After going back and forth for an eternity, I'm finally going to meet & have dinner with a woman I met on OKC before the holidays (and I mean Thanksgiving and my ensuing December-long move). Wow, first ever internet date!

Also talked to the ex last night (did NOT mention the date) and it wasn't bad. I think we'll be friends again some day.

I asked for what I wanted with the guy I am dating, and he said yes. Small victory for me as I tend to confuse being laid back with being a doormat.

Yay! Good for you, Eide and amro.

My good thing: Despite being overwhelmed by work-stuff, life-stuff, and relationship-stuff, I'm calm, collected, and upbeat. Usually I would break down, but I've really been taking care of myself and I feel up to all the challenges right now.

This is a great idea.

Erm, I've been pretty faithful to my "vegan-until-dinner" plan so far, which makes me feel good. Also, yesterday we were snowed in all day. I did some work via email, but also, I actually took the time to figure out how iTunes looks for music in my music files, and I straightened them out and re-organized them so I can find things more easily. I also 'found' a lot of music that iTunes couldn't find, and helped iTunes learn to find it, so I can listen to it again, which is awesome.

Hmmm. I mapped out ideas for a new project that I've been putting off *forever* just because I was worried about getting it just right. But now that I've written some stuff down and started touching base with the contributors, it all feels really good and like it's heading in the right direction! I liked that a lot.

OK this is the cool for me right now: We're in the process of relocating from Chicago to Cleveland. Some very kind and generous friends have let us move into their huge and luxuriously appointed home while they're away for 4-5 months. Look out any window and it's like looking at a scenic postcard. The kitchen has been featured in home tours. The basement is a child's paradise with a train table, old fashioned bowling game, 2 pinball machines, a pool table and lots of active toys. You do a lot of walking in this house because it's so big! I love it. I could go on and on. But when I think about the owners have entrusted this beautiful home to us, and asked only that we "really LIVE in it and enjoy it" I get teary eyed.

There are some very good people in this world.

My best friend sent me a postcard with a January calendar on it. Apparently I'm going to get 11 more. Cool.

Hm. Something cool. Hm.

Well, I'm going on a weekend trip this weekend, and LEAVING my laptop. That's scary-cool.

I'm having a milestone birthday in a few weeks and will have a big party. That's cool.

I have been doing things that are very out-of-character in (mostly) good ways. I'm not sure what to make of it.

My husband (who is Canadian) and I (American) went on vacation a few weeks ago. When we hit Customs on the way back into the US, we got a stereotypical CBP agent: a big dude with crew cut and nonplussed expression. We walked up and handed him both passports. He opened mine, looked at me and set it aside. He opened the husband's, looked at him and said, "So, you're Canadian." My husband said, "Yes, and I apologize for Justin Bieber."

The guy paused a beat, then cracked up. He said, "Yeah, and what about Celine Dion? What was that all about? Okay, you can go."

I had a really cool dream last night in which my two year old nephew could kick ass Yoda-style. He did it to earn a martial arts belt.

That blizzard we had yesterday (around 18" of snow) was pretty cool.

Roasted mushrooms!

It was something like 5°F the past 2 mornings plus we got a huge snowstorm over the weekend, so on Sunday I setup my winter fixie snow-bike with studded tires for icy commuting. No sarcasm here, this is really cool. Busting out all the mad max winter battle gear makes me feel all crazy and empowered and such.

Strangely enough, it turns out I was the ONLY PERSON to ride a bike to the local IMBA chapter's (mountainbike advocacy group) website launch party on Tuesday night. The chapter president even gave me a door prize (gift card) for being dumb/brave enough to ride out there, so that was really cool too. Plus: free beer and pizza!

My colleagues think I'm looney, well except for the dude from Sweden who finds it completely normal-blase and will ride as often as I do in the cold/snow. Granted, I have the luxury of bike path nearly 100% of my commute, so it's less stressful overall to ride on empty, well-maintained paths than to take the car and deal with all the clueless winter driving rookies. Plus my commute is short enough that it's usually faster to ride than creep along in gridlock, added to which I don't have to spend 20 minutes shovelling & scraping the windshield, etc.

I got a last minute gig for tomorrow and Saturday, which takes me far enough out of town I can stay with friends, making the travel stipend more valuable, and hey! Friends!

I made the 112th Congress happen on the internet, which is, we all know, where it really counts. It's the Big Thing I do every two years, that justifies a lot of slacking off the rest of the time. An incredibly stressful week, but it's done, and my boss is happy. Homelife has been full of drama, too, and I have a raging head cold.

Which made it wonderfully, wonderfully cool when I found a box of cookies on my doorstep when I got home yesterday, a thank-you from ocherdraco for some little thing I did for her.

