just saying

So, this weekend is going to be busy. Should be fun though. I packed last night, so all I have to do is grab some last minute items and the cat, and take off for IL. Ron and Vicky are having a joint birthday party tonight, which will be a good time, especially since Vicky is the one who planned it.

Tomorrow, RJ and I are driving to Cincinnati to visit Jon & Lyn and see Paul Mooney. This trip is almost not worth making, but since RJ is doing all the driving (we're taking his car), I really can't complain. Hopefully, we can leave IL at a decent time and get to experience some of the night life that the Nati offers.

Sunday will consist of driving through four states for me (OH, IN, IL, WI). Fun times. I need to get back early enough to do stuff around the house since Jenn is visiting from MI next week for Summerfest.

So, two things happened today worth celebrating. I had a wee pregnancy scare, and today confirmed that I'm not. Hurray. You cannot imagine the magnitude of my relief. I had been debating about what I would do if had I been. I still hadn't figured anything out, and I'm glad that I didn't have to make any decisions regarding that. Celibacy certainly looks inviting for the next few months.

The other bit of news I received is I'm getting a motherfuckin' promotion! Which actually came at a good time, maybe. I've been asking for this for the last two years and well, it's a long story why it hasn't happened. We've gone through some re-orgs and I have a new director now, who was the one who got the ball rolling on this. Sweet. I think it helps that she's a woman. Our company is very much male-dominated, and it take a hella long time for women to move up. Just a fact. Anyway, not sure when it will happen, since the budget is sketchy until Q3. But it will happen.

The reason why I say it might've come at a good time is because I had been tossing the idea around about leaving. My original plan was to stick it out for another year and evaluate what I want to do. However, shit has been going down at the company, to the point that if things don't work out in our favor, there may be no company left. So, I started looking around for jobs and actually found a really promising lead in San Diego. Which was starting to look really good, as my brother has a house there that no one will be living in when he ships back to Iraq for another year. He also didn't know who would be able to take care of his dogs when he shipped out too, so it seemed like a win-win situation. 

The only loose end was what to do about my place. I know I wouldn't be able to sell it in this market, but I'm pretty sure I'd be able to rent it out. I'd rather not deal with that hassle, but that's better than losing money. Anyway, putting shopping around for a job on hold for now.

I've also been feeling/thinking that I should live in another part of the country other than the Midwest. Since moving to the States, I've always lived in the Midwest. Not that it's a bad place to be, I just want to experience another region of the country. Pacific NW was a major consideration.

Philadelphia was a lot of fun. Wish I had just a couple more days there to explore. I ate really amazing food while there and gained 5 pounds, which didn't really surprise me all that much. Now to ease back to the real world and get back into the swing of things.

More later...

The flight here had much to be desired. Our flight on United was delayed for over 3 hours because the stupid emergency slide deployed and the airline technicians couldn't figure out how to put it away. Seriously? Finally, another plane landed and the powers that be commandeered that plane for our usage. Yeah, the people who had been waiting there to board didn't look too happy. Once in the air, there was a lot of turbulence and my stomach felt a little queasy. I don't usually get motion sick on the plane, so I just hoped I made it without losing my lunch.

As a side note, I think it's dumb that American Airlines is charging you $15 for every checked bag you have. Really? Has it come down to that? And the plane isn't equipped to handle every passenger's carry-on either.  I hope this new pricing tactic doesn't work, otherwise that would mean other airlines would jump on board. I wonder if that applies for just domestic flights. Because going on an international trip with just a carry-on is a ridiculous expectation. </end rant>

The weather here hasn't been too cooperative. I was a little disappointed to find out that it would be warmer in the Midwest than it would be in San Diego during our stay here. It was chilly on Thursday (I was freezing despite wearing a corduroy jacket on top of a long sleeve shirt and a tank top), and it rained all day on Friday.

Yesterday started out cloudy and foggy, then turned gorgeous. Once the sun came out, RJ and I hung out by the pool. Then Joe, Daryl, RJ, and I went to Sea World for the day. Joe, RJ, and I went to Sea World a year and a half ago for Christmas, so I wasn't too into the idea at first. But we did things much different from last time, and I had a good time, even if I did get motion sick a few times.

Today, Daryl goes back to L.A. and we're probably attending Chocolatefest later on. RJ and I were thinking of going to Phoenix for a day, him to visit Tina, me to visit Bill. Not sure if it's going to happen, since we only have today and tomorrow left before flying out on Tuesday.

