This has been a great week. My birthday weekend was wonderful (besides some drama flare-ups that seem to have been mostly resolved), and since then I have had a pretty quiet week to recover. I’ve had some excellent quality time with my lovers, and even got in some time alone on Thursday. I didn’t get a lot of journaling time, but everything else was fantastic.

Sunday morning LilDomino, HotaruGirl, Pandara and I slept in before venturing out to Perkins for breakfast. We stopped by LilDomino’s to grab something and then headed back to my apartment for a birthday game night. We had a full house for gaming, and played Apples to Apples, Flux, and Killer Bunnies. It was great to see everyone, and it was a fun, chaotic end to my birthday week.

Monday morning LilDomino, HotaruGirl, and I went to get the washer and dryer LilDomino had gotten me a few months ago that until now had been sitting in her garage. When we got the appliances here, Salamander42 and Pandara came over to help, taking my old washer and dryer for their use since my appliances still work pretty well. After work I hung out with IceSpark and enjoyed some quiet time alone with her before we went to bed.

Tuesday I slept ten hours and still woke up tired. After some snuggles with IceSpark, I finally tore myself out of bed and headed to work. After work I headed to LilDomino’s, and we cuddled, hung out, and talked about the weekend. We’d all had some fun times this past weekend, but there was some stress as well, most of which worked out OK.

Wednesday morning LilDomino and I slept almost twelve hours before finally bumbling up towards wakefulness. After work I went to Pandara’s apartment. She’d made me dinner, which was simple but very yummy. After dinner we went back to my apartment, but by that time it was very late and she was very sleepy, so we decided to skip entertainment and just cuddle and talk before sleeping.

Thursday night I had plans with Lima, but her basement flooded and she was exhausted from clean-up so we decided to reschedule for another night. That gave me an evening alone, which was nice because by that point I was severely peopled out. I set up my new washer and dryer (thanks again, LilDomino!) and got some laundry done while I checked my two million birthday messages. Thanks, everyone!

Friday after work I went to IceSpark’s house to MUX and sleep. My MUX night was very productive – I had a great time roleplaying with Spike as first his dad Sparkplug and then his brother Buster, and then on the Joe/Cobra side I wrapped up a plot with Ace and Mara v. The Baroness and Vypra. Both of my characters got their asses kicked in a very entertaining fashion. IceSpark said she’d probably pass out early, but wound up staying up with me until I was ready to go to bed.

Saturday morning IceSpark and I got up and headed down to Evansville for a derby bout. Her league, the Bleeding Heartland Roller Girls, was playing one of Evansville’s leagues, the Rollergirls of Southern Indiana. While IceSpark was getting ready I went out to dinner with HotaruGirl, and then HotaruGirl and I joined IceSpark, Jalyru, and my sister at Swonder Ice Rink for the bout.

The BHRG Flatliners beat the first ROSI squad, but ROSI’s second squad managed to beat Jalyru and IceSpark’s team, the Code Blue Assassins. Nonetheless, it was an entertaining bout, and afterward we all went to an afterparty at Bullock’s and then wound up at Denny’s late into the night. All in all it was an excellent weekend.

"The fact that the United States can spend $300 billion on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan but cannot find a relative pittance to rescue the human condition in Africa -- there is something profoundly out of whack about that." -- Stephen Lewis, the secretary-general's special envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa

This past week I was back on my usual late shift. It made sleeping easier for me; although of course now I’m back to keeping other people up to all hours when sometimes they have to work in the morning. Oops. The next three weeks will have me working during the day or back on the 2 AM shift, so I guess my friends and lovers can stand one week of late nights this month. B)

Last Sunday morning icespark and I stayed up near dawn around the bonfire, partially to enjoy the revelry, and partially because we didn’t want to return to our tent and freeze to death like we had the night before. When we did return to our tent we came up with a new sleeping bag arrangement that was much warmer and so we slept better than we had on Saturday.

When IceSpark and I woke up we had some sandwiches, showered and then broke down the tent. We said our goodbyes and headed to Bloomington for IceSpark’s derby practice. I got to hang out with Jalyru, which was fun, and afterward IceSpark and I dragged Jalyru out to dinner. After eating, IceSpark and I headed back to IceSpark’s where we unloaded her car and then promptly passed out. It was a good weekend. B)

Monday morning IceSpark headed to work early and by the time I got up I realized I’d left my keys and wallet in IceSpark’s glove compartment. *facepalm* Luckily IceSpark got off work just a couple hours into my shift, so I was able to take a minimum of unpaid personal time and hustle into the office as soon as IceSpark got home. Unfortunately as soon as I got there I got yelled at since one of the managers is a jerk, but c'est la vie.

