Ugh.

Do not go gentle into that good night
Old age should burn and rave at close of day
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

HA!

I'm beat. Been a slave for animals of the two legged and four legged persuasion for 12 hours straight, including over lunch. Adding getting ready this morning (more slaving - 4 legged), it's about 14 on my feet and running. This is the first time I've had to myself all day.

Taking care of the cats of some neighbors while they're out of town. They (the cats) are runners, so I've got a contraption set up in front of the door so they at least have to leap before they can get out. It looks ridiculous, but has worked so far. They (the neighbors) are... interesting... *sigh* I'm calling it my corporeal work of mercy. Sometimes spiritual. Depending. Anyway, they're nice cats, and it's fairly little fuss. Just time. Between that and feeding and changing the litter of my own two, it's been a long day.

Very late at work tonight. About 4 hours overtime. 'Cepting I don't get paid overtime. Anyway. I just couldn't get anything to work. Printed some stuff and it took me an hour to get it, between the printer being out of paper and people needing me. Couldn't get the laptop to work, then couldn't get the wireless to work. Couldn't eat, drink, hit the restroom due to people asking questions, needing to speak with me, etc. Man. Luckily I was able to leave 2 hours earlier than I was supposed to. My colleagues are there as we speak. Something to be said for exchange time.

Blathering

So the 40th Anniversary Party From Hades was last night. It went extremely well. I will be eating roast beef and turkey sandwiches until sometime in April 2013, but it went well. Everyone RSVPed except two of my cousins - one who I knew wouldn't come as they live several thousand miles from here, and one who I knew wouldn't come as that's the way things have been lately. I was mightily pooped today. Went to bed finally somewhere between 12:30 and 1. The folks came over today and we ate up some more of the leftovers and I sent them home with quite a few as well. So it was good.

Also took a few to update my 101 goals list. I need to get moving as I should really be at a 1 per 10 days pace. Have been slowly working on one or two but need to knock more off. Am going to start memorizing poems, I think. Can do those fairly fast...

Nothingness, really

More proof that people have no clue - I now know everything about the spat a neighbor of mine is having with her boyfriend, as does everyone else on the block. Don't have your phone conversations on the deck in a courtyard at 10 p.m., honey. And many of us would appreciate it if you'd stop dropping the f-bomb every other word.

I'm not so fond of sports in general, but the recent US Open was astounding. Wow. Occasionally, I get a glimpse of why people obsess over these things... Baseball, however, is an exception. Am heading to a game tomorrow and apparently the tickets are to the point I'd be bringing my glove if I had any idea where it was. Can't wait for the dog. Yummers.

Today was a tad entertaining. After work met a friend for coffee that I rarely get to see and then went to M's for dinner, so that was cool. M and I have decided we need to be on a diet kick, so that'll be a blast, I'm sure. Hate that crap. But.

Work today and tomorrow will be joyous - putting a bunch of data together for the Board. I spent much of today crunching numbers, which sure as heck ain't my favorite. Interesting, the data. But the number crunching part sucks. But again, it's a job. I can pay rent and buy cat food.

Flooding is bad for many of my friends. We've been lucky - nothing here. My former apartment is underwater at least a little bit - can't quite tell from the photos. My decision to move is looking better and better...

Nothing to say, really, just figured I should update. Best hit the sack. Morning has come a little too early these past few.

Not much new

Not much new; it's nice outside for a change but I gather it's supposed to rain again this afternoon. Rain, rain, rain. But we haven't had problems with flooding as opposed to a fair amount of the surrounding terrain, so I need to just shut up.

Glad it's nice so far as it's Trench today and it sucks when Trench weather isn't up to snuff. There's likely to be Wii later tonight as well, which is always good for a laugh or two.

Spent a fair bit of time at work this past week, mainly doing training and going over test results. Not terribly exciting, but I got paid, which is always good. My colleagues were entertaining, which is also a plus. Learned a fair bit in a technology training session and got some ideas about some stuff I can do for an organization that I'm a board member of, so that was worthwhile. That and our trainer was terribly entertaining.

