youngmrp

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It is Wednesday, and I might actually have my shoes, ID badge, cell phone and lunch money here at work. I did not accidentally leave the kid at home sleeping.

Maybe I am back in the swing of things?

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To put this all in context, a very wonderful human friend of mine named Tatyana died today as well, far too young. Apparently while I was taking care of my cat, she had pneumonia. I hadn't seen her for a while and had no idea she was ill. I am *so* done with this month.

Is there anyone that's having a good start to this year? Just wondering.

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Tech support forums are bad enough without tons of "helpful" posts written by people who clearly didn't read the posts properly the first time. Yes, we know it is possible to back up the data via the backup utility, but that's only if you can get the damn thing turned on to start with. Wouldn't it be easier to read the posts first and seeing if that's been covered instead going to the trouble of writing your post?

EDIT: This is directed at actual forums, not LJ. Just for clarification.

I am really getting tired of the neighbors cats crapping on my driveway. Because I shovel, there is a little sheltered area next to my car, so they just come and do their business there. I tried laying down pepper, but that had no effect. If I don't shovel, I am afraid they will move to under my car.

Any suggestions?

Not really cranky, but may be after I shovel. Just had to test the new icon! :-)

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My thanks to an exemplary cat, my companion for a huge part of my adult life.

Christmas is now put away. I am sad. It was a very nice tree.

People used to ask me "how do you get so much done", and I never knew why they thought I got a lot done. This vacation, I may have figured it out. I get a lot done by being totally anti-social. These last two weeks I celebrated Christmas three times - twice at my house meaning I had to shop and cook - went to a party, saw two movies, visited with an old friend, went to lunch with another.

And I am a wreck. All I have done is talk to people and do dishes! It is a wonder that social butterflies ever get anything done at all!

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New Year's Resolutions:
No more social cigarettes.
Journal every day.
Start training for Spring Crown.
Back on Weight Watchers.
Eight hours of sleep every night (not too hard there).
Few minutes of something spiritual (builds resiliency, I hear) every day.
Better control of blood sugar.

That about does it, I think.

Welcomed in the new year with some old friends and made some new ones. Discovered I am pretty bad at flip cup. Maybe next year, I won't be driving! But it was a great time.

Eek's numbers are significantly worse today, so I'm going to bring him home. He doesn't have any significant tumors, but unfortunately he doesn't have any any significant kidney function either. I'm going to continue to treat him at home, but it looks like he's on the way down.

As years go, it was sort of . . . meh. But the good things:

- Several adorable babies were born.
- My son got to be in an amazing musical - a life changing experience for him.
- I fenced better than in 2008 and was honored to be offered a spot as an alternate on the Champions team at Pennsic.
- A lady who has long been on the list of "she would make a great Queen someday" got to prove everyone right be being amazing.
- My boss recognized my worth and good things happened.
- I have remained employed with wonderful coworkers; I have most of my health and my son remains a great kid.

Now, perhaps 2010 can try to top that. Happy New Year all!

So I went to the Ballachlagan practice this past Sunday. There were only a few fencers, but we had plenty to do. It was an interesting mix of weapons, mostly focused on two-handers of various forms. I got to play wannabe-ryu kenjutsu, which is always fun. Much practice needed.

Towards the end of the day, we played a local favorite melee game. Two people stood within a 10' circle. Everyone else stood outside. Those two groups tried to kill eachother. If someone outside died, they went to one of two rez points. If someone inside died, they left the circle and their killer took over on the inside. Repeat forever. DFBs were allowed. Outside fencers could not enter the circle, so the inside fencers always had some room to maneuver.

I had an amazing time with it. By this point, I was using a pair of katana. Between that and having attacks from every direction, I was pretty amped. I enjoyed being in the circle; it reminded me of what I love about melees. I am more prone to hero behavior on a field, so this game played to my strengths. Theoretically, you could team together with the other fencer in the circle. I found that the most productive use of him/her was placing them between your blind spot and an outside fencer. In the end, I have to watch my own tail and I can't feel bad about using another fencer to secure that. Having to track 5 fencers (1 inside and 4 out) kept my mind sharp. Every little motion counted, even more so with the katana. Lots of "wall" clears with slash in the wake. I did pretty well, I think. The game is very tiring. I could hardly control the katana after 10-15 minutes. I'd be curious to try it again with a rapier and dagger.

I will definitely be heading down to that practice again, if only for that game.