And another post- less than a month between! I've been peeking in here more frequently, and I'll try to do so even more often. Nothing bad has happened in the interim, though going to MFF is still vaguely iffy. I have most the money needed, but I need to get registered and get the train tickets still... And another person in the room! I can do this. I had one person ask about it, but that was like... Pre-April, and I've not heard a word since.

Worst case I get floor-flop space, which would certainly be a cheaper option! Either way I plan to be there if it is at all possible.

Things proceed apace with Chris' attempts to get support benefits from the State and Feds, and I really can't judge the progress at this point- He did get the modern equivalent of food stamps, but I dunno how long that program lasts.

Other than that, the cats are fine. Well, other than Spaz being brain-damaged. So that's it for now!

My brother dropped off the snow blower tonight- he and dad rebuilt the carbuerator and cleaned everything out, so it should run fine now. He blew out the bit of the back that wasn't done and it didn't choke or stall once, so I have hopes! I also found out the gearing DOES work, so it'll be easier to get it around front if I need to.

In other news, I have tonight off! Woot! For my evening, I shall sit around and do very little, though I'll get the kitchen cleaned up some and maybe start packing up the paperbacks that currently form strange pillars and mounds in my room. ;)

As to the Xmas stuff, 2 1/2 still en route in the mail. At least none of them need to be here by the 24th! One or two should get here tomorrow at least.

The trackballs, scheduled to get her this coming Monday, also got here today. :)

I'm at the headquarters of my work for training. CPR/AED stuff. I have to have 6 hours of training a year, and as the CPR cert. expires yearly, that's what I get. I could take Verbal Judo (an utterly stupid course because they give ONE solution with very little in the way of variable situations) or Bloodbourne pathogens, or one or two other totally useless classes.

So, I'm here til 3:30. We started at 8:30, and we're on the lunch break. Thus, my net-presence.

At least this time I got sleep beforehand- I just hope it doesn't mess up my schedule like usual.

Stolen from joshuwain who got it from bigtig...

Grab the book nearest you. Right now.

* Turn to page 56.
* Find the fifth sentence.
* Post that sentence and these instructions.
* Don't dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST book.

Mine: Among flippant people, the Joke is always assumed to have been made. The Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis

Disclaimer: This could be the sixth sentence, as the page started with a sentence that began on the previous page.

First, David Carradine did NOT commit suicide according to the independent autopsy commissioned by the family; however, they didn't say if it was murder or accidental (i.e. autoerotic strangulation gone wrong).

Second, in news of the odd, Chastity Bono, daughter of Sonny and Cher, is having gender-reassignment surgery. ...Tell me again, WHY we needed to know this? O.o

Not a lot up, I go back to work tonight as my weekend is now almost over. The new laptop is real nice, and I'm using it a lot- pretty much like I did the old one, which is now fully charged once again. I know there's still a problem, but heck, as long as it runs I'm keeping it. :)

On Friday I deposited my Federal return check. $500 goes 'invisible' for emergencies, $1000 is set aside for the trip in November to Midwest Furfest, and the remaining bit goes to pay for the laptop. As of that, all but $200 is paid for, and part of that is the printer. :) $100 of THAT goes when the printer rebate arrives, and the last of it goes when the property tax rebate arrives. Yay!

I'm now watching ebay off and on for a copy of Adobe PS. I've stripped the copy of Photoshop 7 I had on this and the old laptop, as it seems well and truly fried. My pricerange for the new version is about $100 or so- WAY below the new cost, I know, but I've seen PS 2 and 3 in that range before.

Other than that, I paid bills, got groceries and picked up comics on Friday. That's sums up the unendurably exciting life I lead. Oh- Last week I put in for my birthday off as paid vacation- dunno what I'll do, but even just NOT BEING AT WORK will be nice.

Buh. nearly forgot- I picked up the soundtrack to Watchmen and the DVD of Desperaux too.

And THAT'S it. Really.

Lady is getting friendlier. I suspect she may start actually being out in the open at least around the upstairs roomies within a few weeks. Spaz is still sick, but his fever broke. Mostly he's just all stuffed up- rather a gruesome sound, but for the most part harmless. I think he'll be fine (aside from my paranoid fears) in a few days. As its prolly kennel cough, it lasts for a week or two and we're getting close to that.

On other things, the Sunday group had Traveller yesterday. We have a new player, named Ben. His character is Luke, a Lutrani- basically a human genemod species who possess otterlike aquatic alterations. He apparently has had other cybernetic mods as well. I should have the writeup done in the next week or so. Our next run is a month hence, as the GM is going to be out of town- it would also be Father's Day on the normal run-date.

I got the lawn mowed finally, too- After my mower broke I tried to borrow one from friends. They weren't home so I tried the rental place. It was closed. Then I just kinda gave up and ran out to the folks and swiped theirs. But its done for now. I'm contemplating the start of work on the outside of the house too in the near future... More fool I.

