But, you know...this was a very good weekend. Lots of good stuff. After the big day yesterday...and the big (but inexpensive) purchase of the day, I settled in last night...and naturally couldn't fall asleep. I tossed and turned much of the evening until I decided to haul my lazy carcass out of bed because I was bored of pretending to be asleep.

Then spent much of the day over at the house. But renquestor and only_playing came with us. And I must say, renquestor can cook a good burger. He was certainly the Grill Master. And only_playing definitely kept us sane. But it was a good (if not long) stay, but definitely good to be among friends. So, both of you...thanks for coming along and sharing in the afternoon. And for coming back to the apartment for awhile.

Tonight, I'm trying to keep my legs from stiffening up again. Ow. And been writing. Working on a few things...but, nothing major. Mostly writing a little.

Back to work tomorrow. Ugh. I don't want to go. And class. Don't want to go to that either.

Holy cow! Down to the last three weeks.

I've been pretty "meh" this weekend. I really don't feel as though I should complain...but I didn't get to really accomplish anything.

--I practiced my guitar for maybe 10 minutes all weekend. Will I know "Wild Thing" by Wednesday? Not when I have class on Monday and Tuesday. *sigh*

--I didn't read any of the 300 pages that I had in my book for class. This...is not good. Class is at 5:45 tomorrow night...and I bet Miss K will be in my office tomorrow.

--I didn't get to do my photo shoot. And this was something I've been looking forward to. Yesterday was shot. I mean, the entire day was shot. And today was cold and rainy outside which meant...no photo shoot. And this just puts me in a blah mood. As does the weather.

--I wanted to clean my room. I accomplished cleaning off the coffee table (but only because Maureen was over and she fixed the loose leg) and I did some culling of my greeting cards and letters that I've saved since, oh, 1994. Yeah, that took all day.

--I wanted to clean the apartment. I wasn't home long enough to even start on that.

--I wanted to draw. I mean, get out the sketch pad and draw. I didn't. But I did manage to create some LJ icons for ladystarblade...that she likes and will use. Well, two of them. One is already in use. The other has yet to be uploaded...but she likes it.

--I feel like an underachiever. As in what I've done in life thus far. Weird. I think it has to do with not owning slips of paper that document my successes. My memory is all I have to serve that purpose.

--San Francisco is going to be my big trip this year. I say this only because it's going to cost me everything I have to get out there. And, unfortunately, the trip falls at the same time my car payment is due, my college tuition needs to be paid, Dragon*Con needs to be attended (and paid for!), and my September birthday month of doom begins. It's going to be fun...as soon as all the logistics get worked out and I stop freaking out about the money situation. Come on economic stimulus check.

--My individual meeting is on Wednesday with JJW. I intend to voice my thoughts on the way I was treated last week. Because I'm still pissed off about it.

--I'm wondering if my job will be of any use in the near future. Special Events is being taken away from Alumni Affairs...and does the director of Alumni Affairs really need an assistant when Special Events are no longer involved? Things that make you go hmmmm...

--Laundry was pretty much the only thing on my list that needed to be done this weekend that I actually accomplished. That and baking banana bread.

Much sadness.

But tomorrow starts another week. Hopefully one that isn't as full of suckage.

Yes...I'm very happy this week is over.

Even better...I have only two articles to work on. Nothing more. I finished my research paper. I'm done with my readings for the weekend. I can really just try to enjoy it for once. And that's a very, very nice thing.

We have some plans for tonight. Going out to eat. Grocery shopping. Tomorrow, there's a bit of stuff that we need to accomplish around the house. And around the apartment too. But nothing that is really demanding a lot of time. Which is nice...because that's something I haven't had a lot of lately.

What I REALLY wanted to do this weekend was a photoshoot. However, with all the rain that we've been getting the ground is going to be muddy and not good for what I had in mind. So the camera stays tucked away once again. *sigh*

Perhaps for the best, however.

Other than that, today I went to an interview for a paid study here on campus. That was interesting. Other than that...just trekking through. Got a lot of things going on. Especially on Monday...and only ladystarblade knows why. Ugh. Not happy about that one...but what can you do? Just what the big boss says!

Oh rain...rain...please...go away. We're due for a nice warm Sunday.

Oh...and it's PAY DAY! WOOT!!

And before I go...

Swiped from ladystarblade



"Izzo (H.O.V.A)" - Jay Z
"Hollaback Girl" - Gwen Stefani
"Hey Ya" - Outkast
"Girls Just Want To Have Fun" - Cyndi Lauper
"Dance, Dance" - Fall Out Boy
It's so weird that you can spell "party" without "f-u-n" since that's what parties are FOR, uhduh. That's why you favor party anthems that announce to all in attendance: "Hi, we're here to have good times. Let's GET ON THAT!"

