Seeking Zen, Energy, Money & More Words

I saw this tree. But it was a dragon. Then it was a tree again. It just lied to me.  

-Charlie (tripping on acid, to Sam) from the movie "The Perks of Being A Wallflower"

It's Friday, and I have the next three days off. A friend of mine invited me to join him at our friend's bar, but seeing as I'm broke, I politely declined. I also have a blog post to write so... yeah, priorities, right?

But as I sit here in comfy clothes relaxing to my iPhone playing music via my iHeartRadio app, I find myself losing the energy to do an actual post justice.

So before I pass out, let me do this update thing before babbling on like I do.

• Sanya is at part twenty-one with "The Journey Home"
• a boy, a girl, and a line... is updated with "Happy New Year" (Prompt 22 courtesy of Alithea S)

Impressive, eh? Winding down more and more on those pesky December 2012 updates. I might just be catching up with myself. How about that?

And now here I sit in my room trying to gather up the energy to do some writing. I started something at work that I wasn't able to finish since I had to move to a different computer at the end of the night, and the machine decided to run slower than a snail with a limp and poor sense of direction. I'll finish it tonight... or tomorrow?

I have the next three days off. I'd rather be out of town visiting my family, but since money's tight, I have to stay in town. Sometime this weekend (I think by Monday?) I need to hit the library to turn some stuff in. Before that, I need to finish one of the books that I checked out that's due. I've been trying to finish this book FOREVER, but the book's always been on reserve... and then I'm tired or working or writing... ugh!

There need to be more hours in the day!

And I need more energy for those hours in the day!

Right now I'm trying to figure out how to fit two things into my Saturday.

I haven't been able to make it to the meadery recently due to working or being away for the holidays. So I asked my friend Jon S (who usually asks me if I want to go) if he was planning on hitting the meadery this Saturday. He said he hadn't really thought about it but was up for it. Mentioned to him how my funds were low so if he could pick me up, that's be great.

Later I saw my friend posted she wanted to see Les Mis, but her husband didn't so she was looking for people to go. I had expressed an interest, saying I had plans but was available Sunday. Everyone is more available Saturday. In talking it over with Jon S, he had planned on getting me around 2pm so I had the bright idea of possibly getting a ride (if possible) from the theatre to the meadery (since the meadery is down the street from the theatre). So far that looks like the plan which is cool cuz now I get to see Leah G, Scheherazade and Jon as well as peeps at the meadery. Leah G's friend Laura K might come, too. I've met her and her husband a couple times but haven't chatted much.

Would you look at that? It's almost midnight. I think I might try and write some, but first I need to post this cuz of that whole MWF vow and all that. Sorry this post is rather boring and almost a cheater post of sorts since it fulfills my goal of writing three times a week, but the post is a bit of a babble and is just... weak, for lack of a better word.

I'll try and do better Monday. I promise. Scouts Honor!

Wishing all you fantabulous people a wonderful weekend. xoxoxo

Later my lovelies.

Have Goodness!
Rae

Occupational Hazards

There is never enough time, and I wind up just wanting to do things that I don't have time for.

-Neil Gaiman

Hello there kiddies! It's me again, and I warn you... I'm not feeling too great.

I'm currently at work during a lull before my department meeting noshing on a blueberry muffin and drinking a small coffee/hot chocolate mix.

Before I go any further, let me get the update stuff out of the way.

• Penelope is at part eighteen with Here One Minute...

Yeah. Impressive, eh? (sarcasm) That's all there is since yesterday was...

Yesterday was kind of crappy for me. I had to come to work at 7am which was fine since this time it wasn't a weekend shift, and I wasn't alone in my department until 2pm. THIS time the next person came in an hour later, and it wasn't until after that things started to happen.

The first thing that happened was the internet went down. We have a couple computers that work off a wireless router, but neither are bluetooth tethered to the printers so we couldn't print anything out for our drivers. The two of us were fine but then we had two other girls coming in at 11am and noon so I wanted to get the internet issue situated before they came in since yes... it was slow, but to have four of us here and only one real working computer in our department? (We could have used the one in the back of the building, but there was no phone hooked up there so we wouldn't have been able to really do our job back there.)

