I finally got a deer.

Not much. Planning my husband's 40th birthday party. Running a half marathon tomorrow. The ongoing stress about my daughter's school choice. Waiting for my mother to tell us whether she will come visit this summer, so we can make some plans. Enjoying the start of the baseball season.

OK then, a bit is going on.

I'm enjoying the warmer weather we've had in the last week or so. I'm making more effort to do social things, and find when I do I generally enjoy them. I've given up on dating after OK Cupid matched me with a man whose profile picture had him giving his 'O' face whilst wearing a gimp mask with a ball in his mouth. I might be lonely but I'm not desperate.

Still in the library, which I love, but my project is currently quite dull. It's a scientists papers and while he did do a lot of work on the Mars Viking Lander, a lot of it is sciencey data stuff that is not very exciting to read. :(

Today I've got grocery shopping, wonton making, and 2 dance classes (bellydance and chair dance) ahead of me. It's going to be a long fucking day.

I'm performing my House of Cards cane choreography at the restaurant hafla tomorrow, which I'm nervous about. I haven't practiced it in the costume for this performance yet. Eek! I also haven't packed my costume or makeup. I've got a Beltane celebration after the hafla (which is what I need to make the wontons for).

I need to finish the Zombies Run 5k training app because I'm doing a 5k with 2 of my sisters next Saturday. Also, on Tuesday I've got a workshop in York, PA all day.

May is going to be crazy busy, especially on the weekends. I've got the 5k, 2 haflas on the same day, Shimmy Mob, and a weekend long camping trip over Memorial Day weekend.

With everyone? idk, I only know like 200-300 people. I'll start asking them, though.

My long awaited retirement begins at 4pm Tuesday. Until then, much to do to close up my office and hand it over to my replacement. Lotsa loose ends, and lots of personal stuff here after 20+ years in the same building. They are having a little gettogether on my last day, then some of us will reconvene at a local microbrew place afterwards.

Putting together a recording space in my daughter's old room in the attic. Spending some money getting equipment, and building a couple monitor stands this weekend. With a good computer and some recording software, it's pretty fun.

Also in May, we have, in order, my mom's in LA, Ashland Shakespeare Festival, and then John Day Fossil Beds in Central Oregon.

Buying a car, getting a new roof put on.

So not much.

Sick today. Sick yesterday, too. Yesterday the baby stayed home with me, but today he went to daycare, because he's recovered; I'm the one who woke up with a crazy sore throat and pink-eye. Damn babies. I have to go pick him up later.

Signed up for a day of Aereo (so I could watch Price is Right at 11). It seems really awesome, I think this is something I could subscribe to long-term.

Waiting on a lot of things right now- word from Stynxno's school on when/if we can move on campus, word from the school I applied to if I got in for the MPH program.

Thank goodness the weather is nice!

I'm looking forward enjoying the upcoming coronation next tuesday with my American-Dutch daughter. It will be a riot of bright orange. I'll try to dress up her American mother in bright orange too. I expect some resistance.
I'm a bit cross with myself though that went to my local tailors too late. He couldn't get my orange suit jacket fitted in time. So I'll feel slightly ill at ease at Koningsdag wearing a jacket with a very bad cut.
Yes, I'm apparently that shallow.

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Man, danf, retirement? Wow. That sounds momentous. :-)
Best wishes on finally having the time to do fun things.
For my parents that meant visiting all the ancient greek ruins around the mediterranean. (there are quite a few as it turns out)
And going to ballet, operas and symphonies in the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.
The traveling has tapered off because of old age. But they still go to Amsterdam. 20+ years of opera, ballet etc. I'm impressed they have the stamina for 4 hr Wagner operas at 80+ yrs. I don't think I could do that.

Sperose, I'm impressed with the zombies run. Running with stiff legs and outstretched arms must be so hard.

Senyar, you sound rather misandrist and sex-negative!
(just kidding. just riffing off mefi jargon)

Still grumpy about my office move but getting comfortable in the semi-cubicle I've made. Also, most of my office mates have been out at various conferences the last week and next week, so that helps.

