I am going to be so glad in an hour when I get to go home. Today has been nothing but stupid questions or major issues.

I'm going to go home, eat my delicious crock-pot roast beef (god I hope it comes out okay), and proceed to veg out tonight. Tomorrow morning, I'm going to sleep in a little bit, go and get Bry's bike towed, and then begin packing boxes into the truck at my old apartment. Dump all that off at the house, and then meet up with Kathleen for dinner when I pass the truck off onto her. (Deity of choice bless her for going down to CT this weekend - she was thrilled to have a vehicle for the weekend, I was thrilled I didn't have to drive all the way down there just to swap cars with Mum.)

Saturday and Sunday are mostly working on the house days, with a brief break to crash Steve's bachelor's party, and then Monday is more working for me, though I get to sleep in since I took Monday off too. Four days to finish moving and unpack everything. ::crosses fingers:: At least Bry is good about hassling me if I slack off. ^_^

the way we are today:: drained

I think I figured out the colors for the dining room. (I need to do up curtains for VERY LARGE windows, and also reupholster or slip cover our chairs.)

For the curtains: Old Satina Jade Green or [if you scroll down the page a bit] Leaf Green

For the upholstery: Antique Gold and Tan Bamboo Print

the way we are today:: curious

My weekend went incredibly well. Not only did I get my hair cut on Friday (Penny is always a riot, and it was great to find out that the black dye is fading out perfectly so that my real hair color is bleeding through, and I won't need any touchups yet!), but I also managed to get the dishwasher and dining room table from Mum's house. We managed to spend a little bit of time at Sailfest, hit up Kathleen's party for a quick bite to eat, and got over to the fireworks to watch with Mum, too. Then 8_inches_lucid got dragged off to meet my friend Dave, with the bonus of getting to see Jamie and Charlie and Pat and Keean and Mike and Ed and Sarah and the baby, since they were all at Fight Night for UFC 100.

Sunday we bought a grill! It's one of the nice charcoal ones that also smokes things, which is very cool, and I'm looking forward to playing with it. We got Rita's and drove back up home, and unloaded things, and I got a lot unpacked. We have a linen closet now! With linens in it! I have a closet, and there are clothes in it! I still need more clippy hangers, and probably another dresser of some kind. I refuse to get rid of anymore clothes. I think my limit for shucking things is about five bags, and I've hit quota.

Next up is using the truck a couple nights this week to get the last of my boxes from the old apartment, and then it's a matter of sorting and throwing away and organizing into spaces all of the stuff that's in those boxes.

I'm taking a couple days off in order to facilitate some of this. We've got a deadline of the weekend of August 7th, as that's when Bryan's mum comes to visit, and we want things to look very nice for her. (I especially want things to look nice, because I want her to like me.) I'm also going to play Executive Assistant for Bry and handle getting his bike towed to the Harley dealership so that it can get fixed and he can cancel his storage unit.

We picked up all of my records this weekend too, so now we've got a ton of vinyl to listen to. It makes me so happy when there's music playing constantly in the background. I love having music filling the house. It's especially nice when we're having dinner at the table, or when we're just sitting out on the little deck enjoying the rare nice weather.

I got permission to crash Steve's bachelor party this weekend, which is going to be awesome. I don't think anyone is going to tell him that I'm coming down. :0)

And, well, that's about all I've got, I think. But that's plenty. ^_^

the way we are today:: busy

Oh dear sweet precious - I don't even PLAY Magic much anymore. No one else really is into the game that I know, so as much as I'd love to get to have a multiplayer evening of kicking some ass Angel-style, I don't get to.

But that doesn't mean that I still don't lust after my girls:

Baneslayer Angel, you would look so perfect, laid out next to Akroma, Angel of Wrath.

(Also? Angelic Chorus is hot.

I still need a Blinding Angel as well, I think.)

the way we are today:: covetous

8_inches_lucid and I were talking about the difference between Pepsi and Coke, and how I can taste it. He decided to test this claim, and picked out a number of different cola products.

Last night, he decided to make me taste-test them. We used Pepsi, Pepsi Throwback, a diet cola, Coke, and Coke Zero. I carefully made my selections, and placed them in order by best taste to worst taste.

Worst taste, I believe, I chose Coke Zero, and then Coke, and then the diet. Pepsi and Pepsi Throwback are wicked close, and I couldn't quite tell them apart. Bryan asked me to double-check my selections after I initially chose, and I ended up switching my top two cups because I second-guessed myself, which led to my choosing Pepsi over Pepsi Throwback.

But all in all, I've proven that I can, in fact, taste the difference between products.

Yes, this is something that we did for fun.

...Yes, I realize that we are very lame.

the way we are today:: successful

Somerville and the surrounding area was actually under Tornado Warning for awhile today. The weather outside looks icky, but no tornadoes are in sight. Of course, if you can see them, it's too late. (Thanks, Weather.com!)

I'm off to the old apartment for a little bit this evening to grab some stuff, and also help jennaria move her bed. I'm hoping to get home by 7:30, since I'm starving. (Though having a real breakfast really really helps my day. It's amazingly sweet of 8_inches_lucid to get up with me every morning and cook for me and see me out the door.) Tonight's going to be teriyaki steak and rice. I also need to put another loaf of bread in for dough, so that I can make some more. I'm thinking either an herb bread or pizza dough...I'm considering doing a bbq chicken pizza or something soon.

I need to figure out how to share my online cookbook with people...I'll try to remember to poke at that one night this week. ^_^

Thank god, today is almost over. I want to go and get my stuff done, and then get home. It's been a long day!

the way we are today:: hungry

Day two of the commute, and with the back roads, it's about 40 minutes. Spot on with what I thought it would be! :0) Very nice for up here, where an average car commute is closer to an hour and a half.

8_inches_lucid got up this morning again and made me a real breakfast, since we've got food in the house now that we went shopping last night.

My shelf is up on the wall for the first time ever! I've been carrying this shelf around for nearly twelve years, and for the first time, it's useful. So happy! And now my spices are all easy to access. (I go through them quickly enough that I'm fine with keeping them on a shelf instead of in a cupboard.)

We still have a lot of work to get done, but it's coming along. (I need to stop at the old apartment tonight and grab my Glade nightlight, though, because it's driving me nuts not having one in the bathroom.)

We've started perfecting bread-baking with my bread machine. We made whole wheat for me, and a couple loaves of French, which came out kind of interesting. At first we didn't think the oven was working, but apparently it's just an older gas stove and takes FOREVER to heat up. (I can't believe I have to seriously preheat my gas oven.)

Work's going well - I was actually voted Employee of the Month, so that was kind of cool. But we're starting to get busier, so that means less time to putz around on the internet. So it's good that the office is set up, I'll be more likely to use my computer at home, once I've gotten more of the unpacking finished.

I should go and get work done - don't want my numbers to drop too much, or I might get scolded for my net use.

the way we are today:: accomplished

The move has been (mostly) accomplished.

Friday, we moved the bulk of the furniture with help from Jack and Kathleen and my Mom, and then Saturday Mom came back up and helped finish the furniture/big stuff off.

Mom and I brought down the mattress from my old apartment - which meant carrying it down three flights of stairs. I managed to drop the mattress most of the way down all of these stairs, with Mom making fun of me the entire way.

As soon as we got to flat level ground? She dropped it without warning. Just WHOMPF, on the ground. I just looked at her and shook my head, and she was all, "I shouldn't have said anything about you."

We spent Friday night at the new place, since we'd moved both the beds by that point. That would have gone better if the neighbors on the other half of the duplex didn't have a baby visiting for the weekend which cried for hours starting at around four a.m.. That was fun.

