confabcon | Member Posts

It's Thursday! Friday eve! And for some godforsaken reason I'm awake at 4:45am. Ugh. My neck and shoulders have been really bothering me the last couple days, and this morning I just couldn't find a comfortable position, so I finally gave up, and now I'm upright.

Thanks to my sister's persistence, we should be able to close on Dad's probate in December. The lone holdout was this IRA that was "lost" when my uncle passed. It should have been changed over to Dad, but it never was. So after Dad died, they sent us a missive about it, and we've been fighting to get information for over a year. Until yesterday, we didn't even know how much was in it! Since my sister is the executor, she's stuck doing all the grunt work. My contribution was to call the main customer service line and get a supervisor's number for her to call. It'll have about $45k in it, which is a nice chunk of change. I'll pay off my car and save the rest for vacation.

Sadly, we won't have it in time for Comic Con, but that's fine. We'll have it for Alaska and that's what really counts.

I got an email yesterday from Zillow, where I still have our old house favorited. The house refurbishment is done and it's going on the market. The listing had pictures aplenty and may I say, holy shit. They worked miracles. It looks amazing.

It was like a sucker punch to be honest. I have so much guilt and shame tied up in how the house got that to see it looking so nice gave me mixed feelings. On one hand, the good memories hope that a new family will inhabit it, and that they'll enjoy it, especially the backyard. The other half of me that felt like the house had a personal grudge against us is angry and ashamed. Because the house could have looked like this the whole time. And instead it was a mold infested wreck, because we couldn't afford to have it looked after properly.

I had said that I would go to the open house, but I think the pictures were enough. I hope someone loves it, and they get all the money they're asking.

We're creeping up on Thanksgiving at a rapid rate of speed. I need to finalize my menu and order the stuff from Sam's club to be delivered on Tuesday or Wednesday. Tuesday I go to fetch my fresh turkey from a shop called Farmer's Daughter, which I'm looking forward to browsing as well. It's a produce stand, but they seem to have baked goods as well.

This weekend, I think we're going to go to lunch and then get the Christmas wreath on Saturday. We have games Friday and Saturday night as well as Sunday during the day. It should be fun. The Saturday night game is a new campaign, a folk horror game called Crooked Moon. I'm looking forward to playing it. It looks super fun.

But first, work for a couple more days. Hopefully they're slightly less busy. I haven't fallen beneath 50 calls a day all week.

And now, I shall relax and get ready for another workday. Everyone have a wonderful Thursday!

beanside

It's Wednesday! We're almost halfway through the workweek! For real this time, since I don't have a shift this Saturday.

The last two days I've been achy as hell in my neck and shoulders. It's somewhat painful to lie on my back, because the hump of my back just hurts. Today, it seems like the bad shoulder is acting up a bit. It's not the stabbing pain of the newly torn rotator cuff, just a dull ache when I use it. It's annoying the hell out of me.

Yesterday was another busy day at work, to the tune of 58 calls. A touch annoyed that I didn't hit 60. 58 is just such an 'almost there' number. Ah well. There's always another day.

Jess has a bit of a cough and maybe a cold, maybe allergies, so I got them soup for dinner. We all had grilled cheese and soup. It was cold and kind of blah out, so it seemed like a good plan.

I think, unless my coworkers want cards, I am just about done writing them. Reminder, if you want one is a few posts below, right here. As I mentioned, please don't think that because I sent you a card before, I still have your address. A lot of things disappeared in the move, and my address list was one of them. I'm old, I don't have a spreadsheet. Saturday I plan to make my first trip to the post office to get stamps and send the overseas card that I want to send out.

My paystub came in, and it's missing my referral bonus, so I sent a message, I still got 6 hours of OT, so it's not like I'm hurting this week, I just want to see what's going on. Hopefully, it's just a glitch. I won't have it in time for Black Friday, but that shouldn't be a problem. I'm pretty much done all the buying I need to do.

I bought myself a Warmie, which is a stuffed animal that you can microwave to make a heating pad. I got a cute stuffed pink llama and a neck wrap. They're made of flax seed and lavender, and I'm looking forward to them. I told Jess that they can give it to me if they'd like. I also got warmies for them and my sister. You can never have enough weighted stuffies. Jess is already aware of it, so I'm not spoiling anything.

Packages from my Christmas shopping spree are supposed to start coming in today, so we'll see!