Lazy Sunday. (SARCASM!!) You gotta love them. (MORE SARCASM!!) Of course, for me, a Sunday begins around 8:00 a.m. That's usually when I haul my arse out of bed and finish up whatever is left of my homework. And that's exactly what I did this morning. Once that was done, I felt a wee bit better about myself. I still have a lot to do, especially with an upcoming midterm and a huge research paper I have yet to start, but...it's something!

Got out of the apartment. This is always a good thing. Didn't need to buy anything...just have learned that staying cooped up isn't the best thing for me on weekends. I love to get out and do stuff. So, ladystarblade and I went out to a few shops and looked around before heading to Wal-Mart to pick up some necessities...like chocolate. HAHA!

Came back home and after a while, made spaghetti for dinner. It was so good. And I've gotten quite good at making sure the dishes get done immediately after and getting everything cleaned up. It may seem like a hassle at the time, but it actually works out better. I'll go empty the dishwasher in a moment...as it has run. And, man...was it full!

So...my goals for today were:

Read Chapter 4 of Waiting 'Til The Midnight Hour
Finish GBS article. (The finished article is over 1700 words)
Think up questions for Siochain article next week.
Begin studying for quiz on Tuesday.
More researching articles and books for research paper.

And I even accomplished a bit more than what was on my list:

Update the Celtic MP3 Music Magazine site.
Research workout videos.
Make 80s music mix.

Yeah...I'm now ahead on my homework for History, which makes me...SO VERY HAPPY!!

And my goals were met. You know...this list thing isn't such a bad idea. It keeps me focused on getting things done. I may have to do that more often.

I'm amazed at how much got accomplished this weekend! Constantly doing something. No moment of being bored or having nothing in the works. That hasn't happened in a long time.

I hope everyone else had a good and productive weekend. Or at least restful.

It all started after work on Friday. After coming home for about an hour and a half, ladystarblade and I headed out to go see Phantom of the Opera. Beautiful musical. Well done. My only problem was that the guy playing the Phantom had a hell of a voice...but wasn't a very good actor. But, not half bad. :) This was my second time seeing this musical on the stage and the first time for ladystarblade. She enjoyed a lot of the special effects, and the opening scene with when the chandelier rises up over the audience.

On Saturday, we got up and headed out to the malls for a good portion of the day. We got there about the time they opened. Worked out well. And I ended up buying two shirts I didn't need to buy. But I did anyway...and then put them on and made ladystarblade take pictures so you can see them:

( Click to see these awesome shirts )

I ♥ them!

So...as I said, didn't really need to buy them, but I couldn't resist them either. And they were on sale. 2 for $15. And since I'm starting to think my dress isn't going to EVER be made by the person I paid to make it back in June...well...yeah. This is how I compensate. Although the medieval gown would be far prettier.

Anyway...picked up another few knick-knacks. Ate lunch at Cici's pizza. Then went grocery shopping and kicked butt at it. Kept it at $47.00 even. Yeah. Getting good at this.

Came home and that's when the whole computer fiasco started. I worked on my required reading for my quiz on Tuesday. I took notes so I wouldn't have to re-read the entire chapters before the quiz. I have the most important parts down on the notes...which means he won't ask anything on those and it will be the other stuff buried in the reading.

ladystarblade put together my new CD shelf and loaded up my CDs...in alphabetical order. Which...they were in anyway, but she did a great job getting them all in there and leaving room for me to add.

The computer fiasco went on. Gave up, went to bed.

Today...was a very good day.

Woke up at 7:00 a.m., very early for someone who went to bed after 2:00 a.m. But, I got the rest of my reading and note taking done. Had to...as I have plans tomorrow night, so couldn't do it then.

We got the computer back up and running. Took the garbage out. Put the old CD tower out by the dumpster (it was gone when we got back home later), put my new license plate on the car, went out to Half Price Books with a BUNCH of CDs and got $10 for them! YAY! Went to Cold Stone Creamery (YUMMY!) for some ice cream. Too rich for just me alone, so ladystarblade and I always split. We got cookie dough flavored ice cream with chocolate chips mixed in. SO FRICKIN GOOD! Sinfully delicious!

Came back home. Got some writing done. Made Hamburger Helper for dinner. Yummy. Began clearing files off of computer. Finished doing that. Showered. Wrote more. And then baked banana nut muffins. Yep...keeping myself busy!! And now...there is breakfast tomorrow. Brilliant.

Still.

