1. Technical snafus are making my long day even longer. It's a good thing I was already planning to come into work tomorrow, because I sure won't get everything I need to done today.

2. I have a meeting with my boss after lunch that I'm a little nervous about and also a little excited about. I don't make a lot of demands at work, but today I'm making a few.

3. Installed the Kindle for Android app on my phone, and it's cooler than I thought it would be. On the plus side: lots of Barry Hannah books available! On the minus side: only ONE J.G. Ballard book available. WTF?? The man wrote almost 40 books!

1. Have been out at the theatre festival every night since last Thursday. I have no show today, so, I might not do anything related to the festival tonight and have a little stay-in!!!

2. Had a good meeting this week with an Artistic Director that was extremely helpful. Nice to work with someone who gets my process, even when I am struggling. I'll start Draft 3 on Monday.

3. Performed this poem last night with a chorus. It was interesting programming on a bill that is usually music and comedy!

4a. Met someone. And by someone, I mean a German theatre artist. And by met, I mean, worked with him on the chorus thing above, but hardly said two words to him, but gave him some of my best dazzling smiles. I believe that they had intended effect. We have friends in common, but he is only here for another week or so. Also, chain-smoker.

1. I have been sick for close to a week now. Not great for work, but worse, I'm not sure I'll be better in time for the Toronto meetup tomorrow.

2. As a result of 1 above, I haven't been to the gym in a week either, and now my back is complaining about the lack of exercise by hurting a lot.

3. As a result of 2 above, sleeping has been difficult for a couple of days. I am so glad it's finally Friday.

Now listen to me, universe: this will not do! I expect things to improve immediately!

1) Crazy couple weeks at work, which have been both good and bad. Good that some things breaking have reminded me that I like what I do, and that I'm good at it. Bad in that it's left me wiped out by day's end!

2) Going to a goodbye party for a friend of mine tonight. This will be a fun night, but it's lame to have good friends move away! On the upside, he's not moving too far.

3) That's about all I've got.

1. Headed off to Va Beach this weekend to visit some family. Having spent last weekend in NoVa, I wish we were just staying home. But I get to see my nephew, so that's a plus!
2. I probably just did something stupid. I have been frustrated by an ongoing discussion on the gray over a new poster who may or may not be pulling a stunt. She recently claimed she is Spanish by birth, and that is her native tongue, so I sent her a really nice long memail in Spanish, filled with colloquialisms and hard to place idioms. I obviously fall into the category of people who don't think she is being up front. I probably shouldn't have done that, but I have a nasty streak in me this morning.
3. Furthering the nasty streak, since she claims to be fluent in four languages, and I know two of the four, by process of elimination, I probably know the other two as well, and warmly invited her to respond in either of those two languages as well.

I want you to know, I don't normally do this stuff. It's just that The Green is in my estimation one of the most valuable pieces of real estate on the web, and I get really grumpy when I feel like someone is playing with it and eliciting sincere answers for made-up situations.

1) I have completely inverted my sleep schedule. It's 9:40 AM and almost my bedtime.

2) This is unproductive and frustrating.

3) Oh well.

BitterOldPunk, the obvious solution would be to travel to the other side of the world. A good 12 hours of jet lag should nicely offset this "jet lead" that you have going on right now, no?

1. Exciting/exhausting weekend ahead of me! Hosting a baby shower, going to a meetup, and the start of the Fringe Festival! I have 3 volunteer shirts on Sunday alone.
2. Spent my whole evening last night cooking, chopping and preparing stuff for the shower. Going to Costco tonight to pick up some things, like the cake. Then, to the church for setup! I bought books and little IKEA stuffed animals to place around the room. Then, home for more cooking. Whew, I'll be happy when it's all over.
3. Leftover pizza for lunch! Mmmmmmmmm.

1. Hooray for today! Going to see Scott Pilgrim tonight with the lovely pinky! I have been waiting for this movie for years, literally, and will be seeing it again on Sunday with a different friend.

2. I'm skipping my volunteer job this afternoon b/c I'm tired and b/c I want to run by Target. Only I left my shopping list at home. :(

3. Working all day/night Saturday, but hoping to squeeze in some weekend time to finish the baby blanket for my impending nephew while watching more of Veronica Mars on Netflix instant (even though I own the DVDs).

I obviously fall into the category of people who don't think she is being up front. I probably shouldn't have done that, but I have a nasty streak in me this morning.

