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06 October 2008
Tell Me About Your Weekend Please summarize what you did this weekend, and how you enjoyed it overall on a scale of 1-10 (10 high).
Celebrated wedding anniversary: dinner out, Shudder to Think show. Home to find out that baby had been a bit of a handful for her grandma :)
An 8 or 9.
mine started on Friday with free food and libations at a networking gig. Saturday slept in (a bit, for me, I got up at 7 instead of 5) and went to brunch with a good friend. Then we continued the party theme with 2 back-to-back 30th birthday celebrations for friends. Party 1.0 was a round dozen of the Denver Cruiser kids terrorising the locals of Wash Park and vicinity. Party 2.0 involved a stack of the mister's friends and had a weirdly Wisconsin lumberjack-and-cheese theme that devolved nicely into a drinking game that involved pounding nails at 1AM. Sunday was a long, long, long, LONG hungover mountain bike excursion with several of the survivors of Party 2.0, that ended about 10 minutes before the deluge hit, and adjourned in a local watering hole that made me the biggest turky-and-hummus sandwich I've ever seen in my life.
Friday night I did nothing. I watched a show on Discovery about the construction of an ice hotel in Sweden with the kids and husband. Saturday I supervised the neighborhood hooligans and talked with my neighbors and did a whole lot of nothing. Saturday night I went to bed early after my husband sneakily stole the remote from my lap. He immediately laughed, apologized, and offered to give it back. I looked around, felt uninspired to watch or do anything, and went to bed. Sunday I went to a birthday party at the skating rink. I skated a lot with my kids, talked with the moms, and laughed to myself at all of the inappropriate songs the teenage DJs were playing for a rink filled with primarily little kids.
Hey, shawty what I gotta do to get you home
My jeans filled with gwap and they're ready for showing
Cadillacs laid back for the sexy grown
Patron on the rocks that'll make you moan
One stack (come on), two stacks (come on), three stacks (come on)
Now that's three grand
What you think I'm playing baby girl I'm the man
I'll bend the rubber bands
That's when I threw her legs on my shoulders
I knew it was over
That heny and Cola got me like a soldier
She ready for Rover, I couldn't control her
So lucky, oh me, I was just like clover
Shawty was hot like a toaster
Sorry but I had to fold her
Like a pornography poster
This was one of the tamer songs. Sunday afternoon I listened to music and cleaned a little. Sunday night my sister and nephew came over for dinner. I made cheese ravioli and salad. After they left I was bored out of my gourd. Nothing appealed. My husband was watching baseball and football. I wasn't in the mood for sports. I ate a bag of popcorn and watched and episode of Snapped on WE television in another room and went to bed at 10.
Saturday: spent the day at an excellent art fest in a town nearby. Gorgeous weather, cool art. Saturday night my dad and brother were in town, so the 4 of us went out to dinner at a nearby Tex-Mex place and had a great time. Saturday was a 9.
Sunday: was awakened by a panicked phone call from Mom saying a pipe had burst and flooded her kitchen. Had to go over and bail out her kitchen, use a shop vac to suck 100+ gallons of water out of the air ducts, mop, attempt to dry carpets in the two nearest rooms, AND repair the broken pipe (under the kitchen sink). Got home well after 8 PM.
A definite 2. (My mom would probably say it was a 1.)
I need to add in Thursday...visited with gaspode and saw podelette for the first time! She has a headful of thick dark red hair and gaspode's oval face. Went to see South Pacific--I had seen the movie a long time ago, but I didn't remember what happened to Liat then...and it was up in the air what her fate would be in this version: pimped by her mother, marrying the horrible French Planter, suicide?
Friday: Movie glut, gym, last strawberries for the season were at Union square, my throat was itching, nothing I did helped and I came down with a sinus infection which has turned into bronchitis.
Saturday: Nick Cave concert, went to Stout afterwards and had to eat in bar area. Two guys tried to dump their glasses on my table while they went out for a smoke, but I wouldn't let them.