But today I have my raincoat. That would have been nice to have YESTERDAY when I was walking from the building I work at all the way across campus for class. Pouring rain. I get to class, the air conditioner is still on and I'm dripping wet. I mean, I lean over to pull a notebook out of my bag and water is falling from my hair onto the floor, my backpack...everything.

Sat through 3 hours of classes like that. Came home and got into dry clothes. Put on my slippers to warm my feet (which had been in very damp socks!) and it was bliss.

SO. MUCH. BLISS.

Looks like rain is to continue throughout the week. With a cool, dry day on Saturday. That's the weather...thus far. We all know how quickly that can change.

Have to stay late (AGAIN!) at work today as the Ogle Center is hosting this traveling statue of Hoagy Carmichael...the jazz musician that wrote "Georgia," "Stardust," "Heart and Soul," among other hits. It's very cool. I just...I'd really like to get out of work when I'm supposed to. That means I'm here late 3 days in a row. And that's much suckage.

*sigh*

I just want to get some stuff done.

Wednesday = classes until late. BLARF.

Thursday = go to the BMV day to get everything taken care of on the new car. WOOHOO!

Friday = eat out and get groceries. My dad and brother-in-law are coming into town that night.

Saturday = meet up with dad and brother-in-law to help get stuff into the car. They drive off. We go to Indianapolis.

Sunday = Heh. There's always something...

I never slow down.

Seriously!

I think at any given weekend, for the most part, I have something going on. And if I don't, ladystarblade and I find something to do that keeps us going over the weekend. Rest? HA! What's that?

Let's take a look at the past few and upcoming weekends...

August 3-5: Dublin Irish Festival, Dublin, OH
August 10-12: ConGlomeration, Louisville, KY
August 18-19: GenCon, Indianapolis, IN
August 24-26: Dragon*Con preparations, Around town
August 30-September 3 Dragon*Con, Atlanta, GA
September 7-9 Freddie Mercury Pilgrimage, Flagstaff, AZ
September 14-16 Indy Irish Festival, Indianapolis, IN
September 22 Apex Digest Event, Lexington, KY
September 29 Ohio Renn Faire (I think...or something else), Harveysburg, OH
October 6-9 I don't recall what plans are here..., Somewhere, USA
October 12-14 Harvest Homecoming & Family Visit, Around town
November 3 Peter Cincotti in concert, Indianapolis, IN

Then welcome to the holiday hustle and bustle. ACK!! And September is packed with birthdays:

Sept. 3 - Indy (she needs no introduction!)
Sept. 5 - Bryan (bro-in-law)
Sept. 9 - Karla (sister)
Sept. 11 - Molly (cousin)
Sept. 19 - ME (myself, and I)
Sept. 21 - Kaytlynn (neice)
Sept. 21 - Lucas Jay to be born...if he's on time...to Stacey!!!!
Sept. 24 - Dad (father, LOL)
Oct. 3 - Mom (mother, hehe)

So much to do...so very little time.

Must focus. D*Con...

So tonight after work...these must happen:

1. Go to Wal-Mart for last minute things
2. Do laundry
3. Pack!!!!

I know there is more...but those are what MUST happen!

Yeah...another weekend comes to a close. Tomorrow, it's back to work...and classes...and then in a few days...DRAGON*CON. I'm nowhere near ready. Nope. But, take it as it comes, eh?

Just glad that this is a short week. Come to think of it...so is next week. Wow.

I wasn't too productive today, really. Got a few things accomplished. Mostly made some LJ icons...which is seriously one of my favorite things to do. It at least keeps me occupied.

Whew!

I'm exhausted. It has been one of those weekends that just keep you busy. And it all started on Friday...

FRIDAY

The evening started immediately after work. ladystarblade, congoddess and I went from work to the movie theater and caught a showing of the movie Transformers. I must say...I went into this movie expecting...what one could expect from a movie based on a television show based off of toys from the 1980s. Heh. Let's just say...I was plensently surprised. In fact, Transformers was a very fun, very good film. One of the best I've seen this year. I enjoyed it. I want to see it again. I want to buy the DVD. That's how much I liked that movie!!

After that, we stopped off at Denny's for some dinner. Then immediately went home and began the rest of the night. That included a viewing of Boondock Saints. congoddess had never seen it before, but had heard plenty of quotes and was quite curious. She wasn't disappointed.

Then, following all of that, we watched an episode of Ghost Hunters. Then we all turned in for the night.

SATURDAY

Saturday morning came and we were up early to get to the movie theater to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. It was...AMAZING! Great movie. Seriously, the films just continue to get better and better. And perhaps it is the dark edge that they continue to get. Who knows. But, really great.