There's a similar situation on one of my email lists. One of the biggest braggarts claimed a couple of days ago to have had a serious stroke, yet was posting long, erudite emails via his iPhone 'from the ICU where I am in critical condition'.

Not to be outdone, his rival-in-braggadocio posted yesterday that he had been taken to the ER suffering from a near-fatal heart attack, but was able to post to the list from his iPad whilst undergoing a treadmill test.

It's amazing how many people fell for it. Those of us who are hard-bitten and cynical were threatened with being unsubbed for a week for calling bullshit on them.

I'm actually dead. Posting this from my iPad in my coffin. Could someone funnel down some orange soda and Doritos? Thanks.

1. Project "fix the chimney" which was supposed to start at oh dark thirty this morning failed to start at all. Where oh where are my masons? I think this may be due to the dark and gloomy storm clouds looming over everything, but... yeah. A call would have been nice.

2. I really, really, really need to just get my birth certificate from Florida already and be done with it, so I can do other bureaucratic nonsense (like have a Wisconsin driver's license and maybe ever leave the country by having a passport) but... yeah. Procrastination is fabulous. I'm hoping to get off my butt and make that happen today.

3. Laundry laundry laundry. And then maybe I'll play a game...

1. Ten days ago I thought I might have gotten a fabulous job AND that if I didn't get that one there was a backup job waiting. Ha. Didn't get the first job & it turns out that the second job doesn't actually exist.

2. Yeah, well. A lot of other stuff is not so good at all. I will not dwell on it.

3. However I'm having a (mostly photography, some paintings & drawings) show that's opening on August 26 so I'm psyched about that. Look for an AskMe coming soon about cheap alternatives in framing and an announcement of the opening in IRL.

1. Out with work folk last night, saw my phone displaying 5 missed calls from mother/father/brother, 3 voicemails, and 4 text messages saying "Check your email right NOW." Panicked. Heart thumped. Checked email. Loading... loading... loading for the longest 2 minutes of my life... and oh look, it's 13 pictures of a new puppy they got.

2. I seriously love my job. Days spent transcribing 18th century gossipy letters are days well spent.

3. Oh hey, wasn't there that Metachat thing I signed up for a while ago? Yeah, there it is. Ahem.

1) vaguely annoyed (see below)

2) short on sleep (ditto)

3) Looming Deadlines are Looming :P

1. The kids I nanny for are in RARE. FORM. I can not leave them unsupervised for five minutes to do things like MAKE THEIR LUNCH without screaming, crying, banging or thudding, like... oh, I'm going to have to continue this comment (trying to write while a sandwich is toasting) later because SOMEONE IS CRYING.

Half an hour later...

2. 10 weeks pregnant today! 10! Ten! Weeks! First trimester isn't officially over yet (still not completely public, so shhhh, don't tell FaceBook), but I'm suddenly NOT queasy anymore. Which is awesome. Finally being able to eat like a human should help keep my energy up enough to deal with #1.

3. I need a nap.

1. Friday is Wet Cat Food Day. This means I have no chance for a nap cuz of all the cat lovin' I'll get.
2. I moved all the meds I could to nighttime, and I am feeling way better for it.
3. My interest in playing and writing new music is improving steadily. I hadn't realized how deep the depression hit me after last year's bypass. Now I seem to have it under control.
3.a. May seem unrelated but it's not: I am tolerating the heat outside fairly well.

1. I am SO NESTING. I have been obsessed with babies and engagements and weddings and all that for quite a while now, but sometimes I just get especially snuggly. Happily, my partner isn't fazed at all. Oh, the possibilities!

2. We are going to the theatuh tonight to see Company/a friend of mine whom I've known since we were drama geeks in high school. He was nice enough to invite us over to his house out of the blue last month, and since then we have been getting reacquainted with him and some other high school friends (who happen to live in our building). I hope we can have dinner with the latter couple. It feels good to be supporting friends in their performances, and I'm excited to find new old friends at this time in our lives who seem to be a lot closer to the way we live than some of the other people we've hung out with.

3. We might run into my ex, specifically my ex and his newly-minted fiancee. Two things here: first, like my partner says, "he may only have proposed to her because she actually puts up with his shit, including the drinking," and second, that living well is the best revenge. (Pity I am in the middle of my usual summer/girltime face explosion.)

(and yes, #3 might poke at #1 a teensy bit, but DAMMIT IT IS NOT A COMPETITION AND WE ARE IN LOVE OKAY)

1. Going up to San Juan island on Sunday. For the first time, staying in a B and B rather than camping. We have decided to take bikes rather than our kayak, but will probably rent a kayak while up there. The place is on the far side of the island, near Haro Strait, where you can see Orcas from the shore (if you can see them anywhere).

2. Tying up loose ends at work prior to being gone a week is a drag. Also, shopping, getting the car ready, making sure there is enough money, nailing down ferry times, etc. is stressful.

2a. Just discovered that work veh. has a flat tire, making my Friday more complex.

3. Daughter going to Portland State after a year off from college. College money is in a TSA, which I am working on drawing from. Even though I am legally entitled to penalty-free withdrawal, actually getting the money in my checking acct. is proving to be very twisty and long.

Wow, congrats grapefruitmoon! Yay babbies!

Thanks, gaspode :) I spend so much time covered in babbies, it seemed like it was time for one of my own!

18th century from where, Catseye?

1. Also, chain-smoker.

Smoke all you want. Just don't be a vegetarian. (Male college friend coming to visit this week, a total sweetie but I literally shudder when I think of trying to share my 24/7-personal-space with someone who only eats rabbit food.)

2. msali's last paragraph.

3. Haircut and oil change tomorrow. Maintenance of the body and the car.

TPS, I could put up a satellite dish for you....

That would be faboo! And a wireless router, plz, I need increased signal strengh to use the Netflix app.

I basically posted this in the Friday the 13th thread, but here it is again:

1. TheDonF and I are utterly exhausted, but we our interview at the American consulate in London this morning, and they approved his greencard. This has been months in coming, and we are so relieved.

2. Drinking wine now, making pizza.

3. Trying to sort through and label and tag about 400 photos from our trip to Paris and Florence. This is just going to have to wait: the movers are coming on Monday.

1. I'm free, FREE! I finally finished the two on-line ed. classes I was taking to keep up my state certification. Blah. I really shouldn't have taken two in the summer, when they only give you a month to finish (the courses amount to about 50+ hours of work each). In the fall, you get four months for the same amount of work. Of course, in the fall, I'm also teaching, so there's that. But I'm done, DONE! At least for now. Only four more courses to go. Damn state.

Damn classes ate up all my monthly wireless time in three days, too (5 GBs' worth). It finally pushed me to set up a home network, though, which I successfully did. Yay, me! (It only took me five hours instead of the 15 minutes Staples guaranteed -- they owe me twenty bucks, as part of the guarantee -- but it works like a charm now. Plus, I can cancel my Verizon wireless and save sixty bucks a month. I really don't use my laptop much outside the house.)

2. I'm eating garlic and herb goat cheese on onion crackers, sipping some hard cranberry lemonade and watching Nalbandian get his butt kicked by Murray, which the announcers seem surprised by, but not I. Murray's the better player, though Nalbandian has had a streak lately. (Looking forward to the U.S. Open in a couple weeks. I have tickets for three days, and I may add one more, if tickets are available.)

3. My mom's doing much better. She's living on her own again and doing well (knock on my wooden head). A physical therapist and a nurse have been going by the house. I stayed with her a few days when she first got out of the nursing home (rehab. floor), but I mainly hung around, for security, and helped her shop. My brothers are nearby, too. I'll go see her in the next week or two for a couple days, before school starts back up.

Yay grapefruitmoon!!! Congratulations on babby!!!

Thanks, ramix :)

1. Went all the way down to NARA to find out that the coordinator of the program is on vacation. Grr. Waste of $15.

2. Went to Ashton to pick up tools (my father was quite distressed at my lack of a hammer so he bought a bag and all these tools so I will be prepared to fuck shit up) and chatted with my mother about my brother.

3. Wrote a big check for Wayne State today for the fall semester. I'm starting to get very nervous about the end (Fall 2011). I like my job but I know that I can't stay there once I have my degree.

1. My 13 year old cat (who still looked like a kitten) had to be put down when we brought her to the Animal Medical Center with trouble breathing. We are are all shaken up at the unexpectedness and sadness, especially . . .

2. . .my son (age 17) who never lost a pet before and who just had all 4 wisdom teeth removed.

3. 2 points are more than enough right now, thank you.

(Oh--we still have another cat, her sister, who seems shaken up too.)