And now, it's time to go forth and get myself together. Everyone have an awesome Wednesday!

ride_4ever

Voted first place by the FWF participants for best use of prompt.

My FWF First Place Winner - Category: "Best Use of Prompt" - Shocktober Edition

Title: Things Counter, Original, Spare, Strange
Fandoms: due South, Wristcutters
Rating: Mature
Category: Gen, M/M
Pairing: Benton Fraser/Ray Kowalski
Characters: Robert "Bob" Fraser, Benton Fraser, Ray Kowalski, mention of Uncle Tiberius Fraser, mention of Diefenbaker (the half-wolf, not the former Canadian Prime Minister), mention of Nanuk (from Wristcutters), mention of Raife Kneller (from Wristcutters)
Word count: 400 (quadruple drabble)

Summary: Sergeant Robert Fraser -- dead Robert Fraser -- knows first-hand that All Hallow’s Eve is when The Veil between the living and the dead is at its most thin...but he doesn't know anything about Halloween-themed sex toys until Ray Kowalski has something to say about it.

Author's Notes: Written for the recurring Firewhiskey Fic Challenge, a 48-hour period during which fanworks creators drink "adult beverages" or "do the 420" and create their fanworks "under the influence" with no editing allowed. Participants then view all the fanworks and vote on them in the categories of Most Coherent Entry, Least Coherent Entry, Funniest Entry, Favorite Entry, Best Use of Prompt, and Best Smut.

Fic on AO3.

Current Mood: awarded
Current Location: near the lake they call Michigan

duskpeterson

TOUR OF THE BORDERLAND

Introduction to the borderland

The borderland is the region where the Three Lands touch each other: Emor in the north, Koretia in the south, and Daxis in the southwest. Borderlanders are the people who live in the Emorian borderland, Koretian borderland, and Daxion borderland. Most borderlanders, though not all, are of mixed blood.

This is a phrase that sometimes confuses foreigners. The phrase does not refer to the mixing of blood that takes place during Koretian vow-making. Rather, "mixed blood" refers to land heritage. A person of mixed blood is descended from people of at least two different lands. In practice, as we shall see, all peninsulareans are of mixed blood, so this phrase actually refers to more recent blood-mixing.

Northern mainlanders who live in nations where skin color is accounted of great importance sometimes ask whether people of mixed blood can be identified by their skin color. The answer is a cautious maybe. If a dark-skinned Emorian – whose ancestors were born in the south, rather than the north – marries a dark-skinned Koretian, then the result, not surprisingly, is usually a dark-skinned child. Likewise, if a light-skinned Koretian marries a light-skinned Emorian, a light-skinned child is usually born. If a child has light brown skin, it might have a dark-skinned Koretian parent and a light-skinned Emorian parent. On the other hand, it might have a light-skinned Koretian parent and a dark-skinned Emorian parent. Or it may be that the color of its skin is determined, not by its parents, but by one of its four grandparents. Or – I cite myself as an example – a Koretian may have lighter skin than most other Koretians because he has spent many years living in the north, where there is less sunlight.

In short, don't make any assumptions about skin color and land heritage. If you want to know what land a peninsularean belongs to, it is best to ask.

The native tongue of most borderlanders is the ancient language called Border Koretian – though that language might just as easily have been called Border Daxion or Border Emorian, for Border Koretian is related to all three of the main peninsularean tongues. Border Koretian is a different language than the Common Koretian spoken by most Koretians. It is now used as a trade language in the Great Peninsula. If you plan to visit the borderland, it would be well worth your effort to learn Border Koretian, as that language will enable you to be understood by traders and most noblemen throughout the Great Peninsula. Speaking the language in the borderland, however badly, is an easy way to make yourself welcome.

[Translator's note: A good introduction to life in the borderland can be found in Law Links.]

beanside

Good lord, it's early. I had a very difficult time sleeping last night--I just kept waking up every couple of hours. Around 3, my shoulders started hurting and being tight, so I got up t 4:45am. I'm going to feel that later.

I was both productive and non productive yesterday. I didn't actually do anything physical, but goddamn it, I shopped. I'm trying to get everything bought in the next couple of weeks, to avoid shipping woes. I was very productive for that. I finished up my sister for the most part. I may get another small thing, but the big stuff is done. I got her an Irish snack box, a pair of nice slippers from Ortho feet and I found an artist who does animals in the style of Disney characters, so I got her one of Yoda. I got the proof yesterday, and it's freaking adorable. I'm having it put on a 16x20" canvas for her.