After work Monday I went back to IceSpark’s to eat and pick up my laptop and then went over to lildomino to hang out and give her some snuggles. She’s been feeling cranky and since I’d just spent the weekend with IceSpark she was OK with me canceling our usual Monday plans so I could go cuddle LilDomino until she felt better. LilDomino and I talked a bit about what was bothering her and she was decidedly less cranky by the time we slept.

Tuesday morning LilDomino cooked me breakfast (yummy Canadian bacon, cheese and egg English muffin sandwiches) and then I showered and headed over to IceSpark’s with lunch. IceSpark and I got in a little bit of snuggles before I had to head into work. At work I talked to elbanditorojo about joining LilDomino and me for Star Trek this weekend, but since we were going to the 10 PM show near Speedway it was too late for him. drakefenwick and he went to an earlier IMAX showing instead, so I’ll have to talk to ElBanditoRojo about it Monday.

Tuesday after work I went to salamander42 and pandara’s to meet up with Pandara. We ran by Jimmy Johns to pick up sammiches and then headed back to my apartment to eat. I ran downstairs to pay my rent and hang a derby poster and then came back up with the intention of snuggling Pandara and watching Dexter. However, the more Pandara and I cuddled and talked, the less we wanted to watch DVDs, so we eventually snuggled and slept instead.

Wednesday morning I dropped Pandara off at work and then went home from some alone time. I got to talk to hotarugirl on the phone and accomplished a little journaling and laundry. I tried to grab some caffeine on the way to work but after sitting in the drive-thru for 20 minutes I had to give up and just go into work, which left me cranky. I napped during my break to re-set my mood, and felt better by the end of my shift.

Wednesday night I escaped from work and ran home to put in some more laundry before Gwde arrived. Gwde grabbed food on the way to Indy so we’d have time to hot tub before it got too late. After hot-tubbing we showered and then lay down to listen to music, relax and snuggle. It was definitely nice to hang out with her twice in one year. We’ll have to get together again before another year passes!

Thursday Gwde didn’t have to work so we slept in before going out to the Bonjour Café for breakfast. I tried some new spiced-chicken pita that was pretty good and then headed to work early enough to get some caffeine this time. At work I found out we might be getting dual flat-screen monitors soon which will definitely make me feel more like a super-villain. Muhuhuhuhahahah!

Work was busy in the morning and then quieter later in the evening. After work I went to IceSpark’s to hang out, since we’d cut out usual Monday date short. Unfortunately IceSpark’s laptop is dead, so she spent some time fighting with it while we ate and hung out. She was eventually defeated by laptop gremlins so we gave up and went to bed so she could get some sleep before work.

Friday morning I slept late at IceSpark’s after she went to work (cruelly teasing her about it over Twitter). When I woke up I played on my computer until IceSpark got home and then hung out with her. LilDomino called to tell me she was free after her last final and work for the week, so I went over to LilDomino’s and we napped until it was time to get up and go to meet crow_again and peacekaat to go see the new Star Trek movie.

I loved Star Trek. I’m a long-time fan and I’m impressed how they captured the essences of the classic characters, while giving themselves room for a fresh start and a new continuity. I’m fan enough to get most of the little references without screaming about how they had the wrong number of pips on X character’s cuff and therefore the movie was crap. After the movie Crow_again, LilDomino, Peacekaat and I retired to Denny’s to dissect and discuss.

Saturday morning LilDomino woke me up with breakfast and exuberant post-finals energy since she’d finally caught up on sleep at last. She ran around her house getting things accomplished while I tried to sneak five-minute naps where I could. Finally I left to head to Bloomington to meet up with cmhusted since Cmhusted and I were driving down to see Mom today for Mother’s Day.

I drove LilDomino’s car to Cmhusted’s since LilDomino was taking mine up to have my brake pads changed by her mechanically-inclined brother (thanks, LilDomino!). Cmhusted drove us the rest of the way to Evansville, where we met Mom at her sister Jamcde’s. We drove Mom home and ordered pizza, and then all hung out until Cmhusted and Mom were ready to head to bed. I got to see HotaruGirl briefly when she dropped by to pick something up, so that was a pleasant bonus.

Today Cmhusted and I are hanging out with Mom and plan to take her out to dinner tonight. Happy Mother’s Day, all!

[phone beeps] ‘You have 937 messages. . .all of which are marked "urgent".’ -- Voicemail system,
Dilbert

My emotional state continues to be up and down. I’m surrounded by
wonderful people, but a ton of crap is going on in others’ lives that
I have no control over and for which I can provide little help.
Things have settled in my relationships, but not exactly where I’d
like them to, so the process of acceptance is a depressing one. I’m
trying to be there for people when I can, and to enjoy the good times,
but whenever I get a chance to think too much my mood crashes.

