, 0300, 0400, etc. Mainly, she gets up on things and that puts her in reach of things to knock over that may break. Even more than her constant mewing, this is what bothers me the most when she gets up so early.

I've mostly taken to moving things and securing things so they don't make the annoying noise or aren't in her reach. This works well...until she finds something else to go after.

One of the most annoying things that I haven't secured is a tall black DVD stand. On the top shelf, I have a few knickknacks. She will climb onto the computer, making noise and pulling off the towel I have there to mask the lights of the router and modem, and then she will reach for the tower and the breakable figures I have upon it. Yesterday morning, she knocked off a clay figure into the trash can. Thankfully, the can was full of papers and things and cushioned the fall so it didn't break. That is when I decided to get a squirt gun and take my chances at getting the computer et al wet.

I wasn't feeling well yesterday, which I'm certain was due to the sleep deprivation I've been experiencing lately (and the donating of blood while sleep deprived, I've learned, is not exactly a good move). I was having a very hard time staying awake and finding things to distract myself into staying awake. LDS suggested going to the ASPCA website to find ways to curb Miss Luna's nocturnal activity.

This was a brilliant suggestion! The articles recommended giving her a big meal right before bed because she's likely to sleep after eating. Another idea is to play with her and wear her out. The third suggestion is ignoring her. When she wakes up and climbs on things and mews, she wants attention (and, possibly food) and even getting up to yell at her is attention.

So, taking all of these things to heart, I gave her a touch of food before bed (the real meal changes started today) and we played with the laser pointer and ball. Since moving things or securing things has worked in the past, I moved the black tower to where she can't get to the top shelf and replaced it with something that she can crawl on all she wants. There's still a tiny bit of adjusting I need to do to kitty-proof my room. The last step was to affirm that I would ignore her when she woke up in the night. I would not get up to yell at her, or kick her out, or try to gently calm her down. I would not get up to move something I may have forgotten, and I would not get up to pot the towel back on the computer.

She did wake up in the night. I heard her meowing. I heard her jump on the computer, and jump on the dresser and claw at a painting of mine, and jump back on the computer. I didn't move. I didn't roll over; I didn't even look at the clock. And, I didn't wake up again until my alarm went off.

This is encouraging! I understand it's a process. But, if I work at it with patience, just like I did when I first started taming my feral kitty, I will make her diurnal yet!

Evidence

By now, I'm sure you've heard that a certain electronics store is going out of business. I rarely went to Circuit City as it is, but there's one just down the road with a big "going out of business" sign on the window. Phoenix and I decided to go and see what they had to offer in their liquidation, everything-must-go sale.

They're not trying to get rid of things that badly; they're only offering 10-30% off, most of it is 10. They're apparently not allowed to negotiate, which is fine. However, if I pick up a game and the sticker on the front of that game indicates that the price is $29.99, I'm expecting to pay at least that. Imagine my surprise when the thing rang up at $35.99. I pointed out the sticker, the cashier called the manager, the manager said they have to go by what the computer says and it was probably an old sale price. What the fuck?

I gave five years of my life to retail. I know that the price that the customer sees, unless there is an expiration date affixed to it, is the price they pay. It wasn't a sale price, it was stuck on the box that was in the secure plastic thing. And there was an identical price tag on the other one on the shelf.

With service like that, no wonder they're going out of business. And I hope that idiot manager learns a little more about customer service before her next employment.

Good riddance, I say.

Service

That's what you're supposed to do today. If you're one of those lucky people who had the day off, you were supposed to spend it giving back to your community.

If you were like me and had to work (even though all the companies that service your business had off, so you really had nothing to do today), it's a little harder.

But, not impossible.

I gave blood. With the inauguration tomorrow, and therefore the major influx of tourists to the area, there is a need for all types of blood. It didn't strike me that this even was a holiday until I was sitting in the rest area eating some cookies and drinking some juice and listening to the radio they were playing. Then, it hit me that this was a perfectly fine way to commemorate this unique holiday.