Like I said, I may get one or more things, but the big gifts are done. I need to get some things for Jess, but they're difficult. I have one thing that is coming from Italy, and I hope it comes in time. I plan to do some looking after I finish typing this.

Yesterday was bugfuck at work. I took 59 calls, which is a lot, and I felt it afterwards. I just didn't want to do anything. We had take out Korean food for dinner. I was dying for Kimbap. It was excellent.

Today will hopefully be slightly less crazy, though as I've said before, the holidays tend towards busy.

I've had to wear my heavy coat the last few nights. I love it. Snow Country Outwear's stuff is amazing. I really like it. When I'm wearing it, even in 31 degrees, I'm super warm. It seemed nice, but I hadn't tested it out until the latest cold snap.

Okay, time for me to do some shopping! Everyone have an outstanding Tuesday!

beanside

It's Monday again. *cries* I'd like another day to actually get some shit done. Yesterday, it was like my ass was welded to the couch cushions. I did nothing. Barely bothered to put on pants to walk Yoda.

The extent of what I did was order and put away groceries, and put the tree skirt and some enormous ornaments on the tree. Still not sure I like the ornaments, but it just looked so bare, and I didn't realize how big they were when I bought them.

And of course, I walked Yoda twice. Don't let the sad face fool you.

But other than that, I sat on the sofa and surfed the net. Watched some videos on youtube about our cruise ship as well as our next few vacations. (We've figured out what we want to do for the next three years at this point.) Next year is of course, Alaska. Then Iceland to Amsterdam cruise. Then we shall do a Rhine river cruise to a bunch of Christmas Markets in Germany and France. We may go early for that one so I can see Neuschwanstein castle, as I'd really like to see it. Or stay later, if we choose a southbound cruise. We'll see.

Today is bound to be bonkers, so I am girding my loins and drinking my coffee. Actually, I expect it to be pretty shitty for the next 6 weeks at work, as everyone who has yearly scans is going to be trying to get them in before the end of the year. And they're going to wait til the last minute to schedule. It happens every year.

Tomorrow, we shall have our paystubs, which is exciting for me. I think on Thursday I'm going to run up to Sam's Club after work and spend some of my OT and bonus on a fancy dinner which we shall have on Friday or Saturday. Sam's has these enormous lobster tails, like fist sized. They're expensive as fuck, but I think we can splurge.

I'll also be sending the coworker who got me the bonus by getting a job and putting me for the referral half of it, since it's because of her I got it. She stayed the 6 months, and I appreciate that extra $500 for Christmas presents. I've gotten my sister a few things already, and I'm going to get Jess something, since there's only three of us. Previously, we got for my sister and dad, and she got for Jess and I, but that seems unfair. Jess can get for me as well, if they so desire, of course. We're all hard to get for, so it should be fun.

I got my sister a pair of nice slippers, and I'll get her some gloves and stuff for the cruise. I need to think about some small things, because we're doing stockings. Maybe some puzzle books, and the gloves can go in there and I have no idea what else. I guess we'll see!

Okay, time to go take a nice shower. I definitely need one. Everyone have the best Monday that you can Monday!

beanside

Today is Sunday and we have nothing planned. We will probably go get lunch, but aside from that, I think it's going to be a relaxing day. And who knows, maybe we'll just order lunch.

Yesterday was a mostly good day. I worked for four hours, then we had game, then rest for a couple of hours. Unfortunately at that point, I started feeling hella nauseous and had to cancel my nighttime game.

My sister was out watching her adopted niece's soccer game, so I was up til about 11:30. (State finals, they won.) Eventually, I got too bored just laying there and the stomach had improved some, so I came out and watched videos about the Grand Dutch Cafe on the Holland America ships. This is the place that I'm going to go to first on the ship. We'll do what we need to--visit our Muster station and watch the safety briefing. Then, my ass is going to go get food. And honestly, nothing says vacation like going to the cafe that serves Dutch food, and having something you don't normally eat. They have a Bossche Boll, which is a creampuff covered in chocolate, about the size of my fist. That's definitely on the list, but so are some of their other things. Like the fried eggs on farmer bread with ham and gouda. I could fuck that up. And the fries look amazing.

Watch on YouTube

Here's a video someone made about their experience, and the food looks amazing. (And usually that pair of travel bloggers are harsh about the food and experience.)

