Just Catching Up

Not too much interesting stuff has happened since my last post, but I figured it would be a good idea so that I don't forget the few things that really are interesting.

Last Friday marked the last session of the Changeling game I was playing in. Gene tried to stretch it as long as he could, but it got to the point where our characters would just be "bean counting" after last week's session. That day was also Steve's birthday. I have no idea how old he is, but we had cake. David's D&D 2.0 game was cancelled that night, due to the fact that I was the only player other than Steve who was actually there.

We're having Thanksgiving dinner at my parents' house this year, since Mom had surgery last week. We planned the menu, and I'm making brussels sprouts. I've got to stop at the grocery store tonight and get them, plus the ingredients to make them "less boring." I found a recipe on the Food Network website for Sauteed Brussels Sprouts with Red Cabbage. Yum.

Due to Mom's health issues, she's lost a lot of weight. In fact, she's lost so much that we now both wear the same size jeans! No lie; I actually had her put on the pair I was wearing yesterday, and she fit them better than I do!

This morning, I packed two sandwiches to take to work for lunch--one was pastrami and the other was salami. I then went upstairs to eat my breakfast before I had to leave for work, and when I came downstairs, I found Tabby (Tim's cat) "chasing" one of the sandwiches off the dining room table! I found the other one on the kitchen floor. Grrrr.

I didn't have time to pack more sandwiches before I had to leave, so I got Five Guys for lunch today.

A Dream or Two

I had a couple of interesting dreams last night.

The first part I remember is, I was living in this town, in this neighborhood that looked kind of like down near the McCain Drive/Orchard Way area, like when my family lived on Danielle Drive.

Each "morning," in my dream, I would get up and go to this one house, where--get this--Bob Saget had a local morning-type thing. Whether it was a show or not, I have no idea; all I know was that he had this little picture-drawing contest for the few people who found their way there and explained the inspiration for their drawings and had really good "reasons" for wanting to win the contest. I don't even remember what the prize was for winning.

Then, there was a bit of a segue that I don't remember, and all of a sudden, I was at the Phoenix airport, getting ready to go home from my vacation again.

Somehow, I'd gotten on the plane before the previous passengers had disembarked, and I had to get off before I could re-board. So I got off, and then when they called boarding again I went through the tunnel thing, and there was this van there. I got in the van (the inside of which looked like the plane, but without the bathrooms or cockpit--instead just a driver's seat and windshield), and we went on the highway.

Apparently, it was a shuttle to take us to another airport somewhere nearby for our flight. Don't ask me about the logic of that, 'cause I don't know. Anyway, just as the other airport was coming into view, my alarm clock rang and I woke up.

Man, I feel really dumb right now . . .

Last night, Kimba, Kayla, Anna and I went to Chris H's house (Kayla and Anna call him "Tooth") to play SingStar. That went pretty well, and nothing really eventful happened with the singing--except we all discovered that Chris is a bit tone deaf, but that's okay.

Anna left early, and before that I went outside to put antifreeze in my bug. Pretty easy task, right? Just open the hood, open the radiator cap, and pour.

Well, when Kayla and I left Chris's house around 11:30 last night, the bug's temperature light was still screaming at me! I couldn't figure out what the problem was, so I just left it.

This morning, as I was on my way to work, I figured out why my car keeps saying it doesn't have any coolant--in the dark and the late hour last night, I mistook one symbol for another, and accidentally put antifreeze into the windshield wiper fluid reservoir! Man, I feel dumb.

Luckily, I still have some untainted antifreeze left, so I can put that into the radiator today during my lunch break (gotta wait for the engine to cool down first), but I have no idea how I'm going to clear out the wiper fluid reservoir. I'll have to ask my dad when I get home if he has any ideas.

I forgot to mention . . .

Either Wednesday or Thursday, Kayla went with Anna to get things for Brian at the Humane Society. While they were there, Kayla saw this really cute grey tabby kitten (with brown highlights). It was the only kitten that came up to the outside edge of the cage and played with her, so Kayla bought the kitten, despite her allergy.

