From pooped to peppy and back again

I just ran out of gas at around 12:30 last night, which was unfun, but today I got to hang around in the consuite and saw DJD for four whole hours, which was really really awesome.  He’s about the same as always, and Sandra hung around as long as she could before she went off to see her mom.

 

I printed out the boarding pass and got the schedule for the shuttle.  I’ll be checking out about 8 tomorrow with any luck.

I bought another musical instrument.  Yes, I am very, very insane.  It will be coming to me at a later date as without a hard case there was no effin way I was bringing it home on scare canada.

Now for the Dead Penguin – the last filk of the con!

Yay!

First person we ran into was Catherine, and then Shirley, and then Phil, and then, and then, and it’s been so lovely.  Chipper is saying “So many redheads…. ” which is making me laugh, because, yes, fandom DOES have a disproportionate number of redheads, both DNA and bottle varieties.

Breakfast was oatmeal in a crockpot (courtesy of Catherine, who’s volunteering for the con) and delicious coffee in the consuite.  We talked about house construction (good and bad), earthquakes, how screwed up the building code is in Chicago, what NOT to do in disaster situations (and there was much amusement) and in general everything has been either amusing or très mellow. Fans are just the most awesome people.  I’m not saying Chipper is being blown away at how welcoming they are, but I suspect she’s pleasantly surprised.

Today Tamalicious is coming to the hotel (right after Kathy Mar‘s concert) and we’ll catch up and tomorrow I get to see DJD for the first time since, uh, that would be the last time I went to Toronto.  If that’s five years ago, and apparently so, then shame on me.

I want to give the entire universe a hug, but I think it would take too long.

 

travelling woman

1.  Excellent and wondahful visit with the parental units.  I got a photo scan of the old homestead in SK, had my traditional coffee and cinnamon bun (best commercial cinnamon buns ever) at Dan’s after a lovely ride in the country, communed with some skunk cabbage, watched the hummingbirds, who are quite active these days (three sucking back syrup with another circling, occasional flashes of the O My God red as the sun hits them), watched a quail peck a pileated woodpecker while the woodpecker ignored him, cooked a couple of lovely meals for the folks, which my mother quite appreciated, watched some nature programs, and felt pride as Katie passed the 48 hour mark of quitting smoking.  Fingers crossed she makes it this time!

2.  RUDE FUCKING START TO THE DAY.  I had to yell at the cab driver.  I will post a copy of the letter

 

Dear Sir,

I am a long time and mostly satisfied customer of Bonny’s Taxi, whose
services I have been using since 1998.

I am complaining in the strongest possible terms about the complete
disregard for the safety, comfort and wallet of the customer
demonstrated by the above-named driver.

This morning I got a cab to the airport from Bonny’s.  I SPECIFICALLY
TOLD THE DRIVER NOT TO MOVE THE CAB UNTIL I WAS BELTED IN.

The reason I did this is because my daughter just got a 147 $ ticket
because the cab driver she selected took off before she was belted in.

The driver verbally agreed to stop and then immediately sped off again
prior to me even being able to get the belt anywhere close to secured.
I had to yell at him to get him to stop the cab, which I am not proud
of, but he disregarded my clearly stated and lawful instructions.

As you are no doubt aware, the fine for not being belted in is borne
by the customer, not the cab driver.  I understand that time is money
but when your driver’s anxiousness to make some money potentially
costs the customer money and the aggravation of a court date, there is
something seriously wrong with the safety training and customer
service ethic of your drivers.

I would like a refund of my $44.30 cab fare and a reprimand on B.
D—–‘s file.  To be clear, apart from running a couple of yellow
lights and failure to make legal stops under the HTA, the fines for
which would have been borne by the driver, there was nothing else
wrong with his driving.

I look forward to your prompt response, which will factor into my
decision whether or not I complain to the licensing agency.

Thank you for your time.

“Scalded” “Scrotum”

In the last five minutes, Katie has asked for assistance in spelling the above noted two words.  This is as a consequence of her having to write down notes every day about the nasty & harassing work environment she’s currently dealing with.

 

OWWWWWWWWWWWW

Katie wishes it to be known that those two words were not in the same sentence.

still here

Some good news. Crowd sourced science is here.  https://www.microryza.com/ I WANNA KNOW WHAT’S IN THAT JAR, yes I duz.

Amen.  http://icanhascheezburger.com/2012/04/14/funny-dog-pictures-licking-life-to-the-fullest/

hahahahahaha.  Yes, I know you may not get this but I laughed my ass off http://scifi.icanhascheezburger.com/2012/04/13/sci-fi-fantasy-harry-potter-crew-sent-to-azkaban/

Oh look an open mic walking distance from my house!  (link deleted)

 

Still recovering from Migraineish thing what attacked my brain. Slept most of yesterday.