Last Sunday I slept until 3 and then woke up to breakfast with
LilDomino and HotaruGirl. We had a lazy day of hanging out playing on
our laptops and then LilDomino and HotaruGirl made a yummy dinner of
chicken and asparagus. LilDomino worked on a memorial website for her
grandmother while I caught up with friends and lovers about their
weekend. LilDomino and I were feeling a little down by the end of the
night, and HotaruGirl wasn’t exactly feeling very amorous either, but
the three of us managed to pull each other out of our respective funks
and have a good evening nonetheless.

Last Monday morning LilDomino, HotaruGirl, and I went out for
breakfast and then LilDomino went into to work and HotaruGirl headed
back to Evansville. I went to IceSpark’s and took a nap with her
before driving up to meet Mishiell for dinner. Dinner with Mishiell
was pleasant, and although we still have no idea when we’ll hang out
while I’m on the night schedule, I’m hoping we’ll figure something
out. After dinner I went back to IceSpark’s and we snuggled and
watched Castle (a new guilty pleasure) and Dollhouse
(which I love already).

Last Tuesday was St. Patrick’s Day, so I was worried about being late
for work because of the damned parade (I work downtown). I left
myself extra time, but besides having to run over some revelers, I
managed to get in early. I waited 15 minutes to clock in at 1:45,
only to realize later that they moved me back to the 1:30 shift this
week (*facepalm*). Luckily I’d mentioned to my boss when I got there
that I was “early” so she knew I was actually there. After work I had
no plans so I went home to MUX.

Last Wednesday morning I went to bed way too late, so when one of my
managers called and offered e-time I accepted it and went into work a
little late but much more rested. After work I met LilDomino at Brbe
and Erro’s where they were hosting a game night. LilDomino and I hung
out there, playing Apples to Apples and watching YouTube videos and
Onion News. When it got late LilDomino and I left, picking up food
and heading back to my apartment for The Daily Show and sleep.

Thursday morning LilDomino and I got up and had Le Peep for breakfast
before she went to class and I went into work. At work they were
giving away E-time like candy, so I had the rare opportunity to leave
work early. I picked up Pandara and drove her to her apartment so she
could see her boyfriend and pack for her Friday night date. After that
Pandara and I then went to Denny’s for a late-night dinner. By the
time we got back to my apartment it was late enough though that we
were OK with just going to bed.

Friday night after work I hurried home so I could watch the
third-to-last episode of BSG before going over to IceSpark’s to
watch the two-hour finale. I got off too late to watch the finale the
first time it played, but luckily Sci Fi played it again later in the
evening so I still got to watch it that night. They decided to focus
a lot of the ending on character instead of action, so I can see how
some people might find it a little slow, but I’m generally satisfied
with how they wrapped everything up.

Saturday night IceSpark and I went to a roller derby bout between
Indianapolis and St. Louis. The Naptown Roller Girls played the Arch
Rivals Roller Girls and it was a pretty exciting game to watch. The
ARRG were ahead 12 points by half-time, and were able to win 93 to 60.
After the bout IceSpark and I went back to my apartment to clean, and
wound up arranging my living room and organizing things in such a way
that with luck I’ll be able to someday make some order out of the chaos.

Sunday morning IceSpark and I didn’t get to bed until almost dawn, so
IceSpark slept until 2 PM and I slept until four. When I woke up
IceSpark was going through paperwork in my living room, helping me
organize and get rid of things I no longer need. I joined in to help
her clean, until finally we got hungry and went out to Olive Garden.
We’d intended to go back to her house after dinner, but wound up back
at my place for more cleaning.

Monday was IceSpark’s birthday, so we went out for breakfast before I
had to go into work. At work I was depressed – too much going on in
my life and in the lives of people important to be that I can’t
control. After work I went back to IceSpark’s, where she’d made us
yummy chicken burgers. We were going to play SingStar,
but I’d left my PlayStation controller at home, so we wound up
cuddling and watching Bones instead.

Tuesday night I was allowed to leave work a little early again so I
grabbed some food for LilDomino and me and went to her house to MUX
while she did homework and studied for a test Friday. On the MUX I
was able to get in on the end of a Decepticon raid TP run my SydneyGB.
Since IceSpark had Snoop on, I logged on Browning, and we had a fun
time being unhelpful non-combatants on the sidelines while Nighthawk
and Skywarp beat each other to paint.

