1.Starting to dig out - got out of the house this morning for the first time - but roads are still not good and some still closed. My dad went to the office and his boss tried to get him to shovel snow. The hell - my dad is 64. Hire some young gun to shovel, fuckerz.

2. Otherwise fine, I love being back in Jersey. Had a great bagel for breakfast, because the bagel place managed to open!

3. Watched Eloise at Christmastime last night. Julie Andrews was in it, but it took 3/4 of the movie to recognize her. It wasn't great, but it was still better than that dumb Home Alone. It seems we have a tradition of watching some terrible Hallmark Channel Christmas movie every year. They really churn 'em out.

My dad went to the office and his boss tried to get him to shovel snow. The hell - my dad is 64.

Ooh, that would really piss me off. I hate that my 67 year old dad has to shovel my parents' walk, and that's actually his responsibility.

1. Work is very busy so far this week, and complicated by the fact that some key people are either on vacation or snowed in elsewhere in the country. Overall a good day, though.

2. Wish I could take another day off just to clean up our house, though. We've left it a little bit of a shambles after the holiday.

3. A friend is coming over for pizza and movies on Friday night, which is more "celebrating" than we usually do on NYE. I only have New Year's Day off because it's on Saturday.

1. Snow is melting here in NC, and we took the dog over to the local high school so she could get her daily walk in. It's too dangerous to walk in the park, because of the wind and icicles and whatnot.
2. I am on a major cleaning kick today, for no real good reason. My house is already pretty clean, but for some reason I woke up wanting to make the outside of my refrigerator spotless.
3. Planning our NYE open house. We are catering most things, but I want to make clam chowder and chocolate bread pudding. I can't wait.

1. Finally finished all my psych testing and went over the results with the test guy. Found out I'm borderline retarded in math. Yeah, known that since second grade, thanks. (He said they don't use 'retarded' anymore but he couldn't remember the proper term.) I'm so not looking forward to discussing these results with the shrink and pdoc. I skipped group last night because I was so bummed out. :(

2. Work has been ridiculously slow this week. I'm working on 2 articles (one on using Excel for statistics and one on using Access to create a circulation module) and I can't decide if I should just combine them since they're both pretty short. (Although the Access one has figures, which is going to be a bitch.)

3. No plans for NYE except sitting at home and probably drinking. And probably posting some horribly maudlin crap to LJ. I wish my meds were actually doing some good, but I've had a grand total of 3 'good' days according to my mood tracker with 68 'bad' days. (I think it counts things weird sometimes, but still, ugh.)

1. Bought a coffee table. Beats the trunk I was using. Not that the trunk is bad, I've had it for quite awhile, but it's not a decorative trunk so it just dominates the room in a bad way.

2. Finally getting some things in order and taking care of stuff that was overdue to get taken care of. Feels good.

3. Going to sit down tonight and figure out if I can cut back some hours at my second job.

1. Still so glad I'm not up north for all the snow.
2. Going to see "The King's Speech" with my parents and grandparents in about an hour. Suppose I should get out of my footie pajamas.
3. So lazy, zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

1. Back at work after yesterday's snow day. Still extremely too cold in my office. I am hoping that when we get reassigned seats next month I will be in a warmer part of the room.

2. No longer having cable tv means I will miss the Rose Parade on New Year's Day. Sad. It's always so pretty.

3. Nothing else going on, just the start of the long dark winter at home.

1. Yesterday I rearranged my bedroom to accommodate the mic I recently bought. Today I hope to record a song I wrote a few years back. Luckily for you, I don't sing.

2. I am a bit wrecked from some weird 'middle of the night' insomnia that lasted for 2 1/2 hours last night.

3. Last night I bit the living hell out of the inside of my cheek while eating cherry Jelly Bellys.

1. Working all week producing a special series of shows for Louisville Public Media. Part of this involves re-doing someone else's astonishingly shoddy old work. At least it's gorgeous weather here (sorry, East Coast).

2. Going to a pajama party at a hotel downtown for NYE, but my pajamas are back-ordered. Gotta find a new pair by Friday somewhere in town; hopefully they haven't all been snapped up as Xmas gifts.

3. Small-Time GRAR Dept.: Don't you hate it when you get an answer completely wrong on AskMe? *sigh*

1. I ended up putting together a NYE get-together this year with a friend of mine. I have resisted planning a NYE party since I was in college, because I used to plan every. single. one. for my group of friends. We're going to the Planetarium (my half of the plan; I get 6 people in for free with my membership!) and then hanging out at my friend's in Brooklyn (his half of the plan).

2. Work is completely dead this week. The lights on my floor shut off at 5:30 because apparently not a creature was stirring (and I guess I was sitting too still?). I'm actually quite enjoying it. I guess I'm one of those people who doesn't like other people being around. I like other people, generally, I just prefer solitude. Yes, I live in NYC. Shut up.

3. My contract ends in February and I'm worried about finding a new job. Trying to stay optimistic, and set time aside to work on my resume!

"The lights on my floor shut off at 5:30 p.m. last night..."

1. Not, not, not getting the alone time that I desperately need.

2. Snow day yesterday did not help with #1 as I spent the whole time working from home. And shoveling. My back hurts.

3. I want a new bread machine (one that does not shut off if the power goes out), but it seems silly to spend money on such a luxury, especially since I don't use it very often (old one was a gift).