Yoda was groomed, so we sat on the sofa under a blanket and watched some videos. (We get him short, to avoid poopy butt.)

Okay, time for me to commence relaxation. Everyone have a wonderful Sunday!

hannah

As I told several people I would, today I cleaned my computer. The physical object. I got the Q-tips, the Isopropyl, the canned air, the screwdriver set, watched a couple of videos and read some manuals, and got to work. It was a delightfully straightforward set of tasks and, unless I'm running a hyper-specific program that has moments of taking up 100% of the CPU, my computer's now nice and quiet. The only issue I've got right now is the front LED is blinking in an irregular frequency, which tells me one of two things: a physical component needs to be replaced at some point, or the LED itself isn't working properly. Absolutely nothing I've done so far today has caused me any further issues, so I'm not going to worry too much. I'll see what happens the next time I get the urge to play Stardew Valley.

Also of note, though much less pleasant, was having to bear through a couple anxiety spikes. It's been a while and I'm out of practice with them, and I haven't forgotten how they keep lingering. I hope it's all gone by tomorrow.

Current Mood: worried
Current Music: nothing now

beanside

It's almost that time again! If you'd like to receive a holiday card from

nilchance and I, this is the post for you!

Please put your name and address in the comments, which are of course screened. Also please indicate whether you want the profanity laden irreverent holiday card, or traditional.

Please note, if I've sent you a card before, dont assume I have your address! Assume it was lost in the move, because it probably was.

beanside

It's the weekend! And I am still up at 5:30am because I am working this morning. I realized how good my check was going to look today. I've got two Saturdays of OT, a team meeting that was OT and the second friend who got a job at Hopkins passed her six month mark on this past Wednesday, so I'll get that $1000 bonus. We're going to get something good for dinner on payday.

Work was pretty busy yesterday, and I spent a bit of time working on filling appointments, yet still had time to take 47 calls. Usually Friday is a little bit less busy, but we're heading into the most wonderful time of the year, where everyone tries to get in for appointments they've known they needed for months before their deductible resets in January. Late November and December are brutal for radiology. And may I just mention that these people have no Holliday Cheer. For December, I'm working on the 27th, and not looking forward to it.

After work, I did a quick run to the pharmacy to get my pills, and inhalers. With a game at 7, we decided to take the dog out for a walk, but there was a bigger dog outside, and Yoda barked. The other dog barked back, growling loudly, so we went back in, both Jess and I having flashbacks to Tucker. I swear, the scars prickled when he growled, and I was 100% sure that someone was going to get hurt. Instead, we ran inside, and settled down for a while before game.

I'm thinking about doing another day trip up to the Mt Hope Wine Shop. We had picked up a bit of wine and booze while we were up there for the Renn Faire. We still have wine, but we've nearly killed off the Rum Cream. And let me just say, that is a sad thing. It's basically a sweet creamy base that would make an awesome coffee creamer married with coconut rum. It is SO fucking good. I'll pour myself a large shotglass and sip on it during game. It's only about 18% alcohol, so not too strong, but perfect for sipping. They also have a mocha rum cream that I'm looking forward to trying.

We do have a trip planned for the Yuletide Faire, which is basically the renn faire with carolers and holiday themed plays and music. But that isn't until mid-December, so I'm debating on a trip before then Right now, they don't have their Eggnog, but I'm hoping they will by the time the Yultide faire rolls around.

Today, I work, Jess and my sister take Yoda for grooming, and then we have game after work, then game tonight.

Tomorrow, I believe Jess has game at 7, but nothing else.

Okay, time for me to get myself together and be ready for work. Everyone have the very best Saturday!

beanside

It's Friday! Whoohoo! I'm still working tomorrow morning, but that's okay.

Yesterday was busy at work. I had multiple projects, and accomplished all of them. In the process, I may have gotten one of my coworkers in trouble, but she fucked up, so I don't feel bad about that.

When we get patients with STAT orders, and we don't have anything soon--like a cardiac MRI say, we send an email to management, letting them know, and they go on a giant spreadsheet. (Ususally, they'll also forward the email to me, since I'm Queen of the Cardiac appointments) I was looking to fill in an open cardiac MRI, so I was trawling through appts in January (Yes, that's when we're scheduling). I opened a chart for a patient and found a STAT order. The patient had some pretty serious comorbid health issues. I was worried that I had missed something, so I sent a message to the assistant manager asking if the patient was on their radar. He came back and said no email had been sent. So basically, my coworker put a patient who could basically drop dead at any moment in January and didn't even put them on the wait list, much less notify anyone. I have a feeling that that is going to be a coaching at the very least. Fortunately, I have an appointment for Tuesday, so I'm going to track them down and see if they'll take that.