Tonight I’m getting together with Pandara, and it should be fun as
long as I can stay awake – my alarm went off at 7 AM and I had a hard
time getting back to sleep. This weekend I’m going down to Evansville
to see HotaruGirl, and my mom for her birthday. With luck LilDomino
will get to come with me so the two of us can hang out with HotaruGirl
and her friends. My mom is also depressed and doesn’t really want
company, but I’m hoping if I’m right there in town I’ll be able to
persuade her to at least venture out for dinner.

"For NASA, space is still a high priority."
- former Vice-President Dan Quayle

The first week of the New Year has been even more up and down for me than usual. I’ve been cranky, depressed, down, and stressed. My friends and lovers have been mostly patient with me as I try to pull myself out of an emotional slump. I’ve had some really nice nights that have sometimes counter-balanced my bad moods. I’m trying to make the best of things without feeling too fake-happy like I used to.

Last Sunday lildomino and I slept late and then headed out for some Dairy Queen. drakefenwick had suggested a game night, and for a last minute event we had a surprisingly robust turnout -- Brbe and ewysiwyg, DRAKEFENWICK, crow_again and peacekaat, salamander42 and pandara, icespark, and Jogr, a new person from Indiana_RP. Nada still has my Apples to Apples and Munchkin, but DRAKEFENWICK and Icespark brought theirs so the evening was saved. *grin*

Last Monday I had a follow-up doctor’s appointment, so LilDomino went with me to the radiation oncologist’s to be checked out and makes her everything is AOK. After my appointment LilDomino and I had Cuban food for lunch and went to see the Bodies exhibit, which was very interesting. I spent the evening with Icespark, having dinner and MUXing a bit before heading to bed.

Last Tuesday I went to see Jeki. She and I don’t get to hang out very often due to her schedule as a single mom, but for the last couples of years she’s been free the week between Christmas and New Year’s while her kids were at the grandparents’. So, even though I was insanely busy, I made some time to go visit her and hang out during her rare childfree time. Her ex-husband teased her because she’d tried to squeeze in time to see everyone she knew while she had the opportunity to have adult conversations without interruption. It was certainly pleasant to spend time with her, and I hope I won’t have to wait until next Christmas to hang out with her again.

Wednesday Icespark and I had a fun night at mishiell and eldari’s New Year’s Eve party. Icespark and I shared a kiss at midnight, and then I got one from Mishiell and Pandara as well. LilDomino and hotarugirl called to wish me a happy New Year from Evansville, and I called cassiopia, alanka, lemur_lady, and ona_tangent to give them (or their voicemail) long-distance New Year’s kisses as well. Icespark and I stayed pretty late at the party and then headed back to her house to sleep.

Icespark and I slept in late on New Year’s Day. Later in the day LilDomino drove back from visiting HotaruGirl. I went over to LilDomino’s house to give her new year’s kisses in person (and collect some from HotaruGirl!). After she made some food we hid in her bedroom to hide under the electric blanket until her house and we warmed up. It was a warm snuggly way to start the New Year!

Friday night A@, Jobe, and I met up at elbanditorojo’s house for a game of Runebound. Elbanditorojo made yummy chili and the four of us played after midnight, when A@ announced he had to leave soon. For fun A@ made a reckless grab for the end game and quickly beat the three of us to victory. Apparently the rest of us need to learn the lesson that bold action gets results in Runebound!

Saturday night Icespark and I were planning to go to a party, but I wasn’t feeling well so we stayed home. We did pick up some materials so I could work on my constructible ship set for my upcoming D&D game, although we were stymied from further progress by the lack of a color ink cartridge. Instead we played on our laptops until I felt better and then we watched Bones before falling asleep.

This week has been steadily better in terms of my moodiness, and I hope things will continue to improve. However, in terms of stress I still have to deal with the fact that I am fantastically broke, and may have to borrow money and postpone out-of-town plans until after my next paycheck. I hate to disappoint, but so far at least people are being very understanding. *sigh*

Excellence begins and ends with you.
-- doomflower

I created a new Polyamory filter for people interested in reading about my ongoing relationships (and to spare people that aren’t). As always, I tend to add people based on listed Interests (or my relationship with them RL), but if anyone would like to be added or removed to/from any filters, please feel free to ask.

Current filters: BDSM, Health, Indy, Polyamory, Sex, WorkSafe

(Edit: WorkSafe isn't really a posting filter... it's a list of people I feel I can check at work *chuckle* Content will determine who I put in that one.)

