The Versatile Blogger

On Monday, MJ Fredrick, whom I used to adore, nominated me for this award. The requirements:

1. Thank the folks who gave you the award and and link to them;
2. Share 7 things about yourself;
3. Pass along to 15 bloggers (and link to them); and
4. Pay it forward: Comment on their blogs to tell them they are now recipients of the Versatile Blogger Award.

Thanks, MJ! She said with no sarcasm whatsoever. :)

I'm going to cheat and pick my 7 things based on hers:

1. I love to fly. I especially love takeoffs and landings. I love looking out the window to see the country below, especially when it's unique (like Utah). I love the swooping sensation when we drop, and turbulence—in moderation, of course—is kind of cool.

2. I don't ever run sprinklers because it wastes water. But I DO like the sound of running water, preferably the ocean, but a waterfall will do. :)

3. I was raised Catholic until I was 7. Then I had my first communion and was allowed to recover. I mean, was allowed to choose my own religious path. :)

4. I would never rather clean anything. I mean, I have the things I mind less than others, but if I ever get enough money, I'm getting a housecleaning service again. It was the best thing we ever did and the worst thing I ever had to give up.

5. I've been saying I'm jealous of the people at National, but that's not completely accurate. I desperately wish I was there, I hate not connecting with the friends I only ever see there, and I hate losing the opportunities for networking that my career really needs right now. It doesn't really carry over to envy, though.

6. I've driven in NYC, DC, Philly, Columbus, and half the big cities on the Eastern Seaboard, Northern Division. :) Though many of those Eastern cities, it was just highways, not surface streets. The first four I listed, was actually in the city. I might have driven in Dallas, too, but I don't remember for sure.

7. Since I'm only two weeks into my job, it's hard to say what I dislike. Oh, wait. The sore feet and aching legs after my 4.5-hour shift and half an hour in the car. It got very hectic today, and I don't like patients waiting when that happens, but it's not a hate thing. It makes the day go really fast, and that's awesome.

Okay, 15 people. MJ didn't notify me, she just let me read it on her blog, so I'm not going to notify anyone, either. This way, if they don't want to do it, they can just pretend they never saw it. :)

1. Vicky Burkholder

2. Jody Wallace

3. Vicki Smith

4. Cathy McDavid (who blogs at The Gabwagon)

5. Mackenzie McKade

6. Trish Milburn

7. Cindy Procter-King

8. Tracy Madison

9. Ava Quinn

10. Susan Gourley

11. Megan Hart

12. Natasha Fondren

13. Melissa Bradley

14. Misty Simon

15. Gail the SciFi Chick

Random Bliss

I don't work Thursdays. This makes me so happy I could roll in it (to borrow a line from the last Sookie book :) ).

I got a new mouse recently, because even though I loved the shape of my old one, it dragged, which made my hand cramp. I love my new mouse. I especially love some of the programmability of it. One feature is Smart Move, where the pointer jumps to the default button in a dialogue box. I can't get used to it! I love the feature, but I automatically move the mouse to where I know the box is going to be, which of course moves the cursor OFF the button I want. Ugh.

We finally got Number Two out of her loft bed:

BEFORE

AFTER

What's pictured is the temp setup while waiting for her new mattresses, which were delivered today. They called this morning to schedule delivery between 10-1. Not a bad range of time, but I had to pick up Number Two at school at 12:30 (she was in a Step Up to the Middle School program that apparently was boring and unnecessary). I told the guy this. He said he could wait for 15 minutes if I was gone, but I didn't trust that. I was discussing with Number One whether or not I should let her have them come in and set things up, when the truck pulled up. At 12:17. I made it to the school almost on time—she wasn't the last one to be picked up. So phew. :)

I got something really awesome this morning that I'm jonesing to show you, but can't yet. Soon, I hope. It's the topper on my blissful day, though. :)

Number Two moving her room around inspired Number One to do the same. She wasn't willing to wait until the weekend, so Tuesday I helped her move every piece of furniture in her room. It only took about half an hour, amazingly, because she'd already cleared out the small stuff. She got everything mostly set back up yesterday. So now I have two happy kids.

And I have one happy cat.


BG, on the bottom, loves that we still have half of the loft base (which is going to go in my office) and the bed part in the living room. Number Two kept the dresser part, which was easiest, and I love the shelf part, so we'll have this bed part (including ladder) that is pretty useless without the rest. I have no idea what to do with it.