I've been dying to take a day off just to be able to take some time for myself. I decided that today would be the day.

A lot has happened these last few weeks and thus, will now only be glossed over, bullet-point style:

• Lucretia ended up having dental surgery after all. The tooth that was suppose to fall out never did and she was starting to act funny. The vet removed the tooth, cleaned out the infected area, and stitch up her gum. She finished her antibiotics, which she thankfully loved. This was the first time I had to give her internal medicine and I was a little worried how she would do. Her fur is slowly growing back in the patches that were shaved off.
• Jenn and Len visited me for a weekend. We had a Guitar Hero tournament with Stephen and Lindsay; toured Capital Brewery; had dinner with Steph, Chris, and Jon; ended up on the terrace to listen to DJs and  freestylers while playing games; then went to Chris' for some Wii fun. Next day the 3 of us went to see Kraftwerk in Milwaukee, which was totally worth the trip. Plus I got to see Jimbo afterward too.
• Went home for the weekend to visit my family. Saw Sweeney Todd with Todd and MJ that weekend.
• Went on a...date (?) with an ex. He was my last serious boyfriend, and we hadn't seen each other in almost 2 years. I'm not sure what to call what's going on now. Not sure if anything is really going on since the things that were broken in our relationship still exists. I was under the impression he wanted to get back together, but I need some time to think. I also need time to see if things are really different this time around. I don't think they are, but I'm willing to give him the chance to prove me wrong.
• Last weekend, went to visit Jenn and Len in Ypsi. Saw Mary and Andy, which was nice. Hadn't seen them since Jenn got married over 2 years ago. Jenn and Len had a Tres de Mayo party and it was a great time. We hung out in Ann Arbor for the day yesterday with Ceren, and that was fun.

I left Lucretia at my parents' house so that RJ could cat-sit. My parents are out of town now, so RJ had the whole house to himself. I came here last night to pick her up and decided to stay the night. Now that I have the whole house to myself, I plan on practicing the drums on Rock Band before heading back home.

So, despite very little sleep over the last 8 days, I seem to be functioning fine. I've really wanted to sleep in the last couple of days, and it was physically impossible. My circadian rhythm has been adjusted for spring, I guess.

The film festival was a lot of fun. Thursday and Friday consisted of four fairly good to great movies (Pageant was the only one I hadn't mentioned previously), was in great company, and ate delicious food.

wavy for me

Lucretia had her annual check up on Friday and everything was fine, with the exception of one thing. I mentioned to the vet how she's been chewing on the swirls (see left) of my bed frame lately and her mouth was looked at. It was determined that one of her front teeth is ready to fall out and she's been chewing on my bed frame to help her get rid of it.

I'll keep an eye on it these next couple of weeks to make sure that it does its thing. I don't want to risk infection to the root of her tooth if it doesn't fall out, but I also don't want her to undergo dental surgery if at all possible.

Saturday and Sunday were spent road trippin' back and forth to Milwaukee. Kids in the Hall were great, though the last tour they did was much funnier. Not enough Scott Thompson, I say! I think it might have been because it was the second show of the tour and they were still working out some of the sketches and the timing.

Being downtown really made me miss Milwaukee though. Downtown Milwaukee during the spring, summer, and fall really is beautiful. It's all about walking along the river, I think. I don't think I could ever live there again though. It just isn't the same. 

In the meantime, tonight will consist of baking and my weekly chat with Jenn and tomorrow will be a viewing of Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter at Peter's. Chris and I have tentative plans to watch Battle Royale this Friday. Other than that, I actually have nothing planned this weekend! I can get some sleep!

I've got some major road trips coming up in the next two months. Going to Milwaukee this weekend to see Kids in the Hall and belatedly celebrate Lisa's birfday. Going back to Milwaukee two weeks later to see Kraftwerk with Jenn and Len, who will be visiting from Ypsi. The weekend after that will be a trip to Chicago to see Sweeney Todd.  The weekend leading up to Cinco de Mayo will be spent in Ypsi/Ann Arbor visiting Jenn and Len. Two weeks after that will be back in Chicago to see The Cure. Then the following weekend will be a road trip to San Diego.

Yes, San Diego. Will either be driving one way and flying back (or vice versa) or driving round trip. It's something I've always wanted to do, for some insane reason. RJ and I are planning on taking 6 days to do this including Memorial Day weekend. I hope this will be a cool experience.