Update 2008.06.27: Since this entire journal has become more about my activities, life, and ongoing relationships, the Polyamory filter is now only being used for articles and direct discussion about the subject of Polyamory (more in the abstract).  So, if you're interested in the rare Polyamory subject post, ask and I'll add you to the filter.  If not, do not fret -- you aren't missing much.  B^)

Updated 2008.10.11: I added a Health filter to talk about my recent brush with cancer, etc, and mostly put people on I care about or who went out of their way to offer me best wishes.  I created an Indy group for the rare post that I thought would be of interest to Indy folk only ("something going on here this weekend!") - if you live out of Indy but are interested in the rare Indy goings-on, let me know and I'll add you.  Finally, I deleted the WorkSafe group, since I can't check LJ now at work -- and as far as I know I never actually posted anything to it, since it was just a reading list for me.

Let me know if you want to me added (or removed!) from any specific filters.  Otherwise, carry on!

"If American democracy ceases to move forward as a living force, seeking day and night by peaceful means to better the lot of our citizens, fascism will grow in strength in our land."
-- Franklin Roosevelt, November 4, 1938

Last Sunday morning in Evansville hotarugirl called to get us a late checkout so we could sleep in and enjoy the hotel room before we had to leave. We had breakfast at Bob Evans and had planned to go see The Dark Knight but it was sold out. Instead, we went back to her house to watch The Venture Bros. before I headed back to Indy to snuggle with lildomino.

Monday I had a shitty day at work, but icespark improved my mood vastly with an extremely lovely ‘welcome home’ when I got to her house, as well as a delicious sausage pasta concoction. I didn’t get any role-playing in on the MUX – by the time I got my admin-work done, it was too late to start anything – but it was a surprisingly enjoyable evening nonetheless.

Tuesday was another stressful day at work, so when I went over mishiell’s she provided me with comfort food and then gave me a very pleasant massage while we watched/listened to The Tick. Once I was relaxed and in a better mood, I reciprocated as best I could before we showered and went to sleep.

Wednesday I took a night to myself, and just hid in my apartment to do laundry and work on cleaning and journaling. As always, I spent most of the night procrastinating and puttering, and then at the last minute made posts to inrp before reading and trying to get some sleep. I stayed up far too late, but it was good to have alone-time to recharge my social batteries.

Thursday night I went over to icespark’s after work, and brought my new roller skates to try on. I skated around her kitchen while she reheated yummy food for me, and then we snuggled and watched Netflix on Demand. We’d planned to go to bed early so I could get up and be productive, but instead we wound up staying up until three or four AM.

Friday after work I picked up lildomino and icespark and we met leahcim32 and a friend at the theatre to finally watch The Dark Knight. Aside from disagreeing with the ending (although I understood why they ended things that way), I loved the movie, and I join the chorus of those who feel Heath Ledger was unbelievable and impossible to follow. I wouldn’t want to be the one to try to take up the villain mantle in Batman Begins 3, that’s for sure.

Today lildomino and I worked on her house in preparation for an assessment. hotarugirl came up for a romantic date weekend, but she’s not feeling well, so instead lildomino and I are trying to take care of her until she feels better. We hung out and watched Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, and we are now heading to bed relatively early.

Tomorrow lildomino, hotarugirl and I are going to an art museum and then out to dinner. We’re going to try to avoid the crazy race fans descending on Speedway, and will prolly hang out and swim at my apartment before heading back when the smoke has cleared. With luck hotarugirl will feel better tomorrow so she can be better able to enjoy her visit. Either way it’s nice to have her here with us.

This week has been really stressful at work and financially since I got screwed over by my cell bill and have been broke, even after I got my paycheck, since I’m still $770 behind budget. My friends and lovers have really gone out of their way to help me out and make me feel less agitated and depressed, and I greatly appreciate it. I hope everyone’s weekend is going well! Time to hit the hay.

"I definitely want to settle down in the next couple of years. I want to be a young mom like my mom (was). Having my own daughter to dress up will be fun. I'll dress her like me."
Paris Hilton (Us)

Oscar win shines spotlight on actress's "unconventional romantic life"

Oscar winner Tilda Swinton drew a standing ovation as she accepted Best Supporting Actress for her role in the film Michael Clayton.

But her biggest fan was sitting right next to her.

Swinton chose to attend last night's ceremony with the younger of her two lovers, artist Sandro Kopp.

Meanwhile her other man, 68-year-old John Byrne, stayed at home in Scotland.

It was recently revealed that Swinton, Kopp and Byrne - who is the father of her ten-year-old twins, Xavier and Honor - all live in a ménage a trois style arrangement at her home in Nairn, Scotland.


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Oh noes! And after right-wing Christians let their kids to watch The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. *snicker*