Wednesday, December 31, 2003
AAAaaarrrggghh!
Will this work day never end?!?!
I feel like ass, and would *so* rather be home taking a nap with the kittens, in preparation for a wonderfully fun night out.
Two more hours... just two more hours... I can do this... Concentrate, Young Grasshopper.
I feel like ass, and would *so* rather be home taking a nap with the kittens, in preparation for a wonderfully fun night out.
Two more hours... just two more hours... I can do this... Concentrate, Young Grasshopper.
Tuesday, December 30, 2003
Old friends, good times
Last night The Will and Casey Bosley Show, Featuring Moya Rose stopped through town for a bite to eat on it's way to south Florida. It was great seeing these friends who left G'ville three or so years ago! And I'm looking forward to seeing them again on Thursday on their way back north.
Looking around the table last night, it was interesting to note the turns that our lives have taken since the last time The Show lived in town. Back when it was just Will and Casey, no Moya. Charlie and Marcy had just started dating, and gawd knows their marriage and family were one of the last things we expected then. So C&I hadn't even met yet, and I will still having all kinds of fun being a single gal, trying to get her motorcycle fixed. But Chris had juggled with Will on campus once. So *they* knew each other, but only a bit.
Moya was definitely the hit of the gathering last night. She's not even two, but uses pretty big words clearly and effectively. For instance, when Jack got ahold of one of her toys she plainly stated, 'He has my alligator.' Just like that. The child said ALLIGATOR! Crazy smart this kid is. And fun. She tried to give me a booger to eat. I politely refused, but it's the *thought* that counts, you know?
Looking around the table last night, it was interesting to note the turns that our lives have taken since the last time The Show lived in town. Back when it was just Will and Casey, no Moya. Charlie and Marcy had just started dating, and gawd knows their marriage and family were one of the last things we expected then. So C&I hadn't even met yet, and I will still having all kinds of fun being a single gal, trying to get her motorcycle fixed. But Chris had juggled with Will on campus once. So *they* knew each other, but only a bit.
Moya was definitely the hit of the gathering last night. She's not even two, but uses pretty big words clearly and effectively. For instance, when Jack got ahold of one of her toys she plainly stated, 'He has my alligator.' Just like that. The child said ALLIGATOR! Crazy smart this kid is. And fun. She tried to give me a booger to eat. I politely refused, but it's the *thought* that counts, you know?
Monday, December 29, 2003
AT MY WEDDING!
I am happy to annouce the arrival of your next bookmarked blog: At My Wedding, by Sharon and Chris. Many thanks to Lorena for the suggested url! Check it out, don't barf, and try to enjoy yourself.
Saturday, December 27, 2003
It's *still* the weekend!
Now that yesterday is over with, I realize that I was right: working for a day in the middle of my x-mas 'break' didn't put much of a dent in my weekend. It was kind of like having two weekends back to back. Nice.
Today C&I will go to the bank and open a joint savings account. I'm ok with that. I haven't combined funds with another person since 1988. Not because I want my independence (Which I do, of course, but not necessarily monetarily). Not because it's *my* money that *I* earned and *you* aren't getting your slimy little hands on it (Which it is, and I did, and you won't, but that's a different point altogether). It's because I've seen no reason to do such a thing. I've shared rent and electric bills with more boyfriends than I care to count right now, and we pretty much split things down the middle with little to no fuss. That's what C&I do now. But as of Thanksgiving day, we have this one huge combined savings goal: OUR WEDDING EVENT (Coming soon to a url near you!). We figure the whole savings thing will be made easier if we directly deposit a certain amount from each of our paychecks each pay period into one lil ole savings account from which we can only pull from for wedding related items or events.
How do I feel about this fiscal merger? Hrm. I think it just makes me feel closer to my fiancè. I'm not necessarily excited. Nor do I feel less of a woman. But I do feel that it makes us closer partners. On paper, anyway. And I like that.
Today C&I will go to the bank and open a joint savings account. I'm ok with that. I haven't combined funds with another person since 1988. Not because I want my independence (Which I do, of course, but not necessarily monetarily). Not because it's *my* money that *I* earned and *you* aren't getting your slimy little hands on it (Which it is, and I did, and you won't, but that's a different point altogether). It's because I've seen no reason to do such a thing. I've shared rent and electric bills with more boyfriends than I care to count right now, and we pretty much split things down the middle with little to no fuss. That's what C&I do now. But as of Thanksgiving day, we have this one huge combined savings goal: OUR WEDDING EVENT (Coming soon to a url near you!). We figure the whole savings thing will be made easier if we directly deposit a certain amount from each of our paychecks each pay period into one lil ole savings account from which we can only pull from for wedding related items or events.