I had just received an email from my new department manager saying to contact her (and not the boss of the company) for assistance/guidance if anything should happen. I was hesitant to call her since it was an IT-question, but I did anyway just to be sure. She suggested I call bossman. The lady I was working with didn't think I should bother him so I tried calling our actual "IT-guy" (I was told I could call him or bossman for tech support if they weren't in the office). Got IT-guy's voicemail. Then Leddy M (who was working dispatch that morning) called him and left a message... to which he emailed us back some time later. I ended up having to essentially (after finding the correct box in the server room) "turn it off then turn it back on". I had to chuckle at that since I love the series The IT-Crowd (if you're familiar with the show, then you'll know what I mean).

So with the internet back up and running, the other girls came in and then I went to lunch.

It wasn't until after I came back from lunch, the dumb thing happened.

So there are these out of state/country orders we have to take care of when we're the opening person. Everything autofaxes, so all I have to do is call and confirm the faxes were received. And I did. But the pickup place called and said the driver was late, and one of the other girls asked me what was going on since my name (from confirming the faxes) was the only name on the order.

In a nutshell, there were a few orders/deliveries that were "exceptions to the rule" over the holidays that needed manual edits the day before versus the default settings. There was an email sent out about it from one of the other department heads, but that was sent a few days before Christmas and was since buried in my inbox. Instead of recalling the email, I asked the ladies I was working with if they'd come across a situation like this, and they said no. I had no other numbers than my manager and my boss, and I couldn't get a hold of either of them. My boss called back and asked if I had called my lead (the one that deals with the Canada orders), and I said no since I didn't have anyone's phone numbers. He gave it to me. I called him. The connection cut the calls off. Finally I called him one last time, and we came up with a plan to handle things. (Turns out he should have changed the times on the order on New Year's Eve - per the email and a day I wasn't working - but he forgot to.) In the end, it was all taken care of, but I was so bothered with the whole mess that it lingered with me after I left work to this morning before our meeting. Apparently it was all good since it wasn't even brought up, but I talked to my lead and we sorted stuff out which now we have actual contact numbers for the frakkin Canada drivers instead of trying to get a hold of them via phone, fax, email, text... and NOTHING!!!

And then I checked my work email last night and this morning and guess what? The IT-guy (you know, the one I can call for tech support?), emailed back to say he was offline most of the day but was glad we got things taken care of. *rollseyes*

There was also an email from my manager including a department phone list. (Gee, this would have been nice to have yesterday.)

But I feel that things are getting better in the office since her arrival. For example, we were informed in our meeting that they are furniture shopping. So of course I asked what it was for. Apparently they are trying to get us all desks. (HOLLA!) In my department, there are six work stations (including my mananger's). When I first got here, we all shared desk space. It was a first come, first serve kind of thing. Each desk had a bottle of Purell and a tub of Lysol AntiBacterial wipes. We were all trying to be careful about the workspaces since we shared them... tried to keep them clean and germ free. The two leads have their own desks which are all decorated with personal stuff, but when they're not here, the rest of us can sit at their desks if we need to.

So the chairs that were there when I was hired were "old and busted". There was one that would snap forward at a 15-degree angle, another that sat at a slant, and another that would slip down an inch very slowly until you sat almost face to face with the keyboard and desktop.

New chairs were purchased (we had our choice of two), they were assembled and labeled and Voila! - we all had our own new brand new chairs. But we didn't have any place to stash them when we weren't working where they wouldn't get in the way.

So the fact that they're looking at giving us our own desks is a good thing. Woot!

What else?

Someone set out a big bowl of candy canes in the break room (of which I took several). That was an upside to my day... which is nice since I am closing a lot of nights though tonight while I was working my final hour with Monica D (who was actually closing), I was talking about a couple things that had come up that I wanted to do, but I couldn't because I was working those days.

First is Alithea S is coming to town for a visit, and her parents invited us to dinner at their new house so we could hang and visit with her. Unless I can find someone to swap with me, I won't be able to make it since I close that night. Monica D is under the impression that I will be able to find someone to take the shift or switch with, but I'm doubtful since most of my department (which is only about eight people big) is starting school of some kind... which has led me to have a lot of evening shifts. (I also got a message from Jim G that he had passed to go see Warm Bodies - a movie I'd like to see, but will have to decline his invitation since the day of the passes I work until 8pm and the movie starts at 7pm.) Of the two events, the movie is less important, but still... bummer for me.