After that, we came back to the apartment. congoddess departed and we ended up putzing around for a bit before it was time to leave to see...

THE POLICE AT CHURCHILL DOWNS!

We arrived early. Got a great parking spot in one of the lots. Didn't have too far to go after the show. Probably for the best since there were TONS of drunks there. Even before the opening act was done. So, we wandered around and spent way too much money on the merchandise. Seriously.

I ended up with two t-shirts, a rag, a lanyard, a blinkie...and the latest CD by Fiction Plane, which was the band that opened for The Police. It also has Sting's son as the lead singer. And they were REALLY GOOD! But, I'm getting ahead of myself. After we got through the merchandise line, we went to the Churchill Downs gift shop as ladystarblade wanted a shot glass from there for her collection. And we ended up meeting up with Stewart Copeland (the drummer for The Police) who was in there shopping. He wasn't wearing his glasses or the sweat band he wears around his head on stage, but he was having a blast picking up TONS of merchandise from there. All the 2006 years. LOL! Just a fun story! Lots of security around helping him shop. We went to find our seats, which really weren't that bad. We were sitting on the track of Churchill Downs. Yeah. And we killed time by chatting with some people in front of us and beside us. Great fun.

Fiction Plane took the stage promptly at 7:30 p.m. And I listened to a few songs. Joe Sumner (Sting's son) has his father's looks and his father's voice. Pair that with the band he has, and it was really, really good. I liked it enough to go and pick up their CD that they had on sale. This required standing in the merchandise line from hell again...but, that's another blog.

So, I made it back for the last two songs and then it was a break until 9:00 p.m. Then The Police came out on the stage. Oh yeah! They played ALL of the hits. And it's so hard to put into words, but the energy was amazing. The crowd, the band...you didn't even have to know the songs to have a good time. And people were. There was dancing, singing, clapping...and as mentioned before, both ladystarblade and I got hauled out on "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic" to dance with the British woman who was sitting in front of us. I had to call after_lastnight during "Roxanne." I couldn't hear her, so I just had her listen until they got to the music interlude. I called her again after the show, as is the tradition with us. Hee. The Police came out for FOUR encores. Yes...FOUR encores!! We left in the middle of the last one to get out before the drunks got into their cars and left. But WOW!! We did our usual stop off at Steak 'N Shake for the after-concert milkshake and talked about the high points. Then it was home, shower, undwinding, and sleep!

SUNDAY

Woke up early this morning and headed over to the family house to meet up with everyone for the sole purpose of returning to the Kentucky Renaissance Festival. It was SO hot outside that we all decided that garb was a no-go. No problem, we all died of heat in our regular clothes too. But, I ended up buying a set of juggling balls. These are VERY nice juggling balls. Cirque du Soleil uses the same brand. I LOVE THEM!! :) And I got a pouch that I can put them in. WOOHOO!!

After the Renn Faire, it was off to the mall in Louisville and then World Market. We returned to the apartment briefly before meeting up with everyone at Tumbleweed for dinner. Then back home.

And I'm tired!!

But I had a very productive weekend. And I had a great time! :)

It' off to Indianapolis this weekend. Got a lot going on there. And then back here to work for three days...then off to Ireland for a wonderful 10 days. So ready! Except for the whole packing thing...

I just...I want to get out of town for awhile. And leave everything behind.

And now I'm waiting on ladystarblade to make some breakfast. I'm starving.

I'm not sure why, but I have been worn out this weekend. I mean, dead tired from start to finish. It doesn't matter how much I sleep...I'm still tired. I think the week just took away all my energy and left me drained. But, ah well...

It happens.

My parents are still planning on visiting this weekend. This makes me super happy!! Got a few places that are definitely on the list for places we need to visit while they are here. One day, I'll get them up here for a longer amount of time and take them to Indianapolis. They'd love that.

Aside from the rest of that...I'm ready to curl up for the evening and just...relax.

Oh, and I get to call the office tomorrow morning from work and complain about the lack of hot water in the mornings. The water should not take 10 minutes to warm up. It just shouldn't. I hate that. We had a few notes about water problems, so I gave it the benefit of the doubt. But two weeks later...it's still freezing cold. NO. NO NO NO NO NO!!

I need to put on my pjs and curl up for a relaxing evening. Seriously.

Going ice skating this weekend. Will probably break something. But do I care? Hell no!! :) It's been...about 10 years since I last went ice skating. And that last attempt I ended up dislocating my finger. Don't ask. It wasn't as weird as it sounds. *shakes fist at toe pick*

Helping out congoddess with a photography project tomorrow morning. And then it's off and running around to get in what needs to be accomplished this weekend.

Whee.