Jeff had chocolate ice cream for breakfast.  It’s my fault, I bought it.

 

 

Prodrome turns into fullblown

Well.  That spacy feeling was actually prodrome.  I took sick (weakness and vertigo) around 9 pm and after bringing me a glass of water Cindy went home.   Hell of an evening for her. I staggered to bed.

15 minutes of vertigo accompanied by weird visuals (bright teal and navy blue geometric progressions and I think I would have appreciated them a lot more if the bed hadn’t been jerking around.)

5 minutes of physical symptoms which included feeling like the inside of my head was full of cicadas and that somebody was repeatedly lowering a heavy weight onto my stomach, and weird wobbly noises like the sensation of having water in your ear.

about five minutes of feeling tight in the chest, probably panic from all the weird new sensations.  Breathed through that.

Then I spent about five more minutes getting my head into a position where it wasn’t buzzing, as the buzzing came and went depending on how I rested my head on the pillow.

Then I fell asleep.

It was the weirdest migraine ever, probably triggered by the barometric hops of the last couple of days and relief of pressure from starting my holidays, also I sneezed about a million times yesterday.  I only had 1.5 beers and I suppose that could have contributed but I don’t think so.

I’ve had so many really weird migraines and in fact my neurologist characterized them as atypical that I think that’s what it was.  I also have the weird spacies like I get after an attack.

My grandmother was very subject to vertigo.  Vertigo really sucks.

Those cicadas, though.  Imagine that Peggy’s bowed bass sound is INSIDE your head.  That’s what it was like.  Most extraordinary sensation.

So I am okay, and once more amazed that my brain can completely detach from consensus reality and go on its own little journey!  Also, I got to sell my car.

VACATION ALERT

My brain has gone birdsnesting already.

Work is interesting.  I backspaced over most of an email this morning that while righteous was, erm, inflammable, sent it, and received the benison of the account manager, who promptly asked me why I wasn’t running things. My response was that I am hysterical and of short attention span, but I thanked him for his kind words.

Saturday I clean, Sunday I church, Monday I take instruments to be set up, Tuesday I have to briefly stop in at work to get my new hall pass, Wed-Thurs I hope to visit me mOm and pOp, and Friday I fly to Toronto.  Monday I fly back.  In the middle I hang with Chipper and the Eastern contingent of filkfen (and I CAN HAZ SO MUCH NEW MATERIAL) and then Tuesday it’s back to work again.

Some restrictions apply, etc etc.

Tru dat

What psychologists consider five crucial aspects of wise reasoning: willingness to seek opportunities to resolve conflict; willingness to search for compromise; recognition of the limits of personal knowledge; awareness that more than one perspective on a problem can exist; and appreciation of the fact that things may get worse before they get better.

 

2020 says why the hell are you using AAVE Allegra

Various

John Cusack hopes his new movie makes people read more Poe.  Me too.

Got a migraine while driving home last night including two new symptoms – facial numbness and kinaesthetic/proprioceptive hallucinations.  Went straight into a scalding hot tub and recovered enough to make dinner for Jeff, but I held out for pizza when Katie showed up and ordered some.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-04/uobc-pap041112.php  Pride is not necessarily a sin…

Vacation is COMING!

 

I can haz new.used guitar

His name is Smoky, and he’s an electric-acoustic cutaway with a built in tuner, made by Seagull.  I put desperately needed new strings on him, and he sounds lovely.  Got him for approximately half price, and there’s not a mark or fretwear on him.

Also, I solved an extremely irksome problem in Finale Songwriter this morning, so now I can continue working on writing tunes down.

The office move went well.  The only thing that got lost from my desk was a trash can and one of my stalwart coworkers bagged me one.  I thought I had a shitty deal in terms of location, but the proof of the seating plan is in the actual results, and in this case I declare myself pleased, and I’m glad they put the cacklers close together, because G. and I both cackle when we laugh.  Also, who the hell’s idea was it to leave our fax number on the floor above?  GawDAMM.

Jerome dropped by yesterday, and how awesome to see him!  Shannon’s expecting again, and of course my family can never be too big.  He was describing how Braden plays with the harmonica I gave him, which of course nearly made my heart ‘splode with joy.

Time to go put some more laundry away.  I can hear Jeff blasting shit in Skyrim.  Herewith Dara Korra’ti’s lovely song, Fuck You Skyrim.