I've opened a hornet's nest around this year's summer vacation. Trying to get a nephew up here to drive with us back down to his home. He'll have an adventure, the boys will have a pal, and I'll have a blast corrupting them all. I just have to get past his parents' anxieties.

I've had an interesting April! I'll be glad when it's done, I swear.

I ended up in an ambulance a few weeks back, with some pretty severe pancreatitis pain. This led to almost 2 weeks in hospital, on only IV fluids, and morphine. Wowie, that was no fun. I've been home for almost 2 weeks now, and I'm still dropping weight and trying to regain some strength and appetite. I saw my doctor this week, and he's cautioning me to be patient. It's pretty frustrating!

On the upside, this didn't affect plans for my amazing girlfriend to move in. I'm now a guy with a live-in love, and three cats. My daughters are pretty excited on both fronts! I can't get over how unexpected this was in my life, and how lucky I feel pretty much every day. I have (as before) 2 amazing kids, and now, a partner in crime to spend my life with. Crazy how things go!

Now, just to recover from this bullshit pancreas issue so I can start planning long road trips again!

Still catching up from our trip to the U.K., which was wonderful, including running Edinburgh half marathon in rainy, cold, and very windy conditions -- but getting a great time anyway! GO GASPODE, I say!

And still fighting this stupid cold which I've had since the beginning of April. I truly wish it would go away for good.

Danf, at last retirement is arriving!!! My Bear is loving his.

OMG, richat, you've had a rollercoaster ride this month. But great news with the g/f, I'm so glad for you.

Pretty much everything I posted here is still going on.

I have a day date. We're going to the Seattle Art Museum and then hitting Happy Hour.

My mom had spinal surgery. It didn't go well and they had to open her up two more times. I have finals this week so my head is spinning but my professors have mostly been great about scheduling stuff for me. It's been a rough week but luckily I had some great knitting. I'm making some cunning hats for some MeFites and it's been nice just to keep knitting around and around and around without really thinking about it. I ran out of yarn for the ear flaps so I'm just knitting the bodies until it gets to the yarn shop.

Ow and yay, richat!

jouke, I want to see photos from the coronation!

I am in weird limbo-land, graciously being hosted by mudpuppie in Davis while I look for permanent housing in Sonoma. I found a super-duper perfect place but the landlord is taking a long time in getting me paperwork (including, seriously, just the application), so I'm all antsy and stressy in the meantime. He told me I'm currently first in the running, but I don't really know what that means at this point. I just want the cottage! It is pretty much exactly what I pictured when I thought, "I want to live in Sonoma."

I'm trying to avoid the temptation of staying home and staring at my email all day long waiting for him to contact me, and so I've been trying to get out and explore Davis a bit. It's very lovely! Roses everywhere!

Wow, now I want to live in Davis or Sonoma.

Thanks folks! I'm pretty sure I'll keep getting better, so as long as I don't go stir crazy, I should be good.

Also, it sounds like lots of us are having interesting lives. Occhi, I'll keep my fingers crossed for you!

Thanks!

hmm, where to begin? I've been super, duper, uber busy these past 18 months; BigPharmaco sold us and now we are a semi-independent CMO overseen by a (different) giant Swiss corporation. I got moved to Regulatory/QA when they made the Legal department redundant, which is simultaneously fun and nerve-wracking as it meant a bit more $$ and autonomy (I am now the site records management guru; essentially a corporate regulatory librarian). I'm working with IT on a huge, all-encompassing electronic records management development project which has been a HUGE challenge with the current administration and corporate culture here (everything is on paper and they refuse to let it go, etc). There is some residual corporate wage slavery lameness because despite my added responsibilities and changed title, I still report to the head of HR as an "administrator" (read: secretary) with all the attendant lameness that entails, but the boss I ACTUALLY work for (yes, it's complicated) has shown willing to keep the Mean Girls at bay.

the mister and I are coming up on our 2nd anniversary. We both hired a cycling coach for this season and so I've been riding bikes 10-12 hours a week on top of wrangling documents at work.