Sunday: more movies and gym.
I had considered getting an Echo and the Bunnymen ticket, but Ian McCulloch's voice sounded horrible the last two times I've seen him and the music was heavy over the vocals on the last album...I still regret I didn't go.
Sunday : attempted to go Ikea but traffic was solid on the North Circular so I browsed Homebase instead. They had the table I want but only if I buy 4 dining chairs too. I don't need chairs. I want the table to use as a desk. Cold, wet, miserable weather, dark all day.
I got sick this weekend and missed a concert and a friend's bday party. I saw a movie, walked around, went to the dog park with another friend.
Watched SNL and drank a lot of tea.
I'd give it a 5.
Friday night: internet gaming & booze--8
Saturday: household chores, including dealing with the nice plumber who was only able to replace 2 of 3 subpar toilets because of missing parts, errands, missing of a cocktail party, staying up too late worrying about random things--5
Sunday: brunch with family, shopping with sister, lunch with sister (discovering second location of a favorite local restaurant), cooking--9
Friday night: passed up playing Settlers and drinking with real friends for some WoW-related stuff that didn't end up happening. (1)
Saturday: a bit of labbing then I had my first ever official horseback riding lesson, watched the ND game and had chili at a friend's. We finished off the night by seeing Ghostworld. (10)
Sunday: Puttered in the am then went to lunch at a pub, did a few errands and went out to my parent's, which are crazy. (7)
Ate a pound of boiled shrimp and a dozen deviled eggs. Listened to pips explain to her hard-of-hearing mother how to fix the TV. Watched two guys hang a bag filled with a shampoo sample bottle on my doorknob and take a picture of it. Downloaded a lot of wild weird music including Faro Islands folk-metal and some Latin soul.
Friday night: Saw An American Carol. Laughed my butt off even tho the script could have been a lot better and a few parts were a wee bit offensive. (I don't think children should say sh*t even if it's in the script.)
Saturday: Library, Starbucks (the new signature hot chocolate was a bit dusty tasting) and then online for Palin tix. Then a manicure-first one in thirty years! Went home, ate ice cream, collapsed into bed.
Sunday. slept in, then church (we go to a 12 o'clock service) then I went home and ate a bite, rested, then got ready and went to a candidate forum where I was put to work selling raffle tickets. Met a lovely black couple selling an antiObama book. (really!) Got to hear a former POW who was in Hanoi with McCain, also got to see the Republican candidate for governor. He has a good chance of winning.
I was given one of the lovely floral table centerpieces as a thankyou for selling tickets, which I wasn't expecting.
Went home, started writing a song that I just now finished which will be performed tonight. (hope me!)
Friday night I went to the Railway for the First Annual Accordion Noir festival; it was packed, noisy, and disorganized, though fun. Sat with one friend that I hadn't seen for a very long time, her MS is markedly worse, which is of course troubling; saw another friend who was visiting in town and who I hadn't seen since, lemme think about this, 1985, when she was deeply involved in the squatting movement in the East Village. She was always beautiful, but now, in her mid 40s, is even more so. We left around midnight, and missed the main band, but I was just too tired to last any longer. Saturday my son was in town and had stayed at my place the previous couple of nights; we tried to go out to breakfast but everywhere had lineups, and he decided to head back to Victoria. I only saw him for about half an hour; oh well. I got a coffee, went home, read the papers, listened to the Opera on CBC 2, and took a three hour nap (it had been a long and exhausting week). The rest of Saturday and Sunday I read Emma Donoghue's new novel (The Sealed Letter) in two long gulps; messed around on the internet; listened to Arve Henriksen on repeat; had a visit from my upstairs neighbour; put off my usual Sunday dinner with my mom until today; and Sunday evening did the standard requirements: laundry, dishwasher, water plants, dust, blah blah. I ate mostly cereal, when I know I should at least make a gesture towards cooking. Since I don't have to cook for my son anymore I just don't bother to cook for myself. Got some writing done. Stayed up too late last night, as usual.