How do I feel about this fiscal merger? Hrm. I think it just makes me feel closer to my fiancè. I'm not necessarily excited. Nor do I feel less of a woman. But I do feel that it makes us closer partners. On paper, anyway. And I like that.
Friday, December 26, 2003
Ugh.
Working the day after x-mas, when x-mas is a Thursday, just frelling sucks. But I'm making the best of it.
Wonderful Man was sweet enough to get up with me at 5:45 and see me off to G'ville at 6:15, Sheena loaded to the max with gifties. It was a freezing drive, what with the car having no heat, but I cuddled up with the down half comforter that C's mom got me for x-mas. She drew my name for the gift exchange, and I'm a happy camper for that!
One thing I like about driving out of Jacksonville before dawn is the beautiful view of downtown from the Matthew's Bridge. The lights are happy and twinkling, and you can tell the city hasn't had it's morning cup of joe yet. It's awake, but sleepy, and it's eyes are bright with the day's prospects. This morning I was able to drive straight through to I-95 without having to stop for even one red light.
The drive down 121 was made especially neat by the frost on the fields and roadside grass. The few cows that I passed had clouds around their heads from exhaling air heated by their lungs. It was all kind of West Virginia-y. And it was nice to hear nothing but a tiny car engine for nearly two hours. It gets pretty loud at the future mum-in-law's with all the kids, their spouses, grandkids, cousins, television, hovercraft, etc. I love them each and every one, but it's refreshing to get away from it all after a couple of days.
Anyhoo, I'll put in a couple of hours here at the office, then head to J&L's for my favorite lunch treat: Hot dogs and mac 'n' cheese! Woo hoo! Work a few more hours, stop by the house, stop by to see Button and Thimble (Who was unusually *nice* to me the last time I dropped by!), and back to Jax to start drinking and playing again. It will be a nice weekend, and it will seem longer for having yesterday off.
Wonderful Man was sweet enough to get up with me at 5:45 and see me off to G'ville at 6:15, Sheena loaded to the max with gifties. It was a freezing drive, what with the car having no heat, but I cuddled up with the down half comforter that C's mom got me for x-mas. She drew my name for the gift exchange, and I'm a happy camper for that!
One thing I like about driving out of Jacksonville before dawn is the beautiful view of downtown from the Matthew's Bridge. The lights are happy and twinkling, and you can tell the city hasn't had it's morning cup of joe yet. It's awake, but sleepy, and it's eyes are bright with the day's prospects. This morning I was able to drive straight through to I-95 without having to stop for even one red light.
The drive down 121 was made especially neat by the frost on the fields and roadside grass. The few cows that I passed had clouds around their heads from exhaling air heated by their lungs. It was all kind of West Virginia-y. And it was nice to hear nothing but a tiny car engine for nearly two hours. It gets pretty loud at the future mum-in-law's with all the kids, their spouses, grandkids, cousins, television, hovercraft, etc. I love them each and every one, but it's refreshing to get away from it all after a couple of days.
Anyhoo, I'll put in a couple of hours here at the office, then head to J&L's for my favorite lunch treat: Hot dogs and mac 'n' cheese! Woo hoo! Work a few more hours, stop by the house, stop by to see Button and Thimble (Who was unusually *nice* to me the last time I dropped by!), and back to Jax to start drinking and playing again. It will be a nice weekend, and it will seem longer for having yesterday off.
Thursday, December 25, 2003
Merry X-mas!
Yesterday I worked a half day. When I got home, Chris (Who didn't have to work.) had the house all clean, the laundry done, mac 'n' cheese in the oven, and (This is amazing) the cat boxes cleaned. Not just scooped, but *cleaned*! Talk about a wonderful start to my x-mas! We spent the afternoon lounging at J&L's house with a handful or two of wonderful friends, drinking drinkies, talking and laughing, and bathing in the aromatics of a kitchen in full swing. I had a delicious meal of carbs, carbs, carbs! And plenty of Laura's delicious cranberry salad too!
Then off to the big city of Jacksonville to spend the brunt of the holiday with C's (And soon to be my!) family. We did a Chinese gift exchange that ended up being great fun! I hope we do that again next year. Some of the gag gifts were hysterical, and Miguel, bless his little Phillipino heart, 'stole' my bottle of wine just to fuck with me, only to give it back to me at the end of the night. We played with our toys and Chris and his mom started making breakfast for this morning.