But at this point, we're pretty much settled in. The living room is mostly set up, though we're still missing a couch; the kitchen is mostly unpacked and just needs finishing touches and whatnot; the office is mostly done, though I need to move over my desktop/etc.; the bedroom is pretty much complete as well. 8_inches_lucid's even finished almost all of my laundry, and I've been working on getting it into my new dresser.

On Saturday night, we sat outside and watched the neighbors light off fireworks. It was very nice; the little rose plant and the bonzai are out on the deck getting sun and fresh air. The yard's actually a fairly good size; I'm looking forward to getting a grill eventually.

The commute this morning wasn't too terrible, only about 40 minutes. I'll leave a little later tomorrow morning and see if that changes anything. (I got to work at about 8:15 this morning, which was a little early for me. But hey, at least I got to have a breakfast that I didn't cook myself this morning.)

There's still way too much left to move, and there's a lot of stuff that we still need to get, but overall? It's starting to become home.

the way we are today:: accomplished

Last year, I moved during the hottest days of summer. We're talking 90+ degrees, humidity, the works.

This year?

Hail.

the way we are today:: annoyed

The new place is shaping up. We met the landlady on Sunday and got the keys, and spent a couple hours cleaning. The fridge was absolutely filthy. Just disgusting. So we've gotten that scrubbed down, and the floors on the entire first floor, and all the counters. I started contact-papering the drawers yesterday, and I'll finish the cupboards tonight. 8_inches_lucid was the one who did the floors, and also scrubbed the bathrooms down. He even did our first load of laundry in the new place. ^_^

We brought over one load, and will be doing another tonight. Kathleen's agreed to help me out with packing stuff up tomorrow, and we'll probably take her up to see the place and help unload some stuff. Thursday the utilities are coming on, so I'm taking a half day to meet the installation guy. Friday Mum comes up for the big moving stuff - furniture and boxes of books and manga.

I've really got to find a good way to get rid of books.

So far, so good, however. We're right on track to be moved by the end of Saturday, so that we can spend Sunday settling in.

the way we are today:: pleased

So I picked up my BPAL from shadesong last night, and ended up hosting an impromptu sniffing session on my bed with 8_inches_lucid and jennaria.

We tested out: Port-au-Prince, La Belle Dame Sans Merci, Thanatos, Danse Macabre, Death on a Pale Horse, Penitence, R'yleh, and one other one that I can't remember the name of (Night's Pavilion or something?).

Death on a Pale Horse: Pine like whoa. With an afterscent of citronella. Very woodsy and clean.

Thanatos/La Belle Dame Sans Merci: both floral, both faded from memory quickly, both were kind of meh.

Danse Macabre: Blech. Not sure why I didn't like it, but I just had an immediate reaction of "oh hell no".

Port-au-Prince: As I described it to them, it's much like being fucked up your nose by a licorice stick. If you can get past that, it fades as it dries into just "licorice and suck".

Penitence: Spicy; nice, but a little too incense-ish for me.

R'yleh: Oh yeah, that's what I like. Watery and briny and cool.

Night's Pavilion?: Nice for a room spray, not so much for the wearing.

the way we are today:: amused

I want YOU to go and vote for Anya at the RuPaul Drag Show Casting!

Brian's made it past the first round into round two, and we're all crossing our fingers that he can pull through into round three! If you don't mind following the link and voting, and/or boosting the signal so as to let others know he's working hard on this, that would be awesome!

Brian's a sweet guy who we know from Flock Theater, down in our hometown area in Connecticut. He's been a drag performer as Anya Genetalya for awhile now, originally at O'Neill's Brass Rail in New London, and now he's with the Imperial Court of New York in New York City (I'm not sure what his NY home bar is). This boy does a MEAN Liza, let me tell you. He's got a phenomenal voice in addition to his acting ability - a true show-stopper. Any support would be awesome!

the way we are today:: excited

Pondering various fabrics and whatnot, as I'll need to be doing some re-upholstering eventually.