The kitten is female, about three weeks old, and Kayla named her Church, after the character in Red vs. Blue. She has to stay in Kayla's room for 10 days after she first got here, since she might spread kennel cough to the other animals in the house if she's not quarantined.

The total number of animals in this household is now seven:

Cali (female)--Kimba's dog, who stays with us since the house Kimba is staying at has a koi pond she doesn't want Cali getting into.

Mandy (female)--Anna's dog.

Brian (also female)--Tim's dog, who stays with us because there's not enough room at his place, and he's going to be marrying Anna in three months and all their pets will have to get along anyway.

James (male)--Anna's only surviving orange tabby cat. (R.I.P. O'Malley)

Tabby (male)--Tim's grey tabby cat, who stays with us for the same reason Brian does.

Church (female)--Kayla's new kitten.

Oreo (female)--Jason's panda hamster.

I've been thinking I might get a dog (I'd get a kitten, but have no desire to be responsible for a single litter box), but that won't be until after the holidays, at least. I also will have to get my room into some semblance of organization before I even think about getting an animal of my own--it's nowhere near dog- or puppy-proof.

Of course, the chances of me finding a dog that I actually like and would want to take home are probably less than one in however many dogs are at the Humane Society off of Patrick Street, and however many are at the shelter off of Rosemont Avenue.

Heck, if I really like it, I might get something other than a dog or a cat--no hamsters, guinea pigs, or anything else really smelly like that though. Maybe a bird or two, though I have no idea how to take care of them, or a snake (if I could get over the "handling live crickets and/or mice" thing).

Fun, fun, fun

Halloween was pretty busy, all told. I went to work in my RennFest garb, and we had the annual party there. Then I went to the Haven for their Halloween party. Anna, Kayla and Jason came in and talked for a few minutes, then later on, Anna and Kayla came back and I went home around 10:30 or 11.

The next day, Jason and I decided to go back to the Haven, and I taught him to play Khet (laser chess), and we played Settlers of Catan and a couple of other games before we went home--four hours later.

Monday evening, I went to the Walkersville chapel to help set up for the election, and Tuesday was the election itself. It went pretty smoothly, except that once all the machines were put away, the chief judges kept us there for another hour and a half because their counts were off. We finally got to leave the chapel at around ten though.

We have a new president--Barack (sp?) Obama. I'm okay with that outcome, even though I voted for Nader. When Heather and I were looking online at the candidates' solutions to various issues, Nader's and Obama's solutions were all pretty good, but to me it seemed that Nader's ideas had more of a chance of getting implemented in a four-year time period than Obama's did. So, despite having voted for someone else, I'm perfectly okay with Obama as president.

Wednesday, Thursday and Friday were work as usual, and then after work Friday I went to the Haven for the "big" Changeling game--the session that could either end the whole campaign, continue with the villain known, or end the whole campaign.

The campaign almost ended, but the villain (Carl's character, H.P. Lovemore) was revived, so we were able to continue. Now, all of us will be playing on Friday's, instead of in individual sessions during the week. I also got my own copy of the Changeling manual, so that's pretty neat.

David's D&D 2.0 game went okay, except for the fact that most of the party members kept arguing about the stupidest little things and wouldn't get their acts together long enough to actually play. The three people rescuing my half of the party had one encounter, then they rescued us in a second encounter. By the time we got to a place where we could have an encounter as a full party, it was already ten o'clock, and time to stop. Grr.

Ah well, there's always next Friday.

Yesterday was a pretty lazy day, but around 4 or so, I paid my bills and stuff before going to run errands around 6. I went to Bath & Body Works for shower gel and more body cream (plus other stuff); CVS for shampoo, conditioner and Blistex; Rosa Pizza for dinner; Advance Auto for antifreeze; WaWa for gas and a lighter (for the oil fragrance warmer I'd bought at Bath & Body Works); and the storage facility for some of my music and writing stuff. I still have yet to put the antifreeze in the bug, but I'm going to do that either later this evening or tomorrow before I head out to work--it's been screaming at me about the temperature for at least a week now.