Then, it was off to get my roots touched up at Madison Reed, because I looked like a fucking skunk, and we have brunch on Sunday and I'd like to look at least not bad. That took a little while, and then I headed back home to walk the dog and have a bit of dinner.

Tonight, we have game, so that should be fun. I need to do a bit of prep, which I will take care of after I finish typing this. Tomorrow, work, then game. Sunday, Brunch at Ammoora.

I also need to go pick up a couple of prescriptions, so the timeline might be tight tonight. We'll see.

The tree topper came yesterday,a nd I got it set up. It's a really pretty star of Bethlehem shaped golden cage topper with lights in it.

Our little tree.

Ornaments and a tree skirt are still en route, but once we have them, we'll get it decorated and it won't look so sparse.

And on that note, I'm going to go grab a shower and then do some prep work for game. Everyone have an excellent Friday!

duskpeterson

I feel a bit embarrassed to mention this balcony, because it's named after me.

However, it is a perennially favorite visiting spot for Emorian visitors. You may see it, at a distance, as you are leaving the palace grounds; it is the balcony festooned with the Emorian royal colors.

It was here, in 976, that the Chara of Emor resided during the final days of the Emorian occupation. (I often visited his chamber during his stay - hence the name of the balcony.) It appeared at that time that the Koretians and Emorians would engage in bitter warfare with each other over Emor's lengthy occupation of Koretia. Instead, through the combined wisdom of the Jackal and the Chara, the Koretians and Emorians were able to reach a peace settlement. Since that time, this chamber has served as the residence for any visiting ambassadors from Emor.

On that peaceful note, we will leave behind the capital of Koretia.

[Translator's note: Once again, the Ambassador demonstrates his modesty, this time by failing to mention his own role in the peace settlement between Emor and Koretia. The full details are conveyed in Blood Vow. A somewhat different perspective on the peace settlement occurs in Law of Vengeance.]

beanside

And now it's Friday Eve! Hopefully, it'll be a quiet day. Yesterday ended up being quite busy. I ended up taking another 40 calls, even though part of the day was spent filling some cardiac slots.

Then, it was off to the dispensary to pick up sleepy time pills. It still kinda amazes me that I can just walk into a very upscale store and buy weed. Not just weed. Specially formulated weed that does exactly what I want it to, in. pill form.

Of course, coming out of the store, two dudebros were enjoying their stash in the parking lot, in the car right next to me. I had to walk through the cloud of haze and stink. Instant migraine, let me tell you.

I came home and ate dinner and immediately went to lay down. My ADHD meds were wearing off, so I was getting a little jittery, so I decided to listen to some music on youtube. Which is where this song came for my entire life.

One of our friends went to NYC Commic Con, and sent out a message to us that she was in the panel for the Lost Boys Musical, and they were about to release tickets, and would we be interested in going?

I considered, and then said yes. We head up to Broadway in April to see the show. In the meantime, they've relased a couple of the songs, and so far, they've all been pretty much bangers. And I listened to them and liked them, but I must not really have listened to the lyrics? Because last night, Wild came on, and I guess with the earphones I could really understand the lyrics, because they were like a sledgehammer.

Watch on YouTube

I feel like this is me now, just slowly scrabbling out from under years of caretaking. I'm finally to the point that I can love my family to death, but feel like I can matter too.

I may have listened to the song and Patrick Wilson telling me that I could be wild again a few times.

Tonight, I have to go get my roots touched up, which desperately needs to happen.

Okay, time to get myself moving. Everyone have an amazing Thursday!

beanside

It's hump day! We're at the halfway point of the work week!

Yesterday was busy as expeted, and another part of our systems were down. When a patient calls, they're asked for their phone # and DOB. A lot of times, the system will use that to give you a pop up with the one or more persons that it could match. It didn't work yesterday. It can be a godsend when you have a patient with a heavy accent and difficult to spell name. But we had nothing, so we had to figure it out. I only had a couple I struggled with, but I got there to the tune of 50 calls.