I awoke at daybreak next to the most wonderful man in the world, as he kissed my cheek and wished me a Merry Christmas. As I sit here sipping my Bailey's and coffee, listening to others in the house begin to wake up, I realize that this is what makes Christmas truly special to me: to be a part of a wonderful, loving family who accepted me from the very beginning just as I am; to be a partner in a mutually respectful relationship where we don't keep score of who has done more chores this week than the other has; to have a large group of friends who are as generous with their time and love as they are with their alcohol.
Merry Christmas, Everyone, and holiday kisses to you all! I hope that your day is as good as mine will be!
Then off to the big city of Jacksonville to spend the brunt of the holiday with C's (And soon to be my!) family. We did a Chinese gift exchange that ended up being great fun! I hope we do that again next year. Some of the gag gifts were hysterical, and Miguel, bless his little Phillipino heart, 'stole' my bottle of wine just to fuck with me, only to give it back to me at the end of the night. We played with our toys and Chris and his mom started making breakfast for this morning.
I awoke at daybreak next to the most wonderful man in the world, as he kissed my cheek and wished me a Merry Christmas. As I sit here sipping my Bailey's and coffee, listening to others in the house begin to wake up, I realize that this is what makes Christmas truly special to me: to be a part of a wonderful, loving family who accepted me from the very beginning just as I am; to be a partner in a mutually respectful relationship where we don't keep score of who has done more chores this week than the other has; to have a large group of friends who are as generous with their time and love as they are with their alcohol.
Merry Christmas, Everyone, and holiday kisses to you all! I hope that your day is as good as mine will be!
Sunday, December 21, 2003
It wasn't so bad!
The shopping, I mean. It wasn't bad at all! HotTopic was the most crowded store, and it was really very hot in there, but other than that C&I didn't get too uncomfortable doing all of our x-mas shopping the weekend before the holiday. We knew it would tend to be a bit stressful, so we psyched each other up before we left, pledging not to freak out if either of us got a tad cranky. That worked pretty well, and we made it through all of our shopping with only one small outburst from me.
Today I don't have any plans. C&I had breakfast at our usual spot. Apparently the heat isn't quite functional there, so we nearly froze to death, but that just made us more grateful for the hot coffee. I think I'll do some laundry today, and straighten up the bedroom and bath. Probably head back out to do some shopping for Chris' gifts. Watch a movie or something. Get a start on the wedding site/blog. Call the 'rents and Katie and Laura. A nice, casual, winter day in my toasty warm house!
Today I don't have any plans. C&I had breakfast at our usual spot. Apparently the heat isn't quite functional there, so we nearly froze to death, but that just made us more grateful for the hot coffee. I think I'll do some laundry today, and straighten up the bedroom and bath. Probably head back out to do some shopping for Chris' gifts. Watch a movie or something. Get a start on the wedding site/blog. Call the 'rents and Katie and Laura. A nice, casual, winter day in my toasty warm house!
Saturday, December 20, 2003
Another weekend
Last night was my company holiday dinner, and what great fun it was! Open menu and open bar at Napalatano's. The only previous time that Chris had been there was for Charlie and Marcy's rehearsal dinner. That was the night before we met!
We ate a ton (I highly recommend the buffalo shrimp), drank a swimming pool's worth of booze, and opened our Secret Santa gifts. But some folks left before they got to hear me sing karaoke! Yes, Friday nights are karaoke nights at Nap's, and my co-workers succeeded in getting me on stage. I mean, if your boss gets the waitresses (One of whom sang a sexy line of two of a Lords of Acid song for me!) to tell the djs to skip all the other folks in line so that you can do your little No Doubt song, what else are you going to do? It was pretty bad, though. I'm a decent singer, and I *like* to sing, but my throat was dry and scratchy from the drinking, and the song was keyed too high for me. But my colleagues were just impressed that I had the balls to do it.
Today brings x-mas shopping. *All* of the x-mas shopping. C&I were waiting to get our bonus checks before doing much gifting since we're still paying off my wedding/engagement rings. It's going to be hell out there, but we'll have fun, spending left and right for things to make our friends and family smile. We've got a good list, and know our plan of attack, so we're starting off on the right foot. Wish us luck out there!