Oh how I miss the days where I had a Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm gig. I didn't miss as much.

But then Monica D mentioned something tonight which left me wondering about my schedule for the next few months. She said she doesn't start her classes until next month to which she put in a request to work all closing shifts. She and I already predominantly close, but that makes me wonder if I'll get fewer closing shifts. (One would think, right? Well, it's at least a possibility at any rate.)

I close the next two nights, then I'm off for the next three days. Ideally I'd head to Fresno to see my family, but I can't really afford it. As it is, I have to deal with my phone issue. (I need to walk into a Verizon store and have someone explain to me what the deal is with my bill since the paperbill, the website and the app on my phone all say different stuff. And there was some things that changed on one bill, but when I was reading it - online, I think - they were billing me for a month ahead which I didn't pay when I paid my phone bill last month due to me not having used my phone for that time period yet. The bill at that point was twice my usual monthly rate which would leave me to believe the regular amount - which it looks like that weird billing thing has stopped - would be due the next (this) month by the 7th. But guess what? It's showing that I owe three times my usual rate.

Now I can understand the increase for being late, but I'm not. In fact, when I was unemployed, my service was interrupted because I couldn't pay my bill so I wasn't billed for that time. Then I paid the balance in full mid-October, and my phone was revived anew. Every time I checked the app and online, one said I owed nothing while the other said I owed $5.00. My phone bill is always due by the 7th with a few days window (due to my actual paydays), so I let the $5.00 flow over to December. Somewhere between $5.00 and now, the bill mutated into something strange and psychotic, but I haven't had time with work and lack of sleep to go into the store near me and ask "WTF people?!?!?"

I may do that this weekend. I won't be able to pay anything until next week on payday, and hopefully they can work with me on that. Aside from not being able to call or text anyone, my mom goes cray-cray when she can't get a hold of me. She assumes that I've gone all emo and quoth the raven as I sit in the dark slicing my wrists to the melody of Morrissey songs.

My mom... the Olympic Gold worrier. (Is there something better than gold? Is it platinum? Cuz my mom's medal would kick a gold medal's ass.) I try to talk to her about managing her stress and worry. I keep failing to put it into the right words. I'm not denying her the right to worry. She's a mother and a grandmother. It comes with the territory, but damn... just... damn.

But I digress.

I really stop babbling and post this. After all, I only had one story blog update. Sheesh. Plus, it's almost time to leave work.

Later my lovelies.

Have Goodness!
Rae

Countdown to 2013!!!

The only way to spend New Year's Eve is either quietly at home with friends or in a brothel.

-W.H. Auden

At home typing on the minibook. I have New Year's Eve off from work so I'm not sitting in a big girl chair at a big girl computer. Instead I'm sitting in my room, in bed, typing on tiny keys thinking I REALLY need a manicure.

But first... updates!

• Della is at part fourteen
• Kai is at part twenty
• Nedea is at part twenty

I was hoping to have more written before now, but Saturday was filled with naps and birthday celebrations, and Sunday night at work was just... ugh.

Every time I thought I was caught up, a whole new screen of madness would refresh and boom! - I'd be in need of a beer... or fifty.

But I am hopeful and positive in thinking that if I DID have time to write, I would have written something.

The last thing I was working on was Penelope, but alas... work got in the way.

I was also thinking about writing a rant on another site, but again - no time.

I've also been mentally retooling the LEVERAGE fanfiction idea I have which I think is funny since it'll never see the light of day.

Speaking of LEVERAGE, I keep seeing things that remind me of TNT which makes me grumbly all over again since they didn't renew the awesome show for another season. (Bastards.)

First was a song on the way to work the other day - TNT by AC/DC. hen when taking a walk around the building to stretch my legs and back, I saw a truck (I think it was a delivery truck of some kind) whose business name I can't quite recall, but the logo emphasized the first letters of each of the business's name which was... TNT.

I know I should really let it go, but it bums me out. I need all the seasons on DVD and do some sort of marathon to make me happy. Can't really do one anyway since I don't have a TV or DVD player in my room, and my landlady's husband hogs the TV in the living room watching sport all day long... and the minibook doesn't have a CD/DVD player much less the power to play them... so I'm back to square one.

