Not much, ElJay, not much.

Work of course. And reaching the conclusion that I'm going to have to force myself to be productive beforehand, because if left to my own devices, probably not going to happen. I love working nights, but it's tough to not just wander through the day like a zombie. My days off still suck ass, and I keep hoping hoping for a change, though I have no idea if or when it'll happen. I'm settling in to it now, but it still sucks ass that pretty much everybody else has Saturdays and Sundays off while I'm like, "Yeeeaah, can't do anything. Have fun!" The work itself remains pretty fantastic though and I very much feel I'm getting the swing of things now. Which is nice for my stress levels. I really, really hate that settling in period with new jobs.

This upcoming week is going to be pretty packed. It's Mike's birthday tomorrow. Usually he gets King Treatment for a week, but seeing as how I'm working, that's truncated horribly, so I have to try the best I can otherwise.

I have tomorrow off (my first PTO!) and that night we're going with Amy and Scott to see The Police. I expect much awesomeness. (Tomorrow I think I may also try for an iPhone, but I still haven't decided yet.) Back to work for me on Saturday and Sunday, but we'll have the pre-work day to do whatever strikes Mike's fancy. Same with Monday, which Mike has off. Tuesday though is like my Saturday, and it's going to be PACKED.

Every year, Mike gets to go to Ground Kontrol with a ridiculous number of quarters and play. And play. And play some more. As much as he wants, as long as he wants. So that's what we're going to do. It opens at noon, and we'll be there at noon, ready to go. After playing all through the afternoon, we'll head out for some nice dinner, then make our way to the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall for the man himself, Eddie Izzard. Did I mention third row seats? THIRD ROW SEATS. After Eddie, we'll make our way back to Ground Kontrol for more playing, up to 2am, then drag our asses home.

Oh, and also, Tuesday happens to be the release of The Who pack on Rock Band. So we'll cram in as much playing of the new tracks as possible before having to leave. And, of course, Tuesday also happens to be when Harmonix are announcing all their Rock Band 2 goodies at E3.

It is not coincidental that I'm seriously considering having the web in my pocket by Tuesday.

Wednesday will be catching up on all the other stuff we didn't get done while I was at work. Sleeping in with cuddles, further enjoying our Who pack, dinner and a movie, etc.

In other news, I have seriously jacked up the first joint on my left pointer finger and I have absolutely no idea how. It's been about a week now. I think I may actually have to put some of that insurance I now receive to good use. Darn it. I think I'm going to tape it up this afternoon and keep it that way for about 24 hours, see if that helps. And it's going to make typing hilarious.

Today is going to be a day. I can tell already. And I can tell this on 4 whole hours sleep. I'm sure that's not contributive.

It's going to spike back to 90 today. And despite sitting here in that "There's no way I slept enough" haze, I"m actually in a perky mood. It's my Saturday, dammit, and I'm going to love it and hug it and call it George.

I think today is going to be a day for vegging on the couch and watching movies. I can feel this. I've got four awesome cool movies I've been wanting to see and I think today's the day. Gotta keep working that 8-at-a-time Netflix gifts me after all.

For being as wiped as I am and considering how hard I'm probably going to crash later, I'm in a surprisingly good mood.

(And haven't forgotten my promised content post either.)

When you're UNCONSCIOUS.

I slept in today until 11am. I can't remember the last time I slept that late. You know my entire day is going to be all kinds of messed up too.

But I'm not tired anymore. That has to count for something. Right?

Yesterday I was just in the most horrible, foul mood. Which isn't necessarily unheard of for me. Let's face it, a foul mood is really my neutral gear. But now that my time is once again measured in "work" and "not work", I really hate being pissy during one of my precious, precious "not work" times.

I won't go into what's contributed to my declining mood, since focusing on that is liable to have much the effect of putting out a fire with lighter fluid. So instead I'll say what's making today better.

1) Obama got the primary. I've refrained from talking politics in here lately because the whole thing has had me so irritated that I didn't want to voice anything. Now I can give an enthusiastic HELL YEAH.

2) I've been having massive eye trouble that's led me around and around and around and around and finally ended today with it looking A-okay. I may actually finally be getting those contacts I was supposed to get back in October! Now with updated prescription!

3) We downloaded the Jimmy Buffett pack for my favourite game last night, and it's ridiculously fun. As mentioned, these are rerecordings he did just for this pack ... and that included this modified line from "Volcano": "Just want to be a couch potato and play Rock Band every day." You go, Jimmy. You earned me dollars.

4) Picked up some nice fresh chicken and veggies and will make a delicious dinner. It'll be DELICIOUS I tell you. I decree it.

5) Despite myself (and a huge irritant I shall not discuss, see above, re: lighter fluid), I got things accomplished today.

Tomorrow flips the needle back to "work", but at least I have hope that "not work" will end on a positive.

(Now come on, dinner, don't you let me down, you bitch.)

Mmm, day off. I have strawberry frosted mini-wheats, "Hysteria" on Rock Band, overcast weather, and a whole day to burn. Contentment.