When I have a question that I need answered . . .

I go to Yahoo!Answers. Of course, I have to pick out the answers that are actually coherent, accurate, and well-worded enough for me to understand and use, but it's also fun to answer other peoples' questions.

Vacation - Part III

Thanks, Heather, for posting your little summary on your LJ--I'd almost forgotten the order of what happened the rest of the weekend.

Friday evening, after Heather got up, we went back to the mall. First, we went to JCPenney, where I got four sets of pajamas and two sets of long underwear. I also bought a set of pajamas for Heather.

After that, Heather bought us both pretzels and lemonade at Auntie Anne's, and we went to Zales, so that Heather could get the bi-annual cleaning done for her ring. While she was doing that, I bought a new pair of ruby studs with starter posts, since one of my original studs had gotten lost when one of my sisters borrowed them. I also bought a pair for Heather with the gem she wanted.

We went back to the pet store to coo over the puppies again--that husky was just so pretty--before we went back to her place again to watch the rest of Haibane Renmei. Then, we went to McDonald's to get some dinner, after Stephen got home from work later than usual due to a meeting.

Saturday, we went to the Cheesecake Factory for a late lunch/early dinner before Stephen went to work, and then Heather and I talked while I packed. We then went to Wal-Mart, because I needed a box to put my stuffed animals in from the fair--they wouldn't fit in my suitcase. I also bought a bunch of souvenirs, some bubble wrap, and packing tape.

After packing up the souvenirs and the stuffed animals securely in the box and putting my name and address on it in sharpie, I used Heather's computer to schedule a UPS pick-up for this afternoon. I'll get the box by next Monday at the latest.

Heather and I then went on the League of Women Voters website so that I could show her how to research the different candidates for the election and make an informed decision when she votes. We also decided which presidential candidate's ideas we liked the best, though it was kind of a tie. I can't remember whether we'd decided we liked Nader or Obama more though--we definitely didn't like McCain as much.

We were both reluctant to go to sleep, but around 12:30 I decided I'd better sleep. I woke up at 8am and got dressed, putting the last of my stuff in my luggage and carry-on before taking them both out to the car after I ate. Then I waited for Heather and Stephen to get up.

At nine, we headed to the airport. I followed Stephen and Heather in the car I'd rented, and once I returned it, they drove me to the terminal and walked in with me as far as the security gate.

The first flight was uneventful, except for the fact that we arrived in Atlanta early. Even then, I barely had time to use the restroom and get some food before boarding my next flight. I managed to finish my burger, but I was halfway through my chips (and hadn't even started on my cheesecake) before they announced they were ready to board.

I finished my dinner on the plane to Baltimore, and that flight landed early as well. I had a headache after that flight, since I hadn't bothered to chew any gum during takeoff and landing, like I did for the first flight.

Anna and Kayla met me outside security, and we went home in Anna's car. I un-packed my luggage, and had planned on balancing my checkbook and paying my bills, but I just wanted to lay down so the Excedrin would kick in, so I'm saving that for this evening.

I couldn't get to sleep until around four this morning. I took an Excedrin when I got home, but it wasn't enough, since my head was still hurting more than two hours later. So I took another one at that point. It didn't kick in until around two, but then the medicine head kept me up until at least four. I hate my head sometimes.

Vacation - Part II

We went to Red Robin for dinner on Monday.  We had some chips and dip for an appetizer, as well as a plate of fries and lime sauce--the waiter brought the fries out because the cook was taking so long with our order.

After dinner, we had a little time before the movie, so we stopped off at Borders.  I got a new game called "You've Been Sentenced," plus a couple of those mini-book things.

We did end up seeing City of Ember.  It was a good movie, and as it should have, left me wondering what happens next.

We all went to sleep at a somewhat more reasonable time then.

Tuesday, I woke up around ten in the morning, and decided to let Heather sleep until I woke her up at noon.  So while she was sleeping I got breakfast and checked my e-mail and stuff.  Heather was still sleepy though, so she went back to sleep for a couple more hours and woke up a little bit before Stephen was due back.