I'm a little woozy; I've learned that enough food and extra water are great if you're going to give blood, but a good night's sleep would have helped too. I did the part that I could do today. What did you do? How do you serve the people sharing this world with you?

Long Weekend

Monty and I watched movies yesterday. That's all I can really say about that.

Today, Phoenix and I joined the ministry for a meet and greet at a local Unitarian Universalists church. It was nice, but I got in so late last night (really, early this morning) that I am just super beat. It's too early to go to bed now, though.

Maybe I'll get some crafting done and then go to bed.

For Today

I'm going to visit Monty today. We're going to watch some movies and talk and catch up since I haven't actually seen him since he helped me move in. I'm slightly apprehensive for reasons I won't go into here, but it should be fun anyway.

Musical Cubes

I've lost count of how many desks I've sat at since OBC moved to this building. For the xth time, I moved to a different desk. Thankfully, I'm still at a window, this time in the east which should provide good sun for my plant.

And, I need to stop here. I just made an amazing amount of typos and it's time to be done with typing.

A Follow-up

According to my sources, we (as in the office powers that be) have a Caller ID and were able to secure detailed call information about the call that gave us the threat. It's in the hands of the police right now. Ravynne thinks we should strip the person and tie them to the top of the parking garage for three hours before they get hauled off to a nice, climate-controlled cell. I couldn't agree more. We'll see how that goes.

We're All Fine Here Now Thank You

At 1030, we were told to grab our stuff and evacuate the building. There was no time to save work, shut down computers, or grab anything that was not necessary. Purses, bags, and coats got grabbed, and then the lot of us huddled in the cold on the top level of the parking garage.

After about twenty minutes, we were told that a bomb threat to the building had been called and they were taking it seriously. After another ten minutes, they said the police wanted a perimeter of three hundred feet, and the parking garage was not outside of that. We were told to go home (or go away) and call the disaster hotline at 1300 to see if we need to return to work.

The all-clear was given around 1230, though many of us didn't get the message until 1300 as we were instructed. So, back we went and here we are. They found no bomb and all it back to neat.

During the two hour break from work, I took LDS, her partner, and another coworker, Ravynne, back to my place. Ravynne lives very far away and her husband took off without her. I'm just a little closer than LDS, and it so happens that her partner was in the middle of a job interview at the time. So, they piled into my car and we hung out over pizza until we heard it was ok to come back to work.

It was actually a nice little break to the day.

In Tempore

I got to see godson #2 at lunch, I can't believe he's six months old today. And I got to meet godson #3, sleeping soundly all cute. And, I was reminded that godson #1 will turn nine years old this year. NINE!! How the hell did that happen?! Where did the time go?!

Monty and I were discussing this strange phenomena today. We tried, but failed, to avoid going over how many years the two of us have seen. I don't feel as old as I am. I understand such a feeling comes and goes, but I sure don't feel it right now.

That's a good sign. I think it means that many things are going right. Careful planning, things just working out, even things coming together to surprise you are good things. Those are the spices of life that keep you young, that keep you living. It's the way things should be. The paradox is that we would never recognize those good points if we didn't have any bad points. I know the meaning of bad times. More than many, I think. I'm happy to be in a good stretch right now.

Getting older be damned!

It's Shaped Like a Bat

Phoenix and I had to run out to the store this evening. We passed someone who was watching The Little Mermaid in the car. We searched satellite radio for a Disney music station and found not what we wanted. The next station up was a book reading. The next station up was an old Superman radio play. They even played the commercials!

In the story, Superman was missing and Batman and Robin were looking for him. They passed the bad guys in the Batmobile, and the bad guys talked about it. One guy knew the vehicle, one guy did not. When asked what the Batmobile was, the guy who knew answered, rapidly and in the deadest of deadpan, "It's Batman and Robin's special car. It's shaped like a bat."

We laughed for a mile.

Only Two Days

After my nothing-much weekend, I'm going home for a dental appointment. I'll be leaving here in a few minutes. The appointment is tomorrow, I took today off as well. The funny thing is, this feels like a mini-vacation.

Yes, I'm crazy! But, going to the dentist has never been a chore for me. My mother is off of work as well, so we're going to get some things done around the house when I get there later.

