"entertainment"

Last night after work I was feeling a little down. I really didn't want to go home and sit alone in my house--Again. Although the urges are fewer and more far between, I wanted to go out. To be in public. To be around people. To eat dinner alfresco. To sit in a coffee shop for a couple of hours. Something out of my norm lately.

Alas, last minute plans tend to not work out. Then Mom called me and said they were all drinking on the back porch. So, I went. I stopped at the store to buy two bottles of wine and didn't get carded. Merp. I suppose that's all ending now. I swear working at my last job aged me 5 years. People have started guessing my age accurately lately.

Anyway, it was better than sitting alone in my house watching What Not to Wear and being sucked into Say Yes to the Dress.

My Aunt and I can always talk about books. (Or how movies are lame and unoriginal nowadays.) But, more frequently, books. We both agree that we haven't read anything really great lately. I recommended Like Water for Elephants, and she still has not read the Harry Potter books. We'd both like to read the new one that she wrote under a different name. I've also recently read the Percy Jackson books.

We started talking about shipwrecks, all the stuff that's under the sea that no one knows about, and then discussed that maybe that should be our new book theme. Start reading books about shipwrecks. I'm sure there's a bunch out there.

My problem with books lately, much like movies, is that they're so predictable. It's like reading the same basic plot over and over, but with different characters. I did read a free Kindle book the other day that was not very well-written, but the story was just original enough to keep me reading. Also I was watching Orange is the New Black, and I couldn't predict many of the plot twists. That's what I want. I'm tired of the same old crap.

I'm also starting to see, slowly, more scripted tv shows. I stopped watching tv for a while there, because I'm so sick of the reality shows. I don't care about the kardashians or the duck men or the jersey shore or pregnant teens or catfish people OR people trying on wedding dresses and arguing about it.
Hey, MTV, how about actually airing things related to MUSIC? I haven't seen a music video on that station since TRL.
Instead of following idiots around with tv cameras and calling it entertainment, how about give some talented writers jobs,and start filming something that took some effort? Something that doesn't numb my brain and make me wonder what's wrong with the world?

I have no idea how this turned into a rant. I really just wanted to talk about books.

So, what are you reading?

dried up muse

I figured I should put something here, but I don't have anything to say.

I haven't been drinking lately so maybe that's it.

on weddings

Last night we attended Serenity's wedding.
It was absolutely lovely. She looked beautiful and radiant. As expected, it was full of bling, peacock feathers, twinkly lights, draped fabric, and a great DJ. Open bar, candy bar, amazing food. Most importantly, it was full of kind words, congratulations, clever speeches, sweet vows, and many near-tear moments. That couple is so loved- by each other and by the family & friends in attendance. They are going to have such a great life together.

Throughout the night I found myself, of course, missing Chris. Not only as my party companion, but as my husband.

I have told myself it's no big deal if we never have a wedding (in my opinion, we got married; we didn't have a wedding. There is a difference.) In reality, it's just a big expensive party, but I do like big expensive parties. :o) I did figure that, getting married the way we did, I'd probably feel like I missed out on some things. This is just the first time I've had a chance to experience those feelings firsthand.

So I watched this couple share all of the traditional rites: First dance, cutting the cake, etc. I thought about how Chris and I can't look back on our first dance as husband and wife, because we literally haven't danced as husband and wife.

Not that they make a marriage any stronger, but I feel like these things might be more psychologically important than I initially thought. These rituals are all part of the wedding celebration for a reason. They're part of our society's wax seal on marriage.

Of course there were many factors contributing to our particular sequence of events. Some of them I agree with; some I don't. There is no sense in wishing things were different because you never know what else might have happened instead.

I also need to remember that while other wives dance at their wedding receptions and fold their husband's underwear, mine is out being a sniper while I wash his "blast-protective undergarments." Jesus.

I don't know if Chris and I will ever have a wedding reception- I don't know if we'll have a better use for the money, or even feel like planning one. I don't know if I will eventually realize that these things are overrated, or if I will always wish I had gotten to experience them.
That's just the thing; I don't know.

Either way, I'll continue to enjoy other people's wonderful wedding celebrations, and feel happy that I get to help celebrate their big day. And dress up and enjoy the free food and booze. ;o)

And-- enjoy my marriage to my perfect-for-me husband.

P.S. On an unrelated note, I'm watching Orange is the new Black. It doesn't have me completely obsessed, but it's good enough to keep me watching.

go live

Hoo. Man.

I spent the last two, three days crawling under 100 desks.
Hooking up meters. Finagling network data ports. Sneezing at dust bunnies. Bribing cleaning ladies to open doors after hours. Making frantic calls to data & voice services and my LIS buddy Weldon. Answering no less than 20 pages. Walking countless nurses through the steps. Troubleshooting every issue that could happen. Activating ports. Stealing ports (shh). Literally running to and fro. Training a few of those that just didn't quite get it yet. Dealing with snotty people. And happy people. Addressing computer & database problems. Directing helpers. Clocking tons of overtime. Taking care of every little detail because we couldn't compromise patient care and in reality, we could get a visit from TJC  at any time and everything has to be proper, even in the middle of a massive go-live.

My feet hurt. I'm tired. I got a little punchy, then I got a little crabby. Then I got punchy again. I learned a LOT. I did a little dance when we hooked up the last one right before lunch today. I celebrated by buying myself a bag of m&m's. Oh, and I ate lunch today.

This was truly my baby, and I knocked it out of the park. I had amazing support from all over. Really, a bunch of team players here. It was a success, but I can't take all the credit. Just a lot of it.

The huge part is finally over. It came and went, and now everyone's got a shiny new meter and there are a pile of old ones sitting by the door. Still a few things to fine-tune, but overall I'm very pleased with the outcome.

Not to mention, I have some SERIOUS point-of-care street cred right now. Baller.

weekend pics & blurbs

1. That little chunker munker is just the cutest thing I've ever seen.
2. Efforts to provide shade on A/C unit. $200+ electric bills are not fun. Bonus: it looks prettier.
3. Cat naps on the window seat
4. Projects


Yesterday I missed a bridal shower and I'm starting to wonder what's wrong with me. Well, not starting to. I have a really cute gift, too. Something like this. 

I purposely saved up a bunch of projects to occupy myself with after I became tootless again. Too bad I haven't done any of them yet.

So. I rummaged around and figured out how to assemble and use Christopher's sander. Started sanding down the surface of the nightstand that's been in the garage for 2 weeks, waiting to be painted.

Next I'll figure out how to use the drill. Manly stuff.

sniffs

This keyboard is dangerously close to being taken over by a cat.

I keep getting whiffs of something funky. Kinda like old & moldy or something. I can't figure out what it is. I even sniffed the cat. She smells fine, and is currently trying to eat an eraser shaped like a snowman.

I did sweat at work today, but I don't think it's me. At least, I hope it's not me.

I'm going to have to resort to playing, "What's that smell" and sniff around the house. I'll report back if it's anything interesting.

stressed

Really hoping that the problems I found yesterday can be resolved by the time I leave work today. We go live Monday, and I don't want to spend the weekend stressing out.

Damn port speeds and all that other IT stuff. I know what the problem is but I need someone to fix it for me.