Overall: music, socializing, and solitude; a good balance of all three. I'll give it an 8.
Friday: Baked a cake for my boyfriend's birthday, got Thai take-out for him, watched a movie snuggled on the couch (9)
Saturday: Farmers' Market downtown, some good veggies but not the walnuts I had hoped to see. Started to get sick, went to Ikea, but was too fuzzy headed to buy what we needed to buy. Knitted on the couch with a movie (7)
Sunday: Definitively sick, achy, sore throat. Knitted for most of the day on the couch, watching bad TV. (7)
Got a lot to do this week, so I can't be sick anymore!!
Saturday: Spent a gorgeous day in SF at the free bluegrass festival that I've been going to for the past 6 years. Saw Nick Lowe, Joe Purdy, Emmy Lou Harris, Steve Earle etc.
Sunday: Coffee, brunch, read paper, then book, nap, movie, tea, NPR, some work.
I've seen Tyr twice, and enjoyed 'em, but they have a stage presence that largely consists of standing there in one spot. They didn't opt to play any of the instrumentals (where they really shine), and that sing-song-y, chant style of vocals is really great to space out to when I'm listening to the CDs but seemed to leave the audience a little puzzled. They did open with a folk tune done a capella in 4-part harmony that was really impressive.
Went to Portland with a bunch of guys for my best friend's bachelor party.
Hung out at Union Jack's on Friday, got to our rented houses at 4AM.
Went out for breakfast Saturday morning, returned to the house and slept until 6. We piled into cabs and headed to The Acropolis, where we had $8 steaks and downed a few pitchers. Then we hit The Devil's Point, DV8 and ended up at Sassy's.
We made a run to Voodoo Donut for bacon-topped maple bars, then headed crashed.
Stopped at Burgerville in Chehalis on the way home.
Wolfdog, Tyr are great but it's the Irish and Scottish folk-metal that I'm digging even more. Great riffery, good textures with the folk instrumentation and a refreshing sense of humor.
Friday:
Woken up by my father early because he wanted me to go look up land records at the courthouse. Yes, it sucked. Spent all day at the courthouse with a blistering headache that wasn't helped by trying to decipher handwritten notations on the covenants for the housing association we currently live in. Spent all day there and came home to see my brother grilling dinner (surprisngly because he rarely makes it down to our house when he says he's on his way). Ate a tasty dinner, got presents from the folks. Listened to the inevitible argument that always occurs whenever my family manages to congregate in one place for longer than the time it takes to shove food in your mouth as quickly as possible. Went to bed super early (as in 7pm. Without taking sleeping pills, which is a fucking miracle as far as I'm concerned.)
Saturday: Woke up at 8am, quite confused. (See previous evening.) Mom manages to convince me to go to the mall with her (a tricky situation). We go and everything is chill. I hint to her about my trip and she FUCKING EXPLODES at me. Basically I'm a horrible person for even THINKING about taking an extended trip and that I obviously can't take care of myself for longer than 5 minutes at a time. (Plus the whole forigeners are ebil speech, which I expected from my brother, but not quite so much from her.) Then she tried to do the whole "well I'll just go with you, because you will obviously fuck this up." I don't think she understood my HELL TO THE MOTHERFUCK NO was about her. At any rate, went to bed around 9pm (typical time) because I get to work on Sunday. Fuckup that I am, I still manage to have a job.
Sunday: Go to work, planning on testing some of the equipment that I think is broken, but no one knows for certain. The internet (read: the databases and everything else we use) won't stay active/connected for longer than 10 minutes at a stretch. So basically I keep having to log ALL THE FUCKING COMPUTERS AND DATABASES back on every time it drops out. Which drives me batty. I do some shelving, fill some requests, and end up leaving an hour early just because while I hate being at home, the lack of consistent internet is worse.