Maybe it's that I'm going to spend time with my mom. I do miss weekly shopping with her, so I think I'm really looking forward to this afternoon. I'd better get myself moving!

The Cold Moon

Another method of naming moons is based on the energy of the Esbat in question. These names may or may not repeat from year to year. It is by this system, which I take from the guidelines of 7th House, that I will name the moons this year.

I had an opportunity to join the Shadow Grove community for an Esbat on this day. I have only been to their Sabbat rituals, but I must admit that I did not plan to attend this Esbat. That ended up working well, as the hostess had to cancel.

I wear a protection amulet around my ankle. Every now and then, it will break and fall off. When a protection amulet breaks, it is said that it served its purpose, successfully protected you in some way, and needs to be replaced for the protection to continue. My amulet broke just last week. This was a perfect time for me to recast.

I gathered my materials and cast my circle. I make the amulet out of a single piece of white cotton cord, white being a color of purity and protection. Using only my fingers, I made a chain with the cord (it's just like a chain in crocheting, without the use of a hook). I then summoned my energy, filled it with images of shields and walls and strength and, one by one, tied nine knots in the cord. Nine, having always been a magickal number, is special and significant to me personally. When that was done, I charged my amulet with Reiki, and tied it about my ankle where it will remain until it breaks and a new one needs to be made.

I rarely need to recharge these, and one tends to last for years before I need to make another. I feel fortunate that I did not have to wait long for the next full moon to replace it.


In other news, Mercury went retrograde today, and will remain so until February first. Mercury is tied to communication and things moving forward smoothly. During the retrograde, you can expect to see miscommunications and interruptions. It is a good time to finish projects that you have already started, but not to start new ones. I hope you all fare well!

Stock

Not much happened today. I spent the day crafting and got a lot done. I'm almost where I want to be to open my shop. Pictures will be taken soon. Check out my craft blog for updates.

Lounging

I spent the day working on some projects, getting some groceries, and working on some more projects. Sounds like fun, right? Right!

And Now

A headache. It's ok, it's dulled quite a bit since I was at work. I think it's because I haven't drunk much water today. Though, it leaves me with not much to write about. Good night!

Can't Type

Yesterday, I hit that very special spot on my right elbow that is funny to everyone witnessing but not to you when you're experiencing it. I banged into the metal plate on the frame with such force that it jolted me to the wrist and sent me to the floor in tears. I must have hit it just right because my arm is all kind of pain from my fingers to my shoulder and neck.

Sweet ibuprofen, help me sleep.

What to Say

I had something to write about earlier, but I've forgotten it.

I could write about the scene I was working on today that took forty-five minutes to render only for me to discover something was not positioned correctly.

Or, how we told the management company to fix the leaks in the showers before we moved in, which they never did. One of my nobs broke today.

Still haven't remembered.

Yah...that's all I have for today!

Sometimes

Sometimes, I consider myself a writer. I have a multitude of stories in my head. I create new ones for things like TV shows that I enjoy as practice. It's one of my many hobbies. On occasion, I will write while at work on a notepad. It started out as something to do while on hold, as the system we use prevents us from doing other work while on hold.

This particular story that I've been working on is currently called my steampunk experiment, though, it's about as steampunk as Back to the Future (the third one, with the steam time machine at the very end). I started writing this story in a first person perspective. I don't do that very often, but it was helping me flesh out the fantasy world I had created. Whenever I write a first person perspective story, I always (always, always) get to a point where there is something I want the reader to know that the main character would not witness. So far, I've been able to work around that every time. The answers come when they're needed, I guess.

Yesterday, I finished the first part of this three-part story. It's still in the roughest of rough drafts stage, it is an experiment, after all, but I feel accomplished just the same. Lags in work are getting fewer, and I am grateful for it, but I've been re-inspired to fill those voids during my day with a little bit of story work. I think I will keep writing as I have been. I'm not yet ready to go back and smooth it out of the roughest of rough drafts stage. It will come. For now, the journey is half the fun.