Following my trip to San Diego, I'll be going to Philadelphia for a conference, which should be fun. I've never been there, and there are definitely a couple of things I want to see/do. Plus, Susie will be meeting up with me over the weekend. It's been almost a year since I've seen her, plus she's pregnant now, so it'll be good to see her.

Hopefully I won't get burned out from all this traveling. You only live once though, right?

Tonight is the first evening of the Wisconsin Film Festival. I'm going to see Waiter and Big Man Japan tonight. We're going to see Timecrimes tomorrow and probably something else, though we weren't able to get advanced tickets for the movies we were interested in seeing. We'll figure it out tomorrow and hopefully get in to one anyway.

What's your favorite thing about being sick?

Creating a napping space on the couch and falling asleep to the TV droning in the background with the cat staying close by keeping an eye on me. The cat has awesome maternal instincts when it comes to her sick human.

Seriously, can you say that without giggling? I can't. I admit, I'm not the maturest of people. We're gonna see some music thing tonight called Bonerama. "Bone" in this case refers to trombones.

I've been dog-sitting for Adam for a week now. Nanna the black pug has been very cute. I do love dogs, but I also know I'm really not ready for one. I'm ready for Nanna to go home! I think my patience wouldn't have worn so thin had she not started to act out. She and Lucretia do not really get along. So, they're separated: Lucretia gets my bedroom and Nanna gets the rest of the place minus the second bedroom.

At night, I sleep in my room with the door closed. Nanna has whined a little bit (because she's all alone?), but progressively during the week, she has started throwing tantrums. Whining for longer periods of time, slamming up against the door, and scratching at it. In the morning, I wake up and walk her first thing, then I calm her down after her walk and then get ready for the day. In my room. She was okay at first. This morning, she clearly was not. She kept slamming up against the door so loudly I could hear it all the way in the bathroom. And that was it. I lost it. I have no more patience. I think if her tantrums were contained, I could work with this. But I could tell that my neighbors upstairs were wondering what the hell all the banging was about, and that's just it. I don't want to cause any disturbances to my neighbors.

Adam is supposed to pick her up today or Sunday. I haven't heard from him since he dropped her off though. I have food for her until Monday, so it'll be fine. I just hope I can deal with her tantrums.

It's the end of March, more or less, and I feel like I got nothing accomplished this month. I know that's not the case, but there was so much I wanted to do and I feel I didn't get any of it done. I did finish painting my bedroom, even though I can't edge to save my life. Lisa volunteered to help me fix it, but if it can't be saved, I've always wanted to get crown molding for the room.

I also reorganized my storage unit because there was a water leaking issue and some boxes I had down there were contaminated. I had a box full of old shoes that I couldn't bear to throw away (though the shoes were too shabby to donate to good will) but since it became waterlogged, the shoes got gross and some mold was growing on them. Definitely tossed out those suckers then. Also, I was able to get books I had in storage and actually place them on my book shelves too, now that the bedroom was done.

I saw my uncle from Switzerland in the beginning of the month who was visiting my dad. Also, my crazy sister became engaged, which is drama-ladened in and of itself. She's going to have a court wedding soon and have the other wedding in Hawaii next year. Though that has also been morphing. Now it's a Hawaiian cruise with the wedding on the boat.

The last couple of weekends have been spent with my Madison peeps. The first Saturday, we went to Milwaukee and had lunch at Cubanitas then went to the Milwaukee Public Museum. The next day I had dinner with Steph, Stephanie, and Liz. The second Saturday was spent in town with dinner at the Brocach and Fetish Night at the Cardinal. Fetish Night was interesting. I went dressed as a school girl, and I lent my vinyl dress to Steph and took one of my kitty's toys and fashioned a whip out of it. The next day I had dinner with Steph and Stephanie.

Currently, I'm cat-sitting for a coworker who is on vacation. I'm also trying out dog-sitting for another coworker who will be leaving on vacation. If Nanna (the pug) doesn't get along with Lucretia (my cat), then I'm not going to do it. But if it's fine, Nanna will stay with me for 10 days. I'm kinda excited, I really love pugs and I do love dogs.

I have a book club meeting tonight though I haven't finished reading the book yet. And it was my choice this time around, so I really should have no excuse. I'm going to read through lunch time and cram as much time to read after work as I can before the meeting.

Other than that, life's been good. I've been approved to go to a business conference in June, the Wisconsin Film Festival is coming up in a couple of weeks, and I'm going to see Kids in the Hall, Kraftwerk, and Sweeney Todd (the musical, not the movie) next month.