Yesterday

I went to the Haven after work yesterday so that Steve and/or Gene could get my character caught up for this coming Friday's D&D game. It didn't take long.

When I got home around 6:30, I put my stuff away, started my laundry, and then tried to move my laptop into the kitchen so I could watch Dragonlance: Dragons of Autumn Twilight while I cooked. No go. The laptop kept shutting off abruptly just as I was plugging it into the wall.

I called my dad to ask why it might do that. He said that the powerpack and/or battery in the laptop might be dead, so it could survive in the dock (which has its own power pack), but not plugged straight into the wall.

So, I cooked my casserole without entertainment.

At first, I was annoyed because when I looked in the pantry, the box of elbow macaroni I'd been planning to use was already open and looked like it was halfway gone. But once everything was cooked and put together, I saw that was a good thing--the ingredients were much better proportioned that way.

I wanted to add some of the beef sausage I bought last month to the casserole, but I think Jenn and Amit (or rather, just Amit, since Jenn's a vegetarian) ate them. Which isn't really a problem, since they share their food with me too, but I didn't even get to eat one of them before they were gone. :(

Anyway, I finished making the casserole, and filled up a plate then put the rest into containers. There were only two filled this time, so I'll have just enough to make it through lunch and dinner today and tomorrow. I'll buy lunch on Friday.

Then, I sat down at my desk and started Dragonlance while I ate the casserole. But the audio skipped a lot, so I decided to just finish eating and watch it upstairs instead.

The casserole turned out better than the last one. First, the proportions were better, so the soup coated everything a lot easier, making the whole dish more moist. Then, the soup was cream of mushroom, instead of cream of onion, and that worked better too, since there were already mushrooms in the dish and the soup enhanced that flavor. Also, I added some cheddar cheese, and put more minced garlic (still don't have any powdered) into it than last time, so it was more flavorful.

Sometime during the evening, I switched the laundry in the machines.

So I watched the movie after I'd finished dinner. It was okay, but could have been better. I posted a review of it on NetFlix, but it won't show up for another day or two.

When the movie was over, it was time to fold the jeans and put the rest of the wash into the dryer, so I did that, and then went downstairs to my computer to watch Superman Doomsday on Instant Play at NetFlix.com. That was great. I also reviewed that movie on the site, and that review won't show up until tomorrow or Friday either.

After the movie, it was around midnight, so I went upstairs to go to sleep.

Yesterday

I went to the Haven after work yesterday so that Steve and/or Gene could get my character caught up for this coming Friday's D&D game. It didn't take long.

When I got home around 6:30, I put my stuff away, started my laundry, and then tried to move my laptop into the kitchen so I could watch Dragonlance: Dragons of Autumn Twilight while I cooked. No go. The laptop kept shutting off abruptly just as I was plugging it into the wall.

I called my dad to ask why it might do that. He said that the powerpack and/or battery in the laptop might be dead, so it could survive in the dock (which has its own power pack), but not plugged straight into the wall.

So, I cooked my casserole without entertainment.

At first, I was annoyed because when I looked in the pantry, the box of elbow macaroni I'd been planning to use was already open and looked like it was halfway gone. But once everything was cooked and put together, I saw that was a good thing--the ingredients were much better proportioned that way.

I wanted to add some of the beef sausage I bought last month to the casserole, but I think Jenn and Amit (or rather, just Amit, since Jenn's a vegetarian) ate them. Which isn't really a problem, since they share their food with me too, but I didn't even get to eat one of them before they were gone. :(

Anyway, I finished making the casserole, and filled up a plate then put the rest into containers. There were only two filled this time, so I'll have just enough to make it through lunch and dinner today and tomorrow. I'll buy lunch on Friday.

Then, I sat down at my desk and started Dragonlance while I ate the casserole. But the audio skipped a lot, so I decided to just finish eating and watch it upstairs instead.

The casserole turned out better than the last one. First, the proportions were better, so the soup coated everything a lot easier, making the whole dish more moist. Then, the soup was cream of mushroom, instead of cream of onion, and that worked better too, since there were already mushrooms in the dish and the soup enhanced that flavor. Also, I added some cheddar cheese, and put more minced garlic (still don't have any powdered) into it than last time, so it was more flavorful.

Sometime during the evening, I switched the laundry in the machines.

So I watched the movie after I'd finished dinner. It was okay, but could have been better. I posted a review of it on NetFlix, but it won't show up for another day or two.

When the movie was over, it was time to fold the jeans and put the rest of the wash into the dryer, so I did that, and then went downstairs to my computer to watch Superman Doomsday on Instant Play at NetFlix.com. That was great. I also reviewed that movie on the site, and that review won't show up until tomorrow or Friday either.

After the movie, it was around midnight, so I went upstairs to go to sleep.

A Weekend

Friday was Anna's birthday, so I ditched the Haven to have dinner at Mom & Dad's. First, I went home to pack for the weekend though--no sense in going home Friday just to come back Saturday, after all. I didn't get my stuff back upstairs from the living room though, so I'll have to do that tonight.

I got to Mom & Dad's, then we did birthday stuff like having dinner (breakfast stuff) and Anna opening her presents. She got a pretty nice haul, and I can't remember it all, so I'm not going to list any of it except for the Halo 2 Multiplayer Map.

Saturday morning, I had a doctor's appointment at 9, so I woke up around 8. I went to the doctor, and she said that it was probably just a really bad sprain, but I should get an x-ray just in case. She also said that, if it is just a sprain, then I should keep doing what I'd been doing to help it heal--with more walking on it now--plus take 600mg of Ibuprofen twice a day even if it doesn't hurt much, since Ibuprofen is an anti-inflammatory medication and will help keep the swelling down. That's one $20 co-pay down the drain.

So, I went to the FMH center at Rose Hill (off of Oppossumtown Pike) and got my x-ray--another $30 co-pay down the drain. That was my last $50, which I was hoping to spend on a haircut and about $30-worth of essentials like food (I don't need much at the moment, and can get by on what I have, but would've liked to get some variety). Oh well.

The radiologist was going to call the doctor (who would then call me) within a couple of hours if they found any abnormalities--read: fractures--in my x-rays, so since I didn't get a phone call all day Saturday, I figure it's not broken. Thank goodness.

Not much else happened the rest of Saturday, but yesterday I woke up around 10 or so and Anna and I watched some TV before she, Kayla and I went with Kimba to her volleyball game. Every Sunday afternoon, Kimba plays volleyball at the old armory downtown with some friends from high school and such.

As we were getting ready to leave, Kimba says to me, "After victory ice cream, we're going to Master Cuts to get you a haircut, which I'm paying for." I had already been planning on getting a haircut eventually, but since it wasn't a priority and I'd just spent my last $50 the day before, I figured it would be at least another week (I get paid this Friday) before I got that haircut.

She was all like, "It is too a priority," and made me get the haircut yesterday anyway--and even bought me some Paul Mitchell shampoo and conditioner, which is expensive stuff, especially when you consider that I haven't even come close to running out of the last shampoo and conditioner I bought yet. I'm not going to just stop using my current stuff--that would be wasteful--but once I run out, I'll use the Paul Mitchell stuff. I don't know if I'll be able to afford to buy more of it after that's gone though--brand-name salon products are insanely priced!

I'm currently using the Dove Go Fresh Therapy Cool Moisture Shampoo (25.4 fl. oz. Cucumber & Green Tea Scent--$7.99) and the Dove Go Fresh Therapy Cool Moisture Conditioner (same amount, also in Cucumber & Green Tea Scent--also $7.99). The Paul Mitchell stuff Kimba got for me was the Lavender Mint Moisturizing stuff (10.14 fl. oz. each of the shampoo and conditioner), and they cost Kimba something like $12 or $13 each! That's almost twice as much cost for less than half the product! It's ridiculous! I can barely afford to buy shampoo and conditioner at the rates (volume and price) I do right now, so I like to get as much as I can in one bottle, and it lasts longer.

Don't get me wrong--I like the haircut a lot, so I'm not complaining about that, and I'm grateful to Kimba for paying for the haircut and the shampoo/conditioner. I just don't think it's necessary to buy such overly-expensive shampoo and conditioner when there are probably generic brands (or at least less-expensive name brands) that would do the job just as well.

I don't know how to find those inexpensive yet effective brands, which is why I've been switching brands after every bottle to try and undo the damage that one does with the next while I try to find a good one--it's a vicious cycle. The people at salons are definitely not going to recommend any such products like that though. It's their job to sell the expensive stuff that's in their inventory, not recommend stuff that customers can buy elsewhere for half the cost and twice the volume.

Anyway, enough about hair care. I shall now briefly summarize my plan for the next few days.

Today I will be going to the allergist after work for my shots, and then I will go home and clean up the mess I made in the living room, since stairs are now nowhere near the problem they were a week ago, and I can confidently say that the extra weight of whatever I need to carry won't hurt any more than if I weren't carrying it.

Then, I will probably either read, watch TV (or a movie), or possibly do some writing while I do some laundry.

Tomorrow, I will go to the Haven after work (yay, school's out!) and have Gene catch me up on the Friday night D&D game, since I've missed the last two sessions. If I haven't done my laundry by the time I get home from the Haven tomorrow, I will do it then.

I have no idea what I'm going to do from Wednesday on, other than the usual stuff.

Ankle Update . . . Among Other Things

When my dad got to my house on Friday, he made me pack up to go to my parents' house. I had to crabwalk all the way up the stairs to my bedroom, get my clothes bag and my laptop case, as well as my backpack (to carry my research materials in), pack some clothes (I ended up forgetting my hairbrush), and then go back downstairs to get the computer and the books.

Dad got back before I was even finished with the clothes. So he helped me carry a couple of the bags back downstairs, and I packed those too. Then we went to my parents' house.

I didn't actually do anything with the astronomy paper on Friday evening. Instead, Anna, Kayla and I started watching season 4 of Red vs. Blue, and then Kayla fell asleep and she was going to watch Star Wars with Dad anyway, so we stopped RvB for the time being.

Saturday, I woke up extra late, then when I got up to go to the bathroom (I was on the crutches) Kimba was already in there, so I had to wait. For some reason, I started to feel like I was going to pass out. Luckily, I didn't before I actually got into the bathroom, but I did spend quite a few minutes with my eyes closed and my head leaning on the bathroom sink area. After that, I went into the living room as quickly as I could (I've never had to use crutches before, so using them properly and quickly took some getting used to) and flopped on the couch. That was around 9:30am.

I didn't fully get up again until around noon or so. Everybody was nice about getting things for me like food and the ice pack, which I wouldn't have been able to carry with the crutches.

Sometime in the evening, Jason, Kayla and Anna decided to play some games, but I had to write my paper. So they played Electronic Banking Monopoly while I wrote my paper on quasars. I'll post it in the same place I'm going to post my school newspaper articles later.

I think we might've played some video games after that, but I can't remember very clearly. I know we at least did some video game bowling and played Halo 2 sometime this weekend.

Sunday was pretty uneventful. More games and stuff. Anna and I watched Gilmore Girls on the projector for a while before everybody got home from church, then I think we finished up the Star Wars movies.

Monday, Anna took me to work, and then Dad picked me up so we could both get our allergy shots. Then he took me back to their house, and Anna, Kayla and I finished watching Red vs. Blue season 4. Only one more season to go!

I got home around 10:30-ish on Monday night, and basically just read the book I'd borrowed from Sister G.

Yesterday, I drove myself to work; it was uncomfortable, but nowhere near as painful as it was on Friday. After work, I went to take my astronomy final, and turned in my paper and night sky observations. The final was a cinch.

When I came home, I finished the book while I started my laundry (after dragging the basket from my room as I scooted downstairs) and then tried to watch the shows I'd recorded on my laptop. But alas, apparently my laptop is not able to read DVDs that I've recorded myself. So I had to go back upstairs and watch them on my TV. That wasn't too bad; all I had to bring were my pillows and the DVD.

I watched the Bones from May 5th, the Smallville from May 8th, and the Numb3rs from May 9th. When I went to delete that Bones episode, I accidentally deleted the second Robin Hood episode I'd taped, so there will be no watching it "just to see if it's really as bad as it seemed the first time."

Before I left the house on Friday, I'd forgotten to set the DirecTV box to autotune to Fox for Monday's Bones episode, so I dragged my carcass (and my pillows, as well as the DragonLance Chronicles novels) downstairs again and found this past Monday's episode on Sidereel. I finally finished watching it around 2:30 this morning, so I am officially caught up on all of my shows.

SPOILER WARNING!!!!!

But holy crap, Booth got shot at the end of the episode! There were no previews on the Sidereel video, so I tried to find the trailer video online for next week's episode (it's the season finale on the 19th). I didn't find any trailer videos, but I did find spoiler pictures in which Booth is up and about, seemingly without trouble from the bullet wound, so I breathed a sigh of relief.

END SPOILER WARNING

Now, here I am typing this up, and I have almost nothing else to say. After work, I'll probably watch a movie before reading some more. I might even fold my laundry, even though I won't be taking it upstairs until after my foot is feeling good enough to actually walk up and down the stairs. The swelling went down considerably yesterday, but it actually hurts slightly more now than it did when it was all puffy. I think the swelling must have helped to dull the pain or something.

I also have bruises on my foot that aren't really in the places that my foot hurts. One of them is on the complete opposite side of my foot, on the instep side of my heel. The other is on the outside of my foot, and runs from my heel to the ball of my foot, just below my ankle. The truly tender part of my foot--the part that actually hurts--is my ankle itself, and the only bruise there is just above the actual bone and slightly heel-ward. The top of my foot on the outside is also a bit tender (although not much at all), and has some light-greenish bruising on it. Maybe I'll post some pictures later.

OWWIE!

Sister M's (one of my visiting teachers) sister, Sister G is having a yard sale this weekend. The first half was today from 8-1. She invited other people from church to sell stuff at her yard sale at her farm in Keymar. I thought that would be a good idea, considering how many books I'm trying to get rid of, so I got some other odds and ends together and asked if I could come sells stuff with her. She said it would be good to have company, so I got the day off work and planned to go.

This morning, when I was getting my last bin of stuff in the car (along with a few other things that wouldn't fit--I had three bins) I had just gotten to the bottom of the grassy hill out front (I wasn't about to lug those bins down the back deck stairs) when I twisted my ankle between it and the sidewalk by the curb. OUCH!

I sat on that bin and had a good cry--about 5-10 minutes' worth--then I got back up and carefully gathered the other stuff, then put it and the bin in the car. Then I hobbled over to the driver's side and made my way to Keymar. Driving a stick with an injured clutch foot was an uncomfortable (but not really excruciating) experience. I got there okay, and Sister G. was so nice, she went back and forth from the house to the garage where she was having the sale and got me ice and water and stuff. She even lent me a cane.

After a while, we went inside, because it was cold and damp and nobody was really coming, so we did a puzzle and watched out the window for cars to come.

Around noon, a couple of her friends came for lunch--she'd invited me to stay for the meal when she let me come to the sale. We had brisket, cucumber, tomatoes, potato salad and broccoli coleslaw. It was all very yummy.

When I was full, I decided it was time to go. The sale was over for the day by then, so it was all good. The only money I'd made was $1.25, because Sister G. bought my extra planisphere and my spare compass.

When I got home, I came in the front door, and literally crawled up the stairs to the second floor. There, I got some ice (the last three cubes), and tried to sit at my desk to finish researching and writing my paper, but even putting the piano bench underneath the desk was uncomfortable.

So I called my parents' house to see if anyone was home who had a car and could drive it. Dad was, so I asked if he could come to my house and get my keys and bank card, then fill up the gas tank and buy me some of those re-freezable ice packs. After that, I lugged all of my reference materials, my left shoe (since I'd taken it off as soon as I got in the house), some water, the cane, my purse, my keys, my phone, a novel and my laptop downstairs so that I could answer the doorbell if it rings as well as finish my Astronomy paper.

Nerd, Geek or Dork?

Your Score: Outcast Genius

73 % Nerd, 65% Geek, 56% Dork

For The Record:

A Nerd is someone who is passionate about learning/being smart/academia.
A Geek is someone who is passionate about some particular area or subject, often an obscure or difficult one.
A Dork is someone who has difficulty with common social expectations/interactions.
You scored better than half in all three, earning you the title of: Outcast Genius.

Outcast geniuses usually are bright enough to understand what society wants of them, and they just don't care! They are highly intelligent and passionate about the things they know are *truly* important in the world. Typically, this does not include sports, cars or make-up, but it can on occassion (and if it does then they know more than all of their friends combined in that subject).

Outcast geniuses can be very lonely, due to their being outcast from most normal groups and too smart for the room among many other types of dorks and geeks, but they can also be the types to eventually rule the world, ala Bill Gates, the prototypical Outcast Genius.

Congratulations!


Also, you might want to check out some of my other tests if you're interested in any of the following:

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Professional Wrestling

Love & Sexuality

America/Politics

Thanks Again! -- THE NERD? GEEK? OR DORK? TEST

Link: The Nerd? Geek? or Dork? Test written by donathos on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test View My Profile(donathos)

Thinking

I think I might have to drop out of the Wednesday night Vampire game. There are various reasons, which I will explain below, but what they all come down to is: I don't have enough time right now--either to familiarize myself with the rules of the game, or to participate in this particular chronicle.

For one thing, those of us playing the game never know if that week's session will go until 8pm or until 10pm. I don't like to stay out too late on weeknights, so that I can at least try to get things done at home and/or relax before I have to go to sleep for work in the morning, but if I'm at the Haven until 10pm, then there isn't much I can do after that. Even after school's out and I've found somewhere to live after June 30, this fact alone could be a deal-breaker.

Then there's the fact that finals are coming up in 2½ weeks. I'll have to at least read my notes again. Not to mention, I haven't finished my night sky observations yet.

Looking for a house and/or new job takes up a lot of time too. And the stress is awful.

When I first started playing the Vampire game, I wasn't all that prepared. I just saw Dan making up his character with a few of the Vampire books sitting on the table around him and asked if I could join in the game. Carl said it was okay, so I started making up my character. He read a bunch of things out of the book about the game, and talked about each of the clans and the traditions and stuff, but I was only able to half-listen, since I was trying to get my character created quickly so we could start the game. I missed most of what he said.

I think what I might do is drop out of this particular Vampire game, then when their adventure is over, if they start a new one after all the stress is over (either with the same characters or new ones), I might join in then. I figure by the time their current chronicle is finished, I'll have had time to read through the rulebook (and maybe a few of the options that I have in PDF format), so I'll understand the game better, and therefore be at least a little better at it.

Thoughts?