Last night, the news about Netflix's new TV box for Instant Watch broke on the Net. I've been playing with it at work for the past few weeks, and I can certify the awesome. If you're a fan of IW, you may want to check it out.

There was a big party at work to celebrate the release. Lots of balloons and even more free ice cream. What was seriously cool though was watching the orders roll in. An hour after it was announced online and made available for purchase? A little over 100 had been sold already.

I'm going to miss the next couple days of flurry over the Roku box ... but as was pointed out to me, I will be there as the first of those boxes arrive in people's homes. Rut-roh.

Speaking of arriving in homes, my monitor shipped last night. Yay New Egg! It's scheduled for delivery on Thursday, but as this is New Egg, my fingers are crossed for, like, tomorrow. Which would give me a day to play with it, which would make me happy. I think I may resubscribe to CoH for a month just to give it an awesome workout. :)

I am now out of strawberry frosted mini-wheats. But "Hysteria" will be forever.

In the mail yesterday was my health insurance card. I haven't had health insurance since I was 18 or so and my father decided it just wasn't worth paying for me to have it anymore. My attitude toward it since then has pretty much been, "Eh, if I get really sick, just let me die." But no longer, for now I have a CARD.

Then in the afternoon, Mike and I settled down to figure out my 401k – another new addition to my life.

Weird stuff. I feel like I just shot over a speedbump in the road I didn't even see coming. Some sort of surprise marker letting me know that things are different on the other side. Have I just been pressed into a new level of maturity, wrapped up in a shiny benefits package?

But then we split a pizza and played video games all night. Whew. Dodged that bullet.

This is a special Saturday. It's my last off for a while. My last weekend day with my guy, for however long it takes me to get a schedule that doesn't suck. The weather is oppressively hot today (damn you, Portland, how dare you get all uncomfortable on my days off??) and I think we were tempted to just sit around like lumps. Like hot, sweaty lumps. Feel our sexy.

Anyway, the urge was strong, but we resisted. Very glad we did. We had a nice day of just enjoying time together on someone else's air conditioning dime. An afternoon of running around culminated in a spontaneous decision to go bowling. The local lanes had their Cosmic on – which means that everything's laser lit, coated in blacklight, and about twice as expensive. But what the hell, it's our last weekend. It was lot of fun, although my scores were embarrassingly poor. I do not bowl well.

We're home now, and still looking at a nice long evening together – particularly if Mike digs in and stays up with me as I try to retrain myself back to late nights. Plus all of tomorrow until 3pm, which is not insignificant. I feel fortified for my week ahead.

Yesterday, as it turns out, I didn't watch a movie at lunch at all. We did around midnight though, and for the "I don't have to concentrate too hard" factor, settled on Across the Universe. Good, good movie. The musical theater nerd in me was in heaven. And, as ever, it's worth anything for even a glimpse of Eddie Izzard. Plus two alternate takes of his Mr. Kite sequence! Golden.

I now settle back with some cold water while my guy basks in the joy of his new wireless gamepad for emulation. I shall order my new monitor, and then in a bit we'll Rock Band.

Life is good.

What I've done so far today:

- slept in until I couldn't sleep no more (turned out this was 7am, but I'll take what I can get)
- helped Mum help someone else with some computer stuff
- had some Cheerios (ACTUAL Cheerios!)
- resorted my TV icons on LJ and added Deadliest Catch
- recreated my budget spreadsheet (may work on some scripting in a bit)
- caught up on three weeks of Dirty Jobs
- NOT WORKED

The last is my favourite. Yay, day off. :)

Last night was the first where I really felt I got some good sleep. Getting up at 6am is still kicking me in my non-existent jujubes, but bright side: won't be doing that much longer.

Yes, my schedule came in yesterday. And HOT DAMN, does it suck. Just as well I never really liked Mike all that much, since I'll NEVER SEE HIM AGAIN.

Actually, in an interesting twist, it's very close to my personal favourite kind of shift (save shitty days off), but Mike all had to go and get this normal 8-5 job, that bastard.

So yes, I shall be working 3.30p to 12a, Thursday through Monday. I know, trumpets blaring, right?

Plus sides:
- No need for a bedtime; it will happen naturally.
- No need for a getuptime; it will happen naturally.
- No fighting over the shower in the morning.
- Jett will only be a mere 6 hours out of the week without at least one of her peoples.
- Pay differential alone will cover all my insurance costs, with a nice chunk left over, on top of my base pay.
- Traffic will be sweet.
- I really do love night shifts.

Minus sides:
- A life? What's that?
- A husband? What's that?
- If everything is going to be jacked up by a schedule, I'd rather just go all the way and start at like 6pm or something. Embrace it whole heartedly, rather than this piddling late afternoon crap.

Really, it's the days off that are the killer for me. As it sits right now, we'll have only a few hours every week to see each other, especially if Mike follows through on his threat to not wake me up so I can drive him to work every morning. He'll leave when I'm asleep, I'll leave before he gets home, he'll be in bed when I'm off, he'll leave when I'm asleep, blah blah infinity. We'll have Tuesday and Wednesday nights, and Saturday and Sunday mornings/afternoon. Going from seeing each other like all the time to being very limited will be hard.