I am so sorry, OR, both for the loss of your cat and your poor son's sore mouth.

Catseye-I'd have killed them.

Good for you, grapefruitmoon. Babybunnies are great.

1- teenage son is acting like a little shit. Big surprise, they do that. Doesn't mean I have to like it.

2- extreme heat (today =106) means a/c can't keep up. House of five too-hot people means cranky grumpiness. See #1.

3-No end in sight for #2.

Oh, OR, big hugs to you and slightly smaller, gentler but still somewhat manly hugs to your son. I'm so sorry.

Melismata: 18th century Scotland. Young drunk nobles probably sound quite similar all over the world, though ;)

Congratulations, grapefruitmoon!

Oh man, so sorry for your loss, Obscure Reference :(

And thanks, toastedbeagle & Catseye :)

Way, way cool, Catseye! Thanks. :)

1. I got a postcard from ColdChef. Neat-o.

2. Am trying very very very hard not to have to go the annual multi-office "retreat," sure to be a colossal waste of time.

3. Very Minor Annoyance Filter: If I can't figure out how to fix the ripping lining in my purse I may have to get a new one. Purses are hard for me to buy.

1. First week back at work and I'm Very Annoyed at my boss, who basically shuffed off everything he needed to cover for me. And they weren't that hard. Which led to...

2. One of my staff getting reamed by folks Outside and Inside because he didn't have the authority to take care of things, so now I'm placating people right and left

3. (also from fri/13 thread) I'm wound tight because there's nobody here to cover phones and I really need to get a workout in.

1. Similar to BitterOldPunk, my sleep schedule is all fucked up and it's driving me bonkers.

2. Not going to the Ren Faire this weekend; mister getting over a stomach bug and it's too damned hot. Gonna go next weekend regardless unless something dreadful happens.

3. The mister is buying a new pc today and I'm jealous. But his current pc keeps crashing and he needs it to be working as he works from home (VPN). I'll get a new one in a few months.

Obscure Reference - I'm so sorry for your loss. Big hugs to you and yours.

grapefruitmoon - Congratulations on the baby 'moon!

Congratulations, grapefuitmoon!

And I'm so sorry, Obscure Reference.

As for me:

1. One of my clients is having a manic episode, for the first time since I've been treating them, and things are not going well. The client seems to be safe, for now, but I'm not sure how long that will last and while I'm doing everything I legally and ethically can to help, I really wish I could be doing more.

2. This morning I had to drive 45min. down to the far-away car dealership to get my air conditioning fixed, because the close-by car dealership service department sucks. But I really like the people at the far-away car dealership, and through a combination of giving them super-great reviews and playing them off the incompetent close-by dealership, I have given them a lot of incentive to (a) fix my car properly, (b) treat me really well, and (c) feel happy about doing both. Which is nice.

3. Ikkyu2 and I need to assemble a platform bed this weekend, and then figure out a way to attach our old headboard to the new frame (which is not set up for a headboard). I'm a little apprehensive about the whole project.

1. I totally fucked up a meeting today, and am generally feeling very unhappy and frustrated with work.
2. My daughter is sick so we can't go to the Children's museum as planned or go school shopping.
3. They had gyros in the cafeteria at work today, and they were delicious! So things aren't all bad.

Hugs all around for celebrating and grieving bunnies, and all the bunnies in between.

1: Took some practice exams for a certification I want to do, flunked miserably. Well, better to find that out now than before spending the $400 to take the exam. Much more study ahead of me.

2: My cousin is driving down from Seattle for a night out. It should be fun, and I get to eat at somewhere yummy after watching the Adult Soapbox Derby.

3: I still can't figure out if I should go back to school in the fall or not. I'm leaning ever so slightly toward not, even though I really want to finish the degree and learned really a lot last year.

Bonus 4, as I am apparently avoiding studying: A book came into the library that I've been really looking forward to reading, so tonight I am going to walk down to a favorite bar, have a few pints and read. I'm way more excited about this plan than I should be.

1. OMG grapefruitmoon! Congratulations! And OR, I'm so sorry about your cat. More hugs to both of you.

2. In my CSA haul this week: porny carrots. (We've all seen crotch carrots, but have you ever seen them grow all entwined? Such that they're clearly having steamy carrot sex?)

3. Atmospheric conditions are such that woodsmoke from my neighbor's chimney is coming in my windows and making my eyes all watery and itchy.