I just finished watching all of the new incarnation of Doctor Who. I knew I'd like it, but it took me a while to get around to it. Which is good, because I got to watch season 5 all the way through. Thoughts:

1. I like David Tennant best, but it's a slight preference. I loved Christopher Eccleston, too (especially when he got serious), and Matt Smith is awesome (especially when he gets intense). I'm glad he gets another season, because this one felt way too short.

2. Order of preference for companions: Martha, Amy, Rose, Donna. But I have to admit, Martha and Amy are very close, and I like the current combo's chemistry best. I was very surprised to like Donna as much as I did, because I really didn't like her much in the Christmas special.

3. They really know how to do finales! My favorite has to be season 4, when they brought in Sarah and her son, Cardiff Torchwood, Rose, Martha, and Mickey.

4. The whole first few episodes were kind of goofy, especially Mickey, but I loved how his character developed over the seasons. I'm a little confused at his marriage to Martha because she was engaged to Tom, but *shrug*. I like it.

5. I hate that I have to wait until next spring for a new season, but I love the tradition of the Christmas specials so it's a) not quite so long, and b) something to look forward to in the dark days of hiatus winter 2010. :)

Okay. That's enough for now. I'm home, I have an hour and a half before I have to go to the vet, I am actually going to write for a while! :)

Jason Manns

I posted about attending Jason's performance last week over at The Gab Wagon today. Check it out!

That Week Was at Least Two Weeks Long

Reasons (both good and bad) why this week felt like two:

1. Started new job on Monday morning.

2. Number One also started biology lab at school on Monday morning.

3. #2 necessitated Number Two going to a friend's house every morning.

4. Soccer practice for Number Two on Tuesday and Thursday.

5. Multiple editing projects sent to me daily, including a heavy project with a new client.

6. Soccer game in MD on Wednesday night, 3-hour round trip.

7. Editing that had to be done when we got home from the soccer game at 11:30 p.m.

8. Jason Manns in Philly Thursday night, another 3-hour+ round trip, didn't leave the city until close to midnight (albeit earlier than we usually do! :) ).

9. Record heat levels with no reprieve.

10. There really isn't a ten, but I had couldn't leave it at nine.

Hilarity Ensued

Number One goes into the living room.

#1: "Ohhhhhh, Frisbee, did you have to barf?" *grabs one pick-a-size paper towel*

Me: "Is it like a big hairball, or just a little barf?"

#1: "Just a little barf." *gets halfway into living room, stops short* "OH MY GOD SHE'S EATING IT."

#1 and #2: *groans*

#1 to #2: "You're helping me." *reaches for more paper towels*

#2 to me: "Well? Do I have to?"

Me: "Yes. There are gloves."

#2 to #1: "Give me 4."

Me: "No, you only need two."

#1: "Is she still eating it?"

Me: "Yep. She's moved on to the big pile now."

#1 and #2: *groans*

Me: "Well, wait until she's done, you'll have less to clean up."

#1 and #2: *groans*

#2: "I'm so glad I'm not hungry."

#1: "I feel sick."

Fred's Nose

There was a story I forgot to tell on my Salute to Supernatural report over at Supernatural Sisters.

Fredrick Lehne (aka Fred*) was so cool up on stage and walking around, that Number One and I got a photo op with him when we hadn't originally planned to. He was taking time to chat with everyone (normally against the rules, but his line wasn't that long). I told him he convinced me to break the bank, and he said it's worth it [so far as memories go]. He talked about when his kids swam with the dolphins, and it was a buttload of money, and then they wanted, like, $50 for the CD of pictures, and he rolled his eyes and grumbled.

And then he said, "I'll tell ya something, though, I'd have paid five HUNdred dollars, I'm that glad to have them. I don't know, I could push her around with my nose if you want." And he made a move like he was going to! We understood the reference and laughed, but he explained anyway about having a photo of his daughter being pushed by the dolphin's nose. :)