I'm trying to write this post now since it's officially New Year's Eve and since I work the opening shift New Year's Day, the tentative plan is to sleep most of the day away with earplugs and no alarms of any kind. As far as plans go, mine will have to be local due to having to work early the next day. Nothing definite has been decided yet so I'm just going to fly by the seat of my pants and see what happens. I suppose I have a few options, but one of these years I'll go back to having a giant social NYE.

As far as January 1st, 2013 is concerned, I get out of work at 4pm so I'm thinking of treating myself to "Les Miz". I have three movie passes burning a hole in my wallet from work, and one guy said that some theatres will use them for discount for newer movies. So we'll see. There's also "Rise of the Guardians", "Silver Linings Playbook" and "Flight". Heard good things about "Jack Reacher", and it is based off a novel of an author that I have been meaning to read. (Lee Child's on the list.) I also think "Argo" is playing in some theatres. Wanted to see that.

Eh, we'll see.

Hell, maybe I'll just go see The Hobbit again. (Gollum FTW!!!)

They're selling Gollum plushies as Barnes and Noble. Okay, so technically they only had Gandalf and Bilbo, but the tag shows they make a Gollum AND I WANT ONE!!! (As well as the cute bobble heady one.) Just wish the plushie one was bigger so I can cuddle it better in bed while I slumber off into sleepy sleep land.

YES! I love Gollum. He's my fave character from the movies. Andy Serkis is awesome and plays the character(s) brilliantly. And just because I think Gollum is adorable does not mean I'm broken so SHOOSH!!!

Okay, I think it's time to sign off on this tiny little darling of a post and catch y'all later in the new year (and on Wednesday... since that's the next day I should be blogging, and I think I work that day.) Maybe I'll have some new writing stuff. Who knows?

I wish all y'all an awesometastic new year's eve. Be safe, have lots of fun, and remember... it didn't happen if there aren't any pictures or videos of it. *grin*

Later my lovelies.

Have Goodness!
Rae

Hoping the Writer-Mojo Continues

To be a good writer you need to be the work and dedicate yourself.

-Christos Tsiolkas

Here I am. It's me again. Back for a Friday installment of... well... ME! *awesome pose*

And I am proud to report that I have written stuff! *proud accomplished happy dancing*

Now, now... it isn't much, but at least it's something, and I'm happy I got some writing done. So, without further ado, here is an actual DECEMBER UPDATE!!!

• Tales of the Unemployed and Unloved (Arwyn) is at part sixteen
• The Strange Adventures of Princess Blue is at part thirty-one
• Enyo is at part twenty-two
• Kearie is at part eighteen with Plotting and Scheming
• Noemi is at part twenty with Explanations and Understandings

Awww yeah! Look at that. FIVE updates. I'm high-fiving myself for my little accomplishment.

In other news, I'm back at work. Closing again... like I did last night. Woo hoo! The new schedule came out last night, and I am closing A LOT!!! My lead (Kassandra R) who does the schedule had mentioned that since people are starting school, the schedule will pretty much be like it is now until (I'm assuming) the end of the semester. She apologized for having me close so much, but she tried making it up with a few shifts that got me out an hour or so earlier than closing... which is fine, but I'm still closing every Thursday which means I am never going to make another Dusty's World again. (cry-sob-whimper)

Well, I'm working, right?

Oh, so the other night when I was working, I went back to dispatch to update them on something I thought was too long to talk about via instant messenger, and the lady that works back there (Leddy M) grabbed her keys and told me to come with her. I followed her out to her car where she opened the back and handed me a present. It was after Christmas, but she said, "It's just a little something." We walked back in, and when I sat back down at my desk, I opened the present.

It was a giant clip. 

Now I don't have a picture to share with you since I didn't take one to add to this post (though I should have), but I'm going to try my best to describe it to you.

So when I got the present, the shape of it looked a little triangular - like a piece of cake cut from the round and then laid flat on its side. (I think that's a good image.) The clip is about the size of a door sign you'd hang on the knob like "Do Not Disturb" or something like that... so the sides are flat separated by a coil spring (like a hair clip) so when you pinch the ends, the "mouth" opens for you to clamp it on to something. (With me so far?) The top flat piece has the hole in it (which made me think of the door sign reference) - the other flat piece is solid. The insides of the "mouth" part have rectangular bits of foam on the inside as if to buffer or protect whatever the clip will be clamped on to.