Stripy

Swirly

Wasabi

Paler Stripy

Really gorgeous gold and tan bamboo print

the way we are today:: thoughtful

I am not liking National Grid right now. Setting up gas service via the web? Easy. No problem. Setting up electricity? Nightmare. The site doesn't work with Firefox. Talk to customer service, they tell me to try IE. I try IE. It still doesn't work properly. I email customer service again. Maybe I'll get a response tomorrow; they seem to have about a 24 hour turnaround on this. I may have to just call. ::sigh:: The web is so much simpler for me, though.

I've got a bunch of stuff ready to roll once we get keys to the new place. I...don't actually have room right now to pack anything else, so I've got to stop trying. (Pretty soon I won't be able to get in or out of my room!) On the plus side, we should be getting keys on Sunday. ::crosses fingers:: I will be very glad once we have keys and I can start moving stuff over. I need to be doing something, or I'm going to go out of my mind trying to figure out how to make it all happen on the 3rd and 4th.

I am going to drown in lists pretty soon. So many lists! But at least I'm actually getting things done and checked off. (Usually I just procrastinate.) I haven't been nearly so bad about procrastinating things lately. It's a nice trend. Now I just have to keep it up.

Thank god it's almost late afternoon. So done with today. I spent over twenty minutes on the phone with this one woman - she hung up on me and then called back. She is not a happy camper, but there's nothing that I can do, because she's the one who apparently didn't ready the instructions and now is complaining that we should do something for her or refund her money.

"How do you live with yourself, destroying people's lives like this?"
-Just fine, ma'am, just fine. I don't even have trouble sleeping after calls like this one.

Our team motto? "We destroy dreams."

the way we are today:: tired

The Relay was a lot of fun. Kathleen and I drove up on Saturday morning, both of us leaving our boys asleep at our apartments. We made wicked good time, and met up with everyone for lunch at the yummy fries place.

Went up to the Relay site, did the grocery store run, and then Kath and I ended up taking a nap in the car for a while. There was a family getting into the car next to us, and finally the mother got exasperated. "Would you please just do this and be quiet? There are people trying to sleep!" The guy goes, sort of disbelievingly, "People trying to sleep? ...Oh shit! Sorry."

The Relay went well - we walked a grand total of nine miles over the course of the evening. We also had absolutely delicious cheesy breadsticks and stromboli for dinner, and awesomely good popcorn and maple sugar cotton candy for dessert. (There were also a lot of yummy desserts at the Midnight Buffet.) There was only a little suck in the morning, when csacivilwarlady called and woke me up. She was all, "When is she coming back to get us?" And I was like, "Uh, she said she'd be back in time to pack up." And then the crying and yelling happened, and finally I had to be all, "I have no idea what she's doing as I am in the parking lot in the car trying to sleep. I thought she told you what was going on." (flutterby1 had to take her dad back to Aunt Millie's, and decided it wasn't worth coming back, she was just going to try to get a bit of sleep before morning.)

We packed up, and then Kath and I wandered around the Barton area seeing some of the sights until it was time for breakfast. We went over to the awesome diner and met up with everyone, and had delicious French Toast and bacon, and then we hit the road back to Boston.

We both missed our boys though. :0(

8_inches_lucid was kind enough to come to my place and pick me up so that I could spend the afternoon/evening with him. I showered, and then he made me lunch, and then I fell asleep during the Red Sox game, which was sad because it was an awesome game. I managed to stay awake the rest of the afternoon though, after waking up just in time to see Green's hit that won the game. I slept like the dead last night though, and did not want to get up this morning. Work's gone fast though.

Almost 4:30. Yay! I'm going home, finding my knee brace, and hitting the gym so that I don't stay sore all week. I've also managed to sort out gas and electric utilities for the new place for the most part, and found a PCP that has hours I can actually get to! I think I also found a dentist, but I don't know what hours they have, so that may or may not work out. I got the quote for renters insurance as well, so I feel very accomplished today.

the way we are today:: accomplished

So glad today is almost over. It has been a long day.

Home in half an hour! Yay!

...and my boss just had to fight another manager so that he didn't try to get me transferred out of my department. o_O I can't believe this. (This is, like, the third time that this has happened. I don't wanna leave my manager! We work awesome together.)

I have hit over forty verifications both today and yesterday. This is easy-peasy work, but it's like trying to bail the Titanic. Lots of work for absolutely no momentum. I'll pass, thank you.

the way we are today:: accomplished

So, I'm thinking about finding something new to wear to Steve's wedding. (Either that, or I need to have one of my sundresses altered so that it fits properly, as I've lost just enough weight.) I've only checked with Sears and JC Penney thus far, but I've found two that I like.

The first one is not the color I would prefer, but it's cheaper: Rena Rowan Side Tie Wrap Dress

The second one I absolutely love, but it's a lot more: Empire-Waist Embroidered Hem Dress Tried to order it, and it's out of stock. Waiting to hear from Mum whether she finds it in store for me....

Alternatively:

This one might be nice? Or this one, which is similar to the one I fell in love with.

Plus I could also look at a lot of other places....

Edit: Shoes. Oh my. I do love new shoes...

These, in the black

These, in the silver

These, in the black or silver

the way we are today:: unsure.

I have many boxes packed. This is good, because I have been given a deadline by my mother. Which is good - otherwise I'd probably end up just procrastinating or whatever and it'd get done in a terribly disorganized sort of way.

I would very much like to have the keys now, so that I can start moving stuff. It would make me very happy. Sadly, I don't think we can get the keys until next week. :0(

We've got the Relay this weekend, which has crept up on me totally unawares for the most part.

I received my invitation to Steve's wedding, which makes me happy, because now I can plan for that! Though Kathleen has kindly stepped in and asked me to go in on her for something off the registry, so that makes that SO MUCH easier. No thought involved. :0)

I'm very excited that I don't have to do grocery shopping today. 8_inches_lucid said that he'd pop over and supply up, and that way I can just go straight to his place when I get off work. Awesome-sauce.

jennaria and I went to the gym last night. I met back up with her in the weight room, and as I'm doing the lat pulldowns, she goes, "Does 8_inches_lucid give shoulder rubs?" A little confused, I said, "yeah, of course. Plus, he does foot rubs too!" jennaria = "So jealous! Shut up now!" And I was smug, because my boy is the best.

the way we are today:: satisfied

So they're swapping me over to do verification for another service. Which isn't a big deal, and it's something to do. And at least this time they actually trained me and gave me the paperwork so I know what I'm doing. I'm just waiting on a username/password, and I'll be diving into that. Yay. Something to do other than twiddle my thumbs for three weeks. (My company likes me because I don't mind being traded sometimes, plus I train quickly. This has come in handy on no less than four occasions, leaving me with the firm belief that sometimes this company has no clue what they're doing.)

I feel more comfortable with myself today, because my silver bracelet is happily on my wrist where I'm accustomed to having it. (I successfully ransomed it, even if I totally did give in to terrorist demands.)

Tonight is probably a trip to the gym, and then I've got packing to do. I should also try to get to bed at a reasonable hour, since I'm starting to feel like I've got a bit of a cold. Stupid sore throat.

Also? Mad points to anyone who can guess where I got the inspiration for my new LJ layout from. (Not the icon, just the text.)

the way we are today:: blah

I've been informed that I can "just chill" for the next three weeks, since there literally isn't any work now that we're closing the cycle. (My phone rang three times today, and two of the calls were the same lady. "No, I'm sorry, the policy will not change, we do not issue refunds.")

Thus far today I've calculated the approximate cost of renting a U-Haul to get my move done faster, changed my entire LJ layout for the most part (although I'm only sort of happy with it, and I think it needs more tweaking), and read all of my comics/news/G!Reader feeds/LJ filters.

Aaaaand it's only 1:00.

the way we are today:: bored