On lunch break, when we took the dog out, upon our return, we found that our Christmas tree had arrived from Amazon. I used the rest of my break to try fluffing the branches. It still needs some work, but I love it. We left it on all evening, so we could have light while it was cold out. When we were bringing the dog in from his night walk, I could see the colored lights burning merrily in the window, and it gave me a happy.

The ornaments I ordered should be here in a couple of weeks, and the tree skirt sooner still.

After work, I made some lovely NY Strip steaks, and warmed up some Sam's Club's baller corn with garlic butter. (That shit is like crack.) The BIL joined us, and we had a nice little dinner. As per usual from Sam's, the steaks were enormous, and I'm considering making some gravy and slicing them thin, and having hot roast beef sandwiches, but with leftover steak. We have garlic mashed potatoes, also from Sam's, so that would go well.

I went out a couple of times to see if I could see the aurora, but alas, no. I will try again tonight, but I think the light pollution is just too much.

I ordered these little ornaments for BIL's and our tree of a little cruise ship. It'll say "Koningsdam, May 2026." I thought it would be kinda cute. He probably won't put it up this year, because he's avoiding telling his mother about the vacation, since she would fret. I think he told her that they're going to Maine.

I think I've got everything done for the trip that I can do until it gets closer, which is good, because it means I have planned well, but on the other, I don't have anything more to do which is annoying.

Okay, time to get myself together. Everyone have an outstanding Wednesday!

hannah

One of my clients tasked me to do some computer work for her - it's something I'm doing from my apartment so it's less than the usual rate, and as it's something I'm doing from my apartment, I'm genuinely fine with that. It involves checking to see if her webpage is up to date, going through and seeing if each page that lists certain January events has those events listed on the January masterpost in turn, or if the masterpost for each month is missing certain items.

To keep track of everything as I went, I made a spreadsheet to stay organized. After a couple hours, I sent it her way to make sure I was doing it right from the get-go and wouldn't need to redo more than a couple of hours. She said the work I was doing was fine, and to compile all the missing masterpost items when I was done, but she was confused by the spreadsheet. I explained it to her, and she said that wasn't the issue: she understood what I was doing, it was that she'd never used a spreadsheet.

I understand her professional life began and ended before spreadsheets became a thing, but I hadn't thought she'd never used one. Even as a way to keep track of addresses or manage a list with a lot of moving parts. I'm inclined to believe her that she's been informed they exist and she's simply never had reason to bother.

In some ways, I envy and admire that.

Current Mood: surprised
Current Music: Hudson Line - Mercury Rev

beanside

Hopefully, Tuesday will be less crazy of a day, but I'm not holding my breath. Yesterday, our phone systems were down. Well, not the phones themselves, but the queue that brings them to us. I spent the morning filling in a few openings, and then at 12:06pm (over 4 hours late) the queue came up. And I never had another moment to breathe all day. Even with only having roughly 3.6 hours, I still came in at a tidy 39 calls. (The goal for a full day is between 35-40.). It was a lot.

For the most part, patients were nice, which helped. But damn, that was a lot of calls.

Tomorrow, our Christmas tree arrives. I'm just going to set it up, since I would want to test it out anyway. It won't be decorated until our ornaments arrive around Thanksgiving, but it's getting cold and dark and I want the pretty.

It is super cold yesterday and today. I had to use the heavy coat to walk the dog in last night, because it was in the high 30s. Right now, it's 31 degrees, feels like 22. It's supposed to be back up to normal temps tomorrow, though. Back to the 50s and 60s again.

A friend of mine has started an Etsy shop for her quilted goods. I bought my sister a bag from her, and asked if I could comission stockings for my sister and the dog and cat. She didn't have any pet themed stuff, so I bought it, and will send it to her for stocking making. She's very talented and could use the extra money for Christmas. Her husband passed 2 years ago right before the holidays, so she's raising 2 kids on a single paycheck. If you're looking for a new bag or anything like that, give her a look.

We're down to 177 days til Alaska. My excitement had waned, but it's picking back up. The BIL asked if I could cancel the fishing trip I'd booked him for, because he's not sure he could physically do it, so instead, we're all going to a Dungeness crab feast in Ketchican. I fucking love crab, so all you can eat in an hour should be good.

Mostly, I'm just looking forward to being away. Disney was the best week of my life, and I want that feeling again. Nothing that I need to do except what we want, It sounds lovely. And the ship looks so nice and they have so much food! I can't wait to do everything first class and have a blast.