And did I mention it's green? Yeah. Quite green. Not like radioactive green, but not hunter green either. Let's go with... Green Arrow/Green Lantern green? Yeah. I like that. We'll go with that.

A coworker (Monica D) was wondering what the frak I was giggling about, and I showed her what I got. She knew who it was from. She said she got make-up, which I thought was appropriate since she knows a lot about make-up and all that, but I kept looking at the clip thinking What the hell am I going to do with this?

I asked a friend (Aaron C) that passed by my desk what he thought it was and what I should use it for. He came up with a few different suggestions, but one that stuck out that I thought was rather clever was a cup holder. The idea was that I'd attach the clip to a flat service (like the desk) and use it to hold my cup. Now at the time I was drinking some TheraFlu in a styrofoam cup which fit perfectly in the whole of the clip, but I didn't think it was very sturdy. Still, even as odd of a gift it may have been, I was determined to find a good purpose for it.

Periodically I walked back to dispatch and of course I'd make chit-chat with the guys back there, and I had mentioned that I had no idea what to do with the clip. 

LM: Clip all your love letters together.

Me: Woman, do I look like I got any love letters? Please. You'd need a man for that.

LM: Write down all the nice things your friends say that make you smile.

Me: That sounds sweet... though a far cry from the love letters thing.

LM: Keep all the things that make you happy in it.

Me: I suppose I could do that.

LM: I like that idea. You could call it your Kudos Klip.

So yeah, I'm thinking of doing that, but then again, I just saw this thing on Facebook about a "kindness jar" which is essentially the same thing.

Description of the "Kindness Jar":

This January, why not start the year off with an empty jar and fill it with notes about good things that happen. Then on New Year's Eve, empty it and see what awesome stuff happened that year.

Keep a kindness jar.

This is a beautiful way of tracking the goodness that happens throughout the year. Open it UP at the beginning of the New Year and reflect on some happy times in your life! I will tell you that I've done this for years and years - sometimes, I don't even wait until January... sometimes when I'm having 'one of those kind of days', I'll reach into the jar and read one of the slips of paper. Smiles...

Now I just need to find a jar.

But do you think the clip and jar ideas are the same thing? I want to do the jar thing (need to find an appropriate sized jar), but if it's too similar to the clip thing, what else can I use the clip for?

Got another coffee today while getting gas at the Safeway station. 24oz of my own concoction of half high voltage coffee, half peppermint hot chocolate... as well as cream and sugar. Yesterday it seemed to help, but I could be deluding myself. Oh well, we'll see.

Also found a dollar on the ground between my car and the pumps. Normally I ask the people around me, "Did you drop this?"... but there was no one around. I was having issues with the pump so I kept having to go back to the cashier for assistance, and every time I came back to my car, there was the dollar. So when I finally left, I picked it up and drove off. I shoved it in my ashtray for safekeeping. Maybe it's a sign. Maybe it'll bring me luck. Who knows? At this point, I'm open to anything. I'm just looking for better... WAY better.

*baby steps, gurrrl... baby steps*

So now I'm going to try and get my mojo working enough to do some more updates.

Wish me luck.

Later my lovelies.

Have Goodness!
Rae

Would Rather Be Napping...

You wanna meet a girl I used to know,

Let's take a drive

-from the song "Let's Take A Drive" by Christian Kane

Back at work and tired as frak.

Got home last night from work and then the impromptu movie outing (Django Unchained was AWESOME!!!). After cleaning up the massacre my cat made of the extra litter pan I left her while I was away (it wasn't disgusting or anything, just a little messy), I changed into my jammies and watched the season/series finale of LEVERAGE.

So many tears.

Such a good show.

Another boot to the head for TNT.

Eventually I went to bed but sleep was wonky. Various things would wake me up during the course between when my head hit the pillow and when my alarm went off.

• My cat would leap off the bed to get some kibble and then cry out to me as if she had no idea where I was.
• The older gentleman that lives with us that my landlady takes care of got up to go to the bathroom a couple of times, and he walks about like an uncoordinated elephant where cement platform shoes.
• My landlady's dogs that sleep in her room (which is next to mine) with her occasionally would growl and scuttle about.
• Everyone in the house snores like their own individual distorted symphony of chainsaws.
• I received a few spam phone calls/texts the few hours before my alarm was to go off.

The only thing that made me happy and helped me sleep - with whatever sleep I did get - was the rain.