I always get big dreams when I start a new story (this particular one has been in the works for almost a year). Usually, something new will come up and I won't actually finish writing it. This happens a lot, but it doesn't keep me from dreaming about new book scent coming from a volume with my name on it. And it doesn't stop me from dreaming about who I would want in the screenplay versions. Whether I ever publish something or not, writing keeps me creative. Today, I designed a cover for this tale. Since I don't have any of my digital images back on my website yet, I know you want to see it. Just for you, dear blog readers. May your dreams be filled with Zeppelins!

Issued Accepted Met

Somewhere, I challenged myself to make my own Peanut doll. Hopefully, Mr Dunham won't get mad at me for doing it. (Maybe it would help that I still plan to buy one if I ever can?)

I worried that I did not have the right colors, until I realized that I did. In the style of my Garden Gnomes (i.e. no arms), I bring you: Peanut, the amigurumi!

Peanut has a light yellow body and a purple head, tummy and feet. He is wearing one red shoe and has a small tuft of green hair on his head. I didn't time his creation, but it was probably three hours or thereabouts. So, Peanut fans, how did I do?

Sorry, folks, you will never see him in my shop (that is not yet open). I don't have the rights to sell Peanut (I try very hard to be mindful of copyright toes). But, that doesn't mean I can't draw inspiration, and challenge my skills as a crocheter, from the things around me, right? I'm proud of him, and of my ability to see something in my mind and make it happen in my yarn. It's a good feeling. My mother thinks I should send Jeff Dunham a picture. What do you think? I think he probably never expected one of his characters to go kawaii!

Trek to the Water

For the first time since I moved, I have remembered and been able to attend the Sunday brunch with the RenFaire group. It was fun. I bought a hat. Now, I'm watching a TV show on the computer.

Great Show

Truth be told, if you've seen a Jeff Dunham DVD, his shows are just like it. Of course, the DVDs are recorded from shows, so that's to be expected. Our seats were really too far away in the 10,000-seat arena to see much other than watching on the big screen behind him. One of my coworkers kindly told me, "this is just not supposed to be a learning experience!" I suppose what I learned at my first live ventriloquist performance was some tricks of showmanship.

But, he brought out our favorite friends. Walter said they did a good job decorating the gym, which is the literal truth for this arena.


Achmed sang Jingle Bombs from the newest DVD (which I still need to purchase, but I have seen it). It's a little odd. I heard about Achmed from Turtle before I saw Spark of Insanity, and I wasn't sure I would like him. Jeff has a great talent for being funny without being offensive (in my opinion). And, if he is offensive, he tends to exclude no one. Well, except for the tree-hugging pagans. It's only a matter of time, I think....


José Jalapeño (on a Stick) was having some lockjaw issues (stick malfunction?), but Jeff worked it out behind the lid of the case. It wouldn't be a Jeff Dunham show without him and Peanut. I need a Peanut doll. They are so hard to find! Every now and then, I'll check eBay. Peanut runs a good $200 or so. I wonder if Jeff would be upset with me if I made a Peanut amigurumi. Hmm... I think I challenged myself....


When we all thought it was done, Jeff came back with Bubba J. He confessed that it had been some time since they worked together and needed to read from some "notes." But, that didn't matter, because the audience knew that part of the act, and were helping Bubba J with his punchlines (even though Bubba J said he knew his lines). That was actually amazingly funny, and Jeff was a great sport about it.


My last picture is . . . my ticket! I had a little practice puppet with me; one of my friends did not know I was studying ventriloquism. I'm no where near performance capacity, but I know I will complete my lessons this year. And, hopefully, I will finish building my first puppet too. When Phoenix's boyfriend visited us in October, he brought me a monkey puppet. I haven't found her voice yet but I'm working on it. The contingency was that I need to not scare his little daughter with it, who was terrified of the gray fuzzy thing. I'm working on that, too!


It was a great night. The show ran longer than both Phoenix and I expected it to, but I think that's great. I can't say the show wasn't worth the price I paid for it. I do hope I'll get a chance to see him again. Oh, and to whatever company owns the rights to Lamb Chop's Play Along: how about some DVDs, please?? We have so little opportunity to watch great ventriloquists in action.