We went to the Arizona State Fair, and had loads of fun.  We didn't ride many rides, but we did play a bunch of games.  I won a couple of stuffed animals, and I'm hoping they'll fit in my luggage, but if they don't, I'll have to get a box and ship them to Maryland.

Wednesday morning was about the same, only I let Heather sleep until two in the afternoon before trying to wake her.  She stayed awake this time, but was still a little sleepy.  When Stephen got back from work on Wednesday, we all went to Subway for dinner and then went to Bookman's to look at the used books and stuff.  I got The Origin, a comic about how the movie Buffy the Vampire Slayer was actually different from what Joss wanted it--it didn't look too different from what I remember, but it was still fun to read--plus two more novels.

Yesterday, I woke up first, and then let Heather sleep until she decided to wake up--that was much more satisfactory, even though I was awake for five hours and she wasn't.  We decided to go to the mall nearby so that she could buy some essentials at JCPenney.  Then we walked around the mall for a while.

I got us pretzels at Auntie Anne's, and we looked in a few stores including Bath & Body Works.  We also looked at stuff in game stop, plus two other stores.  One was a music box/clock/glass figurine shop, and the other was an Asian-themed store where they sold anything from little Buddha statues to rice-eating sets with chopsticks to Japanese swords.

We finally decided to have dinner, so we went to Villa Pizza.  Heather had two slices of cheese pizza, and I had Chicken Marsala with a side of potatoes and a side of steamed vegetables.  Yummy.

After dinner, we headed over to Master Cuts, so that Heather could get her hair cut.  We wanted to go back to JCPenney so I could get some new shirts and such, but they were closed, so we went back to Heather & Stephen's place.

We finally played my new game--it was pretty fun--and then Stephen went to sleep.  Heather and I stayed up for a couple more hours, watching Haibane Renmei, an anime series that's kind of corny, but cute, and gets a little more interesting as you go.

After the first two disks, we decided we were both sleepy and went to our respective rooms, but I wanted to watch the bonus features on Heather's copy of Serenity, since my copy has none.  I had no idea they would take so long--I didn't get to sleep until after five this morning!

But for some reason, I was still not able to sleep any later than eleven.  And I had a weird dream too--something about werewolves and this interesting-looking building which might've been a cross between a log cabin and an airport.

Vacation - Part I

The last week before I left for vacation was kind of a drag.  Seriously, I swear each day took at least two.

Anyway, Thursday night, I did my laundry, and then after my games at the Haven on Friday, I packed--with a little help from Anna.

Saturday morning, I took a shower, then brought my luggage downstairs.  Anna came home between classes, and then we went to FCC so that she could catch a half-hour of her Biology lecture before taking me to the airport.  I went to the computer lab while she was in class and checked my e-mail.

We got to the airport, and Anna showed me how to get my boarding pass and check my large bag.  Then she showed me where the security checkpoint was and gave me a few last tips before saying goodbye for the week.

On my way to the gate, I bought a pretzel and lemonade from Auntie Anne's, and ate it while I waited for boarding time.

The flight to Atlanta was uneventful, and I got quite a bit of White Jenna read.  After the first chapter or two, I took a bit of a cat nap, and then we landed.

In Atlanta, I bought a late lunch/early dinner--a cheese steak sandwich and some fries with cheese, ranch and bacon on them.  Then I went to my next gate and read.

Just before we were to be boarding, the gate attendants made an announcement that they were still waiting on the pilots for my next flight to get there from Dayton, Ohio, and that unless they could find some new pilots before then, my flight to Phoenix would not take off until 8:15.  Luckily, they did find other pilots, so my flight took off at 7:30--only 20 minutes later than it should have.

That flight was just over four hours long.  I was a bit confused though, because my itinerary said that, while it was a four-hour flight, the departure time was 7:10 and the arrival time was supposedly 8:17.  Turns out, it was almost 9pm in Phoenix when we landed--almost midnight in Frederick.  It's kind of annoying that they show the arrival times in the same time zone as you've just landed, instead of in the time zone that you've just left--it'd be much less confusing that way.