I think I hit the snooze alarm once. Okay, twice actually... though I got up after I did it the second time and headed for the shower. Didn't see any of my housemates as I was leaving save the older gentleman who was in his room watching TV. 

And now here we are... me at work snacking on some BBQ kettle chips thinking about writing as well as debating if I want to hit the cheapy theatre on the way home. My movie choices would either be Flight or The Perks of Being A Wallflower. (If I go, I think I'm leaning toward Flight.)

Been thinking about my life lately. Reading all the positive affirmations about chasing your dreams and doing what you love, and I feel a little stuck and a little out of it. I'm good at being supportive of the people that I love because I believe in them and know that they rock, but with me? I don't know. I used to have some idea of what to do. But now? I just feel like I'm sinking and the apathy monster is eating my soul.

Wow, that sounded a little dark, but I think you get the drift.

Watching the success of my loved ones is kind of a double-edged sword in that I'm happy for them, but I also want to be happy for me. That little voice that whimpers "What about me? When's it going to be my turn?"

An egotistical part of my being knows that I'm destined for greatness, but when will that happen? My life feels like whenever it takes a step forward, I end up taking several immediately back. I had a great job but then it closed, and I was milling about in occupational limbo for years. (And let's not get into the men because that's a whole different kind of depressing.) It seems when something good happens to me, it doesn't take long for the other shoe to drop and for things to go south. For once I'd like to ride the high off of something for longer than it takes to sneeze or snap your fingers.

Now I'm throwing a pity party or looking to be coddled. I would just like to feel that whatever work I do put forth is just not going out into the ether and being sucked up by some Galactus-type monster that goes around eating people's hopes and dreams.

I have ideas... plans... still forming for the new year. Yeah, I know, resolutions are usually broken, but I'm going to try and be better. So I'm not really making a resolution or two... more like a game plan. I had some dreams growing up that weren't really nurtured or encouraged. They were just more of the "When I grow up.." variety without follow through. I made one goal for myself - to be "published" by 35 - and that didn't turn out so hot. 

Yes, I have reviews on TVFanatic and MoronLife, but those are reviews, but I'm talking about my fiction.

No. I will not whine. (I felt the beginnings of a whine there. Babbling I'm all right with, but no whining.)

But yeah. I'm planning things. And hopefully things will work out, and then things will get better.

*fingers crossed*

Later my lovelies.

Have Goodness!
Rae

Home From the Holidays

Tara: What we imagine is always so much better than the reality.

Eliot: Like love?

-from the series LEVERAGE, The Zanzibar Marketplace Job (Season 2, Episode 12)

Dear TNT: 

WTFRAK?!?!?! 

Why must you upset ME by not renewing (I refuse to use the "c" word) LEVERAGE? I mean seriously! The show is awesome! What were you thinking? And having the last episode on Christmas? That's just so... wrong.

Change your FRAKKIN mind, dammit!

Sincerely,

A nerdy fan

Now that I've got THAT out of my system... okay, maybe not.

YES, I'm still bummed/pissed about the whole thing, and I'll probably feel that way for a while cuz it's a good frakkin show, and I can't understand why TNT wouldn't renew it.

(grumble grumble - breaks random object - grumble grumble - stab random innocent bystander - grumble...)

And what is up with the five season mark? FIVE SEASONS!!! First CHUCK and EUREKA... now LEVERAGE?

Merry frakkin Christmas!

So here I sit at a computer... at work... wishing I was able to watch the series finale of LEVERAGE, but no... I'm at work. To make the time go by, I'm currently listening to Nerdist Podcasts (currently listening to the one with Wil Wheaton) while I nosh on leftovers my mother sent me home with (sweet and sour chicken and steamed white rice).

Yes... I drove straight from home to work. And why? Because I can.

I had a lovely holiday. Closed Saturday night, drove straight to Fresno from work, and had a lovely time. I hung out with my family, kicked my mother's ass at Scrabble by almost 100 points, spent some sweet time with my niece, and snuck in some cigar/beer time with my brother. Today we had an early Christmas so I could hand out presents and leave in time to get to work by 5pm. 

I have to say that my favorite present were a picture my mom and brother were behind. Seriously... I cried. It was a photoshop kind of thing that had to do with me and my niece in the pic... my brother said he's going to touch it up a bit since he's a bit of a perfectionist and then give me another copy, but really... I just loved it, and after I saw it, I had to hug my niece and give her tons of kisses.