M and I got pedicures this past week, which was a good time. We had them done at a cosmology school, which makes the price a bit more within reach. We meandered around the mall for a while as well. Nice sale at Bath and Body Works.

Heading to a ball game on Tuesday, which will be fun although I'm sure they'll lose. Been that kind of season. Haven't hung out with that group of friends in a while, though, so it will be a good time. Headed on a road trip a few days later to visit a college roommate. Going to be a total girl thing, which will be a good time.

Best get moving so I'm not too late to Trench...

Opportunity Costs

I'm dying, here.

I haven't yet seen this evening's episode of The Office. I can't read any fanfic, can't go on any message boards, can't do anything.

Granted, the trade-off was a good one - I ended up over at K's with T and H for dinner, drinks, conversation, and a viewing of Gone Baby Gone, which I hadn't seen. Darn fine flick. Been a while since I read the book as well - the book is incredible, terribly complex and terribly hard to read. Lehane's books are just wrenching. No good really comes out in the end, for anyone. Dark. Oh, so dark. But good.

Upshot of all this is, I'm too tired and too wound from the movie to watch my tape of The Office. So to bed for me. Dangit.

Did finish applying for my own job this afternoon. So that's done.

'Kay... really need to go to bed now.

After I find those Lehane books on my shelf. Now where did they go...

Update for D...

...who is likely the only person who reads this.

*grin*

Let's see... what's new around here? Just my typical social butterfly weekend: Am going out to dinner tonight to some new place with an old friend. That'll be fun. Tomorrow am heading to B&Cs new place for dinner and cards, not that I know where they live. Best get on that. Need to do some hard core cleaning as might have something for work at my house Monday night. Cat peed on my sweatshirt again, so I'm thinking the litter needs to be on the list.

Have big stuff for work next weekend and need to make sure I'm ready for that as well... it's one of those projects where I'm sure I've forgotten something and that's what's making me crazy - that I can't recall what I've forgotten.

Speaking of work, it's been a bit rough lately. A HUGE reduction in force is coming. My building alone is losing somewhere around 29%. I'm quite likely to be on that list. Can't say as I'm so pumped about that. Rumors are flying - got a call last night from a colleague who was pretty irate that she was told her job would be changing. Used quite colorful language. One hopes she'll be OK. One hopes we'll all be OK. But it's not going to happen. Best case scenario: I'll still be there and my job will change. Much more likely: do you want fries with that?

There's not a ton that can be done about it. We don't have as much money coming in, costs have to be cut. That's simple economics. What pisses me off is that my department seems to be getting hit the hardest. Hard to tell how much of that is perception and how much is The Truth. It's also a bit rough that I work my butt off, am good at my job, am well liked, my bosses want to keep me, but I am likely to get cut anyway. Seniority hurts sometimes.

Have been thinking on how to make economies myself. Smaller apartment, no garage, cut out internet, no home phone and just keep the cell. But I don't want to do any of that. Shop more at Goodwill and consignment, which I tend to do anyway. Car is almost paid for, which is nice. Had a haircut today - which costs and arm and two legs, every 6-8 weeks. My cosmetologist said to let her know, and she and I can talk about how we can make things cheaper. I promised her I'd never fall in with evil companions and go to Great Clips. She laughed and said she'd hunt me down if I did.

Funny how a tiny little thing like that can make me feel better.

Anyway. That's depressing. What else...

Changed my computer wallpaper to a picture of my cats. Can't "p" again. Need to replace this keyboard but am too cheap, especially now. They're changing the carpeting in the hallways of my apartment building so my whole apartment smells like glue. The cats are going to get high pretty soon, unless they are already - L is already attempting to modify my post with her attention to the mouse and the keyboard. Already deleted several sentences; yay for the inventor of "undo." Designed a card for the selling crafts stuff thing I've been toying with. Dunno how serious I am about any of this but it's an exercise. Don't like the look of them but not sure what's bugging me. They look amateurish. paper is decent; maybe it's how they're cut. Idunno.

