Recuperating

The giant event is over, I'm still in one piece, and even better, the entire staff is still speaking to one another! I'd call that a success.

Saturday night we had our closing picnic/awards banquet, and I spent the last hour of it running around saying goodbye to everyone. The Australian team gave us a stuffed koala to live in our office, and then they gave me this:


My very own teeny koala!

I love him! He's sitting atop one of my computer speakers at work (the picture was taken at home).

Anyway, it was an interesting time but I'm really glad it's over so I can catch up on my 'regular' work.

In the meantime, life has gone on. It seems like there are a lot of bad things going on this week, both globally and locally: Hurricane Katrina is pounding the Gulf, and there was a terrible stampede in Iraq that killed 700+ people; around here, one of my good friends was fired, and someone else I know will be having surgery next week (more on that later). Personally I am still exhausted. I think the heat is really getting to me. I am waking up with a terrible backache each morning, and today I had to leave work early because I was in such a tense state that I couldn't concentrate on my work AT ALL. I don't really have a particular reason to be tense either; I'm wondering if I'm tossing and turning in my sleep due to the heat? Might explain the backache, at any rate.

Bryon and I had our Tuesday ritual of watching Dirty Jobs last night. I really enjoy that show, firstly because it really does a lot to bring to light so many of the really nasty jobs people are doing on a daily basis to allow the rest of us to live in complete ignorance; and secondly because the host, Mike Rowe, is extremely entertaining. He makes semi-dorky comments and he doesn't even try to pretend that what he's doing isn't that bad... he just reacts to it like a regular person would.

After watching Dirty Jobs, I finally beat the fourth (and final, in this story arc anyway) .hack game, .hack//Quarantine. The final boss fight was soul-drainingly, spirit-crushingly long - I think it took me about an hour to get through it all. Not only that, but now that I've finished the storyline, a bunch of new things have opened up so I won't truly be done with the game for a long time. Really, I'm glad it's like that because it's fun to run around in 'The World' without thinking about the storyline. Next up is either finishing Final Fantasy IV, or starting Star Ocean: Till the End of Time. I should probably hurry up; another .hack game is due out this fall, as well as another Square Enix RPG (although I forget the title)... and of course, eventually there will be Final Fantasy XII. *drool*

Well I'm off to relax a bit and maybe work on knitting or play .hack or something. One last comment - I am selling a few of my manga on eBay, and may be adding a few more things over the next few days.

International fun

Well, our big event is finally here at work. We've got about 60 sailplane pilots and 40 sailplanes here from all over the US and the world, plus crew, family, and many non-flying participants. It's a busy time up here. I haven't had a day off since the weekend before last and I'm definitely feeling it. The event didn't technically start until Saturday, but registration started Friday and we've been going nonstop since then!

It is exhausting and much of the time I feel like I'm running around in circles, but the people I've met are truly fantastic and I've had some really entertaining moments. On Monday night I went to International Night. Upon walking in the door to make the rounds I was encouraged to try Irish whiskey (Jameson's) by a man from New Zealand; ate Swedish cod roe; tried a couple of new (and delicious) kinds of cheese from various states in the USA; was introduced to Vegemite and Foster's Beer by the Australian table. Vegemite is a spread (for bread) made from byproducts of beer-making; therefore it is very high in B vitamins, and well, very "savory" and potent. I really liked it. I happened to be sitting next to one of the Australian guys during dinner and told him how much I liked it, and the next day they gave me the jar! Heheh.

I've met people from Sweden, Italy, Australia, Germany and many places I've never been in the US. They are all lots of fun to talk and work with and it's leading to some new experiences - like trying to help solve a computer problem on a computer with Windows in Italian. They are trying to get me to take a sailplane ride but for some reason the very thought paralyzes my gut... dunno if I'll make it up there yet.

As for things at home, it's all going well, but I don't get to be there very often! I relish every hour and minute spent with Bryon and the cats, and have managed to finish the Christmas present (knitting) that I was working on. I also got to start my Gryffindor scarf - woohoooo!!!

I apologize to everyone for not talking to them much over the past week; I am spending much more time than usual at work and even when I'm AT work, I'm usually not at my desk. The event ends on the 27th (Saturday) and sometime after that I am hoping things will settle down and get back to their "normal" state. :D

Hey D - I hope Otakon went well... it sounds like it wiped you out, but I hope it was also a great time.

