Also, the bunny is tired too. (And shedding like a mofo)
≡ Click to see image ≡

I am screwed this weekend. I have absolutely no fun stuff planned, despite there is a meetup this afternoon/evening right around the corner from my house. I won't be making it.
I have to clean out my new house (I'm a homeowner, btw. My husband and I purchased our first house yesterday), and paint EVERY FREAKING ROOM after we tear down all of the OLD FREAKING WALL PAPER.
Plus, we can't move anything in yet, because we have to tear up the floors in 75% of the house to put in new flooring. I am not packed nearly enough for the move, which we anticipate will take place next Friday, if we are lucky. I am a bunny filled with frustration right now, that's what I am.

So far:

Thurs/Friday: just finished a two-day Community Organizer training session with the SEIU Local folks I've been working with on Healthcare Reform.

Talk to me about how YOU can help make affordable public healthcare a reality in this country.

Saturday morning: quick DJ set at the station for a local youth symphony organization.

Sunday: Brave New Opry show at said station with Miko riding shotgun on-air with me (you should all def check this out! Sunday 10 - Noon EST and it's streamable and archived on our website for a week following the show - wscafm.org!) You get two, two, two metachatters for the price of one tomorrow on the raydee-o!

Monday: Doing my new world music show, Mundo Mondays in the a.m., and then maybe doing more community organizing including working with someone here locally to help do some veterans-related outreach for a few hours. I'll do some digging this weekend and see who needs some help.

Chicago's weekend forecast continues to change with every passing hour. For now, it looks like today's going to be the winner, with perhaps a passing shower in the 5-7pm area. (Right when the BBQ we're going to is scheduled to start, of course.)

But even if it rains the whole time, it's wonderful to have my first day off since New Year's. I'm more nervous about next weekend, when my parents are coming into town so my dad can see his first game at Wrigley. The forecast had been for sunny mid-70s since the day popped onto the 10-day forecast, but this morning I awoke to find it with a 60% chance of rain. I know, I know, no sense worrying when it's that far away, because it'll change every day up until, I just really want a nice day at the ballpark.

Holiday weekend? Oh! I should, uh, have more contact with the world of calendars.

But! I've been tackling a lot of projects and small but necessary arrangements. Mostly wedding-craft stuff; those weary of hearing about our freakin' wedding, beware! But I'm so pleased with all these finicky little projects have turned out!

So far I have:
- finished making 3 dozen ridiculous costume moustaches.
- designed a prototype saddle-stitched sketchbook, complete with stamped design on the cover.
- made eight (of a necessary dozen) of the finished sketchbooks. Then my hands cramped up.
- made a sturdier, smaller version of the same sketchbook with a plastic-protected cover.
- arranged to have the venue cleaned after the wedding.
- packed and organized the boxes of wedding supplies (plates, napkins, booze, twinkle lights, corkscrews, etc.) crammed into our tiny study.
- finished the last of the paper banners for decor.
- sorted through roughly 45 CDs from our collection looking for songs to play, with another few hundred CDs to go.
- made a beginning playlist for dancing.
- soothed the ruffled feathers of a loved one.
- made a pile of organza flowers.
- charted how many pounds/gsllons/liters of each food we'll need for the buffet.
- determined that I couldn't find shoes locally, and ordered kickass shoes online.
- changed the sheets, which had little scraps of paper and glitter all over them. (The bed is the largest flat surface in the apartment, and often the site for crafting sessions.)

In a little bit, I'm going to chug another coffee, then unleash all that caffeinated fury on the mess in the kitchen.

ALI! You have to make it to the meetup! I'm making a nummy nummerson potato salad, 100% local! But congrats on the house. I'm familiar with the stress involved.

Oh, yeah. I'm under contract for a house, finally! Cross fingers, etc. that it will happen as planned. I don't have faith in the process, to tell you the truth.

Ok, this weekend: I've been up and cooking for the meetup (see above), and I went to the farmer's market. I also did some yardwork--forked and hauled 5 loads of mulch from the front yard. I'd started working on a landscaping project, but then I got tennis elbow that has thwarted my good intentions. Now that I'm moving, I have to get the yard back to being grass posthaste. I *should* spend some time culling stuff from my house that I don't need, so I don't have to move it. I hope I actually do it.

I have house-guests coming tomorrow, apparently, but they still haven't told me when they're arriving. I hope they don't flake out- it's a dear friend from college I haven't seen in years. It's been so long that I haven't met her fiance and she hasn't met mine.

My birthday yesterday. Steve McQueen series at Lincoln center screened Enemy of the People for which Leonard Rosenman did the music. He scored Rebel Without a Cause and his first wife was like a second mother to me when I was growing up.
Spoke with my uncle when I came home. I've recently finished Marya Hornbacher's account of her being bipolar and am curious to know if his experience with it is similar. He confirmed that my mother is in denial that I want nothing more to do with her.

I had thought that my father and I would be spending the whole day today together, but he told me he and my mother are having dinner with a friend of the family (who knows about the situation with chupahija).He is not willing to go to an exhibit with me; just to lunch.

It turns out that I can't receive incoming messages on my landline.

Going to see my cousins in Princeton tomorrow. Do not know if my father's first cousin is still craving pizza. My father wants to give stuff to her grandchildren, but wants ME to buy it when he can perfectly well do it himself. Am rather annoyed, but this is typical of him.

Ash scattering Monday. My brother rented a boat, but I do not want to be stuck on one with my mother. Will have movie glut.

I hope everyone invited has fun at Jan's party.

I am moving this weekend. Packed everything up, and there's no way it will all fit in the car. My parents are coming down to help me pack....my dad is the Houdini of packing...but I think they'll still end up shipping me a bunch of stuff. So today, packing and cleaning, tomorrow drive halfway to San Francisco, Monday, arrive in my new hometown.

I'm in New York City. I think that says everything that could be said about my life and my mental state right now.

But, just in case:
=D

friday afternoon : have a skin growth removed for biopsy , then when i get home , the stomach flu i have successfully avoided for the last month finally catches up to me .

at least its sunny and warm outside so i can take naps in the sun

Well, our dog is sick (mysterious neck lumps, vet isn't sure if it's lymph or salivary glads; test results won't be back til Tuesday. The kitten is better now, by the way, although it was very touch and go for a while. The pet health gods seem to hate us lately.)

But the dog is mostly ok so we've still got a full weekend planned.

Watched the Blackhawks win last night (GO HAWKS!) while finishing knitting a pair of baby booties.

The booties are for my friends' baby shower today. I'm actually making them a blanket but it's not done yet so I thought the booties would be a nice sneak preview. Should be a lovely afternoon!

Tomorrow is Bike the Drive which should be really fun. Then we'll watch the Blackhawks hopefully win again Sunday afternoon.

Monday we might finally go see the Star Trek movie.

So far? I'm still on the couch...

But later today I'm going to catch a documentary at SIFF and then a show at the Chapel.

I actually had thought I was going to have to work this weekend (at least on the monday) so I made no plans beyond today. But I ended up getting the three-day, so woohoo! Just gotta make sure I don't squander it.

Enjoying a nice cup of coffee in my near empty downtown. I'm excited to get some work done this weekend. Some new data from NASA should arrive this afternoon and it will take a full day to process.

Might go drinking later. Friends are off to see spamalot which is now in SF. I'm not a fan of musicals although I do like monty python so I am on the fence.

Otherwise no real plans.

Just got back from the Bay Area late last night . . .saw the Decemberists in Oakland, bopped around on MUNI, and collected my now dropped out daughter from college. First visit to the Green Apple Bookstore on Clement, which was a highlight.

So, not much planned this weekend except a bit of gardening and walking around town.

What long weekend?
Working tomorrow.
Working overtime on Monday.

Seconding desjardins. Working, and all the harder because the two &@*^#$ lovely co-workers who always ask for Friday/Saturday off so they can drink or have backyard barbecues have, yet again, requested off. Which is something you're really only supposed to do if you have something actually important to do. Because they don't care about screwing the rest of us.



...ah. This wasn't the shouting thread?

Okay. At least there's holiday pay on Monday?

Had to work a few hours this AM, and Monday is a normal workday.

Other than that, I'm enjoying my 36-hour weekend very much.

Getting over jet lag; back in England after two weeks in Florida. Arrived at 7.00am (2.00am FL time), kissed husband many times, said hello to in-laws, went to farmers' market, went to historical manor thing, took a little nap, took a hot shower. Now I'm lounging on the couch on my way to drunk while the boy roasts a (free-range, organic, local) chicken. Damn, I'm tired.