And interesting hard though. Just got to make every bit count, right?

What's really cool is that despite all this? I'm still positive. It still looks like a fantastic place to work, and I'm actually looking forward to it.

Looking forward. To WORK.

I am in a Twilight Zone.

First up, thanks to everyone for the congratulations. It was awesome to be bouncy and happy and have you guys be bouncy and happy with me.

And now, before I go get ready for a day of fun and excitement, ( some job details. )

I start Wednesday with training. It'll be weird to be working again ... but a good weird.

Very excited. :)

Got the job!

Gotthejobgotthejobgotthejob.

More details later. For now

gotthejobgotthejobgotthejob

The interview went great. At least from my end. I'm assuming things from his end. (LOVE ME DAMMIT.)

Now the waiting begins. I'm hoping to hear something tomorrow.

O Fate! Do not let my rare moment of optimism burst into fiery lashes of "and that's what you get, dumbass".

After about an hour on the phone, I have scored a face interview on Monday.

Now I just have to be wonderful and charming. In person. Ahh, crap.

The race is on ... FIND JET WOLF SOMETHING TO WEAR.

I decide to tidy one little thing, and suddenly it's a whirlwind of disaster and recovery. But now I have a place to shove my Rock Band drums that is not simply "out of my immediate path". I so utterly need a bigger place though. Or less shit. Preferably a bigger place.

I am having a horribly slow kind of day. I woke up disoriented and I think my brain has gone back to bed without me, the bitch. What extra sucks is that I have an optometrist appointment this afternoon and nyuugh! Don't wanna!

I gave a shot (no pun intended) to Call of Duty 4 multiplayer yesterday. It actually wasn't too bad, but I'm not sure it's the sort of thing I would want to play all the time. It's certainly an intense experience though, and vastly different from every other game we have. (And if that doesn't make plain that we're not a household with a lot of FPS games, nothing will.)

But hey, good news! I'm not longer hacking and feeling achy randomly. I think cold/flu/plague done gone, and for this I hooray.

Less hooray: Need to finish the resume dusting and do something with this stupid piece of paper. Le sigh.

Mike was home sick for Monday and Tuesday. It's always sad when he's ill, but I did my "taking caring of" schtick, and he returned to work Wednesday considerably better. All goes well. Plans to visit superstevess and stephaniejane2 on Friday plod along.

Then I start to cough and get a massive headache. I still adamantly refuse to admit that I've caught it.

Come Thursday, there's really no denying it anymore. The near crippling aches and constant chills sort of sounded the death knell. I spend a significant amount of Thursday unconscious, culminating in me going to bed at 9pm and sleeping pretty much straight through to 7am. I'm rewarded by not wanting to die today, though still stricken with lesser aches and chills, and now rewarded by a near constant desire to hack up portions of my lung in what must truly be the most attractive sounds to ever come out of my mouth.

Needless to say, our trip is off, and this annoys me tremendously.

Up yours, this week. Up yours.

Well after like five years in this apartment, we've finally tracked down the source of the constant winter cold in this place. The freaking chimney flue (for the chimney we've never used) actually doesn't close all the way. We thought we'd ruled that out a couple years back, but lo and behold, we were wrong. Now after thirty minutes of crawling around in there and getting filthy, we've successfully plugged the gap in the bloody thing with a towel, and managed to hook up another to block the entrance and remaining breeze making its way through.

It could be because I've just been fighting in an enclosed space for the past half hour, but it already feels warmer in here.

We couldn't have figured this out several seasons' worth of heat bills ago? Le sigh. But at least Mike will no longer have to suffer in frigid silence as I steadfastly refuse to allow him precious warmth.

Ha! Take THAT, winter!

Not my best new year start. The 31st saw me spontaneously starting to feel pretty crappy, which was a feeling that persisted through the next day. Not helped by the fact that I was unreasonably snappy too. Being a bitch is never the way I want to start the next chapter.

Mike declared that therefore our new year wouldn't start until Monday. It's always sweet when he rends time and space to suit me.

I'm still feeling out of sorts today, but a bit better than yesterday. I just finished taking down the tree and cleaning up the den, so it doesn't look quite so overwhelmingly disorganized in there. The living room is also pretty much as tidied as it can get right now. Love Rock Band, but ye gods, does it take up a lot of room. (kviri, you may have had a point.) The DVD recorder and it's two hundred cables sitting on the floor doesn't help either, but it has to stay there for now to record the 360.

Also on the slate today is the beginning of my "do it every day" list. Gotta get some better habits in place. To start is consistent guitar practice, which few of you care about. To second is work on The Chosen, which half of you do.

The first thing I have to do is reread my own work (which is awkward at best), to get back in my "space" and refresh myself on jokes I've already used, because it's just embarrassing when you recycle. Also, I will be updating the main page at least once a week to let you guys know how things are coming. Because they're coming again now. It'll be slow at first, but slow is better than stop.

Not bad beginnings, especially seeing as how I still have four whole days before my new year officially starts! (See that? That was positivism.)

Still on the fence about the writer's strike? You shouldn't be.

But I'll let funnier people tell you all about it.