We'll start with Friday. Things went fine for the most part, with my getting most of the cleaning dine and the meatballs cooked, then I went to work at 10:30, due there at 11. Once there, I realized I'd not put the casserole full of meatballs and sauce in the fridge! A quick call home and that was taken care of by zxizaraxii. The night continues.

I go on my first round, and at the end I realized that I should probably check on the leak that'd been found the previous night; nobidy had bothered to say if it'd been fixed, after all. So I went up to the 26th floor. I got a little mixed up and went the wrong way, and SLAMMED into a glass partition that I couldn't see in the dim light! The keys dropped, the radio fell off my belt and my glasses went flying, and I ended up on the floor, on my knees moaning and holding my face!

It was shortly thereafter that I felt the blood flowing. Ack!

I cupped my hands, more worried about getting blood on the carpeting than anything else (only one drop there!) and hauled ass for a restroom, sans glasses (if I picked them up, I dropped the blood!) I couldn't find it immediately and left an almost horrific drippy bloodtrail as I searched! Eventually I found it, and cleaned up some- Ow. I got back to the scene, got the radio and other stuff called the cleaners and they got the blood. Thereafter I returned to the office, dazed and hurt but for the most part okay.

THAT was Friday.

Saturday, I had the Holiday Party. This went very well, I think. I got a nice amount of loot (mostly DVDs, yay!) and I think the food went over very well. I have leftovers! Of course, the Karma Lords weren't finished with me at all, oh no...

Sunday was quiet, and I should have taken this for an omen... Although unmentioned through all of this is that the insomnia is back again and my sleep schedule is WEIRD at best. Monday comes, and with it I have to go to a class for work, namely 'Verbal Judo'. Monday morning comes, and with it the DSL fails. Of course. I go online with the built-in phone modem on the laptop to at least chat.


Thereafter I get showered and such, get dressed and have a good hour for the 20 minute drive. I get together the trash to take out (wrapping paper, that kinda stuff), and run it down to the can. It goes in, I head back to the house. Now, this is in back of the house, in the alley. There is a stairway up to the back door, next to the garage. At the foot of this is where the downspout from the roof empties out. Anyway, I reach that corner, find some ice and slip! I windmill to not fall, and I don't- instead, I SLAM my hand into the gutter! Ouch. It looks horrible, but its just minor cuts and scrapes. I must have bruised my knee then too.

Anyway, I cuss and bitch, and after washing it off head to the class. It goes well, and I head home afterwards at about 3 PM. And I hear a squeaking at the front of the car, and more of a shudder to things than I'd like. So when I get home I crank the steering all the way over and see what I can see.

Well, on most cars the wheels are mounted on big springs for shock-absorption. The one over the front left wheel has dropped down onto the wheel, and thats the squeak- the baseplate rubbing on the tire! If everything wasn't wet, it would have heated and shredded the tire!

So, I talk to the folks, and have AAA tow the car out to them so dad can have a look, and that brings us to today. It isn't looking good for the car, and I dunno what'll come of this. I may have my brother's old Ford Taurus wagon, or I could just be totally fucked, or dad might pull a miracle out of his ass. I dunno.

Weirdly enough, I feel fine- Beats me why, with all this suckage. But in truth, I'm good. :)

Well, I finally dragged my ass out of bed around 10 AM. I took a shower, then called down to see if the buffet was still going. The front desk said yes, so I want down. Only to find out that it had closed at 10. Bleh. I ended up calling foeclan and then meeting up with him and joshuwain at the Woodfield Mall.

After a bit of browsing to help joshuwain on celphone-options, we ended up having a meal at Red Robin. Not bad, but I really wanted breakfast! After that we wandered back to the hotel and went our separate ways.

I decided to unload some more of my cookies after a while, and got a bunch together in a bag and distributed them amongst varied artists and convention staffers. Ha! Take THAT, no-signage hotel!

Anyway, whilst I did that I also went through the dealer's room, art show and artist's alley. First run through for the con, and I commissioned two sketches- one by DarkNatasha in the 'what happens next' sketchbook, starting a new series, and one in my 'Sorien' book. I think I'll keep it down to maybe four pics this year.

Later, I ended up hooking up with bluedeer and had dinner at Sbarros (yah, I know, not a great place- but it wasn't bad, either, and was VERY filling), wandered the mall some (got a set of four LED lights for 5 bucks from Radio Shack) and then returned to the hotel. Thereafter I kinda holed up in the room.

Later, morgantaur stopped by, having just arrived. We talked for a while, until joshuwain called to borrow my rescue inhaler.

I made that delivery, then returned to the room. Shortly thereafter bluedeer got back to the room with a friend, and we put in 'Ratatouille'. That's about it for the first day. :)