1. I was taken out for dinner yesterday by Youngergirl and Mr Youngergirl (Youngerboy?) - for genuine, awesome, delicious Chicago deep-dish pizza during my layover in the city. I cannot thank them enough for their kindness, the Metachat bunny-paw of friendship reaching out to me, a complete stranger.

2. The flight took off as scheduled just after 10pm but after 2 hours we had to turn back because of a sick passenger - there was nowhere on the east coast we could divert to. So, 2 hours back to O'Hare, then another hour while they did all the mechanic checks and so eventually, more than five hours after we boarded, we finally set off again on the 8-hour flight to London.

3. But the journey was enhanced for me by the presence in the seat next to me of a hunky, blond Californian ski instructor, who was the nicest guy ever and stunningly handsome. (Also young enough to be my son, but we won't mention that.)

That sounds awful, Senyar. Except for the ski instructor part.

Melismata, wait a few months. Breadmakers can often be found for a song at garage sales.

1. Younger brother still stuck in Asheville at least until Thursday and maybe longer. He was supposed to be gone by yesterday morning early. If we have to play any more Scrabble I think I might stab him. S-T-A-B - that's only 6 points.

2. Horrific family drama - not paragraph one, this is other stuff - not abating. At a total loss as to what to do. So I played Minecraft all day because I actually had the house to myself for the first time in a week. This would be okay except that I'm already behind deadline on two copywriting thingies but I'm so stressed out I really can't do much of anything right now.

3. Having people over for NYE to play board games, even though I'm sick of board games. But at least it will be different or slightly different people playing. I invited auntie. "Oh," she said sadly, "I wish I had my whole brain back. I can't think of a game I could play with my brain."

3a. Games To Play With Your Brain is my new band name.

1. So yesterday I am home for lunch, which happens when I have stuff to do on that part of town. Got a call, heard about some graffiti at a school near my house. Not my watch but I decide to drive by and see what it is.

My daughter had put some stuff on my iPod over xmas, so "Too Many Dicks (on the dancefloor)" by Flight of the Conchords comes up for the first time as I am taking off. Not bad, not great. . .so I drive by the school and the graffiti on the brick is "Too Many Dicks" and something unintelligible under that. I mean what are the chances? And what a waste of Kismet!

2. Considering buying same daughter a used MINI. She lives in NE Portland and at present works in the Washington Square Mall in Tigard, which is way across the city, and goes to Portland State, which is also not that close. Never had a car. As one of her christmas gifts she is using our (only) car for the week, to make her life a bit easier. We were going to wait until Spring but someone I know through my job has this 2007 which seems to be in great shape, and has the original warranties, etc.

3. New Year's Eve will consist of the opera and then a party afterwards. We will probably rent a car (see #2) and then go to the coast on New Year's Day.

3a. Not that I bleed green and yellow, who whatever in the hell colors the Ducks have on for any given game, but I WILL watch the game against Auburn if I can find somewhere with cable, which we do not have.

A Mini Cooper, danf? If so, I'd strongly suggest that she has a long test drive in it - Minis are really low to the ground and I know whenever I've been in a Mini I've always felt unsafe being so low down, particularly when driving in traffic surrounded by larger vehicles. Seeing what's ahead and around is a problem in a Mini when traffic is heavy. And this is in English traffic, with much smaller vehicles on the road than you get in the USA.

1. Listening to the Kevin Smith and Ralph Garman "Hollywood Babble On" podcasts while working from my parents' home is making me crack my shit up and realizing that I can never put these on my iPod to listen to at work because it's just. too. profane.

2. Really looking forward to being home this week...because there's an awesome guy I want to snuggle with and he wants to snuggle with me, too.

3. We are going to Sizzler tonight and I don't have to pay for dinner. I am actually looking forward to this because I want tons of all-you-can-eat shrimp with cocktail sauce and the salad bar. 2011's for eating healthier! I'm on vacation! Sort of.

1. Sick for two days now.

2. Slept about 32 hours in the last 48

3. Bleh.

1) Saedy's emergency surgery yesterday ate the funds we had to make a trip to visit friends in Atlanta. But that's okay, because our hostess is stranded in New England anyway.

2) Saedy is home and seems like she's planning on sleeping til Friday, with quick breaks to go visit the Big Outside Room. I'm so glad she's all right. The way she was so sick yesterday morning, we were really worried.

3) Taking care of Saedy meant that I completely missed MIL's house move yesterday, where I was supposed to direct the receiving end of the movers. I feel much guilty.

1. Back at work after 4 half days off and 3 real days off. Almost not even worth taking time off, because the resulting mess that I return to at work means my stress levels are already through the roof again.

2. Raining, again.

3. Taking second annual New Year's trip to Carmel, California. Really hope it's not raining there, because all we do in Carmel is sit on the semi-private deck and drink beer and look at the ocean.

4. I no longer believe anything anyone says to me, about any subject whatsoever, but this is actually kind of freeing, and not as sad as I would have thought.

1. Spending the kids' winter break home with them doing some SCIENCE and generally hanging out.

2. We're also cleaning, and they'e learning the joys of doing extra work for extra shopping money

3. Much as I hate being cold, I would have liked some snow this week.

psst - the Rose Parade may not be streamed live, but there will be recordings!

1. Mum went home yesterday. And while it was a nice visit, it's nice to have the place back to ourselves.

2. Sleeping way too much; trying to not nap by playing lots of WoW. It worked today.

3. Going to see Harry Potter, just not sure if it'll be Wednesday or Thursday.