I am STILL getting Secret Quonsar presents. Today was my fifth package. It's kind of crazy. He went through my Amazon list and I'm guessing he bought copies from many different third-party senders to get good deals.

So: slow shipping, but a pleasantly surprised Madamina, especially since that quiet-office, cold-dry-air January funk will be here for at least another week.

Also, my aunt kindly but emphatically told me to do whatever the hell I wanted and not invite the rest of the family to my actual wedding (as opposed to the potluck the next week). It pains me that I knew I had to check in with her, but it was really nice to know that she had my back. Not everybody did last time.

I'm almost finished with a couple of refinishing/reupholstery projects, and they're turning out terrifically well! The upholstery looks surprisingly professional; the couple of mistakes I made had small effects, not big bad ones, and I learned a lot for next time. And there WILL be a next time: I've already bought more of the (great-looking, crazy-cheap) upholstery fabric for the next project.

The project is temporarily stalled until I can get to the lumber store to buy a dowel peg for the leg, but HEY I managed to clean out both peg sockets by hand; I thought I'd need a drill, and borrowing a drill would add another stalling point. In the meantime, I'm just going to admire my handiwork!

I also found a fantastic geeky present for The Fella. His birthday is always a challenge, because I've used up all my best ideas at Christmas. Bonus feel-good points: not only was I able to order them locally, Comic Shop Guy thanked me for bringing them to his attention, because he's going to stock them in the store!

Oh, and two completely random things that happened to me:
- I won two tickets to the Boston planetarium, to use when they reopen later this year.
- I won a $100 gift card to Sears, and I'm thinking I'll buy my own cordless drill.
YAY!

A local arts place is listing a textiles exhibit called "Silk, Taffeta, Tulle" only the last word is mispelled on the newspaper events site where I saw it: "Silk, Taffeta, Tull." Now there's an event I might like to go to - "Browse centuries' worth of fine luxury fabrics in exquisite colors, accompanied by the delicate strains of 1970s 'Medieval revival' acid flute-rock."

I had a really hard thing at work last week and today I got a lovely note from an unexpected source saying I did it well.

Also, I am in love with our new kitty, who looks like Sylvester the Cat only long haired, silky, beautiful, and purring loudly.

And my love affair with our rescue Aussie continues. Every night he has been climbing atop me in my lazy girl chair and falling asleep on me while my husband and I answer Jeopardy! together and check out The Daily Show.

The last six months or so have been a steady decline and I finally asked the doc about adjusting my happy pills. He's added Wellbutrin to the two (Effexor and Seroquel) I already take. I have an appointment in two weeks to see how it's going.

PS: Why is it so fucking hard to ask for help?

I got an email from someone I met at the last Metafilter meet-up I went to and we are probably going to get together and knit! I think that's so cool!

Tomorrow, I have a slightly scary medical thing to do in the afternoon, but after that, I am meeting a friend of mine at a new bar that has a lot of super yummy beers. And I'm going to feel totally justified to have fried cheese curd and beer.

And then Saturday, I'm hoping to go to the Metafilter meet-up.

So even though this week was filled with unfortunately bad surprises, I have lots to look forward to for the weekend.

I applied for a promotion at work. When my current boss found out she said "that's not going to happen" and set out to create a new (higher-paid) position for me. I withdrew my application to the first job the morning of the second interview, and two days later the director of the division (whom I had not yet met) called to ask me to consider. THEN I taught the IT guy something new and he asked me to apply for an open position with them.

All of this after a week of setting things on fire in the kitchen and dropping my iphone in a sink full of soapy water. It's so awesome being wanted and getting to choose where I go.

All wedding-related, which makes me feel (a) like a silly little girl for caring and (b) like a bad feminist for thinking that traditionally female-centered tasks should be dismissed as trivial, but:

1. I think I found a wedding caterer, who not only has fantastic reviews but also has a commitment to local sustainable food AND has a strong understanding of gluten-free cooking.

2. I think I also found a florist, who is related to one of ikkyu2's employees and therefore kind of "one of the family," which I love; plus I just talked to her on the phone and admitted that I have no f'ing clue about flowers and would be very happy to just put everything in her hands and that seemed to make her very happy, which I think is a good sign in a wedding vendor.

3. I'm frustrated and stressed out about a number of things but I feel like I actually have time this evening to chill out, get my aggression out on Dice Wars and Sushi Cat, and regroup tomorrow morning.

I'm very excited for pizza and karaoke with mefites tomorrow night. I've spent a fair amount of time thinking about what I'd like to sing. I also felt like I kicked ass at work today, getting things done quickly and correctly. So that's pretty awesome too.

Also, I love this idea for a thread. Thanks, Eideteker!

Hm, something warm? Something warm!

≡ Click to see image ≡

I started this Monday night and finished Tuesday night. My first time putting holes on a loomed hat.

lysdexic, that is both cool and warm! Kudos!