We ate a ton (I highly recommend the buffalo shrimp), drank a swimming pool's worth of booze, and opened our Secret Santa gifts. But some folks left before they got to hear me sing karaoke! Yes, Friday nights are karaoke nights at Nap's, and my co-workers succeeded in getting me on stage. I mean, if your boss gets the waitresses (One of whom sang a sexy line of two of a Lords of Acid song for me!) to tell the djs to skip all the other folks in line so that you can do your little No Doubt song, what else are you going to do? It was pretty bad, though. I'm a decent singer, and I *like* to sing, but my throat was dry and scratchy from the drinking, and the song was keyed too high for me. But my colleagues were just impressed that I had the balls to do it.
Today brings x-mas shopping. *All* of the x-mas shopping. C&I were waiting to get our bonus checks before doing much gifting since we're still paying off my wedding/engagement rings. It's going to be hell out there, but we'll have fun, spending left and right for things to make our friends and family smile. We've got a good list, and know our plan of attack, so we're starting off on the right foot. Wish us luck out there!
Saturday, December 13, 2003
Wow. What a weekend.
And it's only Saturday!
Last night brought peals of laughter and great fun at Kellyoake night. If you missed it last night, you *must* join us next time. Nearly everybody sang, especially after they had a couple of Kelly's high octane drinks.
This morning brought quite a hangover, and I doubt if I am speaking only for myself on that front. Laura and I successfully poured a green man today. I must say that I think we did a pretty damn good job, especially since it was our first unsupervised pouring. I think I'll take advantage of Lorena's graciousness of letting me borrow her supplies by pouring another one tomorrow. I'll do that after breakfast and before the holiday party at the real life Land of Snark. Now I must play SimCity until I fall asleep at the keyboard!
Last night brought peals of laughter and great fun at Kellyoake night. If you missed it last night, you *must* join us next time. Nearly everybody sang, especially after they had a couple of Kelly's high octane drinks.
This morning brought quite a hangover, and I doubt if I am speaking only for myself on that front. Laura and I successfully poured a green man today. I must say that I think we did a pretty damn good job, especially since it was our first unsupervised pouring. I think I'll take advantage of Lorena's graciousness of letting me borrow her supplies by pouring another one tomorrow. I'll do that after breakfast and before the holiday party at the real life Land of Snark. Now I must play SimCity until I fall asleep at the keyboard!
Tuesday, December 09, 2003
I haven't lost my touch
I'm thrilled to have my home pc up and running again! So thrilled that I downloaded, for the low low price of 9.95, a handful of classic Atari games including Centipede, Missile Command, Tempest, and Pong.
The Centipede screen looks just like it did on the stand up machine that stood in the lobby of the Murphy Mart in Kingwood, WV. Playing this game again, hearing the sounds especially, gives me vivid memories of hanging out with Barbie Helm and playing Centipede and Donkey Kong as long as we dared to before I was due home. Attempting to beat each others high score, and hoping a cute boy would come by and ask us to play a two player game with him.
Hey, a cute boy just came by and handed me his trackball mouse, hoping to make my Centipede experience all the more realistic! I think I'll hook that puppy up and beat my own high score for the evening!
The Centipede screen looks just like it did on the stand up machine that stood in the lobby of the Murphy Mart in Kingwood, WV. Playing this game again, hearing the sounds especially, gives me vivid memories of hanging out with Barbie Helm and playing Centipede and Donkey Kong as long as we dared to before I was due home. Attempting to beat each others high score, and hoping a cute boy would come by and ask us to play a two player game with him.
Hey, a cute boy just came by and handed me his trackball mouse, hoping to make my Centipede experience all the more realistic! I think I'll hook that puppy up and beat my own high score for the evening!
Another Brick in the Wall
Tuesday, December 02, 2003
What a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend!
Here’s what I did (not necessarily in this order):
Had a wonderful dinner at J&L’s house
Had another wonderful dinner at C’s mom’s house
Whipped both C’s and Charlie’s butt in LOTR Risk
Watched a few movies
Petted a few cats
GOT ENGAGED
Tailgated for the UF/FSU game
Hung out with the bookstore gang at Beef O Brady’s
Sent loving thoughts to some friends whose mother/grandmother died
Drank cider and ate really spicy chili
Got tickets to the Jax Symphony for Handel’s Messiah
Had a wonderful dinner at J&L’s house
Had another wonderful dinner at C’s mom’s house
Whipped both C’s and Charlie’s butt in LOTR Risk
Watched a few movies
Petted a few cats
GOT ENGAGED
Tailgated for the UF/FSU game
Hung out with the bookstore gang at Beef O Brady’s
Sent loving thoughts to some friends whose mother/grandmother died
Drank cider and ate really spicy chili
Got tickets to the Jax Symphony for Handel’s Messiah
