Happy Birthday, moosl !

Sorry for the lack of content, folks. It's just that I've been sleepwalking through my life recently, and I'm not sure what to do about it. Yes, I know I've been saying that for ages now, but it remains true.

I've tried not logging in all my calories for a while. Result: weight packing back on. *sigh* If I want to stay at my lower weight, I guess I've got to be uber-vigilant, like it or not - especially with Thanksgiving coming up. Plus, I've got a doctor's appointment next month, and she'll be disappointed if I've porked up again.

Someone seemed to have interpreted "we've left the wastebaskets for our office outside the door to be emptied by the cleaning crew" as "please steal all our wastebaskets". HR has been notified. Very annoying.

I'd like to feel tired enough to sleep at a point earlier than 3 AM, please - kthxbye.

Entropy is a bitch.

Oh - speaking of Thanksgiving! I'm likely to have a full house this year, which is extremely exciting. Long-time readers may recall that last year I thought I would have no-one, but ended up having 2 separate small get-togethers - one Thursday, one Saturday. This year, though, it'll be a crowd. The usual people will be there - phierma and cos_x , Larry and Ramona, plus hopefully the House Polaris crowd (the_geoffrey , otterhill , lil_mischif , and Fiery Doom Girl; I will probably ask them to bring an extra folding table). And newly added to the guest list are Nora and Bruce, a couple of my costuming friends whom I've wanted to have join us for ages, but his parents are both still alive, so they always went there. Well, guess what? The folks have other family coming, and said the house was going to be too full for them as well, so I got my chance to scoop them up! I never try to poach anyone who has family to go to - that would just be rude - but if the family doesn't want them, well, come on down! I do a good job of feeding people. (cos_x 's younger daughter apparently still raves about the one year she came to my table; she was about 12 at the time, and stated that she was not impressed by the usual Thanksgiving fare. She figured to just take a little bit of food to be polite. 3 full plates, and many exclamations of delight later, she was stuffed and sated and fast asleep on my couch. It was a revelation, and sparked in her an appreciation for cooking and food that has stayed with her to this day.)

Ooh, I'd better make sure I have some of my homemade wine available; several attendees are sulfite-sensitive, and I want them to be able to drink a glass or two without worry. I know I have a bottle of cranberry wine, and some vanilla mead - maybe also some mixed-berry fortified. I'll check with the_geoffrey ; some of our inventory is at his place. And I need a menu ASAP.

Weather is not helping my attitude. It's cool, gray, and drizzly. Good slash-your-wrists weather. Bleh.

Been watching WWII in HD. Although it's interesting to hear the stories and get an idea of what happened on the 2 fronts in relation to one another, I think I've seen enough of it. It's like how I felt when I went to the plasticized bodies exhibit at the science center; you get bombarded with something, it just becomes overwhelming. In short - I've no need to see more burnt and/or bloated corpses littering a beach. I'm not shocked; I know war is a nasty business. You just become numb to it, though, and it all starts to look the same, like a surreal nightmare. I should not be inured to the sight of death.

I keep thinking there should be a good way to end this post, but there isn't. Anyone want to engage me in dialogue? Ask questions? Suggest topics? I'll take a prompt; it forces me to stay connected.

Happy Birthday, mysticmirth and ozarque !

Happy Birthday, spikedpunch !

Happy Birthday, red_silk_robe !

Happy Birthday, shadowwolf13 !

Happy Birthday, twirlandswirl ! 

 This week, an old SCA friend of mine died.  I hadn't seen him in a year or so, so I didn't realize things had gone south for him.

Imre was a master of the shaggy dog story.  No one could spin out a joke to a horrible punny conclusion like he could.

Time had taken a toll on his health.  On top of his normal medical issues, he had been fighting with pancreatitis for several months.  It eventually became too much.

Little ties to the past drop away.  Enjoy the journey, Imre.

This past weekend, our company finally attempted to address the chronic, disgusting bug problem we've had for months.  And when I say "bug", I specifically mean "roach".

We've been overrun by roaches for ages - since the water division mucked about with pipes this summer just up the block.  Since then, we've been smashing the nasty creatures on our desks every day, and finding them in our desk drawers, file cabinets, in-trays - I even had them popping out of my speaker grills.  Not to mention trying to clean up the doots they leave behind.  It made working decidedly uncomfortable; I mean, do you really want to be reaching for a stack of paperwork and have something scurry out of it?  Ewww.

So they set off bug bombs.  A lot of them.  I'm actually kinda shocked by how many; I know we have a good-sized building, but 30?  When I hear a number like that, it's usually in a news story about the roof blowing off a building from using too many bombs for the space.

So did it work?

*sigh*

No.  Thought it might have done the trick; was all quiet yesterday.  But no such luck; have killed 2 today - young ones, so there were eggs that hatched.

Damn.

Happy Birthday, oberonia !

 I'm a great-aunt many times over.  3 of the kids (siblings, 2 boys and a girl) have a schoolmate currently undergoing chemotherapy for cancer.

The kids, along with 30 other schoolmates, decided to have their heads shaved as a sign of support.

The oldest of them is ten.

And right before the holidays, when pictures are taken in quantity.

I could never have done that when I was that age.  I loved my hair; it was one of my best features.

 This scream brought to you by So You Think You Can Dance.

*cries*

I have missed having Classic Arts Showcase to watch.  Theoretically, I was supposed to have it - but it required an additional dish be installed on the roof, which I declined to do.

But they must have changed which satellite it's coming through on, because I was idly going through the channel guide - and suddenly there it was!  So nice to have you back!

Happy Birthday, audacian and eriksangel15 !

And a wistful birthday remembrance to my friend T., who prefers to keep the distance between us for reasons known only to his "I'm not worthy" mind.  Miss you, old man.

Took another class on Himalayan healing bowls from Suren Shrestha yesterday, plus bought his new book.  We learned protocols for cleansing and grounding the chakras, as well as one specifically for dealing with stress and depression.  As I take more of these classes, I realize I need to work on getting my own set of bowls - which will be a bit of expense, to be sure.

It's interesting; when you move into more advanced classes it becomes a more intimate situation.  You've seen the same faces again and again, and even the teacher, who only visits once a year, remembers your name.  You talk less about what you're learning, and more about how you've incorporated what you've already learned into your life, and how you share it with others.  It's a conversation amongst friends, and oh yeah, we bong on bowls for a while, providing healing to one another.