Oh, and to anyone wondering, Bryon's new nephew is named Kymeé. I can't wait to meet him!

I'm glad we're both so brilliant.

The other night we're watching TV, and and Allstate commercial comes on.

Bryon: "STAND? That's Allstate's STAND? All this time I thought he was saying 'That's Allstate, Stan!' like he was talking to some guy named Stan!" Admittedly 1) he'd never seen the start of the commercial before, only the end; and 2) "stand" itself doesn't make a whole lot of sense... shouldn't it be 'stance' or something?

Then a couple of days later we're in the drive-in at McDonald's. It's evening so the light isn't the best.

Me: (looking at truck in front of us) ..."does that say 'HEAVY BUTT'??" (two seconds later) ".....oh. HEAVY DUTY."
Hey. Bad lighting, shiny letters... I'll just keep telling myself that.

Big news!! :D

Bryon's sister, Missy, had her baby! And it's...... A BOY. This makes SIX BOYS for her. They don't even have a name yet, because they were hoping so hard that it would be a girl that they only picked out a girl name (Heaven). Bryon and I were talking to Missy yesterday. How many pregnancies must someone have gone through when they can sit there and say, in a completely nonchalant voice, "ohh, I've been having some contractions but nothing good enough to DO anything." Apparently, five.

I've finished most of the projects relating to our upcoming event at work. This is very, very good news. People have started to arrive already; they are all pleasant to work with and I think this event might actually be kind of fun. I am getting a little less stressed out now.

This week, I've been trying to get the apartment in order. Tuesday night I cleaned and got rid of some of the clutter; last night was grocery shopping, picking up some stuff for work, and a bit of knitting. I am trying to make sure that we always have fruit and veggies, and we're getting better about cooking "real" meals. Now I just need to remember to go deposit my paychecks! Someday I will be an organized person who is really on top of things, and lives in a decently uncluttered household - I swear it!

For now, I'm going to go work on my latest knitting project, which is a Christmas present - look at that, a Christmas present started in August! Wheee! I will be thinking about the yahoos off on their Otakon adventure. I hope you're having a great time stormin' the castle harbor!

Happy Birthday to Dad!

Well, yesterday was my dad's birthday. I know he doesn't like to make a big deal out of it, but it gives us a chance to get together and do family stuff, something that doesn't happen so much these days. Bryon and I bummed around for part of the day, and then I called home to see if there were any festivities planned. Uncle Don was up from PA, and he'd suggested pizza and bowling. Mom and I decided that Bryon and I would come over around 5:30 (right after my brother gets out of work) and we'd do presents; I decided to bring supplies for ice cream cones, since Dad didn't want a cake.

Right before we left, I got this brainstorm to bring the kitties with us. They haven't been out of the apartment much other than to go to the vet. Bishop is getting huge, and we were talking the other day about how we can make sure they get enough exercise so that they don't get fat... Bryon suggested we take them to our parents' houses so they have lots of room to run around and explore. We packed up all the things they needed (litter, litter pan, can of wet food, water dish, toy) and headed out. They were pretty good on the car ride over, and when we got there we let them out of the carrier so they could wander out into the dining room until my parents noticed them. Mom and Dad seemed fairly entertained to watch them run around, and the cats LOVVVVVVED IT. They explored every inch of the house and chased each other all over.

We had our ice cream and presents session - including the fastest Birthday Song ever, sung by yours truly, while Dad held the candle in his hand (he refused to put it in the ice cream). Heh. Bryon and I had gotten him a bunch of DVDs of older TV shows and movies - Sherlock Holmes, David Copperfield, Ozzie & Harriet, The Lone Ranger, etc., plus a package of small push-lights to stick in places where it's hard to see, like the pot & pan cupboard.

Uncle Don and Aunt Rhonda (both my dad's siblings) showed up and we all went over to the bowling alley. Newsflash for anyone thinking about bowling in the summer heat: that particular bowling alley is NOT AIR-CONDITIONED. We barely lasted through two games. Bryon and I were one team, playing against my Dad, Uncle Don and Aunt Rhonda - my mom was a spectator this time around. We didn't do very well. Uncle Don alone was scoring as much as the two of us together. It was fun though, and I'd love to go do it again.