Went to the big jugglefest last weekend and got closer to learning to juggle. That's just about the best people watching on earth. Anything that includes combat juggling and unicycle hockey is bound to be good. I even got up on a unicycle myself and with C's help managed to get at least a half turn of the wheel before I fell off. Good times. And J didn't knock himself in a particularly sensitive place so hard he fell over and curled into a fetal position, like what happened last time I went. Life is good.

Enough babbling for now, doncha think? I'd best pet the cat and distract her before things really get out of hand...

My entire body hurts.

Dancing like a maniac for 3 1/2 hours followed by sitting in a car much of the next day will do that to you.

Why, oh why do I insist on doing the Pony so vertically? Why do I have to hop on the Electric Slide turn? Why didn't I take off my 3" heels before the returned soldier dragged me out on the floor? Why did I wear those heels in the first place?

I have blisters on my toes, my calves have seized up, my back cracks every time I move. This had better be over by tomorrow morning.

I have to say, though. I've been to loads of weddings. Likely in the hundreds, somewhere. And this has to be about the best one I've ever been at. Well, it may be #2, as seeing a bride breathing fire in her wedding dress is probably never going to be beaten.

It was just perfect. Casual, on the lake at sunset, and them.

So many people seem to have this image in their head of what The Ideal Wedding must be. White dress, matching bridesmaids, fancy flowers, white tablecloths. Tuxes and suits, satin and heels dyed to match. The ever-present Canon. Oh, how I hate that thing.

The only person in anything remotely like a tux was the groom, who left off the suit coat portion. The 7 month old son of the couple dropped the ring box in the grass. The bride giggled when she read her vows, stumbling a bit over the words she wrote. The groom sang his vows, to a tune he wrote and with the accompaniment of his guitar that his buddy forgot to tune before the ceremony. We stood out in the grass and watched them gaze into each other's eyes. At least one onlooker was holding a beer.

We all cried.

It's a second wedding for them both. None too elaborate, none too fancy, none too ornate. They both had been there, done that. Realized they'd made a mistake. Now that they'd finally found who they were meant to be with, this time was for them, to fit who they really were and not who they presumed they should be.

Perfect.

Tomorrow should prove to be an interesting day. I'm headed 'cross the border again to That Town. Friend getting married. Staying in a hotel for jah's sake, a cheezy Super 8, in the town I lived in for ten years of my life.

It's like I'm on Life Part IV:
I) Childhood
II) College
III) First job
IV) Second job, i.e. now

So weird. Parts 2 and 4 intersected at the end of July; parts 3 and 4 will intersect this weekend.

Parts 1 and 4 collide all the time. It's like I'm four different people, but I'm not.

So weird.

Wedding should be a good time, though. It's a couple of former co-workers and they're both really great people. They're getting hitched on the beach at sunset, and I'm sure it's going to be just beautiful. It's likely to be a hell of a party. They know fun people, and I've more than once closed a place down while in their company. I'm also hoping to see loads of former co-workers. I miss that place sometimes. The feeling of family. I've yet to find that here, with work, at least. But I can consider my two closest co-workers friends, I think, and that's a good start.

I got pooped on today.

How, you may ask, is that different from any other day? Ah, because I was pooped on with real poop instead of metaphorical poop. Pea green baby poop, to be precise, all over my left leg. Thankfully, the leg was covered with pants at the time, but it was a small comfort. This after the same child grabbed the front of my shirt and pulled it forward to look down. And I'd never even met him before! Kids these days. Just too precocious.

Tomorrow morning I have to be at the folks' at 7:30 for the trip up north for the family reunion. Will be nice to see the fam, but not nice that early in the a.m. on a Saturday. Eesh.