Overall, about a 5. Today included, -1 million. (I've been thinking about going into the stacks to go cry for a while. I should've seen this coming, but nooooooooooo, my brain decides it wants to be a fuckface and ruin this weekend too.)
(Note: As I typed this comment, the internet crapped out 3 times. Thanks IT, thanks.)
Saturday: Canvased for Obama in the afternoon, Pittsburgh has too many damn hills. Came home and napped.
Sunday: Worked on the house, stripping woodwork, in the afternoon. Took my son out to dinner to celebrate his birthday, came home and watched Ur Stillers beat Jacksonville.
Friday: Class, then skipped a school mixer because there was no room in the bar, went to another bar with a smaller group and had some beer and a burger. Then SAW NEIL GAIMAN READ THE GRAVEYARD BOOK WHICH WAS AWESOME. Then there was some awkwardness with the guy the Neil Gaiman event was supposed to be a date with but extra classmates came along (he invited them, not me). Went to bed.
Saturday: Woke up to angsty email from guy. Stressed out. Farmer's market, bought 20# of tomatoes to can. Hardware store, bought canning supplies. Looked for citric acid in three different stores, no luck. Took bus to Whole Foods to buy citric acid and flour. Barely missed the bus that would have gotten me home promptly, had to wait 20 minutes. Wrote email back to guy. Felt overwhelmed. Failed to can tomatoes.
Sunday: Woke up way too early and decided to do laundry and make rhubarb pie and bread before Meeting, had to leave them before baking because I was running late. Went to Meeting, stressed out during, met guy for pseudo date which was all kind of awkward after the email exchange, missed my ex, missed my ex, missed my ex. Bought sneakers, went home. Baked pie and bread. Pie and bread both came out lousy; had to throw the pie away because it was inedible; bread was bland and moisture-sucking. Had a stressy mopey lousy day for the rest of it. Made spreadsheets.
Today: New sneakers rubbing blisters on my heels. Ran late this morning. Had a good meeting with my adviser who told me to go for the extra Masters degree.
Overall? Somewhere around a 4. Friday was more like an 8, Neil was an 11.
Saturday, had a day alone, puttering. Then, with said wife, watched the Ducks get humiliated by SC. Schadenfreude to the max, even if one was rooting for them. Very ugly. Then had a mini Buffython (we are working our way through Season 4) until SNL, then went to bed after the Tina Fey appearance.
Yesterday, a very nice hike at Mt. Pisgah. A large, very woodsy area just out of town. An average night last night.
We went to the Apple Butter Frolic! We made corn husk dolls and took a hayride, went through the hay maze and watched them make apple butter in a big giant pot over an open fire. I bought some local honey and apple butter straight from the pot--so hot they had to bag it so I wouldn't burn my hands.
Sometimes I really love small town livin'. I give it an 8.
worked on my halloween costume: 11
seriously, I hoped to get the corset done this weekend. I did. and I did about 80% of the skirt, too. as well as getting everything else I need together. Now all I have left is to finish the skirt and shirt.
Pop Montreal festival was this weekend. I bailed on almost everything I planned to do, due to laziness and broke-ness, and I'm not feeling too remorseful. I'd give the weekend a 5/10 -- I had a fine time on my own but I really should've gone out to a couple of the things I wanted to do. Ech, most of the bands I wanted to see are folks I know or bands that play here regularly so whatever.
I spent the weekend --- the entire weekend --- writing a paper on economic language in Shakespeare's sonnets 4 and 129, eating tomato soup and cheese sandwiches since I was in full non-cooking mode, and trying to find and fix the smoke alarms going off (at maddeningly infrequent intervals) in our building's basements.
The weekend hovered between a 5 and a 7, with a low of 2 when the alarm, which had stopped for hours, resumed Sunday afternoon, and a high of 10 (11!) when I finished my paper well before bedtime Sunday night.
Now I'm working on a paper due Wednesday, for another class. Sigh. Let's call it a 4.
photo by splunge
photo by TheophileEscargot
photo by Kronos_to_Earth
photo by ethylene