My bag took a while to come onto the carousel from the plane, but I got it eventually.  Then, I caught the shuttle to the car rental center.  It'd been a long day, so I was kind of out of it as I talked to the guy at the counter.  He asked me questions about insurance and such, but I thought I'd already determined all that when I booked the flight and the car online--I'll have to look at that contract later when I get a chance to go out to the car (a Saturn Sky convertible), since I left it in there.

I started on my way to Heather and Stephen's house, but, silly me, I forgot to read the directions before I left the parking deck, and I couldn't read them in the dark.  So, not only did I get turned around trying to get out of the airport area, but I also didn't know where to go from there.  I called Heather on my cell phone, and between the two of us, we managed to figure it out--although I did miss an exit or two and end up driving past the Gila River.

I finally made it to their place, and by then it was 2am my time--11pm their time.  There were much hugs from Heather--Stephen was still at work--and Heather and I talked.  Oddly enough, I was still wide awake, since I'd had a rather refreshing nap on the second plane as well, and I had a headache from being cramped into the seat and from the pressurized air.

The apartment is huge!  Even the guest bedroom is larger than Jason's room at home.  It's got to have at least half of the square-footage space of the townhouse on Wheyfield.  The guest bathroom is huge too, with two sink basins.  I didn't bring my camera, because I don't think I'd have been able to find it before I left, and I don't remember what I did with the cable to hook it up to my computer.  But Heather has a camera, so we'll try and take at least a few pictures while I'm here, so she can e-mail them to me and I'll post them when I get back.

Eventually, we decided to watch Angel season five, since I hadn't seen more than the first 7-9 episodes.  We watched the first disc, and then finally decided to go to sleep, since Stephen showed up after the third episode.

Sunday morning--well, it was noon, actually--we all woke up and got ready to go to Stephen's parents' house for his dad's birthday party.  I met some of Heather's in-laws (they were really nice) and then we went back to the apartment.  I watched the second disc of Angel in their car, Kermit, on their portable DVD player.

When we got back, we watched a few more episodes, then Heather decided to go to bed.  I took the season box into the guest room, and had decided to watch until Illyria killed Fred (I'd been well and truly spoiled about certain events in the season, even though I hadn't seen them) but after that happened, I just really, really, really wanted to know what happened next, so I kept watching "just one more episode," thinking that the next would be the last before I went to sleep.

I finished the series at seven o'clock this morning.  Then I crashed.

Heather finally woke me up about an hour and forty-five minutes ago, and I had chocolate cake and milk for "breakfast."  It was really a bit of a snack to tie me over until dinner, since Stephen was due to come home from work soon anyway.

After cake, I took a shower, and Heather and I watched the end of an episode of Charmed that was on TV before she asked if I wanted to see a movie and go out to dinner.  We checked playing times and showings on her computer--we're probably going to see City of Ember--and then she said I could check my e-mail and post this entry.

It's been a busy few days, but it's a different kind of busy, so I'm more refreshed than I've been in ages.  I'm looking forward to the rest of my vacation.

I read a book!

Really, if you knew how much fanfic I'd been reading lately, instead of actual books, that might surprise you.

But today after I'd finished the rather long fic I was reading (and balanced my checkbook), I started on Sister Light, Sister Dark. I just finished a little bit ago, and ordered White Jenna (book two in the trilogy) from Amazon, since it was not listed in the FCPL (Frederick County Public Libraries) online card catalogue.

I got the steeply-priced two-day shipping (one-day was even steeper--this way I spent only $18 and change, instead of $25), so I should be able to start reading it Wednesday evening. If I don't finish it by then, I will then be able to take it on the plane with me next Saturday and finish the book before I get to Phoenix.

Just in case I finish the book before the flight--or rather, flights, since there's a layover in Atlanta--is over, I'll bring Dragons of Winter Night, as well as another book or two for the return flight, and one or two of my new Samurai Sudoku puzzle books, which I have not done any puzzles in yet.