Anyway, he was just cool.

~~~
*We had dinner with my nieces last night, their last night before they went home, and celebration for Number One's birthday. She made a few more references to Supernatural and the convention, and one of her cousins complained that she needed to use the character names rather than the actor's first names, because they don't know those. That's what happens when you spend 15 seconds with someone! You suddenly "know" them! LOL

The Convention

I just posted my con report at Supernatural Sisters. It's late and has been a very long week, so I'm tired and it's probably dull as dirt, but hey, there are some pictures! :) Check it out.

Aliens Among Us

I went out to the curb a few minutes ago to put some trash in our brand-new, never-used, gigantic new trash can.

It rained last night/this morning, so the can was wet. On top of it, inside beads of water, were clusters of one to three maggot-like worms. I don't think they were maggots, though it's been a long time since I've seen any live, and never in water. They were tan, and had a bubble inside them. After I lifted the lid to put my trash in, the water ran off, but the worms stayed. A couple stopped moving, like they needed the water, but some went crawling like they were looking for another puddle. I was annoyed, because this is a BRAND NEW CAN, and I have NEVER seen anything like this around our garbage in the 11+ years we've lived here.

I came in, did some stuff, grabbed the camera, went back out, and...

They were gone.

Every single one had disappeared. They weren't on the sides of the can, or around the can, or in the can. So now I'm thinking they were an alien race in larval stage, and in the short time I was gone, they changed into their next stage, something bigger and more mobile.

Or birds ate them.

I Survived!

So I'm home from my three days unplugged. It was torture!

Partly it was torture because I had images of my e-mail backing up. I only have two client projects (next on the to-do list!), so my occasional anxiety was unfounded. I considered going to the business center, but there really wasn't ever time.

Partly it was torture because all around me people were using their smartphones to access Twitter and Facebook, and the celebrities were doing the same, and I felt a little left out. But I also was glad I have a cheapo non-smartphone and am not on Twitter, because those people who were reading and/or typing weren't paying full attention, and for the money we paid, I wanted to pay full attention! :)

So here's what I came home to:

368 e-mails in my inbox

32 e-mails in my spam folder (all deletable)

20 of the e-mails were old, from Thursday night, that I either had to save or act on (8).

59 e-mails I deleted as junk, irrelevant, or stuff I didn't need to read. There were a few more I should have just deleted unread. :)

75 of the e-mails were introductions in one of my writer chapters. Which is great, but figures they did that the weekend I was gone!

I'm down to 27 e-mails that need action. Then I have regular mail to go through, checkbooks to update, and a kid I really need to spend time with. What I CAN'T do and really want to is troll Facebook and Twitter. Eventually, I'll post pictures and reports.

But first, to work!

I'm Unplugging. Hold Me.

Tomorrow--very early, way too early for the summer--Number One (see how I used the correct designation there?) and I are going to the Creation Entertainment Salute to Supernatural in New Jersey. And I made a radical decision.

I'm not bringing my laptop.

Normally I would refuse to leave it behind no matter what, but

1) they charge for Internet access;

2) it's a very full schedule with very late nights, two early mornings, and sleeping in on the third morning;

3) I'll be with friends, so even down time won't be down time.

I leave the house before 8:00 a.m. tomorrow and don't get home until late Sunday.* Three. Whole. Days. With no e-mail or Internet. Some of you are baffled. You go whole weeks without checking, right? Maybe a couple of days at a time. You don't understand. I hardly go a couple of hours without checking e-mail. 100% of my work is done that way, so I'm conditioned. And almost inevitably, if I let it go for a day or two, something important comes up and I regret it.

But I'm doing it this weekend, and anticipate a huge flood when I return. Hopefully, the likes of Misha Collins, Aldis Hodge, and Matt Cohen will be enough to stave off withdrawal symptoms, and if not, I can always have Lori, Megan, and Number One comfort me. :)

Wish me luck!


*Don't bother putting us on the "empty house, let's go rob them" site, the house won't be empty.

My July

July is my favorite summer month. I'm not sure why. Maybe because it has a holiday, which mattered back when I had an outside day job (and will again!). Maybe because June has the end of the school year, and August has the beginning, so July is the only truly open summer month.

Plus, July usually has great events, and this year is no exception.

This Saturday is another City Islanders game. This one is regular season, but it's more exciting after we beat the MLS NY Red Bulls on Tuesday, in the Lamar Hunt Open Cup. We've got one win in the regular season (6 losses, 4 ties), so as much as I love watching the guys, it's less exciting when you expect to not win. But in Open Cup play, it's been awesome. The Red Bulls had won 8 games at a much higher level than we play at, and slaughtered their competition in open cup play. We didn't expect much, but it was an awesome game.

Next week Number One and I go to New Jersey for the Salute to Supernatural. We're still annoyed that this is the ONLY convention Jared and Jensen refused to sign up for, but since they started filming this week, they'd have canceled anyway, and that would probably have been worse. We'll be with my good friends Megan and Lori, so we'll have a great time.

After that, I've got:

Hersheypark with the kids and their cousins, and my SIL, on July 13
Paperwork at new job on July 14
Training at new job on July 15
Start new job July 19
Next Open Cup game against DC United on July 21 (and a few more home games along the way)
Lamenting not attending the RWA National Conference July 28-31

How's your July looking?