Okay, time to get myself in gear, and see what the temp in here is. I'm actually a little chilly. Everyone have a stupendous Tuesday!

beanside

It's back to Monday again. Work is going to be busy, but I'll deal.

Yesterday was a wonderful day! I got up at 7am and putzed around a bit. Once the pharmacy opened, I went and grabbed my sister's pills, then came back and relaxed some more, and then it was off to go to the theater. The drive down was fine. For once Goodlemaps wasn't on crack and it got us there super smoothly. The garage was a little bit of a terror--fairly steep hills, and tight turns, but not as bad as some of the ones in DC or Philly. We found a spot on floor 7, and after some wiggling got fully in the spot. They had three yellow lines, informing us that if any part of our car protruded over them, we'd be fined $52. We made damn sure that the little Soul was well within all the lines.

Then, we took the elevators down and got in line. It moved pretty well, and soon we were at the ticket takers, only to find that our tickets needed to be moved due to contraints of the touring company's space requirements, That involved standing for a while, then a long walk with a flight of stairs to get to guest services. They found two comped tickets, and we headed to the theater door to stand a little more while they got the chandelier back where it needed to be.

Then, we got to our seats. They were old-time theater seats, so not terribly narrow. Acutally, they fit my wide ass pretty well. We had amazing seats, In the right orchestra, row N.

The play itself was wonderful. Our Phantom had a great voice, and played it well. We had a fair number of people of color in the cast, including two people of color in the main threesome. A Black Phantom and a Latino Raoul. They all were wonderful, and not one bad noise amoung them.

As per usual with musicals, it took me a minute or two to get my brain to fully buy in, but once I did, I thoroughly enjoyed it. The staging was amazing, and I loved how they did all stage changes and effects. Our phantom had fairly extensive makeup, and did not just look like he had a mild sunburn like the movie.

Getting out took a while. I made a stop at the merch table on the way out and got a little hangable porcelain Phantom mask. I felt like we should commemorate our first play in 15 or so years. We sat in the lobby for about 45 minute, waiting for the line for the elevators to slow down. Eventually, we were finally able to get to our car and head back out.

Once we got home, we had dinner and took the dog out for his walkies. Then, I went and laid down, because I was tired.

And now, I shall go forth and get myself together. I need to boil some eggs for breakfast for the week. Everyone have a wonderful Monday!

beanside

It's Sunday! And it's going to be a busy day! Even though my boss ended up being able to use her tickets, I've been scouting online, and I found a pair of orchestra tickets that didn't break the bank. So we're going to see Phantom of the Opera for the matinee showing at 1! I've never been to this particular theater before, so we're definitely going to leave early so we can find parking.

I'm really excited about seeing the show! I've seen the Gerard Butler movie, but never the play. My family used to go to dinner theater now and again, but it was for shows like Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, and Oklahoma, and it didn't appeal to teenage me. But since, I've listened to a few soundtracks, and I no longer think I hate musicals. (Except the one touring play of Cats that I saw in San Antonio-that particular performance can fuck off into the sun.) But I really loved Rent, I'd like to see Beetlejuice and Hadestown. I loved the Phantom movie. I have songs from the Buffy musical in my playlist. So we're going to see how this intro to the Baltimore theater scene goes.

Hopefully, the seats aren't too tiny. I always feel bad when I have to squish my fat ass into a seat and try to not encroach on my neighbor. I'll admit, I'm a little anxious about it. Also, I'm completely clueless what to wear. The internet says "smart casual," but I don't know that I really have that. So it's going to be schlub, me thinks.

I was productive as fuck yesterday, despite doing almost nothing. I mentioned that Jess' fic had inspired me, so I wrote a little bit. It's just over 2,000 words, but it's a little snippet of what's going on directly before the campaign starts. For me, any fic is unusual. My normal is to write in a very list-like style for campaigns. I'll write the triggering factor, then what happens, and then just flesh it out during game time, flying by the seat of my pants.

I know DMs who will spend hours prepping every game. For modules, my prep is to read the module once, and then reread the part that I think we'll get through the day of. For homebrew, there's some prep. That's when I flesh out the world, and the characters, all in helpfully presented bullet points. Once that's done, I hardly ever use it again.

I may have to do a little more with this one, just because it's going to be a longer campaign, so it's going to have acts and quests and all sorts of shit. We'll see how it evolves.

The fic, should anyone be interested is right here.

Okay, if I'm going out, I desperately need a nice hot shower. Everyone have an excellent Sunday!