Soon to come: weeding the allotment, planting new stuff in the allotment, lounging on the couch while the boy makes (the most delicous) chicken potpie (in the universe), unpacking, getting ready to go back to work after two weeks off, painting my nails, cleaning the toilet, paying bills, getting a few more freckles, shopping for some cheap red peep-toe pumps. See also: avoiding dusting, watching movies and popcorn.

We had doggy birthversary today, which meant lots of lovely raw beef bits for Sky, and severalmany lovely cocktails for us. We were supposed to re-pot two bougainvilleas, but we were too tired after the hike to the butcher, the stopping for lunch, the imbibing of the severalmany cocktails, and the feeding of the dandy beefbits to the dog. I mean. There has to be a limit.

WTF, Houston? I am really visiting you for the 1st time & I'm in a hotel w/ an outdoor heated pool & T-showers are predicted fothe rest of my stay? Not kosher at all!

Though, went to a place called the Hobbit Cafe for lunch & my 1st thought is that Kelly would have loved it. Will be going to science museum after my host buys his best friend a bday present @ Williams-Sonoma, then drinking tonight cuz it's his bday today.

BTW? HTML is hard to do on a phone.

No long weekend for me, though i'm sick as a dog, and think I'll most likely be calling in sick for tomorrow, so, you know.

Weekend so far has been lovely, in spite of the cold. Had a second date with a hawt dude. i really like him, which is unusual. I don't get smitten very often. we went out for brunch at 10am yesterday morning. Ended up saying goodbye at 4pm. Sat in the cafe the entire time chatting and laughing and talking. He's really great. He's away on tour all this week, so I won't see him until the next week, and I'm kind of hanging out for it already.

also found out that a friend from high school - and coincidentally a mutual friend of my hot mohawk boy - has been quarantined with swine flu. she's a nurse and treated a patient who has the swine flu. good thing I've only spoken to her on the phone. This cold I have feels like a cold, not the flu, but I'm super wheezy and my sinus' are super blocked, and i have a headache. And.... worst of the lot - I was too sick to pash the boy!! :( DISASTER!

I am trying to get a clear picture of my future financial picture now that I am receiving SSDI, and I am having to deal with far too many parameters. Trying to figure out how Medicare fits into the puzzle (should I get Plan B?) is my biggest problem, and I doubt that student loans will continue extending forbearances for much longer. Having an ex who cannot hold a job and who is not contributing toward the support of our son doesn't help.

I have one out, closing out all my savings and investments and paying off about a third of an interest-free loan. Although that would put me well under the poverty line for about 3 1/2 years, that absence of assets would qualify me for a few federal programs that are notoriously stressful for their red tape and long waits for approval.

Sometimes I think I would be better off living month-to-month as I have been doing, and just waiting for the inevitable crash.

Worked from 8am to 6:30 pm today at the flower shop...about an hour or so into the shift I found out my friend's mom passed away-because a relative called us for flowers.
But I am now relaxing, and looking forward to three straight days off work(we are closed Monday and I have Tuesday off.) However Tuesday I need to go to friend's mom's funeral, so there's that.

Two funerals in less than a week. Not looking for the trifecta!!!

My what? Not ebverybody gets a long weekend, lady.

I spent today with friends, lots of food, lots of fun, lots of laughs, I am a lucky woman indeed. Tomorrow a flea market (by myself, boo would rather stick pins in his eyes than be dragged to a flea market on a Sunday morning), then probably out for late lunch/early dinner somewhere nice, and Monday will be a lazy day, with a visit to Brooklyn in the evening for a social event we planned a while ago.

Also, rmless's bunny looks adorable when he's tired.

yay Jan glad you are having fun.

While those of you in the UK are having long weekends, some of us had an election on. Too much campaigning plus stressful visit of famous person had me in migraine mode by 4pm sunday at which point I took a nap. Now I am going to bed to do it all again tomorrow.

If someone chaps your door be nice to them :)

Mid long weekend update:

Saturday was busy, busy busy, but the film was great, I ended up going to the reception for it, which was really a good time. The concert that night was also really nice, so a big win on the days entertainment. Today I made pancakes, relaxed, wrote up the film/art opening event on the ol blog did some shopping and am now kicking back on this beautiful day on the back porch with an Anchor Stream. Oh and in a bit I'm going to have a coffee ice cream cone. Happiness is an ice cream cone on the back porch on a hot lazy sunday evening.