New Beginnings

Those of you who know me, or spend even a little time here, know that I am an artist. My artistic interests are many and varied, from digital art to music to dolls. A number of folks have asked when I plan to start selling the things that I make. The answer, my friendly blog readers, is soon!

Back in my days as a Mary Kay Independent Beauty Consultant, one very important point was drilled into my head. It is just one part of a great business model that I took to heart and have never forgotten. I have offered it to shopkeepers asking for opinions, to friends when they ask why I don't have a shop of my own, and it is at the front of my mind when I am shopping myself. I know you want to hear it, and I want to tell it to you.

"You can't sell from an empty wagon."

As a consumer, and we all are, I know this is true. It is something that I often sum up simply in the phrase "instant gratification." If I buy something, I want it now. I want to see what my money got me, put the thing to use, know I have what I wanted or needed. Some waiting is allowed for things like shipping, but if I have to wait for things like building or making, I will likely go some other place. If what is in the store is simply an idea, that is not something I am likely to buy. So, my shop needs inventory.

Over the course of the next month or so, I will be making inventory. I have great ideas for what will be offered in my shop, but to keep the starting out simple, I will have only four categories. Four items among two of them are already completed, and one will be finished before the week is out. That's a good start, isn't it?

You already know most of what will be found in my store. And, if you missed it, click the label "crafts" and see what I've been up to. As of today, that label will get its own blog, http://fyrecreeksbazaar.blogspot.com/ and I hope you will come often to get information about my products and see what's new in the shop, once the shop arrives. A website devoted to this endeavor will be coming to the interwebs soon as well.

In other news, Jeff Dunham is going to be at the Patriot Center this evening. Phoenix and I and a few of our friends have tickets! As a student of ventriloquism, I am very excited to see a live performer. I've seen puppeteers who are not ventriloquists, and many TV shows and DVDs, and I know much about the art from my own studies. But, nothing compares to being able to see a professional ventriloquist in action. I am very excited!

Gregorian New Year!

Happy New Year! Welcome, 2009! It's amazing how time flies, isn't it?

I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe holiday.

As is my tradition, I set out my annual tarot reading that I will now share with you.

January will be filled with artistic endeavors. An artist will be in the present, and I have a strong feeling that artist is me.
February is a triumphant return. I will see my desires realized, the results of efforts I have put forth.
In March, I need to be careful with money, paying particular attention to not missing any bills. In this day and age, that gets more and more likely.
April will be a time to slow down, lest I rush at whatever I am trying to do.
May will see many losses, but there will be a bright side if I know where to look.
In June, I will be looking at success after hardship. My destination is in sight.
July will see an achievement of goals.
But August will be a time when I am out of balance and frustrated.
September will see a project end, but not finished.
I need to be careful and pay attention in October.
In November, things will look up, but slowly and gradually, the way they are meant to.
December will bring me a resolution and a compromise.
Over all for the year, I'm looking at much meditation and reflection, and I need to accept help when it is offered.

Most people have ups and downs in their lives. If this reading comes exactly to pass (which they rarely do), this is no different than any other day-to-day. I am planning to open a web store in the coming year, and I know I will be crocheting my fingers off this month to plan for it. Maybe it will be ready in February, maybe July. I realize that opening any kind of shop in this economy is pretty silly. I think I'm going about it in a safe way, but I'll have to save the details for when things are ready. The end of the year will be tough, but it looks like it will turn out ok.

Hello 2009!

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone who partied had a fun and safe time. I hope everyone who didn't party was content doing whatever it was you were doing.

Phoenix and I went to our friend's home in Manassas. There was food and friends and no ball dropping at midnight. Instead, we watched the Death Star explode. It was grand. Then, we danced among the trees in the cold first hour of 2009 while making lots of noise.

Phoenix's boyfriend arrived a couple nights ago, he moved here from Idaho. His holiday gift from our friends was a t-shirt that reads: "God Bless America. Except Idaho. Fuck Idaho." Hear, here! I need one!