After that we went to (lovely, air-conditioned) Pizza Hut and ordered two large pizzas. The kitchen was apparently "out of larges" so they gave us FOUR MEDIUMS instead. We had a lot to bring home. Bryon and I ended up hanging out at my parents' house until after midnight, partly because I had to have the Harry Potter Book 6 discussion with my dad now that he's finished it. My mom and I had reached very similar conclusions but my dad... well, let's just say he's a bit more cynical about the whole thing!

All in all it was a really fun night. I've spent today relaxing, playing .hack, cleaning, doing dishes, cooking dinner, and knitting. Tomorrow it's back to the grind, but at least my major projects of the moment are done - now it's on to name badges, forms, and dinner tickets. Whee.

Gratuitous cat picture

...a picture of Bishop to make up for the picture that didn't show up the other day (which should be ok now).

Wedding weekend

Well, after a string of events (cookout Thursday, rehearsal and dinner Friday, wedding Saturday and post-wedding cookout Sunday), Nick and Kathy are officially husband and wife! Here are some of the highlights:

* One of the most boneheaded moments of my life: We showed up at the church for the rehearsal, only to realize that although we were on time, we were at the wrong church. Just because I'm not from Elmira... so of course I only knew of one St. Mary's... and it wasn't the right one. We were about 15 minutes late to the rehearsal and it was COMPLETELY my fault. I was totally mortified. Of course this started off a whole string of worry about Bryon getting to the wedding on time, even though I kept trying to explain that it wasn't his fault. The next day I was VERY sure to get him where he was supposed to be at the time he was supposed to be there.

* It was a lovely wedding, although it makes me glad I'm not Catholic. (For the girls:) The colors were rose pink and white. The guys had silver vests with an ornate pattern in black. Kathy's dress was heavily beaded on the bodice and skirt hem; she carried beautiful pink and white roses.

* The reception was held at the Holiday Inn. In my opinion, the best part was the band - The Poets, from Scranton, PA! They were MARVELOUS. They had more wigs and hats than any band I've ever seen... go check out the website to see pictures. Also, make sure you go to page two to see the first picture. Just imagine ..THAT... singing "I Will Survive" to the groom in falsetto. These guys were unbelievable, and extremely entertaining. They did medleys of Beatles music, disco, '80s music, etc etc. The neatest part of it all was that Kathy had seen this band on a cruise when she was about 10, and right then said to her dad, "Daddy, I want this band to play at my wedding." So he tracked them down, and they became Poets groupies for a while, and became friends with the band. And she got her wish! How great is that?

* During the reception, Bryon and I fulfilled a very important wedding duty: decorating the newlyweds' car. They have a big SUV, and by the end of the day it looked like this:



...well, with a bit more froofy curlicues and stuff. The side windows were decorated too... and yes, that is a trash can chained to the trailer hitch. Let's just say I didn't have anything to do with that decision, and that apparently no one ever told Bryon it was supposed to be SMALL TIN CANS that you attach to the car. Heh. And yes, we did give them the key to unlock it.

Overall it was a very nice event and I'm glad I was a part of it. It's always a pleasant experience to attend the wedding of two truly great people. May they have a long and happy life together!

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In other news, I beat .hack//Outbreak, which means I'm now on .hack//Quarantine. I kinda want to drag this one out because I know that when it's over, there's not another one waiting! At least I know that there's another .hack game due out in the fall. I've also got Star Ocean: Till the End of Time to play (as we know, I'd play ANYTHING Square Enix releases), so I'm sure I'll be fine. :D I enjoy my video games, but I don't think I'm in danger of THIS...

What I REALLY need right now is a week's vacation. *sigh* Anyway, I'm off to post in my craft blog. Wheeee!!

Rough life

One more picture to share:

There was jumping for joy

So three extremely stressful weeks are over. Now I'm into a slightly-less-stressful period leading up to our next big event. I am taking this chance to catch up on knitting, and reading, and ...just enjoying myself.

Tonight, Bryon and I went to a cook-out, one last party for Nick & Kathy before the wedding this weekend. We've got the rehearsal dinner tomorrow night (mind you I'm not IN the wedding, but I'm going to all this stuff anyway) and then the wedding is on Saturday. I am excited, although I feel a tiny bit awkward at all the Nick & Kathy events because they're basically the only people I know. Ah well. I'm very happy for both of them!

I'll have to post about it later.