Even now talking about it... I'm getting a little misty.

The other awesome gift was a little mouse on a clover sculpture that my niece wanted to give me really badly. As my sister-in-law put it, my niece saw this cute little statue and just knew I would love it and wanted to get it for me. It is so cute, and of course I love it... and getting it from her makes it that much more special.

Yeah, I'm gushing. I know. But I'm a proud Auntie, and I love her very much.

And now I'm at work and nothing much happened, but I found that it was difficult to listen to the podcast and write at the same time so I had to pause it in order to eventually finish this post and head on out. (I'm meeting friends Lon L and David T to see Django Unchained.

I suppose I should talk about writing of some sort. As it is this post is a day late, but then again... I have no internet access at my mom's place. If I did, I might have snuck in an update yesterday, but I didn't. And to write a post on my iPhone would have been a pain in the ass so I thought I'd save it for today... Christmas.

Tried writing a little at my mother's before bed, but these short little spurts of off-time I have from work leave me with little time to myself when visiting family. I'm usually chillin' with them... maybe fitting in some Seester-time with Margrit C. But yeah, I had a print out of my SANYA story to make notes on (like I did with KAI's story). Also had my notebook as well as my library copy of "Bullet" by Laurell K. Hamilton. (Dude, I am SO behind on my favorite author reading. Sheesh!) In any case, I read a little, and wrote even less. I jotted down some of my LEVERAGE fanfic on a Google doc, but dammit. It's all up in my noggin, and I keep seeing it being played out like the show... which is no longer a show... which... dammit...

Novels would be nice. Yeah. Lots of series have a novel following. Yeah. That might make me feel better... a bit. But then again, I always thought that would be awesome.

BUT I WANT MY SHOW BACK!!! *sob - sigh - grumble*

Later my lovelies.

Have Goodness!

Rae

Running On Fumes...

Wow, I feel sore. I mean physically, not like a guy who's angry in a movie in the 1950's.

-Harry from the movie "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang"

 
So it's Friday, I'm at work, I'm bloated, and I'm tired as frak.

I'm currently at the office. I'm covering the first half of a fellow co-worker's shift (she had a funeral to tend to earlier in the day). She should be here in (looks at clock) three and a half hours.

Right now I'm drinking hot chocolate (just add water to a packet that says it contains milk - I find that humorous). I also added a shot of chia seeds since my tummy has been acting a little funny lately. I'm pretty sure it's due to "powerloss" officially started yesterday.

Ugh. My body is my enemy. I feel like crap at the moment, and I really wish there was something I could do about it. As I've gotten older, the effects of "powerloss" have changed... invited new friends to the party... the party to wreak havoc on my body! Occasionally I think of that song "My neck... my back..." but not in the way the song means.

Still no writing coming out of me. Lots of ideas still floating around in my head... mainly my LEVERAGE fanfic. Maybe it's because the season finale is coming up Christmas night... and we STILL don't know if they're going to be renewed for a season six... maybe not until January. (DAMMIT!!!)

So yeah, maybe that's why I have the fanfic in my head.

Usually I write stuff out that is preoccupying my mind, but I've been too tired lately. I dunno.

And yes, I know that these blogs are technically "writing"... but it's not the same thing to me. This is just me shooting the shit, saying what's on my mind, etc. The stories are different... they come from a different place. I don't know.

Right now I'm just trying to get through the day. I keep looking at the clock, and it's driving me nuts since it feels like time is running slower since I have a shorter shift. SUCK!

Leaving for the family time after work tomorrow night. Still have a couple things to take care of beforehand. Can't wait to see my niece. She's my new best friend. Love her to pieces. Just cuddling with her while watching a movie or cartoons makes me happy. Plus when my brother picks on me, she beats him up in my defense. Love that!

Tonight is a little get together at a friends house. Then I have to pack and clean my room a little. Take care of the cat. Sleep. Not go crazy.

Okay, now I'm just babbling. Sorry.

I think "powerloss" mixed with this weird pseudo-cold and the lack of sleep and the tiny bit of stress from planning my trip is making me loopy.

In any case, I hope all y'all have a lovely weekend, and I'll hopefully see you Monday.

Later my lovelies.

Have Goodness!
Rae