I hosted a Boulder MeFi meetup on Tuesday and got to meet a bunch of fun nerds and play card games (loudly) in a pub, so that was fun. The mister and I are hosting our friend group tonight for (variously) games of Carcassone, Cards against Humanity, booze, and inebriated jolly shouting.

also:

danf: Enjoy your retirement, and many happy returns! We have a guy here in the Quality dept who's been at the company 36 years now. He says he'd rather we find him dead under his desk than bother trying to figure out what to do with himself were he to retire. I told him he'd better not kick off while I'm here because goddammit I don't want to deal with the paperwork. He laughed at me, then bought me a coffee; that's kind of how the vibe goes here in Q, we are a snarky and well-caffeinated group. I totally get it, he is one of those pillars of the company without whom things would likely collapse, plus he has a lot of close friends / social network here, but man, I can't imagine being that wedded to work.

pjern: :/ were you ok?

jouke: I am jealous. And no, wanting to look your best for an important party is not shallow. But hey, orange suit! It's got to look good no matter what, no? As they say in bike racing: Orange is the fastest color!

richat, that is quite a month! Get well, and enjoy the new SO, I am also happy for you :)

occhiblu, good luck with the cottage! I moved 12 times in 7 years post-breakup but it sounds like you manifestly have your shit way more together than I did (tho that's not a high bar tbh). I heard our neighbor's hens cackling this morning and totally thought of mudpuppie! I want to get a chicken tractor and some chickens, but also wonder if that might not be a bit too stimulating / tempting for our cats.

occhi, where is that bimbo-land you speak of?

Maritacov, that sounds pretty bad with the spinal surgery of your mom. My sympathies.

Sick.
Tox-sick.
Sick semper terannis.
[sic] [sic] [sic]

Otherwise I'd have posted at least 2 OMG BUNNIES by now today.

One of my closest friends is going to move to SF at the end of the summer :(
I am going to miss him.
Tomorrow I am going to help him go gem shopping to put in the engagement ring his gf wants, so he can propose to her before they go.

Fiance got a into grad school and separately got a great fellowship that provides us with an apartment not far from Union Sq for 3 years. We are very lucky.
I've been a Brooklynite for 9 years, and it's weird to think about moving to Manhattan and not being one anymore! Plus it will be hard to live away from my sister and my many close friends in short walking distance (which was why I moved to this neighborhood in the first place).
The other thing that means is that my hazy job-related plans to move us to Seattle are kinda shot. But that is ok. His degree will be good for both of us in the future.

We do not know when we can move into the new place (they need to do some construction to turn it from a student apartment into a faculty one), and I am worried that we will have to move the same week or two that we are getting married and going on our honeymoon.
Stressful, but it is a nice problem to have. They are both happy events.

My sister has been in India for SO LONG and I really miss her. She was supposed to get back Sunday and we were going to have dinner, but now she has to travel to the west coast for more work immediately after, so I think she is not going to bother even flying back to NYC for another week.

Fiance and I are debating pushing our baby plans another year out so I can get ahead a little more at work and we can settle into being married. Not sure what to do yet. I think I would like to go for a fertility test so we can know if it is a bad idea to wait or if it will probably be ok. Anyone have a recommendation of where to go for that in NYC?

I snapped at my mom about wedding planning for the first time and feel bad about it. I apologized and we are ok. Most of the hard stuff is done but who is going to stay where and with whom is causing some struggles and stress. I will be happy when it is over.

jouke, Bimbo Land

Ha.

I didn't know the saying 'Orange is the fastest colour'. Nice one.
I'll see if I can take some pictures of the orange madness. Although I wont go to Amsterdam to the coronation itself. The huge crowds wouldn't be a place for a small child.

I had a few swoony weeks during which I thought something interesting was going on with a guy (someone I'd recently reconnected with after a dozen-odd years), but...at this point it looks like I was wrong. In reaction, I'm currently feeling awfully low and looking forward to regaining some kind of normal baseline state.

Eee richat! Heal up fast!
Maritacov, I hope your mom gets better soon.
Occhiblu, does U C Davis have a creamery?
Lfr, TGT has been making noises about having their next meeting in Denver, if so I'd love to meet your kitties!


Saw the Bowie two days after Easter... bliss!
The British museum's Ice Age exhibit has the ceramic head of a woman which Jean Auel has Cavoa making for Saramuna in The Plains of Passage.