a much-needed recharge

A very good, very mellow weekend...it helped that it was a three-day one. Slept in on Saturday, which I haven't done in a while. Rambled about, chilling, playing with cats, reading, then headed south with Will to get some practicing done on my bike [he found a very cool parking lot that was perfect].

After we got back, we spent a relaxing evening starting to get caught up on Fringe episodes, which continued into the next day...interrupted only by a very random trip to CostPlus and the purchase of some more-fun-than-expected half-yard glasses:

Much Corona, a few limes, and an entire bag of Lime Tostito chips were consumed...amazing how easy it is to work your way through a box of Corona when drinking out of 650ml glasses. More Fringe watched, a very fun and somewhat tipsy evening was had, and thanks to judicious ingestion of aspirin and water, we even managed to avoid nasty hangovers the next morning [mostly].

Sunday was way, way mellow...lounging about, enjoying the weather, heading out for some Johnny Rockets [mmm, vanilla Diet Coke], finally finishing the Fringe season [we were waaay behind, but now we are caught up]. Then sadly it was time for the long weekend to end and real life to encroach again...darn it. :^(

But it was a very, very, very good weekend.

working on it

Managed to find the energy and a good location to get some more "saddle time" this weekend...see, here's proof:

In motion:

Artsy shadowy shot:

A better view of the BatBike:

I'm getting there, slowly but surely...

[big thanks to my photographer/mentor/all-around-patient-guy Will ]

ache

Mom's birthday today.

ugh, busy, blegh, better

Ugh: 90 to near-100 degree weather over the weekend, no AC. But on the fun side, we recharged Will's AC in his car [Pep Boys sells DIY kits...who knew??], and it worked beautifully. Huzzah.

Busy: Trying to close April, pack up old office, get settled into new office, and finish audit, all at once. Cue circus music.

Blegh: Something I ate didn't like me [or the heat or stress or not drinking enough water or who knows]...missed a day of work, but Will was sweet enough to bring my laptop and some paperwork home for me so I ended up getting some really good work done in between "interruptions".

Better: Feeling better now...hopefully whatever it was has passed. Now I just need to get some good sleep, and I'll be back a little closer to 100%.

packing, moving, new start

Facebook is moving this weekend, and Game Day is tomorrow, so today is pretty much a wash as everyone prepares for the move. I have to admit, as much as I miss being in IT, it's nice not having to be part of the move team. This will be the first corporate move I *haven't* helped plan, and I've got to tell you: it feels good to sit back and let someone else handle it for a change. It's hard though...I'm very used to taking care of myself [heh...just ask Will], so it's weird to not be organizing things and making them happen. But I think I'll adapt... <snort>

hisgraine, hergraine, yourgraine, migraine

Another migraine, only about three weeks after my last one. Definitely weird...for years, I've only been getting these maybe every quarter or so, if then. This one was [is] bad: three separate instances of sparklies and obstructed field of vision [the middle one was near total...very freaky], and the pain is still hitting after almost 24 hours now. It was bad enough that I was in tears at my desk, and I finally threw in the towel and headed home. So I had an evening of Excedrin Migraine [aspirin, acetaminophen, caffeine] plus ice packs, and a heating pad for the resulting knot in my back [a nasty one, sensitive to even a simple touch]. At work now with a ball cap pulled low over the eyes, bottle of meds on the desk, trying to move as little as possible.

And can I just say that I have the coolest guy ever? He dropped everything to drive me home, stopped to get food and meds for me, then made sure the dogs were quiet and things were nice and dark for me when we got there. He kept me distracted with DVDs since I couldn't nap, and pretty much spoiled me rotten. He's a good one... <smile>

lumpy days

A good weekend, though a lumpy one. Been running on fumes for the past few months, and it's catching up...very 'meh' mood, that 'don't wanna' slump that hits and seems to greatly increase gravity under you and keeps you from wanting to do much of anything.

Still managed to get stuff done and have fun, though: saw the new Wolverine movie [good as a movie, but some *terrible* continuity errors and really annoying plot parts that were introduced then just totally ignored], Will took me up to Lick Observatory on Mount Hamilton [hurrah for 120 year-old telescope and 120" new telescopes], we watched two Star Trek movies, did dishes, dirtied dishes, made spaghetti [hence the dirty dishes], slept in, bummed around, fed the cats, played with the dogs, chilled, played EQ2 [well, he played while I spectated], bought some board games and brought some of mine down to his place for future playing [Mille Bornes FTW], random chilling and wandering.

Heh...guess it was actually pretty packed for being totally lumpy and lazy. <grin>

still cranking

Met some deadlines at work, making it through the audit a bit at a time, new tasks and deadlines raising their ugly heads. Got the okay from my manager for some time in June, so I'll get to spend some time with my dad [yay]. The Prodigy concert is coming up next month...we thought about going to see NIN, especially since Will had heard that they weren't touring anymore, but apparently they are pimping themselves out all over the place, so it looks like we'll have plenty of chances. <grin>

Weather has been wacky, with near-100 degree temperatures in the day and 50s in the evening. Bad side: no AC. Good side: crank the windows open at night to let in the cooler air, which helps mitigate the heat during the day. Dogs seem to handle it well, cats are none the worse for wear. Cooler weather coming for the weekend [huzzah].

Still not sleeping well, and it's showing...random crap like sending email to wrong folks, or losing things, or not being able to find the right words in the mental thesaurus. With luck, the cooler weather and a weekend will set things right.

Hmmm...what else...saw 'Fast & Furious', which was fun [I'm sooo not a chick-flick chick, so this was my kind of movie]. Not a lot going on outside of work lately...go to work, go home, relax with Will or some friends, toss-turn-try-to-sleep, get up, go to work, repeat. Things will settle down eventually....there is good stuff coming up, like Dad's visit, and Disneyland, and putting miles on my motorcycle. So in the meantime, I keep cranking, keep breathing, relax when I can, and keep my eyes on the horizon...

catching up

Summary: good days, rough nights.

Got out on my motorcycle for the first time on Saturday...very, very different from the lower-to-the-ground Suzuki GZ250 I rode in the MSF class. The center of gravity is way higher, and the four-cylinder engine makes for a less forgiving clutch/throttle when first starting out...need to rev it higher to keep it from stalling, and the friction zone is really small. Once it's going though, it's very smooth and very forgiving...and much, much quieter than Will's V-twin [at least until I get confident enough to rev it up, then the high-pitched inline-four "VREEEEEEE" will be heard throughout the neighborhood]. It was much more tiring than I expected, so much going on: brain thinking about every little move and movement, trying to coordinate entire body and be quadridextrous. A learning curve, but one that will pay off.

90+ degree days meant I didn't get to ride beyond that first outing...way, way too hot. Spent Sunday cleaning up my lawn furniture and getting it set up in Will's backyard, then chilling with him, a beer, a couple dogs, and some music. Much needed relaxation and downtime...got zero hours of sleep the night before [been battling the insomnia since I got back from Ohio, but that was by far the worst night yet]. Sadly, not much better the next night [or the night after]...hence "rough nights".

Now trying to keep my muzzy brain focused to get through the workday...insomnia can have some subtle effects that creep in, especially when dealing with email and spreadsheets and mind-numbing audit details. Blegh.

[but I got to ride my motorcycle...yay! and share good off-the-grid time with Will...yay! and watch some entertaining movies...yay! So it's not *all* bad...]

without the chick in the way

Here is a better pic of the bike, all shiny and new: